HP: Supreme Potion Collector [Original Female Protagonist]

When they left the Headmaster's office, everyone looked glum.

It felt like they had walked in circles, only to end up back where they started. Time was slipping away fast—there was only a month left until the end of the term, yet Dumbledore seemed to have made no progress.

Orli was almost certain that Dumbledore wanted Harry to deal with the Basilisk. He hadn't even confiscated Riddle's diary earlier, which only strengthened her suspicion that the diary had been sent to Harry by Dumbledore himself.

Harry and Ron thought they should spend more time helping Dumbledore look for clues, but Hermione, mindful that there were only four weeks left until final exams, kept finding opportunities to urge them to focus on studying. None of them, however, could concentrate on their schoolwork.

During Tuesday's Transfiguration class, Orli waved her wand diligently at a pair of white rabbits on the desk, trying to turn them into slippers. But after ten minutes, the rabbits showed no signs of transformation. Ron fared even worse; his frayed wand emitted an ear-piercing whistle, forcing Neville to cover his ears.

Friday's Potions class was nothing short of hell for Harry. He accidentally threw several untrimmed Bicorn leaves into his cauldron, earning him a round of scathing remarks from Snape.

"If you three keep this up, forget about clearing Hagrid's name—you might be expelled next year for failing grades. Then Hagrid's hut will need three more little huts built beside it," Hermione scolded them, exasperated.

"Please, Hermione, I don't need another Percy in my life," Ron groaned.

"I just can't concentrate until the Chamber of Secrets is dealt with," Harry said dejectedly. Snape had just assigned him to scrub all the desks clean of caterpillar juice after class, and the thought made him nauseous.

"If you insist on this, fine. Let's solve the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said with a heavy sigh.

"What did you say?" Ron's expression was as if Hermione had been hit with the Imperius Curse.

"I said, let's solve the Chamber of Secrets. But not by acting on our own—I've thought of a clue about the Chamber," Hermione clarified.

"What clue?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Do you remember what Moaning Myrtle said? I just thought of it—she mentioned a boy speaking Parseltongue outside the bathroom door, and when she opened it, she saw the Basilisk," Hermione explained, organizing her thoughts.

"The Basilisk couldn't possibly move long distances through the school corridors; otherwise, there would've been far more casualties. On the night of the Deathday Party, when Harry first heard the Basilisk's voice, it also disappeared near Myrtle's bathroom door. If there's a Chamber, it must be near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!" she concluded.

"You're a genius," Harry said, pulling Hermione into a tight hug. "We need to tell Dumbledore right away."

They raced up the ever-changing staircases, eager to reach the Headmaster's office. But when they finally arrived at the corner of the seventh-floor corridor, they suddenly heard voices.

"Cornelius, things haven't come to that point yet," Dumbledore said.

"But look, Albus, Hagrid's record doesn't do him any favors..." replied a short, plump man standing beside Dumbledore. He was dressed in a pinstriped suit under a black traveling cloak, his face lined with worry, and his gray hair in disarray.

"That's my dad's boss, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic," Ron whispered, panting.

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