On Thursday, during the Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam, Douglas made a point of visiting the examination hall to observe his students in action.
Since the practical magic portion relied entirely on the students' own abilities—making cheating impossible—the Wizarding Examinations Authority had no qualms about allowing Douglas to sit beside the examiners.
The next student to enter was a Ravenclaw named Sherry. She froze for a moment upon seeing Douglas, then quickly composed herself.
She moved through the counter-curse and defensive spell exercises with practiced ease. Professor Tofty turned to Douglas with a smile.
"I must say, this year's students are quite impressive. Their counter-curse work, in particular, is remarkably proficient. The moment we set a challenge, they're able to cast the appropriate counter-spell almost instantly.
I've heard from the students that you set up a special counter-curse practice classroom, and even tailored practical rooms for each year?"
The Defence Against the Dark Arts practical classrooms were different from the magical study room—they were Douglas's own project, not something officially open to the Ministry's visiting examiners.
Douglas replied with a warm smile,
"Practice is the only true measure of magic. Theory without practice is hollow, and magic without theory is blind. I want them to use theory to drive their practice, and then let practice lead them to new magical insights."
As a seasoned wizard, Professor Tofty nodded in wholehearted agreement. Every great wizard, after all, must first learn to think.
Just as Douglas and Tofty were chatting, another examiner let out an excited exclamation:
"Brilliant! A perfect Patronus Charm!"
All eyes turned to see a silver hummingbird darting gracefully through the air.
Tofty grinned at Douglas.
"Haha, truly your student. Honestly, with her performance, she'd have earned an Outstanding in Defence even without the Patronus."
Douglas lingered for a short while before leaving—he knew not every student had nerves of steel, and his presence beside the examiners only made some of them more anxious.
By Friday afternoon, with the last elective—Ancient Runes—completed, the Wizarding Examinations Authority departed Hogwarts.
Douglas summoned all the class representatives to his office to help mark the regular exam papers. The N.E.W.T. scripts were taken back to the Ministry for grading; once the holidays began, Hogwarts would send the results to students by owl.
This arrangement forced some houses to postpone their post-exam celebrations until Saturday night.
Harry and Ron spent the afternoon in a corner of the common room, playing wizard chess. After losing three games in a row, Harry's pieces began striking and refusing to move, much to his frustration.
Suddenly, Ron asked, "Harry, aren't you going to stick with your training plan?"
Harry blinked, then slapped his forehead—he'd been so caught up in exams that he'd completely forgotten. He quickly scanned the common room: Hermione wasn't back yet.
He leaned over to Ron, who was fiddling with his chess pieces. "I think now's the perfect time!"
Before Ron could react, Harry grabbed him and dashed upstairs to the dormitory.
Ron was still confused when he saw Harry rummaging through his trunk and pulling out the Invisibility Cloak. Then it clicked.
"Harry, you're not thinking of going tonight, are you?"
Harry nodded, speaking quickly,
"This is a rare window. Hermione's probably still with Professor Holmes. If we wait until she's back, she'll definitely try to stop us."
Ron hesitated. "But you've only practiced half the spells on your list."
Harry, already throwing the Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders, replied,
"Plans can't keep up with changes. While Hermione's not here, we need to act. Otherwise she'll never let us take the risk.
What I've learned should be enough. It's really all about Parseltongue, right? Besides, I've got an absolutely safe plan…"
Ron hesitated, then ducked under the cloak with him, whispering,
"What plan? How come I haven't heard about it?"
Harry whispered, "I'll explain once we're outside."
The two crept under the cloak, dodging the other students in the common room, and slipped through the portrait hole.
Once in the corridor, they set off for the floor with Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
On the way, Harry outlined his plan to Ron.
"I'm guessing the professors have set up all sorts of wards and alarms in there. We're bound to trigger something…"
Ron grabbed Harry's arm, alarmed.
"If we're going to set off the alarms, why go in at all?"
Harry corrected him,
"I'm going in. Not we. Just listen.
If the professors show up quickly after the alarm, I'll just hide under the Invisibility Cloak. As long as it's not Dumbledore, I doubt anyone else could spot me…"
Ron frowned. "But if you're hiding, what about me?"
Harry glanced around to make sure they were alone, then whispered,
"You stay put. When the professors arrive, tell them you saw me sneaking into the bathroom—into the Chamber of Secrets. That way, you won't get in trouble. They'll probably even praise you, maybe give you points.
They'll try to get into Slytherin's Chamber to find me, and I'll just follow them in.
If there's no alarm and I actually manage to get through all the wards and into the Chamber, then you need to fetch Professor Holmes—he's got a Parseltongue recording that can open the entrance. Don't take too long! If I really run into the basilisk, I won't stand a chance…"
Ron yanked Harry back, hissing in frustration,
"So in your plan, no matter what, I'm the traitor? I know I can't speak Parseltongue, and my spellwork isn't as good as yours, but don't forget—I'm not the same Ron I used to be.
Ever since I got this new wand, my spells have gotten loads better…
And most importantly, Gryffindors don't betray their friends!"
Harry spotted two older students coming up from the fourth floor and quickly pulled Ron into a shadowy corner, whispering,
"Ron, you still don't get it. The ones who'll really deal with the basilisk aren't you or me—it's the professors.
You're the key to this whole plan. Whether I make it into the Chamber or not, you need to convince the professors I'm inside. I'm just the bait to lure them in to face the basilisk."
Ron stared at Harry, suddenly feeling like he was talking to a stranger.
"Harry, you're not yourself. The old you would never have come up with something like this. Last time, you even wrote out a secret plan for fighting the basilisk…
And you always wanted to meet the mysterious person in the Chamber—why get the professors involved?"
Harry scratched his head, then, in a tone borrowed from a certain professor, said,
"Ron, everyone grows up. Courage without wisdom is just recklessness. I want to show everyone that Gryffindors aren't just reckless lions…"
Ron cut him off. "Alright, alright, save the lecture. I'm not a professor. That's what Professor Holmes always says—everyone in Gryffindor knows it."
Harry gave an embarrassed grin.
"I just thought it fit the moment. Anyway, I'm not the same as before…
Ahem, I mean, Professor Holmes does make some good points. Last time I quoted him in the headmaster's office, even Dumbledore praised me.
And the basilisk really is terrifying. At first I wanted to face it alone, but now I realize it's probably even more dangerous than I thought.
You saw Hermione's plan—she analyzed every possibility, and the most important thing was that I'd have to be fluent in Parseltongue. Otherwise, if I locked eyes with the basilisk, I'd be dead before I could say a word.
I've been thinking: maybe my ability to speak Parseltongue is part of Voldemort's plan. If I ever mastered it, would I become his puppet, just like Professor Holmes wrote?
That's why I want to find out from Voldemort himself why I can speak Parseltongue.
The basilisk? Leave that to the professors. I just want to find Voldemort…"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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