Chapter 52
December arrived, and the weather grew increasingly cold.
The parts of the Black Lake near the shore had already frozen over with a thin, opaque layer of ice. Every time a cold wind blew across it, the ice would make creaking, groaning sounds.
But the bitter cold couldn't extinguish the burning fighting spirit of the students.
In the new month, some Gryffindor students had already figured out a new battle strategy—they could use the alchemical weapon that Professor Lucian had awarded to outstanding students.
To encourage learning enthusiasm, Professor Lucian never handed out the same alchemical weapon twice.
Over the past three months, through the combination of theory + practical combat + monthly exams, quite a number of alchemical weapons had been distributed.
And for students in third year and below, these weapons represented pure positive gain.
Yes, while Jeffery and Camille both considered this type of alchemical device far less convenient and powerful than a wand, for students who couldn't even meet the basic requirements of "spell mastery," the Impediment Jinx stored inside these alchemical weapons was unbelievably useful.
The Weasley twins from fourth year stepped forward. They gathered all the alchemical pistols that didn't belong to upper-year students—six in total.
They planned to do something big with these six pistols in the new month.
But right at that moment, a terrifying event shattered all the little wizards' enthusiasm for internal competition—the Chamber of Secrets had been opened again.
This time the victim was Professor Charity Burbage, who taught Muggle Studies.
On Thursday morning, she was discovered in the second-floor corridor of the castle—body rigid, eyes wide and round, as though she had seen something utterly horrifying.
In an instant, rumors flew through the school. Everyone became suspicious and paranoid. Only the Slytherin students felt genuinely excited about the development.
Cedric, Harry, and Hermione gathered by the Black Lake, discussing the matter with deep concern.
The situation had completely changed now—even Ron and Harry were no longer willing to suspect Professor Lucian.
Last month the three houses had fought so fiercely that Harry and Ron had no time left for leisure. They threw themselves into intense studying instead—there was no choice; falling behind meant getting beaten, and the Gryffindors simply couldn't swallow that humiliation.
Both of them improved at lightning speed. Harry's spell mastery progressed noticeably week by week—so much so that even Ron sometimes looked at him strangely.
The more they improved, the more clearly the two boys realized just how outstanding Professor Lucian was as a teacher.
Unlike Snape, who would basically slap a potion recipe onto your face and tell you to start brewing, Professor Lucian—whether teaching spells or fighting dark creatures—would break knowledge down into tiny, digestible pieces, explain it clearly and simply, and correct their mistakes right away.
Moreover, ever since last month, for some reason he had started paying even more attention to them.
Previously, Professor Lucian never used textbooks in class. All sorts of knowledge flowed effortlessly from his mouth. Students only needed to follow his rhythm, do the practice papers, and fight dark creatures.
But starting last month, he took things to the next level—he began compiling his own teaching materials and distributing them, even creating study progress charts tailored to each year group.
This allowed every young wizard to clearly understand their current learning objectives, making their studies more focused and effective.
A professor like this—unless there was some solid evidence—no one was willing to suspect him.
"What if it's like this?" Cedric proposed a theory "The one who keeps opening the Chamber is still the person you mentioned—Draco Malfoy. But the one who opened it last time was his father, and he passed the method of opening the Chamber on to his son. So maybe there are two heirs to the Chamber?"
"That's very possible! So in that case, we should still focus our investigation on Malfoy?" The group quickly began analysing along this line of thought and soon settled on a plan of action:
Hermione would follow Harry and Ron to collect hair from Malfoy's cronies and his girlfriend, brew Polyjuice Potion, disguise themselves, and then question Malfoy for details.
As for Cedric—after choosing to completely trust Professor Lucian, he decided to skip Professor McGonagall entirely and go straight to ask Professor Lucian himself!
This would be the fastest way to get clear answers in the shortest possible time.
Hermione actually had the same thought deep down, but when it came time to act, she couldn't help shrinking back—she felt that Professor Lucian must have his own reasons for everything he did, and she simply didn't have the standing to question him.
Cedric, however, didn't think that way—or rather, he didn't care what Professor Lucian might think of him for doing this. He only wanted the basilisk incident resolved as quickly as possible.
After the group finished planning, they immediately took action.
"Professor, are you the heir of Slytherin?"
"Percy? Why would you think that?" Lucian neatly put away the letter and application he had just finished writing, then handed them to Barton beside him.
He was planning to write to Neville's grandmother, explaining in detail how important it was for a wizard—especially one still in a highly efficient learning phase—to have a wand that truly suited them.
As for the application, it was for Professor McGonagall—he hoped the school could establish a scholarship system to help outstanding students from poor families improve their living conditions. He had noticed that many wizards from Muggle-born families at school were in severe financial difficulty. Some even had to buy school supplies on student loans.
Lucian felt it was necessary to offer some help to these talented students who were held back by money problems. And then there were students like Ron, who couldn't bear to replace a broken wand.
In his preliminary proposal to Professor McGonagall, he suggested establishing several Outstanding Achievement Awards and Most Improved Awards, targeted at different groups of students, to be given out once a year or every six months.
Whether the school would adopt the idea was up to Professor McGonagall. Lucian had no intention of forcing anything—he was simply trying to do some things that he considered "right."
For example, changing from a cold professor who simply completed teaching tasks into a teacher with warmth.
"Professor, someone as great as you shouldn't remain unknown, and you shouldn't be content to stay here as merely a Hogwarts professor."
Faced with Lucian's question, Percy didn't waver at all. Instead, he stepped forward and said earnestly "If you really are the heir of the Chamber of Secrets, then Slytherin must have left behind treasures inside that would shock the entire Ministry of Magic. You can use this opportunity to announce it to the whole wizarding world, gain tremendous fame and power, and enter the system!"
"The Ministry of Magic? What would I do there? I can't think of any benefit it would bring me."
"How could there be no benefit?! With your ability, at the very least you could become Head of an entire Department in the Ministry! Given enough time, becoming Minister for Magic would just be a matter of time! Power, fame, influence—everything is calling out to you!" Percy spread his arms wide, his face flushed with excitement, as though he could already see the moment Lucian achieved greatness.
"You certainly think highly of me." Lucian looked at the deadly serious Percy. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I am not the heir of the Chamber, and I have no interest in joining the system either.
"Moreover, Percy—as your professor, my advice to you is the same: don't chase after empty fame and power. In the world of magic, the most important thing is magic itself. Everything else is merely added value. Do you understand?"
"I don't understand!" Percy clearly was very dissatisfied with this answer, his face suddenly flushed deep red, his chest heaving violently. With his fiery red hair, he looked exactly like an enraged Augurey.
"Professor, what you're doing is a tremendous waste of your own ability! one day I will prove to you that your thinking is wrong!" With that, Percy stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Bang.
In his fury, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings and walked straight into Cedric, "Sorry," he muttered under his breath, frowning deeply before hurrying away.