Chapter 431: Chapter 431: The Plot Has Veered Off Course

Night grew deeper, and scattered lights began to glow in the castle of Hogwarts.

As Geral walked slowly into Dumbledore’s office, he found most of the professors already gathered there. They seemed to have come in a bit of a hurry. Geral even saw Professor Babbling from Ancient Runes and Sibyll Trelawney from Divination still in their nightclothes.

"This way, Zickrein." Seeing Geral enter the room, the short Professor Flitwick winked at him and said, "Come over here, quick."

Geral gave a light chuckle and went to stand beside Flitwick. He glanced at Dumbledore sitting in his chair; the old professor’s eyes were slightly closed, as if deep in thought.

"That poor child, Cedric," Flitwick, standing by Geral’s leg, whispered. "He was so outstanding, and now this has happened to him."

Cedric?

Geral’s sky-blue eyebrows rose slightly. He asked softly, "The student who was attacked... is it Cedric from Hufflepuff?"

"Oh, yes!" Flitwick nodded decisively. "That’s him! He was attacked right outside the Hufflepuff common room entrance. He’s completely lost his senses..."

Why Cedric? 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Geral paused slightly, his expression showing a hint of surprise. According to the original plot’s progression, the attack should have been on that little fanboy of Harry Potter’s, "Colin Creevey," right?

Why has it changed all of a sudden? And, lost his senses? Not petrified?

Geral lowered his head, lost in thought. This loss of senses certainly wasn’t caused by petrification; it sounded more like the Imperius Curse. But the professors present would surely know the effects of the Imperius Curse. If it really were that, they wouldn’t need to call a special meeting to discuss it.

Interesting.

Geral lowered his head, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, his eyes showing a glimmer of interest. This deviation from the original story sparked a strong curiosity within him.

Who exactly cast the spell on Cedric? And why has the plot shifted like this?

Geral wanted to know the answer behind this, but he didn’t use his divine power to make an omniscient perception. That kind of cheating method was boring and cheap. He still thought it was more fun to rely on clues and figure it out himself through reasoning.

It is known that the mastermind hiding in the shadows is the young Voldemort, Tom Riddle. He is not only the Heir of Slytherin but also the true culprit secretly controlling the basilisk.

But a basilisk is just a basilisk. Its method of attack would definitely not cause this loss of senses effect. Therefore, the one who attacked Cedric must be a person.

Ginny Weasley?

Geral raised an eyebrow, already pinpointing the culprit in his mind. This little girl, controlled by the Tom Riddle in the diary, was absolutely capable of carrying out such an attack.

But why Cedric?

Geral stroked his chin, suddenly remembering traces from a few evenings ago of someone loitering outside his dormitory. Geral had been collecting materials in the Forbidden Forest at the time and hadn’t encountered this person face-to-face.

But both the footprints on the steps and the Matsuri flower petals left at the door proved someone had come looking for him during that time.

Could that have been Ginny?

Geral remembered teaching that little girl how to make tea with Matsuri flowers. She had probably been holding Matsuri flowers when she came looking for him. So, was Tom Riddle’s initial target actually himself?

What reason caused him to give up later and switch to Cedric?

Geral pondered internally, his expression unchanged. Just then, a rather flippant voice suddenly rang out. "Well, well, well, everyone’s here! Did I miss something?"

All the professors turned their gazes toward the source of the voice. There stood Gilderoy Lockhart, draped in a large green robe, a medal pinned to his chest. He swaggered as he looked around, finally settling his eyes on the well-figured Professor Babbling. "Oh, dash it all! I understand now. You’re having a pajama party here!"

Instantly, all the professors present glared at him with fury.

Geral even noticed that the good-natured Professor Flitwick beside him was trembling, unable to control it. If this weren’t in Dumbledore’s office, he’d probably have hit this flashy, incompetent fop with a hex right then and there.

"It seems everyone is here."

Just as the professors were about to lose hold of their anger, Dumbledore in his seat finally spoke. "As I said, another attack has occurred. This time, the victim is an outstanding student. He has completely lost his faculties."

"Lost his faculties, how dreadful," Lockhart said with a feigned sigh. "Even worse than the water monster I saw in Lake Candice. That monster attacked a Muggle village. Turned them all into sweet potatoes and yams! I wrestled with that monster for a full six hours before finally subduing it!"

"Professor Lockhart, Cedric has only lost his senses!" Pomona Sprout hissed through gritted teeth, her voice low but forceful. "He has not turned into a sweet potato, nor a yam!"

The Head of Hufflepuff house clearly could no longer contain her anger. Among all the professors, she was usually the most mild-mannered. But when it involved one of her own students, she could become fiercely protective.

"Yes, quite right," Dumbledore nodded, continuing. "Mr. Diggory has not turned into a sweet potato or a yam. He is still a living person. But this does prove that the Chamber has found its heir. And that heir has begun to act."

"Just like fifty years ago," Professor McGonagall added. "Fifty years ago, a similar incident occurred at Hogwarts. We lost a student forever—the ghost in the girls’ bathroom, Myrtle."

"I’ve seen the file in the Auror office," Geral interjected. "That incident seemed to be related to Hagrid?"

"Hagrid is not the culprit, Zickrein," Dumbledore shook his head. "You should know very well that Hagrid is not that sort of person. We never caught the true perpetrator of that incident. He remains at large. But not this time. Not this time..."

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