A question only has value when there is suspense to discuss.
Once the Hogwarts students confirmed that Nolan truly had a girlfriend—or rather, two girlfriends—no one seemed to care about his love life anymore.
As for how those two beautiful witches were getting along?
Well, aside from a few die-hard admirers of Nolan, who really cared?
With the excitement of Nolan's relationships dying down, everyone's attention quickly returned to the matter of the Chamber of Secrets, which was bad news for Harry Potter.
Justin Finch-Fletchley—the Hufflepuff boy who used to get along well with Harry—now firmly believed that Harry was the heir of Slytherin, the one who had opened the Chamber. As a result, he refused to talk to him.
"I told that Potter kid that I was Muggle-born!" Justin proclaimed in horror. "I'm doomed! He's definitely going to hunt me down once he opens the Chamber again!"
Most people took this as a joke.
Come on, Harry Potter? The heir of Slytherin? He was a Gryffindor!
If anyone fit the title of "Heir of Slytherin," it was actually Nolan Von Draugr—the well-known "Little Prince of Slytherin."
Still, the theory had its believers, including Ginny Weasley.
The red-haired young witch seemed to be in worse shape lately. Her cold had worsened, and her classmates often caught her looking drained, lost in thought.
Another believer was Colin Creevey, Harry's ever-enthusiastic fanboy.
For some bizarre reason, Colin seemed to think that opening the Chamber was some sort of honor. He had repeatedly tried to interview Harry, asking him how it felt to have such an important role—like he was an award-winning celebrity being congratulated on stage.
"Bloody hell..." Harry stormed into the dormitory, his face dark. "Colin just yelled across the common room, asking me how I opened the Chamber of Secrets! I don't understand—did I do something to offend him recently?"
Ron, who was struggling through his History of Magic homework, looked up. "Colin Creevey? Mate, we all know that kid's brain doesn't work right. If I were him, the last thing I'd do is get on the bad side of Von Draugr. That kid's a complete idiot—just ignore him, Harry. Oh, by the way, do you know where Hermione is? I still need to add two inches to my essay, and I've already stretched every letter as much as I can."
"Hermione's in the library," Harry sighed. "You know how she is. I think she's trying to read every book in there before summer break."
Meanwhile, Hermione Granger was indeed in the library.
"'Hidden Histories: A Hogwarts Chronicle'? That sounds promising..."
She had barely pulled the thick hardcover book halfway from the shelf when a pale, slender hand reached out and shoved it back in.
"Nolan?" Hermione turned around, her eyes widening in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"The library isn't yours alone, Granger," Nolan said dryly. "Besides, that's not the book you're looking for. Arnova's writing is garbage—it's nothing but old Hogwarts gossip. For example, did you know that a Hufflepuff girl once had a relationship with a lion from the Care of Magical Creatures class?"
"A witch... and a lion?" Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "That can't be real!"
"That's why it's called 'hidden history.'" Nolan smirked. "The book spends an entire chapter detailing their secret meetings behind the professor's back. The lion was eventually sent to Brazil, and the girl went on to marry a wizard. But when this book exposed her past, she was so ashamed that she took her own life."
Hermione quickly pulled her hands away from the book.
Nolan led her to another shelf and tapped on a different volume.
"'Pureblood Wizards and Their Secrets.' This is what you need. Chapter Seven, Section Thirty-Two—The Chamber of Secrets."
Hermione's eyes lit up as she flipped through the book. "How did you know I was looking for this?"
"How did I know?" Nolan raised an eyebrow. "The entire school is chasing this mystery, but aside from a few Ravenclaws and a handful of others, most people treat it as a joke. We both know that the Chamber of Secrets wasn't opened just to petrify a cat."
"You think there will be more victims?"
Nolan walked away from the bookshelf, his expression unreadable. Hermione, after borrowing the book, hurried to catch up with him.
"You're worried about something, Nolan. But what? Is it Eve?"
Nolan stopped walking. His voice was quiet but tense.
"Eve thinks she's the next target."
Hermione's breath caught.
"I have to admit," Nolan continued, "she's the only Muggle-born in Slytherin. If the Chamber of Secrets was opened to 'purify' the bloodlines, then Eve is the primary target."
A sudden chill settled in the air.
Hermione realized they had wandered into the very corridor where Mrs. Norris had been attacked.
The torches flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
The once-bright red writing had long since been cleaned away, but the oppressive atmosphere of that night remained.
"There was a puddle of water here," Nolan murmured, his sharp gaze scanning the floor. "And the cat was hanging right there. What does that tell us? Why was the cat petrified instead of killed?"
Hermione thought for a moment. "More importantly—why attack Filch's cat?"
"Filch is a Squib," Nolan said, pointing at the book in Hermione's hands. "If you read carefully, you'll see that to pureblood extremists, Squibs are as disgraceful as Muggle-borns. Squibs prove that purebloods aren't as 'pure' as they claim to be. They taint the reputation of pureblood families. Filch was an easy target—and his cat suffered for it."
"That's... that's just cruel!" Hermione's fists clenched.
"It is," Nolan exhaled slowly. "Come on, Granger. There's nothing more to see here."
He turned on his heel, striding away from the eerie corridor.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then hurried after him.
She tightened her grip on the book in her arms.
This wasn't over.
Not even close.
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T/N:
Thank you for the support guys!
I guess I'll continue here on webnovel, and on patreon iff someone joins.