"Harry, Harry! What's wrong with you?"
Harry was panting heavily. He heard a familiar voice in his ear. He opened his eyes reluctantly and saw two blurry, concerned faces. They were Ron and Neville. They looked terrified, stretching their arms out at a loss. Harry found that he had fallen off the bed without knowing when and was lying on the cold floor.
"I'm fine, Ron, and Neville, thank you." Harry said. He also saw Seamus and Dean looking up from the bed in a daze. "I'm fine..." he emphasized.
"You don't look like you're fine." Ron said.
"I... Oh, I just have a sore scar... It's an old problem." Harry stammered and got up from the ground. Ron handed him his glasses. After Harry put them on, the environment in the room became clear.
Neville was holding a magic lamp. The light was not dazzling, but it made Harry feel dizzy. He seemed to have returned to the real dream. He was sitting on a chair and talking to someone... But it didn't seem to be him. He was not so fragile that he needed someone to feed him medicine...
He tried his best to immerse himself in it. The feeling was too real. The sticky potion slid down his throat into his esophagus like ice, and then turned upside down in his stomach...
"Are you sick, Harry?" Seamus looked at him in horror, "I think you need to go to the school hospital."
The scenery in the dream seemed to be far away from him. No, it can't be like this... Harry thought, he found an excuse for himself: "I'm going to the bathroom... Don't worry, I'm fine..." He stumbled out in his pajamas.
"I'll go see Harry, you guys go to sleep." Ron thought for a while and said, Neville handed his little lion magic lamp to Ron, "Oh, thank you, Neville. Harry must have a nightmare, go to the bathroom and wash your face..."
Ron explained and followed Harry out of the dormitory.
After he went out, he didn't see anyone in the direction of the door. He looked around and saw Harry in the familiar position in the corner of the lounge as expected. He was sitting on the golden-red armchair, with his head tilted back, one hand rubbing his forehead, one hand covering his chest, and his brows furrowed. Harry
tried his best to recall, pretending that he was still in that dark room, trying to recall the taste of the sticky potion. That thing was really disgusting, more disgusting than a pot of overcooked toad soup... He was very angry, something was messed up, he mentioned someone's son, and that person was right next to him, serving him without saying a word, so bad... No, that was not him, it should be Voldemort, Sirius had analyzed it for him, it should be because of the scar on his head, Dumbledore also explained it in the first year...
Voldemort was very weak and needed to drink the medicine continuously. Harry sincerely hoped that the medicine would be harder to drink... But Voldemort had a body, a good news... Voldemort was attacked, but he reacted quickly and blocked the... black lightning? So familiar... It's Professor Happ! How did he appear? Did he get a clue about Voldemort from one of his many dance partners?
Harry put aside this unreliable idea. He had to recall more details... After chatting for a while, Voldemort asked someone to go first. Who was it? The one who was scolded? Harry couldn't remember the name clearly, but he knew it was pronounced with three syllables... Professor Happ used a powerful fire magic, unlike Hermione's, it was a dark white flame... They continued the conversation, and Harry shook his head. He couldn't remember clearly. His brain was like a sink with the plug pulled out, and the details in the dream kept leaking out...
They mentioned Professor Dumbledore, hypocrisy? A surge of anger surged in Harry's heart, but he soon became nervous. He knew what happened next. The impression was too deep. In the dream, he almost thought he was dead... Professor Happ condensed a flaming sword and pierced his chest. He wailed desperately... No, he was wrong again. It was Voldemort, not himself.
Harry thought happily. Professor Heppe began to attack, and countless gorgeous magic flashed... Voldemort floated in the air, laughing at Professor Heppe's useless work... But Harry felt the kind of heart-wrenching hatred. Voldemort's malice was too strong, and it was not as easy as he showed... Harry seemed to be brought into Voldemort's perspective. It was not a dream, but what was happening at this moment!
Did I get into Voldemort's mind? Harry thought with excitement and fear. He closed his eyes tightly, as if he was floating in the clouds, moving forward quickly. The night made everything around him blurry. Then a dazzling silver light lit him up and flew close to him. It was a silver phoenix, just like Fox. He found himself gritting his teeth and shouting: "Dumbledore!"
Then he plunged into the ground, shuttling back and forth in the black soil and brown rocks. He had to race against time. There was something very important to do. He broke into a basement and possessed an unlucky mouse. The mouse "sizzled" a few times, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes had turned blood red. It climbed onto a table and triggered some mechanism. A brilliant purple light exploded in the air. The mouse flew more than ten feet and hit the wall. It twitched a few times and then remained motionless.
Then the shadow of Voldemort floated out of the mouse's body. He stood there quietly without any sound, but Harry still felt a heavy sense of oppression...
Harry opened his eyes and Ron was sitting opposite him, looking at him with a complicated expression, "You dreamed of that person again, didn't you?"
Harry took a deep breath and said affirmatively, "Voldemort notified his spies in the school."
"What?" Ron looked at him in surprise, "Dude, do you know what you are talking about?"
"I know!" Harry tried to make his tone as calm as possible, "I know, of course I know..." He suddenly stood up and kept circling in the lounge, "Voldemort is short of manpower, he can't lose the servants in the castle... Professor Hep and Headmaster Dumbledore launched a surprise attack, well done!" He clapped his hands.
Ron looked at him with a worried look on his face.
"But Voldemort has a way to contact the spy in the castle, the guy who... threw our names into the Goblet of Fire!" Harry pondered, his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer. "He lost his body again. If he loses his only servant, all his previous plans will be in vain, so he activated the emergency contact method..."
Harry paused suddenly, looking at Ron with burning eyes, and said excitedly: "Do you know what we should do now?"
"Tell, tell the professor?" Ron stammered.
"You're half right, give me the wand!" He said to Ron, and Ron came out with his and Harry's wands.
Ron reluctantly handed Harry the wand.
Harry raised his wand and pointed it in the direction of the dormitory: "The Marauder's Map is flying! The Invisibility Cloak is flying!" They heard the sound of the box suddenly popping open, Neville's scream, and then waited quietly for a few seconds-"
Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two sounds of breaking through the air flew, and Harry quickly grabbed the map and the Invisibility Cloak.
Ron pursed his lips and swallowed his saliva. He watched Harry spread out the Marauder's Map, his eyes searching: "Please show up soon... There must be one, if I'm right..." Harry said.
"What are you looking for?" Ron lay on the table, staring at the densely packed names on it.
"Don't worry about those names that don't move. It has to be something that moves! At this time, it's either a professor on patrol or a spy who got the news and wants to escape!"
Ron quickly lowered his head to help look for it.
"Someone that moves, someone that moves... Got it! Look, there's someone called Eleanor Branstone!" Ron shouted. Harry looked over excitedly, and then heard Ron say frustratedly, "Oh... maybe not, she's heading for the kitchen."
"Then add another one, someone running out of the castle, and focus on those who move very fast but pause at the corner of the stairs." Harry said, and he imagined the escape route of the spy according to his own ideas.
"Good idea." Ron said, he looked for a while, "Peeves is really busy! Do you think someone has stolen his name, such as name magic or something? Peter Pettigrew knows the Marauder's Map, and he may have told the You-Know-Who about this. Maybe that person is prepared."
Harry was also embarrassed. They found more than a dozen moving names, including professors, students, living people, ghosts, and Filch's cat!
He never realized that the night in the castle was so lively.
"Wait!" Harry said, his eyes lit up, "It's him!"
"Who is it?" Ron looked around, trying to see clearly, but Harry had already pulled him to open the door of the lounge. The Fat Lady was woken up and was about to complain, but Harry and Ron ran away like a gust of wind.
"Reckless young man! Don't think I'll open the door for you!" She shouted at their backs.
Harry and Ron went downstairs quickly, and the sound of their footsteps on the stairs made a "crackling" sound, waking up countless portraits hanging on the wall. But they didn't care and took three or four steps at a time.
"Who is it?" Ron asked while staring at the steps under his feet.
"Barty Crouch!"
"The referee of the Triwizard Tournament?" Ron's jaw dropped, and he subconsciously followed Harry around a staircase.
"It makes sense, doesn't it? He's the referee, and he's also the official of the Ministry of Magic who organized the competition. He has the opportunity to touch the Goblet of Fire! And after the accident, he insisted that those whose names were called must participate in the competition. He also took a long vacation afterwards... so that he had the opportunity to sneak into Hogwarts!"
"But why? He can come openly?" Ron asked. Because he was too focused, he almost stepped into the trap of the stairs.
"In that case, he can only show up during the competition, and there will be countless eyes staring at him at that time." Harry said breathlessly, staring at the Marauder's Map. It took them less than a minute to rush to the third floor.
"Strange, Crouch walks very slowly, and there shouldn't be a road there." Harry looked at the map and said puzzledly, "That direction should be Professor Moody's office..."
Ron caught up with him panting, "No, anyway... we caught up, didn't we? Put on the invisibility cloak quickly, wait for him to come out, we will follow him from behind, and take the opportunity to sneak attack or warn the professors passing by."
Harry didn't say anything, just staring at the Marauder's Map, constantly analyzing in his mind. Crouch didn't seem to be walking, and was dawdling. What on earth was he doing? He had the guts to go undercover at Hogwarts, so he must be loyal to Voldemort. He would have left immediately after hearing Voldemort's call.
But why...
Harry really couldn't figure it out. They had already come to the vicinity of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, only seven or eight steps away from the office door. Ron opened his invisibility cloak and covered the two of them.
They stared at the Marauder's Map, and the name Barty Crouch coincided with the location of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. The two looked at each other in surprise, "He's going to attack Professor Moody? Why?" Ron asked in confusion.
Harry held his breath. The name belonging to Professor Moody was still motionless, and he should be lying in bed sleeping. Ron also realized this. He muttered anxiously: "Hurry up, you are the greatest Auror, you are just short of casting the Cruciatus Curse on us."
Harry dragged Ron forward a few steps and put his head against the door. They heard a "clicking" sound, like the sound of armor that lacks lubrication being forced to move.
The name belonging to Moody on the map was still motionless.
"What should I do?"
Ron asked, holding up his wand. On the Marauder's Map, Barty Crouch walked through the office and stood at the door of the bedroom. There was no doubt that no matter how he appeared, he must want to do something to Professor Moody.
"Don't go out yet!" Harry said to Ron.
"What?"
Harry suddenly lifted the invisibility cloak, raised his wand, and chanted loudly: "Shatter into pieces!" The door of the office suddenly exploded. The loud noise startled the people inside. Barty Crouch Jr. turned his head in horror.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry chanted a spell fiercely, and the spell like a laser beam collided with Barty Crouch Jr.'s shield, sparks flying.
"It's you? It's you! Potter, you're just in time!" Barty Crouch Jr. shouted.
Harry was confused for a moment. Who was this person? Why was he named Mr. Barty Crouch? But he had no time to think about it. He was trying his best to maintain the spell, but Barty Crouch Jr. was not weak at all. His Armor Charm firmly blocked the powerful Disarming Charm. On the contrary, he was approaching step by step against Harry's magic.
Through the blurry barrier, Barty Crouch Jr. stared at Harry with greed in his eyes, "Potter, no, Harry, I'm Professor Moody. I taught you, have you forgotten? Come with me, I'll take you to see the Dark Lord..."
"You're not Professor Moody!" Harry retorted loudly.
"There are two Moodys you met, one of whom is me," Barty Crouch Jr. grinned, "Peter Pettigrew, that rubbish, is somewhat useful. He told me the secret of the Marauder's Map. Of course, I know how dangerous it is on the day when the list of warriors is announced. What if Dumbledore suspects me? I am the only hope for the Dark Lord, the only hope for resurrection! I must be cautious and vigilant at all times... This sentence is really good. The Dark Lord possessed me - I was willing to do it - and modified Moody's memory. It was very successful, right?"
Harry gritted his teeth, unable to believe what he said. "You are the Death Eater who ran away?"
"Yes, it's me. Don't struggle, Harry, I only need half a minute -"
"Swoosh!"
"Quick Imprisonment!"
Ron suddenly poked his head out of the invisibility cloak and chanted in the direction of Barty Crouch Jr. A magic rope almost brushed the ground and wrapped around his calf. Harry took the opportunity to increase the output of magic power. Barty Crouch Jr. stumbled back, tripped by a large box, and disappeared behind the box.
Harry's spell hit a pile of glassware in the office, making a clear shattering sound, and he caught a glimpse of a glass mirror being smashed to pieces.
"Stupefy!" "Stupefy!"
Harry and Ron seized the opportunity and attacked repeatedly, but the spell only hit the open box, making a dull sound. Harry rushed forward regardless of the consequences. He saw Barty Crouch Jr. fall to the ground, not because of the spell, but because he tripped.
He had to seize the opportunity...
At this time, the rope on Barty Crouch Jr. turned into a big snake, blocking a cutting spell and a barrier spell. He hurriedly glanced around and his eyes fell on something like a mirror hanging on the wall of the office - there were many dark figures swaying in it, blurry, but at this moment, the people in the mirror became clearer and clearer, and their clear outlines could be seen. There were two people, one with a long beard, and the other with brisk steps, looking very young...
"Hiss~"
Barty Crouch Jr.'s face was distorted, and he suddenly turned over and rolled into the big box. Just as Harry was about to chase him, he poked out a half-broken wand from the box, and the tip of the wand flashed a dazzling red light.
"Boom!"
A huge explosion sounded in Harry's ears. Harry was swept away by the huge shock wave, and Ron was hit hard against the wall in the corridor. Harry felt that all the bones in his body were broken. Ron was also in a miserable state. He was hit on the leg by a big rock and was groaning in pain.
Harry looked at the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Half of the wall there collapsed, there was a big hole in the ceiling, and dust was everywhere.
"Cough cough cough!" Harry was choked and coughed. He looked at Ron. Ron's face was pale and his groans were much weaker. Harry forced himself to sit up, leaned against the wall, and raised his wand weakly: "Heal quickly - cough cough cough cough! Quickly -"
"Heal quickly." A voice said.
Harry looked up and shouted in surprise, "Professor Dumbledore!" In the smoke and dust, his shadow was exactly the same as the one he saw in the mirror before. He looked to the side and another figure appeared in the mirror, "Professor Happ!"
"Well," Felix nodded at him, threw a few healing spells, tilted his head to one side, and looked at the ruins in front of him, "The Defense Against the Dark Arts office is really full of disasters..."
He didn't know in the first year, but since he joined the job, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors and their offices have never been in a good situation. In the second year, Lockhart and Rita Skeeter had a dispute in the underground office, causing Lockhart to be hit by the Oblivion Curse and spend several weeks in a daze; in the third year, Lupin and Snape had a dispute, completely destroying the entire office, and had to move to the third floor. Unexpectedly, in the fourth year, the new office was also not kept.
Fortunately, it should be just a simple explosive spell, not as difficult to deal with as dark magic. Felix waved his wand, making pieces of stone float up and fly to their original positions, so that everything was restored to its original state.
On the other side, Ron's expression softened under the treatment of Dumbledore's spell.
"Deal with the emergency first. When it's over, you still have to go to the school hospital." Dumbledore said.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly remembered that there was another person in the office. "Professor, Professor Moody is still in there... He should have been cursed! And the spy, the spy who put our names into the Goblet of Fire, he is a young man, but his name is Barty Crouch..." His expression was confused and puzzled.
"That man is Barty Crouch's son, Crouch Jr., with the same name." Felix explained simply. He took Harry's Marauder's Map, took a look, and said disappointedly: "His name disappeared, he ran away."
As he spoke, the office had returned to its original state - except for those magical items, which were not within the scope of the spell repair.
Dumbledore walked in front, entered the office, took a quick look, and came to the bedroom. This place was still some distance from the center of the explosion, and with the defensive magic of Hogwarts Castle, the impact was small. When he used the unlocking spell to open the door, he could see Moody lying quietly on the bed, sleeping very sweetly.
Although this situation was not normal.
"Such a big noise didn't wake him up..." Ron whispered to Harry.
Dumbledore leaned over to check on Moody's condition. Harry took the opportunity to tell them what happened before. When he heard that Harry could still see Voldemort's movements after waking up, Dumbledore's face became solemn, "How did you see it, Harry? Did you stand high in the sky and look down at this scene, or..."
"I am him," Harry said. When he said this, he suddenly realized what he said. His voice became hoarse and explained: "I, I got into Voldemort's mind, observed the outside world through his eyes, and felt his anger." There was a sentence
he didn't say. Harry now felt strange looking at Dumbledore and Professor Hep, because he had brought Voldemort's emotions into his mind before, and he burst out with amazing hatred towards these two people.
The air was silent and uneasy. Harry noticed that Professor Happ's eyes were wandering around him. For a moment he thought the professor would say something, but nothing happened. The same was true for Headmaster Dumbledore.
Dumbledore suddenly straightened up and said to the people present: "Alastor is not physically injured. As for his memory... Felix, I may need your help."
"No problem, Albus." Felix said seriously.
Dumbledore nodded slightly, "Then, we need to solve the last problem now. How did Barty Crouch Jr. hide in the castle? As far as I know - Felix, have you ever observed Moody?"
"I have observed him occasionally, not just him, but also some people I think are suspicious." Felix scratched his chin, "But I didn't find anything. It's really strange."
"It's really strange..." Dumbledore stared at the closed big box, "I didn't detect any traces of the Unmapable Curse, unless he dug a passage, but unless the headmaster gave him permission, he would not be able to do this amount of work."
"Albus, the Unmapable Curse you mentioned reminded me that we all forgot a possibility. Voldemort is standing behind Crouch Jr." Felix said belatedly.
Dumbledore stared at him and whispered, "You mean, the Chamber of Secrets?"
"We'll know when we see it," Felix said, "We only found the entrance to the girls' bathroom before, but it's very likely that Slytherin built more than one. Or, Voldemort could instruct Crouch Jr. to open the pipe closest to him..."
They opened the big box, and it was pitch black inside, extending downwards. Felix threw a ball of light down and saw a wet pipe at the end.
Dumbledore sighed, "Even I can't figure out all the secrets of the castle. Let's go down and see. If Crouch Jr. leaves in a hurry, there may be unexpected surprises."
Harry gave Ron a meaningful look, and they followed the two professors silently, going down the long stairs, and then standing on a wet pipe. Felix motioned Harry to look at a dim little snake symbol on the wall, and Harry suddenly realized that this was the entrance.
He hissed with ease and said in Parseltongue: "Open." At this time, a ball of green light shone from the wet pipe under their feet, and then they felt their feet lighten and weightless.
Felix waved his hand quickly, cast a layer of levitation spell on them, and a layer of human armor spell, and they fell lightly to the ground.
Harry touched his face curiously and felt a thin but tough barrier on his face. He knew this spell. Professor Happ's memory in classroom 7 taught them, but he had never been very good at it.
The pipe was unusually large, but it was still too small for a person. They had to crouch down, especially for Dumbledore and Felix, it was particularly difficult to walk.
Felix moved forward slowly, with a strong urge to blow up the pipe, but Dumbledore, who was so old, crouched down to walk forward, so he had no reason to complain.
They moved along the pipe and saw a long track along the way, which was rubbed by someone crawling on the ground. Felix could fully imagine how panicked Crouch Jr. was at that time, completely disregarding any image and running away.
Walking horizontally for a distance, they came to the place where the pipes converged. A thick water pipe went straight down. They were very familiar with this road, after all, they had come here two years ago.
Below was the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets. And the Chamber of Secrets was not within the range marked on the Marauder's Map.
"That man... Crouch Jr. or something, has been under our feet for the past few months?" Ron asked in surprise.
"Not always. According to what Harry said before, he quite likes teaching, but after the night of the Goblet of Fire, he learned to be cautious. Of course, it is not ruled out that he went to the Three Broomsticks for a drink when he was bored..."
At this moment, they had entered the Chamber of Secrets and saw the familiar huge statue of Salazar Slytherin. At the foot of the huge statue, there were very obvious signs of life.
Felix picked up a newspaper and glanced at it. "A week ago, he was not isolated from the news. The previous speculation is likely to be true. At least he should visit his disabled master occasionally."
Harry and Ron stared. The environment in the secret room was very bad. Maybe it was good when it was first built, but after being abandoned for a thousand years, it has become part of the sewer circulation system, and the air quality is very bad.
Dumbledore did not speak. He looked up and saw Salazar Slytherin's mouth opened, revealing a dark hole with fluorescent light flashing at the edge. That was the place where the basilisk hibernated before.
"Let's go in and take a look." Dumbledore said.
As expected, new things were found here. After removing the human armor charm, the snake smell inside was pungent. Harry and Ron showed disgusted expressions and retched.
Felix smiled, "You two should learn some of these spells. The human armor charm and the bubble head charm are very useful. You are warriors. Don't forget to improve yourself when studying the golden egg."
Harry and Ron once again put on the human armor charm and thanked the professor in a stammering voice.
At this time, they found Dumbledore looking at a cauldron. Harry came closer and saw that it was empty, but the hot air he was facing told him that perhaps half an hour ago, some kind of potion had been brewing in the cauldron.
"Polyjuice potion?" he asked. This was the only possibility he could think of.
"I don't think so," said Dumbledore. He scraped a layer of liquid along the inner wall of the cauldron with his slender fingers and sniffed it. Harry found that the headmaster's slightly crooked hooked nose wrinkled.
Felix picked up half a piece of burnt parchment from the ground. The magic power rippled on his fingertips, trying to piece together the complete content. The blue light flashed twice, then completely dimmed, and the parchment in his hand completely turned into ash.
"They are all very evil materials. I really don't know what else can be brewed out of so many highly toxic materials mixed together except a pot of poison." Felix said, "Maybe we should ask Severus or Damocles."
"I will." Dumbledore said calmly.
They checked again and found no other traces, so they returned to the ground. Professor Moody was still lying quietly, and Professor McGonagall stood aside, with a nervous expression, and the Patronus Phoenix stood beside her.
"Oh, what happened, Albus? I heard a loud noise and was worried that something went wrong. Some students were also awakened... Then I met your Patronus and asked me to watch over Professor Moody. Was he under a Stunning Spell?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously.
"Minerva, it's over. We found the spy in the castle, but unfortunately he escaped. However... thanks to Potter and Weasley, our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor saved his life."
Dumbledore said with a smile, and the solemn expression on his face disappeared.
Professor McGonagall stared at him expressionlessly, looking from Moody on the bed to Dumbledore, her eyes moving around everyone, and the lines around her mouth were pursed into a thin line. When her serious expression fell on Harry and Ron, who were only wearing pajamas, her chest rose and fell violently.
"So," she said angrily, breathing continuously, "Potter, Weasley, you are acting on your own again?"
Harry and Ron were dumbfounded. They were shivering in the cold wind in their thin pajamas.