Kate figured that, given Harry's efficiency, it would take at most three days to find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in the girls' bathroom.
Which meant she could slack off for another three days.
Anyway, this whole thing wasn't part of the Main Quest; it was just going through the motions, so half-heartedly getting it done would be enough.
The quest the System had given her now was the same as last year: achieving a top-three ranking in the final exams would earn her a certain reward.
Beyond that, there were no other quests for the time being.
After conserving her energy for several days, on the afternoon of the third day just as she'd estimated, Harry came running to find her like a madman.
"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets—I found it!" Drenched in sweat, he ran up to the Slytherin table, grabbed her arm, and took off.
The moment the others at the table heard this, they lost all appetite for their meal and followed after them one after another.
And so one led two, two led four, and in no time, every student eating in the Great Hall went running out after them.
Leaving only a group of professors up on the dais staring at one another.
Dumbledore gave a light cough. "Professor Lockhart, won't you go and take a look?"
"It seems I really ought to go have a look. After all, with a crowd of children packed together, they'll need me to keep order."
Lockhart had long been itching to follow, and hearing Dumbledore say this, he stood up without a moment's hesitation, taking it as his rightful duty.
Beside him, Snape silently curled his lip.
Lockhart didn't see his expression; his mind was entirely fixed on that mysterious Chamber of Secrets. He said a quick goodbye to the professors and hurried out after them.
Struggling to make his way through the second floor, which was packed to the point of not letting a drop through, he finally managed to squeeze his way to the bathroom on the strength of his professor's status, and there he saw Harry standing beside a sink, drenched in sweat.
"Hey there, young man!" He immediately stepped forward and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Looks like you've run into some trouble. Do you need my help?"
Harry frowned, not quite comfortable with this, but still asked patiently, "Professor, is there any way to open this passage?"
He had already discovered that a tiny snake mark was carved on the faucet of this sink, but no matter what spells he used, he couldn't open the passage.
He'd only meant to find Kate to discuss a method, never expecting to attract such a crowd of onlookers.
Now, in front of so many people, if he made a blunder, he'd surely be laughed to death.
"Haha, looks like you'll have to leave it to me to try!" Lockhart smugly took over the task, twirling his wand through several flourishes in front of everyone.
He'd already made up his mind: once the Chamber of Secrets was open, the treasure inside would be his alone to swallow up.
After all, these were just students—surely none of them would dare to defy him, their teacher.
Kate stood at the front of the crowd, still holding Hermione's hand. Seeing that he'd already struck his pose, she instinctively took a step back, her right hand secretly slipping into her pocket and gripping her wand.
"Open, open now!" Lockhart used an upgraded Unlocking Charm, but the spell struck the faucet without the slightest reaction.
The crowd let out a chorus of jeers.
"Quiet!" Lockhart hastily restored order, covering for himself. "I was only testing it out a little just now. It seems the lock on this passage really is more interesting than I imagined."
As he spoke, he raised his wand once more—
Almost in an instant, Kate narrowed her eyes, her gaze precisely catching the type of spell he was casting. She instinctively pulled Hermione behind her while drawing her wand and casting a Protego.
With a "boom," Lockhart toppled onto the wet floor, his hair blasted black into an explosive frizz.
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Only Myrtle, whose bathroom had been forcibly taken over, couldn't help doubling over with laughter in midair. "Hahahaha! His Blasting Curse actually rebounded and hit himself! How ridiculous!"
At her words, the crowd, who hadn't clearly seen what happened, finally caught on.
The Blasting Curse wasn't exactly a simple spell one could learn at a glance, but this man was, after all, a grown wizard—and supposedly someone who had battled countless terrifying monsters. How could he possibly be so pathetic?
Hermione, forced to hide behind Kate, looked at Lockhart lying unconscious on the ground and frowned.
How could she ever have idolized a man who couldn't even use a Blasting Curse properly?
"Ahem!" Seeing this, Kate had no choice but to raise her voice, momentarily suppressing the buzz of discussion. "It seems forcing our way in won't work. We'll have to find another method."
She turned back and smiled at Hermione, slowly letting go of her hand, then stepped forward and said, "The rumors say that the only one who can open the Chamber of Secrets is the Heir of Slytherin, right?"
"That's right!" the Weasley twins heckled from the front row. "Kate, don't tell me you're about to say you're the Heir of Slytherin!"
Kate raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. According to my ancestors' various notes, there shouldn't be any Heir of Slytherin in our generation."
"Then how are we supposed to open the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry pressed forward anxiously.
He was probably the only person present, aside from Kate, who had no interest in the Chamber's treasure.
To be precise, what he cared about was the Chamber itself.
"It's simple," Kate shrugged. "Use Parseltongue. The elders in my family hinted this to me, so these past few days I crammed and picked up a few phrases of Snake Speech."
She had no intention of letting Harry expose his Parseltongue in front of everyone.
He could speak Parseltongue not because he was a descendant of Slytherin, but merely because of the influence of the shard of Voldemort's soul that lingered within his body.
Not exposing Harry's Parseltongue in front of so many people was also a way of protecting him.
After all, she'd hoodwinked the poor boy so many times; she ought to repay him somehow.
With that, she turned around and let out a stream of hissing at the brass faucet.
The faucet emitted a dazzling white light, spun rapidly, and then revealed a thick pipe, wide enough for dozens of people to pass through.
Even Kate couldn't help raising an eyebrow at the sight of this pipe.
It seemed Old Man Dumbledore had widened the passage in advance. The only time he could have done so without alarming Myrtle would have been during the Christmas holidays.
This old fox had actually thought of using this trick so far ahead of time.
"Everyone, quickly follow me down to find the Chamber of Secrets!" Harry rallied them with a shout and was the first to dive in.
Behind him, the crowd of students excitedly leapt down one after another.
Only Hermione stopped in her tracks. She'd meant to wait for Kate, but then she saw Kate quietly walk over to Lockhart and shake her head at her.
Fine—Kate still had other matters to deal with.
She pressed her lips together and jumped down along with the rest.
Before long, only Kate, Lockhart, and Myrtle remained in the bathroom—two people and one ghost.
"I thought you'd go down to see the Chamber too," Kate said, lifting her head, her voice indifferent.
Myrtle glanced at her, then at the still-unconscious Lockhart on the ground.
Sensitive and neurotic as ever, she vaguely sensed something. Looking at this student before her who had once shown her concern, she gave a soft huff and drifted into the pipe as well.
Kate chuckled and shook her head, nudging the still-unconscious Lockhart with her foot.
Getting hit by the rebound of his own Blasting Curse—this fellow was too stupid.
She hadn't planned on laying a hand on him—after all, this scheme owed much of its momentum to him—but now that Lockhart happened to be alone, she didn't mind adding a Memory Charm for good measure.
"Obliviate!"
With her wand cranked to maximum power, she gave a light flick, and Lockhart twitched on the ground, his head lolling to one side as he sank into a deeper stupor.
Now everything was good—the name "Lockhart" was completely safe, and she could start marketing all the books in his possession.
"Professor," she crouched beside Lockhart and said softly, "I'll manage all the usable resources in your hands well. No need to thank me."
With that, she used a Levitation Charm to send him out of the bathroom.
As for the Chamber down below?
It was nothing but a statue of Slytherin and a pile of disposable byproducts from her failed alchemy experiments—let them divide it up at their leisure.
"I wonder how Old Man Dumbledore's scheming is going over on that end…"
As she used the Levitation Charm to ferry Lockhart to the Hospital Wing, Kate muttered to herself.
After she dropped Lockhart off, she'd go take a look—she might even catch a good show.
Nearly an hour later, the students who climbed out of the Chamber's pipe one after another froze in place at the sight of Professor McGonagall standing before them.
"It seems you've found the Chamber of Secrets," McGonagall said, sweeping her eyes over the sparse crowd and precisely singling out Harry. "Mr. Potter, you'll come with me first."
Harry was taken aback, then hung his head, knowing he was in the wrong, and walked out of the bathroom with her.
All of this had been set off by him, so it was only right for Professor McGonagall to seek him out. But if afterward the professor were to hold Kate—who had helped him—accountable as well…
He silently clenched his fists.
No matter what, Kate was his friend, and she'd helped him so much—when the time came, he would definitely take all the responsibility upon himself!
The simple, honest Savior had no awareness whatsoever that he'd been played by his friend, and just kept letting his mind run wild.
At last, McGonagall led him to the room above the eighth floor—the Headmaster's office, a place Kate often visited.
But this was his first time coming here.
The moment he stepped off the stairs, Harry saw Lucius Malfoy standing at the door, his expression flickering between joy and anger. Tucked trembling under his arm was none other than Dobby.
Though the strange little elf was now beaten so badly that his whole body was wrapped in bandages.
Harry couldn't help giving Dobby another glance before Professor McGonagall led him into the office.
When he saw the people inside, he was momentarily stunned.
Kate and Dumbledore were already seated there, each sipping tea, apparently enjoying a pleasant conversation.
"Good evening, Lucius." Dumbledore greeted Lucius with a kindly, amiable expression.
Kate, meanwhile, pulled Harry over of her own accord, gave a playful wink, and raised a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't say anything yet. Just watch the show for a bit."
Watch the show?
Harry looked at the two of them, baffled, completely failing to understand what was going on.
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