The two victims of the attacks — Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey — had both been petrified. And Dumbledore had said that this petrification was an extremely advanced form of Dark Magic, something no student could achieve.
Therefore, the only thing that could have petrified Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey was the legendary monster within the Chamber of Secrets.
Speaking of the ability to petrify, Eda naturally thought of the gorgon Medusa. Among the many monsters (in myths and legends) said to possess petrifying powers, Medusa was probably the most famous.
In the legends, Medusa possessed eyes of stone — anyone who looked at her would be petrified.
Medusa was the snake-haired gorgon of ancient Greek mythology, one of the three Gorgon sisters. She was beheaded by Perseus, and from the blood dripping from her head onto the desert floor, venomous snakes were born.
Perseus then presented Medusa's head to Athena, and Athena set it into the center of her divine shield, the Aegis (the shield of Zeus).
But Medusa existed only in ancient myth. There was no way Hogwarts would harbor a gorgon. And even if one did exist, she would never bow to that old monkey Slytherin, let alone willingly live out her life in the lightless Chamber.
Eda hoped she could find some clues at the crime scene, in order to build a profile of the monster in the Chamber, narrowing down the range. That way, from the many magical creatures or dark beings, she could identify which one was capable of petrification.
But Professor McGonagall had not told Eda the exact location. With so many staircases in the castle, she couldn't possibly check each one. And besides, the staircase where the incident had occurred would have already been passed by other students; even if there had once been something there, it would have long since been unknowingly destroyed.
But Professor McGonagall was, after all, Professor McGonagall. She was worried that Eda would get stuck in a dead end and, using the most foolish method, start conducting a carpet-style search of the castle.
At this time, it was better for Eda not to run around the castle, so McGonagall told her some details about the scene instead.
For example, that Colin Creevey had been on his way to visit Harry, and that he had also brought along his beloved camera.
Colin was a photography enthusiast. No matter where he went, he always carried his camera, and the night he was attacked was no exception. When Colin was found petrified, his posture had been frozen in the moment of raising his camera to take a picture.
But Colin hadn't managed to capture a photo of the culprit or the monster. In fact, not even a single photo remained — the entire camera had been destroyed, its interior and film melted.
Unknowingly, time slipped into December, and once again Hogwarts was cloaked in silver and white. Yet this year, no lively figures could be seen on the grounds.
The students had no mood to play. They only wished either to leave the school for the holidays, or for the culprit to be brought to justice quickly.
There was still some time before the Christmas holidays. Although no further attacks had happened after Colin Creevey, the corridors were still cold and empty. Everyone hid away in their dormitories, as if only there could they feel safe.
Whenever they had to leave their dormitories for classes, they always moved in groups.
After one Potions lesson, all the students quickly left the dungeon classroom — all except Eda. She had been kept behind alone by Snape. This was the first time that school year Snape had kept her behind on her own.
Perhaps because of the double blow of losing both the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup, Snape hadn't sought out Eda at all that year, nor had he caused her trouble in class.
Of course, this was only Eda's own guess, without the slightest bit of evidence. How could Professor Snape possibly be such a petty person? Absolutely not.
After the students had all left the classroom, Snape casually asked a few questions to open. He asked, "Why are you wearing glasses? Have you been looking at too many things you shouldn't, or wandering around at night again?"
Eda deliberately adjusted her glasses in a pretentious manner and said, "I did see some things I shouldn't have — greasy hair that polluted my eyes. So I had no choice but to wear glasses for protection..."
Feeling that her jab wasn't enough, Eda added another line. "This Christmas, should I give you another set of hair care products? How about that egg-yolk shampoo Lockhart sells?"
Snape's sallow face instantly darkened. At the mention of shampoo and Lockhart's name, his expression grew so black it seemed it could drip ink. To keep himself from becoming angrier, Snape could only end the conversation as quickly as possible.
He directly stated the reason he had kept Eda behind.
He asked, "Some materials are missing from my private stores — bicorn horn and African tree snake skin. Are you planning to brew Polyjuice Potion?"
Polyjuice Potion — an extremely complex potion that takes a long time to brew. It allows the drinker to take on the appearance of another person, indistinguishable in every way.
"No. Why would I bother making something that disgusting?" Eda replied. "Besides, you should already know the answer."
In Eda's view, apart from being time-consuming and foul-tasting, the potion had nothing particularly special about it. And she wasn't wrong — Snape already had the answer in his mind. The Potions Master had only come to her to confirm it.
It was just that Snape would have preferred if those two materials had been taken by Eda.
Eda had long since been able to independently brew Polyjuice Potion, and could guarantee she wouldn't poison herself. She also had more than enough ability to protect herself.
But as for the answer in Snape's mind — whether that person was capable of reaching Eda's level — Snape had no certainty at all.
"You'd better behave yourself and stop wandering around the castle," Snape decided to end their conversation. He continued, "If I catch you, you'll spend the rest of your life in the dungeons, keeping company with cauldrons!"
The Potions Master was not the first to warn Eda. After the attacks, both Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore had given her similar warnings.
"Don't wander around the castle,"
"Put away your curiosity,"
"Focus more of your energy on studying" — these warnings, or rather words of concern, Eda had heard so often she was sick of them. Her ears were about to grow calluses from listening.
Eda quickly left the dungeon classroom. Snape hadn't given her detention, nor locked her up for her impudent words. In the school's current situation, punishing a student with detention would have been just about the worst choice possible.
It was still only afternoon. Since Snape hadn't even let Eda return to her common room alone but instead sent the house-elf Winnie to escort her back, there was no way he would have her come to the dungeon at night for detention.
Having a house-elf accompany her was the perfect solution. This way, it not only protected Eda from being alone, but also kept an eye on her, ensuring she went straight back to Gryffindor Tower obediently. Two birds with one stone — simply perfect.
On the way back, Eda and the house-elf Winnie chatted here and there. She also asked the elf a few questions about the Chamber of Secrets, but Winnie couldn't give her an answer either, nor provide any useful clues.
In the days that followed, Eda was still at a complete loss — not only did she fail to find new clues, but she also got caught up in trivial matters.
As early as last year, Lee Jordan had raised a pouch spider as a pet. Lately, this pouch spider had started acting strangely — it was always trying to escape from the box it was kept in, or curling up into a ball as if it were dead.
Lee Jordan was very confused. He had no idea what was wrong with his pet. In order to figure it out, he enlisted his friends to help him think of a solution.
And so, just after finally getting out of the library, Eda was helplessly dragged back into it again, this time to help Lee Jordan look up information on spider habits.
But in the process of helping, Eda suddenly noticed something strange: she hadn't seen any spiders in the castle for a long time. The spiders that had once occupied the corners of the castle seemed to have all fled overnight.
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