The very first thing I did upon seeing that warning written in the corridor was, naturally, to pay Albus a visit.
No, to be more precise, I went to take Albus's life.
For a man of the 19th century, the gentle methods of the 20th were unnecessary. It was, I would say, a very common-sense decision.
"Explain."
That was why Albus was currently standing ramrod straight in the middle of the Headmaster's Office, repeating my words back to me.
"After you left the school, sunbae-nim, the Heir of Slytherin opened the Chamber of Secrets and has been attacking students!"
The Chamber of Secrets?
The name sounded familiar. I wracked my brain for a moment and quickly remembered where I had heard it.
"The Chamber of Secrets… isn't that the room with the secret weapon Slytherin supposedly left behind in Hogwarts?"
Albus looked at me with surprise. "How do you know of such an archaic legend, sunbae?"
"A classmate of mine—your sunbae—was from the Gaunt family. We were close."
"Ah… that would have been when the Gaunt family was still respectable."
For some reason, the look in Albus's eyes, as if he was realizing anew just how much of an ancient relic I was, annoyed me, so I gave his shin a swift kick.
"Urk!"
"So, what are you nodding your head for like you've done something right?"
I shot Albus a look that warned him his position as headmaster, or perhaps his life, would end today if he didn't give me a proper excuse.
I wouldn't normally say this, but this whole situation was beyond absurd.
The Chamber of Secrets was opened and students were being attacked. What in the world had the headmaster been doing?
Albus averted his gaze from my rebuking stare. "Well, you see. The thing is…"
"If you even think of uttering the word 'plan,' I'll make sure you share Voldemort's fate, so choose your next words very carefully."
"*Hk.*"
Seeing Albus clamp his mouth shut, I stretched, cracking my neck. Honestly, students were being attacked, and he was talking about a *plan*?
Perhaps Hogwarts would be better off with a different headmaster…
As if sensing some ominous intent in my gaze, Albus hastily shouted, "Har-Harry!"
"What?"
"It's just that Harry made a request of me."
"Harry made a request?"
The light returned to Albus's eyes. "Harry asked if he could be the one to bring this situation to an end."
"Hmm…"
As I fell into thought, Albus continued, "It is true that this affair has unfolded in a rather unexpected way. I did provoke Lucius Malfoy, but I never imagined he would go so far as to open the Chamber of Secrets. It took some time to adjust the plan."
"And in the midst of that, you listened to Harry's request and backed off to some extent?"
"Yes, that's about right."
I looked at Albus with pity. "And the result of that is my disciple getting kidnapped?"
I sighed. "Albus, oh, Albus. I'll go clean this up first, but you'd better be prepared for what comes after."
Leaving the sweating Albus behind, I walked out of the Headmaster's Office. A thought occurred to me.
If this Chamber of Secrets incident was Lucius Malfoy's scheme, how did Draco Malfoy end up getting kidnapped along with the others?
I pondered it for a moment, then shrugged and muttered, "That's just how Dark Wizards do things, I suppose."
***
Meanwhile, Lucius Malfoy.
Sitting in the study of the declining, yet still outwardly magnificent, Malfoy Manor, he dropped his pen with a clatter.
"What… did you say?"
Unable to believe what he had just heard was true, Lucius stammered, "Y-you. Say again what you just said."
"We have received news that your son, Draco Malfoy, has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets along with Harry Potter. It is truly regrettable."
The face of the man delivering this terrible news through the mirror did not look the least bit regretful.
Perhaps that was why. The news felt utterly unreal to Lucius.
*That's not a very funny joke.*
Lucius swallowed the words he was about to say. He knew better than anyone. This was not a place where such jokes were tolerated.
"While the news is regrettable, this allows our board to put even more pressure on Dumbledore. With this, we can even…"
The rest of the meeting taking place in the mirror did not register in Lucius's ears.
That Lucius was able to nod with a solemn expression was purely an unconscious reflex born from his long years of experience.
And finally.
When the other faces vanished from the mirror and the meeting ended.
When his own face was reflected in the mirror once more.
Only then did the immense reality of the situation crash down upon Lucius.
"Draco… was taken?"
In that moment, sweat began to pour from Lucius's entire body.
He could say with certainty that he had never felt anything like this in his entire life.
His heart pounded, and a chill crept over him, as if the blood was draining from his fingertips, leaving them as cold as a corpse's.
As if his brain was being starved of oxygen, his vision blurred and darkened.
It felt as if a part of his chest had become a hollow void, rotting away.
Unable to bear the emptiness, Lucius gasped and clutched his chest.
It was different from fear. It was different from anger.
He hadn't felt this way even when he heard his vault had been blown up, or when he realized he had been tricked by Dumbledore.
Lucius muttered with vacant eyes, "Draco… Draco! Oh, please."
Forcibly pushing away the strange, terrifying sensation, Lucius thought desperately.
The object had been a gift from his master, Voldemort. Surely it wasn't a weapon that would devour the only son of Malfoy, his most loyal servant.
Besides, hadn't he said it was the key to the Chamber of Secrets, which hunted the enemies of Slytherin? There was no way a Malfoy could be an enemy of Slytherin.
Yes, that must be it. This was all a ruse to deceive his enemies, and his son Draco was surely being kept safe.
He was probably sitting in a corner of the Chamber, laughing and clapping as he watched the execution of that cursed Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter.
It must be so…
As Lucius desperately tried to deceive himself, his eyes fell upon the mirror.
As if possessed, Lucius stared into it and could only gape.
The person in the mirror was no longer the man once called the handsome Lucius Malfoy.
His face was gaunt in an instant. Dark circles spread beneath his eyes.
In his soul-less, vacant pupils, only a flickering red, like a blazing fire, existed.
Goosebumps erupted all over his body, and he snapped back to his senses.
With a soft *whoosh*, the red glow in his eyes finally vanished. Lucius stared at his own reflection and muttered, "Oh, Draco. What have I done?"
All strength drained from his body, and Lucius collapsed into his chair.
All hope had already vanished from his heart. He realized that when his master returned, the Malfoys would also be classified as enemies of Slytherin.
If that was the case, what was he to do?
His family was in ruins. His son was gone.
Even if he could use this opportunity to restore his family's fortune, what came next?
His only son, Draco, the one who was supposed to carry on, was gone. If there was no one to lead the rebuilt Malfoy family, what was the reason to rebuild it at all?
Even if he brought Dumbledore down like this…!
"...!!"
*Crash!* With a loud noise, Lucius shot up from his chair as if having a seizure.
"Yes, Dumbledore. Dumbledore!"
He was still there. Dumbledore, Voldemort's only true adversary.
He might still be able to save Draco.
If so, there was only one thing for Lucius to do.
Even if the Malfoy line were to end with him, there was only one thing he could do to leave behind a single spark.
With a trembling hand, Lucius picked up a pen to send a message to Dumbledore.
***
Around the time Albus was receiving a letter in the Headmaster's Office and smiling strangely.
I was heading to the Gryffindor common room.
Of course, I wasn't going there to rest. According to Hermione, Harry had been holed up in the dormitory ever since Ron was attacked.
To others, it might look like the typical reaction of someone shocked by an attack on their best friend, but I saw it differently.
The disciple I taught was not the kind of child to do something so foolish.
And according to what Albus had told me, Harry had intended to solve the case himself.
If so, it was correct to assume that the time he spent shut up in the dormitory was a period of preparation for something.
Entering the dormitory bedroom and standing before Harry's bed, I was certain my guess was correct.
"Bingo."
At first glance, there seemed to be nothing on Harry's bed, but I could feel a sense of incongruity in the arrangement.
Harry's pillow, which was always pushed to the right to make room for his glasses, was now on the left.
With a faint sense of certainty, I reached out to the empty space on the right. When my hand touched something, I whipped it back.
My hand, which had been swishing through empty air, had caught hold of a cloak. It was Harry's Invisibility Cloak.
And underneath the cloak was a small crystal ball.
The crystal ball was showing a certain location.
I saw it and muttered with a grin. "Whoever raised him, he learned well."
Considering Harry's personality, this crystal ball was surely an insurance policy.
An insurance policy to be delivered to me, just in case he failed.
It was a conclusion born from the certainty that the situation would be resolved as long as I intervened, no matter what happened.
I tucked the crystal ball into my pocket and set off.
Straight towards the Chamber of Secrets, where Harry was likely to be right now—
"Wait, Aisen. Where are you going?"
That is, until Hermione stopped me as I was leaving the dormitory.
"It's forbidden to go outside the common room at night these days."
I replied to Hermione with a shameless tone. "Oh, I didn't know. But a friend from another dorm called me. I'll be right back. Nothing will happen."
"You don't have any friends besides us."
"..."
It was a rather rude thing to say, but it wasn't exactly wrong. With the mental age of an adult, how close could I get to a bunch of kids?
Still, I continued with a shameless face. "Actually, Professor Snape called me for a special lesson."
"You said it was a friend."
"A professor can be a friend. And he's from another house, right?"
"A professor called you at this time of night?"
"I suppose so. Since I've been away for a while, he probably wants to catch up on the lessons I've missed all at once."
"You do know the professor is away on a trip making the antidote, right?"
"..."
I didn't know that.
For a moment, my composure almost cracked, but I quickly put my shameless mask back on. "…Anyway, I have something to take care of, so I have to go. See you later."
"Wait!"
Hermione grabbed me and said softly, "…Take me with you."
"What did you say?"
"I said, take me with you."
On Hermione's face was a hint of fear, but an even greater amount of determination.
"You're going to the Chamber of Secrets, aren't you? Take me with you."
*She's sharp.*
I shook my head. "If you know that much, this will be quick. It's too dangerous for someone of your skill level."
"But…!"
Hermione took a breath, her face turning slightly red for some reason as she continued, "That amazing wizard you told Malfoy about this afternoon… you said he was someone who fought against the darkness first."
*So, let me fight, too.*
I thought for a moment after hearing her words.
*Right.* I nodded.
Adventure is practical experience, and practical experience leads to growth. It might seem utterly shameless of me to monopolize such a precious opportunity for growth.
It might be dangerous, but it's not like I'm incapable of protecting her.
"Alright."
Hermione's face brightened.
"Then you'd better be prepared."
*About half of what I did to Harry should be fine.*
***
Please give some power stones.