HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 54 A Brief Petrification Experience Card

The final exams were canceled, but nobody was happy about it.

Because the attack happened again.

Another double attack: Lyra White and Ginny Weasley from Gryffindor.

Ginny Weasley was kidnapped by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets and taken directly there. The Slytherin heir even left a new inscription on the wall commemorating the first petrification: "Her remains will remain in the Chamber of Secrets forever."

Harry and Ron were hiding in the closets of the staff lounge when they heard the news. Harry felt Ron silently collapse to the floor beside him.

The students have all been notified by their respective heads of household that the Hogwarts Express will take them home early tomorrow morning.

This is probably the hardest day for everyone. Perhaps tomorrow, after all the students have left, Hogwarts will close, and they will never see this beautiful castle again, as if they have been forced to leave their second home permanently.

Harry, Ron, Fred, and George sat in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, none of them uttering a word. Percy went to write a letter to Mrs. Weasley and then locked himself in his bedroom.

Never had an afternoon passed so slowly, and never had the castle been so quiet. As the sun began to set, Fred and George could no longer sit still. They asked Professor McGonagall to visit Lyra at the school hospital, since they would be parting ways tomorrow, perhaps for the last time.

“She must know something, Harry,” Ron said, speaking for the first time since the news broke. “You remember what Ginny was about to say that day… She must have found something about the Chamber of Secrets, that’s why—” Ron rubbed his eyes frantically. “I mean, she’s not like Lyra, she’s a pureblood, she shouldn’t have been chosen… She must know something she shouldn’t know, otherwise the Chamber of Secrets heirs wouldn’t have taken her away.”

Harry understood Ron's meaning. Even if he were petrified and lying in the school hospital, he could be revived with the antidote. But Ginny... had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets by the monster, and no one knew what was happening inside. The red-haired girl's fate was now unknown.

Harry had never felt so powerless. He wished they could do something, anything at all.

“Harry,” Ron said, “do you think she might not—”

Harry didn't know what to say. No one could fathom how Ginny could still be alive, but he knew Ron was just as unwilling as he was. Unwilling to go home empty-handed, especially after they'd sneaked into the school hospital and found the note in Hermione's hand. They'd been investigating the Chamber of Secrets for so long, gathering so many clues—

“Let’s go find Lockhart!” Harry blurted out. “Isn’t he about to enter the Chamber of Secrets? We can tell him all the clues we know!”

“Yes! We can tell him where we think the entrance to the secret room is, and that the monster inside is a basilisk.” Ron jumped up.

They headed straight for Lockhart's office. The surrounding Gryffindor students were all somber and saddened for the Weasley brothers, so no one tried to stop Harry and Ron as they got up to leave the common room.

It was already dark when Harry and Ron arrived at Lockhart's office. Standing at the door, they could hear various scraping and banging sounds, as well as hurried footsteps inside.

They knocked on the door and entered Lockhart's office...

*

The feeling of being petrified is hard to describe. It's not like being trapped in a dream, but rather like entering another space, still and endlessly dark, without end, an infinite loop.

Leila felt okay, but there was no need to come again.

After being trapped in this strange space for an unknown period of time, she gradually heard someone calling her name—

"Laila..."

"Eyeballs...moving..."

"Fingers...moved...the face..."

Her eyes were not yet open, but she could already feel the light and the soft mattress beneath her.

Laila suddenly opened her eyes and saw two identical red-haired, freckled faces.

"She's awake!"

Lyra's mind slowly cleared, and she suddenly remembered something important—

"Ginny!" Lyra sat bolt upright in bed, grabbed George, and cried out anxiously, "Something's wrong with Ginny! She's in danger—"

"Shh—" George pulled her into his arms, gently patting her back, as if comforting a three-year-old, or cherishing a lost treasure that had been found again. "It's okay, it's okay..."

“Don’t worry, Ginny is fine.” Fred also placed his hand on Lyra’s head and gently stroked it, as if caressing an injured little bird.

With the comfort of her two good friends, Lyra gradually relaxed, and now she held a cup of hot cocoa while listening to George and Fred tell her everything that happened after she was petrified.

"So, Ginny was bewitched by the Dark Lord's dark magic diary, and Harry and Ron rescued her and thwarted the Dark Lord's plans. Oh, how brave they were—"

Ron was standing next to a hospital bed not far away, talking to Hermione who was sitting on the bed. When he heard Lyra praise him, his whole face and neck turned bright red, almost the same color as his hair.

Hermione, holding a cup of hot cocoa, smiled happily at Lyra.

The others who had been petrified in the school hospital had all left; Lyra and Hermione were the last to take the antidote. As for Ginny, who had endured so much, she was already soundly asleep in the Weasleys' arms.

“I have one last question—” Leila was very concerned about this matter, “Will there be a final exam?”

*

When Lyra and the twins arrived at the Great Hall, it was already bustling with activity. Having attended so many Hogwarts parties, this was the first time they'd experienced something so extraordinary: everyone was dressed in their pajamas, openly celebrating all night in the Great Hall. No need to worry about professors or points—this party was hosted by Headmaster Dumbledore.

Yes, it seems all the gloom has passed, and all that's left is good news: no one is truly permanently injured; Dumbledore is back at Hogwarts; Hagrid is exonerated from Azkaban; Harry and Ron give Gryffindor an extra 400 points, making this year's House Cup theirs! Professor McGonagall announces the cancellation of final exams!

Finally, Dumbledore announced that Professor Lockhart had unfortunately lost his memory and would be unable to continue teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts next semester, which was met with cheers from everyone, even the teachers.

Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione about how he had rescued the Malfoy elves.

When Lyra heard Harry mention Malfoy, she couldn't help but look up at the Slytherin table, where a pair of eyes were silently watching her.