49 49. Entering The Hole

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The spacious office of the Minister for Magic, adorned with opulent furniture and shelves lined with ancient tomes, seemed stifling with tension. At the center of it all stood Albus Dumbledore, his serene demeanor contrasting with the seething anger radiating from Lucius Malfoy.

Minister Fudge sat there silently with a look of worry on his face while observing the two.

Lucius paced back and forth, his silver hair glinting in the firelight, his eyes narrowed with accusation. He pointed a finger at Dumbledore, his voice dripping with disdain.

"You, Dumbledore, are utterly incompetent! Hogwarts is no longer safe under your care. My son has been petrified! How can you defend such a failure?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles as he remained composed, his hands folded gently on the desk before him.

"Lucius, I understand the pain and concern you're experiencing," Dumbledore replied calmly, his voice carrying a hint of sorrow. "Believe me when I say that the safety of our students is of utmost importance to me. We are diligently investigating these attacks and will do everything in our power to uncover the truth."

Lucius sneered, his anger unabated, "Your empty assurances mean nothing, Dumbledore. I demand action! It is clear to me that you have lost control of the situation. Hogwarts needs a leader who can truly protect our children."

Dumbledore's gaze remained steady, "Removing me from Hogwarts at such a critical time would be the worst decision the Ministry could make. I implore you to reconsider."

Minister Fudge knew Dumbledore pointed his words at him. However, Lucius had clear grounds, as a parent of an injured child, even if his fury was questionable, and the status to force his hand.

Lucius's eyes burned with fury, and his voice filled with malice as he continued to press his demands, "Reconsider? Your words won't sway me, Dumbledore. I hold the safety of my family above all else. Therefore, I demand that Hagrid, the reckless oaf responsible, be locked away in Azkaban forever!"

If he couldn't get what he wanted, at least he could weaken Dumbledore's influence and connections.

Dumbledore's eyes softened, "Lucius, Hagrid is a loyal and devoted friend. Yes, he may be unconventional, but I assure you he would never intentionally harm any student. And also, the incident before has nothing to do with the current one."

Bam!

Before Lucius could retort, the office door burst open, and an auror entered abruptly, panting for breath. The sudden interruption drew the attention of the group.

"Minister!" The auror gasped, trying to catch his breath. "They found something in Hogwarts!"

…

A few hours ago,

Happy felt that his luck had shone the brightest that day. He wanted to bring the potion master along but was ready to settle for anything less. So, as he followed the man, he felt it was the best-case scenario.

"I presume you know where the entrance is?" Snape asked as he walked forward.

"Yes, it's in the second-floor girl's bathroom. But, to enter, we will need Harry Potter, as only he can speak with snakes," Happy revealed, shocking the man as it wasn't common knowledge. "I also need my goose, as he can make rooster sounds."

As absurd as it sounded, Snape could not stop Happy from bringing something as important as Koko. Being a practical man, he didn't hold back when it came to solving some problems unconventionally.

"I will await you near the destination. Be quick," Snape offhandedly said and rushed away in long fast strides.

Happy quickly changed his direction and ran off to the common room. The hallways, the gardens, everywhere he looked, it was all desolate now. The students had mostly gone home, and those who hadn't were waiting to go in the Great Hall.

So, Happy found nobody stopping him on the way, and he arrived inside the Gryffindor Common Room. He rushed into the shared room and found Harry resting on the bed soundly, reading a book.

"Quick! We're entering the Chamber of Secrets," Happy dropped the news as if it were as simple as buying some candy. "I was able to convince Professor Snape to come with us and kill the snake. With Koko along, that snake will be harmless."

"Snape?!" Harry repeated, a hint of scorn present in his voice. "Why would he help us? He hates me."

"No, Harry. He hates everyone equally. I just convinced him that a Basilisk is in the pipes. He's probably interested in harvesting the centuries-old Basilisk for his experiments. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that no amount of money can buy," Happy weaved a story that was loosely based on lies. Yes, he knew that once done, Snape would harvest it. Even he would want to take some of that delicate snake meat and venom for 'research purposes'.

Harry squinted his eyes, but in the end, believed his foodie friend. So he also stood up quickly to get ready for the fight.

"Drink this," Happy handed over the vial of the special potion. "Professor Snape made it. It's amazing; just try it."

While Harry drank it, Happy went ahead and woke Koko up from his deep slumber. Then, he used a little bit of transfiguration on a cloth sheet to turn it into a baby harness. With that prepared, Happy put Koko in the harness, right beside the chest.

"Let's go!" Happy finally picked up a few smoke balls he bought from Fred and George.

"Like this?" Harry pointed at the sleepy goose. "You look... silly."

Happy scoffed. "Not silly, my friend. This is called being effective! Let's go now before Professor Snape gets bored and changes his mind. He's the most competent adult wizard we can afford right now."

After that, both of them went to the common room hall and began to shout Hermione's name near the entrance to the female side of the Dorms. They nearly blasted their throats shouting, but in the end, Hermione didn't appear.

"I think she's in the Great Hall." Harry guessed. "Should we go get her?"

'Will she be of any help now with Snape with us? If anything, the dark, brooding professor will only get angry for being treated like a nanny for kids.' Happy tried to think logically and decided to proceed anyway.

"Not enough time. Let's just go and get this done with. The more we delay, the more time Hagrid spends in Azkaban."

Harry jolted a bit, remembering that, "You're right."

As they rushed forward, their path was unexpectedly blocked by a small creature standing in their way. It was Dobby, the loyal house elf, his large eyes wide with concern.

"Harry Potter is in grave danger!" Dobby exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency, his tiny form serving as an impromptu roadblock.

Happy scoffed, "Oh, Dobby, just come along. If Harry Potter is in danger, then let's remove that danger together. Because trust me, he'll be in more danger outside of school."

Dobby's eyes widened. He hesitated for a few moments, nodding and shaking his head back and forth. His big eyes were suddenly full of confidence, and his gullibility was evident. "Dobby will help! Dobby must protect Harry Potter!"

Happy concealed a victorious smirk, 'Now I have an escape route ready to go with elven apparition—ah, I'm a genius.'

"You're late," Snape sneered once the two boys appeared, panting. They made Dobby stay hidden, and only follow behind as a backup escape plan. "Potter, do your part and step aside."

Harry looked at the tall potions professor with a hostile gaze and entered the bathroom. He had no idea where the entrance was, so he looked.

Meanwhile, Happy knew where it was. So he acted as if looking around, only to finally stop near the water outlet with a snake pattern on its side. "Harry! Look here! Try speaking snake language to it."

Under Snape's interested but doubtful gaze, Harry walked near the water outlet and tried to hiss like a snake. Of course, since he had never done it, it didn't work at the start. However, slowly Harry became used to it, and the snake words came out on their own.

"Hishhhh Shashhhh Shaiiii!"

Bam!

Yes!" Happy cheered. "Let's g—"

"Step back," Snape suddenly came forward and pushed the two boys behind himself. "Both of you, do not step ahead of me! If Salazar Slytherin made this, he would have placed many traps all around."

With the moving and shifting water basins, the last of doubts from Snape's mind had vanished. The man now truly accepted Happy's conclusion—Yes, there was a Basilisk.

But the one most shocked was Happy, as he remembered from the memories what had originally happened.

'Lockhart and Snape are so different. While Lockhart spent his days gloating about his might and bravery, he turned out to be a lying coward. And where Snape was seen as a scheming evil man, turned out to be a brave man—Ah, I love this change.'

Thud!

At last, the magical sink stopped, and a big dark hole appeared in front of them. As before, Snape didn't flinch and jumped right in without saying a word.

Harry was shocked by that. "H-He's... not that bad."

Grinning, Happy nodded and proceeded to jump as well. "See you."

But Happy forgot there was a goose on his chest, and the fluffy feathered boy got scared easily.

And sad for the sleepy goose, as he opened his eyes from a deep slumber, he found himself falling into a dark hole. His precious little heart couldn't take it.

"Meeeeooooowwww…!"

There was no cat, yet the cry resounded.

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Special thanks to *phong thanh nguyen* *andy cohen* *Martin Bosley*