bacchusnovels Chapter 130 Henry's Dream
Chapter 130 Henry's Dream
Chapter 130 Henry's Dream
Sean stood on one side of a long, dimly lit room, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
This room seemed like a corner forgotten by time, filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere. Towering stone pillars surrounded it, arranged in a staggered pattern, each carved with a coiled, intertwined serpent. These serpents were of various forms: some twisted their bodies, some opened their gaping maws, and some had their eyes closed, as if asleep.
These stone pillars not only support the towering ceiling, but also add an eerie yet solemn atmosphere to the entire room.
The ceiling was swallowed by darkness, seemingly bottomless, with only a few faint rays of light shining down from above, illuminating part of the room.
The entire room was filled with a mysterious, greenish-blue nitrogen-argon mixture, as if the air itself had condensed into some unknown substance. These green gases drifted through the room, intertwining with the shadows on the stone pillars and casting long, eerie black streaks.
These shadowy figures twist and stretch on the wall like large, dark serpents surging in the shadows, echoing the serpentine carvings on the stone pillars, sending chills down one's spine.
Sean stood there, taking in everything around him.
He could smell an ancient and decaying odor in the air, a trace left by time.
Sean drew his wand and slowly moved forward among the stone pillars coiled around the giant snake.
cautious.
We must be cautious.
He didn't want to lose his life here.
Who knows just how powerful the Basilisk was in the original story? Who knows if Slytherin left any tricks up his sleeve in the Chamber of Secrets? Who knows if Riddle's description of the Chamber was a lie? Who knows...?
All the uncertainties and unknowns made Sean extremely vigilant.
With each careful step he took, a hollow, resounding echo was produced among the ghostly shadows on the four walls.
For some reason, Sean always felt that the empty eye sockets of the two stone snakes were following him.
Is it just my imagination?
Sean thought to himself, somewhat uncertainly.
It might be an illusion, but it shouldn't be taken as an illusion.
In this situation, any slight disturbance could conceal unknown dangers.
So Sean raised his wand, gripped it tightly in his hand, and felt the cool touch of the wand.
He took a deep breath, focused his mind, and prepared to cast a powerful spell to illuminate his surroundings, while also detecting potential dangers.
"Ultimate Glow!" Sean shouted the incantation, and the tip of his wand emitted a dazzling light that instantly illuminated the entire secret chamber.
The intense light made Sean squint involuntarily, but once his eyes adjusted, he began to carefully observe his surroundings.
Under the glow of the fluorescent lights, everything in the secret room became clearly visible.
no one.
There was no one there, nor any basilisk.
Before me stood a statue as tall as the room itself, pressed tightly against the dark wall at the back.
It was an old, monkey-like face, a face weathered by time yet full of wisdom; a sparse, long beard almost reached the hem of the stone-carved wizard's robe, giving him an air of otherworldly grace.
Without a doubt, this person is one of the four founders of Hogwarts.
Salazar Slytherin.
After doing all this, Sean felt the gaze upon him become even more intense, even carrying a hint of scrutiny.
This deepening feeling confirmed Sean's suspicions.
At this moment, there was someone else in this secret room besides him.
Meanwhile, in faraway Wiltshire, England, night gradually enveloped the tranquil Malfoy Manor.
This historic manor, which usually exudes solemnity and mystery, was disrupted tonight by an unusual commotion.
As night fell, the sounds of a heated argument once again echoed through the manor.
Angry words and emotional outbursts shattered the manor's usual tranquility, as if even the surrounding trees and ancient buildings were silently listening to this family feud.
Outside the manor, a slight chill was in the air. Moonlight shone on the ancient stone walls, but it couldn't penetrate the heavy curtains to peek inside and see what was happening.
Only the sounds of arguing could be heard intermittently outside the manor, making people curious and speculate about this usually illustrious family.
Unlike the unattainable moonlight and breeze, Henry, as a servant of the manor, heard all the arguing clearly.
This year marks Henry's seventh year working at Malfoy Manor.
He was a Squib born into a wizarding family.
After his parents disappeared in the war, he came to work at Malfoy Manor in order to survive.
Most of the servants who were with him had similar experiences to his.
They were a group of Squibs who had glimpsed the wonders of the wizarding world, but lacked magical talent themselves and were unwilling to return to the Muggle world.
Due to age restrictions and other factors, they are no longer able to attend Hogwarts.
So they could only work hard and save up Galleons every month to enroll in correspondence courses on rapid mantra recitation.
This correspondence course is an introductory magic correspondence course offered by Kwikspel, designed to help adult wizards and witches improve their magical skills.
The first lesson of the course teaches students how to properly hold a wand and cast a "cleansing charm," and it also comes with a textbook.
These correspondence courses were the only hope for people like Henry—because the Kwikspel company was said to have a precedent of helping Squibs become normal wizards.
It was because of this hope that Henry did not give up his dream of becoming a wizard. For him, the most important day of the month was when Lord Malfoy placed the heavy silver sieve in his palm.
That means he can continue learning magic and pursue his dream.
Thinking of this, Henry subconsciously rubbed his rough, age-worn hands, which were completely out of character for his age, on his clothes, and then slowly reached into his pocket.
His fingers rummaged gently in his pocket, as if searching for some kind of solace or an unknown treasure.
Finally, his fingers touched the flyer. It was a flyer from Kwikspel Magic Acceleration Company. The texture of the paper came through his fingertips, filling him with a strange sense of anticipation.
He gently pulled the flyer out of his pocket, his eyes slowly scanning it. He could write or draw every word and every picture perfectly.
The words on the flyer struck a chord with him:
"I feel out of place in the modern magical world?"
Do you find yourself constantly making excuses for not casting simple spells?
Have you ever been laughed at for your clumsy wand-waving skills?
The answer is here! (Show this flyer to enjoy a 50% discount on courses!)
Fifty Galleons.
Henry silently recited it in his mind.
Over the past two years, he has saved up a little over forty-seven Galleons through frugal living.
Just try a little harder, and then a little harder.
He would then have the opportunity to become a wizard!
Henry took a deep breath, looked at the flyer with lingering affection for a few moments, then carefully folded it and put it back in his pocket.
After doing all this, he patted his pockets.
The bag containing this flyer seems a bit heavy.
Just as Henry was about to continue cleaning upstairs, he suddenly heard the arguing downstairs become even more intense.
The sharp words and angry shouts, accompanied by the crisp sound of the vase shattering, echoed through the air.
His heart sank, for he heard his own name called.
"Henry, come down and clean this place up." The voice was cold, hard, and commanding, leaving no room for argument.
It was Lord Malfoy's voice.
Henry stopped what he was doing, his brow furrowed.
To be honest, anyone who isn't an idiot knows that going downstairs to clean up while the two are arguing is not a good choice.
But after hesitating for a moment, he slowly walked down the stairs and entered the living room, which was filled with a tense atmosphere.
When Henry entered the living room, he saw shards of a vase scattered on the floor, water spreading out, and in stark contrast to the exquisite porcelain shards, Lucius and Narcissa glaring angrily at each other.
Henry didn't say much, but silently picked up a broom and mop and began to clean up the mess on the ground. He tried to make his movements seem natural and inconspicuous in order to avoid getting involved in the commotion for no reason.
He didn't know why Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had been arguing so much these past few days.
Of course, he didn't want to know.
"Lucius," Narcissa's cold voice echoed in the living room, a letter from Draco in her hand, "look what you've done."
"On the very first day your son got his hands on 'Nihilmoon 2001,' he successfully angered a professor to the point that he wanted to come to our house for a home visit."
Lucius took the letter from Narcissa, quickly glanced at its contents, and frowned slightly.
"It's just a minor incident." He put down the letter and looked up at Narcissa, trying to make his voice sound calm.
But Lucius was far from as relaxed as he appeared. He knew that at this critical juncture, any unexpected event could affect the unfolding of his plans.
"Ha, a little incident?" Narcissa snorted, her tone clearly showing displeasure. "The Ministry of Magic has been trying to cause us trouble lately, and now this has added another problem."
"So, I need your help, darling." Lucius took a deep breath, his tone unusually gentle.
"What do you want me to do?" Narcissa asked, her voice still cold, but without the anger she had shown before.
For some reason, listening to Lucius's tone, Narcissa vaguely felt goosebumps rising on her skin.
"Professor Phillips is very famous and influential in the wizarding world, and our family has been having a lot of trouble lately." Lucius paused, then continued, "Therefore, this home visit is very important to us, so I need you to entertain him well and make sure he leaves a good impression on our family."
"And what about you?" Narcissa asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Lucius.
Lucius paused for a moment, then explained, "I had some things to do over the weekend. Minister Fudge asked me to..."
He paused halfway through his sentence, as if remembering something, and then quickly added, "It's just dealing with some minor matters."
After saying that, there was no further sound.
For some reason, Henry, who was cleaning up the broken bottle, felt the atmosphere around him suddenly freeze.
He looked up, and out of the corner of his eye, he was horrified to find that Lord Malfoy had already extended his wand, the cold tip of which was pointing straight at him.
"Forget everything, and all is emptiness!"