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“To be honest, I thought he would turn into an egg first and then hatch again,” Zicomo said from the side.

"The kind you're talking about is probably the phoenix of the East. When they suffer an incurable injury, they turn into an egg and hatch anew."

Dumbledore's words gave Zicomo a glimmer of hope.

"You mean, there are phoenixes in the East too?"

"Yes, I've had the privilege of seeing them, and to be honest, they're even more beautiful than Fox."

Dumbledore stared at Fawkes in a daze, as if recalling the scene of him seeing the Eastern Phoenix.

Fox understood Dumbledore's words and pecked Dumbledore's hand in annoyance. Dumbledore quickly stopped talking to him.

Zicomo took this to heart and made sure to find out where in the East he could see a phoenix.

His 'Zen Garden' is quite large; they are welcome to come and play. If they get tired, they can go straight to sleep without any problem.

"Um, shouldn't we get back to the Basilisk topic?" Harry tentatively suggested.

“Oh, yes. I think we should get back to our main topic now.” Dumbledore nodded.

“I didn’t do it,” Harry said.

"Yes, I think so too. Your friends think so too, don't they?"

Harry looked at Zicomo beside him, and Zicomo nodded, confirming his stance.

“But there are some things I need to ask you. Is there anything you want to tell me?” Dumbledore asked in a somewhat serious tone.

Harry was a little confused. Was there something he hadn't told Dumbledore?

He thought for a long time but realized he didn't know either, so he shook his head.

"Alright then, it's nothing. You can go now."

At this moment, Zicomo suddenly spoke up: "You guys go first, I have something to discuss with Dumbledore."

Lani nodded and prepared to go back to his dormitory to wait for him.

Harry, on the other hand, planned to go to Ron and Hermione and tell them about the Basilisk.

After the two left, Zicomo asked directly, "So what did you want to ask Harry just now?"

The Parseltongue has been all over the house these past few days. Harry also told him about the Basilisk. He couldn't understand what Harry knew about Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sighed and said, "About his nighttime outing to steal Snape's potion."

He didn't play games with Zicomo. Dumbledore had been observing Zicomo for a year and found that Zicomo's words and actions were nothing like those of a twelve or thirteen-year-old wizard.

His words could not change Zicomo's mind. Zicomo had his own opinions on things and was not influenced by others, just like a mature adult.

Therefore, he wouldn't probe in the same subtle way he did with Harry.

"Oh, you mean that? Hermione made him steal it. His purpose was simply to make a few doses of Polyjuice Potion so he could become Draco's sidekick and get information about the Chamber of Secrets heir from him. Snape knew about this too. What, didn't he tell you?"

Zicomo explained the reason and then asked him a final question.

Dumbledore's lips twitched after hearing this.

“Severus did tell me about their theft of the potion, but he didn’t tell me why. Instead, he asked me for compensation for his personal property loss.”

Dumbledore believed that Chicomo should know about his plan to cultivate a savior and be able to understand his meaning.

Zicomo did understand that he wanted to nurture Harry, and the damage Harry caused Snape naturally fell on Dumbledore's shoulders.

What he didn't understand was that he seemed to have been fooled by Snape.

"So, this guy took two kickbacks?" Zicomo said, somewhat incredulously.

"Huh? What do you mean? Does that mean he asked you for it too...?"

Dumbledore didn't finish his sentence, but Zicomo understood what he meant.

He nodded with a grim expression. It seemed that Snape's style had begun to change ever since Leia completed implantation.

"The night Harry went to steal the potion, I dragged him along to watch the fun. Afterwards, he blamed me for Harry's actions."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore shook his head with amusement.

He also noticed that Snape seemed to have changed in the new semester.

P.S.: 10,000 words done. Goodnight!

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Phoenix of the East, Defeating the Serpent Monster

"Alright, let's not dwell on this. You must have other things to do while you're staying, right?"

Dumbledore felt that Zicomo's staying behind was not just to satisfy his curiosity.

“Oh, of course. I stayed because of the basilisk.”

Zicomo didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.

"Would you be interested in coming with me to meet it?"

"Do you know where it is?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat surprised.

"I don't know, but it does."

Zicomo pulled out the Hogwarts land deed.

This thing is called the "Book of Deeds" because it is not just a simple piece of parchment used for contracts.

It can also display the entire terrain and rooms of Hogwarts.

With this map, Zicomo no longer has to worry about getting lost at Hogwarts.

Well, he didn't need to worry anyway.

Back in first grade, he discovered a guiding spell in the library's collection, and it was incredibly useful.

The incantation is "Guide me," which will conjure a stream of light to guide the caster to the place he/she wants to go.

With a thought, Zicomo revealed the location of the secret chamber's entrance on the parchment scroll.

"This is... a washroom?" Dumbledore recognized the room's layout on the scroll.

“To be precise, it’s the washroom where Myrtle is,” Zicomo added. “Would you like to take a look?”

"Of course, I haven't seen what the basilisk looks like yet."

Dumbledore's words made Zicomo roll his eyes, as if he had seen it all before.

The two arrived at the washroom where Myrtle was.

"The scroll shows that the entrance is located at this washbasin."

"So how are we supposed to get in?" Dumbledore asked, frowning.

"Come on, we're Gryffindor!"

Zicomo pulled out his modified shotgun and waved to Dumbledore.

"Let's move back a bit."

Although Dumbledore didn't know what Zicomo wanted to do with a Muggle gun, he still did as he was told and stepped back a distance.

Zicomo raised his shotgun, activated all the runes on the gun, and fired a shot.

"boom!"

The octagonal washbasin was blasted to pieces, revealing the tunnel beneath it.

So why do these secret rooms and the like prefer to be built underground?

The immense power stunned Dumbledore behind him and also woke Myrtle in the bathroom.

"Let me see who is so rude as to disturb a ghost's rest."

Myrtle jumped out of the toilet and looked up to see Dumbledore.

“Oh, Professor Dumbledore, even for you, entering the women’s restroom is a very impolite act.”

"I'm sorry, Myrtle, I'm dealing with some potential problems at Hogwarts."

Myrtle also noticed the huge pit in the washroom, where the original sink had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

"I was wondering why I saw a pair of huge yellow eyes back then. Could it be that the monster crawled out from here?" Myrtle exclaimed.

“Obviously so,” Zicomo said, putting away his shotgun.

“Child, promise me you won’t use that weapon at Hogwarts again. This thousand-year-old castle can’t withstand your constant abuse,” Dumbledore said in a conciliatory tone.

"Don't worry, I don't have the habit of vandalizing my own home."

Dumbledore remained silent, simply gazing at the sink that had crumbled into rubble.

“Well, this is to solve the problem as quickly as possible.” Zicomo shrugged.

He changed the subject, saying, "Then let's go down now."

He took out his flying broom and slowly flew down.

He really couldn't understand why Slytherin would place the entrance below the sink drain, making the hole filthy everywhere.

Moreover, this passage was connected to the sewer drainage pipes, and a stench wafting from somewhere almost made Zicomo cry.