A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, treated the wounds with a few simple spells, then gave the three of them a bottle of euphoria. "This will do you good!" Harry rolled his eyes, speechless.

"Bobby, please give us a few minutes," Dumbledore said gently.

Mrs. Pomfrey turned and left.

Only the trio, Dumbledore, and Felix were present. Snape had been sent by the headmaster to find Professor McGonagall—they would later return to the Chamber of Secrets to dispose of the basilisk's corpse.

"I imagine you have a lot to say." Dumbledore's gaze fell on the table beside him, where the Sorting Hat and a silver sword inlaid with rubies lay.

Harry began to recount the events to them in detail. He said that while he was in solitary confinement in Professor Lockhart's office, he first heard a formless, ghost-like voice. Combined with the information Hermione had received from Professor Hyp, he confirmed that he was a Parseltongue speaker.

"But I kept it a secret because of Parsley's bad reputation, and besides, there was no attack at the time," Harry said somewhat ashamed.

"Everyone has their own secrets and doesn't want others to pry into them," Dumbledore said understandingly, which made Harry feel a little better.

He also mentioned that after the first attack, they discovered that spiders had escaped from the castle and learned from Moaning Myrtle that she was the victim of the Chamber of Secrets opening fifty years ago. Harry specifically mentioned that on the day of Moaning Myrtle's attack, she heard a boy's voice, which was their strongest evidence in identifying the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Dumbledore couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration.

"It was Hermione who deduced it," Harry said, not taking credit, while Hermione waved her hand shyly.

Then came the second attack. At this point, Harry felt a strong urge to voice their suspicions about Malfoy. Surely Dumbledore could find out something?

But just as he mustered his courage, Snape and Professor McGonagall pushed open the door and walked in. Seeing the three of them looking so disheveled, Professor McGonagall clutched her chest. "Oh my god, what have you all been through? Professor Snape said you recklessly challenged the monster in the Chamber of Secrets… If that's true, I'll definitely punish you…"

"Minerva," Dumbledore interrupted her, "and Severus, you've come at the right time. Let us hear their adventures before making our final judgment."

As a result, two more people joined the audience to hear the story.

Harry opened his mouth, but swallowed his doubts about Malfoy. He began to recount the crucial information he learned from Hermione that Parseltongue could control snakes—that's what Slytherin did—and then from Hagrid about the existence of Aragog the Eight-Eyed Spider and its fear of the Basilisk.

"And those dead chickens!" Ron reminded him.

"That's right, a lot of Hagrid's chickens died, and he thought it was the fox who did it," Harry added. "That's pretty much how we pieced together the truth about the Chamber of Secrets."

"I'd like to know more about how all of this happened tonight?" Dumbledore nodded approvingly before asking.

Then Harry continued, recounting how they slipped out of the Great Hall to explain the situation to Professor Hyp—Snape hissed—and heard the Basilisk's voice again. So they rescued Justin, and Harry told the others to seek help from the professor while he kept an eye on the Basilisk to prevent it from attacking the others.

"That's a noble act, Harry," Dumbledore said softly.

"But what I saw was only a reckless and arrogant adventure. Headmaster Dumbledore, you've given them too many privileges," Snape said, playing the role of pouring cold water on the idea.

Felix watched with great interest. Snape's dislike for Harry Potter was utterly undisguised, yet he was the first to step forward when Harry was in danger...

Thinking back to what he had investigated, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"We cannot make hasty judgments, Severus."

Afterwards, Ron and Hermione each shared parts of their experiences. Hermione didn't have much to say; she had only wandered around the empty castle for a few minutes before running into Professor Hyp.

Ron's story is much more exciting. He not only attacked the professor (Lockhart) but also stole his wand. In a panic—Ron tries to embellish his story by saying it was a sudden inspiration—he went to the bathroom, realized that Harry did not have a powerful magical golem with him, so he simply jumped down and became a "delivery hero".

"By the way, Headmaster," Ron said somewhat nervously, "Professor Lockhart's wand was swallowed by the basilisk. Should I compensate him for it?" His own wand was still half-damaged.

"That is indeed a problem. Gilderoy has been having some bad luck lately... I'll speak to him," Dumbledore said casually. "If we're lucky, his wand is still intact inside the basilisk."

After the three young wizards had finished recounting parts of their experiences, Professor McGonagall said weakly, "What you did tonight far exceeded your duties. I must add that you broke at least a hundred school rules along the way—but how did you defeat the Basilisk?"

Harry recounted how he and Ron met near the scabbard, went into the Chamber of Secrets together, and then encountered the Basilisk. At this point, Harry suddenly realized he should have stopped near the scabbard, but he hadn't thought of it at all.

Am I really like Snape said, a reckless and stupid lion?

The story continues, and the two's unexpected visit crosses the basilisk's psychological line—it attacks Harry and Ron frantically until Fawkes pecks out the basilisk's eyes, only then do they barely have the courage to face it.

"Professor Hyp's magical puppet was a great help." Harry glanced gratefully at Felix, who simply smiled without speaking, his gaze fixed on the tattered, dirty Sorting Hat. Harry continued, giving Hermione a strange look; he had no idea when she had arrived.

Finally, he recounted how, with the help of the three of them, he made his final leap and killed the basilisk. Thus, the story came to an end.

Felix clapped his hands. "What a wonderful adventure! I think your story could fill a book."

"Felix," Snape drawled, in his characteristically emotionless voice, "perhaps you see a reflection of yourself in them..."

“No, Professor Snape,” Felix said casually, “I’m completely different from them. They’re all excellent Gryffindors, while you and I,” he glanced at Snape, “are standard Slytherins, aren’t we?”

"The Sorting Hat can testify to this."

He reached out and, with remarkable ease, picked up the Sorting Hat and put it on his head.