Regulus Black returned to Hogwarts just in time for dinner.
"Did I miss anything?"
The student tables below, usually bustling with noise, were unusually quiet today—so quiet it was eerie. Unusual silence always meant something was up.
Regulus Black turned to ask Severus Snape beside him. After all, technically, he was Snape's assistant.
"I'll tell you, Regulus."Gilderoy Lockhart, seated on the other side of Snape, overheard and cut in before Snape could answer, speaking over him, "So, you know how someone was scribbling on the walls before? It happened again today!"
Snape, caught between the two, kept eating his dinner, but his face was clearly darkening with irritation.
"We'll talk about it later, alright?"
Regulus didn't want to become Snape's next target for venting, so he quickly shut Lockhart down.
After dinner, the students returned obediently to their respective common rooms. Even the usual pranksters who liked to sneak out and play cat-and-mouse with Filch had no desire to stir tonight.
Regulus Black returned to his private quarters, where several girls were already waiting—some from Ravenclaw, some from Hufflepuff, and others from Slytherin.
"Can someone please tell me what happened today? I really don't want to hear Gilderoy Lockhart's exaggerated version."
The girls exchanged glances before the black-haired loli, Pansy Parkinson, took the initiative to explain.
"The last time, it was just a rumor written on the wall about the Chamber of Secrets. But it's happened again. This time, the writing says that the Heir of Slytherin has begun investigating the identities of all students and plans to eliminate all Mudbloods one by one."
Pansy Parkinson began counting on her fingers.
"We don't know the details of the professors' backgrounds, but student family backgrounds are easy to trace—there are pure-blood wizard families, half-blood wizard families, and… Muggle-born wizards. That last group is probably the target, and they make up about a tenth of the total students."
At the mention of Muggle-born parents, Hermione's expression clearly soured. She'd been called a Mudblood by Draco before, and the memory stung.
Being discriminated against—she knew all too well what that felt like. Even though Pansy had carefully avoided using the actual slur, Hermione was still visibly upset.
"Alright! I understand now. You girls don't need to worry. Hogwarts can handle these things. You should focus on your studies. My door is always open to you."
Regulus Black comforted the group of girls. Little did they know, the blood-red writing this time was also his doing—carried out by Peeves—though he was acting as if he knew nothing.
After some coaxing, he finally managed to get the group of young girls to leave. The Ravenclaw dorm was just around the corner, but for the Slytherin and Hufflepuff girls, he had to escort them downstairs. The trip from the eighth floor to the first was long, and getting caught by Filch would be a disaster.
Regulus Black walked downstairs with Pansy Parkinson and Ginny Weasley.
"Miss Parkinson, I'm curious—what made you come to me?"
He asked casually as they walked.
After a moment of silence, Pansy Parkinson spoke bluntly.
"My family—the Parkinsons—have relatives imprisoned in Azkaban. Four of them. My father's cousins, my mother's cousins. The family wrote to say that, Mr. Black, you might have a way to help them leave behind descendants. They asked me to do everything I could to negotiate with you. The family is willing to pay any price—including me."
At this point, Pansy stopped, eyes filled with tears, her expression full of unwillingness as she looked at Regulus Black.
"Mr. Black, if you're willing, I'll do anything."
Regulus stepped forward and gently wiped her tears with a handkerchief.
"Then study hard. Graduate with straight O's—that would be the best way to repay me. Until you graduate, don't focus your attention anywhere else. As for helping your family—that's their concern. And they'll have to pay the price themselves."
Leaving the handkerchief with Pansy Parkinson, Regulus Black continued walking.
These old wizarding families really were something else. Even his minor personal preferences were somehow known to them.
It wasn't just any random loli that interested him!
But Pansy Parkinson? She'd do. Consider her reserved for now.Pansy clutched the handkerchief, which carried a faint, pleasant fragrance. She had braced herself to be treated like some disposable pawn, but discovered instead that Regulus Black wasn't as bad as she'd feared.
"So, Miss Weasley, why did you come all the way to the eighth floor to find me?"
Regulus Black waved for Pansy Parkinson to keep up, then turned to ask Ginny the same question.
"It was Ron who asked me to come and gather information."
Ginny had no hesitation about throwing her own brother under the bus.
"So, Ron thinks I might know something, huh?"
Regulus Black smiled slightly. Did he mess up somewhere and let that little brat catch on to something?
"Ron really admires you. It's just that your expression is always so stern. He thinks that apart from Headmaster Dumbledore, you're the most mysterious person in all of Hogwarts."
Unexpectedly, Ginny's words carried a completely different meaning—it was Ron's trust in him that had prompted her to seek answers.
"Well, since you've said that, how could I not share a little something with you?"
Regulus Black crouched down and whispered softly into Ginny's ear.
"Tell them tomorrow—they can follow this lead."
Waving for them to follow, Regulus Black let out a silent breath of relief.
"Mr. Black asked us to keep up!"
Pansy tugged on Ginny, who was still dazed from the whisper. Realizing she'd been zoning out, Ginny's face flushed red.
"What did Mr. Black just tell you?" Pansy took the opportunity to ask while Ginny was still spaced out.
"He said... the Chamber of Secrets was opened once, fifty years ago." Ginny revealed the secret without hesitation.
Both girls were a bit skeptical of the information—but since it came from the assistant professor himself, it was worth verifying.
"It's already quite late. I hope you have sweet dreams."
After escorting Pansy Parkinson back to Slytherin, Regulus continued on to take Ginny back to Hufflepuff.
"I hope you have sweet dreams too. Good night, Ginny!"
Just as Regulus turned to leave, Ginny grabbed the hem of his robe.
"Mr. Black, do you like Miss Parkinson?" Ginny's eyes were filled with anticipation.
"Why do you ask? I like all my cute students."
Regulus Black reached out and gently ran his hand through Ginny's red-gold hair—soft and comforting, like petting a cat.
"Then, Mr. Black, if I'm the one who finds the Chamber of Secrets first, will you like me more?"
Ginny suddenly had the idea—if she could uncover the truth about the Chamber and lift the cloud of fear hanging over Hogwarts…
"Why the sudden interest? You should know—the Chamber is dangerous."
Regulus Black felt a headache coming on. Ginny was veering back onto the original course of history.
The diary's in my hands, you're not even under Tom Riddle's control yet, so why are you suddenly talking about finding the Chamber yourself?
"I will definitely find the Chamber. Then the so-called Heir of Slytherin will be exposed as a fraud."
Ginny declared with full confidence, determined to shatter the baseless rumors.
"Alright. But your studies must come first—and keep me updated on your progress at all times."
Regulus Black couldn't directly stop Ginny, so he had to steer her subtly.
The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was in the second-floor girls' bathroom, where Moaning Myrtle—the ghost who had died fifty years ago—still resided.
While finding the entrance was easy, opening it required Parseltongue. On that front, Regulus had no solution. He'd have to leave it to Harry Potter.
As an observer, all he needed to do was wait for the right moment to reap the rewards. Regulus Black decided he might as well write a script for their next adventure.
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