Above Sherlock's head, a portrait of a gaunt old man muttered a few dissatisfied words before vanishing from the Headmaster's Office.
Ginny arrived quickly, stepping into the Headmaster's Office with a bewildered expression. The moment she saw the four Professors and Lucius Malfoy inside, she became visibly nervous.
"Don't be too nervous, Miss Weasley. We just have a few questions for you," Dumbledore said gently.
His voice was calm and reassuring, and the warm expression on his face helped soothe Ginny, who looked like a startled rabbit.
"Since arriving at Hogwarts, have you come into contact with anything unusual?"
Dumbledore's blue eyes met hers. Standing to the side, Sherlock watched quietly, a faintly mischievous thought crossing his mind—whether the old wizard might secretly be using Legilimency on the completely unsuspecting girl.
Ginny shook her head like a rattle.
"No, Professor, I haven't touched anything strange."
Dumbledore's brow furrowed slightly, while Lucius Malfoy reacted far more intensely.
"You're lying!"
Ginny jumped at his sudden shout. Her face flushed red as she defended herself.
"I'm not…"
Dumbledore gave her a gentle nod.
"I believe you, Miss Weasley. Could you wait outside the office for a moment? Don't worry, it won't take long. I'll speak with you again shortly."
Hearing this, Ginny visibly relaxed. She nodded quickly and hurried out of the Headmaster's Office.
After she left, Dumbledore turned his calm gaze toward Lucius.
"That child is not lying. She truly knows nothing, and there are no signs of her being influenced by any magical object."
Lucius clearly struggled to accept this conclusion. He muttered under his breath,
"Impossible… she can't be uninvolved…"
Dumbledore simply watched him. After a brief silence, he asked quietly,
"What problem do you believe she should have?"
"She should—"
Lucius suddenly stopped. His expression darkened as he stared back at Dumbledore, his eyes cold and guarded.
"What do you mean by that?" he said icily. "I only said she might have a problem—it was merely speculation. Your question makes it sound as though I am involved in what is happening at Hogwarts."
Dumbledore did not reply.
Professor McGonagall, who had been holding back, could no longer remain silent.
"If it has nothing to do with you, then how would you know to suspect the Weasley girl?"
"I said it was speculation!" Lucius snapped, his tone sharp.
Then, after a brief pause, he forced his voice to steady.
"I will do my best to help keep the events at Hogwarts from spreading. At the same time, I expect you to rescue my son as soon as possible."
Dumbledore met his gaze evenly.
"The school is cultivating Mandrakes. Once they mature, the petrified students will all recover."(TN: Lucius can probably purchase them though for Draco.)
"In that case, I must take my leave. Narcissa is waiting for news."
Lucius turned and walked out of the Headmaster's Office without another word. Dumbledore made no attempt to stop him.
Once he had gone, Professor McGonagall immediately turned to Dumbledore.
"Did you already suspect from the beginning that the attacks were related to him?"
Dumbledore nodded slightly.
"At first, it was only a guess. After all, only a handful of people are capable of possessing items connected to that individual."
"But now, I am certain the source of this matter lies with Lucius."
Professor McGonagall frowned.
"Then why didn't you force him to confess? His son has been attacked—surely to save him, he would—"
Dumbledore shook his head, interrupting her.
"You still do not understand people like him well enough, Minerva."
"He will not speak. To do so would mean placing his leverage in our hands. If anything were to go wrong, his power, wealth, and status would all be lost. Even if his son were saved, what would remain of the Malfoy family?"
"Lucius values his family deeply, just as he values his bloodline. But he also understands that once he loses what he holds now, the very things he cherishes would be placed in danger."
"Moreover, he knows that matters have not yet reached that point. Confessing everything would not help save his son in the slightest."
Dumbledore's gaze drifted toward the office entrance, as though deep in thought.
"Besides, the information he could provide is already limited. His original target was Miss Weasley. But something went wrong along the way. She is not the one responsible for all of this."
While Dumbledore was thinking, Sherlock was also deep in thought.
He recalled that in the original story, the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets should have been Ginny.
But something must have gone wrong, causing events to deviate from their intended course.
What exactly had changed?
"Sherlock, could you please call Miss Weasley back in? She must be getting anxious waiting outside."
Hearing Dumbledore's request, Sherlock stepped out of the Headmaster's Office and called Ginny back in.
When facing a student, Dumbledore always showed greater patience.
"Would you like something to eat, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny shook her head quickly.
"I just had dinner, Professor."
"I know it's not ideal to disturb you at this hour," Dumbledore said, folding his hands. "But I still have a few questions to ask."
"When was the last time you saw Mr. Malfoy?"
Ginny thought for a moment before answering.
"It was in August, Professor. My parents took our whole family to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies. At Flourish and Blotts, we ran into Malfoy and his father, and then…"
At that point, she glanced toward Sherlock.
"My dad had a conflict with Mr. Malfoy. They started fighting. Professor Cavendish was there too."