บท 164: Chapter 164 "Hogwarts Henhouse"

Professor McGonagall is a compassionate witch. She quickly put aside her thoughts and decided to accept Sean's kindness. After this matter is over, she will give him something in return.

The alchemist Newt knew was fast. On the second day, several huge gramophones were moved into the castle.

"What's that?" The students saw the gramophones.

"Do you want to record our dying screams?" A student who was upset because of the moving sound said angrily.

"Shut up. The professors must want to solve this situation." The Gryffindor fifth grader retorted.

The gramophones were quickly placed before the entrances and exits of the water pipes.

The huge, overlapping crows resounded throughout the castle, and the students in the hall raised their heads to look at the source of the sound in surprise.

The deafening crowing lasted for ten minutes, and even Sean couldn't stand it anymore. But he couldn't let the professors cast soundproof magic around the hall to ensure the effect was working.

After waiting for a while, the gramophone made a loud sound again. The students had no choice but to use the Muffliato Charm to block the noise.

This spell fills the ears of everyone around with an indistinguishable hum and is usually used for casual chatter during class. As a top student who never got distracted in class, Hermione has always resisted using this spell, but this time, she begged Sean to shut her ears.

The gramophones lasted for most of the morning, and no one knew whether the idea that Sean came up with would work. Maybe the basilisk is dead, maybe it's hiding, or maybe it's got into the deepest part of the chamber.

Obviously, the professors couldn't relax their vigilance because of this.

"Quiet, I have something to announce." Professor McGonagall stood above the hall. Everyone shut up and waited for her to speak.

"As you know, the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets has been opened." Her first words set the hall into a commotion.

Although everyone had learned the truth, the students couldn't help discussing it from the professor's mouth.

"Silence." Professor McGonagall shouted firmly, then her tone calmed down again, "I can understand everyone's thoughts, but please trust Hogwarts and the professors that we will ensure your safety."

"Before the danger is confirmed to be completely lifted, we will do our best to make everyone safe, and we hope that everyone will not worry about the moving."

"From tomorrow, the school will resume normal teaching hours."

The faces of the students changed.

"As I said earlier, the professors will handle this." A Gryffindor student whispered.

"But the professor didn't say that the danger has been completely solved?" Another student still had some worries on his face.

"But at least it's under control. Otherwise, the professors wouldn't resume teaching."

Professor McGonagall didn't explain more to the whispering students. She said, "Now that each student is lined up accordingly to their houses, then…"

Newt stood beside Professor McGonagall, carrying his suitcase. Sean took the lead, and Newt opened the suitcase as he stepped forward.

"Sean, your father is such a generous man," Newt said as he reached into the suitcase, "he arranged these immediately after seeing the letter and Miss Hawke. He said that he could provide more anytime as long as Hogwarts needs it."

Sean smiled and said, "Ah, his goal has always been to get into the Hogwarts school board."

Newt took out a cage, handed it to Sean, and smiled, "I'm not sure we can do that, but I don't mind if Hogwarts has an extra Muggle board member."

Sean took the cage and met the eyes of the animals inside. Inside was a big rooster. After twitching its neck several times, the rooster let out a loud crowing sound.

The students who had been tortured by the gramophones all morning couldn't help getting a goosebump. They looked at Sean and the professors, wondering why a rooster was distributed to each of them.

That was Sean's idea. The rooster's crowing is deadly to the basilisk. The school's flock of roosters was killed, and if the gramophone recording the rooster's crowing didn't kill the basilisk, then they should just give a student each.

While roosters don't crow all the time, their presence is helpful.

However, the wizarding world was sparsely populated, and there was no large-scale rooster breeding industry, so Sean asked his father to help him out.

For Mr. Wallup, who owns the largest chain of private hospitals in England, a few thousand roosters was a small matter. Although he didn't know what Sean would do with it, he immediately found someone to get the roosters needed on several farms.

At Sean's request, he even supplied feed to each cage, and the roosters were packed into Newt's suitcase and brought back to Hogwarts.

By then, the entire castle would be full of roosters. Not only does each student get a cage with a rooster, but Newt also has another batch of roosters in his suitcase.

At that time, not only will everyone have one. He will raise roosters wherever he can.

Of course, the disadvantages of this method are obvious. Hogwarts will become a chicken coop. The professors will have to teach while the roosters are crowing, and anyone would have trouble sleeping.

However, compared to the danger to life brought by the basilisk, these are minor problems.

By the time every student had received a cage, the hall had turned into a rowdy henhouse, and Professor McGonagall had to cast an Amplifying Charm to get her words heard.

"Since everyone got their rooster, please take good care of them. Don't take this as a joke. The roosters can protect you from the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. If someone accidentally loses or kills it, go to Hagrid or Professor Scamander to get one again. Do you understand?"

"Understood." The students' reply was drowned in the crowing of the rooster.