I waited for the mandrake potion to take effect, freeing everyone from their petrification before giving them a debriefing and offering my help with the classes.
"Hey, what happened?"
Collin was the first to wake up, followed by Marie, even though she was the last to receive the potion.
"This defeat against that damn snake will haunt me for the rest of my life."
"You could at least pretend to be lost."
She looked at me before letting out a smile.
"Unlike most, I think I was aware. The only thing I could do was count the seconds. You stood in front of my bed for over 50 hours, 26 minutes, and 26 seconds."
The intelligence and power of my girlfriend will never cease to amaze me.
"What happened to me? Yes, the monster in the secret room is a snake."
Penelope had just woken up and probably recalled the events that happened before she was petrified.
One by one, the students and the ghosts—except for Peeves, who hadn't yet had the potion—reacquainted themselves.
"Evelyn, the monster is a basilisk."
"I knew that long before you started Polyjuice."
She felt a bit stupid, but it was still very good that she had managed to identify the monster, so I congratulated her.
"Now that everyone is awake, it's time I tell you what happened on the last day."
"I'd like to know. It's probably related to the Weasley family since they were all there."
"Avoid spoiling the end of the story, Marie. First, there was the petrification of Collin during the Quidditch match, but everyone was still conscious, so let's move on to the next event."
I explained all the events to them, starting with the dueling club that Collin didn't attend, while also talking about the suspicions regarding Harry before the real drama took place from my point of view.
"Three students, one poltergeist, and five ghosts in total. The library was partially destroyed, and the monster sustained a lot of damage due to his confrontation with Marie."
"If I had more room, I swear I would've killed that stupid snake."
"Unfortunately, that's not the case, so shut up and let me finish my story."
I don't even know why she feels the need to interrupt me every time I mention an event.
"Then the days that followed were very dark. Hagrid was arrested and sent to Azkaban because he was accused, 50 years ago, of having released the monster when it was just a squatter."
As soon as I got to the part where Ginny was taken away by the heir, so her body could rest in the chamber, most of them were afraid for her.
"Didn't you hear me say she was fine?"
"You only implied it, so no, you didn't say it."
I explained that I didn't have time to warn anyone, so I took care of the Chamber of Secrets, and during that time, Lockhart—who I learned had been given carte blanche to handle the case—packed his bags.
"But that's impossible! After everything he's done, he could never escape."
Hermione and most of the people present were shocked because the incidents that occurred in his books were real.
"Wait till you see the first page of the Witch Gazette tomorrow, and you'll understand what happened. We'll see if he still likes being on the front page."
My voice became cruel, while Marie smiled, showing all her teeth.
I sent all the evidence to the person most capable of ruining a career or an image—Rita Skeeter.
Of course, it was anonymous, and I don't particularly like it, but for once, she will do a service.
"And so, I went into the secret room, I killed the monster with a rooster and the resonance of the room, then I took care of the heir, who happened to be the same as 50 years ago and was actually Voldy."
Most of them didn't say anything, but I knew that Marie would have a question for me later.
Also, speaking of her, she stood up, came to me, and slapped me.
"I hope you never again put your life in danger like a Gryffindor. But still, bravo."