HP: Supreme Potion Collector [Original Female Protagonist]

"This is outrageous! Something no one has accomplished in a thousand years—how are we supposed to do it in three months?!" Harry shouted in frustration.

"Oh, thank you for pointing that out. It seems the conditions set by the Board of Governors were far too generous. Not a week, not a month, but three whole months—how indulgent. As a concerned parent, perhaps we should revise it to one month instead?" Lucius Malfoy said, his tone dripping with mockery.

"I accept," Dumbledore replied after a moment of thought.

"By the end of this term, both the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk will be dealt with properly," Dumbledore stated with quiet determination.

Lucius's lips curled into a satisfied smile. He stood up, patted Draco's shoulder, and appeared ready to leave.

"Please wait a moment!" Orli's voice rang out, halting Lucius in his tracks. All eyes turned to her, including those of Lucius and Dumbledore.

"Mr. Malfoy, forgive my impertinence, but may I ask you about someone? He was a student at Hogwarts quite some time ago. I haven't been able to find any information about him, but perhaps his time overlapped with yours," Orli said, carefully adopting a polite tone. She even gave a slight bow, hoping to appear harmless. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ron giving her a look of utter disgust.

"Very well. Since you've shown proper respect, I'll allow you one question. My time is, after all, exceedingly valuable," Lucius said, his chin tilted arrogantly.

"Go ahead. What do you want to know?"

"May I ask..." Orli took a deep breath before continuing, "Have you ever heard of the name Tom Riddle? He was a student here fifty years ago, awarded the Special Services to the School award, and even served as Head Boy! I've always aspired to achieve something as remarkable as he did, but I haven't been able to find any information about him. If only the library had a biography or even a memoir or diary about him..."

Lucius's face froze. The muscles in his jaw tightened, and his fake smile vanished. For a brief moment, his eyes flickered with something akin to fear, but he quickly masked it with impatience.

"I don't know. I've never heard of this person," Lucius said curtly, cutting her off.

Dumbledore's piercing blue gaze remained locked on Lucius's cold gray eyes until the latter turned sharply and left the room.

---

As they exited Dumbledore's office, Ron was still staring at Orli as though she were something slimy he'd accidentally stepped on.

"You actually want to be Head Boy like Riddle? I thought only Percy had ambitions that boring," Ron said, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, give it a rest, Ron. Orli was just making up an excuse to ask Malfoy about Riddle," Hermione interjected, coming to Orli's defense.

"Too bad we didn't get any new leads. It seems Lucius Malfoy's time at Hogwarts was decades apart from Riddle's. If Riddle were alive today, he'd be nearly seventy years old," Hermione added thoughtfully.

Orli hadn't expected Lucius to admit anything outright. Her goal had simply been to mention Riddle's diary, hoping Lucius might slip up in Dumbledore's presence. That alone was enough. She suspected the wise old headmaster had already used Legilimency to uncover some connection between Lucius and the diary.

"The real problem now is how to close the Chamber of Secrets. We don't even know where it is—it could be under the Black Lake for all we know!" Harry said, running his hands through his perpetually messy hair in frustration.

"Harry, calm down. That's for Dumbledore to figure out. What you should be focusing on is which subjects to pick for third year," Hermione said, pulling a book titled "107 Wizarding Careers and the Knowledge You Need" from her bag.

"I can't believe this. There's a murderous thousand-year-old Basilisk loose in the school, Hagrid's about to be expelled, and Dumbledore might get suspended, and you're thinking about course selection?" Ron exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Ron. You're just trying to change the subject," Hermione shot back, glaring at him.

"I'm just as worried about everything as you are, but as long as Hogwarts stays open, we still have to keep going to school," Hermione added firmly.

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