Having escaped famine, I was accepted into Hogwarts.

Chapter 154: Awards will be given out next week; don't bring your magic wand.

Chapter 154: Awards will be given out next week; don't bring your magic wand.

Dumbledore shrugged casually at Kane's bewildered expression: "After all, the Basilisk is dead. Using his eyes might not be as useful as the Eye of Medusa."

After Dumbledore finished speaking, he looked at the basilisk corpse that Kane was about to put into the top hat.

"If you're really short of money, you might as well just sell this snake to Professor Snape. Although what he said wasn't very nice, he wouldn't go so far as to rob a young wizard of his spoils... Besides, you might have to pay taxes if you sell it outside."

Kane raised an eyebrow: "Your suggestion... isn't entirely out of the question."

Soon, as Snape was led into the Chamber of Secrets by Dumbledore with a bewildered and surprised look on his face, to be honest, this was the first time Kane had ever seen a third expression on Snape's face besides disdain and sarcasm.

But the shock he felt upon seeing the basilisk's mangled corpse shifted his expression more than once. There was relief at the basilisk's elimination, a sense of relief that Dumbledore had everything planned out, and then disgust—the basilisk's corpse was truly gruesome. "I guess Mr. Heath, you did this?"

"Hmm." Kane raised an eyebrow and responded in agreement.

Snape didn't spout trash talk as Kane had expected, but he still said with a hint of sympathy, "His skills are terrible, but he's very lucky."

After saying that, he didn't know what to say next. Then Dumbledore coughed twice before he realized what he meant: "Gryffindor Galfon... plus five ≠ points."

After saying that, he waved his wand to take the basilisk corpse away, but Kane naturally could not allow such a freebie-getting-points-free-riding behavior. The basilisk, shrouded in shadow, quickly dodged to the side.

"Severus, you have to pay," Dumbledore reminded him.

"6

""

Clearly, Professor Snape, who had developed a habit of getting things for free over the years, had forgotten some basic principles.

For example, equivalent exchange.

After staring at Kane for a second, Snape still felt it was better to pay. It wasn't that his noble professorial sentiments made him give up getting something for free, but mainly because the other party was an abstract person like Kane. What if the other party developed some strange mentality and did something terrible to him in a fit of anger?

And so, Snape left behind two thousand Galleons, took the basilisk's corpse, and left. As for the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, well, although Snape was also from Slytherin, he was now far more interested in the basilisk's corpse than in the Chamber itself.

So it's quite obvious that once again only Kane, Dumbledore, and, well, Tom, remain in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Alright, Tom, do you have anything else to say? Let me remind you, you should think carefully about how you're going to continue living now that you're no longer of any use to me," Kane asked, picking up Tom's book.

This time he didn't write it down, but said it directly. After all, Tom had also said that he had a slight amplification in the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin and could sense the outside world.

Tom, on the other hand, was surprisingly stubborn, as if he was convinced that Kane and his group couldn't possibly harm him. He left a message in the book in a very domineering manner.

There's nothing more to say; please act quickly.

"Wow, he's amazing." Kane raised an eyebrow and handed the book to Dumbledore. After all, professional matters should be left to professionals, and he certainly wouldn't want to damage Tom's spirit.

But to be honest, Tom's body is really hard.

Dumbledore ignored all that and placed the Book of Tom in mid-air, immediately unleashing Fiendfire.

Tom, who was burned to ashes, had only one thought in his last moments.

When did someone else get into this secret room? Why didn't I notice?

Well, it's best if such evil things don't stay in this world.

Dumbledore sighed, then waved his hand, scattering the ashes. The two of them then looked toward the open mouth of the Slytherin statue.

The basilisk crawled out from there, so it's normal that they mistook the area behind Slytherin's mouth for the real Chamber of Secrets.

Unfortunately, when they actually climbed up to their lips and looked behind their mouths, they shook their heads in disappointment.

Clearly, what's behind Slytherin's mouth isn't his throat, but a sewer.

"He's just like Snape in some ways. No wonder he's a Slytherin," Kane remarked.

"Hmm?" Dumbledore looked at Kane curiously, who shrugged: "Your mouth stinks just as much."

"You can't say that. I have many good friends, and they are all Slytherins." Dumbledore clapped his hands lightly, and Fawkes the Phoenix appeared above his head. A surge of fire enveloped the two of them, and the next moment they were in the Headmaster's office.

Back in his office, Dumbledore first made sure Kane didn't have a certain yellow-orange eyeball in his hand, and was about to take off his glasses, but then he seemed to suddenly remember his promise to Kane, and after thinking about it, he put his hand down.

With everything settled, Kane naturally had no reason to stay in Dumbledore's office any longer. Instead, he returned to the Gryffindor Tower, looked at Hermione who was still there studying the family tree and trying to find the Slytherin heir, and pursed his lips.

It's good that she's busy, so let Hermione keep busy. The happy school life slowly passed by until a week later, when Dumbledore finally finished preparing the manuscript about the Basilisk being crushed into a pancake, after much delay, and announced the good news on an ordinary evening.

So much so that the young wizards finally got rid of their sunglasses, marking the end of the era when Hogwarts was full of villains.

However, just when Kane thought that this ordinary dinner was only about eating, Dumbledore spoke up again.

Moreover, this voice was specifically opened for Kane.

In short, he boasted to everyone about what Kane had done in the fight against the Basilisk, and then, using Snape's money, awarded Kane two thousand Galleons in his own name.

Of course, the Galleons were actually the money Snape used to buy the Basilisk's corpse.

A terrifying burst of applause erupted from the entire Gryffindor table.

Kane had a bad feeling about this.

It seems that without realizing it, she has once again incurred Tom's wrath.

However, he only thought about it for a moment before he put it in the dustbin of his memory. Tom was an enemy, and not just an enemy with a grudge from later on, but one that became blood enemies because Tom unilaterally hated Muggles.

They're enemies to begin with, so what's there to be afraid of, whether they'll offend them or not?

However, before Kane could even catch his breath, Dumbledore's next words made him look up again, staring blankly at the white-bearded old man standing behind the owl-shaped podium.

What does it mean to go pick up the Order of Merlin medal next week?

Do I need to bring a magic wand?