Kneeling on the ground, Jon gasped for air, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Inside the Room of Requirement, Jon Hart clutched the base of his right thumb, trying to ease the sharp pain radiating through his hand.
It hurt—but for now, he was safe.
Still, Jon knew all too well that this wasn't the end.
The Basilisk had been repelled, but that only brought more problems.
First and foremost, the plot had deviated significantly.
According to the original story, after Ginny Weasley discarded Tom Riddle's diary, Hogwarts would enjoy several months of calm. The next attack wasn't supposed to happen until the day of the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match, when Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater were petrified.
But now, the fourth attack had already happened—and the victim was Percy Weasley! That was a drastic divergence from canon.
So who had reopened the Chamber this time? Was it still Ginny Weasley? Or had Harry Potter, now in possession of the diary, triggered it? Could it be someone else entirely?
Jon felt his earlier confidence completely dissolve.
He couldn't help but reflect bitterly—he had been too complacent, thinking that a rough knowledge of the plot would let him act with impunity.
And the timing couldn't have been worse. The one time he slipped up this term—returning to the dorm late—was the exact moment the Basilisk launched an attack. If he hadn't taken so many precautions beforehand, he would've ended up a victim himself.
It all felt like one of those cruel twists of fate.
More urgently, though, Jon realized he had a problem.
He had to return to the Hufflepuff common room—immediately. If it got too late and someone noticed he wasn't in the dorm, he'd instantly become the prime suspect in the attack.
But getting back wasn't easy. He didn't know enough secret passages through Hogwarts, and the only path he could take passed dangerously close to the crime scene. A first-year student had no business being there.
Transforming into Sergei Pavlov wasn't an option either. Even with his agility, there was no guarantee he could slip past powerful wizards like Dumbledore, Snape, or McGonagall. A foreign Eastern European face roaming the halls would only deepen suspicion.
This was getting seriously complicated...
The only solution seemed to be transforming into someone who could freely move around the castle.
...
Professor Severus Snape had also arrived at the corridor between Hogwarts Castle and Ravenclaw Tower.
His gaze was as cold and unreadable as ever, but now it held a rare gravity.
He, too, seemed to have been drawn here by the commotion.
"What happened?" he called out.
In the corridor, he saw a "statue" on the floor, and two Gryffindor boys—one kneeling and crying, the other standing beside him.
"Potter? Weasley?"
Harry Potter's expression darkened the moment he saw Snape.
"There's been another attack…" he muttered.
"I can see that. I don't need you to tell me!" Snape snapped. "Now—why are you here? Why is it always you two who discover these attacks first?"
"I…" Harry was momentarily speechless.
Fortunately, the sound of rushing footsteps echoed down the hall as a crowd of teachers and students arrived.
Albus Dumbledore led the way. "What's going on, Severus?"
"There's been another victim," Snape replied, his voice unconsciously lowering. "From Gryffindor…"
"Weasley…" Professor McGonagall stumbled forward, visibly shaken. "That's impossible…"
Everyone knew what she meant. According to the rumors, the Slytherin monster only targeted Muggle-borns or Squibs. But Percy Weasley was a pure-blood wizard—and one of the top sixth-year students.
"It wasn't just one victim, Albus, Minerva…" Professor Filius Flitwick's voice came from Ravenclaw Tower.
He was helping Madam Pomfrey carry a tall girl with long hair—an oddly awkward sight.
"Miss Clearwater was also attacked, near the eagle-shaped bronze knocker at the top of the tower… She's been petrified as well!" Professor Flitwick said, his voice heavy with sorrow and outrage.
Behind them, several Ravenclaw upperclassmen were carrying a large wooden door—its surface still bearing the frozen form of an eagle's beak.
"And… the knocker left behind by Lady Ravenclaw, the thousand-year-old symbol of her wisdom—it's been turned to stone too!"
Everyone suddenly understood why the usually easygoing Professor Flitwick was so furious.
"I see…" Professor Dumbledore furrowed his brows and leaned in to examine the stiffened bodies of Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater.
"May I suggest…" Snape began slowly, his face grim. "The original target was likely Miss Clearwater. She and the eagle's beak knocker were attacked together… But the creature didn't expect Mr. Weasley to be there. A fierce fight broke out, and in the end, Mr. Weasley was petrified as well—but the attacker was injured."
Everyone looked at the blood on the floor and the wand still clutched in Percy Weasley's hand. Many of them nodded silently.
Dumbledore, however, remained troubled. He sniffed the air sharply, as if trying to catch an unusual scent, then inspected the bloodstains more closely.
"Severus, please fetch Silvanus and Hagrid," he instructed with quiet urgency.
"Yes, Headmaster."
...
Snape turned to carry out his orders, but hadn't gone far when he encountered a student.
"Stop!"
At his command, the Hufflepuff upperclassman came to a halt.
"What's going on, Professor Snape…? What was that noise just now?" he asked, breathing heavily.
Snape recognized him at once. It was Gabriel Truman, Hufflepuff's Prefect.
"Another attack, Mr. Truman," Snape said coolly. "You should return to the Hufflepuff common room and warn the others to stay inside."
"Understood, Professor." Truman nodded and turned to leave.
Snape continued toward the Forbidden Forest... but halfway there, something struck him as odd:
Gabriel Truman had always called him 'Sir'—never 'Professor.