Hogwarts held many secrets—not even Dumbledore could claim to know them all. So it was no surprise that Draco and Hermione, still only second-years, knew even less.
In fact, even Moaning Myrtle, who treated the girls' bathroom like her personal domain, looked puzzled when she saw the dark, cave-like tunnel. Clearly, she had no idea this passage existed.
Draco and Hermione both showed visible surprise.
Before Draco could react, Hermione had already stepped carefully over the broken tiles and splintered wood to approach the hole in the wall. He didn't even have time to stop her.
Should he say... typical Gryffindor recklessness?
Just as Draco was about to pull her back—
"Ugh! What is that smell?!"
As expected, acting on impulse came with consequences. Hermione wrinkled her nose and turned back toward Draco, her expression twisted in discomfort. The smell must've been awful.
To be fair, Hermione wasn't usually this reckless—she'd just temporarily forgotten that Myrtle was a ghost.
For someone like her, maybe this disgusting stench was actually... appetizing?
"Rotten and damp. Looks like it's something like a sewer."
"A sewer? Hogwarts has places like that?"
Hermione covered her nose and glanced over at Draco, who seemed to have noticed something. The look in his eyes made her even more curious.
But since she was still annoyed with him, she didn't ask anything. Instead, she just stared intently at his face, as if her gaze alone could force him to admit defeat...
"So that's where the rot in the air was coming from."
Draco remembered now—when he first entered the bathroom, it wasn't just the lingering scent of potions. There had also been a distinct smell of damp decay.
"If that's the case, then it explains a lot."
Hermione stayed silent, watching Draco think with his arms folded. So focused was she that she didn't notice Myrtle floating nearby, watching them with a curious expression.
As for Draco, immersed in examining the tunnel, he had no clue he'd become the center of two girls' attention.
"Huh? What's this...?"
Draco reached out and lightly touched a pattern on the wall, as if he'd discovered something.
The movement startled Hermione out of her daze. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly leaned in to see what he'd found.
"This looks like... a snake?"
"Yeah..."
"Do you think it's just a coincidence?"
"Not a chance."
Their cryptic exchange—understood only by the two of them—left Myrtle out completely. On the verge of another outburst, she waved her fist in frustration and floated off to the only toilet stall left undamaged.
As her muffled sobbing echoed faintly behind them, Draco turned to glance at Hermione, who was now biting her lip. Smart as she was, she had likely drawn the same conclusion he had.
"Underneath this... it must be the Chamber of Secrets."
Hermione hesitantly tugged at Draco's sleeve. That pitch-black tunnel gave her an overwhelming sense of unease...
...
There was good reason for their suspicion.
Myrtle's death, the possibility that the door had been opened before, and the snake carved into the wall—too many clues, too many coincidences—all pointed toward the tunnel in front of them as the Chamber of Secrets.
Or at least... the path leading to it.
"So? Should we go down and take a look—"
Thunk!
"Ow! You hit me on the head again!"
Flustered and annoyed, Hermione shot an angry glare at Draco, who was getting far too comfortable with teasing her.
Since when did this jerk start treating her like this?
"Go down? Do you even know what's waiting down there?"
"...But how else are we supposed to find out if we don't go?"
She paused, then realized how dumb that sounded. Guiltily, she mumbled under her breath.
"So what, we just leave it like this?"
"No. I'm going down."
"???"
"But not now. And I'm not taking you with me."
"..."
Ignoring Hermione's puffed-up cheeks, Draco turned away, lifted his wand, and started preparing a spell to restore the bathroom from the wreckage left by the fight.
But just as he was about to channel his magic, Hermione suddenly lifted her chin with a huff.
"I'm going too."
"No."
"Why not?!"
"What would you even do? If something dangerous shows up, you won't be able to protect yourself."
There was no mockery in Draco's gaze, but the words still stung. After a few seconds of silence, Hermione realized—she had no way to argue back.
During the entire battle, she hadn't been able to do a thing. All she could do was hide behind Draco and try not to get hurt.
Her fingers clenched tight around the hem of her robes, knuckles pale. Her bitten lip only made her pretty face look even more upset.
Hermione was proud—and the kind who refused to give up easily.
"I'll get stronger..."
"Hm?"
"I said, I won't lose to you!!"
Draco blinked at her sudden outburst, confused. She was suddenly all fired up for some reason—and he had no idea why.
Her strange reaction made him a little concerned.
"Listen, this isn't as simple as it looks. You saw what Lockhart was like—clearly something's wrong. So it's better if you keep everything we saw today to yourself."
"..."
"Don't tell anyone. Not Dumbledore, not any of the professors—especially not the Chosen One or that Weasley."
Hermione rolled her eyes with a huff. Sure, he was worried about her—but did he have to sound like he thought she was an idiot?
Thinking that, she balled her hand into a fist and waved it in front of his nose.
"Next time, you'll be the one hiding behind me!!"
"....."
Draco: ???
Looking down at Hermione, who was shouting nonsense and practically bristling like a cat, Draco suddenly found her... kind of cute.
Hmm... cute in a really dumb way...