Although Harry and Ron didn't tell anyone about Hermione being in the hospital, her disappearance quickly caught the attention of several Gryffindor students.
They were used to her chattering in the common room, urging Ron and Harry to do their homework. Now, the sudden quiet felt a bit unsettling.
Initially, Ron pretended not to know, but the Weasleys were too familiar with their younger brother. It only took a few words for them to get the truth out of him.
...
"So, Hermione is in the hospital wing?"
"Oh…" Ron groaned, covering his face. He regretted saying anything at all.
"Is it another attack?" Percy suddenly stood up from the sofa, "Don't leave; I'll notify the professors!" With that, he was about to run out the door.
Ron and Harry quickly stopped him.
"It's not an attack, it's not related to the Chamber of Secrets!" Harry said urgently.
"Not an attack?" Percy cast a suspicious glance at Harry and Ron, who were clinging to his legs.
"It's really not!"
"I promise!"
Under their earnest persuasion, Percy finally sat back down.
Fred and George watched the anxious Ron with amusement but said nothing, exchanging a quick glance that seemed to convey a lot.
...
On the morning of the third day of the holiday, as Kael was preparing to leave after visiting Hermione, he bumped into Fred and George sneaking around the entrance.
"What are you doing at the hospital wing?"
"We're catching a cold!" Fred blurted out.
"Here to get a stimulant." George pretended to cough a couple of times.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
They both looked full of energy, not one bit like they had a cold. They probably found out about Hermione being hospitalized and came to investigate.
"What about you, Kael, visiting someone at the hospital wing?" Fred asked.
"Oh, I'm just here to get a stimulant too." Kael said loudly, taking out a small bottle filled with red potion.
Hermione evidently didn't want anyone to know she had turned into a cat.
The best way to keep these two from questioning him later was to act like he knew nothing.
"What a coincidence!" George laughed, "It's cold lately, take care of yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, same to you."
The three chatted awkwardly for a moment before going their separate ways.
When Fred and George entered the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had already drawn curtains around Hermione's bed, so they saw nothing.
On the other hand, Kael originally intended to head to the library after returning to the castle.
But near the entrance hall, he saw Peeves holding a bunch of balloons, chasing Moaning Myrtle around the castle.
Since the Bloody Baron was attacked, Peeves had become utterly unruly, chasing ghosts and students alike all day, only behaving slightly in front of professors.
And Moaning Myrtle was one of Peeves' favorite targets to mess with.
Kael couldn't understand why Myrtle feared Peeves' balloons; they couldn't touch her at all.
However, this was a good opportunity.
Once they flew away, Kael immediately changed direction, heading to the empty bathroom.
Based on past experience, Peeves and Moaning Myrtle's chasing game would last at least an hour, giving him just enough time to check the Chamber of Secrets.
Kael used Parseltongue to open the entrance and jumped in, skillfully reaching the end of the tunnel.
The door to the Chamber slowly opened, and Kael cautiously stepped onto the black floor with his wand drawn.
Before leaving last time, the stone he had wedged by the door was gone, confirming someone else had entered since then.
Kael carefully surveyed the surroundings.
The good news was that he was alone here, with no need to worry about anyone attacking him unexpectedly.
However, beneath the Slytherin statue, he found more snake sheddings and a conspicuous dragging trail.
The trail still had some undried mucus on it, similar to that left by a Flobberworm, but much bigger.
Seeing the trail and snake skin, Kael knew the Basilisk had been out.
But who could it be... Kael stood up, carefully recalling everything that had happened recently…
The Chamber was eerily silent, ominous and dreadful. The snake eyes carved into the columns and the Slytherin statue seemed to watch Kael.
But Kael paid them no mind, thinking while pacing back and forth.
Before this, he had asked Moaning Myrtle several times, but she insisted she hadn't seen anyone else enter the bathroom.
Yet Myrtle's words weren't necessarily reliable; she lived in the bathroom, but wasn't always in the stall.
Why hadn't his placed tools been triggered, unless there was another entrance... or perhaps the person who released the Basilisk hadn't used the door?
"Crack..."
Suddenly, an entirely different sound from footsteps echoed in the Chamber.
Kael was startled, immediately pointing his wand towards the door, but soon realized the sound came from beneath his feet.
Kael lifted his foot. Only then did he notice he had accidentally stepped on a piece of snake skin while pacing.
"Scared me to death."
Kael let out a sigh of relief.
But as he reached for the snake skin, he discovered something else beneath it.
A golden chain...
Kael quickly picked it up.
The chain was less than two inches long, made of several small golden snakes linked together, each end showing signs of being torn apart as if from a larger piece.
"Was this left by the person with the diary?"
Seeing those little snakes, Kael immediately thought of Slytherin.
They loved snakes, whether in clothes or accessories.
Anything with a serpent motif found at Hogwarts was unmistakably related to Slytherin.
However... Kael closely examined the half-chain.
The linked snake clasps were small yet lifelike, with detailed scales as if alive. Clearly, this was no cheap item.
Slytherin... and wealth?
Draco Malfoy?
Kael instinctively thought of Harry's old rival.
But he quickly shook his head.
No... On Halloween, Malfoy was attending the feast in the auditorium the entire time. He didn't have an opportunity to release the Basilisk to attack Filch.
Besides, Lucius Malfoy probably wouldn't involve him in this.
But if it's not him, who could it be...?
Kael rubbed the chain, thinking of other names: Millicent Bagnold, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson... or Crabbe, Goyle?