Astley, I believe you owe us an explanation."
Snape looked directly at Audrey.
The reason Audrey had notified the professors was that she had "seen" the anomaly of the Basilisk and Harry's group chasing it through her connection to half of Hogwarts. She never expected that after all her instructions to the Basilisk, the oversized worm would still defy her orders.
The sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle certainly had some tricks up his sleeve!
"Professor Snape," Audrey's tone was none too pleasant. "Familiarity aside, if you keep talking nonsense like that, I'll sue you for slander!"
Dumbledore quickly stepped in to play peacemaker. "We will understand what happened once Mr. Creevey wakes up. His symptoms are clearly the same as Miss Windsor's before."
Hermione nodded repeatedly. When Isaline had her accident, she was the first to find her; the condition was exactly the same as Colin's was now.
Audrey obviously wouldn't voluntarily give up the Basilisk; after all, that thing was technically her subordinate now. However, in the eyes of Dumbledore and the others, while Isaline hadn't seen what had petrified her last time, Colin should have seen the culprit clearly through his camera—even if the camera itself had been scorched.
As Dumbledore said, once Colin was saved, the truth would come to light.
...
In the hospital wing, Colin Creevey woke up with eyes wide with terror. He let out a loud cry and bolted upright in bed, only to see the professors led by Dumbledore.
"Colin," Dumbledore said softly, "can you tell us what happened just now?"
Dumbledore's voice was gentle and healing, calming Creevey down. Indeed, Dumbledore was right here; what was there to be afraid of?
"It... it was a giant snake! A very, very big snake!" Colin almost screamed, needing to completely release the fear weighing on his heart. "Standing next to the giant snake was Ginny Weasley!"
"Impossible!" Ron jumped up. "How could it be Ginny!"
"Quiet, Weasley!" Snape snapped. "Nothing is impossible."
Dumbledore continued to question Colin, "Mr. Creevey, this is a very serious accusation. Are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely sure!"
Dumbledore looked at Professor McGall. The elderly cat-lady sighed. "I didn't see Miss Weasley at the feast today. Her health hasn't been very good lately, and she has seemed quite dazed."
"It must be the Imperius Curse!" Gilderoy Lockhart took the opportunity to assert his presence.
This time, however, his words found agreement from Snape. Snape looked at Audrey and said, "Quite right. Ginny Weasley certainly sounds like she's under the Imperius Curse."
Audrey was furious. This old bat was still suspecting her!
Dumbledore shook his head. "Regardless of what happened to Miss Weasley, the greatest threat now is that giant snake, the one that can petrify people..."
"It's a Basilisk, Professor," Audrey spoke up.
"A Basilisk?"
"Yes. Slytherin built a Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts with a Basilisk inside. It was intended for defense in case of an invasion by the Church."
Dumbledore instantly recalled the Chamber of Secrets incident from fifty years ago.
Professor McGall looked puzzled. "Basilisks don't have the power to petrify people, Astley."
Audrey shook her head. "Looking directly into a Basilisk's eyes is fatal. However, if you don't look at its eyes directly, you won't die; instead, you'll be petrified. Isaline saw the Basilisk's eyes through the reflection in a suit of armor, and Creevey saw them through his camera."
Although Audrey was thoroughly annoyed by Snape's questioning gaze, she knew that if she didn't clear things up, she would be the prime suspect. Her lack of an alibi during the feast didn't count for much because Ginny Weasley was suspected of being under the Imperius Curse. Though Audrey knew it was Tom Riddle's doing, it was a difficult situation to explain.
Even though she had led the professors to the scene immediately after noticing something was wrong, it wasn't enough to clear her name; anyone can play the role of the thief crying "stop thief."
The most awkward part was that the message Tom Riddle left on the ground pointed directly to the "Heir." Since there had been a Chamber of Secrets incident fifty years prior, the so-called "Heir" referred to the Heir of Slytherin.
Unfortunately, she was currently the heir personally acknowledged by Salazar Slytherin himself!
"Our priority is to find Ginny Weasley immediately," Dumbledore said. "Professors, pair up and search the castle. Be extremely careful of the Basilisk!"
Snape was paired with Sprout, while McGall went with Flitwick.
Gilderoy Lockhart was about to speak when Dumbledore interrupted him. "Professor Lockhart, please go to the Great Hall and arrange for the students to return to their respective common rooms. Our Halloween feast is ending early."
"Audrey," Dumbledore said to her before leaving. "Forgive Severus. He... because of your father, he lost the love of his life. He came to me a few days ago; through the matter of the Heir of Slytherin, he has deduced your identity."
Audrey suddenly understood. No wonder Snape was targeting her so much!
"Professor, I really didn't know about the Basilisk. I don't know why it suddenly came out to cause trouble... I clearly told it not to hurt anyone in the school."
"I believe you, Audrey. Hurting students brings you no benefit. You are too lazy to do something so thankless." Dumbledore patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, I will talk to Severus. Just keep an eye out for the Basilisk. If you find its trail, notify me immediately—remember to use Fawkes!"
That phoenix, who weighed ten pounds but was nine pounds pure rebellion, wouldn't return to the Headmaster's office at all if Dumbledore didn't summon him!
...
An hour later, Ginny Weasley was found lying on the small pier by the back gate of Hogwarts Castle. When they found her, she was soaked through, her limbs were cold, and she had fainted on the ground.
When Audrey arrived at the hospital wing, Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley had already arrived. Molly wiped away tears and gave the approaching Audrey a hug.
"Audrey, Ginny... oh, Ginny..."
"Don't worry, Molly, Ginny will be fine," Audrey comforted her. "Don't worry too much; she's just a bit weak." Audrey gently patted Molly's back and whispered, "See? Ginny's waking up now, isn't she?"
Molly turned around in surprise and indeed saw her precious daughter opening her eyes.
"Ginny!" Molly rushed over, and Arthur's expression finally softened. Mother and daughter cried together.
Before long, the rest of the Weasley children arrived. They surrounded Ginny, concern etched on every face.
Audrey felt she had made a mistake—she originally hadn't wanted to interfere with this plot, thinking no one would die anyway. But she had overlooked the feelings of Ginny's family. Especially since the Weasleys were so good to her; Molly treated her like one of her own, even preparing a Christmas gift for her when the family was at its most difficult.
Audrey labeled herself a neutral being, but seeing these kind people suffer ultimately touched her heart.
"Ginny, you scared me to death," Molly said as she let go of Ginny. "What on earth happened to you?"
"The diary... it was a diary that could talk to me!"
Arthur scolded, "What did I tell you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain!"
"That's enough, Arthur! Let Ginny speak!"
Ginny began to sob. "The owner of the diary is named Tom Riddle. He coaxed me into opening my soul to him... I—I didn't know anything. It was like I was in a dream. In the dream, I did so many terrible things. I controlled a giant snake and hurt my classmates!"
Audrey stepped forward and asked, "Ginny, can you tell me where that diary is now?"
Ginny pointed to the wizard robes sitting by the head of the bed. "I put it in the pocket of my robes."
Arthur stood up, opened the robes, and searched for a long time. "There isn't any diary here."
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