Hermione struggled in terror, her back slamming into a solid chest. She caught a familiar scent—that faint trace of cedarwood.
"Don't make a sound, and don't look."
Julien's voice rang in her ear, kept extremely low, carrying an undeniable urgency. His other hand gripped her wrist firmly, pressing down the mirror that had nearly peeked around the corner.
Hermione's heart pounded wildly, nearly leaping out of her throat. She stiffened against Julien's chest, feeling the slight rise and fall of his breathing. The rustling inside the wall suddenly grew frantic, as if it had detected something. The sound of scales scraping against stone was piercingly sharp, then—
"Bang!"
A muffled boom came from inside the wall around the corner, accompanied by the crisp crack of a pipe bursting. A fissure appeared on the wall, grayish-white dust cascading down.
Through the edge of the mirror, Hermione glimpsed a massive, elongated shadow flashing behind the crack before vanishing into the depths of another dark pipe.
The sound gradually faded, eventually returning to silence.
Julien slowly released the hand covering her mouth, but his other hand still held her wrist tightly, as if afraid she might suddenly rush out.
"Are you insane?" His voice remained low, laced with suppressed anger. "With no preparation at all, what difference is this from seeking death?"
Hermione turned around, her face pale as paper, but her eyes reignited with angry fire. "How did you know I was here? Were you following me?"
"I was just making sure you wouldn't become the next 'example' to be petrified."
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Julien released her wrist, picked up the fallen book Creatures You Never Want to See—The Basilisk from the ground, dusted it off, and handed it back to Hermione.
"Let's go, it's not safe here. That thing was just passing by earlier; next time it might..."
"Attack! Attack again!" A shout came from ahead, seemingly Peeves' voice. "Murder! No one escapes, man or ghost!"
Peeves' scream cut through the castle's already taut nerves like a rusty saw.
Julien and Hermione exchanged a glance, ignoring their lingering shock, and ran toward the source of the sound.
Footsteps clattered in the corridor, and sporadic wand lights flickered on.
Turning the corner, some young wizards were already standing there, and the scene before them made Hermione gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth.
In the middle of the corridor, Justin Finch-Fletchley lay rigid as a board, his body stiff like a plank, his face frozen in extreme terror, eyes wide and round, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Beside him, Nearly Headless Nick—the Gryffindor ghost who always complained about his incomplete beheading—was similarly frozen in an eerie stillness.
His semi-transparent body had taken on a grayish-white stony hue, no longer floating but suspended like a statue a few inches off the ground, his expression equally locked in horror.
"Oh, Merlin... how could this..." Hermione's voice trembled. "Even ghosts are being..."
Students began to gather, whispers surging like a tide.
Julien crouched down, pretending to check Justin's condition, but actually touching the puddle of water with his fingers—icy cold, foul-smelling. Sure enough... traces of scales scraping the ground.
"Make way! All of you, make way!" A commotion came from the end of the corridor, the crowd roughly parted.
Harry and Ron stumbled in, looking utterly wretched.
Ron's robes were torn to shreds, his face covered in scratches and dirt; Harry's glasses were shattered on one side, his hair matted with some sticky, grayish-white filaments—spiderwebs from the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
The two were about to say something but froze at the sight before them.
"Oh, the murderers have arrived." Peeves laughed overhead.
"Oh~ Look at our Savior, so capable!
No need for a wand, just a glare,
Justin and Nick sleep sounder than anyone—
Next up, is it Peeves' turn to give you a thumbs-up?"
"Catch them!" Someone screamed from the crowd, from the Slytherin side. "Look at Potter's state! Where has he been?!"
"And Weasley! They're covered in blood!"
Several older students had already drawn their wands, pointing at Harry and Ron, hostility evident.
"Shut up, Peeves! Stop causing trouble!" Professor McGonagall's voice came from the end of the corridor, along with Professor Snape. "Leave here immediately!"
Peeves made a face and vanished into the ceiling.
"Everyone stop!" Julien stood up, stepping in front of Harry and Ron. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable calm authority.
"Look at their appearance; they must have just come back from outside—and if they were the culprits, why make themselves look so disheveled?"
"Maybe to cover it up!" Malfoy squeezed through the crowd, his pale face twisted in a sickly excitement. "Maybe he petrified them first, then deliberately rolled around in the Forbidden Forest—"
"Enough, Malfoy." Professor McGonagall strode over, her gaze lingering on Julien for a moment with a barely perceptible gratitude, then sternly sweeping the room.
"Everyone back to your dorms! Immediately! Gryffindors, led by Percy Weasley; Ravenclaws, by Penelope..." She paused, remembering Penelope was still in the hospital wing. "By Rogers."
"But Professor," Hermione mustered her courage, "Justin and Nick..."
"I'll handle this." Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and Justin and Nick's bodies slowly floated up. "Madam Pomfrey will take care of them. As for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley..."
She looked at Harry and Ron, her expression complex. "You two come with me. And Mr. Black, you too."
Julien was stunned. "Me, Professor?"
"Yes, you." Snape's oily voice followed. "Mr. Black, you're always there every time, aren't you?"
"Fine!" Julien grumbled as he followed.
On the way to McGonagall's office, the atmosphere was heavy enough to drip water.
"Professor, we know the truth!" In the office, Harry and Hermione spoke at the same time.
"What do you know?" Professor McGonagall said expressionlessly.
Harry glanced at Hermione first and said, "Hagrid was framed; what he released 50 years ago was the giant spider Aragog. Aragog didn't kill anyone."
"Oh? It didn't kill anyone, so what about you two?" Snape sneered from the side.
"This..." Harry and Ron were momentarily speechless. Indeed, if not for that car still wandering aimlessly in the Forbidden Forest, the two might have already met their end in spider bellies.
Hermione looked worriedly at Harry and Ron, then spoke up, "I saw it; it's the Basilisk. Though I didn't see it clearly, it should be the Basilisk. Julien can attest to that."
"What Basilisk?" Harry and Ron asked in surprise.
"I can confirm," seeing the two professors still puzzled, Hermione said urgently, "If it wasn't for Julien just now, I'm afraid I also..."