A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

"Calm down, Miss Granger!" Felix demanded. "You need to tell me how much time has passed since you last met Harry? Can you pinpoint his location now? And how did he track the Basilisk?"

Hermione quickly replied, "No more than five minutes, Professor. We suspect the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in Myrtle's bathroom, so we'll meet there. Harry located the Basilisk through Parseltongue..."

"Very well," Felix interrupted her, waving his wand. A silver light flew from the tip of the wand and condensed in the air into a small bird with a pair of long, narrow, sickle-shaped wings, which hovered in mid-air.

Felix announced loudly, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Harry Potter is tracking the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets alone. Please come to the abandoned washroom in Myrtle immediately; it is most likely the location of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."

After saying that, the small bird flapped its wings and disappeared in an instant, turning into a streak of light.

"Professor, what kind of magic is this?" Even in this urgent situation, the little witch couldn't help but ask.

"The Guardian Charm can help you ward off Dementors or deliver a message temporarily."

"Is that a kind of swift?"

"Yes, it's very fast."

"Let's go to the restroom first," Felix said to Hermione. "You can tell me what happened on the way."

By the time the two had almost reached Myrtle's bathroom, Felix had figured out the situation.

One hour ago.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly finished their dinner in the Great Hall, exchanged glances, and then slipped out together.

"It's 6:20 now," Hermione said to the two before they set off. "We have about 40 minutes. As long as we get back to the common room with the rest of the group before 7:00, no one will notice we've been out."

They planned to confront Professor Hyp, gain his trust, and then report the information from the secret chamber to Headmaster Dumbledore.

But something went wrong halfway there—

"Tear you apart...I want to kill...I crave blood..."

As they walked down a dimly lit corridor, Harry suddenly heard the sound and shouted, "The Basilisk! It's out!"

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked nervously.

Harry dashed out, climbed a flight of stairs, and strained his ears to search for something. He seemed to hear a faint scraping sound, so he ran after him, with Ron and Hermione close behind.

But the sound was faint, and Harry would lose track of it from time to time, forcing him to climb up and down to confirm its location.

The three of them ran for most of the day and were panting heavily.

"Did it go back? Maybe it just came out for a walk?" Ron asked expectantly.

"Absolutely not!" Harry said. "It wants to kill, it says it craves blood!"

"Tear you...to shreds..."

Harry jerked his head up; the voice was above him.

"It's upstairs!"

Harry ran upstairs quickly, leaving Ron and Hermione far behind.

As he turned a corner, he saw Justin coming alone from the other side of the corridor.

"He's out... he's killed... he's torn to shreds..."

Harry's face was filled with terror; it was too late. He shouted at Justin, "Close your eyes, Justin! Close your eyes! The Basilisk is coming out of the Chamber of Secrets!"

Justin, who had been avoiding Harry for the past few days, asked in astonishment, "What?"

Harry didn't have time to explain; he had already clearly heard the "click-clack" sound. It must be the basilisk; it was about to come out and kill people!

"Obstacles!" Harry pulled out his wand and cast an Obstacle Charm, sending Justin flying. Justin's face was filled with surprise and fear.

Harry lunged at Justin to drag him away, but it wasn't easy—Justin struggled desperately after breaking free of the spell, and the two became entangled.

"What are you doing? Harry, what are you doing!"

"Shut up! I'm saving your life!" Harry punched him hard to quiet him down. "Listen! The Chamber of Secrets monster is out, and its eyes can kill, so close your eyes now."

The rustling sound came from the corridor and was particularly clear.

Justin closed his eyes tightly, his body trembling uncontrollably. Harry also closed his eyes, fumbling for his wand with one hand—his wand had fallen to the ground during their brief struggle.

"Are we going to die, Harry? I don't want to die, Harry. I'm sorry I misunderstood you," Justin said incoherently.

"Shut up!" Harry yelled, the clear echo reverberating down the corridor.

He stumbled upon a small stick, which was his wand, but he was completely unable to fight the basilisk, his eyes were still closed!

A door was kicked open, and the clattering sound grew closer. Harry judged that the basilisk was less than two meters away from them, perhaps with its head hanging right in front of him.

He could even smell a pungent, fishy stench.

"Get out of here!" he shouted.

"What?" Justin asked, trembling.

"It wasn't you, get out of here!"

Justin only understood the first half of the sentence. The second half came out of Harry's mouth in a chilling sound, like the hiss of a snake, but much more terrifying.

It was snake language, he realized instantly.

Harry kept speaking Parseltongue, telling the basilisk to "leave here" and "go back," and it worked; the basilisk stopped moving.

But it didn't move away; instead, it responded, "Murder... Master's command... Tear... Eliminate Muggles..."

"Get out of here!" Ha said in Parsley. "I command you to get out of here!" Thanks to his use of magic scrolls over the past two days, he had become quite proficient in Parsley.

"Master's orders..."

"Your master and I are best friends, we're on the same side, listen! You're in danger, a powerful wizard is on his way! Get out of here right now!" Harry kept urging him on, not knowing if it would work, but Hermione had heard from Professor Hyp that Parseltongue could control snakes.

He didn't know if it was true or not, but he could only pray in his heart that it was true.

Finally, the basilisk moved. Harry held his breath, awaiting his fate—thankfully, the sound of the basilisk gliding away grew fainter and fainter until it finally disappeared.

"The killing cannot stop... The next attack... Soon... We've waited too long..." These were the words Harry heard from the ceiling; it seemed the Basilisk had returned to the pipes.

Justin collapsed to the ground, trembling, looking completely shaken.

"It's over." Harry opened his eyes.

A few dozen seconds later, Hermione and Ron caught up from behind, panting. "Harry, what happened?" They had lost track of them and taken a longer route.

Harry said, still shaken, "The basilisk tried to attack Justin, but I stopped it."

"What—oh my god!" Hermione pointed to the scratch marks on the floor. "This is…"

"Yes, I encountered it head-on."