"So…Professor McGonagall, Professor Babbling, what the heck happened before Malfoy barged in that got you both riled up and knocked Professors Snape and Dumbledore on their asses?" Tracey asked.
Shiva rubbed the bridge of her nose again and sat down looking exhausted. "Both tried to perform legilimency on Harry. It's basically mind reading. Very few people can do it well but they're one of the group. It's not supposed to be done except with very good reason or consent. Their reasons weren't very good and neither asked Harry hence why we were angry. Dumbledore probably wanted to know what Harry was thinking about the diary while Snape likely just wanted to see how Harry had ejected Dumbledore."
"And both were fools!" McGonagall spat. Harry's eyebrows rose at that. His Head of House was continuing to impress him this year. "Honestly, you all just finished a tale where Harry's glasses were used to effectively reflect a basilisk stare! What idiot would think a simple legilimency spell would break through that sort of protection?!"
The students looked at each other. Every one of them started to laugh hysterically while McGonagall, Flitwick, Shiva and Pomfrey just shook their heads in exasperation.
Two days later, Harry was sitting in the chair beside Hermione as Madame Pomfrey dripped the mandrake draught into his friend's throat. The ones that Neville and himself had ordered finally came in a few hours ago and Hermione was the last one to be revived. Pomfrey moved off giving them some privacy as the potion began to take effect.
Hermione blinked a few times, lowered her arm and glanced about the room. Her eyes settled on Harry and barely a half second later, Hermione had surged off the bed and wrapped him in a hug. Harry chuckled. "It's good to see you too, Hermione."
"Harry! It's a basilisk! The monster, it's a basilisk!" she said pulling back and frantically starting to move away to find a teacher.
Harry pulled her back and hugged her again. "We know it was a basilisk."
Hermione's mind froze solid as she realized Harry had hugged her instead of the other way around. She hurriedly pushed that revelation aside to be examined later though in order to focus on the more immediate concern. "Oh, so you found the scrap."
"We did. Great job there figuring that out!" Harry said nodding as he let her go and Hermione settled on his lap. Her gaze widened again.
"But wait! It's likely moving through enlarged pipes or conduits running behind the walls! It's quite possible the Chamber's entrance has been hidden somewhere in one of the bathrooms!"
"Yup, it was. Moaning Myrtle's ironically enough," Harry said smiling at her. His friend had figured out the second half of the centuries old mystery in moments. She truly was amazing.
"Myrtle's…" Hermione gaped at him. She shut her mouth and continued slowly, "How long have I been petrified Harry?"
"About five days," he said shrugging.
"Five...days?"
"Yeah. Five days. We killed the basilisk two days after you were attacked and it took another three for the mandrakes to arrive. There was a bit of an import problem but between the Senior Abbotts, Bones and Greengrasses we got the new law repealed and the mature mandrakes in pretty fast."
"You killed the…" Hermione was feeling her brain lock up again. Harry's complete nonchalance was certainly not helping her blood pressure.
"Don't be modest, Harry," Tracey chimed in from across the room. She was sitting up in her bed and grinning at the two. "Granger, he killed the basilisk all on his own. With a sword!"
"Sword…"
"Daphne was there too!" Harry protested.
"Yeah but you're the one who ran straight at it screaming and stabbing it through the roof of its mouth." Tracey's grin widened as she saw Hermione's features twist from shock to frustration.
"Haaarrrry?" Hermione drawled looking at her friend.
Warning bells were going off in Harry's mind but it was too late. Hermione was already sitting on his lap. He was trapped – though it was a rather pleasant trap. "Yes, Hermione?"
"Explain."
"Professor Babbling? Do you have a moment?" Hermione asked peeking around the door into Shiva's office.
"Come on in, Hermione," Shiva said waving the younger girl inside and smiling warmly at her. "It's good to see you up and about."
"Thank you. It's good to be about." Hermione sat in one of the chairs. She didn't look nearly as uncomfortable as she had the first time they had done this.
"So what can I help you with?"
"Can I assume that you yelled at him enough it's rather pointless and counterproductive for me to do so as well?" Hermione asked getting right to the point.
"Well that depends, I suppose," Shiva grinned. "What would you be yelling at him for?"
"His stupid recklessness and his frustratingly annoying nobility mostly," Hermione huffed.
"In that case, yeah I already yelled at him enough for the both of us. You could probably get away with a bit though," Shiva said laughing.
"Well," Hermione shifted a bit in her seat, "I may have hit him a bit already when he told me the story."
Shiva kept laughing imagining Hermione slapping Harry's chest for nearly getting himself killed multiple times over. "He tell you about afterwards with freeing that crazy little house elf and the poor thing breaking Malfoy's ribs?"
.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/gokublack444🎉