Sean could vaguely see that Harry was wearing his invisibility cloak. Obviously, Miles and the diary did not find Harry hiding nearby because of the Deathly Hallows.
Walking to the entrance of the secret room in the center of the bathroom, Sean looked at the dark entrance of the pipe and jumped in without any hesitation. He waved his wand to cast a spell to slow down his fall.
The pipes were interconnected, but you could often see snake skin with scales and some sticky liquid inside the pipes. It could be roughly determined that these were the snake skins and secretions shed from the basilisk.
The pipe became flat and Sean jumped out of the exit. As soon as he landed on the ground, his pupils suddenly contracted. He immediately raised the wand in his hand and aimed it at the huge figure coiled in front of him. Soon, Sean discovered that the huge figure in front was just a huge snake sheath of a basilisk, not the real basilisk.
The basilisk's snake skin was also a very precious material for potions and alchemy. It was a pity that now was not the time to take it away. Otherwise, if they were all taken away, many sets of wizard combat protective clothing could be made.
The scales and skin of the basilisk had a considerable degree of magical defense capability. Although the defensive effect of the snake skin was much lower than that of the basilisk itself, it was enough to allow wizards to gain quite good defensive power.
Having made up his mind to take away the snake skins here after dealing with the basilisk, Sean continued to move forward.
At the end of this underground space, there was a thick wall with two giant snakes with emerald eyes carved into it. Harry was standing in front of the wall. When he turned and saw Sean suddenly appear, he wasn't surprised at all. He seemed to have expected Sean to come.
With a smile, Harry said to Sean, "Sean, you're here."
Nodding to Harry, Sean walked up to the wall and said, "I originally came here following Miles, but I didn't expect you to catch up to him faster than I did."
"Sean, how did you find out about Miles?"
Unlike the original history, it was Ginny who had been behind this wall, and Harry had been desperate to save her. But now it was Miles behind the wall. Although Harry didn't want to see Miles in danger, he couldn't exactly say he felt urgent panic either.
"Me and Miles don't get along very well. I won't get into the dirty details of old family issues, but I've been keeping a close eye on him—just in case he tried anything against me. Lately, I noticed he's been acting strange. Not only did his personality become darker, but the way he behaves has changed too. So I watched him more closely and eventually discovered something wasn't right."
Sean's explanation wasn't entirely satisfying, but Harry didn't press him. After listening, he turned to the wall and said, "Sean, shall we go in now?"
Hearing that, Sean nodded, then shook his head slightly. "We do need to open the wall—but don't go in immediately. I've made some preparations that might give us the upper hand and let us hit the serpent hard right away."
As he spoke, Sean handed Harry a pair of earmuffs—the kind used to handle mandrakes in Herbology class.
"Harry, take these. When I throw what I've prepared in there, put them on right away. It'll protect you."
"Okay, I understand."
Taking the earmuffs, Harry looked at the wall in front of him and made a hissing sound again.
"Open!"
Boom…
With a roar, the two giant snakes carved into the wall began to move. As they shifted, the wall split in the center and slid apart, vanishing into the sides.
A long, narrow chamber appeared before them, lined with towering stone pillars carved with serpents and shrouded in swirling green mist.
Taking a deep breath, Harry glanced at Sean, who remained perfectly calm. The tension he had felt earlier began to ease. Drawing his wand, he stepped forward—Sean at his side.
At the far end of the room stood an enormous statue, stretching from floor to ceiling. As Sean gazed at the statue's monkey-like face, sparse beard, and aged features, a trace of disappointment crossed his mind. The legendary Salazar Slytherin didn't resemble the noble, immortal image Sean had imagined. Instead, the statue gave off a sense of gloom and decay—enough to knock Sean's loyalty to Slytherin down by at least one percent.
"Sean, this statue is…"
"Salazar Slytherin."
Just as Sean finished speaking, a voice—familiar, yet different—echoed across the chamber.
"If I were you, I would add the prefix Great to that name, as a sign of respect for Salazar Slytherin."
Sean turned toward the voice. From the shadows, Miles stepped forward slowly. But something was clearly wrong.
His once-dark pupils were now laced with a swirling green mist. It was obvious—his body had been taken over.
So the soul in the diary has already taken control of Miles on its own, Sean thought. I don't even need to trigger it manually. It must have sensed what I said earlier—about Dumbledore discovering the truth and preparing to act. So now it's making a move on its own, even at the risk of exposure.
Is it trying to escape with the basilisk?
Sean's mind spun with possibilities, but outwardly, he remained composed.
With a calm smile, he looked at Miles and said, "Tom Riddle? Miles Bulstrode? Or… Voldemort?"
Miles showed a surprised expression. He stared at Sean and studied him carefully. After a long pause, a look of realization crossed his face.
"So it's you. No wonder you know my name."
Tom had already recognized Sean—but he didn't say more. In his mind, it didn't matter who Sean truly was.
Because Sean was going to die.
"Sean, the two people I want most are right here. As long as I kill you and transfer my soul fragment into Harry Potter, I can be reborn and return to the world once more. With the basilisk at my side, I'll quickly gather my Death Eaters again. The wizarding world is destined to be mine—and I am destined to become the greatest wizard who has ever lived!"
Hearing Tom's words, Sean immediately understood what was going on. This version of Tom Riddle had set his sights on the soul fragment inside Harry.
That fragment had coexisted with Harry for years—it had long since fused with his body and soul. If Tom merged with it now, he could override Harry's consciousness, reverse the polarity of their spiritual connection, and seize full control of Harry's body.
Even with his body destroyed, the soul of the centipede still writhes—Voldemort's Horcruxes were proving far more troublesome than Sean had anticipated.