After dinner in the main castle of Hogwarts, most students had retreated to their respective House common rooms. The corridors were quiet, bathed in torchlight.
"Kai? Are you serious? Did Professor Dumbledore really say I could go?"
Hermione's face was flushed with excitement as she followed closely behind Kai Adler, their footsteps echoing as they made their way toward the eighth floor.
Kai gave a helpless smile.
"You've asked me that three times in ten minutes."
"I can't help it! He's the greatest wizard in modern history!"
Kai glanced at her with soft amusement. Her eyes were shining, her voice lively—it was hard not to feel a bit affected by her joy. He had mentioned it offhandedly to Dumbledore the night before.
"Could Hermione come too?"
He hadn't expected the old man to agree so readily—though he did warn that she must be the only one, and it should be kept quiet.
Kai had explained that to Hermione, and she'd nodded solemnly.
"I understand. Private tutoring from the Headmaster already bends the rules. If people found out… it could damage his reputation. Or worse, he might stop teaching you."
"He won't," Kai said easily. "He's my guardian, after all."
"Braggart~" Hermione rolled her eyes but her steps grew lighter.
The two of them talked quietly as they reached the eighth floor. But then, Kai suddenly paused mid-stride.
Hermione looked up at him.
"What is it?"
"Didn't you hear that?" he asked, frowning.
"Hear what?"
Kai's brow furrowed deeper. The corridor seemed silent to her—but something felt wrong. There was a faint, slithering sound—rustling, steady and ominous.
"Nothing," he muttered, but just two steps later, the sound intensified, growing louder… closer.
A chill swept over him.
Inside, the Obscurus stirred. Not violently, but in a warning pulse.
Something was coming.
A pressure filled the air behind him. Every hair on his body stood on end.
Without hesitation, he scooped Hermione into his arms and instinctively reached to Apparate—but of course, he couldn't. Apparition was barred within Hogwarts' protective enchantments.
The sound behind them now resembled something massive dragging across stone—heavy, wet, and deliberate.
Hermione clutched him tightly.
"What is that?"
"Don't look," Kai said urgently, pressing her head against his chest.
Whatever it was, his instincts screamed not to look.
He bolted.
His legs weren't fast enough. The creature was gaining.
He clenched his teeth. "Close your eyes."
With that, he exploded into a cloud of swirling black mist, Obscurus-form wrapping around Hermione, lifting them into the air and speeding toward the Room of Requirement.
As a mass of dark magic, Kai had no eyes—but he could see through raw magical perception.
And what he saw behind them made his core go cold.
A gigantic serpent—its emerald body as thick as a tree trunk—slithered down the corridor. It stretched on and on, disappearing around the bend. On its head was a fleshy red crest, like a grotesque crown.
Its eyes—huge, sickly yellow—locked momentarily onto the black mist.
Instant pain exploded through Kai's magic.
A portion of the Obscurus disintegrated instantly, turning to cold ash and falling like dead embers. He recoiled violently, diverting his magic away from the creature's gaze.
That thing's eyes killed.
He realized it could only be a Basilisk—what else had such a deadly stare?
He could feel it now: death would come the moment their eyes met.
And yet… they were alive. That meant they hadn't made full eye contact.
A condition.
Good.
The Room of Requirement was in sight. Behind them, the serpent stopped, suddenly, and slithered back into the darkness, vanishing as quickly as it had come.
Kai didn't waste time. He completed the three passes in mid-air, and the door appeared. The moment it opened, he shot through, shielding Hermione as he tumbled inside and shifted back into human form.
Dumbledore looked up, startled, as Kai collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, no longer caring about appearances. Hermione dropped to her knees beside him, her face pale.
"Kai! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine…" he wheezed.
Dumbledore rose, concern flashing in his eyes. "What happened?"
Once Kai and Hermione explained everything, the Headmaster's expression darkened.
"Dumbledore," Kai said, still panting, "didn't you say Hogwarts was the safest place in the world? If I weren't an Obscurial, I'd be dead."
Hermione ignored the rudeness. She was shaken.
"Professor, what was that thing? It sounded enormous."
Dumbledore didn't answer right away. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
"I fear," he finally said, "that what you encountered was a creature from Hogwarts' oldest legend."
Hermione blinked. "The Founders?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"Hogwarts was founded by four powerful witches and wizards: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw… and Salazar Slytherin."
"They built this school together," he continued, "but they didn't always agree. Slytherin eventually left, believing Hogwarts should only teach those of pure magical blood."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Foolish thinking. And?"
"Before he departed," Dumbledore said gravely, "Slytherin built a hidden chamber beneath the castle. The Chamber of Secrets. In it, he left a monster… meant to purge the school of all Muggle-borns."
Hermione's face turned pale.
"That thing?"
"Yes," Dumbledore said quietly. "Based on your account, I believe it was a Basilisk."
Kai leaned forward. "What exactly is a Basilisk?"
Dumbledore folded his hands. "A Basilisk is hatched from a chicken's egg incubated under a toad. Its venom is among the deadliest known. But its true horror lies in its gaze—those who meet its eyes die instantly."
"It's said Basilisks can live for centuries."
Kai exhaled. "So if Slytherin really left one here… that thing's over a thousand years old."
"And you just let something like that wander around your castle?"
Dumbledore looked weary.
"I've spent years searching. But the Chamber's location has been lost to time. No Headmaster has ever found it."
"But not just anyone can release the Basilisk," he added. "The Chamber can only be opened by the Heir of Slytherin."
Kai's eyes sharpened.
"So… someone at this school is Slytherin's heir. They've opened the Chamber. They've unleashed that monster—and it's targeting Hermione?"
Hermione swallowed, clutching her robes.
A deep silence fell over the room.
Kai's voice dropped, dangerously calm.
"I'll find them."
And in his gaze, there was a quiet promise—one colder than steel.
The last person who targeted Hermione still hasn't been buried.