— — — — — —
The Next Day
"Looks like Voldemort's finally making his move," Hermione said casually. "Someone got petrified last night. Honestly, Ron's sister… I don't even know what to say about her."
"Well, it was Voldy who hypnotized her," Rimuru replied matter-of-factly. "Controlling her wouldn't have been hard for him." Then he tilted his head thoughtfully. "So, should we just go handle this whole thing now?"
"This…" Hermione hesitated. She'd watched the entire Harry Potter series and knew exactly how this story was supposed to go.
"I say we do it!" Milim practically bounced with excitement. "Besides, don't you wanna know what that big snake tastes like? I've been waiting to try it!"
"No. Absolutely not." Both Rimuru and Hermione mentally shot her down in perfect sync. That snake was hideous. No way anyone sane would try to eat it.
"Are you three trying to start a rebellion in my class? " Snape's icy voice cut through the room. His expression was pure frost as he glared at them—someone had the nerve to chatter during his class? Did they think he was in a good mood lately? "I paired students up so they could work together, not to chat."
Snape knew full well that Milim and Rimuru weren't just some random transfer students or any of that nonsense, but Dumbledore told him to act natural — so he did.
"Professor Snape," Milim said proudly, "I was talking, but look! My potion's already done!"
"Oh? Then if it's wrong, Gryffindor loses twenty points." Snape's tone could have frozen lava. Time to remind everyone exactly who he was. But then his eyes suddenly went wide.
"…What did you just add to that cauldron?"
"Oh! Just some… um—bestie, did you see what I put in?" Milim turned to Rimuru with a completely innocent look.
Snape: "…"
Rimuru: "…"
Hermione was the one to break the stunned silence. "You just added asphodel."
Snape's expression didn't change, but his voice turned razor-sharp. "And what happens when asphodel is boiled with shed skin from a mutating serpent?"
"It causes an extremely violent explosion!" Hermione answered immediately, voice brisk and precise. "And it's fast. You have about a minute."
The entire class froze.
"Run!" Snape roared, shoving students toward the door. Rimuru didn't hesitate—he grabbed both Milim and Hermione and bolted.
BOOM!
They hadn't even made it that far down the corridor before the classroom erupted behind them. The blast shook the entire floor of the castle.
A very dusty Snape emerged from the cloud of smoke, glaring daggers at Milim. "Miss Nava," he said with unnerving calm, "for the safety of this school and its students, I am banning you from my class forever. Consider it my personal duty to keep you from setting foot in here again. And for the love of Merlin, why—why would you think adding asphodel was a good idea?"
"Forty points from Gryffindor," he added coldly. "No—add another twenty. Sixty total."
With that, he spun on his heel and stormed off before he blew a blood vessel.
"Uh… bestie, what were we talking about before all that?" Milim asked with an awkward laugh, clearly trying to change the subject.
"It will take me a month to earn back sixty points." Hermione glared at her, seething.
"Come on, I didn't mean to!" Milim pouted, hugging Hermione's arm and trying to look cute.
"Forget it," Rimuru said with a sigh. "We really should've seen this coming. Let's just go deal with the basilisk already."
"Fine." Hermione sighed heavily. "Maybe venting a little will keep me from strangling you." She jabbed Milim in the forehead for emphasis.
"Let's go!" Milim stuck her tongue out playfully and charged toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
The basilisk was about to receive its first—and final—lesson in just how cruel the world could be.
As expected, they made it to the bathroom, opened the entrance to the Chamber, and descended into the dark tunnel.
The chamber was damp and cold, lined with dozens of massive serpent statues glaring down from both sides.
They finally reached the end, where an enormous stone face loomed over them from the far wall.
"The basilisk is behind that, right? I'll smash it open!" Milim said, cracking her knuckles and getting ready to punch a hole straight through the wall.
"Who are you? How did you find this place?"
A voice echoed from deeper inside the chamber, stopping them in their tracks. A young man appeared—Tom Riddle, Voldemort's sixteen-year-old memory.
He blinked, looking almost confused. This definitely wasn't in his script.
"Smash him first." Milim pulled out a massive warhammer, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Let me try." Hermione stepped forward, her expression serious. "I want to test how much stronger I've gotten."
"Then he's all yours." Rimuru smiled, holding Milim back before she could charge.
"Well, well. Three little children," Riddle said mockingly. "And here I thought I'd seen everything. Even filthy little mudbloods dare to challenge me, the Dark Lord?"
"You'll pay for saying that." Hermione moved first. A brilliant magic circle flared beneath Tom Riddle's feet.
"Icicle Lance!"
A massive spear of ice materialized and shot toward him with incredible speed.
"What the—?!" Riddle dove to the side just in time, the icy projectile screaming past him and impaling several of the stone statues behind him. Water on the ground instantly froze solid.
"What kind of magic is that? I've never seen anything like it!" Riddle got back to his feet, his expression a mix of shock and rage.
"Just a little throwaway spell," Hermione said coolly. "But it's more than enough to deal with you, 'Dark Lord.'"
Magic circles bloomed around her, one after another, until they filled the chamber with glowing light.
"Let's see you dodge this!"
Countless ice lances erupted from the circles, raining down like a blizzard and turning the entire hall into a killing field.
"Impressive…" Riddle sneered, though there was a flicker of unease in his eyes. His soul power surged as he conjured a massive wall of flame, forcing it forward to meet the storm of ice.
And just like that, the battle began.
...
Rimuru nodded from the sidelines. He was the one who had taught Hermione these spells over the past few days. As a member of the Dimensional Guild, he felt she should have the power to protect herself.
.
.
.