"Justin! Justin!"
Ron stared at the boy's face, exclaiming in shock.
Hermione rushed to Justin, who was lying on the ground, and reached out a trembling finger to check his pulse.
"He—he—he's dead!"
Hermione uttered the words with difficulty, then collapsed weakly onto the floor.
By the light of the torches, Harry looked at Justin's frozen expression, fear etched clearly across his face. He swallowed hard, feeling a chill run through him.
The boy lying on the ground was Justin Finch-Fletchley, a second-year student like Harry and his friends, but from Hufflepuff House.
They didn't know why Justin had been in this place during the Halloween feast, nor who had attacked him.
But Ron was already feeling uneasy.
"Let's get out of here quickly."
"Shouldn't we try to save him—?" Harry said haltingly.
"Listen to me," Ron said urgently. "We don't want to be found here!"
But it was too late.
The rustling sound of footsteps came from the third-floor staircase. Soon, students arrived and discovered Harry and his friends.
The students, who had been laughing and chatting moments before, fell silent at the sight before them.
Everyone stared in horror. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood frozen, with Justin's motionless body beside them.
"Enemies of the heir, beware! You're next, Mudbloods!"
It was Malfoy. A cold sneer curved his lips as he loudly recited the message on the wall, adding a cruel remark that no one had the heart to react to.
No—there was one person who did.
"Slytherin loses twenty points, Mr. Malfoy. It seems your previous punishment wasn't enough. Your toilet-cleaning duty is extended until January 1st next year."
An indifferent voice sounded from behind the students.
Malfoy's smile froze. He glared resentfully at Sherlock.
But Sherlock ignored him. The students had already parted to let him through, allowing him to inspect the scene.
Harry and his friends noticed Sherlock's arrival and hurriedly began explaining, as though grasping at a lifeline.
"Professor, we saw Justin lying here as soon as we arrived!"
"It wasn't us! We were just the first to find him!"
"Is he still alive, Professor?"
Sherlock raised a hand, signaling them to be quiet. He drew his wand and crouched beside Justin.
All the surrounding students held their breath as Sherlock gently tapped Justin's rigid body twice.
Although Sherlock's magical ability had not yet returned to the original owner's peak, it was no longer at the amateur level of two months ago.
After a brief examination, he spoke softly.
"He's not dead."
Harry and his friends let out a breath of relief, and the tension among the onlookers eased.
"But his condition is not good."
An elderly voice spoke. Dumbledore had arrived with the other professors.
"Take Justin to your office, Sherlock. I believe it's on the third floor. Harry, you three come along as well."
Professor McGonagall dismissed the students, instructing them to return to their dormitories, and ordered Filch to scrub the writing from the wall before morning.
Sherlock cast the Levitation Charm on Justin. His stiff body rose into the air, and Sherlock led the group—Dumbledore, several professors, and Harry and his friends—back to his office.
The office was simple. Aside from basic furniture, it was filled almost entirely with towering bookshelves.
At Dumbledore's direction, Sherlock laid Justin on the sofa, and Dumbledore personally examined him.
Harry and his friends grew tense again as Snape began questioning them, suspicious of why they had not been at the Halloween feast.
They anxiously explained that they had attended Nick's Deathday Party and therefore missed the feast in the Great Hall.
After finishing his examination, Dumbledore shook his head.
"The spell that petrified Justin is an extremely powerful dark magic—far beyond the ability of any second-year student."
However, Snape continued pressing, demanding to know why they had not returned to the feast afterward.
Harry and his friends avoided mentioning the strange voice they had heard. They felt the explanation sounded unbelievable and might only cause more trouble.
Meanwhile, Sherlock stared at Justin's rigid form, lost in thought.
The basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets should have the power to petrify its victims.
But why did he remember the first victim being a cat?
Why had it become this boy instead?
At that moment, Professor McGonagall summoned several Hufflepuff students who had eaten with Justin earlier and questioned them.
Justin's friends explained that he had felt unwell all day. Madam Pomfrey had diagnosed him with a cold in the morning and given him a potion. Later, he seemed to have eaten something bad and suffered stomach trouble, so he left the banquet early to return to his dormitory.
Somewhere along the way, he had been attacked in the third-floor corridor.
No useful clues emerged.
Sherlock continued pondering when exactly the timeline had begun to diverge.
From the moment he arrived in the world of Harry Potter—especially after becoming the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor—he never believed events would unfold exactly as before.
After all, each Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was a key figure in the story, and replacing one would inevitably change the course of events.
Yet now, even the identity of the first victim had changed.
So when had everything truly shifted?
As he pondered this, Dumbledore concluded the investigation.
Justin was sent to Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Sprout mentioned that a new batch of mandrakes was growing. Once matured and brewed into a potion, Justin could be cured. Only then could they question him properly.
The night's crisis finally came to a temporary close.