"Even if it is either of them, how would we prove it? It's not as if they would confess themselves," Harry sighed, scratching his head.
"Or perhaps we can…" Hermione muttered, both Harry and Ron staring at her, already familiar with how quickly her mind could concoct a plan. This time, she was thinking of a potion she had read about in passing. "Granted… it would be difficult, and we'd be breaking over fifty school rules… and it would be dangerous—extremely dangerous." Hermione watched as Harry and Ron nodded, prepared for the consequences.
She quickly led them to the library in hopes of finding the book she had seen before. Luckily, Lucas, Draco, and Pansy weren't there to notice them as they searched the potions section. Harry helped as best he could, but Ron only skimmed the spines of the books, figuring Hermione would be the one to find it anyway. She sighed, but since it was her idea, it was her responsibility to locate it.
It took nearly all of lunch before Hermione finally cheered, "Here it is!" She held the book up for Harry and Ron, their eyes glazing over the pages in confusion.
"Polyjuice Potion?" Harry asked, looking back at her for an explanation.
"With this, we can temporarily transform into others."
Ron grinned devilishly. "Brilliant! If one of us is disguised as Draco, and you're Pansy, Lucas will tell us anything!"
Hermione nodded, glad they both liked her idea—but her momentum quickly faded. "But I've never seen a potion this complicated before… It will take some time."
"How much time?" Harry asked, glancing at the pages again.
Hermione scratched her cheek with a sigh. "About a month."
"A month!?" Ron exclaimed, keeping his voice low but urgent. "Hermione, you realize Lucas was the only one not present when everyone saw Mrs. Norris! If it is him, half the school could be petrified by then!"
"I know," Hermione replied, shaking her head. "But it's our only shot."
Weeks passed as Hermione carefully tended to the Polyjuice Potion, letting ingredients mix and watching over it constantly. But the next attack shook her to the core when she heard the victim's name. She skipped breakfast, rushing with Harry and Ron to the hospital wing—only to find Chiara lying petrified on a bed, her expression frozen in terror.
"It's clearly Lucas. You saw how he treats her!" Ron growled, slamming a fist against the nightstand beside Chiara's bed.
"Where was she found?" Hermione asked, gently placing a hand on her friend's cold skin.
"She was on the Astronomy Tower's roof, looking through the telescope toward the lake," Harry said. He had heard about the attack firsthand from the professors while recovering from his Quidditch injury. Hermione's suspicions about Lucas deepened. That's exactly where she had seen him go from time to time.
She began visiting Chiara daily, talking to her still form, seeking some kind of clue. One night, as she sat by the bedside, the hospital wing's doors burst open and the teachers hurried in with another victim.
Red hair.
Hermione bolted to her feet. Professor McGonagall saw her and stepped aside to let her through. "I'm sorry, Ms. Granger," she said softly.
Hermione stared in horror. It was Ron.
She needed answers—now. Harry might be next.
The next day, Harry and Hermione met in the hospital wing beside their unconscious friends.
"Parkinson's gone for the holiday, but I don't think I can be Malfoy anymore…" Harry sighed. Their original plan—to have Ron distract Draco while Harry disguised himself to speak with Lucas or Pansy—had collapsed.
"Then… you keep Malfoy busy," Hermione suggested. "I'll talk to Lucas as Pansy and try to get some hair for you to use later… as Peterson."
Harry nodded, ready to do whatever it took.
The day arrived. Hermione stood in the girl's bathroom, holding strands of hair she had brushed off Pansy's robes. Harry watched with growing concern.
She added the hairs, plugged her nose, and tipped the thick, brown sludge down her throat. It clumped horribly and tasted worse—begging her to spit it out. But she forced herself to swallow. Chiara. Ron. She couldn't let them down.
As the potion settled, she leaned over the sink, face burning with the sensation of pinching and boiling. Finally, she looked up.
"You're a genius, Hermione…" Harry whispered in awe. Her long black hair and dark eyes reflected Pansy perfectly.
"I only have about an hour. Keep Malfoy distracted," she reminded him, and they both left.
Hermione searched the usual places—by the lake, the Great Hall, the Library. Finally, she found Lucas, reading about Gorgons in a magical beasts textbook.
She gasped, thinking this was it—proof. But his next words confused her. He seemed just as clueless about the Chamber as they were. Is it Draco, then? she wondered—until a small black snake slithered from beneath his robes.
Hermione stumbled back in shock. It had to be the hissing she remembered from first year.
Then, Lucas spoke to it. In Parseltongue.
Hermione's heart stopped. "It's speaking Parseltongue…" she whispered.
"Well, it has to be controlled by the Heir of Slytherin… like you…" she blurted without thinking—and immediately regretted it.
But Lucas didn't catch her slip. He was too focused on following the voice he heard.
Hermione followed. This was the information she needed, even if Lucas wasn't controlling the monster—he might point her to who was. Much to her horror, he led her straight to the bathroom where she had brewed the Polyjuice Potion.
Her skin crawled. Had she been watched this entire time?
Trying to distract herself, she theorized about how the creature was getting around. But then Lucas did something reckless—trying to look down into the passageway the snake revealed.
She sighed. Not cold or cunning… just stupidly brave.
The pet snake opened the entrance, and Lucas dashed down after a scream echoed from below.
Hermione hesitated. She had everything she needed. She could go to Dumbledore now.
But when Lucas slipped and fell, she couldn't walk away. No matter what he might be—she couldn't let him die.
After following him, she groaned in pain as she realized she had landed on top of him. Her heart jumped—before something else did: her hair.
It was changing back.
Lucas suggested they take turns keeping their eyes closed, and Hermione jumped at the opportunity.
As they moved through the sewer-like pipes, she stayed focused on the echoing sobs and the ever-present danger. But it was hard. Holding Lucas's hand… was new.
She'd never held a boy's hand before.
Her thoughts buzzed with nerves—until Lucas stumbled again.
And this time, what they found made her blood run cold.
A snake's skin, longer and wider than either of them could comprehend.
"That's not a Gorgon…" Lucas whispered.
"It's a Basilisk," Hermione replied, her voice hollow with realization.
They made it to the real Chamber thanks to Lucas's ability to open it. Hermione was stunned, barely able to process what they were seeing. A massive door. A stone walkway above dark water. Snake heads carved into the walls.
And at the end of the path—a sobbing figure.
"We're here to help!" Hermione yelled, but the figure didn't respond.
She followed behind Lucas, guiding him carefully—her grip on his shoulder tightening with every step. When the girl stood and turned, Hermione's breath caught.
She smiled. "I knew you would come for me…"
Hermione stared in disbelief. That hair. That voice.
But then the girl's expression soured as she looked past Hermione. And Hermione froze.
Because Lucas was still holding someone's hand.
Pansy.
Hermione's form began to shift, the potion running out. Her true features slowly emerged.
And the girl in front of them—Pansy—stepped forward with venom in her voice.
"Mudblood…"
Hermione stared back, horrified.
Pansy knew.