"Mr. Riddle?"
Hermione's voice trembled with tears. She collapsed as though she had been hit by a Relaxing Charm, as though every bone in her body had been pulled out.
"You scared me to death!"
"Sorry, Hermione. Did you find any clues?" Cyrus asked with a smile.
His white hair looked strikingly stark. After all this time spent draining Malfoy's life force, Malfoy's face had become as pale as if it had been dusted with flour. Standing in the darkness like this, he looked exactly like a corpse.
But Hermione noticed none of this. After that instant of terror, seeing Cyrus was like finding a lifeline. She launched into a torrent of words. "I found out! The monster is a basilisk. You wrongly accused Hagrid. It moves through the pipes. We'd better take mirrors..."
Hermione clutched Cyrus's arms desperately, her words tumbling out incoherently.
"Don't rush, Hermione. Take your time." Cyrus took the opportunity to pat her back, helping her calm down.
Only then did Hermione explain everything she had discovered to Cyrus in detail.
"You're really clever, Hermione," Cyrus praised her sincerely. His praise clearly pleased her. The little witch sniffed proudly, looking positively smug.
But...
"But you got one thing wrong." Cyrus released Hermione and stepped half a pace back, putting some distance between them.
He seemed to retreat into the darkness all at once. Though they were only a few steps apart, the light from Hermione's wand formed a divide between her and Cyrus.
"Mr. Riddle?"
"I didn't wrongly accuse Hagrid, Hermione. You've misunderstood."
"But Hagrid really isn't-"
"Of course he isn't!" Cyrus cut her off. The expression on his face was beginning to look unfamiliar to Hermione. "As I said, I didn't wrongly accuse him. To be precise-I framed him."
"But why?"
"Simply put-I'm the Heir