After speaking, Draco stared at Hermione, awaiting her final verdict.
Hermione's face grew even paler as Draco's explanation became clear and cold.
Her hands, resting on her knees, were clenched so tightly.
She understood.
I understand completely now!
Draco Malfoy, with his cold and clear logic, forced her to face a stark choice.
It's not a matter of whether you believe him or not.
Because belief and disbelief have taken a back seat in the face of the ultimate question of risk and responsibility.
The problem now is...
Is she willing to take on the unknown risks and responsibilities for the clues about Moaning Myrtle's death and the opening of the Chamber of Secrets?
This is a value judgment.
Hermione closed her eyes.
Should we jump into this pit or not?
Finally, she slowly opened her eyes.
Those brown eyes, in the instant they refocused, seemed to have undergone some kind of tempering.
She displayed an unwavering determination.
"Good."
One word: concise, straightforward, without any embellishment or unnecessary emotion.
"I'm using that condition now to ask you a question."
"A very wise decision, Miss Granger." Draco nodded.
"At least, this is more likely to bring us closer to the truth than endless suspicion and stagnation."
Draco said, shifting to a playful pose.
"But..."
"... Although we seem to have reached some kind of... consensus."
"But I must remind you that the value of this condition we just obtained... is perhaps much greater than you can imagine at this moment."
At this point, Draco's tone became much more serious.
Hermione's heart skipped a beat the moment she heard those words.
The newly formed resolve inevitably began to waver slightly.
Draco caught the fleeting wavering in Hermione's eyes.
But instead of immediately going into details, he changed the subject again, glancing at the brass clock hanging above the fireplace.
He said.
"Judging by the time, curfew is about to begin."
After he finished speaking, his gaze returned to Hermione's face.
"I imagine that as a model Gryffindor, you probably don't want to be caught by Filch for missing curfew and then locked up with me, right?"
These words undoubtedly added another layer of pressure to Hermione's already tense nerves.
"So, before I answer your question about Moaning Myrtle, perhaps you could take a little more time to think it over carefully..."
"Because I know... probably much more, and... much more interesting, than how a weeping ghost dies."
Draco then presented Hermione with an even more nerve-wracking choice, one she had just made up her mind about.
Hermione's newly formed resolve and courage began to crumble under this series of precise psychological blows and temptations.
"You..." Hermione's voice was filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"What... what do you mean by this?"
She asked incoherently.
"Didn't you just say... I could ask about Moaning Myrtle... Now you're..."
Draco watched the dramatic changes in Hermione's expression, a hint of pleasure flashing across his face. Indeed, Hermione was most amusing at this moment.
He enjoyed seeing the Gryffindor know-it-all lose his composure in his presence.
"My meaning is very simple, Miss Granger."
"I'm just reminding you to carefully assess the value of what you have and whether what you get in return is... a fair trade-off."
"And also..."
He changed the subject, his gaze once again drifting to the brass clock above the fireplace.
Time is limited. The curfew bells won't wait for us. And a decision that may not be optimal often leads to regret later.
"You can stick to your original question, and I will keep my promise to answer everything I know without reservation."
"You can also choose to use a 'more valuable' question to pry open a door that may lead to... a deeper level."
"The secrets hidden there are perhaps more closely connected to, and more... dangerous, and more valuable, than what is happening now."
"Certainly,"
"You can also choose to... keep this 'condition' for now, and use it again when you feel there are more worthy questions to explore."
Draco offered a third option.
Hermione felt a sudden dizziness, and the scene before him seemed to blur.
She looked at Draco Malfoy's calm face.
She felt like a flying insect caught in a spider's web; the more she struggled, the tighter the invisible threads entangled her.
Ultimately, they could only surrender and await their fate of being devoured.
Time has never felt so heavy.
The ticking countdown roared in Hermione's ears.
She could imagine Filch carrying that dim oil lamp, his footsteps echoing as Mrs. Norris patrolled the empty corridor.
What suffocated and confused her even more than the curfew were the three options Malfoy presented.
The options are like three forks in the road, each leading to a mysterious and unknown abyss.
How could he be so calm?
He easily shattered the resolve she had built up with all her courage with just a few words.
Hermione didn't have time to think; she had to make a decision, immediately!
Before the curfew bells rang.
"I..."
Draco tilted his head slightly, seemingly waiting for her response.
Hermione left it at that.
Yes!
She was practically being led by the nose by Malfoy!
So she made up her mind.
She said through gritted teeth.
"I stayed."
Her tone was filled with an unwavering stubbornness, like someone who would never turn back even after hitting a brick wall.
"Now, right here, tell me everything!"
Draco saw Hermione's gritted teeth and simply nodded slowly.
"A wise... or rather, a courageous choice, Miss Granger."
Then Draco seemed to enter a state of reminiscence, and he began to recount.
Fifty years ago, Hogwarts was shrouded in the terrifying shadow of the opening of Chamber of Secrets. Students were attacked, petrified, and ultimately... Moaning Myrtle died.
He cut straight to the point, without any preamble, simply stating the facts in a cold, hard manner.
Panic spread, and everyone felt insecure.
"The then-headmaster, Armando Dippet, along with many professors, including the then-young Albus Dumbledore, investigated diligently, but to no avail."
"The real culprit, or rather, the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the monster, is very well hidden."
Hermione held her breath, her body leaning forward involuntarily, her brown eyes fixed on Draco.
She had a premonition that the earth-shattering truth was about to come out of Malfoy's mouth.
As Draco's gaze shifted from Hermione's face, it seemed to look back to a time fifty years ago.
"Until one day, a 'murderer' was discovered."
"A third-year student. A Hufflepuff student with a less-than-stellar reputation, rumored to be obsessed with dangerous Magical Creatures and secretly keeping 'monsters' in his dormitory."
Hermione's heart sank.
Hufflepuff? Third year? Obsessed with dangerous Magical Creatures? Keeping monsters in his dorm room?
"He kept a 'monster' that could kill people."
"And this 'monster' just happened to be linked to the attack. More importantly..."
"On the day Moaning Myrtle died, a highly respected student came forward to testify that he had personally witnessed this Hufflepuff student who kept monsters appearing near the bathroom where Moaning Myrtle died, behaving suspiciously, and... having a 'direct connection' to Moaning Myrtle's death."
"The evidence is irrefutable, with both witnesses and physical evidence. Principal Dippet, despite his doubts, had to make a decision under immense pressure."
At this point, Draco's tone carried a very subtle hint of sarcasm.
"That student... Rubeus Hagrid, was identified as the culprit who opened the Chamber of Secrets, releasing the monster and ultimately causing Moaning Myrtle's death and other attacks."
The name thundered in Hermione's mind.
Hermione felt a sudden dizziness, and his vision blurred.
He... he's the "murderer" of the Chamber of Secrets mystery fifty years ago? He caused Moaning Myrtle's death? He unleashed the monster?
"But," Draco changed the subject.
" Hagrid is innocent."
"He was just... a pathetic scapegoat who was easily manipulated."
An innocent scapegoat?
Hermione was stunned.
But Draco didn't give Hermione any chance to catch her breath.
He went on to reveal:
"The real culprit, the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, released the monster, causing Moaning Myrtle's death, and then orchestrated the perfect frame-up of Rubeus Hagrid for all the crimes..."
"He was a student at Hogwarts at the time."
"A charismatic Prefect who is loved by almost everyone."
Hermione's heart clenched again when she heard the word "Prefect".
His name is...
Tom Marvolo Riddle.