Hermione clutched the warm amulet, and her tense nerves slowly relaxed.
She looked at Draco; the boy's profile, in the dim light, seemed fiercely icy.
The hissing sound from the pipes outside grew closer, and the sizzling of sticky scales seemed to be moving along the wall.
The Basilisk was still lingering, not giving up its pursuit.
Draco pulled the palm-sized Godric Mirror Fragment from his pocket.
The fragments were covered with a faint golden magical aura, making them stand out even in the darkness.
"This fragment of the mirror will automatically lock onto the Basilisk's gaze, forcibly reflecting its eyes. Without us even lifting a finger, it will be completely petrified just by looking at itself."
"The amulet allows you to completely ignore the Basilisk's intimidating gaze; even if you accidentally make eye contact, nothing will happen."
Hermione was startled, then realized that his unusual silence and coldness were because the Basilisk had its eyes on her.
A warm feeling mixed with sadness welled up in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, a dull thud came from outside the classroom door.
It wasn't a violent collision, but rather the Basilisk's head gently pressed against the door, as if testing its prey behind it.
The air froze instantly.
Draco immediately shielded Hermione behind him, his wand pointed directly at the door, his other hand gripping the shard of mirror tightly.
She coldly said to the system in her mind, "System, lock onto the location of the Basilisk, prepare to activate the mirror fragment."
[Ding-- Basilisk coordinates locked; Godric Mirror Fragment could trigger forced reflection at any time.]
"Boom--"
The next second, the door was slowly pushed open by a tremendous force, and an enormous black shadow squeezed in through the crack.
The dim firelight barely illuminated its body, which was covered with dark green scales. Its body, as thick as a tree trunk, coiled up and almost filled most of the classroom.
Those vertical pupils, gleaming with a deathly, pale green, locked onto Hermione, who was hiding behind Draco, the moment she raised her eyes.
Now!
Draco flicked his wrist, and the mirror shards were instantly flung into the air. A golden aura suddenly erupted, forming an invisible shield in front of the two of them.
The fragments clashed precisely with the Basilisk's eyes.
There was no earth-shattering sound, only a short, startled screech.
The Basilisk's eyes, capable of petrifying anything, saw itself the instant it collided with the shards of the mirror!
The Petrificus Totalus's power instantly backfired, spreading at a visible speed from its eye slits to a cold, grayish-white color.
Scales, skin, muscles, bones...
In just three seconds, the originally ferocious ancient dark Magical Creatures transformed into a huge but motionless stone statue, which crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud.
Danger completely eliminated!
The mirror shards in mid-air lost their light and fell back into Draco's palm. Draco collected the shards, turned around, and hugged Hermione, who was still in a daze.
"It's alright now... nothing will scare you anymore." He pulled her so hard he almost crushed her into his arms.
Hermione was held tightly in his arms, and she understood why Draco was angry.
At that moment, she was so moved that her nose tingled, but the next second she was choked so tightly that her chest felt tight and she couldn't move her hands and feet.
Hermione patted Draco's back, her breath unsteady as she mumbled softly, "I know it's okay... but... but you're holding me too tight, I can't breathe."
"Haha!" Draco laughed upon hearing this, and the tense and hostile aura he had just displayed finally dissipated completely.
He loosened his grip slightly, but still couldn't bear to let go.
"That's true. Instead of being petrified by the Basilisk's first glance, I strangled him so badly he couldn't breathe. If word got out, people would think I'm even fiercer than the Basilisk."
Hermione's cheeks flushed, and she gently pushed his chest; he was breathing evenly now.
"How dare you say that... You were the one who hugged me so tightly, like you were afraid I'd disappear the next second."
"Isn't that right? If that Basilisk had hurt you... I really don't know what I would have done."
Draco said thankfully.
As he spoke, he gently tightened his arms around her again, this time with much gentler force, simply holding her firmly in his embrace.
There is only one Hermione Granger in the world!
"There's only one Hermione Granger in the world, that's true, but there's only one Draco Malfoy."
Hermione immediately and gently pulled away from his embrace, tilting her head back and scolding him, "You gave me everything that could save your life. Have you ever thought about what I would do if something happened to you?"
"Hehe." Draco chuckled guiltily.
"Actually, I'm confident I can kill it!"
Hermione was about to say something when hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by Filch's shrill shout, "It's that naughty student again!"
"Don't let me catch you!"
Professor McGonagall's stern voice followed. " Filch, be quiet. I sense a strong magical fluctuation."
"Oh no, oh no, oh no... the professors are coming!" Hermione panicked instantly.
Draco calmed down in a second, quickly stuffed the shards of mirror into his pocket, and reached out to grab her wrist.
"What's the panic? Run!"
He pulled Hermione along, hugging the wall to avoid the giant petrified Basilisk, and slipped out through a small door on the other side of the classroom.
Professor McGonagall flung open the classroom door.
The moment the lights came on, she froze on the spot.
Filch was the first to rush in, initially seething with anger, but he was completely dumbfounded when he saw the enormous, petrified serpent that filled the entire room.
He staggered back a step, his eyes wide with disbelief. "My God... This... This is... Basilisk?!"
He was trembling with fear, but then he was suddenly overjoyed and almost burst out laughing.
Mrs. Norris, who dared to harm him, is dead now!
A mixture of emotions made his old face flush red.
Professor McGonagall's glasses slipped down, and she strode forward, her wand taut and ready.
As her fingers gently traced the petrified scales, Professor McGonagall's voice trembled slightly, a rare occurrence. "... It's true. The Chamber of Secrets monster has been petrified."
For the first time, a look of near relief appeared on her serious face, which quickly turned serious again.
Who has the ability to subdue Basilisk head-on, and to use such precise and powerful reflection magic?
Professor Flitwick jumped in surprise, then exclaimed, "So beautiful... a perfect eye-reflection spell! There are only a handful of wizards in all of England who can achieve this!"
Professor Sprout covered his mouth, feeling both relieved and fearful. "It's finally over... No more students will be petrified, and we won't have to live in fear anymore."
Snape stood in the shadows, his dark eyes fixed on the petrified serpent, his brow furrowed.
He didn't speak, but his relaxed shoulders spoke volumes about his shock.
He knew better than anyone how dangerous the Basilisk was, yet it was dealt with cleanly and efficiently.