A moment later, footsteps slowly began to sound.
Dumbledore arrived.
He walked into the classroom with a mix of seriousness and gentleness, his gaze falling on the Basilisk, showing no surprise, only calm.
"It seems that a very intelligent and brave guardian has appeared in our castle."
He didn't say his name.
But looking towards the empty shadows at the end of the corridor, it was exactly the direction Draco and Hermione had just left in.
The Basilisk landed with such a loud thud that not only the professors heard it, but the students were also awakened.
They huddled under the covers, pressing their ear to the door to listen for any sounds outside. No one dared to come out, and no one could come out.
After this incident,
Hogwarts has long been under curfew.
Only faint whispers wafted through the crack in the door:
What was that sound just now?
"Is it... that monster?"
Draco led Hermione around the path the professors had taken and slipped back to Gryffindor Tower without a sound.
The Fat Lady was used to seeing the two returning late at night together, so she didn't ask any questions and let them in.
Once inside the lounge, Hermione's tense nerves, which had been on edge the entire way, finally relaxed.
She leaned against the soft armchair, her hands trembling, not from fear, but from the disorientation of surviving a close call.
The calmness and quick judgment he displayed when facing the Basilisk in the classroom just now all transformed into a surge of emotions at this moment.
She looked at Draco, her eyes slightly red. "I... I still haven't recovered."
"That's Basilisk... a legendary monster. It really was chasing me; it almost saw me."
As she spoke, Hermione unconsciously clenched the amulet he had just given her, the warmth of his palm reassuring her.
Then she touched Draco's arm, as if to make sure he was really standing there.
"You mustn't be so impulsive anymore. You mustn't give me all your life-saving gear. What will I do if something happens to you?"
Draco squeezed her soft cheeks with both hands, causing her lips to pout involuntarily, and coaxed:
"Don't cry, keep it down—the whole building is awake. If someone hears us, we're both done for." He could only use this clumsy excuse to forcefully stop her tears.
Hermione slapped his hand away, covered her mouth, and mumbled:
"Let go... I... I wasn't crying."
She was still feeling lingering fear, but Draco made all her grievances disappear, leaving only a flushed face of shame and annoyance.
"We need to come up with a reason, otherwise the professors will definitely think we made that noise when they investigate." Draco released her face.
Hermione was taken aback for a moment, then, unusually, she was amused by him.
Isn't that so?
"That's true, but we can't let them know," Draco said matter-of-factly. "Do you want me to become famous again? If we get even a little close, the whole school will be watching."
Hermione turned her face away and said, "Who wants to be intimate with you!"
"Really not going?" Draco stepped closer and asked with a smile.
"No way!" Hermione turned her head away.
After Hermione finished speaking, Draco domineeringly turned her head, cupped the back of her neck, and lowered his head to kiss her.
Divide at the first touch.
Draco released her and laughed, "You can't refuse."
Hermione said shyly, "You scoundrel."
"That's how you deal with a stubborn Miss Granger," Draco said, his smile widening.
Hermione pouted in dissatisfaction, then remembered her business.
"Even if we make up an excuse, they'll find out we didn't come home last night, and they'll definitely connect this to the commotion we just experienced."
Draco shrugged indifferently.
"Don't worry, no one will believe I'm that strong, capable of petrifying Basilisk."
" Professor Dumbledore is a believer," Hermione said earnestly.
Draco's smile faltered, then drooped slightly as he muttered, "That's true... I guess I'll have to face that old man's earnest advice tomorrow."
Hermione couldn't help but smirk as she watched him, who was clearly incredibly capable but instantly became guilty in front of Dumbledore.
She knew Draco was taking such a big risk for her sake.
"So what reason are you going to give?" Hermione asked.
Draco said seriously, "Just say you had an upset stomach and came downstairs in the middle of the night... to relieve yourself."
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Hermione almost burst out laughing, deliberately drawing out her words.
"What a coincidence!"
Draco remained completely unfazed.
Hermione nodded. "Then I'll say I have an upset stomach too."
"Hey, is this a made-up excuse?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "You just went ahead and fooled me like that?"
"Just kidding!"
Hermione tilted her chin up, looking equally self-righteous.
Draco burst out laughing, leaning closer to her and asking, "Isn't that even more of a coincidence? The two of you got food poisoning together and ran out together in the middle of the night—do you think anyone would believe that?"
Hermione's cheeks flushed instantly, and she was speechless for a moment.
"You... you did this on purpose!"
"Oh? So, Miss Granger, you're still planning to share the same excuse of having diarrhea with me, is that it?"
Draco asked with a smile.
Hermione turned her head away from him, stubbornly saying, "I just... don't want to be questioned by the professors!"
Draco as he looked at her awkward yet adorable expression, and reached out to pull her into his arms.
"Don't worry, with me here, even if Professor McGonagall comes to ask in person tomorrow, there won't be a problem."
Hermione nodded, broke free from him, and quickly turned and ran up the girls' staircase.
Watching her light steps, Draco confidently pushed open the door to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory.
As soon as he opened the door, he was stared at by four pairs of eyes.
None of my four roommates were asleep; they were all sitting on the edge of the bed in their pajamas, their faces pale with nervousness.
They had heard the loud noise and magical tremors from the castle clearly. Ron asked worriedly:
" Draco?! Where have you been! Do you know how loud that was? We thought you'd been captured by that monster!"
The others nodded in agreement, their expressions mirroring the same.
Draco remained calm, rubbed his stomach, and gave a completely innocent look. "I heard it, the whole castle was shaking, I almost got constipated there."
The air fell silent for a second.
The commotion was so loud that he almost got constipated in the bathroom; the scene was hilarious, and Seamus couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Huh?" Ron looked completely bewildered.
Neville weakly added, "... Draco, did you eat something bad?"
"Yeah," Draco immediately chimed in, looking both pained and helpless. " Hermione and I were late on Halloween, so we just grabbed something to eat, and then we got infected."
"Why, why did it have to happen at such a terrifying time? That's just too tragic!" Neville said with a look of sympathy.
"Luckily, you only had diarrhea and weren't kidnapped by a monster. We were all terrified just now," Ron said, still shaken.
Harry frowned, something seemed off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "... Did you and Hermione get food poisoning together?"
Draco didn't even lift his eyelids. "What else? She was in excruciating pain from the same plate of dessert. Go ask Granger at dawn, and their testimonies will be completely consistent."
Upon hearing this, the crowd began to believe it.