"We have to hurry."
Avada took a deep breath, letting the frigid air soak through his mind. His thoughts became calm and clear once more. Then he stepped forward and headed back toward Hogwarts Castle…
"Hm?"
He suddenly stopped, narrowing his eyes. In the distance, a blurry figure was running out of the castle, rapidly closing the distance while waving at him—it was Baron.
Why was he coming back?
Puzzled, Avada quickened his pace and jogged a few steps forward. Soon, they were close enough to hear each other clearly.
"Why did you come back?" Avada asked first.
"To confirm something."
Baron took two quick breaths, brushed the scattered snow off the corner of his robes, and then replied, "This is something Harry and the others really shouldn't be involved in—it's too dangerous for them. And if I remember correctly, they're still busy with the Polyjuice Potion. So I deliberately went back to the castle to say goodbye to them before returning on my own. I just discovered a problem."
"What problem?"
"During our earlier conversation, Hermione mentioned 'what happened with Colin,' saying it reminded her to carry the warning device at all times. That made me curious. So on the way back, I asked her about it and learned what actually happened…"
"Oh, I already know about that. Harry told me this morning."
Avada nodded, indicating he was aware, and waited for Baron to continue.
"You've already heard?"
Baron raised an eyebrow. "Colin Creevey was attacked yesterday, while you only started being targeted for assassination by the basilisk today. Yesterday, nothing abnormal happened to you, right?"
"That's right."
"When Colin was attacked, Harry was right beside him. The two of them hid in a classroom for ten minutes before it passed. So, combining that with your theory—could it be that yesterday's target wasn't Colin Creevey at all, but Harry, who was standing next to him?"
Avada's pupils contracted sharply.
"After coming up with that idea, I didn't tell Harry and the others right away. Instead, I asked about Harry's schedule today. According to him, he's been all over the place—eating in the kitchens, checking potions in the Room of Requirement, stopping in corridors to chat with others… And aside from the trip to the Room of Requirement, where Hermione Granger was with him, there hasn't been a single Muggle-born around him carrying a warning device."
"So here's the problem—if Harry really is the basilisk's target, why didn't it strike when he was most relaxed?"
"And if Harry isn't the basilisk's target, then is it really trying to kill you to avenge Voldemort?"
"..."
After a moment of thought, Avada shook his head. "Hard to say. Maybe it's not that the basilisk doesn't want to kill Harry—but that it can't?"
"Don't forget, Harry wears glasses. That means the basilisk can almost never kill him directly with its gaze. And Harry has also made public the fact that he can hear the basilisk's voice. Theoretically speaking, he's actually the hardest of the three of us for the basilisk to deal with."
"I considered that too."
Baron nodded. "But if the culprit were truly determined to kill Harry, it wouldn't be impossible. For example, finding a way to make the basilisk move silently, or petrifying him first and then finishing the job once he's in the hospital wing… The possibility that Harry is a kill target still exists."
"So what's your point?"
Avada scratched his head in confusion. It was hard to imagine Baron coming all this way back just to present a hazy hypothesis that couldn't be proven or disproven.
"You can tell who the basilisk's gaze is fixed on, right?"
Baron's expression grew serious. "I want to go with you and confirm exactly what the basilisk's objective is."
"The two of us can wander around the castle together and draw the basilisk out. You judge who it's watching. If, as you suspect, it's here to avenge Voldemort, then both of us should be on its kill list. But if it still only fixes its gaze on you…"
"…then you'll have to figure out why on your own."
"That's way too dangerous—"
"I can seal my vision with magic, and you can guide me through a mental link. That way, nothing will look suspicious on the surface, and I won't accidentally meet the basilisk's gaze."
"…All right."
Avada hesitated, then slowly nodded. He took out his basilisk warning device and dispelled the alarm enchantment on it with his wand. Baron did the same, then looked at Avada.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
After the two of them returned to the castle entrance and climbed the stairs, Baron drew his wand, pointed it at his own eyes, and softly recited an incantation—it seemed to be a relatively mild blinding curse. By the time he put his wand away, he had to feel around to find his pocket.
[I'm opening the door. Just walk straight in.]
Avada reestablished the mental link between them, allowing direct communication through thought.
[Turn left a bit. A little more… stop. All right, go straight ahead—no obstacles in front.]
[There's a corner ahead. Take three steps, then turn left… okay.]
[We need to talk out loud about something. If we only communicate mentally, it might raise suspicion…]
About five minutes after entering the castle, Avada once again detected the basilisk's life force appear around them, shadowing their movements closely. That lethal gaze was firmly locked onto Avada at all times…
[The basilisk's here. Be careful. Your blinding curse is holding, right?]
[Don't worry, it's fine… Who is it targeting right now?]
[Me, for now. Let's observe a bit longer…]
Suppressing their nerves, the two of them continued chatting as if nothing were wrong, wandering through the castle for nearly twenty minutes.
And all that time, the basilisk's gaze remained fixed on Avada, completely ignoring Baron.
[…That's enough.]
Even through the mental link, Avada's voice carried deep confusion.
[It's been staring at me the whole time. My earlier guess was wrong. There's no point in testing further—let's split up for now. I need to seriously think about what's going on…]
[All right. Be careful. I'll go look up more information on basilisks.]
…
After Baron carefully lifted the blinding curse and parted ways with him, Avada returned to the Hufflepuff common room in a daze, desperately trying to figure out exactly how he had provoked the Horcrux diary and the basilisk…
'The basilisk only wants to kill me. It has no reaction to Harry or Baron. That means it's probably not about Voldemort… So why?'
'Under Lucius's influence, all of our enemies—including the Horcrux diary—should believe I'm the descendant of some great wizard. In theory, the basilisk shouldn't even attack me. And yet now it wants my life…'
'There has to be another reason. There has to be…'
Suddenly, a flash of insight streaked through Avada's mind.
He stopped dead in his tracks on the way to the dormitory, standing there blankly as his breathing grew rapid…
'Could it be… No. Calm down. Think carefully…'
'…Yes. That's it. That has to be it!!'
'All the clues fit together now!!'
He shoved open the dormitory door and rushed inside, took a deep breath, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"In that case, things just got a lot easier!"
"Tom, the basilisk, Lucius… are you ready?!"
As he spoke, he pulled out his wand and cast Step Across Worlds, sending himself into the spatial layer. He quickly found Baron and sent another note flying his way:
[Get Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George. Meet in the Room of Requirement at eight tonight! I've found the answer!]
(End of Chapter)