"Well," Victor said, his tone steady despite the growing sound from the statue, "I think, Hermione, you should go and hide with Harry and the others. The next part is going to be dangerous."
Hermione didn't step back. "Dangerous?" she said, her brows drawing together. "That's exactly why we shouldn't split up. We should leave together."
Her eyes flicked to the serpents on the statue before returning to him. "If that's the basilisk, then we shouldn't try to handle it ourselves. We need to get out and tell the teachers so they can deal with it."
Victor turned to look at her.
For a brief moment, there was silence between them.
Then he smiled.
It wasn't reassuring, nor was it careless. It was the kind of smile that came from someone who had already decided the outcome.
Before Hermione could press further, his form began to change.
The transformation wasn't abrupt; it unfolded with controlled precision, his body shifting as if reality itself adjusted around him.
His frame elongated, bones reshaping, structure stretching beyond human limits. Dark scales spread across him in a smooth, rippling motion, replacing skin with something far more durable, far more dangerous.
Within seconds, the space where Victor had stood was no longer human.
In front of Hermione now stood a big black basilisk, its body coiled and heavy against the stone floor, its sheer size dominating the chamber. Its eyes remained closed, but even without them open, the presence it carried was suffocating.
Behind her, Harry and Ron froze.
Their minds struggled to keep up with what they had just witnessed. In the span of minutes, they had watched Tom Riddle—who was supposed to be Voldemort, the Dark Lord—almost revive himself, while at the same time their own friend had turned into something huge and dangerous.
Ron's mouth hung open slightly, words failing him completely.
Harry simply stared.
Hermione, however, despite the shock that clearly ran through her, managed to force out a single word, her voice quiet but filled with realization.
"Animagus…"
Hermione stood frozen for a moment, staring at the enormous black serpent.
"But Animagus forms are supposed to be animals," she said, still trying to process it. "Not… magical creatures."
The basilisk in front of her shifted slightly.
Victor didn't answer with words.
Instead, he moved his tail, pointing toward the far side of the chamber where Harry and Ron were already retreating behind one of the stone serpent statue.
Hermione followed the gesture.
"You want me to hide," she said, more a realization than a question.
The massive head dipped once.
Hermione exhaled slowly, forcing herself to move despite the confusion still lingering in her mind. She stepped back and joined Harry and Ron behind the statue.
Ron looked between her and the enormous black basilisk, his face pale.
"Why did he turn into that thing?" he asked, his voice low and unsettled.
"It's his Animagus form," Hermione replied, though even she didn't sound completely certain anymore.
Harry leaned slightly, trying to see what was happening.
Hermione immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Don't," she said sharply. "A basilisk's gaze is deadly. We cannot risk looking directly at it."
The sound came then.
A deep, heavy slithering.
From the mouth of Salazar Slytherin's statue, the true basilisk emerged.
It was enormous, pale-scaled, its body thick and ancient, its movements slow but filled with raw, overwhelming power. The moment it saw Victor,
It reacted, a violent hiss tearing from it and echoing across the chamber, filled with recognition and rising rage, yet Victor didn't retreat as his black form shifted and coiled slightly, facing it head-on.
"Yeah," his voice came as a low, distorted hiss, carrying through the chamber, "it seems you remember last time."
There was no hesitation in his tone.
"But this time," he continued, "I will kill you."
The basilisk lunged.
Fast.
Far faster than something that large should have been able to move.
Victor moved at the same time.
His body twisted sideways in a smooth, controlled motion, avoiding the strike by inches as the white basilisk's jaws snapped shut where he had been. The force of it cracked stone beneath.
Before it could recover, Victor's tail whipped around.
The impact landed hard.
The strike slammed into the basilisk's side, sending its massive body crashing into one of the serpent statue. Stone fractured under the force, pieces breaking away as the ancient structure shuddered.
The basilisk recoiled, then rose again, its body lifting, head pulling back as it let out another furious hiss.
Victor didn't give it time.
He advanced instead, his coils tightening as he closed the distance, forcing the creature to react rather than attack. The two serpents circled, their bodies sliding across the stone floor, the sound of scales scraping echoing through the chamber.
The white basilisk struck again, this time with a sweeping motion, its body trying to crush rather than bite.
Their bodies collided.
The impact shook the ground, the force of two creatures clashing sending dust and fragments of stone falling from above. For a moment, they were locked, coils pressing, strength against strength.
Then Victor twisted sharply, breaking the hold and forcing the basilisk off balance.
The creature lashed out again, faster now, angrier, but Victor was already moving, his body weaving around the attack with precision that felt far too controlled to be instinct alone.
From behind the statue, Harry, Ron, and Hermione could only hear the battle.
*****
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