When Hermione first volunteered to join the investigation, she had seemed bold and fearless.
But on the way back from the office to the common room, she clung tightly to Lewis's arm, as if afraid something might suddenly attack her.
The sight made Harry and Ron glance over repeatedly.
It was clear—
Filch's incident had shaken her more than she let on.
Lewis could feel her unease.
So he didn't stop her.
Meanwhile, the one who was truly about to face trouble remained completely unaware.
Thinking of this, Lewis glanced at Harry—
The look of faint pity made the boy freeze.
Harry felt confused.
Why was Lewis looking at him like that again?
…Wait.
Why again?
Back in Lockhart's office, Lewis had already suspected that Dumbledore likely had some idea about the source of the attack.
At the very least—
He should have realized that this incident was somehow connected to Harry Potter.
The reason was simple.
Harry was a terrible liar.
"Too tired, so I went to bed"?
That was obviously nonsense.
Especially for Ron—there was no way he'd skip a Halloween feast just for black bread.
If anyone believed that story, they might as well believe Lewis was the First Emperor of Qin.
In truth, Harry hadn't returned to the feast because, on the way back, his Parseltongue ability had allowed him to hear whispers no one else could.
With Dumbledore's level of insight, even if he didn't know exactly what was happening, he should have sensed something was off.
If he truly prioritized student safety, he would have questioned Harry further.
And if he had—
The source of the attacks could have been identified immediately.
Everything that followed might have been avoided.
But he didn't.
Instead—
He chose to use this as an opportunity to temper the Boy Who Lived.
Lewis found that strange.
As headmaster, shouldn't student safety come first?
Even setting that aside—
Wasn't Dumbledore worried Harry might break under pressure?
From Lewis's perspective, it wouldn't be surprising at all.
Not everyone was as strong as he was.
The atmosphere remained tense as the four reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
Just as they were about to part—
Hermione suddenly grabbed Lewis's sleeve.
Her fingers turned pale from how tightly she held on.
She didn't let go.
"What's wrong?" Lewis asked gently.
Her body trembled.
She lowered her head, voice barely above a whisper.
"I've felt uneasy all night… I don't understand… Lewis, do pure-blood families really hate Muggle-borns that much?"
Lewis sighed softly.
So that was it.
Her unease wasn't just fear—
It was something deeper.
Even if the victim had only been a cat—
A powerful dark curse inside Hogwarts was terrifying.
"Pure-blood wizards are just like Muggles," Lewis said calmly. "A large group. Some are good, some are bad. You can't judge them all the same."
"Among Muggles, aren't there also people who consider themselves superior? People willing to commit atrocities just to prove it?"
Hermione looked up at him, eyes flickering.
"So… you're saying I shouldn't form prejudice based on this?"
Lewis shook his head.
"No."
"What I'm saying is—strength is what matters most."
"If you're weak, people will find all kinds of reasons to bully you. Because you're Muggle-born. Because you're different."
"But when you're strong—"
"They won't dare."
"They'll complain. They'll accuse you. They'll call you unfair."
"But they won't be able to do anything."
Hermione froze.
His words—
Went against everything she believed.
"…But isn't that… too domineering?" she asked hesitantly.
Lewis shook his head again.
"If it were me, I'd rather be called domineering than be bullied and only be able to complain about it."
"And if you think that's unfair—then all the more reason to become stronger."
"Because only the strong get to make the rules."
"If you're strong enough, you can decide that discrimination is illegal."
"You can shape the world into something fair."
Hermione opened her mouth—
She wanted to argue.
To call it twisted logic.
But…
Everything she had experienced with Lewis told her—
He was right.
Malfoy dared to call her a Mudblood.
But no one in Slytherin dared say that to Lewis.
And after tonight—
Malfoy likely wouldn't dare say it to her again either.
Because of Lewis's strength.
"…I understand."
She nodded firmly.
"I'll become stronger."
Lewis smiled faintly and ruffled her hair.
"Good. But don't worry too much."
"Until then—"
"I'm still here."
After watching Hermione enter the Gryffindor common room, Lewis turned away.
But instead of heading back to Ravenclaw Tower—
He vanished under an Invisibility Spell.
Moments later, he arrived at the abandoned girls' bathroom on the third floor.
This—
Was where the Chamber of Secrets was hidden.
Moaning Myrtle wasn't there.
Lewis approached the sink.
After a brief search, he found it—
The faucet engraved with a small snake.
According to what he knew—
Speaking "open" in Parseltongue would activate it.
Lewis tried:
"Open."
Nothing happened.
Then he realized—
He had spoken in human language.
His ability to communicate with animals required an actual living target.
This—
Was just an object.
There was nothing to trigger the ability.
With no result, Lewis returned to his dormitory.
It seemed—
Solving everything in one go wasn't going to be that easy.
In that case—
He might as well leave the problem to Dumbledore's chosen savior.
As for himself—
If he encountered the basilisk, he'd deal with it.
If not—
He'd ignore it.
At his current level—
It wasn't much of a threat.
If someone close to him was petrified, he could cure them himself.
No need for Mandrake Restorative Draughts.
Even if they were killed—
He could revive them using the Elixir of Life from the Philosopher's Stone.
The only concern—
Was getting there in time.
Before anyone discovered the body.
Otherwise—
To keep the Elixir a secret—
He'd have to start wiping memories.
And that—
Would be far more troublesome.
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