"Ron? For now?" Hermione fell into deep thought after hearing Lewis's conclusion.
"But… how is that possible?"
Harry refused to believe it. He immediately argued, "How could you think that? Ron's family has been Gryffindor for generations! He's been with us the entire time. There's no way he's the Heir."
Lewis waved his hand dismissively.
"Maybe your thinking has been trapped in a misconception. You assumed the so-called 'Heir' had to be someone inheriting Slytherin's bloodline. But what if the 'Heir' is actually some kind of curse or magical item? Something capable of hypnotizing or controlling others to achieve its purpose?"
"You mean…" Harry opened his mouth, but no rebuttal came out.
Even he sensed the problem.
"Exactly. If you think about it this way, then opening the Chamber wouldn't be limited to a handful of pureblood descendants. The range of suspects expands to everyone. And since this sort of hypnosis or control goes against a person's will, all we need to do is find the one behaving the most abnormally."
"And among everyone, the most abnormal person is Ron!" Hermione's eyes widened the more she thought about it. "The Polyjuice Potion, Ron's recent performance, his constant exhaustion… Lewis's reasoning really does make sense."
"But… but when Mrs. Norris was attacked, Ron was with me!" Harry pointed out desperately. "He couldn't have done it then."
"That's why Lewis said 'for now,'" Hermione explained on Lewis's behalf. "Ron was probably only controlled later. At the beginning of the school year he was perfectly normal. Otherwise he wouldn't have stupidly flown the car to school with you."
Harry: Why are you still bringing that up?!
He racked his brain for counterarguments, but couldn't find any.
Lewis's logic was too airtight. Too reasonable.
After following the train of thought himself, even Harry started feeling that Ron really might be the culprit.
Then Lewis delivered the final blow.
"When I visited the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, they told me they had indeed seen a red-haired boy whenever the basilisk was rampaging through the woods."
Harry finally fell silent.
He knew Lewis wasn't making baseless accusations.
The centaurs' testimony was most likely true.
In the end, he could only say, "I'll go ask Ron myself!"
Then he sprinted toward Gryffindor Tower.
"Wait!"
Lewis called out.
Harry turned around just in time to catch a pendant Lewis tossed toward him.
At first glance, it looked similar to the protective charms sold by the Weasley twins, but its craftsmanship and quality were far superior.
"Borrow this for now," Lewis said. "Just in case. Hide it carefully and don't let anyone discover it. With that on you, even if something happens, we'll be able to reach you in time."
"Thanks, Lewis."
Although he still didn't want to believe Ron was behind the Chamber, Harry carefully tucked the charm beneath his clothes.
Better safe than sorry.
After waving goodbye, he ran off.
"So what about us?"
Once Harry was gone, Hermione looked at Lewis. "What are we doing now?"
"We've got our own task."
"Go get Ciri. We're heading back to the tower for a wilderness ritual."
As he spoke, Lewis pulled out a beautiful emerald-green feather from his pocket and waved it in front of Hermione.
"It arrived this morning. This is going to be our trump card against the basilisk."
Soon, they found Ciri in the Ravenclaw common room, and the three of them returned together beneath the tower's oak tree.
Lewis temporarily opened the demi-plane, reconnecting the little world to reality itself, then headed down to the basement to brew the Permanent Owl's Wisdom Elixir.
Meanwhile, Ciri and Hermione began preparing the Wilderness Ritual.
Thanks to their previous experience, they were already quite familiar with the process.
Time passed quickly until evening.
The Permanent Owl's Wisdom Elixir was finally complete.
Holding a crystalline bottle filled with turquoise liquid, Lewis stepped beneath the tree.
The ritual preparations were finished as well.
The two girls were currently playing happily with several little unicorns, while Lare stood nearby watching over them.
The moment she sensed Lewis and the others returning to the tower, she had rushed over immediately.
"Lewis! Lewis! I never knew there were unicorns near your home! You never told me!"
Seeing him emerge, Hermione excitedly called out.
Lewis chuckled.
"These unicorns only moved here yesterday. And this is Lare—the one I told you about."
"So she's Lare!"
Ciri and Hermione both looked at her curiously.
"Hello, Lare!"
Since neither girl knew Animal Speech, they couldn't communicate directly with the unicorn. Lare simply walked over and rubbed her head affectionately against them in greeting.
"So why did you bring them here?" Ciri asked.
"To escape the basilisk, obviously. Hermione already told you about the Chamber and the basilisk, right?"
"…Yeah." Ciri nodded slowly. "I never imagined creatures this powerful existed in this world. Compared to it, even leshens are nothing."
"Exactly." Lewis agreed. "Which is why I prepared this trump card."
"So this time, what are you transforming into?" Hermione asked curiously.
She had never heard of someone possessing multiple Animagus forms.
But Lewis already had his magical Animagus transformation, which was absurd enough.
His chimera form could even adjust chimera factors—one transformation functioning as five. That was beyond ridiculous.
At this point, Lewis claiming he could possess multiple Animagus forms barely surprised her anymore.
Still, she desperately wanted to know what sort of creature he intended to use against the basilisk.
"Of course it's—ta-da!"
Lewis proudly displayed the crystal bottle in his hand.
"The Permanent Owl's Wisdom Elixir. Feathered Serpent transformation!"
"Feathered serpent?"
For Ciri, the name was entirely unfamiliar.
Hermione searched her memory.
"I think I've heard that before. Isn't it the name of a deity worshipped by the Maya?"
"You're thinking of Kukulkan, also called Quetzalcoatl," Lewis explained. "A god worshipped by both the Maya and Aztecs, usually depicted as a feathered serpent."
"Whether such a god truly existed is uncertain, but feathered serpents absolutely do exist. Perhaps ancient civilizations saw them and imagined a divine being."
"Feathered serpents are powerful magical creatures. They are naturally benevolent, admired for both their beauty and wisdom. They guide mortals toward righteousness and oppose evil with their own power. It's entirely possible they once acted as guardian deities for ancient civilizations."
"They are protectors aligned with goodness. Feathered serpents cannot lie by nature, though they can refuse to answer, give ambiguous responses, or guide others toward incorrect conclusions if necessary to protect something important."
"They can survive for centuries without food or water and even live without air. Still, they eventually die from disease or old age."
"Their mating rituals are dazzling dances of light and magic. From them, gemstone-like eggs are born, hatching new feathered serpents."
"In short, according to all records, feathered serpents embody the power of good and possess traces of divinity. They are the perfect natural enemy of an evil creature like a basilisk."
"If it's a feathered serpent… then maybe it can resist the basilisk's deadly gaze."
Lewis looked up at the darkening sky and stepped into the center of the ritual circle.
"I actually ordered a fossilized feathered serpent feather a long time ago. It only arrived this morning."
"Once the transformation is complete…"
"We'll return to Hogwarts and end the basilisk threat for good."
If you want to read 60 chapters ahead of the public release, head over to: Patreon.com/RedString