The Blood Traitor || Oc x Oc

Shocking Discovery

***Sera's hairstyle*** 

After visiting the Petrified Harry in the hospital wing, Sera and Ron moved on to Hermione's Petrified body. Sera replaced the brambles with fresh daffodils. She sighed heavily as she sat down next to her lifeless body. She took her hand, staring at her in defeat. 

"We wish you were here, Hermione," she murmured in a low voice. "We need you! Now more than ever." 

Ron nodded, looking just as miserable. His eyes were glazed over and he looked distracted. He heaved a heavy, longing sigh. 

As Sera continued rubbing the pad of her thumb over the girl's knuckle, she felt something very weird in her hands. Almost papery. She frowned and eased the paper out. Once she unfurled it, her lips parted as she stared at the answer they had been searching for months. Her eyes were wide and her breathing became uneven with excitement. A grin slowly made her way to her face as she stared at the answer.

Clever Hermione! She must have told her brother and they went to look for more answers together! 

"What's that?" Ron asked once he came out of his miserable state. 

"Ron," she breathed excitedly. "This is why Harry and Hermione were in the library the day they were attacked! C'mon!" 

They got up and quickly walked through the empty corridors. She read the words on the page aloud. They were getting so close the answer! 

". . . . The Basilisk can kill its prey if they look it in the eye — Ron! It all fits! There's a reason why I can hear the Basilisk! It's a snake!" 

Ron looked even more confused, furrowing his eyebrows. "But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is it that no one is dead?"

Sera stared at her reflection through a window. 

"Because no one did look it in the eye," she answered slowly. "Not directly, at least. Colin. . . . Colin must have seen the Basilisk through his camera! And Justin, he must have seen the Basilisk through Nearly-Headless Nick! But Nick's a ghost! He couldn't die again! And then my brother and Hermione. . . . they had the mirror! I'm betting you anything that they used the mirror in case they saw the Basilisk in case it wanted to come along." 

"And Mrs. Norris?" Ron breathed excitedly. She had never seen Ron look so excited before "I'm sure that she didn't use a camera, a ghost, or a mirror, Sera." 

Sera thought deeply to the time when they found Mrs. Norris Petrified. She suddenly remembered the water that had illuminated the letters on the wall. 

"There was water," she answered slowly. "There was water on the floor that night! I'm betting that she only saw the Basilisk's reflection!"

"But how's the Basilisk been getting around? A great, big, huge, dirty snake, of course, someone would have seen it."

Sera pointed to Hermione's handwriting written on the corner of the page. "Hermione's answered that for us, too." 

"Pipes?!" Ron exclaimed in horror. His eyes raked the ceiling nervously. "It's using the plumbing!" 

"Remember what Aragog said? About that girl who died fifty years ago? And she died in a bathroom? What if she never left?" 

Ron's eyes grew wide and his face lit up with excitement once more. 

"Moaning Myrtle!" he breathed enthusiastically. 

Sera nodded. Before she could continue, Professor McGonagall's voice rang through the halls through the magical P.A. 

"All students are to return to their house dormitories. Teachers, head to the second-floor corridor, at once."

"What do we do, now?" Ron asked nervously. "Should we tell them what we just discovered?" 

She knew Ron was right. She motioned for him to follow her. Together, they sprinted towards the second-floor corridor. Once they crept closer to where the teachers were, they crept carefully on their tip-toes to make sure that they wouldn't be heard by the other professors. 

"As you can see, the heir of Slytherin has left another message," said Professor McGonagall forlornly. 

"Our worst fear has been realized!" Professor Sprout wailed. "A student has been taken into the Chamber by the monster itself!"

"The students must be sent home," said Professor McGonagall sadly. "I'm afraid that this is the end of Hogwarts." 

Not unless they did something about it, Sera thought to herself. She was about to come forward, but footsteps made her stop. Gilderoy Lockhart appeared, looking cheerful, unaware of the horrible ideal that had just happened. 

"So sorry," he apologized. "I dosed off. What have I missed?" 

"A student has been taken into the Chamber, Lockhart," Snape drawled. "I think that your moment has come at last." 

The smile on Lockhart's face faltered. He looked confused and scared. 

"My m-moment?" 

"Weren't you saying just last night that you knew were the Chamber of Secrets was all along?" Professor Snape pressed. 

To Sera's satisfaction, he looked as though he was at a loss for words. 

"That settles it," said Professor McGonagall. "We'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend."

Professor Lockhart faked a smile. "Very well, then. I'll be in my office getting . . . . getting ready."

He walked away. Once he was out of earshot, Madame Pomfrey spoke up. 

"Who is it that the monster has taken, Minerva?" 

What Professor McGonagall had said next made Sera want to pass out. It was an answer she had not expected. 

"Durante Knightley." 

Sera nearly fainted, but she managed to slump against the corner. Everyone walked away and both she and Ron were able to get a real look at the message written on the wall, in blood. Sera read the message aloud in a faint, horrified voice. 

"'His skeleton shall lie in the Chamber forever'." She let out a whimpering, defeated squeak. "Dante!"