Hermione woke up and she was surrounded by professors. She looked around her, at her side she saw Harry. He looked dead. There were dark circles around his eyes, and he was pale. And his eyes, his eyes are blood red.
"Harry, what the heck happened to you?" she asked. The professors chuckled at her first words.
"I worried about you. I thought you, I thought you," he sighed.
"Oh, Harry, I'm okay. It's not the first time I've been petrified." She whispered the last one. "And good thing that there was a mirror in the bathroom." She stopped, and then she turned as pale as Harry. It didn't stop, she turned blue. "Myrtle." Just then, she cried.
Harry put his arm around her. "Everything going to be fine. Breathe, Mione." He said. He hugged her tightly as he draw circles in her arm.
Headmaster Dippet cleared his throat. "Miss Granger, I need to ask if you saw anyone. Who did this?" Tom Riddle. She wanted to say. Merlin knows how she wanted to say it. But she couldn't even utter a word. She shook her head. Deciding not to tell them.
"Then, I'm afraid that the school will be closing." He sighed.
Harry shook his head. "No. The school will not be closed. The person who did this, he, or she, I think the attacks will stop." He looked at Professor Dumbledore. Albus nodded in understanding.
"And how can you say that?" Dippet asked.
"Well, the person who did this, well, he or she is a student here. And any student calls Hogwarts home. He or she will stop, who would want to leave home and never come back?" he said.
"Very well, I will announce the closing of the school. But, if we pass the Ministry inspection, the school will remain open." The headmaster said.
The professors turn back then went to the other unpetrified students, asking the same questions. But none gave an answer. None saw Riddle. They only saw big yellow eyes of the basilisk. When they're alone, he looked at Hermione. "Why didn't you tell that it was him?" he asked.
"If I told them, he will be sent to Azkaban. And he will escape. And all of this will get worse." She said. Just then, Harry understood.
In the Great Hall, headmaster Dippet, announce the news. Everyone was whispering. Everyone was scared. They don't want Hogwarts to close. Hermione looked at the Gryffindor table. She was surprise to see Hagrid. She nudges Harry then pointed Hagrid. Harry smiled weakly then whispered, "I couldn't afford to fail twice."
Harry saw Tom looked troubled. After the feast, they saw him slip pass the students, and into the grounds. They followed him. They saw him enter the Forbidden Forrest. They followed close behind him, but not too close for he might hear them.
"Where's that dumb spider!" they heard him mutter.
But then, the centaurs arrived. They rounded on him.
"What are you doing here, boy?" They saw and it was Ronan. "You're not allowed here. Go back to the castle or else." He said.
"Pardon me for disturbing you, but I was merely looking for the baby acromantula. You see, my friend, lost it. It was his pet, so I wondered if the spider went here." He used his charm. But the centaurs are not swayed.
"Don't lie to us. We've been seeing you in the stars. You don't have friends. Go back, now, before you get hurt." Ronan threatened.
But Tom was foolish. He draws his wand and pointed it at them. The centaurs were about to attack but Harry yelled. "STOP!" he left the shadows of the trees with Hermione, "Ronan, we'll go back. No need for violence. I'm a friend. And I think you know me." He said.
"Centaurs are not friends with humans." Ronan countered.
Harry looked at each centaur. "Well, Firenze, you're my friend right?" he asked.
The centaur merely nodded. "We'll go back. Sorry for disturbing you." Hermione finally said.
Riddle hesitated but he followed them. But Firenze shouted, "Your presence is disturbing. Go back, before you destroy everything." Harry shook his head. "We can't make it worse than it already is, Firenze." He said.
They just arrive at the entrance of the Forrest, but everything went cold. They felt it. "But, they were supposed to guard us against Grindelwald." Hermione said.
They looked up; there were about a hundred dementors. Hermione reached for her wand. She muttered the spell but she only produces a silver mist. She was running out of energy. Riddle looked the same. He was scared. For the first time, he looked scared. Harry felt his energy drain. He heard his parents' voices, the mocking laugh of the dark lord. But he concentrated. He focused on saving Hermione. He looked at her, she already passed out. With all his energy that's left he shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
As quickly as the Dementors went away, as fast as Harry passed out.
They woke up in the Hospital wing. There are chocolate bars in their bedside table. Harry looked at Hermione, she was already eating the chocolate, while Riddle, he already ate it. They heard professors arguing about them.
"I don't want those dementors here. To attack students? Get them to leave, please Headmaster." Albus said.
"But it's their own fault, wandering in the grounds at night. And to think, he was a prefect! And your nephew, I expect him to know more but," the headmaster countered.
"They are students, Dippet. They're foolish, they didn't think. But it wasn't their fault. Those dementors, they clearly need to go away." Dumbledore heave a sigh.
"Fine. I'll talk to the minister." Dippet didn't argue anymore.
Professor Dumbledore looked at them, "It was really foolish of you to go out at night. 50 points from each of you." Then he walked away.
When the professors are out, Riddle cleared his throat. Hermione and Harry looked at him.
"What were you two doing following me? What are you up to?" he sneered.
"Well, Riddle, if you're too dumb, we just saved your life. And a simple thank you won't kill you." Hermione taunted.
"You didn't save me mudblood. You passed out before me."
"DON'T." Harry almost shouted. "Don't call her that. I saved your life Riddle. And she helped. So, we saved your life. Be grateful she was there or we would have been kissed by those dementors." Harry said.
"Oh, Dumbledore, she didn't help one bit. If you didn't notice, she just passed out before the two of us." He sniggered.
"Oh, Riddle!" he mocked. "I will explain this plainly so you'll understand. Hermione at least tried to produce a patronus. While you, you stood there, scared. She, she tried even if she just recovered being petrified by you basilisk." He said.
Riddle looked pale. "How dare you say that I'm the one attacking those mudbloods?" he said.
"Don't pretend Riddle. When you sent that snake on me, I already knew that you're the heir of Slytherin. You did translate my muttering to be parseltongue. You understood. And you're basilisk-" Riddle stopped him.
"You dare accuse me, then now you assume that there's a basilisk here at Hogwarts? Basilisks are extinct. And how would a basilisk move around the castle? You're out of your mind!" Riddle said.
"Don't play dumb Riddle. We both know that there is a basilisk here. Myrtle, she died because she saw it, but the others, including Hermione who also saw you, they only got petrified because they only saw the reflexion. And how? Well, we both know the answer to that. The pipes." He said. Riddle completely surprised that he knows.
"You don't have a proof, Dumbledore."
"Well, I will have one. Or if I don't, I'll kill it myself." He said.
"You can't kill it. You don't stand a chance against the basilisk. You don't even know where it is." He said.
"Well, now I have the evidence. You've just confessed. And I can show them my memory. And, I, also know that the entrance to the chamber of secret is in the bathroom where Hermione and Myrtle was found. Whisper to a sink in parseltongue, then it opens." Riddle was more than surprised.
"But don't worry Riddle, Harry won't tell anyone that it's you. He wants to see the look on your face when he kills it." Hermione piped up.