Hermione only knew that she had to run faster and faster. It was as if she was racing against the Grim Reaper. If she was any slower, someone might die in the snake's mouth.
She searched through her memories as she stumbled to the principal's office. She knew that only the tears of Dumbledore's Fawkes could detoxify the basilisk. Mag or Professor Flick might be able to defeat the basilisk, but they might not be able to detoxify the snake's venom. Even Snape's magic potion would take time to concoct. Only the tears of the phoenix were the fastest way.
She recalled the scene of Malfoy's arm being pierced by the snake's venomous fangs in order to save her. The warm, crimson blood even splashed onto her face. Feeling the residual warmth on her face, she felt a wave of dizziness in her head.
I'm the one who made a mess of everything, she thought.
She wouldn't be so infatuated as to think that Malfoy betrayed Voldemort because he was touched by her tears. He was obviously prepared. Whether it was the dragon's blood or the unicorn's blood, he had already planned for it. The former was used to win people's trust, and the latter was used to deal with unexpected situations like today. Or rather, if it wasn't for her, Dumbledore might have easily killed the basilisk by now.
I can only add to the mess. Hermione thought bitterly. She recalled Malfoy's actions and felt ashamed for doubting him. She blamed herself for messing up everything.
Almost everyone in the corridor looked at Hermione in surprise, not only because she was wearing a Slythrin robe, but also because of the blood on her face.
"What happened? Why are you wearing a Slythrin robe? " A pair of hands reached out to stop Hermione. It was Percy, the head of Gryffindor who was in charge of patrolling the corridor on Christmas Day. He looked at Hermione in surprise, and a suspicious light flashed under his glasses.
As the head of the school, he had to ensure the safety of the students and report to the professors immediately when there was an emergency. Hermione used to be an obedient student, but after hanging out with Harry and her brother for a long time, she didn't like to follow the school rules anymore.
He didn't expect Hermione to push him away after he stopped her. Percy stumbled back a few steps and almost fell. A senior boy was pushed away by a junior girl. It was really hard to accept.
"I'm sorry." Hermione continued to run forward without looking back. Even though she was apologizing, Percy did not feel much remorse from it.
She continued to climb the stairs. For the first time, she hated the school's arrangement of the principal's office — eight floors. How much time would she waste? Large droplets of sweat trickled down from her already thick and messy brown hair. The sweat stains froze, but she didn't notice it at all.
When she reached the third floor, she saw the Boulder Beast guard that symbolized the dawn of victory. Only then did she remember something as if she had just woken up from a dream —
She didn't know the password.
"Flavored Beans, Licorice Wand, Butter Beer …" Without any hesitation, she began to list out the foods that she knew. She knew that Dumbledore's password was usually snacks.
When Hermione said "Lemon Snow Baby", the stone monster finally jumped to the side. The wall behind it split in half, revealing a spiral staircase behind it. Hermione immediately ran up the spiral staircase. Standing on the staircase, she was burning with anxiety. She felt that the spiral staircase was too slow. It was even slower than her own legs.
She tried not to imagine the most terrifying scene. She and Dumbledore returned to the secret room, and there was only a Basilisk in it. Oh, maybe there was also the forgotten Professor Lockhart. Or maybe the Basilisk hid back, leaving behind a lifeless corpse.
She shook her head and tried to calm herself down.
She thought of the confident look Malfoy gave her at the end, and she chose to believe in him.
The ladder slowly spiraled upwards. Finally, she saw the door with the brass knocker. The brass knocker in the shape of a lion and an eagle did not attract her attention. She just wanted to knock on the door as soon as possible and find the principal.
She found that the door was ajar, and she heard a gloomy, disgusting voice coming from inside.
"Look, Principal Dumbledore. I don't think you are doing your duty now. How many students have been attacked?" The voice paused for a moment, then continued, "I thought that the monster would only attack Muggle students, but now the Weasley child has also been attacked. This proves that all students are in danger."
"That is a polite child, but because of your incompetence, he is now lying in the school hospital, unable to move."
"Disgusting!" Hermione could not stand the man's words. He even pretended to praise Ron in order to achieve his goal, which made Hermione feel sick. She pushed open the ajar door.
She saw a quaint round table in the principal's office, surrounded by people. Most of them were well-dressed, and she guessed that they were the school's board of directors. Directly opposite her was the calm Dumbledore. His hands were on the table, and his fingertips were pressed together. In the face of criticism, his wrinkled old face was calm.
"Look at this, look at this. This is the student taught by Dumbledore in the principal's position. Impolite and uneducated. " Lucius's voice became louder, and the other school's board of directors kept nodding and pointing at Hermione. They seemed to be very dissatisfied with this silly girl who had suddenly interrupted their meeting.
"My student is not for you to judge." Dumbledore didn't say anything, but when he did, it was like a thunderclap. His previous amiable image was replaced by a strong one. Under the half-moon glasses, his blue eyes flashed with a sharp light that didn't look like an old man's.
The office immediately fell silent. Lucius wanted to speak, but for some reason, he could not open his mouth.
"Child, is there a problem?" Dumbledore looked kindly at Hermione, as if he was a different person from the old man who had shocked everyone with his words.
"Another student has been attacked." Hermione looked at Lucius and then threw out a sentence that made Lucius unable to remain calm. "Your son may be dying, but you still have the mind to fight for power here."
Lucius immediately lost his calm. He slammed his hands on the table and then roared at Dumbledore, "If anything happens to my son, I will make you pay." Even his usual elegant demeanor was no longer maintained.
He then turned to Hermione and asked anxiously, "Little girl, what happened?"
Dumbledore ignored him, and Hermione did not bother him. Dumbledore and Hermione looked at each other deeply. If someone were standing in front of Hermione, they would find that Hermione's eyes were a little dazed.
"Let's go." Dumbledore suddenly got up and walked towards Hermione, grabbing her sleeve.
Then the two gradually became transparent and finally disappeared in front of the school's board of directors.
Phantom Transfiguration.
If it were in the past, Lucius might have used this opportunity to criticize Dumbledore for taking advantage of his privileges or something, because Hogwarts did not allow Phantom Transfiguration. But today, he chose to remain silent because he knew that Dumbledore was going to save his son.
"Damn it." He slammed his fist on the wooden table in front of him. The directors around him could feel his anger and fear. He could only sit there and do nothing because the little girl with Muggle blood did not tell him where Malfoy was.
Lucius's other hand tightly gripped his snake-shaped cane, revealing his inner fear and uneasiness.