Still cloaked beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and Ron made their way toward the bathroom floor. Halfway there, they spotted Mr. Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, and quickly ducked out of sight.
As they crept along, Ron sighed,
"Harry, your plan's actually pretty clever. If I stay outside and tell the professors what you're up to, I'll probably get points, and you'll definitely lose some for sneaking in. It all balances out—maybe Professor McGonagall won't be too mad."
Harry grinned, proud.
"I call this plan 'Luring the Snake from Its Hole!'"
Ron frowned.
"But we're not luring the basilisk out—we're luring the professors."
Harry shook his head, trying his best to sound wise.
"The original idea behind 'luring the snake from its hole' is to draw out the bad guys, force them to show themselves. But if we actually let the basilisk loose in the castle, it'd be way too dangerous for everyone. So I thought, why not flip the strategy? I actually overheard Hermione and Percy talking about something like this, and that's how I got the idea."
At the mention of Percy, Ron's scowl deepened.
"Figures Percy would come up with something like that. On Professor Holmes's birthday, he snuck off to give him a present—didn't tell any of us. And now George and Fred are starting to act like Percy, too. What's the world coming to?"
As they took a moving staircase up to the third floor, they realized the nearest staircase to the second floor was right by the Defence Against the Dark Arts office. Both boys froze, exchanged a glance, and silently retreated, heading for the stairs at the far end of the corridor instead.
Suddenly, Ron grabbed Harry, his expression odd.
"Harry, why do you think the professors haven't gone after the basilisk all this time?"
Harry hadn't expected Ron to bring this up now, but answered quickly,
"It must be because the Ministry won't allow it. Remember when we asked Hagrid what happened? He didn't give us any useful info, but he did say he didn't trust the Ministry and thought Professor Holmes calling them was pointless. Plus, he said he's happy with how things are now…
And look, all those Ministry people came for the exams, but they left without ever opening the Chamber."
Ron rolled his eyes but still explained,
"The people who came for exams were from the Wizarding Examinations Authority—they only handle Hogwarts exams. If they wanted to deal with the basilisk, the Ministry would send Aurors and the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures…
You're confusing me, Harry. That's not what I meant. Do you remember the curse about Defence Against the Dark Arts professors?"
Harry looked puzzled.
"Why bring that up now?"
Ron's voice grew urgent.
"Every Defence Against the Dark Arts professor only lasts a year—any longer, and something terrible happens. Don't you see? Professor Holmes has been here a year. Last year, Quirrell ran into trouble around this time, too…"
Harry's face fell.
"You mean… the professors aren't acting because they're worried something will happen to Professor Holmes?"
Ron nodded, lowering his voice.
"Harry, Professor Holmes is a good bloke—he even bought me a new wand. I don't want anything bad to happen to him. Maybe we should wait until next year, after there's a new professor."
Harry clenched his jaw.
"We can't wait any longer. You'll have to find a way to keep Professor Holmes out, but we can't let this drag on. Ron, do you remember last year's rumors about Professor Holmes releasing the monster?"
Ron frowned.
"Didn't we already talk about that? Hermione said the only reason there was a monster was because Professor Holmes knew about the basilisk ahead of time. He probably set it up to make us more careful. You could tell from the dictionary he gave Hermione—he definitely knew about the basilisk early on."
Harry pressed,
"But you're forgetting something. I heard a strange voice back then. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but after finding out I'm a Parselmouth, and thinking about everything that's happened… I'm sure I didn't imagine it. It was Parseltongue—that's why only I heard it.
So the basilisk must have been released once. The second time, Professor Holmes must have discovered it in advance and sealed up the Chamber."
Ron looked back toward Professor Holmes's office, then at Harry, before finally stomping his foot.
"I'll do my best to stall Professor Holmes—hopefully only Snape goes in. But Harry, I really don't want anything to happen to Holmes in his last days at Hogwarts…"
Harry rolled his eyes, thinking that if it were Snape, he'd probably be hoping the basilisk would eat him. Still, he suggested,
"Just pretend to be sick and get Professor Holmes to take you to the hospital wing. But make sure he gives the recorder to another professor before he goes…"
By now, Harry had completely forgotten that Dumbledore could see right through his Invisibility Cloak.
When they reached the entrance to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor, the corridor was eerily silent.
Moaning Myrtle herself had been relocated by Professor Douglas to another abandoned classroom for the duration of the exams.
The boys eyed the heavy wooden door of the girls' bathroom, a large padlock hanging from it.
Ron grabbed Harry, drawing his wand with a spark of excitement.
"Leave this to me! I've practiced the Unlocking Charm for ages!"
Harry, knowing Ron wouldn't get many chances to help later, didn't argue.
"Quick, then. Let's not get caught by Filch before we even get inside."
Ron nodded, stepped out from under the Invisibility Cloak, pointed his wand at the lock, and whispered,
"Alohomora!"
A flash of light—but the lock didn't budge.
Ron frowned at his wand, wondering if he'd spoken too softly. He tried again, louder:
"Alohomora!"
Still, nothing.
Harry checked both ends of the corridor—no one in sight—then slipped out from under the cloak.
"What's wrong?"
Ron scowled.
"Looks like there's a counter-curse on it. Now what?"
A wave of frustration hit Harry—he didn't want his plan to fall apart at the very first step. He drew his wand and shouted,
"Alohomora!"
The lock remained stubbornly still, but Harry's shout echoed down the corridor, causing startled cries from some of the portraits.
Ron quickly yanked him back, threw the Invisibility Cloak over both of them, and whispered in Harry's ear,
"Calm down, Harry! I just heard Mrs. Norris yowl."
Harry peered out from under the cloak, scanning the hallway, then whispered,
"Sorry, Ron. I just got a bit worked up…"
Ron stared at the padlock and sighed.
"If only Hermione were here—she'd definitely have figured something out."
Harry's expression was complicated.
"Hermione would never have agreed to this."
Ron patted his shoulder.
"Actually, if you'd told her what you just told me, I think she'd have come along."
Harry shook his head.
"She wouldn't. I already told her everything. Originally, the person I wanted to fetch a professor was Hermione, but she refused."
Ron, who'd been about to comfort Harry, froze mid-motion, staring at him in disbelief.
Harry felt the awkwardness, his own spirits sinking. He'd come here full of determination, only to be stopped by an ordinary door lock.
He spoke, his tone heavy,
"Ron, do you remember that plan? Hermione made it just to stop me from coming here… She told me herself. She said we're friends and she didn't want to keep lying to me, so she made the plan to slow me down.
But I know she put her heart into it. If I'd learned every spell on that list, maybe I really could beat the basilisk…"
Ron quickly interrupted,
"Why didn't I know about any of this? Hermione never apologized to me."
Harry blinked.
"You volunteered for the training plan. Hermione was going to explain, but I stopped her—if you left, who'd practice with me?"
No sooner had the words left Harry's mouth than Ron hissed,
"Harry!"
Just then, from the darkness down the corridor, Filch's voice echoed,
"Oh, my dear, let's hope we catch them this time. Spell-casting in the corridors, sneaking about at night—what a treat, right before the holidays."
At the sound of Filch's voice, the two second-years finally felt a stab of fear.
Huddled under the Invisibility Cloak, they crept toward a corner, holding their breath as Filch passed by, terrified that Mrs. Norris might catch their scent.
At that moment, Ron's feelings were a tangled mess. What a night it had been.
He'd followed Harry into danger without hesitation, only to realize he was just the backup—the spare.
He wasn't even really part of the plan. He was just the practice partner…
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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