The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

Hermione struggled in terror, her back slamming into a solid chest. She smelled a familiar scent—a faint, almost imperceptible cedarwood fragrance.

"Don't make a sound or look."

Julien's voice rang in her ear, low and urgent, carrying an undeniable authority. His other hand firmly grasped her wrist, pressing down the mirror that was almost protruding from the corner.

Hermione's heart pounded, almost leaping out of her throat. She leaned stiffly against Julien, feeling the slight rise and fall of his chest. (Wall)

The rustling sounds from inside the wall suddenly became rapid, as if sensing something. The sound of scales scraping against the stone wall was sharp and piercing, and then—

"Bang!"

A dull thud came from inside the wall around the corner, accompanied by the cracking sound of a pipe bursting. A crack suddenly appeared in the wall, and grayish-white dust fell down in a flurry.

Through the corner of her eye at the edge of the mirror, Hermione saw a huge, elongated figure flash past behind the crack and disappear into the depths of another dark pipe.

The sound gradually faded away, eventually returning to silence.

Julien slowly released his hand from her mouth, but his other hand still gripped her wrist tightly, as if afraid she might suddenly rush out.

"Are you crazy?" His voice was still low, but it carried suppressed anger. "You're not prepared at all. What's the difference between this and courting death?"

Hermione turned around, her face ashen, but her eyes flashed with renewed fury: "How did you know I was here? Were you following me?"

"I'm just making sure you don't become the next 'role model' to be petrified."

Julien released her wrist, picked up the fallen book "The Creature You Don't Want to See - The Basilisk" from the ground, dusted it off, and handed it back to Hermione.

"Let's go, it's not safe here. That thing was just passing by; next time it might..."

"They've attacked again! They've attacked again!" A loud shout came from ahead, seemingly from Mischievous Ghost. "Murder! No one can escape, human or ghost!"

Peeves' screams were like a rusty saw, cutting through the already tense nerves in the castle.

Julien and Hermione exchanged a glance, forgetting their lingering shock, and ran in the direction from which the sound came.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, accompanied by the occasional glow of magic wands.

As soon as she turned the corner, she saw a group of young wizards standing there. The sight before her made Hermione gasp and cover her mouth.

In the middle of the corridor, Justin Finley lay there stiff as a board, his face frozen in extreme terror, his eyes wide open, staring intently at the ceiling.

Beside him, Nick, who was nearly headless—the Gryffindor ghost who was always complaining that his beheading wasn't thorough enough—also remained eerily still.

His translucent body took on a grayish-white, stone-like color. He was no longer floating, but rather suspended a few inches off the ground like a statue, his expression frozen in horror.

"Oh my God... how could this be," Hermione's voice trembled, "even ghosts have been..."

The students began to gather, and whispers rose like a tide.

Julien crouched down, pretending to check Justin's condition, but actually lightly touched the puddle with his finger—it was cold, smelly, and the ground indeed... had traces of scales rubbing against it.

"Make way! Make way!" A commotion came from the end of the corridor, and the crowd was roughly parted.

Harry and Ron stumbled in, looking utterly pathetic.

Ron's robes were torn to shreds, and his face was covered in scratches and dirt; Harry's glasses were half broken, and his hair was stuck with some kind of sticky, grayish-white filament—the web of a giant spider from the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

The two were about to say something, but they were immediately stunned by the scene before them.

"Oh, the murderer is here." Mischievous Ghost laughed loudly above the students' heads.

"Oh, look at our savior, how capable he is!"

No need to wave a wand, just glare at me.

Justin and Nick slept better than anyone else.

"Will it be Pikachu's turn to give you a like next?"

Peeves hovered above the victims, pointing and laughing, "Damn it! I saw him! The Parseltongue, hissing, and then—bang! They all turned to stone!"

"Grab them!" someone screamed from the crowd, coming from the direction of Slytherin. "Look at Potter! Where did he just go!"

"And the Weasleys! They're covered in blood!"

Several older students had already drawn their wands and pointed them at Harry and Ron; their hostility was obvious.

"Shut up, Peeves! Stop causing trouble!" Professor McGonagall's voice came from the end of the corridor, along with Professor Snape's. "Get out of here right now!"

Mischievous Ghost made a face and disappeared into the ceiling.

"Stop!" Julien stood up and stood in front of Harry and Ron. His voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable calmness.

"Look at them, they must have just come back from outside—and if they were the murderer, why would they make themselves look so disheveled?"

"Maybe it's to cover it up!" Malfoy squeezed through the crowd, a morbid excitement on his pale face. "Maybe he petrified them first, then deliberately went to roll around in the Forbidden Forest—"

"Enough, Malfoy." Professor McGonagall strode over, her gaze lingering on Yulian for a moment with a hint of barely perceptible gratitude, before sweeping her gaze sternly across the room.

"Everyone back to the dorms! Immediately! Gryffindor students, led by Percy Weasley; Ravenclaw students, led by Penelope…" She paused, remembering Penelope was still at the school hospital, "...led by Rogers."

"But Professor," Hermione mustered her courage, "Justin and Nick..."

"I'll handle things here." Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and Justin and Nick's bodies floated slowly to the surface. "Mrs. Pomfrey will take care of them. As for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley..."

She looked at Harry and Ron, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "You two come with me. And Mr. Black, you come too."

Julien was taken aback: "Me, Professor?"

"Yes, you," Snape's smooth voice followed, "Mr. Black, you're always there too, aren't you?"

"Damn it!" Julien cursed as he followed.

The atmosphere on the way to Professor McGonagall's office was so heavy it could drip water.

"Professor, we know the truth!" Harry and Hermione said at the same time in the office.

"What do you know?" Professor McGonagall asked expressionlessly.

Harry glanced at Hermione first and said, "Hagrid is innocent. He released Aragog, the giant spider, 50 years ago. Aragog didn't kill anyone."

"Really? It didn't kill anyone. Then what's going on with you two?" Snape said sarcastically from the side.

"This..." Harry and his companion were speechless for a moment. Indeed, if it weren't for that car still wandering aimlessly in the Forbidden Forest, the two of them would probably have been devoured by spiders.

Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron with concern, then spoke up, "I saw it, it's a basilisk. I didn't see it clearly, but it should be the basilisk. Julien can vouch for that."

"What basilisk?" Harry and Ron asked in surprise.

"I'm certain," Hermione said urgently, seeing the two professors still puzzled. "If it weren't for Julien, I'm afraid I would have..."