Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

A sharp, cold hiss, filled with endless malice, pierced through the depths of the black hole like a steel needle! This wasn't Harry imitating Parseltongue; it was real, chilling Parseltongue!

The violence, hunger, and pure killing intent contained in the voice instantly sent chills down Harry and Ron's spines.

Immediately afterwards, the "rustling" sound of scales rubbing against the stone wall surged out from the cave entrance!

Harry and Ron turned deathly pale instantly, their bodies stiff with fear. Ron's wand clattered to the ground, and Myrtle let out a piercing scream before vanishing without a trace.

From the depths of the dark cave entrance, two enormous, ghastly yellow lights suddenly shone! They were the eyes of the basilisk! They possessed a terrifying, maddening, and petrifying magic!

"Obstacles are numerous!"

A clear, calm, and authoritative female voice suddenly rang out in the deathly silent corridor!

A massive magical barrier, shimmering with intricate arcane runes, suddenly appeared out of thin air between Harry, Ron, and the terrifying cave entrance! The barrier appeared at the perfect moment, just as their petrifying gazes were about to strike the two terrified boys!

"puff!"

A dull thud resounded. The basilisk's deathly gaze, capable of instantly petrifying a person, slammed heavily against the solid magical barrier.

The barrier remained completely still, blocking the basilisk's attack.

"Hermione?!" Harry and Ron exclaimed in unison, turning around in disbelief to see "Hermione Granger" standing not far behind them.

Her wand pointed steadily toward the cave entrance, her brown curly hair moved without wind, and her usually gentle and intelligent face was now as cold as ice. Her brown eyes now carried a hint of ruthlessness and a touch of laziness.

"Don't turn around! Close your eyes!" Tom sighed at their recklessness. "That thing's eyes can kill!"

Harry and Ron had no doubts. They turned around abruptly, closed their eyes tightly, and their hearts pounded.

Hermione... what is she doing here? When did she become so...powerful?

Harry was still thinking about Hermione.

"Hiss hiss hiss—!!!"

The basilisk inside the cave was clearly enraged! The obstructed view and the powerful magical barrier before it ignited its ferocity. A more violent hiss pounded against the barrier, and the outline of its massive head loomed in the shadows deep within the cave entrance.

"Step back!" Tom's voice deepened. He didn't use Parsleyan, but his eyes lit up instantly as he stared intently at the basilisk in front of him.

"hiss--?!"

The violent hissing sounds inside the cave abruptly ceased.

Those two enormous, pale yellow vertical pupils suddenly contracted, then began to flash wildly, filled with panic! The sound of scales rubbing together instantly became chaotic, no longer the prelude to an attack, but a hasty retreat.

The heavy scraping sound and hissing screams quickly faded into the distance.

The corridor was deathly silent, save for Harry and Ron's heavy breathing.

The azure light in Tom's eyes quickly faded, returning to his usual brown. He tossed his wand aside, looking at the two before him with amusement: "The crisis is temporarily over."

"It's gone?" Ron asked in a trembling voice, his eyes still tightly closed, his hands gripping his wand sweating.

“It seems… there’s no movement.” Harry patted his chest, then, as if remembering something, turned back. “Hermione, are you alright? Just now…”

His words caught in his throat.

The "Hermione" in front of them was slowly lowering her wand, without the slightest panic.

Tom glanced at the still-shaken Harry and Ron and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "What kind of books did you bring? Now that you've taken Mr. Lockhart's class, you should know that these books should just be a joke."

"..." The two remained silent.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Tom waved his hand with a smile, bent down to pick up Ron's wand that had fallen to the ground, and put it in Ron's hand. "Here, remember to hold it tightly next time."

Ron took the wand blankly, feeling even more uneasy. When did Hermione become so...cool? And that spell that blocked the basilisk's vision...what level of protective charm was that? When did she learn it?

“Hermione, what are you doing here? And just now… what magic did you use…” Harry asked anxiously.

Hermione's sudden appearance, her powerful magic, her composure in the face of the Basilisk... made Harry feel that the Hermione in front of him was a complete stranger.

Hermione is powerful, but not to this extent!

Could it be because...?

Harry's eyes dimmed.

Has Hermione been spending too much time with Tom and has been influenced by him?

Normally, Harry wouldn't dare to look Tom in the eye; he felt that Tom's gaze and demeanor resembled that of a powerful wizard.

But as someone the same age as Tom, Harry always felt suffocated whenever he got close to him.

The suffocating feeling of being surrounded by geniuses!

Now, standing in front of Hermione, he actually felt that same way again.

“You should all go back and get some rest and a good night’s sleep. As for the basilisk…”

"I'll go give it a multiple-choice question." Tom's lips curled into a smile.

Death, or surrender!

With the Mirror of Erised and the witch behind him, Tom wasn't really afraid of the basilisk.

Chapter 140 Petrification

“Are you alone? No, Hermione, this is too dangerous!” Harry stopped Tom. “You should at least ask the professors for help. If they knew there was a basilisk under Hogwarts, they certainly wouldn’t let it go!”

Tom sighed and shook his head: "We won't be able to wait until then."

"If you haven't opened the door yet, it might still be in time. The basilisk has been asleep and won't wake up so quickly, but you've opened the door and released it."

"How did you know the Basilisk was asleep?" Harry suddenly asked Tom.

Tom knew, of course.

If all the roosters in Hogwarts hadn't died, the basilisk wouldn't have dared to come out, since it was afraid of the roosters' crowing.

He had been intentionally controlling the rate at which the roosters died in the school.

Isn't the whole point to delay the appearance of this snake monster?

"Harry," Tom's face turned icy, "You should know what's important right now. You should leave this area, get some rest, or inform the professor!!!"

Tom pointed at Harry's nose: "Instead of continuing to argue with me here, do you understand?"

“Then you’ll have to come with us. Let’s go find Professor Dumbledore together.” Harry reached out to grab Tom’s arm.

But Tom reacted quickly, dodging Harry's hand, and took a deep breath: "Why don't you understand?"

You made a mistake, do you understand? You made a mistake!

And I'm cleaning up your mess right now!

You should at least understand where you went wrong!

"I'll go down alone. If I really die down there, I hope it will bring me a flower during the Obon festival." With that, Tom chanted a spell, pushing Harry and Ron away. An invisible wall appeared in front of Tom, separating the two.

No! Hermione!

As Hermione disappeared before his eyes, Harry stretched out his hand forward.

After climbing the stairs to the next level, Tom finally heard laughter in his ear.

The Mirror of Eris has been holding back for a long time, and now it can finally start laughing.

“Little Tom, I’ve discovered you’re a truly wicked person. What would Harry think if he knew that the basilisk was no different from a harmless little creature to you?”

Tom spat: "Don't say that, I'm still very scared, it's a basilisk!"

Many years ago, that basilisk killed people. Do you see the Myrtle ghost up there? She was killed by the basilisk.

Mirror of Eris: "Do you think you'll be killed by the basilisk?"

“There’s a probability,” Tom replied. “As long as the probability of death isn’t zero, I’ll be very careful.”

Mirror of Erised, know this: every wizard has only one life!

“No,” the Mirror of Eris corrected Tom. “For others, they only have one life, but that is not the case for you.”

Do you remember the earring your master gave you? It was an earring made from World Tree crystals. If you were wearing that earring, it's no exaggeration to say that even if Voldemort used Avada Kedavra on you and actually hit you, it would only cause you a little pain at most.

The purpose of that earring... he hid a high-level healing spell inside it.

Tom raised an eyebrow: "How high-class?"

"Even if your heart is hit directly and only half of it remains, you can still survive."

However... you must be careful about the magic your master infuses into you. If the magic is completely depleted, you will truly die... well, perhaps the word "death" cannot be used to describe you.

You can no longer die a normal death like a regular wizard.

Tom asked in confusion, "What does this mean? I can't die yet? Will I end up like those ghosts in the school, guarding it for hundreds of years?"

"No, you will return to your master's side, just like Merlin and Arthur... By the way, little Tom, you should know what happens if you make eye contact with the Basilisk through something, right?"

"Petrification?" Tom asked, puzzled. "I know that, why?"

"You can give it a try."

Tom: "?"

Unfortunately, the Mirror of Erised has no physical form, otherwise Tom really wanted to flick it on the head.

You don't care because it's not you, right?

Why don't you go and petrify yourself?

"No, no, no, you misunderstood me." The Mirror of Eris quickly spoke up after sensing Tom's anger. "You can go and experience what it feels like to be petrified."

You're different from other wizards. Aren't you curious about what would happen to your own body, or Hermione's, if this body were petrified?

This is definitely worth trying, and you don't need to worry, because I'll take care of everything for you.

Tom was puzzled: "What do you mean? You can fight?"

"Of course not, but I can talk to Hermione directly and ask her to come over. If something irreversible happens in the end, I can also ask Hermione to pour you a cup of mandrake soup, which will bring you back to your senses."

Tom: "You'll be exposed. I don't want anyone to know about you and the teacher. Since the teacher hasn't shown up for so long, I think it's better to let her stay in the field."

Am I that stupid?!

"Tom, do you have some misunderstanding about me?" The Mirror of Eris's voice carried a hint of resentment. "I'm not stupid. Of course I'll use appropriate methods that won't reveal my master's presence."

For example... when Hermione dreams at night, I'll pretend to be you and appear in her dream!