Hogwarts: I'm Truly a Model Wizard

Although Harry and Ron hadn't told anyone about Hermione's hospitalization, her absence soon drew the attention of several Gryffindors. Everyone had grown accustomed to her constant presence in the common room, always nudging Ron and Harry to stay on top of their homework. The sudden silence felt odd.

At first, Ron tried to deny knowing anything, but his siblings knew him too well and quickly managed to get the truth out of him.

"So, Hermione's in the Hospital Wing?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no…" Ron groaned, burying his face in his hands. He should have kept his mouth shut.

"Was it another attack?" Percy sprang up from the sofa, eyes wide with alarm. "You two stay here! I'll go inform the professors!" He started to bolt toward the door.

Ron and Harry jumped up, frantically blocking him.

"It's not an attack, and it's got nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets!" Harry blurted out, desperately trying to reassure him.

"Not an attack?" Percy paused, eyeing them suspiciously as they blocked his path. "You're certain?"

"Absolutely!" Ron insisted, nodding emphatically.

"I promise!" added Harry, raising his hand as if swearing an oath.

After a bit more persuasion, Percy reluctantly sat back down, though he continued to watch them closely.

Meanwhile, Fred and George exchanged a quick, amused glance, saying nothing but clearly entertained by Ron's anxious behavior. They didn't need words to communicate—they'd already worked out that this was something far less sinister than Percy had feared.

...

On the third morning of the holidays, Kyle was just leaving after visiting Hermione when he spotted Fred and George hovering suspiciously near the Hospital Wing's entrance.

"What are you two doing in the Hospital Wing?" he asked.

"We have a cold!" Fred blurted out.

"Yeah, came to get some Pepperup Potion," George added, throwing in a couple of exaggerated coughs.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. They looked perfectly healthy, without so much as a sniffle. It was obvious they'd come to snoop on Hermione's condition.

"And you, Kyle?" Fred asked. "Here to visit someone?"

"Oh, I'm here for Pepperup Potion too," Kyle replied loudly, pulling out a small bottle filled with red liquid.

Hermione clearly didn't want anyone knowing about her transformation into a cat. Pretending to know nothing seemed the best way to keep Fred and George from prying.

"What a coincidence!" George grinned. "It's been chilly, after all—gotta look after yourself."

"Yes, you too," Kyle replied.

They made some awkward small talk, then went their separate ways. When Fred and George entered the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey had already drawn a curtain around Hermione's bed, so they left none the wiser.

Kyle, meanwhile, headed back toward the castle, intending to visit the library. Near the entrance hall, he caught sight of Peeves gleefully chasing Moaning Myrtle around the castle with a large bouquet of balloons.

Since the attack on the Bloody Baron, Peeves had become even more reckless, constantly harassing both ghosts and students alike—though he usually behaved himself when professors were nearby. Myrtle, unfortunately, was one of his favorite targets.

Kyle found it odd that Myrtle was so afraid of Peeves' balloons, which couldn't actually harm her. But Peeves' distraction provided a perfect opportunity. Once they were out of sight, Kyle changed course and headed for the empty girls' bathroom.

Peeves and Myrtle's chase would likely keep them busy for an hour or so—just enough time for him to visit the Chamber of Secrets.

Kyle whispered in Parseltongue to open the drainpipe, jumped in, and made his way down to the passage. At the end, the Chamber's door opened slowly, and he stepped carefully onto the black stone floor, wand in hand. The stone he'd used to wedge the entrance shut on his last visit was missing—a clear sign someone had been there since.

Kyle scanned the chamber carefully. The good news was that he was alone, with no signs of anyone lurking in the shadows ready to attack. However, scattered snake scales and a large drag mark beneath the Slytherin statue hinted that the Basilisk had recently been here. The drag mark glistened with fresh slime, much like the trail left by a Flobberworm—only far larger.

Seeing the scales and the trail, Kyle knew the Basilisk had been released. But by whom?

He stood up and retraced his recent memories, piecing together anything unusual that might point to the culprit.

The Chamber was silent, save for his own footsteps. The carved snake eyes on the pillars and the Slytherin statue seemed to follow his every move, as if watching him. But Kyle barely noticed, pacing back and forth, deep in thought.

He'd asked Myrtle multiple times if she'd seen anyone enter the bathroom, but she'd claimed she hadn't. Then again, Myrtle wasn't always reliable—she lived in the bathroom, but wasn't always in her cubicle.

The strange part was that none of the traps or charms he'd set up had been triggered. Could there be another entrance? Or perhaps the person releasing the Basilisk hadn't entered through the main door at all?

Click.

A sound, completely unlike footsteps, echoed through the Chamber of Secrets. Kyle snapped out of his thoughts, instinctively pointing his wand toward the door—only to realize that the noise had come from directly beneath his feet.

Looking down, Kyle saw he'd accidentally stepped on a piece of shed snake skin while pacing.

"That gave me a scare," he muttered, letting out a breath of relief.

He reached down to pick up the snake skin, but as he did, something glinting caught his eye beneath it: a golden chain.

Kyle quickly picked it up. The chain was short, less than two inches long, and crafted from small gold snakes linked together. It looked like it had been torn off of something, as part of it was frayed.

"Could this have belonged to the person with the diary?"

The snakes immediately made Kyle think of Slytherin House. They adored snake motifs, adorning their clothes and accessories with them at every opportunity. At Hogwarts, if you found something decorated with a snake, odds were it belonged to a Slytherin.

But... this chain seemed different.

The tiny snakes connecting each link were remarkably detailed, with scales so finely crafted they almost looked alive. This wasn't some cheap trinket; it was clearly valuable.

Slytherin… with this level of wealth? Kyle thought. His mind flickered to Draco Malfoy, Harry's frequent nemesis.

But he dismissed the idea just as quickly. On Halloween, when Filch had been attacked, Malfoy had been at the feast in the Great Hall. He wouldn't have had the opportunity to release the Basilisk then. And besides, Lucius Malfoy wouldn't risk allowing Draco to meddle in something so dangerous.

But if not Malfoy… then who?

Kyle turned the chain over in his hands, considering other possibilities. Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson… or perhaps Crabbe and Goyle?