"Oh!" Myrtle, who had been watching the commotion, could no longer pretend she was not there. She leaped from behind the cubicle door onto the ceiling and exclaimed in disapproval, "Do not litter! How rude!"
"I am sorry, Myrtle, it was not directed at you." Draco held his wand steadily, the tip still pointing at Lockhart. "I will apologise to you after this is over."
Draco was targeting Lockhart—he had wanted to do it for a long time.
Using her simple-mindedness to deceive a young and naive female student, making her increasingly obsessed with him... Lockhart should be grateful that he was kind-hearted and did not use a wicked curse.
The three people opposite him were dumbfounded.
Draco, seemingly oblivious to their expressions, calmly asked Harry, "What is the plan now? You have found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets? Shall we go in?"
He nodded casually towards the pipe opening, but inside he was very excited.
Venomous fangs, venomous fangs—just one step away!
"Yes." Harry snapped out of his reverie, smiled at Draco, then looked at Lockhart with a grim expression. "We were just thinking of letting him in to scout ahead for us."
"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Lockhart tried to force a smile, but his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and he failed.
"Shut up, you good-for-nothing," Draco said dismissively, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "Do as Harry and the others say!"
Lockhart's face gradually turned pale.
"You—you are all in cahoots?" he suddenly realised. Then, he awkwardly stroked his flowing blond hair, forcing a smile, "Well, since I am the only professor here, I should take the lead..."
Before he could finish speaking, an impatient Ron kicked him into the bottomless pipe.
Lockhart's terrified scream echoed from the pipe.
"That beautiful scream," Draco thought dismissively. "If those witches who idolise his courage heard it, they might immediately turn against him."
Maybe she will never draw any silly hearts on her timetable again, right, Hermione Granger?
"Together?" Harry asked.
Draco did not say anything, but nodded encouragingly at him.
Harry gave him a nervous smile and jumped down the pipe first.
"Be careful," Draco called out to the pipes. Then, he calmly looked at Ron. "Who wants to go first?"
"I have not forgiven you for what happened to Scabbers yet," Ron said, his face ashen as he stepped into the pipe, grumbling, "If it were not for Ginny being in danger right now..."
"Stop wasting time!" Draco kicked him down the pipe, then jumped down himself, sliding through the sticky, endless, dark pipe whilst yelling, "Get down there first before you talk to me!"
After winding his way down for a whilst, Draco descended, disappearing deep beneath the school. He could faintly hear the slight bumping of people around the bends in the road ahead, but he could not tell if it was Harry or Ron.
Finally, he landed on the ground with a thud.
Not far away, Lockhart was covered in mud and looked dishevelled, his face as white as a ghost from Hogwarts, no longer the handsome man he once was.
A little closer to Draco, Harry and Ron, also covered in dirt, were scrambling to their feet.
"Disgusting." Draco raised his hand, sniffed the stench on his sleeve with disgust, and gave himself a thorough cleaning. Then, with a flash of light, he shone it into the dark depths of the stone tunnel.
"I reckon this is much deeper than Slytherin's dormitories," Draco's words echoed through the dark tunnel.
"We must be miles below the school," Harry agreed.
"Merlin's beard, my wand... it seems crooked, and it is covered in mud," Ron muttered under his breath.
Harry said, exasperated, "Put it away for now, we will deal with it when we get back." He also whispered to his wand, "Lumos!"
A glimmer of light emanated from the tip of the wand, and Ron followed closely behind Harry, heading deeper into the tunnel.
"Let us go, Professor Lockhart, the 'Professor-in-the-lead'," Draco said coldly to Lockhart, giving him a sinister smile.
Lockhart nodded nervously, as if he was terrified by the tunnel. He followed Ron silently, walking slowly forward.
Draco chose to follow Lockhart.
In this situation, he would never reveal his back to someone he did not trust. He did not trust Lockhart, and he disliked the possibility of someone stabbing him in the back.
Sometimes, the human heart is more terrifying than the unknown darkness.
After walking for a whilst, the ground did not feel damp; instead, it made a creaking sound with each step. Draco shone the light from his wand on the ground and saw it was covered in tiny animal bones.
It seems this Basilisk has a good diet. Draco chuckled briefly and gripped his wand tighter.
Now that the remains of the Basilisk's food have appeared, the Basilisk itself may appear at any time.
"Basilisk!" Lockhart screamed, hiding behind Ron.
"Shut up! That is just the skin of a Basilisk!" Ron said, looking ahead with renewed vigour.
A huge, bright green snakeskin that was at least twenty feet long.
Draco heard the gasps of amazement from the people in front of him, and he was equally astonished.
The scene was breathtaking and awe-inspiring.
Although he was mentally prepared, it was not until he saw this horrifying evidence that he was completely certain that Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets was real.
And indeed, there really is a Basilisk that has been silently roaming Hogwarts Castle for thousands of years, and its size remains enormous.
Poor Hermione, his heart skipped a beat.
He had known the Basilisk existed for a whilst, but he had not realised it was so enormous. She must have been terrified when she faced that horrible creature.
No wonder she looked so pitiful back then, shivering and constantly burrowing into his arms.
He should have comforted her more back then.
He thought with pity, and could not help but worry about the little girl lying in the Hospital Wing. She had choked up and told him she did not want to be alone. She must have been terrified. I wonder if she is still afraid now?
But he was also glad she had not come. Otherwise, seeing the snake monster's skin would surely have filled her with fear again. When she said she was "much better," she was definitely just being stubborn.
I wonder if she can sleep now? Is she alone? If she is awake, will she start crying again? He could not help but feel worried.
"Harry, how do we deal with this Basilisk and get Ginny back?" Ron asked, his voice trembling with tears.
He had clearly hit the nail on the head. Draco snapped out of his reverie, brought the tip of his wand closer to the snakeskin, and examined it closely by the light. He was at a loss for words and could not help but sigh.
In his previous life, he had only heard a little about the Chamber and the Basilisk, but knew nothing about the specifics.
Now that things had come to this, the possibility of facing the Basilisk directly was extremely high, which made Draco incredibly nervous. He had little confidence in dealing with such a large creature; even adult wizards might not have that confidence.
Both fangs and a glare can be deadly.
Perhaps only a powerful wizard like Dumbledore could rival this Basilisk.
In his past life, how did Harry, that reckless fellow, manage to deal with the Basilisk?
Draco glanced at Harry beside him, who was staring in awe at the snakeskin, completely unaware of what he was about to do. He was also completely oblivious to the unusual respect Draco held for him.
Perhaps Harry is exceptionally gifted? Draco wondered.
Although it is not usually noticeable, Harry is, after all, a wizard who can kill a Basilisk!
Later, I must watch carefully to see how he is dealing with that Basilisk and what is unusual about it! Draco looked at the still somewhat bewildered boy and pondered to himself.