Harry and Ron had no idea how they managed to get through that night.
Sherlock did not punish them. Hogwarts was about to close anyway, so whether it was point deductions or detention, neither would have any real disciplinary effect.
Thus, Harry and Ron were simply sent back to the Gryffindor Common Room, but the guilt weighing on their hearts still kept them awake the entire night.
The next morning, they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast with dark circles under their eyes, only to find Dumbledore arriving there as well.
In front of every student at Hogwarts, he officially announced the closure of the school.
An uproar instantly erupted throughout the Great Hall. Some students looked relieved, some stared in disbelief, while others loudly protested that Hogwarts could not possibly close.
But none of them had the authority to decide such a thing. After announcing that Hogwarts would shut down completely and that the Hogwarts Express would take everyone home the following day, Dumbledore quietly left the Great Hall.
His departing figure gave off a deep sense of exhaustion and discouragement.
Even after he left, the students continued arguing loudly. Gryffindor students blamed Slytherin House, insisting the Chamber of Secrets was entirely their fault, and the two Houses nearly came to blows inside the Great Hall.
In the end, only the forceful intervention of Professor McGonagall and Snape managed to restore order, sending the students back to their Common Rooms to pack their belongings.
Naturally, there would be no more lessons that day. After breakfast, every student was ordered to remain inside their own Common Room and forbidden from wandering around the castle.
Inside Harry's dormitory, Dean was chatting with Seamus about what they planned to do after returning home. Neville sat blankly on the edge of his bed, while Harry and Ron quietly discussed visiting Hermione one last time before leaving Hogwarts.
"I heard from Percy that the petrified students are going to be transferred to St Mungo's while they wait for the Mandrakes to mature," Ron said gloomily. "But I don't know whether the Professors have informed Hermione's parents yet."
Harry climbed down from his bed.
"Let's go. We'll find Professor McGonagall and ask if we can see Hermione one last time."
Ron stared at him.
"Are you mad? Professor McGonagall will never agree to that." Then he glanced towards Dean and the others before lowering his voice. "If you really want to go, we can sneak out tonight under the invisibility cloak..."
Harry immediately shook his head.
"No. I don't want to cause any more trouble for the Professors, Ron. If we'd honestly reported everything to the school from the start, Hermione wouldn't have ended up like this. We'll ask Professor McGonagall properly."
Ron finally sighed.
"Alright. Hopefully she'll agree."
The two of them left the dormitory together. Professor McGonagall was currently in the Gryffindor Common Room. Every Head of House had been stationed inside their respective Common Rooms to prevent students from sneaking out.
"We want to visit Hermione, Professor," Harry said with his head lowered. "After Hogwarts closes, we probably won't see her again for a long time. We just want to see her one last time before we leave tomorrow. Is that alright?"
Ron also pleaded sincerely.
"Please, Professor. We only want to see Hermione."
Professor McGonagall looked at them quietly. She neither lost her temper nor sent them away. Instead, her voice trembled faintly.
"Alright." Her eyes even became slightly moist as she looked at Harry. "I understand how you feel as her friends... If you wish to go, I'll permit you to visit the Hospital Wing. Just tell Madam Pomfrey that I approved it."
Harry and Ron exchanged astonished and delighted looks. Neither of them had expected Professor McGonagall to agree so easily.
They hurried from the Gryffindor Common Room and ran towards the Hospital Wing, informing Madam Pomfrey that Professor McGonagall had permitted them to visit Hermione.
Madam Pomfrey reluctantly allowed them inside.
"She can't move at all right now, and she can't hear anything you say either. Visiting her is completely meaningless."
Strictly speaking, she was right. Looking at Hermione's motionless face, Ron felt even more miserable.
"If we'd listened to her earlier, she wouldn't be lying here now... and Hogwarts wouldn't be closing tomorrow either."
Although Harry felt just as awful, his attention was suddenly drawn to Hermione's tightly clenched right hand.
A tiny white corner protruded from between her fingers, and when Harry leaned closer, he realised she was gripping a crumpled piece of paper!
He immediately nudged Ron and signalled towards it.
"We need to get that out," Ron whispered.
Then he deliberately shifted his chair to block Madam Pomfrey's line of sight, allowing Harry to move more freely.
The process took several minutes, and Harry only barely managed to remove the paper from Hermione's grasp without tearing it apart.
The two unfolded the note and stared at the words written upon it.
It was a memo with two hastily scribbled words:
"Basilisk."
"Pipes."
Ron looked utterly confused by the words, but suddenly a flash of understanding crossed Harry's mind!
He abruptly grabbed Ron's arm.
"This is a clue Hermione left us!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "The monster is a Basilisk! That's why! That's why I hear that strange voice whenever someone gets attacked—because I'm a Parselmouth and can understand snake language! It moves through the pipes in the castle, which is why nobody ever notices it before it attacks!"
Ron immediately became excited as well, but just as they prepared to rush off and tell the Professors everything they had discovered, both boys suddenly calmed down.
Even if they now knew the monster's true identity and how it travelled through the castle, it still didn't solve their current problem.
Because they still had no way of finding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
Hogwarts Castle was enormous—large enough to hold students from all seven years while still feeling empty at times. Pipes ran throughout the entire castle, and checking every single entrance one by one would be an impossible task.
Still, no matter how small the clue might be, Harry and Ron intended to report it immediately.
Sherlock's words the previous night had thoroughly awakened them. Their self-righteousness had only endangered everyone around them.
Thus, Harry and Ron hurriedly left the Hospital Wing and rushed back to the Gryffindor Common Room, intending to tell Professor McGonagall about their discovery.
But by the time they returned, Professor McGonagall had already left the Common Room, and the person now overseeing the students was the prefect.
Percy flatly refused to let Harry and Ron leave again no matter what they said.
Before departing, Professor McGonagall had specifically instructed him that no student was permitted to leave the Common Room until they boarded the Hogwarts Express the following morning.