The eyes of the Basilisk reflected off a suit of armor placed at the end of the corridor, and Professor Burbage had barely taken two steps before she was petrified.
"Sleep forever..."
Kael, rushing over, used the "shutdown password" once used by Slytherin, successfully coaxing the Basilisk back into the Chamber of Secrets.
But after that, he ran into a bit of trouble.
Charity Burbage was only discovered at night, but right now it was broad daylight, and this corridor was a main path to the fourth floor. If he left her there, someone would definitely find her.
With no other choice, Kael had to move her into an empty classroom nearby, then hurriedly left the area.
Later that evening, he went to the kitchen, used the excuse of wanting to practice magic there, and asked the House-elves to help clean up.
They happily agreed.
...
After that came the ghost in December and the dwarves released on Valentine's Day—those passed just as smoothly, without any surprises in between.
Kael gradually got used to the life of not having to attend classes, just reading or practicing the Quietening Charm every day.
He even tried wandless spellcasting...
To be honest, it was a lot simpler than he imagined—he just needed sufficient control of his Magic Power to manage it.
But while he could use it, the effects of the Charms were pretty basic—or to put it bluntly, terrible.
It was like the difference between sawing wood and chopping it with bare hands—everything felt off.
Without the aid of a wand, it took him two whole months just to finally turn a beetle into a complete button... To put it in perspective, he was probably around Ron's skill level.
Of course, there were some real hassles during this time—most notably, there was a period when the Gryffindor trio would often come to the Room of Requirement.
Thankfully, Hogwarts Castle was big, and Kael could always find somewhere else. After all, reading was reading—didn't matter where.
...
He kept on like this until Hagrid was taken away by the Ministry of Magic.
After that, whether reading or practicing Charms, Kael found it hard to concentrate.
This meant the fifth attack was about to happen... Whether it was Ron getting petrified or the imminent end of the time loop, there was an unexplainable nervousness in Kael's heart.
Under these circumstances, he almost got discovered.
It was the fifth day after Hagrid was taken away—Kael absent-mindedly pushed open the door to the Room of Requirement, planning to visit the Chamber of Secrets.
He'd forgotten to use the Disillusionment Charm—and just then, he ran into Hermione coming up the stairs.
"Kael?"
Hermione looked at him in surprise, her eyes full of confusion. "Weren't you eating in the Auditorium? Why are you here!"
"Oh, I just remembered I left my Intermediate Transfiguration Technique book in the Room of Requirement."
Kael tried to appear as calm as possible. "But I came up through a secret passage, so you didn't see me."
"Hogwarts has secret passages?" Hermione was even more astonished.
"Of course," Kael nodded. "On the second floor, behind the Sphinx tapestry—it goes straight to the eighth floor. Way faster than taking the stairs."
"I see, that's the first I've heard of it." Hermione looked enlightened and didn't suspect a thing.
...
After this incident, Kael became much more cautious—every time he left the Room of Requirement, he'd check if his Disillusionment Charm was working properly.
And so time passed.
On the day Ron was attacked, Kael took a risk and found Fred and George, borrowing the Marauder's Map from them.
"If you want to find the Heir, I wouldn't get my hopes up,"
Fred said. "We've been watching the Marauder's Map every night and haven't found a thing."
"I'd say the guy's gotten scared," George shrugged.
Kael took the map. "No worries, I'm just bored these days—gives me something to do."
"Suit yourself," said Fred, not taking it seriously.
With the Marauder's Map in hand, Kael immediately headed for the Chamber of Secrets.
Riddle was already strong enough. His target with Ron was clearly Ron's wand—it was likely he'd follow along.
If that was the case, there wouldn't be much Kael could do.
He thought it over for a long time, then decided to take a risk and control the Basilisk himself.
From his previous observations, Kael noticed that Riddle didn't really control the Basilisk—mostly, it wandered freely. That gave him a lot of room to act.
He could completely have the Basilisk petrify Ron ahead of time, making it look like the Basilisk's own idea... As long as, in the end, Riddle got Ron's wand, everything would still fit.
As for timing...
Professor McGonagall had mentioned in the Hospital Wing that Ron was attacked after he got separated from Lockhart.
Kael opened the Marauder's Map and found Lockhart's name in the Auditorium.
Ten minutes later, after the students finished their meal, Lockhart left with a group of students—including Ron.
Kael watched the map nervously.
After a few corridors, Lockhart's name stopped near the Gryffindor Common Room, then started heading back the way he came.
Harry and Ron, meanwhile, moved quickly downstairs; they separated on the third floor—Harry went to the corridor where Filch was attacked, Ron... from the direction, he seemed to be heading to where the two ghosts were attacked.
This should be the moment. Kael turned to summon the Basilisk.
But just as he was about to leave the Chamber, the map changed.
Ron, who had been moving quickly, suddenly stopped after turning a corner.
And Peter Pettigrew's name was slowly walking into a nearby classroom.
A few minutes later, Harry arrived, lingered a bit next to Ron, then hurriedly ran up to the third floor.
Then the professors arrived—seven or eight names crowded around Ron and accompanied him to the Hospital Wing.
This...
Kael looked at the Basilisk by his side and couldn't help but think of a possibility.
Ron—could it have been just an ordinary Petrification Spell?
Thinking about it, with Ron's personality, did you really need a Basilisk just to steal his wand? That rat—Peter—could steal from him eight times a day and he'd never notice.
Soon, as all the professors gathered in the Hospital Wing, Peter Pettigrew walked out.
As Kael realized what had happened and was about to send the Basilisk back into the statue, a familiar wave of dizziness swept through him.
Everything around him began to accelerate, blurry colors and shapes flashing by...
Faintly, Kael seemed to hear Professor McGonagall's voice, along with ethereal, floating music.
"Stupefy!"
The blue light of the Stunning Spell flashed before his eyes.
Kael saw the Basilisk, its head swinging like a giant pendulum, crashing hard into the pillar beside him.
A large crimson bird swooped down and landed on Kael's shoulder, covering his eyes with its wings.
"Professor McGonagall... Fawkes..."
Kael's heart leaped—he was back, back to the original timeline!
But then, as if realizing something, he shouted loudly:
"Close your eyes!"
The Basilisk, still a bit dazed after tanking Professor McGonagall's Stunning Spell, obediently closed its eyes at Kael's command.
Professor McGonagall stopped, covering her mouth in disbelief: "Kael, you..."
"No, Minerva, that's not Kael."
Dumbledore came forward from behind, staring at the mass of black mist that had formed together, his expression more serious than ever.
"Tom Riddle!"
"Long time no see." Riddle turned around and smiled. "My dear Dumbledore, pro—ah!"
He didn't finish—his words became an ear-piercing screech that could shatter eardrums.
Riddle's body twisted and writhed, his arms flailing, screaming in agony, and then—
He was gone, like a shoddy firework going off.
"Sorry, Professor Dumbledore."
Kael pulled the Diary from the Basilisk's fang. "I figured you wouldn't want to chat, so I took the liberty of shutting him up for you."
"I ought to thank you," Dumbledore said softly, a complicated look on his face.
"Someone please explain what's going on," Professor McGonagall stepped forward. She glanced at the enormous Basilisk, clutching her chest and gulping for air.
Harry poked his head out from the crowd... he wanted to know, too.
"He was perhaps the most brilliant student Hogwarts ever had!"
Dumbledore began, "Few know that Voldemort once called himself Tom Riddle. Fifty years ago, I taught him personally here at Hogwarts... After graduation, he disappeared, wandering the world and sinking deeper into Dark Magic, until finally returning as Voldemort."
"But," Professor McGonagall asked, "why was he here?"
"A Soul Artifact, Professor."
Kael lifted the ink-soaked Diary. "Voldemort left this here when he was a student—inside is a fragment of his sixteen-year-old soul."