The three of them scrambled through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room, breathing hard.
"Blimey—!" Ron gasped, bending over with his hands on his knees. "What was that?"
Harry dropped into a chair, still trying to catch his breath. "I don't know… but it was right behind us."
Hermione was gripping the back of a chair, her face pale as she tried to steady herself. For a few seconds she said nothing, then her expression shifted as recognition set in.
"I think we've seen it before," she said slowly.
Harry looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
Hermione swallowed before answering. "In the Forbidden Forest… last year. During detention. That enormous snake."
The words landed heavily.
Ron went completely still.
That memory had never really left him—the darkness of the forest, the cold air, and that massive shape moving through the shadows. It had been one of the few things from that night he wished he could forget.
Harry frowned, thinking back. "The one that… helped us?" he said. "The one that scared Voldemort away?"
Hermione nodded.
Ron ran a hand through his hair, clearly unsettled.
"So now there are two of them?" he said, his voice uneasy.
"That thing gave me nightmares for weeks," he muttered. "And now it's inside Hogwarts?"
Harry shook his head, still trying to understand it.
"How did something like that even get in?" Harry said. "Isn't the castle supposed to be protected? Things from the Forbidden Forest aren't just supposed to wander inside."
Hermione straightened slightly, her thoughts finally forming into something clearer.
"Maybe it didn't come from outside," she said. "Maybe it's the monster from the Chamber of Secrets. Professor McGonagall said Salazar Slytherin left one inside, and the message said the Chamber has been opened."
Ron frowned immediately.
"But how can you be sure it's a snake?" he asked. "It could be anything."
Hermione shook her head.
"Slytherin's symbol is a serpent," she said.
"And there were two. The one inside the castle… and the other one."
Ron looked at her. "The one from the forest?"
Hermione nodded.
"They were fighting," she said. "Which means they aren't the same."
Ron crossed his arms, still not convinced.
"Or it just means there are two horrible giant snakes now," he muttered.
Hermione ignored that.
"The one from the forest didn't attack us last year," she continued. "It actually helped us. And even when it could have harmed us, it didn't."
Ron made a face. "Yeah, but it still nearly gave me a heart attack."
"That's not the point," Hermione said. "If it wanted to hurt us, it had the perfect chance. It didn't."
"So if it's the same kind of creature, then it's possible the one from the forest is trying to stop the one that came out of the Chamber."
Harry didn't say anything, but he was listening closely.
Ron hesitated, then asked, "And you're sure about that?"
"As sure as I can be," she said. "We've seen how it behaves."
The room felt quiet again for a moment.
Then Hermione spoke, more focused now.
"Either way, we know one thing," she said. "There's a monster in the castle, and it's not normal. It has to be a magical creature—something old, something powerful."
Ron leaned back in his chair.
"Brilliant," he muttered. "Just what we needed."
"We need to find out exactly what it is," she said.
Ron, who had been staring into the fire, suddenly sat up as something connected in his mind.
"Wait," he said, turning quickly to Harry. "Do you think… Victor reading those books—about talking to snakes—has something to do with this?"
Harry didn't answer immediately.
The thought settled in his mind, and this time it didn't feel easy to dismiss. The creature they had just encountered was clearly a giant snake, and Victor had been reading about Parseltongue—the language used to control snakes.
It didn't feel like a coincidence anymore.
Harry frowned slightly.
"…I don't know," he said slowly. "But it fits."
Ron leaned forward, his voice lowering with growing certainty.
"The monster from the Chamber is a huge snake," he said. "And Victor's been reading about how to talk to snakes. That's exactly what the heir of Slytherin would need, isn't it?"
Harry didn't reply, but he didn't argue either.
Hermione looked between them, confused by the sudden shift in their tone.
"What books?" she asked.
Ron turned to her.
"In the library," Ron said. "We followed him. He was reading about Parseltongue."
Hermione's head snapped toward them.
"You followed him?" she said sharply. "After I told you not to jump to conclusions, you went behind my back and started spying on him?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably. "We were just—watching."
"That's not better," Hermione said. "That's exactly what I told you not to do."
Ron didn't back down this time.
"Yes, and if we hadn't, we wouldn't know this," he said firmly. "This isn't just guessing anymore."
Hermione crossed her arms. "Reading a book isn't proof of anything."
Ron leaned forward, his tone more certain now.
"It's not just a book," he said. "It's Parseltongue—the language of snakes. The monster from the Chamber is a huge snake, and Victor's trying to learn how to talk to snakes. That can't be a coincidence."
Hermione hesitated for a moment but didn't reply.
Ron pressed on.
"My guess is right," he said. "Victor is the heir of Slytherin. He must be the one who opened the Chamber."
*****
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