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Chapter 162
"This won't be the end of it," Malfoy said through gritted teeth. His face had turned pale with rage, and his eyes gleamed with a vicious light.
The Malfoy family was not foolish. He would not act like a brute and rush straight at Potter as if throwing himself into a fist. Instead, he had time—and opportunities—to make Potter's life miserable.
"As long as Dumbledore is driven out of the school, the Heir of Slytherin will soon be able to kill. Granger will die, and Potter won't be safe either," Malfoy thought darkly.
Who was the Heir of Slytherin? What could he do to help? If he could use his influence properly, eliminating Granger and Harry would not be impossible. The humiliation he had suffered from Potter and Weasley could only be repaid with blood—they had to die.
"At the very least, in a critical moment, I can find a way to deal with those fools," Malfoy muttered meaningfully.
Thinking about how to truly assist the Heir while also harming that Mudblood, a terrifying smile spread across his ugly face. He suddenly burst into a chilling laugh.
"Ah… hahahahaha."
Meanwhile, after Ron had changed back into his own clothes and Hermione had retrieved the outfits she had stolen from the laundry, everyone finally returned safely to the Gryffindor common room. They were now truly safe—completely out of danger of being caught.
Harry sank into a soft armchair in the circular Gryffindor common room.
Looking at the blazing fireplace and the golden light on the walls, the room felt quiet and warm. A sense of satisfaction filled him—compared to Slytherin's "grave-like" dungeon, this was a place where people truly lived.
"Malfoy really isn't the Heir of Slytherin, is he?" Ron still sounded uncertain. Perhaps Malfoy was hiding something after all.
"At the moment, we can only assume he isn't," Harry replied. "And right now, who the Heir is isn't actually the most important thing."
"The Basilisk isn't really a threat to us. With George's method, we can kill it whenever we want."
Indeed, even if they did not plan to kill the Basilisk immediately, they now had a way to deal with it. The creature was no longer an uncontrollable danger—their hands were effectively on its life.
"No wonder Dumbledore always focuses on preventing Voldemort's followers," Hermione suddenly said. "If Lucius's plan succeeds, even if we kill the Basilisk, Hogwarts would still become a stronghold for dark wizards."
She now understood why Dumbledore and George had not initially focused on the Basilisk or the Heir of Slytherin. Compared to the larger conspiracy, that was only a small problem.
From the very beginning, Lucius Malfoy had been using the Heir of Slytherin as bait—to draw Dumbledore out.
Their real target had never been the students. Their ambition was far greater. They wanted control of the school itself.
They wanted to remove Dumbledore, take over Hogwarts, and do whatever they pleased.
"Last year, Quirrell tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone and faced the full strength of the school. But this year, the Heir of Slytherin and Lucius have achieved something even Voldemort himself failed to do—they've nearly pushed Dumbledore out of the school using only attacks on students."
Ron frowned. "Can Voldemort's followers really never stop?"
"And worse," Harry said, "their method might actually work. Lucius Malfoy is not easy to deal with."
"As a school governor, he can contact others who share his views and cause serious trouble for Dumbledore."
Hermione thought carefully. "We should probably inform Dumbledore immediately."
She stood up, ready to go and report everything that had happened.
But Harry and Ron didn't respond immediately. They frowned, thinking deeply.
"We should tell Dumbledore," Hermione repeated in confusion. "Why are we still sitting here?"
Wasn't their purpose to help Dumbledore solve the crisis as soon as possible?
Harry finally spoke carefully. "Lucius clearly has time on his side. We need to think about how to tell Dumbledore."
He did not want to simply rush into the Headmaster's office and report everything at once—including all the rule-breaking they had done. That would not be wise.
"Yes," Ron added. "Breaking school rules would put Gryffindor at the bottom instantly. This isn't something we can solve just by running to the Headmaster."
When Ron was in Slytherin's common room earlier, he had seen a report in a newspaper about his father in the Daily Prophet. Arthur Weasley's illegal use of a flying car had caused serious trouble, leading to a fifty-Galleon fine.
If it hadn't been for George's financial support, that fine would have caused real hardship for the family.
Although their financial situation was better now, Ron's deep-rooted fear of trouble still remained. He couldn't imagine what would happen if more house points were deducted or worse consequences followed.
Attacking students, brewing dangerous potions, transforming into others to gather information—these were not small mistakes. They were serious violations.
Seeing this, Hermione also began to understand. As a top student, she was used to teachers guiding her through problems. Her instinct was always to report issues to authority.
But now, standing outside that framework, she hesitated.
Breaking multiple school rules, engaging in dangerous actions—even if the intentions were good—this was not something easily resolved.
If good intentions justified ignoring rules… then what were rules for in the first place?
(To be continued.)