Chapter 95: Goodnight
Chapter 95: Goodnight
Countless spears pinned the Basilisk to the floor of the common room.
Black, tainted blood flowed everywhere, and Harry, Ron, Neville, and even Fawkes, who had landed to one side, all looked utterly disheveled.
After brutally slaying the Basilisk, Sherlock could distinctly feel the overwhelming power gradually fading away.
A deep sense of exhaustion from the very core of his being made his legs buckle, nearly causing him to collapse. Harry, noticing his friend's weakened state, ran over to support him.
By this point, the commotion in the Gryffindor Common Room had finally attracted the attention of Professor Mcgonagall and her colleagues.
They climbed into the common room, their faces filled with shock at the scene of chaos before them.
"What on earth happened here?" Professor Mcgonagall asked, disbelief evident in her voice.
Sherlock, supported by Harry, slumped onto a blood-soaked sofa, his voice weak and strained.
"Forget about this mess for now. Get the students back from the train, and do you have any food? Even Hagrid's rock cakes would do; I'm starving!"
Professor Mcgonagall did not leave Sherlock lying in the mess.
She and Professor Snape worked together to carry him to the Hospital Wing, while Professor Flitwick and Harry carried the unconscious Ron. Neville, limping and leaning on his sword, followed behind them.
Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, had not left Hogwarts Castle. After sending the petrified students to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, she had stayed behind.
She examined Sherlock's injuries.
"He's not severely wounded, aside from some internal bleeding. His main issue is extreme exhaustion. He needs to eat something to replenish his energy."
She retrieved a large piece of chocolate from her drawer. This high-calorie food would help Sherlock recover quickly, and she also left a vial of potion, instructing Professor Mcgonagall to ensure he drank it.
After finishing her examination of Sherlock, Madam Pomfrey went to tend to Harry and the other three children.
Their injuries were more serious than Sherlock's.
Professor Mcgonagall watched as Sherlock finished the chocolate in a few bites. Normally, eating too much would make him feel overly sweet, but now it only brought him a sense of satisfaction.
"We were tricked. The Heir of Slytherin didn't stay in the Chamber of Secrets after kidnapping Neville; he returned to the Gryffindor common room to wait for Harry. Then, the four of us worked together to defeat him and the Basilisk."
Sherlock's account was brief, but Professor Mcgonagall knew the situation had been far more dangerous than he described.
Seeing Sherlock's exhaustion, she did not press him further, but before leaving, he summoned the strength to call her back.
"Preserve the Basilisk's body. If Snape wants it, don't give it to him. Tell him we risked our lives to kill it, and if he wants it, he'll have to pay in real gold."
Professor Mcgonagall couldn't help but smile at Sherlock's protective attitude.
"You seem different, Sherlock."
Sherlock, now too lazy to put on a facade and having fully reverted to his true self, spoke with a weak voice.
"I really thought I was going to die just now. Now that I'm still alive, nothing seems worth worrying about anymore."
Professor Mcgonagall's smile was incredibly gentle, and her eyes seemed to shimmer with tears.
"That's a good thing. After experiencing life and death, people often come to understand certain things."
"Maybe", Sherlock muttered weakly. "I'm going to sleep now, Professor Mcgonagall. Goodnight."
Professor Mcgonagall pulled the curtains in the hospital room to block out the sunlight that had just risen outside.
"Goodnight."
The students boarded the Hogwarts Express early in the morning. However, the train remained stationary at the station, waiting for news from Hogwarts.
Soon, Professor Flitwick hurried to the train and informed Professor Sprout, who was guarding it, that the Heir of Slytherin had been caught, the monster had been killed, and the crisis in the castle was over.
In the train carriages, all the students erupted in joy. They shouted and cheered, running excitedly off the train, some even forgetting their luggage.
Back at the castle, the Gryffindor common room had not yet been restored to its original state. Many students saw the Basilisk that had been pinned down by countless spears.
Snape, tasked with handling the aftermath, frowned deeply as he examined the Basilisk's corpse.
His spells could not dispel the magic on these spears.
Even though his primary expertise was in potions, Snape had created powerful dark magic like Sectumsempra during his student days. His proficiency in spells and transfiguration was nothing to be underestimated.
He could see that the spears pinning the Basilisk had been transfigured from fragments of desks and chairs, but he couldn't find a way to reverse the transfiguration.
The spell that had caused these fragments to transform seemed excessively powerful. Snape felt that the magic attached to them would remain effective for centuries.
These spears would not revert to their original wooden fragments.
After studying them for a long time, Snape concluded that he couldn't reverse the transfiguration. In the end, he simply broke the spears and used magic to drag the Basilisk's corpse out, temporarily disposing of it in Myrtle's Bathroom.
Among Harry, Ron, and Neville, Harry and Ron had the least severe injuries. They only stayed in the Hospital Wing for the morning before being discharged.
Neville wasn't as fortunate. Tom had drained a significant amount of his energy, and he needed to be cared for by Madam Pomfrey for some time to fully recover.
As soon as Harry and Ron left the Hospital Wing, they were surrounded by students.
Professor Mcgonagall had not forbidden them from talking about what had happened.
By midday, the entire school knew what had transpired in the Gryffindor common room.
Dumbledore returned to the castle in the evening.
By then, Sherlock had already woken up. The castle was preparing for a Celebration Feast that evening, and before the feast began, Sherlock went to Dumbledore's office.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and smiled as he watched Sherlock yawn and stretch his way into the room.
"I feel like it hasn't been a full day yet, and you're already different from before."
Sherlock slumped lazily into a chair.
"I almost died today, Professor."
(End of Chapter)
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