41 Preparations

Boom!

Pro could hear something heavy crash into the wall at the corner of the corridor some distance behind them. Still, Pro resisted the urge to look back.

Instead, Pro reached out his hand and with a thought, he summoned an item in his inventory. A fist-sized rock fell from his hand and landed onto the corridor in front of Pro with a heavy thud.

In the next moment, Pro pulled out his wand and with a wave, he aimed at the fist-sized rock he just ran past as he paused for a bit, "Engorgio!"

Ignoring the ruckus that was coming from behind him, Pro focused on the rock as he watched it grow in size and almost block out half the corridor in height. Stopping his casting, Pro then tugged Hermione along as they continued to dash down the corridor.

Thud! Boom! BOOM!

As the two arrived at the corner of the corridor, they could hear the rock being smashed behind them and the sound of debris colliding with the walls. Honestly, it didn't seem that the rock delayed the monster chasing them for long, but any delay was better than none.

Turning the corner, Pro paused again as he took out a small, model-sized gramophone. With another engorgement charm, Pro watched the gramophone return to full size. He hurriedly switched it on. After mere moments, the sound of a rooster's crowing came from the gramophone and echoed in the corridor.

Screeeee! A loud, chilling roar exploded from the corridor behind them as the sound of something thrashing around accompanied the roar, but Pro did not dilly dally as he listened to it. He turned around and waved his wand, "Accio broom!"

Whoosh! A broom hidden in the corridor flew out and zoomed towards Pro. Putting away his wand, Pro grasped the broom and commanded, "Get on!"

Pulling Hermione and having her sit in front of him, Pro reached his arms around her to grip the broom, "Hold on to the broom! Here we go!"

Kicking off, Pro activated the Quidditch 'speed burst' skill on the broom. Moments later, a loud roar sounded from behind them as Pro heard the gramophone being turned into scraps. Pro could feel some metal debris scrape his back, but he ignored the pain as he focused on zooming forward!

With the speed burst, the broom quickly reached maximum speed and left the chaser behind. Pro took a peek at his mini-map and saw the yellow dot swiftly zooming down the corridor to chase them.

"Honestly! Why is it chasing us so hard and making a ruckus?! It's not like I offended its controller in any way right? Oh wait ... maybe I did."

With that thought, Pro chuckled and felt the adrenaline course through his veins as the broom zoomed towards the corridor walls of the intersection. Hermione's scream of fear sounded from in front of him, "Pro! Stop! Stop! Stop! We're going to crash-"

Brake! With the activation of the skill, the broom jolted to a stop as Pro reached out to hug Hermione to prevent her from launching off. With a kick of his feet, he turned the broom and set off once more, trying to accelerate as much as he could with the remaining speed buff.

BOOM! Hissss!

After a while, the basilisk could be heard crashing into the wall behind them. It's angry hiss was sent out to inform its prey that they were not going to escape.

Glancing at the mini-map, Pro frowned as he noticed that the basilisk was still the only yellow dot displayed on the mini-map. Honestly, where the heck are all the professors when you need them? Please open the dumb bow door of life for us!

Of course, Pro had the hunch he couldn't rely on these professors in the end. Only Harry gets the first-class special treatment of being watched over. The castle is so big, there was no way a couple of professors can keep track of every student inside the entire castle.

Swoosh! With Hermione's wonderful squeal of fright, the broom flew out of the corridor and into the stairway. It then dived towards another floor. Flying into another floor's corridor, Pro didn't hear the basilisk chasing behind him and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that little Voldy doesn't want to put the basilisk in full view of others as expected. With all the portraits guarding the stairway, perhaps one or two may able to escape and report."

However, before Pro could relax, he noticed a yellow dot appearing in the walls on the same floor as him! The basilisk can still chase through the walls! Referee! Get out here! That snake is cheating! There is no way in hell any author can explain how that basilisk can travel through walls! That's plot hole! Get out of here!

Of course, Pro still had to escape despite his complaints. Fortunately, he already made plans, just in case that his escape to another floor fails to throw off the basilisk. The broom continued forward as Pro kept his eyes on the mini-map.

Seeing the yellow dot failing to keep up with his speed, Pro smiled before he zoomed towards the entrance to the one-eyed witch secret passageway. Using his 'brake' skill to bring his broom to a standstill, Pro hugged Hermione and vaulted off the broom.

Shoving the broom to the side, Pro walked up to the statue and spoke the password, "Dissendium!"

The hump on the witch statue opened to reveal a slide. Pro quickly urged Hermione, "Hurry! Go in!"

Hermione glanced at Pro with worried eyes before she hopped into the passageway and slid down. Pro took a glance at his mini-map and his face blanched a bit as he noticed the yellow-dot entering the corridor not far from him!

Hearing the sound of something rough sliding across the ground, Pro dived into the passageway without hesitation. As he slid down, he heard a hiss echo in the corridor behind him. Reaching the ground, Pro quickly grabbed Hermione's hand and tugged her forward, "Don't look back! Run!"

Boom! Something crashed into the entrance to the passageway! Hissss! The cold, chilling hiss of the basilisk was closer than ever, but Pro grinned as he knew there was no way the basilisk was fitting through the small entrance unless it breaks through the walls.

Running forward, Pro could hear the hiss gradually fade away. The two continued to run forward for a while. Suddenly, Pro could hear the quest completion sound as a prompt popped up to notify him that he had completed the random encounter quest, 'Hunter and Prey'.

[Congratulations! You have completed Hunter and Prey Quest. You are awarded: 500 Magic XP, 500 Agility XP, Poison]

Closing the quest and breathing a sigh of relief, Pro finally noticed that it was safe by checking the mini-map. So, he finally came to a halt.

Panting for breathe, Hermione looked up at Pro. After recovering her breathe for a bit, she then asked in a weak voice, "Was that what I think it is ... a basilisk?"

Pro nodded as he stared at Hermione, "Are you all right? You were kind of out of it back there."

Hermione stiffened for a moment before she frowned. It took a couple of moments before she replied with a pale face, "I don't know what got into me. I felt like I had to go to the library to confirm what I had in mind. That was all I thought about. I normally wouldn't be so illogical ... I ... I don't know what got into me."

Hermione then stared at Pro with worried eyes as she bit her lips. Pro grasped her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze, "Don't worry. We're safe now."

Hermione nodded before she fell silent. She then mumbled to herself, "Was that an imperius curse? No, it can't be. It should be the confundus charm?"

Sighing, Pro gave Hermione's head a couple of strokes as he reassured her, "Don't worry about it. It's best not to think too much."

"How can I not? I was almost controlled by another being, heading off towards my doom. If you weren't there, I may have already been petrified, or even worst, dead!"

"Well, at least you're not expelled right?" Pro replied in a joking tone.

Hermione glared back at Pro and lifted her fist to beat his chest lightly, "Pro, it's not time to be joking around!"

Chuckling to himself, Pro reached out and pulled Hermione into his embrace, "Alright, alright. No need to be so moody. You're safe and that's all that matters for me."

Hermione gripped Pro's robe for a bit before she relaxed her hands. Her hands then wrapped around Pro and squeezed him tightly for a hug. Pro then heard a couple of sobs coming from time to time. He sighed softly as he gently stroked Hermione's back to comfort her.

After a while, Hermione finally looked up with puffy eyes. Pro reached out his hand and wiped away the traces of tears with his fingers. With a smile, he joked, "One wet robe as the cost for rescuing you, is that all I get."

Psh! Hermione giggled before she stated in a soft voice, "Charming, Pro. That's all you get."

Then, before Pro could respond, Hermione's face swiftly closed in and he felt a familiar soft feeling pressing against his lips. With a bubbly feeling of happiness inside, Pro slowly closed his eyes as he delved deeper into the wonderful reward.

Returning to the castle through another secret passage, the two strolled through the quiet castle hand-in-hand. It didn't take long for them to be discovered by Professor McGonagall who was patrolling the corridors with a nervous face.

"Mister Smith! Miss Granger! What are you two doing out here?! Why are you two not in the Gryffindor common rooms?"

"Professor! We-" Hermione was about to answer before she paused and looked over at Pro.

Pro thought for a bit before he nodded. There wasn't any real need to hide the truth. After all, Dumbledore should already know they escaped.

Seeing Pro's nod, Hermione then turned back to Professor McGonagall and began to explain how they were attacked. Of course, the bright girl was smart enough to leave out the suspicious parts, such as how she was controlled and how Pro had certain items prepared ahead of time. Pro also chimed in from time to time to support her.

Professor McGonagall had a solemn face as she breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank Merlin's beard you two are alright! If you two hadn't escaped, then there may have been another two victims!"

"Professor- you mean ..." Hermione asked in a soft voice.

"Yes, Miss Granger. There was another victim! You two are very fortunate to have escaped, but that poor Ravenclaw girl. Oh dear ... it is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. Alright, enough of that. I will escort you two back to Gryffindor Tower. There is no need to tell others of what had transpired, lest they worry further. As for Miss Granger's assumption that the assailant is a basilisk, the professors will look further into that."

Nodding their heads, the two then followed Professor McGonagall back to the common rooms while she told them all the new rules for that will be implemented for the rest of the school year while Hermione tried to persuade McGonagall to believe them that the monster was a basilisk, only to be told that there was no evidence that such mythical creatures from legends exist in the current times.

Returning to the common rooms where the Gryffindors were discussing the events with more fervor rather than fear, the two were ushered in under the stares of others.

"Pro! Hermione!" Harry's voice came from the crowd as he shoved his way towards them, with Ron following.

"Blimey! You two are all right! I thought ..." Ron exclaimed with widened eyes as he looked back and forth between the two.

"Yea, we're fine. We managed somehow," Pro replied with a smile.

Glancing around, Pro noticed a pale Percy quietly slumped in a chair. Noticing his gaze, Ron explained, "George told us he was in shock because the Ravenclaw girl that was attacked was a prefect. Being a prefect isn't so perfect after all."

"Pro. Hermione. Ron and I decided that we would go talk to Hagrid, tonight. Will any of you be coming with us?" Harry suddenly interjected.

Glancing at each other, Pro and Hermione then politely refused, "We need to rest. We are tired from all the running."

"Running? What were you two running from?" Ron asked with interrogative eyes as he stared at the two with an interrogative look.

"Nothing," Hermione lied.

Ron stared at her before he whispered, "We are your friends? Are you sure you can't even tell us?"

Hermione's eyes guiltily looked down as she bit her lips. Pro stared at Ron with a frown. Since when did this idiot know how to guilt-trip others. Pro shifted Hermione back a bit before he whispered back, "Professor Dumbledore said we can't say anything or we might get expelled."

"Dumbledore?" Ron exclaimed with a bit of shock as he retreated a bit.

Pro furrowed his brows a bit as he stared at Ron. Although it was only for a moment before it was suppressed, Pro felt that Ron seemed to fear Dumbledore. Maybe it's his imagination ...

"Well, if it's the headmaster, then it's best not to disobey. I mean, we have already broken a lot of rules. We shouldn't cause him any more trouble, lest I get another howler from my mum," Ron calmly suggested.

"Then, it's just me and Ron going alone. We'll be using my dad's old cloak, don't tell the professors," Harry innocently told his plan to the whole group in the common rooms.

Fortunately, nobody was nearby to hear it. The four then spent the rest of their time in the common rooms, waiting for time to pass.

Pro also checked on the new quest item he got, a green bottle with a white skull.

[Poison] This stuff looks nasty. Any sentient being that ingests the entire bottle or has the entire bottle applied to their body will perish.

Pro's eyes had a glint as he stared at his new trump card. With this, he might be able to do some things he didn't dare to do before.

"There's only one bottle of poison ... who should I kill?"