"...It really turned out exactly as we planned, didn't it?"
Hermione leaned on Glenn's shoulder, peeking over to watch the Basilisk relentlessly slither toward the endpoint marked by the candles they had lit earlier.
"Protego."
The girl abruptly stopped what she was about to say, casting a spell with her wand. With a swift motion in the air, an invisible barrier unfolded, shielding herself and Glenn from the debris flying toward them as the Basilisk smashed its tail against the walls.
After finishing the spell, Hermione resumed her muttering.
"But didn't Voldemort find it suspicious at all? Why would the candles in the hallway be lit at night? Something so out of place happening while he's fleeing for his life—didn't he hesitate or question it even a little before following our lead all the way?"
It was a reasonable question for Hermione to ask. Anyone who knew about Glenn's plan would likely have the same thought.
But Hermione made a small mistake.
She assumed too much.
Information interacts in complex ways. The thoughts of someone who knows the truth are vastly different from those of someone who is completely in the dark.
"In certain situations, humans are prone to overlook trivial details around them."
A cool female voice rose from beneath the girl.
Yes, it was Glenn, still under the effects of the Gender-Switching Potion, maintaining her female form.
"For example, in moments of extreme urgency where lives are at stake, survival instincts take over. The only thought in one's mind is how to stay alive in the crisis."
"If something slightly out of place appears in their vision during such moments, but this anomaly offers even the slightest hope of survival or a path to safety, the person will completely ignore its incongruity and cling to it as their lifeline."
"Ordinary people act this way, and those who flee death and long for immortality behave even more so when faced with death."
"And the fragment of Tom Riddle's soul within the diary is, after all, only sixteen years old. Even if he's more mature than his peers due to certain experiences, he is still essentially a child. Not to mention his desperate yearning for immortality."
"Moreover, if he wanted to control the severely injured Basilisk to escape Hogwarts, the only viable route is the Forbidden Forest—a path filled with both danger and opportunity. All we did was make him realize this option a bit faster."
Carrying the girl on his back, Glenn ran swiftly. Despite the intense physical exertion, his breath remained steady, and he explained Hermione's doubts in a calm tone, as if unaffected by the strenuous activity.
Hermione took full responsibility for blocking incoming obstacles, while Glenn's sole duty was to follow the Basilisk and act as transportation.
Running on the ever-shifting ground altered by the Seismic Spell, Glenn occasionally used precise bursts of magic to amplify his strength or perform Spider Walk, minimizing magical and physical energy consumption while dodging the uneven terrain and falling debris too large for them to handle.
Everything Glenn said stemmed from his experiences and insights gained during missions in his past life.
Even though Glenn had never formally studied the psychology of danger, he had witnessed countless times how his targets, sensing the approach of death, would act irrationally, driven by survival instincts. They would eagerly grasp at the "lifeline" he had set up for them, reaching what they believed to be a safe haven—only to meet their end at his hands, their faces twisted in despair, terror, and madness.
While Glenn's true strength lay in improvisation rather than intricate schemes, Voldemort had, unfortunately, stumbled into a domain where Glenn was both familiar and adept.
As Glenn had explained, he and Hermione had diverted their path before reaching the second-floor girls' bathroom to light the extinguished candles along the corridor near the Forbidden Forest. This was to guide the injured Basilisk, which could only perceive heat through its sensory organs after losing its sight, along with Tom Riddle's diary, toward the Forbidden Forest as part of their plan.
Due to the Alchemy Device embedded in the black cube containing the diary and the enchantments Glenn placed on it, as well as the Cruciatus Curse that had left the young Tom Riddle inside the diary barely conscious, he was unaware of what Glenn and Hermione had done before reaching the bathroom. Driven by his desire to survive, he had chosen this path leading to his doom.
Glenn knew that he and Hermione didn't have the strength to guarantee the Basilisk's defeat if it chose to flee. Their goal from the start had been to blind the creature, neutralizing its greatest threat, and inflict as much damage as possible before forcing it and Tom Riddle to flee into the Forbidden Forest.
Of course, letting the Basilisk go was never an option. Whether to eliminate a potential threat to Hermione or to further weaken Voldemort, destroying this ancient monster was a task Glenn was determined to accomplish.
So run, keep running. Follow the path we've laid out for you, the road to your demise.
The final line of defense, the one that would end the Basilisk's life, awaited in the Forbidden Forest.
There, this prolonged ordeal would come to a satisfying conclusion.
...
Ah, of course, satisfying for Glenn and Hermione. As for the Basilisk and Voldemort?
Who cares.
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