Chapter 17

John and Sherlock were sitting by the lake, enjoying the sun. John was attempting to do his homework, but it was difficult to concentrate because Sherlock was leaning against him, absent-mindedly stroking his arm.
They weren't the only one outside: loads of students were sitting on the grass and relaxing. It almost looked like an ordinary day, but if you looked closer you noticed the teachers paying close attention to the students and making sure nothing would happen. A few days had passed since the murder, but nothing else had happened. Still, people were nervous. The idea that there was a murderer walking around Hogwarts wasn't exactly reassuring.

'Oh, whatever,' sighed John, throwing down his quill. 'I'll finish this later.'

'Good idea,' agreed Sherlock, although he wasn't doing any homework anyway.

'So d'you already have any idea of how the girl was killed?'

'I looked through some books in the library yesterday, but I haven't found anything yet,' said Sherlock. 'The thing is, the only spell that's really capable of killing is Avada Kedavra. But it wasn't a weapon or anything either. So what could it have been?'

'Oh well, let's just relax now,' said John, lying down on the ground.

Sherlock lied down too and began humming quietly, his eyes closed. John snuggled up to Sherlock and put his arm around him. He closed his eyes too and felt himself dozing off.

...

'Animal!'

John was woken by Sherlock's sudden exclamation. He yawned and looked at Sherlock. 'What'd you say?'

'Animal! Has to be!'

'You're talking nonsense.'

'No, I'm not! How could the girl have been killed if it wasn't a curse and it wasn't a weapon? It has to be some sort of animal. There has to be a magical creature that can kill you without wounding you.'

'How? Like Medusa or something? You die when you look at her eyes, right?'

'She's not an animal, John,' said Sherlock impatiently. 'Besides, you don't die, you get turned to stone.'

'Oh.' John shrugged. 'Same difference.'

'Still, you've got a–' Sherlock's eyes widened. 'No way,' he whispered. 'How can it–? Still…'

'Do tell me when you feel like telling me what you're on about,' said John, a little annoyed.

'You said it yourself!' Sherlock grinned at John. 'Oh, you're brilliant!'

John raised his eyebrows. 'What did I say?'

'You die when you look at its eyes.'

...

'So what exactly is your brilliant deduction?' asked John. He was standing in the library. Sherlock was sitting on the ground next to him, reading a book on magical creatures.

'Think, John. What animal can make you die just by looking at it?'

'Er – well, if you mean "dying of ugliness" it'd have to be Professor Snape,' said John, pretending to be serious.

Sherlock rolled his eyes and showed John a picture in the book he was reading. It looked like an enormous snake. John's eyes widened. 'You mean – a basilisk?'

'Obviously.' Sherlock got to his feet and put the book back. 'The question is, how does he move about the school? He can't just slide through the corridors without being noticed.'

'Like I said, it has to be Professor Snape.'

'He does look rather slimy, doesn't he?' said Sherlock, smiling.

John laughed out loud. 'Seriously though, it's not possible. It can't be a basilisk. Like you said, how can no one notice it?'

'How d'you think the girl was killed, then?'

John shifted uncomfortably. 'I don't know.'

'It could only be a basilisk. Trust me.'

'So what do we do now? Tell the teachers?'

Sherlock snorted. 'The teachers? What're they going to do about it? They'd only want to close the school. No, we have to solve this. The basilisk can't be the only culprit. Someone human must've released it.'

'How d'you release a basilisk in a school? How'd he get it in here?'

'Good question,' nodded Sherlock.

'Does that mean you don't know?'

'I'm working on it!'

'Hang on,' said John slowly. 'So the basilisk has to come from somewhere, yeah?'

'Yes. Why?'

'What if it didn't come from outside the castle – what if it was already inside?'

'What, it lives here?'

'Not in the castle. In the Chamber of Secrets.'

'The what?'

'It's this legend about a secret chamber somewhere in the castle. No one knows where it is, or if it even exists. But there's supposed to be some kind of monster in there.'

'The basilisk,' whispered Sherlock. 'John, that's amazing! You're good!'

John grinned proudly. 'The problem is, we don't know where it is.'

'Is there anything else about that chamber?' asked Sherlock urgently, leaning towards John.

'Er,' said John. 'Yeah, it can only be opened by the so-called heir of Slytherin.'

'So it was a Slytherin! Not very surprising.'

'Are you judging your co-Slytherins now?'

Sherlock shrugged. 'Well, it's true. Anything else?'

'Someone was killed the last time it was opened. In a bathroom.'

Sherlock's eyes widened. 'Pipes! He's moving around through the pipes!'

'Then how did he kill Suzette?'

'He must've been able to get out somewhere… The victim before Suzette was killed in a bathroom, yeah? That's where the pipes lead to, of course. If we find the bathroom in which the victim was killed, we might be able to find the Chamber of Secrets..'

'Just like that, you figured out something people have been wondering about for years?' John shook his head unbelievingly.

'Yup,' declared Sherlock. 'We don't know which bathroom though. And there are loads of them.'

'True,' agreed John. 'So we do what, check them all?'

'I don't know if it's that easy to find the Chamber – after all, no one's ever found it before. No, I think–'

'Hey, you there!' Madam Pince shouted suddenly. 'It's six o'clock – you're supposed to be in the Great Hall right now. As you well know, there's a killer walking around Hogwarts and you're not allowed to be here alone right now.'

Sherlock rolled his eyes. 'These restrictions annoy me. As if they'd kill me.'

'They wouldn't dare,' chuckled John, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend. 'You'd haunt them forever.'

I haven't posted a new chapter in ages 0.o I feel really guilty about leaving you like this! Hope you like this chapter :) some of you got it right, it's a basilisk :3