Yo! You guys know what selective hearing is, right? When you choose to listen to certain parts of things, but don't acknowledge others? Well, I think selective reading is a thing too, because a couple of you are telling me you'd like Violet to be pregnant in the future, no doubt because of what I said in the previous chapter's AN, but are ignoring that in that very same AN, I said she will never get pregnant. So yes, selective reading is clearly happening on the part of some of you. No kids happening in this (or any other) fic. Ever. No. I don't give a shit if that bothers you. It's never going to happen. Never. Ugh.

Now, on to your soulmate opinions that some of you gave me. So far there was BlaisexNeville, MarcusxOliver, FredxDracoxGeorge, RonxLavender, DracoxDaphne x 2, SeamusxDean x 2, FredxGeorge (platonic) x 2, BlaisexLuna x 2, BlaisexDaphne, GinnyxLuna, LavenderxParvati, NevillexLuna, DracoxLuna, and DracoxMuggleborn. Out of those, only four of them are impossible (BlaisexLuna, NevillexLuna, DracoxLuna, and GinnyxLuna) since Luna, as already stated, has a soulmate (Hermione).

The rest are all possibilities, and I have to admit, I quite like the idea of Fred and George being platonic soulmates, especially going by how close they are, so I might stick with that for them. Of course, as they wouldn't be romantically involved with one another, I might still pair them up with someone else, whether that be with a partner for each of them, or one for them to share. I don't know. I'm still thinking. The main focus is still and always will be Violet and Marvolo, and I'd like more scenes with Hermione and Luna too, but beyond mentions and a few short scenes, the other pairings won't be featured all too much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...

The basilisk had been the one to cause Granger's petrification. The Chamber's main entrance, the one in the girl's bathroom on the first floor, had been opened and the basilisk called, though the snake was unaware of who had done this, simply obeying the orders given to it.

So the snake had answered the call, and come across Granger, who had been on her way to the Great Hall from the Hospital Wing almost immediately. With the floor flooded, no doubt because of Myrtle (a common event), Granger must have caught sight of the basilisk's reflection in the water, at which point, because she had not looked it in the eyes directly, she had been petrified. The basilisk had then returned down into the Chamber, which had then been sealed once more.

That all made sense to Marvolo. What didn't make sense was how this had all happened in the first place. Who was behind this attack? Who had opened the Chamber and called for the basilisk? The snake itself was unable to tell him. All the basilisk knew was that it had been a female.

But to open the Chamber and command the basilisk, the one behind this had to be a Parselmouth. That in itself should have been impossible. Only direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin were capable of speaking in that tongue, and he was the very last one, as he had never had nor wanted anyone to pass the ability to (there was a reason he had made himself immortal). He, of course, was not behind this himself. This was not something he was willing to risk right now. That meant there was another Parselmouth in the castle. A female. Who?

Marvolo was returning to the Hospital Wing when he ran into Severus, who seemed to have just left the wing himself. "Any progress?" he inquired as they both came to a stop and faced one another.

"I have yet to determine what the poison is, but I have taken another sample of Potter's blood to examine-there was nothing left in the original sample. Poppy says the girl woke three times, vomited the first two times, and was at least somewhat coherent the third time, before falling unconscious once more. I would not be surprised if she gets a fever within the next few hours. Her body will attempt to fight through the rest. Once that fever breaks, she should wake, and it should take a handful of days before she regains her full strength."

"Were you able to find out how she was poisoned in the first place?"

"No. I spoke to the House-Elves who prepared the feast. They had three visitors in the kitchens all day. Dumbledore was there, but that is normal. He always goes to ensure everything is progressing as planned for feasts. He did nothing but speak to the Elves."

"And the other two?"

"The Weasley twins. They touched nothing. They requested two sandwiches and butterbeer, and spoke with the Elves as they waited. When they received their food, they thanked the Elves and left the kitchens."

Marvolo nodded. "They would not do something as malicious as this. Especially not to her. They treat her as a sister. This is either a direct attack, or a poorly planned prank." Again, he realized. First the incident in Violet's Potions class, and now this?

"The Elves," Severus continued, "did not make anything they generally do not for Halloween feasts, and did not see anything they did not make themselves in the food that was returned to the kitchens after the feast."

"Meaning if it was something in Miss Potter's food or drink, then the one behind this placed that food or drink on Gryffindor Table themselves, then removed it once she left the hall with Weasley."

"Yes," Severus agreed with an incline of his head. "And I believe that is exactly what happened, considering how quickly Potter reacted. I doubt anyone saw this either. It was a feast. No one will have been paying attention."

That was true. No one ever paid attention to their surroundings during feasts. A normal dinner would have been an entirely different story, but not on Halloween. He had always been observant, and even he hadn't noticed anything until Violet had run out of the Great Hall.

There was so much going on so suddenly. None of it was making any sense to him...

When Marvolo entered the Hospital Wing, he expected it to be empty, save for Violet and Granger, of course. But to his surprise, that wasn't the case. There was a girl seated by Granger's bedside-a small, blonde, Ravenclaw who looked up as he approached, and smiled at him gently.

"Good evening, Professor," she greeted politely and quietly.

"Miss...Lovegood. I did not realize that you and Miss Granger were friends."

"She doesn't either," Lovegood replied.

"...Ah."

The girl gazed at Granger again, and reached out, carefully touching the petrified girl's hand, before looking back up at Marvolo. "Soulmates are strange that way, aren't they?" she spoke, glancing at Violet and then back at him. "That you could be so close to each other, and at the same time, so far away."

Marvolo didn't speak, unsure of what to say. The girl was right, of course, but he wasn't quite sure he wanted to admit that, least of all to her.

"Does she know?"

He knew what Lovegood was asking immediately. How she herself knew, he didn't know, but it was clear that she did. "I have no doubt that she does."

Lovegood nodded and smiled again. "Waiting is a good idea, I think. I think she's as scared as you are at telling the truth. There won't be a point in revealing that truth if you aren't ready for it." She looked down at Granger again. "I'm waiting too. I don't think she's ready yet either."

Marvolo said nothing, giving the girl a moment before he spoke again. "It is very close to curfew, Miss Lovegood."

Without argument, Lovegood stood, touched Granger's hand again, then smiled at him once more. "Good night, Professor Slytherin."

He inclined his head and watched as she left the Hospital Wing, before moving over to Violet's bed, glad to finally be alone with her, again, save for Granger, not that the girl was aware of what was happening around her. Pomfrey was asleep, no doubt, so he was bound to go undisturbed unless something happened to either of the two girls.

Violet was still very pale, he noted, but appeared unharmed and healthy otherwise. Severus was under the impression that the poison, whatever it may have been, was out of Violet's blood and Marvolo believed him, but while that was certainly a good thing, it wasn't really making him feel any better about the situation.

But now that this incident had occurred, he found himself wondering if what had happened in that Potions class some months ago had been an attack on Violet, rather than Weasley and Longbottom. Perhaps Weasley had taken the weed before Violet could, resulting in the potion he and Longbottom were brewing to become volatile, rather than Violet and Granger's.

At the same time though, if Violet truly had been the intended target of the first incident, how had the attacker meant for it all to happen? Anyone could have taken the weed Weasley had from the shelf it had been placed on, even if it had been placed there before that specific class.

That class itself had seventeen children in it, and that day had been split off into eight groups (seven with two students, and one with three). Any of those eight groups could have ended up taking and using the weed (the only one planted there, as Severus had discovered). There had been a rather small chance that Violet or Granger could have picked it up.

So, in that case, had that incident been related to this poison one at all? ...Then again, was this poisoning the same? If everything had happened the way Severus believed it did, had the person behind this simply placed the contaminated food or drink in some random spot on Gryffindor Table, uncaring of who consumed it? Had Violet just been the victim of bad luck being involved with both incidents?

Honestly speaking, Marvolo didn't think it was a coincidence.

I brought this up in another fic, but I'm taking a bit of a break from this fandom, because writing in it it beginning to piss me off. I'd like to catch up on fics in other fandoms that I've owed for longer than I've even been writing in this one. Don't worry though, that doesn't mean you won't be getting any updates at all. Muses are weird that way. But this fandom isn't going to be my priority for a while. Anyway, looking forward to reviews! Laterz!