I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.

The moment the two girls got back to the common room, the twins practically jumped on them. Well, not jumped on them exactly, but they definitely gave them a shock.

"Jesus Christ!" Connie exclaimed, holding a hand to her chest. "What are you two doing!"

"What were you two doing?" They both shot back.

Both of the girls stepped back. The two of them actually looked concerned, rather than simply curious. Fred and George didn't usually bother asking about what they were doing or where they went. It was normal for them to work on things in the library if there was nothing else to do. Maybe they were just worried. After what happened to Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, everyone seemed to be more on edge.

"Doing research." Hermione reported.

"Ah..." Fred said. "So you guys haven't heard the news then."

Connie's brows furrowed. Had something happened while they were down in the library? "What's going on?" she asked.

"Malfoy's dad came in and had Dumbledore suspended." George told them.

Fred nodded. "And the Minister tossed Hagrid into Azkaban."

"WHAT!"

What the bloody hell was going on? Professor Dumbledore was booted out of Hogwarts, and Hagrid was put in prison? Connie didn't understand the logic of that at all. If it had something to do with the attacks happening at school, then those were the last two people who should have something done to them. Dumbledore couldn't control the Chamber being opened and was surely trying to figure out where it was to stop the creature inside of it. And Hagrid... Hagrid was the most trustworthy person on the grounds. She couldn't fathom why anyone would throw him in jail.

"Why?" Constance pressed. "What happened?"

"No one knows." the twins replied together.

"None of the students are supposed to know about it." Fred said. "But it's been trickling through the grapevine for a couple of hours."

Hermione looked absolutely shocked. "Do Harry and Ron know?"

"I have no idea." George told them. "They left right after practice. We thought they were coming back up here.

Well, they obviously weren't in the common room or the boys dorms. Someone would have seen them. Constance and Hermione looked at each other. After what they had just learned down in the library, it was worrisome that no one knew where Harry and Ron were. It was even scarier that Dumbledore and Hagrid were removed from the grounds so suddenly while there was a basilisk running around somewhere. With them gone... There was no logical reason why, but something about the entire situation made Constance feel a sense of urgency. Hermione looked like she felt the same way. Someone had to go out and find the boys – at the very least to tell them what the monster was so they'd be aware of it. Connie gasped as realization hit her.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed. "Ginny was asking about them. She'll be out there somewhere too."

Hermione's eyes widened, understanding her meaning. There was more than the boys to worry about. Fred and George looked back and forth between them.

"Alright, what do you know that we don't?" George asked pointedly.

Constance took a deep breath. There was no easy way to break this to someone, so it was best to just spit it out. "We found out what the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is." she told them. "It's a basilisk."

Both of them had crossed their arms over their chests to listen, but they immediately dropped them once she said the monster's name.

"Excuse me?" they said in unison.

"It's a basilisk." Hermione repeated. "We need to go out and find them. All of the attacks have happened at night and it's already dark outside."

The twins took the threat seriously. With them having to hunt down three people, a strategy had to be devised. Ginny had gone out to look for Harry at the Quiddich pitch long after practice was over. If Harry and Ron had left right after practice, then it was highly unlikely the three of them would be together. They all agreed that Fred and George would look for their sister, while Constance and Hermione would look for Harry and Ron.

"Here." Hermione said, using her wand to conjure up a set of mirrors. "Take one of these with you. The basilisk can't kill you if you only see it's reflection."

There was something about hearing that statement said aloud that made Connie's stomach twist into knots. Here they were about to go out on a mission to find their friends, and they all knew they might encounter something that could kill them. George took the mirror with a nod of understanding. As they were turning to leave, Constance grabbed his arm.

"Please be careful." she told him.

George looked back at her. You could tell something was serious when neither of the twins were smiling. He was worried. Both of them were. She really didn't want anything to happen to one of them.

"You too." he said, then went out with his brother.

The Quiddich pitch was on the Easternmost side of the castle, so the moment they were through the portrait hole, the twins veered to the left. Connie and Hermione thought that the most logical place for Harry and Ron to have gone was Hagrid's hut. That was on the open grounds near the Black Lake, in the opposite direction. It was slow going with having to check every corner with the mirror before proceeding, but they made it down to the second floor without encountering anything unusual.

"Why do you think they arrested Hagrid?" Constance asked quietly. "He wouldn't hurt a fly."

Hermione shook her head. "I have no idea, unless they think he's involved somehow. You know how he is about keeping dangerous things as pets."

That was a good point. But Connie sincerely doubted Hagrid would be stupid enough to attempt to keep a basilisk as a pet. They were slowly advancing down the hall, approaching another corner, when she heard an odd sound. She grabbed Hermione's arm to stop her.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

It was a noise that was completely out of place in the castle. A sloshing sound, like something large and heavy being dragged through water. That was not the sort of thing you wanted to hear when there was a giant snake around. From the nervous expression on her face, Hermione heard it as well. She leaned back a bit.

"Does it sound like it's coming toward us, or moving away?" she questioned.

Connie honestly couldn't tell. When water was moving around, it was hard to discern exactly what direction it was coming from. The stone walls surrounding them had a habit of enhancing sounds and making them echo – which didn't help matters much. She shook her head to silently indicate that she didn't know.

They remained frozen in place, unwilling and unable to move as long as they heard the wet dragging across the floor. Then, finally, the sound stopped. They both held their breath. It felt like a scene in a horror movie. When all sound dropped away to an eerie silence just before the monster popped out to grab you. But after several long moments of waiting, nothing rounded the corner to come at them.

"Maybe..." Hermione said haltingly. "Maybe it's gone away."

The girl stepped forward, acting like she was going to check around the corner with her mirror. Connie did not like the feeling rolling through her gut at all. Maybe it was the sound, or maybe it was the knowledge of what could have made it, but she really didn't want to find out if something was there or not.

"Hermione, wait." she whispered, reaching out to grab the back of her cloak. "Let's go back. There has to be another way down from here."

Hermione looked back at her over her shoulder. "If we double back, it will take us twice as long to get out of the castle." she replied. "This is the fastest way. If it's going away from us, I'll only see the back of it anyway."

She was actually going to do it. Constance was so nervous that her hands were shaking. Hermione pulled herself out of her grasp and stepped toward the corner. Using tiny, miniscule motions, she slid the mirror out so she could see what lay beyond. The girl went very still.

"Connie..." she whispered, making as little sound as possible.

The tone she was using told her enough. Holy shit, there was something there. Constance moved forward to pull her back. But just before she could get her hand around Hermione's elbow, there was a loud hiss and another wet dragging sound. Hermione's mouth dropped open as if to scream, but no sound came out. She just fell back and hit the floor like she was made of stone.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god... Constance's eyes snapped shut as something quickly whipped around the corner. Even without being able to see, she could still sense it right there in front of her. It was so close she could feel it's breath on her face. It smelled rancid. Like it had been crawling through a sewer. It's eyes can't hurt me if I don't look at it. She told herself. That wasn't very reassuring because a basilisk was a huge monster with extremely large teeth full of venom. It could swallow her whole if it wanted to. Or bite her and leave her to die a slow painful death. But the thing wasn't moving. It just stayed there, right in front of her, as if daring her to open her eyes. Waiting for her resolve to break. Hands trembling so much she worried about their usefulness, she fumbled around under her cloak until she felt the handle of her gun. She kept her movements as slow as possible, trying not to draw attention to what she was doing. God, she hoped this thing wasn't paying attention.

She had just gotten Persephone out of it's holster when the creature in front of her let out a angry hiss of pain. Constance couldn't feel it's breath anymore, so it must have fallen back. It still sounded incredibly close, so she didn't take any chances. Keeping her eyes closed, she jerked her gun up and fired two shots. Something hot and wet splattered across her face. The monster hissed again, then slithered back the way it had come. At least, it sounded that way.

Before she had a chance to move or register that the creature was gone, something grabbed Constance's shoulders. She screeched and lifted her gun again, fully intending to shoot whatever it was. As she squeezed off the trigger, her hand was forced upward. The bullet bit into the stone ceiling with a loud crack.

"Connie, it's me!" Mihnea's voice shouted. "It's gone."

Mihnea was there? She didn't wonder about how he had seen the basilisk and was still alive. She was too shocked by what had just happened. Connie's eyes shot open and she threw her arms around him.

"Oh my God..." she said, hearing her voice break as tears welled up. "It was so close." she pushed herself back. "How... how did you know..."

"I was coming down from the Astronomy Tower and I smelled it. I followed it down here." he told her.

She pushed herself back. "But it was a basilisk!" she exclaimed, not understanding. "How did you see it without dying?"

"I only saw it from the side." he said. "It was too busy staring at you to notice me. It didn't look my way until I shot it."

So that was why the monster sounded like it had been hit with something before she had a chance to shoot it. He must have closed his eyes when it turned it's head in his direction. She looked down and noticed he still had his gun out. When her eyes traveled further downwards, she noticed blood on the sleeves of his shirt. It was all over the floor as well. As she was taking in the large pools of it laying everywhere, Mihnea's grip on her shoulders tightened.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, studying her with worried eyes.

Connie blinked. "I... I'm okay." she told him. She gasped as she remembered the girl laying on the floor. "Hermione!"

She jerked out of her cousin's grip and ran over to check on her. She was laying there still as a statue, the mirror still clasped in her hand and mouth open in a silent scream.

"She saw it..." she murmured, then looked back at Mihnea. "We need to get a teacher."

They didn't need to stay out in the hallway now that they knew there was a basilisk nearby. Mihnea's eyes studied the petrified Hermione, then looked back at her.

"I'll go. You stay here with her." he instructed. His gun was placed back into the holster hidden under his cloak. "When I get back, if the teachers ask anything about the blood, just tell them that you were scared and pointed your wand at it. Your eyes were closed and you didn't cast a spell, so you don't know what happened. Do you understand?"

Constance nodded. She vaguely recalled her father telling her to shoot first, then make it look like a magical accident later. She slid down the wall to sit on the floor next to Hermione as Mihnea ran back the way he had come to find someone.

"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry." she whispered to her, not knowing if the girl could hear or not. Being petrified this way was different than being petrified with a spell. "I should have been the one carrying the mirror..."

Why couldn't she have just ignored Hermione and dragged her back to find another way down? If she had insisted enough, the girl would have broken down and agreed to it. Constance should have been the one checking around corners with the mirror. Everyone knew the monster in the Chamber was going after the muggle-borns. With Connie being a half-blood, maybe if the basilisk had sensed her first, it would have left them alone.

She heard footsteps coming toward them and suddenly realized that her gun was still out. She quickly shoved it back under her cloak just as McGonagall and Snape rounded the corner with Mihnea following right behind. The two teachers went still when they saw the massive amounts of blood and the two girls on the floor near the wall.

"Miss Stryker!" her head of house exclaimed as she rushed toward them. She crouched down and took hold of her shoulders. "Miss Stryker, are you injured?"

Constance shook her head. "No, ma'am. I kept my eyes closed." her voice broke again as she looked back down at Hermione. "Professor, it's a basilisk! No one knew where Harry and Ron were and we were trying to find them so we could warn them. Hermione was checking around corners with the mirror and she saw it, and... I heard it! I tried to tell her we should go back..."

Connie knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop the words from spilling out. Professor McGonagall pressed her hands to her cheeks, then felt her forehead.

"She's in shock." the woman announced. "It's alright, Miss Stryker. Calm down." She rose from her crouch and turned to Professor Snape. "Severus, help me carry Miss Granger to the hospital wing. Mr. Bassarab, if you would please assist your cousin so she doesn't fall along the way."

Mihnea nodded and came over to help Connie get up from the floor. Professor Snape walked over and slid his hands under Hermione's shoulders, while McGonagall took hold of her feet. Carrying her between them, they began making their way down the hall. As she and Mihnea moved to follow, it became apparent that Connie had been affected by the event more than she thought. Her first few steps were clumsy and awkward. She was still shaking and it felt like she couldn't trust her limbs to carry her weight.

"We're never going to get down there like this." Her cousin said with a frown. "Put your arms around my neck and I'll carry you."

Constance didn't argue about it. She did as he instructed, and Mihnea put an arm under her knees to carry her the rest of the way down to the hospital wing.

When they finally got downstairs, it became apparent why everyone was making such a fuss about her being alright. Connie got hold of a mirror and saw that her face and most of her clothes were covered in blood. She knew that her and Mihnea's guns left big holes, but she hadn't expected something to bleed that much.

It was Snape who questioned her about the blood all over the floor upstairs. She fed him the story that Mihnea had come up with about her pointing her wand at it while her eyes were closed. The Potions Master looked like he found her explanation suspicious. It was uncommon, but entirely possible, for witches and wizards to perform magic unintentionally when frightened or particularly upset. But apparently the idea of her accidentally performing magic vicious enough to injure something that badly was difficult to imagine. McGonagall eventually got him to leave her alone about it. Considering the situation and what could have happened, such a strong reaction may have been the only way to force the monster to retreat, she said. However, the woman did give her a firm lecture about keeping her emotions under control in the future.

There was really nothing that could be done for Hermione. She would remain petrified until the Mandrakes were fully grown so a potion could be prepared. Since it was a weekend, Madam Pomfrey wanted Constance to stay in the hospital wing for the night to make sure that she fully recovered from the shock before going back to her dormitory. Because he was family and had been the one to find them, Mihnea was allowed to stay with her. Connie wasn't really sure why he remained, but she was glad all the same. It gave her a chance to actually talk to him.

"Are you still angry at me?" she asked quietly once the medi-witch had gone off to do something else.

Her cousin gave her a look. "Do you want me to be nice, or honest?"

The girl winced. If he had to distinguish between the two, then he was definitely still mad. She cleared her throat.

"What I said to you... I didn't mean it the way it sounded." she told him honestly. "I really am sorry."

"I know you are." he replied.

Her brows furrowed. "Then why have you been avoiding me?"

Mihnea sighed and pushed his dark hair back out of his face. "Because you're right and it pisses me off."

She stared at him. What on earth was he talking about? He noticed her expression and went on.

"I don't trust people, Connie. You know that." he said. "You never worry about what might happen if people found out who you really are. I have more than a name to worry about. And I don't like thinking about having friends, then all of them running away the second they found out what I was."

She knew that he had more on his plate than she did because he wasn't fully human, but she'd never heard him admit being worried about it. He always acted so confident. Like he didn't care what people thought of him. As she was musing over her thoughts, Mihnea glanced at her sideways.

"How far do you intend to go with Weasley?"

Do what? She thought, surprised. How far... Her mind immediately registered that as being a perverted comment.

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed, sitting up straighter in bed. "What is wrong with you!"

Her cousin made a face. "I didn't mean it that way and you know it." he said. "I'm asking how serious things are going to get with him."

"Oh." The clarification made her calm down a bit. "I... I don't really know." she admitted. "It's just been a month or so... Why? You don't like him?"

"I don't have anything against him personally." he told her. "I just haven't seen anything to convince me that he deserves you."

Oh, for the love of God. She'd been going out with George for a little more than a month, and Mihnea was already acting overprotective.

"I think I'm the one that gets to decide who does or doesn't deserve me." she said with a sniff.

"You like him."

Constance blinked at him. "Of course I do. I wouldn't have agreed to go out with him if I didn't."

Mihnea studied her intently. "You know you can't hide things from him forever. If this dating thing gets serious, you wont be able to keep such a big secret. So you better be damn sure this is what you want, because if you get attached and George Weasley ever breaks your heart, I'll kill him."

From the look on his face, Constance could tell he was serious. Not in a 'I'll kick his ass' sort of way, but a very literal 'I will rip him into pieces and watch the life fade out of his eyes' way.

"I'm not worried about that right now, and neither should you." she told him. "If it ever becomes an issue, I'll let you know." She gave him a serious look. "But you will not, under any circumstances, kill him or anyone else."

"Oh, fine." he said with a huff. "Could I at least break his nose?"

Connie thought about it. That sort of thing was far from a fatal injury. "Breaking his nose would be acceptable."

Mihnea looked her over, as if trying to figure out whether she meant it or not, then sat back and sniffed. "Good."