The footsteps grew louder and quicker, and Hermione was surprised to see not two or three people burst into the chamber, but five.

Professor Snape was there, leading the way, with Harry not far behind – the only one who could open the sink for them all. Professor McGonagall was there, her eyes wild, and there was a strange woman in acid green robes as well, her eyes gleaming as she took in the sight of the chamber. The fifth was Ernie MacMillan, who came into view after the rest of them, panting, a camera slung around his neck.

"Miss Granger!"

Professor McGonagall flew over to her, holding up her face and examining her. Hermione saw Snape glide over to the body of the basilisk out of the corner of her eyes, presumably to examine it.

"What happened?" McGonagall demanded. "Whatever were you doing? Are you both alright?"

"She saved me, Professor," Draco cut in, still sitting behind a pillar. His voice was hoarse, his eyes bright. "She saved my life."

"Mister Malfoy!" McGonagall quickly went to him as soon as she saw him, dropping to her knees on the floor to examine him for injuries. Harry replaced her quickly, hugging Hermione hard.

"I was so scared for you," he told her quietly, clinging to her. "Good for you, but you're mad, you realize? Never do anything like this again."

"No promises," Hermione told him, but she gave him a half-smile. She lowered her voice. "Harry, if you can get away and subtly get my bag from behind the statue, and another one in that open pipe over there – maybe you can hide them under your robes or your cloak…?"

"Say no more," Harry assured her. "I'll take care of it."

Harry went around the far side of the basilisk out of sight, and Hermione saw that the strange woman had advanced on Draco, disregarding McGonagall's worried examination.

"You say she saved your life?" She moved closer, her eyes gleaming, and a pad of paper with a quill hovering over it hung in the air near her shoulder. "What would you say happened here, Draco Malfoy?"

"I was—well, I was abducted earlier, I think," Draco said. "After dinner. I was alone – I don't know why; maybe I'd snuck off to the loo? – but the snake grabbed me with its coils." His voice was intense, panicked. "I think I hit my head, and it thrashed me around. It dragged me through a girls' toilet and down these pipes and back to its home."

"You say the monster of Slytherin kidnapped you?" the woman said, her voice intrigued. "You, a pureblood scion?"

"I believe that's why he was kidnapped, ma'am," Hermione cut in. "I think the basilisk was unable to kill him because of his pure blood, so it was forced to take him away instead."

The reporter's eyes turner to her, gleaming with intrigue.

"And just who are you?" she asked.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione offered, dipping a curtsy.

"She's a hero!" Draco said vehemently. "She came after me. She killed the basilisk and saved me from getting eaten!"

"Miss Granger?" Snape had one eyebrow arched, his expression inscrutable. "Did you really?"

Hermione gave him a weak smile and held up her sword, basilisk blood still running down the blade.

"I did."

There was a clicking sound, and Hermione belatedly realized Ernie was taking photographs of her, of the entire scene.

"No, no, no!" the reporter admonished. "She's a hero, boy! She saved the scion of House Malfoy from a gruesome, grisly death! She managed to defeat the monster of Slytherin where the Headmaster of Hogwarts could not! We do not take photos that do not reflect the truth, my boy!"

The woman fluttered around her, arranging her to pose in front of the basilisk just so, at a slight three-quarters angle, adjusting the position of the sword, tilting her face just so for the most flattering angle.

"Look fierce, my dear," she advised her. "This is your heroic debut!"

Ernie started snapping photos while the reporter flitted around, asking questions.

"Why did you have a sword, Miss Granger?" the reporter asked. "And what a sword it is!"

"A few students took to wearing them in the halls," Hermione said. "They're for protection, from the monster. Some of the older Weasleys started the trend, and I thought it seemed like a good idea. It certainly paid off, didn't it?"

"I'll say," Draco said strenuously. "You saved everyone, Hermione!"

Draco was effusive with his words, going overboard describing her heroism in chasing down the monster to save him, her running from the basilisk to draw it away from him, and her epic leap through the air to lop its head off (Hermione certainly didn't remember putting that in his mind). He told the reporter he had no idea why the snake had captured him instead of petrified him, and that he'd been horrified to learn that if Hermione hadn't stabbed its eyes out, he could have died just from a look from it.

As the reporter drew out the details of Draco's story, Snape loomed closer, apparently done examining the snake.

"And you, Miss Granger?" he asked silkily. "What is your tale of what happened tonight?"

"Yes!" the reporter agreed, whirling around to focus on her. "The heroine of the hour! How would you recount the extraordinary events of this evening?"

Snape's eyes glinted with a challenge, and Hermione took a deep breath. She had to be very careful here with what she said.

"I noticed Draco wasn't at dinner," she began steadily. "I was alarmed and thought something might have happened to him."

"You thought something might have happened to him?" the reporter pounced. "Why is that?"

"Rita," Snape said sharply. His voice smoothed out. "Miss Granger might respond better to gentle questions rather than an interrogation, Miss Skeeter. She's just gone through a rather harrowing experience."

The reporter (Rita Skeeter, apparently) looked chastised and annoyed.

"Draco had been in a fight earlier that day," Hermione said carefully, "with someone who I knew to be violent and unstable. I was worried that something might have happened to him – it didn't occur to me he'd been kidnapped by the monster at first. When I took Harry with me later after dinner to look for him around the dungeons, I caught a glimpse of the basilisk, and immediately I knew what must have happened."

"You did?" Rita said, her quill scribbling fast on her pad. "How did you know?"

"I knew that Slytherin's monster was a basilisk," she said. She glanced as Snape. "Harry could hear its voice through the walls of the school when it attacked people, and once I discovered Harry was a Parselmouth, it just clicked. A basilisk is the only serpent that can petrify people, so I knew what it was when I caught a glimpse of its tail in the hall."

"Basilisks kill their victims, not petrify, either with their gaze or their fangs," Snape said. "I fail to see how you came to that conclusion, Miss Granger."

"No one saw its deadly gaze directly," Hermione pointed out. "Justin saw it through Nearly-Headless Nick, Colin through his camera, and Lilian its reflection in a shield. Even Mrs. Norris saw its reflection in the water. The only one I could find who saw its gaze directly was Moaning Myrtle, who had died, and she told me of its big, bulbous yellow eyes."

Snape's eyes narrowed.

"And you didn't think to share your conclusions with a professor?" he said sharply.

"I didn't have any proof," Hermione objected. "I didn't want to go to Dumbledore and have him dismiss me again as a silly little child who didn't know any better and was unnecessarily paranoid."

Rita's eyes gleamed at that.

"You say Dumbledore has dismissed your valid concerns in the past?" she pounced. "When did this happen?"

"What happened after you went after the basilisk, Hermione?" Harry asked. "I saw you jump down the pipe…"

Hermione was incredibly grateful for Harry keeping things on track.

"I followed the trail in the muck until I came to the Chamber of Secrets," she said. "I saw Draco collapsed on the ground, and the green of basilisk nearby. I didn't know what it would do to him – so I yelled, got its attention, and then—" she swallowed, "—there was a fight, and I slew it."

"Just how did that happen?" Rita asked. "I see you have this magnificent sword. Have you trained with it? How did you manage to kill Slytherin's monster as a girl of only thirteen?"

"I—I don't fully know," Hermione admitted. "Adrenaline and magic were pouring through me – most of it's a blur—"

"I can tell you," Draco cut in. His voice sounded proud. "I watched her fight. I saw the entire thing as she fought to save me."

Rita went over to Draco, bombarding him with questions once more, and Snape moved closer to Hermione, his black eyes glittering.

"Something 'very dramatic happening', Miss Granger?" he murmured, his voice low.

"How would you have described it?" Hermione kept her voice quiet, heard only by him. "Without breaking the possibility of plausible deniability?"

"Touché." Snape raised an eyebrow. His eyes skimmed over her. "You look very well put together for a girl who has just beaten a basilisk, Miss Granger," he commented. "Those pipes were covered in muck."

"I guess I'm just lucky," she murmured. "Just like how lucky we are that a reporter was interviewing you when all of this unfolded."

Snape's eyes sharpened.

"I know what you are doing, Miss Granger," he told her quietly, his voice dangerous. "But do you realize what might have happened here today?"

Hermione shuddered.

"I assure you, it was much safer than what it looks like happened," she told him. "But… I was aware I was taking a risk. I just thought it was one worth taking."

"The Bulgeye potion." Snape's gaze was knowing. He glanced around. "Though I fail to see any roosters."

"I don't know what you're talking about, professor," Hermione said airily. She held her sword aloft. "Can't you see I clearly cut off its head?" She rested the base of the sword on her shoulder for a moment casually, making a show of examining the snake's fallen head and punctured eyes, before sheathing her sword once more and giving him a smirk.

"Indeed." Snape looked amused. He looked at her for a long moment.

"Yes…?" Hermione prompted, uneasy under his scrutinizing gaze.

Snape looked at her for a long time.

"You should not have done this," he said finally, his voice quiet. "Regardless of whatever precautions you had taken, this was dangerous, Miss Granger. You could have died."

"I know," Hermione said quietly, looking down. "I very nearly did."

"An adult could have handled this matter, Hermione." His volume was low, but his voice was sharp. "You are a child. You should have come to me with this, and I could have made sure the entire matter was handled safely."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "I… I had my reasons, though, why I thought I couldn't."

"No reason in the world, Miss Granger," Snape said quietly, "is worth the risk of the world losing you."

There was a silence as Hermione's eyes widened in astonishment, Snape's glittering eyes holding hers. Hermione swallowed hard, and she eventually broke away from his gaze, shuddering slightly. Snape's intensity could be… scary, even if it was protective of her.

Snape looked around the chamber with dark eyes, taking in the sight of a mussed, relieved Draco Malfoy, the sight of the decapitated giant snake.

"Regardless of your reasoning, you are a hero here tonight, Miss Granger," he told her finally. His black eyes were bright, but not with malice or suspicion this time. "You risked your life to save another, to kill the monster. If you had not, other students may have been injured, possibly even died." His gaze held hers. "You did something incredibly risky and foolish, grossly irresponsible, and so horrendously Gryffindor I'm astonished you were sorted into my house, but you have saved the school, Miss Granger." His eyes softened. "Though I am reluctant to say it, and wish circumstances were such that I did not have cause to say it… I am proud of you, Hermione."

Hermione could feel her cheeks flush with pride, and she looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "Thank you, sir."

Clicking continued to fill the air, and Hermione looked up at Ernie.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked.

"Rita grabbed me," Ernie said, grinning proudly. "She saw me with my camera, going with Hannah back to the common room, and she asked if I wanted to capture the event of the century." He paused. "I think she really just needed a photographer for whatever article she wanted to write, but I'm not about to complain!"

Professor McGonagall came back over to Hermione, looking frazzled and exhausted.

"Miss Granger," she said. She paused, taking a deep breath. "Though I am aghast at the personal risk you took going after a classmate instead of getting a teacher… Mister Malfoy may not be alive today if not for your quick actions." She gave her a tired, proud smile. "You did Hogwarts proud, today."

The deep lines of stress and exhaustion in her face aged her immensely, Hermione noticed, and her heart went out to her professor. She was much too old to be dealing with this entire mess.

"Why don't we all get out of this room and back to the Headmaster's office?" Hermione suggested. "We are in a sewer. I'm sure there are better places to conduct an interview."

Rita Skeeter's head snapped up at that.

"An interview! Yes! Full interviews, for the lot of you," she said. She pointed at Ernie. "Boy, make sure you get a shot of the dead monster lying before the giant statue! Let no one doubt where this adventure occurred!"

Hermione looked back at the monster and bit her lip, remembering something.

"What should we do with the basilisk?" she asked. "I don't want to just leave it here to rot."

Snape's eyes cut over to her.

"Oh?" he inquired. "And what would you do with an enormous snake carcass, Miss Granger? Take it to bed at night as a teddy?"

Hermione gave him a nasty look.

"It's mine, by Right of Conquest, isn't it?" she shot back, her hands flying to her hips.

"It is indeed!" Rita declared, gesturing for Ernie to get a shot of Hermione looking annoyed. "What will you do with the corpse of this historical beast, Miss Granger?"

"I thought I'd render it down to ingredients," Hermione said. "Basilisks are illegal and rare, so their venom and blood and skin must be in high demand as rare potion ingredients, right?"

"Most potion components made from basilisks are highly restricted in trade, Miss Granger," Snape said, his eyes gleaming. "The Ministry wouldn't want to encourage breeding them for profit, after all."

"I'm sure my father can make sure she's approved to sell them off, sir," Draco cut in, defiant. "She saved my life, risking her own to slay the basilisk. And it's not like she bred the basilisk for a thousand years!"

"Can we argue about this somewhere else?" Harry complained. He shuddered. "Looking at it gives me the creeps. What if its eyes open again?"

"I stabbed them," Hermione reassured him. "I'm fairly sure that if the eyelids did start to open, the aqueous humor and vitreous will just start to gush out. I think the whole eye is needed for the deadly effect to work, probably."

Harry looked horrified.

"Somehow, I'm not reassured," he said. "What if the eye juices itself are what's deadly?"

Draco looked uneasy.

"Potter might be right," he said. "Let's get out of here."

McGonagall swept in front of them, leading the way with her wand held alight, making her way back through the pipes. Hermione, Harry, and Draco followed, with Rita Skeeter and Ernie right behind them, Rita still peppering them with questions, now asking Harry how he felt when he saw his best friend courageously hurl herself into danger. Snape brought up the back, his wand out as well.

When they reached the giant pipe, McGonagall stopped short.

"This… presents a problem," she said faintly.

Hermione glanced over at Harry.

"I'm not sure this will work," she said, "but why don't you try telling it 'up'?"

Harry looked surprised, but he shrugged.

"Worth a shot," he said.

Harry stepped forward and hissed at the pipe. Hermione could understand him – he tried up, then I want to go up, then make some stairs, you blasted pipe – and it was this last that seemed to work, the pipe grumbling and shifting until the bottom of it was no longer rounded, sharp stairs emerging from the base of the pipe, and Hermione had to hide her giggles.

"More snake magic," Rita breathed, her eyes wide. Her gaze cut sharply to Harry. "How lucky you have the gift of Parseltongue."

"Pretty sure I got it with my scar," Harry said dully. "Not sure I would call it a gift, really."

The climb up the pipe was hard and took nearly an hour. It had taken a minute to skid down on a slide, but ascending a staircase that seemed over a mile long was not fun. Conversations broke off, people panting as they climbed and climbed and climbed, people pausing for a moment not infrequently to try and catch their breath.

Hermione hung towards the back, cheating a little, using her air elemental to help push her up the stairs. She smirked when she realized Snape was doing the same thing – she could feel the currents in the air pushing him up.

When Snape quirked an eyebrow at her, she grinned, sending a tiny spiral of wind to press against him, and he rolled his eyes, but there was an amused gleam to them now.

"I am impressed, Miss Granger," he said, his words kept vague. "I did not expect you to have such skill so young."

"Practice makes perfect, Professor," Hermione said smugly. She smiled. "And I was determined."

"I suppose you were." His eyes glittered. "Nevertheless. Well done."