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[The next day, Mia and Ron are visiting Hermione in the Hospital Wing again; Mia takes the old dried up flowers out of the vase next to Hermione's bed, puts in some new white flowers, then sits on the bed.] Mia: Wish you were here, Hermione. We need you. Now more than ever. [Hermione just lays there with her glossy facial expression as Ron sighs sadly.]
Hermione was enveloped in a bittersweet cocoon of love and sadness as she felt the warmth of her friends' support but also the weight of their shared sorrow and helplessness. A palpable sense of sympathy permeated the air as everyone grieved for the two friends grappling with the loss of their petrified companion.
[Mia rubs Hermione's left hand; feeling something in it, she looks down and removes her hand to discover a crumpled up piece of paper, a library book page, which she carefully removes and straightens out.]
"How could we have overlooked that?" McGonagall exclaimed, her eyes widening in disbelief, as Madam Pomfrey shared her astonishment.
"You both missed that?" Remus questioned, a look of surprise on his face. He knew that the two women were generally very perceptive.
"It must have been hidden in her half-closed hand, which is why it went unnoticed," Sirius remarked thoughtfully, attempting to rationalize the oversight.
"You may not have seen it because you weren't holding her hand like Mia just did," Arthur chimed in, his expression reflecting deep consideration.
"Maybe," McGonagall replied, a mix of perplexity and consternation in her voice as she grappled with the surprising oversight.
Ron: [glancing at the page] What's that? Mia: [examining the page] Ron, this is why Hermione was in the library the day she was attacked.
In a state of desperate curiosity, everyone leaned in closer to the screen, their eyes widening as they focused intently on the paper Mia's holding.
"What is it?"
They asked in breathless anticipation, their eagerness palpable in the air and their expressions a mix of excitement and apprehension.
Mia: [glances at the page and then back at Ron as she gets up] Come on! [Mia and Ron walk through the corridor as Mia reads from the page] "Of the many fearsome beasts that roam our land, none is more deadly than the Basilisk.
"WHAT?" exclaimed Oliver, his voice rising above the collective gasps and murmurs in the room.
"I read about basilisks in one of my Defense Against the Dark Arts books. They're extremely dangerous creatures," Neville added, his voice filled with apprehension.
"Merlin's beard, a basilisk?"
Mia: Capable of living for hundreds of years, instant death awaits any who meet this giant serpent's eye. Spiders flee before it..." [looking up at Ron] Ron, this is it. The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk. That's why I can hear it speak. It's a snake.
