Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Maria spent the next few days holed up in the library, searching for any clue as to what was happening at Hogwarts. She had even fallen asleep while researching, only to wake up with her face in a book.
Maria would've gone without food if not for Perseus, whose concern for his sister steadily increased with each passing day. He made sure to bring her a plate of food every day, for lunch and dinner, making sure to stay until she ate every last crumb. He knew he could never understand what she went through and what she had to do, but he knew what she was doing was becoming unhealthy and dangerous.
"I can't leave," Maria would tell Perseus when he tried to get her to take a break, even if it was only for an hour or two. "Something's going on, something bad, and I need to figure out what it is before someone gets hurt."
"Fred is asking about you," Perseus would say anything to get his twin to take a break, no matter how much he hated the idea of Fred and Maria talking. "Maybe you should go talk to him."
Maria was tempted by his words, Perseus could tell. She paused for a split-second, her constant page flipping and note taking halted for the moment as she considered his words. Perseus wasn't as clueless as some believed him to be. As much as he hated it, he knew there was something going on between his best friend and sister.
"I can't," she repeated much to Persues' dismay as he reluctantly left her to continue her research, realizing there was nothing he could do to stop her.
The afternoon soon turned into night as Maria tiredly flipped through the pages, her movements become more sluggish as the night dragged on. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her research up, especially when she was coming up with nothing. She was so exhausted that when she flipped through her book she barely noticed the big, bold words staring her in the face.
Basilisk.
Maria shot up in her chair as her eyes grazed over the same word over and over again. Everything was starting to make sense again as she read over the article on the Basilisk. The hissing noises, the paralyzed kids, everything that had been happening at Hogwarts could be explained in the single page.
"Maria..."
Maria froze in her place as chills crawled up her back. The voice was back again, and now that she understand what it meant, she couldn't help the fear that gripped her. Maria couldn't remember the last time she felt fear, but she was starting to realize she didn't like the feeling at all. She gripped the book in her hand and shoved it back onto the shelf before scurrying out of the library, hoping to escape the voice.
"Maria..."
Turning around the corner, Maria let out a scream as she crashed into something solid, sending her to the ground in a frightened state.
"Whoa," Fred Weasley tried to calm Maria down as her deep, ragged breaths filled the quiet corridor.
"Sorry," Maria apologized when she realized she had run into Fred, and not the Basilisk.
"Are you alright?" Fred asked worriedly as he helped Maria back onto her feet. He would never admit it, but he had been concerned about her the past few days and running into now wasn't helping his growing concern for her.
"Yeah," Maria nodded her head unconvincingly as her eyes darted around the corridor in a frantic manner.
"Are you sure? Maybe we should go to Madam-"
"No," Maria shook her head as she cut Fred off. "I need to see Dumbledore immediately."
"Okay, well I can-"
"Thanks, Fred," Maria cut him off again, not wanting him to get hurt or dragged into her mess. "But I can find him just fine on my own."
"Okay," Fred was taken aback but her abruptness and sudden coldness towards him as he wondered what he had done to make her act so harshly towards him. "If you're so sure."
"I am," Maria nodded her head, relieved that she was able to get him to back down. "Bye, Fred."
She scurried away without looking back, unaware of Fred's concerned eyes watching her take off. He wanted to run after her to make sure she was okay but thought better of it as he continued back to the Gryffindor common room.
Maria didn't slow down until she was halfway across the castle, making sure Fred hadn't followed her as it seemed like something the Weasley boy would do. When she was sure she was alone, she continued her path to Dumbledore's office, knowing she had to tell him what she had found.
Turning around the corner, she ran into another body, much to her annoyance. She didn't want to deal with another student getting into her business.
As she took a step back, however, she realized much too late it wasn't another student as she stared into the dead, cold eyes of the Basilisk.
