Being a guy, Basil couldn't exactly waltz into the girls' bathroom.
Plus, he had class to get to, so he had to leave the entrance of the bathroom, which was starting to attract a crowd, without accomplishing anything. Calling out Hermione's name had been useless.
This, unfortunately, led the onlookers to believe Basil was a total player—a two-timer who'd been caught red-handed.
After all, he was charming enough to pull it off.
Just as some girls were about to volunteer to be the "side chick," Ron and a few girls who knew the truth stepped up.
Ron clarified that Hermione was crying because he had upset her. He'd told her she was a meddlesome nightmare.
The girls, on the other hand, clarified that Basil was actually single. He and Hermione weren't boyfriend and girlfriend at all.
They had assumed the two were dating at first, but after watching them for a while, they realized the truth.
So, the moment class ended and Basil walked out, he found himself surrounded by a mob of girls.
He had no choice but to flee back to the dormitory without looking back.
It wasn't until evening, when the moon hung high in the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, that he dared to head down for dinner, surrounded by a protective group of guys.
Walking into the dining hall, the whole place had transformed.
Wizards really had a weird aesthetic.
If you didn't know better, you'd think you'd crashed a vampire's dinner party.
Countless bats fluttered against the walls and ceiling, while others swooped over the tables like low, dark clouds, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker and dance.
It made the delicious food that suddenly appeared on the gold plates look a little less appetizing.
Aren't they worried about sanitary issues? Or viruses?
Ron looked incredibly uncomfortable.
He kept poking at the jacket potato on his plate with his fork.
But since he was a wizard born and bred in the UK, he obviously wasn't worried about the bats. He was worried about Hermione.
"Ron, you gotta eat something. You're freaking me out," Harry said, shrinking back a little as he looked at the fried chicken leg on Ron's plate, which only had one bite taken out of it.
Ron gulped, then shook his head decisively. "Hermione hasn't eaten anything either."
"Why don't we go find her?" Basil suggested.
At the High Table, both Quirrell and Snape's seats were empty.
Although Basil had secretly planted a Devil's Snare in the toilet of the stall Hermione was in to keep her safe...
Quirrell was currently all-in with Voldemort.
He was acting a bit like he had nothing left to lose.
What if he didn't just cause the usual troll trouble today, but something worse?
Basil couldn't monitor Quirrell directly.
In the Hogwarts map in his mind, he could only see Snape pacing in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
Quirrell was nowhere to be found.
Hearing Basil's suggestion, Ron nodded without hesitation.
So did Harry.
He shot up from his seat. "Let's go!"
"Wait," Ron called out, then quickly stuffed a few chicken legs into his pocket.
He also pulled out an empty potion bottle and filled it with ice-cold pumpkin juice.
"Okay, ready," he explained, seeing Harry's amused look. "What if Hermione's hungry?"
He stuffed a few meat pies into his pocket for good measure.
"That's the beauty of magic," Basil thought to himself as he led the way.
Without magic, there's no way Ron would put greasy chicken legs directly into his clothes pocket.
No normal person would do that.
But with magic, a simple Scouring Charm could handle any grease on his body or clothes.
Soon, they arrived at the girls' bathroom and walked right in.
Ron was munching on a chicken leg as he walked. He didn't stop eating just because they were in a bathroom.
Harry was looking around nervously, like a thief. He was probably terrified of being labeled a pervert.
Basil, however, was cool as a cucumber.
Hmph! It's just a girls' bathroom.
He could see whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted! Besides, he'd been in here before—with Professor McGonagall right next to him!
"Hermione!" the three of them yelled in unison.
From inside a stall, Hermione, who was sitting on the toilet seat in a daze, blushed instantly. She squeaked, "This is the girls' bathroom! How did you get in here?!"
"Forgot it's Halloween Eve? Everyone's at the feast; the rest of the castle is empty," Basil said gruffly. "Come out right now, or I'm coming in."
As he spoke, he smoothly drew his wand.
"Whoa, chill, not necessary," Harry grabbed Basil's left arm.
Ron added, "What if she's... you know, having stomach issues?" (Hermione whispered: "I am not!" Basil: "Then come out.")
Ron tried to grab Basil's free arm, but Basil glared him down.
Think about how greasy your hands are, man.
Creak. The door opened.
Hermione walked out slowly, head down, face bright red.
"I'M SORRY!" Ron suddenly bowed ninety degrees toward Hermione.
Hermione looked up in shock.
Basil was equally shocked. He had almost instinctively fired a Killing Curse at Ron.
Don't ask why. It was just that Ron's posture looked way too much like a formal Japanese apology.
For a split second, it triggered a deep-seated, ancestral "fight or flight" response—mostly fight. It was like old war drums were beating in his ears.
Basil hadn't expected that simply telling Ron about Japanese apology culture—and their weird "I apologize, but I won't change" attitude—would stick with him.
And even more surprisingly...
That split second of rage unlocked the Killing Curse!
The natural hostility in his bloodline was the perfect trigger for the "intent to kill" requirement!
Without dwelling on it, the data flashed.
Cha-ching.
Gems: 27,361.085 (-100)
As the Spell Card was created, the corresponding information flowed into Basil's mind.
[Spell Card: Killing Curse]
[Level: 1]
[Cost: 6 Mana (Corrupted) · Killing Intent Priority]
Note: Killing Intent can be used instead of Mana. Killing Intent is not a consumable. Every point of Killing Intent causes one unit of negative tilt to your Mana.
[Description: Fires a beam of green light that directly attacks Health Points. For every Player Unit killed, Killing Intent increases by 1.]
[Damage: 0.1 — 36]
Note: If Mana is insufficient, damage will collapse and reduce to near zero. If Mana value is sufficient but is standard generic Mana, damage equals the Mana value provided.
[Effective Range: 30 feet. Beyond 30 feet, damage decays by 1 point for every 3 feet.]
[Magic Book Level: 3 (1100/300)]
"Killing Intent? No wonder the System calls it the Killing Curse and not just the Death Spell."
"Mana (Corrupted)? Is this what Professor Flitwick meant by changing the 'nature of the muscle'? It fits Dark Magic better and is more powerful than generic Mana?"
"Killing Intent works like Mana, but isn't consumable?"
"Player Unit? In the game, wizards are Player Units. So killing Muggles or non-intelligent life doesn't give a full point of Killing Intent?"
"Looking at this, using 6 points of Killing Intent deals 36 damage. And it's True Damage."
"Directly attacks Health Points? That means even 'True Magic Resistance'—where you inject mental power into your magnetic field—won't work? So Protective Charms based on that principle won't work either."
"It's basically ignoring Armor and Magic Resist to hit the Health Bar directly?"
"With 36 damage... a wizard with only 10 Health doesn't stand a chance."
These thoughts flashed through his mind the moment he saw the data for the [Killing Curse].
Meanwhile, Hermione finally spoke up, confused by Ron's sudden bow.
"Why are you apologizing?" Hermione looked bewildered. "I didn't stay in here because of you."
Ron's eyes went wide. He looked at Basil and instinctively took a few steps back.
"So... you really were two-timing?"