Hermione proudly lifted her chin, revealing her snow-white neck.

"Can you tell me why?"

"Why did you know that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk, yet refuse to tell Dumbledore? A lot of dangerous things could have been avoided."

"They could have been avoided, but then I'd have been the one in danger."

"The one who opened the Chamber of Secrets is Salazar Slytherin's heir, and he clearly doesn't mind killing people."

"Why don't you take a guess at what he would do to me if he found out that I was the one who ruined his plans?"

"Is it really just because you're afraid of retaliation?"

Vader rolled his eyes at her.

"Hermione, let me ask you a very simple question. Answer honestly. Are you afraid of death?"

Hermione frowned slightly and fell silent.

"Looks like you are."

"Gryffindors are brave and fearless. Courage and passion drive you forward without hesitation."

"To put it bluntly, adrenaline makes you act without considering the consequences."

"But Slytherins weigh the pros and cons and know when to protect themselves. They don't disregard their own safety just for the sake of protecting others."

"I admire heroes like that, but I know I won't become one of them."

Hermione slowly nodded, reluctantly convincing herself to accept his explanation.

"At the time, all I knew was that Salazar Slytherin had raised a basilisk. I didn't know where the Chamber was, and I didn't know who the heir was."

"Under those circumstances, I wouldn't dare make careless accusations. Forcing the heir into a corner and making him desperate wouldn't benefit me in the slightest."

"Did you ever wonder why, out of all the Muggle-born students at Hogwarts, the heir chose you as the third target?"

Hermione pondered for a moment.

"Because I was about to discover the basilisk's identity."

"Exactly. So now you should understand why I wasn't willing to risk my life by testing the heir's limits."

"If I lost, I'd actually die."

"I-I didn't mean it like that."

Hermione hurriedly explained herself.

"Don't misunderstand me."

Vader shrugged, showing that he didn't mind.

"The basilisk isn't particularly intelligent, but the heir is different."

"Perhaps the heir simply wants to fulfill the sacred mission entrusted to him by his ancestor and purge the Muggle-born witches and wizards from Hogwarts."

"But I can't guarantee that he has no ulterior motives. I can't guarantee that he wouldn't use the basilisk to target the Slytherins themselves."

"That's why I made several pairs of enchanted glasses, just in case."

"That way, even if I looked directly into the basilisk's eyes, I'd only be Petrified. Once the Mandrake Restorative Draught was prepared, I could still be brought back."

"Fortunately, you made a pair for me too. Otherwise, I would have died that day."

Hermione spoke with lingering fear.

As she looked at Vader, something in her gaze had subtly changed, though she herself didn't notice it.

"I should thank you."

"I'll accept your thanks."

Vader waved it off casually.

"Actually, it's not like I did nothing. Things just kept turning out differently from what I expected."

"I gave you the clue about the basilisk."

"I told you about its natural enemy—the spider—and that it could live for more than a thousand years."

"I thought you would go looking for Hagrid. He's an expert on magical creatures."

"As long as Hagrid learned that the monster was a basilisk, he would definitely go to Dumbledore. And he keeps plenty of roosters, so the basilisk wouldn't dare approach him. You'd have been safe too."

Vader sighed regretfully.

"But I didn't expect you wouldn't."

"That's because..."

Hermione guiltily avoided his gaze.

"We thought we could figure it out ourselves."

"Overconfidence turns into arrogance. Gryffindors really do have a tendency to get stubborn about things."

"After you were attacked, I gave the book to Harry and Ron and made it clear that you had been desperately looking for it, even secretly searching Madam Pince's drawers."

"That way, they would take the book seriously."

"Sure enough, they quickly determined the identity of the monster in the Chamber."

"Only..."

Vader deliberately put on an expression of exasperation.

"I thought they would go to Professor McGonagall, but they didn't."

"Not only did they refuse to go to her, they went to that useless Lockhart for help instead."

"I honestly don't understand where they got the confidence to believe they could defeat a giant snake that had lived for more than a thousand years when they couldn't even look it in the eyes."

Hearing this, Hermione couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

Harry and Ron really hadn't thought things through.

If Enzo hadn't suddenly appeared, there was a good chance that they and Lockhart would have ended up trapped in the Chamber alongside Ginny.

"You could have talked to me about something like this. You didn't have to carry everything by yourself."

Vader was rendered speechless.

But inwardly, he felt slightly relieved.

He had finally managed to get past her questions.

"Next time, I will."

After taking a taxi home, Vader first cleaned the entire house.

Then he seriously began considering his plans for the coming days and how he could make the best use of the summer holidays.

First was tomorrow's deal with the Malfoys.

Since Lucius looked down on him, there was naturally no reason for Vader to show him any respect.

Respect went both ways.

Originally, he had simply wanted one hundred thousand Galleons.

Now, he could comfortably prepare a list of resources and make the Malfoys pay dearly...

But the Malfoys definitely wouldn't be losing out.

If the information he possessed was used properly, it could change the fate of the Malfoy family to a certain extent.

That was something no amount of money could truly buy.

Next was retrieving Gilderoy Lockhart's wealth from Gringotts.

The sooner he did that, the better.

He might as well take care of it tomorrow as well.

After that came his performance as the Faceless Man.

He couldn't wander around aimlessly like a headless fly.

He needed to bring the character of Enzo to life.

After pondering for a long time, Vader decided to use divination to determine Enzo's next course of action.

He took out a piece of parchment and wrote down the divination statement:

A travel destination that best serves Vader Moria's current interests.

The scope was too broad.

The divination might fail to reveal anything useful.

Or it might reveal far too many possibilities.

To narrow the scope and make the divination more precise, he repeatedly recited the statement while simultaneously establishing the strongest possible connection with the Blasphemy Card in his mind.

Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.

Everything around him became completely silent.

It was as though he were floating through an endless void.

Ripples gradually appeared across the darkness before his eyes.

He saw sunlight.

A lawn.

A lake.

Two rocking chairs.

And two figures sitting in them.

He couldn't make out the appearance of the two elderly people, but he could tell that they were a married couple.

Beside the rocking chairs was a suitcase that swayed gently.

"Newt Scamander."

Vader immediately came to a conclusion.

He had also read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and knew that Newt often traveled with his suitcase, which was essentially a portable magical zoo.

"Come to think of it, it really is time to find him."

The moment this thought surfaced, the scene around him changed.

It was the same environment.

The same elderly couple whose faces he couldn't make out.

Only now, they were much older, resembling two ancient trees on the verge of withering away.

"Nicolas Flamel."

The scene changed again.

This time, a huge black iron gate appeared.

He could barely make out the words on the sign:

Nevermore Academy.

"Nevermore Academy?"

"I've never heard of it. Is it a magical school?"

Vader memorized the name.

The scenery began changing even more rapidly.

The Ministry of Magic bustling with people.

The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley.

Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley.

An unknown dark forest...

Blurred scenes flashed rapidly before Vader's eyes.

Until, finally, he saw a towering structure standing in the darkness.

A tall tower.

At that moment, the dream suddenly shattered.