"OH shit!" Harry exclaimed.
Snape, who was standing nearest to Harry and had seen the tongue and heard the exclamation, grabbed Harry and pulled him out of the way while shouting, "ALBUS!"
Minerva turned to look, only to look right into the eyes of the basilisk as it exited the mouth of the statue.
Albus conjured a cock that he compelled to crow immediately, slaying the great serpent. Remus, Flitwick, and Sprout looked at Minerva and realized that that could have been them had they been at a different angle to the statue.
Professor Sprout moved over to the woman she had worked with for nearly forty years. She examined her. Tears of relief sprang from her eyes when her examination allowed her to say, "Only petrified, thank Merlin."
Albus stood there, relieved. "It appears Mr. Potter, we owe your sunglasses idea a great debt. We still have our deputy thanks to it."
"No thanks necessary, sir." Harry said offhandedly as he pulled away from Snape, and levitated the last four feet of the serpent's tail away from the mouth of the statue to look beyond it.
Snape figured that it must be the sense of immortality that typifies young people that allowed Harry to do so. Because he, himself, was still trying to convince his heart that it didn't need to leap out of his chest, and his bowels that they didn't need to dump in his trousers.
The goblins having realized a close call when they saw one, made up their minds to mention the youngster's courage and the fact he had protected the group, including the goblins, to their leader. Wizards with that attitude in the past had been named goblin friend. It had been more than a hundred years since there had been a goblin friend, but it never hurt to mention promising young wizards.
Harry looked into the room behind the statue. In addition to more shed Basilisk skins there were shelves of dust covered books. "Jackpot." He cast one of the basic detection charms they had learned in Defense this year. There was a spell, but if Slytherin's other passwords were anything to go by he figured this one would be equally simple. " ~Disable.~" Harry checked again. It was gone. "Sweet."
He moved into the room it was a third of the size of the outer chamber but still big enough for the fifty foot snake.
When Snape saw him go through the open mouth, he wanted to swear. Sometimes that boy acted entirely too much like his father and others of his ilk. He promptly followed only to pause in the opening as he spotted the library.
Albus, having assured himself of Pomona's diagnosis, saw Severus in the opening and went over to join him. This was more like it, he thought as he spotted the books.
Harry spotting the Headmaster's bright robes in the opening said, "These will have to be cataloged carefully . The basilisk is valuable but this is priceless."
"Indeed, dear boy, yes, most definitely indeed. Perhaps while the goblins and Severus see about harvesting the basilisk you, Remus, Filius, and I can see about doing exactly that. Severus I have asked Pomona to see about taking Minerva back up to the infirmary so if you wouldn't mind…"
"Of course, Headmaster."
The next several hours were spent working. The books were handled carefully; the teachers named titles and authors, cleaned and carefully packaged the books into crates for transport while Harry played scribe. Meanwhile Severus counted, weighed, measured and noted the basilisk parts and made sure all relevant parts were collected. The goblins used his signature as a counter signature to their own so neither side could claim cheating later. As the last books were cataloged the goblins came and collected the skins once again noting the find. At the end they had Albus look over and sign the declaration.
"Now, Headmaster, how are the funds to be divided? We goblins get fifteen percent for our work here today and for handling the sale as per the agreement. How is the rest of the funds to be divided?"
Albus sighed, " The rest is to be divided as follows: ten percent to Harry Potter, the remaining seventy five percent is to go into the Hogwarts fund. However when Gringotts does the billing for next years tuition the following students are to receive credit equivalent to three percent of the value each applied to their bills: Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Michael Corner, Ernie MacMillan, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Blaise Zabini, and Harry Potter."
"So a net forty-five percent to Hogwarts then?"
"Yes."
"Sawshank," Harry surprised the goblin by addressing him by name. The goblins had addressed each other but they had not expected the wizards to notice or even care. "I would request that instead of galleons I get my ten percent in the form of goods not galleons, seven percent skin, the remaining three in potion ingredients including at least a dram of venom."
"Understood, Lord Potter." The goblins would definitely keep their eye on this young wizard. He clearly understood that some things were better than gold.
Harry, meanwhile, was trying to figure out where this mysterious ten percent came from. The only thing he could come up with was that his Head of House had asked for it on his behalf, which left him wondering what the man would want in return.
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