A massive serpent's head slowly emerged from the water, its piercing yellow eyes locked onto Dudley's back, silently closing in.
Just two meters from Dudley's back, it opened its gaping maw, venomous fangs glinting with a menacing sheen.
The serpent lunged.
But it missed.
In the split second of the attack, Dudley dodged, narrowly escaping the deadly strike.
The Basilisk shook its head, clearly displeased with the failed attack, then turned and charged at Dudley again.
Its deadly gaze only worked if you met its eyes, so as long as Dudley avoided that, he'd be fine.
With a flick of his wrist, Dudley grabbed a few potion vials from his belt and hurled them. A yellow mist exploded outward, instantly enveloping the Basilisk's body.
Unfortunately, the creature's magical resistance was formidable—it slowed for only a moment before recovering.
In theory, a Basilisk's skin was tougher than a dragon's.
Seizing the opportunity, Dudley pulled a ball from his belt. "Go get 'em!"
A red-and-white Poké Ball snapped open, releasing a flock of roosters that flapped about in a panic.
The chaotic squawking filled the air.
The Basilisk, hearing the roosters' cries, showed a flicker of pain. Its massive tail lashed out, whipping through the flock and taking them out in a few swift strikes.
As expected, the roosters didn't do the trick.
This was within Dudley's calculations. In a flash, he used a shadow-step spell to appear at the Basilisk's tail, grabbing it tightly.
When dealing with serpents, aside from striking the vital spot seven inches from the head, there was another way to subdue them: grab the tail and shake it three times.
Supposedly, this would dislocate the snake's bones, rendering it helpless.
But that was just in theory—actually pulling it off was incredibly difficult.
It required immense strength and precise technique.
Luckily, strength was something Dudley had in spades, and he'd just acquired a Level 2 Bone-Dislocating Hand skill.
This skill was said to dismantle anything with bones, and snakes, being reptiles, were particularly vulnerable to it.
Dudley gripped the Basilisk's tail, channeling his strength into his arms. He pinched a specific bone in the tail, then, with an odd twist of his body, yanked hard, shook it, yanked again, and shook once more.
After several rounds of this, the fiercely struggling Basilisk shuddered and collapsed limply to the ground.
Its bones had been dislocated.
Without skeletal support, its muscles alone couldn't move it.
Poor thing—it didn't even get to use its deadly gaze before Dudley subdued it with lightning speed.
That easy?
A thousand-year-old Basilisk taken down that easily?
"Wait a second…" Dudley sensed something was off.
It was definitely a Basilisk, but its size didn't match the shed skin he'd collected—it was far too small.
Could it be…?
Clap, clap, clap.
Crisp applause echoed, accompanied by a male voice.
"Impressive. Truly worthy of being Hogwarts' finest student. Even at your age, I wasn't this formidable."
"As you've guessed, that's a different Basilisk."
"One I've recently bred."
The mystery of Hagrid's missing—but not killed—roosters was solved.
The air shimmered, and a figure slowly materialized. It was Audrina, who'd been missing for some time.
On her head sat a gleaming diadem.
Ravenclaw's Diadem—or rather, another of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
Though she had a female body, her voice was unmistakably male, creating an eerie, androgynous vibe.
But that wasn't all. Audrina's pockmarked face seemed overlaid with a shadowy male visage.
The two faces merged, neither fully male nor female.
Through the hazy shadow, you could just make out a handsome man's features.
That must be what Voldemort looked like when he made this Horcrux.
When Dudley's gaze fell on the skirt Audrina was wearing, a bizarre thought popped into his head.
Is this Voldemort in drag?
With that thought, Dudley suddenly pulled out an old-looking device and snapped a few pictures of Audrina (Voldemort).
"What are you doing?" Audrina (Voldemort) asked, puzzled. In his time, such devices didn't exist.
"Nothing much," Dudley replied casually.
He was taking photos—Voldemort in drag was definitely worth capturing for posterity.
Pocketing the device, Dudley changed the subject. "Just a little trinket, no big deal."
Looking at his opponent, he said, "There's something I'm curious about."
"What's that?" Audrina (Voldemort) replied, sounding polite and patient.
"Since you can override her mind and control her body, why didn't you just run? If you'd hidden yourself, no one could've found you."
"Run? Are you joking?" Audrina (Voldemort) spread a hand, incredulous. "Why would I run?"
"This is Hogwarts. It's crawling with powerful professors," Dudley said matter-of-factly.
"A few professors? Hardly worth mentioning. The only real nuisance is already gone."
His tone and demeanor showed he didn't take the professors seriously at all.
And he had the credentials to back it up—he was, after all, the infamous Dark Lord Voldemort.
The "nuisance" he mentioned was, without a doubt, Dumbledore.
In Voldemort's eyes, the entire wizarding world—Hogwarts, the Aurors, the Ministry—was beneath him. Only Dumbledore was a worthy adversary.
That was Voldemort, the arrogant Dark Lord.
Even as just a Horcrux, his presence outshone any professor Dudley had ever met.
In the books, it's unclear when Ravenclaw's Diadem was turned into a Horcrux, but it was hidden in the Room of Requirement. If it wasn't made during Voldemort's school days, it was likely placed there when he applied for a job at Hogwarts.
At that point, Tom Riddle's power would've surpassed the diary Horcrux.
"So, why lure me here, prefect?" Dudley asked.
"It seems you know a thing or two. Not surprising, since you're a Slytherin and a Parselmouth," Audrina (Voldemort) said candidly. "I just wanted to meet you. To see how exceptional Slytherin's next generation is. Your name's been coming up a lot lately."
"Now that you've seen me, what's your verdict?"
Dudley kept the conversation light, but his senses were on high alert.
This guy was far more dangerous than the Basilisk.
"Even more impressive than I imagined," Audrina (Voldemort) said generously, then threw out something unexpected. "So, what do you say? Join me. Become my follower, and I'll give you everything you desire."
Voldemort extended an olive branch to Dudley.