Chapter 54 - Basilisk
As I walked deeper into the tunnel the air grew colder and the echoes of my footsteps bounced back strangely. Bones continued to scatter the floor, old and dry, crunching under my boots. Some were so small I could not even guess what creatures they once belonged to, and some were longer than my forearm. The darkness pressed close, broken only by the white circle of light from my wand.
After some time, the tunnel widened. The walls looked carved instead of natural, the stones placed with purpose, as if shaping a path. A few moments later, I came across a massive circular door.
It reminded me of a bank vault, thick, ancient, and impossible to open by hand. The entire front was covered with carved snakes, each one forming part of a locking mechanism. They were coiled, intertwined, their stone bodies frozen mid-slither. I had read about this. This was the second door, the deeper lock that Salazar Slytherin had made, the one only Parseltongue could command.
I stepped closer, lifted my wand to see it better, and breathed in slowly. Then, in a low hiss, I spoke:
"Open."
The sound echoed sharply, and for a moment nothing happened. Then one of the carved snakes shifted. Its stone head lifted, turning as if to smell the air. Its mouth opened just a little, and a faint grinding noise came from inside the mechanism.
The other snakes reacted too. One by one, they slid apart, uncurling themselves from their stone loops. They slithered in lines across the door, each movement unlocking something hidden beneath. It moved exactly as it had when Harry opened it in the original story.
The door unlatched with a deep, final click and began to open outwards. Dust rose from the cracks, and a breath of cold air escaped the chamber beyond.
I stepped forward carefully and peered through the opening.
A ladder descended into darkness.
I placed my foot on the top rung and began to climb down. The metal felt icy. The ladder stretched long enough for my arms to grow tired, but finally my feet touched the stone floor of the true chamber.
I lifted my wand.
The Chamber of Secrets stretched out in front of me.
Great stone pillars rose from the ground like giant ribs, each carved with twisting serpents that wrapped upward into the shadows. Their heads curved outward near the ceiling, as if hissing silently over the chamber. Thin streams of water ran along the sides of the floor, collecting into shallow pools that reflected my wand's light in broken pieces.
And there at the far end the statue stood. It was towering, tall, and unmistakable in this place.
A man carved out of stone, stern and ancient. His head was bald, his face long and severe. A thin, pointed beard fell down his chest, splitting into two sections like a fork. His eyes were narrow, sharp even in stone. This was Salazar Slytherin. One of the four founders. And the one who had built this chamber. Built it to hide his pet.
I stared at the statue for a long moment. My throat felt tight. My heart thudded louder than before.
Everything inside me wanted to run, to climb the ladder again and seal the entrance and forget I had ever come here. But something else, maybe my magic whispered that this was safe. That I would not die tonight. It told me I was strong enough. Skilled enough. That the creature would not strike me at once.
I remembered the spells I had practiced from the Black library. Old magic, defensive magic, dueling stances, even ancient runic patterns for breaking curses. I had pages of notes from the Hogwarts library too, everything about magical creatures, serpents, legends, and myth. I was not walking into this blind.
I walked closer to the statue's mouth. The silence seemed to tighten around me. I gripped my wand and breathed slowly through my nose.
Then, in Parseltongue, I called:
"Come. Your master is here. Wake… pet of Salazar Slytherin."
My voice hissed through the chamber.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the mouth of the statue split open.
The grinding sound echoed like thunder. Dust and stone fragments fell as the massive carved mouth widened into a huge, gaping opening. Darkness stretched inside it. A slow, heavy movement began.
Then I heard it.
A low, slithering drag.
Scales against stone.
I did not look directly at the creature. I kept my eyes slightly to the side, staring at the floor, the water, the pillars, anywhere except its face. My breath caught in my throat. My body went still.
The Basilisk slid out from the statue, just as the books described it.
First came the head - massive, wedge-shaped, covered in dark green scales that glistened like polished armor. Its nostrils flared as it tasted the air. Its mouth opened slightly, revealing fangs longer than my wand, each one glistening with thick venom. Droplets fell from the tips and sizzled quietly where they hit stone.
The body followed, thicker than a tree trunk. Muscles rippled under its scales as it moved. Every shift of its weight sent vibrations through the floor. Its skin was dry but not brittle, ancient but powerful. The sound of its sliding filled the chamber like a whispering storm.
Its sheer size was unbelievable. The skin I had seen before was nothing compared to the real creature. The Basilisk was enormous. Ancient. Alive in a way no normal creature could be.
It filled the space with its presence.
Slowly, the full length of the serpent uncoiled from the statue's mouth. Its tail scraped the stone pillars as it emerged, leaving marks even on the solid rock.
I kept my eyes averted, staring just to the side of its head. My heart pounded so loudly I wondered if the monster could hear it.
The Basilisk stopped moving.
It lifted its head slightly.
And I stood there, wand tight in my hand, trusting my magic, trusting the strange instinct that had guided me this far—and facing the ancient monster of Hogwarts for the first time.
The basilisk slowly finished coiling itself in front of me. Its huge body rested in thick loops, scales shining faintly under my wandlight. Then it spoke in a deep, slow hiss that echoed through the chamber.
"Yes… you are not the heir who awakened me last time. Many years ago. You are different."
Its voice was old, tired, and heavy. It did not sound like an enemy. If it had wanted to strike, it would have done so the moment it left the statue's mouth. I swallowed and answered carefully.
"Yes… I am not that heir. He was here fifty years ago. Now he is either dead… or lost. Nobody knows where he is."
The basilisk gave a long, slow shift of its coils. "I do not care. Whoever enters the Chamber with my master's mark, whoever speaks the language of serpents… that one is the heir. My master told me so." Its tone changed, growing restless. "So speak, heir. Should I go out now? I do not wish to stay here any longer. I want to be free. I want to leave this cave. Speak the order… or I will kill you before you say anything else."
The threat was real, but the frustration inside the voice was greater. A thousand years trapped here… anyone would break. Anyone would lose patience.
"I can see you're tired of this place," I said quietly. "But going outside is dangerous. There are many students and many people. If you go out like this, they'll die."
"I do not care." The basilisk's scales scraped the floor.
"But they will kill you," I said. "Do you want to die after living for so long?"
The basilisk made a sharp, annoyed sound, a hiss from deep in its throat. It was thinking. It was frustrated, but it was listening.
"If I take you out of here," I tried again, "and leave you in some forest… will that be enough? You are too big to move freely near people."
The basilisk was silent for a moment. Then it said.
"Who said my size is fixed? Foolish child. I can control my size whenever I want. This is my natural form, but I can become smaller if I wish."
I stared at it, shocked. "You… you can shrink?"
"Yes." And slowly, right before my eyes, the enormous coils began to tighten. The body narrowed. The great length shortened. The basilisk changed from a monster that filled the Chamber to a snake only a few metres long, slimmer but still powerful. I still did not look into its eyes.
It noticed.
"Why do you not look at me? Are you afraid my stare will kill you?"
"I am afraid of exactly that," I admitted.
The basilisk snorted. "Idiot creature. We do not use our killing gaze unless we want to kill. Do not flatter yourself."
I blinked, stunned at the insult. But its voice held no lie. Parseltongue carried meaning cleanly. Truthfully. So I took the first cautious step. I looked only at its reflection in the shallow water on the floor. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, I slowly lifted my gaze toward the snake itself. The basilisk seemed pleased.
"At least you have some courage," it said.
Its head tilted slightly, as if studying me. Then its tongue flickered, sharp and fast.
"You carry something of my master. Take it out. Let me see it."
I froze. Then I remembered the small pocket, my storage bag, I had that contained the locket. I had kept it hidden inside. Nobody could sense anything inside that magical space.
But the basilisk could.
Slowly I reached into the bag and took out the locket of Salazar Slytherin. When I held it up, the basilisk bowed its head slightly. The gesture was full of reverence and something like mourning.
"Yes…" the basilisk whispered. "My master's mark. A sign of his blood. You hold it, and you speak our tongue. You are not just an heir by accident. You are his heir now. His new master."
It lifted its head. "Speak. What do you want? Who must I kill?"
"I don't want you to kill anyone," I said quickly. "I want to take you out. But I can't bring you outside in such a large form. Even a few metres is too much. People will notice."
"Foolish heir," the basilisk said again. "I told you. I can change my size."
"Then… can you become even smaller? Small enough for me to carry?"
The basilisk sighed harshly, annoyed but cooperative. Then its body shimmered faintly, and it shrank again. Now it was barely a foot long, thin enough to wrap around my arm.
This… I could manage.
The basilisk flicked its tongue. "Is this enough? Do not ask for more, little heir."
I nodded. "This is perfect. If you come with me, don't hurt anyone. Eat only in the forests. Don't go near the school."
"Then what will I eat?" it asked sharply.
"There is a colony in the forest," I said. "Acromantulas. Plenty of them."
The basilisk froze for half a heartbeat. Then, with clear excitement:
"Acromantulas. My favourite snacks."
I almost laughed at the sudden enthusiasm.
The basilisk slithered up and rested itself lightly along my shoulder, its body cool and scaled.
"Very well," it said. "I will go with you, heir."
End of Chapter 54 - Basilisk