The Basilisk: *That's* a monster\!
Dylan slipped back into his dormitory, unnoticed and melting into the shadows like a true Slytherin.
The rest of the plan no longer required his direct involvement.
All he needed was for Kelsas to step forward and sort everything out in front of Harry.
The aftermath would naturally be handled by Harry, who would have a little chat with the old Headmaster – Dumbledore, of course.
Dylan could then simply continue his own research.
When Dylan returned to the dorm, it was eerily empty – not a soul in sight.
Neville and Seamus's trunks sat quietly on their respective beds, looking somewhat disheveled and only half-packed.
They had probably been dragged out by the Weasleys in the middle of their packing.
Dylan was just about to tidy away the box by his bed and replace it with his proper, magically expanded pet carrier.
However, at that moment, the door to his dormitory was suddenly thrown open from the outside with considerable force.
"Bang\!"
The loud noise startled Dylan.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Had his little escapade involving the Basilisk and the Horcrux been discovered already?
No, that couldn't be right. How could it be?
He had only just returned, hadn't even bumped into Fawkes, and Dumbledore couldn't possibly know about it yet. So, no one should be aware of the specifics\!
It wasn't like Harry had eyes like Sun Wukong, seeing through everything, was it?
Could Lily's charm on him really extend that far?
Turning around, Dylan saw two Aurors stride into his dormitory as if they owned the place.
"You..." Dylan raised an eyebrow slightly, a look of surprise on his face.
"What's this? Another little brat? What are you doing here? Trying to hide some Dark Arts artifacts?\!"
"I already told everyone to assemble outside\! Why are you still here? What's your name?"
The two Aurors were imposing, and upon seeing Dylan, they strode quickly towards him.
They were tall, and in the dim light, their shadows stretched long and narrow across the floor.
The Auror in the lead had cold eyes, like they were coated in frost, and looked directly at Dylan.
The other Auror narrowed his eyes and questioned him as well.
Dylan quickly understood the situation.
These were obviously people sent by the Ministry of Magic.
He'd been startled for a moment, thinking they were there to arrest him.
Turns out they were just searching for something.
Some of the Ministry's dimwits, and that old git who relied on his wealth and family connections, with his fingers in every Ministry official's pie, couldn't possibly think they could take down Dumbledore this easily, could they?
The students were leaving tomorrow, yet here they were, suddenly sending people over. Had they received news that the Heir was about to appear?
Or perhaps... news that Voldemort was about to rise again?
Heh.
But right now, regardless of the reason.
Anyone hoping to see Dumbledore fall was going to be sorely disappointed.
Whether it was the Heir of Slytherin or Voldemort, who could potentially return at any moment.
They were both his now, safely tucked away.
There was no way he was letting little Tom Riddle go.
He needed to thoroughly research Horcruxes, after all.
"Hawkeswood, sir," Dylan said, putting on an innocent act. "I was just reading in my trunk earlier and only just came out. I don't know what's going on."
The two Aurors paused slightly, exchanged a look, and then glanced at the trunk by Dylan's feet.
"Open your trunk now. We suspect there might be Dark Magic inside\!"
Dylan frowned slightly.
*Actually*, he wasn't worried about them inspecting his fake trunk.
When he had it made, he'd cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on it.
While the interior wasn't huge, just enough room for someone to read or even brew potions, it was more than sufficient for his needs.
However, why should he let them see his trunk?
And even if he did, would they just leave him alone afterward?
That was the question.
He had a pretty good idea who had sent these Aurors.
Could old man Malfoy be trying to get back at him for that little incident with the "ferret" in the bookstore?
The old codger.
Just like his son, he was asking for it\!
When they met again, Dylan would be sure to teach that fellow a lesson in cruelty\!
"Gentlemen," Dylan said, feigning ignorance. "I'm not entirely sure what's going on. Are you searching me? Do you have a warrant from the Ministry of Magic?"
Upon hearing this, both Aurors' brows furrowed.
"Don't be smart with us\! Open your trunk now\! Don't make us do it for you\!"
Dylan glanced at the taller man who was doing most of the shouting.
The fellow looked vaguely familiar.
He seemed to be one of the Aurors he'd controlled with the Imperius Curse in Knockturn Alley.
Dylan's eyes narrowed slightly.
When the Auror met his gaze, he felt a jolt of fear.
*That familiar feeling.*
He immediately tried to lock eyes with Dylan.
However, all he saw was the bewildered and compliant expression of an underage wizard.
"Alright, alright, sir," Dylan said, pretending to give in. "Although I'm not sure if your actions are entirely within regulations, since you insist, I'll do as you say."
The tall Auror paused, feeling like Dylan's words had some hidden meaning, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
The bearded Auror next to him frowned. "Of course we have a warrant, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Now, open your trunk immediately\!"
*He really wanted to just Avada Kedavra these two and then use their bodies to cultivate Obsidian Bloom.*
Dylan's movements faltered slightly.
But just as he was about to open his fake trunk, someone else walked in through the doorway.
"What's all the commotion?"
The newcomer was a woman who looked quite young, with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Her black uniform accentuated her slender figure.
Dylan and the woman's eyes met, and they both paused in surprise.
"Veela? Big sister?"
"Dylan? Oh, you're here."
Veela's expression was cool, but the corners of her eyes crinkled into a slight smile.
"I was just reading in my trunk earlier and didn't know what was going on," Dylan replied.
Veela nodded, and with a delicate wave of her hand towards the two Aurors, she said, "Out. You don't need to search here."
The two Aurors were taken aback, seemingly not expecting that the person assigned as their search team leader knew this little wizard.
The tall Auror opened his mouth to speak, but seeing Veela's cold expression, he ultimately said nothing, put away his Sneakoscope, and then strode towards the door.
Although Veela was at least six or seven years younger than him, her ruthlessness was practically legendary within the Ministry of Magic\!
Despite her young age, as if she had just graduated from the academy, her abilities were remarkably solid, and her power was formidable.
Especially her signature *Glacius* charm – the freezing spell – she could practically make it bloom like a flower\!
Attack, defense, disarming, trapping enemies...
Anyone who tried to bully her based on age or seniority had been severely taught a lesson\!
This had made her a rising star among the Aurors in just two years, and there were even rumors that people higher up wanted to promote her.
Although they were aligned with Lucius Malfoy, and both these Aurors and even higher-ranking wizards had received their fair share of favors from him.
However, their superiors couldn't openly target such a talented witch, so they didn't want to provoke Veela right now.
Besides, Veela was a member of the Vance family.
Although the Vance family had fallen from its former glory and wasn't one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, it was still a once-illustrious pure-blood family.
In any case, they were just low-level Ministry grunts and couldn't afford to mess with her.
Who knew if Veela's dad would come charging out of his children's ice cream shop in Diagon Alley, ready to go down with them, just to avenge his daughter\!
Once the two Aurors had left.
Veela turned to Dylan.
"Professor Flitwick mentioned that you even helped Professor Snape brew Mandrake Restorative Draught?"
Facing a beautiful woman – and a grown one at that.
Dylan gave a shy smile. "It's all thanks to Professor Snape's excellent teaching. I certainly couldn't have done it on my own."
A slight smile played on Veela's lips. "I heard that when the first attacks happened, it was you who saved them with the restorative draught you'd already brewed."
"—If Professor Snape had taught you, he would surely have had some potion on hand himself. Yet, the school only just now finally has a new batch of Mandrake Restorative Draught."
"I must admit, Professor Snape did give me the potion recipe beforehand. I just tend to brew a lot of potions, and that's how I ended up with those two bottles," Dylan replied, deflecting the praise.
Dylan blinked, not wanting to dwell on the topic. "Veela, big sister, what brings you here this time?"
"I heard those two mention you were searching for Dark Arts artifacts."
Veela's expression turned serious. She nodded slightly, her golden-brown hair swaying gently. "To be precise, we don't have a specific target. But someone reported that there would be a murder at Hogwarts, so the Ministry sent us."
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"The Chamber of Secrets incident has everyone on edge, and the Ministry is very worried something else might happen here."
"We were sent to ensure the safety and stability of the school. Firstly, we're concerned about the Hogwarts students continuing to be threatened. Secondly, the Ministry believes that with Headmaster Dumbledore temporarily removed from the school, Hogwarts might descend into chaos."
"Therefore, we need to secure the school, maintain order, and try to find the source of the Dark Magic threatening the students, as well as the mastermind behind the Chamber of Secrets."
Dylan nodded. "But the news about a murder at Hogwarts must have caused quite a stir in the outside world, right?"
Veela looked at Dylan with some surprise. "How did you know?"
Dylan smiled. "Just a logical deduction."
Veela didn't deny it. "We don't know who leaked the news about a potential murder at Hogwarts, but the extensive media coverage has put a lot of pressure on the Ministry."
"And Professor Dumbledore's temporary removal from his position as Headmaster and his expulsion from Hogwarts has angered many people."
Dylan chuckled. "So the Ministry had to send people in to stabilize the situation."
"Exactly. However, it seems there hasn't actually been a murder at Hogwarts yet. We suspect someone is hiding Dark Arts artifacts within the school, so we've launched a search. Ideally, we'd also find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets at the same time."
"Although not yet, a student has been taken. There might be a murder soon," Dylan replied.
"We're also searching desperately for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, hoping to find the girl before she's harmed," Veela sighed.
Dylan also put on a worried expression. "All of this that's been happening lately is truly awful."
"Sigh, tell me about it," Veela sighed again.
Instead of holding a Sneakoscope, she simply scanned the entire room with her eyes.
"You don't have any Dark Arts artifacts here. Come with me. Let's go to the common room and join your classmates. We'll be done searching soon."
Veela's tone with Dylan wasn't as cold as it had been with the two Aurors; instead, it held a hint of gentleness.
Dylan nodded, not insisting on staying in the dorm.
*The Basilisk was currently petrified with fear. Plus, with Norbert guarding it, Dylan had also used several Dark spells to suppress its soul when he put it in the trunk, so it wouldn't be causing any trouble.*
Stepping out of the dorm and into the Gryffindor common room, Dylan found it practically overflowing with students. Almost all the Gryffindors were gathered there.
Veela's arrival with Dylan drew many curious glances.
Percy seemed to know Veela. He approached them and stood beside Dylan. "Is everything alright with this child?"
"Yes," Veela replied, shaking her head.
Before she could say anything more.
Suddenly, the portrait hole leading to the Gryffindor common room swung open with a bang.
"Madam Veela, the professors have just sent word\! The monster in the Chamber of Secrets has been taken by Kelsas\!"
"What?\!"
Upon hearing this, Veela's face paled.
"Kelsas? What would he be doing at Hogwarts?\!"
The Auror who had come to deliver the message was slightly out of breath and shook his head in bewilderment.
"I don't know."
Veela's brow furrowed. "I understand. Everyone, fall back\! We're going to the professors\!"
As she issued the command, the Aurors who had been searching the dorm rooms of the young wizards began to withdraw.
"You all stay here\! Keep the portrait hole shut and don't go wandering off\!"
Veela called out, her voice clear and sharp.
Then, she lowered her head and looked at Dylan. "Go back to your reading for now. You're a very diligent student. Keep up the good work."
Patting Dylan on the shoulder, Veela and four other Aurors quickly left the Gryffindor common room.
Once they were gone.
The group of young Gryffindors began to discuss the news anxiously.
"Kelsas? I've heard that name\! My second cousin works at the Ministry, and he says that guy is a really evil Dark wizard\! He's killed loads of people\! And he calls himself 'The Fool' and wants to send everyone to the afterlife\!"
"I've heard about him too\! That Kelsas has shown up in Knockturn Alley a few times. Every time, he's used really nasty Unforgivable Curses on loads of people\! And he doesn't just take their lives; he steals all the money from those poor wizards too\!"
"Oh, really? Who's Kelsas? What's he like?"
Chatter filled the room.
Some of the younger wizards had heard snippets of information about Kelsas from their families, and they all shared what they knew.
In no time at all, Kelsas's reputation as a ruthless, treacherous, vile, and shameless individual, known as 'The Fool', who loved to kill and steal, became common knowledge among all the young Gryffindors.
Dylan: "..."
His eye twitched.
What rubbish were these lot spouting?
Okay, so he had taken their money, but he'd also delivered a rather dramatic monologue\! That was to fund his grand plans\!
And, most importantly—
How could they call it stealing when it came to The Fool?
That was called *charity* collection\!
Besides, he wasn't just randomly killing people. Didn't he ultimately grant them all salvation?
They were all safely tucked away in Ministry of Magic prisons, and not even Azkaban\! They'd get food and drink for a while. What a wonderful life\!
"My dad said that even when we're on holiday, we should avoid going out too much lately. It's not safe out there\!"
"Yeah, my family told me the same thing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have wanted to stay at school during the Easter break\!"
"Huh? So that's why you all didn't leave\!"
"This isn't a small matter\! That Kelsas guy's Dark Magic is incredibly powerful\! A whole bunch of Aurors charged at him, but they couldn't even scratch him. They ended up getting injured themselves and had to retreat back to the Ministry with their tails between their legs."
The newest novel is first published on [移除了无效网址]\!
"That strong?"
"You bet\! Some people even think he's the next Dark Lord\! When I went home for Christmas, I saw a group of Dark wizards in an alleyway, and they were chanting his name\! Like a bunch of Death Eaters\! It scared me so much I ran straight back home\!"
Dylan listened to the Gryffindors' chatter, his brow slightly raised.
Had the name Kelsas really spread that far?
Why hadn't any new achievements popped up then?
"Hey, Dylan, are you alright? We heard some shouting coming from the dorms earlier," Neville said, approaching with Seamus and Dean.
The Weasley twins also squeezed in, winking at Dylan.
"Did you give those Aurors a taste of their own medicine?"
"No, no, nothing like that happened," Dylan replied, shaking his head. Then he turned to Percy. "Do you know Veela?"
"A very accomplished but rather cold and low-profile older student," Percy replied, nodding. "How do you know her?"
"Oh, we met over ice cream," Dylan said with a smile. "Why did they suddenly decide to search our dorms? Will the Aurors be searching other places too?"
Neville looked rather timid. "We heard so. Seamus and I were packing our trunks when suddenly some Aurors burst in and gathered us all here. They said they suspect someone is hiding Dark Arts artifacts."
Dean rolled his eyes. "That's ridiculous\! There's no way a Dark wizard would come from Gryffindor\! So, naturally, no one here would be using Dark Arts artifacts\!"
Seamus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've hardly ever heard of a Dark wizard coming from Gryffindor."
Dean scoffed. "Those guys didn't look like they were really searching for anything. It felt like they were just trying to cause trouble\! If that girl hadn't stopped them, those male Aurors looked like they were about to lay hands on us\!"
Neville whispered, "Some people were just saying things and got a right telling-off, especially those who aren't pure-blood."
Dean sneered. "Don't they ever use their pea-sized brains? How could anyone in Gryffindor turn to the Dark side? Unless they're completely mental\!"
Dylan: (.)
*Bit harsh with the language there.*
Dylan cleared his throat softly, interrupting the conversation.
"Anyway, now that they're gone, we should probably head back and see what's going on. We should at least finish packing our trunks."
Neville was the first to agree with Dylan, nodding his head.
"I think Dylan's right. Even though they said that Kelsas took the monster from the Chamber of Secrets, that might actually make the school more dangerous\! We should pack our things quickly and go home tomorrow."
Not many students returned to their dorms to pack, but Dylan didn't care about the others and went back to the dormitory with Neville and Seamus.
Dean and the Weasleys also left.
*The twins didn't want to go, but Percy sent them back.*
Back in the dorm, Dylan said to Neville and Seamus, "I don't have much to pack, so I'll just get back to my reading. Your beds are a bit of a mess, so you should probably sort that out."
Neville and Seamus both nodded.
"I wonder where Harry and the others are now. They weren't in the common room."
"They're probably with the professors. We don't need to worry too much. If something serious had happened, that Auror wouldn't have just said that," Seamus reassured Neville.
"Neville, you're from a pure-blood wizarding family. Do you know anything about this Kelsas person they mentioned outside?" Dylan asked.
"I'm not really sure. I overheard my father talking about him when I went home for Christmas, but when I asked my grandmother, she told me not to pay too much attention to such things and to focus on my studies."
"Alright..."
Neville and Seamus continued packing their trunks while discussing Kelsas and Harry.
Dylan, meanwhile, pretended to pull out a trunk and toss it onto his bed. Then, unnoticed, he took the box that had been sitting by his bed and retrieved his magically expanded pet carrier.
He opened the lid and climbed inside.
As soon as he entered, Dylan heard a faint "moo-ing" sound.
Dylan looked around.
He saw that the Basilisk seemed to be slowly recovering.
Its massive head twitched slightly, and although its eyelids were still heavy, it managed to squint, looking at the black furball that was constantly jumping around on its face.
"Moo\~ Moo\~"
But whenever it looked to the left, the furball would jump to the other side.
And when it looked to the right, the furball would leap onto its head, then smack its paw onto its eyes, causing it to wince and squeeze its eyelids shut again.
How could this darn black furball be so strong despite being so small?\!
The problem was, its soul hadn't completely broken free from the shackles of those dark spells.
This left it completely immobile, with no way to resist the furball's antics.
It was so infuriated, it felt like its snake heart would burst\!
"Coal," Dylan called softly.
Coal, hearing Dylan's voice, immediately stopped teasing the Basilisk, planted its four tiny paws on the snake's head, and then looked towards Dylan.
"Roar\~" Norbert also hurried to Dylan's side.
*Coal might be scared of the Basilisk's eyes, but Norbert certainly wasn't.*
Before the Basilisk could petrify it, Norbert's magical resistance would definitely hold out long enough for it to get out of the Basilisk's line of sight.
Dylan reached up and stroked Norbert's head, then slowly walked towards the Basilisk.
The Basilisk, which had been bound by spells and almost completely immobilized, now had its usually intimidating vertical pupils filled with agitation and panic.
Any attempt to lift its head was met with an invisible force, slamming it back down as if it had been struck hard.
The fierce light in its eyes had completely vanished, replaced by deep fear and trembling.
Dylan stood before the Basilisk.
But the creature didn't even dare to look him directly in the eye.
Its gaze would dart away the moment it reached Dylan's chin, its body pressed tightly against the ground, as if it wished it could burrow into the cracks.
"Hiss..."
A low whimper escaped the Basilisk's throat.
At this moment, it looked nothing like the terrifying magical creature that was one of the rarest in the entire wizarding world.
Instead, it seemed more like Dylan's little pet.
"The shrinking charm's magic wore off you pretty quickly. You must have a decent level of magical resistance, huh?"
Dylan chuckled softly.
But the Basilisk shuddered.
Although the human before it wasn't the masked, black-robed wizard it had seen earlier.
The aura of dark magic emanating from this person had the same origin as the spells that were binding its soul\!
It was certain that this human was the same one who had just casually tormented it, the cruel and vicious fiend\!
Dylan tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the creature that was nearly ten meters long.
*Twenty feet was definitely an underestimate. The Basilisk's total length was actually much greater than that.*
Feeling Dylan's intense gaze scan every inch of its body, the Basilisk suddenly felt a chill crawl up its scales and spread throughout its entire being.
What was this feeling...?
The Basilisk's vertical pupils wavered, and it didn't dare to try and attack this human with its magic.
Whenever Dylan's gaze lingered, or even looked like it might try to meet its eyes, it would quickly look away, as if its eyeballs had been burned by lava.
How could this human child be even more terrifying than the one who had captured it and taken it to that dark, sunless place...?
That person hadn't even used a crowing rooster\!
*But this one was even scarier than that thing\!*
Even though he didn't make any crowing noises\!
"Hiss hiss,"
Dylan opened his mouth and hissed.
Although he wasn't a Parselmouth, he had refined the souls of several types of snakes.
Plus, he could actually understand the Basilisk's language, so he wanted to try and see if the Basilisk could understand him.
"How long were you in that Chamber?"
The Basilisk was startled. It hadn't expected this creature covered in eyes to speak its dialect.
After a slight pause, the Basilisk still didn't dare to lift its head, but its forked tongue flicked out.
"I don't know."
Dylan tilted his head.
The Basilisk seemed to think it hadn't given a perfect answer and had angered the other party, so it shuddered again.
Dylan frowned.
"Is this Basilisk really this timid?"
He remembered the Basilisk in the original story being quite ferocious and tyrannical.
Stroking his chin, Dylan decided to get some basic data on this Basilisk first.
"But spells might not necessarily work on this Basilisk. I'll just have to get my hands dirty."
Dylan stood beside the Basilisk, his wand twirling gently.
"*Animagus\!*"
The next moment, a bright light enveloped him.
Dylan's form began to shift and contort, his bones cracking.
In the blink of an eye, a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, even larger than Norbert, stood in his place.
The Basilisk shuddered violently as the massive wings unfurled.
What... what is this human?
One moment he's a person, the next a monster covered in eyes, and now a dragon?\!
The surrounding leaves rustled in the wake of Dylan's roar.
With a beat of his wings, Dylan took flight effortlessly.
After so much practice, he had become quite skilled at flying as a dragon, knowing exactly how to use his wings.
Dylan floated lightly above the Basilisk.
He placed one claw on its head, holding it down.
The Basilisk thrashed in terror, letting out a sharp hiss that sounded like a threat mixed with a plea for mercy, but it couldn't break free from Dylan's grip.
"Stay still\!"
Dylan swiped a claw directly across the Basilisk's forehead.
That immediately calmed it down.
Flapping his wings, Dylan used his claws to straighten out the Basilisk's serpentine body.
"Eleven meters long. It should be able to grow even longer."
After so many experiments, Dylan could give a precise measurement almost at a glance, without needing tools or magic to assist him.
"A snake this long could probably grow a rather large Obsidian Bloom."
Dylan's throat rumbled, feeling a surge of fire wanting to erupt from his mouth.
But he suppressed it and returned to the Basilisk's head. One claw held its head down, while the other forcefully pried open its massive jaws.
The Basilisk's eyes widened, letting out a weak whimper. It didn't dare resist Dylan and could only let him manipulate it.
*Slytherin, I hate you...*
It could sense that this human, who could transform into a monster and then a dragon, was just a mere half-blood.
According to the commands given to it by its creator.
It should have swallowed him whole.
But now, the roles had completely reversed\!
*He* was the terrifying and horrifying monster\!\!
The Basilisk's scales were trembling all over its body from nervousness.
Dylan, however, simply leaned his head in to examine the Basilisk's teeth and the mucus-filled interior of its mouth.
"How do you still have so many small bones stuck in your teeth? Do you usually only eat small rodents in the sewers?"
"(^∧^) Hiss hiss..."
Following his usual experimental procedures, Dylan gave the Basilisk a thorough physical examination.
Only when the Basilisk was completely limp on the ground, utterly unresponsive, did Dylan transform back from the Norwegian Ridgeback into a human.
He instructed Norbert to continue holding the Basilisk's mouth open.
Wand raised.
"*Aguamenti\!*"
Instantly, a powerful and clear stream of water shot out, directly towards the Basilisk's sharp fangs, splashing crystalline droplets.
The water continued to flow, washing away years of accumulated grime and mucus from the gaps between its teeth, even dislodging some of the stuck small bones.
"Next..."
(End of this chapter)