"What is that?"
Harry couldn't help but scream in a high-pitched voice. He knew he sounded like a frightened little girl, but he couldn't control himself.
"A basilisk"
Professor Kettleburn staried at the lifelike image on the wall with a captivated expression. His fingers slowly traced the emerald-green scales that seemed almost alive.
"When a rooster's egg is hatched by a toad, it produces this extraordinary serpent—a basilisk. It grows to an enormous size, as much as fifty feet long. Its fangs are lethally venomous, but the most dangerous thing about it is its eyes."
"Its eyes?" Harry repeated, glancing again at the deadly yellow eyes depicted in the image.
"Anyone who makes direct eye contact with it will die instantly."
Professor Kettleburn casually delivered this horrifying statement: "This basilisk has been living at Hogwarts for over a thousand years... essentially sharing our daily lives."
Harry tried to imagine it—
As he ate meals with his classmates, read books in the library, or attended lessons... a deadly creature was lurking nearby, ready to kill.
He shuddered involuntarily and couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, why hasn't anyone ever seen it?"
"It moves through the pipes—Dumbledore has already confirmed that."
Professor Kettleburn smiled as he pulled a large, glistening scale from his pocket.
He gently stroked the scale, and his face was alight with a fanatical smile.
"See this? I found it when I snuck into the pipes myself... thanks to the loss of an arm and a leg and a half. It allowed me to access places others can't reach…"
Harry glanced at the professor's maimed limbs, feeling a mix of pity and unsettling fear.
Then he noticed the professor giving him a calculating look, like someone sizing up a piece of meat.
"Come to think of it, with your slim build and agile limbs, you'd be perfect for crawling through the pipes. Perhaps that's why Dumbledore is sending students like you to face the basilisk…"
Harry shivered uncontrollably. But at the thought of Dumbledore, he steadied himself.
No… Dumbledore wouldn't do that…
Besides, Harry had Parseltongue—the ability to speak to snakes. Everyone said it was a language that could control serpents.
The basilisk was terrifying. But Harry realized that if he didn't go, his classmates might face the basilisk and be in danger. If he went, his Parseltongue ability might actually help…
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Harry clenched his teeth and shook his head firmly when Professor Kettleburn asked again if he wanted to withdraw.
"Well, then… good luck, kid," Professor Kettleburn said, giving him a look of sympathy. "Come back alive."
These words immediately made Harry's heart leap into his throat.
But since he had already spoken, there was no turning back. With no choice but to steel himself, Harry crossed the room.
And unexpectedly, he saw Michael.
"…Michael?" Harry called out loudly.
"Surprised?" Michael asked with a smile.
"I thought it would be another professor," Harry admitted honestly.
"Everyone else will meet a professor. I stayed specifically to wait for you," Michael said, motioning for Harry to follow. "Wade needs your help."
Harry quickly followed, and after passing through the door, he realized they had arrived in a deserted corridor.
He hesitated for a moment and reminded Michael, "Michael, I still have to participate in the challenge…"
"It's related to the challenge," Michael said. "Without you, the competition can't proceed."
"Why?" Harry pressed.
"The entrance is blocked," Michael repeated what Wade had told him.
Harry remembered what Professor Kettleburn had said earlier and asked, "Isn't the entrance in the pipes?"
"The opening there is too narrow. If something dangerous happens, it'd be over. That's why we need a passage wide enough."
—What kind of door can't Wade open that requires my help?
Harry was puzzled and didn't understand what was going on. But Michael was walking quickly and seemed urgent, so Harry had no choice but to follow.
Soon, he noticed the corridor around them becoming more and more familiar. The area ahead… isn't that the girls' bathroom where boys aren't allowed?
"Wait, wait, Michael!" Harry pulled him back, his face turned pale as he asked, "Are we going in there?"
He emphasized heavily, "That's the girls' bathroom!"
Michael laughed. "Don't worry. There's no one inside, just Moaning Myrtle."
"Who?" Harry asked.
As a boy, he had never ventured near the girls' bathroom, so he had no idea who Moaning Myrtle was.
"The ghost who always hangs out in that bathroom," Michael explained simply. "Because she's always causing a ruckus, no one ever goes in there. Wade is waiting for you inside."
"…Wade?"
Harry was shocked again.
He had been surprised so many times today that his reactions were starting to feel numb, but hearing that Wade was in the girls' bathroom startled him all over again.
As they spoke, Michael had already pushed open the door to the bathroom. Harry immediately saw Wade, and to his surprise, Dumbledore was there as well.
These were two people who would never, under any circumstances, be associated with sneaking into a girls' bathroom. Seeing them both present dispelled Harry's embarrassment and nervousness.
Dumbledore and Wade were standing side by side, bent over and examining one of the faucets. The golden-red phoenix perched atop the headmaster's head, resembling an extraordinary hat.
Nearby stood a short, chubby female ghost. She looked like a student, wearing thick glasses, with an ordinary appearance and a gloomy expression.
Harry guessed that must be "Moaning Myrtle."
She seemed both uneasy and excited in the headmaster's presence. She had hidden herself in one of the toilet stalls, and was secretly observing them.
—What a strange group, Harry thought.
He tried to ignore the eerie, bluish eyes peeking over the top of the stall and greeted them, "Good evening, Professor Dumbledore, Wade."
"You're here, Harry." Wade stepped aside slightly and said, "Come take a look."
Harry hurried over, with Michael curiously following behind.
They discovered that the two had been examining a brass faucet, which had a small snake etched on its side.
"Uh…" Harry asked, "What's so special about it?"
Wade replied, "Look at it and try saying 'open' in Parseltongue."
"Parseltongue?" Harry instinctively glanced at Dumbledore and then asked curiously, "Didn't you learn it too?"
After discovering Harry could speak Parseltongue, several members of the SSC had tried learning a few phrases.
However, most gave up quickly amidst the indistinguishable "hissing" sounds, with only Hermione and Wade managing to learn the most.
"Of course I did," Wade said helplessly. "But this entrance doesn't seem to recognize a bootleg version of Parseltongue."
Wade recalled that in the original story (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Ron had used Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets, but the same approach had failed here with the faucet.
He could only assume that the magic left by Salazar Slytherin was more sophisticated than Voldemort's. While the basilisk was alive, not only did it require Parseltongue, but it had to be spoken by a true Parselmouth.
Harry's mind flashed to the illustration that Professor Kettleburn had shown him earlier, and recalled those cold and deadly eyes.
[Open.]
A hissing sound escaped Harry's mouth, and the faucet emitted a dazzling white light.
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