The sound of that single word reverberated through the Chamber—low, guttural, vibrating against the stone until it felt like the entire world breathed the same word with it.
"Masssster."
The great serpent's head remained bowed, the sound of its scales dragging faintly over stone echoing like metal scraping glass.
Even with its eyes closed, the weight of its presence was suffocating—a being older than empires, bred of magic so ancient it transcended modern classification.
Behind me, Lady Draconis's voice came soft and approving.
"Good… very good. The beast knows its place. A proper pet as i expected."
Her pride was almost tangible, a faint smile crossing her spectral features as she floated closer.
Her residual aura was palpable, causing my own kneed to shiver as she approached holding nothing back, but the basilisk before me was affected even worse.
Sensing a being of immeasurable power before her, cause the great beast to cease its movements practically playing dead.
As for me…I could barely remain standing.
The backlash for using Draconic hit like a curse.
It started in my throat—a sharp, burning ache that tore through every nerve as if fire had taken root beneath my tongue.
Then it spread through my chest, my veins flaring with heat and pressure as my body tried—and failed—to contain the residual magic of the Draconic speech.
I staggered, catching myself against one of the serpent-carved pillars, breath rasping in short bursts.
The last time I'd dared to speak in that tongue, I'd been forced to visit Madam Pomfrey to get patched up.
This time, at least, I didn't feel the need was that great, but even still an appplication of dittany wouldnt hurt.
That was progress.
Painful, crippling progress.
Lady Draconis's eyes flicked toward me, her tone amused despite the sharp concern that ghosted across her ethereal face.
"You push yourself hard, hatchling. But your training shows growth, and you are rewarded are you not?"
I managed a strained smile.
"Comforting thought."
Still bracing against the pillar, I shifted the language—switching from the searing syllables back into the softer cadence of Parseltongue.
The Basilisk stirred faintly at the change, the tension in its muscles easing as I spoke.
Its sheer size was staggering, even now that it lay prostrating to make itself look smaller before its superior—its body thick as an oak, glimmering with dull green scales that seemed almost black in the dim light.
"Tell me, serpent," I hissed, the words slithering naturally from my tongue, "what is your purpose here?"
The creature's head lifted slightly—not enough to break its bow, but enough for the sound of its breath to echo, deep and old.
"To guard… thissss place. To protect the children. To ssserve the Heir of Sssalazar… and defend the ssschool againssst the unworthy."
Its voice was heavy with age, each hiss vibrating through the chamber like a whisper of thunder.
"To protect… the children?" I echoed, frowning. "You mean the students?"
"Yesss… the ssstudents… and their heirs after them. The founder commanded it… to keep Hogwartsssafe when the world of men turned its fangs toward magic. When the Mugglessss burned and hunted and defiled…"
The words trailed off, the serpent's breath shuddering faintly.
I caught the faintest flicker of something beneath its tone—something that didn't belong in the voice of a creature bound to command.
Regret.
Even Lady Draconis noticed.
She glided closer, her gaze sharpening.
"The beast's mind is fractured," she murmured in the human tongue.
Seeing the lady surmising in a second the true nature of the beast before us.
While a giant snake, its nature was more like a loyal puppy dog, willing to follow its masters orders to the ends of the earth.
I nodded faintly, still addressing the creature.
"And yet," I said in Parseltongue, "you killed. You harmed a student once, didn't you?"
The great serpent recoiled—not much, but enough to send ripples through the pool beside it.
"I… broke… my oath," it hissed. Its voice trembled now, carrying the weight of centuries. "The truest ssshame. The Heir… the falssse one… ordered it. Commanded me… to hunt. To ssslay. I ssspoke to him, I told him I could not, that dear Sssalazar forbade it. But the magic bound me to his will. He bore the mark. The sssymbol. He ssspoke the wordssss."
There was pain in that sound—a tortured hiss that seemed to come from somewhere deeper than flesh.
It struck me then that this creature, this legendary monster that once struck fear through Hogwarts, was broken.
Not evil.
Not even malicious.
Just a weapon—one that had long outlived the hand that guided it.
Lady Draconis hovered nearby, silent for a long moment.
Then she spoke softly, her voice layered with something like sympathy.
"The bond between beast and master can be sacred. When twisted… it leaves scars. The serpent's mind is splintered by guilt it cannot shed. Even beasts feel remorse when their purpose is betrayed."
Her eyes turned toward me, assessing, thoughtful.
"Cassius," she said finally, "there is a way to end its pain. But it is not without consequence."
I glanced up at her, frowning. "What kind of way?"
Her lips curled in that knowing, almost teasing smile she wore when she was about to drop some impossible truth on me.
"What if," she said slowly, "you could have a true dragon of your own?"
I blinked, unsure whether I'd heard her correctly. "A—what?"
"A dragon," she repeated, voice echoing faintly through the Chamber. "Not a serpent that mimics the blood. A dragon, born anew from both line and will."
The Basilisk stirred uneasily, as if sensing the weight of her words.
"A dragon?" I murmured, still staring at her. "You're saying you can… what, transform it?"
"In a sense." Her gaze flickered toward the serpent. "The beast would effectively evolve in a way, transforming from its current serpent form into that of a dragon, though its mind would retain the memories of the past any vow or oath taken would be broken as it was bound to the form, not to its soul."
The idea hit me like a tidal wave.
A dragon.
Not even one of those creatures regarded as such today, but a 'true' dragon whatever that is.
Looking at the Basilisk before me i felt the need to give her the choice, if we were to become a bonded pair, it would not be right if i were to force her transformation.
But even before i could ask the basilisk turned its head, almost charging towards me before simply slowing to a 'boop' as her snout lightly tapped into me.
'Pleassse... Massster... end our torment... we ssshall accept the missstresssesss blesssing to become that which we were promisssed so very long ago by Sssalazar.'