50. Let’s Hunt A Basilisk   

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"Mewaaaaaa!"

"Woaaaaa!"

"Aaaaaaaaa!"

Koko screamed, Happy cheered, and Harry joined the goose with a mix of excitement and some fear.

Thud!

Happy soon slid out of the long pipe's end. He tried not to fall but still ended up face-first on the skeletons of rodents spread around the entire space. Thankfully, there was light as Professor Snape was using a lumos charm to observe the surroundings.

Snape looked at them, clearly not amused. "Brave Gryffindors screaming in fright? I expected nothing less."

As the group cautiously made their way forward through the dark chamber, illuminated by Professor Snape's wand, they couldn't help but feel a mixture of tension and trepidation. The air was heavy with anticipation, and the sound of their footsteps echoed ominously off the stone walls.

As they turned a corner, their eyes fell upon a massive shed snake skin, sprawled across the floor in front of them.

"What's that?!" Harry was amazed by the sheer size.

"Now do you believe me, professor?" Happy looked at the man with a smug smile. "The Basilisk is real."

Snape carefully assessed the snake's skin. His voice held a slight hint of interest while taking a small sample of the skin with his wand. "It does not appear very old. The snake was hibernating here!"

"Then we have to be careful," Harry added.

Snape snarled back. "Closing your eyes won't help anymore, Potter. The snake will still eat you."

"Quack!" Koko made his presence clear just then, as if reminding the man of his talents.

The tension in the air thickened. The echoes of their footsteps grew louder, reverberating through the pipes. Finally, they approached a towering steel door adorned with intricate engravings of serpents.

Harry turned to Happy, his voice barely above a whisper. "I think I know what to do."

Leaning closer to the door, Harry hissed in a low, snake-like language. His words mingled with the ancient enchantments embedded within the door, and slowly, the serpents carved on its surface began to stir.

The snakes slithered and twisted, their movements intertwining with one another. With a soft rumbling sound, the steel door began to part, revealing a narrow passageway beyond.

Snape maintained his position at the front, a protective figure leading the way. His wand illuminated the path ahead as the group crossed the door.

Once again, Happy proudly gloated. "See, professor—I didn't lie about the Chamber of Secrets either."

The professor nodded, "You're right, Lestrange—even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"..."

"Pff…" Harry tried to hold his laugh. Certainly, he felt less unnerved by the presence of an adult wizard with them.

The group descended a narrow, rickety ladder leading them further into the depths of the Chamber of Secrets. As they reached the bottom, they found themselves standing in a vast underground area filled with an eerie stillness.

The sound of dripping water echoed throughout, creating a ghostly melody that resonated in their ears. Happy's senses heightened with the potion as he took in the surroundings. The chamber was partially submerged, water forming shallow pools.

"Be mindful of your steps. The water may hide unseen dangers." Snape's voice carried a note of caution.

But Happy's gaze remained at the front, while Snape and Harry looked around. Happy noticed the body lying on the wet floor ahead, belonging to a girl. However, with Ginny already petrified, Happy was curious as to who it was.

As they walked closer, he quickened his steps. But then he noticed the bushy, curly hair—a face he would never forget.

"Hermione! When did h—!" Happy exclaimed and rushed at full speed to reach her. She was cold and even paler than before. In her arms was the old diary, emanating an aura of sadness and evil.

"Hermione! Wake up!" Harry also rushed over and nudged her face.

Snape, meanwhile, frowned and kept a vigilant eye. Being well-versed in the dark side of magic, he noticed the diary with a single glance. There was more to the story than just a Basilisk. The more he pondered, the more his mind turned to the Dark Lord.

"She will not wake up, Potter," Snape deduced. "Her mind is ensnared by dark magic."

"You're right, Severus!" A new voice suddenly came from the side as a tall Hogwarts student appeared from a dark corner. "She won't wake up. She's alive, but not for long."

"Stand back, boy," Snape warned as he shielded Happy and Harry. "State your name."

Happy sighed and stood up. "Your spells won't hit him, professor. He's not a living thing—a memory preserved in a diary for fifty years."

The ghostly tall boy looked at Happy with a strange fascination. "A Lestrange who went to Gryffindor—a blood traitor! Your ancestors would be ashamed of you."

He then eyed Harry, looking at him as if he was looking at something disgusting, "And Potter! You, a mere boy—killed me?! Whatever tricks you used then, they won't work again. I will see your end soon enough."

"Well. At least I wasn't an orphan." Happy fired back.

The moment Happy said orphan, Snape put everything together and realized the boy was none other than Tom Riddle, Voldemort in his younger form.

"Say what you will. This is the beginning of my new era now," Tom Riddle replied. "The weaker this filthy mudblood becomes, the stronger I grow. This foolish girl unknowingly opened the Chamber of Secrets and commanded the Basilisk to attack all I deemed unworthy. It took me just a few words to control her mind—this weak-minded mudblood. Her desire to prove herself and sense of inferiority are her downfall."

"Pfft!" Happy burst into loud laughter, unnaturally so, as he projected his voice as loud as possible. "Hahaha! Is that so, Tom Half-blood Riddle? You filth! How dare you deceive the entire magical world with your tainted magic! You are no heir. You are no ruler of us—purebloods. You're a lying, scared, pathetic lowlife who hid his name!"

"Happy, what are you saying?" Harry Potter suddenly interjected. "Why ar—"

But Harry shut his mouth as Snape placed his palm on Harry's shoulder. The man had seen Happy and knew what kind of boy he was. He was no one to say those words unless they were meant to provoke a reaction.

Of course, Tom Riddle's ghost of memory reacted with a seething face as it realized Happy knew everything about him.

"H-How do you know that? How do you know in such detail?" Tom finally asked.

Happy replied, "My father, Lestrange Senior, told me before his death. He was your best friend at school, wasn't he?"

"That's impossible!" Tom Riddle shouted. "None but I know about my heritage or my diary!"

Happy shrugged and went to take the diary away from Hermione's arms. "Then I'm afraid you're not only a filthy half-blood but also a numbskull. Do you think all the noble purebloods are foolish? You think my father didn't spy on you to see what sort of man you were? The only reason he followed you was because you were more powerful. Not because of your tainted bloodline—born out of forced love your mother plotted."

"SILENCE! BE QUIET!" Tom Riddle roared in rage. "Nobody knows that! Who are you!"

Happy sat down beside Hermione and made a small incision on his palm to bleed himself. Then, he placed the wound on Hermione's mouth so she may consume his god-given Felicis Felix blood, and her chances of survival may increase beyond all odds. Yes, he didn't want to take any risks.

Tom Riddle looked at Snape, "Severus! I order you! Kill these two! I order you as your master!"

"No!" Snape looked Tom Riddle in the eyes. "That night, I asked you for one thing—to not kill her! Yet you betrayed me—No... I serve no master... Riddle."

"YOU DARE OPPOSE ME!" The madness finally made itself apparent. This was the real Voldemort behind the mask of that handsome face. "I will kill you all! And I will start with you, Harry Potter!"

Tom Riddle turned around and raised his palm towards the statue's mouth. "Hissss Shaizzzz Angathasss Theilisss!"

Grrrr…!

The statue's mouth began to open up slowly, shaking the very ground itself.

Satisfied, Tom Riddle looked back at the three. "Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter; Heir of House Lestrange, and...a foolish man!"

"Hisssssssss…!"

Monstrous growls echoed as yellow eyes appeared inside the cave in the statue's mouth. As the growls increased, the giant snake came out, seething and looking hideous. Its size was big enough to swallow them whole, and its teeth were sharper than any blade.

"Lestrange, Potter…Run!" Snape ordered the two boys while raising his wand with closed eyes.

However, Happy didn't move, nor did he close his eyes. Instead, he began to take off his robes.

"Haha…pardon my language." Happy suddenly exclaimed with a laugh and took out Koko from his baby harness and put his flappy feet on the wet floor. He then placed Koko's favorite straw hat on his furry head and gave the order while raising his wand.

"Koko, let's hunt this bitch!"

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

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Special thanks to *phong thanh nguyen* *andy cohen* *Martin Bosley*