93: Protect the boy, kill the snake

(Beatris POV)

"Ngaktifake" I traced the activator rune in the air and whispered the words. Immediately the rune I had traced in the air glowed. The light was not that bright, but I could clearly see the shape of the rune that was until now invisible. The runes placed around me activated. The Rune I had placed in the water below activated and the water started to freeze. This made the snake confused. It turned its head and looked for the thing causing it to lose mobility. His scales were starting to freeze and soon his body would be as well but that was not going to stop a Basilisk. With a single movement all of its body, all the frost shattered. But the fleeting moment it was stuck for was enough for me to activate another rune I had placed at the bottom of the pillar.

"Ngaktifake Ieherketa" I whispered the name of the rune as I placed my wand nearby. And then I ran. The activation was a bit delayed because this specific rune was designed this way. And as I was a safe distance away from the rune, it exploded. The small explosion broke the stone pillar.

(YES... NOW IT WILL BE BURIED UNDER ALL THE RUBBLE THAT FALLS FROM THE TOP.)

But the reality is not often as pleasing as planned. My plan was perfect. The snake would freeze in place and then I will break the pillar using the 'Ieherketa' rune and we will bury it under the rubble. The only thing I did not account for was that the pillar that had stood for more than a thousand years, either for some magical reason or because of some amazing architectural skill, could also withstand the power of my small explosion. As the dust cleared, I saw that the pillar was still standing. Cracked but standing. My plan had failed and now the Basilisk was on top of me. I could not run or hide at this point. I was going to die. The snake was going to attack me, and I had no way to defend against it. I was dead for sure.

(I did not expect it to end like this...)

I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. But instead of an impact what came was a loud noise of rocks falling.

*bam*

And a gust of wind right after that. I did not look. More like I did not dare to look even though curiosity was eating me from the inside.

"WHOA, that was one hell of a plan Potter. I mean why did I not think of that." I heard Nathan. I turned around only to see that the snake was buried under a huge amount of stones and rocks.

(Did? Did it work? Did my runes work??? Did my trap kill the snake????)

"That was splendid work, Potter." As the dust cleared a saw a figure standing above the rubble. It was Nathan.

(Wait.... Did he drop the pillar? Or did it fall due to my rune?)

There was no sure way to know. And I did not have the time to stand around and chat with him. The basilisk was dead and we had to save Augustine.

"Now come on let's go." And Nathan had the same idea. We both ran back towards the place where we met Tom Riddle and Augustine.

"Well, that was fast. What did you do to my snake." Tom asked us the moment he saw us. But I did not pay any attention to him. I ran past him and fell near Augustine. He was getting colder with each moment passing.

"Aug..." I whispered near her ear. But there was no response. He was out cold.

"It's not going to work. He is sound asleep." On that, I gave him a hateful look. "No matter what you do or say it's not going to work young girl. His life is slipping from him bit by bit and soon his body will grow cold. And I will no longer be a memory. Lord Voldemort will return. Very much alive." He rose his hand and made a fist.

"Not if I pound you to death first." Nathan jumped towards him and from the looks I could tell that he did not see that coming. Nathan grabbed him by his collar and raised his fist.

"Fix him or I will beat the hell out of you." He spat the words at his face.

"OOOOO scary. I am so scared. Why don't you try that little man." And with that, he pulled out the wand that he stole from me and pointed it toward Nathan. I feared that he was going to do something like that and I had already pulled out Nathan's wand that I still had with me. But before any of us could cast any spells, I think he was more aware of the situation. His hand moved so fast that it blurred and with a single slap, he sent the wand flying from Tom's hand.

"I don't know about the real you, but the you that is in front of me right now is really weak Voldemort." He spoke and then he punched him in the face.

"ARGHHHH." Tom fell backward, his nose bleeding. "I will kill you, boy. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID. I WILL KILL YOU." Tom started to shout after wiping his nose off.

"Yeah yeah, I know." But Nathan was as unfazed by it as ever.

He raised his punch again to hit Tom who in response covered his face with his arms. But before Nathan's fist could reach his face, we heard a hiss. Or was it a scream? I did not care because the basilisk had appeared again.

(Why could it not remain dead.)

I mean that was a lot of load we had buried it under. I could see some of its scales were missing and it was bleeding from a few spots but that was it. I mean come on. How tough could one get?

"Yes come and save me..." Tom screamed. "Come save your master….."

"Oh shut up will ya. That hissing always gets on my nerves." And Nathan punched him anyway.

(I still can't differentiate when someone is talking in English or parseltongue.)

The Basilisk lunged at Nathan, but he was ready. In one swift motion, he pulled out his swords. They were as beautiful as ever. The snake wanted to bite him but Nathan evaded with a side jump. And then brought both the swords down on its head.

*CLANG*

The swords were repelled easily.

(WHAT??? His swords were repelled??? Just how hard are its scales?)

But that was not the point right now. I had to do something. Nathan was in trouble. He was fighting the giant snake all alone. But maybe if he had his wand. I looked around to find my want and it was laying a bit far away. The only problem was that to get to it I had to pass through the deadly fight. I needed to help Nathan. I could not have used his wand. It was inefficient. I was not its rightful master. And I was not confident enough in myself that if I threw the want it would reach Nathan.

"Oh, whatever." I dashed towards them uncaring of the results. Nathan was not faring much better. All he could do was dodge the Basilisk's attack. Whenever he attacked, the swords simply bounced off its hard scales. And for some reason, his evasions were becoming awfully close. It was not a very favorable situation.

Suddenly the snake backed off for a large attack. It rose its head high above, probably trying to gauge the position it was going to strike. And its tail rose as well. Nathan saw this as a chance and sprinted toward the snake.

(IS he CRAZY??? HE SHOULD HAVE AN THE OTHER WAY NOT THE...)

My thought came to a halt when I saw something that both of them had missed. Towards the tail of the Basilisk was the cold body of Augustine.

(OH NO HE IS GOING TO GET CRUSHED.)

Immediately I picked up my pace and changed the direction.

(Please make it please make it please make it.)

I pleaded to no one. Exerting every ounce of strength that my legs could muster, I ran. I had to reach him before the snake smacked its tail crushing the young kid. I had to. There was no room for failure. And then I saw the tail move and it came crashing down on him.

"OH PLEASE MAKE IT." I instinctively shouted as I jumped toward the unconscious kid.

*BAM*

The world around me shook and something hit me in the ribs. Immediately the pain shot up and covered my whole back and chest.

(I think something broke.)

It was a stone that had broken due to the impact and hit me straight in the ribs. I fell down.

"UGH," I was in a lot of pain. I opened my arms and looked. Augustine was safely laying there in my arms far from harm's way.

(Thank GOD, I saved him. But I can't move now. It hurts really really bad.)

I looked up and forgot to breathe. The snake had sensed us and now it was staring down at me.

(Oh God I am so dead.)

The Basilisk lunged and I closed my eyes.

"lookout." was the last thing I heard before I felt something push me away ferociously. I flew to the side and I did not know when I let go of Aug. After sliding on the ground for some time, I came to a halt and then I opened my eyes. Something was weird. I could see the Basilisk but it was acting a little weird. It was swinging its mouth here and there. At first, I could not understand because it had its back towards me but then I saw it as it turned.

"OH, MY GOD." I place both my hands on my mouth. It was Nathan. He was inside the mouth of the Basilisk. The snake was trying to get rid of him because it could not close its mouth. When Nathan had saved me the snake attacked and swallowed him. But Nathan just pushed both his swords into the snake's mouth. Now he was standing in its mouth one sword on the upper gum and the other sword on the lower gum keeping its mouth open. The basilisk was shaking its mouth violently to get rid of the pain of the swords. But Nathan was holding on for his dear life. And then I saw him use it again. The weird magic that he had always used since the day we met him. I say flares run across his arm and then they condensed on his hands.

"This will hurt." I heard his voice like a faint whisper. And then there was an explosion.

*BOOM*

And a scream followed it.

*SCREECH*

It was a deafening noise. So much so that I had to cover my ears. And when the sound finally ended I saw the snake give its head a large shake. I did not know if it was due to the explosion or because of the shock or whatever..... but I say Nathan lose his grim and flay away from its mouth.

(Oh no)

I immediately looked for my wand but in all the jargon, it had slipped away again.

(COME ON. USE ARRESTO MOMENTUM ON YOURSELF.)

But then I remembered that he had no wand. And with full force, Nathan hit the boulder and fell.

"NATHAN" I screamed and got up. Immediately the pain in my side grew and I fell back placing one hand on my ribs.

(I have to go to him. He must be hurt. I have to do something.)

I looked towards the snake who was now rubbing its face on the side pillar.

(I want to kill you so bad but...… I need my wand.)

"I will kill it." I got up. The pain worsened but I did not care. Slowly I stood up...… but I had overestimated myself. The pain was too much.

(Damn it..... Is this all that I amount to? I can't save even a classmate. And another just got hurt, if not died saving me. And what have I been doing all this time? I have been nothing but a hindrance. A coward. He told me to run even though he was fighting. And I am not that stupid. I know he is stronger but for some reason, he is always hesitant to show his true strength around me, or anyone else. I figured that out yet I stayed. Because of my ego. I thought that if I played my part, I will not owe him anything but here I am. This whole situation is due to my incompetency... only if I ..... No … I need to do something now. Maybe if I can reach him I could use his swords....)

But then something glimmered. I saw it from the corner of my eye. A shine. I looked in that direction and not far from me, there was a sword laying on the floor.

(What ??? where did that come from ?)

I looked at the snake that was still recovering from the explosion that had happened in its mouth and then I started to walk towards the sword.

(Is that Nathan's...… no it can't be. It has a double edge but his swords have a single edge.) I reached the sword in a minute. It was not laying on the ground instead, it was inside the sorting hat. Not inside but more like protruding out of the hat. There was no time to think about what was what. I simply pulled out the sword. It was not that heavy and even I could swing it with ease. I looked at the snake. It was still rubbing its face. Probably the burns were really severe.

(How can I hurt it...…. If I attack it the attack will simply bounce off. If I could somehow reach its head.)

If I possessed even half the agility of Nathaniel Morningstar, I could have reached its face. But I did not possess even a ten percent of that and in my current condition, I could not move at all. I looked around, and that was when my eyes fell upon a giant face. It was right beside the snake. I did not know why Salazar had such tastes that he would make stone statues of his face all over the chamber. I mean what kind of sick, Narcissistic jerk was he?

Thinking things like that I started to move towards the face as quietly as I could. I did not want to alert the snake by making a sound. Due to all the sightings, the face was broken in several places. So I could climb to the top. The pain was getting lesser. Either that or I was getting used to it. I started to climb the statue. But that was when Tom appeared again.

"What are you doing? Kill them now Basilisk. Kill Beatris Potter and that meddlesome Morningstar." That was probably said in Parseltongue. I still could not differentiate while listening.

(Why the hell is he here? Why did he have to come at such a point.)

The snake immediately stood up forgetting all its pain. I picked up the pace. The snake probably smelling or probably hearing my steps attacked me exactly where I was. I climbed up and it missed me by an inch.

(PHEW..... at times like these, I am thankful that it can't see.)

I kept climbing and it attacked again. Once more missing me by a very small margin. Every time it attacked it broke the stone. By some stroke of luck, I made it to the top unharmed. But there was a predicament. What to do now? I had no idea what I was going to accomplish. The snake was glaring at me, even though it had no eyes. It was just standing there without doing anything. This made the whole ordeal even more sinister. I was the first to lose my nerve.

"UGHAAAAA" With a very poor attempt to make an intimidating sound. I jumped at the snake and swung the sword. Once, twice, thrice. But each time it bounced back.

(Oh no it's not working...)

Not it was his turn. It pulled its neck back, took my aim, and lunged forward. I was standing on top of my head and did not have much room to move. There was no other option. I aimed for the snake as it closed in on me and made a thrust. The sword hit the snake's front and was pushed back. My grip loosened and the sword hit me straight in the chest. I saw black dots due to the intensity of the pain. My back hit the wall and I fell. The world went dark for a moment.

As I came back I was relieved to know that I had not yet died. The sword that had hit me in the chest had pushed me back and also to the side evading the snake's strike through sheer luck.

(I am alive.... I can't believe it.)

But the next strike was coming and I could not see any way of protecting myself.

(The sword..... where is the sword?)

I looked around and luckily the sword was still there. It was stuck on the wall beside me. I just need to pull it. But I could not be careless. The snake was just standing in front waiting to attack me.

(It's over. I can't move faster than the snake to grab the sword. And even if I did, I can't hurt it. Its scales are too thick. It is over. I am going to die here and Tom will win….. no…. we still have big sis Ana..... she will stop him but... I think I will really die.....)

The snake opened its maw and I saw its teeth. Rows and rows of razor-sharped teeth, filled with poison. The saliva dripping from them made it look as if each tooth was drooling to feast on my meat. I sat down accepting my defeat. It was finally over. Twelve years of my miserable life were coming to a somewhat thrilling end.

I chuckled at the thought. I took one last look at the snake. And as the snake's head moved, someone appeared behind it. The same silver hair and the same piercing eyes. The kid who was of similar age to me but had saved me countless times in the last two to three hours was here to save me once again. At that time my mind had stopped working and there was a single question in my head.

(how the hell did he jump so high?)

He rose well above the snake's head and then with a great force he drove down. Swords in both hands he trusted towards the snake's head.

(But the scales are too thick, the strike is simply going to bounce off.) was what I thought.

His hit landed right before the skull of the snake and then I was bewildered. The attack bounced off. Only one of them. But the other sword went about three inches deep into its skin.

(WHAT ???? BUT HOW?)

No matter what I thought this was not the time to think such things. Nathan immediately let go of his other sword and then using both his hands he applied force to the sword that was pierced into the skin. And with that, it went further by about two inches. The snake screamed and moved back a little. I did not know what came over me at that time. I did know for a fact that the snake was not going to die from that. My body moved on its own. I pulled the sword stuck in the wall and ran towards the edge. I was not thinking about anything at that time. The only thing in my head was that I had to save the boy and kill the snake. I jumped towards the snake and with a strike, from inside its mouth, I impaled its brain. The snake let out a final scream and then it fell on the floor, all signs of life leaving its body for good.