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Harry thought he was about to have a deadly showdown to save Ron's little sister, but even knowing what kind of creature the basilisk was, he was determined to end this evil.

So, when he approached to see it up close, he was quite horrified at how the once-feared creature had ended up.

Aside from the basilisk's eyes, which had turned into a bloody mess, he could see that there wasn't a single meter of the snake that hadn't been damaged by puncture wounds or scratches.

Though he didn't understand where all those feathers on the ground had come from...

This made him swallow hard, his mouth dry, as he looked with some fear at the cucco resting calmly on the head of the millennia-old creature's corpse, not a single drop of blood staining its white feathers.

"It's a shame, it looks like most of the skin won't be salvageable..." Barnaby murmured quietly while mentally measuring the basilisk. "With this size, it must be no less than nine hundred years old."

Barnaby regretted having to end such an ancient creature without being able to study it first, but given that it attacked people, whether following orders or on its own initiative, he could only take action.

But the pale girl lying in a puddle of muddy, cold water quickly caught their attention.

"Ginny!" Harry shouted as he approached and shook her shoulders, trying to wake her. "She doesn't seem to be well!"

Barnaby approached and examined her carefully. Then, under Harry's expectant gaze, thinking he was about to use one of his strange abilities to save her, he raised his hand and... gave Ginny a hard slap on the face, causing her cheek to swell but still not waking her up.

"It was worth a try," Barnaby shrugged at Harry's incredulous look.

"It's too late," said a voice suddenly as Tom appeared before them. "Soon she'll be gone, and I'll be back, more alive than ever."

While Harry and Tom Riddle exchanged dramatic lines, Barnaby ignored them to quickly reflect against the limited time he had to try to save the youngest Weasley.

He looked at Ginny, then at the projection of the soul, then at the black diary on the ground, and finally at the basilisk.

Hmm, maybe...?

"I am... Ah!" Just as Tom Riddle was about to make the grand revelation with presumption and dignity, he felt a deep pain in his soul as a hole appeared in his hand. "Damn it, this hurts!"

Harry was startled by the shout and sudden curse, but his attention was quickly drawn by a sound of papers being pierced next to him.

At some point, Barnaby had gone to the basilisk, pulled out a bone saw to cut one of the venom-filled fangs, and with gloved hands for protection, he held the black diary in one hand and the basilisk fang in the other, using it to repeatedly stab.

Harry calculated that the stabbing speed had to be at least six times per second, at a minimum!

No, now it was at least seven!

And still accelerating!

In less than ten seconds, Tom Riddle's soul ended up becoming a sieve and completely collapsed, returning the stolen vitality to the young Weasley on the ground. Her eyelids moved, and the first thing she saw was Harry.

"My hero!" She took advantage of Harry bending down to check on her, wrapping her arms around his neck while holding his gaze, closing her eyes, and puckering her lips to...

"Ahem!!" Barnaby felt not only that his credit for killing the monster of the Chamber of Secrets was being stolen but also that little Ginny had a somewhat precocious temperament.

Look at your current state, all pale and disheveled, covered in dirty water, and with one side of your face mysteriously swollen. Doesn't it hurt?

What kind of books has she been reading at home under the covers?

Should you have those thoughts at your age?

Harry also finally reacted and quickly pulled away from the girl, scared, not knowing how to face Ron if the little one succeeded in her plot.

He almost had his first kiss stolen stealthily!

He made a mental note to be very careful in the future with the youngest Weasley, who seemed more conspiratorial than she appeared and still remembered how Ron had told him she had been talking about him all summer...

Once Barnaby ensured that nothing inappropriate was happening in his presence, he ignored Ginny's puzzled but certainly resentful look, to walk over to the basilisk's corpse and carefully store the cucco after feeding it some of its favorite seed mix.

Then he took out a leather bag the size of his palm and opened it to absorb the basilisk inside.

Dumbledore dreams if he thinks he's going to keep this warehouse of materials!

In any case, he could give something to Uncle Snape; surely the basilisk gland could be used in some potion, and the remains of the eyes could be squeezed.

Besides, he already had a very important idea for the basilisk's body.

He was going to make Tonks a millennium-old basilisk scale bag for her birthday!

With undetectable extension charm, fireproof and waterproof, anti-theft functions, self-cleaning, and item organization... in short, everything he could think of to make it really special.

Once everything was finished, they came out and spread the great news of the death of Slytherin's "monster," causing, to Barnaby's consternation, Dumbledore to regain his position as headmaster of Hogwarts.

Couldn't he just take advantage of the dismissal to retire forever?!

Barnaby handed the amnesiac Gilderoy Lockhart over to Tonks, along with a vial containing memory threads of Harry, Ron, and himself so she could demonstrate his desperate actions and confession, helping his girlfriend gain more merit within the Ministry of Magic with ease.

Oh, she knew how to thank him...

And while Barnaby received effusive thanks from the Weasleys for saving their little one and gave Ginny a bill for the chickens and roosters she had killed, a phoenix emerged confused from the Chamber of Secrets, looking left and right, puzzled.

Didn't the old man say there would be a student here?

Why hasn't anyone come yet?

Forget it, wait a few more hours and then go have some snacks with Barnaby.

The phoenix knew the grudges Barnaby had with Dumbledore, but what did they have to do with him?

That old man only offered him licorice cockroaches and...

He didn't like licorice!