The line of ghosts waiting for Harry to perform his "surgery" had grown so long that the once-quiet corner of the dungeon classroom was no longer secluded. The queue stretched all the way to the classroom door, one ghost after another.
It wasn't crowded, nor did they have to wait too long, because Harry's surgical speed was astonishingly fast. He had even transformed the soul-forged scalpel into the shape of an axe, chopping one head after another with swift precision. In no time at all, the dungeon classroom was littered with ghost heads rolling chaotically across the floor.
Harry worked with such skill, it was as if he beheaded ghosts daily.
The pained screams of the ghosts as their heads were severed mingled with their excited cheers afterward, creating a cacophony that turned the dungeon classroom into a scene of wild, chaotic revelry.
The chaotic nature of wizards seemed to persist even after death. As a group of ghosts playfully tossed and kicked their freshly severed heads, twelve spectral horses suddenly burst through the classroom walls, each ridden by a headless rider. They charged into the center of the room, halting in unison before rearing up on their hind legs, hooves kicking the air—only to freeze as they realized what was happening.
"Merlin's socks, your heads?!" The lead ghost, a burly figure with a bushy beard, leapt from his horse, shouting in disbelief. "Nick! Have I got the wrong person? Your head should still be firmly on your neck!"
"Oh, Sir Patrick, you're not mistaken at all," Nearly Headless Nick replied, picking up his head with a beaming smile, his voice brimming with pride. "As you can see, my head is finally free from my body—so, can I join the Headless Hunt now?"
"A clean, clear separation—head and body parted!" Nick emphasized.
"Well, yes, of course you can," Sir Patrick nodded repeatedly, glancing around at the heads rolling and flying about. "...Alright, perhaps more will want to join us... Ha! The Headless Hunt is about to see a serious recruitment boost!"
"Look," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, "I've never seen Nick this happy before. He's usually so glum—hang on, what's that sound?"
Ron turned to look around.
Thud!
He wasn't the only one who heard it. Many ghosts also caught the dull, heavy sound. The ceiling trembled slightly, dust falling from above, confirming it wasn't an illusion.
"The walls are shaking," Harry said, frowning. "Is the castle under attack?"
Thud!
The sound grew louder, followed by a deafening crash!
There was no time for the people and ghosts in the dungeon classroom to think. From the first thud to the catastrophe, barely two breaths had passed. Suddenly, one of the classroom walls shattered, exploding outward.
Just like last year when Harry had burst a pipe in the dungeon corridor, a hidden pipe in the classroom wall now ruptured, water gushing out in torrents. Broken bricks and stones flew like cannonballs, passing through the ghosts' translucent bodies amid their startled cries.
No, most ghosts couldn't even scream.
A massive creature burst through the broken wall, the very thing that had shattered the castle's hidden pipes and demolished half the classroom's wall with its sheer bulk.
As the ghosts turned to see what had disrupted their chaotic celebration, they froze, one by one, their minds and movements halting.
Their pearlescent, milky-white bodies darkened visibly, turning ashen like solidified plaster. No longer floating freely, they plummeted onto tables or the floor, heavy as stone statues.
Even the ghosts whose heads had been severed underwent the same transformation, their bodies and heads alike turning lifeless. The few who hadn't looked at the creature screamed and fled, phasing through the classroom ceiling and vanishing within seconds.
Ghosts could pass through walls, but the living had no such luxury.
"Don't look up! Don't look at it!" Harry shouted, forcibly pressing down Ron and Neville's heads while shielding Hermione's gaze with his body. "Quick! Keep your heads down! Get to the corridor along the wall! Find Dumbledore!"
Harry had already seen what had attacked the classroom. The moment the creature crashed through the wall, he was ready for battle. The fallen ghosts, his instincts, and the warnings from the spirits screaming in his ears confirmed his caution. The elements themselves urged him not to look directly at the enemy.
Through the omnipresent elements, Harry used his Vision of the Elements to glimpse the intruder indirectly. But even this secondhand view, relayed through the elements, struck his soul with a devastating blow the moment he saw the creature's glowing yellow eyes.
It was a curse—a dark wizard's curse rooted in fel magic. Even seeing those eyes indirectly, through the elements, inflicted the curse. Its unreasonable power could spread through intangible connections.
With just one glance, Harry knew his foe: a basilisk, massive in size, its scales a dazzling green, its back and head bristling with menacing lumps and spikes. Its hissing revealed long, venomous fangs, and its gaze turned every ghost that met its eyes into lifeless husks, falling from the air.
From the moment he entered the wizarding world last year, Harry had researched the most dangerous magical creatures and spells known to wizarding society. Among the deadliest, the basilisk ranked near the top, etched deeply in his memory.
"Purge Soul!"
Without hesitation, Harry cast a dispelling spell on himself, one capable of removing all curses and magical effects. It worked, to an extent—he could feel the soul-withering, petrifying sensation lessen significantly.
But even so, blood tears streamed from his eyes, crimson trails dripping down his face.
"Harry! Your eyes! My God!" Hermione's scream pierced his ears like a dagger, ignoring his earlier warning.
Bang!
There was no time to explain. Harry slammed his forehead against Hermione's, the sharp pain snapping the panicked girl back to her senses.
"Go! Don't look! Tell Dumbledore it's a basilisk!" Harry yelled, practically kicking Ron and Neville toward the door and shoving Hermione after them. Before he could do more, the basilisk's massive tail whipped toward him, striking him and sending him flying.
"Harry!" Ron, still dazed from being kicked out, couldn't process what had happened. One moment, they were watching the Headless Hunt's performance; the next, the classroom was in ruins, and ghosts were falling like rain.
"Don't look up, Ron!" Hermione shouted, yanking his hair to force his head down. "Looking at a basilisk will kill you! We have to go! Don't hold Harry back!"
The clever girl, suppressing the pain in her body and forehead, quickly assessed what needed to be done.
But in their panic, mistakes were inevitable. Neville, obediently running for the door, didn't see the chunk of rotten cake on the floor. He slipped, crashing to the ground.
"Neville!" Ron, who had been the fastest, heard Neville's cry and turned back without thinking, rushing to pull him up.
"It hurts!" Neville sobbed. "I—I think I twisted my ankle!"
As if things weren't bad enough, the basilisk turned its attention to them, clearly targeting the easiest prey.
Clutching his chest, Harry staggered to his feet amid the rubble of the broken wall. He could feel a rib had snapped. Casting a quick Surge of Healing on himself, he saw the basilisk lunging toward his friends.
"Look at me!" Harry roared, his voice like thunder.
But the basilisk ignored him, its gaping maw aiming for Hermione, Ron, and Neville.
In the nick of time, the wall near the trio began to crumble, its massive stones shifting on their own. In a blink, they formed two thick arms, shielding the three from the basilisk's attack.
Fighting in the confined space of the castle was severely limiting for Harry. Without access to the Elemental Plane of Earth, he had to resort to transforming the castle's stones into an earthen elemental's body. Combined with the basilisk's earlier destruction, the classroom was now on the verge of collapse, the ceiling threatening to cave in.
"Move, Ron!" Hermione's voice broke with desperation as she and Ron dragged Neville out from behind the earthen elemental.
But the basilisk wasn't done. Beyond its deadly gaze, its massive, powerful body was a weapon in itself. It whipped its tail, sending the earthen elemental flying, and slithered swiftly after Ron, Hermione, and Neville.
"Ascension!"
No longer hesitating, Harry gritted his teeth through the pain and transformed into an air ascendant. His flesh-and-blood body vanished, replaced by a form of swirling storm elements. Crackling currents and booming thunder surrounded him. A spear of lightning materialized in his hand and was hurled with force.
Devastating Bolt!
Crack!
The blue-white lightning struck the basilisk's body, but its scales acted like shields, absorbing the blow. The attack staggered it slightly, but caused little real damage—a mere pause in its movement.
Harry was certain this basilisk was abnormal. Not only was it larger than any described in books, but its glowing green scales provided exceptional resistance to magic and physical harm.
A basilisk, lurking in Hogwarts, likely bred and modified by wizards for some specific purpose.
It completely ignored Harry, as if driven by a vendetta against Ron, Hermione, and Neville. But Harry was certain his friends could never have done anything to provoke such a creature—this basilisk was acting with purpose, as if it knew exactly what it was meant to do.
Suddenly, a phoenix's cry rang out. A burst of flame appeared in the air, and with Fawkes came Dumbledore.
No need for Ron and the others to raise the alarm—perhaps the fleeing ghosts had spread the word. Dumbledore landed, his face grave, and with a flick of his wand, a fallen stone transformed into a majestic rooster, which immediately began to crow.
For a basilisk, a rooster's crow was its deadliest weakness, capable of killing it instantly.
But to Dumbledore's surprise, though the rooster crowed loudly, the basilisk seemed unaffected, continuing its pursuit of the three children. Harry's summoned earthen elemental was nearly shattered.
Finally, under the relentless assault, the classroom's ceiling collapsed. Broken stone slabs and debris filled the air with dust, and desks and objects from the floor above crashed down in a chaotic mess.
Clenching his fists, Harry unleashed a molten ball of lava toward the basilisk.
Since the castle was already in ruins, there was no need to hold back any longer.
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