Harry looked at Tom without a trace of fear on his face. He listened to Tom's words and couldn't help but sneer, saying, "The greatest wizard is not you. You have never been the greatest wizard—whether in the past, the present, or the future!"
Tom, who had possessed Miles's body, turned his head and stared at Harry. A handsome but ghostly face emerged faintly over Miles's features. He stared at Harry and whispered, "If I'm not the greatest wizard, then who is?"
"Dumbledore! Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard alive!" Harry declared. "His academic contributions are unmatched, and he's mentored countless skilled wizards at Hogwarts. Compared to you—a killer spreading terror—he's leagues ahead. Albus Dumbledore is the true greatest wizard!"
Hearing that, Sean realized that Dumbledore's biggest fan wasn't anyone else—it was this guy, Harry.
Miles's face, under Tom's influence, twisted unnaturally. Pacing, he nodded repeatedly, his tone a mix of mockery and muttering. "Yes, yes, of course—a Dumbledore fanatic… Harry Potter, your ignorance infuriates me. You need a lesson, one you'll never forget, to break that arrogant spine of yours and show you… who… is… the greatest wizard!"
With a roar, Tom turned to the massive Salazar Slytherin statue and hissed in Parseltongue, words both Sean and Harry understood:
"Speak to me, Slytherin... greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
As Tom's Parseltongue echoed, the mouth of the massive statue began to open—widening, stretching, twisting into the darkness like a great black maw, as if revealing the entrance to another world.
"Speak to me! Slytherin... the greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
As Tom's Parseltongue echoed through the chamber, the mouth of the enormous Salazar Slytherin statue behind him suddenly began to open wider and wider, like a gaping black hole—an entrance to another space.
A deafening roar came from the darkness, and a colossal serpent—roughly seventeen or eighteen meters long—with dark green scales, dim yellow eyes, and a bright red feather crest on its head, slithered out from the mouth of the statue. It descended along the stone surface and coiled behind Tom.
The moment the basilisk appeared, Sean grabbed Harry's arm and quickly pulled him backward. Just as the snake reached Tom's side, the two of them had successfully retreated beyond the great hall's entrance.
"Tom, I've prepared a gift for you and your basilisk long ago—and now it's time to deliver it!"
Sean pulled a bag from inside his robes, opened it, and pointed his wand inside. Instantly, dark shadows flew out and scattered around the chamber.
Harry's eyes widened as he realized what Sean had released—boxes and… recorders?
As Sean waved his wand, all the recorders clicked to life, and the boxes burst open—each containing potted mandrakes in magical sleep.
Sean flicked his wand again, and the mandrakes were lifted from the soil as if grabbed by invisible hands. At that moment, the recorders finished their startup noise—and a hellish sound erupted.
The screech of rooster crows—recorded from real birds—and the shrill, piercing cries of awakened mandrakes rang out together, forming a nightmarish symphony of destruction.
Sean and Harry had already donned their earmuffs, completely shielding themselves from the lethal screams.
But Tom and the basilisk weren't so lucky.
Though the rooster calls were recordings and thus not instantly fatal, the overwhelming number of them—combined with the live wailing of mandrakes—was devastating. The basilisk writhed and thrashed in agony, its massive body slamming against the stone. Miles, still possessed by Tom, collapsed to the floor, blood pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as he screamed in torment.
"Harry, don't come closer. This is our best chance. I'll go in and finish it."
"Sean, be careful!"
"Rest assured."
Sean slid his wand into his belt and shrugged off his robe, revealing a fitted set of enchanted sportswear beneath. From his bag, he pulled out a tower shield and a chain hammer, both reforged and enchanted by an elven alchemist before the start of term.
The new shield was thicker than before, etched with layers of ancient magical runes. The hammer was heavier, broader, and covered in brutal spikes, designed for maximum destruction.
As Sean raised the tower shield in one hand—nearly as tall as he was—and hefted the massive chain hammer in the other, Harry couldn't help but gulp.
This was the first time he had ever seen Sean fight in full strength.
He had heard stories—everyone had—but now that he was witnessing it for himself…
This kind of power… it's almost like that mountain troll I fought last year, Harry thought, stunned.
At this moment, Sean no longer cared what Harry thought. Tom, on the other side, had already started destroying the recorder and the mandrakes. Sean had to act immediately. He took a deep breath and charged straight at the basilisk. Without a second's hesitation, he leapt forward. Avoiding the creature's gaze, Sean swung his hammer down, striking the basilisk directly. Its scales shattered, flesh tore apart, and blood began to drip.
Already tormented by the rooster's crow and the mandrakes' screams, the basilisk let out a furious roar as Sean's hammer blow struck home. Its body writhed in pain, thrashing even more violently.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss... (Kill him, with your eyes!)"
The heir of Slytherin's command cut through the chaos, restoring a sliver of clarity to the beast. The basilisk raised its head and turned toward Sean.
Sensing the danger of direct eye contact, Sean instantly raised his tower shield to block the serpent's deadly gaze. But just then, a shadow swept toward him—it was the basilisk's tail, swinging fast.
The massive tail slammed into Sean's shield, hurling him backward. He crashed hard against the wall, colliding with two tape recorders that had fallen nearby.
The impact shattered the recorders, and the rooster's crowing weakened at once. Sensing the shift in battle, the basilisk's tail swept across the chamber, smashing the remaining recorders to pieces and reducing some of the mandrakes to pulp.
Seeing this, Sean's expression tightened. He clenched his chain hammer and tower shield and charged the basilisk once more.
Just then, a sharp cry echoed through the chamber. Fawkes, the blazing phoenix, soared in from outside. In his talons, he carried the battered Sorting Hat, which he dropped at Harry's feet. Then, transforming into a streak of fiery red light, Fawkes launched himself straight at the basilisk!