As soon as the blood splattered on the corner, it immediately vanished as if it was absorbed by the corner of the statue on which it splattered. Within a few seconds, the entire chamber started shaking slightly as the statue at the centre began to open its mouth.
And suddenly, he began to hear intense whispers of snakes in his ears. But as soon as he was about to cover his ears, Helena intervened.
"Don't close your ears, Auden. Listen closely to the sound of the Basilisk. Your Parseltongue exists within you due to being blood-related to Uncle Salazar. But because the three other bloodlines within you are equally powerful, they are holding each other back.
So if you want to gain the abilities of any bloodline, you need a strong catalyst. And right now, hearing the sounds of the Basilisk will allow you to unlock the Parseltongue ability hidden within you."
As he heard Helena's words, he slowly lowered his hands and began listening to the sounds the snake was making while coming out of the statue. Thankfully, the snake was somehow keeping its eyes closed while coming out, but it did not stop hissing as it moved.
Auden was slowly getting used to the painfully loud noises of the snake. And slowly, he was able to make sense of what the snake was trying to communicate with him.
"It's… it's glad… It's saying that it is glad to finally meet the true descendant of its master after so long." Auden was surprised that he was able to translate what the snake was saying so easily.
He also discovered why Harry Potter had a pained expression on his face every time he heard the snake through the walls. Parseltongue speaking might allow them to command snakes, but listening was more than just words. The animal language lacks many of the words that humans use to communicate. Instead, the hissing spits out words while the snake also transmits the emotions it feels through the magic the wizard has.
The Basilisk had kept its eyes closed while coming out to make sure that the descendant was not harmed.
As Auden listened to the Basilisk, he was also able to feel the deepest emotion the Basilisk was transmitting toward him.
Hunger.
But Auden also realised something else. The hunger the Basilisk felt was not natural. It seemed as though it was forced to feel this pain and emotion.
He conveyed what he had found out to Helena and received her answer, this time a bit more detailed about the control of the Basilisk by Parseltongue.
Since the first person who created the Basilisk had used his own blood in the ritual, the Basilisk would be most loyal to him. But it also required the person to have the prerequisite or at least the potential to speak Parseltongue.
So Salazar Slytherin or any one of his direct descendants had first priority. This also included Auden. But instead of being born, Auden was directly created by Salazar's magic, so he would appear second only to Salazar himself. Not even Salazar's child would have first priority over him.
The third priority went to any distant relatives with bloodline connections to Salazar. This was Voldemort. Helena clarified that the Marvello bloodline had connections with Salazar through his mother's side. So Voldemort would get the power to control the Basilisk as long as someone with more authority did not come along.
But this control over the Basilisk went beyond just giving commands and listening to orders. The person in control could order the Basilisk to feel pain, fear, hunger, etc. Originally, the Basilisk was able to survive on the magic it absorbed from the castle, where Salazar had modified the chambers for it.
But fifty years ago, when Voldemort wanted to feel empowered by making the Basilisk kill a wizard he considered inconsequential, the Basilisk was not completely willing and tried to resist the command. The Basilisk knew that it was made to protect wizards, as a thousand years ago its master had told it to do so before he vanished. It even remembered his mistress Helga, who had made sure to come down every week in her old age to make sure it was safe before she passed away. The Basilisk knew that it was supposed to protect the wizards within these walls.
This angered Voldemort, who decided that the Basilisk should feel extreme hunger every moment it was not following his commands. He then forced the Basilisk to kill Myrtle and made his first Horcrux using his diary that day. He then made sure to close the Basilisk within the chamber once again, making it feel hunger for decades, certain that the day he released the Basilisk and commanded it again, it would be unable to resist him.
Auden felt anger at the pain the creature had suffered all this time. And he knew what he had to do next, as the Salazar bloodline within him completely awakened, giving him the full ability to command the Basilisk.
"You're free now. You don't need to feel the hunger again." A hissing sound came from Auden's lips, but to him it appeared as if he was talking normally. He knew he was speaking in another tongue by the way the creature in front of him calmed down.
He then gave another command, while telling the Basilisk what he was about to do next. He received an affirmation from the Basilisk, so he decided to go through with it.
He once again commanded the snake.
"Feel no pain," he said, and the snake nodded as if it had worked.
Auden then took a bucket he had prepared earlier for his plan and put it in front of the Basilisk. He then placed the Sword of Gryffindor in the bucket as the snake opened its mouth and positioned a thick fang above it.
Auden gripped the fang and pulled it out quickly and carefully, knowing even a single drop could kill him. He watched as the poison started falling like a burst pipe into the bucket.
A/N- hope you like it.