It wasn't until yesterday, with the appearance of this second Basilisk, that Victor's mind was once again filled with the same doubts. In fact, ever since he began looking for clues about the Ravenclaw inheritance, a number of contradictory points had been cropping up regarding the history of Salazar Slytherin.
The Sorting Hat's song, with lyrics that spoke of a strong and sincere friendship between the four founders. Rowena Ravenclaw had also said that Salazar Slytherin would never have wanted to see the Slytherin students turn out the way they were now. And this time, with the Chamber of Secrets being reopened, the inexplicably appearing underground dark pool, and the huge differences between the two Basilisks—in both their physical appearance and where they were found.
All these things, when connected, couldn't help but make one's imagination run wild.
First, the legend says that Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets and left the Basilisk behind to purge Hogwarts of its non-pure-blood students. But in reality, based on the power of the first Basilisk that appeared, there was no need for Dumbledore to even get involved. It wouldn't be difficult for the four Heads of House to kill it.
How could it have had the power to accomplish this almost impossible task? Not to mention, in the original story, it was killed by a young wizard, Harry, with a single slash of the Sword of Gryffindor.
Second, there was nothing else special or symbolic in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets besides the stone statues, which didn't quite fit with the Slytherin House's emphasis on honor.
And according to some fragmented memories passed down by Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin did indeed have some disagreements with the other three founders over the issue of accepting students, but their conflicts were not as great as people imagined.
The so-called Chamber of Secrets was originally used by Salazar Slytherin to teach his students. In other words, it was just a more luxurious classroom, and the other founders all knew of its existence; they just didn't know where exactly in Hogwarts the classroom was.
It made no sense to keep a Basilisk in a classroom, as it could pose a certain danger to the students. And according to Lady Helena, although Salazar Slytherin left Hogwarts not long after she was born, she had heard her mother say that while Salazar Slytherin's ideals were different from the other founders, he was still a responsible and righteous person who would never discriminate against students based on their blood status.
On the other hand, there was this second Basilisk that suddenly appeared. It did indeed have the power to purge non-pure-blood students, and could even potentially destroy all of Hogwarts.
The place where it was kept was a genuine "Chamber of Secrets" rather than a "classroom," and the chamber contained one of Salazar Slytherin's relics: a serpentine ring.
However, these characteristics at most could only prove that the legends of the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk were real, but they couldn't explain why Salazar Slytherin's personality was completely inconsistent with the legends.
In other words, there was something wrong with the story from the very beginning.
Before Slytherin left Hogwarts, why did he suddenly seal the Chamber, why did he secretly leave the Basilisk in the dark pool, and why did he inexplicably leave behind a will to purge Muggles, which didn't fit his character at all?
Furthermore, the first Basilisk was only 360 years old. Where did it come from, and what was the purpose of the person who put it in the Chamber?
At this moment, Victor felt as if there was a fog in front of him, but if he could just break through it, he would be able to touch the true history. Perhaps he could ask Godric Gryffindor; he must know more.
Just as Victor was lost in thought, the Basilisk, having fully recovered from its injuries, began to slowly wake up… Its nostrils suddenly shot out a stream of foul air, and its eyes snapped open. Its yellow vertical pupils, filled with bloodshot nerves, caught most of the people present off guard, and their heads immediately went blank.
Everyone except Luna, who was protected by the Ravenclaw Diadem, and Hermione, who had the ability to clear abnormal statuses with her Sky Magic, covered their heads and fainted on the ground.
It was clear that the innate abilities of this Basilisk were much stronger than the first one. Even the members of Fairy Tail, who had been getting used to the Petrification Curse (while it was sealed), couldn't handle it and all fainted.
The commotion of the Basilisk waking up and everyone collapsing also brought Victor out of his thoughts. He glared at the Basilisk, which was trying to get up, and snapped his fingers. The green magic circle of Nature Magic instantly appeared, and several thick, solid tree vines shot up from the ground, pinning the Basilisk down.
The Basilisk immediately began to struggle fiercely, kicking up the dirt beneath it and making a rumbling sound. However, the tree vines didn't budge. In fact, the more the Basilisk struggled, the tighter they held it.
"Hermione, wake them up," Victor ordered the little witch who was unharmed not far away, and then complained, "How embarrassing, fainting so easily!"
"Please don't hold us to your standards!" Hermione rolled her eyes at him, and then she began to awkwardly use her Sky Magic to wake everyone up one by one.
Newt, who was watching this scene, was filled with exclamations and questions. He didn't say anything. He first pointed at the tree vines on the Basilisk, and then at the giant Golem in the middle of the Black Lake, looking at Dumbledore with a questioning look.
Dumbledore, of course, understood Newt's unspoken message, so he calmly replied, "Newt, you'll get used to these things eventually!"
After a while, the Basilisk gradually calmed down after struggling for a bit. It lay on the ground, its huge body completely pinned down. Only its head and tail were exposed, and its eyelids drooped. For some reason, it looked like it had given up on life.
Luna walked up and looked into the Basilisk's yellow eyes. Blue light wisps flowed through her gray pupils, and then she said, "Victor…"
"Hmm? Luna, what is it?" Victor walked over when he heard her, and asked curiously.
"It's talking, but I can't understand it!" Luna turned to look at Victor. "I think it has something it wants to tell us."
"Oh, then I'll get a translator," With that, Victor shouted to Harry, who had just woken up and was still shaking his head, "Harry, come here and listen to what it's saying!"
"I'm coming!" Harry crawled up from the ground, covering his head, and jogged over. He then leaned his ear close to the Basilisk to listen carefully.
Newt, who was watching this scene, was immediately shocked. "Professor Dumbledore, how did you gather these students together? I mean, not to mention Mr. Dreyar, you have a Parselmouth, a natural Legilimens who can communicate with magical creatures, and that girl who knows healing magic. Are there so many students with unique talents at Hogwarts now?"
"Oh, don't misunderstand," Dumbledore immediately denied. "They are indeed very outstanding, so much so that these dozen or so students are the most outstanding group of students I have seen in all my years at Hogwarts, both in terms of talent and character. But I was not the one who selected and gathered them; that was Victor."
"Wow! That's truly amazing! Then I have a question: could I take that blonde girl as my student? I really like her, and I can tell she has a great talent for studying magical creatures."
"I think you'll have to ask Miss Lovegood and Victor for their opinions on that. After all, Miss Lovegood is a very special person to Victor. However, you, a Hufflepuff, and a professor who didn't even graduate from Hogwarts, suddenly want to take a girl who inherited the Ravenclaw Diadem as your student, I have a feeling that the Ravenclaw students will revolt if they find out…"
Just as Dumbledore and Newt were chatting, Harry had finished listening to what the Basilisk had to say. However, he didn't immediately translate. Instead, he looked at Victor with a strange expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that? What did it say?" Victor raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion.
"Master, this Basilisk has a name, Hogni! It's asking us why we attacked it?"
"Huh?! Doesn't it know why we attacked it?" Victor said, putting his hands on his hips and responding matter-of-factly, "Hagrid is still in bed! If we don't catch it, there's no telling when it might attack someone else."
Hisssshas, hissss…
"The Basilisk said that it would never attack people without being ordered to."
"And it also said that it's winter, and it usually just sleeps at the bottom of the lake. Last night, it sensed some spiders, which is why it came ashore to find food. It didn't touch that human!"
Harry slowly translated the Basilisk's words, and finally couldn't help but say, "Master, it seems to be telling the truth. If it really wanted to hurt Hagrid last night, Hagrid might not have ended up in the hospital wing."
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