The injury to its tail made the Basilisk realize that its strength was no match for Hydrus Lestrange. As a giant serpent that had lived for countless years, its hunting experience was incredibly rich—if strength failed, it would use venom!
Its massive, blood-red maw snapped down from above with startling speed.
However...
Hydrus stepped forward, dodging the attack while simultaneously delivering a solid uppercut to the Basilisk's chin. A gruesome bloody hole pierced through its lower jaw, and the Basilisk's head reeled back, slamming into the ceiling.
With a loud bang, two stones were knocked loose, and the entire snake fell limp to the ground. The Basilisk had been knocked unconscious.
A physical version of Stupefy—terrifying indeed!
"Alright, now it's time to consider how to cook some snake soup."
"Or maybe braised snake chunks would be better?"
Regardless of the recipe, the first step was naturally to kill the thing. Hydrus raised her wand, intending to perform a quick decapitation.
Zip!
Dumbledore made his grand entrance. "Child, do not be in such a hurry to act!"
Hydrus rolled her eyes. "Professor Dumbledore, this is a monster that has harmed students. You aren't going to tell me I can't kill it, are you?"
Dumbledore sighed. "If what you said before is true, then this Basilisk has guarded Hogwarts for many years. It has worked hard, even if it hasn't received credit. Right now, it is merely under the Imperius Curse..."
Hydrus tilted her head, looking Dumbledore in the eye. "Whatever the reason, if a family dog turns on its master, shouldn't it be humanely put down?"
"No, it is merely being controlled..."
Hydrus shook her head. "Fine, fine..."
But in the next heartbeat, she slashed her wand downward with lethal force.
An invisible blade flashed, and the Basilisk's head was severed from its body. This move was so sudden and deceptive that even someone as powerful as Dumbledore failed to react in time.
"Professor Dumbledore, I am the heir of my ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. In other words, this Basilisk is my private property. I have every right to dispose of it." She looked at the complicated expression on Dumbledore's face. "I don't believe the current Hogwarts needs a Basilisk to protect it. When it becomes useless and bares its fangs at me, its master, it is destined to die."
Dumbledore let out a helpless sigh. "You are far too much like Gael."
Hydrus shook her head. "I am not like him. I won't swim against the tide."
She clapped her hands. "Momo!"
Pop!
The house-elf Momo appeared before her. "Little Master! Oh, and Headmaster Dumbledore!"
"Clean up this Basilisk. I want to see snake soup and braised snake chunks tonight."
"What flavors would you like, Little Master?"
"The snake soup should be Guangdong style, and the braised chunks... Wuhan style is quite good."
Since matters had reached this point, Dumbledore couldn't say much more. This little girl now controlled half of Hogwarts; she was no longer the small fugitive he could handle easily a year ago.
He gently straightened his lapels. "Momo, please prepare a portion of that snake soup and braised snake for me as well."
"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore!"
He then turned to Hydrus. "Could you leave the snake bones, the skin, and this head for Severus? The eyes and fangs are rare magical materials. Perhaps he can use them to brew many lost potions."
Hydrus waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever."
To spare the feelings of the rest of Slytherin House, Audrey ate her dinner in her dormitory.
How was the Basilisk meat? It wasn't particularly delicious just because it was old, nor was the texture tougher because of its age. It was average—just the taste of snake meat.
But to be fair, Momo's seasoning was truly excellent! Mixing the rice with the sauce from the braised snake, Audrey managed to polish off three whole bowls. Still unsatisfied, Audrey summoned three steamed buns; dipping buns into the braised sauce was bound to be delicious!
The door was pushed open, and Isaline burst in.
"Audrey! You flaked on me again! Your remaining balance is only twice!"
Audrey blinked, taking a moment to realize what "balance" she was talking about. It turned out that ever since Audrey gave her the Crown of Edward the Confessor as an apology last time, Isaline had unilaterally started a "pre-paid flake count"...
"Eh? What are you eating?" Isaline's dainty nose twitched as she caught the scent. "I don't remember these two dishes being on the menu for dinner tonight..."
"Wow, Audrey, you're eating the good stuff all by yourself!"
"Shh..." Audrey covered Isaline's mouth. "This dish isn't exactly convenient to eat in front of our classmates."
"Why?"
"It's snake meat."
"Snake meat!" Isaline was horrified. Although she was in the "Snake House," many girls were naturally afraid of serpents, and Isaline was one of them. "You, you, you... you're actually eating snake!"
Audrey shrugged. "It's not just any snake meat. To be precise, it's Basilisk meat."
Isaline's pupils shook. "A Basilisk? The monster bred by Herpo the Foul in the legends? A 5X magical beast?"
Audrey nodded. "Exactly that."
"You, you, you..."
Seeing that Isaline was too shocked to speak, Audrey patted her on the shoulder, dipped a bun in the sauce, stuffed it into her own mouth, and took a huge bite. "The last time you were petrified, it was this thing's fault. I'm just getting revenge for you!"
Isaline was completely speechless.
"It actually tastes pretty good. Isaline, want a bite?"
The little princess shook her head in terror and ran out of the room. Audrey smacked her lips, swallowed the delicious bun, and chuckled. So, Isaline was afraid of snakes!
Meanwhile, at the staff table, Dumbledore was enjoying the same dinner as Audrey. He clicked his tongue in wonder as he ate. The Basilisk meat wasn't naturally a superior cooking ingredient, but processed with Chinese techniques, it tasted like a supreme delicacy!
In reality, even if the taste had been average, Dumbledore would have treated it like a treasure because it was so incredibly rare.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, what are you eating?" Professor McGall asked curiously. "It looks quite delicious..."
The other professors looked over as well. Dumbledore smiled. "It's snake meat, specially brought by Audrey. Would any of you like a taste?"
"No, thank you..."
The professors declined one after another. Clearly, the palates of these foreigners were still too limited. Among the professors present, only Snape had a suspicion—what Dumbledore was eating likely wasn't just snake, but Basilisk meat.
His personal collection had just been increased by one fresh Basilisk head, a complete skeleton, and a large amount of skin. These treasures were constantly on his mind. He finished his meal in a hurry and rushed toward his office, his robes billowing even more than usual, whipping up a wind that startled the Gryffindor students celebrating their Quidditch victory.
"Merlin, what is wrong with Snape?" Ron whispered.
Fred laughed. "Probably because we won the match today and he's in a bad mood?"
Ron laughed too. "He deserves it. Just because Malfoy sponsored a few brooms, he kicked Audrey off the team (mistakenly). If they didn't lose, who would?"
George agreed. "If Audrey were still on the Slytherin team, I don't think we would have won, even though Harry is great."
"Exactly, Audrey is way too good!"
At this age, Hermione was still a famous conversation-killer. She suddenly spoke up: "I didn't expect you all to have no heart. Don't forget, Harry is still suffering in the hospital wing right now!"
The Weasley boys exchanged looks. Ron quickly said, "We're going to visit Harry after we finish eating. You can't say that about us, Hermione!"
Hermione huffed and turned her head away, ignoring him.
George joked, "Though speaking of which, Lockhart's spell was pretty special. He made Harry's bones disappear in an instant!"
Fred nodded. "Yeah, Harry's arm looked like a rubber toy. It looked miserable! That must hurt!"
Ron shook his head repeatedly. "Gilderoy Lockhart is a total fraud. I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking, letting him be our professor!"
Hermione no longer held the same hero-worship for Lockhart as she had at the start of the term. she wanted to defend him, but felt Ron might be right, so she stayed silent and put a small piece of cake on her plate.
They were discussing Lockhart so passionately that they didn't notice the subject of their conversation quickly leaving the Great Hall. Lockhart's fists were clenched tight, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
"Those damn brats! I'll show them how great Gilderoy Lockhart really is! So what if the bones are gone? I'll go heal Harry Potter right now!"
Snape reached the door of his office, his brow twitching. The traps and magic on the door had been bypassed! Someone had been inside his office.
Snape held his wand ready and pushed the door open, only to find a mess. He did a careful inventory and found that nothing was missing. He went to the corner and gently moved a lampstand. With a slight vibration, a hole opened in front of the fireplace, revealing a set of stairs leading down.
Snape rushed down. This was his ingredient storehouse—his real ingredient storehouse. In the center of the room lay the long skeleton of the Basilisk, with the cleaned skin neatly stacked.
However, the most important and most precious part—the Basilisk's head—had vanished.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]