"...A basilisk…"
Avada's vision went black for a moment, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.
This was an attack planned with terrifying precision.
First, someone had altered Moaning Myrtle's memory at the very beginning of term and modified the incantation required to open the Chamber of Secrets, leading him to mistakenly believe that the Chamber simply didn't exist. Then, through the so-called Banshee attacks, they removed the formidable Dumbledore from power—and made the roosters in the paintings disappear as well.
Only after all of that was accomplished did the basilisk finally begin to act openly.
And this time, it had merely petrified its victims, leaving behind no messages like "The Chamber has been opened." One crucial clue was gone entirely, plunging the school into even deeper panic. Any explanation Avada offered would be dismissed as baseless speculation; until he truly found the Chamber itself, no one would fully believe him.
Now, the two "statues" stood silently before him, as if mocking him without words:
Everything you did was meaningless.
Suddenly, hurried, chaotic footsteps shattered the stillness of the corridor. Avada instinctively drew his wand and looked up—only to see three familiar figures running straight toward him.
"Ken?!"
Harry skidded to a halt first, staring at Avada in shock. Close behind him were Ron and Hermione. The next instant, they noticed the all-too-familiar figure beside Avada.
"Filch?"
"Wait… something's wrong with him…"
"At this point, it's not a matter of 'wrong,'" Avada said. His own voice startled him—it had become frighteningly hoarse. "I realized it too late. Filch has already been attacked."
"Attacked?!"
The three of them recoiled instinctively. "What happened?!"
"He's been petrified… By the way, why were you running over here?"
"Oh—Harry," Ron said, still shaken as he glanced at Filch's statue. "For the past few days he's been saying he keeps hearing strange noises. Just now, during the feast, he said he heard that sound again and rushed out. Hermione and I had no choice but to follow him…"
"A sound? What kind of sound did you hear?"
"A cold, murderous voice…"
Harry shuddered. "It never formed complete sentences, just this vague, furious roaring. But I could still make out words like 'hungry'… 'kill'…"
"But Ron and I didn't hear anything," Hermione added.
"…I understand."
Avada let out a slow breath. "The voice you're hearing likely belongs to an extremely dangerous monster that's roaming somewhere inside Hogwarts. Don't chase it again like you did today—it's far too dangerous. If you hear that voice again, the first thing you should do is run. Get to a crowded place, or find a professor."
"There's… a monster in Hogwarts?"
The three exchanged uneasy looks. After a moment, Hermione hesitantly spoke up. "But what kind of monster could hide inside the castle and petrify people from a distance without making a sound? I've memorized all of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I don't recall anything like that…"
"That's because—"
Avada was about to explain what he knew, when he suddenly froze.
There was no standing water nearby. No mirrors or reflective surfaces. Filch wasn't wearing glasses.
So why had he only been petrified—rather than killed outright?
And earlier, Harry described the voice as a "muddled roar." That didn't match the basilisk's behavior in the original story at all.
Had something changed about the basilisk as well?
"…I'm not entirely sure either," Avada finally said, shaking his head. "I only came to this conclusion based on some things I learned from Hagrid. If you really want to know more, you should ask him directly—he'll explain it far better than I can."
"Alright, let's not just stand around chatting. Filch is still petrified…"
A low, distant din—like rolling thunder—signaled that the feast had ended. From the far end of the corridor came the sound of hundreds of footsteps on stairs, along with the cheerful chatter of people full of food and drink.
Avada shook his head. "I need to go find Professor Snape and inform him of what happened here. You should leave as well. You don't plan on getting dragged into this mess, do you?"
"Snape? But—"
Harry tried to say something more, but the approaching footsteps were too close. He had no choice but to leave with the other two. "Then I'll go find Professor McGonagall!"
"Good."
Avada nodded. After parting with them, he quickly left the corridor, passed through a little-used stairwell, and headed straight for the Slytherin Head of House's office in the dungeons.
Based on his understanding of Snape, that man would never stay at a feast until the end. He'd probably eaten halfway and come back to work already.
"…Professor? Are you in there?"
Not long after he knocked, the black wooden door flew open, a gust of wind whipping Avada's hair about. Behind it stood Snape's dark, sullen face.
"Ken?"
Snape frowned, clearly in a foul mood. "I assumed you would still be at the Halloween feast."
"I should have been, Professor, but… may I come in to explain?"
Snape raised an eyebrow in surprise, then stepped aside. Avada entered and closed the door behind him, lowering his voice as his expression turned grave.
"Professor, Mr. Filch has been petrified. Just now. On the third-floor corridor."
Snape's body jerked violently.
"…I understand."
He was silent for a long while before speaking again. "I will handle this matter. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Mr. Ken."
"Wait, Professor, I'm not finished. I suspect the thing that petrified Mr. Filch was a snake—"
"Enough!"
Snape suddenly exploded in anger. "I said I will handle this matter. Do not continue disrupting order—"
Avada frowned and swept the room with his magical perception. There was no one else inside the office. No listening spells. No one eavesdropping outside.
"Professor, I know you—"
"Stop wasting my time!"
Snape abruptly rose from his chair, shouting. He even rolled up his sleeves as if ready to throw a punch, seemingly forgetting that he was a wizard at all.
"I'm going to deal with Mr. Filch's situation now. I have no time to listen to your ridiculous speculation. Leave my office. Immediately. Now!"
The moment Snape rolled up his sleeves, Avada's pupils shrank.
He said nothing further. After the harsh rebuke, he obeyed at once and left the office.
"…Professor."
He had seen it clearly.
Wrapped around Snape's arm were thin, scorched markings—
The mark of an Unbreakable Vow.
At last, Avada understood how Snape had earned the Board of Governors' trust.
And at last, he understood why Dumbledore had said that Snape could only be trusted at a critical moment.
(End of Chapter)