This was written for the Weekly Elimination Weird Prompt Thing Competiotn over at HPFF. I used the prompts: The basilisk gets loose (not necessarily during the times it does in canon), but it just wants its itchy neck scratched. / an enchanted necklace that translates the wearer's speech into Parseltongue / according to Salazar's journal, basilisk venom can be used in anti-aging potions (can be used in narration or dialogue) / "Isn't he cute?" / "He's rather terrifying, actually." / "He's cuuuute. Basilisk, you're so cute!" / "It's worth a lot of money on the black market."
Also written for the All About You Challenge, for the prompt: Write about a Gryffindor
A/N: I have taken liberties with the Chamber of Secrets. For the purpose of this story, the Chamber is opened by anyone who can speak Parseltongue. Please don't hate me for changing canon too much.
Sirius Black was almost fond of Grimmauld Place when his family were away. He could wander its endless corridors and rooms and lose himself in a history long forgotten. It always amazed him how much bigger this house was on the inside than it appeared from the street. His favourite pastime at times like these was to look for long forgotten trinkets and talismans of the Blacks of yesteryear. He'd learnt at a young age that the most dangerous items in the house were kept in the most obvious places: his mother's bedside drawer, his father's office - all the places a wandering child would not think to look.
That meant the old breakfast room on the third floor was relatively safe. When he stumbled upon a necklace he did not recognise, he was curious. Emerald teardrops hung low from a string of black pearls, accented by diamonds. It was one of the more expensive pieces the Black family owned, and Sirius was certain it was an antique. What was intriguing him more than anything, however, was the inscription on the black leather box he'd found it in: "timueritis omnes lingua serpentis" shone in elegant script, and Sirius wished he understood what it meant. He closed the lid of the box once more and placed the necklace in his pocket before continuing on his way.
The necklace came with him to Hogwarts that September, giving him an invaluable excuse to visit the Restricted Section of the library to avoid his fifth year work. He understood the basics of Latin, it was par for the course at Hogwarts. So many of the potions, hexes and charms they studied had Latin names, meaning most students couldn't help but learn some meanings at least. But this phrase was entirely new to him. The first word he worked out was 'serpentis', which must have meant 'serpent'. That much was easy. It was when he tried to understand the other words that things got confusing.
In fact, it was nearly Christmas when he found it, in a book entitled, In Pursuit of Power, about the many spells and artifacts people had found, made and used over the years in order to enhance their abilities. Sirius flicked through, distractedly, one Sunday afternoon, when he came across a perfect diagram of the necklace he'd found, complete down to the number of diamonds. The description in the book claimed that it was commissioned by a Hester Black. Sirius skim read, and found it had exactly the information he wanted. The translation he'd been pouring after was there on the page: All will fear the serpent's tongue. Which, unfortunately, didn't help him much. Reading the rest of the accompanying paragraph, it was clear that no one actually knew what it did, and as so many of Sirius' obsessions did, the necklace soon got thrown into the bottom of his trunk and forgotten about.
It wasn't until two months later when it finally made sense to Sirius. He sat besides James in Defence Against the Dark Arts, swinging lazily back in his chair, while the Professor, a young man from the Auror department of the Ministry of Magic, introduced the lesson. They were learning about different types of control that a dark wizard might attempt. Inferi were talked about first, as a dark wizard's control over the dead. The Imperious curse was discussed next - as an Unforgivable Curse favoured by the darkest of wizards. Finally, they discussed Parseltongue - something not inherently evil, and incredibly rare, but if a dark wizard was in possession of such a skill, then all the snakes and serpentine creatures in the world could be at his command.
That was when Sirius remembered the locket. The Latin phrase rang clear in his mind, and suddenly it all made sense to him. The wearer of that necklace would be able to speak Parseltongue.
With his newfound knowledge, Sirius excitedly gathered his friends in a quiet bathroom on the second floor and summoned the necklace. His three best friends nervously gathered around the old leather box and Sirius' excited grin.
"When I first found it, it didn't make sense. I saw the Latin on the top, and didn't understand it, but I found a translation in an old book: 'All will fear the serpent's tongue', it says," he told them.
James gave him a confused stare. "What does that mean?" he asked.
"That lesson just made me figure it out," Sirius replied. "It's parseltongue. I reckon that whoever wears this necklace can speak parseltongue."
With that, he opened the box and showed them the emeralds and diamonds glinting beneath the depths of the sable pearls.
"It looks expensive," Remus commented, visibly impressed.
"It looks girly," James said, curling his lip up in distaste.
"Well it did belong to a very distant Aunt," Sirius shrugged.
"You gonna try it on then?" Peter asked, eager to see it in action.
Warily, Sirius pulled the necklace from its holdings and placed it around his neck.
"What do you think then?" he asked, and his friends suddenly recoiled in shock.
"You sound really weird," James commented. Before they could explain that Sirius had just spoken Parseltongue, a grating sound from behind them distracted their attention. As they watched, the sinks began to move, plumbing rearranging itself as a hole seemed to open up before their eyes, like the entrance to some secret part of Hogwarts.
"What the hell is that?" James asked, alarm and curiosity mixing in his voice. Sirius hastily undid the necklace around his neck.
"I have no idea, but I have an idea. It wasn't us," he commented, and James nodded in agreement, the four boys wanting no part in whatever this was.
They began to back away in nervousness, before turning to leave the scene of the crime well alone. They were nearly at the door before they heard it, and slowly came to a stop.
"Does anyone hear… slithering?" Remus asked, not wanting it to be true.
"Yup," James said, closing his eyes against the truth. They turned around slowly, and were more than surprised at what they saw. The body of the largest snake they had ever seen was sliding out of the gap left by the relocated sink, it's head in one of the stalls.
"Is that a Basilisk?" Peter asked, his voice quiet in his fear.
"I think it is," James replied. They'd read about Basilisks, of course, but they'd never seen one. Most people didn't. It wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.
"Whatever you do, don't look it in the eye," Remus warned. "Although, according to Salazar's journal, basilisk venom can be used in anti-aging potions."
"It's worth a lot of money on the black market, we could have just discovered a goldmine," Sirius added with a shrug, as if logic was the only answer he had to the surreal nature of their situation.
"Wait, Remus, you've read Salazar's journal?" James asked, turning on his friend in his incredulousness.
"It was just a bit of light reading," Remus replied, embarrassed. His friends didn't seem to understand he read a lot, including things generally considered unsavoury.
All of a sudden, the Basilisk began to writhe and hiss, twisting his body so that the top of his scales was towards them, and began to rub the back of his neck against the doorway of the toilet stall, causing the wooden frame to groan and buckle at the weight.
"He's going to wreck the place!" Peter shrieked.
"Who says it's a 'he'?" James asked, fancying it was a lady-basilisk in front of them.
"Whether a 'he' or a 'she', I think… I think it's got an itch," Sirius announced, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion at his own conclusion.
As the Basilisk began to thrash with more violence, the gravity of the situation seemed to settle in, and the mood darkened.
"We need a broomstick, to scratch it, don't we?" Remus asked. "James, summon yours."
"No way! Do you know how much mine cost? Sirius, fetch your Cleansweep," James retorted.
"That's hardly fair!" Sirius commented, but as his friends fixed him with annoyed stares, he dutifully obliged.
Broomstick in hand, Sirius eyed the creature in front of him and gulped.
"Right, how are we going to do this?" he asked.
"You're going to have to lean in and reach for it, but stay back so you don't get hit by the thrashing," James gestured, standing well back himself.
"This is ridiculous," Remus commented.
"Yeah," Sirius commented, before pocketing the necklace he'd been holding and stepping forward.
Holding the very end of the broomstick in his hands, he reached forward, and began to touch the Basilisk with the bristles. At first, it hissed in shock, but as Sirius applied more pressure, the creature began to calm down and eventually, it stopped moving and allowed Sirius to help.
Gradually, Sirius relaxed. After everything he'd heard of the ferocious nature of Basilisks, and their danger, he was surprised how tame this one seemed.
"You know what, this guy's kinda cute. Isn't he cute?" Sirius asked with a grin.
"He's rather terrifying, actually," Remus replied with a droll tone.
"He's cuuuuute," Sirius emphasised. "Basilisk, you're so cute!"
Suddenly, Peter started laughing. It was a full-blown laugh, the kind that makes stomach's sore.
"Peter, what's so funny? Seriously, there's a deadly creature in our midst, and you find it hilarious?" James asked, annoyed at how lightly Peter was taking it.
"I'm sorry, but if I can't find it funny, then I'm not sure how I would react," Peter commented, when his fit had ended, his face still slightly pink as his eyes were watering.
"I suppose he's got a point," Remus replied.
"Anyway, this was Slytherin's basilisk, right?" Peter continued. "According to legend, anyway. So how old was it when Slytherin had it? I can just picture him, like he is in the portrait in the Great Hall, petting a little baby basilisk and cuddling it like a baby. It just made me laugh," Peter shrugged, while James rolled his eyes.
"You have an overactive imagination, my friend," James said.
Slowly, Sirius stopped scratching the basilisk's neck and stepped back, hoping the Basilisk didn't get angry at this. Thankfully, it stayed exactly where it was.
"What now?" he asked.
"You need to put the necklace back on and order it back in," Remus told him, and Sirius nodded, drawing the necklace out of his pocket.
"Okay, everyone turn around," James commented as Sirius fastened the clasp, and they all did as James said.
"Basilisk, you need to go back now," Sirius said, and when they heard movement behind them, they hoped it was in the right direction.
"You sound so weird," Peter commented.
When the movement stopped, James was the first to turn.
"It's safe," he said. They all turned to face the scene and were glad to find it empty of giant snakes.
"Close," Sirius said to the gaping chamber entrance. The creaking and settling was heard again, as the sink reverted back to its usual position, and all signs of the incident were gone, apart from the slight damage to the cubicle. Hopefully, no one would notice that.
"Well, I'm glad that's over," Remus commented, and the three of them nodded in agreement.