The last basilisk

Harry felt the Snitch flutter madly in his hand and he watched, in disbelief, Umbridge ban him from his Quidditch team along with Fred and Georges. They had just won against Slytherin, and Malfoy had ruined their victory by violently insulting their mothers, among other things. When he had come to his senses, Malfoy was in a pitiful state and McGonagall had taken them in her office to punish them.

It was already hard to have made one of his favorite and most respected Professor at Hogwarts ashamed of him, but Umbridge's intervention had been worst than anything. When the sentence fell, he felt his soul leave his body for a few seconds. What?!

He couldn't be banned from playing Quidditch! And she was taking his Firebolt in her office too!?

He had made huge progress with Salazar and for a moment he thought about using his new powers to crush this giant toad of a woman. He imagined her silky smile being turned into a grimace of pain as he would have made her suffer a thousand torments. Pure hate was flowing through his veins.

When Umbridge left the office in a horrified silence, Harry thought he had become blind and deaf. This was too much. Quidditch was the last fun thing he had. Flying on his broom was the only way he could forget his problems. Up there no one could beat him. Up there he was free. If McGonagall told him something he didn't hear. He walked out the office without waiting for the twins. He was bewildered, walking automatically without knowing where he was going.

When he ended up in front of the sink that led to the Chamber of Secret, he put his hands on each side to avoid falling on the ground. There must have been a leak, or Moaning Myrtle must have flooded the lavatory again, because he could see his reflect on the water filling the sink.

Suddenly, without any warning, he punched the already broken mirror above the sink and its shards scattered around the place. Some of them were stuck in Harry's hand and he watched the blood spill into the sink. That had been stupid but somehow it felt very good. Careless of who might see it, he opened the Chamber and escaped in his haven.

Salazar hadn't expected to see the young Mr. Potter so early. But when he saw his face and his hand, he knew something was wrong. And that annoyed him. Not that he cared about Harry's life, but a wounded apprentice couldn't be efficient in his training.

'Good afternoon, Mr. Potter,' he said out of pure politeness. 'You're a bit early today.'

Harry didn't answer and went straight to the fountain to ease the pain piercing his hand.

'Do you know that with such a wound you could have severed some of your nerves and loose the use of your hand?' Asked Salazar sarcastically. 'Luckily you are starting to be quite proficient in wandless nonverbal magic, so it won't matter if you can't hold a wand or a broom anymore.'

Harry noted the mockery and turned his gaze toward the old wizard. It was strange how he had a way to know everything that was happening in his castle.

'How do you know everything?' Asked Harry while wrapping a torn piece of his cloak around his wound.

Salazar hesitated a bit but after all, he soon would be gone, and he would need someone to take care of the beast. He turned toward the giant statue representing him and hissed an order that Harry recognised immediately. With horror he saw the mouth of the statue open, and a giant snake emerged from it. He immediately closed his eyes.

'There's no need,' said Salazar softly. 'This basilisk still has to mature about fifty years before being able to kill with his gaze.'

Harry opened his eyes and considered the snake. He could easily tell it wasn't an ordinary snake though it had the size of a boa.

'Where did you find it?' Asked Harry.

'I didn't find it,' said Salazar while pointing toward the corpse of the basilisk Harry had killed three years ago. 'She was a female, and he is the last basilisk alive.'

The snake approached Harry with a curious look.

'Huh, hello there,' hissed Harry still unsure. He watched the snake nod and curl at his feet. Harry completely forgot about Umbridge and his problems. It was weird but somehow, he felt suddenly very close to this creature.

'A Gryffindor and a basilisk,' chuckled Salazar. 'Oh I wish Godric was still alive to witness this.'

Harry glanced at Salazar and caught a tender gaze he had never seen before toward the curled-up snake. When the old wizard raised his eyes back on the boy, all trace of tenderness had disappeared.

'Let's make good use of your presence here, shall we?'

Harry passed through the Fat Lady portrait leading to his common room with a heavy heart. Fortunately, he hadn't made a complete fool of himself in front of Slytherin but leaving the Chamber had reminded him of the recent events. He saw Ron, Hermione, Fred, and Georges gathered in front of the fire. His other teammates had gone to bed and some other students were studying or talking discreetly.

'Harry where were you?' Exclaimed Hermione. 'What happened to your hand!?'

'Oh it's nothing,' dismissed Harry. 'I needed some fresh air.'

Hermione nodded. Obviously, she knew what had happened in McGonagall's office. He joined the miserable little group. They remained silent for a bit. There was nothing to say.

When they went to bed, Harry sat to watch the snow fall outside. They had won against Slytherin and tonight should have been a party. Instead, the atmosphere was worst than if they had lost it.

However, there was a silver lining. He had managed tonight to manipulate two objects at the same time on first try. And we weren't talking about pebbles here. On one side he had been forming giant figures with the water inside the fountain while making a huge rock meander around the snake statues. He had taken extra care as he didn't want to break another one. All this progress in three months of practice. Maybe he wasn't such a bad wizard after all?

And there was the basilisk. Harry had chatted a bit with the creature before leaving. Fortunately, he wasn't resentful. He understood the cruel rule of:"Kill or get killed" and family wasn't as important for him as it was for humans. Apparently, he had been born a few days after Harry's fight in the Chamber. Salazar had taken care of him and had taught him how to feed. In return, the snake had travelled through Hogwarts pipes regularly to gather information about what was happening inside the castle. Harry had found that very interesting.