The House of Gaunt
Harry hurried to his dorm to grab the warmest cloak he had and discreetly slipped out Gryffindor's common room. The castle was calm tonight and he had no trouble triggering the hidden entrance to the passageway. He felt a jolt go through his body. It wasn't the first time he was breaking multiple rules at once, but this once felt different. He was taking his Fate into his own hands and that was exhilarating.
As soon as the mirror closed behind him, he felt something crawling around his ankles. His basilisk had made it. He lowered his hand and rubbed briefly the snake's head who hissed in satisfaction. He took a deep breath and started to walk silently. Once he felt he was far enough from the castle, he motioned his wand and produced a thin ball of light which stuck at the tip of it. He had never taken this passage and didn't know where exactly it would lead in Hogsmeade Village.
They had walked and crawled for a good thirty minutes when the way ended abruptly. At first he thought they had maybe missed a turn or something.
'Revelio,' he muttered.
He felt a pulse of magic coming from above his head and pointed his wand in this direction. Hidden by vegetation, a trap door was standing right on the ceiling.
They emerged in what seemed to be an old shed filled with gardening tools. Harry opened the door slightly and relaxed. The shed was at the far end of one of the fields bordering Hogsmeade Village. They were at the bottom of a hill but still in an overlooking position compared to the village. The air was cold, almost biting, and Harry tightened his cloak around his shoulders. He walked a bit outside of the shed. His steps were producing a reassuring crunching noise in the snow. The basilisk observed his master, and once he was sure the white texture on the ground wasn't dangerous, he slid apprehensively away from the reassuring darkness of the shed to follow Harry.
They hid behind it and Harry turned toward the basilisk. What should he do?
The lion he had managed to get in the Chamber was so tiny only a small child would have been able to sit on it. Harry needed a creature strong enough to carry him and also he needed it to be able to fly. He didn't have many options, but among them one was standing way above the others.
'Thestrals,' he murmured.
'What?' Hissed the snake.
'I am going to turn you into a Thestral.'
The snake was wary and Harry had to explain to him what kind of creature Thestrals were. He could have tried to go for a Hippogriff but the fact that the strange horses had this reptilian aspect, convinced him the transformation would be made easier. He raised his wand picturing in his head the process of turning the giant snake into a fleshless black winged horse and took a deep inspiration. He lowered his wand.
The basilisk stood motionless in the snow for a few seconds, and then, slowly, legs started to grow from his body. His head stretched out to a more dragonish elongated face and to finish, two black leathery wings emerged from each side of the newly formed beast. Apart from the tail that was still very reptilian, the transformation was complete and successful. The basilisk turned his head around and produced a sound halfway through a whinny and a hiss. He seemed happy with the result. As Harry approached him to mount on his back, he noticed that the eyes of the creature were not the white pupil-less ones of the Thestrals. The basilisk had kept his own. It made him look more sinister.
The horse crouched slowly, then rocketed so fast and so steeply Harry almost slid backwards over its bony rump.
'I am sorry,' hissed the horse. It was very weird to hear a horse produce such a sound but Harry congratulated himself on the idea of giving the basilisk a body which features were good enough for Parseltongue. 'This is all new for me!'
'It's ok,' replied Harry while patting his neck. 'You're doing great.'
They started to head south and Harry observed Hogwarts becoming smaller as they went along. His heart clenched a bit.
So, betrayal it would be.
'Who is this Dumbledore?' Asked the snake as the castle disappeared behind a cloud.
'He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts,' replied Harry machinally.
'I know about his function in the school,' hissed the basilisk back. 'I am asking what this wizard represents to you. Your loyalty to him allowed you to survive against my mother, but what we are doing tonight doesn't seem very loyal, does it?'
The basilisk was sharp and cunning. After all, he had spent the beginning of his life in the presence and guardianship of Salazar Slytherin himself. Harry sighed.
'He is a person I never thought I would deceive one day,' he started with bitterness. 'Someone I used to trust.'
'But not anymore?'
'Not so much,' replied Harry after a few seconds.
'But you would like to,' the snake was trying to understand this complicated relationship. 'You sound remorseful.'
Harry remained quiet.
'Forgive me,' said the basilisk. 'It wasn't my goal to annoy or sadden you.'
'It's ok to ask questions,' said Harry in a soothing voice. 'It's just that I haven't any answer to provide yet.'
Lights appeared in the horizon and Harry pulled his Invisibility Cloak around his body. That's when a slight detail appeared to him. He could be invisible, but his cape wasn't big enough to wrap the Thestral up with him. He buried his hands into the horse's mane a casted silently the best spell he had in mind.
'What was that?' Snorted the basilisk.
'The Disillusionment Charm,' answered Harry. 'I know it can be a bit cold but it is going to disguise you. You won't be invisible but you will look exactly like the surroundings. We are going to fly above Muggle places and I am not sure they are ready to see the skeleton of a horse fly in the sky.'
'And we don't really want to be caught by wizards or witches too,' approved the basilisk.
He still took a bit more of altitude and soon the silence enveloped them both. The night was calm and clear. Harry found that Thestrals were, in fact, surprisingly fast, because before midnight they were approaching the familiar houses of Little Whinging. They took the direction of the west and the Thestral started to fly closer to the ground. Harry had seen a picture of the village in a book but didn't have any more detail. Luck seemed to be on their side because after two hours of flying Harry recognised the church tower of Little Hangleton.
They landed in the woods around the village and Harry gave the basilisk his shape back.
He knew the House of Gaunt wasn't inside the village but in the forest. They just needed to find it.
'This way,' hissed the basilisk while heading in a precise direction.
'How do you know?' Harry was surprised by his assurance.
'This place is filled with magic,' answered the basilisk. 'And us, basilisks, are very sensitive to it.'
Harry nodded while following the snake. There were many creatures able to feel and resist magic without the ability of yielding it. The basilisk was one of the most powerful of them all. He should have thought about it.
They arrived in a glade surrounded by trees. The snake stopped and rose, observing the area with a suspicious look. He didn't need to say anything for Harry could sense it too. Something was not right and the silver jewel he was wearing on his left forearm started to warm up.
As soon as he put a foot in the glade, he felt the atmosphere become heavier. The place was protected by spells and enchantment he didn't know about and his disturbance was causing crackling noise. He moved backward and the quietness came back.
'The Horcrux is there,' Harry said while pulling his sleeve on his left forearm. He revealed the silver snake rolled around it. The bracelet gleamed in the night. 'But I can't go through.'
'Well I can,' replied the snake with a mocking hiss. 'What am I looking for?'
'An old ring. Something of the same nature as the Emerald Salazar asked to protect.'
Harry watched the basilisk slide in the glade and disappear through the grass. He sat under a tree and let the appeasing silence of the forest fill him. He had never wandered so far alone without protection. There was a time when he would have never dared that kind of recklessness but he realised he felt no fear. He couldn't say he was completely calm and confident either. He had taken some control back on his life and he enjoyed it. The decisions he was making were maybe questionable, after all there was a Dark Lord hunting him down, but those were his decisions.
Besides, he now had a basilisk at his side.
'I found it.'
Harry opened his eyes and found himself nose to nose with the snake. His eyes were sparkling with pride. Harry smiled and lowered his gaze. On the ground was lying a little silver ring mounted with a strange stone. He took it in his hand, mesmerized by the details and the depth of the stone. He couldn't recognize it but he was adamant of its magical origin. But it wasn't alive like the Emerald had been in his hand. He raised the ring and narrowed his eyes. The silver was dancing under the pale moonlight and Harry realised that the Horcrux was in fact the ring itself. The stone was just an artefact mounted on it. He considered putting the ring on, but somehow the idea disgusted him. It had been created with the use of a human life. The mere idea of the metal touching his flesh repulsed him and he quickly put it in an inside pocket.
He turned toward his snake to congratulate him and that's when he realised something.
'I never asked you if you had a name,' he said, a bit ashamed of himself.
'Well I never told it to you,' replied the snake. 'But that's because I don't have one.'
'Didn't Salazar give you any?'
'I was the only creature he could talk to, therefore I suppose he never felt the need to craft a name.'
'Would you like to have one?' Asked Harry.
'Very much so,' replied the snake. He didn't know why it was so appealing to him, but having a unique way of being recognized by its master pleased him greatly.
'I shall think of a suitable one then,' replied Harry happily. 'You deserve a worthy name.'
The basilisk hissed in approval and soon he was back in his Thestral form again. Invigorated by their little victory they flew back to Hogsmeade. Harry noted in his head that it was the first time one of his endeavours had been a true success without any casualty.