AN
Cute little Basilisk. Can't hurt a fly, that one.
October to November 1943, 6th year
On the twenty-eighth of October, Naenia's seventeenth birthday (and not Samhain), Tom took her to the Chamber of Secrets.
The entrance was located in the very same bathroom that Myrtle Warren had died in. A girls' bathroom.
"How did you find this?" Naenia asked, baffled.
Tom smiled and hissed at the sink, which sank out of sight, revealing the opening to a large pipe.
"You gave me the idea, actually," he said and offered her his hand.
Together they descended the long, long pipe. Naenia was quite glad they were both able to levitate, when she saw how dirty and slimy it was. The pipe eventually ended in a dark stone tunnel deep below the castle.
"How so?" Naenia asked, once they had landed on their feet and both summoned a light.
Tom smiled again. "Your ability to sense magic made me curious. You once told me that I have an aptitude for the Old Magics, so I wondered whether I could learn to sense magic as well."
Naenia blinked. She hadn't even been aware that Tom knew about her seventh sense.
"I figured out the meaning behind those runes that are engraved in your wand," he said.
Naenia barely managed a strangled, "How?"
Tom took her hand again and began leading her through the dark, wet corridor. "It seems your family is not the only one who still has the knowledge about those runes. Or at least the books. So I devised a method to trace specific types of magic and went looking around the castle. It was quite easy, once I knew what I was looking for."
They took a turn and then another, the tunnel going on seemingly endlessly, its floor littered with numerous skeletons of small animals. Naenia could feel the magic thrumming around her, even with the runes of both her wand and Tom's necklace activated.
"I will instruct the Basilisk to close its eyes," Tom continued and gave Naenia a dry smile. "You might actually be fine, but I don't fancy dying, myself."
Naenia hummed. "I'm not so sure about that. It would be a test of our respective Death Magics. I could, of course, just let myself die and see whether Death would grant me immortality. Or I enter a power struggle with the Basilisk – if the Basilisk wins, I die, and if I win, the Basilisk dies - which would mean breaking the rules. I don't mind dying, but being trapped in a seventeen-year-old body isn't exactly ideal."
Tom didn't answer. They had finally reached the end of the tunnel, where two entwined serpents were carved into the wall, their eyes made of emeralds. Tom hissed again and the serpents parted as the walls cracked open.
The Chamber of Secrets was quite long and dimly lit with a greenish light. There were large stone pillars adorned with carved serpents similar to the ones from the entrance wall. At the last pair of pillars, a huge statue of Salazar Slytherin himself stood against the wall.
Tom hissed at the statue and Naenia watched as Slytherin's stone mouth opened, where she could see something moving within.
"So you're a Parselmouth," Naenia said while an enormous, green serpent slowly emerged from the statue's mouth, its heavy body making a loud thud as it fell to the ground.
As Tom had promised, the Basilisk's eyes were closed.
"I have been able to talk to snakes all my life," Tom said, his eyes on the serpent, dark and hungry.
She shouldn't have been so surprised, really. Naenia had known that Tom was descended from Salazar Slytherin, a known Parselmouth, and that his monster was a Basilisk. It was only logical that Tom could talk to snakes.
She approached the huge beast cautiously. "May I touch her?"
Tom hissed something and then nodded.
Naenia extended her hand and let it rest on the Basilisk's body. The scales were smooth and dry, warm despite the wet and chilly chamber – which was unusual for snakes, whose body temperatures usually matched their surroundings. She could feel the rise and fall of its body when it breathed, the blood flowing through it with every heartbeat, the great magic filling every part from the tip of its tail to its eyes, where a lot of Death Magic was concentrated.
Living beings, especially ones as great and powerful as this one, always took Naenia's breath away.
She let her hand slide over the Basilisk's body as she walked to its head, where she let her hand rest between its still closed eyes.
Her knee hurt a bit and she absentmindedly suppressed the pain.
The beast let its tongue flicker out, probably to take in her scent and her magic.
"I think I could take her Death Magic away," Naenia said, stroking the great serpent's head. "Make her stare harmless. But I am not sure."
"That would take away its only purpose to live," Tom said, not having moved from his spot at the feet of Slytherin's statue.
It would still be a highly dangerous creature even without its deathly stare, but Naenia knew what he meant. The legends surrounding the Chamber of Secrets and its purpose weren't unfounded, after all. No one apart from Tom and Naenia knew what had been responsible for Myrtle Warren's death, precisely because of the Basilisk's Death Magic.
"That may be so," she said, "but who is to say that she can't find a new purpose?"
Tom scoffed. "A monster like this? They would kill it the moment they laid eyes on it."
Naenia didn't have to ask who 'they' were, she had a pretty good guess.
"Which is sad." She smiled and cooed at the beast. "Look at you, you darling little sweetheart. You're not an evil monster, are you? Just a misunderstood creature that was never given a chance."
Tom's laugh echoed through the mostly empty chamber.
"I would take her as a pet," Naenia said seriously, "if I could." She continued petting the great beast. "But it is not like I can communicate with snakes and I wouldn't even know how to transport her from here to the Lémure estate."
Her family would be elated, surely, to own a Basilisk for themselves – and one as old as this one, at that.
"That Basilisk has survived under the castle for nearly a thousand years," Tom said. "He will manage for a few more."
Naenia thought the Basilisk enjoyed her touch, but she wasn't sure. It didn't object nor turn away at least.
"And what will happen when we graduate and leave the school?"
She could see Tom shrug, even from the distance between them. "It will go back into hibernation, most likely."
"That's too bad. The poor thing."
Tom huffed. "Are you quite done yet? I wanted to show you the chamber, not stay here for the rest of our lives."
Naenia laughed. "Alright, alright. Call your little pet monster back, then."
She watched the Basilisk turn to the sound of Tom's hissing and how it moved its massive body back towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin to disappear into his mouth. It worked, because the serpent was so huge, but Naenia still wondered why it had to go through the mouth that was so high under the ceiling.
"I would love being able to talk to her," she mused aloud. "Or snakes in general. But Parseltongue is one of those inherited magical traits that can't be taught to others. Just like certain types of magic can only be practiced if you have an aptitude for them."
"Like Necromancy?" Tom asked, having finally left his position beneath the statue and joined her side.
He offered Naenia his arm and set off towards the exit.
"Among others. Although some of our magics can be taught to everyone, but those are mostly overlapping with either the Dark Arts or Healing Magic. The true Art of Necromancy can only be practiced by Necromancers."
Tom inclined his head. "Like?"
"Hm… Let's take Inferi, for example. Anyone can turn a corpse into an Inferius. But a Necromancer can create beings that are seemingly alive – beings that look like they are alive, that can think for themselves and sustain themselves, beings that do not wither away with time even without constant maintenance."
Naenia did not miss the way Tom listened to her every word intently and watched her with undisguised hunger in his eyes.
"Our Inferi do not end up as pathetic husks with what is left of their rotting skin and flesh clinging to the bones, who need to constantly feed on magic – be it the creator's or that of their surroundings. The process of making such a superior Inferius is more complicated and more involved with the Forbidden Arts than merely animating a corpse with Dark Magic."
Tom gave her one of his darker smiles. "In that case, it depends on the purpose the Inferi are intended for, wouldn't you say? If one only needed an army of Undead the Dark Arts would suffice."
"As a disposable army that would terrify most of the wizarding world, surely." Naenia narrowed her eyes. "Which is one of the reasons they treat us Necromancers with so much contempt. Because they think we are responsible for such atrocities."
Tom arched an eyebrow. "We both know the Ministry won't bother to distinguish between the Dark Arts and the Forbidden Arts, so why should the rest of the population?"
"Ignorant," Naenia said indignantly, "all of them."
Ꝋ
"Well," Naenia said, "I suppose I was right."
Nott took his eyes off the platform where Weatherton had Tom demonstrate the techniques he was teaching the upper years that day.
"Right about what?"
Naenia had not returned to the Slug Club – and never would if she could help it – but hadn't had any reason to stay away from the Duelling Club as well. It was a nice way to relax, sometimes.
"The way Myrtle Warren died."
Nott blinked. "Riddle told you?"
The Duelling Club also opened opportunities to talk with Nott about topics neither of them wanted Tom to overhear. Unlike the rest of the students, they had always preferred to stand at the back of the room, farther away from the platform where the instructions, demonstrations and duels were held. It gave them more privacy than the common room or the library did.
"He showed me," Naenia said. "And I admit that I was quite impressed."
Nott turned back to the front of the room, probably so Tom wouldn't see them conversing with each other instead of paying attention.
"The Chamber of Secrets?" he guessed.
"Yes, the one and only. He took me there and then called Salazar Slytherin's Monster, which turned out to be a majestic Basilisk."
Nott whistled lowly. "A Basilisk. It makes sense, I suppose – a big bad snake for the founder of the House of Snakes. And I presume Riddle is a Parselmouth?"
"Indeed. You can only access the chamber with Parseltongue and the beast listened to every word he said." She sighed. "I would have liked to talk to the Basilisk as well. She was a truly fascinating creature."
"Terrifying, you mean."
Naenia laughed lightly. "Not in the least. She was rather sweet, letting me have a look at her magic and pet her."
"You petted a Basilisk?" Nott said under his breath, incredulity evident in his voice. "The King of Serpents – a beast with some of the most venomous fangs and a gaze that can kill you instantly."
"Come now," Naenia said amused. "She was a tame and gentle beast. It's not the Basilisk's fault that she is so deadly. Her magic and mine are alike, so I guess that is why I was so drawn to her, but she was quite magnificent even apart from that."
"I can imagine it was," Nott muttered. "Magnificently murderous."
"Well, I can't say I know for certain that the Basilisk didn't have any intentions to go on a killing spree without direct orders, but I really do not think that she wants to kill people – prey, yes, but humans are not his prey."
"Aren't they?" Nott said doubtfully.
"I haven't heard of a Basilisk eating humans."
"Maybe that's because Basilisk breeding has been banned for several centuries and they were rare even before that. And who would live to tell the tale if the monster just eats everyone it comes across?"
Naenia shook her head. "Maybe I should ask Tom to take you down there so you can see for the yourself just how lovely that Basilisk is."
"Everything but that. Not that Riddle would risk exposing that little secret of his. You shouldn't have told me about this in the first place, either. It's difficult enough having to pretend not to be aware that he killed a girl. He would have my head if he knew."
"I'm sure he won't mind." Naenia paused. "It just occurred to me that I forgot to tell you something important. He knows."
She watched the colour drain from Nott's face. "He does?"
"Of course he does," Naenia said. "You are aware that he is a highly skilled Legilimens, yes? He figured it out a few weeks ago, when Avery brought up Hagrid's return to Hogwarts. He most likely knew the moment you thought about it."
Nott cursed under his breath. Then he said in a disgruntled voice, "At least I know for sure to never cross Riddle, now – or not make it worse than I already have. If the way he decimates every single one of his duelling partners wasn't already evidence enough, a deadly monster would do. And with you by his side nothing can stop him."
"What makes you think I would support his ambitions?"
Nott glanced at Naenia and away again. "You don't? I thought that was what you talked about, after your last fight seemed to have been precisely about that."
"You're right about the last one – that was part of our disagreement. But we didn't talk about it. It is better that we don't."
Understanding dawned on her friend's face. "The 'actions beyond excuse'," he quoted. "So you resolved the other issue but not the one that caused all the drama."
When Naenia didn't say anything, Nott turned to her fully. "Lémure?"
Funny, how they were still calling each other by their last names, even after all these years. Naenia only called Tom and Amelia by their given names. Not even Black, who had been using her given name for two years already, had that privilege. It just didn't feel right for some reason.
"We didn't really resolve anything," she said eventually. "I'm not even sure anymore why I forgave him in the first place."
"Maybe you didn't forgive him after all. Maybe you just accepted his flaws and your flaws and decided that they didn't have to stand in the way of your relationship."
"Why would I –" She stopped. He did have a point. "Maybe," Naenia amended, "maybe you're right."
"I always am," Nott said.
Naenia laughed. "I highly doubt that."
"Now," Weatherton called out. "Who would like to try? Mister Nott, perhaps."
"Oh, no," Nott said. "Riddle is going to kill me."
"No, he won't. As long as you keep silent about it, Tom won't care. In fact, I believe he respects that you figured it out on your own – at least a little bit." Naenia laughed mirthfully. "But if he does end up killing you, I promise to make the most your corpse."
Nott gave her a half-hearted glare and then started slowly approaching the platform, walking towards his impending doom.
AN
Snakes don't have eyelids and therefore technically can't 'close their eyes', but this is a magical beast, so… (shrugs)
I had a bit of fun with this drawing of Naenia, Tom and the Basilisk - played around a lot with some effects, but snakes are challenging:
something-rotten tumblr com/post/651776785863917568/tom-naenia-and-the-basilisk-in-the-chamber-of