The defense exam was a bit more challenging than it was past year, but it was nothing Regulus couldn't manage. Dark creatures and magical beasts were his reading material growing up, and so, he slid through those questions easily. The only hussle was the magical theory of some curses, no doubt the hardest part of the exam. As he finished answering the last question, however, he was certain that an O was well within his reach.
As was expected from him.
He put down his quill, finally looking up from his parchment. His little action, of course, drew the sharp gaze of Professor Mcgonagall for the briefest moment, before she went back to scrutiny the others, eyes like a hawk's in a hunt of a prey. She took her duty too seriously, Regulus thought. That, or she was just pissed off that she had to substitute for Professor Baddock.
He let out a quiet sigh. The exam period would officially be concluded in fifteen minutes. No more revising, no more lectures. No assignments.
It was confusing, though. Last year, he had looked forward to going home and spending the summer without any care in the world.
He supposed he knew better now.
Home did not equal relaxation. Those relentless morning fights were enough to prove it. Regulus could admit that Mother was a difficult person to talk to, but really, Sirius did not make the situation any better, constantly egging her on and tip-toeing over the lines.
Sirius would be fifteen this November, but Regulus knew better than to expect a degree of maturity and tact from him. This school year was bearable, in a way that they managed to put their differences aside and talk occasionally, but he knew it wouldn't last. Being home with mother would pull all the triggers in Sirius. He just knew it.
Regulus supposed he had put aside any thoughts about home as he busied himself with the lessons and quidditch. Now that he was only a couple of days from going home, however, he found himself regretting not devising a plan to make his summer more bearable than last year.
Maybe he could persuade Mother to let Sirius visit his friends during the summer break?
He scrunched his face at that idea. What a dreadful idea, really. Regulus hated the stifling silence of his home almost as much as he hated the loud fights. And Sirius would definitely forget about him once he was in the company of his boorish friends, he scowled.
No. Sending Sirius away was not the answer.
So what to do?
Regulus thought for a long time on the matter, the tick of the clock eating away the seconds left unheard. Memories of his yule break resurfaced on the front of his mind, and he finally found a solution.
And what a simple solution that was. He wondered how it took him so long to think about it.
"Fifteen minutes remaining," Professor McGonagall suddenly announced, much to the panic of the Ravenclaw on his right. "Those who have finished with their exam may hand their parchment to me and leave the exam hall."
As some students scrambled to finish their exam, Regulus checked his parchment once more before deciding to hand it. He noticed that Rab had already stood and headed to the front of the exam hall, and he told himself not to rush it. Re-checking his answers was important.
He nodded in assurement after he finished rechecking it.
Leaving the exam hall, he found Rab waiting just outside the door, face locked in a frown.
That didn't bode well. "Is something wrong?"
Rab finally noticed his presence, turning himself squarely at him. His face was still in a frown. "How far have you read Abbraham's Guide to The Mind Art?"
He returned his frown. What an oddly specific question. "I've finished it, of course."
"So you've read the cautions on Occlumency?"
"I wouldn't say I've finished it if I haven't read everything, so yes, I've read the cautions," Regulus couldn't help but snapped. "Would you tell me what is wrong already?"
Rab, being Rab, fortunately wasn't offended by his tone, his eyes instead glancing briefly at another student who walked past by. His eyes then shifted to him, giving him a look, and soon he started to walk towards the grand stairs.
Regulus followed him quietly.
It must be serious if it required discretion, Regulus thought as they headed to the dungeon, his muscle tightening in tension. Just before the turn to their dorm, however, Rab pulled him to an alcove.
Thank Merlin. Regulus couldn't stand another second with his nerves worked up like that. "What is it?"
"Dissociation with reality," Rab stated for a start. "That is one of the cautions in occlumency, especially when one is delving too deep into their memory."
Regulus nodded impatiently. "Yes, and? Why do you bring up occlumency all of the sudden?"
"Barty said Crouch had learned Occlumency, right?"
Regulus's eyebrow shot up. "Crouch? Why do you -" Rab glared and Regulus back tracked, "I mean, yes, Barty mentioned that a couple of times."
Rabastan frowned deeper, but he didn't elaborate any further. Instead, he looked as if deep in thought. Regulus was dying for him to continue, but he knew Rab was just measuring something. Regulus could wait. He could be patient.
His hands clenched a little tighter.
"Just before," Rab finally said, much to his relief, "I handed my exam parchment right behind Crouch. I tried talking to her when we exited the room, but it was very odd. It was like she couldn't hear me. She didn't look focused either, her eyes seemed to be looking at something distant. And," he paused, considering his words, "she was speaking gibberish. Quietly, like a whisper."
Regulus stood straighter, eyes sharpened, "was she cursed?"
"No, I don't believe so," Rab replied quickly, "you know I could identify dark curses. It wasn't a curse. And it wasn't a confundus charm, either. She wasn't confused, she knew where to go and didn't falter for a second."
"You think she is dissociating," Regulus concluded, to which Rab nodded. Regulus scowled. "Then why aren't you following her? It could be dangerous. She could hurt-"
Regulus froze, his body rigid as a thought entered his mind. Could it be - No. She said no one was after her.
But. Wasn't she dissociating also when he found her bloodied?
"Calm down," soothed Rabastan, sensing his panic, "she couldn't have been hurt. She was fine before the exam, remember? And she couldn't have been hurt during the exam, could she? Exam might be harsh on the mind, but the body would be fine."
That was true, at least. Regulus evened his breath, considering everything Rab said to him.
It didn't make sense.
"So why do you think she's dissociating? And why all the secrecy? I had thought something grave had happened."
Rab looked away, hesitation clear in his expression.
Regulus narrowed his eyes.
"Well - I knew you would go ballistic if something happened to Crouch. So I made a precaution. Remember the charmed pin Bellatrix gifted me?"
Regulus jolted. "You put a tracker on her?"
"It was the only thing that crossed my mind," Rab defended. "And it's not a tracker. It's an artifact that enables me to know my location anytime, enhancing my sense of space.
"It was tied to you, so yes it's basically a tracker now that you put it on someone else!"
Rab made a waving gesture, as if dismissing his reply, "well - I'm glad you know the implication of the artifact's function. In any case - putting the artifact on Crouch isn't my main concern."
It should be, Regulus fumingly thought in his mind. Rab couldn't just put a tracker on Crouch without his permission.
And her. Her permission, of course.
Regulus blinked slowly, disoriented by his own rage. He shook his head, "so again, what's wrong? Why the urgency?"
Rab nodded. "You know that the artifact worked perfectly. We tested it before. It worked perfectly on her, too. I could sense she was on the second floor, particularly on the right wing of the castle. At least that was where she was, at first."
"And?"
Rab met his eyes, his expression gravely serious.
"It worked perfectly on her, but only at first. At one point, suddenly I couldn't sense her, as if something was masking her presence, overriding the artifact. If she were to discard the pin, then I still would have managed to sense where the pin was. But no, she just disappeared, along with the pin."
Regulus took all Rabastan's words in, mind deep in thought.
He really wanted to say that the artifact might be faulty, but he knew it wasn't true. Then the only way for her to disappear was -
"She must be in somewhere hidden," Regulus concluded. "Somewhere that is protected by no ordinary wards to hide its location."
Rab nodded. "Agreed. It's just, I didn't know that Hogwarts has something like that."
"Well, it's an old castle."
"True," Rab conceded. "Maybe we could investigate the second floor's right wing? There could be some kind of hidden entrance door."
Regulus blinked, before eyeing his closest friend carefully. Usually, it was Regulus who pushed to follow Crouch and investigate all her mystery. Looking at Rab now, however…
"You're still worried," he stated his observation.
Rabastan shrugged. "You didn't see her. She was unresponsive."
Ah… right. Regulus almost forgot about that part. Rabastan had been talking in circles, and all the nerves made Regulus unfocused. Regulus supposed he should be glad that they were on the same page right now.
He nodded. "Then we'll investigate."
.
"Have you seen your sister?" The figure of Macdougal suddenly appeared on his right, causing Barty to pause mid-chew. He sat straighter on his cloud as he finished his cookie.
"You realize we're not attached to the hip?"
"That's odd," she quipped back. "With how you follow her around, one would have thought that was the case."
That gained her a scowl. "What do you want?"
The girl waved a thick scroll in front of him, "I want to return the notes she lent me, but no one seemed to have seen her."
Barty frowned.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Madeline for the whole day either. Barty had been in the common room since the exam was over and Orpington, he knew, was already back in their dorm, though he didn't see Madeline enter the common room with her. He doubted that Madeline would go to the library after all the exams were over. "Have you asked Regulus Black?"
"I haven't seen him either."
"Then isn't it obvious?" Evan butted in, sliding onto his bouncy cloud. "Either Reg is making his move or she's off to somewhere mysterious again. Right, Barty?"
Barty paused. It could be just either of those things, but something made him think twice. There was just… something that bothered him. He knew this feeling. It was his stupid Madeline radar.
Something told him that his sister was in a big, big trouble.
A conversation taking place just before the exams started flashed in his mind and he turned to Evan squarely, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you think something 'daunting' means?"
"Have you met my father, you wouldn't be asking that question any longer."
"Evan, be serious."
The other boy snorted. "That's easy," he said, before turning to all their other yearmates around them. "Look at me! I'm Gryffindor and dumb! A disgrace to all purebloods!"
They all snickered at his words. Evan, feeling encouraged by the laughter he gained, continued with his rather apt impression of Sirius Black. He even called Macdougal a chick in his attempt to pull an accurate act, making the girl look affronted. Barty would have joined in their laughter if he didn't have the thought of Madeline hanging on his mind.
Well, that, and the fastly approaching figures of two upper years.
"Evan."
Regulus' voice froze all the laughter, their smile dropping as they tried to cough and looked around, avoiding his cold gaze that was locked on one boy.
Evan, meanwhile, sheepishly turned around, his hands suddenly hiding behind his back. Facing the unimpressed older boy, he tried putting on a cheeky smile.
"Oh, hey, Reg."
A pause.
"Cease mocking him."
"Yep," he nodded vigorously, "As you say."
The seconds stretched.
Barty watched impressed as Rab's apathetic stare joined in, keeping the others in their place while Regulus stared down Evan until he looked thoroughly regretful.
He couldn't wait until he was a second year. Having underclassmen to intimidate seemed fun.
"Ah, well," Otto coughed out finally, breaking the awkward silence. "I need to pack."
"Good idea," someone chipped in, and all but four scattered in a blink of an eye, off to the direction of their dorm.
The four of them stared at each other, until Barty had enough. He turned to the two older boys, "where have you been?"
Oddly, they exchanged a look, before Regulus answered nonchalantly, "we were exploring the castle."
Evan scrunched his nose. "Don't tell me you two are turning into Barty."
Evan seemed to be ruder and louder today, Barty thought as he scowled at the other boy. And what was wrong with a bit of exploring? The castle was a work of art! Dismissing Evan's comment, he asked directly to Regulus, "Reg, what do you think something daunting means?"
The other boy's eyebrow shot up at the sudden change of topic, but he answered nonetheless with an almost shrug.
"You've met my mother."
"If she failed to give you a clue then you should meet my sister in law," added Rabastan unhelpfully. Barty couldn't help but groan.
"Spare me all your family issues. I'm worried for Madeline here."
"So it's okay if it's your family issue?" Evan retorted.
He scowled at him.
"What about your sister?" Rabastan asked, exchanging another glance with Regulus.
At least they could always be relied upon with everything regarding Madeline.
Barty then told them about the curious conversation he had with Madeline and Mother, particularly about her apparent anxiety and hesitance in this 'daunting' matter. As he didn't have any clue to begin with, they were only left to wonder.
"What could be daunting in Hogwarts?" Evan frowned. "This place screamed boredom. Just a bunch of old rooms and old people teaching stupid kids stupid magic."
Barty rolled his eyes. Evan could be really condescending sometimes. Yes most of them are stupid, but to call magic stupid - !
"Not all of its ground is boring," Rabastan countered, pulling all their attention. At their questioning looks, he hastily elaborated, "There's still the forbidden forest."
The two first years considered Rabastan's words, not noticing how Rabastan and Regulus again exchanged a glance. There was the faintest questioning look on Regulus, which Rabastan returned with the briefest shake of head.
Barty eventually nodded. A valid starting point, for sure. But still, "Why would Madeline go there?"
"It's filled with dark creatures, I heard," Rab replied with a shrug.
He considered Rabastan's words briefly, before snorting. "Yeah, I don't think they're a problem for Madeline."
The memory of his sister blasting away dark creatures in the tunnel to Hogsmeade was still fresh in his mind. It was majestic, after all. Also, her knowledge in magical creatures even exceeded Father. Why, she could even talk circles with the head of Magical Creatures Department the last time that old codger visited their manor! Combined with her defense skill, Madeline would be fine even if she faced an acromantula she insisted Hogwarts had in its ground.
"For Madeline to call something daunting…" he mused out loud, lips tilted in an almost smile, "it would have to be a dragon or something."
Evan perked up. "Is there a dragon in Hogwarts?"
If Evan were a dog, Barty thought his tail would be wagging at the mention of a dragon.
He chose the right kind of friends.
"Of course there is no dragon in Hogwarts," Regulus scoffed, making Evan stand straighter, hands folded in front of his chest in a defensive manner. "Well, how do you explain the school motto, then?"
"I think it's obvious," Regulus drawled, "Godric Gryffindor was drunk and tickled a dragon."
"And how did he tickle a dragon if it was not in hogwarts?" Rabastan joined in, his tone challenging.
"Oh!" Evan shouted, now more excitable than ever, "Maybe the dragon was migrating and took a rest near Hogwarts?"
"Migrating dragon?" Regulus scoffed, "Do you even know anything about dragons?"
"Hey, I was defending your point!"
Barty found himself joining their argument. Dragons were a fascinating subject of conversation, after all. And to be honest, it would be cool if it turned out that the founders kept a dragon hidden inside the castle to guard Hogwarts. 'Don't tickle a sleeping Dragon' certainly could be interpreted as a threat for Hogwarts' enemies.
In any case, whatever it was Madeline was facing, he was sure that she could handle it.
.
For all the blast-ended skrewts in the world, why couldn't his pet be a damned dementor or something?
Madeline ducked as the basilisk again struck her, the attack missing her only by inches. It seemed that her flock of birds that served for distraction had been stoned. There was no time to conjure another thing. As the basilisk struck again, she jumped to the side and rolled off the ground in one motion, running for her life as she clutched her wand for dear life.
Literally for her life.
Fucking Salazar.
-.-
The last day of the exam had her waiting in agony. She couldn't move from her spot until 15 minutes before the exam hour ended. It was a shame. Madeline would have liked an early start to prepare herself.
The sound of quill scratching old parchments became a strange lull at the back of her mind as she settled her nerves. Slowly, she retreated to the library of her mind, her meditation bringing her to the surrounding defense of her occlumency shield.
An infinite amount of her own solemn reflections returned her stare.
It was an idea that took a year to master, an ultimate defense she crafted to prevent the best legilimens in the world from entering her mind. Breaking in with sheer power would only do the intruder harm, but that was not the only reason why she chose this medium as her wall.
You see, mirrors, first and foremost, redirect. Even if one succeeded in destroying her mirrors, they would find none but the sharp edges of its broken shards. What they were looking for was beyond the walls. Beyond the very limit of its cold surface.
Her hand reached for one particular reflection, a figure hidden in the mirror beneath the surface she stood on, eyes flashing brown and gold. Madeline delved into her mirror as she let it suck her in, dropping her off to where she intended to be.
Towering row of shelves loomed above her, as far as her sight could see.
A few turns was all it took to find all the shelves of Hermione Granger's memory. The shelves were not as full as they were once, she was reminded again by the sight. It didn't matter. She walked directly to the memories of May 2nd, 1998.
She needed the memory of one of the event occured that day, after all.
The memory stored in her mind was not perfect. It paid little attention to details, as her selective attention during the real occurrence dulled what she could sense in the memory. Only the ever present emotions of that time were clear to her - Dread. Fear. Determination.
As she examined the memory, engraving the route that she had to take in a couple of hours to the front of her mind, Madeline avoided looking at the direction of her company. She focused her memory solely on the damp, dark route filled with the color green.
It wouldn't do well to get distracted by her curly, very much brown hair, or Ron's musky scent and his cold hands in hers.
She watched as Ron whispered something to another entrance door, noting how his mouth moved and the sound he made. She tried her best mimicking it.
Another damp route greeted her. Then, the sound of water dropping every two seconds filled her hearing. Along this was a foul smell permeating the air, unknown whether it was due to the rotten corpses she knew was lying there at the chamber or just the general scent of the chamber. The chamber, after all, was connected to all the pipes from the toilets.
She stopped.
At the end of that route, right at the center of a huge main chamber, was the enormous husk of the basilisk. Its white bones were tainted by dried blood.
Unlike her first time, Madeline did not shiver anymore as she eyed the overgrown serpent. But of course, she needed not to be afraid. This basilisk was a mere memory. A mere memory of a dead one, she might add. It was not even close to the real thing.
No, the real thing she still had to face later today. She would have to face the monstrous beast as it was still alive.
She wondered how Harry managed it. The thing was gigantic, even for the figure of her other, older self.
Its mouth could undoubtedly swallow her whole.
Madeline watched her memory self pulling off some fangs from the basilisk's remains as she considered her options. To kill this beast was a challenge by itself, but there was also the complication of having to not kill the beast right away.
You see, her plan was to collect a certain… ingredient. An ingredient that she didn't know would work if she extracted it after it was dead.
Thus, she needed to do it while it was still alive, and very much could kill her with just a look - or a bite.
Madeline let herself be kept away in her Occlumency as Professor Mcgonagall announced the 15 minutes time remaining, allowing those who have finished to hand in their parchment and leave the room. She mechanically did as instructed, leaving the exam hall without a second glance.
Her steps were unfaltering, leading herself to her destination. Her mind, on the other hand, was busy replaying the memory.
It wasn't until the second floor bathroom that she let down her shield, letting in Myrtle indignant squawk as she swam to her.
"You! Why are you here?!"
For a second, she thought Myrtle might have recognized her.
Judging by her usual enraged face, however, Madeline decided that it wasn't the case. Perhaps her ghost wasn't as connected to Hogwarts as the other ghosts in the castle? "Pardon me, am I not allowed here?"
The ghost's sneer dropped in the slightest second, a brief sign of how her polite tone had thrown the ghost off, before it went back full force.
"Nobody comes here! Everyone avoids me! Or haven't you heard?" She scowled, "This bathroom is my place. Beware of the moaning Myrtle- She might cost you an earful with her whining!"
To her horror, Myrtle started to let out the loudest, most disturbing cry. Her moaning became more pronounced between the echoing walls of the bathroom. Madeline's eyes darted to the door, afraid that someone would catch her here.
Then again - this must be a common occurrence. This place wasn't famed for the Moaning Myrtle ghost for nothing.
So she only watched the ghost in silence.
Myrtle screamed in agony after her apparent disinterest in her whining, choosing to hide in one of the stalls and letting water spill everywhere. She couldn't help but huff in exasperation.
Now with some quiet and peace, Madeline stopped by the snake patterned tap, her finger rubbing its cold surface. She tried mimicking Ron's hissing in front of it.
Then she waited.
Her shoulder eventually slumped when no secret door was opened. Not even after her second and third attempt.
She was afraid of that.
Sighing, Madeline pulled out a bowl and a shrinking potion. She had known that it would come to this, it was why she prepared for this eventuality. Her memory of Ron was just her perception of the sound, which she summed up as 'weird, brilliant, hissing thing' at that time. Hermione Granger hadn't learned the art of occlumency at that time, she didn't know how to capture each detail in her sensory input. Therefore, there was no guarantee that she perceived it to perfection, and no matter how many times she practiced it, if her source was faulty then all was for naught. Just as Madeline poured the potion into the bowl, she let the hum of her animagus self grow louder.
Her soul purred.
She felt herself growing smaller, her hands turned to a pair of front paws before she licked it instinctively. Toilet's hand basins were gross. And cold. Where is the warmth? She wanted some sunlight warmth on her belly. And a nap.
But no. A nap had to wait, Madeline berated her kitten self. The plan must be put first.
She drank the shrinking potion in the bowl, licking it clean. Her tummy felt weird, but she was sure that the poisonous effect of the potion had been countered by the alteration.
She blinked slowly, and suddenly, everything was much, much bigger than what she was used to. Her kitten self was as big as a five months old cat, which was not particularly big to begin with. But a bowl of shrinking potion could turn an average sized human to just over one foot, and the potion effect increased exponentially in the body of a small animal.
And that hole at the center of the basin became big enough to fit her.
She jumped without hesitation into it.
Her claws automatically grabbed the sides of the pipe, slowing down her fall. It would be a long way down, with her current size. The smell was awful. Her paws felt slimy.
She meowed in agony along the way.
The small pipe was over after a while, and then it was the main pipe, the pipe Ron and Hermione used as they went down to the chamber. Her mini kitten form fell right in the middle of the hole.
There was no pipe wall slowing her fall this time.
Thankfully, the sliding pipe had a few turns, and her paws managed to hold on to one side of the pipe. The turn was sharp enough for her to stop the fall, and Madeline chose to continue her journey by walking. She still had an hour before the shrinking potion lost its effect, after all.
She didn't know how much time had passed by the time she arrived at the chamber full of bones.
'One lick,' came a thought as she stared at all the bones. 'Just to have a taste. Those ones there look clean enough.'
She was not licking some bones inside the gross chamber.
Shaking her head, Madeline sauntered quickly to another side of the chamber, her paws taking a most careful route so she didn't lose her footing on the pile of bones. Her nose twitched every now and then, her clean self hating the foul, damp, rotten smell but enraptured by the fishy scent. She passed by the second entrance door without much thought, finding it useless. If she couldn't open the first entrance, then she had no hope to open the second. Her only choice was to find another pipe entrance. She remembered Harry telling her his experience in the chamber of secrets - how the basilisk chased him down through many pipes connected to the main chamber. She needed only find one of them.
Fortunately, after awhile, her hearing caught the faint sound of water, dropping every two seconds.
Her ears twitched.
Following the sound, Madeline didn't realize that her potion had lost its effect until she arrived at one swampy pipe, finding herself not completely drowned but the water reached just halfway through her feet. There were metal bars, but her kitten form could easily get past it even without the help of shrinking potion.
What greeted her in just under a minute after that was all the grandeur of the chamber of secrets. The giant statue of Salazar glared fiercely, as if challenging her.
When she had found the nesting chamber of the snake - just behind the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin- the snake had been asleep without any sign of waking up as she approached it gently. What an opportunity, she had thought. The snake was in a deep sleep!
So much for a deep sleep.
It turned out that the snake was smarter than it lets on. If her hearing was not heightened due to her animagus self, she wouldn't have noticed the change of its breathing pattern. Would have looked directly into its eyes as it opened them sneakily.
She would have been a dead piece of meat right then and there. An appetizer for its summer feast.
Now, would that still be her fate?
She ran towards the swampy pipes, hoping that the beast wouldn't be able to get past the metal bars in them. She desperately needed a break. Conjuring all kinds of things to distract and intervene the beast's attack took a toll on her reserve. That, and with all the running-
She was fucking tired.
Within a second, she transformed into a cat and passed the metal bar easily. The beast, following her faithfully, crashed onto the bars, hard and loud.
She didn't pity it.
As the snake hissed and tried repeatedly to break the metal bars, Madeline transformed back into her human form, sighing loudly. Mindful of its eyes, she avoided looking at its direction, both its real body or its reflection on the water below. The metal bar would not hold on forever, she thought.
She needed to do it fast.
First, she conjured a crow, big enough to carry something in its claw, and with one defining, essential feature.
It was a blind crow, eyes white and unseeing.
The crow cawed as she pulled out her bag from her pocket, summoning a particular potion from its unlimited content. The draught of the sleeping dead with a potency to put an entire room of humans in a death-like sleep with just a couple of drops.
"Your death won't be in vain," she said to the crow as she handed it the potion.
With one last caw, the crow took the potion container in its claws, then straight to the mouth of the basilisk who was, unfortunately for it, starting to try prying the metal bars open with its jaws, making it all easier for the crow to reach the back of its throat.
Madeline waited for a couple of minutes to let the potion work its effects. The basilisk was very much different from a human, so she needed every drop to be digested.
She let out a sigh of relief after the sound of heavy body slumped onto a wet surface, her own shoulder slumped as all tension left her body.
She still didn't dare to open her eyes. Rather, as she collected the main reason for this deadly trip, she let her hands touch and sensed its position, before clawing it out. It was only after she finished putting the pair of them in a wood jar that she opened her eyes, meeting the sight of a technically dead but alive basilisk thoroughly for the first time.
Her eyes dropped at her own tattered state and she sighed. What a long day. "I need a bath," she spoke to the still beast. "A long, thorough, and warm bath."
The basilisk's eyes better be worth it.