Chapter 141: The Whistle

On the other side, hearing Hagrid's roar, Silven didn't hesitate at all—he turned and ran, reminding as he went, "Hagrid, the basilisk's gaze can kill too!"

Having said that, he also kicked Harry, who was standing there in a daze, and nimbly bolted out of the castle gates.

It was truly strange—he actually had plenty of experience dodging the pursuit of large magical beasts inside Hogwarts castle.

"What on earth is going on!" The moment the three of them ran out of the castle, Silven immediately asked, "Wasn't this supposed to be some game Dumbledore set up for you? How did it end up outside!"

"What game… what are you talking about." Harry looked at Silven completely baffled, not understanding what he meant.

"The same kind of game as last year's to protect the Philosopher's Stone." Silven said.

"Now isn't the time to talk about games, is it." Hermione said—she hadn't understood Silven's meaning either.

Just then, more sounds came from behind them.

The basilisk had already chased them out, seemingly determined to finish Silven off first. Hagrid was behind it, hugging its tail, and with one hard yank dragged the basilisk back again.

"I'm really…" Listening to the commotion behind him, Silven didn't dare look back, just kept running forward as fast as he could.

"Shouldn't we go back and help Hagrid…" someone suddenly said.

"If you don't want to die—and take Hagrid down with you—you'd better drop that stupid idea right now." Silven said bluntly.

He no longer wanted to know what was going on. The most important thing now was to deal with the basilisk… or should he say, Tom Riddle?

Forget it, whatever it was, the thing had clearly set its sights on him.

Silven could only hope Hagrid could hold the basilisk off, otherwise he was dead for sure.

Could it be that he'd been wrong, and the basilisk wasn't some trial game Dumbledore had left for Harry?

"We'd better go find the other professors for help." Hermione said as she ran, "Is there another door to the castle?"

"Of course there is, but there's no need." Silven said. "When it comes to dealing with magical beasts, Hagrid's more reliable than Professor McGonagall—especially against a basilisk."

Looking into the basilisk's eyes means death.

Hagrid inherited a giant's powerful physique and resistance to magic, and with the troll wand's enhancement effect on top of that, he'd successfully offset that curse.

But Professor McGonagall isn't a half-giant, and she doesn't have a wand that constantly refreshes the Shield Charm—if she so much as caught the basilisk's eyes, she might really die.

While they were talking, the group had already reached the door of Hagrid's wooden hut.

"We have to do something." Hermione said anxiously, raising her wand at the same time, trying to shoot red sparks into the sky.

"Stop!" Silven shouted.

The Horcrux Codex appeared just in time above Hermione's wand and swallowed her warning spell whole.

"That thing is a basilisk—if anyone looks into its eyes, they'll be killed on the spot."

"What did you say?" Hermione broke out in a cold sweat, only now remembering that Silven had said something similar back in the castle.

If what Silven said was true, then what she'd just done was incredibly stupid.

If someone happened to look outside out of curiosity, they could very well meet the basilisk's eyes directly.

"Silven, that monster really is a basilisk?"

"Mm." Silven wasn't in the mood to play question-and-answer with them right now, and gave a perfunctory nod.

He summoned the unicorn's spirit, and through its blue body watched the commotion in the distance.

He seemed to have heard his earlier warning—Hagrid was trying hard to drag the basilisk outside the castle, and judging by the direction, toward the Quidditch pitch.

Only the basilisk kept struggling; even with Hagrid dragging its tail, its head kept turning back to look this way.

It really does hold a grudge… Silven's mouth twitched.

He didn't doubt for a second that the moment the basilisk broke free of Hagrid, it would come straight for him first.

"What on earth did you do?" Silven couldn't help asking.

"I…" Harry, who had been staring at the blue unicorn, opened his mouth, not knowing where to begin.

But Silven didn't really want to hear it. He'd been watching the situation in the distance the whole time, and once he noticed Hagrid had dragged the basilisk far enough away, he immediately turned to Harry and Hermione and said, "You two head back to the castle right now. Tell the professors the basilisk is out, and have them seal every window—especially the common room ones."

"I'm on my way!" Hermione immediately turned and ran back.

"What about you?" Harry had run a couple of steps, saw Silven hadn't moved, turned his head and asked, "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No." Silven said, "I have to figure out a way to help Hagrid. He might not be able to handle the basilisk alone."

The basilisk's deadliest weapon wasn't only its gaze. It was just that Tom Riddle, out of hatred, was fixated on coming after him. If the basilisk calmed down and turned its full attention to Hagrid, the Shield Charm wouldn't hold against its venomous fangs.

Silven had to find a new ally as fast as possible.

"I'll help you." Harry didn't even think about it, turned right back around, "Hermione's enough to deliver the message."

Silven didn't refuse either—he just pushed open the hut door and walked in first. Harry was puzzled, but followed him in.

The moment they came in, he saw Silven rummaging through everything looking for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"A stone whistle." Silven said.

So Harry, also without quite knowing what was going on, started searching too.

"Aren't we supposed to be going to help Hagrid?"

"This is helping Hagrid." Silven opened a cabinet, thinking to himself that Hagrid had better not have taken the whistle with him.

"Is this what you mean?"

Harry's voice came from behind him. Silven turned around quickly, just in time to see him holding up a crude stone whistle.

"That's right, that's the one!" Silven's eyes lit up, "Blow it hard, quick!"

……

Meanwhile, at the castle.

When the basilisk had crashed into the wall earlier, the professors had already been alarmed. By the time they arrived at the entrance hall, they spotted at a glance the huge hole smashed in the wall, and the broken pipes inside.

"What on earth happened?" Professor McGonagall clutched at her chest.

"What is that." Snape suddenly noticed something glinting in the rubble. He walked closer and found it was a scale—a snake scale, no less.

It's just that the size...

Snape's face instantly went pale. "That's not possible..."

Just then, Hermione happened to come running in from outside.

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall looked at her.

"Professor..." Hermione hurriedly shouted at the top of her voice, "The monster in the Chamber of Secrets has gotten out. Silven says it's a Basilisk. We need to seal all the dormitory windows right away!"

Her words were like an Explosive Charm going off in the crowd, instantly stunning every professor into silence.

But the professors quickly came back to their senses and immediately waved their wands.

One window after another was covered over, and the castle suddenly grew even darker.

At this point, Hermione also briefly recounted how the Basilisk had smashed through the wall and been dragged out of the castle by Hagrid.

"Thank goodness Hagrid was in the castle at the time," Professor McGonagall could only feel a wave of relief. If Hagrid, that half-blood giant, had not blocked the Basilisk's gaze, those three students might well have died.

"Professor..." Hermione went on, a sob creeping into her voice, "And Ron—please, someone save him..."

"Mr. Weasley." The heart Professor McGonagall had just set down instantly leapt back up, and she asked anxiously, "Could it be that he was seen by the Basilisk?"

"He was— was taken into the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said through her tears.

"You just mentioned the Chamber of Secrets. Could it be that the Basilisk didn't escape on its own?" Professor McGonagall had to cut her off. "But the entrance to the Chamber has already been sealed."

"It was Lockhart—Lockhart and another person broke the bathroom door..." Hermione said. "They opened the Chamber of Secrets!"

(End of chapter)