Chapter 97: The Dead Basilisk

“This shouldn’t be possible?” Donald stepped forward to examine the basilisk’s corpse. “Did someone kill it first?”

“It’s strange. Logically, it should’ve been Harry who killed it.” Zhang Qiu flipped through her notebook. “He stabbed the basilisk through the throat—the divination clearly said so.”

“I’m just grateful we’re alive.” Harry stared at the basilisk’s thick, tree-trunk-sized body. “Whoever did it—I truly owe them my thanks.”

“No, Harry.” Ron said. “Didn’t you forget? You’re a Parselmouth yourself.”

“What did you say?”

“I think you’re a descendant of Slytherin too—the basilisk would obey you.” Ron pointed at the monstrous serpent’s ugly head. “Just ask it. It’ll tell you who gave it the last command.”

“Clever idea, Ron.” Donald rubbed his chin. “The real culprit might’ve come ahead to silence it—because he knew Harry could learn his identity from the basilisk’s mouth.”

“But,” Harry reached out and touched the basilisk’s closed eyelids. He found he could easily lift them—the serpent’s muscles had gone slack. “I wonder what happens if you look into the eyes of a dead basilisk?”

“Are you mad? What if its corpse still holds magic?” Ron quickly grabbed his hand.

“I recall Slytherin’s wand was made from a basilisk’s horn.” Harry said. “That suggests the basilisk’s eyes may still hold magic—even after death—or at least the petrifying power.”

“What are you two talking about?” Donald looked utterly confused.

“Don’t you know, Professor?” Ron explained. “We suspect the attacker used a Two-Way Mirror to strike. That means he didn’t use it for convenience—he used it because the basilisk was already dead before he planned the attacks.”

“We’d better get a coroner to examine the body—but even the best coroner might not be able to autopsy a basilisk.” Donald flipped onto the basilisk’s head. Harry heard Hermione gasp.

“I think the cause of death is clear. Someone drove a sword through its skull, destroying the basilisk’s brain.” He leaned down, touched the dried blood on the wound, then jumped off.

“I want to run an experiment.” Harry said. “I’ll use the chicken I brought to test whether the dead basilisk’s eyes still hold magic.”

“Good idea.” Ron and Neville immediately agreed. Donald hesitated.

“Fine, do whatever you want.” He said. “I need to take Hermione to the school infirmary first.”

Hermione’s expression still looked dazed. Donald simply picked her up and headed toward the Chamber’s exit.

“Don’t you think we should’ve informed Dumbledore at this point?” Zhang Qiu muttered disapprovingly about Donald.

“Calm down, Zhang Qiu.” Harry said wearily. “Clearly Donald has no scheme—he’s just gossiping about student couples at most.”

“But,” Neville chose his words carefully, “Zhang Qiu, I never imagined I’d meet you here.”

“Of course I’d stay by Harry’s side during something this dangerous.” Zhang Qiu shrugged calmly. “Since the night you and Malfoy dueled, when has any trouble happened without me showing up?”

“Oh—that midnight duel last year.” Neville paused. “So the divination originally said Harry would duel him?”

“Yes.” Zhang Qiu blinked. “Actually, I found this place by chance. The divination said: ‘A timid, self-loathing girl weeps repeatedly because of the Chamber—the Savior must make her smile again.’”

“So you thought of Moaning Myrtle?” At the mention of self-loathing and tears, Harry immediately pictured Myrtle.

“Exactly. You weren’t in the library today, so I came here to wait. I planned to follow you in this morning—but you left. Then, after lunch, I came back and saw Donald enter the Chamber. I followed him quietly and found him discovering Hermione unconscious underground.”

“But Hermione was fine this morning.” Neville mused.

“Right. I’ve been waiting here since nine and no one else came.” Zhang Qiu said. “In other words, the attacker brought Hermione down during the time I was at lunch.”

“But what’s the motive? Previous victims were attacked elsewhere. Why bring Hermione into the Chamber?” Harry still puzzled over this.

“Alright, now open the eyelids.” Ron held up the small mirror he’d transfigured in front of the chicken, so it could see the basilisk’s closed eyes through the reflection.

“Let’s confirm this first, then discuss the case.” Harry nodded. He struggled up onto the basilisk’s head and pulled open its eyelids.

The rooster’s eyes bulged wide—and suddenly Ron felt he was holding not a living creature, but a stone.

“Close its eyes!” Ron shouted.

Harry let go, letting the eyelids fall shut. Everyone present jumped in surprise.

“I think we can confirm it—the attacker likely used a Two-Way Mirror.” Ron set down the petrified rooster, still shaken. “He opened the Chamber and found the basilisk dead—so he used the mirror to petrify his victims instead.”

“Or rather, the attacker might not even be Slytherin’s heir.” Harry suddenly realized something. “Anyone who learned a few words of Parseltongue could enter the Chamber, kill the basilisk, then use the mirror and its corpse to launch attacks.”

“So I’ve always thought Donald was suspicious.” Zhang Qiu said. “How many people in the whole school could kill a basilisk?”

“No way—he has no reason to attack students!” Ron urgently defended his favorite professor.

“Actually, there is a motive—but it involves complex political maneuvering, likely tied to Dumbledore.” Harry patted his shoulder gently. “This is the kind of thing those who understand, understand. Those who don’t—I can’t explain in detail. Just know he acts for a greater good.”

“That feeling isn’t pleasant.” Ron grumbled.

“What we need to consider is this: if it’s not Donald—if a truly vicious killer is truly hiding in the school.” Harry said. “That’s far more terrifying.”

“Then we can wait until Donald leaves school.” Zhang Qiu sneered.

“I am considering it.” Neville said. “After all, the person impersonating me hasn’t been caught yet. That’s still an unstable factor.”

“Could it be Hermione?” Harry suddenly said. Everyone fell silent, staring at him in shock.

“The divination mentioned the Chamber’s opener is a girl I’d never suspect.” Harry said calmly. “Before today, I never once suspected her.”

“But Hermione has no motive.” Neville’s tone carried a hint of anger.

“Perhaps she was deceived—or possessed by some dark force that warped her mind.” Harry followed his new thought. “Because I’ve been wondering why the attacker brought Hermione into the Chamber—but what if she entered it herself?”

“Suppose some entity controlled Hermione’s actions—say, a dark soul. She came down today to plan the next attack—or to retrieve the mirror she used. Then, when she saw Donald coming, she had to lie low.” Harry said.

“Malfoy insists Ginny opened the Chamber because he can’t understand why Hermione was never attacked.” Harry said. “Perhaps the dark soul inside the diary escaped onto Hermione the very first day Donald examined it.”

“Your thoughts are jumping too fast. Let’s go step by step…” Ron felt he couldn’t keep up with Harry.

“Let’s head back. Confirm Hermione’s condition at the infirmary.” Zhang Qiu said, worried. “Harry, you can explain your ideas on the way.”

The path out of the Chamber was long. They had to climb slowly up a steep slope back to the school. During that time, Harry organized his thoughts—and ultimately dismissed the possibility of Hermione’s guilt.

“Sorry. I thought maybe a dark soul from the diary had possessed Hermione and carried out the attacks.” Harry said. “But now I realize that’s far too implausible.”

“Yes. If I were that dark soul—if it truly existed,” Neville said, “I’d choose Ginny. Her emotions are more unstable—easier to exploit.”

“But if there’s no dark soul—then a real, physical killer committed all these attacks.” Ron said. “But these attacks seem completely unrelated. I can’t imagine how anyone planned them—they make no sense at all!”

After rejecting the new dark soul theory, Harry inevitably returned to Dumbledore’s politics. Knowing Ron admired Donald, he said nothing more.

“Wait—what if it’s not one person, but different people behind each attack?” Zhang Qiu said. “If the last two victims were killed by the same person, maybe the cat and Colin were killed by others.”

“Great. Now there are at least seven or eight killers in the school—each crime committed by a different person.” Ron rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I don’t recommend overcomplicating things…” Harry began, then froze. If he applied the simplest theory, the attacker could only be Donald—acting as Dumbledore’s white glove, orchestrating this entire political game.

But emotionally, Harry truly couldn’t accept that conclusion—and so he kept actively searching for other possibilities.

After finding these final clues in the Chamber, Harry realized that pinning everything on one person would only trap him in a Dumbledore-conspiracy dead end.

“I think Zhang Qiu is right. We need to assume all these events are separate, then reanalyze—which ones might not have been done by the same person.”