Both the boy and the snake froze mid-action, like a movie reel had jammed.
Even Dumbledore, watching from the sidelines, hadn't seen this coming.
What's going on?
Weren't they about to land the final, fatal blow? Why'd they just stop?
Dumbledore wasn't worried about Harry dying. With Fawkes' tears on hand, the basilisk's venom wouldn't pose any real threat. If Harry was scared, that'd be understandable—a twelve-year-old facing a monster this terrifying was already a miracle.
What threw Dumbledore off was the basilisk's behavior.
He'd taught himself tons of languages, including Parseltongue, and he could tell this basilisk was hissing about reconciliation.
The new basilisk not biting Cohen could be chalked up to family ties, but why wasn't the old Chamber basilisk following Voldemort's orders? Why'd it stop and try to make peace instead?
"He's gone… Salazar's heir is gone…" the old basilisk hissed at Harry. "I don't want to kill you—or anyone else…"
"R-Really?" Harry stammered.
His first impression of basilisks had always been pure terror and aggression, but this one actually seemed… like it wanted peace with him—
"No way!" Harry snapped, suddenly sharp. "You're tricking me!"
He whipped his head toward the other basilisk.
Cohen had just been swallowed! This one was probably covering for—
As Harry turned, he spotted the "new basilisk" rising from the water again.
It had definitely swallowed Cohen—Harry could see a bulge in its midsection.
It's going for a sneak attack!
Harry's breathing sped up. Now he had two basilisks to deal with—one in front, one behind—and just one sword.
The new basilisk opened its mouth wide from a distance. Did it think it had already won, so it was eager to gulp him down too?
Harry wasn't sure which snake to aim his sword at. He backed up slowly, tense, keeping both in his sights.
The new basilisk slithered onto shore, its mouth still gaping toward the ground. Was this some kind of hunting stance? Harry didn't know much about snakes, but this didn't seem right—it hadn't even bared its long fangs.
He found out why soon enough.
"Urp—"
The bulge in the new basilisk's belly started creeping upward as its muscles flexed.
"What—" Harry's eyes widened.
Then, out came a perfectly clean, totally unharmed Cohen.
"I'm back!" he announced.
Ron popped up at the doorway, shouting, "I'm here!"
He'd just left Hermione at the entrance—hoping someone coming down would find her. He'd wanted to get her all the way back to the bathroom, but… he had no clue how to climb that giant pipe.
So he'd banked on someone spotting them—or whatever. Either way, he'd rushed back to help Harry and Cohen. At least they could all go down fighting together.
"T-Two of them?!" Ron yelped.
He'd missed Cohen getting spat out. All he saw were two basilisks—and Cohen right under one's jaws, about to be swallowed again.
"Stay away from my friend!" Ron shouted, firing off a spell.
Problem was, his gear wasn't up to snuff. That beat-up old wand, barely holding on for ages, finally gave up the ghost. The tip exploded, and the spell shot out in every direction, splashing a rainbow of random effects. Ron had accidentally pulled off a magical marvel—casting one spell that split into dozens, each with a different flair.
Unfortunately, Harry and Cohen got caught in the crossfire.
Sisoko reacted fastest, flattening itself and shieldingCohen behind its head.
The old basilisk was next, yanking a dazed Harry with its tail and using its scales to block the scattered curses.
Only Lockhart, lying ignored on the ground, took the full brunt of the spell. He didn't budge, though—Cohen's Petrificus Totalus was top-notch.
Now both basilisks turned to Ron.
Σ(°△°|||)︴
Ron stood there, still holding his sizzling, smoking wand.
"You okay, kiddo?" Sisoko tilted its head toward Cohen, sounding concerned.
"My arm plus my wand's reach puts me right at your eye level," Cohen deadpanned.
*The latest novels are first released on 69 Book Bar!*
"What?!" Harry, freed by the old basilisk, gaped at Cohen and the new basilisk. "What'd it call you?!"
"My son!" Sisoko said proudly.
"…" Cohen had never wished so hard he could snark like the Count.
"You—it's not—" Harry gulped, then glanced at the old basilisk that had just shielded him with its tail. "And you—"
"What are you all hissing about?" Ron said, freaked out. "Can basilisks brainwash people? You guys look like you're on their side now…"
"Ron, my head hurts. I think I'm growing a brain…" Harry muttered, tossing his sword aside. "This doesn't feel real."
"That's because it's not," Cohen said, switching to English to reassure Harry and Ron. "I wasn't thrilled when I first found out either. Nobody wants a giant, hissing, death-staring snake calling them 'kiddo' all the time…"
"Wait… you guys—what's with that nickname?" Ron asked, eyeing the two basilisks, then Harry and Cohen.
"I'm serious," the old basilisk said to Harry. "I don't want to hurt you. It was just that Salazar's heir ordering me around before—I couldn't resist Parseltongue commands…"
"He's gone…" Harry glanced at the Slytherin statue. Voldemort had vanished at some point. "That's why you stopped?"
"Yeah…" the old basilisk said, satisfied.
"Are you under some basilisk mind control?" Ron asked, panicked. "Blink if they're threatening you."
"We're negotiating," Cohen said to Ron. "Grab a rock to sit on. I'll explain step by step."
"So, Cohen…" Harry turned to him.
"Gotta admit it," Cohen said. "It's… kinda related to me by blood."
"You knew?!" Harry asked, incredulous.
"Not really. I had a hunch before—after that night it climbed into my bed, I dug into every scaly magical creature I could find," Cohen said. "When it swallowed me just now but didn't even nibble, I pretty much got it. As for why I've got a basilisk relative… Harry, you sure you want to know?"
It was the first time Harry had heard Cohen ask something so serious.
"…"
Harry wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.
(End of Chapter)