"It seems the Basilisk of this world is not dead."
Harry frowned when he heard that Krum hadn't seen the Basilisk's corpse.
"Phoebe asked me to ask you a question," Krum said. "What is the activation phrase for that statue?"
"Let me think," Harry said, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. "Speak to me, Slytherin —the greatest of the Four Founders of Hogwarts. Wait...this is to be Serpent Tongue."
On the other side, upon hearing Krum's account, Phoebe, who had just been standing tall and confident, instantly hunched over.
(Dumbledore rubbed his temples. "This is way too complicated.")
(Even he couldn't accurately translate it into Serpent Tongue.)
Harry seemed to have anticipated Phoebe's predicament, and he continued, "That's rather difficult, Shi'ar, Agassiz, Selise, that's about it."
(Ron shook his head. "Girls' hearts are the hardest to fathom. The male version of Slytherin's activation phrase would emphasize Hogwarts, the greatest of the Four Founders. But for the female version of Slytherin, I think saying something like 'Gryffindor's most beloved person' would be more appropriate.")
As Ron had predicted, Phoebe, who could Serpent Tongue and perfectly transliterate Harry's words, faced her Waterloo in front of the Slytherin's Statue.
The statue's chin remained motionless, as if it hadn't heard anything.
Finally, Phoebe took out the Magic Treasure Book.
She began to wonder if her Serpent Tongue was not standard, but she never doubted that her initiation phrase was wrong.
As the screen lit up, Harry's head appeared.
"Harry, the statue isn't responding."
Harry looked at the statue through the encyclopedia. "How about this? I'll try it. Shi'ar Agassiz Selise."
The statue remained unresponsive.
Cedric's voice came from the encyclopedia, "Could it be that the activation key is wrong?"
With Cedric's prompting, the three of them managed to think around this issue.
They headed towards the library in the lounge.
In a corner of the library.
"What could the initiation phrase be?" Harry stroked his chin, flipping through the book. "Sarah Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a medieval witch, considered one of the greatest wizards of her time. She was a Parseltongue and was skilled in Legilimency."
"Like Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor, Sarah Slytherin also carefully selects students for her house."
("Great Hufflepuff!" a number of audience members exclaimed almost simultaneously.)
(Only Hufflepuff managed to take in all the students.)
"When selecting students, she particularly valued qualities such as resourcefulness, strong will, a certain disregard for the law, and her own ability to speak Parseltongue. She would also choose students who were shrewd, ambitious, and of pure blood. Slytherin's house is symbolized by the snake, and its representative colors are green and silver."
("This is no different from Slytherin in our world, is it? Pure-blood, stupid old fogies." Ron began to complain upon hearing this.)
"However, her most notable identity in history is that of a suitor of Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders, and a rival of Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff, also founders, for Gryffindor's love."
"Wow, that's too much."
(Many viewers were equally stunned by this statement.)
("This school will fall apart without Gryffindor.")
("No wonder Gryffindor is a male wizard, yet he was able to be the founder of a witch's school.")
("How handsome Gryffindor is!")
Ultimately, Ravenclaw won the love contest. Hufflepuff accepted defeat gracefully. Slytherin, on the other hand, became increasingly extreme afterward.
"She began to completely reject male wizards as students, and was even willing to accept Muggle-born witches for this purpose."
("It's all because of love!" Some of the more sentimental viewers already had tears in their eyes.)
However, the other founders disagreed with his views.
"So, in order to purge the school of male witches without being hindered by the other founders, she built a secret Chamber of Secrets containing monsters, waiting for her successor to open it. Then she left the school and never returned."
(Ron scoffed, "So she knew her heir was a warlock?")
("So, even though it's a witches' school, there were male students at the beginning?" Hermione remembered Roan saying that Hogwarts was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after 1945, and male witches could also enroll.)
("So when did male wizards become ineligible for school?")
Hermione's question was answered in the next second.
"After Slytherin left, the ideas of the other founders began to waver."
"Because male wizards have difficulty learning spell card magic before they reach adulthood and rely on wands, in the Middle Ages, when wizards were rejected, most wizarding families believed that it was more appropriate for them to receive home education."
"A small number of male wizards from Muggle families are also more likely to be taken in and educated by the local wizarding lords."
(Although the term "wizard lord" is quite unfamiliar to modern wizards, it is easily understood by most viewers.)
(However, some wizards who are well-versed in the A History of Magic are somewhat confused, as wizard lords did indeed exist in history.)
(But they weren't everywhere, because wizards were self-sufficient, and magic was the best guarantee in that chaotic era.)
(While ruling over Muggle might not necessarily hinder the study of magic, in that dark age it was like lighting a bonfire in the night, attracting the attention of other wizards and the church that viewed magic as evil.)
(It's alright since it's the church; after all, they're Muggle, so they only dare to arrest fake witches and burn them.)
(At most, they would use poison or assassination to exploit the fact that wizards are still mortal beings.)
(Back then, wizards hadn't yet adopted modern magic that was less destructive and faster; each one focused on maximizing their destructive power.)
(Every wizard is a walking calamity.)
(But if the wizards you attract don't like your rule, that would be terrible.)
(They only need to hide in the shadows and unleash a Meteor Shower or create a tornado while you're asleep, and you and your castle will be wiped out.)
(No matter how well you govern your territory, you'll only become a target, helping the dark wizard stockpile food.)
(Furthermore, the Ministry of Magic didn't exist at that time, and the wizarding community was very loose.)
(Therefore, the wizard lords quickly faded from history.)
(How did the wizard lords of that world grow and become the mainstream?)
(And how did it exit history and lead to the implementation of the International Statute of Secrecy?)
(Meanwhile, some ambitious individuals have realized that this might be a good option given the current trend of large-scale magic withdrawal, the adoption of short, swift modern spells, and the collectivist nature of wizarding.)
(The idea of wizards ruling Muggle might be true.)
("Wizard Lord?" Grindelwald's eyes flickered, his interest piqued. "Is this what wizards were like before the International Statute of Secrecy? Wizards ruling over Muggle and owning their own territories? It might be a good idea to start with a pilot program in one area and then gradually expand to other regions.")
("Rule Muggle? Good idea." Voldemort was equally interested.)
(After the Magic Immortal World promoted knowledge of the Muggle World, he went to learn about Muggle society, which he hadn't paid attention to since he was 11 years old.)
(The moon landing and Tsar Bomba's existence made him no longer underestimate the role of Muggle.)
(He had already considered the Muggle World as his own, and after learning how vast the universe was and how small the Earth was, he set his sights on the boundless cosmos.)
(He aspired to be the Behind-the-Scenes God who orchestrated this game.)
(Sending Horcrux to the moon via Rocket, into the vast universe; magicalizing advanced Muggle weapons so they are no longer affected by Magic Field or rendered ineffective by a spell; researching and cloning Fantastic Beasts using genetic technology.)
(But conversely, he is now beginning to despise his underlings who only know how to Carnage Muggle and disrupt social stability.)
(He was never a Pure-blood.)
(His thoughts are now beginning to shift.)
(Muggle society is fragile, made up of ordinary people. To enjoy high technology, the stability of the Muggle World is necessary.)
(He should secretly control all rulers, eliminate wars, and make scientific research the priority of the entire society.)
(The Muggle World, this more useful tool, has surpassed the importance of some of his subordinates in his heart.)
(He even began to acknowledge the existence of the International Statute of Secrecy, which would prevent foolish wizards from hindering the development of Muggle.)
("Only I can rule over Muggle, and only I can rule over them.")
Harry, neither a historian nor an ambitious man, did not notice this and continued reading, "Therefore, after Gryffindor's death, Hogwarts School of Witches no longer accepted male wizards."
He looked at the others and asked, "What do you think the activation phrase for this Slytherin would be?"
Krum guessed, "Slytherin — Gryffindor's only love?"
Cedric: "All wizards deserve to die?"
Hearing their answers, Harry closed the book. "How about we go ask Harley? We'll just say we've discovered Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets."
Cedric shook his head. "How about we wait for Phoebe? She's a girl; she might be able to guess."
The three had high hopes for her, Phoebe, who had been silent all along, suddenly brightened up.
She looked at the part of the statue below the horizon and thought of another possibility, "Tom Riddle in this world must not know the activation phrase like we do, so how did he know it?"
(Ron was a little confused. "Didn't they think to ask Riddle? I mean the one in Diggory's Magic Immortal Artifact. In this world, they can clearly communicate with Heroic Spirits.")
(Lavender looked at him with admiration, "As expected of Roro.")
(Hermione guessed. "Perhaps they don't get along?")
(As a friend of the Champion, she knew that the Champion could unilaterally refuse to communicate with the Heroic Spirits.)
(In this situation, the Heroic Spirits's words cannot reach the Champion's ears, nor can it use the Champion's physical senses to observe the outside world.)
(If the Magic Immortal Artifact is integrated into the body, and the Heroic Spirits does not leave the Champion's body in spirit form, it is equivalent to being blind and completely unaware of the outside world.)
Krum said, "Perhaps it's because he didn't know that the Basilisk has never left the space behind the statue and has survived to this day."
Phoebe ignored Krum's words. "Perhaps the activation incantation is carved below the statue's shoulder, in the water."
The pressure is now on Krum's side.
As the only one who could make his body appear ethereal, he became the best choice to go into the water.
"Hurry up, it'll be 1:30 in 40 minutes, and Transfiguration class is about to start," Harry urged.
Krum's body began to fade into nothingness, disappearing into the cold, dark lake water.
This gave him the feeling of being diving at the bottom of Black Lake.
As far as the eye could see, there was only darkness, no sunlight, and utter silence.
But it's just a sense of déjà vu.
In his ethereal state, he felt no pressure from the water, and it was no different from when he was flying in the air or walking on the Dadi.
Moreover, in his ghostly state, he couldn't even hear his own heartbeat.
The modified eyes can also easily see in the dark.
The white statue appeared to have been carved from jade.
Soon, the statue's strangely clasped and outstretched hands caught his attention.
He 'flew' towards the palm of his hand.
A string of words appeared in his field of vision and were engraved on his palm.
In a corner of the wizard library, another Krum opened his eyes, his expression strange. "I know what the activation phrase for the statue is now."
"What is it?" x3
"Godric Gryffindor," Krum said. "The activation phrase is engraved on the palm of the statue; perhaps until the very end, she longed for Gryffindor's love."
("Did Slytherin really love him that much?" Ron stared in disbelief.)
(Dumbledore looks at his palm. "I understand.")
(Many audience members expressed their gratitude with tears of emotion.)
"Godric Gryffindor (Serpent Tongue)." Harry's hissing Serpent Tongue came from the book.
Phoebe closed her eyes beforehand, and Krum remained in his ghostly state, all to avoid the Basilisk's deadly gaze.
Ghosts cannot die again; closing their eyes can physically block them.
Slytherin's enormous stone face came to life.
Its mouth opened, revealing a huge black hole, and the sound of the Basilisk slithering upwards from the depths of the statue could be heard.
"Sarah's Inheritors? Hopefully, it'll be a witch this time."
Phoebe frowned as she tried to translate.
Krum couldn't understand a word.
The hissing Serpent Tongue reached Harry's ears through the Book of Treasures, translating into English.
"Hello," Harry replied in Serpent Tongue.
He was somewhat surprised that this Basilisk could actually communicate.
(Voldemort was also somewhat surprised. The Basilisk he had taken in was a Beast driven by its animalistic instincts, capable of uttering only a few short sentences and obeying commands. It was not even as good as an ordinary snake.)
(It's obvious that they were modified by Slytherin using Dark Magic, specifically for killing; they're mindless and more likely to submit to the heir.)
(But the Basilisk of this world are very organized.)
(Could it be that its purpose in this world isn't to clean up students?)
A huge snake-like sound plunged into the water and crawled onto the stone floor.
It raised its snake head and heard the voice coming from a girl holding up a black stone slab.
As Slytherin's pet, it recognized that someone was communicating with it through magical artifacts.
"Another wizard? Who is Tom Riddle to you?"