Monster's Identity: Basilisk

After hearing Aaron's clue, Hagrid, though surprised, shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Are you kidding me?"

No one in all of Hogwarts knows more about Fantastic Beasts than you.

"That's true, but..." Hagrid hesitated for a moment, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "That's only relative."

I am very familiar with the Fantastic Beasts of the Forbidden Forest, but the Magic World is vast, and the types of magical creatures are countless, far beyond what a single Forbidden Forest can contain.

To give a simple example, the Forbidden Forest has no Dragon, no Thunderbird, no Phoenix, and no Qilin.

I've been a forest ranger for nearly fifty years, so my perspective is only slightly broader than this forest itself, but even so, I consider myself an expert in the field of Magizoology.

Aaron looked thoughtful, then sighed regretfully, "I thought I could get something from you!"

"Hagrid, you were a victim fifty years ago. I need you to tell me any clues you know."

Don't try to fool me; you definitely know something.

Hagrid's eyes flickered, his face showing some panic, and he chuckled awkwardly, "I might really not know anything."

Seeing his reaction, Aaron immediately knew the answer.

He stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and looked directly into Hagrid's eyes. "Hagrid, in my heart you are the most honest and kindest Warlock."

You must have your own reasons for not telling me, but the Secret Chamber has been reopened.

Last time, a student died; no one knows how many will die this time, and the consequences are very serious.

However, we could have prevented all of this before the tragedy occurred, or at the very least minimized the damage.

So, for the sake of Hogwarts, I believe you know what to do.

Hagrid swallowed hard and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Actually, I don't know much either."

A smile spread across Aaron's face as he calmly picked up the teacup on the table. "It's alright, just tell me how much you have."

"The monster in the Secret Chamber is definitely the spider's natural enemy, not just a possibility," Hagrid stammered. "That's what Aragog told me."

It's a Acromantula I keep, the kind that's fifty years old.

Aaron sprayed a mouthful of tea onto Hagrid's face, leaving a large amount of water stains on his thick beard.

"What did you say?" Aaron stood up in astonishment, speechless as he looked at Hagrid was bowing his head and remaining silent like a child who had done something wrong.

He used to keep Three-headed Dog, which was understandable, since he needed it to guard the Trapdoor, and it was always chained up.

Keeping Dragon was harmless enough, at least it was sent away by Dumbledore before Norbert grew up.

But this time it's Acromantula! A vicious and carnivorous animal with extremely potent venom, a fifty-year-old Acromantula would probably be as big as a small mountain.

"Don't tell me this Acromantula is at Hogwarts."

"They're kept in the Forbidden Forest!" Hagrid said weakly. "But don't worry, Aragog is very obedient to me and hasn't harmed any humans all these years."

And Dumbledore knows of its existence, so I think... things aren't that serious.

Upon hearing this, Aaron slowly sat back down.

Dumbledore, the headmaster, is quite reliable; the fact that he knows this means that Aragog is not that dangerous.

"Okay! I can reluctantly believe you."

Didn't Aragog tell you anything else?

"No, I've asked it many times, but it's too scared to say the name of that thing," Hagrid said. "Every time, I can feel that it's terrified."

"At least we've confirmed one lead," Aaron murmured, not particularly disappointed. "What else do you know?"

Hagrid shook his head. "That's all."

"Think carefully, and don't miss any details, as these may be the key to solving the case."

Hagrid frowned upon hearing this, and sat quietly in place recalling events from fifty years ago. "By the way, the student who was killed back then was from Ravenclaw, I think her name was Moaning Myrtle. She died in the washroom."

Upon hearing this, Aaron's lips twitched violently.

He was somewhat impressed with his own luck, having found both the victim and the fake heir from fifty years ago.

"Is there anything else?"

Hagrid paused slightly. "That's all. There really isn't any more."

"Alright!" Aaron chuckled softly. "Although the clues you provided aren't very helpful right now, thank you anyway, Hagrid."

There's one more thing; please keep my contact with you a secret as much as possible.

"But Dumbledore?"

Do you think our headmaster, the wise and insightful Dumbledore, would Albus have thought of what I was about to say?

But he couldn't say anything until he found the Secret Chamber, lest he cause panic.

Hagrid suddenly realized, "Yes, he must know, he must know."

After leaving Hagrid's hut, Aaron went straight to the library.

There must be records of that monster here, but finding its information in the dense sea of books is definitely not easy.

"Madam Pince, could you find me a book about Fantastic Beasts?"

Which one do you want?

"Could you be more specific? At least give me a title," Madam Pince said. "If there's no title, we can't do it. The library has at least dozens of books like that."

Aaron clicked his tongue in surprise upon hearing this, "Whatever! Let me see the ten first."

"Ten?"

"At twenty, I also have a talent you know, a photographic memory."

If you don't mind the extra work, thirty pages is no problem either. In short, the more detailed the better; I don't want to miss any Fantastic Beasts.

"You may have to wait a little longer for me." Madam Pince raised an eyebrow, then drew her Wand and walked toward the bookshelf not far away.

A dozen minutes later, Madam Pince walked out from around a corner, a pile of books floating behind her, one by one spread across a row of empty tables.

Aaron stared dumbfounded at the wall of books piled on the table.

What's going on here, say tens of kilos? This is followed by a zero!

"You've got all of this here, but the quantity is a little more than I expected."

After all, as you know, not every book is dedicated to introducing magical creatures. Some books may only mention them vaguely, or even gloss over them as myths and legends.

It's only because of you; I wouldn't have taken out this much for anyone else.

"By the way, there are some records in the Restricted Section, but even if I wanted to lend you those books, I don't have the permission."

"Thank you, Madam Pince, for your trouble." Aaron forced a smile, casually broke off a few pieces of his book, and walked towards a desk, his back view particularly forlorn.

Even with a photographic memory, searching for answers in hundreds, or even more, of books is purely a matter of physical labor.

But after he started investigating, he found that things were much simpler than he had thought. He had assumed it would take a month or two to find the answer, but the book's description was very simple, and with the table of contents, he could find the section on Fantastic Beasts at a glance.

In just one afternoon, he completely dismantled the wall of books.

I thought I would have to read them one by one, but the process turned out to be as simple as looking up words in a dictionary.

To avoid missing anything, he skimmed through each book, and after comparing them from various sources, he finally determined the answer by looking at the most worn-out book.

Basilisk.

A snake-like magical creature that can live for hundreds of years. It has a varied diet and eats everything, but spiders are its favorite food.

It has deadly fangs, and its gaze can be fatal; anyone who is stared at by its eyes will die instantly.

Upon reading this, Aaron frowned. His second task was to kill the monster in the Secret Chamber, which meant he would have to confront the Basilisk sooner or later.

The danger of the Basilisk is self-evident; it can kill with a single glance. The magic is terrifying, but somewhat exaggerated.

At least against truly powerful Warlock, its lethality is somewhat reduced; otherwise, Salazar Slytherin wouldn't have kept it.

If you're not careful, you might end up killing yourself.

Shrewd, self-preserving, and profit-driven, Slytherin would never leave a time bomb by their side.

Even so, the gaze of the Basilisk was not something a mere Magus like him could look directly at.

"Why don't we try a mirror?" Aaron thought to himself. Legend has it that Perseus killed Medusa by reflecting light from a bronze mirror.

But then he suddenly remembered Mrs. Norris being stoned, and immediately put away this suicidal idea.

Mrs. Norris did not die; she was stoned.

This indicates that it did not look directly into the eyes of the Basilisk. Considering the water stains at the crime scene, it may have seen the Basilisk's eyes indirectly through its reflection, which is why it was lucky enough to escape with its life.

Looking directly into its eyes means certain death, and even indirectly seeing its eyes will get you stoned. This is just too difficult!

Aaron closed the book, looked out the window at the setting sun, and let out a long sigh.

He would need to think carefully before he could kill the Basilisk on his own, but it would also take a long time to consider whether he should call on Dumbledore or a few professors.

After all, he had not yet found the Secret Chamber, and the situation was that the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light.

Moreover, as the heir to Slytherin is also Hogwarts, he is definitely not someone to be trifled with. Before his identity is confirmed, everything must be done discreetly, otherwise he might be mistaken for an early bird.

"Have you found what you're looking for?" Madam Pince asked. "I guess so."

"Yes, Madam Pince, I feel like my brain is overwhelmed right now," Aaron said. "Could you please register me? I haven't finished reading this book yet."

It might contain knowledge I need, so I'll need to borrow it for a while.

"Sure," Madam Pince smiled. "I'll lend you a month, enough for you to memorize the whole book."

"Isn't this going on for too long?"

Madam Pince shook her head. "You take good care of books, and I trust you won't let them get damaged."

"Of course, I promise."