Legend had it that if you placed an egg laid by a seven-year-old rooster under a toad to hatch beneath Sirius's watchful gaze, you would get a dangerous giant snake with extraordinary abilities—the Basilisk.
Any creature that dared to meet a Basilisk's gaze would die on the spot!
Of course,
Klein was not included.
"So pretty. The only problem is that it smells awful."
Klein frowned slightly as he held the Basilisk's head aloft with an invisible grip.
Watching the giant snake writhe in midair, he flicked his wand. A powerful stream of water appeared out of nowhere and drenched the poor "little thing" from head to tail.
"Hiss!"
The drenched Basilisk hissed frantically, its yellowish vertical pupils filled with confusion and fear.
How could a young human, not even big enough to make a proper meal, possess such power?
Since the day it was born, it had never encountered anything so bizarre!
"Mm, it smells much better now."
Klein sniffed the air carefully and nodded in satisfaction.
Cleansing Stream was a cleaning spell of his own invention. As it scrubbed the Basilisk's scales clean, it also washed away the Chamber of Secrets' lingering stench of dead rats.
After all, he was going to work with his own hands. A bad environment could put a damper on the mood~
"Be good. It won't hurt at all."
A deep purple flash shot from his wand and struck the giant snake's head. Klein's lips curved up as he placed the completely immobilized Basilisk beneath the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
One step, two steps, three steps...
He approached slowly, gazing at its jade-green scales as if admiring a work of art.
"Hiss."
The giant snake hissed weakly, attempting one last act of resistance.
Unfortunately, its paralyzed body couldn't move at all.
Overwhelming terror consumed the creature. Instinctively, it wanted to beg for mercy, to show its submission to the stronger being.
But Klein gave it no chance.
"Voom."
Silver light flashed. The tip of the Purple Sandalwood Wand was like an exceptionally sharp scalpel, slicing effortlessly through the neatly arranged dark-green scales and into the smooth, damp skin, reaching the dark-red muscles and blood vessels beneath.
"Oh, so that's how it is. Then what about here? No different from an ordinary snake... Wait, what's this? A venom gland? Doesn't look like one. Could it be..."
In the empty underground chamber, a handsome boy with a sunny smile was enthusiastically dissecting a giant snake.
Red blood and dark venom pooled across the floor, but he paid them no mind.
The scene was...
Unsettlingly strange and horrifying!
"Calming Charm." "Vitality Restoration." "Healing Light."
The dissection proceeded methodically, bit by bit.
Whenever he reached a crucial part, such as the brain or internal organs, Klein thoughtfully cast a spell on the Basilisk to keep it alive.
He figured that if the Basilisk could talk, it would surely thank him very much~
Two weeks later.
"Incredible!"
During Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall once again marveled at Klein's flawless spellwork.
Who could have imagined that the little snake, craning its head and flicking its forked tongue as it slithered across the desk, had been an ordinary piece of rope just seconds ago?
Professor McGonagall admitted that even she couldn't have done it any better than Klein.
"You taught me well."
Klein smiled modestly, his expression utterly calm.
Anyone who'd spent ages taking apart precision machinery would find putting building blocks back together a breeze.
After so many days of hands-on practice, he had even memorized the location of every blood vessel in that "Little Cutie" in the Chamber of Secrets.
He couldn't speak for anything else, but he had already mastered turning objects into snakes.
"Excellent! Ten points to Slytherin!"
No one as young as Klein had ever performed Transfiguration so brilliantly. Professor McGonagall waved her hand excitedly, adding another mark to Slytherin's score sheet.
Now, she was starting to believe that rumor...
Klein was Merlin's "illegitimate son."
Of course, "illegitimate son" was only a joke.
With the Order of Merlin spreading the word far and wide, people in the Magical World now preferred to call the eleven-year-old genius who had invented four new spells the Child of Magic.
A child adored by magic!
The Ministry of Magic made no comment, choosing to remain silent.
"He's so handsome! How can anyone be that handsome?"
After class, Pansy Parkinson watched Klein's retreating figure and sighed in admiration, resting her chin in her hands.
Whenever she saw him, he was always so talented, so charming.
"Uh, Pansy, we should go."
It was no secret among Slytherins that her friend had a crush on Klein, but watching her swoon so openly in the classroom still made Daphne Greengrass feel awkward.
There wasn't a single person in Slytherin who didn't like Klein. She liked him too...
Even several second- and third-year girls had subtly confessed their feelings to him.
But no one had ever been as blatant as Pansy~
"Listen, Daphne, we absolutely can't let our guard down."
Once Klein had left the classroom, Pansy tossed her chestnut-brown hair. Her lovestruck expression vanished, and she suddenly grew serious.
"What?"
Daphne blinked, bewildered.
"Klein is too outstanding. Of course, I'm not saying that being outstanding is a bad thing, but the more he stands out, the more girls from other houses will..."
Pansy bit her lip, her expression stern as she spoke each word carefully.
"Get this? A Hufflepuff girl has already confessed to him!"
"What!"
Daphne was startled too.
But she soon realized she'd overreacted. Lowering her voice in a hurry, she asked anxiously,
"Did Klein say yes?"
"Hmph, of course not. There's no way Klein would date someone from the 'House of Hufflepuff.'"
Pansy raised her eyebrows and smiled smugly.
As far as she was concerned, only Slytherin girls were good enough for Klein (herself, for example).
"Oh~"
Daphne let out a long breath of relief.
Then she met Pansy's gaze and suddenly grew nervous.
Oh no, she knows!
Miss Greengrass had a sinking feeling.
"Come on, don't pretend. Everyone knows you can't stop grinning in Potions class."
But to Daphne's surprise, Pansy wasn't taken aback at all. Instead, she wore an expression that said she'd "seen right through everything."
Heaven knew how jealous she was that Daphne had been paired with Klein!
Daphne had no answer. She lowered her head in silence.
"Compared to Hufflepuff, Gryffindor worries me more."
Remembering some unpleasant rumors, Pansy lost the urge to tease her friend.
Lots of people liked Klein. Daphne wasn't the only one.
But Gryffindor?
That was absolutely out of the question!
"Hermione Granger."
Pansy gritted out the name, looking as furious as a little lion.
Rumor had it that someone had seen a green-trimmed robe bearing the nameplate "Klein Will Grindelwald" in her wardrobe...
If Klein knew what these lovesick girls thought about all day, he would be utterly speechless and conclude that Western children really did mature early.
Why waste their time on romance at such a young age?
Wasn't studying hard much better?
Before you continue