Backlash

"Salazar Slytherin himself?" Hermione murmured, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "You mean... Parseltongue?"

Harry's expression immediately turned awkward, and he muttered quietly, "But... Parseltongue is an evil language..."

"Evil?" Lin Du raised an eyebrow slightly. "If speaking Parseltongue automatically makes someone evil, then by that logic, shouldn't you have been the first person suspected of attacking Mrs. Norris, Mr. Potter?"

"I didn't do it!" Harry shot back, lifting his head sharply, his face full of grievance.

"Of course I know you didn't." Lin Du's tone was calm. "What I mean is, language itself is neither good nor evil. What matters is the person who uses it. Headmaster Dumbledore is fluent in Mermish and can even understand Parseltongue—does that make him evil too?"

Harry was stunned by those words. He had never considered it that way before.

"Parseltongue is merely a gift, Mr. Potter, just as some people are naturally talented at Transfiguration while others excel at Quidditch."

Lin Du continued, "You shouldn't feel ashamed or troubled because of it."

Ron nodded thoughtfully. "When you put it that way, it really doesn't seem like such a big deal..."

Hermione agreed as well. "Professor Lin is right, Harry. You can't deny your own ability just because Voldemort could speak Parseltongue too."

The atmosphere in the office visibly relaxed. Harry's tense shoulders finally loosened, and even a faint, relieved smile appeared on his face.

"Actually," Lin Du said, looking at Harry with curiosity in his eyes, "I've always been interested in Parseltongue. If you don't mind, perhaps you could teach me a few phrases? I've always wanted to know how snakes communicate."

Harry looked at Lin Du in surprise. This was the first time a wizard had shown interest in this "quirk" of his rather than fear or disgust.

"I... I can try," he said somewhat bashfully. "But I'm not really sure how to teach it..."

"That's all right," Lin Du said with a smile. "We can start with something simple."

"Goodbye, Professor! Thank you!" Hermione's voice gradually faded behind the closing door.

Silence returned to the office.

The gentle smile on Lin Du's face vanished instantly. He rubbed his brow and let out a long breath.

"Hiss..." Somewhat unwillingly, he tried again to pronounce the simple greeting syllable Harry had taught him. Yet what came from his throat was still a dry, strange hiss, utterly different from Harry's smooth, flowing sibilance.

Even that red-haired kid Ron had learned it better than he had.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in the language of those crawling things?" Chao Feng lightly leaped down from the top of the bookshelf, landing on the desk and tilting his head at Lin Du.

"Come to think of it, I've recently started feeling that you're becoming more and more like someone."

Lin Du raised an eyebrow. "Dumbledore? It seems my wisdom and grasp of the bigger picture have indeed improved."

"Pfft—" Chao Feng gave a thoroughly unceremonious snort. "I mean that benevolent expression on your face just now as you watched those three little trolls leave. You looked exactly like a younger Dumbledore! What, have you really started thinking of yourself as a gardener nurturing The Chosen One's healthy growth?"

Lin Du choked on his words for a moment, then glared at Chao Feng irritably. "What nonsense. I'm merely doing what a professor ought to do."

"And what a professor ought to do includes learning Parseltongue?"

Chao Feng flicked his tail and returned to the point. "You still haven't answered my question. Why are you suddenly so obsessed with this? Haven't you already discussed it with that old fox and decided to let Potter deal with the Basilisk? Why go to all this trouble yourself?"

The last trace of ease vanished from Lin Du's face. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze turning grave.

"We've been too careless, Chao Feng." His voice lowered.

"Careless?"

"We violated the Moonlight Vow with Selene."

Lin Du raised his eyes, his sharp gaze fixing on his contract partner. "We destroyed Riddle's Diary."

Chao Feng did not seem concerned. "We did it right under Dumbledore's nose—we were forced to! Besides, that thing was a Horcrux, an evil creation of Dark Magic. Wasn't destroying it only right and proper?"

"Contract magic doesn't care about such 'extenuating circumstances.'" Lin Du gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"It only looks at the result. We took part in destroying the Horcrux, learned the secret, yet failed to inform her immediately... That already brushed the edge of violating the contract. The calm of recent days has merely been the backlash gathering strength."

As he spoke, he reached up and brushed aside several strands of black hair from his forehead.

Chao Feng's lazy posture instantly stiffened. It darted closer, its golden pupils abruptly contracting. "Your hair!"

The lock of hair between Lin Du's fingers had already been corroded at the roots near his scalp by a glaring, ominous silver-white hue.

The silver was quietly creeping upward, its cold sheen as though it had been oversoaked in moonlight, as if some invisible force were silently draining away his vitality.

"Th-this... when did it start? Can't you suppress it with a spell?" Rare panic entered Chao Feng's voice.

"I noticed it this morning. This is already the result after I suppressed it with all my Magic Power." Lin Du lowered his hand, his expression solemn.

"At this rate, within a month, a head of silver hair will be the lightest price. In a worse case, my body may be eroded by the contract's mark and gradually fail."

Chao Feng paced anxiously back and forth across the desk. "Damn Veela! Damn contract! Is there really no way to break it?"

"There is." Lin Du looked out the window, as though his gaze could pass through the walls and see deep into that castle concealing secrets a thousand years old.

"This kind of contract magic, born from ancient bloodlines, is extremely difficult to break through outside force. But it isn't entirely impossible. The simplest and most brutal method is to use another equally powerful magical force that acts on the source of life itself, forcibly striking it to disrupt or even overwrite the original contract magic."

Chao Feng stopped pacing, seeming to understand. "You mean..."

Lin Du turned back, a cold and resolute glint flashing in his eyes.

"The Basilisk's gaze contains precisely this sort of deadly cursed power born from an ancient magical creature. Its petrifying effect is, in essence, an extremely powerful application of Dark Magic."

"You want to seek out that Basilisk yourself?" Chao Feng nearly jumped up. "Have you lost your mind?! That thing kills people!"

"On the contrary, this is the safest plan." Lin Du analyzed calmly.

"Looking directly at a Basilisk kills you, but seeing it indirectly only petrifies you. Mandrake Revival Potion can cure petrification. By then, there's a good chance the contract's restraints will be 'petrified' and 'cleansed' along with them by the Basilisk's power."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of self-mockery. "It seems the Basilisk's list of victims will have to include one more Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

The office fell into silence, broken only by the occasional crackle of the fire.

At last, Chao Feng sighed and resignedly lay back down on the desk.

"All right, all right... you madman. What's the plan?"

Lin Du narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingertips once again tapping unconsciously against the desk.

"The plan is... to let the 'accident' happen right on schedule."