Basilisk

When Harry moved level with the last pair of stone pillars, he finally saw the scene at the far end of the chamber—

Beneath the towering, suffocating statue of Salazar Slytherin stood a silver-haired figure.

Lin Du stood with his back to the entrance, his head slightly raised as he gazed at the statue's aged, ape-like face.

Harry instantly slipped into the shadow of a thick stone pillar, gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

This was it.

Professor Lin had his back to him, completely defenseless.

All it would take was a Binding Curse, one Professor Lin had personally taught them and stressed they should use decisively... and it might all be over.

He could stop the disaster that might happen.

He raised his wand and aimed it at that back. But Harry's arm trembled slightly.

Countless scenes flashed through his mind:

Lin Du's focused expression when he demonstrated Protego in class; the approval that flashed in his eyes when he commented on Hermione's response strategy; his steady voice when he told a panicked Neville in the corridor, "Breathe. Think through the steps"; and the sight of him on Christmas Day, his silver hair warmed by the firelight as he quietly listened to the other professors talk...

Could every tiny detail, every careful gesture, truly have been an elaborate disguise laid out for this very moment?

Could someone really pretend so flawlessly, so convincingly like a genuine teacher?

What if... what if Harry had wronged him? What if Professor Lin had come here for some other unavoidable reason?

The hesitation lasted only a few seconds, yet it felt as long as a century.

Cold sweat beaded on Harry's forehead, and the light at his wand tip wavered with the trembling of his hand.

Then Lin Du, standing before the statue, slowly raised the hand holding his wand and uttered a string of low, commanding hisses:

"Awaken."

That sound shattered the last shred of hope in Harry's heart.

It was over!

A command of awakening in Parseltongue! Professor Lin really was summoning the Basilisk!

His foolish trust and softheartedness had made him miss his only chance to stop all this!

He could almost imagine what would happen next—

The statue's enormous mouth would slowly open, revealing the bottomless black passage behind it. The slimy scrape of scales would draw nearer and nearer, and then a pair of huge, cold, deadly golden slit pupils would light up in the darkness...

Yet the scalp-crawling sound of the Basilisk emerging did not immediately follow.

Instead came a succession of short, sharp, nearly incomprehensible hissing incantations, mixed with the muffled crash of some enormous hard object smashing violently into the stone walls, followed by an inhuman shriek of unbearable pain!

That shriek belonged to the Basilisk! It was filled with fury and agony!

Harry abruptly opened his tightly shut eyes, his heart nearly leaping into his throat.

In disbelief, he cautiously poked his head out from behind the pillar.

The sight before him left him utterly stunned.

In the green-lit center of the Chamber of Secrets, the colossal creature that had burst from Slytherin's statue's mouth—

A giant snake covered in dark green scales, as thick as a centuries-old tree, was wildly twisting its mountain-like body and frantically slamming into the surrounding stone pillars and floor. Every impact made the entire Chamber of Secrets tremble, sending rubble raining down.

One of its eyes—that golden slit pupil which should have been the source of certain death—was now nothing but a mangled, charred hole, billowing foul-smelling black smoke.

And that silver-haired figure moved like a phantom around the maddened giant snake.

Lin Du moved so fast that only afterimages remained. Every swing of his wand sent forth either a sharp, tangible blade of Magic Power or a sheet of blazing flame.

The complex, tongue-twisting spells Harry had never heard before came coldly and clearly from his lips, every syllable brimming with tremendous power.

"Fiery Serpent Entanglement!" (Incarcifors Ignis!)

With Lin Du's sharp cry, several bright orange chains of flame surged from his wand tip. They nimbly avoided the Basilisk's wildly lashing tail and poisonous fangs, winding precisely around its thick neck and body. The searing heat scorched its scales with a dreadful sizzle, and the air filled with the stench of burnt flesh.

The Basilisk let out an even more miserable shriek and struggled more violently, but the flaming chains clung to it like a bone-deep curse, tightening ever further.

"So that's all you've got." Lin Du's voice carried through the smoke and shrieks. He was breathing slightly harder after the fight, but his tone remained astonishingly calm.

Harry watched the terrifying monster that had once existed only in his nightmares roll about in agony like a charred giant python beneath the assault of fire and spells. The suffocating fear inside him was instantly overwhelmed by indescribable ecstasy and excitement!

Professor Lin had won! He had defeated the Basilisk! He had not come to release it—he had come to destroy it!

Overwhelming joy and relief instantly swept away Harry's reason.

He forgot to stay hidden, forgot the danger, forgot that the enormous creature before him still possessed devastating strength even while grievously wounded.

He suddenly rushed out from behind the pillar. The slick ground made him stagger, but he paid it no mind as he ran toward Lin Du, shouting excitedly:

"Professor Lin! You did it! You beat it!"

His cheer was like a stone thrown into still water.

The instant his voice rang out, the Basilisk, which had seemed badly wounded and near death, capable only of twitching and gasping, suddenly twisted its enormous head around at an unnatural angle!

Then its massive body erupted with astonishing, terrifying strength. Its long, thick form sprang forward as it opened its huge mouth, reeking of blood, rot, and burnt flesh, and lunged at Harry like a black bolt of lightning released from a bow!

Its remaining intact slit pupil locked precisely onto Harry in the instant it struck.

Time seemed to stretch and freeze.

The joy lingering on Harry's face completely froze, turning into boundless horror.

He wanted to move, to hide behind a stone pillar, to at least close his eyes, but overwhelming terror seized his throat and froze his limbs. He could only watch helplessly as that golden slit pupil, the symbol of an instant-death curse, grew clearly larger in his vision.

I'm going to die...

The thought pierced through every one of his thoughts with the chill of an ice spike.

Just before the Basilisk's gaze fully focused and the death curse descended—

A silver figure, like lightning breaking free from the shackles of time, charged in without warning from the side and threw himself between Harry and the lunging Basilisk!

It was Lin Du!

He did not even have time to push Harry away.

At the instant the Basilisk pounced, all he could do was stomp forward, plant himself firmly in front of Harry, and slash his wand through the air:

"Protego!"

A silver shield of light unfurled instantly.

But that act also exposed his entire body to the Basilisk's charge and its deadly gaze.

The shield was his first line of defense. His body was the final barrier.

"Boom—!"

The Basilisk's head slammed viciously into the shield, and silver light exploded.

At the same time, its intact, cold golden slit pupil passed through the shattered magical light and finally completed its lock—

Directly meeting Lin Du's eyes as he stood at the very front.

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.

At the request of many readers, a VIP membership feature with no advertisements is now available.