Heir

What happened next unfolded just as it had in the story. Harry successfully pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the hat, stabbed the Basilisk to death, and then used its fangs to destroy the diary.

One of Voldemort's Horcruxes had been destroyed, along with the soul within it.

Eli returned to that endless white space.

"Did I... die again?"

It was no wonder Eli thought that. He had stared straight into the Basilisk's eyes and shared a deadly gaze with it.

"No. You merely passed out."

An elderly voice rang out. Eli jolted in fright and saw an old man with a slightly balding head, dressed in gray robes, standing behind him.

"Don't be afraid, child."

"Who are you?" Eli found the face somewhat familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.

"You should have seen my statue and know my name."

A name suddenly sprang into Eli's mind, but the thought seemed far too absurd.

Yet the old man before him gradually overlapped with that name in his mind.

"O-Old Headmaster?"

"That's right. I am your old Headmaster, Salazar Slytherin."

The old man seemed as though he had not spoken to anyone for centuries, and he looked rather excited.

Eli felt as though he had seen a ghost. Slytherin had died over a thousand years ago—how could he possibly appear here?

Slytherin seemed to see through Eli's doubts. "In truth, I should indeed be dead. But because of a certain problem, I kept my soul behind."

"A problem? I mean... what kind of problem could..."

Eli could not imagine what kind of problem could force such a legendary wizard to preserve his soul.

Slytherin's expression turned serious. "Child, from the moment each of us is born until the moment we die, we are merely being manipulated. That is