Who would suspect a diary?

Regardless of the turmoil in Big Tom's heart, Manus, who seemed to be getting impatient, quickly gave him the answer he had promised.

The reason he concealed was that he turned an ordinary Diary into Horcrux.

"It's more than just a Diary... it's a repository of my student-era ambitions, and the way I plan to use it to complete the work left behind by Slytherin."

Big Tom looked at Manus:

"Since you know about the Basilisk, you should also know about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets left by Slytherin?"

"Your part about asking me questions is over; now you just need to answer them."

Manus knew nothing of the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets legend; it sounded like a story circulating within Slytherin, similar to the Ravenclaw Chamber of Chamber of Secrets riddle, known only within the house.

So he chose to ask the Slytherin students.

"The Chamber of Secrets? There is indeed such a legend."

Regulus didn't know why Manus would suddenly ask this out of the blue, but after thinking for a moment, he replied:

"It is said that Slytherin wanted Hogwarts students to maintain the purity of their bloodlines, but this was opposed by the other three Founders of Hogwarts. Therefore, before leaving Hogwarts, Slytherin left behind a Chamber of Secrets containing some kind of monster, hoping that his descendants would one day inherit his work and purge the non- Pure-blood from Hogwarts..."

It's one thing to say this in Slytherin, but to say it at a gathering organized by Manus, especially since Regulus himself has already abandoned the belief in Pure-bloodism, is truly shameful.

"Well, it's really just a legend. Some Death Eaters use this legend to prove the correctness of Pure-bloodism and that it's a legitimate legacy of Slytherin, but nobody really believes it."

Regulus added, blushing.

"Huh? Come to think of it, the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts's Curse was previously just considered a legend; nobody believed it."

Bellows suddenly remembered another proven legend, which drew everyone's attention back to the topic, which they had already decided to move on from.

"... No way? Even if it's true, that was a thousand years ago."

Severus frowned and said:

"What kind of monster could survive in the Chamber of Secrets for a thousand years? Inferi? It can't be that Slytherin turned themselves into mummies."

"That's not quite right..."

Regulus still respected Slytherin himself. He saw through the fact that the current advocacy of Pure-bloodism was just a hypocritical excuse, but Slytherin back then was genuinely fighting for the glory of Pure-blood.

Back then, he might have followed Slytherin and left Hogwarts.

"Inferi is certainly possible, but they're too weak—come to think of it, aren't there many Magical Creature that can live for a long time? Like the Sphinx or something."

Pandora seems quite interested in this:

"Furthermore, it's said that the Runespoor can live for a very long time if its three heads don't kill each other. Or perhaps it's some kind of monster that no one has ever discovered, specially bred by Slytherin..."

"It's a Basilisk."

"... Can Basilisk live for a thousand years?"

"Able."

Manus's statement killed the discussion, not only because of his certainty and credibility, but also because of the snake slough he pulled out of his bag.

A folded snakeskin, thicker than the History of Magic, with scales as wide as two palms.

"..."

No, it's still in the discussion stage. How come you've already skinned the monster in that Chamber of Secrets?

And this thing is actually carried around with you...?

Severus stared at the molted snake for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up:

"You've already killed that Basilisk?"

"Um."

"Are there any of the Basilisk's eyes, fangs... or other materials left?"

Severus's mouth was practically watering. This was an extremely rare Potions ingredient. At least the Re'em was only valuable but unavailable, while materials related to the Basilisk were practically priceless.

No one thought this material could be bought, and many even believed that there were no living Basilisk left in the world.

"Uh... it's already been used up."

"Oh, I see."

Manus, seeing Severus's instant dejection, thought for a moment and said:

"Actually, if you want materials from the Basilisk, it's not impossible..."

Basilisk, huh? If you can't buy it, can't you at least breed it?

In the past, Manus did not possess the technology to cultivate Basilisk. The cultivation of Basilisk, as Ritual Magic, requires specific Charms; otherwise, even the step of the rooster laying an egg would not be possible.

Moreover, breeding Basilisk in this way is illegal.

But Manus can now directly create a Basilisk through Alchemy, which eliminates the need for other magic and is not illegal.

The laws governing the creation of life through Alchemy are completely blank worldwide.

"It's nothing, I was just saying... The materials from the Basilisk are so powerful, I simply don't have the ability to utilize them right now."

Just by recalling the description of the Basilisk, it's not hard to imagine just how powerful the materials obtained from Basilisk would be.

While such materials, if brewed into Potions, would certainly make the Potions extremely powerful, not every Potions could utilize them effectively.

Severus admitted that he did not yet possess that ability.

Manus nodded, but he already planned to create the Basilisk, not only as a gift for Severus, but also to try using Basilisk to brew Potions.

I'm currently experiencing a bit of a creative block when it comes to Potions, Beauty Potions are still waiting for others to develop and push them forward, so I can take this opportunity to change direction.

The only problem is...

"Basilisk created directly using the Black Earth Technique probably won't possess the ability to kill. Basilisk eyes will only be able to petrify people... That's good, the Basilisk's danger has been greatly reduced."

While chatting with the others at the party, Manus in his Mental World was still listening to Big Tom's explanation.

The legend told by Big Tom is identical to that told by Regulus, without any omissions or discrepancies. At the time, he probably genuinely wanted to fulfill Slytherin's legacy, and thus created the Diary, the Horcrux, with this in mind.

"At the time, I thought the Diary's appearance was discreet enough that it could stay at Hogwarts after I graduated and leave, allowing someone to control the Basilisk and accomplish this without anyone suspecting me."

With Voldemort's abilities and the power of his Horcrux, controlling a student would be far too easy, and as Big Tom had said, the secrecy was equally crucial.

Who would doubt a blank Diary?