Infinity Times Infinity

Everyone was looking forward to the long-awaited summer break. Everyone, free of stress and giddy for the next few months of break, were packing and saying final goodbyes before getting onto the Hogwarts Express. You already had your trunk packed and ready on your small twin bed. Solaris was still packing and reorganizing the many turtlenecks and sweaters she owned. You asked if she needed help, but she dismissed it saying that she had a particular system for organizing everything. 

Having nothing left to do, you found yourself in the library. Passing the tall and wide shelves full of all kinds of books, you checked your surroundings twice before moving a shelf in the far back of the room and disappearing behind it. Luckily for you, the library was empty except for the librarian, Mrs. Pince. 

After that night’s events, the first time you returned since then, it was a surprise that the corpse had not yet been vanished. Perhaps it was due to its enormous size that the professors were not able to remove the corpse. Or perhaps it was due to the fact that no one in Hogwarts besides Harry (and yourself) could speak parseltongue and did not want to trouble the poor boy into opening the chamber once again. You decided to leave the corpse up just in case. 

You found yourself, after the past few weeks, visiting the basilisk nearly every day. She hadn’t opposed your company at all. Sometimes, however, she would ask you why you still made the effort. To which you answered: I said I’d be your friend, didn’t I? 

Little by little, she opened up to you. Not completely, of course. You hadn’t even expected her to talk about her past, but she did. It surprised you when, on your last day, she told you some shocking news about the founder of Slytherin. 

“It was never my purpose to kill muggle-born wizards,” she hissed lowly. You weren’t sure if you were meant to hear it, it would’ve been a surprise if you were. “Salazar, he placed me in the chamber and gave me an order, the only order he ever gave me: protect Hogwarts — but look at me. Here I am, laying in the same chamber almost a millennium later and I did the opposite of what I was told. The boy — that monster — made me do unspeakable things. I’m sure you’re well aware.” She glanced at you; her amber eyes, although still coated in dried blood, showed pain and remorse.

“It’s not your fault… he manipulated you,” you said, your hand smoothing the scales over her head. “He was the only one who spoke parseltongue at the time and you were here, frozen until the heir came to look for you.”

She hummed, lost in thought.

“What?” You asked her.

“What if —” she began, then seemed to think it over in her head. “What if I told you he wasn’t the true heir?”

You scoffed. “Not the — if he wasn’t the true heir then how could he control you?”

“I’m ashamed to say that I was alone for too long and yearned for a blood relative’s company. I thought that because he was one of Slytherin’s descendants, then he must be the heir. I was blinded —” she snorted at the irony of the situation, “— by the loneliness of being stuck down here that I accepted anyone’s orders who were remotely Slytherin related.” 

“Well, now that he’s gone you don’t have to worry about that.”

“But —” 

“What happened in the past, is in the past. As long as you’re willing to acknowledge your mistakes and change for the better,” you stroked her head as you looked for the right words to say, “then you shouldn’t let the past burden your present nor your future.” 

She tilted her head to get a better look at you, even if all she could see was a blur of your silhouette. “You sound too wise for such a young mind.”

“Wisdom holds no regard for age. I just read a lot of books and allied myself with the right kind of people,” you said endearingly and flashed her a charming smile, even if she couldn’t really tell. Perhaps your tone of voice was enough for her to pick it up. “To tell you the truth, the line is not entirely mine. I heard it once and it’s stuck with me ever since.” 

She tipped her head, acknowledging your modesty. Her scales shimmered from the water’s reflection and suddenly you remembered the reason why you were down here in the first place. You weren’t sure if she’d hear you out on the idea, but you had to give it a shot. 

“Look, my potions lab is at home. I think I have something there that could possibly treat your blindness. If you’d allow me, I’d like you to accompany me home.”

“Accompany you home?”

“Yes!” You said rather excitedly. “My dad and I live in a cottage in Yorkshire. It’s fairly remote and there’s so much open space. There are acres of land and fields, there’s a forest not too far and the coast is only a 10-minute walk.”

You weren’t sure when you had stepped away from her, but you were bouncing with every step you took as you explained the imagery. Everything was clear in your mind. You have, of course, been living in the cottage your entire life. It was the only home you knew — beside Hogwarts of course — that was so warm and inviting. Your steps faltered as you remembered where you were… Hogwarts, but at worst you were inside the chamber of secrets. The damp floors echoed your every step, the cold and stale air was intoxicating with a stench that overwhelmed your senses. 

The basilisk had only ever known the chamber. 

She of course had the short glimpses of the castle when she surfaced to do Riddle’s bidding, but that was surely not enough to get the whole experience. You were only just finishing your fourth year and you had yet to finish exploring all that Hogwarts had to offer. You could only imagine how miserable it must’ve been to be confined to one place… this place. Your eyes fell on her coiled body, she was bathing in the little natural lighting that filtered through a crack on the ceiling. 

“Come home with me.”

Her tail slithered in what you believed to be curiosity and maybe something else. Maybe you were just reading too much into it. She raised her head to tower you slightly. 

“All I’ve ever known is this place.”

“There’s a whole world out there…” you tempted her. You knew you didn’t have to do much to get her to agree and join you. “But we’ll start with the outside for now.”

“If I agree to join you,” she said, the excitement not going unnoticed in her voice, “how, may I ask, is your plan to get a basilisk outside of the chambers and out of Hogwarts going to entail?” 

You placed a hand over your heart. “Do you doubt my skills?”

“Certainly I’ve not had enough time to see your ‘so-called skills.’” 

The two of you shared a laugh. 

“Do you trust me?”

She gave a derisive, yet amused snort. “I don’t think there’s much to be dubious about. I thank you for my freedom and health.” 

You gave a nod and couldn’t help but let a goofy smile slide onto your face. “You’re putting too much faith in me — anyways! My plan of course is to transfigure your appearance.”

She tilted her head and gave you a curious look. She reminded you of a confused dog waiting for its owner to throw the lost ball. 

“I’ll cast a simple shrinking spell and change the color and shape of your scales to reduce the possibility of others recognizing you as a basilisk. It won’t hurt, I promise.” You waited for a response. 

The basilisk tilted her head again, this time to the other side, as she thought it over. It felt like an eternity as she mulled it over, but seeing as there was possibly no other better way, she nodded. Your eyes widened in shock. 

“You — you agree with me?”

She nodded again. “I have no issue with your plan.”

You nodded in confirmation and got to work. As soon as you treaded forward towards the giant snake, worry began to nettle over your skin at the realization that you weren’t the best at transfiguration, especially not spells directed at live things. You shook your head. Who were you kidding? You were amongst the best in your year. This worry stemmed from performance anxiety, which shouldn’t determine your ability to do so.

You swished your wand and cast the spell. “Diminuendo.”

A small whizzing sound echoed from your wand and then the basilisk began to shrink. She was no longer the thickness of a giant tree, but the thickness of your arm, perhaps smaller. Even her length had managed to shorten and was probably slightly taller than your height if she were upright. She began to slither towards you and stopped once she was close enough. She rose to meet your face and stared emptily, still unable to see you clearly.

“How do you feel?”

“Tons lighter… seriously.”

“Okay, well, I still need to change some more.”

You cast another two spells and managed to make her appearance mimic that of a Drymarchon. Her dirtied dark blue and green scales were now dark and shimmered onyx. Her eyes, albeit damaged, were dark as well, but had become maroon. You couldn’t quite tell from the lack of light. 

“Now?”

She slithered around your feet and pooled herself in front of you once she was done. “Not much different.”

You sighed in relief. “Good, okay — that’s good.”

“Do you usually doubt yourself?” She asked.

“No, but this is the first time I’m doing anything remotely out of the usual. You see, I don’t typically smuggle giant snakes out of chambers to take back home.”

“I’d be rather hurt if I wasn’t the only one.” She chuckled as she remained pooled at your feet. The feeling was odd. You mused about the idea of having a snake as a companion.  

After a few minutes, you explained the rest of your plan. It wasn’t anything grand or complex, you told her. She would remain on your person and you’d cast a simple disillusionment charm to camouflage her with your clothes. You executed the charm correctly and soon you found the snake mimicking her background. From where you stood, she appeared to have almost melted onto the stone floor. 

A bell rang above the two of you and echoed through the near-empty chamber. That must’ve been the first call for students to head to the Hogsmeade Station then. 

“Come on then, we have to get a move on.” You raised your jumper and motioned for her to climb up and wrap herself around your torso. The sweater was just loose enough for her to hide underneath it without looking too suspicious. She poked her head out a little from the collar of the sweater to watch (even if her eyesight is still a little blurry).

- - - - -

“Hey!” Fred’s voice sounded from behind you. 

You immediately stopped in your tracks to look behind you, your trunk trailed lazily beside you. The basilisk tensed at the attention and hid deeper into your sweater. You fixed the collar a bit and watched as Lee, Fred, and George bounded up to you 

“Why are you so late? We were looking all over for you!” Lee hounded you, he was the first to approach you from the three. The twins followed closely, but not before they picked up your trunk and took it with them as the four of you boarded the train. “We even found a compartment, now c’mon!”

The twins rushed the entrance with your trunk in hand, their laughs following them even seconds after they were no longer there. Kids jumped out of the way as two redheads barreled their way towards them. Lee let out a tired sigh and got onto the train without another word. You followed right behind, laughing mostly to yourself. 

“These are your friends?” The basilisk hissed lowly. 

“Yes, now be nice,” you said playfully. You could practically hear her eye roll. 

As the two of you boarded, you remembered what she said about Salazar. The basilisk was there to protect Hogwarts — from who, you had no clue. The idea of blood purity seemed like a convoluted idea set in place by someone much later down the line, and not Salazar. You asked her about it, but all she told you was that she couldn’t discuss it on the train, not with others around.

You found the compartment Lee saved for the four of you and entered it, seeing that the boys were already discussing new ways on how to better sneak in Zonko’s products into Hogwarts next year. You joined in on the fun, adding details here and there on how they could do it without getting caught, and enjoyed the last few hours of being able to perform magic without repercussions. 

And as the train ventured through Scotland back down into England, the need to learn about Salazar was long forgotten and soon you were back at King’s Cross saying goodbye to the twins and to Lee. Another year had gone by and now you were looking forward to summer break away from galvanizing memories in journals, lying blondes, and murder mysteries. Yeah, fourth year was something alright. 

[End of Year Four]