Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 111 The Basilisk's Weak Period?

Puni's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the twins' enthusiasm. The excitement on their faces faded again, replaced by deeper frustration. They lowered their heads, silent, without even the strength to refute. But no one expected that the twins, who were always stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason, would likely have refused to give up if Puni had tried to persuade them with kind words. Instead, Puni's ruthless cold water had deflated them. Although they were still somewhat unwilling, they accepted Puni's words and probably knew in their hearts that their ideas were indeed unrealistic. It was already quite good if they could believe half of it.

The three stayed in the lounge for a while longer. The twins gradually couldn't stand the dull atmosphere and were unwilling to give up empty-handed. So they decided to go out and wander around again, hoping to find new clues in other places. But Puni didn't want to move at all. He lay down on the sofa again, his body sinking completely into the soft silver silk sofa. He couldn't help but sigh with comfort. This sofa was even softer and more comfortable than his bed in his dormitory. It was smooth to the touch and had a strong sense of envelopment. Once he sat down, he didn't want to get up. He finally had such a relaxing opportunity. It would be a shame not to lie here a little longer and enjoy it.

Seeing that Puni refused to get up, the twins didn't force her. After all, they knew that Puni was always carefree, and once she got lazy, no one could persuade her. The two exchanged a glance, picked up a few bags of snacks from the coffee table, stuffed them into their pockets, and turned to walk towards the room door. Before leaving, they didn't forget to turn back and remind Puni, "We're going out for a stroll now. If you want to leave, go back to your dorm by yourself. Be careful not to get caught by Filch."

Puni waved his hand, not even opening his eyes, and mumbled a response. He remained lying down, motionless, watching the twins disappear through the doorway and hearing the dull thud of the stone door closing. Instead of getting up, he shrank deeper into the sofa, closed his eyes, and fully enjoyed this rare moment of comfort, as if the secret room exploration had nothing to do with him.

The soft silver silk sofa enveloped Puni, and the warm firelight from the fireplace dispelled the chill of the cellar. Coupled with the fact that he had just eaten most of a sweet cauldron cake, drowsiness instantly overwhelmed him. He closed his eyes, his breathing gradually became calm and long, his brows relaxed, and a lazy smile appeared on his face. He was so comfortable that he almost fell asleep. Even the faint sound of the lake flowing in the room became the best lullaby.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, a loud "bang" shattered the silence of the room. The tightly closed stone door was violently flung open, and the Weasley twins rushed in like two whirlwinds, their faces full of excitement and eagerness, their clothes still somewhat disheveled, clearly having run all the way back.

As soon as Fred entered the room, he clenched his fists, opened his mouth as if to shout, and excitedly said, "Puni, you must have been secretly—"

But as soon as he spoke, his voice stopped abruptly, and the excitement on his face froze instantly. He followed the gaze and saw Puni curled up on the sofa, looking drowsy and lazy, completely unaware of their movements. He didn't look like he was going to find the secret of the secret room at all.

He swallowed the rest of his sentence, only managing to mumble, "What do we do now—"

George followed behind Fred, his fists clenched, but seeing Puni so comfortable he was almost asleep, he swallowed back the words he was about to say. He frowned, his eyes filled with doubt. They had thought that Puni would take advantage of their absence to secretly search for the secret passage in the lounge, but they hadn't expected him to actually be sleeping peacefully here without any precautions.

Puni had his eyes closed, but a subtle, almost imperceptible smile played at the corners of his lips. He wasn't really asleep; he had been awake the moment the twins entered. He was just pretending to be drowsy and about to fall asleep, not even lifting his eyelids, as if he didn't want to pay any attention to them and wanted to see what these two were up to.

Seeing that Puni still didn't react, the twins didn't dare to make a sound. They quietly huddled together, lowered their voices, and whispered in each other's ears, afraid of waking the "sleeping" Puni.

Fred tilted his head slightly and whispered to George, "George, what do you think we should do? You just said you were sure we could catch Puni!"

George frowned and retorted in a low voice, "How dare you say that to me? You were the one who spoke first. Puni would definitely have secretly investigated the secrets of this lounge after we left and found the hidden passage. And what happened?"

He just fell asleep right there, not moving an inch.

The two men exchanged a few words, staring at each other blankly, their faces full of confusion. They had come back excitedly to test Puni, but the current situation was completely unexpected. After a moment of silence, George shook his head first and gestured to Fred to "go," mouthing him to retreat.

Fred nodded in agreement with George's idea. The two carefully moved towards the door, holding their breath and tiptoeing, afraid of making any noise that might wake Puni. But just as they gently opened the stone door and tiptoed out of the room, preparing to close it gently, another loud "bang" rang out, and the stone door slammed shut again. The dull sound echoed in the room, instantly breaking the previous tranquility.

Puni kept his eyes closed, inwardly complaining to himself, "If these two are going to walk so quietly and close the door so loudly, what was the point of all their previous caution?"

In fact, Puni was never deceived by them from the beginning. These two had become his servants, so how could he not sense their position?

Just now, the twins seemed to have left the room, but Puni could clearly sense that they hadn't really left. Instead, they stopped at the door, most likely secretly observing his movements to see if he was pretending to be asleep. Puni sneered inwardly, "Hmph, you two think you can fight me? You're still at least ten hundred years away from being ready."

Just as he was feeling smug, he sensed the twins' presence moving again, approaching the doorway. What was going on? Why were they back? Puni didn't have time to think. He immediately composed himself, quickly adjusted his position, lay down again, closed his eyes, and pretended to be fast asleep, even adjusting his breathing to be exactly the same as before.

Sure enough, less than five seconds later, an even louder "bang" rang out, and the stone door was smashed open again. The Weasley twins rushed in even faster than before, their eyes anxiously looking towards the sofa, clearly wanting to see if Penny was still asleep or had already secretly gotten up to look for clues. But what they saw was still Penny fast asleep. Penny had turned slightly, his whole body sprawled on the sofa, his head buried in the soft silk cushions, his shoulders rising and falling slightly, his breathing even. He looked like he was sleeping very soundly, as if the loud noise from the stone door hadn't woken him up. The twins stood at the door, looking at each other, completely bewildered, unable to figure out whether Penny was really asleep or pretending.

Once everyone had completely left, Puni covered his forehead with one hand and slowly sat up from the sofa. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face was full of annoyance and pain. Just now, in order to pretend to be asleep, he suddenly turned over and lay down, and his forehead accidentally bumped into the carved armrest of the sofa. At this moment, he felt a series of dull pains in his forehead. When he pressed it gently, the pain became more obvious, and even his eyes were slightly red.

"These two guys are so suspicious!" he muttered under his breath, a hint of barely perceptible smugness in his voice. "What a waste of time."

At this moment, in his perception, the twins' aura had completely left the cellar, heading upwards, passing through the dungeon corridor, crossing the first-floor hall, and now reaching the stairwell to the third floor, getting further and further away from here. In fact, Puni didn't wait for them to go too far. As early as when the twins' aura reached the second floor, he had already quietly gotten up, but he just sat on the sofa, holding his breath, making sure they didn't turn back halfway, until he sensed that they were completely away from the cellar before he dared to move his body with peace of mind.

Confirming the twins wouldn't be returning, Puni's annoyance vanished instantly, replaced by smug satisfaction. He couldn't help but pat the sofa, a wide smile spreading across his face. He was secretly pleased with himself; he'd finally gotten rid of those two troublemakers. In this little contest, he'd won after all. His gaze slowly shifted to the black jade snake statue beside the fireplace. He shook his head helplessly and continued, "Besides, even if I knew nothing when I came in, I should know something by now. After all, the clues have been whispering in my ear the whole time, never stopping."

The clue Puni mentioned was the hissing snake statue. From the moment he entered the room, the statue hadn't stopped hissing. The twins, unable to understand snake language, dismissed it as ordinary statue noise and paid no attention. But for Puni, who could understand snake language, the sound was an endless barrage of noise. He stood up, slowly walked to the snake statue, crossed his arms, rolled his eyes at it, and said with annoyance and frustration, "I said, can you please stop hissing? You know I understand snake language. You've been hissing like this ever since I came in, for almost half an hour now! It's giving me a headache."

Puni was right. The snake statue had been moving non-stop since he entered the room. It had been flicking its tongue and hissing while the twins were still in the room. However, the twins were focused on searching for clues and testing Puni, and since they couldn't understand snake language, they weren't bothered by the sound. But to Puni, every hiss was crystal clear, every word audible.

It kept repeating similar phrases, sometimes hissing urgently as if urging, "Hey! You little brat, did you hear me?" Then, with a hint of dissatisfaction, it complained, "I can clearly sense your Parsleyan accent, why aren't you answering me?" A short while later, it would become impatient again, hissing repeatedly, "Answer me now, don't pretend you didn't hear me!"

At this moment, for the first time, Puni felt that being able to understand snake language was not something to be thankful for, but rather a kind of trouble. This endless noise made his already irritable mood, which was already sore from bumping his forehead, even worse. What made him even more helpless was that when the twins were in the room earlier, he didn't dare to make the statue shut up, nor did he dare to show that he could understand snake language. He could only endure it and let the noisy sound echo in his ears, unable to even refute it.

He looked at the snake statue again, took a deep breath, and said forcefully, "But it's all good now. Those two troublemakers are gone, and no one will bother us anymore. You should shut up now. If you keep yelling, I won't be so polite."

After saying that, he leaned down slightly, his eyes fixed on the statue. If it continued to make noise, he would find a way to quiet it down completely.

The small black jade snake statue continued to flick its tongue tirelessly, its hissing incessantly, each word trying to attract Puni's attention with urgency and stubbornness. It was only when it clearly heard Puni speak fluent snake language that the hissing, which had lasted for nearly half an hour, abruptly stopped. Even its slightly twisting body instantly froze, and its tense posture slowly relaxed.

The silence lasted for three or four seconds. Then, the statue's head slowly turned, its dark stone eyes fixing on Puni. A slightly hoarse but joyful laugh escaped from the statue's mouth. The laughter was intermittent, yet it couldn't conceal the excitement that had been suppressed for so long: "Hahahaha! You finally responded to me! I knew it! You clearly understood me, but you kept pretending not to hear me. It drove me crazy!"

At this moment, the little snake statue became exceptionally lifelike, completely devoid of its previous wariness and ferocity. The corners of its stone mouth were slightly upturned, and its tongue slowly flicked in and out. Every movement was imbued with human emotions, making it seem less like a cold, magical statue and more like a child who had finally found a playmate.

Puni frowned, his tone full of impatience. He glanced at the statue in front of him and said indifferently, "You've been chattering away ever since you came in. I haven't had a moment's peace. I can't even get a quiet rest."

The little snake statue was completely unfazed by Puni's coldness. It flicked its tongue from side to side, its tone a mix of ingratiation and grievance: "Hehe, please have some understanding of this old man! I haven't spoken a proper word to anyone for decades, not even a single person who can understand me. It's so rare for someone to barge into this room, and to make matters worse, they have a snake-like voice. I'm just too excited to resist speaking."

Upon hearing this, Puni's expression softened slightly, and he nodded gently: "That's true. It's really not a pleasant feeling to be silent for decades."

Hearing Penny's empathy, the little snake statue seemed to erupt with emotions that had been building up for a century. Its body trembled slightly, and although no tears fell, its voice was heavy with sobs, full of grievance and complaint: "Of course! These lonely days are just too unbearable! That damned Slytherin! I was just guarding the castle gate peacefully, but he had to bring me to this desolate room that hardly anyone has visited in centuries, trapping me here. When a few living people finally come, they're all as taciturn as him. Every time they come, they just ask me to open the passage and then rush off, not saying a single extra word to me. If this continues, I'm really going to suffocate!"

Its voice grew softer and softer, its sobs growing heavier. The snake's tongue hung limply, its once lively posture now listless, filled with a long-forgotten loneliness. It poured out all the grievances that had been suppressed for decades. As it poured out these grievances, the upper body of the little snake statue became more and more active, swaying back and forth. The snake's tongue flicked in and out rapidly, and even the stone scales seemed to have gained a bit more life, as if it was eager to vent its emotions.

No matter how much its upper body struggled or moved, the stone base that held it in place remained motionless. As a statue firmly fixed by the stone base, it could not move an inch by its own strength and could only move within a limited range.

Puni stood to the side, watching its lively yet immobile state. Following the rhythm of the snake statue, Puni swayed its body from side to side, its curt tone shattering the snake's expectations: "No matter how pitiful you sound, I can't take you out. Don't think I didn't notice; you've been enchanted with two powerful spells: a permanent fixation spell and a counterattack spell. Only Slytherin himself could cast such spells, right?"

At this point, Puni stopped swaying, leaned down to look at the snake statue, and a mocking smile appeared on his face. He deliberately asked, "What, you really think I have the ability to break a spell cast by Slytherin himself? If I were to forcibly remove you from the pedestal, I'd probably be hit by the triggered counter-curse before I even touched you, and lose my life. It's not worth it."

Upon hearing Puni's words, the swaying snake statue instantly stopped, its tone immediately lowering. Its previously expectant voice lost its confidence, yet still carried a hint of reluctant hope: "What if? There's always a possibility. If one day your magical abilities surpass those of Slytherin, then transfer me away, take me away from this desolate place, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Puni tilted his head slightly, pondered for a moment, and then slowly nodded, replying casually, "That's not impossible, but whether you can do it depends on how much hope you have. After all, Slytherin is one of the four great masters, and his magical strength is unfathomable. Surpassing him is not an easy task."

Seeing that Puni had agreed, the little snake statue instantly perked up, its upper body swaying gently again, its tongue flicking in and out happily, its tone full of joy: "Good! I'm glad you agreed, I'll be waiting for that day!"

It paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and quickly asked, "By the way, since you promised me, shall I open the door to the secret room for you now? Would you like to go in and take a look?"

Upon hearing the words "secret chamber," Puni quickly waved his hand, his face showing obvious vigilance, and refused outright: "No, no, no, don't trick me! I know there's a basilisk monster hiding in the secret chamber. I'm not prepared at all. If I just go in like this, what if I accidentally get glared at by the basilisk monster and get killed on the spot? I don't want to risk my life."

Seeing Puni's nervous expression, the little snake statue couldn't help but shake its head, its tone carrying a hint of approval: "I didn't realize you were so meticulous and cautious. Before, quite a few young wizards with Parsleyan voices, after finding this place, couldn't wait for me to open the door to the Chamber of Secrets and rushed in. But none of them ever came out again. Although the Basilisk was left by Slytherin for his successor, he never said that the Basilisk wouldn't attack those who dared to intrude. If you can't even subdue the Basilisk and prove your abilities, how can you be worthy of being called Slytherin's successor? Those young wizards who rushed in, to put it bluntly, were all too reckless and overestimating their abilities."

Puni shrugged indifferently and said calmly, "This isn't about being reckless or not; it's about following your heart. You have to be careful in everything you do, keep a bit of caution, and consider the consequences. Otherwise, how can you live a long and peaceful life? Taking unnecessary risks is not a wise choice."

The snake statue slowly flicked its tongue, deliberately putting on an air of profound mystery. Its tone softened, carrying a hint of enigma: "Of course. If it were useless information, I wouldn't bother telling you. Remember, in the next year, it's best not to try anything with the secret chamber, and definitely don't rush in. Because right now, it's the basilisk's strongest period, which only comes around once every fifty years."

"At its strongest?" Puni raised an eyebrow, his curiosity growing even stronger. In his understanding, basilisks, as powerful magical creatures, only grew stronger with age, and he had never heard of them weakening on their own. He couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean? Does the basilisk's strength fluctuate? Will it weaken on its own after a year? I've never heard of the basilisk's strength changing like that before."

Seeing Puni's puzzled expression, the little snake statue suddenly became interested, its tone becoming cheerful, and its forked tongue waving more frequently as it patiently explained, "You don't know this, do you? Although basilisks have extremely long lifespans, far exceeding ordinary magical creatures, and their strength increases with age, their lifespan is ultimately not infinite. After all, basilisks are man-made magical creatures, not naturally born, so they always have their limitations."

It paused, softened its tone, and began to explain in detail: "Every fifty years, the basilisk must molt, which is its only way to prolong its life. If it misses the molting opportunity, its body will rapidly weaken, and it will die soon. This is an innate law of the basilisk, and no one can change it. In the period before molting, the basilisk becomes extremely ferocious, frantically searching for food and eating incessantly to accumulate enough energy to prepare for the molting. It is also during this stage that the basilisk's strength reaches its peak, several times stronger than usual, which can be considered the strongest time of its life. Even a powerful wizard would find it difficult to contend with it."

Puni listened attentively, nodding occasionally as he memorized the information. He couldn't help but ask, "What happens after the molt? How strong will the basilisk be after it molts?"

The little snake statue continued, its tone certain: "After shedding its skin, the basilisk's strength will decline significantly, at least by half, and it will enter a period of weakness that lasts for several years. During this period of weakness, its attack power and speed will decrease greatly, making it relatively easy to deal with. This is the best time for you to subdue it. If you miss this stage, you will have to wait another fifty years."

At this point, it seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "I also remember that the previous Slytherin successor was able to enter the Chamber of Secrets and subdue the Basilisk because he happened to be there during the Basilisk's period of decline fifty years ago. He then gained Slytherin's recognition and became the true successor. If he had been there during the Basilisk's strongest period, he probably wouldn't have survived."

Upon hearing this, Puni suddenly realized what was going on and asked, "The previous successor you mentioned, could it be Tom Riddle? I saw that name in the old school records. I heard he was a very famous student at Hogwarts back in the day."

The little snake statue nodded vigorously, its tongue flicking rapidly, and said with certainty, "That's right, it's him! No other successor has been so lucky as to arrive just in time for the basilisk's decline and successfully gain its approval."