Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 241 The Basilisk: That thing was terrifying, it scared me to death!

Harry remembered what Rice had told him before, so it was possible that a snake was talking!

Harry looked up abruptly, glanced around, and, after confirming that no one else was around, became even more convinced of the deduction he had made under Rice's guidance.

Recalling Ron's description of Parsleyan speech, Harry had a bold idea: why not try talking to the snake?

Harry was a man of action; once the idea popped into his head, he immediately put it into practice—he was afraid that if he delayed any longer, the snake would wander off to another place.

"Why are you running away?" Harry asked in a low voice. As he spoke, he tried desperately to imagine himself as a snake, talking to another snake.

With Harry's efforts, the sounds coming out of his mouth were no longer human voices, but hissing sounds like gas leaking out.

Harry's voice reached the ears of the basilisk inside the pipe—it had come on a mission and wouldn't just run off to somewhere else after a while, as Harry had imagined.

The basilisk was quite surprised that the little wizard in front of it could actually communicate with it, but it didn't have time to think about the reason and immediately began to say what Rice had told it.

The end of the world has come, terrifying monsters have appeared, we must escape... Child, don't hesitate any longer, go now!

Harry: Huh? What the heck?

"What kind of monster is it? Where is it?" he couldn't help but press further. "Even Dumbledore couldn't stop it?"

[In the Forbidden Forest, mingling with spiders, it is utterly evil and dark... It is still weak now, but when it grows up, the world will be devoured by it—]

Harry: ? ? ?

He was completely baffled by the snake hiding somewhere. Something that mingled with spiders could grow up and devour the entire world? What on earth was all this?

He once wondered if the snake had lost its mind.

If only someone could stop it... There are so many mages here, yet not a single one knows what's happening in the Forbidden Forest...

The snake in the wall said with "deep sorrow".

"Really?" Seeing how sincere the snake seemed, Harry started to believe it again: how could a snake lie to him? — Clearly, Harry hadn't read the Bible carefully.

It's true, my people saw it with their own eyes. If it's false, may I never catch a fat, delicious rat in my entire life.

Harry's attention was momentarily diverted by the snake's description of the mouse, but he then fell into thought again: since the snake spoke with such certainty, it was probably true, and as the first wizard to know the truth, perhaps he should do something.

At that moment, Harry felt a heavy responsibility suddenly weighing on his shoulders. After all, according to the snake, once that thing grew, it would devour the world.

He confirmed the monster's location with the snake again and received a clear answer: it was hiding in the nest of the Forbidden Forest Giant Spider.

Run, child!

"Thank you... but I have other options!" Harry's gaze gradually hardened.

He will change all of this!

Perhaps his strength is weak, but he has—

Dumbledore!

He must tell Professor Dumbledore about this!

The snake's voice disappeared, as if it had left the place.

Harry rushed out of the library, then froze on the spot: the same problem persisted—he had no idea where Professor Dumbledore's office was; probably very few people in all of Hogwarts knew.

Why don't I go ask Fred and the others? They know the castle like the back of their hand, so they should know where the headmaster's office is, right?

Just then, Harry noticed a figure in a bright green robe disappear around the corner of the stairs in the distance.

It's Professor McGonagall!

Harry ran over as fast as he could, as if he had grasped at a straw.

"Professor McGonagall, please wait a moment—"

Hearing Harry's shout, Professor McGonagall stopped and stood at the top of the stairs, scrutinizing him with a stern look.

"What is it, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, it is like this, I want to see Professor Dumbledore, it is very important."

"Professor Dumbledore is very busy. You can tell me what's wrong first." Obviously, Professor McGonagall wouldn't take him to bother Dumbledore just because of a student's words.

Harry thought to himself, "It's the same as telling Professor McGonagall."

So he told Professor McGonagall what he had heard.

"You mean there's a monster in the Forbidden Forest, lurking among the giant spiders? And when it grows up, it will devour the world?" Professor McGonagall's tone was full of doubt.

This is perfectly normal; no mentally mature person would believe this news immediately.

"Yes, absolutely." Harry's expression was extremely sincere.

"May I know where you heard this news?"

Harry was speechless.

He learned from Ron that the ability to talk to snakes was hardly something to brag about, and it was best not to tell anyone, so he hesitated. More importantly, a question suddenly occurred to him: what if that thing was just a mortal enemy in the snake's eyes? Perhaps some kind of spider particularly adept at catching snakes? It would be quite ridiculous to alarm Professor Dumbledore over such a thing.

Seeing that Harry couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, Professor McGonagall seemed to understand everything. She pursed her lips and told Harry, "I'll inform Hagrid and have him patrol the Forbidden Forest; it's his job."

Upon hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Harry's eyes filled with disappointment: he didn't think Hagrid could resolve the crisis. It wasn't that he looked down on Hagrid, but rather that his personality was too rough, and he might not be able to detect the danger lurking in the shadows—besides, the name Rubeus Hagrid certainly didn't inspire the same sense of security as Albus Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall's additional words plunged Harry into despair.

She said, "It's normal to feel stressed with final exams approaching, but you should try to relax. If you're really struggling, Mrs. Pomfrey would be happy to prescribe you some calming medicine."

Harry: ...

He realized that Professor McGonagall hadn't believed a word he said. This was it; he wouldn't even have Hagrid's patrols anymore!

A sense of loss washed over him like a bucket of ice water. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, busy grading student work in her office, sneezed. She looked up, her gaze fixed on the open window.

"That's the downside of opening windows for ventilation; all the dust and stuff just gets in..." Professor McGonagall took out her wand and waved it gently, and the fine dust in the office and the accumulated dust on the window frames all disappeared.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update delivered. I'll try to finish the next update before midnight.

ヾ(ｏω)

(End of this chapter)