There's a saying that goes, "Hard work pays off," and another that says, "Heaven helps those who help themselves."
When Eda brushed away the mist clouding her eyes, the truth gradually surfaced.
Eda had been swimming in a sea of monsters for a long time, and just as she was about to drown in words, she finally confirmed what exactly the creature in the Chamber was.
A Basilisk.
In the magical world, there were many terrifying beasts and monsters, but the most bizarre and deadly among them was the Basilisk, also known as the King of Serpents.
This serpent could grow to an enormous size and usually lived for several hundred years. It was hatched from a chicken's egg, incubated under a toad. (So, who counted as the father, and who as the mother?)
The Basilisk's method of killing was astonishing. Apart from its deadly fangs, its gaze alone could cause instant death.
Anyone who looked directly into its eyes would die immediately. Spiders would flee upon seeing a Basilisk, for it was their mortal enemy. Conversely, if a Basilisk heard the crow of a rooster, it would run in terror, as the rooster's call was fatal to it.
Eda had found this information in an unremarkable old book hidden deep in the library. This artificially bred magical creature matched all the clues known so far.
The descendants of Aragog, and Lee Jordan's pet tarantula—all of them had tried every means to escape the castle because of the Basilisk. Those spiders might not have seen the creature themselves, but their sensitivity to danger far surpassed that of humans.
The moment the Basilisk stirred, the spiders would instantly sense it.
In order not to become the Basilisk's snack, the spiders had no choice but to flee the castle and hide somewhere the serpent could never find them.
All things in the world coexist in balance — where there is poison, there must also be a cure. The saying "within seven steps of a venomous snake lies its antidote" doesn't literally mean the antidote can always be found within seven steps, but rather that within the snake's habitat, something capable of counteracting its venom must exist.
Of course, in the modern world, this saying doesn't hold much weight anymore. Human destruction of ecosystems, combined with invasive species, has long since shattered the natural balance.
The Basilisk, too, is not invincible. The rooster it fears is its natural enemy. That's why the roosters raised at school had been dying one after another.
It was once believed that the creatures from the Forbidden Forest were the culprits, but now it seemed far more likely that the Heir of Slytherin was behind it all.
To ensure the Basilisk could move freely without being harmed by the crow of a rooster, the Heir of Slytherin killed all the roosters that posed a threat to it.
The Basilisk, as its name implies, belongs to the serpent family — which explained why only Harry could hear those strange voices.
To everyone else, the Basilisk's sounds were nothing more than faint hissing, impossible to recognize for what they were, let alone detect the murderous intent Harry could perceive.
Even Newt Scamander, far away in Dorset, wrote back to Eda, providing her with detailed information about the Basilisk's habits.
According to his letter, a Basilisk's natural lifespan could exceed nine hundred years, and it could grow up to fifty feet long (over fifteen meters) — a "pet" that could outlive several generations of its master.
However, Basilisks obeyed only Parselmouths; no one else could tame or train them. Hatching a Basilisk was strictly forbidden. A Parselmouth could command the creature to fall into a deep sleep, halting its growth and putting it into a state resembling suspended animation.
Continuing to read the letter, Eda's heart grew colder and colder — because it seemed the Basilisk had only one weakness: the rooster. Its skin was covered in scales that could deflect spells, making it immune to magical attacks.
Its yellow, glimmering eyes could kill anyone in an instant — as long as you made direct eye contact, you could say goodbye to this rotten world.
If the contact was indirect, such as through a reflection, the result would be petrification instead of death.
People like Colin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley had only seen the Basilisk indirectly, so they weren't killed — merely petrified. Once the mandrakes matured, they could be restored.
Eda put down Mr. Scamander's letter and absentmindedly removed her gold-rimmed glasses. She had once thought these glasses were her life-saving tool, a mercy granted by the System — but that illusion was shattered by this letter.
Glasses weren't water, nor were they a camera. Seeing the Basilisk through them wouldn't make any difference — it would still count as direct eye contact. And that meant death was very much on the table. Eda pressed her fingers to the acupoint near her eyes, feeling her head buzzing in confusion.
What the hell was she supposed to do now? This Basilisk was basically a pay-to-win boss! High attack power, immune to magic — even a cheater couldn't beat it! Was she supposed to go in blindfolded, holding a rooster, and fight it to the death?
At the end of the letter, Newt Scamander had added one more line: he wrote that there hadn't been a single sighting of a Basilisk in the British Isles for at least four hundred years.
Reading that utterly useless sentence made Eda's anger flare. She wanted to Apparate straight to Dorset, grab Mr. Scamander by the collar, drag him to Hogwarts, and demand, "Then what the hell is this thing, if not a Basilisk? You said four hundred years without one — so why the hell did it have to show up now, with us?"
The weak and helpless Eda let out a sigh and put her gold-rimmed glasses back on. Whether or not these glasses could really save her life didn't matter — she still had to complete the System's task.
Now that she had figured out what kind of creature was hiding in the Chamber, all that was left was to find the entrance. Once she did, the mission would be complete.
As for actually dealing with the Basilisk — that was Dumbledore's problem. With her thin arms and legs, she had no business getting involved. It wasn't like she was Lockhart — she had no plans to write a book about it.
After leaving the library, Eda ran into the Weasley twins, who had been looking for her. Through their tireless efforts, the brothers had finally found a new place for the Dawn's activities.
Walking in front, Fred said excitedly, "This was such an unexpected surprise! We never imagined there was such a magical place hidden inside the school. It can become anything you want it to be!"
George continued, "Just a few days ago, we were wondering why there was a broom closet on the 7th floor — turns out it appeared because we needed it."
Fred and George had always been enthusiastic about exploring the castle's hidden secrets, and discovering this new mysterious place made them both thrilled. What made it even better was that the location didn't appear on the Marauder's Map — in this regard, they had surpassed even the four legendary pranksters.
Eda followed the twins all the way to the 7th floor and stopped in front of a tapestry depicting a troll clubbing silly Barnabas the Barmy. The twins immediately started talking again.
"We've been here before," Fred said first. "That time we were running from Filch and Mrs. Norris."
"We were cornered," George picked up the story, "so we kept pacing back and forth here, trying to figure out a way out — and then we suddenly discovered a broom closet that had never been there before."
The twins said in unison, "We hid inside and managed to escape Filch's chase. But after that, we could never find the room again."
There were far too many secrets hidden within Hogwarts Castle, so having such a room wasn't surprising. It sounded like a place that only appeared when one truly needed it — just as Dumbledore often said, those who ask for help at Hogwarts always receive it.
After a while, Lee Jordan arrived with the rest of their friends. The four girls stared blankly at the moth-eaten tapestry, not understanding what was going on.
"Fred, if you don't mind," George said, making a polite 'please' gesture with his hand. Fred nodded and began pacing back and forth in front of the tapestry.
After he walked past it three times, a smooth wooden door suddenly appeared where the blank wall had been. The sight left Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and Linnie so astonished that their mouths fell open wide enough to fit not just an egg, but an apple.
Eda gripped her wand in her right hand, clasped the bronze handle with her left, and pulled the door open, leading the way inside.
There was no danger beyond the door — only a spacious, ordinary room lit by torches, much like the ones in the underground classrooms.
Along the walls stood rows of wooden bookshelves. There were no chairs on the floor, but large satin cushions instead. On the shelves at the far end of the room rested various instruments — Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and even a large cracked Foe-Glass.
"Beautiful ladies," the twins and Lee Jordan said together with a bow, "welcome to the Room of Requirement!"
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