Avada kept his gaze fixed straight ahead while sweeping his surroundings with his magical perception—no glass, no ghosts, no water surfaces, mirrors, or smooth walls capable of reflecting light. There was nothing that could allow him to indirectly meet the basilisk's gaze. Its eyes were fixed nakedly upon him, waiting for him to turn his head ever so slightly by accident…
'What's going on? Why?'
The moment he realized that the basilisk's target was him, he immediately changed direction and headed for the main entrance of Hogwarts. He had to get outside as quickly as possible and make the basilisk lose its target—otherwise, in his current state, it would be extremely easy for innocent people to get hurt!
'Did news of me making the basilisk warning devices get out?'
As he walked briskly, his thoughts raced.
'Impossible. Baron, Fred, and George can all be trusted to keep a secret. Summers and the others are even less likely—they don't have the diary possessing them, and they've already left school…'
'And what benefit is there in killing me for that? To stop me from making more warning devices?'
'But dozens of devices are already out there, and their structure is extremely simple. Any professor could perfectly replicate them with a bit of effort. Killing me over this makes no sense at all!'
'Is it trying to create chaos through direct murder, muddy the waters, and conceal the basilisk?'
'Then why not wait until after the Christmas holiday, instead of acting now, when there are barely any people in the school? A student's death would instantly ignite public outrage, put enormous pressure on the Board of Governors, and might even provoke Dumbledore into tearing off all pretenses. Neither the Horcrux diary nor the Board should want to see that outcome…'
Avada observed the basilisk's eyes again. Aside from the lethal dark magic within them, there was also an additional layer of magic applied to the outside—once activated, it would generate two transparent shields covering the basilisk's eyes…
And right now, that magic had been deliberately turned off.
'It's here specifically to kill.'
His heart sank, and his pace gradually quickened. Only when he pushed open the doors, stepped out of the castle, and onto the lawn buried beneath thick snow—feeling the basilisk's gaze withdraw from him, its massive vitality gradually receding—did he finally feel a measure of relief.
A biting wind mixed with snowflakes blasted into his face, the cold air flooding his nostrils and making him shiver. His pounding heart slowly returned to calm. He turned back, staring at the towering, magnificent castle that concealed lethal danger within, his heart filled with anger and confusion.
'The basilisk is still active during Christmas, which means the diary's host is still at school. But just now, I didn't detect any traces of soul fragments or Horcrux magic… Could he be remotely controlling the basilisk? Or issuing it a long-term command?'
'And is he here specifically to kill me… or was he just planning to kill someone at random…'
'Wait—!'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Avada's heart jolted. He immediately reached into his pocket, put on a startled expression, then turned and rushed back toward the castle as if he had forgotten something.
He had to return to the basilisk's line of sight before it even considered killing someone else.
Most people in the school still didn't have warning devices. Any student encountering the basilisk would be in extreme danger!
Less than ten seconds after he reentered the castle, he once again sensed that immense vitality appear beside him, casting its deadly gaze upon him. No matter how he moved, that gaze followed him unwaveringly.
'Good. It's only after me.'
He almost found it laughable himself—after realizing he was being targeted for assassination, he actually felt relieved.
'Why?'
With his hand in his pocket, Avada walked quickly toward the Hufflepuff common room, acting as though he really was just going back to fetch something he'd forgotten.
'Is there something about me that makes me especially worth killing?'
'I was the first to identify the basilisk, and I made the chicken-crow badges—but those posed no real threat to the basilisk or the diary. Given the diary's personality, unless it faces a serious threat to itself or is certain of victory, it shouldn't resort to killing so easily. Just like in the original Chamber of Secrets, it only petrified students, and only planned to kill Harry and Ginny after fully restoring its power…'
'Or is it… because I sealed its true body?!'
'Right—if it entered the school by possessing a student, it would absolutely know that its true body has been sealed, and that three students were responsible…'
'That's very likely. In the original story, wasn't it precisely because it wanted to kill Harry that it exposed such a massive flaw—opening the Chamber directly and letting Fawkes in? The true body holds an extremely important place in its mind…'
'But if that's the case… then isn't Baron and Harry in danger as well?!'
The moment he realized this, Avada immediately sped up. In a few quick steps, he rushed into the common room, returned to his dormitory, and cast the Step Across Worlds spell to enter the spatial layer. Mounting his broomstick, he shot toward the library at top speed, and sure enough, sensed Baron there, completely focused on his homework.
Avada drew his wand, sliced off a corner of his robe, transfigured it into a note, and swiftly wrote a single line on it:
[Go to Hagrid's hut. ASAP. Keep your eyes closed if you can! —Ken]
He then cast Step Across Worlds again, sending the note out of the spatial layer and into Baron's hand. Immediately afterward, he changed direction and rushed to Gryffindor Tower, sending another note to Harry—who was in the common room playing chess with Ron—before returning to his own dormitory.
Ron and Hermione happened to be with Harry as well, and since they were also involved in the plan to eliminate Voldemort, calling them over added another layer of insurance.
Moments later—
"What happened?"
Harry and the others arrived in a hurry near Hagrid's hut, panting heavily as they looked at Avada and Baron, who had already been waiting there with grave expressions. Getting down quickly from Gryffindor Tower was no easy feat.
"I was just hunted by the basilisk,"
Avada said solemnly. "No eye coverings, no chance for indirect eye contact. Its gaze was locked on me alone the entire time. Don't ask how I noticed—I have some special abilities."
"I suspect this has something to do with us sealing Voldemort. Snape told me that the one controlling the basilisk is very likely a fragment of Voldemort's soul, and it has every reason to come after us specifically to take revenge for the true body."
"Especially you two—Harry, Hermione."
He turned to them. "Harry, you're famous for defeating Voldemort as a newborn, and Hermione, you're Muggle-born. Both of you are easy targets. You need to be extra careful."
"I have some newly made basilisk warning devices here. Harry, Ron, Baron—each of you take one… Hermione, you've already gotten one, right? Good. Make sure you carry it with you at all times."
"Mm."
Hermione took a warning device out of her pocket to show she had been carrying it all along. "What happened with Colin yesterday really scared me. I haven't taken it off since."
"That's good."
After distributing the warning devices, Avada finally let out a breath of relief. The group discussed recent events for a while longer before parting ways, returning to the castle with tense, heavy hearts.
"I need to make more warning devices as soon as possible…"
Watching their figures gradually fade into the wind and snow, Avada sighed, white vapor escaping his lips.
"If it's reached the point where it doesn't even care about killing anymore, who knows what that madman will do next?"
(End of Chapter)