"That should do it."
Professor Flitwick wiped his wand with lingering unease, as though it had been stained with something filthy. He then guided the steel supports to descend slowly, gently lowering the basilisk's enormous body back to the ground. "Merlin above… that feeling was truly…"
Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout both frowned, their expressions rather unpleasant. As Hogwarts professors who dealt daily with underage students—and who didn't even teach Defense Against the Dark Arts—they were among those furthest removed from dark magic. A spell like the Killing Curse, the darkest of dark magic, was something they would never even consider under normal circumstances. Though their mastery allowed them to wield it with ease, actually casting it felt… about as revolting as swallowing a fly.
"Well, at least we've got a complete basilisk!"
Professor Kettleburn's face had been a little pale at first, but the instant his eyes landed on the basilisk, all negative emotions vanished. He ran circles around it excitedly, shouting, "Is there any particular part you want to study? I'll leave it for you during dissection!"
"Blood. Venom."
Snape answered immediately. He remained utterly calm after casting the Killing Curse, without the slightest ripple in his emotions.
"For me, the eyeballs and nerves—and some of the skin too…" Professor Flitwick perked right up at the mention of the basilisk, counting on his fingers as he spoke.
"I want an eye as well."
Professor Sprout followed at once. "I need it as a reference to improve antidotes—hopefully we can get the petrified students back on their feet sooner."
Professor McGonagall blinked. She had wanted an eye too.
"Then I'll take some bone and flesh."
She sighed helplessly, then looked to Professor Sprout beside her. "Pomona, when you're finished studying the eyeball, you'll have to lend it to me. I've got a few Transfiguration experiments that might require such a powerful petrification curse…"
"No problem."
Professor Sprout replied cheerfully—apparently the lingering discomfort from the Killing Curse couldn't compare to the thrill of having an entire basilisk to work with.
"Ahem."
Seeing the professors' discussion grow ever more heated—on the verge of urging Professor Kettleburn to begin dissection on the spot—Dumbledore cleared his throat to interrupt their academic fervor.
"The dissection will have to wait. We need to display the basilisk to the entire school first, to put everyone at ease. We may even need to publicize it to the wider community… By the time we can truly begin dissecting it, finals will be just around the corner."
"Ah…"
The professors sighed in disappointment.
"However,"
Dumbledore added with a genial smile, "for the sake of helping the petrified students recover as quickly as possible, I think it's perfectly reasonable to remove one eyeball in advance for research…"
"Oh—"
"But that eyeball must be used for research first. Pomona, Severus—once you have a basilisk eyeball as a reference, how long do you think it'll take to develop a cure?"
"That depends on the difficulty of the magic involved, but it shouldn't take more than three months," Professor Sprout replied after some thought. Snape nodded in agreement.
"Ah…"
The professors sighed again—having such a precious basilisk eye right in front of them, yet being unable to touch it for two or three months was pure torture.
"But don't forget,"
Dumbledore said amusedly, watching these professors behave in ways they never would on school grounds, "there's also a complete basilisk skin at the Chamber entrance. And when Professor Kettleburn preserves the body, he'll need to clean out quite a few materials first—venom and blood, for example. That should be enough to keep you all busy for a while, shouldn't it?"
"Oh—"
…
Outside the Chamber door, the students stared in bewilderment at the professors beyond the soundproof barrier—who alternated between dejected sighing and excited arm-waving as if they'd collectively lost their minds.
"What are they even talking about?" Harry asked Hermione instinctively, utterly confused.
"Who knows," Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Compared to that, I'm more curious about something else…"
Ron handed the pen in his hand to Avada, jogged over to Baron, and poked him quietly. "Do you still have that recording device you used on Lockhart?"
Baron blinked. "No—why?"
"I wanted to record Snape right now and play it on loop in the common room…"
"..."
"I've got to say this for Fred and George,"
Avada turned around while drawing Nifflers all over the twins' faces, imitating their flippant tone. "How is the common room enough? A real hero would play that recording in the Great Hall for the entire school to see…"
"Exactly my thought."
Ron nodded vigorously. "Giving the whole school a good laugh while earning yourself years of detention—if Fred and George actually did that, I'd laugh myself awake in my sleep…"
"Are you really brothers?" Baron glanced sideways.
"You couldn't say something like that if you weren't."
Avada handed the pen back to Ron and watched him continue drawing turtles.
At that moment, the soundproof barrier was lifted.
Professor McGonagall walked over, intending to tell them to prepare to head back. But when she saw the twins' statues completely covered in turtles and Nifflers, she froze for a moment, swallowing the words she'd been about to say. The other professors followed one after another—Professor Kettleburn even added a salamander to George's face—before the group moved together to the intact basilisk skin. He then levitated it and sent it flying into the Undetectable Extension Bag Dumbledore had conjured on the spot.
"That should do it."
Dumbledore nodded, waving a hand to summon Fawkes beside him. "Next, Fawkes will take you all back—come, two at a time, hold on to each other's arms…"
Scarlet flames flickered repeatedly through the dim Chamber. Fawkes sent a pair of people out roughly every two seconds, and before long, everyone who had entered the Chamber was transported back to the entrance of the abandoned bathroom.
"Oh, Professor Dumbledore!"
Seeing Dumbledore finally emerge from the flames, Hagrid hurried over. "You're back! The basilisk—"
"It's been dealt with."
Dumbledore smiled, stroking his beard. "We'll be processing the basilisk's body shortly and hanging it in the Great Hall for all students to see… I'll leave that to you and Silvanus."
"No problem, Professor!"
Hagrid perked up at once, his voice booming louder than usual.
"Oh, right—one more thing."
Dumbledore looked at Hagrid, the excitement in his eyes dimming. "I've uncovered the truth about what happened fifty years ago, and I've obtained some evidence… Perhaps before long, you'll have your name cleared, Hagrid."
"…Huh?"
Hagrid's eyes widened instantly.
"And Madam Pomfrey,"
Dumbledore turned to her next. "While searching Malfoy Manor, I found a house-elf—presumably belonging to the Malfoys. When I found him, he was wearing clothes, had all his memories erased, and hadn't eaten or drunk anything for who knows how long. He was unconscious and near death in a basement… He's currently in the hospital wing. Please look after him."
"Of course,"
Madam Pomfrey nodded softly.
"Then next…"
Dumbledore drew in a deep breath, a chill flashing through his eyes. "It's time for those who've brought harm to the school to pay the price."
(End of Chapter)