In the dark underground depths beyond Hogwarts' detection, Rhys entered the Chamber of Secrets with a whole raw pig floating behind him.
He had obtained it from the Hogwarts kitchens.
Although the house-elves were extremely confused, they still fulfilled his request and handed over a large pig that had originally been meant to be butchered and served at the dining tables.
Rhys tossed the pig onto the ground and summoned the Basilisk.
When the Basilisk emerged and saw the fat pig lying there, it was overjoyed.
This time, I've finally been called out to eat!
Merlin knew that every previous time the Basilisk had been summoned, whether by Salazar Slytherin, one of the Gaunt descendants, or Tom Riddle, they had treated it as free muscle.
Very few people had ever summoned it simply to feed it.
The Basilisk suddenly stretched out its neck, seized the pig in its jaws, then opened its upper and lower jaws wide and sucked the pig's head into its mouth.
After that, it swallowed the pig little by little.
While the Basilisk was enjoying its meal, Rhys walked around behind it and snapped his fingers. A stream of blood immediately spurted from between the scales on its back.
After filling two bottles with Basilisk blood, Rhys stopped and even thoughtfully applied some ointment to the wound.
From beginning to end, the Basilisk did not even realise that blood had been taken from it.
After leaving the Chamber of Secrets, Rhys headed straight for Rowena's office, where he encountered Helga, who had also returned with a full harvest.
She was holding a small crystal vial filled with blood as well.
Considering that Fawkes did not possess the Basilisk's enormous body, providing this much blood was already rather generous of him.
Unlike the bottle of Basilisk blood in Rhys's hand, which faintly glowed green, Fawkes's phoenix blood gave off a warm feeling at a glance. It looked clean and pure, even carrying a faintly sacred quality.
"Let's use your Basilisk blood first," Helga said, yielding the first attempt to him.
The main reason was that Basilisk blood could practically be considered inexhaustible. Even if the experiment failed, it would not be much of a waste.
How much blood could Fawkes possibly provide?
When it came to sheer volume, Salazar's Basilisk was still the best.
Rowena's dragon blood cost money, too!
The thrifty and careful Helga led Rhys over to her tree and watched as Salazar poured an entire bottle of Basilisk blood around its roots.
A few minutes later, blood-red patterns appeared across the tree's bark.
"Once the patterns on the bark disappear, we can pour in the next type of blood," Helga explained from the side.
Rhys nodded and stood in front of the potted plant, staring blankly at it.
About half an hour later, the fruits on the tree began to change.
Several of them turned red, just like Basilisk blood, with faint specks of green light glowing across their surfaces.
The fruits could now be called Basilisk Fruits.
"The Basilisk blood has already been absorbed into the fruit. Would you like to try one?"
Even if Helga had not suggested it, Rhys would still have tasted one.
He reached towards the potted tree, preparing to pluck a Basilisk Fruit, when something magical happened.
One of the fruits fell from the branch on its own and landed perfectly in Rhys's palm.
"Salazar, this fruit has an affinity with you," Helga said with a smile.
This was the compatibility she had mentioned earlier.
Clearly, Salazar's compatibility with the Basilisk Fruit was extremely high, so high that the fruit was actively drawn to him.
Rhys smiled at her words.
Of course it was.
The Basilisk that had provided the blood had been raised by him in the first place.
"What happens if the compatibility isn't high enough?"
"The fruit becomes very difficult to pick. The more force you use, the stronger the backlash after eating it. In severe cases, it could even threaten your life."
Rhys nodded and swallowed the fruit he had taken.
The moment it entered his mouth, it instantly dissolved into a mass of juice, then transformed into a surge of magic that settled in Rhys's abdomen.
Rhys's features immediately scrunched up.
It was not because the fruit had caused any severe side effects. It was simply far too bitter, like eating an entire snake gallbladder raw.
"Here, follow my movements." Seeing that Salazar had eaten the fruit, Helga taught him the incantation she had developed.
For someone who understood the flow of magic, all they needed to do was use their own magic to guide the power brought by the fruit, and the transformation would take place.
However, Helga had also considered that most wizards did not understand the flow of magic. So, taking inspiration from modern spells, she devised a set of gestures and an incantation to ensure that even wizards who could not directly manipulate their magic would still be able to transform.
"Magic of Basilisk Transformation!"
As Rhys performed the gestures and spoke the incantation, he felt the magic in his abdomen spread throughout his limbs and body. His skin began to itch.
A few seconds later, his entire body was covered in snake scales, and his eyes had transformed into serpentine pupils.
"Not bad. Your legs haven't changed too much, so it shouldn't cause excessive inconvenience."
Under the influence of the Basilisk Fruit, Rhys's legs had become considerably thinner, but they had not merged together into a snake's tail.
'I wonder how much of the Basilisk's power this transformation magic allows me to retain?'
A thought flashed through Rhys's mind.
"There's only one way to find out."
Helga had already prepared for this. She pulled a small white mouse from her robes and tossed it past Rhys so that it landed in front of him.
Rhys picked up the mouse, held it before his face, and looked directly into its eyes.
The next moment, he felt the mouse stiffen in his hand and become completely unable to move.
However, it had not died. It had merely been petrified. A potion made from Mandrakes would be enough to revive it.
Although he had not inherited the Basilisk's instant-death ability, Rhys was still very satisfied.
In battle, there was little practical difference between petrification and instant death.
The weakness of the Basilisk also remained in this transformation magic. As long as one avoided looking directly into his eyes, they would not be petrified.
That gave Rhys another idea.
He asked Helga for another white mouse.
This time, instead of looking directly at it, he conjured a smooth sheet of ice and looked at the mouse through its reflection.
The mouse stiffened for only a moment before recovering its vitality.
"The power of the magic weakens with each reflection, exactly as I expected."
Rhys completed his experiment.
About three minutes later, he returned to human form.
"The duration is a little short."
Rhys was somewhat dissatisfied with how long the transformation lasted.
Three minutes was more than enough time to decide the outcome of a one-on-one battle, but for a large-scale group fight, it was somewhat inadequate.
Hearing Salazar say this, Helga could not help rolling her eyes.
The old venomous snake made it sound easy. How could he know how difficult the research had been?
Transforming a living person into an animal was already incredibly difficult, let alone transforming them into a top-tier magical creature like a Basilisk.
The fact that Salazar had maintained the form for three full minutes had already exceeded Helga's expectations.
After Rhys's successful test, Helga poured the phoenix blood around the roots as well.
This time, several Phoenix Fruits appeared on the small tree.
Unfortunately, neither the Phoenix Fruits nor the Basilisk Fruits had much affinity with Helga.
"It's fine. We still have Rowena's dragon blood," Rhys comforted her. "Maybe the Dragon Fruit will be highly compatible with you?"
____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI