"So that's how it is…"
Baron nodded thoughtfully. "I think I understand now."
"So what do you plan to do? Find a way to kill the basilisk?" he continued. "Now that we know its traits and that it's roaming the abandoned pipes, we actually have quite a few advantages. And with the professors' help—"
"Not yet."
Avada shook his head. Under the surprised gazes fixed on him, he slowly explained, "Narrow, dark places like pipes are practically the basilisk's home ground. On top of that, the creature itself is lethally dangerous. Sending just a handful of professors in would be far too risky. And given the current situation, there's no way to mobilize a large force to sweep the area."
"Why not?" Cedric asked, frowning. "With something like this happening, surely the Board of Governors and the Ministry wouldn't just stand by and do nothing. Otherwise, how would they explain it to the public?"
"Do you remember how Professor Snape became headmaster?"
Avada didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked what seemed like an unrelated question—then immediately answered it himself.
"He bypassed Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and was appointed headmaster directly by a unanimous vote of the Board."
"That is highly unusual," Baron agreed, nodding. "But what does that have to do with the basilisk?"
"…Snape knows about the basilisk."
"What?!"
"In the aftermath of Filch's attack, I went to Professor Snape right away and informed him of the situation. I was planning to raise my suspicion about the basilisk so he could prepare in advance. And do you know what happened?"
"The moment I mentioned the word 'basilisk,' he flew into a rage and threw me out of his office. And while doing so, he deliberately rolled up his sleeves—so that I could see his arm."
"There were several thin scorch marks on it…"
Baron's and Cedric's faces turned pale.
"If I didn't misidentify them," Avada took a deep breath and fell silent for a moment before forcing out the truth, "those were the marks of an Unbreakable Vow—a vow that results in instant death the moment it's broken."
"..."
"Before he left, Dumbledore told me something," Avada continued after a long pause, his voice strained. "He said that Professor Snape would do everything in his power to protect the students. He also said that, at critical moments, Snape could be trusted."
"Critical moments…"
Hermione lowered her head sadly. "Does that mean… moments when Snape would be willing to break the vow and die for it?"
"We have to find out what vow he made," Harry shot to his feet. "At the very least, we have to make sure he never triggers it. We have to save him!"
"Yeah."
Ron nodded heavily beside him. Even Cedric and Cho wore indignant expressions.
"Easy, Harry. We need to be extremely cautious with a vow of that level," Baron said calmly. "Rash probing could backfire badly—might even get us killed as well. Let's hear Ken out first. And don't forget—Dumbledore is still around."
Under Baron's steadying words, everyone finally managed to calm down a little, though their eyes turned all the more anxiously toward Avada, who had fallen silent again.
"You don't need to worry about the vow," Avada said at last. "Professor Dumbledore will definitely find a way to deal with it. If he was willing to let Professor Snape make such a vow, then he must already have a countermeasure in mind…"
He wasn't sure whether he was comforting the others or himself, but his voice finally lost some of its heaviness.
"What I'm saying is this: we still can't deal with the basilisk directly. On one hand, there's no organized force right now that can guarantee killing it. On the other, the basilisk is merely the weapon—it's not the mastermind. If we destroy it rashly, we'll only alert the real culprit and force them into hiding."
"Catching the one controlling the basilisk—that's the only way to truly resolve this crisis."
"And what we can do right now—and what I asked you all here to help with…"
He reached into his robes and placed a pouch on the desk, opening it to reveal rows of neatly arranged small boxes.
"…is to let more students know about the basilisk, and teach them how to protect themselves."
"The basilisk has one very exploitable weakness—it fears the crowing of roosters. To it, that sound is fatal…"
"So that's why there were so many roosters in the paintings at the start of term!" Harry exclaimed, voicing what everyone else was thinking. "Professor Dumbledore already knew about the basilisk?"
"Yes," Avada replied, offering no further explanation. He began taking items out of the pouch one by one.
"Although I don't know why the basilisk hasn't killed anyone outright yet, I'm afraid that day is coming soon—just like what happened to Myrtle. So while spreading the truth about the basilisk, I also plan to distribute these."
He opened one box. Inside was a pair of glasses.
"These can save your life if you encounter the basilisk's gaze. They're mainly for younger students—anyone with a basic grasp of Transfiguration can conjure a pair of glasses for themselves."
Then he opened another box and took out a small badge.
"This one stores the sound of a rooster's crow. Press it once to activate it—like this."
He squeezed the badge in his hand. At once, a rooster's crow rang out—not loud, but crisp and unmistakable.
"Wearing this while walking around should help deter the basilisk. It might look a bit unhinged, but once everyone knows the basilisk fears rooster calls, it's perfectly reasonable."
"I'd like to ask you to persuade the people around you to wear the glasses and badges, and to spread the news about the basilisk as widely as possible. You're all from different houses—if we act together, the information should spread quickly."
"This is the only thing we can do right now to protect the students as much as possible."
"I've already asked my dormmates, including Shabby, to do the same. But we're not very familiar with the upperclassmen yet—so Cedric, I'll have to rely on you for that part."
"I will," Cedric said firmly, tucking several boxes packed with badges into his robes.
"We could also ask Myrtle to help explain just how terrifying the basilisk's gaze is," Cho suggested as she took a few boxes herself. "Though I'm not sure how she'd feel about that…"
"I can show everyone my Parseltongue, too," Harry said excitedly. "I can tell them I can hear the basilisk's voice—and I can warn people in advance. If I hear it, I'll tell everyone to close their eyes and run!"
"…Thank you, all of you."
Watching these students from different houses exchange ideas freely, discussing how to protect Hogwarts together, Avada felt his mood lift unexpectedly. A relaxed smile appeared on his face.
"I hope our efforts will spare more students from harm."
"As for the rest…"
He paused.
"We'll leave that to Dumbledore."
"Mm!"The students from all four houses nodded in unison.
Of course—and to me as well.
That final thought, he kept to himself.
(End of Chapter)