The fight didn't slow; it escalated.
Victor shifted mid-coil, slipping past another violent strike as the basilisk lunged, its jaws snapping with enough force to shatter stone. Rather than retreat, he drove forward, closing the distance and looping his massive body around the creature's neck before it could pull back.
The moment the coil tightened,
The chamber shook.
The basilisk thrashed violently, its tail whipping across the ground, smashing into statue and tearing chunks of stone loose as it tried to break free. Cracks spread across the floor beneath them, the force of its movements sending tremors through the entire chamber.
Victor tightened his grip.
The basilisk writhed harder, its body twisting in unnatural angles, trying to force space between the coils. Its tail slammed again and again into the ground, each impact leaving deep fractures behind, but the hold didn't loosen.
Victor's voice came, low and cold, carried through the hissing language of snakes.
"Yeah… no. You die here."
The basilisk tried one last time to break free.
It failed.
A sharp, sickening crack echoed through the chamber.
Then another.
The creature's movements became erratic, its strength faltering as the pressure around its neck increased beyond what its body could withstand. Blood began to seep from its mouth, then from its eyes.
Victor didn't stop.
With one final, brutal twist, the neck gave way and the head tore free.
The massive body convulsed once, twice, as the severed head was flung across the chamber, crashing into the base of Salazar Slytherin's statue before rolling to a stop. For a few seconds, both halves twitched, residual movement running through the dead nerves.
Then everything went still.
The chamber fell silent.
Only the sound of settling stone and distant echoes remained.
Victor uncoiled slowly, his massive black form rising slightly as he looked down at what remained of the basilisk.
It was over.
[You have taken two major steps to increase your fortune]
[Congratulations. You have gained full-level Occlumency]
A moment passed.
[Congratulations. You have obtained full mastery of the three Unforgivable Curses]
Wow… that's one of the best rewards, he thought, a faint satisfaction settling in. Occlumency at full level… and all three Unforgivable Curses mastered.
Now I can actually be called a proper dark wizard…
The thought lingered for a second.
Then something about it felt slightly off.
Dark wizard…? He paused briefly, then dismissed it. Whatever. The problem's solved.
A low, dangerous hiss slipped from him, something close to a laugh in his serpent form, the sound echoing across the chamber in a way that made the air feel colder.
Behind one of the broken serpent statue, the trio stayed hidden.
Ron shifted slightly, clearly struggling with the silence.
"Is the fight over?" he whispered, trying to keep his voice down but failing slightly. "Can we look now?"
Hermione didn't turn toward him, her focus still fixed ahead.
"If you want to risk dying, go ahead," she said, her tone flat. "The basilisk's gaze isn't exactly forgiving."
Ron frowned immediately.
"That's not helping," he muttered, glancing toward Harry for support.
Harry leaned slightly, trying to listen rather than look.
"The noise has stopped," he said quietly. "I think it's over."
Ron wasn't convinced.
"That doesn't mean anything," he said, his unease growing. "It could be Victor… or it could be that snake just waiting for us to look."
Before either of them could decide what to do next,
A voice came from right behind Ron.
"Boo."
Ron reacted instantly.
He let out a full, panicked yell, jumping forward so abruptly that he nearly collided with Harry, his heart clearly trying to escape his chest.
Hermione spun around sharply.
Victor stood there.
Back in his human form.
Completely unharmed.
There was a faint smirk on his face, the kind that made it very clear he had done that on purpose.
Ron grabbed his chest, breathing hard, still recovering from the shock.
"Don't do that!" he snapped, glaring at Victor. "I thought I was dead!"
Victor glanced past him toward the chamber, where the enormous corpse of the basilisk lay motionless across the stone floor, its head separated, its body finally still.
"You would have been," he said calmly, "if I had lost."
Harry's gaze followed his.
The scale of the destruction became clearer now.
Cracked ground.
The remains of the basilisk.
He let out a slow breath, still processing it.
"You actually killed it," Harry said, his voice filled with disbelief and relief as he looked over the corpse stretched across the chamber.
Hermione didn't let the moment settle.
"But how is that even possible?" she said quickly, her thoughts already racing ahead. "Animagus forms are supposed to be normal animals, not magical creatures."
"And you're 12—how can you even transform like that? Are you the one we saw in the Forbidden Forest last year? And how did you know destroying the diary would stop everything?"
The questions came one after another without pause, her curiosity and logic refusing to slow down even after everything they had just witnessed.
Victor looked at her for a second, expression unreadable.
Then, without warning, he raised his hand and covered her mouth.
"I'm tired," he said, his tone calm but firm. "Can I get a break?"
Hermione froze, her words cut off mid-question, eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to protest through his hand.
*****
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