The elation from the Quidditch victory was short-lived. The very next day, a grim new reality settled over the castle. Colin Creevey, the cheerful first-year with the ever-present camera, was found near the library, rigid and lifeless, his camera clutched in his petrified hands. The mood at Hogwarts curdled from fear into outright panic.
The attack on Colin, however, had an unintended side effect. Because it had happened while Harry was in the middle of the crowded common room, surrounded by his celebrating teammates, the whispers and suspicions that had briefly attached to him after the first attack never gained traction. He had an airtight alibi provided by half of Gryffindor house. The Heir of Slytherin remained a terrifying, faceless phantom.
For Ariana, Colin's petrification was the final data point she needed. She had been content to observe, to counter threats as they arose, but this was a fundamental shift. Another student had been harmed. Her passive, observational stance was no longer a logical option. The potential for further harm outweighed the strategic benefit of waiting for the narrative to unfold. It was time to force the endgame.
Her plan had three distinct phases.
Phase one: confirm the primary asset.
That evening, she found Harry and Ron in an empty classroom they often used for privacy. Hermione was with her, a silent, supportive presence.
"Harry," Ariana began, her tone direct and serious, dispensing with any preamble. "I need you to participate in an experiment. It is of the utmost importance."
"An experiment?" Harry asked, confused. "What for?"
"I have a hypothesis regarding the nature of the Heir and the method of attack," she explained. "To confirm it, I need to verify one of your abilities. An ability you may not even know you possess."
She drew her Elder wand. Her expression was calm, but her eyes held a new, sharp intensity. Before Harry could ask another question, she pointed her wand at the empty space in front of his desk.
"Serpensortia," she said, her voice clear and precise.
A long, black snake shot from the tip of her wand. It coiled on the floor, hissing, its head rising to regard them with beady, intelligent eyes. Ron yelped and scrambled backwards onto his chair.
Hermione watched, fascinated and wary.
"What are you doing?" Harry exclaimed.
"Observe," Ariana instructed, her gaze fixed not on the snake, but on him.
The snake hissed again, its forked tongue flicking out. It was a sound of sibilant, threatening inquiry. To Ron and Hermione, it was just a hiss.
But Harry understood it. "Let me at them…"
And Ariana understood it too. The sound did not register in her ears as a hiss, but in her mind as a clear, distinct thought, a thread of ancient, primal language. A speaker… The genes of Nagini, the Maledictus, dormant for generations, had awakened within her, not as a curse, but as a vestige, an echo of an ancient power. She could understand the serpent tongue.
"Don't move," Harry said to the snake, not in English, but in a low, guttural hiss that seemed to emanate from a place deep within him. He didn't even realize he was doing it. The words felt natural, instinctive.
The snake immediately became still, its head lowering slightly, submissive.
The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Ariana. Harry was a Parselmouth. The ability of Salazar Slytherin himself. It was the missing link, the reason Voldemort had chosen him.
"As I suspected," Ariana said calmly, waving her wand and vanishing the snake in a puff of black smoke.
Ron was staring at Harry with a mixture of terror and awe. "You can talk to snakes?"
"I… I guess so," Harry said, looking utterly bewildered. "I've done it once before, at the zoo…"
"You're a Parselmouth," Ariana stated. "This is a critical piece of information." She then turned to her friends, her plan moving to its next phase. "We are going to see Professor Dumbledore. Now."
Phase two: present the case to the highest authority.
They found Dumbledore in his office, Fawkes trilling a soft, welcoming note from his perch. The Headmaster looked at the four students, his expression one of gentle inquiry.
"Professor," Ariana began, taking the lead. "We have new information regarding the Chamber of Secrets. We believe we have identified the monster within it."
Dumbledore's blue eyes sharpened behind his half-moon spectacles. "Indeed?"
"The creature is a Basilisk," Ariana stated. "The King of Serpents. It kills with a direct gaze and petrifies with an indirect one, through a reflection. This explains why Mrs. Norris was petrified by the water on the floor, and why Colin Creevey, who was looking through his camera lens, was also only petrified. He saw it through a reflection."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "A sound and chilling hypothesis, Miss Dumbledore. What brought you to this conclusion?"
This was Harry's part. "Sir," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I can… talk to snakes. Ariana just proved it. And I've been hearing a voice in the walls. A voice no one else can hear. A hissing voice."
Ariana stepped forward again. "A Basilisk would naturally travel through the castle's plumbing, the 'walls'. And only a Parselmouth would be able to hear and understand it. Furthermore, we believe we have located the entrance to the Chamber."
"Where?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward, his full attention now captured.
"The second-floor girls' lavatory," Ariana answered. "The one haunted by Moaning Myrtle. She was the student who died the first time the Chamber was opened, fifty years ago. She would have died by looking directly at the Basilisk. The entrance must be there. A sink, most likely, marked with a symbol of a serpent, operable only by a Parselmouth."
The case was laid out—a chain of evidence and logical deduction that was airtight. Dumbledore looked from Harry's earnest, worried face to Ariana's calm, analytical one. He saw the truth in their words.
"You have done extraordinary work," he said, his voice grave. "This changes everything. I must convene the staff, inform the Board of Governors…"
"With respect, Professor," Ariana interrupted, her tone polite but unyielding. "That will take time. The Basilisk is still active. The Heir is still at large. We cannot afford a bureaucratic delay. A more direct course of action is required."
Dumbledore looked at her, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. She was not just presenting information; she was inquiring a specific response.
"And what course of action do you propose?" he asked.
"I propose that you and I, along with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, accompany Harry to the lavatory tonight," Ariana said. "Harry will attempt to open the Chamber. If he succeeds, we will have our proof, and we will have the entrance. We will not enter to fight it. We will enter to confirm, to seal, and to plan a proper, systematic assault with the full resources of the castle. This is not a task for children. It is a task for the senior staff, guided by the one person who can open the door."
Her plan was, once again, a masterpiece of responsible, strategic thinking. It utilized Harry's unique ability as a key, not as a weapon. It placed the burden of confronting the monster squarely on the shoulders of the powerful, trained adults. It was a plan to neutralize the threat while ensuring Harry would not face it alone.
Dumbledore looked at her for a long, silent moment. He saw the wisdom, the logic, the sheer, unassailable force of her will. She had not only solved the mystery but had also provided a clear, safe, and effective protocol for dealing with it.
A slow, deep smile spread across his face, a smile of profound pride and relief. "An impeccable plan, Miss Dumbledore," he said, his eyes twinkling with renewed energy. "Absolutely impeccable. Though, I do believe some changes from my side are necessary as well. I shall summon the Professors at once. Also, I must make another necessary call before we leave. It seems the Basilisk of Slytherin is about to receive some unexpected and very well-armed visitors."