"Among magical creatures, there are many serpentine magical beings, but only a few are registered with the Ministry of Magic and rated with a danger level."
Sherlock wrote the word Basilisk on the blackboard.
"Among them, the basilisk is one of only two XXXXX-class serpentine magical creatures. The other, the horned serpent, is extinct in Europe, and only a small number survive in the Americas, so we won't discuss it. But even comparing these two highest-rated dangerous serpentine Dark Arts creatures, the basilisk is slightly superior."
"The appearance of this creature was not through natural selection, but originated from the magical experiments of an evil dark wizard."
"'Herpo the Foul' was a notorious Greek dark wizard from a thousand years ago. The first basilisk was born by his hand; this creature exists naturally for slaughter."
"It is a massive serpent. According to records, the longest basilisk in history could grow to fifty feet in length. It is powerful, and its teeth contain lethal venom, but the most dangerous feature of this creature is its eyes."
The students below were all listening intently. Although serpentine magical creatures weren't exactly pleasant, listening to Sherlock tell stories was much more interesting than Professor Binns' History of Magic class.
Sherlock said with utmost seriousness,
"The eyes of a basilisk possess immense magical power. Anyone who meets its gaze will die instantly, without exception!"
"So, if any of you accidentally encounter a basilisk in the future, remember: you must never look it in the eye. No one can withstand such magic!"
His tone was very heavy, causing the students in the classroom to subconsciously hold their breath and sear his words into their minds.
The content of this lesson wasn't just about the basilisk, of course. Sherlock had also brought a cage to class, covered with a black cloth so no one could see what was inside.
After finishing the explanation of the basilisk, Sherlock finally pulled down the black cloth on the cage, revealing the creature inside.
It was a large snake with three heads. Its body was about five or six feet long, with a bright orange surface and black stripes.
The left head of the three-headed snake stared coldly at the students in the classroom. The middle head seemed to be daydreaming, its mind wandering who knows where. The right head kept flicking its tongue and making 'hissing' sounds, like a chatterbox.
Harry was sitting in the second row with Ron during this class, and he could clearly see the full appearance of this three-headed snake.
But strangely, he didn't hear the 'hissing' sounds of a snake in his ears; instead, he heard an unpleasant, incessant voice talking continuously.
"You... it's all both your faults... caught by a wizard... brought here... watched by these little brats... you're always doing the wrong thing... why am I... sharing a body with you... terrible... truly terrible..."
Harry stared blankly at the snake in the cage. He discovered the source of the voice he heard—it seemed... to be the right head on this snake!
While all the students' attention was drawn to the snake in the cage, Sherlock's voice rang out in the classroom.
"Runespoor, native to the African country of Burkina Faso. As you can see, it has three heads and a frightening appearance. It is rated XXX in the Ministry of Magic's classification of magical creatures, alongside the Occamy and the Ashwinder."
"Although the Runespoor looks terrifying, its personality is not particularly vicious. It's just that due to its appearance, many dark wizards raise it as a pet."
"The one I brought was borrowed from a friend who serves as an Auror in the Ministry of Magic. This snake is contraband seized from a dark wizard."
As he said this, Ron leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "I can't imagine how painful Professor Cavendish's friend's daily life must be."
Harry didn't give him any response, still frowning and staring at the snake in a daze.
"Wizards proficient in Parseltongue have recorded the habits of the Runespoor. Each of its three heads has a different function."
"The left head is the planner; it decides where the Runespoor should go and what it should do next. The middle head is a dreamer; it will remain motionless for days, lost in glorious visions and fantasies. The right head is the critic; it will continuously emit irritable hissing sounds, evaluating the efforts made by the left and middle heads."
Hearing Sherlock's explanation, the students began to lose their fear of the Runespoor's frightening appearance and started to find it interesting.
Just as Sherlock said, the behaviour of the three heads in the cage perfectly matched their characteristics. Moreover, they hadn't made any aggressive moves from the start, so it seemed quite safe.
"Runespoors rarely live long because their three heads attack each other. People often see the right head of a Runespoor hissing, only to see the other two heads team up and bite it off..."
Just as Sherlock reached this point, a student below suddenly cried out in surprise.
"Professor! That snake is fighting itself!"
Sherlock frowned and looked down, and sure enough, he saw the chatterbox snake head on the right being ganged up on by its two companions on the left. All three heads were emitting unpleasant 'hissing' sounds together.
At this moment, Harry was hearing voices completely different from everyone else's.
"You think... you're so great... then why don't you act on your own!"
"My dreams... are all gone... I've tolerated you for a long time... every time I think of the most crucial part... you break it!"
"The two of you... do the wrong thing... and actually blame me! Want to fight... come on!"
"Bite you to death... bite you to death...!"
"Bite you both to death... bite you both to death...!"
Harry looked at the Runespoor wrestling with itself and couldn't help but interject.
"Stop fighting. If you keep fighting, you'll all die."
The three biting heads suddenly stopped. They all stared straight at Harry!
The entire classroom also suddenly went silent—so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard!
Sherlock, who had just raised his wand to cast Stupefy on the snake in the cage, was also stunned. Everyone in the classroom was staring at Harry.
Sherlock's gaze was strange, while the other students showed fear and disgust!
"I heard it! I heard it!"
A Slytherin student shouted out.
"Potter is talking to the snake! He's a Parselmouth!"
Harry finally snapped out of it, looking around in confusion, not yet realising what he had actually done.