Chapter 78 New Knowledge and Preparation
"Projection?"
"Yes. A spell from my time. You may well be able to manage it, since I used it extensively and refined it considerably. It draws on mind magic to create a mental projection capable of studying theory independently. In other words, you can set it to work through textbooks, freeing up part of your time for other things."
"Could it work with documents as well?"
"It could. In practice, it functions as a parallel consciousness. You will be aware of yourself in two places simultaneously. The only limitation is that magic cannot be used through the projection."
"That is..."
I closed my eyes.
"...an extraordinarily attractive proposition. I have never heard of such a spell, and I suspect very few people know it exists."
"Naturally."
Rowena gave a slight smile.
"Who would ever want to hand an advantage like that to someone else?"
"Very well. On those terms, I am willing to help you."
I nodded, understanding that this was my chance to secure my own survival.
"Excellent. We shall begin with the wand movement."
The Founder began walking me through the spell step by step. I listened and followed along. The core movements were already familiar enough that she could describe much of the spell in terms I readily understood.
That said, however brilliant Rowena was, the spell itself was enormously complex. Beyond the wand movement, I also had to learn how to properly divide my consciousness into two separate streams, one of which would remain dominant.
Late that same evening, I was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, concealed beneath charms that kept the ghost from seeing me.
Preparation was critical, and I carried it out to the highest standard. A dozen scanning spells confirmed that beneath the sinks there was indeed a large cavity, a very large one indeed.
Once I understood what I was dealing with, I stepped out into the corridor and began layering enchantments over the entrance. But after the tenth one, I stopped.
"No."
A quiet murmur escaped my lips. This approach wasn't going to work. Tom would almost certainly sense the magic and go to ground, finding some other means of seizing a student's body. Even now, he was no weakling. None of the students who had been absent from the feast had been identified as suspects, despite Dumbledore questioning all of them.
Taking that kind of risk was simply not worth it. In a few quick movements I canceled every enchantment I had laid, then stepped into the nearest empty classroom, sat down at a desk, and thought.
"Do you need help?"
Helena had materialized beside me, watching me with a guilty expression.
"What if I told you I knew who carried out the attack?"
"Er..."
Helena gave a slightly uncertain shrug.
"I don't understand how you could. Even Dumbledore wasn't able to identify who did it."
"I didn't say I knew who ordered it. I said I know what attacked the cat."
"And what was that?"
"The Basilisk."
"That's impossible."
Helena shook her head.
"Completely out of the question. We can go back to Mother and she will explain why, but we ghosts of Hogwarts all know about Salazar's familiar sleeping down there."
She nodded toward the floor.
"And she didn't go to sleep just to wake up one day and attack students. She sleeps so that she might one day wake and protect them."
"Protect them, you say?"
"Yes."
Helena nodded.
"She is part of the castle's defenses, which means she is physically incapable of harming any of the children here. And if you believe that further attacks will follow, attacks on students, not just a cat, then it cannot be the Basilisk."
I closed my eyes and carefully turned the new information over in my mind. It was important, but it didn't necessarily rule out the Basilisk as the creature being used to attack students. At the same time, it did explain why there had been no deaths in the original version of events. The Basilisk was a guardian, not a killer, and even acting on the Heir's command, she could not simply override the orders of her true master.
"That... opens up new lines of thought."
I stared thoughtfully at the floor.
"If I found a way in..."
I nodded downward.
"...would the Basilisk attack me?"
"No. She would not react to you at all. The school is not in danger at this moment."
"I see. And are there other entrances besides Myrtle's bathroom?"
"There are."
Helena nodded.
"You are sitting three meters from one now."
"Sorry?"
I looked at her in mild surprise. She drifted to the wall and passed her ghostly hand through it.
"Right here."
"And you know how to open it?"
"I do."
Helena nodded.
"You touch specific points on the wall with your wand and channel magic through them."
"Show me."
I stood, drew my wand, and Helena guided me to each point in turn. Several seconds later, the wall simply parted, like the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"Well. I may be able to settle my doubts sooner than I thought."
I sighed and stepped through the opening. A staircase began almost immediately on the other side, leading down. I sealed the door behind me at once. I had no desire for anyone else to follow.
Step by step, I descended.
There were a great many steps. But eventually I reached the bottom and came to a halt before a door, not quite ready to open it.
"Stupid creature."
The voice from the other side was thick with displeasure and had an odd, doubled quality to it. I raised a hand to stop Helena, who had been about to pass through the door.
My wand moved in a quick gesture, and dim letters appeared beside me, forming words.
"Not a sound. Stay still. From the other side, does this look like a door or a wall?"
Helena held up two fingers. I let out a very quiet breath.
"...it was made perfectly clear. Kill the cat. But no, you had to do things your own way! I didn't receive the necessary amount of energy, and now subduing the boy will take considerably more time and effort!"
In response came a hiss. Faint, but deeply displeased.
"Don't hiss at me. The master may have forbidden it, but I am your master now! Or would you prefer to die? Listen carefully. If you disobey me again, I will simply kill you."
Now the hissing was resigned. Then came footsteps, and the scraping sound of something heavy.
I conjured another barely visible message and asked Helena to check, very carefully and without being seen, whether the visitor had gone.
She nodded and shot upward, apparently intending to peek through the ceiling of the room below. Three minutes, no more, and she was back, though she had returned through the door.
"Only the Basilisk remains."
There was fear in Helena's voice, and a kind of quiet dread.
"She won't harm me?"
"No. You are a student. Without a direct order, she will not. But... I cannot understand why she attacked anyone in the castle at all. It was only a cat, but still..."
"Let us go and see."
I paused.
"Can you understand what she says when she hisses?"
"No."
But she understands human speech. Or at least, that one was communicating with her in English.
"Yes."
I sighed.
"Right. How do I open the passage?"
"Tap here, and here with your wand."
I did as she said, but before touching the final point, I hesitated. Part of me wanted to turn around, find some Aurors, and bring them here. But not trusting Helena... I did have reasons for that, yes, but I didn't want one lie to stand between us forever. She was a clever girl, and if everything went to plan, she would eventually be almost alive, one of the figures who would stand at the head of Hogwarts. She wouldn't govern it, most likely, but she would have some role.
And if Hogwarts' extraterritoriality was truly restored one day, being on good terms with her would matter.
But God, it was frightening.
"You don't trust me."
There was sadness in Helena's voice.
"I do. But fear like this is very hard to overcome, because on the other side of that door is Salazar Slytherin's own Basilisk."
I shook my head.
"A legendary creature. Her gaze is lethal. Deciding to face her is not exactly simple."
It took me a full five minutes to make up my mind. Then I touched each point on the wall again in turn, and the stone parted before me.
"Bloody hell!"
I leaped backward because the Basilisk's face was directly in front of the opening, and she was looking straight at me.
*I am not bloody hell.*
The Basilisk's voice was a low, whispering hiss, or rather, it wasn't a voice at all. She was transmitting her thoughts directly into my mind, bypassing all of my mental shields, and I hadn't the slightest doubt that this creature was female.
*The Savior gave me the name Vasilisa. You can keep words like that to yourself, boy. I am forbidden to harm students, but I am perfectly allowed to bite you.*
"I... that is... well..."
"Draco, what happened?"
"She... it's... the thoughts... she's projecting..."
"Ah."
Helena looked at Vasilisa.
"She couldn't do that in my time."
"I learned. I can't do it with ghosts, however. But if you tell her I'm glad to see her, I'll be grateful, little boy."
"She says she is glad to see you. And she can't project to ghosts."
"Understood."
"Forgive me, may I ask why you attacked the cat?"
"Orders."
Vasilisa lowered her head, and beneath the projected thoughts was a flicker of guilt. Faint, but real.
"I cannot resist. He came while I slept and did something. Now I cannot disobey him. Only when his orders directly contradict the Saviour's can I find a small way around them."
"I see. Will you allow me to examine you?"
"You came with Helena. I'll trust you because of that. But know this, little boy: I sense threats. If I sense one from you, I'll simply eat you."
"I'll remember."
With that, I raised my wand and slowly passed it over Vasilisa, casting every diagnostic spell I knew. With each one, my expression darkened a little more.
"Draco, what do you see?"
"I can't be entirely certain, but what's been used to control her is not a standard jinx or a ritual. It's a curse, and a highly complex one."
Vasilisa's head sank until her nose touched the floor.
"I... I can't be saved, can I? Then kill me."
She jerked her head up sharply, and the rush of air from the movement swept me off my feet.
"Now why would I do that?"
I got up with a lopsided smile, checking my wand for cracks.
"You're lucky. My gift is specifically tied to lifting curses, and I've been learning to do it for a very long time. Though, more accurately, we're lucky. That fool chose the most reliable method of control he could: one that doesn't depend on his own body."
"Yes. He is nothing but a parasite. I can see it, feel it. But what do you mean, we are lucky?"
"Simply this: if he had used a ritual, I wouldn't be able to free you from his hold. But a curse... a curse is my domain, and I can lift it. The only difficulty is..."
There was unmistakable hesitation in my voice.
*Say it!*
I instinctively clapped my hands over my ears, but the shout had been mental, so it didn't help in the slightest.
"It will hurt. A lot. The curse has to come off quickly, or he might return and reinforce it, or switch to a different method while you still obey him. It'll have to happen in a single working. And it will be very painful."
I closed my eyes.
"I'll also need the assistance of an experienced wizard, because once I lift the curse, we'll need to set a trap for whoever arranged all of this."
"I agree! I'll endure the pain! Do it now! Lift it!"
"Not right now. I need to talk to Flitwick first. I think he'll agree to help."
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