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Chapter 153
The followers Voldemort gathered through power and self-interest would eventually drag him into ruin through those same forces. There were no exceptions. For example, Lucius Malfoy might one day grow tired of Voldemort living in his house, sleeping in his bed, wearing his pajamas, and using his bathroom.
"Then what does the Heir of Slytherin want?" Harry asked.
The mention of ghosts immediately reminded Harry of Nearly Headless Nick and the reason they had come to see George in the first place. They wanted to persuade him to deal with the basilisk as soon as possible. They didn't want to sit around passively waiting for Dumbledore's plan to unfold.
"Obviously, the Heir's goal is to create panic within the school," George said. "He hasn't launched a large-scale attack. Instead, he's been striking slowly and methodically. He's spreading fear, and his true target may not be the students at all."
Although George had been busy recently and hadn't paid much attention to the basilisk affair, he had still given it some thought in his spare time.
"His target isn't the students?" Harry asked in disbelief.
If anyone else had said such a thing, Harry would have thought they were crazy. But when George said it, he felt compelled to consider it seriously.
"Three attacks in three months," George explained. "For a creature as deadly and enormous as a basilisk, that's hardly a rampage. It isn't even a proper warm-up."
The basilisk had supposedly remained hidden in the Chamber of Secrets for over a thousand years. Yet after emerging, it had carried out only three attacks in three months—and none of the victims had died.
Because of that, George found it difficult to believe that the Heir's objective was simply to slaughter every non-pure-blood wizard.
"Then the real target is Dumbledore?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
She couldn't think of anyone else important enough to fit the pattern.
"Very likely," George replied. "Whether it's Voldemort or any Dark Wizard, the first obstacle they think about removing is usually Dumbledore."
That was one reason George preferred not to interfere directly in the conflict between Voldemort and Dumbledore. He didn't want to disrupt either side's plans. More importantly, he wanted to use the time to strengthen himself.
In the end, personal strength was the only reliable protection.
"So Dumbledore's plan is to secretly investigate Voldemort and his accomplices?" Hermione asked cautiously.
She had never been able to guess Dumbledore's intentions before, but George's reasoning made a surprising amount of sense.
"Well," she continued, "at least now we know he actually has a plan."
"But does that mean we have to wait until he uncovers everything? Until he catches whoever is helping Voldemort?"
"This is already the third attack. And it happened in broad daylight. There will be more victims. The next person may not be so lucky."
Harry's frustration finally boiled over.
For months he had trusted that Dumbledore would handle the situation. Yet three months had passed, and people continued to be attacked one after another.
He didn't know who the next victim would be.
He didn't know whether someone would be petrified—or killed.
The uncertainty was unbearable.
"But we might ruin Dumbledore's plan," Ron said hesitantly.
Before learning that Dumbledore was working on something, Ron had been willing to act without hesitation. Now he feared making things worse.
After all, he knew he wasn't smarter than the greatest wizard alive.
"Maybe we should think carefully before doing anything," Hermione agreed.
She was intelligent, but not arrogant. When confronted with another perspective, she was willing to reconsider her own conclusions.
And Dumbledore wasn't just anyone. He was the Headmaster and the most respected wizard of the age.
She didn't want to accidentally sabotage his efforts.
Seeing both of his friends wavering, Harry became anxious.
"Dumbledore is the Headmaster," he argued. "His first responsibility is to protect the students."
"No matter what plan he has, student safety should come first."
"Maybe he believes sacrifices are necessary for the greater good. But can we just stand by and watch while students are hurt?"
"We're close to the truth now. We have a chance to do something. We can protect our classmates."
"Are we really supposed to watch people suffer and die just because helping them might interfere with Dumbledore's plan?"
His emotions spilled out all at once.
These thoughts had been building inside him for weeks.
George didn't argue immediately.
Instead, he considered the matter seriously.
"Everything has consequences," he said at last.
"Real choices belong to people who are willing to bear those consequences."
"Anyone can talk. The difficult part is accepting what happens afterward."
He paused before continuing.
"Killing the basilisk is actually very easy."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron immediately leaned forward.
"Buy a few more roosters. They're cheap—about the price of a few snacks."
"Then cast an Amplification Charm and walk around the school with them."
"The basilisk would die in some dark sewer before long."
The three of them stared at him.
The solution sounded absurdly simple.
Why hadn't they thought of it before?
If they had known sooner, perhaps the entire crisis could already be over.
"But," George continued firmly, "what happens after that?"
The room fell silent.
"The murderer is still inside the school."
"Voldemort is still connected to them."
"If the basilisk dies, they'll simply switch to more dangerous methods."
"They might poison food."
"They might use curses."
"They might attack in ways nobody expects."
"How do you defend against that?"
The question hit them hard.
George was right.
As terrifying as a basilisk was, at least everyone knew what they were dealing with.
An unseen murderer armed with poison, curses, and complete freedom would be far more dangerous.
The expressions on Harry, Ron, and Hermione's faces immediately darkened.
They knew George's scenario was entirely possible.
Defending against a known threat was always easier than defending against an unknown one.
If future attacks came from hidden spells or poisoned meals rather than a basilisk, the consequences could be catastrophic.
"So we can't do anything?" Harry asked unwillingly.
He hated the idea of simply waiting for Dumbledore to solve everything.
George shook his head.
"I didn't say that."
"There are things you can do."
Harry looked up hopefully.
"For example," George said with a faint smile, "you could try controlling the basilisk yourself."
"You can speak Parseltongue."
"With your abilities, you might not lose to whoever is controlling it now."
(To be continued.)