Volume 1

- ... to tear... to torment... to kill ... - I heard from afar, shuddering all over and grabbing my wand. The voice was too familiar, its intonation was too aggressive…

"What's wrong, Draco?" Pansy, accompanying me to the great hall, asked me meekly and fearfully. But I didn't answer anything, actively listening and activating several dozen search spells. My hand was already on the wand, so there was nothing stopping me from doing magic. And even if it did, I would still start conjuring, not caring about other people's questions. I can get rid of suspicion somehow, but I can't get rid of death.

Still, the basilisk of Slytherin's Slasar is not an opponent that can be neglected. And I was one hundred percent sure that at the moment this amphibian was not my ally. The ancient reptile was generally quite easy to control, if you are a snake eater naturally. But the ancestral gift of Tom was very rare, but there are more than a dozen snake eaters in the world. In the same India, there will definitely be heels.

In general, yes, I am by no means the only snake-eater, and someone else could subdue the great snake. And, most likely, he subdued, not just because the snake decided to go hunting. Moreover, not somewhere, but in the castle… A dangerous situation, but standing tensely in complete silence is not an option. The search spells couldn't detect anyone, so I'm not in direct danger, but I still need to answer my assistant's question.

"Nothing like that, Pansy. I replied, really relaxing. - It just seemed like something, so I decided to check if someone is working magic on me. "A newly invented excuse," I replied. - Don't worry, I didn't find anything terrible on myself. Let's continue our conversation. I'm still wondering how Clint managed to piss off our seniors so much. I cheerfully changed the subject, not wanting to continue this conversation. And I didn't mind hearing the latest gossip at all. No matter what, they still remained one of the most valuable sources of information. The main thing here is to be able to separate really valuable information from any garbage.

Well, I had to temporarily forget about the basilisk. A festive feast is not a trivial event. Showing a frown on such a day is not very decent at all, so I also had several things planned for this feast. Still, holding negotiations right at the common table is almost a tradition at our faculty. Not only will such negotiations already tell knowledgeable people a lot, but they will not get specifics because of the charms of privacy. And it can add a good reputation at the faculty, ordinary students simply have nothing to negotiate about.

Well, the fact that someone released the basilisk again… I'll think about what to do with this information, but going to the Secret Room has just taken priority in my plans. We need to end the smart guy who decided to use My property! Yes, after Tom's death, the enchantment on the snake should have been deactivated, but this does not negate the fact that the snake is my property inherited from Tom.

I was one hundred percent sure that the snake was not released by some professor. Almost all the teachers at Hogue have been working here for many years, many appeared here before Draco was born. It is unlikely that they found the Secret Room, not ten years ago, but just now. Yes, someone new appears at Hogwarts every year, but this year this "someone" is a Locance... I doubt that such mediocrity will be able to somehow influence the king of snakes.

Approximately for such reflections, the whole festive dinner passed. Fortunately, my abilities were enough to ensure that such simple thoughts did not prevent me from playing my own role, but at the same time, I negotiated with several undergraduates about buying some ingredients and renting an abandoned potion class. There were only seven such classes for the whole school, and two of them belong to our dean, and one belongs to the full-time medical teacher, Madam Pomfrey. The other four were put in order and equipped by a group of undergraduates, whose descendants are now renting them out.

Well, potions training was absolutely necessary for me. I already knew the whole school course perfectly well, I don't have enough regular classes in the classroom. The gift of the potion maker requires me to take active actions in this direction, and I did not want to ask Snape to study with me additionally. It will take too long to explain the sharp jump in their own skills.

- Draco, are you going home today? Daphne asked me at the end of dinner. I just nodded, not quite understanding why she was asking such obvious things. - OK. - She breathed out, clearly gathering her strength. - Then we'll meet there. - She threw, immediately starting to move away from me in the direction of the company with the undergraduate girls. I only stalled for a second, thinking about what she was talking about, but quickly pulled myself together.

I just couldn't not understand such an obvious hint, it's just unclear why my father told me nothing. Daphne definitely got her message. And if you remember her recent behavior, then she managed to think about everything for a long time… Eh, you can feel the style of Licius. He always "forgot" to tell his son something really important to him. However, not telling me about the engagement ritual is too much, because he knows that I definitely won't go against his direct order. Old Draco wouldn't go…

- It will be necessary to somehow screw up Lucius so that he does not get too arrogant. I whispered with my lips, leaving the table. The prefects have already begun to assemble the junior courses in a column. It is on normal days that students can leave the hall at any time convenient for themselves. This rule does not work during the holidays. Nevertheless, a festive dinner is a regulated event, at a certain time it begins and ends.

- The main thing is to come up with something really elegant. I don't want to slip up in the first serious intrigue. - I said a little deeper, allowing Pansy to eavesdrop on me, and at the same time smile in her direction, supposedly noticing that just now. Let the girl flatter her ego a little. And it's high time to determine the level of its reliability. Still, she loves gossip too much, perhaps this fact will somehow affect her ability to keep other people's secrets, even without my request. She cannot go against my order, so all my past trust is not, as it were, such…

- I SMELL BLOOD. I smell blood... - the otherworldly hissing of my old acquaintance was heard again, forcing me to lose my step. What the fuck is this degenerate, whoever he is, making a basilisk crawl around the castle for so long. I remember perfectly well that direct control of the snake takes a lot of effort…

- Really?... - It was like a lightning bolt went through my nerves, as soon as a thought appeared in my head… Did some moron really decide to command a basilisk without even taking it under full control? After all, he can also attach his master well. Still, the beast is not too smart, and there is just a lot of aggression in it. Without direct control, even Slazar would hardly have dared to use it, despite all his strength.

I even reached for the wand again... but it wasn't needed. Already at the next turns, our group was met by a very picturesque picture: A surprised and frightened golden trio from Gryffindor, a cat Flitch hanging by the tail, and a bunch of Gryffindors who came here literally half a second earlier.

Yeah, an oil painting, only the reflections of torches in those puddles are not enough…