Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Chapter 93 Thousand-Year-Old Snake Bone

It was dusk when Hagrid escorted Xavier out of the Forbidden Forest.

You can see some little wizards riding flying brooms hovering in the distance, and you can also see some little wizards with ambiguous relationships appearing in various corners.

The castle at sunset, the distant mountains, and the tranquil environment are captivating.

Xavier looked at the outer walls of Hogwarts and suddenly wanted to laugh: Luckily, this castle wouldn't stand up, otherwise he would have to wonder what world this was.

Hagrid walked ahead, finally standing by a stone pillar at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looking back at Xavier, who had returned to human form, his face full of guilt.

"Ethan, I'm so sorry about what happened today."

He scratched his head, hesitating for a long while before speaking. His voice was muffled, "Aragok—it's just like that, it never understands human emotions. I thought it would be happy for me."

No need to apologize.

Xavier chuckled and shook his head, patting the somewhat dejected giant on the shoulder. "It's not your fault. We can't judge a magical creature by human morals and emotions."

"To it, the basilisk was a mortal enemy etched into its soul, a fear that could wipe out its entire race. As for injustice, grievances, and fifty years of waiting—these meant nothing to it."

Of course, Xavier would not treat them as beings like humans afterward.

Hagrid paused, nodded thoughtfully, but was still somewhat saddened.

"you're right."

He sighed, then smiled and gave Xavier a look. "Ethan, you're a good boy. If you want, you can come and play with me again." He then looked around, bowed, and whispered, "I'll show you some more fun things. Of course, there won't be any danger."

Alright, a child it is. Hagrid may look young, but he is over sixty years old. At this age, he can even call his father Darren "child" without any problem.

Xavier smiled, said goodbye to Hagrid, and turned back to the castle.

Before we knew it, it was mid-December, and Hogwarts welcomed its first snowfall of the year. The castle was practically soaked in the Christmas spirit.

For three days, heavy snow fell, covering the entire castle in a thick layer of white down. The Black Lake froze over, and the treetops of the Forbidden Forest were covered with icicles.

The hype surrounding the locked room mystery has died down, but the effects left by the basilisk are only just beginning to emerge.

Dumbledore organized the professors to dispose of the basilisk's body, a decision that sparked a brief struggle among them.

I heard that some Slytherin wizards were dissatisfied, but nothing ever came of it.

The basilisk was ultimately dealt with clearly:

Snape took away most of the venom glands, venom, and fresh snake blood under the pretext of research. These were extremely valuable potion ingredients, and it is said that some young wizards had seen these things in Snape's office.

Slughorn, in turn, requested a few of the detached scales as part of his private collection through letters.

The school has preserved a complete snake molt, several vertebrae, and a skull—a snake monster that lived for a thousand years, which is valuable even as a collectible.

As for the eyes and fangs, few people know their whereabouts; Xavier guesses they are with Dumbledore.

According to some pure-blooded wizards, the most sought-after item is the bright red feather on the basilisk's head.

Because this is a male basilisk, that red feather is one of the cores of its power and also a top-grade material for making wands.

Within two days of the news spreading, the Ollivander family of England and several other established rod-making families contacted Dumbledore through intermediaries and ultimately purchased the feather at an extremely high price. It is said that they traded the feather for a dragon-skin bag filled with Galleons.

Not long after, Xavier made a suggestion to Professor Dumbledore during an alchemy class.

"Professor, could the basilisk skeleton in the school's collection be made into a public specimen display?"

He said, "Many students have only seen basilisks in books. A physical demonstration will give them a more intuitive understanding of this dangerous and magical creature."

Dumbledore's eyes lit up, but he didn't say anything. Xavier felt that this somewhat unsteady old man probably agreed.

Then Xavier saw the basilisk corpse specimen.

Because a week later, a huge glass display case appeared at the end of the first-floor corridor of Hogwarts.

Inside the display case, a complete skeleton of a basilisk, sixty feet long, is on display. Its head is slightly raised, its upper and lower jaws are half open, and its ribs are spread out to the sides, like the skeleton of a disassembled giant umbrella.

A few dark green scales remained, gleaming with a cold, hard sheen under the magical light. The skull was enormous, with hollow eye sockets, from which one could almost see the once deadly yellow vertical pupils.

Students flocked to visit, marveling at the enormous skeleton.

Xavier stood in front of the display case and looked at it for a long time.

"It's quite pretty."

Xavier said. That's the truth.

When the basilisk was alive, it was a dark green nightmare; after it died, it resembled a work of art polished by time.

Each vertebra corresponds to a distinct arc, and the density of the ribs gradually decreases from head to tail.

He could sense the powerful magical fluctuations lingering on the bones, as well as the twisted killing intent that penetrated to the very marrow. The basilisk's scales indeed possessed extremely strong magical resistance; ordinary spells cast upon them probably wouldn't even leave a mark.

The Gryffindor wizards were intrigued, the Hufflepuff wizards were indifferent, and the Ravenclaw wizards practically glued their eyes to the display case, their curiosity overflowing. Only a few Slytherin wizards privately denounced it as barbaric.

Meanwhile, Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets has become Hogwarts' newest "nighttime hotspot".

Although the professors inspected the entire chamber and confirmed that there were no other dangers, and even repaired several areas at risk of collapse, they still officially designated it as a restricted area.

But the more it was forbidden, the more curious the young wizards became.

Every night, some daring students would sneak into the washroom of the Myrtle and chant incantations at the sink in a parrot-like voice—of course, they could never open the door or get in.

Filch patrolled the washroom three times every night, but he never caught anyone.

Xavier was dragged along by Ernie and Justin once.

This was a rare moment when they showed interest in things other than food and wizard chess.

Standing in front of that washbasin that hadn't broken in a thousand years, Xavier couldn't help but complain, "Seriously, what kind of weird fetish does Slytherin have that makes the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in the women's restroom?"

"And this sink is so well-maintained, it hasn't been damaged in a thousand years, magic is amazing." Justin held his wand and timidly tapped the sink from a distance.

But in the end they didn't go in.

After returning from the secret room, Xavier, as usual, plunged into the library.

He sat by the window all afternoon, clutching a thick copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".