Salazar Slytherin grinned. His plan was beginning to unfold right before his eyes. Finally, after over a thousand years of waiting for the prophecy to occur, watching hundreds of generations of unworthy and disgusting Muggleborns and Half-Bloods receive an education in his school, he was now able to put a stop to it. He praised himself for his patience and dedication that was about to, at last, pay off. He was now indomitable.
Please, Salazar! Scorpius kept screaming. Don't do this! You know this isn't right!
Salazar gritted his teeth. The stupid boy's incessant screaming was giving him a headache. "Silence! Your friends are still alive, but I can make sure the basilisk kills them faster!"
This shut the boy up.
In all honesty, Scorpius was an excellent boy. He was wise beyond his years, ambitious, and cared a lot about his friends. He reminded Salazar of himself when he was young. If only Scorpius obliged, he wouldn't be in the position he was in right now. It was a real shame; Salazar could have taught him so much that would be more worthwhile than anything his Hogwarts education could have ever provide him.
Screams continued to ring out throughout Hogwarts campus, further fueling Salazar's eagerness. He always knew Lucius Malfoy and his Death Eaters would invade the school on this night, but over the centuries, he decided that maybe he could take advantage of this. Salazar admired their cause and loyalty. After all, they were continuing what he meant to start so very long ago. It was quite flattering, really.
But over time, wizards would try to portray themselves as some sort of replicas of Salazar Slytherin. Those most notorious were Gellert Grindelwald, Lord Voldemort, and now Lucius Malfoy, who all shared several things in common. They wanted to be feared by all of the wizarding world, and they really were extraordinary leaders. But most importantly, they wanted to carry out Salazar's plan to rid the wizarding world of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods. They even started to claim it as theirs.
Salazar vowed to make sure that would never happen. He would return one day and finish what he started, and prevent anyone from taking his glory. Now he had done just that, steps from obtaining what he'd been craving for over a thousand years. Today, he was making history.
He stepped closer to the window, aiming his wand to the sky, gathering up every bit of magic swimming through his veins into the very spell he was about to cast. Salazar would cast this spell on every single Pureblooded wizard that was currently within the barrier he had casted around Hogwarts. He would begin here, and soon, every living Pureblood would be on his side. His very own army, one that would put Gellert Grindelwald's and Lord Voldemort's to shame.
Salazar, stop! Scorpius pleaded.
Salazar tuned him out, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes, feeling his and Scorpius's combined powers mixing and working as one. He then opened his eyes wide and gasped, the spell spilling from his lips with ease and meaning, magic practically erupting from Scorpius's wand.
"Imperius Totalus!" Salazar boomed, shooting a blast of bright, yellow light into the sky, barely missing the barrier, parting the clouds and brightening the night. He waited for a moment as the spell wrapped into the clouds like a funnel. Then, a heavy yellow-green mist began to seep below the clouds and towards the ground, making everyone experiencing the phenomenon race for shelter.
But nothing could stop the school-wide Imperius Curse from touching each Pureblooded wizard in its path. Even the most strong-willed wizards would not be able to resist it.
"My army," Salazar beamed proudly, addressing his new followers. "I command you to join my basilisk's orders to kill every Muggleborn wizard and witch you come across. You will all be greatly rewarded."
* * *
Albus couldn't help but be a bit jealous that his girlfriend was now in possession of the Sword of Gryffindor.
But he was also immensely proud. It is said that only a true Gryffindor can wield the sword. Albus couldn't think of a better candidate than Holly Longbottom.
My glorious sword! Godric beamed. At last, it has returned!
Good for you, buddy, Albus thought.
He momentarily wondered why the sword had decided to appear all of a sudden. It hasn't been seen since 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts when Neville Longbottom used it to kill Voldemort's last Horcrux. Professor Longbottom said the sword disappeared after the battle. Now it's appeared again after all this time, and as Albus weighed their circumstances, he had a feeling he knew what Holly was going to use the sword on.
"No, Holly," he said, struggling to catch up with her quick strides. Her icy eyes were blazing with determination, so much that it was kind of frightening. The Sword of Gryffindor was clutched tightly in her hands, ready to use. "There's no way I'm letting you face the basilisk alone."
Holly stopped and held up the sword. "It appeared for me, Albus! Don't you think that means I'm the one that has to kill it?"
"Well, yes..." Albus paused and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't want you to get hurt or worse."
"Albus, I've beaten cancer twice," Holly said, then smirked. "I'm a survivor. I'm not going anywhere."
"But-"
Holly interrupted Albus by pressing her lips to his, which he didn't mind so much. She pulled away much too soon and murmured, "Shut up already and let's go kill a basilisk."
Though reluctantly, Albus didn't object.
They speed-walked down the remainder of the first floor corridor that led to the Great Hall. Even well away from it, Albus and Holly could hear the sounds of a war zone going on inside the room. Flashes of red, green, and blue light reflected through the crack of the looming doors and out onto the stone floor of the Entrance hall. Albus noticed bits of blood smeared on the stone floor and gulped. He desperately wanted to grab Holly's hand, turn around, and run away.
"Natalia! Let me go! I have to help her!" Albus heard a female voice cry out. Albus recognized her as Rose and stopped in his tracks, his heart rate quickening.
"Avada Kedavra!" a horrid voice screeched, followed by a flash of green light. Albus broke into a sprint towards the Great Hall. Please, Merlin, don't let it be Rose, he thought, the very idea of losing his cousin making tears rim his eyes.
Holly grabbed his arm before he could run any farther. Screams filled their ears, but they were undistinguishable. Albus had never heard someone scream with such pain and anguish before.
"I could have saved her!"
He let out a sigh of relief at the sound of Rose's voice. She was obviously upset by someone's death, but at least she was still alive.
"Then you would have died too!"
Albus looked to Holly questionably, who mouthed Xander. He nodded in understanding, then gestured for her to follow him. His heart thumped wildly in his chest as they approached the Great Hall doors.
"Let's go," Holly said, hoisting the Sword of Gryffindor out in front of her and reached out to push the doors open. She froze at the sound of groaning metal, followed by a deep rumbling from inside the room. There was then the sound of all-too-familiar hissing, making Albus grip Holly's arm, the two of them exchanging knowing glances.
Then, something inside the Great Hall exploded, the force sending Albus and Holly backwards. The two of them yelped when they collided with the hard floor. Before Albus could stop her, Holly had already leaped up with the sword and charged into the Great Hall. He followed her, running straight into her back, not realizing she'd stopped. A gasp escaped his lips when he surveyed the demolished Great Hall, scattered with dead bodies and terrified people running for their lives.
Oh, and a giant basilisk emerging from a gaping hole in the middle of the floor was definitely not hard to miss either.
Albus and Holly averted their gazes from the basilisk's gleaming yellow eyes, which was killing people everywhere it looked. It must have spotted more prey, and slithered over the rubble it caused and was heading their way. Albus searched the room for the basilisk's desired target, which happened to be Rose and Xander. The two of them spotted him and Holly and their eyes widened.
"Albus, Holly, get out of here!" Rose yelled, yelping when the basilisk lunged, which she and Xander luckily jumped out of the way from.
Albus suddenly had an idea. He turned to Holly and said, "I'll distract it. You run around the basilisk and get to Rose and Xander. You three can find a way for you to get behind it so you can kill it with the sword."
Holly's eyes widened. "Albus, are you insane?"
Probably, he thought.
I agree, Godric commented.
Albus ignored him, nodding to Holly, which was her signal to run the opposite way around the basilisk to get to Rose and Xander, who were crouching behind any debris they could find to avoid the monster chasing them.
"Hey, you!" Albus shouted, waving his arms wildly in the air. The basilisk spun around hissed, making him gasp. He nearly looked into its eyes. "Come and get me!"
The basilisk hissed in reply, as if it were saying, Gladly. You look tasty.
Albus ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the basilisk following his tracks. The beast nearly caught up to him and lunged, but his zigzag sprinting made it miss him by inches. He stumbled and fell to the floor, biting his tongue when his knee struck the stone floor, making his whole leg radiate with pain. Daring to look up, he saw the serpent just a few feet away from him, poised to strike. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose pointing her wand at a large chunk of stone debris.
"Locomotor stone!" she incanted, levitating the chunk of stone into the air towards the basilisk. She brought it over towards the serpent and hovered it above its head. Albus grinned at Rose's cleverness. He watched as she abruptly dropped her arm, causing the chunk of stone to crash on top of the basilisk's head. It wasn't enough to crush its skull, but left the creature greatly dazed.
This gave Albus enough time to speed over to Rose and Xander, who were watching the basilisk curiously.
"It's not dead, is it?" Rose asked.
Albus shook his head. "No, but it'll slow it down for a moment." He paused and looked around. "Where's Holly?"
Xander pointed at the front of the Great Hall, where Holly was kneeling behind the Headmaster's podium. The sword gleamed in her hands, and Albus hoped it wouldn't catch the basilisk's attention.
"We have to injure it again," he told Rose and Xander, tensing up when he heard the basilisk hiss. "If it's vulnerable enough, then Holly can sneak up on it and kill it."
"I don't think throwing bits of debris at it will harm it much," Rose said pointedly. "Maybe we can knock it out if we had something bigger."
Albus's eyes scanned the Great Hall for anything large enough to potentially immobilize the basilisk. All four of the long tables were broken in pieces, and the stone rubble was all too small to cause the beast any serious harm. Then he noticed Xander's eyes were locked on the ceiling. Oddly enough, it was still bewitched to snow.
"The ceiling," Xander said. "We can break the ceiling and crush the basilisk."
"Xander, that's mental!" Albus replied, his eyes wide. "That could possibly kill us too!"
"No, it may just work!" Rose countered, realization lighting up her features. "Xander, you're a genius!"
Xander grinned. "Well, I'm a Ravenclaw for a reason, you know."
Rose rolled her eyes and lightly slapped his shoulder. "And I'm the reincarnation of Rowena Ravenclaw. Beat that."
The basilisk's hisses grew louder, jarring up Albus's nerves. He gulped and said, "Uh, guys, whatever your crazy plan is, get on with it, because I've got nothing better."
He prayed to Merlin this would work.
* * *
On the outside, Rose was all for Xander's plan. But on the inside, she was protesting, We could all die by doing this!
But what else could they do? Fear was preventing Rose from thinking properly to come up with another plan. The basilisk was slowly gliding in their direction, trying to sense where they were hiding. It could probably smell the fear emitting off of her.
Xander touched her arm and whispered, "Rose, you're better at aiming spells. You can knock part of the ceiling down on top of the basilisk without hurting us too."
Rose gulped. It was up to her to make sure she didn't kill everyone. No pressure, she thought.
You can do this, Rose, Rowena assured her. I believe in you.
If Rowena Ravenclaw believed in her, then maybe she could pull this off. Rose peeked over the wreckage that she, Xander, and Albus were crouching behind, the basilisk not far away. Her eyes met the ceiling in thought. If she timed it just right, this could work. She perched on her knees and pointed her wand at the ceiling, right above the basilisk, and took a deep breath. Xander and Albus gave her reassuring smiles.
Rose exhaled and hollered, "Reducto!"
The spell hit its selected target, causing the ceiling to crack, releasing a large slab that was heading straight down towards the basilisk. The serpent let out one last hiss before the ceiling chunk landed squarely on top of its body near its head, the weight of the stone keeping it trapped in place. The basilisk hissed in rage and struggled. Unfortunately, it was not dead, and it would most likely escape its restraint soon.
"Holly, now!" Albus commanded.
Rose gawked as Holly jumped up from behind the basilisk and swung the Sword of Gryffindor across its neck, the blade sharp enough to almost decapitate it. The serpent hissed in pain and writhed, its blood gushing everywhere and splattering on Holly. She didn't seem bothered by it, though. Her face was etched with shock at what she'd just done. Rose couldn't believe it either.
Finally, the basilisk stopped writhing and its head slumped to the ground, the rest of its body motionless. Holly had killed it.
"Yes!" Albus yelled out triumphantly, his mouth spreading into a big smile. Holly grinned wearily, dropping the sword and running towards him. The couple met halfway in a huge embrace.
Rose couldn't help but laugh aloud with relief. The basilisk was finally gone. Now all they had to deal with was Salazar Slytherin.
Xander laughed along with her, then smiled and said genuinely, "I knew you could do it." Suddenly, his smile vanished as his vision locked on something above them.
Rose frowned and she gave him a questionable look, following his gaze to what he was staring at. Holly and Albus had stopped hugging and noticed too.
Cracks were spiderwebbing across the ceiling, right above all of them. Bits of stone began raining onto the floor. Rose heard the ceiling fracture above her, and she looked up to see a huge piece of it tumbling straight down at top speed. Before she could react, she was shoved out of the way. Lifting her head, her eyes widened and her heart dropped at what was happening all too quickly.
"Xander!" Rose cried, as the shadow of the ceiling chunk grew larger and larger around the Ravenclaw boy.
Xander gave her one last feeble smile before the massive chunk of ceiling landed straight on top of him.
Rose screamed. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed, more than she had ever screamed in her entire life. Her body was slack as Albus and Holly dragged her out of the crumbling Great Hall.
~ ~ ~
Yeah, I feel like a terrible person...
I hope you guys can forgive me. This chapter was really tough to write, mainly because I'm bad at writing action scenes. Hope this suffices :/
Can we have a moment of silence for our sweet cinnamon roll Xander Holmes?
Hopefully this chapter didn't kill you guys. I feel like crying right now. Remember to vote, comment, and possibly share! Thanks for reading! *infinite kissy faces*