A Prophecy of Two Boys

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Percy's Point of View

We glared at Dumbledore, daring him to explain Alyssa to our furious mother. Lily was also glaring at the Headmaster, occasionally moving her gaze over us, but generally just demanding an answer from someone. James looked shocked too, but was hiding it better as he joked weakly with Charles.

"Huhem." Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As it turns out, the source of the attacks this year was a basilisk that your sons managed to befriend. I do assure you Harry and Percy weren't behind the attacks – the culprit has been caught – but your son is now refusing to give us entry to the chamber to allow us to take care of the monster."

"The monster?! The only monster here is you, trying to deny the fact that you are going to kill Alyssa if we let you in to her home!"

"And why are you in the situation that Percy and Harry must give you entrance to wherever this basilisk is?" Lily asked, her eyes hard. It wasn't clear as yet whose side she was on, but we had a feeling she certainly wouldn't be on ours soon.

James spoke up then, his clear reasoning reminding Lily that his intellect wasn't wasted on only creating pranks. "We're talking about the Chamber of Secrets, correct? This is more about Harry and Percy being a Parselmouth, isn't it?"

Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably. "I must ensure the safety of Hogwarts, and that cannot be accomplished until the creature is dead."

"Mum!" I turned wide eyes on Lily, begging her to help us. "Alyssa doesn't want to hurt anyone. Surely we could take her? Please?"

Lily and James exchanged an awkward look. "Harry –"

"It's Percy." Charles interrupted quietly.

"Percy, then, this isn't a normal pet snake. Basilisks are illegal pets – they have been since the medieval era!" Lily protested.

"No." I grinned. "It isn't illegal to own one. It's merely their creation that is illegal. Alyssa belonged to Salazar Slytherin, so even if she was hatched after the ban was put in place, simply looking after her isn't illegal. It's in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' – and that's a first year textbook."

Lily sighed. "And where would we keep it? If this snake is as old as you are suggesting, it can't be small."

"She is definitely over 20 feet long." I admitted. "But we can't just let her die!"

"Lilyflower, darling." James spoke up, refusing to cower under Lily's death glare. "Think about it this way – Harry and Percy are Parselmouths, correct? So they have no doubt befriended this snake – Alyssa, wasn't it? So asking them to just let someone kill her is not unlike Voldemort telling you to step aside and let him kill your children."

Lily looked horrified. "I most certainly do not see the connection between this snake and my children! Those are two completely different situations!"

Before the argument could escalate further Dumbledore's office door swung open and our godfather swept into the room, casting a swift glance over its occupants before sweeping us up into a big hug.

"Oh, thank Merlin you two are alright! When Draco said you were missing..." Severus pulled back for a moment and scowled. "And don't think I haven't forgotten your promise. You are in detention for the rest of the year!"

"But, Severus, Alyssa was in trouble, and Ginny was being killed and Voldemort was trying to rise again!"

"Alyssa?" Severus tilted his head to one side.

I ducked our head and quickly opened our mouth to explain, but exclamations from almost everyone else interrupted.

"Voldemort?!"