Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ======The Basilisk (King of Serpents)====== =====Introduction===== The **Basilisk** is a gigantic magical serpent known as the King of Serpents. It is an exceptionally dangerous [[Dark Magic|Dark creature]], classified as XXXXX by the [[Ministry of Magic]], a rating reserved for known wizard killers that are impossible to train or domesticate. Bred by [[Dark Wizard]]s, the Basilisk possesses a gaze that causes instant death and fangs containing a highly potent and destructive venom for which [[Phoenix tears]] are the only known antidote. A specific Basilisk, created by [[Salazar Slytherin]], resided within the [[Chamber of Secrets]] at [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] for nearly a thousand years. Its purpose was to purge the school of [[Muggle-born]] students, and it could only be controlled by a [[Parselmouth]], an ability possessed by Slytherin and his heir, [[Tom Riddle]]. =====Biography===== The Basilisk that inhabited [[Hogwarts]] was placed in the [[Chamber of Secrets]] by its creator, [[Salazar Slytherin]], before he left the school. It was intended to lie dormant until Slytherin's true heir arrived to unleash it upon the castle. In the 1942-1943 school year, a sixteen-year-old [[Tom Riddle]] discovered the [[Chamber of Secrets]] and used his ability to speak [[Parseltongue]] to command the Basilisk. He unleashed it upon the school, resulting in several attacks and the death of a student, [[Myrtle Warren]], in a girls' bathroom on the second floor. Following Myrtle's death, Headmaster [[Armando Dippet]] threatened to close the school permanently. To prevent this, Riddle framed [[Rubeus Hagrid]] and his pet [[Acromantula]], [[Aragog]], for the attacks. Riddle then sealed the Chamber, but not before using Myrtle's murder to create his first [[Horcrux]]: his diary. Fifty years later, during the 1992-1993 school year, the memory of [[Tom Riddle]] preserved in the diary was able to influence [[Ginny Weasley]], who had come into possession of the [[Horcrux]]. Through Ginny, Riddle once again opened the Chamber and unleashed the Basilisk. The creature roamed the castle through its plumbing system, launching a series of attacks. Those who saw its reflection were Petrified, including [[Mrs Norris]] the cat, [[Colin Creevey]], [[Justin Finch-Fletchley]], [[Nearly Headless Nick]], [[Penelope Clearwater]], and [[Hermione Granger]]. [[Harry Potter]], aided by [[Ron Weasley]] and [[Gilderoy Lockhart]], discovered the entrance to the Chamber. Inside, Harry confronted the memory of [[Tom Riddle]]. Riddle summoned the Basilisk to kill Harry, but [[Albus Dumbledore]]'s [[Phoenix]], [[Fawkes]], came to Harry's aid, blinding the serpent with its talons and neutralizing its fatal gaze. [[Fawkes]] also delivered the [[Sorting Hat]], from which Harry drew the [[Sword of Godric Gryffindor]]. Harry used the sword to slay the Basilisk but was simultaneously stabbed by one of its fangs. He was saved from the venom by [[Fawkes]]'s healing tears. Harry then used the Basilisk fang to destroy [[Tom Riddle's Diary]], vanquishing the memory of Riddle. The Basilisk's carcass remained in the Chamber, and its fangs were later used by Ron and Hermione to destroy another [[Horcrux]], [[Helga Hufflepuff's Cup]]. =====Physical Appearance and Personality===== The Basilisk of [[Salazar Slytherin]] was a serpent of monstrous size, described as being as thick as an oak trunk and at least fifty feet long. Its scales were a brilliant, poisonous green, and it had a large, heavily-boned head. Its most prominent features were its great, lamp-like yellow eyes, which served as the conduit for its deadliest weapon. After being blinded by [[Fawkes]], these eyes were ruined and bleeding. As a creature of [[Dark Magic]], the Basilisk was malevolent and bred solely to kill and obey the commands of a [[Parselmouth]]. It displayed cunning and patience, having remained dormant for centuries and effectively using the castle's pipework to move undetected. Its primary instinct, besides obeying its master, was to attack. It is known that spiders, such as [[Aragog]] and his colony, fear the Basilisk above all other creatures and will flee from it. =====Magical Abilities and Skills===== * **Deadly Gaze:** The Basilisk's most powerful and infamous ability. Anyone who looks directly into its eyes dies instantly. An indirect look, such as through a reflection in a mirror or water, through a camera lens, or through the semi-transparent body of a [[Ghost]], results in [[Petrification]]. * **Venom:** The Basilisk's venom is exceptionally potent and destructive. A single drop can kill a person in minutes, and there is no known magical cure besides the extremely rare tears of a [[Phoenix]]. The venom is also one of the few substances capable of destroying a [[Horcrux]], as it is so powerful it damages an object beyond magical repair. * **Longevity:** Basilisks can live for an exceptionally long time. Slytherin's Basilisk was approximately one thousand years old at the time of its death. * **Mortal Weakness:** The crowing of a rooster is fatal to a Basilisk. This is the reason why all the roosters at [[Hogwarts]] were mysteriously killed during the 1992-1993 school year, an act carried out by [[Ginny Weasley]] under the control of [[Tom Riddle]]'s diary to protect the serpent. =====Relationships===== The Basilisk was not a creature capable of complex relationships; its primary connection was one of servitude to its masters. - **[[Salazar Slytherin]]:** As its creator, Slytherin was the Basilisk's original master. He designed the creature to carry out his dark will of cleansing [[Hogwarts]] of [[Muggle-born]]s. - **[[Tom Riddle]] (Lord Voldemort):** As the heir of Slytherin, Riddle was the only other known wizard to command the Basilisk. He used the serpent as a weapon to terrorize the school during his own time as a student and again, through his diary [[Horcrux]], fifty years later. The Basilisk showed absolute obedience to his commands in [[Parseltongue]]. =====Etymology===== The name //Basilisk// is derived from the Greek word //basiliskos//, meaning "little king." This is reflected in its common title, "King of Serpents." In European legends, the basilisk is a mythological serpent reputed to kill with its glance, breath, or touch, and is often associated with being hatched by a toad from the egg of a cockerel, which explains its fatal weakness to a rooster's crow. =====Behind the Scenes===== * According to the textbook //[[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]//, the first recorded Basilisk was bred by [[Herpo the Foul]], a Greek [[Dark Wizard]] and [[Parselmouth]]. He accomplished this by hatching a chicken egg beneath a toad. * The breeding of Basilisks has been illegal since medieval times and is monitored by the [[Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures]]. (//[[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]//) * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets//, the Basilisk is depicted as a colossal creature, significantly larger than the fifty feet mentioned in the novel, and its design includes a frill of horns around its head. (film)
