Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

I was quick asleep after finishing a tiring 7-day tour. To account for all the possibilities, Quincy and I went on a trip, bringing only the bare essentials and a broom with us. We walked to the edge of the county, avoiding muggles and placing down charms when we camped outside, and it was a thrilling, fun experience! She even came up with a new spell, something original that made muggles simply ignore us. We tested it by entering a roadside inn, and none of them batted an eye or looked at us! The charm worked perfectly, and when I shouted, they remained nonchalant, their minds filtering out our antics.

After leaving and going back on our route, we discussed in length if it could be used against magical beings… so we tried to improve it. She used it on me, and although it did not have the same effect, I had to concentrate more to see everything she did and not be hoodwinked. With more practice and tuning, we probably could use it on witches and wizards, too. It won't make us invisible to their senses, but we could get away with more if we are careful and our sleight of hand is up to the task.

When we reached our goal, arriving at the border of my family's influence, we decided to have a race. I got on my broom while Quincy turned into an owl, and we were off! It took us around six days to get there, but only one to come back to the mansion with me bagging in the win. It was fun and helped us take our minds off the weirdness of the empty village and what may wait for us in our third year and the upcoming competition. I was surprised that it wasn't announced in the papers yet, and everybody was silent about it.

On the other hand, what did appear in the papers was the fall of the Malfoy family and the news that the widowed Narcissa Malfoy was brought to St Mungo's Hospital after her mental breakdown. I would be lying if I said I felt sorry. I… I did not. Not a little bit, and Quincy was the same. Looking at the short article, she just scoffed, saying nothing on the subject, and continued to spread jam on her toast. Maybe that's why I was dreaming about having breakfast with her at that moment but was interrupted by a loud noise waking me up.

"Squeaky?" I asked, rubbing my eyes, but it was not our elf who did something… it was thunder! "Shit!" I scrambled the moment I realized what was happening and rushed out of my room, knocking poor Squeaky over, who was hurrying towards me, wanting to wake me up. She didn't even flinch, just shouting after me.

"Don't forget the incantation, Young Master!"

"Yes! Thanks!"

With another crash, I burst through the door leading down to our cellar, where the potion was hidden for weeks now, waiting for me to drink it. I repeated the incantation, made sure all was right, and downed it without hesitation. I felt my body change and morph, and I was… growing. And growing. And kept growing way too quickly to react! I started knocking over the shelves, smashing the wine bottles, and then I was stuck, coiling up against the rubble, the walls, and myself. What the hell? Looking at my body, I knew I became a snake, but the size… oh… oh no… Is this what I think it is? I only had to focus to return to my human form and walk out of the cellar… still dazed... If I am right...

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"You didn't wake me up?!" Quincy exclaimed in the morning, realizing she had slept through the storm and I had finished my ritual without her.

"I think it is a lucky thing… It could have gone horrible!" I groaned, holding my morning tea with two hands.

"Why? What happened?" She asked with a concerned voice, and when I told her, I watched her eyes go wide, "No way! I was 90% sure you would be a snake, but… a basilisk? Are you sure? Doubly sure?"

"I am a giant snake, and I know no others that grew that big! But I didn't check… can a basilisk affect himself with his gaze?"

"Err… I don't think so, no. That would be… weird. Maybe if the snake is stupid enough to trigger its effect on itself… but I think you, being a human, should be fine!"

"Should be. Great…” I let out a long sigh once again, but Quincy's excitement didn't subside at all. No… it evolved.

"Show me!"

"No."

"Come on, I want to see it! Show me! You can close your eyes if you are worried! I just want to take a look at it! See how big you are! Please!"

"What the hell am I walking into here, kids?!"

The voice of my Father shook both of us, and I quickly turned towards the dining room door, seeing him stand there with raised eyebrows and disbelief in his eyes.

"Quincy, my dear, I did not expect this from you! I thought my son would be the wild one of the two of you, but…. Oh my!"

"Ah…!" Both of us exclaimed at once, realizing what he meant, and while I burst out laughing, Quincy turned so red and hot I saw smoke rising from the top of her head.

"She was talking about Young Master's creature form!" Squeaky appeared, bringing coffee to my Father, who just arrived back from the Ministry, looking like an overworked pit pony.

"Oh." He exclaimed, sipping on it, and I could tell he was teasing us. I knew that look in his eyes very well. "That's different! So you succeeded? Great! What have you become, son?"

"Probably a basilisk," I explained, stopping my laugh when I remembered it.

"Oh…" Well, this time, there was no playfulness in his voice. "That is a potent form… Let's go to the garden and see it! Just… keep your eyes shut, okay?"

"Y-yeah…"

By the time we arrived at the back gardens, Quincy had regained her excited mood, waiting for me to transform. When I did, I made sure to keep my eyes closed, murmuring it inside my head over and over again.

"Merlin's unwashed socks… you really are one, aren't you?" Father asked, exclaiming loudly, followed by Quincy's high-pitched squeal.

"You are almost as big as the… you know!" She rushed forward, touching my scaly body, halting her words at the last moment, trying not to look back at my Father, who ignored it promptly. "And you are dark purple! Almost black! How nice…"

"Am I?" I hissed, nearly opening my eyes, stopping it from happening at the last moment.

"Yes! And your body is hot to the touch… It is really pleasant!"

"You understand him?" Father interjected, making both of us shiver. We forgot… not that we wouldn't tell him about it, but he said we should not divulge our secrets, not even to him. "That's convenient!" He smiled, not pressing further. "Son, try looking at yourself in the pond!"

"Ugh… I'm unsure if I want to see my reflection, but… here goes nothing!"

I was surprised by how natural it felt to move around without legs or arms. I expected it to be different, needing time to adjust, but no. Everything happened naturally, and sticking out my forked tongue was like I was seeing without my eyes open. I knew exactly where I was, where Father and Quincy were, and I could feel and hear their heartbeat and breathing. It was… weird because it was not strange at the same time.

"Here goes nothing…" I thought to myself, slowly opening my eyes and gazing at my reflection.

There was no mistake about it. I was now a basilisk. My eyes were glowing in the same dark orange color the codexes describe. With the contrast of my deep purple scales and my viper-like head, I looked menacing. I can't lie… I looked awesome. It felt incredible, too! The fact that I did not turn to stone also answered my question about self-harm. Judging by how high I was, I estimated that I was at least 6 meters tall and, looking towards my end, 8 to 10 meters long. Merlin's beard is not a readily usable form… and not for sneaking!

"It is perfect for battles." Father exclaimed as if he read my thoughts, "But keep it a secret! And don't use it where others can see you change! Tsk, tsk, tsk… Son, you look like the beast from our family's crest!"

"Yeah…" I shrugged and turned myself back with little to no effort, feeling Quincy patting my back.

"I think you look awesome! And if I perch up on your head as an owl, all is good!"

"Just don't look into my eyes."

"Yep!" She giggled, pecking my cheeks, which immediately made me happy again.

They were right! This is not bad; I just need to come up with how to utilize it. I'd like to say I had time to think about it, but in reality, not so much. August was coming to an end very soon, and we already received our letters. It was time to gather all our needs and buy a new robe as our previous one already looked and felt small on us… which meant a trip to Diagon Alley.

I liked revisiting it; it had a… charm to it. Some say you can buy everything in Diagon Alley, and I do believe every word of it. Although… besides looking through the shops and windows, I noticed that I was being watched. I couldn't help it; my face did appear in the Daily Prophet as someone who killed two Death Eaters just so I could take their place. What did it call me? A 'bloodline assassin' or something... I was not the youngest of Death Eaters either; that title still belonged to Draco… but I was the youngest murderer. I… I did not like the sound of that, and it made me shudder. It… really irked me.

"Let's go and buy new robes!" Quincy interrupted my thoughts, holding my hand and dragging me along. She always knew how to push me back on track... and I love her for that!

We headed for Madam Malkin's shop, and when we entered, a few other students were trying on robes inside, and, more importantly, dresses were hanging from the ceiling. I couldn't help but notice their gaze turning towards us the moment we stepped in. It wasn't easy to ignore it, especially when older students from our House came up and greeted us like we were… friends. The gall… oh well, we played along; it is best to have a good impression on others anyway!

We were told to get ahead of the waiting line but refused. We both remember how Draco acted and how very few felt sorry about his fate, maybe except the Parkinson girl or those close to him… so we wanted to avoid that and patiently waited for our turn. When it was time to get a formal outfit, and I first saw Quincy emerging in her lilac-colored dress, I forgot to breathe for a moment… then turned just as red as she. She just looked… gorgeous.

"Hey, Anguine…" A 7th-grader Slytherin boy elbowed me, jolting me out of my lost state. "Why do you think we need formal dresses? You know something?"

"No idea!" I lied, shrugging, not even thinking about his name. "It isn't because of me, for sure! Maybe there will be a ball or something? Honestly, I have no clue!"

I had to repeat the same sentence over and over again as more and more people found us while walking from store to store and heard we were pretty easy to approach and nothing like how Draco acted. It was more tiring mentally than anything, but it was also… fun. I liked spending the day with Quincy, seeing her happy when I invited her for ice cream or bought her a hairpin she fancied. It was… relaxing. Something I hoped to repeat next year. I just didn't know back then that this semester would turn everything upside down…