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Basilisks by Maya Molina The magical Dark creature that I have chosen to base my report on is the basilisk. The basilisk is described in many fictional accounts. In some of them, it is portrayed a huge serpent with great fangs, whose stare kills mortals and reflected gaze turns them into stone. Some slight alterations on this version is that in some stories, the basilisks only come out at night, and in others, they are not restricted by time. This depiction of the basilisk is more like a snake than anything else, speaking their language. (Picture can be found on the book jacket of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) It is said that the crow of a rooster is fatal to the basilisk mentioned above. In the folktales of many cultures, fantastical creatures are often used to explain natural phenomenon. Because, in some versions, the basilisk can only work at night, the sound of a cock crowing (thus signaling morning) is quite dangerous to their safety. It is possible that the basilisk was nothing more than a folk legend like a fairy, and not a full-fledged mythical beast as it has been widely thought. It may have been invented to explain nightly natural phenomenon and thus the crowing of a cock would ‘kill’ the beast. Other resources differ from the afore mentioned descripton, saying that the basilisk is a tall, quiet, gray/light-green immortal. This kind of basilisk eats rocks, its favorite kind being black opal. It knows and can speak all of the languages of the world, including animals and other immortals. These basilisks are distant cousins of the dragons. They utter a rumbling sound that sounds as though an earthquake is occurring, which turns the person they were directing it to into stone. They, like all immortals, can be killed, but will not die otherwise. Another version of the basilisk contains the snake-like qualities of the first depiction mentioned, and leans more towards the versions with bodies with scales and wings. In this version, the birth of the basilisk is as follows. Supposedly, the basilisk sprang from the blood of Greek mythology’s Medusa, one of the Gorgon sisters. The sisters were the offspring of sea gods, instead of hair, they have live snakes, their necks are covered with scales, they have tusks like a boar's, golden hands, and bronze wings. Medusa had the power to turn anyone who gazed upon her to stone. This would explain the deadly gaze of the basilisk, the serpentine qualities, and is probably the origin of the concept that the basilisk can be overcome using a mirror, because in the myths of Medusa, she was defeated using a mirror, by Perseus. This type of basilisk could be overcome by using a mirror. The fourth portrayal of basilisks, perhaps the most widely known, is once again quite different from all other theories. These basilisks are very rare, and have to be born from an egg laid in a dung heap during the days of the dog star Sirius by a seven-year-old rooster. The egg was easily recognized, as it did not have the normal oval shape but was spherical and did not have a shell, but a thick skin or membrane. The egg then had to be hatched by a toad, and the animal produced was an unbelievably poisonous monster which has the upper body of a rooster and the lower body of a snake. These basilisks have come to be known as ‘cockatrices’. A similar version of that monster had the head and legs of a cock, a snake-like tail, and a body like a bird’s, but was covered with scales like a serpent. It had wings that were depicted as either being covered with feathers or scales. Its two legs set it apart from the griffin or the dragon, both of which have four legs, but the two-legged wyvern differed in having a serpent’s head and the legs of an eagle. This version of the basilisk is more like the snake mentioned in version number one. This basilisk is a native of the province of Cyrenaica, is not more than 12 inches long, and is adorned with a bright white marking on the head like a sort of diadem. It overcomes all snakes with its hiss, and does not move its body forward in multiple coils like the other snakes but advancing with its middle raised high. These last three versions of the basilisk both are dangerous in the same way. Their mere breath and glance will shrivel and cripple whatever comes their way. They kill bushes not only by their touch but also by their breath, scorch up grass and burst rocks. The basilisks effect on other animals is disastrous: it is believed that once one of these monsters was killed with a spear by a man on horseback and the infection rising through the spear killed not only the rider but also the horse. In these versions, the basilisk would kill not just the person, but the plants around the person, and all of the landscape within its site. Even to a creature as dangerous as that, the venom of a weasel is fatal to it. The basilisk also has its uses. Basilisks’ skin repels snakes, spiders, and, in rare cases, swallows. Silver rubbed with the ashes of a dead basilisk makes the silver take on the appearance of gold. For my scenario in which I encounter a basilisk, I will be using the first version mentioned in this report. Headmistress Odietta has deemed that sine I am Dark, I do not have to fight my Dark creature, I just have to encounter it. *Maya rounded the bend in the wall, not paying attention. She was thinking of the return to school after a long and enjoyable summer vacation. A hissing voice startled her.* “An intelligent person? One who understands me? We don’t get many of those around here.” *Maya looked around for the source of the voice, then realized that she was hearing it inside her head. She then realized that, as she was a Parselmouth, a snake was speaking somewhere. The question was, where? She looked around, using her sharp eyes to find the two pin pricks of gleam that she expected. After a few minutes of careful looking, her search was still unfruitful. Maya quickly spoke in Parselmouth. * “Where are you? I would like to see you.” “You may not want to. I would suggest caution before looking at me.” *She heard a slithering noise, the sound of scales sliding over stone. Looking down, her eyes met the body of a huge snake, bigger than any she had seen before. Thinking about what the snake had just said, she quickly closed her eyes.* “A-a-are you a basilisk? I mean, is that why you suggested caution before looking at you?” *Maya stuttered, having never met a more awe-some creature. The basilisk looked at her in disdain.* “Maybe you are not so intelligent after all. What else would I be?” *Maya could hear the snake slither across the stones.* “But there are roosters here at Hogwarts. You should be dead by now!” *She looked around nervously, checking to see that no one was near or in listening distance. She then began to think of the opportunities that lay in this monster. She was the only Parselmouth she knew of at Hogwarts, except for that infernal Harry Potter. Maybe, just maybe… The possibilities were endless. She suddenly shook her head. A hissing noise had crept into her thoughts; the basilisk had begun to speak again.* “Don’t you know about anything that goes on around here? All of the roosters were killed. No, I can see by the look on your face that you are preparing to ask questions. Please do not. It will be better for everyone this way.” *Maya thought again. It couldn’t be Potter… maybe there was another hidden Parselmouth like herself here at Hogwarts? If she could live without letting others know, why couldn’t other people? It was a good point… First thing though, she had to clear something with the basilisk.* “Just as you will not betray your other…’correspondent’ by telling me who they are, you will not tell anyone about me, correct? *She could, somehow, feel the basilisk nodding as a sign of affirmation.* “Yes, yes, of course. You may be of use to me someday too… I would not like to alienate a good ally, or any ally.” *Maya could feel herself start to relax. Her secret would still be safe. It would actually be interesting, knowing about this creature when no one else but one did, and trying to figure out who in the world that other person could possibly be. In the meantime, she had some questions for this monster she had found.* “How did you get here? Who brought you here? How do you survive?” “No more questions, human one. If you use your senses, and listen, you would realize that people are approaching.” *Mistaking the look of surprise of Maya’s face, he continued with a note of sarcasm.* “Yes, they’re called footsteps. People make them when they walk. Now, I must be going, lest someone find me here…” *With that, she heard the slither and scrape of scales against stone, and it was gone.* Ah, so you wish to return to the library? And perhaps look at another book?