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Chapter 641: Underestimating the Enemy
Chapter 641: Underestimating the Enemy
Thirty seconds ago, Tom, who had been controlling Ginny Weasley's body with his magic, had been quietly observing the dot representing Albert's location on the diary, waiting like a coiled snake for his prey to step into his trap.
Tom approached the Basilisk, intending to let the Muggle-born wizard see the truth before being killed by the monster's deadly gaze—a final act of mercy from Lord Voldemort.
However, Tom's twisted amusement was short-lived.
After a brief few seconds, events took an unexpected turn.
The ink mark indicating Albert Anderson's location on the diary suddenly stopped moving forward and turned back in the direction it had come.
Tom stood still for a moment, his first reaction upon regaining his senses being that his prey had sensed the ambush and chosen to flee.
Or perhaps it wasn't so surprising, he thought. Maybe the Muggle-born wizard had known all along that he would be attacked by the Basilisk and had planned to react this way.
But how had he known about the ambush? Or was he merely wandering the nearby corridors, trying to lure Tom out?
Whether it was the former or the latter, it didn't matter to Tom Riddle.
Albert's abnormal behavior truly disgusted him.
To have his prey slip away right before his eyes was a humiliation.
Tom even suspected that the relatively clever fellow was deliberately provoking him with this tactic.
Since his ambush had failed, Tom saw no point in waiting any longer. Without hesitation, he hissed a command, ordering the Basilisk by his side to pursue and kill that insolent boy.
Due to the Easter holidays, most of the students had gone home, leaving only a limited number of students in the castle. Professor McGonagall had instructed those who remained to stay in their common rooms or the library, so much of Hogwarts was deserted. Moreover, Tom had been secretly monitoring the entire castle using the Trace Charm, which was how he had managed to pinpoint Albert's location so accurately.
Of course, even if someone had accidentally wandered by, it wouldn't have mattered. After giving Dumbledore the slip with a clever ruse, there was no one left in the school who could stop him.
Upon receiving its master's command, the Basilisk eagerly twisted its massive body and slithered after Albert.
There was its prey, the food its master had offered it—a starving monster whose eyes now gleamed with anticipation.
The Basilisk's eyes locked onto the fleeing figure in the corridor, and it hissed softly, as if whispering, "...Tear you... Kill you... Devour you..."
Although Albert didn't understand Serpentine, the chilling gaze boring into his back and the sound of the Basilisk's heavy body sliding across the marble floor sent shivers down his spine.
His Felix Felicis (intuition) was screaming at him not to look back, warning that death awaited if he did—death by the Basilisk's deadly gaze.
Driven by the fear of mortality, Albert sprinted forward.
Even without looking back, he knew the Basilisk was gaining on him, just as he had expected. Its speed was superior to his own.
"You can't escape!"
Tom Riddle stepped out from around the corner, a malicious smile spreading across his face as he watched the frantic figure fleeing before him.
The Basilisk drew closer and closer to Albert, ready to pounce and tear him to shreds.
But Tom's smile froze.
He saw Albert throw something back over his shoulder, and suddenly, a large cloud of strange, yellow smoke filled the corridor.
From the Basilisk's agitated hissing, Tom could tell that the monster disliked the smoke and the pungent odor that now permeated the air.
In fact, Tom himself could smell the irritating, unpleasant scent from a distance and had to use the Bubble-Head Charm to isolate himself from the toxic fumes filling the corridor.
"Is this your trump card?" Tom muttered, finally understanding why the Muggle-born wizard had dared to challenge the Basilisk. He had found a way to repel the monster.
Tom found this little trick laughable. With a wave of Ginny's wand, he conjured a gust of wind that swept the toxic gas away.
"Don't let him get away. Chase him down and kill him!"
Tom continued to issue commands in Parseltongue, urging the Basilisk to pursue the fleeing figure. He would not allow this audacious boy to escape after daring to challenge him.
In reality, Albert wasn't as panicked as Tom thought he was. The Felix Felicis was enhancing his physical abilities, and his recent physical training meant he still had plenty of stamina to spare.
Was he scared?
Yes, a little.
Anyone would be afraid of death.
But the Felix Felicis kept his mind clear, and he was already formulating a plan to use the items he had prepared to blind the Basilisk and turn the tables on his pursuer.
I can turn this around! That was Albert's mindset at the moment.
Yes, his confidence was swelling.
His intuition, enhanced by the Felix Felicis, constantly assured him that with his prior preparations, killing the Basilisk would be a breeze.
The only thing Albert truly feared was the Basilisk's deadly gaze. If he could blind the monster, he had countless ways to finish it off.
As countless ideas for dealing with the Basilisk flooded Albert's mind, a new task even popped up on his mission panel, making him itch to try killing the beast chasing him.
However, Albert quickly suppressed the turbulent thoughts in his mind, never forgetting his purpose and understanding that the notion of "I can turn this around" was just an illusion, and that trying and dying were two very different things.
He would bide his time; there was no shame in that.
Kill the Basilisk.
That was Harry Potter's task, and there was no need for Albert to risk his life for it.
Well, not right now, at least.
At the moment, it couldn't even be considered an adventure.
Perhaps, in Tom's eyes, the Basilisk was chasing Albert to the point of desperation, but Albert knew that as long as he didn't stop running, the Basilisk wouldn't be able to pose a life-threatening danger to him, especially since he was well-prepared.
Taking advantage of the moment the snake repellent bullet blocked the Basilisk, Albert once again created some distance between them.
His Felix Felicis (intuition) reminded him that he had to make a big fuss to force Tom to enter the Chamber of Secrets with Ginny.
Expediting this process was his primary reason for being here right now.
In fact, Albert thought that by throwing out several smoke bombs made from dark powder to block the Basilisk's line of sight momentarily, he could set up the scene and have a chance to turn the tables on the Basilisk or create a bunch of troubles for it. But in the end, he vetoed the idea of stopping.
The real enemy was not necessarily the Basilisk behind him, but it could also be his gradually inflating confidence.
Albert threw all the Sticky Balls behind him, instantly creating a large area of sticky goo.
This obviously wouldn't trap the Basilisk, but it could cause it some trouble.
When the Basilisk twisted its body to slither through the sticky area, its movement speed decreased significantly.
"That damn guy!"
Tom Riddle felt like he had swallowed a fly, so disgusted that he waved his wand to eliminate the sticky area in front of him.
However, Albert Anderson took the opportunity to turn the corner and disappear from Tom's sight.
When Tom caught up, he found that Albert had vanished from the corridor, and he knew that his opponent hadn't used a Disillusionment Charm on himself because such a charm wouldn't work on the Basilisk.
Tom immediately looked at the diary in his hand, and the ink mark indicating Albert Anderson's location was now on a classroom beside the corridor.
What was that guy up to?
Had he given up? Or was he preparing to hold his ground in the classroom, waiting for the other professors to arrive?
Albert's mysterious actions confused Tom, who looked towards the classroom Albert had fled into. The entrance was magically sealed.
When the Basilisk crashed through the door and entered, Tom Riddle discovered that the classroom was a trap Albert had set for the beast.
An eerie darkness emanated from the opened classroom door, a darkness so thick that not even light could penetrate it.
As the Basilisk crashed through the door and entered the classroom, two magically controlled puppets wielded a rusty axe and a longsword, attacking the Basilisk without hesitation.
Although the rusty axe and longsword slashed at the Basilisk's scales, they couldn't inflict any substantial damage.
However, what shocked Tom the most was that the darkness in the classroom held not only an ambush but also the sound of a rooster crowing.
The house-elf's rooster, which had been raised for several months, was finally released by Albert from the creature's ball. After witnessing the brave and fearless knight armor being crushed by the Basilisk, the rooster was so scared that it started crowing loudly.
Upon hearing the rooster's crow, the Basilisk immediately panicked and tried to escape the classroom, creating quite a ruckus and almost knocking Tom over.
Even as Tom hissed continuously, he couldn't calm the Basilisk down.
A hasty retreat.
Perhaps there were no better words to describe the current state of the Basilisk.
A rooster? Where did a rooster come from in the school, and from the sound of it, there was more than one.
At this moment, Tom felt like he had been punched in the face, his nose twisting from the force.
He knew he had made a stupid mistake—he had underestimated his opponent.
It was all over! Tom prepared to take matters into his own hands and kill the Muggle-born wizard who dared to mock him.
After waving his wand to expel the black smoke from the classroom out the window, he found that all that remained were a bunch of crowing roosters, some damaged desks, and flattened knight armor.
Where did he go? Where was Albert now?
Tom Riddle immediately looked at the diary, and the ink mark indicating Albert Anderson's location had completely disappeared.
"Damn it, I'm going to kill you!"
Tom felt his cheeks burning, as if he had been slapped several times. He couldn't believe he had been fooled by Albert Anderson; no one had ever dared to fool Lord Voldemort like this before.
The other professors had noticed the commotion and were on their way.
Before leaving, Tom turned back to look at the classroom one last time, still unsure how that guy had disappeared right under his nose.
(End of Chapter)
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