"No, they don't have any legs… but how did you know about the petrifying part?" Andromeda asked.
"There's a game we muggles play called Dungeons and Dragons, we pretend to be wizards and knights and the like and cast spells and fight monsters. A basilisk is depicted in the game as a six legged lizard creature roughly the size of a loveseat. It's gaze can turn people to stone, like the Gorgons of legend." David explained.
"Interesting… well you may need to show us this game sometime, perhaps we can tell you what creatures from this game are and aren't real, or how they differ from their depictions. Regardless, yes a basilisk had been petrifying students. It had been released from a chamber hidden under the school for over a thousand years, by a student possessed by a cursed artifact of some kind." Ted said. Harry wanted to say more about it, but held off. That information might be better kept secret.
"The school didn't know that it was a basilisk until recently, and were under the assumption it was a student performing these actions. As such they didn't want any of the students leaving for fear of being unable to find information on who may have been doing such a thing." Ted said.
"Alright, this all makes some level of sense so far. I take it they dealt with the Basilisk and assisted the possessed student if you're telling me about it." David said.
"Yes, the item possessing the student was destroyed, and the Basilisk was slain, by Harry here. Unfortunately, it had petrified Hermione as well as a few other students before he could do so." Ted said, significant pride in his voice at his adopted son.
"Good lord, why didn't the staff handle this? Surely they should have if that's what is expected of them!" David asked with shock.
"Harry and his friends managed to put the pieces together first, and Harry wasn't going to just let more people get hurt, he did grab a teacher, the one who should have been the optimal choice for the matter, but the fool had only gotten himself hurt on the way to deal with the problem, leaving Harry to face it alone. On one hand I want to strangle Harry for putting himself at such risk, but on the other hand, it was a truly brave and heroic thing he did. I can't fault him for trying to help, and everything has turned out well for the time being." Ted said. Harry blanched for a moment, but calmed down. He was aware that what he did was stupid, and reckless, and far mroe Gryffindor than Ravenclaw… but he had to do it. He couldn't have let Susan die in the chamber while he could have done SOMETHING.
"I see. You hadn't told us before now for what reason?" David asked.
"We ourselves only found out last week. Knowing that this trip was coming up, I believe it was going to be easier on you to learn it this way where you can see that Hermione is alive and well, to ease your worries about everything." As if to reinforce Ted's statement, Hermione waved at her father.
"I suppose you're right… this was better. I take it there's no way to convince you that leaving Hogwarts is a good idea is it my Queen of Sicily?" David asked.
"Not a chance daddy. I know it's dangerous, but that makes me worry even more about my friends if I'm not there to help them when things get like that. It doesn't help that Padma and I account for about seventy percent of Harry's impulse control." Hermione said, lightly punching Harry in the arm.
"I take offense to that." Harry said, causing the car to take a short break for laughter.
"What matters is that they're both here, safe, sound, and whole. All of the students are. Now it's just our jobs as parents to make sure that at least during the summer, all these two kids worry about is getting their homework done." Ted said, as he took Andromeda's hand.
"Too right, too right." David said.
Harry believed he was in for an even better summer than his previous one.
June had been a welcome breath of fresh air for Harry as he was, for the first time in a while, free from any pressing deadlines or dangers. After a very intense conversation regarding his role in the Basilisk incident in Hogwarts, which had been a whiplash of praise for being so brave in the face of danger, and scolding for doing something so phenomenally dangerous; it was decided that Harry wouldn't be punished for his role in those events. This gave Harry some time to simply calm down and enjoy being a kid for a while. Or it would have, if not for the conversation that Harry knew he needed to have with Andromeda.
"Hey… mum? Can I talk to you about something?" Harry asked hesitantly. Calling Andromeda 'mom' to her face was still a new concept to Harry, and while he was happy to do it, it still felt awkward on his tongue.
"Of course you can, Harry." Andromeda said from her place on the couch. It was a relatively rainy day, which had partially ruined Andromeda's initial plans for her day off with Harry, which was going to the park to do some broom flying, an activity that both of them did enjoy. Andromeda flipped off the television at Harry's serious expression, before patting the couch next to her and turning to him as he sat down. "What's the matter sweetie?" Andromeda said, a small amount of worry falling into her voice.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.