A Brother To Basilisks (a Drarry fanfic)

Chapters 3: Confrontation in the Headmaster's Office

Harry thought he heard Snape close the office door behind him. He didn't really care, though. His attention was on Dumbledore, and the hard way he looked at Dash, and then the way he looked up at Harry again.

He was calm, and he was grave. Harry had seen him like that before, of course, but he thought this was the most serious Dumbledore had ever been with him. "I suppose you know what you have there, Harry?" he asked gently.

The gentleness made it worse. Harry's heart was pounding, and he jumped when Dash stuck his tongue out again and glided it slowly over Harry's earlobe and down the side of his neck. You don't need to run. I'm here.

Harry steadied himself with thinking about that, and with the hand he put on the back of Dash's head, and went on. "I know he's a basilisk, sir. He told me that himself." Harry touched Dash's face, and after an irritated snapping of his tongue, Dash let him. "He even covers his eyes so that he can't kill someone with his eyes. I suggested that. He does it. He's safe to be around."

"Safe for you to be around, perhaps," said Dumbledore, with slow and stern emphasis. "But safe for the other students in the school? Safe for people who walk past him in the street?" He shook his head. "I'm afraid you will have to give him up."

Harry said nothing, but wrapped himself around Dash in return, grasping Dash's middle coils with his arms. Dash leaned harder against Harry, and hissed softly. Harry wasn't sure if he understood every English word that someone else spoke, but he definitely understood the thoughts that were racing through Harry's head.

If he tries to take you away from me, I'll bite him. He deserves an agonizing death.

That was another time Harry was desperately glad that there was no chance of someone eavesdropping on what Dash said to him. "I'm not just—I can't control him because I'm the Heir of Slytherin or anything like that, sir," he told Dumbledore. "Or because I'm a Parselmouth." Dumbledore had started to speak, but now he waited and eyed Harry meditatively. "He's bonded to me."

"What?" Dumbledore opened one hand as though to cup Dash's egg in it, but Harry thought that was shock, not important. He was staring at Harry, and glanced back to Snape as though Snape would somehow have the answer.

Harry looked at Snape, but his face was bland and empty. Well, good. Harry had to be the one to tell this part, anyway. "He hatched from an egg in the Chamber of Secrets. I heard his voice calling to me, and he came out of the egg when I slit the side to help him." He paused, painfully certain that Snape would pounce on him and yell at him for breaking curfew, but nothing happened except silence. So Harry went on. "And then he looked away with his eyes covered, and he started speaking into my head, and he told me what his name was, and he knew mine. And he doesn't want to go anywhere, sir."

"Slytherin," Snape murmured.

Harry wanted to ask him what he meant, but Dumbledore gave Snape a pretty sharp glance, and he shut up. "I'm sorry, Harry, but the matter of safety still remains," Dumbledore continued, turning back to Harry. "What would happen if your basilisk murdered someone accidentally? You might be very sorry for it afterwards, but it would still have happened."

Dash seemed to take a moment to translate Harry's worry from his thoughts this time, but he gave another agitated hiss. Tell him that it won't happen unless you tell me to. I want to kill small warm things. Humans are no fun unless they hurt you. I'd have to stretch my jaw too wide to swallow them.

"He says that he'll be careful, sir," said Harry, and his hand trembled on Dash's scales. He had been upset and afraid at first when he found out he was bonded with a basilisk, but now all he could think of was the way that Dudley got all the presents when he was a kid and Harry got none. He didn't want someone to take Dash away, too.