For a moment, Minho had really thought it had been Jisung or Felix to say those things. It was a twisted thought, obviously – but at the same time, who else could've been speaking if not them?

He'd simply asked out of instinct, but at the very first sight of the two's expressions he'd understood that something was off. And yet...

Mussssst. Obey. Sssssssssstay lockeddd. Attack...

Minho blinked: it was clear then that neither Jisung nor Felix was talking. There must be someone outside the room, he assumed. But why aren't they reacting? It's all so odd.

The two boys, in fact, had looks of pure confusion plastered on their pale faces. Minho couldn't understand why they didn't find the creepy talking strange as well.

"What d'you think this means?" he questioned softly, moving his head slightly towards the Owlery door.

He didn't get an answer – just a look from Felix that expressed half fear half puzzlement.

"I – ehm... haven't you heard?" asked again the Slytherin, trying to get the two to explain what he couldn't figure out by mere looks.

"No?" answered Jisung, with a tone that felt more like a question.

Minho tried hard to follow the other two's logic: could it be that he'd just imagined it? He was tired, afterall, it was already late and he'd woken up early that day... And yet –

Ordersssssss. Careffffffull. Attack...

"What should we hear?" tried again Felix, hoping to get a better understanding of what Minho wasn't fully revealing.

"A voice... you know... outside here", tried to explain the Slytherin.

"Could it be we've not heard well?"

"No, I have not heard anything at all".

"But why can you then?"

"Are you sure you heard someone?"

All these questions flooded at once onto Minho, and the poor guy had to get off his broom and near the two friends to make them stop.

"Listen – I mean, I am pretty sure I did hear something... or at least I was. It could be I simply dreamt it, it's probably just because I'm really tired. I didn't want to scare you, really..."

Jisung snorted. "You not wanting to scare us does not mean that nothing has happened. Where was the voice coming from?"

Minho was taken aback by the Gryffindor's response: the boy looked rather fragile, and hearing him make such a comment was something he had not been prepared for.

"I think from inside there", he said, pointing at one of the walls, assuming that the owner of the voice – if there was even an owner to begin with– must be in the room nextdoor.

"Impossible", replied the Gryffindor matter-of-factly. "There's nothing over there, just the wall".

"How would you know?" inquired Felix: Minho was not expecting the Hufflepuff to mistrust the friend's words, but maybe he was the sort of type that wanted material proof for everything. Or fear is simply taking over him...

"You know my parents are basically my pen-pals" explained Jisung, sarcasm clear in his voice. "I come here twice every week".

Minho, as far as it concerned him, couldn't really have an opinion: having a cat as his pet (and occasionally using Seungmin's owl to exchange letters with his dad), meant he never took the time to visit the Owlery himself. For all he knew, there might be thirty other rooms past the one they were currently in.

"Well, if that's true, a voice can't come from a wall", said Felix, speaking the obvious.

"Sure, but then what was the sound Minho heard? A ghost? A basilisk? Come on Lixie, have sense".

"Wait" suddenly said Minho, after Jisung was done talking. "What was the last thing you said?"

"Ehm... to have more sense?" answered uncertainly the Gryffindor, his ears suddenly turning bright red.

"No no", replied Minho, who wanted to make sure he'd heard him correctly. "That thing you said before that".

"If the voice belonged to a basilisk?"

"Imagine if it did!" squeaked the Hufflepuff. "There was a basilisk at Hogwarts once, Harry Potter killed it!"

"Yes, in fact", agreed Minho, who'd heard the tale many times: it was incredible to think of all the deeds that little wizard had done, even before coming of age.

"But he also killed it", pointed out Jisung. "It can't be a basilisk, I was just joking-"

Ssssssssserve the massssster...

"But what if what I heard was a similar creature?" inquired suddenly Minho, fear taking over him. Could it possibly be that...

"In that case..." Jisung paused for a moment. Then, abruptly, he turned around to look at the Slytherin with big, round eyes.

"In that case?" asked Felix, confused. Minho assumed he must be Muggle Born, like himself, to not realize what had struck him first, and the Gryffindor second.

"It would imply you can understand what reptiles say", explained the Gryffindor, looking at Minho like the boy might accidentally turn into a reptile the next moment, "just like..."

"Parseltongue people", completed Minho.

Silence fell over them.

***

"Maester, you can't let it free like that", was saying the woman, in a fearful voice. "It's big. And green. And it crawls. It's pretty hard for it to go unnoticed!"

He did not answer immediately, but simply flexed his wand hand fingers. He couldn't let it stay blocked inside that room all the time. It needed space, it needed water...

"I'll remind you of what happened when we were pressuring it too much", he talked at last, making sure he was selecting all his words carefully. He must sound convincing. He was unafraid, after all. Or was he?
"It almost got itself caught, all without us intervening. I thought it would struk you then that something must be done to prevent the possibility..."

"It did, Maester, it did!" quickly replied the woman, bowing authomatically as if the action would somehow temper his mood down. "But adding more water, maybe... the room is very big already..."

"We have already added as much water as we could manage", he answered sternly. "Were we to add more; than yes, that might not go unnoticed".

"The creature's untamable, my Lord..."

"I am none's Lord" he replied, annoyed. "But that does not take away from the fact that I know what I am doing. Is that everything?"

"Y-yes, Maester".

"Good then. You may go back to your normal mansions. And have them take long, I beg you. The more I'll go without hearing your complaints the happier I will be".

"As... as you wish, Maester" she answered at last, leaving the room.

Once she'd left, he got up as well. Untamable creature, as if! he tsked. She knows nothing, she knows. No untamable creature would be made to stay locked inside a dark room. I needen't fear. We're safe. As for the Hogwarts – it shan't stay so for much longer!

~🤍~
Before I forget –  my GOT spin-off is up!

I decided to first publish a fwe things about the places, houses, characters etc., so that you can easily turn back to these if you forget about someone I name – spent my last week doing them, there are so many characters lol.

But yea anyways, hope you enjoyed today's chapter!

Were you expecting Minho to be a Parseltongue? lmk!!

See you on monday,

Vic🌙.