BASILISK (HARRY POTTER)

In JK Rowling's '''Harry Potter''' series, a 'basilisk' is a monstrous serpentine creature. Much larger than its mythical counterpart, the basilisk of the ''Harry Potter'' universe is capable of reaching lengths of up to fifty feet and living for hundreds of years. However, like the basilisks of Greek myth, they are magically bred by setting a toad onto the egg of a chicken. Basilisks are completely uncontrollable except by Parselmouths, and the first basilisk is believed to have been created by a Parselmouth and Dark wizard named Herpo the Foul. A basilisk kills both with its powerful venom and with its stare, which is immediately lethal to anyone who gazes at it directly. To anyone who gazes at it indirectly, such as through a camera or in a reflection, it induces a profound state of petrification, which only a stew of mature mandrakes can reverse. Ghosts who look at it directly will become petrified, as they cannot die again. It seems that glasses do not work as protection from a basilisk's eyes as Myrtle was described as wearing spectacles and yet still died.
In the second volume of the series, a basilisk was the monster that inhabited the Chamber of Secrets. When Tom Marvolo Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets the Basilisk killed a girl named Myrtle in 1943, then hibernated for 50 years.
In 1992, it was set loose again by a Horcrux of Voldemort, and attempted to kill several Muggle-borns, but due to sheer luck all its victims were merely petrified.
Spiders always flee from the Basilisk, as they are mortal enemies. Throughout the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, spiders appear all moving in the same direction.
The only thing the Basilisk seems to fear is the rooster, as the crying of the rooster is fatal to a Basilisk. Tom Riddle's Horcrux commanded Ginny Weasley to kill all the school roosters, remarked upon by Rubeus Hagrid.
When Harry discovers the existence of the chamber and of its location, Riddle reveals his true identity and sets the basilisk loose upon Harry while Ginny Weasley's life force ebbed away. Fawkes appeared to assist Harry, carrying the Sorting Hat; Harry pulls the sword of Godric Gryffindor from that hat, and uses it to impale the basilisk's head, killing it. Because the sword is the product of goblin craft, it has the ability to "absorb that which strengthens it", and therefore becomes impregnated with the basilisk's venom. Dumbledore uses this knowledge to destroy the ring horcrux in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Though Harry was mortally poisoned by a stray basilisk fang, Fawkes' tears purified Harry's blood of the venom and the fang was used to destroy Tom Riddle's diary, eliminating Voldemort's Horcrux (though this fact was not known at the time) and restoring Ginny Weasley's health. In the seventh book, it was revealed that Harry was a seventh Horcrux that Voldemort unintentionally made, it is unknown whether the venom of the Basilisk could have killed Harry or the piece of Voldemort's soul that was within him.
As of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the basilisk's carcass remained in the Chamber, and Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger took some of the basilisk's fangs, with the intent to use the powerful and destructive venom contained within to destroy the last of the Horcruxes. Supposedly Ron opened the chamber simply by mimicking the garbled snake noises he had heard Harry speak earlier that year. Hermione then used one of the fangs to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's cup.
It is said that the tear of a phoenix is the only cure for the devastating effect of the basilisk's venom.

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See Also

See Also

★ Basilisk

★ Moaning Myrtle