As Dumbledore and Harry walked toward Gryffindor Tower, Basil, lying on his bed, paid them no further mind.
His attention was entirely captivated by that beautiful creature—the phoenix.
But it wasn't the phoenix's lightweight magic that could carry people in flight that he cared about.
It was its wondrous, resonant song.
Music that awakened the vitality within, dispelled despair, and made the blood surge—it was practically a battle song straight out of fantasy novels.
On the battlefield, the negativity in Dark Wizards' hearts would be dispersed, weakening their Dark Magic.
The cowardice and nervousness of White Wizards would be burned away by this "flame" entering their hearts, leaving behind positive, uplifting emotions, making their spells more powerful.
It was a weapon of war!
Not to mention, a phoenix could teleport people instantly.
This teleportation couldn't be blocked by Anti-Apparition charms.
With it, even in areas outside London (including Diagon Alley), Hogwarts, and Hogsmeade, Basil could instantly return to his invincible zones when facing danger. No need to worry about accidentally kicking the bucket and spending Gems to revive.
Although he could also learn Apparition.
But according to Riddle, Apparition had counter-spells.
And while you could transport others by having them hold onto you...
Phoenix teleportation didn't have such drawbacks.
"My little cutie, why do you cost 10,000?" Basil, pretending to sleep, lamented inwardly.
It had been three days since he spent 100 Gems to light up Hermione's house.
Adding the 13,001 Gems he just got from Harry entering the Chamber of Secrets early, bringing Dumbledore along, and destroying the Diary...
His current Gem count was 39,495.846.
Transmigrating to another world cost 30,000. He definitely needed to bring potions, and lighting up [St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries] cost another 3,000.
That left only 6,495.846.
With just this amount, what if merging the missing components required Gems upon his return?
"What's this?" Basil heard footsteps.
He checked and saw that Dumbledore and Harry had already entered the common room and were climbing the stairs toward the dormitory.
[Stupefy]
Basil pointed his wand at himself.
A flash of red light from a Stunning Spell, just strong enough to break through his Magic Resistance, hit him.
He fell into a light sleep.
He didn't know how long passed before he felt someone shaking him.
Basil yawned genuinely. In front of him was Harry, and standing not far away, looking him up and down, was Dumbledore.
"Hello, Basil. I trust I don't need to introduce myself again," Dumbledore said gently, holding up the pierced Diary.
For some reason, he glanced at Harry's pillow several times.
Basil feigned anger and looked at Harry. "You went out at night? And didn't call me? Why is Dumbledore here? You got caught going to the girls' bathroom? And then you found the secret passage? By the way, who among you speaks Parseltongue?"
"We both do." Harry lowered his head guiltily.
"But the Basilisk skin in the Chamber is yours. Snape will help you process it, only taking a portion of the material as a processing fee," Harry quickly mentioned the part Basil would care about most—money.
"That's good." Basil sighed in relief.
He looked at Dumbledore. "Go ahead. What do you want to ask?"
Dumbledore clicked his tongue with interest. "I don't think that's necessary. You are very healthy; what I feared has not happened."
Basil was getting a little anxious now. "Aren't you going to ask how this Diary ended up like this?"
"No need." Dumbledore shook his head. "If I'm not mistaken, it was pierced by a Devil's Snare tendril coated in Basilisk venom. The traces are obvious."
"As for the rest, you probably learned it from the boy, Tom. I am not a person curious about others' privacy."
"As long as you are healthy and unharmed, and this Dark Magic item is destroyed, the rest has nothing to do with you."
For a split second, a flash of anger passed through Dumbledore's eyes.
Then he became kindly again. "You and Harry get some rest. I won't disturb you further."
And then, he actually left.
"What the hell! He just left like that?" Basil felt his acting preparation was wasted.
Especially since the lie-detecting sense from [Veritaserum Connoisseur] told him Dumbledore wasn't lying.
Dumbledore genuinely wasn't curious about exactly what had happened.
Basil had been prepared to talk about his emotional journey after receiving the Diary—from anxiety to doubt, then to anger at being deceived.
How he discovered the Chamber, realized Voldemort's identity, kept his wits about him, and hid his ability to manipulate plants.
Finally relying on a Devil's Snare injected with Basilisk venom, on the brink of death, to kill the Diary and win.
But in the end, Dumbledore just took one look at him and called it a day.
Harry, however, wasn't surprised at all. "Dumbledore already knows from Hagrid that we know Voldemort was a Hogwarts student, the culprit who killed Myrtle and framed Hagrid. And from some unknown source, he knows we know Tom Riddle is Voldemort."
"So, in his view, it's perfectly normal for you to realize this Diary was Voldemort's and find an opportunity to destroy it."
"After all, you killed Fenrir Greyback before, a Death Eater. Destroying a Dark Magic item isn't that surprising."
"As for the Basilisk, without anyone controlling it, it should be harmless, right? In all those years before, not a single student was killed by it. And there were no human bones in the tunnel, only small animals."
"Oh." Basil closed his eyes.
His shock wasn't just because of this.
But because Dumbledore, who constantly peeped with the Mist Condenser, actually didn't care about others' privacy? He really did it for Hogwarts?
It was like suddenly finding out the Third Hokage used his crystal ball to peep at the women's bathhouse not out of perversion, but to inspect the Hidden Leaf Village for security hazards.
That was just too ridiculous!
Meanwhile, perhaps because of the close proximity...
Voldemort, who in the original timeline didn't sense the destruction of his Horcruxes, now had a splitting headache.
Even Quirrell was sweating bullets, collapsed on the floor.
"He became independent! That brat! That lowly fragment of Riddle!" The turban withered under Voldemort's rage, turning into flying ash.
Revealing that chalk-white, ugly face.
"How dare he!"
In his plan, his younger self would at most absorb life force to gain a physical form.
But he hadn't expected Riddle to turn himself into an independent life form directly, severing the connection with him!
Riddle, possessing Slytherin's inherited knowledge, could do all this.
But he didn't understand. By doing so, Riddle also lost the immortality provided by the Horcrux.
As "him," how could he give up immortality?
Voldemort, unaware that the Diary was directly destroyed by Basil, was baffled.
If he knew the Diary was destroyed by Basil summoning Riddle, who summoned the Basilisk to spit venom, which was then applied to a Devil's Snare vine to pierce the Diary... his expression would surely be magnificent.