Basilisk

From Teach And Discover Wiki

The Basilisk is a giant serpent, also known as the King of Serpents. It is a creature bred by Dark Wizards. Herpo the Foul was the first to breed a Basilisk. He accomplished this by hatching a chicken egg beneath a toad. Basilisk breeding was banned in Medieval times.

Although classified as an XXXXX creature, meaning it is a known wizard-killer that cannot be domesticated due to its immense powers, because the Basilisk is still a serpent, a Parselmouth may place a Basilisk under his or her control. This depends on the relationship between the Basilisk and the Parselmouth, as Tom Riddle was the only one who could command Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk, while Harry Potter had no control over it.

Traits

The Basilisk can grow up to fifty feet in length, and is a dark green colour with large yellow eyes. These eyes have the power to immediately kill anything who looks into them. If the victim looks indirectly at the Basilisk's eyes, i.e. as a reflection or through an object, they will only be petrified. Ghosts may become petrified by the Basilisk's gaze as well, if they stare directly at it as was Nearly-Headless Nick. This is because ghosts are already dead, so they cannot die again. But Phoenixes (and possibly other non-human associated creatures) are immune to this deadly gaze. Spiders are terrified of the Basilisk, as they describe it as their enemies, and would not even speak of it.

The Basilisk's sharp fangs are full of deadly venom, powerful enough to kill a human in a matter of minutes. The venom is potent even long after death. It is also one of the few substances destructive enough to destroy a Horcrux, as Phoenix tears are the only known cure. Basilisk skin is armored like that of a dragon's, which deflects spells cast upon it. The Basilisk sheds its skin at intervals, like all other snakes, when it grows.

Basilisks can live a natural life of at least nine hundred years. Their mortal weakness is the crowing of a rooster. Basilisks feed off vertebrate animals. The male can be distinguished from the female by a single scarlet plume on its head.