Would You Have Survived the Battle With the Basilisk?

By Sophie

All this talk about movies had me thinking: what would it be like if we were in a movie? Would we have survived some of the dramatic battles that the “hero” Harry Potter survived through? Well, here’s your chance to find out! Take this quiz to see if you would have beaten the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Slither to it!

1. You’ve just arrived in the Chamber of Secrets, armed with only your wand. In the distance, lying on the ground, you see the body of Ginny. What do you do?
a) Run straight to her – she needs your help! (Move on to question 2)
b) Look around suspiciously – something must have done this to her. (Skip to question 3)
c) Give up and leave the Chamber (yes, this is an option). (Go to ending 1)
d) Have a massive panic attack in the middle of the room. (Go to ending 2)

2. As you arrive at Ginny’s side, you feel that she is limp and unresponsive. Just as you are about to lift her, you hear a voice behind you. Hang on ... is that the Tom Riddle!? What do you do?
a) Run and hug him – this is the dreamy Tom Riddle we’re talking about! (Go to ending 3)
b) Throw yourself at Riddle in your anger; maybe you’ll even manage to hurt him! (Go to ending 4)
c) Stand your ground, but don’t threaten him. You’re not that nasty; he may be trying to help. (Move on to question 3)
d) Scream your head off and make a break for it. (Skip to question 4)

3. Regardless of whether you went searching for it or whether you ran into Riddle’s trap, there’s now a gigantic Basilisk that wants you dead. Congratulations. What do you do first?
a) Laugh in its face and reach up to grab a conveniently-placed moldy hat (who’d have thought it?). (Skip to question 5)
b) Hide in one of the conveniently-situated sewers and make a plea for help. (Move on to question 4)
c) Attempt to speak Parseltongue. (Go to ending 5)
d) Give that Basilisk the old one-two (Vernon Dursley would be proud). (Go to ending 6)

4. You find yourself hiding, but thankfully the Basilisk has slithered its way past you. Back in the main Chamber, you can hear the arrival of a strange bird. Dashing back out, it swoops down just in time to drop you the raggedy old Sorting Hat. What do you do?
a) Jam it onto your head – what’s the worst that could happen? (Move on to question 5)
b) Drop it on the floor. There’s no way you’re touching something that gross! (Go to ending 7)
c) Stand in disbelief for so long that the Basilisk ends up biting you. (Skip to question 6)
d) Have yet another massive panic attack; is this the best weapon you have!? (Go to ending 8 )

5. To your surprise, the sword of Gryffindor comes clanging out of the hat! Snatching it up, you charge straight at the Basilisk and pierce it through the head (huzzah!). However, in your keyed-up excitement, you forgot about one tiny thing: those hazardous fangs. Ah. Now what do you do?
a) Accept that you are now doomed, and simply collapse. (Move on to question 6)
b) Just chill. It’s not like you have much other hope. (Also move on to question 6)
c) Make a run for it, but collapse halfway to the exit. (Again, move on to question 6)
d) In case you haven’t already guessed, have yet another massive panic attack. (Do you get the picture? To question 6 with you!)

6. Well, aren’t you lucky? Fawkes has ever so kindly returned to save you from a dismal fate. Now that you’re armed with a badass basilisk fang, what do you do?
a) Accidentally drop it on your foot. (Go to ending 9)
b) Throw yourself at Tom Riddle. Hey, what have you go to lose? (Go to ending 10)
c) Slip and drop it into the water. (Go to ending 11)
d) Stab it through that diary! (Go to ending 12)


Ending 1: Wow. How kind of you. You have now doomed a first-year girl to a dismal fate. Why don’t you return to her brother and tell him what you did, eh?
Ending 2: Tom Riddle takes pity on you and finishes you quickly. You’re welcome.
Ending 3: This isn’t a fan fiction, people – Riddle doesn’t throw his arms around you and confess his undying love for you. I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination.
Ending 4: Not a bad idea, but he doesn’t take too kindly to it: using your wand, he quickly kills you. Better luck next time.
Ending 5: Hey, it was worth a try. Unfortunately, the Basilisk only responds to the Heir of Slytherin. Ah, well, you win some, you lose some.
Ending 6: Okay, then ... Well ... I don’t know what to say. Uh ... Good try? Yeah, you’re dead.
Ending 7: Congratulations, you just threw away your only hope.
Ending 8: The time for pity is long gone; the Basilisk kills you. Better luck next time ... or not.
Ending 9: Good job. Well done. I’m proud of you. The venom re-enters your bloodstream and you die, but I guess you already expected that.
Ending 10: You do manage to stab him with the fang, and he does scream a little bit. However, it isn’t enough to completely destroy him. He merely returns to the diary, awaiting the next unlucky fool. I suppose you could say this is a win of sorts? At least you got out alive, unlike the person who dropped it on their foot.
Ending 11: Enjoy the rest of your short life in the Chamber. Maybe now you’ll have the fan-fiction ending with Riddle that you always dreamed of.
Ending 12: Riddle explodes, Ginny is saved, you make it back out, and everyone hails you as a hero! 2000 points to Slytherin!