Basillisk

[quigonginger]

No: HPFGUIDX 127490


> rowanbrookt wrote:
> 
> I was re-reading HPATCOS last night and wondered how did Salazar 
> Slytherin plan for the basillisk to only kill muggle born witches 
and 
> wizards.  Surely the basillisk would just kill anyone who happened 
to 
> look at it as it searched for muggle borns.  The book does say that 
> Ginny controlled by Tom riddle was setting the basillisk on muggle 
> borns specifically, but that doesn't seen satisfactory to me.  Any 
> ideas?

Ginger:  I think the answer lies in Ginny.  She was the one who did 
the actual speaking.  Tom forced her to, of course.  Tom had also 
been gleaning information from her for months.  Ginny would have 
known that Colin was a Muggleborn.  She certainly knew Hermione was.  
If she caught Percy and Penelope together, she probably did a bit of 
research into "the girl kissing her brother".  I know I would have.  

Justin leaves me wondering.  How would she have known about him?  
Unless she overheard him talking to someone else in the halls.  Mrs. 
Norris is a puzzle too.  I don't recall that Ginny had run afoul of 
Filch at that point.  NHN was probably just at the wrong place in the 
wrong time.  Did I miss anyone?

Tom could have forced her to sic the basillisk on any Muggle she 
happened to see when she was alone.  

Question for further pondering:  Why was Ginny up at the time of 
night when Colin was sneaking up to see Harry?  And in that place?  
Was she, too, sneaking up to see Harry?  For her own purposes?  Or 
Tom's?  The plot thickens.

Ginger, who doesn't remember enough from her psych minor to 
contribute to the N!Snape thread, but is enjoying it anyway.