Later:

Max and I went back to the tunnel under the Forbidden Forest. Even though we knew it was free of the Basilisk, we realised we still had to be careful in case there were other dangerous creatures lurking in there. I brought Oliver again, just in case.

I pointed out the spiders and cobwebs to Max. Also Oliver is good at detecting creatures, I felt a lot safer having him with us.

After a while, we saw what looked like it must be daylight, but it wasn't a destination. There was a small hole in the roof. It was a dull sort of daylight, the sun was filtering down through the trees.

Then I noticed a snake on the ground. Not Oliver, a different one. I tried speaking to it, nothing happened.

"What are you doing?"Max asked, then he saw the snake,"oh!"

"It's happened,"I thought,"I've lost the ability to speak Parceltongue."

"Let me talk to her,"Oliver suddenly said.

I could understand Oliver just then?

"Is she ignoring me?"I asked Oliver.

"No,"Oliver replied,"just - you can't speak to her."

Oliver went to the snake. I couldn't hear what he was saying to her. It just looked like two snakes looking at each other, their forked tongues flickering in and out.

"Well?"I inquired, as Oliver returned to me.

"She said she doesn't think there are any dangerous creatures in this tunnel,"Oliver said,"you really couldn't hear me talking to her?"

"No,"I said.

"Then it seems you can only speak to me,"said Oliver.

"So I can't speak Parceltongue any more, but I can still speak to you?"I said.

"So it would seem,"answered Oliver,"I asked her why she was ignoring you, and she said she didn't know you were talking to her. She didn't understand you."

I closed my eyes and imagined I was talking to a snake, like that time in DADA, I tried speaking Parceltongue.

"What are you doing?"Max asked.

"Did you hear me?"I asked.

"Yes,"Max said.

"No,"Oliver answered when I asked him.

That settled it. I'd lost the ability to speak Parceltongue. I decided, from now on, I would keep the snake potion on me at all times, just in case. Though, even then, I wasn't sure whether or not it would restore my ability to speak it.

"Max,"I said,"I can't speak Parceltongue any more, I can only speak to Oliver."

"Is that bad?"Max asked.

"Well, I had been hoping my ability to speak Parceltongue would give us an advantage if we came across a Basilisk,"I said.

"Right,"Max answered, sounding nervous.

"But we have Oliver,"I went on.

"At least you have an ambassador, then,"Max said.

We continued on down the tunnel.

"I wonder if this means I'll always be able to speak to you?"I said to Oliver.

"Maybe it does,"Oliver said.

We had been walking for two hours and a half when we finally reached the end of the tunnel. I sent Oliver to scout ahead before we went out there. He came back to me.

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"I think,"he said,"there might be something out there somewhere."

"Something?"I asked,"what?"

"Somewhere near,"Oliver said,"not outside. Under the ground. There are a lot of caves."

"When you say 'something', do you mean the Basilisk?"I asked.

"Yes,"Oliver answered,"I can feel the vibrations of it moving under the ground."

This didn't sound good.

"Do you think it'll be safe for us to go outside?"I asked Oliver.

"Maybe,"Oliver said,"I'll let you know if the Serpent King is getting closer."

We cautiously ventured outside. We were in a clearing of the forest. There were standing stones with the enchanted rune markings on them. The markings were numbers. They seemed to be telling times and dates. Behind them loomed several cave openings.

"The Basilisk is in one of those caves! Be careful!"Oliver warned.

"Don't look at the caves,"I advised Max.

"Do you think the Basilisk could be in one?"he asked.

"Oliver told me it is,"I said.

I needed to be sure those runes were the enchanted ones, so I showed them to Max.

"Runes? I don't see any runes,"he said.

That confirmed it.

"We need to go,"Oliver said,"I can hear the King Serpent. He has sensed your presence!"

I quickly dragged Max into the tunnel.

"We need to get out of here!"I told him.

"You might need to go fast!"Oliver urged.

"Do you think he'll chase us down here?"I asked Oliver, as we ran.

"If the opening is big enough for him to get through, he could,"Oliver replied.

"I wish you'd tell me what's going on!"Max said.

"The Basilisk is coming after us,"I said.

"Let's apparate,"Max suggested, quickly.

In the rush, I had completely forgotten about apparating. I had Oliver safely draped over my shoulder, under my cloak. I grabbed Max's arm and he apparated us into Anita's treehouse woods.

I sank down onto the ground, breathing heavily,"that was scary!"

"I didn't even know what it was I was scared of!"Max exclaimed,"it makes it worse when you two are having conversations about serious things, and don't even take the trouble to tell me!"

"Its difficult,"I said,"I keep forgetting you can't speak Parceltongue as well."

"At least we found out where the tunnel leads,"Max said.

"Yes,"I agreed,"and I'm quite sure from what I saw, that is the place where Silas is planning on doing the ritual."

The next day:

I've discovered the best way to find out the details of the ritual will be to pay another visit to the Foxhole Chamber. The fact that those enchanted runes were on the standing stones makes me think I might find something in that old book...

Now I know Silas knows about the Foxhole Chamber, I am aware it could be an incredibly dangerous place.

Unfortunately the weather today is awful. Rain plummeting down relentlessly since before I woke up. Thunder and lightning now! I could have still gone there, I know some spells to stop me getting drenched or struck by lightening, but I can't go.

I was going to earlier, but I got distracted by Anita.

"You can ask it a question,"she randomly announced.

"What?"I asked.

"The golden ball,"she said.

"Oh,"I said, remembering.

She even had it in her hands in front of me.

"Seriously!?"Anita said,"how could you have forgotten? You really do have a bad memory, Cathy! Now go on! Ask it!"

I took the golden ball from Anita and thought about what I was going to ask,"will I find what I am looking for, in the place I intend to look?"

It spat out a parchment,"that would depend on the place you are going and the thing which you seek."

"Don't go wasting questions, Cathy,"Anita remarked, looking at the parchment,"you need to be specific! It's not telepathic. Go on, ask it properly this time!"

"I'm looking for information on a ritual in a book of enchanted runes, which is in a hidden underground chamber protected by an enchantment of secrecy,"I said.

Anita looked at me curiously.

This time the parchment read,"the place you seek is not safe today, but there you may find information on rituals."

I wondered if it knew exactly the place I meant, and how it knew it wasn't safe.

"What are you up to, Cathy?"Anita said, grinning and shaking her head,"were you planning on sneaking into the Restricted Section of the Library or something?"

"Never mind what I was planning on,"I answered,"I won't be able to do it today anyway. Can I ask it one more question?"

"Cathy, you've already asked it two!"Anita objected,"alright, but just one!"

"When will the place be safe for me to go?"I asked.

"Three days from now,"was the reply.

Three days! Well, it was better than being caught in the Foxhole Chamber by Silas, and I didn't have to go anywhere in that pouring rain today.

I really wished I could ask how it knew this, seeing as Anita had just explained to me how it wasn't telepathic, but I knew Anita would not be very happy if I used up all the days questions.

Anita invited me to join her on a treasure hunt with Jeffrey and Emily. They rolled the ball around random parts of the castle, searching for the door that belongs to the silver key.

It was while they were rolling it near the stairs that go down to the cellars by the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room , that we bumped into Horrible Hector.

"What is that thing?"he asked, running after it.

The ball spat out a parchment.

Emily quickly grabbed the ball and the parchment. We rapidly descended the cellar stairs, and as we passed the area near the castle kitchens, Anita shouted,"Hoppy!"

Hoppy instantly appeared, Emily threw him the ball, and he disappeared with a pop.

Hector saw this, gave up, and left us alone.

"I can't believe it answered Horrible Hector's question!"Jeffrey said.

Emily showed us the parchment.

"I am a Sivril,"it read.

"Well, at least now we know what it is,"I said.

"But what IS a Sivril?"Anita asked.

"Maybe we could look it up in the library,"I suggested,"and while we're at it, have you looked in the library for the Locked Door?"

"Yes, we looked in there yesterday,"Emily said,"there aren't any strange locked doors. Unless we looked in the Restricted Section, but we can't do that."

Even though we searched for ages, we couldn't find any information in the library on 'Sivrils'.