Was there really a basilisk?

[alt_seamus]

Under the castle somewhere?

I thought basilisks killed people and didn't just petrify them. Also how come no one knew about it?

Comments

[alt_ron]

Well, yeah.

But it wasn't like we figured out it was a basilisk and said, 'Oooh, let's go see it!' I heard Ginny was missing and that someone'd been taken down there into the Chamber, so I went to tell Lockhart it was Ginny, but he was leaving. Packed up and ready to do a runner! And then Harry and Malfoy turned up, and they knew where the Chamber opens (they'd found about the basilisk, too--that's how we knew), so we MADE Lockhart go with us because, y'know, he's always saying he knows how to fight everything and he'd been going on and on about how he knew what was hidden in the Chamber.

But he didn't know anything.

And now he really doesn't.