Hi, I have a couple thoughts about your heir of slytherin request. I'm sending through here as I wasn't sure if you wanted it kept quiet.
I would think that specifically for the heir, the basilisk would 'know' they were at school, and would regularly call out to him. You know, 'free me, come find me,' that sort of thing. So Ominis is sorta tortured by fairly constant pleas.
The basilisk is not blind at this point, so some ideas about how it was destiny that Ominis was born blind because the basilisk would be his literal eyes. Maybe as magic grows stronger, or he becomes friends with the basilisk, he finds that the connection will allow him to sometimes see through basilisks eyes - similar to how Harry could see through Voldemort, or more interesting, that the connection works the other way, and Ominis finds he can kill someone if they look into his eyes.
just some thoughts :)
First of all, so sorry this took me so long to reply!!! Also I love your thoughts about this cause YES!!! I LOVE IT!!!
I've been busy, but I have been contemplating about Ominis and the True Heir/Serpent Bearer idea in the meantime. I had written down my initial thoughts and some research I've been looking through below:
"I would think that specifically for the heir, the basilisk would 'know' they were at school, and would regularly call out to him. You know, 'free me, come find me,' that sort of thing. So Ominis is sorta tortured by fairly constant pleas."
It seems we are on the same wavelength cause I was thinking the same thing!! I love the idea of Ominis hearing the Basilisk and it only ramps up more and more as he matures. I also really like the idea of him having dreams about the Basilisk (let me have my weird dream vision quests).
I have read that the Basilisk is in a magic sleep, so I was wondering if the Basilisk would still be able to communicate?? Anyways, lets get into the Chamber of Secrets itself.
"There was clear evidence that the Chamber had been opened more than once between its creation and the twentieth century."
"...the Gaunt family could not resist boasting of their knowledge. It can be presumed that they opened the Chamber and awakened the creature in different occasions, yet none of them dared unleash the monster, until Riddle."
It's also interesting that the Chamber of Secrets (at least according to this sources linked above) has been opened several times -> most likely by the Gaunts. And Corvinus Gaunt was instrumental in ensuring the Chamber of Secrets remained... ya know secret; by concealing the entrance to the CoS behind plumbing fixtures.
It seems the Gaunts have had several opportunities to open the CoS, unleash the Serpent of Slytherin aka the Basilisk, and wipe out the Muggleborns, yet they never did.
Which begs the question.... WHY??
And now this is where the theories shall take off!
What is a 'True Heir'? What does that mean?
Well it could mean several things:
The "true heir" could be someone with an extraordinary connection to Salazar Slytherin's magical bloodline, possessing unique powers and abilities inherited directly from him. This connection might manifest as an innate understanding of Parseltongue, the ability to communicate with serpents, and an affinity for powerful serpentine magic.
Could mean that a True Heir is destined to help Preserve Bloodlines/Legacies - or even unite Bloodlines - as well as being the official 'face' of the Gaunts and navigating the Political World of Wizards.
Now, what does it mean to be the Serpent Bearer?
I saw an interesting theory about the moles on Ominis' face creating the constellation "serpens caput". Thank you @rypnami for posting this!! It's been so interesting to deep dive into this idea!
The different meanings behind the "Serpent Head" is quite interesting:
Literary: The serpent is often associated with various symbolic meanings in different cultures, such as wisdom, transformation, danger, or deceit. The head of a serpent can represent leadership, control, or the beginning of a certain phenomenon.
Mythology and Religion: In many mythologies and religions, the head of a serpent might have a specific significance within those stories, representing power, knowledge, or temptation.
Astrology: In Western astrology, the "serpent's head" or "North Node" is associated with a point in a birth chart that represents one's karmic purpose, future direction, and personal growth.
Alchemic: In alchemy, the serpent is a common symbol associated with transformation, and its head could be seen as a representation of the initial stages of a transformative process.
This is to assume that Ominis is indeed a Serpent Bearer. To add on to this Ominis will more than likely be a Guardian of Secrets. All of the Gaunt's family secrets being passed down to Ominis (as shown with the Undercroft). But the most important thing Ominis is able to do is having a deeper or magical connection to serpents. Specifically, the Serpent of Slytherin.
Now, why would this be important?
As shown in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Serpent of Slytherin doesn't respond to just ANYONE speaking Parseltongue; as Harry tried to speak to the Basilisk, but she wouldn't listen to Harry's commands.
"She was blindly and unshakably devoted to the Heir of Slytherin...,"
"Though capable of independent thought, the Basilisk followed every command the Heir gave her. In fact, she only listened to the Heir of Slytherin, Tom Riddle (Voldemort) regardless of Harry being able to understand and speak Parseltongue to her in the Chamber of Secrets."
That's because the Basilisk will only respond and obey the words of a True Heir.
And this is why Ominis is so important to the Gaunts.
Why else would the Gaunts bother with Ominis?
Ominis doesn't follow their ideals, rebels against 'family tradition', and is inherently not a standard of 'Pure Blood Supremacy' (sorry but disabilities during those times were not exactly smiled upon. Most people with disabilities were seen as burdens to families and lots of other negative stigma associated around them).
You could make the argument that Ominis being a Gaunt would be enough for his family to keep him around -> the importance of his name outweighing everything else.
I'm more inclined to believe the argument that the Gaunts NEED Ominis. Ominis is important to them - NECESSARY to them - because Ominis is the True Heir of Slytherin and is the ONLY ONE able to control the Basilisk. They have a use/need for Ominis.
This must mean that 'True Heirs' don't come around very often (and how they come to be could be any number of reasons but let's just assume MaGiC). It would explain why the Basilisk was never unleashed all the other times the CoS was opened -> as they had no way to command the Serpent.
So why would anyone wanna unleash a deadly Basilisk that only one person could control onto a school of children besides being mustache twirling bad guys?
Lets picture this:
You are the Gaunts. You are on the cusp of running out of money, therefore about to run out of power. This has never happened before. You have ALWAYS been on top. ALWAYS been in power. Your name carries weight.
What would be a way to regain this loss of power and control? How could you convince the other Pureblood Families that you are still #1?
You demonstrate the power of a True Heir, and unleash the Basilisk onto Hogwarts (killing a whole generation of Muggleborns) and essentially controlling the school.
I'd say that's a pretty good way to gain control once again and more importantly power and respect. Not only would the Basilisk become like an attack dog for the Gaunts, but the Gaunts have shown they are willing to do ANYTHING to maintain their power. Because after all,
Power is Power
So, wrapping up, what might be some challenges Ominis may face?
Well, Ominis may be more inclined to use the Dark Arts/Dark Magic. He probably has to resist the temptation harder than most. It's in his blood, and I dare say his nature, to use Dark Magic.
Ominis also has the weight of 'living up to the family name'. He has the responsibility to either become just like a 'Gaunt'. Or, to show that even though he comes from a long history of Dark Magic, he is his own person -> capable of good.
Ominis more than likely does not like that he is a True Heir and he probably prays he isn't actually one (until he starts hearing the Basilisk's call for him). Now he's torn between who wants to be and what destiny is telling him to be. He has to deal with internal conflict of him feeling like no matter what he does, he will always be like his family - he will always use dark magic. In the end, he'll have to decide who he wants to be. A True Heir, or Ominis.
ALRIGHT to summarize this long post in a single sentence:
Ominis is more than likely the True Heir, and is the only one able to control the Serpent of Slytherin.
I would love to hear y'all's thoughts on this! The more I think about it, the more it makes sense (or I'm delusional and I'm connecting random dots that aren't there).
I've been writing an initial outline of how Ominis might come to terms with him being the True Heir and how he deals with it. Hopefully, I can post something about that soon!
I love discussions and no thought is a wrong thought!
Thanks for reading!! <3
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