'Harry Potter' Fan Theory About The Basilisk Could Have Totally Changed The Movies
One of the most epic battles in the Harry Potter saga could have been totally avoided according to a new fan theory. All Harry had to do was say a few words and that whole mess in the Chamber of Secrets would have been solved in seconds.
One Redditor pointed out Harry never even attempted to speak to the Basilisk at the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; he just took Tom Riddle at his word when the villain said the basilisk would only obey his commands.
So then what should we make of the fact that part of Tom Riddle does exist in Harry -- since Tom is actually Voldemort and a piece of Voldemort's soul exists in Harry. We find out later it's this piece of Voldemort inside of him that allows Harry to speak Parseltongue in the first place, so it seems totally possible Harry actually could have controlled the Basilisk if he tried.
Of course, as the Redditor points out, it would have been pretty anticlimactic for Harry to just get the giant snake to turn around and destroy Tom. We wouldn't have gotten that epic Phoenix and sword battle at all, so I guess it all worked out for the best in the end.
Check out the full basilisk theory below.
Though the theory that Harry could have controlled the Basilisk is pretty convincing, some people managed to poke some holes in it.
One commenter pointed out that Tom Riddle was characterized by his masterful use of words to manipulate others, which probably helped him get the Basilisk to obey only him. Additionally, the commenter theorized the Basilisk may only be obedient to a relative of Salazar Slytherin, and since Harry doesn't have any Slytherin blood, it wouldn't have worked.
Then again, the piece of Voldemort's soul inside Harry could have been strong enough to control the basilisk. After all, Tom Riddle was also just a piece of Voldemort's soul and he could control it.
In the end, we won't know if Harry could have gotten that Basilisk to obey him (unless J.K. Rowling tweets an answer), but I mean, he should've at least tried talking to it, right!?