is believed to be wizard-bred, possibly intended to guard wizard dwellings or treasure, as is often the case with magically bred monsters. Despite its near-human intelligence, the Acromantula is untrainable and highly dangerous to wizard and Muggle alike. Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year for possession of the Acromantula Aragog who was thought by Hogwarts teachers to be the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. Acromantulas are capable of some form of respect or loyalty, as Aragog refused to allow his children to attack Hagrid because of their past. When Aragog died, Hagrid's protection vanished as Aragog was the only thing holding them back. Basilisk In the Harry Potter universe, a Basilisk is a monstrous serpentine creature. Larger than its counterpart from the real-life legend, this Basilisk is capable of reaching a length up to sixty feet and living up to hundreds of years. Basilisks are uncontrollable except by Parselmouths, and the first basilisk is believed to have been created by a Greek Dark wizard and Parselmouth named Herpo The Foul. Herpo made this discovery by hatching a chicken egg under a toad. A male basilisk has a scarlet plume on its head. A basilisk kills both with its powerful venom and its huge yellow eyes, which are immediately fatal to any creature who looks at them directly. To anyone who looks at it indirectly, such as through a camera or in a reflection, it creates a profound state of petrification similar to a Medusa stare. Ghosts who either look at it directly or indirectly will only become petrified since they could not die a second time. A phoenix tear is the only known cure for the devastating effect of the basilisk's venom. Spiders flee from the basilisk, as they are mortal enemies. The basilisk itself flees only from the crowing of a rooster, which if heard by the basilisk is fatal, and the weasel whose odor will also kill a basilisk. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a female basilisk inhabits the Chamber of Secrets below Hogwarts. When student Tom Riddle, later known as Voldemort, opened the chamber, the basilisk merely petrified several students (students looked at a reflection of basilisk) and killed one student named Myrtle (later known as Moaning Myrtle) with her stare and hid in the chamber for 50 years, until Riddle's memory opened the chamber again by possessing Ginny Weasley.