I've been reading Touched by the Arcane by lisbeth00. It's a HP/Bloodborne crossover. The author has described Luna, her strangeness and her Nargles in a way I rather like and I think I will stick with.

Sort of major spoilers for the fic. It's not explicit, but you can probably read between the lines to figure out the topic. I do recommend reading the fic by the way.

Spoiler

"Thank you." Biting her lip, Catherine hesitated, before speaking. "What about you?"

Luna's hands clenched, knuckles still rolling over the top of her thighs. "My mum died. I saw it happen. She was a researcher, and tried to solve something on her own." Her hands opened wide, pulling apart. "Blew herself up and almost got me." She pulled some of her hair back to reveal a long, twisted scar, running along the side of her head and hidden beneath locks of silvery gold. "It's why I am the way I am. Makes it hard to think, to say the right thing. I get lost sometimes in my own head. Makes me want to hide away from it all, even if it means..."

"Yeah…"

She let out a long, slow breath. "It sometimes feels like I'm trying to fight against my own head."

"Oh, that I understand." Catherine grimaced. "What about… the things you see?"

"Nargles? Wrackspurts?" Luna smiled. "Whatever mum was trying to learn, it worked. I can see things that aren't there. Not to you and everyone else, at least." Her eyes danced upwards, following something above Catherine's head. "Wrackspurts, all around you. But they're buzzing something fierce. It looks like they can't get into your head, they're just… bouncing off."

"Huh."

Abridged non-spoiler version: Luna's mum was researching some means to extend a person's sight to see more. Then she blew herself up, giving Luna some brain damage in the process and some form of the ability she had been researching.

I like it because it explains Luna's oddness, while also giving an explanation for what she sees that isn't "lol she's a seer!". I'm not fond of the opposite either where Luna is just imagining everything. It's a magical world so I like a magical explanation, but it needs to be tightly limited in scope.

 

I think they did something like that in Prince of Slytherin.

 

Personally, I have several thoughts about the nature of Hogwarts as a Castle, rather than it's nature as a school:

Hogwarts as a Place of Refuge

Hogwarts was, at one time, a medieval castle, as well as a school. Given that it was founded sometime in the 900’s, and that it’s been continually inhabited since then, we can assume a few main things:

The castle has been much expanded upon, and renovated in the intervening time (as all medieval castles were).

Given that it was, after all, a castle (and the dungeons are a canonical feature), we can assume that it has buildings/areas within it that fulfilled the functions that one might expect of a typical muggle castle, even if those features are no longer in wide use.

Presumably, while the need for the defensive features of the castle have been less in use in the intervening decades than they were, those features still exist.

The reason many of these features were forgotten/have fallen into disuse is the simple expedient that Wizardkind, as a rule, has gotten really good at hiding effectively. Due to their success, the defensive nature of the castle has been less necessary, allowing the elements of the space as an educational institution to take the fore.

Given that wizards seem to have a thing about not throwing things away, it’s fair to surmise that elements of the older versions of the castle are still extant, and have been retained in the castle as it stands in the modern day.



Forgotten/Speculative Features of Hogwarts Castle:

Blacksmiths: In the early days of Hogwarts, armor and a strong sword was not only a fashionable accessory, it was a potentially vital part of daily life; the Blacksmiths of Hogwarts toiled daily to create items that blended metal and magic together into one whole, as well as other daily necessities, such as horseshoes, candlesticks, and all the other metalwork a living castle like Hogwarts needed. While this function of the Castle has largely been outsourced (much of the work is now done by a wizarding blacksmithing family on the Isle of Man), the Smithy itself still remains in the East Wing of the Castle.


Special Projects Greenhouse: More than just a school, Hogwarts is also a place of experimentation, where the study and mastery of magic can grow. In the Herbology Department, that is best represented by the Special Projects Greenhouse, where rare, or especially dangerous plants are grown. Normally, students are not allowed into these greenhouses- they're for Master-Level research only; Professor Sprout is their sole mistress, and the sole arbiter of who is allowed in. Snape is not on this list, and the fact that he isn't eats at him, more than he would like to admit.


Crypts: Not all who came to Hogwarts left it alive, or had people who would bury them when they passed. For this reason, Hogwarts has the Crypts; a place of final rest for those who always called Hogwarts home. The bones of professors, students, and renowned wizards and witches who lived within the Castle walls are laid here, at peace.


Stables: Once, in the time before the Hogwarts Express, people either had to Apparate to Hogsmeade, or to ride the breadth of the British Isles to attend Hogwarts. Those who could ride obviously brought their horses, and occasionally their carriages with them. The stables were where these accoutrements were kept. The Hogwarts Express has largely rendered the stables redundant, though the stable-complex itself remains in one of the outer wards of the castle.


Mews: A long-abandoned tower, originally set aside for falcons, merlins and other non-owl birds of prey. There was a period where Falconry was quite fashionable amongst the more well-heeled attendees of Hogwarts, before it came to be thought of as 'too muggle' of a pastime for proper wizards.

Chapel: Self-Explanatory. In the Medieval Period, Wizards and Witches were often more overtly religious than they are in the modern period. The Chapel of Hogwarts was built in the late 900’s for the spiritual devotions of all types of Hogwarts Staff and Students. Similar to the Room of Requirement, in that it can reconfigure itself on the request of users into the format required.


Brewery, Distillery, Taproom and Wine Cellars: Once upon a time, in the time before proper microbiology and disinfection, Hogwarts brewed it’s own beer and spirits, and had a massive selection of spirits, wines, and ales, which were kept under preservation charms, or allowed to barrel-age, as befit the specific drink. The specific location of all these rooms have been lost for centuries; what is known is this:

• There are ledgers from the early 1500’s, which indicated that the place was full of rare magical spirits.
  
  
• There’s every chance that the Preservation Charms have held. Which means that the barrels have been slow aging for nearly 500 years. Seamus Finnegan has an ongoing series of weekend expeditions to find the taproom.

House Elf Warrens: A secret place in the castle where the elves make their sleeping and domestic arrangements. It is said that nobody except the Headmaster, Deputy Head, and the Elves themselves know where it is.


Pastureland and Fields: Hogwarts is more than the castle itself, it’s also the land that surrounds. Part of the way that Hogwarts self-funds is by leasing out parts of the land to (magical) farmers, ranchers, and people who forage in the forests for magical materials.

 

I liked the rest of the post, its a really good piece of worldbuilding. However this one stood out to me as having moved a little far away from the world of magic. Why would armour and a sword be important to someone with a wand? Or at least, important enough that Hogwarts would have smiths churning them out?

There's all sorts of magic that would make smithing as we know it completely redundant. Transfiguration is the obvious one, but even beyond that with spells allowing carefully targeted heating and impacts on the metal a "magical smithy" might well be nothing more than a big room with a comfy chair and some raw materials.

 

It's not that implausible, wizarding culture wasn't that distinct from muggles during the time Hogwarts was build, and many wizards still regularly carried swords, including Godric Gryffindor himself.
So I could see one being included from the get go, before being abandoned over time as the wizarding culture was becoming it's own thing.

In addition to that we know wizardung Smith, who includes magic in their works are a thing, as the Snitch was mentioned to be invented by one.

 

I admit, the way I worded that is a little counter to what I was trying to say.

What I was trying to get at was the notion that, in the early days of Hogwarts, a sword and some armor was sometimes seen as a useful side-arm/camouflage, for when one had to go amongst muggles, and couldn't be seen to be a wizard, which is why the Blacksmiths at the castle sometimes created them, in addition to the many practical things that they made every day. When this stopped being true, they quickly fell out of fashion, and out of use.

Another part of my head-canon, which ties into this is the idea that most Transfiguration workings are reversible by sufficiently skilled wizards and witches, and/or that they wear off given time. Whereas it is much harder to remove an enchantment from a forged piece of metal or a worked piece of material (leather, stone, what have you), and that such enchantments last an order of magnitude longer. So if you want something more permanent, you make it by hand (with magic as part of your process, albeit), and then enchant it post-facto.

 

And before the statute was officially enforced a smith could have sold a magically enhanced armor to muggle aristocrats. Scruples about sharing magic are probably quietened pretty quick if you can make big money with it. (Especially since you can probably make it so it gives the wearer advantages over other muggles but not a trained wizard).

 

Relating to my earlier post, I also have some thoughts about the work that professors and other staff do, outside of their regular teaching duties, with regards to the castle itself, that I don't think trend too far away from what could be possible in Canon:


Additional Duties of Hogwarts Faculty:


General: As time/personal inclination allows, Hogwarts Professors are able to function as Mentors and Advanced Educators for anyone who is attempting to earn a Mastery in any subject which that professor holds Mastery in.

Librarian: In addition to circulation, maintenance, and collection management duties, the Librarian of Hogwarts is responsible for protecting the collection from outsiders (a holdover from the early days of Hogwarts, when Hogwarts was the only major repository of magical knowledge remaining in the British Isles). The Librarian is also responsible for protecting Library Users from the collection; certain of the books contain information that Man Is Not Meant to Know, and others are Cognitive Hazards to readers without strict safeguards and preparation. Finally, the Librarian is final arbiter over student access to the Restricted Section- The Librarian is allowed, if circumstances merit, to overrule other Hogwarts Professors on matters relating to access to said collection.

Herbology Master: In addition to the Student Greenhouses, the Herbology Master is in charge of the Secret Gardens of Hogwarts, where many rare and secret magical plants, as well as plants too dangerous for children are grown. The Herbology Master is also given charge of the harvest and processing of these plants, in collaboration with the Potions Master, and Gamekeeper. In times of trouble, the Herbology Master is charged with the placement and propagation of defensive flora within the grounds and the Castle itself. Finally, the Herbology Master will consult with the Care Professorship and the Gamekeeper regarding the management of the Castles Gardens, Grounds, and the upkeep of the Forbidden Forest.

Master of the Hospital: In addition to the broad skill-set required for Healing, the ideal candidate will also be a keen student of human nature, as the Oaths of Healing necessitate caring for the mental and emotional well-being of patients, in addition to their physical health. The Matron of the Hospital swears a solemn oath to defend any patient in their care from harm, so long as they remain in the confines of the hospital itself. The Matron of the Hospital liaises with the Potions Master and Herbology Master to ensure that all supplies needed for the Healing Arts are in ready supply, and is responsible for ensuring the general upkeep of the Hospital.

Transfiguration Master: The Castle of Hogwarts is vast, changeable, and in many ways, a living thing. Statuary and paintings move seemingly at will. Rooms change their locations. Hallways shift, and the very stairs can move under your feet. As a person well-versed in the alteration and interrelation of things, it is the traditional duty of the Transfiguration Master to keep track of the changing landscape of the castle, and to notify students and staff of relevant changes. Secondary to this, it is also the duty of the Transfiguration Master to make note of any rooms which have been rediscovered after a long absence, and to catalogue their contents. They are also the Keepers of the Castle Statuary, ensuring that the workings which animate the various gargoyles and statues of the castle remain in good fettle. The Transfiguration Master is also responsible for checking any and all monies that are paid to Hogwarts for fraud, transfigured funds, or leprechaun gold.

Finally, the Transfiguration Master is responsible for the upkeep and management of the Armory of Hogwarts, where the Automaton-Armors are kept. In times of strife, it is the traditional role of the Transfiguration Master to lead the Automatons to battle.


Gamekeeper: The Gamekeeper of Hogwarts is responsible for the health and wellbeing of the Hogwarts grounds, gardens and animals, in concert with the Herbology Master and Care Professorship. The Gamekeeper is also responsible for overseeing the Forbidden Forest, Black Lake, and all plants and animals, great and small that inhabit it. Their principal duties include:

• Conservation of the land and beasts of Hogwarts.

• Ensuring that various creatures, magical and non-magical, are breeding safely, and successfully.
  
  
• The Gameskeeper is empowered to ensure that no poaching/illegal harvesting of magical creatures takes place, either in the Forest, Lake, or the Castle Lands. The Gamekeeper is also empowered to deal with any attempted poachers.
  
  
• In addition, they are charged with ensuring that any legal materials harvesting is done in a humane, sustainable fashion. (Hogwarts and it’s grounds are considered to be private property in this respect, so the sale of licenses to harvest or forage within the forest are at the discretion of the Headmaster, and in great demand, as a result. )
  
  
• Liaising with the Centaur & Mermaid colonies, and any other sentient magical beasts inhabiting the environs of Hogwarts.
  
  
• In older times, the Gamekeeper was charged with guiding Hogwarts faculty and staff in the hunting of various game animals, as well as the breeding of the same, though this function of the job has been lapsed since the early 1800’s.

Caretaker: Responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of all facilities within the castle proper. While the most obvious function of this task is the janitorial work, It is also the duty of the Caretaker to ensure that:

• The plumbing fixtures of Hogwarts are in good working order.
  
  
• That all fountains and water features of the castle are maintained in good order.
  
  
• That all fireplaces, torches, candles and other light sources are appropriately stoked and tended, and that no danger of fire exists to the larger castle.
  
  
• That all lights and lighting fixtures are maintained and orderly. This includes candles.
  
  
• That the workings of the castle's chandlery are efficiently conducted.
  
  
• That all pests and vermin are managed/exterminated with alacrity.
  
  
• That all windows and glass fixtures of the Castle are maintained in good working order.
  
  
• The general repair and maintenance of the castle and its fixtures, including the clock and bell towers.
  
  
• The overall management of the House Elves, as relates to the maintenance of the Castle.

Charms Master: The Charms Master of Hogwarts has the duty of ensuring that the various charms within the Castle and grounds are maintained. This includes, but is not limited to, the charmed ceiling and chandeliers in the Great Hall, and the protective charms in the castle proper. In addition, it is the traditional duty of the Charms Master to oversee that the Charms animating the various portraits of Hogwarts are maintained.

Master of Astronomy: The position of the Stars and Planets can have a great effect on various magical flora and fauna, as well as certain advanced potions. In addition, the dance of the heavens is a vastly complex thing, with many moving parts- As the future is in motion, so too are the stars, and what was true yesterday may differ tomorrow; this makes it difficult to interpret for any but an expert.Thus, the Master of Astronomy is charged with reading the skies, and advising the Headmaster and Staff on how these changes might affect their work. In addition, the Master of Astronomy tends to also be a master at forecasting the weather; this is often useful at picking out what days it is, and is not, going to be raining (a useful skill, when one lives in the Scottish Highlands).

Master of Arithmancy: As with Astronomy, the Numerological significance of things can have tremendous effects on the more complex magical workings. Therefore, it is the task of the Master of Arithmancy to use their skills to advise the faculty on Arithmantically significant events. Traditionally, it is the work of the Master of Arithmancy to conduct any necessary negotiations with the Goblin Nation, as that people tend to respond well to arguments couched in mathematical certainties. It has also occasionally been the province of the Master of Arithmancy to utilize their skills to divine the probability of events and outcomes for the betterment of the school. One memorable example of this was in 1913, when Master of Arithmancy Fabian Byrne used his skills at Arithmancy to take advantage of the 1913 Gamblers Fallacy at Monte Carlo, single handedly rescuing Hogwarts from a significant budgetary shortfall (and triggering a number new ICW regulations relating to Arithmancy and Muggle games of chance).

Diviner: In addition to teaching the Art of Divination to such students as have the Gift, the Diviner of Hogwarts is charged with using all forms of divination they know to keep the Headmaster and Staff abreast of any potential threats to the Castle, Faculty or Students, and to advise the staff on events of significance that their divinations reveal. In the old days, this gave the Diviner of Hogwarts broad latitude to make use of the various resources of Hogwarts, depending on which non-prophetic forms of divination they were skilled in, and often required close consultation with the Librarian, Herbology Master, Care Professor and Potions Master.

Care of Magical Creatures Professorship: The CoMC Professorship is charged with the care, feeding and maintenance of all Magical and non-magical beasts which live within the castle walls, as well as the protection of the students from the same. In practice, this means that the Owlery, Mews, and Stables all fall under their purview. In matters where dangerous magical beasts may threaten the castle, it is expected that the Care Professor will take a leading role in the defense, leaving the castle to hunt the beast if necessary. By ancient tradition, the COMC Professor also agrees to come to the aid of any of the Hogwarts tenant farmers who may request such.

Master of Defense: The Master of Defense, in addition to their teaching duties, is considered to be the person in overall charge of the defenses of the Castle; they oversee the walls, bastions, gates and defensive structures which protect the faculty and students, and are expected, in the absence of the Headmaster, to lead the defense of the castle in the event of a siege or attack. Generally, it is expected that the Master of Defense will act as the Champion of Hogwarts in matters which require judicial duelling, as well as in matters of honor. In the old days, it was the duty of the Defense Master to oversee the boiling oil, catapults, trebuchets and scorpions that acted as the defensive batteries along the walls. By tradition, the Defense Master is considered to be the Chief Gaoler of Hogwarts.

 

Alchemy

Alchemy is the magic of violating several well proven laws of transfiguration and potions, for example Gamp's laws, which includes things like creating gold and achieving immortality.

And I don't mean that Flamel came along and just proved some transfiguration theories wrong, I mean that these are rules that have been proven to be true in the magical equivalent of the mathematical sense and are the foundations of transfiguration and potions, where if they weren't true, none of the things done with them could be possible. So, it's sort of like magic within magic.

Potions

2nd year Hermione was good at potions, but not to the level to ordinarily brew polyjuice. Instead, Hermione succeeded because she was exacting. The difficult part of potions is knowing how to adjust your method or ingredients to account for variations made. If Hermione had made a single mistake in her potionmaking or she had been slightly off in timing, she'd have been unlikely to actually fix it.

A true talent like Slughorn, Snape or Lily could have missed some important point in a potion or made some huge mistake, and just adjusted on the fly. Similarly, there are alternative recipes that give better end results or are quicker, but are more exacting and unforgiving than the standard ones i.e. the Half-Blood Prince.

 

I especially like this one :

It's a change of perspective. The hogwarts library is not like a muggle school library where the librarian wants the children to read more. Because Madam Pince always seems rather to try to discourage people from reading.
But it's also a sort of museum (a lot of historically significant texts - that are presumably delicate if you don't know how to manipulate them with the proper charms).
And the books aren't merely books, they are basically dark artifacts not in the sense of evil, but in the sense of "gained some sort of sentience due to magic" and are therefore unpredictable like arthur's ford anglia. Exploring the library is a bit like exploring Grimmauld Place, but cleaner and presumably safer thanks to Madam Pince's efforts.

And I like to imagine that the Hogwart's library hosts creatures too. Like when muggles have bats in the libraries to eat bugs.

 

I've been thinking about roosters and basilisks. I've decided that because there's some sort of innateness that allows for things to be untransfigured (i.e. Malfoy to ferret to Malfoy), a transfigured rooster would lack the necessary magical innateness of a real rooster and therefore its crowing would not have harmed the basilisk.

I'm adopting this mostly to make basilisks more dangerous. Otherwise, any moderately competent witch or wizard could kill a basilisk. For this same reason I'm going to assume that potions ingredients from non-magical plants and animals also must be from the real thing and not transfigured.

 

(First post!)

Feather quills. Feathers are used in wands, ergo feathers can channel magic to some degree. Writing with feather quills means a trace of the writer's magic goes into the writing. Spells cast on written words (eg. howlers or automatic essay grading) rely on this.

Wizards could probably adapt their howler spell or proofreading or whatever spells if they had to but why should they when they have a working system already?

Therefore, if a student brings along a biro, they will be told very firmly not to use it.

 

One popular fan theory is that natural materials are magical/can channel magic, while artifical materials, like plastic, are not, so you can enchant a quill, but not a biro.
Whatever the reason, when you can have self-inking, dictating, etc. quills, they are actually just as practical and even better than the muggle writing implements.
And pupils have to take exams with anti-cheating quills at the end of the year. So they have to learn how to write (well and quickly) with a quill. You don't want them to be using a quill for the first time when it's time for exams after all. It's not that wizards look down on muggle things on principle (at least not in this instance).
And having beautiful penmanship is probably considered a sign a "good-breeding" and whatnot.

...
My personal headcanon regarding writing, is that wizard use paper too (why should they not? paper was introduced in Europe, in the 12th century already, parchment smells really horrid and is expensive and complicated to make). They say "parchment" in everyday speech for everything they write on (whether parchment, vellum or paper) because it' s a habit, a bit like I "write down" something, even if I'm not physically writing things anymore, but typing it.
Of course wizards don't like muggle paper, full of chemicals and bleach, etc. Wizarding paper is much better (prettier, and less fragile, can be enchanted to).

 

My excuse to get rid of the easy weakness is to make the crowning of the rooster poetic language, in truth it's experiencing the sunrise that is the basilisk's bane. The creature is obscure and dangerous enough that the misinformation continues.

 

Eh. I don't agree that plastic - or artificial materials in general - can't be enchanted; if that were so, Arthur Weasley wouldn't be finding enchanted rubber ducks? Or wireless sets - they have plastic in them. I also scratch my head at what would make plastic un-enchantable but not wax or metal (for example), both of which can be very much "artificial". Tin ore + copper ore -> smelting -> casting -> bronze. It's a long arduous process. OTOH, milk + vinegar -> plastic. (Well, one type of plastic. Did that one in high school science.) And on top of that, the plastic thing doesn't account for them not using metal nibs on a wood pen (or on a feather). Or glass dip pens. Glass (also artificial), wood and metal can certainly be enchanted.

So anyway, that's why I reject the "artificial can't be enchanted" theory* and headcanon that quills channeling a trace of magic into the writing enabling current spells on writing is the reason they stick with quills.

* with the caveat that the enchantments wouldn't necessarily work the same. They might need to be adjusted, updated, or redesigned according to the desired effect.

... I'm of two minds about their "parchment" being really paper or not. Just on a volume-in-use basis, I tend to agree it is paper... as long as they aren't cleaning and reusing it. Which they could be? It's complicated in that jkr didn't appear to have researched and written in how using real animal-skin parchment differs from using paper. It's not a trivial difference but there is no hint other than the name of it to suggest it isn't really paper. But... magic? Still, they never mention the seams you'd need to have for long rolls for instance.

 

Honestly there are so many different types of parchment and of paper, including "parchment paper" which is made of trees/plants (like fir, flax or cotton), that it makes sense that wizards use "parchment" as a word to covert all kinds. In the end as long as you can write on it easily (which is not the case with muggle parchment) I suppose it doesn't matter (since magic could very well allow you to make parchment without holes, tear, weird colors and follicules (and that doesn't stink).

Maybe you choose which type of parchment/paper, depending to what you want to do: do you want something animal-based or plant-based? you can imagine it makes a difference for the magic you'll use...

And using parchment instead of simply parchment paper could be a thing done by the posher families to distinguish themselves from others. "Look our family grimoire is made with parchment out of dragon skin!" (conservative scribes continued to use parchment even when others began to use paper which was cheaper, one can easily imagine it used to make a point of showing up how we're rich and having customs going back to millenia, etc.)

 

A common perspective among Muggleborns is that wizarding culture has copied inventions and techniques from the Muggles of their time period. While this is not uncommon, as often as not it is the other way around. A Muggleborn might apply the techniques they have learned from the wizarding world in their home in a muggle community, a magical invention will be seen by a muggle who attempts to replicate it, an unscrupulous wizard like Mundungus Fletcher might sell artifacts off for bit of cash, and so on. At points in history, there have also been certain fashions or hobbies that were prevalent in wizarding society until the muggles copied it, causing it to be abandoned out of disgust for the mudbloods having "ruined it."

 

I've posted this before: The Goblet of Fire is an ancient magical enslaving device.

Back in the day, indentured servitude (the "slightly better" form of slavery) was a common way to deal with all sorts of financial and legal issues. Essentially, people would agree to become a slave for a certain period of time to pay off debts or as restitution for some sort of harm. In some cases it was the last resort - the ancient equivalent to bankruptcy, but it was also used by apprentices as payment for learning a trade or by people seeking passage to colonial America.

So, how do you do the same thing to a wizard in ancient Rome or Greece? Magicals can do all sorts of things to flee their debts that muggles can not. Thus, the Goblet of Fire was made: use the goblet to bind that loan or that apprenticeship, and then they can do a runner.

Of course, over the centuries this falls out of favour and the device becomes a curiosity, until the Triwizard Tournament is born...

That's an interesting idea.

I wonder what the mythological history of basilisks looks like, such as where the rooster thing comes from.

 

It's one of those things where it's not totally certain. But one theory I've read has three basic parts, and goes something like this:

1- The Mythological Basilisk originated based off of stories related to the North African Cobra (Pliny the Elder held that the Basilisk came from the province of Cyrene, in Northern Africa), which has a hood (which looks a bit like a crown, and ties into the King of Serpents motif), and spits venom, rather than bites, which some people think is what got the 'deadly, killing gaze' part of the myth started.

2- In Harry Potter canon, a Basilisk is created by having a toad nest upon a serpents egg. But, in some versions of the myth, Basilisks are created when a rooster nests upon a chicken egg; in others, it was actually a roosters egg that was the origin of the basilisk, rather than a chickens egg (apparently, chickens sometimes lay unusually small eggs, in amongst their regularly sized ones, which were attributed to the rooster). In any case, lots of myths are sort of big on the notion that the things that create or the things that created us can also undo us, which might explain part of the Roosters crow being deadly thing.

3- It gets lost in the modern context sometimes, but Roosters (and chickens, for that matter) are surprisingly hardcore, and are entirely capable of murder. This includes snakes, rats, mice and even other chickens, if they can catch them. This is especially true with roosters, and even more so if the rooster hasn't had it's spurs removed. The theory runs that a rooster killed a cobra, while crowing (and roosters crow all the time), and the story took on a life of it's own from there, from what I gather.