While Ye Feng and the others were happily eating tangyuan, on the other side, Voldemort searched round and round until he finally confirmed that the damned rooster had truly been locked away. Not only was it locked away, but its crowing was no longer piercing; even if the whole school held its breath, its cry could not be heard.
In other words, his Basilisk could finally be released to wreak havoc and drive Dumbledore out of Hogwarts.
That's right: Voldemort's ultimate purpose in releasing the Basilisk was not to kill people, but to use the Basilisk's killings to prove that Dumbledore could not protect Hogwarts, thereby pressuring the school governors into forcing Dumbledore out.
Chapter 99