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harry potter - How could the Basilisk tell if a student was Muggleborn?



At one point, Tom Riddle, and perhaps even Salazar Slytherin himself, used the Basilisk to attack, even kill, Muggleborn students at Hogwarts. Tom Riddle said so himself:



‘Haven’t I already told you,’ said Riddle quietly, ‘that killing Mudbloods doesn’t matter to me any more? For many months now, my new target has been – you.’

Harry stared at him.

Chamber of Secrets - page 230 - Bloomsbury - chapter seventeen, The Heir of Slytherin



Presumably, Tom Riddle was setting the Basilisk loose in the castle to kill "Mudbloods" prior to becoming interested in Harry Potter; however, how could the Basilisk tell whether a student (or teacher, I suppose) was Muggleborn or not?


Tom Riddle doesn't say, "Go forth and kill anyone you encounter!" He was specific: He wanted Muggleborns killed.




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