0162 The Chamber

Arriving at the entrance to the first-floor girls' bathroom, Adrian pushed the door open first. "Hmm..." Dumbledore's voice carried a note of curiosity mixed with amusement as he followed Adrian across the threshold, his eyes taking in detail of their surroundings. "A rather... unconventional location for such a discovery." After all, this was a men-forbidden zone. "Actually, this place has been abandoned for a long time, because..." Before Adrian could finish speaking, a ghostly figure flew out from the last stall—it was Myrtle. Myrtle had been crying though Adrian had long since given up trying to understand the emotional complications that drove this particular ghost to her everlasting state of melancholy. But the moment her eyes fell upon Adrian's unexpected gathering, her theatrical sobbing ceased abruptly. She hovered in the air nearby, her expression shifting from sorrow to curiosity to something that might have been hope. Adrian cleared his throat. "Myrtle," He said gently, his voice carrying the careful tone one might use when approaching a wary animal, "I hope you don't mind our intrusion. We were wondering if you might have noticed any... unusual visitors to your bathroom in recent days?" Myrtle flickered with emotion, her expression crumpling back into familiar misery. "Who would ever come to visit ugly, miserable, worthless Myrtle?" She wailed. "Nobody ever comes here, nobody ever wants to see me, nobody ever cares about poor, forgotten Myrtle!" With that, she started crying again and vanished back into her favorite stall with a splash. Adrian winced slightly. "Perhaps it would be best to leave her to her privacy for now," he suggested with a slight shrug. "Myrtle can be... temperamental when she's in one of her moods." Dumbledore nodded, his expression thoughtful as his gaze began to sweep through the abandoned bathroom. "So," Dumbledore said, his voice carrying curiosity, "where exactly might we find the entrance to Chamber?" "Right here," Adrian replied, moving toward one sink that stood out from the others. He approached a brass faucet that, upon closer inspection, bore a small detail of a tiny serpent carved into its side. "If the ancient legends regarding the gift of serpent speech are indeed accurate," Adrian continued, "then this is the entrance." Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore leaned forward with interest, to examine the faucet. Meanwhile, Adrian placed his hand near a gap beside it—during his last visit here, he had placed a miniaturized Chomping Cabbage here as a lookout. Harry also stepped forward to curiously examine it. The small snake was indeed well-concealed, its details emerging only under close scrutiny. But its presence made perfect sense—the serpent had always been Salazar Slytherin's chosen symbol. This faucet, with its elegant design and hidden significance, was entirely consistent with what they knew of Slytherin's preferences. Professor McGonagall rubbed her temples with the gesture of someone trying to ward off an impending headache. "So, how exactly do we get in? I guess we can't simply turn the faucet and expect results." Adrian carefully pocketed the small Chomping Cabbage, his smile carrying a hint of anticipation as he turned toward Harry. "Harry," he said, beckoning him forward, "your help is needed." Everyone's gaze turned to Harry. Harry looked up with undisguised surprise, confusion clouding his eyes as he met Adrian's gaze. He didn't fully understand what was being asked of him, but his Gryffindor nature compelled him to step forward despite his uncertainty. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets can only be opened through the use of Parseltongue," Adrian explained, his hand settling on Harry's shoulder. "And you, Harry, possess the rare gift of serpent speech." Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline as she processed this information. "Parseltongue is an extraordinarily rare magical ability, Apart from You-Know-Who, we have very few records of wizards who possessed this particular talent." "I never realized I had any such... talent," Harry said slowly, his voice trailing off as memories began to surface from his consciousness. He thought for a while, then suddenly remembered something from before he came to Hogwarts. That time when he went to the zoo with his Muggle cousin, he seemed to have talked with a snake. That time, his magic had also gone erratic, making an entire glass panel at the zoo disappear, causing quite a commotion. Dumbledore frowned slightly at this moment, seeming to realize something. "Well, I might indeed have this talent," Harry continued, "but I really don't know how to use it intentionally." As if responding to the conversation taking place around it, the small carved serpent on the faucet seemed to stir to life. It lifted its tiny head, its forked tongue flickering out to taste the air as its eyes fixed on Harry. "Hiss—hiss—hisss..." Harry found himself making sounds that were non-human. The small snake under the faucet raised its head, nodded slightly in response, then slowly coiled its body. "Excellent," Adrian said encouragingly. "Try again, but this time, focus on the concept of opening, of revealing what has been hidden." Harry nodded. He leaned closer to the faucet, his voice taking on a more commanding tone as he spoke. "Open," he said, but the word that emerged was no longer recognizable as English—it was Parseltongue. As soon as he finished speaking, the faucet emitted a white light and began to rotate and twist, finally revealing an opening large enough for several people to enter. "I can actually do it?" Harry stared at the transformation he had created, his voice filled with wonder and disbelief. "This is absolutely incredible. I never imagined I was capable of something like this." The concept of magic, despite his years at Hogwarts, still held the power to amaze him. The idea that he could speak to serpents seemed almost too extraordinary to believe. Harry looked into the dark pipe opening with a mixture of anticipation and uneasiness. Dumbledore approached the pipe opening and disappeared into the darkness with a swift movement. Adrian observed the remaining members of their group with a reassuring smile before following Dumbledore's example, vanishing into the mysterious passage. The pipe proved to be exactly what Adrian had expected—a massive slide that hadn't seen maintenance in decades, if not centuries. As he descended rapidly through the darkness, the whistling wind in his ears carried the smell of damp stone. The air grew colder and more humid as they descended deeper into the guts of the castle. During his rapid descent, Adrian's eyes caught glimpses of numerous other passages branching off from the main tunnel— it seemed like a vast network of hidden pathways that honeycombed around Hogwarts. This explained much about the basilisk's ability to move through the castle undetected; with access to this ancient transportation system, the creature could emerge almost anywhere within the school. No wonder Myrtle and the Chomping Cabbage hadn't been able to detect its tracks. After an unknown amount of sliding through the ancient pipe system, the speed slowed and they reached the exit. Adrian executed a graceful flip and landed steadily on a slippery stone slab, his movements clean and efficient. He took a moment to dust off his robes and assess his surroundings, noting that Dumbledore was already standing nearby, gazing at the dim passage ahead, his clothes waws also stained with some mud. Soon, the sounds of additional arrivals echoed from the tunnel as Harry and Professor McGonagall completed their own descents. "Lumos!" Dumbledore's voice rang out clearly in the underground space as he raised his wand. A sphere of white light appeared at the wand's tip, floating like a miniature sun before settling at a height that would illuminate their path most effectively. The tunnel they found themselves in was vast and looked ancient, its stone walls were covered in patches of dark green moss that spoke of centuries of moisture and neglect. Water droplets hung from the ceiling falling steadily to the floor below with a rhythmic pattern that echoed through the space. What was noteworthy were the dragging marks on the ground, as if some enormous creature had crawled here before—these were very fresh tracks, obviously left by the basilisk recently. "Stay close to me," Dumbledore's voice echoed in the tunnel. Everyone followed him forward, and soon a massive object appeared in the middle of the path. "What in Merlin's name is that?" Professor McGonagall stopped short, her voice carrying a tone of disgust. "It appears to be some sort of... skin?" Indeed, stretched across their path was an enormous shed skin, still glistening with an oily, greenish shine that made it appear almost alive in the wandlight. Adrian stepped forward without hesitation, his curiosity overcoming any disgust he might have felt. He knelt beside the shed skin and examined it with interest. "Remarkable," He murmured. "A skin of this size... the creature that shed this must be truly enormous. And the quality of the skin itself might be useful for certain advanced potion recipes, if we survive to collect it later." "A basilisk," Adrian said, rising to his feet and facing the group. "This confirms our worst fears. The monster that has been terrorizing Hogwarts is indeed the legendary King of Serpents." "Basilisk?" Harry repeated the unfamiliar word. He had heard the name first time. "A magical creature far more dangerous than any dragon," Adrian explained. "The basilisk is known as the King of Serpents for good reason. Any living being that makes direct eye contact with its gaze will die instantly. Even indirect sight—through reflections or glimpses—can cause petrification, as we've seen with the recent attacks." Harry felt a chill run down his spine. Suddenly, those strange voices he had been hearing throughout the year made perfect sense. The whispering, hissing sounds that only he could understand—they hadn't been coming from the walls or the pipes. They had been the voice of the basilisk. "I believe we require additional assistance," Dumbledore said quietly, his eyes scanning the shadows. As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp cry rang out from nowhere. Then a flame appeared in the dark environment, which burst open to reveal a red figure in the air. Who else could it be but Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes? Adrian nodded with satisfaction as he watched the phoenix circle over their head. Phoenixes were among the few creatures that could face a basilisk without fear—their gaze could not be turned against them, and their healing tears could counteract the serpent's deadly venom. "Thank you, old friend," Dumbledore said warmly, extending his hand as Fawkes settled briefly on his shoulder. The phoenix tweeted softly in response before taking flight again, positioning himself at the front of their group as if to lead them deeper into the chamber. Meanwhile, Adrian maintained constant vigilance, his hand never drifting far from the Devil's Snare that remained hidden beneath his robes. The plant had no eyes it, but had an unusual ability to sense its surroundings through means that Adrian still didn't fully understand. Against a creature that could not breathe fire, the Devil's Snare would be one of his most effective weapons. Following Fawkes's lead, the group crossed several turns in the tunnel system. "I never knew there was such a place beneath Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall marveled. "That's hardly surprising," Dumbledore replied with a slight smile. "Even after all my years as headmaster, I continue to discover new secrets within these walls." Their progress was suddenly stopped by a stone wall that stretched across their path from floor to ceiling. On it were two intertwined snakes, each with two glowing emeralds embedded in their eye sockets. "Harry," Adrian said simply. In fact, Harry already knew what he needed to do. He cleared his throat and made snake-like sounds. "Open," He was beginning to find the knack for speaking Parseltongue. The two snakes separated from their intertwined form, and the door opened accordingly, revealing a magnificent underground hall. This was an even wider, longer massive space with many giant stone pillars carved with snakes reaching up to the ceiling—it looked absolutely spectacular. However, more than awe, Adrian felt vigilant, knowing the basilisk could suddenly emerge from any corner at any moment. Everyone remained alert to their surroundings as they continued following Fawkes forward. Under Dumbledore's illumination spell, a huge statue appeared before them. Harry stared at the statue—it was a very old face, monkey-like, with sparse whiskers hanging down to the hem of the wizard's robes. Honestly, this wasn't a handsome fellow; it could even be called ugly. But somehow, Harry could sense that this was an extremely powerful wizard. As for whose statue this was, it was obviously self-evident. "Salazar Slytherin," Adrian gazed at the statue and said in a low voice. "One of the most powerful wizards in history." "I don't see any sign of the basilisk," Professor McGonagall observed, her eyes scanning the area behind the statue where the chamber appeared to end. "Are we certain it's actually here?" Forget the basilisk—they hadn't seen a single living thing there. Of course, the basilisk had definitely been active here, as the movement tracks on the ground clearly indicated. "No need to rush," Adrian pulled Harry to the front and turned around. "To make the basilisk come out, we need a summoning type word—naturally, in snake language. Now, except for Fawkes, everyone should close their eyes." Then he patted Harry's shoulder and said, "The password is—'Speak to me, Slytherin—greatest of the Hogwarts Four.'" Adrian placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, meeting his eyes with an expression of absolute seriousness. "The summoning phrase is: 'Speak to me, Slytherin—greatest of the Hogwarts Four.' Can you manage that?" Dumbledore stepped forward, his grip tightening on the Elder Wand as he prepared for whatever was about to come. He had a vague feeling that everything seemed to be spiraling beyond his control. The Chamber, the basilisk, Harry... Everything was in chaos. Harry moved to the front of the group, his heart racing as he prepared to speak the words. "Oh, wait," Adrian said suddenly, raising his hand to stop him. "Let me make some preparations first." Everyone immediately turned their attention to Adrian. Adrian smiled slightly, and his robes suddenly rose without wind as countless dark green vines surged out from beneath them like living creatures. These Devil's Snare vines grew and spread at an alarming rate, weaving into a massive net that filled nearly quarter of the Chamber's space in the blink of an eye. This was the result of the Devil's Snare's quiet development over the past year! While the strength hadn't changed, the quantity was vastly different from last semester. Everyone stared blankly at this exaggerated scene, even Dumbledore showed signs of surprise at this dramatic show. "There," Adrian said with satisfaction, surveying his botanical fortress. "That should provide us with adequate protection and tactical advantage. Now, Harry, you may begin." ________________ You can read more chapters on: /IamLuis