077 Entering the Chamber of Secrets

Words : 1074 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

077 Entering the Chamber of Secrets Hermione dragged Bryan along the dark and dusty corridor on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle. She was in a hurry to show him the girls' bathroom at the end of the hall. "This is it, professor-" she said breathlessly. Bryan remembered the stories he had heard from his female classmates when he was a student at Hogwarts. They said the bathroom was haunted by a ghost named Moaning Myrtle, who wore glasses and had died there. Myrtle was very possessive of the bathroom and would scream at anyone who tried to use it. She would also splash them with freezing water from the sinks and toilets, making them wet and miserable. That's why most students avoided that bathroom as much as possible. They didn't want to deal with the angry ghost while they were doing their personal business. Bryan cautiously approached the rickety wooden door that led to the dimly-lit bathroom. He wrinkled his nose at the musty smell of dampness and decay. From one of the stalls, a thin stream of filthy water seeped across the cracked stone floor. Bryan guessed that this was the secret entrance to the fabled Chamber of Secrets, hidden somewhere in this room by the infamous Salazar Slytherin. He wondered why Slytherin had chosen a girls' bathroom as the location for his mysterious chamber. It seemed like a strange and whimsical choice for the cunning and ambitious founder of Slytherin house. Then it occurred to him that maybe this bathroom was not always for girls. Perhaps it was Slytherin's own private lavatory when he built the chamber centuries ago. The school staff must have changed its purpose over time to accommodate the female students. "Here you come again! And with a Hogwarts professor this time too!" Myrtle's shrill voice rang out as she caught sight of Bryan and Hermione entering her haunted domain. The pearly-white ghost girl was perched atop one of the cubicle doors, happily humming an off-key song to herself. But upon noticing a professor had walked in, Myrtle's demeanor quickly changed to one of panic and she anxiously floated down from her cubicle and nearer to the floor, as if trying to make herself less noticeable. Bryan peered with curiosity at the ghostly figure - he had only ever heard vague rumors about Moaning Myrtle during his school days and hadn't actually met her until now. As he looked her up and down, Bryan noted her thick, coke-bottle glasses and generally undesirable, gloomy appearance. After satisfying his curiosity about the infamous bathroom ghost, Bryan's gaze was soon drawn to the large, grimy pipe situated conspicuously in front of the row of sinks, which did not seem to fit with the rest of the bathroom decor. "Myrtle, are Harry and Ron still down there in the chamber?" Hermione asked the ghost witch anxiously, her voice echoing slightly off the cold tile walls. "Obviously they are," Myrtle responded in a wispy tone, her beady eyes peering out through the thick lenses of her glasses. Perhaps sensing the authority of a Hogwarts professor, Myrtle seemed reluctant to act too bold or presumptuous in Bryan's presence. She eyed the handsome wizard professor surreptitiously as she added with a hint of relish, "But don't worry too much, I'm sure your friends will be coming back up soon. In the meantime, I've been busying myself picking out toilets for them to arrive in!" "There is no need for concern, Miss Granger," Bryan gently reassured her with a calm smile. "No harm will come to you as long as I am here." Hermione still looked anxious but managed a small, grateful nod. Bryan decided exploring the ancient magical ruins left by medieval wizards could be quite thrilling indeed. The complex enchantments Slytherin had used just on the Chamber entrance alone provided valuable insights into rule-based environment magic that even Bryan had scarcely encountered before. But now was not the time for academic curiosity - there were still students' lives at stake down below. Turning his attention back to the ominous pipe, Bryan considered their options. Simply sliding down the dark, slime-coated tunnel did not seem particularly wise or sanitary. After a brief moment of contemplation, Bryan formulated an idea and turned toward the nervous young witch beside him. "Please excuse any discomfort this may cause, Miss Granger," he stated politely before reaching out a steady hand to gently grasp Hermione's shoulder. "Whatever do you mean, Profess- oh!" Hermione cut off with a startled yelp as Bryan swiftly enacted his spell. With his free left hand, he deftly flicked his wand in an upward motion, manipulating the fabric of his loosely hanging professor's robes to unwrap and swirl upward enveloping them both. Hermione's eyes widened in shock as her body was abruptly wrapped in the robe's silky folds. An icy sensation washed over her and the bathroom scene around them faded away into inky darkness. Gasping, Hermione glanced down to see even her own body had disappeared entirely! In its place she now appeared to be little more than a softly glowing, amorphous black shadow. "P-professor, what is this magic you've used on us?" Hermione cried out in her alarm, though she was relieved to find she could still vocalize in her bizarre new form. Her voice seemed to echo strangely as if traveling through water. "All shall be explained another time," Bryan answered, his calm voice somehow resonating directly into Hermione's mind. "But now haste is required, Miss Granger." Without further delay, Bryan, likewise transformed into a wispy shadow, propelled himself and Hermione into the gaping tunnel opening. The two streaked swiftly down the clammy stone pipe, Bryan using magic to keep them centered as it twisted and turned at steep angles, plunging them ever deeper below the castle. As they flew down the main drain, smaller pipes occasionally branched off in all directions but Bryan adeptly guided them along the correct path. The already cold air grew even more frigid and damp the further they descended. Their rate of speed was extremely rapid, and before long Bryan sensed they were deep beneath the lake itself. Using his shadow vision he could just make out the rocky lakebed far below them through the labyrinth of drainage tunnels. But their destination still awaited...the fabled Chamber of Secrets. /FicFrenzy

077 Entering the Chamber of Secrets

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