The Chamber of Secrets had been opened.
The moment the news spread, Hogwarts was thrown into an uproar… or not.
The simplest reason was that most students had no idea what the Chamber of Secrets was.
It was only natural for the students to be excited by the rumors, but the prevailing mood among them was one of amusement rather than anxiety.
Who was it that said children possess the purity of a blank white canvas? Looking at these students, it was clear that purity was not necessarily synonymous with goodness.
This was evident from the way students gathered in small groups to delight in Filch's misfortune.
Argus Filch, the school's caretaker, was the public enemy of almost every student. Not only did he refuse to tolerate the slightest student transgression, but he also found every excuse to give them detention.
Nevertheless, it wasn't as if the students were wicked enough to feel pure joy at Filch suffering an accident severe enough to turn him to stone.
The reason Filch was the subject of so much gossip was because of the message left next to the warning about the Chamber of Secrets.
[A SQUIB HAS NO PLACE AT HOGWARTS.]
"I can't believe the caretaker was a Squib."
"That's why he always treated us like that. He felt inferior to wizards."
"What's that about? That's just creepy."
Of course, there were some who showed sympathy for his petrification, regardless of whether he was a Squib or not, but the majority of the opinions about Filch were ridicule and scorn.
As Filch's identity was exposed and became the talk of the school, interest in the Chamber of Secrets naturally grew as well.
So, who on earth was this "heir" who had exposed a Squib's identity?
It wasn't long before the students found the answer—in the thick, dreadfully boring textbook they would never normally have looked at, Hogwarts: A History.
Hermione gathered Harry and Ron and said, "Here, look at this. I think this must be a reference to the Chamber of Secrets. The four legendary founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin." (TN: The source text incorrectly names Helena Ravenclaw as a founder. We have corrected it to Rowena, the actual founder.)
A thousand years ago, in an age when history and legend were indistinguishable, the four founders all had different educational philosophies. The wizard with the strictest of these was Slytherin.
Having lived through a time of intense conflict between Muggles and wizards, he insisted that only children of trustworthy bloodlines—'wizarding families who would not be traitors'—should be taught.
However, his views were not accepted by the other founders, and eventually, Slytherin left the school, but not before leaving behind a provision for his heir, who would one day return to kill those who were unworthy: the Chamber of Secrets.
After reading the story, Ron spoke with interest. "Phew. So I guess Squibs were unworthy in the eyes of this Heir of Slytherin character?"
"Ron! What are you saying? This isn't a joke; it's a matter of life and death."
Hermione shot back at Ron's thoughtless comment, her face twisting in disapproval.
To Hermione, who hadn't grown up in wizarding society, there was something deeply wrong with someone facing death simply for being a Squib.
Meanwhile, Harry's suspicions only grew stronger.
It had to be Slytherin. The Chamber of Secrets, left behind by Salazar Slytherin, who was so closely associated with snakes that he made one his house symbol.
Moreover, he remembered Aisen mentioning that the descendants of Slytherin's bloodline often inherited the ability of Parseltongue.
Then it was certain. The weapon inside the Chamber of Secrets that had attacked Filch was surely something related to snakes, and the heir was controlling it through Parseltongue.
For a moment, Harry debated whether it was right to share this fact with his friends.
Hermione, who was certainly more skilled at digging up knowledge than he was, might hole up in the library day and night until she found out what the monster was.
And Ron would surely volunteer to be a steadfast companion, ready to jump into any danger alongside him.
So, what was the downside to sharing this information?
Even if Parseltongue wasn't an inherently shameful ability, revealing that he was a Parselmouth in this situation would undoubtedly make him a prime suspect.
"Hmm…"
After a moment of deliberation, Harry nodded. How could he live his life suspecting everyone, especially his friends?
He was a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin—a fact his master himself had vouched for!
"Guys, there's something I have to tell you. I'm a Parselmouth."
The other two stared at him, as if to say, "So what?" but a moment later, they understood the meaning of his words and their eyes went wide.
"What? Harry! Are you serious?"
"Merlin's beard! That's a rare ability you only read about in books, Harry! But for it to be now… oh, dear."
The oblivious Ron was busy marveling at Harry's ability, but Hermione's quick mind immediately grasped the significance of Harry bringing it up at this particular moment.
"Harry… you heard it, didn't you?"
"I did. I heard a voice somewhere saying it would rip and kill."
"Then… you think the culprit is some kind of snake?"
"There's a high probability, yes."
A snake, a snake. A snake-like monster that petrifies people. Hermione muttered to herself, her mind racing.
Meanwhile, Ron asked Harry, "Harry, if that's the case, who do you think is the Heir of Slytherin using this snake thing?"
At that, Harry searched his memory. He was sure Aisen had said something about Slytherin's bloodline…
After wracking his brain for a long time, trying to recall the faint memory, Harry finally uttered a single word.
"Gaunt."
"Huh? What's that mean? Gaunt?"
"Yes, Gaunt. I'm pretty sure he said the last family to carry Slytherin's blood was the Gaunt family."
Hearing this, Ron clapped his hands together. "Gaunt! I've heard of that family!"
"What? Where?"
Ron crossed his arms. "I think I saw their name listed as one of the 'Sacred Twenty-Eight'."
Hermione spoke, surprised. "Ron, I didn't know you remembered such trivial things."
Ron gave an awkward laugh. "Well, the Weasley family is also on that list, though it's just in name only. I don't really remember much." Then he added confidently, "I might not know, but there's someone who's an expert in this field! My brother Percy is probably a master of this kind of genealogy."
And so, that evening, they asked Percy. True to Ron's boast, Percy did know about the Gaunt family. However, the information was not what they expected.
"Hm? The Gaunt family? Of course, I know them. We're one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight too, you know. It's essential knowledge if you want to get ahead."
"Amazing! You're the best, Percy! So, do you happen to know anyone from the Gaunt family…?"
Percy's face, which had puffed up with pride at Ron's praise, twisted into a peculiar expression. "There's no one to know. As far as I'm aware, the Gaunt family line died out without leaving a single branch. In other words, they're gone."
"…Oh?"
"By the way, Ron, why are you suddenly so interested in them? Don't tell me you've gotten into some strange detective game? Ron! Where are you going! Ron!"
"Thanks, Percy! See you later!"
After a quick farewell to Percy, Ron ran back to them, panting.
His face darkened. "If the Gaunt line has died out, then who on earth is the heir?"
"No, it's too early to be disappointed. Even if the main Gaunt line is gone, they could have married into another family somewhere!"
Following Hermione's reasonable suggestion, they continued to gather information.
Several days passed. The trio scoured every genealogy book in the library, but they couldn't find any record of a branch of the Gaunt family.
Harry exclaimed in frustration, "Merlin's beard, how can a family have no contact with other families for several generations? Most of them died young, and the ones who did marry almost all married their cousins!"
Hermione, having grown up in Muggle society and thus having a stronger aversion to inbreeding than wizards, also commented, "Could the heir really be from a family like this? It seems like they would have serious genetic problems."
Exhausted from the lack of progress in their investigation, Ron said, "Is there even an heir in the first place? It seems more plausible that someone who hates Filch cursed him and then just wrote about the Chamber of Secrets as an excuse."
As he said, Hogwarts had been quiet since the incident with Filch. Just as any fire dies down without fuel, the talk of the Chamber of Secrets was gradually fading from the students' conversations.
The only time it was brought up was when someone commented on how nice it was without Filch around.
"Aaargh, I can't do this anymore! I think this is a complete waste of time. We have tons of homework to do besides this!"
With Ron's outcry, their investigation was temporarily suspended.
Harry and Hermione couldn't hide their unease, but there was nothing more they could do.
That night, Harry went to a water pipe and, with sincere feeling, spoke the language of snakes. By now, his Parseltongue had become quite natural.
[Snake, oh snake. I don't know who you are, but if you don't want to die, please just stay quiet. If you kill someone, you'll be dead within a week too. Please, just lay low.]
Unfortunately, Harry's wish was not conveyed very well to the snake. Or perhaps it was conveyed in a distorted way.
In any case, the victim didn't die this time either, so it seemed the message hadn't been entirely ignored.
The next day, Colin Creevey was found, petrified solid.
***
Meanwhile, in the library.
Even before the second attack occurred, Hermione had been in the library, poring over several copies of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, focused on finding a clue.
"Snake, snake, a snake-like monster…"
Leaving Harry and Ron behind, Hermione continued her own independent investigation in the library.
Her motivation was, in no small part, the fact that she herself was a Muggle-born.
After all, she was clearly included in the category Slytherin had defined as "enemies." Moreover, as a Muggle-born who consistently earned high marks, she knew she could be seen as a rather attractive target.
That was why Hermione was in the library again today, flipping through books, searching for dangerous magical creatures classified as reptiles.
Then, suddenly, her finger stopped on a certain part of a page.
"Basilisk, the King of Serpents…"
Basilisk. Ministry of Magic Classification: XXXXX. Anyone who looks it in the eye will be petrified and die instantly.
It possesses the most dangerous venom. Its magical poison leads all opponents to death. The only thing that can counter its venom is the tear of a phoenix.
Reading this, Hermione's eyes sparkled. Although the victims hadn't died instantly but had been petrified, this was the case that best explained the current situation out of all she had seen so far!
Hermione read the chapter on the Basilisk for a long time, then became curious about the phoenix, the creature whose tears could heal even the venom of the world's most dangerous beast.
"Phoenix, phoenix… ah, here it is."
Phoenix. Ministry of Magic Classification: XXXX. It follows only the wizard it has acknowledged as its master. It has a very flamboyant appearance and possesses intelligence higher than most wizards. It has various magical abilities. Its diet is known to be varied, but in some individuals, a particular preference for seafood such as squid has been observed. Its tears contain a power effective against all kinds of injuries.
Oh. Amazing tears. It likes squid.
…Squid?
In that instant, an image of a certain bird she knew, one that was very fond of squid, flashed through Hermione's mind.
***