Chapter 53 - The Chamber of Secrets
The bathroom looked worse than I remembered it in the stories. It felt old, the tiles on the floor were dull and cracked, and the walls were covered with long streaks of water stains that had dried into strange shapes. Cobwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling, and a few spiders sat still inside them, guarding their tiny kingdoms. The smell was a mixture of damp stone, rusty pipes, and something sour that came from the drains.
The basins were no better. Each one was stained dark around the edges, as if no one had ever tried to clean them. The taps were stiff with age and spotted with green patches where metal had met too much moisture. A few basins had cracks running down their sides like old scars. Every time a drop of water fell from a tap, it made a hollow sound that echoed around the empty room.
It had been almost six months since the third Horcrux in the Slytherin's locket was destroyed. Life after that had returned to normal. The rest of the holiday had passed quietly, and even the rest of the school year had gone without any big trouble. I had finished my exams today, and in a week or so the results would be out. For now, my head felt light and I was free.
And that was why I had come here. Harry would come to Hogwarts in a couple of months, and before that, I wanted to finish the one last thing that had been sitting in the back of my mind. The old bathroom that had always held its secrets from others. I have decided to face one of them this night.
I walked from basin to basin, checking each tap carefully. My fingers brushed over the cold metal, feeling every mark, every dent. Most of the taps were normal, but I knew one of them wasn't. One of them was marked with a tiny engraving, a small snake curled around itself. It was carved so finely that you could miss it if you weren't paying attention.
I went down the row slowly, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light. The window at the far end let in only a thin line of sunlight, and dust floated through it like drifting ash. Halfway through the row, I stopped. There it was. A small tap, no different in shape from the others, but carrying the faint outline of a snake on its side.
I stood in front of it for a moment. My heart beat a little faster from the weight of what this tap meant and also a little fear. I knew this day would come and I would have to try.
I leaned a little closer, took a slow breath, and whispered in Parseltongue:
"Open."
The word left my mouth like a soft hiss, and the bathroom fell silent.
Yes, I had Parseltongue now. I could speak to snakes their own way. After the third Horcrux was destroyed, something in my magic had shifted. It felt as if a door inside me had been pushed open. My senses were sharper, my thoughts clearer, and I could understand the sounds of animals in a way I never had before. Parseltongue came, but there were hints of other languages too. They were small whispers of meaning in birdsong, soft hums in the way insects moved and even the big animals like Unicorns and Thestrals. It was magic itself who had given me a gift for destroying that third abomination.
I tested this new ability at home during the holiday, first in the garden. I called a tiny grass snake out from behind a stone, and it slithered to me without fear. Then, later at Hogwarts, as Hagrid took me into the Forbidden Forest a few times, and I tried speaking to larger snakes and other animals there. Every time, they all listened. They understood me and followed simple orders. It was strange and wonderful at the same time. I was delighted as it would help me greatly.
But this new talent came with a responsibility. Harry would come to Hogwarts in a couple of months. If the monster of the castle was still there, it would put him in danger again. I could not allow that. I had no choices but to face and resolve it.
The tap in front of me trembled. I heard a low grinding sound beneath the floor, like the stone was awakening after a long sleep. The basin began to sink inwards, slowly at first and then steadily, like a giant plug being pulled down. Dust shook loose from the ceiling. The spiders scattered. The whole bathroom shifted around me.
The basin slid down into the floor and vanished, revealing a wide, dark opening. A circular pipe stretched down into the earth like a throat waiting to swallow anything that entered. The smell of damp stone and old air rushed up from below, heavy and cold. The echo of falling drops could be heard from deep inside, tapping against the walls of the tunnel.
The tiles around the opening split into neat sections and folded back, forming a wide enough space for a person to climb through. It was exactly as books and movies had described it years ago. It was the entrance to the Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.
I stepped closer. The edges of the pipe were slick with moisture, and a thin mist rose from the darkness. The air below felt untouched by time. I could almost feel the presence of something old, something ancient, waiting far beneath the castle. Or maybe it was just in my mind.
I brought out a small piece of cloth from my pocket and tapped it with my wand. It stretched and grew until it became a long cloak, thick enough to cover me from shoulders to boots. The tunnel was greasy and filthy in the stories, and I didn't want to come out soaked in dirt or slime. When the cloth settled over me, I nodded to myself. This would do.
Next, I lightened my body with a small charm. My weight shifted, and I felt almost feather-like. If I hit a sharp turn or a stone edge while sliding down, I would not break bones. I tested the spell twice to be sure, then took a deep breath. The tunnel waited below like the throat of some dark beast. My heart beat faster. I had opened the way and I was prepared. Now I had to go down to face it.
I stepped forward, placed one foot over the edge, then pushed off and slid inside.
The fall was quick. The pipe was steep and smooth, curving left and right without warning. Water stains smeared across the walls as I passed, and the sound of rushing air filled my ears. I kept my arms close, holding my wand tightly in my right hand. I was as scared as anyone would be but I forced the fear down and stayed alert.
The pipe twisted suddenly, but because of my weight charm, I didn't slam into anything. I slid over the curve and kept going. Another turn, then one after other. The whole tunnel seemed alive, spiraling and dipping like a snake burrowing through the earth. Somewhere far above, the bathroom must have already sealed itself again.
Then, with a final sharp twist, the pipe spat me out.
I shot forward and landed on cold stone, rolling lightly because of the spell. Compared to Harry in the original story, it was far more graceful. I stood up slowly and brushed the cloak. It had kept nearly all the dirt off me.
The smell hit me after a moment. It was damp, rotten, old. The floor was covered with bones. Thousands of them. Rat bones, rodent bones, and others I could not name. They crunched softly under my boots as I adjusted my stance. The place felt untouched for decades, maybe longer.
I turned slowly, wand raised, listening. Nothing moved. Not even air stirred. It felt like the last person who stood here could have been a young Tom Riddle, still a young genius student. After that no one.
Satisfied and confirmed that I was alone, I lifted the cloak with a small wave of my wand. It shrank back into the square of cloth I had carried in my pocket. I cleaned it with a quick charm and tucked it away again. Better to move freely now.
I whispered "Lumos," and light bloomed softly at the tip of my wand. The shadows around me pushed back, revealing the walls, the stones, and the long passage stretching ahead. The air felt somber and damp.
I took a few cautious steps forward and the bones shifted underfoot each time. Then I saw it.
A long, pale, dried-out skin lay across the tunnel floor. It stretched from one side to the other like a huge abandoned rope. The shed scales glinted weakly under my light. The width of the skin was wider than my chest. The length ran beyond the reach of my wandlight.
It was the shed skin of the thousand-year-old serpent. The pet of Slytherin.
I swallowed hard. The creature was real, alive and ancient. It was somewhere ahead in the darkness. But I had come here for this after all. So I tightened my grip on my wand and walked forward.
End of Chapter 53 - The Chamber of Secrets