The statue of Salazar Slytherin loomed tall and eerie, carved directly into the far wall of the chamber. A weathered face of cold stone and contempt, its eyes seemed to follow us even in the dim light.
"Well," I said, brushing my hands together. "That was a complete waste of several buckets of lake water."
Hermione, standing behind me with arms crossed, looked unimpressed. "You're the one who thought flooding his mouth would somehow unlock an ancient magical mechanism."
"In fairness, it was a dramatic flourish." I turned toward the statue and took a step forward. "Now, let's try something even more theatrical."
I cleared my throat and began hissing.
"Hsss... ssszharh... hisshaskelsss..."
"Sky," Hermione said flatly.
I continued with more commitment: "Shassahhhsss... blughsassss..."
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Done?"
"Not remotely." I gave the statue a mock bow, then rolled my shoulders and transformed.
Where Sky Kingston once stood, a Niffler now sat, nose twitching, eyes alight with mischief. I stretched my tiny arms and blinked up at Hermione, who took a full two seconds to recognize me.
"Oh no," she breathed. "No, don't you—"
Too late.
I darted forward, scampering up the folds of Salazar's stone beard. Hermione half-reached to stop me, but I was already gone—slipping into the impossibly narrow slit of the statue's mouth.
The entrance was laughably small, clearly not designed for anything to pass through. But Nifflers didn't care about logic, physics, or personal safety. If there was a gap, we could squeeze through it.
Inside, it was pitch black and smelled like centuries-old parchment. I rummaged forward, paws brushing past ancient gears and magical conduits—then accidentally bumped something metallic.
A thunk echoed, and then a great grinding noise shook the chamber.
Outside, Hermione jumped back as the statue shuddered. With a groan, its mouth began to open—not much, just enough for a human to crawl through.
A minute later, I emerged from the darkness, dusty, triumphant, and holding a golden snake-shaped key in one paw.
Hermione blinked. "What... what is that?"
I squeaked proudly and dropped the key into her hand.
"That was not part of the plan," she muttered.
I transformed back into myself with a poof. "Nope. That was just a happy accident."
Then I turned back into a Niffler and continued forward.
She just shrugged in amusement as she continued down the damp passage.
**
The tunnel was narrow and damp but wide. I went first, my back scraping against centuries of condensation-slick stone.
Behind me, Hermione grumbled, "If this tunnel tries to collapse on us, I'm writing a strongly worded letter to Salazar's ghost."
Snake carvings lined the tunnel, their jeweled eyes enchanted to follow our every movement.
...Jeweled?
...shiny?
... MINE!!
I Jumped toward all the eyes in my Niffler form.
I really couldn't control myself. It was as if my instincts were screaming at me that I needed to take them all.
Behind me, Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "Sky, we are on a mission. Can you please stop pillaging every enchanted eyeball you see?"
I popped out of the wall with a jewel clenched in my tiny claws and gave her a look of pure Niffler innocence.
Of course it did not help that I was slowly putting the large ruby into my pouch.
"I swear, I am not doing this on purpose.... is that another ruby?" I squeaked in my head.
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is going to take twice as long now."
Finally, we emerged into a wider vault—the true Chamber.
Massive.
And silent.
I was satisfied.
In the center, curled like a cat around a dais bearing the Slytherin crest, was the basilisk.
Hermione gasped and froze.
I reached into my pouch—still Niffler-sized from earlier—and pulled out the frosted glasses. I passed one pair to her and donned mine.
We both said nothing, only pointed at the thirty-foot snake.
I approached it slowly, boots squishing against damp stone. Each step closer, the air grew heavier.
From behind, Hermione hissed, "Sky, stop! That's close enough!"
I ignored her. Reached out. Focused.
The moment stretched, taut and fragile. I placed a hand just inches from the creature's shimmering green scales—then triggered the inventory.
A pulse of white light blinked outward.
The basilisk vanished.
The entire room shuddered from displaced weight.
Silence.
Then, slowly, I turned and gave Hermione an enthusiastic wave.
She walked toward me, rigid. Her eyes flicked from the now-empty floor to me.
"You stored a basilisk," she said faintly.
I quickly change back into human form.
"A live one too," I added. "How much do you suppose a live one will go for?"
**
She sat down hard on the floor.
"How long have you been able to do that?" she asked.
"What? You mean store live things?"
Hermione nodded her head.
I hesitated. "Since before Hogwarts probably. Ive been experimenting with this ability for a while now."
"And you told no one?"
"Well, except Flamel. But you already knew that."
Hermione shook her head slowly. "Wait... why did you have to get so close? You stored it the Weasley food in the great hall just fine from a distance—couldn't you have done the same?"
I gave her a sheepish grin. "Well... she was such a beauty. I wanted to admire it up close."
Hermione gave me a well deserved dead-pan "With frosted glasses?"
"Of course, I'm not stupid."
"The verdict may still be out on that one."
"OY!!"
Hermione groaned, rubbing her temples. "You took an unnecessary risk. What if it had woken up?"
"I had frosted glasses."
She shot me a glare. "That would not have saved you if it decided to take a blind swing."
"Duly noted," I said, raising my hands.
Hermione shook her head. "You are an utter nightmare. But I'm glad I know."
She pulled me into a hug. "Just… don't take unnecessary risks again."
"No promises," I muttered into her shoulder.
**
We poked around the chamber for a while, storing anything that looked vaguely cursed or ancient. Some things disintegrated on touch. Others I pocketed.
Eventually, Hermione glanced at the dark tunnel.
"Wait. Did we think about how we were getting back out?"
I blinked.
Then scratched the back of my head with a grin. "I might've... overlooked that part."
"You stored a basilisk but didn't think about the exit?!"
"To be fair," I said, already laughing, "I was a little preoccupied with not dying."
Hermione growled something under her breath and grabbed my sleeve. "Let's go, genius."
We climbed back toward daylight, the echoes of the chamber fading behind us.
Now we need to learn how to exit through that pit we had initially jumped through.