Harry and Ron, still holding Lockhart between them, arrived at the second floor girls' bathroom. Through their conversation with Moaning Myrtle, Harry finally identified the precise entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Say something, Harry, in Parseltongue," Ron urged.
Harry stared at the snake-shaped carving on the faucet for a long time. "I can't, Ron," he said dejectedly. "Parseltongue must be spoken to a real snake. This carving is too fake."
Snap. A crisp snap of fingers sounded, and Harry suddenly felt an inexplicable connection to the carving, a sense that he could speak Parseltongue to it. The strange snap seemed to go unnoticed by anyone else.
"Hiss~" Harry uttered the opening words in Parseltongue. The washbasin in the bathroom automatically folded inward, revealing a huge, dark passage.
Lockhart, sticking his head out, glanced at the seemingly bottomless abyss and exhaled. "Well done, Harry. Ha, I'm relieved. You shouldn't need me down here." He turned, attempting to escape, but Ron and Harry, standing behind him, swiftly blocked his path.
"Here... very... need... you," the two boys grunted, struggling with Lockhart. He clung desperately to the sides of the sink, unwilling to descend. Finally, Ron stepped forward and delivered a firm kick, sending Lockhart tumbling into the passage.
After a short wait, Lockhart's muffled voice drifted up from below. "It's really dirty down here." Hearing his complaint, Ron and Harry exchanged a glance and jumped in after him.
As the trio disappeared into the Chamber of Secrets, two figures, one old and one young, materialized from the air above the gaping maw of the entrance.
"Speaking of which, Aiden," Professor Dumbledore praised, "have you ever considered returning to Hogwarts to teach in the future? Your ability is perfect for catching young wizards who wander around at night."
"Look who it is," a ghostly voice chimed in. "Our respectable Professor Dumbledore! Oh no, now I should call you Headmaster!" Moaning Myrtle flew over, circling Dumbledore playfully.
"Myrtle, I am truly sorry about you," Dumbledore said, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. "I never expected Tom to dare to do such a thing at such a young age..."
"Okay, Headmaster, don't talk about that bad seed," Myrtle interrupted, putting her hands together, her eyes blurred. "Everyone knows you are most wary of him, but he is so charming that everyone is fascinated by him." Then, with a scream, she drilled back into the toilet.
"The past is unbearable to look back on, Professor," Aiden said, raising his left eyebrow slightly.
"Which family doesn't have a few unlucky students?" Dumbledore winked at Aiden.
Aiden: "..."
The two stopped their banter and stepped into the passage of the Chamber of Secrets, moving with a leisurely gait, as if a grandfather and grandson were out for a casual stroll. The air beneath their feet seemed to have invisible steps, and the two figures vanished into the darkness.
In the passage, Harry and Ron were startled by the numerous bones of small animals scattered all over the ground. Harry looked up at Ron and Lockhart. "Remember," he warned, "close your eyes when you hear any movement." Taking the lead, Harry walked forward. Ron pointed his wand at Lockhart, subtly nudging him forward with his head. Lockhart had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.
After navigating a rugged, winding cave, the three came to a circular iron gate adorned with seven coiling snakes that served as its lock. "Hiss," Harry said, skillfully speaking Parseltongue to the iron gate. One of the snake carvings slithered out from the door frame and circled the iron gate, then writhed and shrank back into place. With the sound of a retracting machine spring, the iron gate slowly opened.
Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets lay exposed before them. The interior was lavishly decorated, yet it looked desolate due to its long-term closure and lack of maintenance. The walls were lined with towering snakehead sculptures. At the very end of the Chamber of Secrets stood a colossal sculpture of Salazar Slytherin himself, his long beard drooping to the hem of his robe, his ancient face resembling that of a wizened monkey.
"This is really the sculpture of Founder Salazar Slytherin himself?" Aiden, hidden in the blind spot of consciousness, murmured, posing a philosophical question to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore pondered: 'At this moment, is it better to maintain the image of the old Founder in the minds of the students or to acknowledge the old Founder's own aesthetic?'
At the far end of the Chamber, Ginny and Ernie lay motionless on the ground. Harry and Ron, ignoring everything else, rushed forward. "Oh, Ginny. Ginny, you can't die," Harry pleaded, patting her. "Wake up quickly, please!" Ron watched his sister nervously, while Ernie, lying nearby, was completely overlooked.
"She's alright." A young student walked out of the shadows, wearing Slytherin robes.
"Tom Riddle?" Harry asked, a little curious. "Why are you here?"
"He's the owner of the diary you mentioned?" Ron said in disbelief. "But he was from fifty years ago."
"She's fine," Tom said, approaching the others quickly. "I ask you, I have already caught Aiden Prewett's sister, why hasn't he come?"
"What does Aiden have to do with this again?" Ron looked puzzled.
"Perhaps it's because that guy has been kicked out of school," Lockhart offered with a chuckle. Suddenly, he pulled his wand from his sleeve and fired a Stupefy at Ron, who, caught off guard, fainted.
"You, you!" Harry said, confused by Lockhart's betrayal.
"Ha, I told you I had something to leave," Lockhart grinned. "It would have been fine to let me go, but then so many things had to happen."
"Tom, what's going on? Are you a ghost?" Harry asked.
"It's a pity that Aiden Prewett didn't show up," Tom said with an evil smile. "That's a rare and perfect body."
"Forget it," Lockhart interjected. "I have already prepared two young bodies for you. Wouldn't it be good to directly use their vitality to reconstruct your own body?"
"What do you know, you idiot?!" Tom roared at Lockhart, his face contorting in fury. "Those are dragon people! Dragon people!!!"
Dumbledore, watching the entire spectacle from his perch atop a snakehead statue, turned his head to Aiden. "It seems that your body is very attractive to dark wizards?"
Aiden: "Such a good show can't stop your mouth."
...
In the vast Chamber, Tom, thinking he had the upper hand, began his villainous act, engaging the protagonist in a monologue at the most critical moment.
"Forget it," Tom said, walking toward Harry. "It's worth the trip to have the famous Savior come all this way. It's not in vain that I showed you the memories of the stupid Hagrid. You really trust me so much, easily bringing so many sacrifices here."
"You," Harry stared at Tom with fierce green eyes, "Dumbledore won't let you succeed."
"He has been monitoring me since I started school," Tom said, waving Harry's wand a few times. "If I hadn't let that stupid Hagrid take the blame for me, I would have been kicked out of Hogwarts long ago."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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