When night fell and Altair finished his dinner, he did not join the Slytherin Teams in their duelling practice.
He silently and invisibly made his way to Salazar's Solar, taking only Illya with him.
"How was your day?"
Altair bowed to his ancestor before answering the question.
"It was fun."
"Learned anything new?"
"No…"
He heard Salazar laugh unceremoniously and sighed inwardly.
Given his habit of reading, he had already gone through everything they were going to learn this year and even the next four years. He could sit his O.W.L.s this year and still secure an Outstanding in every subject.
This was why he tried to distract his mind by studying things that were not the focus at Hogwarts.
However, tonight, he did not plan on studying.
Walking to the centre of the room, he sat down and activated the mechanism. Soon, the hidden pedestal emerged from the floor.
The topmost section, containing his ancestor's Potion Journal and the vials of the precious The Serpent's Draught of the Undying Soul, opened on its own. There were forty-one left now, and for the moment, he did not plan on giving another to anybody.
Altair opened the second section, which he had checked before.
Inside, he found a small chest whose contents he had not yet seen. Next to it was a glass orb, almost like a small crystal ball, and he carefully picked it up.
Once he had what he needed in hand, he stepped back and took a deep breath.
This orb contained a very special essence, something Salazar had used to seal the Choranaptyxis of the Serpent of Slytherin.
Though the old man doubted anyone but his blood could enter the Chamber of Secrets, there was no guarantee that some Parselmouth would not find a way in there from other entrances. He had only kept the password "Open" in Parseltongue, which was rather lax on his part.
If the true power of the Basilisk was discovered by anyone other than the True Heir, it would have caused havoc. Dealing with such a beast was already extremely dangerous, but with the Power of Choranaptyxis, the Serpent could steal every soul in the castle.
Thankfully, Salazar had sealed its powers, and only by consuming the essence in this orb would they activate again.
"Remember to change the password," Salazar told him as he approached the bookshelf in the right corner of the room.
Altair nodded and steeled his heart as he slowly pulled out a book, activating the mechanism. This parted the shelf and revealed a door quite similar to the Slytherin Dormitory Entrance.
"Open," he spoke in Parseltongue, and the serpent inside the wall started moving, bringing the vault door alive.
It opened with a metallic click, followed by a magical hum, and a brush of eerily cold air greeted him as soon as it revealed what it was hiding: a long, dark hallway, where torches with green flames were now coming to life.
Taking another deep breath, he entered, and his Moon Fox was right by his side, curiously looking around the tunnel-like passage.
They walked for a good while before arriving at a dead end, having navigated a maze of passages, and now another door awaited them.
"Ready, Illya?" he asked, and his Moon Fox confidently yipped, letting him know she was ready. "Open…"
Despite himself, Altair failed to control his heart, which skipped a beat, and a little nervousness finally crept in.
After all, he was about to face a creature feared by every wizard and witch, and merely looking into its eyes could steal your life away.
When the door in front of him opened, a long, dimly lit hall revealed itself.
It was massive, to say the least, and around them was a pool of crystal-clear water with a bridge that led to the main floor of the Hall.
On both sides of the hallway were statues of massive serpents, and on the far end was another statue, but that of Salazar's face.
It was also surrounded by a pool of crystal-clear water.
The floor was dark, almost obsidian with silver highlights. The statues of the Serpent were made out of dark stone too, but the two platforms between the pools were white.
Even Salazar's statue was made out of white stone.
On the side walls were some green and silver highlights, and all the torches that came to life were burning with green flames.
Within a few moments, the nervousness was replaced by curiosity.
As Altair stepped off the bridge, into the hall, a sudden chill crept beneath his robes. The green flames flickered, casting shifting serpent-shadows along the slick obsidian floor. He could smell the tang of old water and stone, and somewhere, the faint musk of something ancient and alive.
He curiously walked around the massive place, inspecting every statue and corner, discovering a system of long, tunnel-like passages that seemed never-ending. In the end, after looking around for well over an hour, he came to stand before his ancestor's statue.
"Where's the Basilisk, Illya?" he asked his fox, who shook her head and yipped, letting him know she could not sense any life here. "So, should I try calling it?"
The Fox did not answer, and he knew that the decision was entirely his.
"Fine…" He took a deep breath and turned to the massive hall. "I call upon you, the Serpent of Slytherin. Reveal yourself!" He spoke loudly in Parseltongue and magically transmitted his voice everywhere, even into the network of tunnels.
Silence answered him, and after a minute passed, right when he started doubting if the serpent was still alive, he heard a passage open behind him.
He turned around, only to see his ancestor's mouth drop open, and then a massive serpentine head poked out.
Altair stared in awe at the iridescent green scales of the creature, the small horns, the baleful yellow eyes, and even as the nearly seventy-foot-long serpent coiled around the platform, he did not feel threatened at all.
"You're beautiful," he whispered in Parseltongue, and smiled brightly as he met the creature's eyes, who clearly seemed surprised at being seen right into its soul.
"You have my master's magic, blood, your magic is even stronger than my master, but you are not the one who called upon me before…"
As soon as he heard those words, he frowned, and even Illya curiously looked at him.
"Someone came here before me?"
"Yes…"
The Serpent leaned in very close to him, even baring its fangs, but Altair was not deterred.
He gently drew his hand forward and caressed its snout, and the Serpent slowly closed its mouth again as it sniffed him.
"Lord Salazar was my ancestor. I am a Slytherin, by magic, by blood."
The Serpent obediently nodded its head and pulled back, towering over him again.
"Was it a man or a woman, the one who came before me?"
"A boy, nearly a man…"
"His name?"
"Tom…"
Altair quirked a brow at the name, and the Serpent nodded.
"Did he make you his familiar?" he asked, but could not sense a magical connection between the Serpent and anyone other than Salazar.
Seemingly, the beast was confused by what he was talking about, so he smiled and beckoned it to come down.
Under its curious eyes, Altair took out his wand and made an incision on his left palm, drawing blood.
"Open your mouth if you wish to submit to me and take me as your master."
The Basilisk stared at the ring on his right hand before obediently opening its mouth.
Its massive top fangs were dripping with venom, but Altair was not afraid. He gently reached into its mouth and placed his bleeding palm on one of the bottom fangs, piercing the cut just enough to allow the venom to enter his body.
He did not really need to do it, but his instincts told him to, and he frowned as the powerful curse that the Basilisk venom was coursed through his body.
A burning sensation washed over him and his skin turned red, but he bore it and silently recited the spell of blood bond.
As soon as the Basilisk sensed it and allowed the bond to bind it, he felt a connection and smiled before taking his hand back.
He put the Yew wand back in its holster and drew his Elder Wand, healing the cut on his palm.
It took quite a lot of effort, given his current state, but he managed to seal it without leaving a trace.
"I will call you Iblis from now on," he said to the Serpent, who simply nodded and then stared at the magical orb that Altair took out of his pocket.
"Close your eyes, Iblis. From now on, you will only ever open them when I order you to." He gave an absolute magical command in Parseltongue, and the serpent, who was created to obey his commands no matter what, immediately closed its eyes.
Altair nodded in satisfaction and then crushed the orb as the serpent instinctively opened its mouth.
The essence inside the orb rushed right into its body, and its scales started gleaming with even more lustre.
Suddenly, even with its eyes closed, it started looking around as the Occamy powers activated and its already heightened heat and magic perception grew even stronger.
It suddenly started to grow bigger and bigger, but was mindful enough not to accidentally crush him, and when it reached its maximum size, it was slightly over a hundred metres long now, and even more majestic and terrifying.
"Shrink and enter my sleeve," he ordered, and the serpent rushed at him and magically disappeared into his sleeve, wrapping around his arm. "You are not allowed to grow bigger than me in size unless I tell you to."
"Yes…"
Hearing the answer, he was truly relieved. Choranaptyxis was a dangerous ability, and there was a good chance that Iblis would crush someone under its body by accident if left unchecked.
"All right. Now lead me to Lord Salazar's tomb."
Iblis guided him into the mouth of the statue, and it turned out that there was another passage inside it.
A long and dark passage.
Minutes later, they finally arrived in the chamber where Salazar's tomb was, and Altair silently stared at it, feeling a little heavy in his heart.
"Did Tom open it?" he asked, sensing that the magic placed on the tomb was different from all the magical signatures in the room.
"Yes…"
"What did he take?" He asked, dangerously narrowing his eyes.
"The wand and two vials of potion…"
"Did he disturb the body?"
"No…"
His anger subsided a little, but he was still truly angry. He was upset at Iblis too for allowing it to happen, but it was just a magical creature.
"Do not obey the command of anyone else again unless I tell you to. Understood?"
"Yes…"
Altair then turned silent and stood in absolute silence for the next thirty-three minutes as he raised his wand and used Lumos, performing the funeral rite of Salazar Slytherin.
When he left the chamber and was heading back to the Solar, Altair ordered Iblis not to tell Salazar's Portrait anything about the boy named Tom opening his tomb and taking away his wand and the potions.
He could sense that the serpent was conflicted, but it promised him, as it was now bound to him.
The old man was extremely happy when he saw the serpent. It was almost as if he was meeting his child again, and Iblis was just as happy.
Altair smiled when his ancestor started listening to the Serpent tell him all about tunnels and rats, and tried his best not to give away anything as Tom was brought up.
"He ordered you to kill Muggle-borns?" he asked curiously as the serpent mentioned being set free from the Chamber for a while.
"No… he asked me to hide from the eyes but petrify some Muggle-borns. There was one girl, she opened the door and looked into my eyes instead of the reflection on the floor. It was then that he asked me to go back into the Chamber and sealed it. He was worried, shaken, furious…"
"He had my blood?" Salazar asked, and the serpent nodded.
"As pure as Altair's blood?"
Iblis shook its head.
"The Slytherin magic was not as strong in him, there was no fire, but he had it, part of it, and your blood too…"
Salazar's face turned a little unsightly as he knew what this meant.
"His parents?"
"He did not know…"
Both Altair and his ancestor frowned at those words.
"Was he fond of you?" The young Black suddenly asked, and smiled a little when the serpent nodded. "Did he ever tell you about someone?"
"Yes… Albus Dumbledore, the man who brought him from an orphanage to Hogwarts... He said he did not trust the old man... he said the old man was scheming something big, but he had a plan too, which he never shared with me…"
"Dumbledore… old man… did he call him the Headmaster?" Altair asked, trying to get the timeline right.
"No… the Headmaster was a fool, an ancient old man. Tom told me he was very gullible, even Dumbledore manipulated him…"
"The name?"
The serpent stayed silent, and then took a name.
"Dippet..."
"Armando Dippet served from 1911 to 1956." Altair frowned. "To call Dumbledore an old man... he must have been in his late fifties or early sixties, at least..." A smile formed on his lips. "So between 1936 and 1956," he nodded to himself.
Altair asked a few more questions and narrowed down the location where the girl was killed.
The Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor…