Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 34: Entering the Chamber
"I'm not sure what I'm looking for…" Luna leaned closer to the bathroom face and stared at it with a confused expression.
"Just let me know if you can see something out of the ordinary. Something that shouldn't be there," Harry explained.
He was having a hard time working with this girl, as she had a poor handle on her unique skills.
"How long are you going to stay in my bathroom?" Moaning Myrtle came to complain again.
The ghost had made it very clear that she was not pleased with Harry's presence in her territory.
Harry glared at her. "Don't test my patience, you damn ghost. Continue to annoy me and I will exorcise you."
"Hmph!" Myrtle huffed in annoyance but went away.
"Oh! There is something strange here," Luna suddenly said.
"Where? Show me." Harry approached to find out what she was staring at.
"Here. There is a weird drawing on this one. It looks like a snake," Luna pointed out.
"Ah…" Harry lost his enthusiasm. "I know about the engraving already. I also know that the entrance is beneath that face. Didn't I tell you that?"
He was starting to reconsider his idea of bringing Luna here to help him access the chamber.
His logic was that she may be able to see something with her ability that he had missed. There had to be an alternative way to enter the chamber now that he was no longer a Parselmouth.
'There is always the option of blowing up the entire sink, I suppose…' Harry thought.
Although that was something he hoped to avoid, as it would be hard to cover.
"You can also see the snake?" She pointed at it.
"Yes, Luna… I can see the snake. Anyone can." Harry sighed.
"What about the one on the floor?" she asked.
"On the floor?" He looked down at the tiles. They were all made of some light brown stone, and no markings could be seen on them.
Luna kneeled next to one particular tile and pointed at it. "There is a scary snake drawn on this one."
Harry got closer but still could not see any markings. He took his wand and performed a few readings, searching for any unusual magical activity.
"Mmm… there is indeed something different in this tile."
He waved his wand and conjured a couple of tools, a chisel, and a hammer. Then he used them to pull the tile away. It was better to avoid using magic directly, as that could trigger some defensive mechanism.
At first, he saw nothing but more stone beneath. But then he spotted a small indentation on one of the corners.
Harry used the back of his wand to press on it, and immediately after, he heard a mechanical noise beneath them.
"Did that do it?"
He waited for a few more seconds, but the entrance was still not opening.
"Do you see anything else? Perhaps there are more tiles like this one."
"Ohh! There are!" Luna exclaimed.
"Show me where."
The girl ended up finding three more tiles that contained hidden markings on them.
Harry lifted the floor tiles and found the same thing beneath them.
After pressing on the last indentation, he heard a much louder clicking noise this time, and when he looked at the faucets, these were moving away to reveal the entrance.
"Finally… Let's get inside," said Harry.
"Did I do a good job?" Luna asked.
He patted her head. "Yes, you were very useful in the end. But there may be more obstacles ahead that I could use for, so let's keep going."
The slide down was just as depicted in his second-year memories.
However, the next issue became apparent almost immediately.
"There are rocks everywhere," Luna pointed at the obvious obstacle.
The cave had partially collapsed thanks to that idiotic professor, so now there were large boulders blocking the path onto the next area.
"Stay behind me. I will clear the path." Harry began using blasting charms to disintegrate the rocks, but he also had to be careful, measuring his power so as not to destroy more than what was necessary for them to pass.
Luna covered her nose. "It smells here…"
Harry had noticed it as well. It was impossible not to.
As soon as they passed by the boulders, they were hit by a nasty stench coming from the main chamber.
"Of course it smells… The basilisk has been dead for two years."
Part of him had expected Dumbledore to come down here and collect the materials from the dead creature.
After all, the body parts of a one-thousand-year-old basilisk were extremely precious.
'Either the old man didn't find a way to enter the chamber, or… he is completely lacking in greed,' Harry thought.
Luckily for him, the last circular gate was still open since his last visit. Otherwise, he would have had to destroy it, risking bringing down the whole chamber.
"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets," he announced as they set foot into the main room.
"The snake is dead." Luna glanced at the creature at the end of the chamber.
"I know..." He responded.
It was still lying in the same place where it had fallen two years ago.
"It has been dead for a while. But hopefully, it can still be of use."
"You're not going to eat it, right?" Luna asked.
"It is not its flesh that interests me." Harry pulled a crystal vial from his pocket. "What I want from the beast is something else."
He spotted one of the fangs lying on the floor, surrounded by a blood stain.
Harry ignored that one. The venom must have gone dry already.
Using his magic, he opened the mouth of the creature. Despite the time that had passed, it was well preserved.
The smell was mostly caused by its bodily fluids and rotten flesh, but the skin was still intact, and so was the remaining fang.
With a tugging motion, Harry ripped the fang from the beast and hurried to place it in position.
He watched with anticipation as a nasty black liquid fell from the tip of the fang and went inside the vial he had prepared.
"Basilisk venom… the most deadly substance in the world." There was a wide smile on his face.
Luna stared at the liquid. "Who are you going to poison with that?"
"That, my dear… is a surprise," Harry said with a cruel smirk.
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