"The Chamber of Secrets"

"The Chamber of Secrets"

A few days after the twins began their investigation, Snape, thanks to his plants, was able to easily create the necessary potions to depetrify the students. Obviously, the professors acted cautiously, not telling the students that the potion was on its way, as the apparent heir had attempted several times to attack Professor Sprout's mandrakes.

Therefore, when the potion was created, they quickly took it to the petrified students and waited for them to fully recover before asking who the attacker or the supposed heir was. Some responded that they saw a giant snake before being petrified, but they did not see the face of the person controlling it.

The professors and Dumbledore quickly recognized that it was the legendary basilisk.

"What do we do, Albus? Although we know which beast petrified the students—and thanks to Merlin, they weren't killed by its deadly gaze—we still don't know where it's hiding or where the Chamber of Secrets is," said McGonagall, looking at the headmaster and waiting for orders, along with the other professors.

"For now, it is essential to protect the students from the basilisk's deadly gaze. I recall seeing the Weasley twins and Mr. Flamel playing with some glasses. Perhaps we could distribute them among the students," said Dumbledore.

"But that will make the students panic," said Flitwick, a bit worried.

"Don't worry. I can wear some modern glasses, and everyone will take me as an example and want to wear them," Lockhart interjected egotistically, only to be ignored.

"We should simply tell them the reason. I think it's better to be petrified than to die," Snape pointed out.

"Although Flitwick is right to fear that the students will panic, Snape has a good point. With the mandrakes Stephen donated and the ones about to mature in the greenhouse, it doesn't matter how many end up petrified; there's a cure. But death has none," Sprout opined.

Just as Dumbledore was about to speak, he was interrupted by a letter that fell toward him. After reading it, he wore a worried expression.

"Is something wrong, Dumbledore?" Flitwick quickly asked.

"Sigh The Ministry wants to imprison Hagrid as the prime suspect. Take care of things here—I must go meet Fudge," Dumbledore said before quickly leaving the room.

"Hagrid was the culprit. Obviously, I always knew—it was easy to figure out," Lockhart said foolishly, earning a reproachful look from the other professors.

"Idiot, the Ministry is just looking for a scapegoat," McGonagall said, a bit exasperated.

"That's right, Lockhart. You said you knew where the Chamber of Secrets was," Flitwick quickly added.

"A basilisk would be easy to defeat for someone who constantly fights for their life," Snape said mockingly.

"I-I... of course, I have faced several basilisks while searching for lost children in the Transylvanian forest," Lockhart stammered, realizing that his lies were turning against him.

"Just let me prepare my anti-basilisk tools, and I'll go hunt it down in no time," Lockhart said before quickly leaving under the gaze of all the professors.

The professors returned to their duties, thinking about how to make the students wear glasses for their safety, unaware that outside the room where they were speaking, Stephen had been listening.

In fact, he had just been passing by after going to get something to eat since Misty had gone out to gather some materials.

"Tsk. The old man figured it out. I forgot that poor Hagrid might end up imprisoned in Azkaban. Aaah, well, let's do it today before Fudge takes him away," Stephen said as he quickly headed toward the group that was training.

"Alright, training ends here. Everyone, gather around!" Stephen said as soon as he arrived at the courtyard. Everyone was there today, as they occasionally enjoyed training outdoors with the rookies.

"What's up, boss?" Jordan asked, approaching with the others.

"Call the twins. Tell them to hurry up, or they'll miss something fun," Stephen quickly said, to which Jordan obeyed and swiftly pulled out his Magicphone.

"Listen up. Rookies, move to a safe spot. Everyone else, form barriers around the courtyard so that whatever comes in can't get out. We'll be receiving a venomous, scaly, and giant visitor. By the way, its gaze can kill you, so keep that in mind. You can wear glasses and will only be petrified."

When Stephen revealed what they were about to do, some trembled like twigs and asked to stay behind with the rookies while putting on their glasses.

"Alright, those who don't want to fight, just stay and hold the barrier; just don't look into its eyes to avoid being petrified," Stephen agreed. Most of those who stayed were Stephen's classmates and some older students who didn't have classes at that time. Surprisingly, the Golden Trio remained among the group, though it wasn't that strange to Stephen, knowing them. After all, they were the most Gryffindor of their group.

"Mr. Stephen, the beast is a basilisk, isn't it?" Hermione asked, having deduced what it was from the clues Stephen had given. In reality, ever since Stephen had given his false prophecy, Hermione had researched beasts that fit those categories, though she had no substantial proof.

"You guessed it," Stephen said with a smile. Meanwhile, the others who had stayed to fight were starting to lose their enthusiasm upon hearing that they would be facing a basilisk. But they quickly pulled themselves together, thinking that with so many fighters, they could easily defeat the creature—until Stephen spoke.

"But we're not going to kill it. We're going to capture it alive and shove it in the Ministry's face," Stephen said with a grin, thinking about the expressions of the Ministry officials who had blamed Hagrid for the student's death and never sought out the real culprit.

When they heard that they had to fight a deadly beast without being able to kill it—something that would be extremely difficult—several quickly gave up. Those who remained were the Golden Trio, Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan (though he was still trembling), Alicia Spinnet (grinning with excitement for the fight), Oliver Wood (just going with the flow), and Percy Weasley, burning with vengeance for Penelope. And of course, the twins, who hadn't arrived yet but were listening to everything through Lee Jordan's phone.

"Well, fewer than I expected," Stephen said, looking at the others, who were now preparing—somewhat embarrassed—to maintain the barrier. Stephen realized that not many Aurors would want to face a basilisk, more because of the legends than anything else, since fighting one was actually rare—they were technically extinct.

"Alright, form two teams: one for attack and one for support. I'll go fetch our punching bag," Stephen said with a grin as he hurried toward the Chamber of Secrets. But after taking a few steps, he realized he didn't know Parseltongue, so he flew back, grabbed Harry by the collar, and took off with him, leaving everyone stunned as Harry screamed.

After flying for a few seconds, they quickly arrived at the girls' bathroom where Moaning Myrtle resided.

"What are we doing here, Stephen?" Harry asked as he recovered.

"We're going into the Chamber of Secrets," Stephen said while inspecting the sinks.

"Here it is. Alright, Harry, speak Parseltongue to the lock."

"What? Wait, the Chamber of Secrets is here?" Harry asked quickly.

"Yes, I already told you. Come on, open the door," Stephen insisted.

Harry approached and saw a snake carved onto one of the taps. He tried to open it, saying "Open up," but he did it normally, not knowing how to speak Parseltongue.

"Not like that, idiot. In Parseltongue."

"But I don't know how," Harry defended himself, as it usually happened naturally when he encountered a snake.

Realizing that Harry's Parseltongue was an unconscious ability, Stephen got an idea and transmuted a small snake.

As soon as Harry saw the snake, he instinctively spoke again, this time with hissing sounds no human should be able to make.

"Zzaashaaz." As he spoke, the massive sink began to move, forming a giant tunnel leading into the darkness.

Before Harry could say anything, he felt himself being grabbed by the collar again, followed by the weightless sensation of flying.

"AAAAAH!" Harry screamed.

As Stephen carried him, Harry saw them descending rapidly before the ground neared, only for them to soar back up and continue flying straight. He also caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a giant snake, but as they got closer, he realized it was only the shed skin. Seeing its size, Harry started to fear what they were about to face.

"Alright, Harry. The last door. Open it and don't look into the eyes of whatever is inside," Stephen said as he set Harry down before a massive door, decorated with various snakes forming a circle.

Seeing the snake decorations, it was easier for Harry to speak Parseltongue.

"Zzzashaaa," he said, and the snakes on the door began to move. One by one, they slithered aside, creating an opening until the door was fully ajar.

This time, Stephen entered more cautiously. Although he was confident the basilisk's gaze wouldn't affect him much thanks to the protections he had placed on himself, he preferred to be safe than sorry.

They entered a vast chamber, with stone serpents forming a passage in the center. At the far end stood a massive carved head with a grotesque expression, seemingly that of Salazar Slytherin, with its mouth open. But what caught their attention the most was the figure standing in the center of the chamber, facing the statue as if waiting for something.

They didn't have to wait long to see what it was. A giant serpent emerged from the mouth of Slytherin's statue—the basilisk.

"Looks like we arrived just in time, Harry," Stephen said with a smile, watching the snake emerge and the hooded wizard who was calling it. The wizard's face was obscured, but Stephen noticed a black book in one of his pockets, making it clear he was being controlled.

"Zaasazaahs," the hooded wizard hissed without turning around, giving an order to the basilisk, which directed its gaze toward Harry and Stephen.

"Harry, what did he say?" Stephen asked, never taking his eyes off the hooded wizard.

"He said to kill us," Harry replied, keeping his gaze on the floor to avoid the basilisk's deadly stare.

"Alright. Harry, I'm sorry, but you need to be the bait," Stephen said as he quickly attacked the hooded wizard, knocking him out with ease. Though the wizard had tried to dodge the spell, he clearly hadn't expected Stephen to move so fast.

"Bait? AAAAAAH!" Harry screamed, but before he could protest, Stephen's cloak wrapped around him and auto-equipped itself, flying him first near the basilisk to draw its attention before zipping through one of the pipes the creature seemed to use to move around. The basilisk wasted no time in following.

Seeing this, Stephen quickly approached the unconscious hooded wizard, who seemed to be a student, and tied him up just in case while inspecting his face.

"Well, well, what a surprise," Stephen said with a grin as he hoisted the wizard onto his shoulder. "Misty!" he called, intending to take the student to the courtyard before Harry returned.

"Yes, young master?" Misty responded as she appeared. Though nothing was supposed to be able to enter this place via Apparition, house-elf magic allowed them to appear anywhere as long as their master called them.

"Misty, take me to the Hogwarts courtyard, please," Stephen requested. Misty took his hand, and they vanished instantly.

Thanks for Reading

Dear readers,

Thank you for joining me on this literary journey. If you enjoy my novel and want to continue reading, I invite you to support my work through Patreon and Ko-fi. Your contributions will allow me to keep creating and sharing more exciting chapters.

I hope to have your support and continue bringing you unforgettable stories!

ko-fi.com/yodarki

https://www.patreon.com/c/YoDarki