Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 205, Section 204: The Chamber of Secrets and the Intrigue in Slytherin
In Harry's view, the ghosts in the wizarding world are actually quite abnormal, especially their indifference to their own deaths, as if they are deliberately ignoring them—if the same thing happened to the ancestral spirits he summoned, James would probably have cursed them to death long ago.

“It is obvious that the basilisk killed Myrtle back then,” Dumbledore said calmly, “while Hagrid and his spider friends were merely accused of a fabricated crime.”

Dumbledore and Harry exchanged a glance. What Dumbledore didn't say was about Myrtle's earlier comment about hearing a boy's voice outside the door, but both he and Harry had the same thought.

Since the basilisk, which could kill a person in an instant, is right outside the washroom cubicle where Myrtle is, who could be the person who can stay with the basilisk unharmed?

Tom Marvolo Riddell.

Only a young Voldemort could do that.

“I think we’re about to embark on a slippery journey,” Dumbledore said with a smile, waving his wand to turn the rubble into a staircase. “We’ll explore the deepest secrets of this castle.”

“You go first, Dumbledore,” Snape said to Harry after giving Dumbledore a disgusted look. “Follow him, Harry. I’ll be at the very back.”

Harry... has no objection.

Hogwarts' pipe system was built in the 18th century, so it's actually quite new. It's a mystery how the basilisk, which Snape estimated to be over a thousand years old, managed to hide during this renovation project, and how it learned to use these pipes to appear in various parts of the castle.

Harry only needed to duck slightly to walk through the thick pipes, while Dumbledore and Snape had to crouch to move forward. The pipes were very slippery and greasy, and there were traces of basilisks sliding through them from time to time.

At the head of the three, a broken scale floating in mid-air was guiding them. This was the Tracking Charm cast by Dumbledore, which would help them reach the basilisk's lair through the complex system of pipes.

“As we discussed before, Harry,” Dumbledore’s voice even echoed through the tunnel, “Hogwarts has always been associated with the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. It’s not just Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets; the other founders are said to have left their own Chambers of Secrets as well… There are just too many such Chambers of Secrets, and the existence of magic ensures their secrecy, so unless you know the correct way to enter, it’s possible that no one will ever be able to get in.”

“At least we’ve found Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets now,” Snape’s voice sounded somewhat agitated. “A basilisk, ha! The founder of Hogwarts left such a dangerous monster in the castle. Didn’t he think about what would happen if a young wizard got hurt because of it?!”

“It has already been done, hasn’t it? Myrtle is dead, isn’t she?” Harry said casually, while cautiously checking his surroundings. “And the school almost got shut down decades ago because of this.”

Compared to Dumbledore and Snape, who frowned at the foul air and filthy environment inside the pipes, Harry was quite used to it—it was just a sewer, he'd been through it countless times.

Countless attacks on the enemy have started from the sewers, fighting their way up to their throne... It's so familiar; entering the sewers feels like coming home.

“Yes, Harry, the important thing is what happened next,” Dumbledore said leisurely. “I’m afraid it was because he saw the reality that the school was about to be closed that Tom chose to step forward and hastily made Hagrid the scapegoat.”

"Tom?" Snape frowned slightly, realizing that things were not so simple.

“It’s Voldemort,” Harry explained simply. “That was his name when he was young.”

Snape fell silent, his heart churning with turmoil.

"From what you're saying, Voldemort seems to have quite a fondness for Hogwarts?" Harry continued to ask.

“Oh, Harry, it may sound a bit funny, but I really did watch Voldemort grow up,” Dumbledore suddenly laughed. “He grew up in an orphanage and never considered his fellow orphans as family until he came to Hogwarts—I must admit, he did make the castle his home.”

"So my answer is simple: I think Voldemort loved Hogwarts, though not much, but it was definitely the softest spot in his heart, so he wouldn't allow Hogwarts to be closed."

"Well, I'm afraid Myrtle's death was just an accident. Voldemort at that time wouldn't have wanted a death to occur in the school, since such things always have a big impact."

Snape: "..."

No, is it something he should be listening to?
It's one thing if Harry doesn't know, but surely you, Dumbledore, know what kind of identity I have?
The Dark Lord's past, or even his immature days... If the Dark Lord knew he had found his past, a Killing Curse would be the least he could do—or perhaps Dumbledore no longer needed him?

For a double agent like Snape, his mind was always quick and he was very prone to thinking things through and interpreting them wildly.

However, Dumbledore wouldn't offer any explanation for him.

“That makes sense.” Not knowing what Snape was thinking, Harry nodded slightly and said, “There is no fixed evil or fixed good. Everyone has good and evil thoughts, and they show different faces at different times or when facing different people.”

“Oh, you’ve deprived me of a great opportunity to teach you, Harry,” Dumbledore’s voice sounded rather regretful. “You know too much—hmm?”

"what happened?"

“We’ve probably come full circle,” Dumbledore sighed, a rare genuine sigh. “I think we’ll have to jump off here—so, I’ll go first.”

Having said that, Dumbledore leaped into the pipe that had suddenly turned into a ninety-degree angle and was now hanging down.

The world spun around them for a moment, and even for a skilled plumber like Harry, being swept down was far too terrifying. So much so that when the group finally emerged from the pipe and their feet touched the open ground again, even Snape, whose face always wore a deathly expression, felt a sense of relief that it was finally over.

“We’re at least a few miles below the school,” Snape said with a look of disgust as he shook off the sticky mud clinging to his clothes. He roughly determined where the group had fallen. “More likely, we’re below the Black Lake… It’s too damp here, and the fluorescent lights are flickering.”

Snape wasn't the only one who used the spell; soon, the light from the wand illuminated their surroundings.

“That’s strange. Can’t a basilisk’s stomach digest bones? That doesn’t seem to fit its body,” Harry said, picking up a rat bone from the ground. Bones like that were scattered everywhere, probably leftovers from the basilisk’s meals. “There’s no need to understand the basilisk’s form of existence, Harry,” Snape said, narrowing his eyes. “Since you know about the basilisk, you should also know that it’s a dark magic creature created by humans.”

"A magical egg laid by a seven-year-old rooster when Sirius was in the sky, and then hatched by a toad... Such a dark magical creature cannot be viewed in the conventional sense—if you really want to analyze it from the perspective of its eating habits, then this place should be completely covered with bones, and the hunting activities it needs to carry out in order to survive would have made it known to people long ago."

“Good analysis, Severus,” Dumbledore said cheerfully. “It’s a pity you’ve already graduated, otherwise I would definitely give you ten points—ah, it seems I don’t need to reward you?”

As the three ventured deeper, a colossal, coiled creature appeared before them—a massive snake molt.

Snake molts can certainly be used in medicine, and if they fall into the hands of Potions Master Snape, he might even be able to develop some new types of potions.

“May I have some, Professor Snape?” Harry asked suddenly. “I also have some snake bones and scales. I want to make armor for myself and my friends so that we can protect ourselves from any unexpected events.”

“Okay, here you go, all of it.” Without the slightest hesitation, Snape replied as soon as Harry finished speaking, “If it’s forging armor, I have no objection. Remember to make it thick—do you need me to contact a goblin craftsman for you?”

Dumbledore held his breath—he was carefully observing Snape at this moment—to be honest, even after knowing him for so many years, this was the first time he had ever seen such an expression on Snape's face—such a doting expression.

When that expression appeared on Snape's face, even the old man got goosebumps.

It's disgusting.

It's as disgusting as a pile of cockroaches mixed with chili powder.

“Hmm, what about me?” Dumbledore suddenly asked with great interest, “Can I get some too? These snakeskins should make a decent piece of underwear—”

"Don't even think about it!" Snape interrupted Dumbledore without hesitation, giving him a disgusted glare. "You should go eat your cockroach pile, old bee. That's all you're good for."

Dumbledore: "..."

How should I put it? Uh... although it was meant as a joke, this rejection that didn't even require a second thought still... I suddenly miss you a little, Gellert.

An old man sighed deeply.

To be honest, even though they had arrived at what appeared to be the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, none of the three felt nervous at all—after all, having witnessed the death of that basilisk, it wouldn't be a big deal if another basilisk jumped out of the chamber.

It's just a matter of having a few more sets of materials.

After navigating the dark tunnel, turning one bend after another, the three soon arrived at its end. Before them stood a solid wall, carved with two intertwined snakes, their eyes inlaid with valuable emeralds.

“What do you mean?” Harry turned and asked. “In my experience, there should be some kind of password needed to get in.”

"Parseltongue," Snape suddenly said, "The Dark Lord is a Parseltongue, and he never hesitates to show it to us. Slytherin himself is also a Parseltongue. If this is his Chamber of Secrets, then perhaps only a Parseltongue could open this door."

"Should we just tear it down?" Harry asked. "Don't worry about safety. Even if this tunnel collapses and the water from the Black Lake floods in, I can ask the water elementals to protect us."

“Oh, calm down, Harry!” Dumbledore quickly grabbed Harry’s arm. “As the headmaster of Hogwarts, I think the school has been damaged enough today. Repairing the castle is very expensive.”

Although he did indeed delegate a lot of his own work to Professor McGonagall, even Dumbledore felt embarrassed to add any extra workload to her.

"Then what should we do?" Snape said, frowning. "We can't just leave like this, can we? Now that we've discovered the Chamber of Secrets truly exists, we at least need to confirm what's inside—or are you going to tell us that you know Parsleyan in addition to Mermaidian language?"

“Of course we’re not leaving here, and I’m not a Parseltongue,” Dumbledore said with a shrug. “I can’t promise you anything, but please let me check first.” (Dumbledore speaking Parseltongue is a film adaptation; this is not a character in the original books.)
Click!

Before Dumbledore could finish speaking, the wall in front of them suddenly split open, the stone wall cracking in two, as if someone had opened a door from the inside and was inviting them in.

“It seems we’ve encountered the worst-case scenario.” Dumbledore’s expression turned serious, no longer joking. “The Basilisk didn’t appear in the castle by accident; it was an attack orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives, Harry.”

"Tom again?" Without needing to say more, Harry immediately locked onto his target from the limited pool of candidates. "I wonder which part of his soul it is... I really hope he'll be more proactive."

“At least he’s already actively inviting us in,” Dumbledore said with a slight smile.

“This time, I’ll go first,” Harry said before Snape could refuse, and stepped inside first.

The room was large, and although the light was dim, there were magical torches illuminating both sides. Along a long corridor, there were many stone pillars carved with coiled and intertwined serpents, which supported the ceiling that melted into the darkness above.

The entire room was filled with a greenish glow, as if I had stepped into some kind of horror story.

Fire was scarce in the Chamber of Secrets, but Harry still managed to summon flames to brighten the room.

(End of this chapter)