Chapter 191: First Entry into the Chamber
Chapter 191: First Entry into the Chamber
Late at night, on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle, a fit of laughter and a piercing shriek suddenly emanated from a girl's bathroom located in the left corridor near the stairs.
A ghost wearing glasses suddenly burst through the wall.
The next second, the bathroom door swung open from the inside.
Peeves, carrying a water balloon and laughing maniacally, chased after the ghost, with a new packet of colorful balloons tucked at his waist, fully stocked for an ample supply of ammunition.
Not long after the two ghosts departed, a corner of the previously empty corridor suddenly twisted and warped.
"Phew... they're finally gone."
Kyle discontinued his Disguise Spell and proceeded to the bathroom, pushing the door open as he entered.
The old wooden door, unused for a long time, let out an ear-grating creak.
The bathroom was small and covered in dust.
However, Kyle paid no heed to these details. He approached the sink and, after a quick inspection, soon located the faucet with a tiny snake engraved on its side.
"This should be it..." Kyle murmured as he stroked the snake, "The entrance to the Slytherin Chamber."
Kyle had hesitated for a long time before deciding to come here.
With his current abilities, he knew he stood no chance against the Basilisk.
Moreover, he wasn't Harry; he wouldn't have the aid of a phoenix or the Sorting Hat.
Yet, here he was.
If nothing else, he had to come for the snake shed alone, a highly rare and valuable ingredient for potions that fetched a high price on the black market.
And the one in the Chamber was nearly twenty feet long; its value in Galleons would be immeasurable.
It had been challenging enough for him to resist coming here until now.
Kyle stroked the little snake again, emitting a strange hissing sound from his mouth.
"Open..."
Although Kyle could communicate with snakes without the need for Parseltongue, this ability seemed to have no effect on the faucet.
So, when he was with Newt, Kyle had specifically sought out a Runespoor and learned a few dialect phrases from it.
While it might not be entirely authentic, it was definitely standard.
At that moment, the faucet emitted a dazzling white light and began to rotate rapidly, followed by the sink beginning to move as well.
Kyle watched as the sink slowly vanished from his line of sight, revealing a thick pipe large enough for a person to crawl through.
Kyle reached for his trunk, pulled out his flying broom, and decisively crawled inside.
The pipe was dimly lit and coated with sticky substances on all sides.
Riding his broom, Kyle descended further, taking seven or eight turns along the way before finally exiting the pipe.
He dismounted from his broom.
He now stood in a dark stone tunnel, large enough to accommodate a person standing upright.
"Lumos!"
Kyle illuminated his wand and proceeded forward cautiously.
However, the tunnel was so dark that he could only see a small area ahead of him. His shadow, cast upon the damp walls, stretched long and eerie, resembling a monster.
The damp floor was littered with rat bones, which would surely delight his pet snake, Spot.
As Kyle walked, he remained vigilant, ready to bolt at the slightest sign of trouble.
A few minutes later, Kyle turned a dark bend in the tunnel and finally laid eyes on what he sought.
Without hesitation, Kyle opened his trunk and stuffed the entire skin inside.
He searched the surrounding area and found only scattered fragments, with no other intact pieces to be seen.
Seeing this, Kyle's tense nerves finally began to relax.
The single intact snakeskin suggested that the snake monster didn't frequent this area often.
If his guess was correct, the skin he found might have been left here fifty years ago, during Tom Riddle's first opening of the Chamber.
Kyle continued onward, but he remained vigilant, keeping a tight grip on his broomstick as a precaution.
Along the way, he scooped up any fragments he came across, his frugal nature not allowing him to leave them behind.
Before long, he reached the end of the tunnel, and as he turned the final corner, a solid wall blocked his path.
Engraved on the wall were two intertwining snakes, their eyes adorned with large, sparkling emeralds.
Kyle reached out and pressed his hand against one of the gems.
A thought crossed his mind—if he were to remove these gemstones, would this wall remain forever sealed?
It was a tempting idea, and Kyle decided to give it a try.
However, no matter how he pulled or pried, using magic or brute force, the gemstone refused to budge.
It felt as if the gemstone and the wall were one solid entity.
Kyle's efforts left him exhausted, but he had to admit defeat.
"Never mind, let's not bother with it..."
He lifted his head to gaze at the snakes' eyes, and once again, he uttered a low, sibilant hiss.
The two snakes parted, and the stone wall split open from the middle, sliding to the sides and vanishing. Kyle took a deep breath, his hand still in his trunk, and stepped through the opening.
Beyond the wall lay a long, dimly lit chamber, with rows of stone pillars on either side, each engraved with entwined serpents.
Any traces of snakeskin had completely vanished, not a fragment to be found.
Kyle held his wand in one hand and a rooster by the neck in the other, his broomstick tucked under his arm, as he cautiously made his way through the coiled serpent pillars.
With each step, his footsteps echoed hollowly off the ghostly walls.
Kyle carefully scanned his surroundings, and only when he was certain that aside from the entrance behind him, there were no other pipe openings, did he finally feel at ease.
Before the last pair of pillars, Kyle noticed a statue standing as tall as the chamber itself, pressed against the dark wall behind it.
The statue depicted an aged monkey-like face, its long, straggly beard nearly reaching the floor.
"Salazar Slytherin..." Kyle narrowed his eyes, muttering, "Not a very impressive look, if I say so myself. Now, Professor Sprout, she looks more like a legendary witch..."
Kyle tilted his head back, knowing that with one final utterance of Parseltongue, the statue's mouth would open, and the serpent monster would fully awaken.
"Should I wake the serpent monster?" Kyle hesitated, the thought weighing on his mind.
(End of Chapter)
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