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Chapter 563: The Ambush
Chapter 563: The Ambush
Finally, it was time! The noble cause of continuing Salazar Slytherin's "purification" of the school was about to begin.
Through Ginny Weasley's eyes, Tom Riddle gazed upon the slowly opening entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, his heart filled with immense pleasure.
Fifty years ago, a minor accident had almost led to the closure of Hogwarts.
Back then, Tom had realized that it was impossible for him to kill every Mudblood student who attended Hogwarts. Instead, he needed to make an example of them, to deter the foolish Mudbloods from daring to continue their studies at the school, thus furthering the noble cause of "purifying" the school.
That genius Mudblood, Albert Anderson, would have been the perfect target for Tom, but unfortunately, he was currently attending the Halloween feast in the Great Hall. Tom couldn't very well have the Basilisk burst into the Great Hall and expose itself to everyone's view. Unknown fears were the ones that truly struck terror into people's hearts.
Tom was well aware that once the Basilisk was exposed, Dumbledore would undoubtedly search the entire school. Even though the professors of Hogwarts had done so fifty years ago, Tom knew better than to take any chances. He never underestimated Dumbledore's capabilities.
Tom made his way through the pipes into the Chamber of Secrets, using Parseltongue to open the hidden door left by Slytherin. He awakened the Basilisk residing within the statue and directed it to make its way through the pipes to the entrance of the girls' bathroom on the second floor.
This was something Tom had done many times before. On numerous occasions, he had allowed the Basilisk to roam the castle, creating mysterious ambush incidents.
Of course, it wasn't an easy task.
That Mudblood who had died all those years ago now wandered the girls' bathroom on the second floor as a ghost, making it rather inconvenient for Tom to access the Chamber of Secrets. Additionally, it was challenging to have the Basilisk roam the castle without being discovered.
Tom studied the map of the castle's second floor, intending to select a target as a warning to others—a 'chicken' to his 'monkey'. He needed to spread the legend of the Chamber of Secrets far and wide.
A named footprint appeared near the bathroom—it belonged to a cat. In the absence of a better choice, Tom directed the Basilisk to leave the bathroom and easily kill the cat through its eyes.
"Return!" Tom commanded, gazing at the fallen cat on the floor. He instructed the Basilisk to go back to the Chamber of Secrets while he himself bent down to pick up the cat from the puddle of water and made his way towards the end of the corridor. He intended to hang it in a conspicuous location and leave a message, announcing the return of the heir of Slytherin.
Tom pulled out Ginny's wand and used a spell to spray paint on the wall, leaving a shimmering message that would be hard to ignore. To prevent the message from being magically cleaned off, Tom even cast a spell on the words themselves.
After completing his task, Tom had Ginny Weasley clean off some of the paint on her robe before returning to the common room.
However, unbeknownst to Tom, who believed his plan was foolproof, someone had already discovered his secret—none other than the very Albert Anderson he had intended to use as a warning to others.
No matter how hard Tom racked his brains, he could never have imagined the existence of time travelers.
Having just finished the Halloween feast, Albert sat lazily in his chair, feeling a bit sleepy after his filling meal.
Of course, Albert wasn't in a hurry to return to his dormitory just yet, as he knew that everyone would soon discover the victim of the Chamber of Secrets legend.
As the crowd passed the corner of the second-floor corridor, they suddenly fell silent, starting from the front and spreading like a chill through the hallway.
The students crowded the front corner, unsure what they were looking at.
"Something must've happened," Lee Jordan muttered softly, eyeing the students pushing forward.
Just then, a voice rang out, although Albert couldn't tell who it belonged to: "Beware, enemies of the heir! The next one to die will be you, Mudbloods!"
"What's going on here? What's happened?" The commotion in the corridor quickly attracted Filch's attention. He pushed his way through the crowd, shouting, "Don't crowd here! Move aside..."
Suddenly, they heard Filch's sharp scream from the front: "My cat! My cat! Mrs. Norris, what's wrong, don't scare me like that!"
"People sure love a spectacle," Albert remarked, shaking his head as he watched the crowd and listened to Filch's distant screams. He didn't bother squeezing through the crowd.
"Looks like something's happened," said Hannah.
"What's going on over there?" Percy asked, peering at the throng of students. "Why are they all crowded there?"
"It seems like something's happened to Mr. Filch's cat," Albert said. "I think you should go and inform Professor Dumbledore."
"You go," said Percy.
"No, I'm too lazy to walk," Albert replied, yawning and covering his mouth with his hand.
"Fine, I'll go myself," Percy said, giving Albert a sidelong glance as he jogged off. It was clear he'd also had his fill at the feast. As he left, Dumbledore happened to be exiting the Great Hall, and upon hearing Percy's report of an incident at the corner of the second-floor corridor, he headed over immediately, followed by the other professors. Not long after, Albert saw Dumbledore leading a group of professors toward the scene.
A few minutes later, the crowd dispersed, and word spread that Filch's cat had died. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, the prime suspects, were taken away by the headmaster for questioning.
As Albert and Hannah walked past, they noticed shimmering words on the wall:
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Enemies of the heir, beware.
"What does this mean?" Hannah whispered, furrowing her brow as she finished reading the message on the wall.
"The Chamber of Secrets legend," Albert whispered back. "Looks like we need to be careful from now on."
"Careful about what?" Hannah asked, fixing Albert with a stare. "Do you know something you're not telling us?"
"Let's head back to the common room; this isn't the place to talk," Albert said, quickening his pace. When they entered the common room after passing through the portrait hole, they found it packed with students, all discussing the attack on Mrs. Norris.
"Filch thinks Harry attacked his cat," Lee Jordan said, filling them in on what he'd heard.
"After all, they were at the scene, so it's not surprising they're suspected," someone added.
"You still haven't explained what the Chamber of Secrets legend is all about," Hannah prompted, her question drawing the attention of many in the room.
"It's mentioned in Hogwarts, A History," Albert said, feeling rather cheerful as he'd just received a new panel task. He decided to share some knowledge about the legend with them. "According to the book, Slytherin allegedly built a secret room within the castle, unknown to the other founders. When Slytherin left the school, he sealed the Chamber, and only the true heir could open it and release the horror within, purifying the school by removing all those unworthy of a magical education."
"What kind of horror?"
"Probably the monster Slytherin kept," someone guessed.
"So, that monster has been alive for a thousand years?" Everyone found that hard to believe. They'd never heard of anything living that long.
"What does 'unworthy of a magical education' mean?"
"Unworthy of a magical education probably refers to us, wizards from the Muggle world," Albert said, turning to Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. "From now on, I'm counting on you guys to protect me. I think as long as there are other people around, the monster won't launch an attack so easily."
"Don't worry, we'll protect you," the twins promised, thumping their chests. Lee Jordan, standing next to them, rolled his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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