Chapter 62: Delving Deeper into the Chamber
Chapter 62: Delving Deeper into the Chamber
Phoenix flew away along the pipe.
Meeting Felix's puzzled gaze, Dumbledore explained, "Fawkes is too weak now. He can't carry all three of us. If Harry is in danger, he just needs to seek help sincerely, and Fawkes will sense his location."
At that moment, a cold voice came from the doorway, "I apologize, but I believe it's four of us." Professor Snape appeared, dressed in a dark green nightgown, his hair disheveled and his breathing slightly labored.
"Severus", Dumbledore looked at him, "you've come as well."
"How could I not? Potter… a Hogwarts student's life is in danger!" Snape's temper was not the best. "What are we waiting for? Are we planning to have a party here?"
"You're right, Severus." Dumbledore seemed to realize something. He glanced at the four of them, "Hermione Granger…"
"I'm going down!" Hermione quickly said. "I won't be a burden. I can, um…"
She saw her backpack in the corner, her eyes lighting up. She ran over, rummaged through it, and finally found a magic scroll.
"Headmaster, Professor, this is Harry's scroll. It records some Parseltongue pronunciations. I think it might be useful."
"This is?" Dumbledore looked surprised and turned to Felix.
"We mentioned it…" Felix said tactfully, and the Headmaster understood immediately.
"Very good, Granger." Dumbledore praised her.
Hermione tried hard not to look smug.
Dumbledore touched her shoulder with his wand, and she felt herself becoming weightless, easily floating off the ground.
Next, the three of them cast Levitation Charms on themselves. "Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked, and received affirmative replies. He waved his wand, and the four of them floated into the dark pipe like light soap bubbles.
Then came a long underground slide. Felix wasn't sure if it was five kilometers or ten kilometers, but the tunnel twisted and turned, sometimes spiraling downward.
With the help of the faint magical light, Felix could see the inner walls of the slide were covered in sticky, wet liquid, and many pipes branched off in different directions.
Finally, the downward slide leveled out. They arrived at a circular clearing, the ground covered in standing water, and above the water, countless pale rat skeletons.
They were standing on a massive pile of bones.
The tunnel was as silent as a tomb.
Dumbledore looked around with a serious expression. He had never known of this place before and whispered, "A massive undertaking… it seems Slytherin spent a considerable amount of time on this."
The four of them headed toward the largest tunnel entrance. In the distance, Felix saw a colossal, coiled form.
"Close your eyes!" he shouted quickly.
Hermione obediently closed her eyes, and Dumbledore and Snape closed theirs while drawing their wands.
Following his instincts, Felix cast a brilliant red beam, the thick spell striking the massive form with a deep, resounding boom.
Simultaneously, a subtle breeze accompanied Snape's spell.
Dumbledore also acted, casting a faint golden shield over the four of them.
After a moment, there was no expected hissing or movement from the Basilisk.
Felix opened his eyes. The massive form had shattered into several pieces, but there was no trace of blood.
He and Snape approached and discovered it was a giant snake skin, green and glossy, though covered in a layer of dust, making it appear grayish-green.
"The Basilisk is at least twenty feet long—also", Felix said, "excellent cutting spell, Professor Snape."
Snape retorted, "You're not bad either, Felix. Your 'Stupefy' was almost as powerful as a 'Confringo.'"
Hermione and Dumbledore approached, and Hermione carefully examined the remnants of the Basilisk Skin. A third of it had been blown to pieces—clearly the work of Professor Hup's magic. The remaining part had been neatly sliced in half, the cuts smooth and precise, indicating the use of some powerful cutting spell.
The young witch picked up a piece of the Basilisk Skin. It was hard as metal, and she couldn't help but marvel at its toughness.
Dumbledore studied the shed skin of the Basilisk closely. "It's quite old, probably left behind the last time the Chamber was opened."
Just then, a clear, resonant phoenix cry echoed from a distance.
"We need to hurry." Dumbledore took the lead, walking ahead.
They turned corner after corner, their footsteps splashing in the wet, puddled water. Hermione felt a sticky sensation under her feet, and her nerves twitched uncomfortably, eager to end this ordeal as quickly as possible.
Finally, they encountered a solid wall with a circular iron door embedded in it. The arrangement resembled the round door of the Gryffindor Common Room, but instead of portraits, it was adorned with seven intertwined snakes. Their eyes were large, shiny green gemstones. The snakes' tails were intertwined, and their heads were spread out, completely blocking the entrance.
"It's clear we need either the entry command or to force our way through", Felix said.
Snape waved his wand, and an invisible cutting spell made the iron lock glow with a brilliant green light. When the light faded, the circular iron door remained unscathed.
Dumbledore ran his fingers over the twisted snakes on the door and shook his head. "I can break it, but it will take time." He looked at Felix.
Felix understood and took out a scroll, throwing it high. The magic scroll unfurled quickly, extending to about seven meters in length.
He tapped it with his wand and said softly, "Open." The words on the scroll began to twist, deform, and recombine. Soon, a vortex appeared in the center of the scroll.
The four of them heard a strange, hissing sound from the scroll.
The next moment, the circular iron door moved. A smaller snake slithered out from where the tails intersected, circling the door once before clicking it open.
"Professor, what is this?" Hermione asked curiously. She had no idea a magic scroll could do this.
"It can translate my words into Parseltongue, of course, provided it has enough stored information about the language."
Dumbledore looked impressed. "This is the idea you mentioned during the interview, combining Muggle wisdom with magic?"
Snape and Hermione's gazes turned to him.
Felix replied calmly, "Just an experiment."
"Felix", Dumbledore said, "there are few wizards as open-minded as you."
They continued forward, passing through the circular iron door. Before them lay a long, dimly lit space shaped like a hammer. The handle was a wide corridor, flanked by stone pillars carved with coiled serpents.
These pillars supported the high, dark ceiling, casting long, eerie shadows in the greenish glow.
At the end of the space, there was an open area, like the head of a hammer. At the edge of this area stood a statue as tall as the room itself, tightly pressed against the dark, shadowy wall.
Felix almost immediately recognized it as Slytherin's statue, similar to ones he had seen in many books.
His gaze shifted to the open area, where a fierce battle was taking place.
A blind Basilisk, thirty feet long, was thrashing wildly. Each time it lashed out, it sent a shower of stones flying. A young wizard was dodging frantically.
It was Harry Potter.
(End of Chapter)
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