Chapter 648: The Slytherin Chamber Tour Group
Chapter 648: The Slytherin Chamber Tour Group
"You want to enter Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?"
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were all startled by Albert's proposal.
"But...how are we going to get into the Chamber?"
Lee Jordan was intrigued by Albert's idea. He had heard that Harry had defeated the heir of Slytherin within and slain a formidable Basilisk with Godric Gryffindor's sword.
"Duh, we open the Chamber and then go in," George rolled his eyes at Lee Jordan, equally interested in Albert's proposal, still remembering their previous quest for the Gryffindor treasure.
"Harry can speak Parseltongue; he can help us open it," Fred cut off what Lee Jordan was about to say.
"That's a great idea," Lee Jordan mumbled as he walked over to the corner where Harry and his friends were playing Exploding Snap. Clearing his throat, he said, "Harry, we need your help with something!"
"What is it?" Harry asked, looking up from his cards with a puzzled expression.
"We want to open the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets and explore it. Can you help us open the entrance? We know you have that ability," George spoke up quickly.
Even though he had lowered his voice, he still attracted the attention of the others. Ginny's face paled slightly, as the Chamber of Secrets evidently left her with unpleasant memories.
"Well..."
Harry had never imagined that someone would ask him to open the Chamber.
"What are you going to do in the Chamber?" Hermione interrupted, tossing her cards aside and fixing Albert with an intense gaze, seeking an answer.
"It's an adventure, and anyway, there's nothing dangerous left in the Slytherin Chamber," Fred winked at the trio. "Don't you think it would be a huge regret to miss out on this opportunity?"
"Would it?" Harry muttered, setting down his cards. "I don't think there's much to explore in the Chamber."
"We plan to organize a tour group to visit the Slytherin Chamber. It's a rare opportunity, and you can join us too," Albert said to Hermione and Ron. "Of course, on the condition that Harry agrees to help us open the Chamber."
A tour group for the Chamber of Secrets?
Hermione and Ron stared at Albert, dumbfounded.
"Don't you want to see the legendary Chamber of Secrets?" Lee Jordan countered. "And, of course, the legendary Basilisk."
The two looked at Harry, their expressions clearly pleading, "Harry, please agree!"
Yes! Everyone was curious about what the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets looked like.
As Albert put it, it was a rare opportunity! Finally, under everyone's expectant gazes, Harry relented and agreed to join this Chamber of Secrets excursion.
The next morning, a group of students sneaked up to the deserted girls' bathroom on the second floor.
When Harry saw that everyone was present, he walked over to the sink, turned on one of the faucets, and nothing came out.
"The entrance to the Chamber is here," he said, pointing to the side of the faucet, where a tiny snake was engraved. "It's just as you described it to me, Albert. It took me quite a while to find its location back then."
"Let's begin!" Albert gestured for everyone to step back.
"Open," Harry said, staring at the faucet.
Everyone heard a chilling hissing sound, but only Albert, proficient in Parseltongue, could understand what Harry meant.
The faucet suddenly emitted a dazzling white light, and the sink slowly opened up before them, revealing a thick pipe large enough for a person to crawl through.
"Alright, the Chamber's entrance is open. However, I assume the air down there won't be pleasant, so cast a Bubble-Head Charm on yourselves before going down!" Albert drew out his wand and cast the charm on himself first, creating a bubble over his head.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan quickly followed suit.
Then, to Harry's surprise, they cast the same charm on him.
"The Bubble-Head Charm should last for about an hour," Albert said, looking at the group, their expressions comically distorted by the bubbles. "Alright, I'll go first. Follow when you hear my voice."
Saying so, Albert cast a Cushioning Charm on himself and jumped into the pipe, sliding down like a slide.
The bottom of the pipe was damp, but Albert managed to stop in time.
He waved his wand, conjuring a ball of light to dispel the darkness, and then called out for the others to join him.
Ron looked up at the pipe above and muttered, "How are we going to get back up?"
"Don't worry, Albert probably has a plan." Fred patted Ron's shoulder reassuringly. "Let's go."
"This place is creepy, though."
"Don't you find this place a bit odd?" Hermione's gaze shifted from the floating light spheres to the surrounding pipes as she spoke to Albert. "I'd bet that a thousand years ago, Hogwarts definitely didn't have a drainage system like this."
"This place has been modified by a descendant of Slytherin." Albert replied without hesitation. "Most likely, one of Slytherin's descendants took the opportunity to alter the entrance to the Chamber while making modifications to Hogwarts."
"How do you know?" Ron asked.
"It's just a guess." Albert said.
"If it weren't for the secrecy kept by Slytherin's descendants, don't you think someone in the school would have known about the so-called Chamber of Secrets by now?" Hermione reasoned. "The only possibility is that the person who made these modifications is indeed a descendant of Slytherin."
"We're definitely several miles beneath the school." Albert's voice echoed in the dark tunnel. "Probably underneath the lake."
"This place is way more boring than Gryffindor's Chamber!" Fred remarked, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as he expressed his disappointment in the so-called Slytherin Chamber.
"Gryffindor's Chamber?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, unable to resist asking, "Does Gryffindor have a chamber as well?"
Harry and Ron secretly perked up at this conversation.
Albert glared at the boastful Fred disapprovingly.
"It's in the Forbidden Forest." he said, "Those two idiots almost got eaten by the Acromantula because of it."
"What's in Gryffindor's Chamber?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Some interesting traps." George explained excitedly, "But you need to have enough courage to help you get through them."
"Is it dangerous?"
"The journey to find the Chamber's location is the dangerous part." Albert elaborated. "Because of Hagrid, there are a lot of Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. Believe me, not even a giant would want to mess with those troublesome creatures."
Albert then added, "Of course, the venom of the Acromantula is extremely valuable. One pint is worth a hundred galleons."
"A hundred galleons!" Ron's breathing quickened, and he asked eagerly, "What about the Basilisk's venom?"
"It's probably also worth a lot."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"The Basilisk has been dead for several days now, and my Care of Magical Creatures knowledge is only average. I don't know how to extract its venom." Albert glanced at Ron, whose eyes were shining with greed, and said calmly, "But the fangs and skin should be very valuable."
Suddenly, there was a crack as someone stepped on the bones of a small animal on the ground.
"There's snake skin ahead." Harry warned.
Following Harry's finger, the group was stunned by the sight of the Basilisk's shed skin.
It was a huge piece of snake skin, several dozen feet long, a vivid green, and clearly that of a venomous snake. It coiled menacingly on the tunnel floor.
"Who wants to take a picture?"
An untimely voice suddenly piped up, and when the group came back to their senses, they saw Albert holding a camera, having just snapped a photo of their dumbfounded expressions.
Were they really here on a tour?
The thought suddenly occurred to everyone.
Then, led by Albert, they posed for a few photos next to the snake skin.
"This thing could make a bunch of snake skin belts." Albert knocked on the snake skin playfully.
"Snake skin belts?"
Everyone felt like laughing but couldn't bring themselves to do it.
Even just the Basilisk's shed skin still held an intimidating presence.
"Do you plan to take it out of here?"
"If I could shrink it, I wouldn't mind, but this thing is probably no less valuable than dragon skin. Unfortunately, I don't have a good solution right now!" Albert had tried, but the Basilisk's skin had strong magic resistance and was not easily affected by magic. Shrinking it was simply impossible.
"Is it very valuable?" Ron asked cautiously.
"Yes." Albert nodded. "After all, dragon skin isn't that rare, but Basilisk skin is extremely rare. Scarcity drives up the price!"
"Don't be silly." George interrupted, remembering how they had once found valuable snow mushrooms but ended up eating them because they couldn't sell them. "Even if this thing is worth a fortune, we'd still need a way to get it out of here and then convert it into galleons."
Those mushrooms had tasted amazing, but they had eaten them with a heavy heart.
(End of Chapter)
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