บท 40: Chamber of Secrets
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.
The words were written in blood on the wall. Art saw Harry, Ron and Hermoine were already there and soon students followed.
"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Draco Malfoy yelled, glaring at Hermione.
"Shut up Malfoy." Art spat. He then walked towards Mrs. Norris and started to inspect her. Art muttered some spells but couldn't undo what happened to her.
'She seems to be… petrified.'
Soon Filch came over and said, "What's going on here? What's going on?"
His eyes went wide and he clutched his face in horror. "My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.
He saw Art inspecting Mrs. Norris and turned his attention to him. "You! You murdered my cat! I'll-"
"I didn't do anything to her Mr. Filch. She's not dead either, just petrified." Art interrupted him.
Filch was speechless and stared at Art. Soon Dumbledore arrived with a number of teachers. Art took the cat down from the torch light and handed it to Dumbledore.
"I think she is petrified professor." Art said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded and said, "Come with me Argus. You to Art, " he looked over at the trio, "You three come as well."
Lockhart offered his office as it was close. The crowd parted, letting them through. When they arrived in the office, Dumbledore started to examine the cat closely. Filch was sobbing and Lockhart was rattling off about some bullshit curse.
"It appears Mr. Cason was right and she was petrified. I can't say how though…" Dumbledore said.
"Ask him!" Filch pointed at Art who rolled his eyes.
"I have no idea how to petrify anything and if I did it wouldn't be your cat. Mrs. Norris and me get along just fine." Art shot back.
"Argus she can be brought back." Dumbledore said quietly. "Professor Sprout recently acquired some Mandrakes. When they reach full size I will have a potion made."
"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times, I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep-"
"Excuse me," Snape said icily, "but I believe I am the Potions master at this school."
Dumbledore dismissed Art and the trio. Leaving Art noticed that Ron and Hermione were looking at Harry weird.
"Okay spit it out." Art said slightly annoyed at them.
Harry looked around nervously. "Art, what does it mean if someone hears voices?"
"A number of things." Art said, focusing on Harry. "What are the voices saying?"
Harry looked done and wrung his hands. "It was saying to kill and that it was hungry."
Art's eyes narrowed and he remembered Voldemort talking in his head trying to take over his body. "Don't worry about it for now. Next time it happens tell me though."
Harry nodded but hesitated and looked at Art. "You believe me?"
"Of course. You aren't the type to lie for no reason." Art said with a smile. He then walked away leaving the trio slightly stunned.
"He is kind of weird isn't he?" Ron said after Art turned the corner.
"He is a genius." Hermione said, worship in her eyes.
Ron rolled his eyes. "You know he breaks the school rules that you worship. You just have a crush on him."
Hermione's cheeks turned pink and she glared at Ron.
---
Art went straight to the library to find out what the Chamber of Secrets was. He couldn't find anything in 'Hogwarts: A History' or anything in any other history books. He left the library frustrated that he couldn't find anything. The rest of the school seemed to have the same idea and flocked to the library soon after.
Art had a class with Dumbledore the next day.
"Your magic had increased again Art. Let's see how much you have improved over the summer."
Art nodded and started to demonstrate the wards he learned last year. After showing Dumbledore the wards, he stood there and waited for the verdict.
"Very good. The wards are stronger than last year." Dumbledore praised.
"Thank you, sir."
"Now let's focus on your control over you magic." Dumbledore said.
Dumbledore went on and showed him how to better control his magic. Art had no idea that his magic was leaking out and others could feel it. Art was focusing on bringing his magic deep into his body. After an hour, Art could feel his control was better and to his surprise his magic had increased a bit.
Art was about to leave when he asked Dumbledore a question.
"Professor what is the Chamber of Secrets?"
Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk and looked up at Art. He rubbed his temples and let out a sigh. "Chamber of Secrets has a long history…"
He stood up and walked over to his pensive and stared into the watery ring.
"Salazar Slytherin disagreed with the other Hogwarts founders about the importance of Blood Purity and the acceptance of Muggle-borns at Hogwarts. As the other Founders were against him in this matter, Slytherin left the school. According to legend, before he left, Slytherin created a secret chamber deep underground in Hogwarts Castle — known as the Chamber of Secrets.
That Chamber was home to a monster — that was allegedly supposed to purge the school of all Muggle-borns. Only the Heir of Slytherin could open the Chamber of Secrets. Over the centuries after Slytherin's death, many Headmasters conducted searches of the school to find the Chamber. None, however, were successful, and the Chamber was dismissed as a mere legend by many." Dumbledore paused, "That was until 1943 and many people were petrified… with one killed."
"Someone died?" Art was shocked. It seems like this Chamber is more dangerous than he thought.
"Yes." Dumbledore said, sadness could be seen in his eyes.
"What happened?"
"The Ministry made an arrest…" Dumbledore face looked a little unnatural. "And the attacks stopped."
"So why are the attacks happening again?" Art asked confused.
"I don't know Art… I don't know." Dumbledore said quietly.
"Professor what was the monster in the chamber?" Art asked curiously. He thought that if it was a beast he should be able to communicate with it.
"I have many theories but I can't say for sure." Dumbledore said.
Art nodded and left the office. He went straight to his dorm and pulled out a book from his collection, it was Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.
"Beast that can petrify. Beat that can petrify." Art murmured as he quickly flipped through the pages.
He stopped on a page with a giant snake on it.
'Basilisk!'
The Basilisk is a giant serpent, also known as the King of Serpents. It is a magical beast that is bred by Dark Wizards. Herpo the Foul was the first to breed a Basilisk; he accomplished this by hatching a chicken egg beneath a toad which resulted in the creature known as a Basilisk. Basilisk breeding was banned in Medieval times. The practise can be hidden when the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures comes to check by simply removing the egg from the toad.
Looking a Basilisk directly in the eye will immediately kill the victim, but indirect contact will merely render them Petrified. It is also the mortal enemy of spiders, who can intuitively sense them and flee whenever they do.
The Basilisk has a classification as an XXXXX creature, meaning it is a known wizard-killer that cannot be domesticated due to its immense powers. Since the Basilisk is still a serpent, Parselmouth may place a Basilisk under his or her control. This depends on the relationship between the Basilisk and the Parselmouth.
"This is bad." Art murmured. If a Basilisk was slithering around the school it could kill students and teachers.
'But a Parselmouth must be controlling it. Who in the school is a Parselmouth?' Art was deep in thought.
He guessed that it had to be someone in Slytherin as it was Salazar Slytherin's house. But… the heir of Slytherin? It was rumored that the bloodline died out years ago.
He needed to investigate further and find the Chamber of secrets.
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