Chương 16: Exploring the Chamber
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.
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15 minutes after having begun exploring the tunnel inside Salazar's mouth, I rub my forehead in frustration. There was nothing here that could require the Basilisk as a guard, which makes me wonder why the Chamber is even known to be of Secrets, and not Secret.
The tunnel went for about a hundred meters, leading through a few turns, towards what was obviously the nest of the Basilisk. There were a few rocks enchanted to stay warm in a hall, covering about 100 sqft, and Sly stopped there to enjoy the bigger nest.
There were a few more tunnels from there, that led to other pipes. The pipes were too steep for me to climb, which means they were only for the Basilisk to climb, and not for Salazar's own use. Which is what I'm currently assuming, since it's possible he figured something out to walk on walls.
Other than that, nothing. I even tried a few spells meant to detect hidden magic in an area, but nothing came up. Not even a supply closet. But, considering that I knew only a few spells that I learned only recently, just for this purpose, there's a very high possibility that there could be something else hidden in there.
Walking out of the last tunnel, I enter the Basilisk's.. pardon, Sly's new nest, and say, ~~Welp, I'm done here. You coming out?~~
Sly doesn't even raise his head, and says, ~~No, I'll make my own way back. The last path also a failure?~~
~~Well, that one leads to a steep drop, so that's different.~~ I say, and walk towards Sly to rest my own back on the warm rocks. Ah, this is really nice! No wonder Sly loved it here almost immediately.
Sly raises his head from the rock he was resting on, and says, ~~Why didn't you try using your broom, you wingless human?~~
Rolling my eyes, I say, ~~Flying brooms were invented in the 11th Century, and the Carpets weren't a big thing outside the Arabian countries.~~
~~I have no idea where that is.~~ Sly interrupts, to my annoyance.
~~You don't have to know. The point is, it's highly unlikely that Salazar Slytherin would make his Secrets accessible by just some flying equipment.~~ I explain, and getting up, I start making my way back to the outer Chamber, and let Sly have his rest.
Plus, I didn't have enough time to explore every tunnel here to where they go. Maybe next time, I'll search more thoroughly, but now, a quick look is all I'll have.
Walking back into the outer chamber, I have a look around, and sigh. This chamber was big, and it would take me days to examine every corner of it with spells, if I want to be thorough.
So.. I won't use spells.
I have a look around, and finding a suitable spot near Salazar's mouth, I cast a few Scourgify charms, and sit down with my back resting on the wall behind me.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, and get OUT. With a sound that reminds me of dipping my head underwater, I find myself in the Astral Plane, my body sitting in front of me. I float forward to see my body from the front, and smile.
My breath was slowed down. It was as if I was breathing half as fast as before.
I've noticed this only recently, and, man, it was a very pleasant discovery. Time is relative in the Astral Plane, that much was true. But it all depends on the person too. A better understanding of Time, means a better control over the flow of time.
And since I've been reading about time for a few months now, my understanding of it has been improving slowly, but steadily. I have been able to slow down the flow of time to half it's speed, and that's evident by the slow moving ripples in the water. This has also been terribly helpful in reading books, and I was almost done with Runes and Enchanting.
Then, I look around. Only one thing left to do now. Use my Astral form to pass through walls. If there's a hidden room, I'll find it pretty easily.
Is it possible to block the Astral Form from entering? Nothing I've read has told me otherwise, but if Rowena can block ghosts from entering her Room of Knowledge, then it's highly likely. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.
Bending my knees, I push off the empty air, and fly through the wall behind my physical body. Finding the tunnels from before, I speed up and fly everywhere.
Again and again, I go through different walls, and back, searching for a room that was hidden from my physical form. Left, right, front, back, top and bottom, I fly through every wall, pillar, and even the lake, to see if anything resembles a secret room.
But for over half an hour, all I find is either rocks and water everywhere I see, or an empty cavern that has nothing special about it.
Heck, I even find the cave I recognised as the one I first accidentally Astral projected into. It was beautiful, a small pond, bioluminescent plants, and a few insects that also glowed. They all were definitely magical, but it's better for them to be left isolated in their ecosystem.
Don't want to destroy it, or myself, by changing something. Hey it could have poisonous air, you know.
The only thing of interest, was the stairway that was hidden behind an illusion of a pillar. It took me over 3 minutes of flying to find that it just leads to the Dungeons, 2nd floor, and the 7th floor.
As I was checking near the statue of Salazar Slytherin, I am stopped suddenly, and quite forcefully, by a solid wall.
"Ow!" I wince, rubbing my head. That shit hurt.
Slowly, I raise my hand forward, and tap the rock in the exact spot where I hit my head. Still solid. Moving my hand a bit to the left, I tap it, and see my hand pass through it.
A few more taps reveals that there was a small patch of the rock, about 1x1 foot at most, that was solid to my Astral Form. It was placed about a meter above Salazar's head, which means about 25 feet above the ground.
"Well, at least I found another secret."
With a whoosh, I dive back into my own body, and open my eyes. Smiling wide, I get up, get rid of the kinks in my body, and summon my broom.
~~Open.~~ I say, after reaching the height of the solid wall.
Welp, that was a bust.
~~Speak to me, Slytherin! Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!~~
Still nothing.
~~Salazar Slytherin~~
~~Slytherin Salazar~~
~~Pureblood?~~
~~Godric's a bitch?~~
~~Oh, for fuck's sake, just let me in, you old cunt!~~
Finally, this gives me a reaction, and a click sounds from the rock. With that, the rock changes its form from a rough rock, to a plain wooden door, at most 2 meters in height.
"Seriously?" I whisper, shocked at all this, and astonished at the password.
Opening the door with my hand, I close it once again, and see it change into a rock once more. A few more tries allows me to know what the exact password is. It's "Let me in, you old cunt" in parseltongue.
Salazar was creative, that much is apparent. But I wonder what inspired this password.
Keeping the door open, I float back down, and go into Sly's nest. Seeing him still lazing on the ground, I say, ~~I found something possibly interesting, Sly. Wanna come?~~
Sly sighs audibly, and drops down from his rock. Slithering towards me, he says, ~~Can't even let me have a few minutes of rest, can you? Always, Sly come here, Sly go there. Learn to be independent, human.~~
~~Yeah, yeah. We both know you want to see it too. Now, get on.~~ I say, and offer him my hand.
Scoffing, Sly starts floating in the air, and swims out of the nest. I follow after him, and once more mount my broom. There was a way to reach there on foot, but it wasn't even, and I am too lazy.
As Sly flies towards the Basilisk body, I fly towards the door, and open it, leaving it open for Sly to come in whenever he's done observing the dead Basilisk.
The first thing I find, is a living room, from the looks of it, with a couch, a human sized fireplace, and a pot of floo powder on top of it. Which is really weird, since Floo wasn't even invented until 13th century. I shrug it off. Maybe one of his descendants put it up, highly possible.
I can't be the only descendant to have found this room.
There was a hallway going towards the back, and I follow it, making sure to keep vigilant. Salazar was from a time when muggles knew about Magic, and attacked wizards for it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were traps here to kill them in one swoop. Thankfully, I find nothing of the sort.
The next room was on the left side of the hallway, opening the door to which showed a Potions lab, and through the Potions lab itself, was the kitchen. I really hope there are spells to prevent contamination.
There were a few ingredients and potions on the shelves, but I ignore them completely. Even with Stasis Charms, Enchantments, and Wards, the shelf life of potions is very low. The most a Potion can stay ok to use is 10 years, after which it starts losing its magic. Doesn't matter what type of Stasis effect you try on it.
Then came a Ritual Chamber, which was highly appreciated since I actually planned on going through a few Rituals. I haven't decided which yet though, since I still have time. This way, I can do it away from the Room of Requirements, which the Headmaster probably already knows about.
Finally, the last room was the bedroom, with a single four poster King's size bed, and a table beside it. Within the Bedroom itself, were two doors, one leading to a bathroom and toilet, and another to a small library.
The 200 or so books in the library look alright, with no sign of ageing, which was fortunate. Walking closer, I squint my eyes, and sure enough, the shelves had a lot of Norse Runic schemes carved. At least the Preservation wards work on books.
Ignoring the bed, I wave my wand at the bedside chair, and cast a few Scourgify charms, just to be safe.
And then, I start looking over the books. Taking a random book in my hand, I look at its cover, and frown. There were just squiggles on the cover, with no pattern to denote an alphabet.
But.. I could.. read all of it? Not read, but.. understand? I have no idea how something like this could be possible, to be able to hide knowledge like this is.. amazing.
It's like, the book was enchanted to be seen in only squiggles and lines, and read by a select few people. Probably Salazar's own descendants, or something. Is this an actual written language, or is this just the effect of an Enchantment to protect the knowledge?
The first book was about Rituals, but it was too complex for me. So I pick another book, and another, and another, keeping them back almost immediately.
Well, the entire library was too complex for me right now. I'll have to visit this library again, after mastering the basics.
Keeping the latest book back in its spot, owing to my lack of completely understanding the material, I pick the next book, and freeze.
"My journey in learning the Mystic Arts of Kamar Taj" the title of the book said, written in the same script.
Welp, this was unexpected, but not unappreciated. I thought the Wizards and Sorcerers, if they actually existed in this Universe, would have been ignorant of the other's existence, since I didn't find anything related to it in the Library. But, this disproves it.
"Gemino!" I whisper, casting the copying charm on the book. This creates another physical copy of the book, which is similar to the original in encryption.
Wonderful! I wonder if I'll be able to learn how to do this.
Gemino was originally a curse, but a few decades ago, a Charms master managed to create a charm based on it. It was useful as hell, but most of the stuff found in the current market is charmed to resist the spell. Those Books cannot be copied that way, they just turn out blank. Thankfully, Salazar was from a time before that.
Putting the book in my pocket, I remove my pocket watch, and see that it's 4 AM right now, and I need to go back. I'll have to sleep a couple hours at least. After which, I'll have something to entertain me.
Chuckling, I have a once over, and finding nothing, walk out. Sly was still near the Basilisk's corpse, now on the ground, staring at it.
I ask, ~~What are you staring at the snake for?~~
Sly says, ~~Thinking.. How long would it take for me to eat it?~~
Shrugging, since I already know that snakes are cannibalistic in nature, I answer, ~~A long, long time, Sly. Well, it isn't going anywhere, so you can just return later and eat it, one piece at a time.~~ Here's hoping he doesn't become too fat.
Sly slowly nods, and then turns away from the Basilisk. He then climbs my shoulder, and says, ~~I'm glad this one's dead. He was a threat to my title as the superior snake. You're a good pet, human.~~
I just shake my head, and ignore Sly. I don't mind it, since I have a new subject to learn. Heh. Mystic Arts and Salazar. Who'd have thought?
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Mystic Arts. Sorcery. Magic. Only this one, even Muggles are capable of learning. This made sure that Wizards either hated them, or left them alone.
Salazar first learned about these Sorcerers in the year 786 AD, when he was just about 40 years old.
No, he wasn't born in 8th century, but he was born in the year 920 AD. What does this tell us? Yup, Salazar Slytherin was a fucking time Travelling Wizard. This.. is getting old right now.
He had figured out how to travel through time through a ritual he created himself. It did not stop his ageing, like the other methods, but it did allow him to travel to the future and back, which the Time turners didn't allow. Time turners, and the spells that came before it, could only be used to go to the past, and not the future.
This did explain the inconsistencies with the Chamber of Secrets.
I think, that he meant the Chamber, or at least the hidden room, to be for his sole use, and never told any of his heirs about it. But, he must have died some day anyway, and that put the Chamber into disuse.
Anyway, Sorcery. In 786 AD, Salazar encountered a minor demon trying to make a deal with a muggle, and attacked it. Not because he wanted to save the muggle, no, but he wanted the demon so he could study it. His subject of speciality was Rituals, you know.
Well, he failed to capture it, and was forced to kill it to prevent his own death, so tough was the minor demon. And then, the Sorcerers walked out of their glowing magic portals, to find the demon already dead, and witnessed Salazar Slytherin pushing the 8 foot tall, red skinned Demon into a wooden trunk. That must have been hard to explain.
They.. allowed it, is all he wrote in regards to the demon.
Salazar, being a pursuer of knowledge, asked them about their Magic, and then requested to be taught, which they accepted. And then, he learned from them, a lot.
He stayed with the Sorcerers, at Kamar Taj, for 10 years, and then left for his own time, with new knowledge in tow. Amongst the knowledge he brought back, was something he devised by himself, for his students, which was going to be really helpful for me.
He devised a ritual, that will allow his students to begin learning the Mystic Arts.
Mystic Arts can be used if one has access to at least two of the three kinds of Magic. Personal Magic, Universal Magic, and Dimensional Magic. Since most Sorcerers are muggles first, they need to borrow Magic from the Universe, or other Realms, before they slowly, very slowly, evolve to produce their own Personal Magics. The rate of this evolution might be the reason why only some muggles have an affinity to it, but nevermind that.
Wizards are... different. Wizards already have Personal Magic, and they already take their Magic from the planet underneath them, which can be a less potent replacement for Universal Magic. As for Dimensional Magic, Wizards cannot use it, or so Salazar said.
Our Magic doesn't allow us to take any Magic from any other Dimensions, but our own, as he explained it. I think he was just afraid of the Dimensions, because why would having Personal Magic get in the way of Dimensional Magic? Merlin was a Sorcerer too, wasn't he? And I remember some Gods being Sorcerers in the comics too.
But, I understand his fear, if it is fear. Giving some omnipotent Demon/God access to your own Magic? Your own Soul? No thank you. I'll stick to using my own magic.
Anyway, Planetary Magic. Since it doesn't actually count as Universal, Wizards, like muggles need to go through an initialisation ceremony to ensure their connection with the Universe.
A stroll through the Dimensions, which you generally need a Master for. Travelling through the Dimensions, no matter how briefly, ensures that your connection to your own Universe is strengthened.
But it's really easy to get lost in the Realms, and for someone else to capture us mid transit. A Master ensures our return to our Universe, and they can control where we go.
Salazar's ritual was a replacement for the Master. It will anchor us here, and make sure we don't go into Realms too dangerous for us.
Well, he did try the ritual on a few of his students, and it worked. Going through with the Ritual allowed them to learn the Sorcery spells that they couldn't do before. But it did change a few things, just like it did for Salazar himself.
The Universal Magic began changing their Magic, evolving it. Their Sorcery spells had no effect, but their Wizarding Spells, ooh boy. Salazar said that just the connection to the Universe had a startling effect of doubling the potency of his magic.
Every spell he tried, he had to tone back his efforts because he would always overload the spells. Wands still worked, since they evolve with the Wizard, but his control was a bit shot.
A minor setback, in the grand scheme of things, I'd say.
Which is why, I was back in the Chamber of Secrets, the next Sunday. Only this time, I was in the Ritual Chamber. Helena was with me, due to my own insistence.
Hey, a Runes Master is a necessity when dealing with Rituals like this. No way I'm risking a mess up, because I wasn't observant enough.
Helena sighs, looking around, and says, "Sal was always so secretive about this Chamber. Even 900 years of haunting this castle didn't allow me to see this. Thank you for this chance, Mason."
I shrug, pausing in my Rune drawing, and say, "Hey, I might be his descendant, but you actually knew the guy. I felt that you of all people.. souls?.. should visit this Chamber at least once."
Helena smiles, and says, "Still, I appreciate this. How far along are you?"
I focus back down on the floor, and continue drawing Runes with a brush, while using crushed Charcoal, mixed with the ink of an octopus in a 1:4 ratio, as the ink.
I say, "Almost done, just half a circle left."
Helena had already checked the Ritual circle over, and had deemed it risk free. But it was to be expected, since Salazar did claim to specialise in Rituals.
There wasn't a need for a Potion for this Ritual, but I did need a single ingredient. Cannabis. A medicinal plant, that has uses in various potions that mostly deal with the mind, or the spirit.
For those who don't know, the plant is Marijuana.
It is also used in the Wiggenweld Potion, which is used to reverse the effects sleeping potions, and a few healing potions. Guess Weed is the answer to a lot of things.
Finally done, I step back, and allow Helena to examine it. She takes her time, a few minutes of it, and then finally nods. She asks, "Did you do the strokes in the correct direction?"
Nodding, I say, "I memorised it and then practiced writing, like, 50 times, Helena. I did not mess it up."
"Are the circles of the correct dimensions?" She then asks.
I roll my eyes, already having checked the circles before even beginning the next part, and nod. Helena then nods, and says, "Very well. Now, we wait."
Sighing, I take my clothes off one by one, keeping them outside the Ritual circle. There was a square around the Ritual Circle, meant to signify the isolated part. Nothing magical other than the ones taking part in the ritual are allowed inside the square. Even Helena will have to stay there.
It was a bit embarrassing, being naked in front of what amounts to a great aunt, many times removed, but she was literally 900 years old. Plus, it was needed for the Ritual, so yeah. Here I am, sitting in the middle of the Ritual circle, with a glass bowl in front of me, with a single Cannabis flower within.
My wand was in my right hand, and my left hand was poised above the Acticating Rune array. There was a clock hanging on the wall in front of me, showing the time to be just 11:59 PM.
As soon as there's just 3 seconds till Midnight, I snap my wand, silently cast Incendio in the bowl, slam my hand on the Activation Rune and chant "Ostende mihi regno et detrahet me in domum suam."
At exactly 12 AM, my hand slams down on the ground of the Ritual chamber, activating it.
There's a brief flash of pain, which makes me gasp, coincidentally allowing the smoke of the burning Cannabis to enter my mouth, nose, and eyes at the same time.
And then, I feel a pull. Before I can even react, I feel my Astral Form get separated from my body, and thrown at very high speeds. I don't see my body anywhere, but I do see Hogwarts underneath me, getting smaller and smaller, as I'm pulled further, and further away from it.
Whatever was pulling me away from Earth, keeps taking me up towards the skies, and doesn't stop. The pull was too strong, and it took me high up, above the ritual circle, and through the walls and wards of Hogwarts, all within a single second.
"AARRHH FUCKING HELL!" I shout, at the speed with which I am being pulled. And I can feel every moment of it.
I keep going up, and up, until I reach space, and even then I don't stop. Thankfully, I don't feel the need to breathe, nor do I feel the effects of the lower pressure, but the movement is still enough to make me sick.
I am almost ready to hurl, when I finally stop right in front of the Sun. I could see the surface of the sun, burning just a foot in front of me. Funnily enough, I don't feel the heat, nor do I get overwhelmed by the light.
"Is this actually real?" I whisper to myself in astonishment, as I try and touch the Sun.
Before I can touch it though, I feel another strong pull, and I find myself thrown through various tunnels. First all black tunnels, then green and black tunnels, and then they become even more colourful, becoming rainbow like. All the while, I'm screaming in excitement, at the rollercoaster ride I'm experiencing. As scary as this is, I can feel my blood pumping!
Finally, I get out in a void filled with colours, and again start speeding up. This time, I can see clearly, as a few different coloured magic strands float towards me, and enter my body. Purple, gold, green, yellow, blue, red, white, and even pink. All those colours combine, and surround my body, making a cocoon. It sort of reminds me of the Dragon scale from Dragon Tales.
Scene changes, again, and I'm now going towards a burning star, or is it just our Sun? As I'm about to touch the Sun, a tunnel opens up right in front of me, swallowing me whole. And then, there's an unpleasant itch.
I feel my body being destroyed, and reconnected, again and again, but somehow, I don't feel any pain. What I do feel, along with the itching, is some more magic entering my body, and settling down within my heart.
The next scene, as I screamingly exit the disintegration tunnel, is one I recognize. The Quantum Realm. I see organisms bigger than our buses, but which are actually sub atomic. I see energy blasts happening a few miles in front of me, and I keep staring at them.
This feeling, this feeling of power, along with the feeling of content, is amazing! I could sit here all day, and just watch! It is awesome!
But, I can't. I have a home, people to get to. Dorea, Darla, Ana, Helena, Sister Agnes, Laura. I need to get out of here soon!
Immediately, I am pulled once again, and crash through a mirror, which I recognize as the Mirror of Erised. I come out, and look around at only my own reflections. The whole place was surrounded by mirrors, and reflective surfaces. Is this.. the Mirror Dimension?
I am pulled once again and pass through one of the mirrors, entering a place so bright, I had to squint my eyes to see. There was yellow light, and fire everywhere. Just being here for a few seconds felt so refreshing!
I feel that I can take this energy for myself, and then live for millions of years!
This feeling ends as soon as it came, and I find myself in the polar opposite of the Realm from before. Where that one was bright, this one is Dark as hell. Is this Hell?
It is dark. Oh, I can see colours, but the way the colours looked to me, I only had one word. "DC."
A giant eye staring at me breaks that misconception, as I recognise it. The eye was purple, and as big as a planet. The being it belongs to was even bigger. Dormmamu, and the Dark Dimension. Fuck.
'Oh whatever mysterious force, pulling me everywhere, take me away from here please? I don't want to encounter Dormammu! Not now, not ever!' I pray to myself, frozen in place because of fear. A lot of fear. Dormammu doesn't do anything, though, he just keeps staring at me with his giant eyes.
Does he even see me? I'm literally smaller than an ant for him, right now.
After what felt like hours of him just staring at me, I feel myself slipping again. Once again, I pass through the Mirror Dimension, and end up in front of a bright nebula.
Peace, that is all I feel, looking at the spectacular view in front of me. Just me, floating around space, with no need to eat, drink, or breathe. Just.. peace.
I then feel myself being pulled once again, and before I can even object, I find myself in front of different places. Planets, stars, Asteroid belts, everywhere I go, I stay for barely a second, before the mysterious force pulls me away.
I even see a planet with a giant face on its surface, before finding myself facing what's definitely a white giant sun. And then, finally, I find myself teleported back over the planet Earth, before its gravitational force takes a hold over my soul.
"Hey, wait a minute!" I yell, before I start dropping down, my speed increasing by the second.
Within a couple minutes, I see Hogwarts getting closer and closer, and then I land down, harshly.
"Cough, cough." I cough, gasping hard for breath, using my hands to support my body.
"Are you alright?" Helena asks, floating towards me.
I raise a single finger towards her, and cough some more. Once done catching my breath, I summon my clothes towards me, and start putting them on.
I say, "That.. was the best, and worst experience of my lifetime."
Helena chuckles, evil witch, and says, "You knew what would happen, didn't you?"
"Doesn't make it any less traumatizing, standing still in front of a Gigantic evil being." I shudder, remembering Dormmamu. I'm going to avoid him, forever. Dr Strange can handle him.
"Tell me everything." Helena says, ordering me to sit down on a chair, as she brings out the tea.
Taking the cup graciously, with shaking hands, I begin telling her about the Realms. Maybe I should actually read the Primers now. Or try and find them, at least. Salazar only wrote the titles of the books he'd read, but he did not have the books themselves.
Hopefully, the Room of Knowledge has them. I'll try them tomorrow. For now, I'll rest.
Sorcerer! I'm a Sorcerer and a Wizard! Brilliant!
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A/N: Literally every MC learns Sorcery in Kamar Taj, so, I thought of doing something else. Salazar did learn from Kamar Taj, and he learned a lot. But he didn't stay there, since he had to return to his own time.
Time Travelling Slytherin does not have a Magical portrait, though.
And his library doesn't contain anything basic. Mostly journals, and a few high level books.
Thank you for reading!
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