Chương 29: Chamber of Secrets

*Wednesday 22 January 1992*

Well, well, well, what have we here? Skipping History and DADA was a good choice.

I am standing in front of Salazar Slytherin's personal library/study/office. It is nothing like the Room of Requirements. It's dark, moody, and has enough whiskey to get all of Edinburgh absolutely shit-faced for a month.

Well I think I'm warming up to Lord Slytherin. There will need to some minor changes to the decor, but other than that, everything should be fine.

I will not be touching anything with my bare hands. So I will need a dozen pairs of dragon-hide gloves. I expect everything to be warded to hell and back. That's why I'm testing everything with magic first, to see how the environment reacts.

It's imperative I don't get cursed by ancient wards. That have been alter by time and intent of not only the caster Lord Slytherin but Hogwarts as well.

*****

I have come to discover many things about the chamber of secrets and well…it's secrets.

1. The booze is all from Lady Helga Hufflepuff. According to a few journals of Lord Slytherin, Lady Hufflepuff was the glue that held the other three together. Mainly due to her parties and feasts.

However she had to painstakingly hide away some of her creations due to Goderic always getting into her stash.

She found Lord Slytherin being unusually quiet and sly. So she raided his office and found the plans for the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk.

A quick extortion later and all her private barrels were relocated to the chamber.

With those priorities, and that kind of ruthless behaviour, I really admire Lady Hufflepuff, Makes one proud to be a Puff as well.

2. There are in fact portraits of the founders and their notable students, with a brief description of who they are, their accomplishments, and personalities.

Goderic was a flamboyant dark haired playboy. The man had on a set of bracers and his iconic sword over his shoulder. A bit of a cunt if I'm honest.

Lady Ravenclaw was the embodiment of resting bitch face. She was the typical crazy cat lady librarian.

Lady Hufflepuff was a sturdy and strong woman. Who exuded a sense of homeliness and kindness.

Lord Slytherin was the epitome of refinement and elegance. The man exudes class.

Merlin was surprisingly handsome in his youth.

Morgana…damn she's fine. I like to think I would never simp for a girl. And you're right I won't. But for a lady like that, oof.

Reginald Potter, an accomplished Golemancer who took golemancy to new heights by simplifying the spells and framework needed to make a golem, was the typical wise old man. His portrait was placed in the vaults and here a few weeks before he turned 387. He lived to be 473, by simply being a badass and researching ancient magic. The man embodied the word power. The reason he died, he was wrestling with a fucking dragon. Yes wrestling, no external magic, just enhancing himself.

And a few more. All in all there were 37 people whose pictures were on the wall. Makes one wonder, what would one have to have accomplished to be on that wall.

3. The founders came together out of necessity. They didn't know each other personally until 3 decades before the founding of Hogwarts. All of them were from different parts of Europe as well. You will find some of Goderic's earlier stash and journals in his home town of Trondheim.

Helga Hufflepuff was from the Alsace-Lorraine region of the then Prussian Empire.

Rowena Ravenclaw was Scottish.

Lord Slytherin was from Lucerne, Switzerland.

4. Degraded wards and enchantments can be more dangerous then the original protections placed on an item. Especially if they are in a high magic environment.

I have only been able to get some mundane notes and journals. Everything else will take quite a bit of time to go through and un-ward.

I now have something to do for the rest of the year.

5. Being a parsel-mouth is due to binding a snake to yourself with magic. The basilisk was bound to Lord Slytherin, a strong creature bound to a powerful wizard. That is why the gift has flowed through generations.

I would like to find out how it's done in India and the Southeastern Asia.

6. The basilisk was named Alice. Now I feel bad for killing her.

*Evening*

Me skipping some classes has become noticeable. It has led to an exodus from the history class, and complete indifference to DADA.

Not my fault an industrious muggle-born witch had decided to study ahead and release her notes for the first year.

It also isn't my fault that someone with immense power in the ministry decided to sell exams and theirs answers for the last 25 years, for all seven years.

It also isn't my fault that students noticed the history exam being the same every year.

And it sure as hell isn't my fault that the old ghost wasn't going to do anything about it.

I honestly wanted to get my ICW 'Year 5 Diploma' instead of the OWLs. It's a bit more strenuous, but it is regarded globally. I mean for history they do cover events other than the goblin rebellions. A lot more events. Things that are vitally important like wizarding wars between nations/tribes/clans, the discovery/invention of magics and rituals, important figures in all areas of magic.

Being at an ICW standard means that you are competent and can work anywhere in the world. Being competent in Britain means jack shit.

There is a reason why Britain is so isolated. Hogwarts was the first proper school of magic. Prior to that things were thought by the families. Muggle-borne were taken in by the closest Magi and raised with the values and traditions of the magical world.

With grimoires, crests and personal vaults being the normal way of passing down the legacy of the family. Hogwarts was an attempt to change that. And it did. Right up until the ministry got involved. Headmasters fought an uphill battle against the incompetent bureaucrats and stingy politicians. Not to mention Dumbledore removing vital areas of study from the curriculum.

Giving one man that much power is a recipe for disaster. The cracks are already showing in the ICW. But the Ministry of Education is headed by Babajide Akingbade. The man does not budge when it comes to the education of children. Many have learned the hard way not to mess with him or his department. He's next in line for supreme mugwump, stupid name but what can I say, wizards are weird.

The current Headmaster at Uagadou, Shaka Langa is an absolute legend. For people who know. He's disregarded so many complaints against teaching animagus transformation, rituals, not using brooms and so on, that people just complain to him to see what kind of scathing reply he will send out next.

It stopped when a cursed letter burned down a broom workshop. Which he told the ICW to go fuck itself.

He does let anyone, including Dumbledore interfere with the educational traditions of the African community.

I immensely respect this man.

There is also Madame Francine who just tells the ministry employees to "do their job and be useless." When she gets a complaint about her school. Not to mention Nicholas Flamel is backing her, so the complaints are usually from imbeciles who don't know better.

The headmistress of Mahokoturo Kirena Yamamoto, a descendant of the founder Kyoshi Yamamoto whose picture is in the Chamber of Secrets wall of fame, keeps her school at a distance. Nothing ever gets out without her say so. The training the children are given is known, but no one has the balls to say anything about it. Their battle prowess keeps people well in line. Not to mention the sects all over Asia, you don't want to unknowingly disrespect someone who can and will kill your family as compensation.

How far the mighty have fallen.

Hogwarts was a beacon of growth and changing time. Now it's a relic from a bygone era.

An era of glory, wonder and innovation. An era where magic was freely used and taught. An era when dedication and commitment led many to greatness and a few to became legends in their own time.

It was a dawn on the era of magic.

The chamber of secrets has relics, journals and scrolls from that age.

It needs to be studied thoroughly. I shall invite Granger here as well. On the condition she copy down everything and share it with me.

She's too much of a free spirit to spend hours in a cold and damp dungeon. I will need to bribe her.

I can give her parts of the basilisk. She can have the ones I won't need for my rituals. And perhaps parts and ingredients for her own rituals.

It's honestly best if you get the ingredients yourself. From picking the plants to killing the creatures. But nowadays everyone just buys it.

I'll have time over the summer, I'll see what I can scrounge up before I head to either Drumstrang or Ilvermorny. A choice between access to knowledge and training in Dark magic or rituals.