Riddle And Grindelwald

13. The Chamber Of Secrets

That night, Genevieve and Tom crept out of the dungeons and made their way up to the girl's bathroom.
Genevieve was worried about getting caught, but she hoped that since they were both Prefects, they wouldn't get into too much trouble if someone saw them out of their beds at night.
Once inside the bathroom, Genevieve pointed to the sink that had never worked.
"This is the one" said Genevieve, as she raised her wand, illuminating the sink in light.

Tom bent down and ran his fingers over the snake that had been carved on the side of the tap.
"You were right, I think this is it. This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets" admitted Tom.
"How do we get inside?" Asked Genevieve.
Tom turned the tap, making Genevieve roll her eyes.
"If it were that easy, girls would find it every day" continued Genevieve.

Tom ignored her and stood to his feet, analysing every inch of the circle of sinks in front of them.
He opened his mouth and a strange hissing noise escaped from it.
Genevieve had heard him use Parseltongue before, but hearing it in the dark, empty bathroom startled her.
Once Tom had stopped speaking, Genevieve could hear mechanisms clicking into place.
The broken sink suddenly began to slide down, revealing a dark hole that seemed to plummet right down into the earth.

"We have to jump down that?" Questioned Genevieve nervously.
"I suspect it's a slide, not a steep drop" replied Tom.
"What if you're wrong?" Quizzed Genevieve.
"We have to put our faith in Salazar Slytherin, he's got us this far"
"What if the monster is waiting for us at the bottom, with its mouth open"
"If the monster does exist, it is supposed to obey the heir of Slytherin, which is me"
"But I'm not the heir"
"Then go back, I can do this without you".

Genevieve looked from Tom to the hole, and then back to Tom.
"No, where you go, I go" she said bravely.
"Good. Then follow me" instructed Tom, before stepping off the edge, and allowing gravity to pull him through the tunnel.
Genevieve took a deep breath, before copying him.
After the initial freefall, she found herself gliding down a large dark slide.
As the tunnel began to level out she slowed down. And when she reached the end, Tom caught her, to stop her falling over.

"Thanks" mumbled Genevieve, as she lifted her wand and began to inspect their new surroundings.
"I have to say, this isn't what I was expecting" continued Genevieve, as Tom put her down.
The circular room wasn't very large, and it looked nothing like the large chamber she had seen in her vision.
Small bones and skulls littered the floor, and Genevieve tried not to think about what animal could have left them there.
"Follow me" said Tom, as he began leading the way towards one of the other tunnels.
"Wait, how are we going to get out of here, since we can't come back the way we came?" Asked Genevieve.
"There are loads of tunnels around here, so I'm sure we will find one that will lead us back to the bathroom" reassured Tom.

With no other choice, Genevieve followed Tom through the tunnel.
When they came to a door flanked by two sliver snakes, Tom spoke Parseltongue, and the door opened, letting them through.
Eventually the tunnel opened out, revealing the large chamber that Genevieve had seen before.
"We are here. It's like we've stepped inside one of my visions" whispered Genevieve.
"Welcome my love, to the Chamber of Secrets" smiled Tom.
More silver snakes flanked the walls, with green emeralds for eyes. And at the end stood a giant statue of Salazar Slytherin.
"I can't believe it's really real" admitted Genevieve.
"I can. It's like I'm finally home. But we can't tell anyone else about it. This must remain our little secret" replied Tom sternly.
Genevieve nodded, "Our little secret".
Tom smiled and kissed Genevieve's forehead before beginning to look around the room.

"I wonder if the other founders of Hogwarts ever learned about this place" Genevieve said quietly.
"I doubt it. They wouldn't have approved" replied Tom.
"No, they wouldn't have... We haven't found a monster yet though" admitted Genevieve, who couldn't hide the fear in her voice.
"It's here, I can feel it"
"That doesn't fill me with confidence"
"Think Gen, you've been here before, you must have some idea what the monster is, and how we can find it"
"I haven't really been here before, I've only visited this place in a vision".

"But if you had to guess what the monster is, what would you say?" Questioned Tom.
"Snake" answered Genevieve.
"A snake?" Frowned Tom.
"Yes. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth afterall, and snakes are his house's emblem. When I see this place in my vision, I always hear a hissing noise, like that of a snake, and the sound always comes from the statue of Slytherin"
"But snakes aren't monsters nor are they capable of living for hundreds of years"
"Some can".

"You're thinking about Herpo's snake, aren't you?" Asked Tom.
Genevieve nodded her head.
Herpo the Foul was one of the most evil wizards to ever exist, and he was someone Tom greatly admired.
"Herpo was the first person to create a Basilisk" continued Tom.
"You think the creature in this chamber is a Basilisk?" Questioned Genevieve
"It makes sense. They can live for hundreds of years, and are very dangerous" reminded Tom.
"I know that. They can kill their victims, just by looking into their eyes".

Genevieve inched closer to Tom, as she was now terrified about what kind of creature might be sharing the room with them.
"A Basilisk is the perfect creature to leave down here for the next heir to find. It is deadly and will only obey those who speak Parseltongue" said Tom.
"Where is it then?" Asked Genevieve, her voice no more than a whisper.
"You said that the hissing always comes from Slytherin" Tom said as he began moving towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
"Yes" answered Genevieve, as she ran to keep up with him, not wanting to be left alone in the terrifying place.

"I shall talk to the statue using Parseltongue, and get it to reveal the Basilisk to me" announced Tom.
"Is that a good idea?" Questioned Genevieve.
"I believe it is the only way, for I think the Basilisk is somehow hidden behind the statue" replied Tom.
"That's not what I meant... I mean, do we really want to find the monster? What if it kills us?"
"I'm a Parselmouth, I can control it. It won't hurt me because I'm the heir of-"
"What about me? What if it kills me?".

Tom placed his hand onto Genevieve's face and looked into her eyes.
"I won't let it hurt you. Just trust me" said Tom.
Genevieve removed Tom's hand from her face and squeezed it tight.
"I do" insisted Genevieve.
"Good" replied Tom.
He turned back to face Slytherin, and began talking to the statue in Parseltongue.
Suddenly Slytherin's mouth began to open, revealing a large dark tunnel behind it.
"I did it" beamed Tom proudly.

Genevieve could hear a slithering sound coming towards them, and she saw something moving in the tunnel.
"Don't look into its eyes" trembled Genevieve, as she hid her face in Tom's jumper.
Tom began hissing some more, as he began talking to the snake.
When the snake hissed back, Genevieve felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"It's alright, he won't hurt you" reassured Tom.
Genevieve put her trust in Tom and slowly opened her eyes.

She gasped loudly as she saw a giant snake beside her and Tom.
It had its eyes closed, so it couldn't hurt them both, but that didn't stop it looking terrifying.
The Basilisk was easily as long as two buses, and it was taller than Tom. But Tom showed no fear, in fact he looked in awe at the creature beside them.
"We did it" Tom whispered to Genevieve.
"Hmm" mumbled Genevieve, who was unable to speak or take her eyes off the snake.
"He won't hurt you, I promise. In fact, he knows all these tunnels really well, so he can show us the way out" revealed Tom.

This news brightened Genevieve's mood greatly.
"It knows the way out?" She asked.
"Yes. We should go now and get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow afterall. And I want to come back here again, tomorrow night" informed Tom.
"You do?" Frowned Genevieve.
"Of course. Now that we've found the Chamber of Secrets, we can't just go on with our lives as if nothing has happened. We must finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work and clense the school of all its vermin. We must exterminate the Mudbloods, using Slytherin's Basilisk, and make Hogwarts pure once again!".