"Alright, time to explore it, guys." Lilith declared, stepping forward with an eager gleam in her eyes.
She placed her hand on the massive, snake-carved door deep within the bowels of Hogwarts.
The stone serpents, etched into the entrance, looked almost alive under the dim torchlight.
Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes and whispered, "Open."
Nothing happened.
Lilith frowned. "Huh. Maybe I need to push it or…"
"Ahem," Alaric coughed into his hand, trying to stifle his laughter. "You do remember it only responds to Parseltongue, right?"
Lilith froze. A long silence stretched between them.
Ember's lips twitched. "Wait. Did you just forget? You? A Slytherin?"
Lilith's face turned a shade darker. "I knew that," she muttered.
Alaric grinned. "Oh, of course, just keeping us in suspense?"
Lilith groaned. "Shut up." Then, in a low, hissing whisper, she corrected herself:
"Sseeeeth-orrhhaa."
A deep, grinding sound echoed through the chamber as the serpents unraveled, slithering apart as the entrance slowly creaked open.
A gust of cold, stale air swept past them, carrying a scent of damp stone and something far older, something that had been undisturbed for centuries.
Alaric exhaled sharply. "I can't believe we're actually doing this… We're about to step into the Chamber of Secrets."
Ember, ever the spirited one, smirked. "Finally, some real adventure! If we run into trouble, at least it'll be legendary trouble."
Nero, who had been scanning the chamber's entrance with sharp focus, hummed.
"Let's not push our luck. But if we find anything useful here, it might help us figure out where the other Founders' hidden chambers are."
That silenced them for a moment.
The idea that Hogwarts held more than just this one legendary chamber was exhilarating.
Stepping inside, their footsteps echoed eerily against the slick stone floor.
The chamber was vast, lined with looming serpentine columns stretching up into shadowy heights.
The greenish glow of enchanted torches flickered, casting long, twisting shadows across the chamber walls.
Despite the grandeur, the room felt wrong, as if something ancient still lingered, watching.
Lilith shivered. "Even knowing the Basilisk is sealed inside that statue… I can't help but feel like we're being watched."
They all glanced toward the massive, imposing statue of Salazar Slytherin, where they knew, from the movies, that the Basilisk was entombed.
Alaric ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, technically, it shouldn't come out unless someone orders it to. But… let's not test that, yeah?"
Nero didn't reply.
He was too focused, his Raven Eyes active, letting him see details that the others couldn't.
Faint traces of old magic glowed along the chamber walls, barely visible, like veins of dimly pulsing light.
"There's something here," he murmured, stepping closer to one of the pillars.
He reached out, fingers tracing the ancient carvings.
To the normal eye, they looked like mere decorative engravings, but to him, they were instructions, woven in forgotten Parseltongue script.
"These aren't just decorations," Nero muttered. "They're a guide… or a riddle."
"Ravenclaw mode activated," Ember whispered to Alaric, who nodded sagely.
Ignoring them, Nero drew his wand. "Let's make this clearer for you guys. Revelio."
A soft pulse of magic spread from his wand, washing over the walls and columns. Where before they saw only old stone, hidden inscriptions now glowed faintly, written in curling Parseltongue glyphs.
Lilith frowned, stepping closer. "That… looks familiar."
Nero gestured toward the script. "You can read it, right?"
Lilith nodded. Her fingers traced the glowing text as she whispered, translating:
"The path forward is not granted by blood alone. A true heir commands more than a serpent's tongue, he understands what is forgotten and commands what must end."
Silence.
Alaric frowned. "That sounds… ominous."
Nero's eyes narrowed. "It's a test. Blood and Parseltongue let us enter, but that's not enough to go further."
Lilith folded her arms. "That makes sense. Salazar Slytherin wouldn't want just anyone stumbling into his secrets, even if they were his descendants."
Ember exhaled. "Alright, so what's it asking for?"
Nero was already piecing it together.
He turned to Lilith. "In theory, Slytherins have a natural affinity toward Entropy and Oblivion, right? That's what Rowena said."
Lilith nodded slowly. "Yeah. Entropy governs decay, endings, the natural breaking down of things. Oblivion is about what's forgotten, erased, lost forever."
Nero gestured toward the inscription. "Then this line: 'understands what is forgotten and commands what must end' isn't just poetic. It's literal."
Alaric sighed. "Okay, so what does that mean for us right now?"
Lilith tilted her head, thinking. "If this test is meant for Slytherin's heir, then we're probably missing some kind of knowledge, something that should have been passed down but has been forgotten."
Ember groaned. "Which means we can't just brute-force our way through. We need to figure out whatever this 'forgotten knowledge' is first."
Nero nodded. "Most likely, Oblivion magic plays a role here. There might be something in the chamber that's been deliberately erased, a spell, a memory, a hidden passage we can't even perceive yet."
Lilith exhaled, rubbing her temples. "Great. So until we figure out what we're missing... we're stuck."
Alaric sighed. "I was hoping for one adventure that didn't involve hours of research."
Ember grinned. "What fun would that be?"
Nero's gaze lingered on the inscriptions.
He was certain now, Slytherin had left something here, something that wasn't just about inheritance.
It was knowledge, a secret lost to time, meant only for those who understood his principles.
And if they wanted to truly unlock the Chamber's path forward…
They would have to find what Salazar Slytherin himself had erased.
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2nd chapter of the day (2/2)
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