Glancing around, I saw the slithering mass of snakes slowly settle back into stone. I took a deep breath of the stale air as an affixed torch ignited before me, followed by another further down the rounded stairs, illuminating the next few steps. I clutched my chest, frozen in place, unsure if I wanted to see what lay below. A part of me wanted to turn back, to return to my room and hope everything would resolve itself.
But the small clink of glass against my fingernail rekindled my resolve—to run toward danger, to act before it was too late. With newfound purpose, I descended the winding steps, the flickering firelight guiding my path.
Several stories down, I arrived at the very door Merlin had described. Pressing my hand against the splintered wood, I felt the faded artwork flake beneath my fingertips. I looked up to see a circular knocker held in the mouth of a serpent, the same serpent coiled around the Hogwarts shield. With no other handle in sight, I grasped the knocker and let it fall back against the door with a single resounding thud. I waited, but nothing happened.
Just as I was about to consider alternative methods of entry, I stumbled back, startled by movement in the corner of my eye. Looking again, I saw the metal snake's eyes gleam an eerie green as it spat out the knocker, which now stood straight out from the door, defying gravity. The serpent ignored this oddity, instead focusing its gaze on the Slytherin emblem on my robes.
"To enter inssside, a SSSlytherin one mussst be," it hissed, nodding slightly as it scrutinized my attire once more. I stood dumbfounded. 'This is new… Did Salazar add this after throwing Merlin out?'
"What doesss a SSSerpent do during winter?" it asked. I frowned, realizing this was a test—one that any true Slytherin would know. It wasn't spoken in Parseltongue, which meant it was designed to block Merlin, yet still allow other Slytherins entry.
Taking a deep breath, confident in my answer, I responded, "They brumate."
A moment of silence passed as the serpent continued to glare at me before it finally hissed, "SSCertaintly."
The circular knocker rose back into the serpent's mouth, and the door creaked open.
I licked my dry lips and stepped inside. The room remained just as Merlin had described—parchments and books strewn everywhere, the chandelier shaped like a medusa, her serpentine hair curling upward to hold flickering candles. But one detail was different. Instead of a box at the center of the large desk, a torn-up book now lay in its place.
Carefully stepping through the scattered papers, I approached the desk. The book lay open, pages ripped out, leaving it lopsided. I placed a finger between the pages to hold my place before closing it, revealing a black leather cover devoid of any title or markings. Flipping to the first page, I discovered that at least fifty pages had been torn out.
With a sigh, I glanced to my right. A single page caught my eye, its golden text shimmering in the candlelight. Picking it up, I murmured the words under my breath: "The Perfect Peace… Experiment Logs and Findings."
Holding the page against the book's torn section, I felt a jolt—an exact match. My stomach twisted with unease.
Immediately, I scoured the room for more missing pages, but to no avail. The scattered parchments contained only outdated spells and potions, lessons one could learn at Hogwarts regardless. 'It's almost as if…' My thoughts trailed off as my foot accidentally struck a cauldron in the center of the room. I quickly stopped it from rolling, then noticed something odd in the ashes beneath it.
Kneeling, I brushed aside the blackened wood fragments to reveal charred paper. I carefully lifted the topmost pieces, some portions spared from total destruction. My eyes scanned the fragmented text:
"-cimen 2. The continued use of the curse has proven successful. Less and less uncommanded movements have been documented. After brai-"
A chill ran down my spine, my heart pounding with unease. Bits of the puzzle were revealing themselves, yet the full picture remained elusive. But the uncertainty was somehow more terrifying than knowing the truth.
Frantically, I sifted through the remaining burnt pages, but each was in worse condition than the last. Defeated, I placed them back on the desk beside the book, sighing in frustration. My eyes returned to the intact pages, and I read aloud the words left behind by my great ancestor.
"Epilogue… What you have just read were the findings I had discovered. Only to be seen by Slytherin eyes—eyes that understand the reason for purity and segregation."
With every word, my stomach twisted in disgust, but I forced myself to continue.
"However, after my latest betrayal by one I had thought to be my student, I have unfortunately lost faith in just the Slytherin name. Blood is thicker than water, and only one of my lineage shall have the power to fulfill my will and their destiny. I have left instructions to them, hidden away for only them to see. Take this book to them, and they shall complete the rest."
I hummed in confusion, my mind racing with questions. The most pressing one escaped my lips.
"If Salazar placed the guardian at the door to stop Merlin from returning and expected another to read this book in full… Who burned it?"
I stared at the blackened remains, lost in thought. The sound of my own stomach growling startled me back to reality. Embarrassed, I sighed. With no hint as to the location of the Chamber of Secrets and only cryptic messages left behind, I decided it was best to eat breakfast. There was nothing more to be gained f
rom this room—especially on an empty stomach.