The next day, Harry and Daphne were sitting together in History of Magic. Her head was on his shoulder, and she seemed to be falling asleep there.
Harry was idly doodling on parchment, completely zoned out from the lecture that Binns was giving on goblin riots.
Then, in the row in front of him, Hermione lifted her hand up into the air. Harry nudged Daphne's side with his elbow, and she jerked up, blue eyes blinking sleepily.
She, too, saw Hermione's hand. The girl sitting beside Hermione, Mandy Brockleburst, a gorgeous Ravenclaw with jet black hair and sapphire blue eyes, looked at Hermione in surprise.
Binns didn't even notice, just kept on lecturing. He continued for five minutes, until Harry got sick of it.
"Professor, Hermione has a question." Harry spoke up, as Hermione's hand was still firmly up in the air.
Binns lifted his head and looked at Hermione.
"What is it?" Binns asked, looking thoroughly shocked that somebody had a question.
"I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets." Hermione said, finally lowering her hand.
Binns paused.
"The Chamber is a myth. This class is about history. It's about facts." Binns said impatiently.
"I want to hear the myth, then." Hermione said simply.
"Fine. As the story goes, back at the time of the Founding, Salazar Slytherin had an argument with the other three founders. He created a secret chamber beneath the school somewhere, a chamber full of secrets too deadly to keep in his tower." Binns said.
"Wait, his tower?" Harry asked.
"Yes. At the time of the Founding, each founder had their own tower. Today, only two remain, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff Tower was destroyed in the 1820s. Slytherin Tower's fate is unknown, but we can reasonably assume it was knocked down sometime near the Founding, possibly once he left the school." Binns explained, "Anyway, the Chamber is rumored to be guarded by the Monster of Slytherin, but no sign of any monster has ever been seen, and the school has been searched for this chamber many, many times. Nothing had ever been found."
"Sir, how hard is it to find a giant snake?" Mandy asked sassily.
"A giant snake?" Binns asked in confusion.
"I mean, the Monster of Slytherin must be some kind of serpent, right? That doesn't take a genius to work out." Mandy shrugged. Harry looked curiously at the gorgeous black haired girl.
"Indeed." Binns said, "Now, back to goblin riots."
Daphne gave a tired sigh and her head leaned back onto Harry's shoulder.
———
Harry walked down the hall to lunch with Hermione and Daphne.
"Don't tell me you're planning to find this Chamber." Daphne said in a groan.
"Of course he is." Hermione said in exasperation.
"Yeah, I am. If there's a Monster running around, someone needs to stop it." Harry said stubbornly.
"Idiot." Daphne said fondly.
The trio walked into the Great Hall, and Harry spotted Susan sitting with Hannah. The redhead caught his eye, and Harry beckoned her over.
Susan got up and hastened over.
"What is it?" Susan asked.
"We found out some stuff about the Chamber." Harry explained quickly, "Apparently, there's a monster guarding it."
Hermione gasped.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Harry, what if nobody can find the Chamber because the entrance is in Slytherin Tower?" Hermione asked. Harry's eyes widened.
"That… actually makes sense." Daphne said.
"Slytherin has a tower?" Susan frowned.
"All the Founders did." Hermione explained, "Hufflepuff's was destroyed in the 1820s, but there's no historical record of what happened to Slytherin's tower."
"How does a tower just vanish?" Harry mused.
"It doesn't. Not without concealment magic." Hermione said.
"You think the tower still exists." Harry guessed.
"It has to. Otherwise there'd be some record of it." Hermione said.
"Alright." Harry rubbed his face, "How do we find a missing tower?"
"We check the library." Hermione said at once.
"Have fun with that." Daphne said dryly.
"You're not going to help me look?" Hermione asked. Harry hesitated.
"Um… no?" Harry winced.
"Right. So you guys just want me to find it and let you know, so you can go in wands blazing?" Hermione asked a little bitterly.
"Yep." Daphne said.
"I'll help you look after classes." Susan told Hermione.
"Thank you." Hermione said.
"I'll be off having a social life somewhere." Daphne said a little frostily.
"C'mon, Daph." Harry shook his head, nudging the blond along. He mouthed sorry at Hermione as he and Daphne walked towards the Slytherin table.
Harry and Daphne sat down opposite Astoria and Gabrielle, and the two younger girls smiled at Harry.
Harry grabbed a plate and it filled magically with food, and he began to eat.