Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets (Part 1)

Harry Potter followed Professor McGonagall to the space between the first floor and the Dungeon.

When he saw that their destination was actually the bathroom where the three of them had secretly brewed Polyjuice Potion, Harry's face went pale... In that instant, he thought their theft of Snape's ingredients and brewing of a forbidden potion had been exposed.

"Professor... McGonagall..." he stammered.

"Why have you stopped?" Professor McGonagall said anxiously. "Headmaster Dumbledore is waiting for you!"

Professor McGonagall's impatient tone sounded harsh to Harry.

At the mention of Dumbledore's name, he even began to stagger as he walked.

Had Professor Dumbledore flown into a rage over this and decided to expel him? It was over, it was over... In ten minutes, he would probably be packing his things and getting thrown out. What would the Dursley family say when they saw him at the front door?

When he entered the bathroom, he was surprised to find that, besides Professor Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, and even Professor Snape were there.

The stall containing the Cauldron and leftover ingredients was still tightly shut, with no sign that it had been opened.

"Good afternoon, Harry!" Professor Dumbledore said gently. "There is something I might need to ask your help with!"

"Help?" Harry could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Judging by Professor Dumbledore's manner, this was not about the Polyjuice Potion, and he was not going to be expelled.

"Come here," Professor Dumbledore said, patting Harry on the shoulder to tell him not to be nervous.

Harry nodded and bent down as Dumbledore instructed.

Bang! The bathroom door was shoved open!

Two second-year students burst in.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley!" Professor McGonagall frowned.

Harry's expression changed at once, and he desperately signaled Hermione with his eyes.

Unfortunately, ever since entering the bathroom, Hermione's attention had been fixed on Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor McGonagall, Harry didn't do it, I did!" Hermione fired off the words like a machine gun. "The idea to borrow books from the Restricted Section and brew Polyjuice Potion was mine. I was the one who threw the Dungbomb in Potions class two months ago. I was also the one who stole the bicorn powder and African Tree Snake skin from Professor Snape... If anyone has to be punished, punish me. It has nothing to do with Harry or Ron!"

Hermione's thinking was simple. Harry and Ron had already received a serious demerit after the start of term; if anything else went wrong, they might be expelled. She had to take all the blame herself. At the very least, Professor McGonagall liked her very much and would not expel her over one major mistake.

Ron stood beside her, gasping for breath, but he had not managed to stop her in time.

For a moment, the bathroom became rather awkward.

Professor McGonagall's face turned livid with anger.

Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout exchanged glances, both at a loss.

Professor Snape simply stood there in a daze, taking several seconds to react.

"Very good... Granger..." Snape sneered. "Now I know!"

Seeing Harry's utterly despairing expression, then the reactions of the professors, Hermione suddenly realized that she had caused trouble.

"Has something happened?" An uninformed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher walked in, breaking the awkward atmosphere. He glanced at the crowded bathroom. "I remember this is an abandoned girls' bathroom...

"Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore... Merlin's beard, you're back!" Gilderoy Lockhart cried excitedly.

"Good afternoon, Gilderoy!" Dumbledore greeted Professor Lockhart with a smile. "We have just discovered Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. Would you like to come and explore it with us?"

"Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets..." Professor Lockhart's face changed at once, but he immediately put on another expression. "I would be honored... No, what I mean is, I knew long ago that this bathroom was Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. I had always intended to come and get rid of it, but I simply haven't had the time lately..."

Dumbledore did not bother with him further, instead turning his gaze to Professor Snape. "Severus, at a time like this, perhaps we should not concern ourselves with such trivial matters!"

"Trivial matters?" Professor Snape sneered. "Very well, if you insist, Dumbledore!"

"Of course, only relatively speaking!" The expression on Dumbledore's face became serious again. "Miss Granger, I hope you can come to my office tonight. We shall have a cup of fine Prince of Wales tea together. Near the spiral staircase on the top floor, before a Stone Statue—the password is 'Lemon Drop.'"

"Yes, Professor!" Hermione nodded uneasily.

"Then let us return to the matter at hand!" Snape snorted. "Potter, come here... Do you see the little snake carved on the side of this brass tap? Say a few words to it. Speak to it in Parseltongue!"

The tap emitted a dazzling white light, then began spinning rapidly.

Then the sink moved as well. They watched as it slowly vanished from sight, revealing an enormous pipe wide enough for a person to crawl into.

"How remarkable!" Gilderoy Lockhart could not help exclaiming, but after catching the unfriendly looks from his colleagues, he quickly put on a solemn expression.

"It seems only one person can go down at a time!" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Gilderoy, perhaps you should go first. As our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, haven't you always looked forward to destroying Slytherin's monster? Now is the time for you to fulfill your duty!"

Professor Lockhart's mouth fell open, and he did not know what to say.

Snape gave him a light kick from behind. With a scream, Lockhart fell down.

The other professors looked away, pretending they had seen nothing.

Harry was about to follow Lockhart into the pipe, but Snape grabbed him. Snape merely shot him a cold glare before jumping into the pipe second.

One teacher and student after another crawled into the pipe... Professor McGonagall had initially intended to send Ron and Hermione back to the Gryffindor common room, but Professor Dumbledore stopped her. He agreed to let the two second-year students join this "hunt" as well.

It felt like rushing down a dark, slimy, endless slide. Their pipe twisted and turned, winding this way and that as it plunged steeply downward.

Several minutes later, they emerged from the opening one after another, landing with wet splats on the damp ground.

This was a dark stone tunnel, large enough for several people to stand inside.

They might already have reached several miles beneath the castle.