Vincent was the only one who didn't find it strange.
The Elder Wand could amplify the power of any spell. Even wandless, nonverbal casting could far surpass an ordinary wizard's normal magic.
The Serpent Staff, which seemed to be on the same level as it, should possess the same effect.
Otherwise, he would be very disappointed.
McGonagall, who was measuring the depth, shrank the rope until it was as thin as a strand of hair, finally allowing it to reach the bottom.
Nearly 3,000 feet—exactly 900 meters deep.
Carving out such a tunnel alone once again demonstrated Salazar Slytherin's power.
Snape unconsciously lifted his large face.
The remaining three professors looked over at the seven children.
So what if the founder was formidable? He was still getting brutally crushed now.
The longer Flitwick watched, the more he gritted his teeth.
It wasn't physical or magical damage, but true damage that nearly emptied his health bar.
He pointed his wand at each of them in turn. "Who's going down first?"
Snape walked straight toward the pipe opening and jumped down without the slightest hesitation.
With such a tank leading the way, Vincent followed behind with peace of mind.
The pipe was not long, and the space connecting to the stone tunnel was enormous.
Aside from its uneven surface, there were also some intact small animal bones inside.
Snape raised his wand and aimed its light at a massive shadow.
After landing, Vincent nearly drew the Sword of Gryffindor.
Snakes shed their skins. The skin shed by a thousand-year-old Basilisk was almost as thick as the pipe.
Snape sneered and walked up to the stone tunnel.
"Ah—" Hermione screamed the moment she came down.
Once she could see a little more clearly, Fred and George greeted her with laughter.
"Miss Granger, relax. It's only a shed skin~"
"Shut up!" Hermione angrily followed behind Vincent and slid down the long tunnel.
It was not particularly smooth inside, and there were plenty of small scattered bones.
Without Flitwick's Cushioning Charm, their trousers probably wouldn't survive.
"Woohoo—" Fred and George were extremely excited.
It was long, with plenty of twists and turns.
The experience was like a slide, except it was an extended and thrilling version.
"Woo—hoo—"
Snape, who was at the front, looked terrible.
When he turned around, the lower half of his exposed face looked even worse.
Vincent's feet were pressed against his back.
"Professor Snape, could you go a little faster?"
His expression darkened to the extreme.
They were getting more and more outrageous.
Their essay assignments were completely blank, yet they had threatened to tear down his office.
He could pretend not to hear the earlier mockery, but he could not ignore this provocation.
Without a sound or gesture.
Snape was like someone had pressed an acceleration button. In less than half a second, he shot away with the light from his wand, vanishing from before Vincent's eyes with a whoosh.
He had been going around seventy-five miles per hour before. Now, he was probably already at the bottom.
The farther down they went, the colder it became.
Harry, following behind McGonagall, was freezing.
If Snape had not come, he definitely would have worn the thick clothes from his wardrobe.
Two minutes later, Vincent finally reached the bottom.
He landed steadily on the ground and looked toward Snape, who stood before a stone wall.
Two intertwined snakes were carved into the wall.
Their eyes shone green. Only upon closer inspection did they realize it was light reflected from emeralds.
"Don't even think about taking them." Without looking back, Snape reached out and pressed one of the gems.
It was not a mechanism, merely decoration.
Vincent pursed his lips and looked elsewhere.
Including the ceiling, the surrounding walls were all uneven and bumpy.
With carvings and gems everywhere, the location of the entrance was already obvious.
Hermione and the twins arrived almost at the same time.
After landing, she quickly jogged forward a few steps, narrowly avoiding a collision with the two people tangled together.
"Fred! George!"
"An accident. We didn't do it on purpose."
The greater the weight, the faster one fell.
But the greater the friction, the slower the speed.
If the twins had not clumped together just now, Hermione would have arrived earlier.
McGonagall came after them, followed by the "key" to the Chamber of Secrets.
When Flitwick, the last one, landed, Dobby suddenly appeared beside Harry in front of the stone wall.
"Dobby? Didn't I tell you not to come down?"
"Dobby is very sorry. Dobby was truly worried."
Snape's freshly improved mood vanished again.
House-elves, creatures capable of ignoring the Anti-Apparition Jinx, naturally had to be strictly controlled by wizards.
If they ever rebelled, it would only be worse than the goblins.
Thus, the magic branded deep into their souls could never be removed.
Even Vincent did not dare take that risk.
"Hi
shar
hao
sar—"
This time, Harry needed no help. He merely stared at the wall and spoke Parseltongue.
The intertwined pair of snakes split apart from the middle, and the stone wall slowly slid open to both sides until it disappeared.
Inside was a long, pitch-black chamber.
Snape entered first, his eyes fixed on a massive statue at the far end.
Its cheeks were sunken inward, and its long beard hung to the ground.
If not for the distinctive Serpent Staff in its hand, Vincent truly would not have believed that the barefoot, monkey-faced statue before him was Salazar Slytherin himself.
"Ha—" After entering, Hermione first warmed her little hands. She seemed neither delighted nor disappointed by the statue.
She looked upward along the stone pillars carved with coiled serpents, but her gaze could not pierce through the mysterious greenish mist to see the ceiling hidden in darkness.
Snakes were cold-blooded animals. Even when hibernating, they would not seek out warm places.
Harry regretted coming even more after entering.
Three thousand feet underground, the cold made his teeth chatter.
Dobby snapped his fingers and returned carrying a thick blanket.
"Thank you, Dobby."
"The great Harry Potter should not suffer the cold like Dobby."
Harry looked at the worn pillowcase Dobby was wearing and pulled open the blanket, offering him half.
"No, Dobby cannot wear his master's blanket."
Hermione turned to look at them.
Although she deeply sympathized with Dobby, this blanket was extremely important.
Vincent stepped forward before she could.
He gently stroked the exceptionally soft thick blanket draped over Harry. "Pure wool. It feels very nice."
Snape, who had been walking toward the statue, slowed down.
"Dobby, did you bring this from your master's home?"
"This is—this is—" Dobby wore a pained expression as he fell to his knees.
"Please don't ask Dobby anymore," he begged bitterly.
Vincent did not press him further.
Based on this thick blanket alone, the list of suspects had narrowed again.
The only wizards who still kept House-elves were those pure-blood lords.
Those who knew of this conspiracy had to be Death Eaters who had escaped judgment.
McGonagall unconsciously lifted her face.
As the scattered clues came together, they drew closer and closer to the hidden truth.
Brave Little Lions were not frightening,
What was frightening was a lion that also possessed wisdom.
Flitwick inexplicably thought of another relic left behind by one of the school's founders.
The Ravenclaw's Diadem, which could increase the wearer's wisdom, bore one of her mottos along its lower edge:
Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
Slytherin's Serpent Staff had at least appeared in history before, but Ravenclaw's Diadem had never been found.
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