Chamber of Secrets

Dumbledore fell silent for a moment, then looked at McGonagall in confusion.

McGonagall immediately pulled a sheet of letter paper from her pocket and explained, "Oh, Albus, Cyberlina arranged for me to do this."

Halfway there, McGonagall had discovered an extra sheet of paper and a very small cloth bag in her pocket. Written on it were—

[Please trouble yourself, Little Minerva, to retrieve the notebook Miss Weasley carries with her. Be careful not to touch it; put it directly into the bag. I used a Shrinking Charm on the bag, but I trust you can restore it to its original size. —Cyber.]

McGonagall had no idea how Cyberlina had slipped the letter into her pocket, but that did not stop her from following its instructions. She personally escorted the pale-faced Ginny into the dormitory, and the moment Ginny sat down, she used the restored bag to whisk away the black notebook. Then she hurried back at top speed.

"Cyberlina?" Dumbledore extended a hand from within his sleeve and accepted the letter. "She has even gotten you to call her that."

McGonagall: "?" Something seemed off with Albus.

Dumbledore lowered his head to read the letter, avoiding McGonagall's puzzled gaze.

McGonagall looked toward Cyberlina, who smiled at her. She then ignored Harry, who was craning his neck to peek at the letter in Dumbledore's hand, and turned to Snape.

Snape grabbed the hood of Harry's school robe and yanked him back into place. Then, beneath the direct stare of his former Transfiguration professor, he said quietly, "They had a fight."

Hearing that, Harry sharply turned to look at Snape, only to have the back of his head pressed down and turned forward again.

McGonagall's eyes widened in surprise before she thoughtfully looked at Dumbledore, who had raised his head and was now meeting Cyberlina's gaze.

"Very well. I hope they make up soon. And I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on Mr. Potter, Severus." McGonagall nodded to Snape and turned to leave.

She believed in Dumbledore's judgment and trusted his decisions, so when he had no need of her, she naturally would not step forward. She did not entirely trust Snape's allegiance, but Dumbledore trusted him, so she could only choose to trust him as well. Still, she considered her student Severus to be a serious and dependable child, so she was always at ease entrusting certain matters to him—and he had always done them well.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore held the letter and faced off with Cyberlina for a moment before sighing—he felt he had sighed far too many times lately—then said softly, "Cyber, this is a little too soon."

"It isn't too soon at all." Cyberlina took the letter back from his hand, lit it on fire in her palm, then lowered her hand and let it burn away in the air. "Then when did you want to wait until? Waste time like last year and still fail to make him stronger?"

Cyberlina smiled gently, and Dumbledore tucked his hands back into his sleeves. "Very well, but I cannot go down there. Otherwise, he will not come out."

"No, we need you, Albus." Cyberlina stepped forward and linked her arm through Dumbledore's. "Trust me. There is no need for that bad child to come out for now."

As Cyberlina pulled Dumbledore along, she smilingly greeted Harry and Snape, gesturing for them to follow.

At the entrance to the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor, Snape watched the two lions, one old and one young, instantly grow excited and look at him together. Suddenly, he did not particularly want to go in. "I believe I may not need to enter. With the greatest White Wizard and the great, mysterious Sekerei together, could a twelve-year-old child possibly be injured?"

"A monster that lived for over a thousand years must have plenty of useful things on it, right?" Cyberlina smiled and pretended to ponder. "Oh dear, could any of it be used in Potions...? If not, I suppose I should just experiment with all of it in alchemy..."

Snape closed his eyes, resigned himself to his fate, and stepped into the bathroom.

Cyberlina released Dumbledore's arm, wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, and pushed him toward a sink carved with little snakes.

Having served as a key to the study many times, Harry instantly understood what he was supposed to do. He opened his mouth naturally—

"Hiss, hiss—" (Open.)

The faucet on the sink suddenly emitted a flash of white light. Cyberlina pulled Harry back, and then—the entire sink slowly vanished, revealing an enormous pipe.

Looking at the huge, pitch-black pipe, Harry could not help taking a breath. Then, his eyes shining, he turned to Cyberlina. "Am I going down first?"

"Harry." Cyberlina lowered her head to look at him, concern on her face. "Going down first could be very dangerous."

"I... I can do it!" It was impossible to say he was not afraid, but Harry still felt he could give it a try. After all, he had learned quite a few useful things recently.

"Heh. Foolish, arrogant Potter." Snape folded his arms, tapping his wand against his arm again and again as he tilted his chin up and looked down at Harry. "Since our Mr. Savior has volunteered, then let us grant him this insignificant wish. After all, it may be his last."

Harry pressed his lips together and shot Snape a defiant look. Snape gave a cold sneer, while Dumbledore watched their exchange with a kindly smile.

"Be friendlier, Severus." Cyberlina gave Snape a helpless look, then bent down and brushed aside the fringe covering Harry's scar, meeting his eyes. "Harry, the monster inside is most likely a Basilisk—a creature that can kill with its eyes. So remember to keep your eyes shut at all times. Understood?"

"I understand!" Harry nodded obediently.

"All right, then—" Cyberlina placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. "Good luck."

Cyberlina gave a gentle push forward. At first, Harry did not react, only staring in confusion as Cyberlina grew farther and farther away—until he felt an overwhelming sensation of falling—

"AAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"

Harry's scream, along with its echo, rang out from the pipe. Snape's unfinished sneer froze directly on his face, making him look exceedingly strange.

"Looks like it is quite deep." Cyberlina straightened and looked at the other two. "Who is next?"

Seeing that Dumbledore had no intention of moving, Snape could only step forward in silence, his face taut. Cyberlina smiled and made way for him. Then she saw Snape turn into a cloud of black mist and slip into the pipe.

Cyberlina raised her brows in mild surprise and asked without turning around, "Was that magic Severus created himself?"

"It was the Dark Lord." Dumbledore stepped forward until he stood beside Cyberlina and looked into the pipe. "He used that in front of you... You know he is a Death Eater?"

"It was too obvious." Cyberlina took out a hair tie, raised her hands to undo the loose braid draped behind her head, and retied it into a low bun. "I am rather curious, Albus. When you put the two of us together, did you mean for him to watch me, or for me to watch him? You seem to trust him quite a bit."

"He is worthy of trust—" Dumbledore stopped himself and looked at Cyberlina. "Cyber, do not be like this. You were the one who said I could doubt you."

Cyberlina smiled at Dumbledore's blue eyes, tinged with irritation. "Do not be angry, Albus. I was only joking."

With that, Cyberlina pulled up the hood of her robe and jumped into the pipe. The cloth bag hanging from her wrist swung with the motion, striking the pipe wall with a thud.

Dumbledore pursed his lips, rubbing his hands together within his sleeves.

So it had not been his imagination. The current Cyberlina was much livelier than he remembered, somewhat like when she had first become a professor, and even more like—the Cyberlina Mr. Ominis spoke of.

Yet among those close to her, only the innocent Mr. Ominis believed that she truly was so lively and kind. Because only before Mr. Ominis was she like that, inside and out.

Dumbledore was somewhat puzzled, unable to understand.

Because from the moment Cyberlina had suddenly appeared until now, every step she had taken seemed kind, righteous, and perfectly in line with the personality she displayed.

Even the few times she had criticized him were because of the biased things he had done, not merely because their ideals differed as before. If those criticisms could still be explained by her inability to stand seeing Slytherin wronged, then what about training Harry?

Cyberlina seemed to be serious about it. She was genuinely using the methods she had proposed to train Harry. She had recognized Harry's strengths, so she was strengthening his guidance and study in those areas—Dumbledore had never doubted Cyberlina's ability to teach, but... he was a little afraid that her tailoring her teaching to the student might go too far.

Dumbledore sighed. He would never be able to figure Cyberlina out—oh, no, that was not right. During those craziest years before her death, she had been very easy to understand; he simply could not beat her.

"Fawkes."

A clear cry rang out, and a golden-red blur carried Dumbledore away from the spot.

"Don't worry, Albus will cheat with Fawkes."

The moment he reached the end of the pipe, Dumbledore heard this utterly speechless remark.

"Cyber—" Dumbledore shot her a helpless look. "Leave me a little dignity."

"Do I need to leave it for you?" Cyberlina pointed at Fawkes perched on Dumbledore's shoulder and smiled. "If you want dignity, send him back."

Harry looked at Fawkes with some envy, then rubbed the spot that had been painfully struck earlier with his sticky hand.

"Really send him back?"

"Really."

"...All right." Dumbledore looked at Fawkes, and the phoenix vanished the next second.

Just as if they were entering the study, Cyberlina once again chose to let Harry lead the way. Dumbledore was clearly somewhat dissatisfied, but after being rebuffed with a single remark, he said nothing more. Snape stared rather curiously at Dumbledore, whose objection had failed.

The tunnel floor was damp, its surroundings silent and pitch-black, with the occasional bones of unknown small animals scattered about. After they rounded several bends, Harry, walking at the front, had become so nervous that he could no longer tell whether the footsteps of the adults behind him were still there. All the excitement from before had vanished from his pale little face.

That was until he saw something familiar—a door bearing two entwined snakes.

He let out a breath and skillfully used Parseltongue to command it open.

The great doors opened, revealing many stone pillars wrapped in snakes that looked familiar to him—and miraculously, Harry calmed down.

It was neither the small fear he had felt just now nor his initial excitement, but a calm that allowed him to think clearly—like the state of mind he had every night on the way to the study, before pillars almost identical to these, when he wondered what difficult questions Professor Snape beside him would pose after they entered.

Dumbledore, noticing Harry's change, was sincerely astonished. His complicated, faintly admiring gaze fell upon Cyberlina.

The place was enormous, and a green mist of unknown origin hung in the air.

Holding up his glowing wand, Harry watched the surroundings vigilantly, his mind filled with all manner of powerful spells he had recently learned in the study.

Yet nothing happened. They safely reached an enormous statue—a full-body statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"Well, well. Slytherin really did love this sort of thing." Cyberlina stepped forward and studied the statue with her head tilted up for a while before suddenly asking, "Albus, what's the password?"

Snape and Harry both looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't know any password. The authority a headmaster possesses does not extend here."

"All right, then."

Cyberlina fell silent. She continued examining the statue, but after only a few looks, she turned away and began inspecting the stone pillars all around.

Snape looked at Dumbledore, whose expression had darkened, then at the inexplicable Cyberlina, and finally at Harry—whereupon the two met each other's eyes and found the same confusion there.

Dumbledore: "..."

Cyberlina's shameless behavior was truly making Dumbledore laugh in exasperation.

A few dozen minutes ago, she had dragged out the cold war that had started for no apparent reason by maintaining a Disillusionment Charm so effective that even he could not find her—if he had not said that he believed her, Dumbledore would have suspected that she truly would have let Lockhart slander her—and now, a few dozen minutes later, she was dragging things out here again!

No wonder she had said there was no need to release Tom. So she had known all along that he had once followed the Weasley girl in here.

But did that not mean... she might have entered this place too?

Dumbledore tilted his head toward Cyberlina, comparing the past in his memories as he considered which of them could outlast the other—Dumbledore felt that he could not outlast her.

This old lady was more stubborn than anyone!

"Harry." Still smiling, Dumbledore walked to Harry's side. "Actually, I don't know all the words either. I can only tell you a few syllables. Could you try putting them into a sentence in Parseltongue?"

"Okay!" Harry nodded obediently.

"'Speak to me,' 'Slytherin,' 'Hogwarts,' and 'great.' There is very little Parseltongue I can understand, so... I'm sorry, that is all I can provide." Dumbledore looked apologetic.

"No, no, no, you're already amazing, Headmaster Dumbledore!" Harry had specifically looked through books about Parseltongue before. He knew it was nearly impossible for anyone who was not a descendant of Slytherin to learn to speak it, and that only a very few people could understand it. "Super amazing! I admire you so much!"

"Oh... good boy." Dumbledore blinked his dry eyes and stepped forward to hug Harry. "Hearing your praise makes me so happy, Harry."

Snape could not stand such an exaggeratedly heartfelt scene and silently looked away.