The Chamber of Secrets

"Where were you last night? And where's your robe?"

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Beside the Slytherin table, Draco asked Klein in confusion, eyeing his friend's new robe.

His friend had been getting more and more mysterious lately. Yesterday, he hadn't even come back for the night!

He'd wanted to brag about how he'd tricked Harry Potter, too.

"Nothing much. I was just wandering around the castle."

Not wanting to discuss it any further, Klein casually brushed the topic aside and stopped Draco's hand as it reached for his coffee.

"Kids shouldn't drink that. It's bad for you."

"Whatever. You're a kid too."

Draco muttered under his breath and turned away. He didn't insist, choosing freshly squeezed juice instead.

"Heh."

Klein smiled but said nothing.

The daily routine one lived through might be a series of miracles unfolding one after another.

As usual, Klein diligently absorbed every kind of nourishment that could make him stronger.

In Transfiguration class, he had already begun practicing simple transformations of living creatures under Professor McGonagall's private guidance.

But he still wasn't satisfied.

Compared with his progress in Potions, he still hadn't truly gotten started with Transfiguration.

"Deconstruction, reconstruction, transformation.

What I lack now isn't magic, but experience."

Looking at the quill that had been a little white mouse moments earlier, Klein frowned and murmured in a voice only he could hear.

In theory, a wizard could forcibly alter any matter through sheer will.

But to achieve a perfect result, one had to understand the target's internal structure clearly.

"Analyze All Things" was an enormous undertaking. Even he couldn't be sure how far he could take it.

Still, there was a shortcut.

"For my sake, I'll have to trouble you."

A strange glint flashed in his sapphire eyes. Klein smiled softly and licked his lips without drawing attention to himself.

Midnight. Second floor of Hogwarts Castle. The girls' bathroom.

"Here."

Klein gently stroked the snake-carved faucet, his resolve firming. He drew his wand and pointed it at his throat. His aura abruptly changed.

"Nature's Tongue."

When he had finished casting, he cleared his throat.

Before he could speak, however, a sudden noise came from nearby behind him.

"Well, well, look what I've found. A naughty boy."

A ghost emerged from the shadows, half-transparent, wearing Ravenclaw robes and thick, round glasses. Her hair was as untidy as straw, divided into two braids.

"Moaning Myrtle."

"I'm going to tell Dumbledore and have him expel you!"

Myrtle eyed Klein with a cheeky grin, apparently finding the situation fascinating.

"I'm sure you won't."

Klein turned around and stared directly at the meddling ghost.

"Oh, of course I will!"

Myrtle made a face and started to say something, but halfway through, her mind suddenly went hazy.

Within three or five seconds, she was frozen in midair like a marionette.

"Go back where you belong. You saw no one tonight."

After quietly giving the order, Klein paid no more attention to the ghost behind him.

"Soul Capture Light" wasn't only Old Snake's specialty. He was an expert at it too.

Turning back, Klein fixed his gaze on the carving atop the faucet. His throat gave a slight tremor.

When everything had settled, he spoke softly—and his voice had become a deep, hissing Parseltongue!

"ss, ss, sss."

In the dark girls' bathroom, a hoarse, bone-chilling sound rang out, like a devil's whisper.

Klein stood silently, expressionless, waiting for the Chamber of Secrets to respond.

"Click."

Suddenly, the stone cracked. The circular washbasin unfolded like flower petals, revealing a pitch-black hole!

He smiled faintly and stepped inside.

The biting wind howled past his ears. After falling for a while, Klein landed safely on a pile of rat bones.

"You poor things."

Klein chuckled softly and continued on without concern.

Passing through the stone passage, he arrived at a spacious platform, clearly made by human hands.

An underground river surrounded the platform, and symmetrical Giant Snake Statues stood on either side.

At the far end, a Bronze Disk was embedded in the mountainside, silently guarding a secret buried for a thousand years.

"sss, sss, sss."

Klein spoke again in Parseltongue, activating the seal. Giant snakes immediately slithered across the Bronze Disk, deftly unlocking its nine Magic Locks.

"Wonderful."

Gazing at the lifelike serpents, he couldn't help admiring Salazar Slytherin's ingenuity.

"Creak!"

The disk turned, and the Chamber of Secrets opened!

He stepped inside. Countless sickly green flames rose around him, illuminating the gloomy underground as if it were the Asura Ghost Realm.

But Klein felt no discomfort.

The Slytherin Common Room had much the same atmosphere. He was used to it.

As he entered the Chamber of Secrets, a chilly wind swept over him, and the air was thick with damp, foul-smelling moisture.

The place was vast—about as large as four or five Great Halls combined. Aside from the Giant Snake Totems everywhere, the only other thing there was a colossal statue sitting against the mountain at the far end of the Chamber.

It was the founder of Slytherin, "Salazar Slytherin."

Straightening his clothes, Klein gave the statue a slight nod.

Leaving aside his ideals and taste, the achievements of this wizarding pioneer deserved such respect.

"Hiss!"

He had only just lowered his head when a hoarse hiss suddenly came from the mouth of the Salazar Slytherin statue.

"Clatter."

The mechanism turned. The statue opened its mouth, revealing a gaping hole.

Two yellow, vertical pupils snapped open!

A giant serpent covered in armor slowly emerged from the opening, letting out a terrifying hiss.

Its eyes, as large as lanterns, stared fixedly at Klein. They were fierce, yet carried a hint of confusion.

It didn't understand.

They had already made eye contact, so how could the little "mouse" in front of it still move?

"Heh. Little fellow, are you trying to kill me for trespassing in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Klein smiled and gently stroked his Purple Sandalwood Wand.

As a Grindelwald family descendant, his blood had nothing whatsoever to do with Salazar Slytherin.

Tom Riddle—or "Voldemort"—was the true Heir of Slytherin.

It went without saying what would happen to anyone other than Voldemort who opened the Chamber of Secrets.

But—

There was always an exception.

"Come here. Come on, let me get a good look at you."

Klein beckoned with a finger, wearing a kindly smile.

At the sight of that smile, the Basilisk, poised to attack, suddenly stiffened.

Every cell in its body trembled. An instinct from the depths of its soul screamed at it:

Run!