Chamber of Secrets

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

At the Slytherin table, Draco looked at Klein, who had changed into a new robe, and asked doubtfully.

His friend's whereabouts had been increasingly mysterious lately; he had even stayed out all night yesterday!

Originally, he had wanted to brag about how he had toyed with Harry Potter.

"Nothing, just wandering around the castle."

Not wanting to delve deeper into the matter, Klein glossed over the topic lightly, casually blocking Draco's hand as he reached for his coffee cup.

"Kids shouldn't drink this, it's bad for your health."

"Hmph, aren't you a kid too?"

Muttering softly, Draco turned his face away. He didn't insist further and chose freshly squeezed juice instead.

"Heh."

Klein chuckled, saying nothing.

The everyday life they lived might be a series of continuous miracles.

As usual, Klein diligently absorbed any nourishment that could strengthen him.

In Transfiguration class, he had already begun practicing simple animate object transfiguration under the personal guidance of Professor McGonagall.

But he was still not satisfied.

Compared to his progress in Potions, his Transfiguration still hadn't truly begun.

"Decomposition, recombination, shape change.

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

Looking at the fountain pen that had been transformed from a white mouse, Klein frowned and muttered in a voice only he could hear.

Theoretically, a wizard could forcibly change any substance with their will.

But to achieve perfect results, one must clearly understand the internal structure of the transformation target.

"Analyze All Things" was a massive undertaking; even he couldn't guarantee how far he could go.

However, there wasn't no shortcut...

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

A strange glint flashed in his sapphire-like eyes. Klein chuckled and subtly licked his lips.

Midnight, the girls' restroom on the second floor of Hogwarts castle.

"Here."

Gently stroking the faucet with a coiled snake relief, Klein felt a sense of certainty. He drew his wand, pointed it at his throat, and the aura around him suddenly changed.

"Nature's Tongue."

After casting the spell, he cleared his throat.

But before he could speak, a sudden noise came from not far behind him.

"Look what I've found, a naughty little boy."

From the shadows emerged a semi-transparent ghost—wearing Ravenclaw robes, with thick, round-bottomed glasses, and hair messily braided like straw.

"Moaning Myrtle."

"I'm going to report you to Dumbledore and get you expelled!"

Myrtle giggled, looking Klein up and down, seemingly very interested in the situation.

"I'm sure you won't."

Klein turned around and stared directly at the disruptive ghost.

"Ha, of course I will..."

Myrtle made a face, about to say something, but halfway through her words, her consciousness suddenly became hazy.

In just three to five seconds, she froze in mid-air like a puppet.

"Go back to where you belong. You haven't seen anyone tonight."

He gave a soft command and no longer paid attention to the ghost behind him.

"Soul Capture Light" wasn't something only Old Snake could use; he was also an expert at it.

Turning, he stared at the relief on the faucet, and a tremor ran through Klein's throat.

When everything returned to calm, he spoke softly, his voice now a deep Parseltongue!

"Hiss, hiss, hiss hiss."

In the dim girls' restroom, a hoarse, chilling voice echoed, like a devil's whisper.

Klein stood still, his expressionless face waiting for the "Chamber of Secrets" to respond.

"Crack."

Suddenly, the rock crevice split open, and the circular washbasin bloomed like flower petals, revealing a dark hole!

He smiled slightly and stepped into it.

A biting wind whistled past his ears. After falling for a while, Klein landed steadily on a pile of rat bones.

"You've had it tough."

Klein chuckled, unconcerned, and continued forward.

Passing through the stone cave, he arrived at a spacious platform with obvious signs of artificial construction.

The platform was surrounded by an underground river, and symmetrical giant snake statues stood on both sides.

At the very front, a Bronze Disk was embedded in the mountain, silently guarding a secret buried for a thousand years.

"Hiss hiss hiss."

Klein spoke again, using Parseltongue to activate the seal. On the Bronze Disk, a long snake writhed and skillfully and intricately opened nine Magic Locks.

"Wonderful."

Looking at the lifelike giant snakes, he couldn't help but admire Salazar Slytherin's ingenuity.

"Creak~"

The disk rotated, and the Chamber of Secrets opened!

Stepping inside, countless ghastly green flames rose around him, illuminating the gloomy underground like an Asura Ghost Realm.

But Klein felt no discomfort.

After all, the Slytherin common room was pretty much like this; he was already used to it.

Walking into the Chamber of Secrets, a cold wind blew, and the air was filled with damp, fishy moisture.

It was vast, easily four or five Hogwarts Great Halls combined. Besides the ubiquitous Giant Snake Totems, the only other thing was a massive Stone Statue seated at the far end of the chamber, against the mountain.

It was the founder of the Snake House, Salazar Slytherin.

Adjusting his clothes, Klein gave a slight nod of respect to the statue.

Setting aside his ideals and tastes, the achievements of this wizard pioneer were worthy of such treatment.

"Hiss!"

Just as he lowered his head, a hoarse hiss suddenly came from the mouth of the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"Splash."

A mechanism whirred, and the giant statue opened its mouth, revealing a large hole.

Two dim, yellow Vertical Pupils suddenly opened!

"Hiss, hiss hiss, hiss."

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

Its eyes, like headlights, stared fixedly at Klein, fierce and yet...

...with a hint of confusion.

It didn't understand.

They had made eye contact, so why could this "little mouse" still move?

"Heh heh, little one, are you trying to destroy me, an heretic who accidentally stumbled into the Chamber of Secrets?"

Klein chuckled, gently stroking his Purple Sandalwood Wand.

As a descendant of the Grindelwald family, the blood flowing in his veins had nothing to do with Salazar Slytherin.

Tom Riddle, or rather, Voldemort, was the true heir of Slytherin.

Besides Voldemort, the fate of outsiders who opened the Chamber of Secrets was predictable.

However...

There were always exceptions.

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

Beckoning with a finger, Klein wore a kind smile.

Seeing that smile, the Basilisk, which had been poised to attack, froze inexplicably.

Every cell in its body trembled, and an instinct from the depths of its soul screamed at it...

Run!