Chamber of Secrets Opened

He was about to retreat when a low, hoarse voice came from inside. The voice was strange and cold, definitely not human language.

"Open (Parseltongue)."

Harry felt like his blood had frozen instantly.

Professor Lin… he was speaking Parseltongue?

He had been "learning" Parseltongue from him before… was it all for this moment?

Immediately after, he saw a scene that made his scalp tingle—with a hiss, one of the bronze gargoyles emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin wildly.

Then, the entire pool and the ground around it slowly moved, sinking down to reveal a dark, huge pipe entrance below, wide enough for one person to pass through. A cold wind carrying a damp, fishy smell surged out.

Lin Du walked straight into the opening without the slightest hesitation, not even looking back, his figure quickly swallowed by the darkness.

The entrance did not close immediately, as if waiting for something.

Harry's mind went blank, his whole body cold.

The Chamber of Secrets… it was really here.

And the one who opened it was Professor Lin.

A terrible thought seized him: Lin Du had deceived them.

Just as he stood frozen in shock, a pearly white figure shot out from the wall, floating right beside the opening—it was Moaning Myrtle.

She wasn't sobbing today. Instead, she looked at the opening with an expression of almost admiration.

"Oh… he's so handsome." Moaning Myrtle floated by the opening, her transparent face showing undisguised infatuation.

"Especially his hair… like moonlight. His voice was so gentle when he asked if I wanted to do him a small favor…"

Harry yanked off his Invisibility Cloak, revealing himself. He glared at Moaning Myrtle, shocked and angry, "You knew all along! You knew the entrance was here! You never said anything!"

Moaning Myrtle was startled by his sudden appearance, floating up a few inches.

"It's you!" she clutched her chest. "You scared me to death! Of course I knew! I died here, remember?"

She pouted, returning to her usual aggrieved expression. "But did any of you ask me? You didn't ask Moaning Myrtle when that big guy was taken away; no one asked poor, dead Moaning Myrtle if she knew any secrets while you were brewing those foul potions here! And now you're blaming me?"

She snorted, but then, full of renewed interest, she floated in front of Harry, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "He's already gone in, aren't you going after him? Go down now, sneak up behind him, and cast a Stupefy…"

She made an exaggerated casting gesture, "Bang! Then you'll be the hero, and you'll figure everything out yourself, without waiting for those slow professors?"

Harry's heart pounded in his chest.

Moaning Myrtle's words slithered into his ears like venomous snakes.

Face Lin Du alone? He gripped his wand tightly, his palm slick with sweat.

Ron and Hermione had gone to find the professors, but by the time they arrived, who knew what Lin Du had already done down there? Released the Basilisk? Completed some Dark Magic ritual?

He remembered Hagrid's bewildered back as he was led away, recalled the malicious slander in the Daily Prophet, and thought of the greater pressure Dumbledore might face because of this…

A surge of courage, mixed with anger and desperation, washed over him.

"Lumos Maxima," he whispered to his wand, the faint light illuminating his pale face and determined eyes.

He didn't look at Moaning Myrtle again. Taking a deep breath of the damp, cold air, he walked straight towards the dark opening and plunged in without hesitation.

Cannot find the book title, try searching for the author, maybe the title has been changed!

The pipe was steep, damp, and slippery, with the disgusting feel of years of grime.

Harry could only slide down the slope, twisting and turning in the darkness, the only sounds the rustling of his robes against the pipe walls and the frantic beating of his heart.

After an unknown amount of time, he landed with a "plop" on even damper, softer ground.

Before him lay a wide stone tunnel. The walls were wet, reflecting the faint light of his wand. The air was filled with a heavy, earthy smell and another indescribable, reptilian stench.

The tunnel was deathly silent.

Harry gripped his wand and moved forward cautiously.

The soles of his soaked shoes made soft but clear "splat" sounds on the waterlogged stone, piercingly loud in the absolute silence.

He tried to tread as lightly as possible, listening intently—apart from his own suppressed breathing and heartbeat, there was nothing.

The tunnel seemed endless. The halo of his wand only illuminated a small area ahead, casting his own shadow distortedly onto the slippery walls, following him like a ghost.

Loneliness and fear coiled around him like icy vines, but Harry didn't stop.

He had to know the truth.

He tried not to think about what awaited him at the end of the tunnel, but Lin Du's resolute figure as he entered the opening, and the terrible ritual that might be underway, kept flashing in his mind.

Turning a bend, Harry stopped abruptly, his wand nearly flying from his hand.

On the ground of the tunnel ahead, a huge, emerald green outline was coiled.

The eerily vibrant green glowed faintly under the wand light—it was a skin.

A massive, recently shed snakeskin lay loosely on the ground, empty inside.

The sheer size of this shed skin indicated the colossal size of its owner, easily exceeding twenty feet in length.

Harry felt his blood run cold, his stomach twisting with fear.

The Basilisk... it shed its skin right here, somewhere nearby, growing larger and more dangerous.

He tiptoed, holding his breath, skirting as far as possible from the chilling snake shed, cold fear crawling up his spine like a physical entity.

The tunnel continued to stretch onward.

Every nerve screamed danger, every turn felt like stepping into a deeper nightmare.

He wished to reach the end quickly and end this torment, yet he was terrified of what awaited him there.

Finally, there was no further path ahead.

A solid stone wall blocked the tunnel, carved with two lifelike, intertwined giant serpents. Their emerald eyes emitted a cold, eerie glow in the darkness, as if scrutinizing this uninvited guest.

Harry walked closer step by step, his throat dry and aching.

He knew what he had to do, but speaking the word now felt like signing his own death warrant.

"...Open," a hoarse Parseltongue squeezed out of his throat with difficulty.

The stone door slid open silently to either side, revealing a vast space filled with a dim green light behind it.

Towering serpentine stone pillars coiled upwards, supporting the boundless darkness above and casting twisted, eerie long shadows.

Harry forced his trembling legs to cross the threshold and stepped inside.

The green light swirled, blurring his vision.