Tom had indeed sent people to do the same thing before, but they had never had any success. Shawn had not paid much attention to it.
Seeing that Hagrid had returned, Shawn guessed the matter had been settled. Hagrid had also brought his giant younger brother back as before and tethered him in the Forbidden Forest.
That enormous cake supposedly meant to feed a hundred people must have been for Hagrid's brother. Under Hagrid's care, the Forbidden Forest was growing livelier by the day.
Shawn narrowed his eyes, abandoned his plan to go inside, and headed to the chicken coop behind the stone hut.
He cast a Transfiguration Spell on the three most vigorous roosters, tucked the resulting buttons into his sleeve pocket, and left a Galleon on the coop.
Then he turned and returned to the school.
The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was hidden in the abandoned girls' Washroom on the third floor.
It was also where Tom had made his first Horcrux after releasing the Basilisk and killing Moaning Myrtle all those years ago.
Apparently, Tom had not been the first person to open the Chamber of Secrets after Salazar Slytherin built it and left the school.
Many years ago, proper toilets had been virtually unheard of throughout Europe, Hogwarts included. People had mostly used pit latrines.
Wizards had magic, so "cleaning up" had been fairly convenient.
Later, as civilization advanced, Muggles became the first to use toilets connected to underground pipes, and Hogwarts followed their example.
Hogwarts then undertook a major sewer construction project, during which the Chamber of Secrets had nearly been exposed.
Fortunately, the Gaunt family had not yet died out. An outstanding student named Corvinus Gaunt also knew where the entrance was.
The original entrance to the Chamber of Secrets had actually