Cock-a-doodle-doo!

At the deepest point of the cavern, the emeralds set into the eyes of two coiled, intertwined stone snakes shimmered strangely on a solid, circular stone door. They stared coldly at the four uninvited visitors approaching them.

Brian, Dumbledore, Fawkes, and the rooster-Moaning Myrtle would no longer listen to anything anyone said. She insisted on staying behind to soak the basilisk's entire shed skin with the water pooled on the floor. Since it was valuable evidence, Brian had been forced to cast a waterproofing charm on it in secret.

"A suspicious door... another pair of alchemical snakes? Hmm... perhaps I have a way-let's say hello to them. Maybe they'll do us a favor and let us straight in."

Seeing that the two snakes showed no desire to come alive and attack anyone, Brian temporarily lifted his Shield Charm and took out the jar containing the little snake. It was curled into a ball with only its tiny head showing, and he said to it,

"Those two don't look much like you, but they might well be your brothers or sisters-you might have the same father, or mother-some alchemist with extravagant tastes."

The little snake did not understand what its new master was saying. It tilted its head in confusion, then lazily buried it in its coils.

"I'm afraid not, Chet. The creator of this magical mechanism wasn't the wizard from earlier."

Dumbledore tapped the stone door, then picked at the gaps along its edges, his expression intent.

"It seems Salazar Slytherin went much further down the path of alchemy than the school histories recorded."

"You mean we've found the right place."

Brian's voice grew hoarse without him realizing it. Emotion surged through him-the thousand-year-old history of a legendary figure, one of Hogwarts's founders, and the Chamber of Secrets that Slytherin had supposedly built in secret now stood before him.

"I really want to smash this door open."

Brian had not forgotten why he had come-to kill, once and for all, the pet basilisk that the fool Mr. Slytherin had left at Hogwarts for who knew what reason. A basilisk that had killed someone. With the rooster in his hands, he was brimming with confidence.

He really wanted to go back in time and ask Slytherin why he had done it. If the man had known that leaving a basilisk behind would get students killed and had chosen to do it anyway, Brian would beat him senseless until he agreed to change his mind.

"I'm afraid that won't do, Chet-as far as we can tell, Slytherin didn't want anyone who failed to meet his approval entering the Chamber of Secrets."

A flicker of anger passed through Dumbledore's eyes, which always shone with wisdom.

"This magical mechanism also requires a password, but we cannot afford the consequences of forcing or breaking our way through it. The Black Lake would pour straight in here, then surge up through the network of pipes-Hogwarts would be flooded."

Brian understood what Dumbledore meant and asked for confirmation:

"...Even you can't do anything? Perhaps this isn't the only entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Could there be a hidden door somewhere?"

"When a wizard who helped create a castle decides to destroy it, who can stop him?"

Dumbledore shook his head as he spoke.

"I'm afraid we must find the password."

"I suppose we need someone who speaks Parseltongue-wonderful, we can ask Voldemort. I'm sure he'd be willing to help us-and he ought to know his way around, shouldn't he? As far as we can tell, he was the last person to open this chamber."

Brian stared at the two unresponsive stone snakes and said wryly,

"Or we could try resurrecting Slytherin and have him open the Chamber of Secrets himself. I have plenty of questions for him."

"Calm down, Chet."

Dumbledore soothed him in a gentle voice.

"You've already done more than enough-you found evidence to clear Hagrid's name, helped Myrtle discover her real killer, and even let an old man rediscover the joy of riding a slide after all these years. Don't rush. We'll find a way to open this door eventually, won't we?"

"...I understand all that."

Brian still could not quite let it go.

"But we're only one step away-there might be a living basilisk right in there-the students are still in danger. All right, I'll try to replace this disappointment in my head with 'missing the last hour of a supermarket clearance sale.'"

He glared unhappily at the two intertwined stone snakes and vented:

"One day I'll find a way to pull you two apart-but right now, I just want to pull you tighter together. Ideally, I'll tie you in a knot that'll never come undone and leave that damned basilisk, dead or alive, to go moldy in there!"

Brian let out a satisfied breath and felt a weight lift-good, apparently he really did need to vent his frustration. Then he saw the Book, which should have been in his pocket, wobble through the air to hover directly in front of the stone door.

Only then did he realize that the sudden lightness he had felt was not his imagination.

"Good Book, have you finished digesting?" Brian reached out to retrieve it, then realized something and immediately grew excited. "You have a way to open this door? Yes-of course, you're a book in an antique binding!"

He grew nervous again and added, "Can your method deal with the safeguards Slytherin left behind? If not, I'd better take you for a relaxing walk in the Forbidden Forest instead-Hogwarts would be done for-and Azkaban won't let prisoners bring books inside."

The Book rustled through its pages, showing Brian the word "knotted," then flipped noisily to a new page. It was another passage of obscure ancient runes, but Brian was no longer the illiterate he had been before.

"What does it say?" Dumbledore took the sleeping rooster from Brian's hands and regarded the Book amiably. He already knew that only Brian could see its contents.

The Book cautiously moved farther away from Dumbledore, apparently a little afraid of the kindly old man.

"Sealing," Brian said succinctly. "A form of ancient magic intended to seal and suppress."

Like the ancient Healing Magic the Book had taught him before, Ancient Sealing Magic had only an objective, not a process. Its effects depended entirely on the caster's wishes, and this sealing magic was probably what the Book had gained from digesting those two stones.

"You always show up when I need help. I'm starting to think I can't do without you." Brian cradled the Book in his hands. "Can you teach me how to use this magic?"

The Book answered Brian with its actions, nestling obediently against his chest.

Brian closed his eyes and once again felt a warm current begin to flow through his body. Some obscure knowledge was absorbed by his blood and nerves, streaming upward to batter his brain. This time, however, the transfer put far less strain on him than before. His head merely felt swollen, rather than his vision going black and him passing out.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that he had unknowingly gripped his wand tightly. Last time, he had used the names of Aragog's one hundred and eighty-eight grandsons as the incantation for Healing Magic. What should he use this time?

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Brian shouted.

Yes, it was rather embarrassing-but nothing frightened a basilisk more than a rooster's crow.

A brilliant ball of purple light shot from his wand and struck the two intertwined stone snakes on the door with perfect accuracy. The snakes began to writhe, twisting together in an awkward pose, tighter and tighter-until their heads were bent askew and the emerald set into one snake's eye socket could no longer withstand the strain. It fell into Brian's palm.

"Now simply saying the password won't open this mechanism."

Holding the emerald between his fingers, Brian looked at Dumbledore in satisfaction and found that the rooster, awakened by the noise, was glaring furiously at Fawkes-

It seemed to think the phoenix had made that cock-a-doodle-doo.