CHAPTER EIGHT- THE MONSTER INSIDE THE CHAMBER
'What did you say' Percy asked, shocked. He remembered Annabeth saying that there might be information on the chamber in the restricted area, and no teacher would have signed on the slip.
'I said I found out about the chamber' Annabeth repeated
'How' Grover asked, astonished
'Well' Annabeth said 'I, kind of, wrote to my dad after the incident, he is a man of history, fascinated by it. He wrote back, saying he will try to look into this matter'
'Your dad didn't go all crazy on the fact that you are looking for something dangerous' Percy asked 'Cool'
Annabeth turned a bit red on the question
'Actually' she said 'he thinks that it isn't nice to keep us in the dark only because we are children, he says we should know everything.'
'Anyways' she continued 'Yesterday, I got this mail from him, I tried to tell you, but I couldn't find you anywhere'
'What did he mail you?' Grover asked
'This' she said, taking out a book from her sack. She held it so the two could see. It had the portrait of a man with a monkey-like face, he was nearly bald and had a long beard, as long as Dumbledore's. He wore a locket with an "S" on it, a stern look on his face. He read the title, which said
THE LIFE OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN
'Wait a second' Percy said 'Why do you have the biography of Salazar Slytherin'
'Dad sent it' she said 'At first I was confused, too. Then I opened it'
She opened the book, on the first page, written in a neat handwriting was.
Turn to Page 394
Annabeth turned to the page. She handed it to Percy and Grover, as the two started to read
Salazar Slytherin didn't stay at Hogwarts for long. Salazar believed that Hogwarts should only teach those who have pure-blood running in their veins, however, his fellow Hogwarts Founders weren't exactly on board with him on this decision. They believed anyone who is capable of doing magic shall be taught. After a quarrel with them and a duel with Godric Gryffindor, Salazar decided that he wouldn't stay at Hogwarts anymore. Legends say that he had a secret chamber hidden in the school, known as the Chamber of Secrets, where he taught his students Dark Arts, and when Salazar left, he hid a monster there, a monster which can be controlled by only his descendants.
'You think Luke is the descendent' Annabeth said 'But Castellan isn't in the family tree at the end of the book'
She turned to the last page, which showed a family tree. Sure enough, the name Castellan wasn't on it. He found Gaunt, Maller, GoldenFire, Snakeswood and Parselfoy
'This book is old, maybe Castellans are descendants not listed here' Percy said
'Percy' Annabeth said 'The last page is enchanted, every last name which carries the blood of Slytherin is in here'
'What about his mother, she could be a descendent' Percy said
'No, she isn't' Annabeth said
'How could you be so sure' Grover said
'I just know' Annabeth said, pursing her lips and Percy knew she was hiding something.
'This isn't about us, Percy.' Annabeth said 'We keep your secrets, but you think you are the only one who has secrets about their families'
'Man, I still cannot believe Annabeth is hiding something from us' Grover said, as they left the Transfiguration class.
'It's ok' Percy said 'She is keeping my secret, right. Luke trusted her with whatever she knows, and I am pretty sure it won't be nice to tell us. It isn't her thing to tell.'
'Are you with Luke on this one' Grover asked
'No, not at all' Percy replied
As they were walking towards the Gryffindor Tower to grab their potion kits, they found a group of students blocking the corridor. They found Thalia in the crowd, she was pale.
'Another Attack, Thals' Percy asked
Thalia nodded grimly
'Who is the victim' Grover asked
'Better see for yourself' Thalia muttered
Percy pushed through the rows of students and approached the petrified girl.
Staring at the window of the empty classroom, the biography of Salazar Slytherin tucked in her left arm. Annabeth had a look of horror on her face.
'Clear up, Clear up' Professor McGonagall said as she headed their way. Percy quickly pulled the book from under Annabeth's arm and put it into his bag.
'Oh, Merlin' Professor McGonagall said, as she waved her wand. Immediately, a stretcher appeared, she used her wand to lift Annabeth's petrified body and place it on the stretcher, which then floated in the air, as Professor McGonagall headed towards Madam Pomfrey's.
'Back to your dormitories' she commanded 'The classes are cancelled'
The Crowd cleared as everyone headed towards their respective dormitories.
'Thank Goodness' Percy heard Travis Stoll said as he appeared from behind them 'No History of Magic today, I didn't do the Old Geezer's homework on the journey of, whatever dude he talked about'
'This isn't good Travis' he heard Castor say 'There has been another attack, we must be careful'
'Please, We are older than you' Connor said 'We know what's right, and in this situation, It's No History of Magic'
Percy gritted his teeth and rushed towards the Dormitory, Grover followed him. They approached the portrait
'Dancing Fairies' Percy said as the Portrait swung open, he jumped inside and headed towards his Bunk in the dormitory. Grover came after him, trying to catch his breath.
'You run fast' he exclaimed as he collapsed on his bunk.
Percy ignored what he said and pulled out the book from his bag. Annabeth might have found something more, about the monster in the chamber of secrets, that's why she was carrying it, she might be waiting for them out there, knowing that they will come to grab their potions kit. He noticed a bookmark in it. He opened the page the bookmark was in and started reading.
A unique trait of the Slytherin family was their ability to speak the language of snakes, which we call Parseltongue. This is also a reason that the animal on the Slytherin house crest is a Snake. Some people say the Slytherin family were breeders of Basilisk, the infamous king of snakes which can kill anyone just by one look in their eye. There was one instance in which…
'Found it' Percy said, as he closed the book, Annabeth might have underlined it just in case. Grover got up and Percy tossed the book towards him. He opened it and read the page, then looked at Percy.
'It's a Basilisk' He said 'But why isn't anybody dead'
Percy scratched his chin
'It's because nobody looked it in the eye'
'What' Grover asked
'They looked at its reflection' he said 'Leo and Mrs. Norris looked in the puddle, Calypso in the mirror and Annabeth in the window. That's it'
'We have to inform someone' Grover said
'Professor McGonagall' Percy said, she might still be at the Hospital Wing. Percy and Grover sneaked out of the room and rushed towards the Hospital Wing. As they were about to enter, Grover stopped him
'Quiet' he said 'I hear something'
'You sure it will work' Coach Hedge grumbled 'You aren't exactly a Potions Master'
'How Rude, Gleeson' Madam Pomfrey said 'I do know a thing or two about Potions, I am sorry for the fact that Severus isn't around'
'Snape isn't here' Grover said 'But I saw him in the morning during breakfast'
'You know better than anyone' Hedge grunted 'The beast will awaken tonight'
Grover looked at him, and they both had the same thought, did Coach Hedge know something about the Basilisk. That's when Grover decided to bust in.
'Umm, Madam Pomfrey, is Professor McGonagall here' Grover asked
'Huh, no, she left after she brought the girl here' Madam Pomfrey replied
'Looks like my cue to leave' Hedge muttered, as he walked out the door 'Are you training for your next match, Jackson'
'Huh, oh yes' Percy said
'Good' Hedge grumbled as he walked away.
Percy and Grover turned and rushed back to the Dormitory
'Hedge knows something' Percy said
'You think we should tell Professor McGonagall about this' Grover asked
'NO' Percy said 'She would tell us to forget about this'
'We are going to ask Hedge, you think he will cough it up' Grover said
'You know Hedge, he will tell us' Percy said
'True' Grover muttered
Later that day, the two sneaked out of the Common Room and went into the Grounds. Lucky for them, Percy knew that Filch closes the gates at 9:00, so they have enough time to confront Hedge.
Percy actually kind of found it weird that Hedge lived in a cottage near the Forbidden Forest. He once heard Thalia say that Hedge occasionally takes the role of Gamekeeper. As the two finally arrived at the cottage, it was worse that he imagined it to be.
Percy hadn't actually seen the place before, Hedge would drive them away. He thought it was just a small cottage made up of wood with smoke exiting the chimney 24/7. But the wood actually had plants growing, there was a lot of wild strawberries growing out, and the cottage smelled like it hadn't been cleaned since the time his mother was attending Hogwarts.
'So, what do we say to him' Grover asked
'Wait and watch' Percy said, as the two peeked inside from the side window. They saw Hedge in his PJ's, problem was, he was not wearing a shirt(Not a wonderful sight). They saw him holding a bottle with silvery-blue liquid.
'It looks familiar' Grover said 'I think I saw something like that in some book'
'OK' Percy said 'I don't have a feeling that is some kind of sleeping medicine, let's see'
As they headed to the front door, Percy was rehearsing what to do. They will knock, go in and make Hedge spill the beans. Taking a deep breath, Percy knocked on the front door. He heard Hedge grumble as he opened the front door.
'WHO IS HERE' He yelled as he opened the door, then looked at them 'What are you lot doing here'
'Listen Coach' Percy said as he stepped inside 'Spill the beans, what is happening'
'What are you saying Jackson' Hedge grunted
'That' he said, pointing towards the bottle 'What is that'
'Err- this is my medicine' Hedge said
'For what' Percy asked
'Listen Jackson, this has nothing to do with you' Hedge said
'For what' Percy asked again
'I am telling you Jackson, leave, I get wild around this times' Hedge warned
At this, Grover, who was deep in thought, gave the "I GOT IT" look.
'I remember' he said 'I saw that in the Know Your Potion edition in the library, it's a Wolfsbane potion, and you said you get wild around these times, it is full moon tonight, these are the signs of a... Werewolf'
Then every word Grover said sank into the two's mind, and together they yelped
'YOU ARE A WEREWOLF' Both of them said at the same time
'Darn Right' Hedge grumbled 'Now excuse me'
He emptied the bottle, and started to get dizzy
'I wasn't always a werewolf' Hedge said as he hiccupped
'Um, Grover, is there a side effect' Percy asked
'Yes' Grover said 'Hangover, Dizziness, it is basically to prevent one from hurting anyone in Werewolf mode'
'It was during the war' he continued, ignoring the two's talks 'There were the Terrible Three, as they called themselves, and they, alongside their darn lackeys, would go on terrorizing our people. Three places, Britain, U.S.A and Europe. We were the first one to win, I was in the Auror squad which captured that slimy ball of Cannibal King'
'You were an auror' Percy choked, trying to hold back his laughter. He imagined Hedge in the middle of a riot of Dark Wizards, waving his wand and yelling "DIE YOU SCUMBAGS"
'A darn good one' Hedge said 'When we won the war, the chief approached me "Gleeson, you did a great job. Now, our friends from the States are having some trouble with the Trickster God, will you go and help them" and I thought, why not, time to kick more Dark Wizard's ass. But that's when everything went downhill, I went to ambush them with some American Aurors, and then, out of hundreds of Aurors, that Fenris Wolf got me, the best bet, and bit me'
'When I returned back, the Ministry was tensed. They thought about the great loss they had, and then a dirty scumbag, what was his name, right, Prometheus, he suggested that I should be executed as we cannot afford werewolves running round. He was one hell of a businessman, always being at the good side of the minister. Then Dumbledore, bless his soul, offered me to come to Hogwarts, saying that he will make sure that I don't hurt anyone. I will be really sad if the Ministry gives him the cold shoulder this time'
'What do you mean' Percy asked, astonished
'Oh, you know, Dumbledore is in a lot of trouble lately, because of the Chamber opening. He went to the Ministry with that Severus today to tell them that he is trying his best, but I am sure that Promenthus will do something to get Dumbledore kicked out. I have heard he is after this position for a long time. He will just make things worse by bringing up the time the Chamber was open last time' Hedge said
'Wait' Grover said 'The chamber has been opened before'
'Oh right' Hedge said, hiccupping, and Percy noticed his voice getting more dizzy 'The last time, when was it, the late 70's, back when good old Hedge was young and fit, I was here when a student was killed, in the bathrooms. I think that girl's name was Mary, no, It was Mira, no it was-'
Coach Hedge doubled over and fell on the dirty carpet. The bottle went CLANK and broke.
'Coach' Percy rushed towards him, but Hedge was deep asleep. As the clouds moved, the moon was visible. The moonlight entered the dimly lit cottage through the windows. Percy saw as Hedge's hairy chest became all furry(It wasn't an amusing sight, neither was the fact that they were seeing a werewolf sleeping in his PJ's)
Grover tugged his arm
'We should go' he whispered, Percy nodded, the two turned and headed towards the castle. They had misunderstood what Hedge said, by beast he meant the werewolf side of him, not the Basilisk.
'About what Hedge said' Grover said 'If Dumbledore's being sacked, then the heir will release the monster without any fear'
'That said, so far he has petrified people, if Dumbledore goes, he will go for a kill, we have to stop him before that' Percy said
