AN: Long chapter, the first really long one I've written so far. I find it pretty pathetic since it's only 6 pages long. But no matter. This is the big history chapter and it kinda sets the guidelines for the rest of the storyline. So for those of you who cant remember much, a reread or skim of this would be recommended. Laterz…Lilguji

The Secret of the Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 9

Saturday, November 7 One week after visit to Chamber

Hoisting my books into my arms, I walked towards the door.

"Bye Collin, I'm gonna find somewhere quiet to study and there's this new place that Myrtle is gonna show me so I probably won't see you till dinner. 'Kay? Bye!" I rushed out the door before he could respond to my monologue and ran to Myrtle's bathroom.

"Hey Myrtle!! How are you?" My voice was overly loud and my eyes met Myrtle's then flickered to the books in my hand suggestively. She gave my books a puzzled look but played along.

"I'm doing great Gin. Ready to go?" She said the last waving her hands discretely towards the sinks. I gave her a quick grin and pulled out my wand.

"Sure Myrtle, just give me a sec." I muttered a quick spell and a small bright blue light came out of my wand. It flickered around the bathroom and went out to the hallway for a few moments. Then it returned to my wand, obviously finished.

"What was that?" Myrtle asked raising her ghostly eyebrows.

"Oh that, it was a spell to check for invisibility cloaks, spells, charms, or any other thing designed to follow me. It came back negative which is a relief. I think the Dream team was following me Wednesday." My tone was dismissive and I started gathering my books to put up in one of the stalls. Suddenly realizing that Myrtle was staring at me, I stared up at her and frowned. Was it something I said? Thinking back to what had just happened I froze then straightened up stiffly.

"Myrtle, I've never even heard of spells to check for spies like that let alone learned anything close to that level. So how did I know about that one? And how does it even exist? I thought that invisibility cloaks were undetectable. Oh God Myrtle, what's happening to me??" She just stared at me like the freak I was before her face became determined.

"Ginny, I don't know what's going on right now but I do know that I trust you. I will follow your lead into my second death and beyond. I want you to know that you are NOT a freak and I will always be there for you. Yes I know your thinking you're a freak but stop because your not. Gin you're my first best friend ever. Even when I was alive I didn't have any friends as close to me as you are. I will never think you are a freak or anything like that. Something weird is going on here and its affecting you the most. Knowing spells that don't even exist but still work is a side effect of what's happening and personally I think it's quite useful, so don't you worry about it. When we get back down there we'll find all the answers we're looking for." I didn't even realize that I needed reassurance of my own humanity and 'goodness' until she gave it to me. It also occurred to me that I didn't trust anybody else, not even my family at the level I trusted Myrtle.

"Thanks Myrtle, I needed that. I hope you know that you are my bestest friend too. I don't trust anybody out there except for you. I don't even trust myself sometimes. But I get the feeling that you'll always be there for me and I'm glad that it's you that's backing me up. Now let's get going, the Chamber and the answers that come with it await us."

We smiled at each other and went down the pipes to the Chamber happy that we both finally found a best friend.

The Chamber hadn't changed much in the past week. Well, that's what I first thought until I looked around carefully and realized that something had changed. The Chamber had been cleaned. There wasn't any dust or dirt anywhere and everything seemed to sparkle. The snake carvings had been polished to a gleam and the carvings on the ceiling were even clearer. The ink and blood stains from last year were completely gone now but the egg still hadn't been moved. It was as if whatever cleaned the Chamber wouldn't or couldn't move the egg.

I silently pointed the changes out to Myrtle and she smiled in triumph. The clean Chamber had just proved Myrtle's theory of there being more people in the Chamber besides us or the portrait, true. We then flew up the now sparkling statue of Salazar Slytherin to the portrait of my future self. The portrait was glistening with a fresh coat of paint and the frame had been polished till it glittered.

"Hello again Mistress," I said trying to be prim. "I see you have finally begun spring cleaning?" I made the statement a question. Her grin got wider and her eyes sparkled with an unidentifiable emotion.

"Yes, we have been preparing for your return. I know you like the Chamber clean. Now I believe you have a few questions you want me to answer, correct?" At our nods she continued.

"Well then, say 'study' in Parseltongue and we'll go have a seat." I blinked in confusion. Study? There's no study around here is there? She raised an eyebrow at me and rolled her eyes.

"Do you really want to stand here while I preach to you for a couple of hours or would you like to sit down on the floor? Because even though the floor has been cleaned recently, it is still the floor and you shouldn't sit on it. So say something, preferably "study" in Parseltongue or else I can't let you in."

At this I start. "I thought the room behind you was a treasury, so where is the study?" She rolled her eyes again and let out a frustrated sigh.

"The study is right behind me but it'll take too long to explain and I have other things to discuss with you first so lets go." I was about to object again when I caught Myrtle's eye. She gave me a look that said that I was being difficult and I smiled. Shrugging I concentrated a bit and hissed out 'study' noting that speaking in Parseltongue seemed to be getting easier. Mistress smiled and the wall behind her swung open.

Inside was a study. There was a fireplace with an empty frame over it on one wall. The fire was blazing and the room warm. On the next wall was a book case. It covered the entire wall and was filled with books. There were gaps here and there where books had been taken out and other gaps that were just waiting to be filled. On the third wall of the room, a cloth bearing the Slytherin shield hung down over a couch. The couch itself took up the whole wall. There was a small coffee/tea table in front of the couch with tea set for two and a tray of biscuits. Next to the tray was a bowl of moldy biscuits as well. In the center of the room was another table littered with books and papers. There were two chairs around the table and one big armchair next to the fire. It was soft and squishy looked like it was just made to read in. The only word I could find to describe the room was cozy.

I walked further into the room and looked through the books on the table. They were all notebooks filled with notes on potions, charms, and spells. Out of all the books, one specific book caught my eye. It was a diary some sort. Leather bound and buckled, the book was about the same size as one of my notebooks. The buckle was silver and carved with slithering snakes. The snakes moved and hissed every once in a while and if there was any keyhole, they were covering it up.

"Ah, that book is especially for you," I looked up to the frame over the fireplace and saw Mistress was there. The wall we had come through had closed behind us. The wall now had a simple door in the middle where the frame of Mistress would be. On either side of the door there were two maps. I started to go examine them when Mistress continued.

"The book is a never ending diary. Salazar filled it with everything you need to know. It is your guide and responds only to you. The password is your name in Parseltongue and it is voice reactive. It will not respond to anyone else and if anyone tries to force entry, the results will not be pleasant. There are blank pages for when you wish to write in it." I raised my eyebrows at her, impressed.

"But why? Why am I getting this diary? And what is it my guide to?"

"Good questions Ginny. You might want to take a seat for this." I jumped down into the armchair and after taking a deep breath she continued. "You are familiar with the legend of the heir of Slytherin right? Well it started like this. Salazar and Godric Gryffindor had a fight. It was a small disagreement at first. Back then, not much was known about blood and magic and Salazar was afraid that by mixing with muggles, magic might die out. He believed that that was what happened in Avalon. To much impure blood caused the magic of Avalon to weaken until Avalon was lost to us forever. And it was happening to Atlantis when Hogwarts was first built. He wanted to be a bit choosy when picking students to train.

Godric agreed at first and they picked only the most powerful mixed blood and muggle born kids to train. Without training, the other kids never reached their true potential. Yeah they could do small magic if they really tried but most didn't have enough power for that. Then Godric's youngest daughter fell in love with and married a muggle. Godric didn't worry about his grandchildren until the first two were born. Twin boys the two of them. Fine young babies. They showed that they had magic talent at a young age, usually a sign of a powerful witch or wizard. But as they grew older they didn't grow in power. Worried, Godric started convincing the other Founders to make choices in students broader. He encouraged them to pick less and less powerful mixed kids. He was worried that his own grandchildren wouldn't be powerful enough to attend Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, the twins were not powerful enough to join Hogwarts. Gyrffindor tried to convince the other Founders into letting his grandchildren in. Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw pitied him and agreed. Salazar was disgusted with Godrics behavior but agreed to let the twins attend Hogwarts. But he also said that it would not be fair to let the twins attend and not the other mixed children. He said that all magic children should be allowed in due to Gryffindor's weakness but that he would not house any of them. He would only accept those students that were of pure blood.

Godric was appalled by the idea that Slytherin would only accept pureblood students. He believed it to be unfair but was too ashamed of his weak grandchildren to refuse. After all, it was because of his grandchildren that Salazar had the gall to demand such things.

That is why only purebloods are allowed into Slytherin. To guarantee a fair choosing between Founders, they put a trait from themselves into a hat and had it sort the children for them. The major trait for Ravenclaws was great intelligence. The trait for Hufflepuffs was loyalty. The trait for Gryffindors was bravery. The trait for Slytherins was cunning and the urge to achieve. But ever since Hogwarts started using the Sorting Hat, the two of them have been fighting over everything. Their rivalry changed to hate and it was passed down to their houses. It was Helga and Rowena who held Hogwarts together then and their houses that hold it together today.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that either Salazar or Godric were bad. They both were full of pride, most of it false, and they let it get in between them. When Godrics ego took a hit, Salazar refused to pity him or give him special favors. So both of them started the feud between houses.

So, where do you come in? You see, Salazar had a daughter named Morgana. She was a great sorceress, even if she was a bit dark at times. She had visions of the future and in one she saw a half-blood in her line and the line of her father. She told her father, Salazar, that a daughter of his line would love a muggle. She would die after giving birth to a mixed blood child and the child would grow up alone after his muggle father rejected his magic. The child would grow to hate muggles and eventually try to destroy them.

Salazar wasn't an evil man. He didn't want to kill off the muggles, just wanted to ignore them but the vision showed him that his own heir would kill in his name. Salazar's preference for purebloods would be interpreted as prejudice. For a long time he didn't know what to do and despaired. Of course, it all changed after he got a vision of me. He dreamt that I was his heiress, not in blood but is mind and soul and power. I was the one who would clear his name. He didn't see how I did it but that I would. I would end the feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin hopefully forever.

So he and Morgana built this Chamber. They made it for us, you and I, to prepare in. Neither he nor Morgana could see what obstacle you would face or what you would need to prepare for so they just equipped the Chamber with everything they could think of. You can be great Ginny, just say yes and let me teach you. Let the magic in the Chamber train you and become the heiress of Slytherin. Just by being here you have started to change and you will never discover your true potential unless you accept this honor.

When Salazar painted me I was 16 and not yet out of school. So you have until your 6th year to train should you accept. Salazar had seen of this time and should you accept a letter will be sent to Dumbledore telling him of your identity and allowing you to stay here. The Chamber and everything in it will be yours, Ginny; all you have to do is say 'yes'. It is your decision, what do you choose?"

During the whole story I had been quiet, just listening and taking in all the information. Now I was quiet because of shock. What was one supposed to say to an offer like that? I knew my face was scrunched up in thought and confusion and I looked at Myrtle for help. She had a calculating look on her face.

"If Ginny says yes, then does she have to stick with it? What if she doesn't like the training? And how do we know you're telling the truth and this isn't a plan to sacrifice her or something?" Myrtle spoke softly but her voice was strong. I smiled at her, glad that she was still thinking while I obviously wasn't.

"You're just gonna have to trust me Myrtle, I wouldn't ever intentionally harm myself. Though I cannot guarantee that Ginny will come out of this unscathed or if she will come out of it at all. And she is it. She is the heiress whether she wants to be or not. Salazar saw her clear his name of hate and she will do it. If you accept the training your just gonna help yourself. And you are all this Chamber has. This is all yours Ginny; it was made for you and you only. So if you decide to never come down here again then so be it. If you want to see how big the Chamber really is then there is a map. Go see for yourself and decide. Take as much time as you need because we will always wait for you. We really have no other choice." She pointed to the second map on the wall and I got up to look at it while Myrtle asked another question.

"You keep saying we, who is we?"

"I'm referring to the Chamber. This Chamber is so infused with magic that it has become a living breathing thing. There are also all the creatures in the menagerie and the ghost servants and elves. Then there are also all the snake carvings. I'm sure that they'd crawl right off the walls if you asked them to. And any other snake you come across would give its life for a chance to serve you." I looked away from the map and raised an eyebrow at her.

"All of this is for me?" Shaking my head in amazement I turned back to the map and studied it. From the looks of it the main Chamber, the one with the statue of Salazar was in the center. All the pillars had a secret passage that led to a room. The rooms had more passages that led outside the Chamber. They were color coded and I realized that they came out into the rest of Hogwarts. The other map showed where they came out in the school. The room on top of the Statue, the one Myrtle and I were in at the moment changed to different rooms depending on which one you needed at the time.

I found it almost laughable how easy it was to access any of the rooms. Just say where you wanted to go in Parsel tongue and you were there! The Chamber was amazing. I had my own personal bed chambers. There was a room for Myrtle to stay in as well as multiple guest rooms all interconnected. Kitchens, library, pool, training room, potions room, practice room, gardens, herb gardens, menagerie. I could live down here forever and never miss the rest of the world. I would have servants and teachers and wouldn't have to do anything but learn to my hearts content. No more dealing with my brothers or the nosy Dream Team! I could finally come out of the shadows and discover my true potential.

From the sounds of it the training would be long and hard but the Chamber had so many things that if I did it, it would be worth it. It was then that I made my decision. I would try it, I had to try it or I'd wonder forever. I would try this training and see what happened. I wanted to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity and so I turned to Mistress and said one word.

"Yes."