They'd been wandering about for half an hour now, and Dudley still hadn't
found the correct corridor. Draco was getting impatient, but he supposed
it was only to be expected. Hogwarts was extremely large and confusing,
and the thick-headed Muggle had only seen it once, with only Weasley and
Granger as his guides. That would be enough to confuse anyone! Draco
would never admit this to anyone, of course, but there had been times
during his first weeks at Hogwarts when he'd gotten lost in the dungeons on
his way to the Slytherin common room. Of course, he'd always managed to
cover it well, saying that he was simply taking the initiative to explore
every inch of the school for his father, but he had been lost even if he
couldn't admit it to anyone else, or even himself for that matter.
If only Draco knew where the Gryffindor tour had started and in what direction they had gone, he might be able to help Dudley retrace his steps. But since each of the tours had taken a different route to avoid confusion, there was no way he could know. So he'd just have to trust the Muggle's intelligence (had he really just thought that?) and hope that he eventually found the right path.
"Red graffiti!" Dudley suddenly shouted. "This is it! The entrance is in the girls' bathroom right over there!"
Draco peered at the writing that Dudley had just pointed out. Since he knew what to expect, it didn't take much for him to make out what it said. "Enemies of the heir, beware! The Chamber of Secrets has been opened." He let out a barking laugh. For all these years he'd been mystified about the location of the entrance to the Chamber, and here it was right across from the place where its opening had first been announced. Hidden in plain sight. Typical. Sometimes his devious Slytherin mind made it impossible for him to see the simple truths right in front of him.
Another thought occurred to him. "Did you say the girls' bathroom?" he asked. Dudley nodded. Well, Draco supposed that made sense in a devious Slytherin way as well. The Chamber of Secrets seemed so powerful and masculine. Who would ever go looking for it in a girls' bathroom?
Dudley was about to barge in, but Draco stopped him and made him knock on the door first. If there were any girls in there, he didn't want to have to explain to them what he was doing in their bathroom with a Muggle. They might get suspicious and tell one of the professors, and then where would he be?
But there was no answer, not even from Myrtle, much to Dudley's relief. After a few minutes of waiting, Draco was satisfied that the coast was clear and they finally went inside.
The sinks were still in their reconfigured position. Myrtle apparently hadn't bothered to change them back after her encounter with Dudley. "That's the entrance," Dudley said, pointing to the hole in the floor.
"So we just jump down an old pipe?" Draco asked incredulously. He had been expecting something more sophisticated, more dignified. Maybe a magically- powered lift, tastefully decorated in Slytherin colors, of course. Definitely not slithering down some mucky old pipe. Although he supposed slithering would be the Slytherin way to go about it.
Dudley shrugged, his lack of concern evident on his face. This wasn't his world and he didn't make the rules. He was just along for the ride.
"Since you discovered the entrance, you get to go first," Draco said, hoping the Muggle would buy his seeming politeness. Actually, there were two good reasons why he wanted Dudley to go first, one being that although he'd never admit it to anyone, he was just a little scared about what might be waiting for them below. Second and more practically, he didn't want Dudley falling after him and landing on top of him. That would be the end of Draco Malfoy for sure.
Dudley bought it and moved towards the entrance until he was standing over it. He had a terrified look on his face, and Draco was afraid that he wasn't going to go through with it, but suddenly he gathered his courage and jumped. Draco listened carefully to the sounds that came from the pipe. First there was a sort of squishy sliding sound and then a crunchy thump at the bottom. "Are you alright, Dudley?" he called down, not out of concern for the Muggle but rather out of concern for his own chances.
A weak "yes" came up through the pipe. "Get out of the way," Draco shouted. "I'm coming down." With that, he jumped into the entrance and soon found himself at the bottom as well. His landing was much softer due to the parachute charm he'd placed on himself on the way down.
"Couldn't you have done that floaty thing for me?" Dudley asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, I suppose I could have," Draco said. "But I didn't realize it was going to be such a hard landing until I heard you hit bottom." He feigned a look of innocence. In truth, he'd thought about using the parachute charm from the moment he'd seen the gaping hole in the floor of the bathroom. The reason he hadn't used one on Dudley was because he figured the big oaf had enough padding to protect himself from any permanent damage. Plus, he just couldn't bring himself to use magic to help a Muggle.
Dudley seemed satisfied for the moment, and the two took a few minutes to catch their breath and look around at their surroundings. They were in a very dark chamber, and something crunched under their feet as they moved. "Lumos," Draco said, and the tip of his wand lit. Now they could see that the crunching things under their feet were the bones of countless small animals. Dudley gulped. Draco maintained his Slytherin composure for the time being.
They walked slowly down the tunnel until they were faced with a huge green obstacle. It looked sort of flaky and smooth at the same time. "What on earth is that?" Dudley whispered. Draco walked around it for a few minutes, examining it from all angles, before finally coming to a conclusion. "I think it's a giant snakeskin," he said. "That means that the creature that lives down here must be some kind of a huge snake!" He grinned at his powers of deduction.
"A huge snake? Down here?" Dudley asked and gulped again. Draco didn't bother trying to hide his sneer this time. Honestly, that Muggle was so predictable.
They managed to skirt around the huge skin and only a few meters later they encountered a rockfall. "Well, there's no way around this. Let's turn back," Dudley said resignedly.
"Take some time to think before you open your mouth," Draco said sharply. He'd tried to be as non-confrontational as he could with Potter's stupid but gigantic cousin, but there was only so much he could take. Giant or not, if the dolt continued in the same vein for much longer he'd just have to hex him.
Draco examined the rocks as closely as he had the snakeskin and soon had found a path that he thought they could negotiate to the other side. It was no problem for him, but Dudley was another matter. Draco actually had to pull him for the last bit. But eventually they were both safe on solid ground on the other side.
They resumed their walk down the corridor until finally they came to a set of doors. As they approached, the doors slid open and they got their first look of the Chamber proper. This time both of them gasped.
The room was certainly impressive enough, with the huge statue of Salazar Slytherin at the end and the snake columns lining the sides. But neither of the boys was focused on that right now. Instead, they were both staring at the mummified remains of the basilisk that filled the Chamber.
If only Draco knew where the Gryffindor tour had started and in what direction they had gone, he might be able to help Dudley retrace his steps. But since each of the tours had taken a different route to avoid confusion, there was no way he could know. So he'd just have to trust the Muggle's intelligence (had he really just thought that?) and hope that he eventually found the right path.
"Red graffiti!" Dudley suddenly shouted. "This is it! The entrance is in the girls' bathroom right over there!"
Draco peered at the writing that Dudley had just pointed out. Since he knew what to expect, it didn't take much for him to make out what it said. "Enemies of the heir, beware! The Chamber of Secrets has been opened." He let out a barking laugh. For all these years he'd been mystified about the location of the entrance to the Chamber, and here it was right across from the place where its opening had first been announced. Hidden in plain sight. Typical. Sometimes his devious Slytherin mind made it impossible for him to see the simple truths right in front of him.
Another thought occurred to him. "Did you say the girls' bathroom?" he asked. Dudley nodded. Well, Draco supposed that made sense in a devious Slytherin way as well. The Chamber of Secrets seemed so powerful and masculine. Who would ever go looking for it in a girls' bathroom?
Dudley was about to barge in, but Draco stopped him and made him knock on the door first. If there were any girls in there, he didn't want to have to explain to them what he was doing in their bathroom with a Muggle. They might get suspicious and tell one of the professors, and then where would he be?
But there was no answer, not even from Myrtle, much to Dudley's relief. After a few minutes of waiting, Draco was satisfied that the coast was clear and they finally went inside.
The sinks were still in their reconfigured position. Myrtle apparently hadn't bothered to change them back after her encounter with Dudley. "That's the entrance," Dudley said, pointing to the hole in the floor.
"So we just jump down an old pipe?" Draco asked incredulously. He had been expecting something more sophisticated, more dignified. Maybe a magically- powered lift, tastefully decorated in Slytherin colors, of course. Definitely not slithering down some mucky old pipe. Although he supposed slithering would be the Slytherin way to go about it.
Dudley shrugged, his lack of concern evident on his face. This wasn't his world and he didn't make the rules. He was just along for the ride.
"Since you discovered the entrance, you get to go first," Draco said, hoping the Muggle would buy his seeming politeness. Actually, there were two good reasons why he wanted Dudley to go first, one being that although he'd never admit it to anyone, he was just a little scared about what might be waiting for them below. Second and more practically, he didn't want Dudley falling after him and landing on top of him. That would be the end of Draco Malfoy for sure.
Dudley bought it and moved towards the entrance until he was standing over it. He had a terrified look on his face, and Draco was afraid that he wasn't going to go through with it, but suddenly he gathered his courage and jumped. Draco listened carefully to the sounds that came from the pipe. First there was a sort of squishy sliding sound and then a crunchy thump at the bottom. "Are you alright, Dudley?" he called down, not out of concern for the Muggle but rather out of concern for his own chances.
A weak "yes" came up through the pipe. "Get out of the way," Draco shouted. "I'm coming down." With that, he jumped into the entrance and soon found himself at the bottom as well. His landing was much softer due to the parachute charm he'd placed on himself on the way down.
"Couldn't you have done that floaty thing for me?" Dudley asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, I suppose I could have," Draco said. "But I didn't realize it was going to be such a hard landing until I heard you hit bottom." He feigned a look of innocence. In truth, he'd thought about using the parachute charm from the moment he'd seen the gaping hole in the floor of the bathroom. The reason he hadn't used one on Dudley was because he figured the big oaf had enough padding to protect himself from any permanent damage. Plus, he just couldn't bring himself to use magic to help a Muggle.
Dudley seemed satisfied for the moment, and the two took a few minutes to catch their breath and look around at their surroundings. They were in a very dark chamber, and something crunched under their feet as they moved. "Lumos," Draco said, and the tip of his wand lit. Now they could see that the crunching things under their feet were the bones of countless small animals. Dudley gulped. Draco maintained his Slytherin composure for the time being.
They walked slowly down the tunnel until they were faced with a huge green obstacle. It looked sort of flaky and smooth at the same time. "What on earth is that?" Dudley whispered. Draco walked around it for a few minutes, examining it from all angles, before finally coming to a conclusion. "I think it's a giant snakeskin," he said. "That means that the creature that lives down here must be some kind of a huge snake!" He grinned at his powers of deduction.
"A huge snake? Down here?" Dudley asked and gulped again. Draco didn't bother trying to hide his sneer this time. Honestly, that Muggle was so predictable.
They managed to skirt around the huge skin and only a few meters later they encountered a rockfall. "Well, there's no way around this. Let's turn back," Dudley said resignedly.
"Take some time to think before you open your mouth," Draco said sharply. He'd tried to be as non-confrontational as he could with Potter's stupid but gigantic cousin, but there was only so much he could take. Giant or not, if the dolt continued in the same vein for much longer he'd just have to hex him.
Draco examined the rocks as closely as he had the snakeskin and soon had found a path that he thought they could negotiate to the other side. It was no problem for him, but Dudley was another matter. Draco actually had to pull him for the last bit. But eventually they were both safe on solid ground on the other side.
They resumed their walk down the corridor until finally they came to a set of doors. As they approached, the doors slid open and they got their first look of the Chamber proper. This time both of them gasped.
The room was certainly impressive enough, with the huge statue of Salazar Slytherin at the end and the snake columns lining the sides. But neither of the boys was focused on that right now. Instead, they were both staring at the mummified remains of the basilisk that filled the Chamber.