Chapter 10:

As Tom made his way up to his dormitory, he opened the folded piece of parchment, curious as to where this strange boy thought would be a safe place to meet. Benny's handwriting was hard to make out:

Seventh Floor

Opposite of B & B Tapestry

Burn This Note

Burn the note? Perhaps this Benny was setting him up for something, then again, whatever that Ravenclaw was planning, he could assuredly outsmart him. He looked over the note a few more times, to make sure he had it memorized, and took out his wand. "Incendio," he muttered under his breath.

He entered the Slytherin common room which was still abuzz with chatter. Cygnus smiled, and came up to him. "Didn't see you at the feast," he began.

"No, you wouldn't have," Tom replied firmly, but Cygnus continued.

"Well, where were you?"

"That's none of your concern," he answered in a colder voice and Cygnus recoiled.

"Right then," he shifted uncomfortably. "Well, me and the rest of us are here if you need anything." Tom simply nodded, heading up to his dormitory, half expecting Cygnus to ask where he was going, but he did not.

"Weird bird, that one," Cygnus muttered as Tom left sight.

Tom woke up early the next morning, dressed himself then headed downstairs. The clock said 7:46, it would take at least five minutes to get to the seventh floor from the dungeons, more if he took his time. He left the empty common room, and started up the stairs to the seventh floor. He was undoubtedly excited. His excitement faded however when he reached the seventh floor. He saw the tapestry, and he looked opposite of it, seeing nothing but a wall. Had he just been tricked? By a Ravenclaw no less? He became angered, and jumped when a hand touched his shoulder.

"A bit jumpy, are we?" Tom turned around to see Benny grinning, obviously amused by Tom's display.

"How dare you!" He yelled, not knowing what he was angrier about, the fact he was lead to a blank wall, or the fact that Benny had touched him.

"Think you could have been any louder?" Benny asked, looking rather annoyed. He stepped in front of the wall, looking as though he were deep and thought, began pacing back and forth.

"What are you doing?" But no sooner had Tom asked that a door appeared right before his very eyes. "What in the name of…"

Benny interrupted him, "They call it the come and go room," Tom looked over at him. "The house elves, I mean," he opened the door, stepping inside. Tom stood there in shock. "Are you coming?" He asked, opening the door wider, and Tom followed.

The room wasn't very large, it featured two cushy sofas, lighting, and a poorly knitted rug that lay on the bare floor.

"Kanker made it," Benny replied, pointing towards the rug. "I keep it here, suits the décor quite nicely, don't you agree?" Tom said nothing, it was rather hideous truthfully.

"So this come and go room…" Tom began, sitting down on one of the sofas.

"Comes and goes," Benny replied, closing the door, and propping himself up on the opposite sofa. "It's not just this room."

"There's more?" Tom asked, wondering how many secret rooms Hogwarts possessed.

"Well, it is just this room, but this room is a lot of different things," Tom couldn't make sense of this, and Benny then continued. "It could be a bedroom, a classroom, a bathroom even. It becomes whatever it is you want it to be."

"Is that how you opened it?" Tom was sincerely curious.

Benny nodded. "All you have to do is concentrate on what you want, and walk back and forth in front of the room three times, and a doorway will appear. You open the door and boom, you're there, well you're here more or less."

"So this room contains whatever you want it to?" Tom looked around, elated by the endless possibilities it provided.

"Well, not everything. Like if I thought long and hard about an attractive girl the door would never open, or if I wished more than anything for a pet penguin, it wouldn't provide that either. Believe me, I've tried." Benny sat up in the sofa, looking seriously now at Tom. "But I didn't bring you here to talk about the room."

Tom raised a brow. "What did you bring me here for?"

"Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets," he replied nonchalantly.

"You, you know where it is?" Tom's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"No." Benny replied firmly. Tom looked at him in disbelief, he knew about the kitchens, about this room, yet he knew nothing about the chamber? How was this possible?

"Why even bother to bring me here then?" Tom's anger was returning.

"Because I have a theory, about the monster that is," Benny stated.

"What theory?"

"Well, from the facts I've gathered, it seems to be the only logical option."

"Which is?"

"Well the first fact is that the monster will be something only the heir of Slytherin can control, thus we can determine because of Slytherin's ability to communicate with serpents, it is some sort of snake." This made sense enough to Tom.

"The second fact is that Slytherin didn't anticipate the opening of the chamber within his own life time, perhaps not for hundreds of years. So, he needed a snake that had the ability to live for hundreds of years." Benny was impressive so far.

"The third fact is that Slytherin hated muggles, and so the monster would logically need to be an effective killer. This means the snake will have more than one way of destroying its victims. It is assumed therefore to be incredibly large, venomous, and possibly has a third or even forth killing advantage." Tom nodded, his pulse rising.

"Pulling all this data I've come to the conclusion that the monster we are dealing with is a basilisk, which is a large venomous snake capable for living for hundreds of years, and it has the added advantage of…" Benny was cut off.

"Killing with a single glance," Tom finished.

"You've done your homework then," Benny was impressed, he laid back against the sofa. "It also gives you a clue as to where to look for the chamber."

"How so?" Tom found himself asking more and more questions.

"The key to finding the chamber is to think like Salazar Slytherin," Benny sighed "He valued stealth and cunning, meaning he devised a way for the basilisk to roam through the castle without being detected."

"So what did he do, then? Cast an invisibility charm?" Tom looked confused.

"Think along no magical means."

"A way for a large snake to roam through the castle unnoticed," Tom scratched his head, after a moment the answer came to him. "The pipes!" He gazed up at Benny shocked and delighted.

Benny grinned one of those irritable grins again, but Tom didn't seem to mind. "And where do pipes lead?"

"The lavatories," Tom nodded his head in understanding.

"I checked every boy's lavatory top to bottom, but didn't get anywhere. Then again, I'm no heir of Slytherin; perhaps you'll find something I've missed."

Tom could hardly conceal a smile, he was going to find the chamber, he was going to open it and have a basilisk at his command!

Benny cut short Tom's eureka moment, "Well, I think I've said all I've needed to say," He got up, stretching his arms. "Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to indulge in some eggs and bacon before class."

"Yes, I should get going to," the two of them exited the room, the door disappearing behind them. "Thank you," Tom mumbled, not used to giving thanks to anyone.

"Thank Nicole, she's the one who put me on the case so to speak," he shrugged as if to indicate that it was nothing. "If you ever need anything else, you can contact me through Kanker down in the kitchens, I'm down there at least once every other day." Tom nodded, as Benny walked off.