A.N. Hello there!
Thank you to all the people who have favourited, followed, and reviewed this story. I apologize for not having more frequent updates, but school is quite time consuming. I already have chapter 4 under production so hopefully it will be up in the next month or so, but no guarantees. In the mean time, here's some more story!
And don't forget to leave a review! I always appreciate the feedback
Chapter 3 Hissing Noises
Edmund was shocked to hear his sister speak Parseltongue for the first time in many years. Yet his shock did not last. Before he knew what was happening, darkness swallowed him whole. He heard his sister scream louder than he'd ever thought humanly possible, and then it hit him.
'Oh hell, we're going to die!' he thought. He still his wand, both of them were falling quickly, and he had to make this count.
"Arresto Momentum!" he cried, willing himself to slow down, which worked quite effectively. Well, at least until he felt something slam in to him from above, shaking his concentration. Another something then slammed into him below, sending spasms of searing hot pain through his body. He didn't even notice the weight no longer pressed down on him, nor that he was rolling down the shaft walls to the bottom. All he felt was pain like the time he'd fallen off a horse in Archenland when he was a young king, or when he fell off his broom during practice last year. The fact that he could think about those things was a surprise, but maybe his mind was searching for a distraction, anything to keep himself numb.
It obviously wasn't working since he could feel his wet face and vaguely hear something making loud noises. A few seconds passed before he realized it was his voice screaming, not Susan's. Barely having made this realization, he felt a foul, bitter liquid shoved down his throat, causing him to sputter and choke. 'Merlin, it was disgusting!' After a few healthy coughs, he felt his pain subside, and for the first time he could actually attend to his surroundings. He immediately saw Susan, her brow furrowed, and her face lined with a few tears as she was softly cooing to him and healing his wounds, putting a corked potion vial back in her pocket.
"What was that?" he asked voice hoarse from screaming.
"Pain reliever," she murmured, starting to wrap some of the cuts in bandages. While he didn't feel the pain nearly as strong as before, his back was immensely sore, and moving to find an exit did not seem like an entertaining thought at the moment.
"Why do you have pain reliever on you?" he asked, trying to pull himself up with difficulty. He felt his sister push him back down, chiding him for overexertion.
"It's for headaches. I got from Madame Derwent after the welcome feast," she replied to humour him. "I keep them in a little moleskin pouch on my waist, but I don't think this one will survive another fall like that," she said showing him the damaged skin of the bag. With a quick glance, he definitely agreed with her verdict. He glanced up behind his sister's tired face to the stalactites dangling in the cavern high above. He was quite surprised at the size of the cave entrance, and though his efforts to look back up the pipe were unsuccessful due to the awkward position where he lay, he was sure he could see no light coming from above.
"Well, how do we get out of here?" he said wincing in discomfort. His sister finished tightening the last bandage before replying.
"Honestly Ed, I don't know," she replied, shoulders slumped. It hurt to see her like that, remembering how his sister used to be far happier. Losing Tom had changed her so much. Thoughts of his late brother-in-law sparked an idea in him. While he might not be as fluent as Susan, Tom had taught him basic phrases.
::Up!:: he hissed. His sister's eyes stared at him, confused.
::Go up!:: he tried, aware how awful his accent was.
"Are you mad?" asked Susan, hint of steel in her voice.
::Light!:: he tried this time, and the cavern responded. A pale green, almost yellow light illuminated the chamber, its source seemingly everywhere and yet nowhere. He couldn't help but grin at his solution, but one look at Susan and the grin slid of his face.
"Stop hissing!" she spat, eyes full of anger.
"It worked didn't it?" he replied slightly defensively.
"You're ramblings will not get us out of here!" she exclaimed, stress taking its toll on her. He felt intense frustration for her willful ignorance.
"You know what it is, and there's proof of it in the Hogwarts Library," he replied bluntly. Their raised volume of conversation left many echoes bouncing off the chamber walls, and Susan almost looked haunted by their repetitive accusations.
"And if anyone knew, we'd be sent to Azkaban for being dark, so stop!" she said tensely. He wasn't in much of a position to argue, seeing is he would probably need her help to get out of the cavern. Funny though that she didn't try and deny it the second time. Definitely willful ignorance.
"Alright," he replied calmly. He saw her body relax, as though invisible stings had been released.
"I'm sorry Ed, I'm just frustrated because I don't know how to get you out of here."
"It's okay Su, I'm fine," he said trying to pull himself again. And just as he was trying to prove a point, his chest released some additional pain, making him wince and falter again. It felt a bit embarrassing.
"Yes, you seem to be in ship shape and Bristol fashion," she replied sarcastically. He laughed at her teasing, once again filling the cavern with echoes. There has to be some way out,' he thought. If only he had a broom. Then again, in this condition, it wouldn't do him much good, but it might get Su out to find help. Might. Her skills on a horse did not transfer to a broomstick as fluidly as they had for him. He still might as well suggest it, he reasoned.
"Can you transfigure a broom?" he asked, hopeful.
"No, I can't, there's too many runes in one for me to do it properly. It doesn't help I'd have to do it from memory," she replied. She began to pace, staring at the ceiling, as though hoping a solution was painted up there. Then again, she might be praying for Aslan, but he knew she hadn't done that since Caspian's coronation. At least that's what she had said when Lucy and Peter had tried to mention Aslan…or Narnia for that matter. He sighed again, feeling a bit of discomfort from his injuries. Perhaps he needed to do that. Just as he began, Susan's eyes lit up, and grabbing her wand, she wove complicated patterns in the air. A rock began to morph into a type of chair, which quickly sprouted tires from its sides. Soon enough, she stopped and momentarily admired the wheelchair she had just conjured. Mouthing a silent 'thank you' to the cavern roof, Edmund stared at her grinning, glad she had a solution to move him.
"It should work well enough," she said, panting.
"What about the uneven ground?" he asked as cheekily as he could, pointing to nearby crevices.
"Shush, prat. I can levitate the chair over those," she replied with a faint smile, as she slowly levitated him into it. Many little jolts of pain emerged and faded as he slowly watched his body move into its temporary resting place. It was an odd feeling, to say the least. He hissed in pain as he finally landed.
"Ugh, I don't like this," he moaned. Susan tutted.
"Neither do I, but at least we can find another exit." She began pushing him around as they walked the length of the cavern. Crossing that distance took longer than normal since there were several detours and levitations required, but finally they made it. Before them stood a large, circular door decorated by more snakes. Susan looked nervous, Edmund noted. Perhaps they reminded her of you know who he joked to himself. He saw her trying to pry it open with her fingers without much luck.
His recurring thoughts of King Tom the Wise and his sister's efforts gave him yet another idea. Well the same idea as before. An idea that Susan still wouldn't like.
::Open!:: he hissed as quietly as he could. It still didn't save him from her furious glare.
"What did I-" she started, but was interrupted by the screech of metal against metal. Edmund saw the snakes withdraw to one side of the door, the sound almost imitating the hissing of adders. Susan seemed to go pale at their movements, releasing her grip on the door. Time seemed to slow down as the door's serpentine mechanism unlocked and swung the door open on its ancient hinges. Susan's face was filled with conflicting emotions, with rage and fear being chief among them.
"Look, I know what you said Su, but we might need to use everything we've got to escape," said Edmund, trying to show understanding to his struggling sister. She stood there silent for a moment, almost dazed. Whether from the door's eerie workings or his own words, he could not tell.
"Well, the sooner we get out of here the better," she replied, pulling out her wand. She quickly levitated the wheelchair through the door, without another word. The new cavern seemed very different from the last one. To Edmund, this cavern looked…well, polished. Ornately carved stone snake heads shone brightly in the same yellow-green glow, water emitting from their mouths into pools below. The black floor reflected the pale ceiling, and for a moment the siblings stood there in awe. In spite of pain and exhaustion, both were amazed at this sight.
"Unbelievable," breathed Susan, her gaze drawn to the statue at the end of the hall. It appeared somewhere between human and hydra, with a gaping maw that seemed closed off by stone.
"Where are we?" pondered Edmund.
"In a legend," responded his sister, her eyes still fixated on the statue.
"What do you mean?"
"To-Someone told me a story of a secret room in Hogwarts a long time ago," she stammered. It dawned on him what she spoke of.
"The Chamber of Secrets," he whispered. "Salazar Slytherin's ultimate failsafe to defend the castle." She nodded, and started pushing his chair down the chamber to the statue of Slytherin. "Do you think there's an exit this way?" he asked her hesitantly.
"It's worth a try," she replied, finally stopping in front of the statue's mouth. It certainly resembled the last door the siblings had entered. He gave his sister a glance to gage if he could hiss in broken parseltongue again. She caught his gaze and rolled her eyes.
"Go," she said, resignedly. "The sooner we get you to the infirmary, the better." That was all he needed.
::Open:: Nothing happened. He tried again.
::Open!:: Still no change.
::Be Open!:: he hissed, trying different words. These haphazard attempts continued for a few minutes, to no avail. Edmund felt frustrated by his rustiness, but he couldn't give up.
::Command you to-:: he started, but did not finish.
::O Great Salazar Slytherin, open thy mouth:: hissed Susan, partly exasperated, and partly desperate. Edmund let his jaw drop again as he stared at her. She seemed mortified, as though she'd shot someone with an arrow or a lethal spell. The blocked passage rumbled, and gave way to yet another dark void. Unlike the last time, both the siblings backed away from the darkness. Then something called out to them from within.
::Maaaasssssssterr:: Edmund felt a chill down to his bones, and he could tell that they needed to leave.
"Run!" they both cried. Edmund hated that he couldn't move and his sister was not running fast enough.
::Wait!:: The hissing seemed closer this time. Behind them, something was moving quickly, and he knew they had to get out now. If they could just get past the door and seal it, they might be safe. These panicked thoughts were put on hold when his sister stopped abruptly, and he nearly fell out of the chair. He barely noticed the pain the excess momentum caused as he stared at a wall of liquid mercury barring their passage. Further observation quickly revealed this wall of mercury was actually serpentine.
Over fifty feet long, an enormous snake filled the chamber, its eyes distinctly closed shut. Its body was curled in a wide circle around the siblings, and its head was bobbing slowly. It would stick out its tongue, tasting the air for their fear. 'We are definitely going to die,' he thought, when the snake began to speak to them.
::One of you smells like my old master. Which one of you is his heir?:: the snake hissed, the sound reverberating against the chamber walls. Neither one of them could move; fear had effectively paralysed them. 'We defeated Jadis, Giants, wolves, and other evils, but this snake is what kills us? Unbelievable.'
::Speak! I know neither of you is a mute. I could hear-:: the snake stopped mid-sentence and jerked its head. He heard Susan hold her breath. The snake turned its head towards them, still refusing to show its eyes.
::Where do you come from, son of Adam and daughter of Eve?:: That caught Edmund by surprise. It appeared to have caught his sister off-guard as well.
::We we are f-from London, O snake:: replied Susan. If a snake could look extremely unamused, that was the expression the giant one in front of them displayed.
::I am no mere snake. I am a Basilisk, daughter of Eve:: the basilisk replied haughtily. It caused Susan to noticeably flinch. ::But that is beside the point. I know you lie of your origins. Never in all my time in this world have I smelled the Lion's scent. So, what news have you, messengers of Aslan?::