Chapter 14
The Secrets of the Chamber
Harry strode through the castle under the Cloak, Sorting Hat under his arm and a smile on his face. Despite the strong morning light streaming through the windows, he felt just like he had on his many nighttime strolls back in his school days. It was quite a way from the Head's office to the girls' lavatory on the second floor and he made sure to take every shortcut and secret passage he knew along the way - although he did take a slight detour to avoid Mrs. Norris – which made him smile even more broadly.
He didn't remove the Cloak until he had actually entered the bathroom (which was blessedly devoid of both school children and Moaning Myrtle). Despite the fact that he hadn't been here in fifteen years, he identified the correct sink immediately – the one with the snake etched on the tap. He stared at the snake for a minute, pretending it was alive. "Open", he hissed in parseltongue.
The entire sink reacted at once: sliding and retracting until a man-sized pipe was exposed. The hole into the Chamber of Secrets was significantly smaller than he remembered. He pulled his broom out from his magically extended bag (he had no desire to actually touch the pipe this time) and flew down the hole and into the Chamber. He quickly arrived at the large, snake-adorned door that blocked the entrance to the Chamber proper. Harry spoke parseltongue again and stepped into the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry waved his wand and several torches ignited, illuminating the Chamber. It was just how Harry remembered it – creepy. Impossibly tall pillars entwined with serpents rose out of sight on either side of the chamber. Despite the torchlight, an odd greenish glow permeated. At the very far end of the chamber, Harry could just barely make out the feet of the statue of Salazar Slytherin. The eerie light combined with the pitch blackness above him, made Harry acutely aware that he was alone. After a vain attempt to ignore the chill running down his spine, Harry put on the Sorting Hat, which fit his head surprisingly well.
"It has been a long time since we last spoke, Harry Potter", said a small voice in his ear. "I daresay it's a little late to question your House placement now."
"I was hoping I could pull a magical sword out of you if something unexpected happens."
"You forget that I can see into your head, dear boy", the Hat said with a chuckle. "I know you already have Godric's sword...and that you're afraid to enter this place alone."
"This place is creepy", Harry said with a shrug. "But this needs to be done anyway. Besides, I thought we made a great team the last time you and I were here."
"Hmmm", Harry felt the top of the hat move forward in an unmistakable nod. "Bravery is doing your duty in the face of fear. I still believe what I said when we first met: you would have done well in Slytherin. But there is no doubt that you have done extraordinary as a Gryffindor. Many students, like yourself, are difficult to sort - their character making them an equal fit for two Houses. I often wonder whether such students were sorted into the right House. I think we can say with certainty that you, at least, were sorted into the right House."
Harry hadn't thought about his sorting in years, but somehow the gloomy Chamber seemed just a bit brighter. Harry strode confidently to the far end of the Chamber. As he approached the statue, he walked past the skeleton of the basilisk, which he noted was missing two of its fangs. Unlike much of the school which seemed smaller than the last time he'd been here, somehow the basilisk looked even bigger than he remembered - it must have been fifty feet long! It seemed impossible that he had killed this monstrous thing when he was just twelve years old – and it definitely would have killed him if it wasn't for Fawkes. He really hoped that this Herpo imitator that made this new Horcrux didn't also have a basilisk like their idol. Harry wouldn't have a phoenix this time – and even if he did, this person certainly seemed to have a way of dealing with phoenixes.
Harry shook his head and turned his attention to the statue of Salazar Slytherin. The statue was enormous. Whoever had created the larger-than-life sketch of Herpo at the crime scene had nothing on Slytherin's statue – Harry was eye-level with Salazar's ankles. Clearly, overcompensating was a theme for Dark Wizards. Given the statue's ridiculous proportions, it would be impossible to determine if Slytherin and Herpo were similar heights. Rather than looking up and straining his neck, Harry mounted his broom and flew up until he was looking directly into the face of Slytherin's statue.
He withdrew both the picture of Herpo from the crime scene and his chocolate frog card and compared them to the giant face in front him. Just as he thought before, the face vaguely reminded him of a monkey. He was balding and had a long thin beard that dropped down nearly to the Chamber floor. Harry closed his eyes, willing himself to see what was there and not what he wanted to see. Then he looked at the photo of the sketch of Herpo. Harry saw the same monkey-like features, the same bald head and the same white beard. The statue and the picture also resembled someone Harry had only seen in someone else's memories: Marvolo Gaunt, another member of Slytherin's family tree.
Harry doubted the statue had anything more to tell him, but he continued to study it for a while anyway. The evidence that Slytherin was a descendant of Herpo the Foul was far from airtight, but Harry felt absolutely certain that he was. The question Harry couldn't answer was: why would that matter? Whether Herpo was related to Slytherin or not – what did that have to do with this current case? Harry didn't have answers for these questions, but his gut told him this was important.
After another few minutes of pondering, Harry sighed and gently guided his broom back to the Chamber floor. Harry returned the Herpo crime scene sketch, chocolate frog card and broom to his bag. He took one last look back at the statue as he was leaving and that's when he saw it – a glint just behind Slytherin's right ankle. Something was reflecting the torchlight. Harry dropped his bag and drew his wand. He crept towards the statue from the side this time, his ears perked for the slightest sound. He found himself face to face with a door, it's metal, snake-shaped handle gently glistening in the half light. It looked like the door would open up into the statue itself.
How had Harry never seen this before? Because you were distracted by the fifty-foot basilisk and the corporeal memory of Tom Riddle, he thought. Right, valid excuse.
But what could possibly be behind this door? Surely not another monster. The Chamber of Secrets itself had no true defenses - any parselmouth who found the entrance was able to access it. However, Voldemort had claimed that he had been the first parselmouth to come to Hogwarts since Slytherin himself. With such a rare ability granting access, no additional defensive spells would be necessary. Slytherin or his heir would need to access the Chamber and, presumably, the room behind this door. Setting magical boobytraps on this door would be more of a hindrance to them than a safeguard against intruders.
Harry muttered a few incantations that confirmed this – he didn't detect any unfriendly spells placed upon the entrance. Holding his breath, Harry slowly reached out and grasped the handle. Nothing happened. Harry gripped the handle tight and wrenched the door open. The room beyond was pitch black.
"Lumos", Harry muttered. The narrow beam from Harry's wand looked like a searchlight piercing the surrounding darkness. He cautiously stepped into the room, eyes alert for even the tiniest movement. Harry raised his wand above his head and willed his wand to emit light like a lantern rather than as a beam. The light revealed a room slightly larger than the Headmaster's office. Bookshelves lined every wall and a large oak table with a single chair was in the exact center of the room.
"A library?" Harry whispered. The bookshelves were so tall that Harry was sure the books on the highest shelves were reachable only with magic. Harry approached the table (whose legs were styled as serpents) and picked up the singular book resting on it. "Habits and Characteristics of the European Basilisk", he read aloud. He flipped it open to a random page and read:
Perhaps the basilisk's most fascinating ability is super-stasis. While the uneducated might refer to it as "hibernation", super-stasis is far beyond the long naps taken by lesser creatures. The basilisk is capable of existing in a trance-like state for hundreds of years, in which it needs neither food nor water. It does not move, yet its muscles will not atrophy. Its heart rate will slow to as low as one beat per hour, yet blood is still pumped to its brain and muscles. An ordinary snake's cold-blooded nature would freeze to death in days in such a state, but the basilisk is not cold-blooded. Unlike its feeble brethren, the noble basilisk can lie for years in the coldest, darkest places in this near-comatose state, and return, unaffected, to its normal life. Much is made of the basilisk's deadly gaze and destructive venom (deservedly so), but many beasts can kill. Tell me what creature, man or beast, can even approximate the glorious basilisk's super-stasis?
Harry replaced the book on the table and examined the nearest shelf. He scanned the titles and immediately noticed a theme. King of Serpents: of Basilisks and Their Powers. Diet and Environment of the Great Serpents: Basilisks, Horned Serpents, and More. A Breeder's Guide to Raising Snakes. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Dangerous Beasts. Well Slytherin clearly wanted his heir to be prepared – even if the heir had no idea what a basilisk was when they discovered the Chamber of Secrets, this library would tell them anything they'd ever need to know about the creatures.
The second bookshelf had far fewer contents than the first. Rather than books, the shelves held what appeared to be sketches. Harry unfolded a piece of parchment as large as a blanket and spread it out on the table. It took him a minute to understand what he was looking at, but soon realized that this was a blueprint of the second floor of the castle. The blueprint was meticulously marked, noting each bathroom and the plumbing within the walls. Harry walked back to the shelf and flipped through the rest of the parchment there. There appeared to be a detailed map of every floor and dungeon of the entire castle. Harry didn't think basilisks could read (though these pro-basilisk books would likely spin that as a positive), but the heir of Slytherin would be able to tell the beast how to get to anywhere in the castle undetected.
Harry turned his attention to the last two bookshelves, which were both empty. Why have these shelves if they weren't being used? Slytherin had left the school shortly after constructing the Chamber – did he take some of his books with him? Or had he left more information behind for his heir? Harry ran a hand along a dusty shelf, noting a definite curve in the middle – as if heavy books had weighed on this shelf for years and years. Tom Riddle would've had plenty of time to spend in Slytherin's library. He could've read all of Slytherin's books…and even taken some out of the Chamber. The books left behind were all related to the basilisk and Hogwarts itself, tools that would be most useful for someone physically in the Chamber of Secrets.
Despite Harry's distaste for the man, by all historical accounts Salazar Slytherin was a tremendously gifted wizard. Harry hadn't paid attention to all the details in History of Magic, but the simple fact that he was one of the four special individuals that built this castle – the most magical place Harry had ever seen – was the greatest testament to his skills. He built this Chamber and kept it hidden for a thousand years, even from the other founders who knew him best. He was also the Founder most closely associated with the Dark Arts. The other Founders disagreed with Slytherin on his pureblood views, surely they would be even more strongly opposed to Dark Magic. What better place to store books on powerful Dark Magic than in a secret room only you can enter? After all this wasn't the Chamber of Monsters, it was the Chamber of Secrets.
And what secrets had Voldemort found in these missing books of Slytherin's (for now Harry was certain this was what happened)? Voldemort had performed magic that defied explanation. When Harry had told Dumbledore the details of Voldemort's rebirth, he seemed to have no knowledge of the potion and ritual used to return Voldemort to his body. He hid Slytherin's locket in a potion Dumbledore had never encountered before. Harry shuddered as he remembered the body of Bathilda Bagshot sloughing away to reveal Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake. Reanimating a corpse and enchanting it so that a snake could work it like a puppet sounded right up Salazar Slytherin's alley. Was this the room where Voldemort had learned how to brew these potions and cast these spells? If so, where were those books now?
Harry spent another thirty minutes searching every corner of the library, but he didn't find any secret rooms, hidden books, or anything else. He exited the library and re-entered the Chamber proper. He spent close to an hour meticulously searching Slytherin's statue and the rest of the Chamber itself, but found nothing new. Forced to conclude there was nothing of interest besides the library, Harry marched out of the Chamber of Secrets, furious at himself. They had discovered the Chamber of Secrets fifteen years ago and no one had bothered to come down here and search it at all in that time. The legendary sanctuary of Salazar Slytherin, lair of a monster that besieged Hogwarts twice - and no one was interested in actually seeing it. Not Dumbledore, not the Ministry, not even some proud Slytherin. The damn basilisk itself was just left here to rot! Yet Harry hadn't said anything about this place either. In fact, coming down here again had never even occurred to him.
It all seemed so stupid. Why hadn't Harry insisted on Dumbledore accompanying him on a trip back to the Chamber of Secrets? Now that he thought about it, he was shocked that everyone had just accepted his word for what happened. A skinny twelve-year-old boy says he killed a fifty-foot basilisk with a sword and everyone just believes him without question!? A basilisk was a perfect match for the evidence, but how could no one go and confirm that it was a basilisk and that it was well and truly dead? The attacks were so bad that they sent Hagrid to Azkaban and sacked Dumbledore, yet actually seeing the Chamber was too much work? Harry would never have let one of his Aurors close this case without thorough documentation of the location of the crime scene and the corpse of the basilisk.
Harry had come here for answers and left with more questions. He mounted his broom and flew up the pipe that was the exit of the Chamber of Secrets.
Tim had gone to the owlery and sent a letter telling Potter the victim's identity at once. That letter ended up including more information than even John and Abraxas knew – on his way to the owlery Tim had bumped into a member of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. They had translated the writing and identified some of the strange symbols from the crime scene. So Potter would be receiving that report shortly as well. Hopefully he'd know what to make of it because it was all gibberish to Tim, even translated to English.
When he got back to the Aurors Headquarters, John and Abraxas were already gone but Amanda was still at her desk. She looked up when he came in.
"Aurors Podmore and Nigellus wanted me to tell you that they've gone to interrogate Barliman Bottlesen and they won't be needing you."
They got to interrogate suspects while Tim just sent letters? He couldn't wait until he was the lead Auror on his cases and he had trainees to do his paperwork. "Thanks, Amanda."
"Wait, Tim!" Amanda called in an urgent whisper. She looked over her shoulder as if afraid of being overheard. "Is this about the case with the…Horcrux?" she mouthed the last word, unwilling to say it aloud.
Tim nodded. "I can't say much about it, but yeah. Everyone's been on edge. I've never seen Potter this involved on a case before either."
"Oh my goodness", Amanda said breathlessly. "I had heard rumors about them after the defeat of Voldemort. They were mentioned in passing in N.E.W.T. level Defense Against the Dark Arts. But they almost seemed mythical – a real person actually made one?"
"It sure seems that way. I've never been involved in a Horcrux case before. I haven't been here all that long, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first one since Voldemort himself. Hopefully this new bloke is just as ugly as Voldemort, would make it a lot easier to identify him."
"You've seen him?", Amanda whispered. "Voldemort."
"Not while he was alive, thank Merlin. But every Auror studies his corpse as part of Horcrux training." Tim suppressed an involuntary shudder just thinking about it.
"They kept his corpse all these years!" Amanda looked simultaneously fascinated and revolted. "Do they…do they keep it here? In the Ministry?"
"Yes. It's in the Vault. You've been Potter's assistant for a few weeks now and he's never shown you the Vault?" Amanda shook her head. "Do you want to go see it now? I'll show you."
Amanda took one look over her shoulder at Potter's empty office, then nodded. "Let's go."
Tim led her to the lifts, which they took all the way down to the ninth floor, the Department of Mysteries. They walked down a long hallway ending in a plain black door. Through it was a circular room, with twelve handle-less doors spaced at even intervals. Blue candles filled the space between doors, but the rest of the room – from floor to ceiling, including the doors themselves – was made of black marble. The entire Ministry building, empty as it was, had been quiet today, but in this room the silence seemed unnatural. Eerie. Dangerous.
The hairs on the back of Tim's neck stood up but, with an effort of will, he ignored them. He'd been here before. There was nothing to be afraid of. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "Revelare Crypta!"
All the candles went out except for the two surrounding the door to his immediate right, effectively putting it in a spotlight. Amanda had gasped as the candles went out and she clutched Tim's left arm. "This is it", Tim said nodding at the illuminated door. He strode over to it with Amanda so close behind him she nearly tripped with every step.
"Present identification."
The disembodied voice seemed to come from all around them and Tim was relieved when its sound caused Amanda to jump – he didn't think she noticed his own flinch. The voice was harsh, far less welcoming than the cool female voice that made announcements on the lifts. Tim mastered himself and, with an open palm, pressed his wand against the door. "Timothy Gladstone, Auror."
The black marble of the door was ice cold, but as Tim spoke he felt it grow unnaturally warm underneath his wand. After maybe thirty seconds, the marble became cold once more and the voice spoke again.
"Access granted." The door swung soundlessly open.
Amanda let out a huge breath and Tim realized he'd unconsciously been holding his own. Tim looked back at Amanda with a smirk. "Ladies first."
"Absolutely not, you go first", she said looking terrified. Tim smiled and entered the Vault, feeling a slight tug as he crossed the threshold. "What was that? That pulling feeling?" Amanda asked, following him in.
"The doorway has all types of enchantments on it", Tim said. "Obviously you saw it has some to keep people out. It also has enchantments that keep its contents in. Don't take anything out of this room that you didn't bring in with you. I've never seen these defensive enchantments in action, but we've been warned that they are extremely violent. Potter will want to interrogate anyone trying to steal from here, so my understanding is that the enchantments won't kill you – just maim, cripple and incapacitate you."
Amanda gulped and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Can we turn on the lights? It's…scary in the dark." She did sound afraid, but there was something else in her voice. Excitement?
Tim thought this place was even scarier with the lights on, but he kept this opinion to himself. He raised his wand and said "Illimuniare!". Above them, seven fist-sized orbs glowed with bright, white light. For a split second it was blinding, then they turned over in mid air and each orb shone a spotlight directly below. The seven spotlights revealed seven glass display cases of various sizes. The light reflecting off the glass cases at the far end of the room made them appear opaque.
Amanda took a tentative step forward, staring open-mouthed at the display cases. "What's in here besides the body? Unless…please tell me the body is not in seven pieces."
"The body is whole, in a single display case. The other cases are the remains of his Horcruxes. Potter wanted them studied too. Come on", Tim said, leading Amanda to the nearest case. Inside was a small black book, with a hole through the exact center. Whatever punctured it must have been corrosive – the pages were burned black as well.
"The Diary", Amanda whispered. She was so close to the glass her nose was almost touching it. "The Horcrux that opened the Chamber of Secrets. Potter stabbed it with a basilisk fang. Is it true what they say?" she asked Tim, but her eyes didn't leave the diary. "That the piece of his soul…came out of the Diary? That Potter talked with a teenage Voldemort?"
"You'd have to ask Potter", Tim whispered back. "But that's what everyone says. That a young Tom Riddle came out of the Diary and set the basilisk on him. And Potter killed the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor then stabbed the Diary with one of its fangs." No wonder Potter became head of the Auror's Office at 24 and Tim was still an Auror-in-training at 25. Potter was more accomplished at 12-years-old than Tim was now. "Let's see the next one."
Tim led her to the next display case. Inside were the mangled remains of what had been an ornate chalice. "The cup of Hufflepuff", Amanda breathed. "The other Horcrux they stabbed with a basilisk fang." The Horcrux they'd stolen from a Gringotts vault. One of the reasons the goblins hated Potter. Looking at it now, Tim couldn't believe something so innocuous (it's just a cup, for Merlin's sake) could cause so much trouble.
They moved quickly through the next two display cases, holding an old ring and a locket. The locket's windows were broken and the ring looked surprisingly undamaged, though it appeared to be missing its stone. The fifth display case was by far the largest in the room. Inside was a massive snake, at least 13 feet long. It was hard to tell the exact length, given that its head was severed. Tim felt his skin crawl just looking at it. He knew it was dead – hell, it didn't even have a head – but he felt it might spring to life and strike at any moment.
"It's huge", Amanda said in disbelief. "How did it – this snake was inside the body of a woman, Bathilda Bagshot. It could walk and talk. How is that possible?"
"Potter had the same question", Tim whispered. "I don't know any specifics but I know they still study this thing sometimes. My question is how they preserved it. It died 10 years ago, but it looks as though it just happened…" Tim found himself staring at the snake's dismembered head. Its eyes were still open.
He shook himself and led Amanda to the next display case. This was the smallest one in the room, containing a wand of dark wood on a purple pillow. Voldemort's wand. Tim wondered if that wand had killed more people than any other in history.
That left only one more display case: the one holding Voldemort himself. Voldemort was tall, he had to be over six feet. He was clad in black robes that left only his hands and face visible. His hands were folded on his chest. The fingers were thin, unnaturally long, and very pale. The face – the face was out of a nightmare. The first time he'd seen it, Tim asked if it had decayed in the years since he died. But no, his body was preserved just as perfectly as Nagini's – he'd always looked like this. The hairless, shockingly pale skin. Flat nose with slits for nostrils. And the eyes – a livid scarlet with pupils like a cat's.
Tim and Amanda, transfixed, stood in silence for a full minute before Amanda finally spoke. "The Horcruxes did this? Ripping his soul apart made him look like this?"
Tim nodded. "They say he used to look normal", he whispered. "Handsome even. But he threw it away. Traded his humanity for a chance at immortality. They say he could fly. Without a broomstick or anything, just with his own magic. And he could possess things – he did it through the Diary, he could control Nagini, they say he even tried to possess Potter once."
"And Mr. Potter killed him. Stopped him when he was just a baby and then killed him for good when he was 17." They stood in silence for another minute. "You said they study these things – the corpse, the Horcruxes. What have they found? Did they find out how Voldemort did all those things? Did they uncover secrets about Horcruxes?"
"I don't know", Tim whispered. "Those questions are above my paygrade." He stared into Voldemort's lifeless, red eyes. He looked more like a monster than a human being. He'd come back from the dead once before. Everyone had been convinced he'd died when he failed to kill Potter as a baby. He'd been gone for 13 years, but then he came back. Could he do it again? What if Potter had missed a Horcrux? What if there was one still out there, tethering Voldemort to life…what if those red eyes blinked?
Tim shivered. "Let's get out of here." Amanda nodded and the two walked out of the Vault in silence.