Days had passed.
One evening, while most students were in the Great Hall eating dinner, Victor walked alone through a dim corridor of Hogwarts. The torches along the walls burned quietly, casting faint light across the stone floor.
In his hand was a book.
It was about Parseltongue.
Victor walked slowly while reading, his eyes moving across the page describing the strange hissing structure of the language.
According to the book, Parseltongue relied on controlled breath, tongue movement, and specific hissing sounds.
He stopped for a moment in the empty corridor.
Victor tried to imitate one of the sounds written in the book.
"Sss… ssah…"
The sound echoed softly in the hallway.
He frowned slightly.
Not perfect.
But it didn't need to be.
Victor closed the book and continued walking.
He only needed to mimic the sound well enough to open the entrance in the sink in Myrtle's bathroom.
And kill the basilisk before anyone else woke it.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a hissing sound echoed through the corridor.
Victor stopped walking.
"Ssssss…"
The sound slid through the hallway like air escaping a crack.
I didn't make that sound.
Slowly, he looked up.
Running along the ceiling was one of the large drainage pipes that connected to Hogwarts' plumbing system.
The hissing came from inside it.
For a brief moment the sound moved through the pipe above him, long and heavy, like something enormous sliding through a narrow tunnel.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
Then realization hit him.
"Oh, fuck."
The most troubling possibility immediately crossed Victor's mind.
The basilisk was awake.
The hissing sound continued moving through the pipe above him, slow and heavy, like something enormous dragging itself through the castle's plumbing system.
Somewhere in the castle, Ginny must have already been influenced by the diary enough to open the Chamber and release the monster.
If the basilisk had already begun moving through the pipes, then the Chamber had been opened before he could stop it.
He moved quickly down the corridor in the direction the sound had traveled. The torches flickered along the walls as his footsteps echoed across the stone floor. When he turned the corner ahead, he saw someone standing there.
Harry Potter.
Harry stood in the middle of the passage staring at the wall, his face pale.
Victor followed his gaze.
Mrs. Norris hung stiffly from a torch bracket, her body tied by the tail so that she dangled against the wall. Her fur looked rigid, her eyes wide and lifeless.
Below her, written across the wall in large dripping letters, was a message.
"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED."
"ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE."
The words were written in red blood.
Victor studied the cat for a moment, then looked at the writing on the wall.
Students leaving dinner began arriving in the corridor and slowed when they saw Harry and the message. Whispering quickly spread through the crowd as more people gathered.
"What's that on the wall?"
"Is that blood?"
"Is that Filch's cat?"
Within seconds a large group had formed around them.
Then a familiar harsh voice pushed through the noise.
"What is going on here? Move aside!"
Argus Filch forced his way through the crowd.
The moment he saw the wall, he froze.
Then his eyes moved upward.
"My cat," Filch whispered.
He rushed forward and grabbed Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.
"Mrs. Norris! What have they done to you?"
Filch turned around slowly, his face pale with anger.
His eyes locked onto Harry.
"You!" he shouted. "You've killed my cat!"
Harry stepped back. "I didn't do anything! I just found her like this!"
Filch pointed a shaking finger at him.
"You were standing here! You were right next to her!"
"I didn't do it!" Harry insisted.
Students around them began whispering louder.
"Did Potter do it?"
"Why would he hang a cat on the wall?"
Before Filch could say anything else, another calm voice spoke from behind the crowd.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The corridor had grown crowded with students whispering nervously when another voice spoke from behind them.
"Make way, please."
The students parted slightly as Professor McGonagall stepped forward, her face tight with concern. Behind her stood Professor Snape, his black eyes scanning the scene coldly.
A moment later Professor Dumbledore arrived, his long silver beard catching the torchlight as he looked calmly at the wall.
Filch immediately rushed toward him, still clutching Mrs. Norris.
"Headmaster!" Filch said hoarsely. "Look at what they've done! Look at my poor cat!"
He pointed directly at Harry.
"You saw him! Standing right there beside her! He must have done it!"
Harry shook his head quickly. "I didn't! I just found her like that!"
After a moment Dumbledore spoke calmly.
"She is not dead, Argus."
Filch blinked. "Not… dead?"
"No," Dumbledore said quietly. "She has been petrified."
Filch looked confused. "Petrified?"
"Yes," Dumbledore continued. "She has been frozen by a powerful magical force. However, this condition is not permanent."
Filch looked desperately at him. "You can fix her?"
"We may be able to," Dumbledore replied.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, looking up at the message written in blood on the wall.
"The Chamber of Secrets…" she said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded once, then turned back to Filch.
"The mandrakes in the greenhouses are still seedlings," he explained. "But once they mature, Professor Sprout will be able to prepare a Mandrake Restorative Draught."
"When that potion is ready, your cat can be saved."
*****
A/N : 🔥 On Patreon, the story has already been updated up to Chapter 83🔥
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