Hogwarts Castle trembled slightly, startling the students in the common rooms or those roaming at night. George and Fred happened to be sneaking into Filch's office, and the jolt knocked Filch's coat off the hook on the wall, giving them a fright!
"George, what was that?"
"I have no idea, Fred!"
"Look, what's that?"
Fred suddenly pointed to the hook where the coat had fallen, where a small pink garment was hanging.
"Filch has truly strange taste!"
The still-immature Weasley twins were quite naive…
…
…
Dumbledore naturally felt the castle shudder. He stood up and said to the portraits of the previous Headmasters hanging on the wall: "Gentlemen, I would like to know what on earth happened?"
The Headmasters nodded in unison and left their frames.
Only Phineas Black remained certain: "Dumbledore, castle tremors have happened before; there was one just two years before you enrolled. Although I can't recall the details, Hogwarts will absolutely not be damaged by a little tremor! Look at you now, all flustered! You don't look like a Headmaster at all!"
…
…
Audrey Apparated back into the Chamber of Secrets.
The moment she appeared, Audrey saw broken stones floating, returning to where they belonged. This kind of permanent Restoration Spell made Hogwarts Castle incredibly durable, and since this was Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, the level of protection must be higher than in other parts of the castle.
Passing through the floating stones and the giant, fractured stone pillars that were diligently restoring themselves, Audrey reached Slytherin's statue.
Audrey: …
Slytherin's statue was also attempting to restore itself, but its already unflattering appearance looked even worse now—what was that floating blob? It looked like a mouth, a grumbling mouth at that.
"Reparo!!"
Audrey brandished her wand, and Slytherin's statue quickly returned to its original state.
Slytherin had secretly built this Chamber of Secrets, concealing it from the other three Founders. Fearing detection, the magical power channeled from Hogwarts was limited, which led to the Chamber's slow restoration speed. This was also Slytherin's one oversight; he never anticipated the Chamber would explode a thousand years later.
The room could repair itself slowly; Audrey didn't want to waste the effort. But the statue had to be fixed immediately because she couldn't afford to waste time.
The statue was restored, but there was no movement. Audrey hesitated, wondering whether she should utter the ridiculously dramatic password.
[Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!]
She shook her head. There was no way she could say those embarrassing words. Why was her ancestor so shameless?
As she hesitated, a sound came from behind her.
"Ssss… ssss…" [Little Master!]
Audrey switched to her Phoenix form as a precaution. She turned around and saw the Basilisk coiled in a ball, ten meters behind her, its body covered in wounds.
Audrey: …
The Basilisk had suffered an undeserved disaster.
"Ssss… ssss." [Come closer.]
Summoned by Audrey, the Basilisk slithered over with difficulty. Reaching out and touching the Basilisk's blood-stained, hard, and slippery scales, Audrey shivered. That texture was truly sickening!
However, it was worth it!
Basilisk Form ACHIEVED!!
Her eyes itching, her teeth itching, Audrey quickly adapted to the Basilisk's magical constitution. From now on, she was also someone who could impregnate anyone they stared at (not really).
"Ssss… ssss…" [Alright, you may go now.]
Basilisk: …
Chapter 110: Salazar Slytherin
Bad luck and a difficult snake life.
She turned back to continue examining Slytherin's statue. Saying the password was absolutely out of the question, never, not in this lifetime. After all, she had spent another month learning from Nicolas Flamel this summer, so her progress was substantial! Let's see how she could crack this!
She meticulously analyzed the magical layout of the statue and its surroundings, poking here and tapping there with her wand.
Half an hour later,
Audrey slumped in defeat. What in the world was this? She couldn't understand any of it!
But just then, the last broken piece of stone in the Chamber finally floated back into place, and the eyes of Slytherin's statue began to flicker green. The next moment, the statue bent down.
It seemed that all the Chamber's magic had previously been focused on restoring the stone room, leaving the statue without enough magic to activate? This was a case of insufficient memory!
"Child, I have finally awaited your arrival…" The voice was the same one Audrey had heard in the Sorting Hat during the sorting ceremony.
"Salazar Slytherin."
"It is I. I am Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the four Founders of Hogwarts!"
Audrey: …
"Child, your talent is unmatched. To find this place so quickly, you possess extraordinary intelligence."
Sorry, I read the original book.
"You chose to use an explosion to clear unknown dangers, which shows great caution!"
Sorry, that was just an accident.
"You weren't scared when you first saw the Basilisk, and you dared to approach and touch it. Your courage is impressive!"
Sorry, I just wanted the Basilisk's physical form.
"To save your friend, you forge ahead fearlessly, which means you value friendship and are an excellent friend!"
Hmm, that is true.
"You possess the qualities of all four Hogwarts Founders. You are destined for greatness!"
Audrey cut off Slytherin's endless praise. "Stop complimenting me. I just want to know if you were the one who put the curse on Isaline."
"You are gifted and beyond what ordinary people can achieve!" Slytherin did not answer directly but changed the subject. "However, the restraint on your growth is your character. You are simply too lazy!"
Slytherin's statue shook its head, his face a mask of grief:
"You are wasting your talent, child! If I hadn't cast a curse on that young girl, you probably wouldn't have come looking for this place even by graduation, would you?"
Good, so the curse was his doing.
"Immediately lift the curse on Isaline! Honestly, I hate people like you the most! If you wanted to see me, you could have just had the Basilisk tell me. Why trouble others?"
"Ask yourself, if I hadn't done this, would you really have come?"
The answer was, of course, no… but she wouldn't admit it.
"Isn't this just about me inheriting your knowledge?" Audrey sneered. "As the greatest of the Hogwarts Founders, can't you manage to come to my dormitory to teach me?"
Slytherin's statue fell silent.
He was likely annoyed by Audrey, though Audrey's words, while laced with resentment, were genuinely outrageous. Listen to what she was saying! The legacy of Salazar Slytherin, which everyone craved, was being offered to her, yet she was too lazy to even open her mouth and demanded the legacy jump inside her!
Salazar Slytherin had, after all, met countless people.
"The curse I imposed using the Basilisk must be lifted by a living person. I am only a fragment of memory, a consciousness, a soul shard; I have no way to lift the curse on your friend." Slytherin continued, "But as long as you find my secret vault and obtain the legacy within, you will naturally know how to break the curse."
"To learn or not to learn, the decision rests with you."
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