"Wait a moment,"
Audrey said.
"Are you saying that your secret vault isn't in this Chamber of Secrets?"
The Slytherin statue managed a stiff smile.
"Yes. This chamber is only meant as a lair for the Basilisk."
"So… you really kept the Basilisk just to… tidy up Hogwarts' Muggle-born students?"
"Of course not," the statue shook its head. "I am not insane. As reluctant as I was, once a student has been accepted by the Book of Admittance, they are officially Hogwarts students, and thus my students. Why would I kill them?"
"But everyone says you opposed the school admitting Muggle-born wizards, and that caused a rift with the other three founders."
Slytherin's statue smiled awkwardly. But appearing melancholic? That was second nature—like now:
"I did indeed advocate that, because the minions of the gods were constantly hunting us wizards, and none of us knew if Muggle-born students were spies planted by them."
"Couldn't you just use Legilimency to check?"
"Useless, child," Slytherin said. "Back then, the Church had ways to block Legilimency. Even Veritaserum sometimes failed."
He looked up at the ceiling.
"I prepared this chamber and the Basilisk only so that, if one day Hogwarts were infiltrated by traitors sent by the Church, future generations would have a means of self-protection."
Audrey nodded. "History really can be misleading."
"Indeed," Slytherin chuckled. "They even claimed the Basilisk came from a magical egg laid by a seven-year-old rooster under Sirius, hatched by a toad! Ridiculous! Ha ha ha!"
"Ah?"
Audrey froze. "Isn't that how Basilisks are born?"
"Of course not!" Slytherin's statue grinned stiffly. "That's just some deceitful nonsense Heirbaugh invented to trick the Church!"
The statue waved its hand. The Basilisk obediently coiled around his arm. Slytherin continued:
"The Basilisk is the failed product of wizards attempting to merge the bloodline of Jörmundgander. Essentially, they were once human."
Jörmundgander ,the World Serpent?
The goblins at the Bank of the World had long reported the ruins in Northern Europe. Inside were numerous broken goblin corpses and a giant coffin containing Loki's body.
It was known that Jörmundgander was Loki's child, so…
Well, that means the Basilisk before her was related to that giant!
"Ah, I'm digressing," Slytherin said. "Why don't you ask where my secret vault actually is?"
Audrey tugged her mouth into a smirk. Honestly, she had little interest in the vault's location. If it weren't for saving Iseline, she wouldn't have bothered coming here.
"So… where is your vault, exactly?"
True to Audrey's acting skills—80/100—her question sounded entirely natural.
"Well asked!"
Audrey: …
Slytherin replied, "The entrance to my vault lies at the very bottom of the Slytherin dungeons. You have two magical circuits, so you can sense the magical traces—finding the entrance will be easy for you."
"Is there a password or something?"
"You are the key, child!"
Audrey had had enough of these old things' twisted sense of humor. A problem that could be solved simply always had to be made roundabout! Why not just toss the notes and books into her dorm? Why make her physically come all the way here?
"Salazar Ancestor," Audrey offered parting words, "your statue's smile is so stiff and ugly. Next time can you not smile when we talk?"
"Hissss…" [And you! No harming students! Or I'll stew you into serpent soup!]
…
…
Last Halloween, Audrey had once followed Granda Chittock through the dungeon corridors.
Twisting, winding passages, abandoned storerooms, and prison cells showed how harsh life had been for Hogwarts' predecessors hundreds of years ago.
Rusty and decaying torture instruments in the cells suggested that Slytherin's tale of Church-placed spies was no exaggeration.
"Ah, Professor Figo, we meet again!"
Audrey greeted the portrait of Professor Figo as she passed.
"Oh, it's you, child!" Figo laughed. "This place isn't favored by young wizards; decades may pass without anyone coming here. So… what brings you here?"
Audrey grinned. "Decades without visitors? I thought maybe some young couple would sneak here to… you know, flirt!"
Figo laughed heartily. "Quiet it may be, but the atmosphere is terrible! Saying that shows you've barely ever experienced romance."
Audrey smirked, thinking: old man, you might as well just call me a steel-straight girl with no romantic sense.
She carefully scanned the area, searching for traces of ancient magic.
Figo had been here for over a century—he certainly knew what she was doing.
"Come to think of it, you're a fifth-year student capable of sensing ancient magical traces…"
"Ah! I know! You're here looking for Slytherin's vault too, right?"
If it had been Audrey's first encounter with Figo, she might have lied. But having played Hogwarts Legacy, she knew the little old man was genuinely good.
Still, wasn't Slytherin's vault supposed to be top secret? How did he know?
"Yes, Professor. I have urgent reasons for finding Slytherin's vault."
"Ah, ah!"
Figo made a meaningless sound. "It's there, child! I've been here over a hundred years and discovered the entrance long ago!"
Following Figo's gesture, Audrey indeed saw a faintly different trace of ancient magic.
"But now, no one can enter Slytherin's vault—no one!"
Figo said, "When Slytherin set up this vault, he included bloodline authentication. Without Slytherin's blood, you cannot enter."
"As is well known, the last Slytherin descendant, the Gaunt family, has died out… so—"
Figo suddenly widened his eyes, his mouth open in shock, as if he were witnessing the impossible!
On the empty wall, over a hundred stone snakes appeared, connecting head to tail to form a semi-circular door.
Within the door, multicolored darkness shimmered, with tiny stars resembling the Great Hall ceiling.
In the next moment, Audrey was yanked by a powerful force, falling through the doorway.
"This… this… is incredible!"
Figo exclaimed. "I never expected Slytherin's descendants to still exist in England! I must inform that child immediately!"