Myrtle dove into the toilet, splashing water everywhere, then leaped out again, hovering in mid-air.
She seemed very excited to communicate with the Boy Who Lived.
However, Basil suspected she cared more about the fact that Harry was alive and a decent-looking boy.
He looked at Myrtle with disdain.
Even though he knew the toilet stall Myrtle occupied hadn't been used in decades, it still creeped him out.
Just like he could see every corner of Hogwarts but never observed the sewers.
On the other side, Harry stood rooted to the spot.
A sense of shame lingered in his heart.
Last time he felt this way, it was learning his father wasn't exactly a nice person.
Now, it seemed his ancestor wasn't a good person either.
Salazar Slytherin!
This bloodline must come from his father; his mother was Muggle-born.
No wonder his father was so bad.
And no wonder the Sorting Hat said Slytherin would help him on the way to greatness.
He suddenly felt like his body was dirty!
He subconsciously looked at the tap.
The flickering candlelight reflected on the snake carving, making it look as if the snake had come alive.
An inexplicable urge surged within him. "Open."
He immediately covered his throat because what he heard wasn't those words, but a strange hissing sound.
A minute ago, Dumbledore, who had seen through Harry's thoughts at a glance, pulled out his wand and tapped the Mirror of Erised.
Making it float back to its room.
He was about to reveal himself and comfort Harry.
But then he heard Parseltongue.
Not to be arrogant, but Dumbledore truly understood over a hundred languages, even including Troll and Mermish.
Parseltongue was one of them.
He instantly understood the meaning of Harry's hissing: "Open."
Then, the tap emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly.
Next, the sink moved.
The entire sink sank, disappearing from their sight.
Leaving behind a large pipe, wide enough for a person to crawl into.
"What is this?" Harry murmured.
"This must be the secret passage," Myrtle suggested.
"Are you going down? If you die, you're welcome to share this toilet with me." Her face turned silvery-white with shyness.
"I don't think I'll die." Harry rolled his eyes.
This must be the secret passage Basil mentioned.
Basil must have been here. Considering Myrtle was the only victim in so many years, it probably wasn't that dangerous.
"I don't think so either."
A third voice rang out.
Harry felt his insides freeze instantly.
He hurriedly looked behind him.
The newcomer was none other than Albus Dumbledore.
"Professor!" Myrtle shrieked and dove headfirst into the toilet, refusing to come out again.
Leaving only the gurgling sound of water.
"I—I, this is the girls' bathroom, sir," Harry stammered, squeezing out the sentence.
"Yes, it is the girls' bathroom," said Dumbledore.
Seeing the smile on Dumbledore's face, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like I won't lose points!
As for why the Headmaster was in the girls' bathroom... Dumbledore was the Headmaster; he could go wherever he pleased.
It wasn't for a student like him to question.
"So," Dumbledore said, stepping forward to the pipe, "this is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Did you come here for this today?"
"You just now?" Harry was certain Dumbledore hadn't been in the room before.
This was his confidence as the youngest Seeker in his keen observational skills.
"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "You don't need to worry about losing points. It's the holidays, and I was the one who returned the Invisibility Cloak to you."
"You knew my father?" Harry was about to ask more about his dad, but the next second, he thought of Basil.
"Then the diary Basil received earlier was also returned to him by you?"
At the same time, he secretly wondered if Dumbledore had a side job as an estate executor. Why did both their fathers leave things with Dumbledore before they died?
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore's expression turned serious.
Every time he heard that boy's name, nothing good happened.
Harry started explaining about the diary and the note.
Under the white leather cover of the diary was a tattered black cover.
Finally, he mentioned that he came here because Basil said there was a secret passage in this bathroom.
"It seems we have no choice but to go down and take a look," Dumbledore said calmly.
But beneath his calm exterior, a storm was raging in his heart.
He knew who killed Myrtle, and he knew the Riddle of the past had a black-covered diary.
Which had suddenly disappeared one day.
That diary might be a Horcrux.
How it got to Basil might involve the Malfoy family.
The only person who had a grudge against the boy and had the capability was Lucius Malfoy.
As a family favored by Voldemort, it was perfectly normal for them to be entrusted with a Horcrux for safekeeping.
But judging by the fact that Lucius Malfoy dared to use this precious item as a weapon to harm a boy...
Voldemort probably hadn't told Lucius Malfoy the truth about the diary.
A bad premonition welled up in his heart. With this casual attitude... Voldemort might have more Horcruxes than he imagined.
"Now?" Harry was a bit surprised.
Especially since Dumbledore had stood there in a daze for a moment after speaking.
His body seemed more hunched than usual.
"Now." Dumbledore stepped forward and jumped into the pipe first.
That boy is a Grand Wizard; he shouldn't be bewitched by a Horcrux.
But I still need to go see.
Harry folded the Invisibility Cloak and set it aside.
He followed, slowly crawling into the pipe, then let go and slid down.
But the next second, Harry regretted it.
He couldn't see Dumbledore ahead at all.
The pipe was dark, slimy, twisting and turning, with a steep slope.
And it was long. The deeper he went, the damper the air became. It felt like he was going miles below the school—under the lake.
His butt was numb from the bumpy ride.
After about ten minutes, the pipe finally leveled out.
Then he dropped out, landing on a soft cushion.
He stood up and realized the cushion was made of air, likely conjured by Dumbledore.
It was a dark stone tunnel, the floor wet, making squelching sounds as he walked. It was large enough for a person to stand in.
Dumbledore wasn't there.
But the fluorescent light coming from ahead must be from Dumbledore.
He walked toward the light, stepping on many small animal bones along the way.
After turning a corner, Harry stood frozen.
Dumbledore was crouching there, a ball of light floating above his head.
His body was clean, not a speck of slime from the pipe on him.
But that wasn't the main reason Harry was stunned.
Next to Dumbledore, the outline of a massive creature lay on the other side of the tunnel, motionless.
"Is that the monster from the Chamber of Secrets? Did Dumbledore kill it?" Harry thought to himself.