The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 251 Tom Riddle at Age Sixteen

The legend of the Chamber of Secrets has existed for thousands of years. Successive headmasters of Hogwarts have searched for traces of the Chamber of Secrets many times, but have never been able to find Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

The secret room became the disappearing secret room and turned into a legend.

It was not until 1992 that the secret room was opened again and people realized that it was not just a legend, but a real existence. No one would have thought that the entrance to the secret room was hidden in the girls' bathroom, under the sink.

Headmaster Dumbledore was the first to enter the secret passage, followed by Ada. Ada slid down the dark and sticky slide, which felt like playing in a water park, except that the slide here was a bit cramped, depressing, and dirty.

There were many branches under the pool, leading to all directions. These should be the school's underground drainage pipes. But no matter which branched pipes, none of them were as thick as this one. Ada's heart sank. This basilisk might not be small.

The pipe twisted and turned, winding and winding, and sloped very steeply all the way down. I don't know how long it slid, but the pipe became horizontal, and then Ada emerged from the pipe.

In mid-air, Ada used magic to adjust her body shape to prevent herself from falling flat on the ground. When Ada landed safely, she saw a dark stone tunnel in front of her, and Dumbledore was holding up his wand, using the light from the tip of the wand to check the situation inside.

Not only the ground here, but even the air is humid, and the surroundings are dark and sticky walls. If you listen carefully, you can even hear the sound of water. Snakes have always liked dark and humid environments, and the basilisk is the same. This is simply a paradise for this cold-blooded animal.

After using the cleansing spell to clean up the dirt on her body, Ada, who felt much fresher, also came over and stood beside Dumbledore. After a while, Harry, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout also appeared behind him.

The two professors were very clean, but Harry was covered in mud, dirty like a mud monkey. Ada walked to Harry, raised her wand to him, and whispered, "Clean up!"

"Let's go!" Dumbledore said softly, "Be careful and pay attention to any unusual noises." Dumbledore's voice echoed in the dark tunnel. After he finished speaking, he raised his wand and walked forward, and everyone behind him hurriedly followed.

The tunnel was too dark. The only light came from everyone's fluorescent charms. The light from their wands cast their shadows on the wet walls, adding a weird and evil atmosphere to the tunnel.

The tunnel was as silent as a grave. No one spoke. Everyone held their breath to avoid making too much noise. Gradually, they found many small animal bones on the ground. The deeper they went into the tunnel, the more bones of these small animals they found.

Turning a dark bend in the tunnel, Dumbledore, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped, and the people behind him also stopped. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes and threw the light from the tip of his wand inside.

With this little light, Ida saw the outline of a coiled monster, lying motionless on the other side of the tunnel. Ida subconsciously thought it was a basilisk, and quickly lowered her head to look at the ground to prevent herself from looking directly at the basilisk.

"It's a big one," Dumbledore said in a serious voice. "Everyone, be careful. We should be close."

This snake skin, which was shed some time ago, is estimated to be about twenty feet long. It is conceivable that the basilisk in the secret room must be even larger, perhaps as long as fifty feet.

The three professors and two students continued to walk deeper into the tunnel. When they passed by the snake skin, Ada took a look at it. The snake skin was bright green, coiled on the ground of the tunnel, and looked very valuable.

As they walked, they came to the end of the tunnel, but the serpent monster that everyone was worried about never appeared. What was waiting for them was only a solid wall. On the wall were carved two snakes entwined with each other, with big, sparkling green gems in their eyes.

"Harry!" Dumbledore called softly. In order to pass through this wall, Harry's Parseltongue would be needed to help.

Harry, the door opener, walked up, followed by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout, who stood on either side of Harry. Dumbledore stood a little behind Harry, blocking Ada's view.

In this way, if any changes occur to the wall, the three professors can protect the two students in an instant and stop the basilisk from causing harm to them in the first place.

In the dark tunnel, a low, hoarse hissing sound was heard, and the two snakes that were originally entangled together separated. The stone wall cracked in the middle and slowly slid to both sides and disappeared.

Dumbledore put down his hand that was blocking Harry's eyes and continued to walk forward, saying, "It seems we have arrived." The basilisk still did not appear, and what appeared before everyone was a long, dimly lit room. This was the chamber of secrets built by Slytherin, the chamber that had disappeared for a thousand years!
Many stone pillars carved with coiled snakes stood tall to support the ceiling which melted into the darkness above, casting long and eerie black shadows on the entire room which was filled with green and mysterious mist.

In the ghostly room, only the sound of footsteps echoed. At the back of the room, there was a statue as tall as the room itself, clinging to the dark wall behind it.

"Salazar Slytherin!" Professor Flitwick blurted out as he looked at the statue, which looked exactly like the portrait of Slytherin preserved in the castle.

"Ginny Weasley!" Sprout exclaimed, her voice bouncing off the walls and sounding a little strange.

Between the two feet of the statue, a figure in a black school robe was sitting there. His hair, which was once as red as flames, had lost its former luster and became like a bunch of dead grass.

Although she was worried about Ginny's situation, Ada did not rush forward to check. Instead, she raised her wand and kept alert all around. The three professors did the same.

Harry rashly ran over and threw his wand on the ground. Squatting beside Ginny, Harry whispered the girl's name, hoping to wake her up.

But Ginny just sat there blankly, her eyes dull and her head drooping lifelessly. No matter how Harry called out and begged, the little girl did not respond to her idol, just like a broken rag doll.

"Pick up your wand, Harry!" Ada couldn't bear it any longer, so she reminded him, "Let's take Ginny away first!"

Being in such a dangerous chamber, even if Harry was worried about Ginny, he should not let go of his wand. A wizard without a wand is not much stronger than a Muggle, and has no ability to resist when encountering danger.

Before Harry could make any move, a strange voice suddenly sounded in the Chamber of Secrets, "Welcome, welcome. Professor Dumbledore's presence has made the Chamber of Secrets glorious!"

A tall black-haired boy suddenly appeared in the room. The boy's outline was unclear. He looked neither a living person nor a ghost.

In Ada's opinion, the boy looked like a reflection from a projector. Although her appearance was not clear, Ada felt that he must be very handsome.

"Hello again, Tom." Dumbledore said calmly, as if the boy's sudden appearance did not surprise him.

When the two professors heard the name, they were stunned for a moment. After all, the name Tom was too common. The owner of the Leaky Cauldron, the Walnut Tree, was also called Tom.

"Tom Riddle!" Ida whispered. "The Heir of Slytherin."

The two professors shuddered at the same time. Even the professors of Hogwarts would feel afraid of the notorious Voldemort.

Tom Riddle exuded a strange, misty glow. He smiled and said, "Yes, we meet again. After all these years, you can still recognize me at a glance."

"Because you are still the same as you were fifty years ago. Nothing has changed," said Dumbledore. "You have opened the Chamber of Secrets again."

Tom Riddle had a nice smile on his face, and he was playing with his wand, Harry's wand, between his long fingers.

He smiled and said, "I fooled everyone at that time. They all thought that it was the big stupid Hagrid who killed the mudblood. Only you, only you have always doubted me."

"So, you kept your sixteen-year-old self in your diary, waiting for this day, correct?" asked Dumbledore.

(End of this chapter)