Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 147: Going Deep into the Secret Room
The pipe hole at the sink in the girls' bathroom was pitch black, emitting a damp and moldy smell.

This is the secret passage leading to the Chamber of Secrets, where a legendary basilisk, personally bred by the school's founder, Salazar Slytherin, is hidden. Ten seconds ago, a poor ghost had slipped into it.

An atmosphere of danger and unease spread through the pipes.

Harry stood firmly in front of the pipe. He heard the breathing of his two companions beside him. The terrible smell prevented him from taking a deep breath. He looked up at them and said, "Calm down, friends. Ron, you and I will go downstairs to find Myrtle. Hermione, you quickly go find the professor for help."

"Let's go find the headmaster together, Harry. We're only in second year and can't deal with the basilisk. Besides, Myrtle is a ghost, and ghosts that die once won't die again. What do you think?"

Ron said in a tight voice, his face pale.

"You're right. The ghost has already died once, but no one knows the effect of the basilisk's gaze on ghosts." Harry shook his head slightly, his tone firm. "It would be too pitiful for Myrtle to die twice in the basilisk's mouth. I can't let her go into the Chamber of Secrets alone and gamble on whether she will die again."

Ron sighed: "Okay then..."

"I'll go with you! We've had tutorials together, so we have experience working together." Hermione suddenly said, "Ron, you go inform the professor quickly. We'll try to delay the time."

Before Ron could object, Hermione had already bent down and jumped into the pipe.

Harry patted Ron's shoulder and rolled over and got in as well.

"..."

Ron stared at the dark pipe entrance. He seemed to hear the sound of them sliding inside. He opened his mouth, feeling a little irritated.

"Two arrogant guys, talking to themselves without even asking for my opinion, what a shame!"

Ron didn't care about the bad smell at all. He took a deep breath, turned around and ran outside.

The corridor outside the bathroom was very quiet. It was the weekend and every teacher and student had their own things to do, so he didn't know who to talk to.

The nearest office was Lockhart's. Ron didn't dare waste time, but still chose to run a little further to the Muggle Studies classroom. He had heard Neville mention before that the drama club rehearsed there and professors would occasionally pass by.

……

The deepest part of the underground chamber.

A figure stood in front of the Slytherin stone sculpture with his head lowered. Only the bright yellow snake pupils were glowing, illuminating half of Melvin's face.

"The magic in your eyes is too dangerous. They will be coming down soon. To avoid any student casualties, I need to make some adjustments."

Melvin's mumbling voice echoed, and the tip of his wand waved in front of the snake's pupil. "Don't worry, it's just a simple transfiguration. It will fix the transparent stratum corneum outside your eyes and block the life-threatening magic in your gaze. The petrification magic will not be affected."

Basilisks have movable eyelids like humans, so they have a transparent stratum corneum, similar to eyelids, which protects the eyes from moisture and external stimuli.

What Melvin is doing is fixing and thickening this eyelid so that the basilisk's unique gaze can retain its petrification ability while ensuring that it will not directly kill any living creature that looks into its eyes.

When performing transformation, one must also maintain the transparent armor bubble film to prevent oneself from being hit during the operation. This is a delicate job.

"It's a bit like having an eye surgery." Melvin couldn't help but laugh.

Unable to understand what the man was mumbling, the basilisk, a little annoyed by the shaking of the wand, exhaled a breath with a fishy smell that was a bit choking, but other than that, it did not make any other movements. After several months of feeding and getting along with each other, the basilisk gradually adapted to the keeper.

"hiss……"

The bright yellow snake pupils dimmed, and only misty green clouds were left floating in the dark room. Huge stone pillars stood on both sides, guarded by stone snake statues.

The basilisk quietly returned to its lair, and the secret room fell silent again.

……

"Professor Lockhart! Why are you in the drama club!?"

Ron wailed, a little broken.

"Well, why can't I be here?" Lockhart had his signature smile on his face, looking very friendly. "I have something to do with Melvin, but he's not in the office. I came here to try my luck, but Neville from the drama club told me that he left an hour ago."

He smiled helplessly, his tone tinged with complacency. "It just so happens that I'm quite experienced in drama, so I'll stay here and give them some guidance. How about staying and enjoying it in advance?"

He had originally planned to show off at the dueling club, but ended up making a fool of himself. His reputation, which had been improved in the previous few weeks, was damaged again. Now he doesn't want to miss any opportunity to become famous.

He learned from his students that their play might actually be performed, and even though the script was not his own adventure story, he wanted to leave Lockhart's name on it.

On the stage in the classroom, the knight played by Cedric was charging, and the prop man was frantically manipulating the wyvern to respond.

"..."

Ron turned and walked away.

Lockhart refused to let him go and grabbed his sleeve. "I smell trouble. Is there anything I can help you with, Professor Lockhart? I'm always happy to help."

Ron just wanted to hit him hard twice, his fists clenched and he almost swung it out: "I don't have time to mess around with you! Harry and Hermione have gone into the Chamber of Secrets to find the basilisk, they're in danger! I have to find someone to help!"

"The Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk..."

Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he held Ron tightly, refusing to let go. The stage was still noisy, and everyone was doing their best for the performance. Cedric shouted, "Attack!" His voice was passionate and exciting, touching the heartstrings.

"Melvin is not in the office. Professor McGonagall may have gone to Hogsmeade to prepare supplies for Christmas dinner. Splitlow is in the greenhouse. Dumbledore and Flitwick may not be in the office. Who can you go to now?"

Lockhart's eyes were blazing, like a knight charging forward. "Since I'm the only professor here, I have the responsibility to ensure the safety of my students. Weasley, tell me what happened in detail. You can only trust me."

"I don't have time to go into detail! To put it simply, we found Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets under the guidance of Professor Lewynter. We determined that there was a basilisk hidden in the chamber, which was related to Myrtle's case fifty years ago. Harry and Hermione chased Myrtle in!" Ron's clenched fists loosened, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Professor! Professor Lockhart, no matter what you want to do, go and save them!"

"Oh, for God's sake, Merlin! It's an emergency, but we can't be impulsive," said Lockhart.

He has been sealing his memories frequently recently, and his brain is a little confused. He suddenly learned too much information and needed some time to digest and sort it out.

According to the student, Lewyn was secretly guiding them to investigate an old case from fifty years ago involving a ghost named Myrtle. They eventually found out that the murderer was a basilisk hiding in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

It's a truly wonderful adventure story, but it has many flaws.

Why would Lewinter let several students do this?
Even Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic couldn't find out the truth, so why did several students find out?
Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, a legend with no basis for thousands of years, how many students actually found it?

There were too many doubts here, and Lockhart couldn't think of an explanation, but he inexplicably remembered the film last year. It still had the same three protagonists, and it was also difficult to distinguish between true and false, with an eye-catching gimmick. If he viewed this case as an adventure story, all the questions seemed to have answers.

Lockhart, having sorted out his thoughts, was preparing to begin his performance when he saw the drama club members disbanding after rehearsal. His eyes darted around, and an idea struck him. He didn't know what Levent's script was, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of a real basilisk. Since the drama club students were here, he could have them join the operation, acting as bait if danger arose.

He turned around and smiled brightly: "Children, don't leave in a hurry, I need your help with something!"

……

Slide along the pipes, miles deep underground.

Landing on the damp and cold underground platform, there was no light source around, so they could only raise their wands for illumination. Hermione kept the tip of the wand fluorescent, while Harry walked in front, half a body length ahead.

After they chased into the pipe, their sliding speed was no match for the ghost's floating movement. By the time they came out of the pipe, Myrtle's figure had disappeared.

Instead of staying where they were, the two chose to move forward along the tunnel.

"We must be miles below the school," Harry said, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings. "We must be at the bottom of the Black Lake."

"Remember, if you hear any sound later, close your eyes immediately. Staring into the basilisk's eyes is fatal." Hermione lowered her voice, but it still echoed.

The underground tunnel is not as complicated as the pipeline and is almost one-way. Walking along the road, you can occasionally step on some rat bones. They have been weathered and will break with the slightest touch.

Not dangerous, just a little scary.

After passing through a damp and silent tunnel, we soon came to a bend. The terrible smell from the sewer pipe disappeared, and the only thing left was the damp and cold air that had not been ventilated for a long time, which seeped out from the stone walls. The bones here also became scarce.

Hermione raised the silver light, gradually illuminating the surrounding stone walls. She glanced around and stopped at the floor in front of her.

She gestured to Harry's face, where there was a patch of floorboards that was noticeably lighter in dust than the surrounding area.

Hermione looked down and observed: "It seems that something has been placed on it for a long time and was only moved recently. It looks quite large. It might be a basilisk."

"Has it only recently been awakened?"

Harry looked around, but there was no sign of the basilisk anywhere he could see.

"Keep going inside," Hermione whispered.

The feeling of exploring along a fixed route reminded her of the corridor on the fourth floor last year, where she had to enter a closed place, pass through numerous obstacles, and finally face real danger.

She couldn't help but speculate in her heart, suspecting that this was another arrangement made in advance by Professor Lewinter.

But looking at the surrounding stone walls and the dust on the ground, all signs indicated that this place had been sealed for a long time, and they came in chasing Myrtle, which should not be part of the professor's plan.

After turning the corner, the two came to a thick stone wall with two snakes entwined with each other carved on it. They were lifelike, with shining emeralds inlaid in their eyes.

"It should be some kind of mechanism protecting the Chamber of Secrets, opened with a key, or some kind of special magic." Hermione examined it carefully. "Myrtle might have walked right through it."

"Maybe I know how to open it..."

Harry hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to face the two stone snakes. He cleared his throat and said in a deep, hoarse Parseltongue, "Open."

The emerald eyes of the snake sculpture seemed to flicker, and the two snakes seemed to come alive, wriggling apart, and the stone wall opened in the middle, revealing the secret room inside.

The clouds swirling on the ceiling cast a green fluorescent light. Stone pillars stood on both sides, and stone carvings of pythons coiled around the pillars, staring grimly at the two pale faces that opened the secret room.

Entering the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Hermione walked side by side, carefully and slowly. They looked up and saw a hazy green light. Looking around, the pythons seemed to be watching them all the time. There was a vague figure floating in front of them.

"Myrtle?" Hermione tried to call.

But there was no response.

Arriving at the foot of the Slytherin statue, the fluorescent light illuminated the surrounding area and the figure gradually became clearer.

Harry stared straight ahead, while Hermione covered her mouth to stifle the exclamation that escaped her lips.

That was Myrtle who had rushed in first. Her ghostly body was no longer milky white and transparent, but had become dark and dull, surrounded by a faint smoke. She lay flat and motionless in the air, with an angry expression on her round face.

"Is she dead?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Will ghosts leave behind corpses after death? They look more like they've been petrified." Hermione's voice trembled slightly. "Be careful and alert to your surroundings. If you hear any noise, close your eyes immediately."

They stayed there quietly for a long time, and the secret room was silent. If it weren't for Myrtle in front of them, they might have thought it was just an abandoned classroom.

"When Professor Lewynter asked me to demonstrate my Parseltongue, he left me a message. Do you want to give it a try?" Harry asked softly. "The message meant to let the great Slytherin speak to me."

"What do you mean?" Hermione looked at the statue in front of her. "Slytherin has been dead for a thousand years. How could he possibly speak?"

"You'll have to try it to find out."

Hermione shook her head. "I think we should turn back now and report what happened here to the headmaster and professor."

"I agree."

The two began to retreat slowly. Perhaps it was an illusion caused by the claustrophobic space, they felt uneasy as if they were being spied on, and subconsciously quickened their pace.

The green light of the clouds fell quietly, and a series of footsteps sounded from behind, approaching them quickly.

The two looked behind them and saw a group of people running towards them. Leading them was Lockhart. He looked very happy and even waved at them excitedly.

"Hey! Harry! Don't worry, your professor is here."

Ron ran behind him, followed by Percy, Penelope, Cedric, Marcus and others.

Harry had a bad feeling in his heart and looked back. He found that the cloud at the head of the statue seemed to have dropped a little. The color was almost silver-white, without the green light, and more like smoke.

A deep and hoarse voice sounded.

At that moment, Harry heard the Parseltongue.

"Speak to me, Slytherin, the Greatest of the Four!"

(End of this chapter)