Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

“I thought I’d get an 80,” Dumbledore said, walking over. “At the end of this cave tunnel, there’s another door.”

“I tried to open that door, but the usual methods don’t seem to work… After all, this is Salazar Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets, so I guess I’ll have to use Parsleyan.”

Snape said, “Collect the snakeskin, dust off the bone meal, and we should move on.”

Vezel nodded, waved his wand to gather the snakeskin fragments, and put them into the bag that Dumbledore had conjured.

"Dust and grime gone!" Vizet waved his wand at the bag, cleaning the bone dust off the snakeskin.

After the initial cleaning, he reached into the bag to check again for any remaining bone meal.

The moment he touched the snakeskin fragment, "The Wizard's Practical Guide" suddenly opened, and countless pages flew up.

The ancient magical powers he had collected had also changed, and were now completely absorbed by "The Wizarding Manual".

With the infusion of ancient magical power, the pages flew even more wildly, and it seemed that it would take some time before the contents could be revealed.

Vizette had encountered similar situations before, so she was unfazed and followed Dumbledore deeper into the cave tunnel...

Chapter 174 Spell?

When Vizet was cutting the snake's skin, Dumbledore had scouted the section of the road ahead beforehand.

The only obstacle ahead is a large gate, and the process of moving forward is relatively easy.

Vizette asked, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Snape, if we encounter the Basilisk later... shall we just kill it?"

The ball of light hovered above Dumbledore's head, and he, like an old man strolling in a garden, leisurely asked, "So, what do you think should be done?"

“We’ve been so busy making the Parseltongue Whistle that we haven’t actually gone to seduce the heir…” Vizette replied, “Perhaps it’s time to put it into practice now?”

"After all, we didn't know the giant snake was a basilisk monster before... Now that we know about one of the threats, we can focus on finding the other one."

“Then let Colin Crevy disappear for now,” Snape said coldly. “It’s not too late to have Professor McGonagall carry it out.”

Dumbledore waved his hand. "Bring panic back to the campus? I don't really want that to happen."

“Then let him spread the word, spread the word that he escaped death by his own abilities… Gryffindors especially fall for that.” Snape’s tone rose and fell. “Isn’t that right?”

“That’s a good idea…” Dumbledore nodded in agreement with Snape, “to further alleviate the panic and turn the legend of the Chamber of Secrets into a joke.”

"A prankster... who even ruined Colin's Polaroid camera... In any case, the heir must feel bad; he'll want to prove himself..."

"Then let's change the writing on the wall too?" Vizette raised her wand. "I remember the original sentence was like this..."

He waved his wand and wrote two lines of text in the air.

The chamber of secrets has been opened.

Beware of those who are enemies of the heir beware.

"Slightly change the order... to form a new sentence."

He pointed his wand at the two lines of text, waved it gently, and the letters flew up and combined to form another sentence.

A sneaky mouse sneaks in and hurts a poor cat (SNEAKY RAT CREEP IN HARM A POOR FELINE).

Is that the best deed to show off?

"It wasn't possible to achieve a perfect match... so I added some letters..."

Dumbledore and Snape exchanged a strange look, but said nothing.

Vizette noticed their strange expressions and asked with some confusion, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Snape, what's wrong with you?"

Snape said, “Let’s cast a Patronus Charm and see.”

“Alright.” Vizette waved her wand, expertly drawing a circle. “Palmtops of Protection!”

The same warm feeling as always, without any change.

Dumbledore and Snape exchanged another glance, seemingly relieved about something, and their expressions returned to normal.

Snape curled his lip. "Why would you think that?"

Vizette explained, "Luna told me before... that the heir who left these words might have wanted to flaunt his status."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have left such indelible writing on that wall, hoping that everyone would remember him and fear him."

“Fear…he certainly enjoys fear.” Dumbledore stroked his beard. “Responding to him with what he has written…that’s a good idea.”

"If he really can't hold back... he should come back here to summon the basilisk again in a short time, and we will have a way to deal with it in time."

At the end of the mountain tunnel is a huge carved stone door, with giant snakes coiled around it.

The giant snake's eyes were inlaid with emeralds, giving it a lifelike and dangerous feel.

Vizette hissed in a Parsley voice, "Open!"

The giant serpent seemed to come alive, coiling once within the carved stone gate before disappearing at its edge, and the gate slowly opened.

Inside was a large hall, comparable in size to an auditorium, filled with a hazy green light, gloomy and oppressive.

Several stone pillars are carved with giant snakes, whose eyes are also inlaid with emeralds, which are the source of the shimmering green light.

Dumbledore used Transfiguration magic again to explore the area, but again found no danger.

At the far end of the secret chamber was a huge statue, sculpted to depict the face of Salazar Slytherin, with a solemn and dignified expression.

“Let’s check around!” Dumbledore suggested, and the three of them split up to explore the Great Hall of Secrets.

Vizette illuminates the map in his mind, not only to collect ancient magical power but also to use Parseltongue to explore and try to find any secret entrances that might exist.

However, even after shouting until his throat was dry, he found nothing.

The three reunited, and Dumbledore asked, "Have you noticed anything?"

Snape shook his head and turned his gaze to Vizet.

Vizette truthfully replied, "I tried speaking Parsley, but there was no response... Perhaps it requires some kind of password? Instead of simply using a word like 'open'?"

“Then all that’s left is the statue of Salazar Slytherin.” Dumbledore walked at the front, remarking to the statue, “It’s truly magnificent…”

"Are you planning to get one at Hogwarts too?" Snape asked casually. "A statue of 'The Great Dumbledore,' like the one in the Ministry of Magic's Great Hall?"

“I have no such thoughts,” Dumbledore waved his hand. “I think… Fudge probably wouldn’t want me to do that either, otherwise he would probably suffer from insomnia until the statue collapses.”

Vizette walked around the statue, collecting ancient magical power while continuing to experiment with Parsleyan.

Suddenly, "The Wizarding Guide to Combat" stirred, and one of the pages finally revealed something different.

Vizette was immediately distracted and noticed an extremely simple title, similar to "Thunder"—

The Command

This is something Salazar Slytherin once mentioned to him.

Vizette remembered that Salazar Slytherin had said that if he passed the test, he would gain control over the Commands.

The way to pass the test is either by obtaining body parts or by gaining trust...

Could those snake molts... also be considered body fragments?

Just then, an image flashed through his mind: a skull with its mouth open, from which a thick python emerged.

The pattern came to life, and the python continued to crawl outwards until it was completely out of the skull.

During this process, cracks appeared on the skull, first on the upper and lower jawbones, then spreading to the eye sockets...

Chapter 175: He's in the school hospital again before the Christmas holidays!

By the time the python had completely crawled out of the skull, the skull was covered with fine, dense cracks, as if it were covered with a spider web.

The python looked back at the cracked skull, which had turned a deep, granite-like color from its original pale white.

boom!

The python swung its tail violently, shattering the granite-like skull. The scattered fragments turned into dust and flew in all directions.

At the same time, Vizette felt fragments of memories flooding back.

The sheer volume of information in these memory fragments caused him to feel a sudden darkness before his eyes, followed by a backward fall.

Just before he lost consciousness, someone managed to catch him from falling to the ground...

Snape's forehead was covered in sweat, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes were extremely vivid.

Despite his trembling left arm, he managed to catch Vizette's shoulder, preventing her from collapsing.

Dumbledore quickly took over, and with a wave of his wand, conjured a soft bed for Vizzet to lie on.

He asked with a serious expression, "The Dark Mark has flared up again?"

Snape nodded, pulling up his sleeve to examine it. "Much more intense than before...like the Crucifixion...but only for a moment..."

The Black Magic Mark on his left arm was as bright as ink, yet it was constantly fading.

He kept twisting his arm, checking back and forth, "It's disappeared again... exactly the same as last time..."

In the blink of an eye, the Black Magic Mark completely disappeared, returning to its flesh-colored state as if it had never existed.

“Vizet… what exactly happened?” He looked at Vizet, who was lying on the soft bed, his expression extremely complicated. “One thing after another… this kind of thing is happening…”

“That depends on whether you’re willing to believe him… Severus,” Dumbledore said meaningfully. “At least I’m willing to believe him.”