Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

"what?"

There is no other reason, it’s just that what the basilisk said was too explosive!

Ryan would not doubt Tamh's judgment - the basilisk would definitely be more sensitive to Slytherin's breath than him!

But he still found it incredible.

Voldemort, Tom Riddle...the Dark Lord is actually a descendant of Slytherin?

No, rather...

"A Slytherin teacher actually left behind descendants!?"

Ryan really found it hard to imagine that the cold, conceited, arrogant and awkward teacher could actually have offspring.

But at this moment, he couldn't help but recall the gossip he heard in the History of Magic course when he first entered school.

"It is said that the ancient legendary Irish wizard Queen Maeve had offspring with Slytherin, which is the famous and mysterious Slytherin family."

"But unfortunately, this family that inherited the surnames of the four giants has not made any outstanding achievements in history. They are low-key and have few members, and have long since disappeared over the years..."

When Professor Binns said this, he began to stare blankly. Later, when Ryan asked him about gossip, he seemed to have completely forgotten what he had said and was left speechless.

Ryan originally thought it was just a ridiculous legend.

But now... he vaguely understood that this legend might be true.

but...

"Queen Maeve, the Irish witch... I remember her. Her magical attainments are indeed powerful enough."

Ryan remembers it clearly.

He and the Big Four had traveled to Ireland and met the legendary witch of that time.

The witch established a small wizarding kingdom in Ireland called the 'Kingdom of Connacht', which is now the province of Connacht in Ireland.

She is a hybrid of a wizard and a forest elf, possessing powerful magical powers, and is particularly good at prophecy magic and perception magic.

It is said that she can sense the slightest darkness and curse and drive them away.

But Ryan didn't remember how close Slytherin and she were - in fact, Slytherin himself was synonymous with studying the Dark Arts and curses.

It was even more difficult for him to imagine that Slytherin would have children with the other party.

Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but ask the question that had puzzled him for a long time.

"Mr. Slytherin - I heard that he left the castle early... Maybe you know what he went to do?"

He looked at Tamh.

That's right.

According to the information he knew now, the behavior of the four giants became strange in their later years - that is, after Ryan left a thousand years ago.

Slytherin was the first to leave the castle and his whereabouts are unknown.

Ravenclaw died inexplicably in her prime, and Ryan even witnessed her funeral in the Sorting Hat's memory.

After the funeral, Gryffindor also left Hogwarts, apparently heading to the fairy kingdom.

In the end, it seemed that only Hufflepuff was left at Hogwarts.

And it is obvious that - if we really have to say which one showed the first change, it must be Slytherin!

but...

"The old master never said anything, young master."

The basilisk shook its head slightly, and its answer undoubtedly made Ryan very disappointed.

"Nothing at all!?"

He couldn't help but confirm it again: "Even a little abnormal?"

"Oh..."

The basilisk hissed, as if it had recalled something: "There was—but not after he left the castle, but earlier."

"It was some time after you left that the old master went out... That time, he took his snakewood staff and dragonhide robe with him."

This sentence made Ryan frown.

Snakewood wand - that is Slytherin's wand, with powerful magic.

But in fact, with Slytherin's arrogance, he would hardly use this wand under normal circumstances... because most wizards could not even resist a wandless magic he released casually.

The same goes for the dragon skin robe - that is Slytherin's wizard robe, which is cast with dozens of spells that can resist powerful magic!

He would only use this wand and robe when battling a sufficiently powerful opponent.

Well... at least in Ryan's memory, most of the times Slytherin used snakewood staffs were when fighting with an old lion.

"Where did he go?"

Ryan asked in a deep voice.

"do not know."

The basilisk hissed and shook its head: "He didn't take me with him, little master..."

"But after returning from that journey, the other three great ones often conducted experiments with the old master...Ms. Rowena came the most."

"A few years later, he told me he was planning to leave the castle... I wanted to go with him, but he said I had a more important mission..."

So Ryan didn't ask any more questions about what the mission was - it was obviously to guard the secret room.

He just thought quietly about what Tamh said.

Slytherin went on a journey, and then after returning to Hogwarts, he began to conduct magical experiments with the other three founders - but as far as Ryan knew, at least when he was still in the millennium era, this had never happened.

The four giants' paths to magic are very different, and their research and experiments in magic are almost independent of each other.

Gryffindor, in particular, generally pursues a practical experimental model, and the experimental subjects are often dark wizards.

As far as Ryan could remember, Slytherin almost never conducted magic experiments with other teachers!

"Mr. Slytherin... he must be in big trouble."

So Ryan understood this fact.

But obviously.

He had no idea what trouble Slytherin was in.

He could only guess that it must be related to the journey that the basilisk mentioned.

So he took a deep breath - the stench from the sewer reached his nostrils, disgusting but sobering.

"Go on, Tamh."

He gestured for the basilisk to continue.

"Yes."

Then the basilisk continued to speak.

The rest of the story is simple.

The basilisk does not trust anyone, but it is absolutely loyal and close to Slytherin.

Tom Riddle is a descendant of Slytherin, and the basilisk is indeed not sure whether his old master really left an order after leaving the castle, asking his descendants to guard the Chamber of Secrets.

So the basilisk made an exception and accepted him.

"He acted polite, but I could see he was full of ambition - much like his master, but with a deeper hidden side... He was very much like a snake."

The Basilisk was not stingy in praising Tom Riddle, which was similar to Slytherin.

Ryan didn't find it strange either.

He had heard from Dumbledore that Tom Riddle had been a very good student.

"He asked me what was hidden in the secret room - I told him that the statue contained some of the old master's knowledge..."

The hissing sound in the basilisk's throat seemed to become a little sharper.

"Then he attacked me—a premeditated attack. He used a goblin-made object to stab my eye from the side, and he was indeed a wizard with powerful enough magic."

"I was injured but managed to escape."

"I escaped here—to the abandoned sewers at the bottom of Black Lake. No one knows this place exists."

It seems that this is the end of the story.

This seems like a story with a less than ideal ending - the villain wins and gets what he wants.

but...

After hearing this, Ryan laughed.

"Oh, it sounds like Mr. Tom Riddle has been fooled."

He spoke softly.

"He claims to be a descendant of his teacher, but he obviously doesn't know Salazar Slytherin well enough, does he?"

Chapter 114: Slytherin's Trap? A Fatal Wound! (5K words, first update)

As Ryan finished speaking, he heard the response from the basilisk Tamh.

"Oh, yes—you are as clever as ever, my little master."

The basilisk's voice seemed to contain a hint of ridicule and mockery towards Tom.

"The master's knowledge and legacy? Of course... they are invaluable, but they are merely bait to lure people into a trap."

That's right.

There is hardly anyone in this world who understands Slytherin better than Ryan.

So Ryan knew that Slytherin might leave the treasure, but he would definitely find a way to set up some insurance measures.

A secret chamber guarded by a loyal basilisk?

Sounds reasonable, but not safe enough!