For several days in a row, the topic of conversation around the castle was surprisingly consistent. The students couldn't seem to talk about anything else and spent the entire day discussing the attack on Filch.
Filch had been taken to the Hospital Wing, with Mrs. Norris by his side, keeping a vigilant watch over him. Some students had hoped that life might be easier without this annoying duo around. For instance, they imagined being able to talk loudly in the corridors and pull pranks without fearing someone would pop out of nowhere, yelling for them to be sent to the dungeons.
However, they soon realized they'd been too optimistic. The professors took over Filch's duties, patrolling the castle and catching rule-breakers at every turn, handing out detentions and deducting points. They were even tougher to deal with than Filch had been; the little tricks that worked against him were completely useless on the professors. Within days, the point totals for all four houses had dropped significantly.
Even worse, the cleaning of the castle now fell to those who broke the rules… and they weren't allowed to use magic. Just the other day, Kyle had spotted Fred and George lugging around a large pile of cleaning supplies, scrubbing the words off the walls on the third floor. From the way they were muttering, it sounded like they actually missed Filch.
The Chamber of Secrets had also become a hot topic. Every copy of Hogwarts: A History had been checked out of the library.
"They're just wasting their time," said Cedric, glancing around the Great Hall at the younger students flipping through pages. "I remember clearly that the Chamber of Secrets isn't mentioned in that book at all."
"Did you memorize the whole thing?" Mikel asked in disbelief.
"Of course not; that would be impossible," Cedric replied, shaking his head. "But I've read enough to know. There's nothing about the Chamber of Secrets… not a single mention."
"Oh, I was hoping to borrow it from Millicent after she finished reading it," Mikel sighed, looking disappointed. It seemed he was also quite intrigued by the Chamber of Secrets.
After breakfast, they left the castle and headed to Greenhouse Three. Professor Sprout was a kind witch, always smiling, and her Herbology class was one of the most popular at Hogwarts. Today, they were learning how to extract beans from the Puffapod.
It was trickier than it looked; if they didn't apply the right amount of pressure, the beans would burst instantly. Controlling the force required careful precision.
"Don't rush it—you have to apply pressure gradually," Professor Sprout instructed. "It's a process. And don't touch the leaves or the young shoots, or they'll get angry."
Just as she was explaining, a Hufflepuff girl raised her hand.
"Do you have a question, Miss Bode?" Professor Sprout asked kindly.
"Professor, could you tell us about the Chamber of Secrets? And who this Heir is?"
Everyone looked up with interest. Mikel was so eager that he nearly pulled his Puffapod out of its pot, causing it to spray a cloud of pink beans right into his face. He yelped in surprise.
Professor Sprout blinked. "Miss Bode, you're not the first to ask me that," she said with a soft smile. "Every student has asked me the same question in every class recently."
After a moment's thought, she said, "If you finish early, I'll tell you what I know—just some rumors."
At this, the students lowered their heads, quickly refocusing on their work. The chatter died down, and even the student handling the dragon dung fertilizer set it aside to carefully work on the Puffapod.
Ten minutes before the end of class, the last student finally finished.
"Well then," Professor Sprout said, her mouth curling into a small smile as she surveyed the greenhouse, now filled with Puffapod flowers. Although the students' success rate was a bit low, each of them had managed to complete the task at least once, and there were no instances of intentional failure. So, she decided to keep her promise.
"Of course, it's just a legend—a bit ridiculous, even," she began.
"Let me see… the Chamber of Secrets. It all began a thousand years ago, with the founding of Hogwarts…"
For the next ten minutes, Professor Sprout recounted how Hogwarts was founded and the growing conflicts among the four founders, particularly their differing views on which students should be admitted.
"…After a heated argument, Salazar Slytherin left the school."
She paused at this point.
"That's all that's recorded. Hogwarts: A History mentions it as well, if you're interested."
"As for the Chamber of Secrets," she went on, "it belongs to the realm of peculiar legends. It's said that Slytherin built a hidden chamber in the castle, one unknown to the other founders. Supposedly, if his true heir were to open it, a monster inside would be unleashed to 'purify' the school by eliminating those deemed unworthy of learning magic."
The bell rang to signal the end of class, but the greenhouse remained completely silent. No one moved; they all stared at Professor Sprout, clearly hoping she would continue.
"Well, back to the castle with you—that's all I know," said Professor Sprout, holding the greenhouse door open.
"In my opinion, though, it's all nonsense. Salazar Slytherin may have been able to hide the Chamber from the other two founders, but he could never have fooled Rowena Ravenclaw. And most importantly, even in his angriest moments, Slytherin only wanted to expel certain students—not harm them."
At her urging, the students slowly filed out of the greenhouse.
...
"I knew it! Slytherin has to be connected to the Chamber of Secrets," Ryan said to Kyle and Kanna. "That second-year Malfoy was strutting around like he knew something... and Flint too. I bet they're both aware of the Chamber of Secrets."
"Unfortunately, they weren't willing to tell us anything," Mikel added with a sigh. "If only we could sneak into the Slytherin common room—maybe we'd overhear something useful."
"If you're serious about it…" Kyle said with a sly grin, "I actually have some Slytherin scarves and decorations. If you disguise yourselves a bit, you might just blend in."
"We could try…" Mikel considered the idea, then frowned. "But I don't know their password."
"That's easy," Kyle replied casually. "It's usually something like 'pure blood,' 'glory,' 'eternity,' or 'power.' You'd just have to try a few combinations. Or, you could slip in with a group. Go after breakfast on the weekend, when there are the most people around. No one will notice."
"That's brilliant. I wouldn't even need the password." Mikel's face lit up with excitement. He touched his red and swollen cheek, still sore from where the Puffapod had burst on him. He'd originally thought about getting some ointment for it, but now it seemed unnecessary. With the way he looked now, even a few Hufflepuffs might not recognize him—let alone the Slytherins.
This was a rare opportunity…