Entering the Chamber of Secrets and the Hungry Basilisk

"Expecto Patronus!" Ivan said, waving his wand.

Wisps of white mist poured out from the tip of the wand and transformed into an illusory, pure white unicorn. After happily clopping around for a while, it plunged into the deep pipe…

Patronuses are often the perfect pathfinder, and can be used as a light in dark places…

After taking control of the unicorn, Ivan jumped down without hesitation.

The surrounding pools slowly merged and returned to their original state…

Bang!

Ivan felt as if he had fallen into a slimy chute, and was being dragged down the slope of the pipe as the two owls on his shoulders shrank into his arms in terror.

The surroundings were pitch-black, and there was no light to be seen. Only the glowing Unicorn's Shadow, which was not far away, could barely light the way.

After an unknown period of time, when Ivan felt as if he were about to pass out from the twists and turns of the pipe, the slope ahead of him began to level out.

Yvonne knew at once that she was arriving…

As expected, the opening in front of them widened, and Ivan slipped out of it and fell to the ground…

Ivan got up from the ground, grimacing, and patted his clothes, which were covered in mud and dust, and the two owls fell out of his arms, dazed.

"Clean it up!"

Ivan did a quick cleanup with the Dust-Removing Charm and looked around.

It was a wide, straight tunnel with a wet floor and the faint sound of running water.

Ivan hurried on, passing through the tunnel in the glow of darkness and Patronus, and was surprised when he did not see a shed Basilisk.

However, on second thought, the Basilisk had not been released yet, so how could it have shed its skin…

Ivan, on the other hand, saw the bones of many creatures on the ground. Most of them were rat-sized, and they seemed to have been there for a long time.

At the end of the tunnel was a solid wall carved with two serpents entwined, their eyes glowing strangely green in the dim fluorescent light.

"Hsss ~ (open!) " Ivan said again, and the two snake-shadows on the door seemed to come alive, and they moved quickly, the stone wall opening up in the middle.

Ivan entered a vast space with many towering stone columns, upon which were carved serpents, coiled and coiled like guards.

Directly in front of them was a wide platform with a statue at the end that reached to the ceiling.

It was a statue of Salazar Slytherin, and Ivan had to look up to see the statue's huge face, where the basilisk slept.

Ivan didn't want to disturb her, so he began to search the Chamber of Secrets, tentatively reading the words aloud from each stone pillar engraved with a serpent.

Salute the great forerunner, Salazar Slytherin!

The strange snake language echoed throughout the Chamber, but none of the Serpent pillars responded, and Ivan was determined to find more clues.

It took several hours, but eventually, somewhere, they found Slytherin's writings, a series of strange characters that translated into one sentence.

[Come to my statue, speak to me, and pay your highest respects! (Remember, close your eyes!)]

At the same time, there was a strange picture next to the strange characters.

It was a figure standing in the middle of the platform, its mouth open as if it were mumbling something. In front of it, a huge snake was emerging from the statue's mouth.

Ivan frowned. If he hadn't known this was Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, he would have thought it was an evil wizard's doing.

He did not come here to summon a basilisk. He did not want to provoke a snake that could kill with its eyes if it did not have to.

Throughout the afternoon, however, Ivan was unable to locate Slytherin's research lab.

Remembering Tom Riddle's earlier words, Ivan became eager.

Perhaps he should call the basilisk out for questioning?

This horrible thought occurred to Ivan, and he knew that it was a bad idea. He could not be sure how strong the basilisk was, or if he would be able to defeat it if he made a mistake.

Ivan, however, was more reluctant to go back to wrangling with Tom, which went on forever.

Ivan did not even dare to bring Tom Riddle into the Chamber of Secrets, lest he set up some sort of trap.

When the Room of Requirement is in danger of being discovered, the dormitory is the only place that is relatively safe…

After much hesitation, Ivan steeled his heart and decided to take a chance. He walked in the middle of the platform, mimicking Tom Riddle's movements in the original time and space, and spoke in snake language.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss ~ (speak to me, Slytherin - the greatest of the Hogwarts Big Four)"

Above, as Ivan watched, Slytherin's great stone face moved, and his mouth opened wider and wider, revealing a large, round hole large enough for a man to easily walk through.

Yvonne quickly closed her eyes, lest she make direct eye contact with the snake monster.

Fortunately, Ivan was able to see through the Unicorn's Shadow when he closed his eyes, though he was unsure if what he saw through magic would affect him.

If his memory served him right, the Basilisk's Dying effects did not work on everything. Phoenixes, also considered to be top-of-the-line magical creatures, were immune to them, and their Dying effects were weakened by mirror and surface reflections, which in turn petrified the target.

While thinking about it,

Vaguely, Ivan heard a rustling sound from above, as if something were slipping out of the statue's mouth.

The two owls Ivan brought with him lay on the ground, shivering and making cooing noises.

Ivan was on his guard. If he failed to communicate with the creature in the language of snakes, he was prepared to turn the two roosters back into their true forms.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss ~ (Hungry ~ so hungry…)"

The clear voice of the serpent came from the statue,

The next moment, the huge snake slithered out of the hole, its heavy body landing with a thud on the stone floor.

It slithered swiftly towards Ivan, who gripped his wand tightly. The strengthened runes were lit up, and the Shadowless Magic was ready to be cast.

Through the Patronus, Ivan had a clear view of the basilisk in front of him. It was green and had scales like old tree bark, and its large, flat head was covered in vicious, grainy protrusions.

The thing that frightened Ivan the most were those sharp, knife-like teeth and those eerie, strange, glowing eyes…