Chapter 71 Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets

The tunnel was as silent as a grave.

Suddenly, they heard an unexpected voice.

click

It turned out that Ron had crushed a rat skull.

Harry looked down at the ground and saw the bones of small animals strewn here and there. He tried desperately not to imagine what Ginny would be like when they found him.

Lockhart walked ahead, with short but constant frequency, leading Harry and Ron around a dark bend in the tunnel.

Harry, there's something over there... Ron said hoarsely, grabbing Harry by the shoulder.

The two stood still for a moment, watching nervously.

Harry saw the coiled silhouette of a monstrous creature lying motionless on the other side of the tunnel.

That's the snake slough, the skin that the basilisk shed.

Lockhart raised his wand so that the light could shine further.

The light shone on a pair of huge snake skin, which was green and very bright, and it looked like the skin of a poisonous snake. It lay coiled on the tunnel floor, empty inside.

Apparently the animal that had just shed its skin was at least twenty feet long.

My God! Ron sighed weakly.

Stay vigilant and move on. Lockhart said calmly.

The three of them turned one corner after another in the deep and dark tunnel.

Every nerve in Harry was trembling uncomfortably. He wished to get to the end of the tunnel quickly, but at the same time he was a little afraid that the tunnel really did end.

At last, carefully turning another bend, he found a solid wall ahead, carved with two intertwined snakes, with large, shining emeralds in their eyes. .

Potter Clue, it's time for you to play again. Lockhart said.

Without Lockhart saying it, Harry already guessed what he had to do.

He cleared his throat, and the emerald eyes seemed to twinkle.

He didn't need to imagine the stone snakes as real now, because their eyes looked exactly like the real ones.

Open it, said Harry in a low, hoarse hiss.

The two snakes parted, the stone wall split in the middle and slowly slid to the sides and disappeared.

It was one side of a long, dimly lit room.

There are many thick stone pillars here, carved with various coiled and entangled snakes, towering and supporting the ceiling that melted into the darkness of the heights, casting long and treacherous shadows on the room filled with mystery.

Lockhart half-raised his wand, and walked slowly between the serpent-wreathed stone pillars without saying a word.

At this time, Harry and Ron each drew out their wands, and followed behind him cautiously.

Every light step they took produced a hollow, dull echo among the ghostly walls.

In such a quiet environment, any unnecessary noise makes people feel abnormally disturbed.

When they came to a position between the last pair of stone pillars, there loomed before them a huge statue as tall as the room itself, clinging to the darkened wall behind.

The slightly greenish stone gave it an eerie aura.

They had to strain their necks to see the statue's face--an old, monkey-like face, with a long, sparse beard that trailed almost to the hem of the wizard's robes carved in stone, and two Padfoot stood firmly on the smooth floor of the room.

...Salazar Slytherin. Lockhart murmured, looking at the statue.

Between the statue's feet lay face down a small figure in a black robe, her hair red as fire.

Ginny!

Harry and Ron yelled,

Then he rushed to her side and squatted down.

Ginny! Oh—don't you die! Please—

Ron dropped his wand and grabbed Ginny by the shoulder, trying to turn her over. Harry put his wand aside, too, and reached out to help him.

At this moment Ginny's face was as cold and bloodless as marble, but her eyes were closed tightly, so she was not petrified.

Ginny, wake up - please - Ron whispered, shaking her in despair.

Ginny's head drooped lifelessly.

She won't wake up, said a voice softly.

Ron ignored the sound and just kept shaking Ginny's body as if he couldn't hear anything else.

Harry turned his head sharply.

A tall, dark-haired boy was leaning against the nearest stone pillar, watching him. The boy's outline was vague and strange, as if looking at him through a window filled with fog.

Who are you? What do you mean? You say she won't wake up? Harry asked angrily. She didn't—she didn't—

She's alive, said the shadowy boy, but not for long.

Harry froze in place, while Lockhart just stood there quietly, without saying a word.

Then who are you? Are you a ghost? Harry asked uncertainly.

It's a memory, Riddle said quietly, preserved in a diary for fifty years.

He pointed to the statue's big toe, where lay the diary Harry had picked up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

For a moment Harry couldn't figure out how it had gotten there, he had put it in his bedroom - but he had more pressing matters to attend to.

Harry stopped talking to him and, with great effort, helped Ron half lift Ginny off the ground.

Then, he leaned over to pick up his magic skill again, but the wand was gone.

Did you see—

For every wizard, the wand is a lifelong companion... Hold it well.

Beside Harry, Lockhart handed over Harry's wand, but his eyes were always fixed on the blurry figure.

Oh—professor, thank you—but what's the matter?

He wants to take your wand away. Lockhart raised his head and pointed to that side with his chin.

The tall boy stared at Lockhart for a moment, then looked back at Harry.

Harry Potter, I've been waiting a long time, he said, for the chance to see you and talk to you.

Oh, said Harry, losing his patience, you probably don't get my point. We're in the Chamber of Secrets now. We might as well talk about it later.

It has to be talked now, the boy said, the smile still evident on his face.

What's there to talk about! We must go back now, we need to save Ginny!

Ron broke out suddenly, and his angry shouts echoed in the huge room, and the echoes overlapped together, making the voice even more disturbing.

Let's talk about that, Lockhart said suddenly again. I think we must know how Ginny became like this?

Yeah, why did Ginny become like this? Harry couldn't help asking when he heard the words.

Ron, who was half hugging Ginny with Harry, couldn't help but calm down. After all, this question was really crucial.

Oh, that's an interesting question, said the boy cheerfully. It's a long story! In my opinion, the real reason why Ginny Weasley is like this is that she asked an invisible The stranger opened his heart and poured out his whole secret.

What are you talking about? said Harry.

The diary, said the boy, my diary. For months little Ginny has been writing in it, telling me her heart-rending troubles and sorrows—how she was made fun of by her brothers, how Having to come to school in old robes, with old books... and, she thinks—”

The boy's eyes twinkled slyly, She thought the famous, kind, great Harry Potter would never like her...

He never took his eyes off Harry's face as he spoke, as if he had no interest in the existence of anyone else.

There was something almost greedy in his eyes.

It's so tedious, listening to an eleven-year-old girl tell her childish worries, he went on, but I patiently wrote out something to answer her, I'm kind and understanding— Ginny just fell in love with me. Oh Tom, no one understands me like you do.. I'm so glad I got this diary, I can tell you the truth, it's like having a friend that you can carry in your pocket !

The boy let out a cold, raspy laugh that didn't sound like a sixteen-year-old kid at all - and it made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand on end.

I'm not bragging...Harry, I've always been able to charm people as much as I wanted. So, Ginny opened her whole soul to me. The boy said with a sly smile, and her soul happens to be What I needed—I devoured her deepest fears, her deepest secrets, with a growing appetite... I grew stronger, much stronger than little Miss Weasley. Miss Sly revealed a few of my secrets, and began to open a little part of my soul to her...

What are you talking about! Ron couldn't help shouting, but the other party didn't even have the interest to glance at him.

Can't you figure it out, Harry Potter? he whispered, It was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets; she strangled the school rooster and smeared Those scary words; she unleashed the Slytherin basilisk and attacked four Mudbloods, and the Squib skinny cat.

Oh—no! Impossible! The expression on Ron's face was distorted, This is absolutely impossible! You are lying! It was Maca who opened the secret room! Maca McClain!

... Maca McLean. Hearing this name, the smile on the boy's face disappeared immediately, and there was obvious irritation in his eyes.

Don't mention this name to me! His voice suddenly became low.