Chapter 251 Sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle

The legend of the Chamber of Secrets has existed for thousands of years. The successive principals of Hogwarts have searched for traces of the Chamber of Secrets many times, but they have never been able to find Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

The chamber of secrets became a lost chamber, a legend.

It wasn't until 1992 that the Chamber of Secrets was opened again, and people realized that the Chamber of Secrets was not just a legend, but a reality. No one would have thought that the entrance to the secret room was actually hidden in the girls' bathroom, under the sink.

Principal Dumbledore entered the secret passage first, followed closely by Ada. Ada slid down the dark, slimy slide. It felt like playing in a water park, except that the slide here was a bit cramped, depressing, and dirty.

The pipes under the pool have many branches leading to all directions. These should be the school's deep underground drainage pipes. But no matter which branched pipe it was, it was not as thick as this pipe. Ada's heart sank. This basilisk might not be small.

This pipe has twists and turns, seven twists and eights, and the slope is very steep all the way down. I don’t know how long it took to slide, but the water pipe became horizontal, and then Ada emerged from the mouth of the pipe.

Ada, who was in mid-air, used magic to adjust her body shape so that she wouldn't hit the ground flat. When Ada landed safely, she saw a dark stone tunnel ahead, and Dumbledore was holding up his wand, using the light from the tip of the wand to see what was going on inside.

Not only the feet, but also the air are moist here. The surroundings are dark and sticky walls. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of water. Snakes have always liked dark and humid environments, and the same goes for basilisks. This is simply a paradise for this cold-blooded animal.

After using the cleaning spell to tidy up the dirt on her body, Ada, who felt much refreshed, also moved forward and stood beside Dumbledore. After a while, Harry, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout also appeared behind him.

Both professors were clean, except Harry who was covered in mud and looked as dirty as a mud monkey. Ada walked up to Harry, raised her wands towards him, and whispered: "Clean up!"

"Let's go!" Dumbledore said softly, "Be careful and pay attention to any strange noises." Dumbledore's voice echoed in the dark tunnel. After speaking, he raised his wand and walked forward, with everyone behind him hurriedly Keep up.

It was too dark in the tunnel, and the only light came from everyone's fluorescent spell. The light of the wands reflected their shadows on the wet walls, adding a bit of a weird and evil atmosphere to the tunnel.

The tunnel was as silent as a tomb. No one spoke. Everyone held their breath to prevent themselves from making too much noise. Gradually, everyone found many bones of small animals on the ground. The deeper they went into the tunnel, the more bones there were.

Turning a dark bend in the tunnel, Dumbledore, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped, and everyone behind him also stopped. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes and threw the light from the tip of his staff inside.

With this light, Ada saw the outline of a coiled giant, lying motionless on the other side of the tunnel. Ada subconsciously thought it was a basilisk, and quickly lowered her head to look at the ground to prevent herself from looking directly at the basilisk.

"Snake is a big guy." Dumbledore said in a serious voice, "Everyone, be careful. We should not be far away."

This snakeskin, which shed off unknown how long ago, is estimated to be twenty feet long. It is conceivable that the basilisk in the secret room will only be bigger, maybe it has grown to fifty feet.

The three professors and two students continued walking deeper into the tunnel. When passing by the snake skin, Ada took a look at the snake skin. This snake skin was green and very bright in color. It was lying coiled on the ground of the tunnel and looked very valuable.

As we walked, we came to the end of the tunnel. The basilisk that made everyone fearful never appeared. There was only a solid wall waiting for everyone. There are also two intertwined snakes carved on the wall, with large, sparkling green gems in their eyes.

"Harry!" Dumbledore called softly. If he wanted to pass through this wall, he would need the help of Harry's Parseltongue.

Harry, the door-opener, walked up, followed by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout, standing on either side of Harry. Dumbledore stood a little behind Harry, and at the same time just blocked Ada's view.

In this way, when there is any change in the wall, the three professors can protect the two students in an instant, and can also stop the basilisk from causing harm to them.

In the dark tunnel, a low, hoarse hissing sound sounded. The two snakes that were originally entangled together separated. The stone wall cracked from the middle and slowly slid to both sides and disappeared.

Dumbledore put down his hand covering Harry's eyes and continued to walk forward, saying as he walked: "It seems we have arrived."

The basilisk still didn't appear. What appeared in front of everyone was a long, dimly lit room. This is the secret room built by Slytherin, the secret room that has been missing for thousands of years!

Many stone pillars carved with entangled snakes towered up to support the ceiling that melted into the darkness above, casting long and strange black shadows on the entire room that was filled with green and mysterious mist.

In the room filled with ghosts, only the sound of footsteps echoed. In the innermost part of the room was a statue as tall as the room itself, clinging to the dark wall behind.

"Salazar Slytherin!" Professor Flitwick blurted out as he looked at the statue. The statue looked exactly like the Slytherin portrait kept in the castle.

"Ginny Weasley!" Sprout exclaimed, her voice sounding strange as it bounced off the walls.

Between the two feet of the statue, a figure wearing a black school robe sat there. His hair, which was originally as red as flames, had lost its former luster, like a clump of dead grass.

Although she was worried about Ginny's condition, Ada did not rush forward to check. Instead, she raised her wand to alert the surroundings, as did the three professors.

Harry ran over recklessly and threw his wand on the ground. Harry squatted next to Ginny and softly called the girl's name, hoping to wake her up.

But Ginny just sat there blankly, her eyes dull and her little head drooping lifelessly. No matter how Harry shouted and begged, the little girl didn't respond to her male god, like a broken rag doll.

"Pick up your wand, Harry!" Ada couldn't stand it anymore, so she reminded aloud, "Let's take Ginny away first!"

In such a dangerous chamber of secrets, even if he was worried about Ginny, Harry should not let go of his wand. A wizard who has lost his wand is no better than a Muggle. He also has no ability to resist when faced with danger.

Before Harry could make a move, a strange voice suddenly sounded in the secret room, "Welcome, welcome. Professor Dumbledore's arrival will make the secret room shine!"

A tall boy with black hair suddenly appeared in the room. The boy's outline was unclear. He looked neither like a living person nor a ghost.

To Ada, the boy seemed to be reflected in a projector. Although his appearance was unclear, Ada felt strangely that he should be very handsome.

"We meet again, Tom." Dumbledore said calmly, as if the boy's sudden appearance did not surprise him.

Upon hearing this name, the two professors did not react for a moment. After all, the name Tom is so common. The owner of the Leaky Cauldron, The Wrapped Walnut, is also named Tom.

"Tom Riddle!" Ada whispered, "Heir of Slytherin."

The two professors trembled together. Even the professors at Hogwarts would inevitably feel afraid of the notorious Lord Voldemort.

Tom Riddle's whole body exuded a strange, foggy shimmer, and he smiled and said: "Yes, we meet again. After so many years, you can still recognize me at a glance."

"Because you are still the same as you were fifty years ago, nothing has changed." Dumbledore said, "You have opened the Chamber of Secrets again."

Tom Riddle had a nice smile on his face, and he played with his wand, Harry's wand, between his long fingers.

He smiled and said: "I fooled everyone at the time. They all thought it was the stupid Hagrid who killed the mudblood. Only you, only you have always doubted me."

"So, you kept your sixteen-year-old self in a diary and waited for today, right?" Dumbledore asked.