HP: Redemption of The Platinum Boy

Chapter 48: The Entrance to the Chamber of Secrets

The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was about to begin.

Draco Malfoy, burdened with the serious task Hermione had entrusted to him, hurried through the bustling crowd and rushed toward the sea of gold and scarlet in the stands—his Slytherin green standing out starkly against it.

"Longbottom, have you seen Ron's sister?" He ran up to the Gryffindor stands, grabbed the round-faced boy in front of him, and asked urgently.

"M-Malfoy... I, I didn't see her..." Neville stammered. Wanting to try Ron's suggestion, he attempted to glare at Malfoy, but when he looked up, he was startled by the intensity in those gray eyes. "I didn't see her. She's not here."

Draco irritably released him, turned, and ran down the stairs toward the changing rooms below the stands.

Find Ron and Harry first.

Just as Draco arrived near the changing room, Professor McGonagall led a bewildered Ron inside. Professor McGonagall wasn't fond of scandal, much less likely to believe the words of a Slytherin student—she might even think he was slandering an innocent Gryffindor.

Professor McGonagall was always meticulous. To gain her trust, you had to present facts, evidence, and explain everything thoroughly. That would take far too long.

Now, Ginny Weasley had disappeared without a trace and might be planning a new attack from the shadows.

Draco hid nearby and waited, wanting to see when Harry and Ron would emerge.

Then he suddenly heard Gryffindor captain Oliver Wood shout angrily, "No! They can't cancel the match!"

Something extremely serious must have happened—otherwise the Quidditch match wouldn't be stopped.

An ominous feeling filled Draco's chest. Hopefully it wasn't the Basilisk.

Professor McGonagall walked out of the changing room with a grim expression, followed by Harry and Ron. Her face was severe, and Draco was even less inclined to reveal himself. He didn't want to walk into Professor McGonagall's line of fire and receive a tongue-lashing.

However, he was desperately concerned and needed to know what had happened, so he slipped into a gap beneath the stands, held his breath, and eavesdropped on their conversation through the canvas barrier.

Professor McGonagall's trembling voice came from the other side. "Mr. Weasley, I must ask you to steel yourself... Your sister Ginny has been taken by the monster from the Chamber of Secrets."

That was the sound of Ron's sharp intake of breath.

"I've already informed your parents. Now, you and Harry must return to your dormitory immediately. All students will take the Hogwarts Express home tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said. Her voice was steady, tinged with cold severity.

"What about my sister?" Ron cried out in despair.

"Professor Lockhart believes he can locate the entrance to the Chamber, so we've assigned him this task. He will go and rescue your sister," Professor McGonagall said.

Draco heard no glimmer of hope in those words.

"It can't be him!" Ron sobbed, his voice filled with utter despair.

As if the name "Lockhart" alone had already condemned his sister to death.

"Mr. Potter, take Mr. Weasley back to Gryffindor Tower and keep him there. Don't let him do anything foolish. The Hogwarts staff are convening to discuss our options." Her hurried footsteps faded as soon as she finished speaking.

Professor McGonagall had left, Draco thought grimly.

"Please, not Lockhart! That useless pretty boy—how could he possibly save Ginny?" Ron sobbed.

Draco pulled out the Marauder's Map and examined it closely, but Ginny Weasley's name was nowhere to be found. She must have entered the Chamber of Secrets—a place not shown on the Map.

After a moment's hesitation, he pocketed the Map, quietly emerged from the other side of the scaffolding, and didn't go looking for Harry or Ron again.

It was too late.

Whether his suspicions were shared with them or not no longer mattered.

How could he say it? While Ron's sister was imprisoned in the Chamber and on the verge of death, could he tell Ron, "I've discovered that your sister might be the one who opened the Chamber?"

Ron would be devastated, might even draw his wand and curse him on the spot.

Now the worst had happened. Ron's sister was innocent—a victim—and Draco had to find a way to save her. He couldn't stand by and do nothing, especially since it was quite possible his father, Lucius, had dragged her into this nightmare.

Father, you've committed a terrible sin—one where the son must pay for the father's crimes.

He'd assumed Harry and Ron knew the Chamber's location, just as they had in his previous life. However, judging from their conversation, they seemed completely ignorant of it.

Where had things gone wrong? Why didn't they know?

Draco was utterly baffled. He followed the dispersing crowd back to the castle, but instead of heading to the Slytherin dungeons, he climbed the stairs. Ignoring the occasional questioning glances from students, he went straight to Ravenclaw Tower.

The deep, quiet corridor in the tower's corner was completely deserted.

Only the Grey Lady, the resident ghost, drifted among the tall columns. Alert as always, she would flee at the first sound of approaching footsteps.

"Wait, Lady Grey, it's me—Draco Malfoy," Draco called urgently.

"Ah, it's you." As if waking from a dream, the Grey Lady turned and drifted closer. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I think you know what's just happened at this school," Draco said, meeting her ethereal gaze.

Her transparent face was sorrowful as she nodded silently.

"You once said you didn't know where the Chamber's entrance was. When I came seeking your help last time—to have Luna Lovegood provide that list—you mentioned you seemed to have a clue about the Chamber's location. Now, after so many attacks, you must have noticed where the entrance is, haven't you?" Draco said softly. "Tell me, and I'll find the Basilisk, retrieve its fangs, and destroy that object you despise."

The Grey Lady gazed at him with mournful eyes.

"You could lose your life."

"That's my concern. It's worth attempting, isn't it?" Draco smiled at her, meeting her gaze without fear.

Another lengthy silence followed as the Grey Lady seemed lost in contemplation.

"I believe you know Moaning Myrtle, don't you?" A complex expression crossed the Grey Lady's translucent face before settling into determination. "I think the entrance is in her bathroom. I passed by there earlier and heard something... unusual. That's all I can tell you."

"Thank you, Lady Grey."

Draco rushed downstairs, leaving the Grey Lady's faint sigh behind, and ran toward the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor.

To his surprise, Harry and Ron—who were supposed to be in Gryffindor Tower—had arrived before him.

What happened? In such a short time, they'd actually discovered the Chamber's location? Draco stared at them in bewilderment, feeling slightly unsettled.

At that moment, Harry and Ron stood facing Lockhart, wands raised in a tense standoff.

Beside them, where a sink had once been, a large pipe entrance gaped open.

"What are you doing—" Even having lived two lives, Draco was shocked by the scene. "—threatening a professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, you've arrived just in time! Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are threatening me with their wands! Threatening a professor—how dare they! Disarm them! I know you can do it, just like you did at the Dueling Club!" Lockhart shouted desperately, as if he'd found a lifeline.

"Don't believe him! Lockhart's a fraud. He just admitted that everything in his books is stolen from other people's experiences—he used Memory Charms on them!" Harry said quickly.

Ron had abandoned all pretense of coldness toward Draco. He nodded frantically, clearly nervous that Draco might side with Lockhart and shift the balance of power.

"Don't listen to them! They've gone mad! Desperate for attention! They actually think they can find that missing Gryffindor girl all by themselves!" Lockhart shouted, as if volume alone determined truth.

Draco smiled pleasantly at Lockhart, and in that hopeful moment of returned courtesy, cast a crisp "Expelliarmus!" The wand flew instantly across the room, landing in Myrtle's favorite toilet cubicle.

"Oh!" Myrtle, who'd been watching the commotion, could no longer pretend invisibility. She swooped from behind the cubicle door onto the ceiling. "Don't litter! How rude!"

"I apologize, Myrtle—that wasn't meant for you," Draco said, keeping his wand trained steadily on Lockhart. "I'll make proper amends after this is finished."

Draco had been targeting Lockhart—he'd wanted to do that for quite some time.

Using his supposed charm to deceive young, impressionable witches, making them increasingly obsessed with him... Lockhart should be grateful Draco was merciful and hadn't used a more vicious hex.

The three facing him were stunned.

Draco, seemingly oblivious to their expressions, asked Harry calmly, "What's the plan? You've found the Chamber's entrance? Shall we proceed?"

He nodded casually toward the pipe opening, though internally he was thrilled.

Basilisk fangs—just one step away!

"Yes." Harry snapped from his daze and smiled at Draco before turning a grim expression on Lockhart. "We were just about to send him down first to scout ahead."

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Lockhart attempted a smile, but his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.

"Shut up, you useless fraud," Draco said dismissively, glancing at him from the corner of his eye. "Do as Harry says!"

Lockhart's face gradually paled.

"You're—you're all conspiring together?" he realized suddenly. Then he awkwardly smoothed his golden hair, forcing a smile. "Well, since I'm the only professor present, I suppose I should take the lead..."

Before he could finish, an impatient Ron kicked him into the bottomless pipe.

Lockhart's terrified scream echoed from the depths.

That melodious shriek, Draco thought dismissively. If those witches who idolized his supposed courage heard it, they might immediately turn against him.

Perhaps you'll stop drawing silly hearts on your timetable now, Hermione Granger?

"Together?" Harry asked.

Draco said nothing but nodded encouragingly.

Harry gave him a nervous smile and jumped into the pipe.

"Be careful down there," Draco called into the darkness. Then he looked calmly at Ron. "Who's next?"

"I still haven't forgiven you about Scabbers," Ron said, his face pale as he stepped toward the pipe, grumbling. "If Ginny weren't in danger right now..."

"Stop wasting time!" Draco kicked him down the pipe, then jumped after him, sliding through the slick, endless darkness while shouting, "Get down there before you lecture me!"

After winding downward for what felt like ages, descending deep beneath the school, Draco could faintly hear slight thumps as bodies hit bends ahead—though he couldn't tell if it was Harry or Ron.

Finally, he landed with a thud on damp ground.

Not far away, Lockhart was covered in filth and looked utterly disheveled, his face as pale as a Hogwarts ghost—no longer the preening peacock.

Closer to Draco, Harry and Ron, also mud-splattered, were scrambling to their feet.

"Disgusting," Draco muttered, raising his hand to sniff the stench on his sleeve with revulsion. He cast a quick Scouring Charm on himself, then illuminated the wand tip to peer into the dark stone tunnel depths. "Lumos."

"I'd say we're well below even the dungeons," Draco's voice echoed through the darkness.

"We must be miles beneath the school," Harry agreed.

"Merlin's beard, my wand... it's bent, and covered in slime," Ron muttered.

"Put it away for now—we'll fix it when we get back," Harry said, exasperated. He whispered to his own wand, "Lumos."

A pale light emanated from the wand tip, and Ron followed closely behind Harry, heading deeper into the tunnel.

"Come along, Professor Lockhart—our 'fearless leader,'" Draco said coldly, giving him a menacing smile.

Lockhart nodded nervously, clearly terrified. He followed Ron silently, walking slowly forward.

Draco chose to follow behind Lockhart. In this situation, he would never expose his back to someone untrustworthy. He didn't trust Lockhart and despised the possibility of being stabbed from behind.

Sometimes the human heart was more terrifying than the unknown darkness.

After walking awhile, the ground no longer felt damp but made disturbing crunching sounds with each step. Draco shone his wandlight on the floor and saw it was littered with small animal bones.

This Basilisk eats well, Draco thought darkly, gripping his wand tighter.

Now that the Basilisk's leftover meals had appeared, the creature itself might emerge at any moment.

"Basilisk!" Lockhart shrieked, cowering behind Ron.

"Shut up! That's just Basilisk skin!" Ron said, staring ahead with renewed determination.

An enormous, brilliant green snakeskin lay before them—at least twenty feet long.

Draco heard gasps of awe from those ahead, and he felt equally astonished.

The sight was breathtaking and terrifying in equal measure.

Though he'd been mentally prepared, it wasn't until seeing this horrifying evidence that he was absolutely certain Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets was real.

And there truly was a Basilisk that had silently prowled Hogwarts Castle for a thousand years, still enormous after all this time.

Poor Hermione. His heart clenched. He'd known the Basilisk existed, but he hadn't realized it was this massive. She must have been utterly terrified facing that horrible creature.

No wonder she'd looked so pitiful, trembling and constantly burrowing into his arms.

He should have comforted her more. The thought filled him with tenderness as he worried about the girl lying in the Hospital Wing. She'd tearfully told him she didn't want to be alone—she must have been so frightened. Was she still afraid now?

But he was also glad she hadn't come. Otherwise, seeing this skin would surely have terrified her again. When she'd said she was "much better," she was definitely just being brave.

Could she sleep now? Was she alone? If she was awake, would she cry again? He couldn't help worrying.

"Harry, how do we fight this Basilisk and get Ginny back?" Ron asked, his voice trembling with suppressed tears.

The question cut through Draco's reverie. He snapped back to attention, brought his wand closer to the snakeskin, and examined it by wandlight. He sighed, at a loss for words.

In his previous life, he'd only heard vague rumors about the Chamber and the Basilisk but knew nothing specific.

Now that things had reached this point, directly confronting the Basilisk seemed highly likely—which made Draco incredibly anxious. He had little confidence in handling such a massive creature; even adult wizards might lack that confidence.

Both its fangs and its gaze could kill instantly.

Perhaps only a powerful wizard like Dumbledore could rival this Basilisk.

In his past life, how had Harry—that reckless Gryffindor—managed to defeat it?

Draco glanced at Harry beside him, who stood gazing in awe at the snakeskin, completely unaware of what lay ahead. Equally oblivious to the unusual respect Draco now held for him.

Perhaps Harry possessed exceptional talent? Draco wondered.

Though it wasn't usually apparent, Harry was, after all, a wizard who'd managed to kill a Basilisk!

I must watch carefully to see how he handles that creature and what makes him so unusual, Draco thought, studying the still-bewildered boy with new eyes.