Chapter 167 - Coming back to The Manor! (Patreon)

{Outer Vault, Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts}

{31th Oct 1991} 

{Rigel's POV}

...

Dumbledore wasn't the only one staring at me. I felt a couple of stares at the back of my head. Because Dumbledore, using magic, didn't have any such reaction from the chamber's wards, it was easy to conclude that the chamber considered me some form of heir to the Slytherin legacy.

'Now what? I know the command to open the sculpture at the end was different, so at least I won't have to worry about opening that.'

A dull thud signified that more people were entering the chamber, and I decided to follow the path that was laid out for me. Another thing I noticed was that the smell was gone, which was quite contrary to my expectations. Maybe the wards had something like a clearing charm mixed in.

The chamber, though, still looked dirty; the water on either side of the platform was stale. No one said anything, and everyone concentrated at the base of the statue.

"Is that-?" Narcissa asked. Though she hadn't completed her question, everyone could tell what she was asking.

"Probably yeah, who else would it be," I replied as I looked around. Everyone was looking at the massive head in awe and wonder. While their thoughts were hidden, I could tell the calculating look that appeared in Lucius and Fudge's eyes as they looked at each other.

'Now what?'

"As you can see, there is nothing in this chamber other than maybe Salazar Slytherin's final resting place," I spoke; everyone's head snapped at my words, and they looked at me with incredulous eyes.

"You are saying this is a tomb?" Lucius asked. He clearly did not believe what I was saying.

"From what I know, yes," I replied, maybe because this was the first straight answer I had given him. Lucius's expression was unreadable.

"But we can't be sure if there is another Basilisk hidden in there without checking," Fudge replied. They both seemed adamant about exploring the secrets of the chamber. 

"Sure, if you can open it up, be my guest to check. But I won't take that chance to disturb my ancestor's final rest." It was a bogus reason, but I was clear that I wouldn't even attempt to use parseltongue to open the next hurdle. 

"Then we would have no choice but to suspect you for unleashing the beast onto Hogwarts," Lucius threatened. 

I shrugged, "I gave you an alibi. If you want to arrest another member of House Black on false charges, then be my guest."

The confrontation quickly reached a stalemate, and it was Amelia who broke the silence, saying, "No one is charging anyone anything. There are no signs of another Basilisk living down here; there was just one snakeskin. The investigation on who unleashed the Basilisk will continue as the Aurors will look into the mana signatures around the entrance."

Lucius clearly didn't like this outcome as his gaze once again drifted toward the sculpture, his grip on his wand/staff tightened. With the investigation over, I spoke, "I need to get back to the Greengrass Manor. I have some outstanding obligations to fulfill." 

I started walking away from the inner part of the chamber and arrived at the entrance once again, not keen on gripping the dirty railings once again. I pointed my wand toward the door and cast a weak propulsion charm.

"Ascendio~" The charm lifted my feet off the ground as I flew towards the circular entrance. I let go of the spell when my feet were above the railing. 

After landing, I turned around and spoke, "I'm going to close the door and the entrance; please follow me."

A lot of grumbling supplemented the following walk back at not being given a chance to look around the chamber carefully; being a secretive and mythical area, the whole experience was underwhelming for everyone. Another use of the propulsion charm after everyone arrived back at Myrtle's bathroom, the infamous ghost was present. However, she quickly fled into her toilet when she saw so many people coming out of a tunnel.

"~Close~" I hissed, and the entrance once again morphed into an ordinary sink.

I sighed in relief that the situation was handled. I wasn't interested in what tale Dumbledore and Fudge would spin to dissuade the public. Right now, I was thinking about how I would get back to Greengrass Manor. I turned to Dumbledore, and upon seeing me, he simply nodded. With a flare of fire, Fawkes appeared above my head and gripped onto my shoulders.

A curtain of flames interrupted my view, and after a bout of weightlessness, I once again stood in the Greengrass family's grand hall. There was no one around, though my presence didn't go unnoticed as a house elf with big green eyes popped into the room. He looked at me with wide eyes before he popped away.

A few seconds later, I heard the sounds of doors opening as Daphne barged into the hall from the door to my right. Her eyes went up and down, searching for something, but then she sighed in relief and asked, "How did you get in here?"

"Apparently, having a phoenix as a familiar is quite useful." I walked over to her, and her eyes continued to scan my visage.

"Let's go. Mother and Father have a lot of questions. The newspaper is reporting that Hogwarts suffered a breach and a dark wizard ambushed Dumbledore, and in the process, a couple of students were killed." Her voice was a little low.

"I don't know much. I just had to show the minister and the Aurors around the Chamber of Secrets to prove no more Basilisks are hiding in Hogwarts." Daphne's steps faltered at my words. She looked at me in shock and asked, "The chamber of secrets?"

"Of course, where else would a massive snake appear past the Hogwarts wards." My rhetorical words didn't seem to faze her as she looked down, her thoughts outside my reach to predict.

'Still, I didn't get to talk to anyone about the incident if Voldemort attacked Hogwarts for the Philoshiper's stone. Why now, and why did the events change? Shouldn't he try to cause a distraction like in canon with the troll? Why involve a Basilisk when you can't be sure about where the stone is? Did he even get the stone? I'm pretty sure Dumbledore set the last trap with the Mirror of Erised after Christmas...'

I had plenty of questions but no answers yet. I had no other choice but to wait for the ball to begin, and then I could question Tracy or someone else about what the rumor mill had to say

...

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AN: Sorry for the late chap. My new colleagues organized a party because of the end of my probationary period. I'm still a little hungover. Anyway, most of the important events about the first year are over, though you will see the changes in the timeline in the next few chapters.

The next few chapters will take place around the Greengrass ball, with plenty of smut and different characters. See ya guys tomorrow!