"It could be some other scaly magical creature," Cohen said. "It didn't bite me, though—maybe it's just someone's secret pet that wandered off."
Harry gave Cohen a puzzled look but didn't press him.
Some things could wait until daylight to figure out together.
The whole fiasco lasted about half an hour. Once everyone locked their doors, they fell back asleep—thanks to Cohen tossing a locking charm on them. Otherwise, no one would've gotten any rest.
Nobody wanted one of *those* things showing up in their bed.
The next day, after regrouping with Hermione, Harry dragged them all into a huddle to talk about what happened at midnight.
"We should tell Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, her voice tight with worry. "And you're saying you *heard* it speak?"
"Yeah, it said something like 'over here'—woke me and Cohen right up," Harry replied. "It talks like the Baron does?"
"Then it said, 'Come find me in the Chamber,' but it's nothing like the Baron. The Baron wouldn't crawl into my bed," Cohen growled. "Plus, the Baron doesn't have scales."
"Maybe it's Norbert," Ron quipped.
"This isn't funny, Ron—it's dangerous!" Hermione shot back. "If that thing's the one that attacked Filch and Mrs. Norris, Cohen could be next!"
"But it didn't even try to bite Cohen," Harry pointed out, confused. "If it wanted to attack him, it could've done it while he was asleep. Instead, it just told us to find it in the Chamber—maybe there's some kind of secret…"
"There's one big problem it didn't think about, though," Ron said.
"We don't even know what the Chamber is, where it is, or how to get there. If it really wanted to meet you, why not just pick a bathroom or something?"
Ron was a genius sometimes—the Chamber was, in fact, in a bathroom.
But Cohen had a hunch the Basilisk's words were meant for him alone, not Harry. After all, Harry wasn't the lab-created kid from the same experiment.
"Wait, Ron didn't hear it speak, right?" Hermione asked suddenly. "Only Cohen and Harry did?"
"Nope, didn't hear a thing," Ron said, shaking his head.
"There it is again…" Hermione frowned. "Hearing voices no one else can—especially now…"
"What's that mean?" Harry asked.
"If only we can talk to it, and it's the monster from the Chamber," Cohen cut in, "guess who everyone's going to think opened it?"
---
To avoid trouble, they decided not to tell the professors about the weird voices Harry and Cohen had heard.
Hogwarts, as everyone knew, was the worst place to keep a secret. Even though the staff hadn't said a word, news of Filch's attack spread like wildfire.
But more than Filch, people were obsessed with the writing on the wall. At first, everyone thought it was just a edgy prank, but now that someone had been attacked, the Chamber was all anyone could talk about.
The mystery of the Chamber finally unraveled in History of Magic the next week.
Hermione brought it up with Professor Binns—she hadn't found anything about it in *Hogwarts: A History*.
"This is a History of Magic class," Binns wheezed from behind his desk, floating as usual. "I deal in facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends."
He clearly didn't want to talk about it.
"Let's get back to our topic. In October of that year, a specialized team of Sardinian wizards—"
But Hermione raised her hand again.
"Sir, don't legends usually have some basis in fact?"
Normally, this class was a snooze-fest—dead air and drooping heads.
But now, every student was locked on Binns, putting the ghost professor—who rarely interacted with anyone—in a tough spot.
"Fine… fine…" Binns sighed.
"Let me think… the Chamber…"
He launched into the tale of Salazar Slytherin, his secret room, and the monster inside meant to "purify" the school.
The students listened more intently than they ever had to the actual lessons—this was what a class *should* feel like.
"I'll tell you right now, there's no such thing," Binns concluded. "No Chamber, no monster."
No one bought his last few words.
After class, the four of them headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old nutcase," Ron grumbled. "But I didn't know he started all this pure-blood nonsense. If the Sorting Hat had put me in Slytherin, I'd have gone straight home, no questions asked."
Hermione's face was pale.
"If Slytherin's logic holds, that monster in the Chamber—wouldn't it come after me too?"
"We won't let it hurt you, Hermione," Harry said, trying to comfort her, though he didn't look much better himself.
Harry stole a glance at Cohen.
He remembered the Sorting Hat had nearly put him in Slytherin—Cohen had said the same about himself. Could that tie into why only they could hear the monster?
But Cohen was lost in his own thoughts, head down.
*Should I try opening the Chamber again?*
The Basilisk—his blood kin—had invited him, and now Harry and the others knew about the Chamber. Even if something went wrong down there, it probably wouldn't be a big deal.
And since he shared the Basilisk's blood… he probably wouldn't get hurt by its stare, right? Otherwise, wouldn't it kill itself looking at water or a mirror?
**[Ding! Evil Side Quest Progress Updated]**
**[Evil Side Quest (2/7)]**
**[2. Save a Basilisk's Life]**
**[Reward: 1000 Sin Points, Flesh Puppet ×1]**
*Huh?*
Save a Basilisk?
Just *one*…
Cohen raised an eyebrow.
He could've sworn there were two. Their soul strength felt identical, but one was clearly the ancient Basilisk from the Chamber, while the other was the younger one from the same lab as him.
Saving just one didn't sound too hard.
As for that Flesh Puppet reward… it sounded like some warped, fleshy robot—perfect for odd jobs or scaring people.
Better than last year's frost wand, anyway. That thing was only good for keeping cool in the summer—Cohen hadn't found any real use for it yet.
Decision made: he was going to the Chamber this time. But he wouldn't bring Harry—Harry couldn't help much and might get caught in the Basilisk's crossfire. Then Dumbledore would probably come knocking.
(Chapter End)