| HIDDEN IN SECRETS |

chapter seventeen

MYTHS & LEGENDS

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For days, the students could not stop thinking about the events at Halloween. Verena had found that every book in the library that could have had information was gone. People whispered to each other, and for once, it wasn't about someone else.

No one could understand what the Chamber of Secrets was. There was no book with its myth and legend. People thought it was some room; others thought it was a secret tunnel underground. Whatever it was, it had been well hidden for years.

"Just ask him," Padma whispered to Terry Boot.

"Me?" he said back. "It was your idea. You do it if you're so curious. I'll just ask my father."

"That will take days," Padma muttered.

"Oh, for goodness sake," Verena said, rolling her eyes.

"Students, please pay attention," Professor Flitwick told them. "I will be assessing you before class ends today."

Verena raised her hand and then said, "How can we pay attention when no one's telling us about the Chamber of Secrets? If it's something dangerous, shouldn't we have the right to know?"

"Well— "

"She's right, Professor," Daphne spoke out. "All the Hogwarts: A History books have been checked out. Something petrified that cat. I'd like to know what it was so we can be prepared."

"Not that our kind will fall victim to it," Draco added quietly to himself.

"Oh, very well," he said slowly. "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out young individuals who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others.

"Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families – in other words, pure-bloods. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

"The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

"Muggle-borns," Terry said, giving wary looks at the Slytherins.

"The school has been searched many times, but no such chamber has been found," he added.

"Sir, what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within'?" Anthony asked.

"It is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," he replied.

By the day's end, everyone knew the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The next day, the Slytherins with known pure-blooded ancestors were given looks. For a while, it felt good. People steered clear away from them, and they felt like royalty.

"Have you heard what people are saying?" Daphne asked Verena as they sat together during lunch. "They think one of us is the Heir of Slytherin."

"Do you know the Hufflepuff I've recently befriended?" said Astoria.