Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

31: The chamber of secrets (Tom's POV)

The only audible sound was that of his shoes slowly taking steps in the dark, narrow passageway. The sound echoed a little. There was a thin layer of water on the ground, but Tom didn't even notice it leaking through his shoes and dampening his socks. He reached out one of his hands and dragged his fingers across the stone wall, collecting some drops of water that were running down from the low ceiling. It was so low, it forced Tom to bow his head slightly.
The path down to the chamber was long, with a lot of twists and turns. He was the first to walk here in a very, very long time. As far as Tom knew, he was the first human that made their way down here in recent years.

It had taken him months to find the chamber. He had read book after book on the founders of Hogwarts and the lore that surrounded the creation of the castle. Finally, he had found an ancient looking copy of an autobiography of Salazar Slytherin. That led him to a different book, that talked about the fallout between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It was full of theories about both men, and Tom decided to check up on a few of them. If there really was a beast locked under the school that would rid the grounds of Howarts of mudblood.. well, he would find use for it.
More so, if it was true that only the real heir of Slytherin could open the chamber that led to this monster, it was made for him. He was put here to finish a mission. To use this to his advantage, further the cause.

The last time he went here was a couple of weeks ago, after he had taken Siobhans copy of 'secrets of the darkest arts' from her trunk during Christmas. The book contained shit that Tom had searched for for ages. Curses, hexes, and potions that made your skin crawl. He had wondered what Siobhan did with a book like that, so he decided it was better for her if he kept it.
Besides a million different ways to torture someone, the book also gave the last hint of where Tom could find Salazars secret chamber. 'True evil lies hidden in Hogwarts where the snake meets water,' the book had said.
Two days later, Tom noticed a sink, engraved with a snake, in the girls' bathroom on the second floor. He had found a ravenclaw fourth year crying there that night, and after he had sent her back up to her common room, the pieces fell into place in his head.
The bathroom had been out of use since he got to Hogwarts. 'Flooding,' they said, but it slowly started to look like a very poor excuse to keep students away. Combined with all the research he did these last months, he came to the right conclusion; the chamber was right there. Hidden in plain sight.

He had only briefly explored his new
discovery that night. He remembered just staring at the sink, after he asked it to open itself in parsletongue in disbelief. Slowly but steadily, it had made room for a hole in the ground behind it.
After taking the ladder down, surrounded by darkness, Tom knew 100% sure he was on the right path. In the distance, he heard the faint hissing of a serpent. For him, it sounded as clear as English, though. It had asked him if it was here to help it kill.

A small smile spread over Tom's face as he remembered the words. No, he would not disappoint his heir.

Tom kept walking. After a while, it felt like hours had passed. Just when he was starting to doubt if he had taken the right path, the narrow passage opened up in a spacious, cave like chamber.
The walls and ceiling were high, supported by pillars intricately decorated with snakes and.. muggles. The bottom of each pillar was made to look like a small group of muggles were carrying it's weight. Tom smirked.
At the far end of the chamber stood a larger than life statue of a powerful looking wizard. Tom recognized the maker of the chamber immediately. A grin spread over his haughty face once more; he had done it. Of course he had, he was the only living heir and thereby the only one who was able to. It was his birthright. Still, he felt incredibly satisfied with himself.

'Show me your secrets..' Tom whispered to the vast amount of nothing. The words came out in parsletongue without him even having to try. The chamber remained silent.
What if it had been too long? Why had all his family members before him been so incompetent and worthless? The beast hadn't been tended to, and now it was too late. Tom felt the smugness of minutes ago slowly leave his body. Fuck.
He raised a hand and ran it through his damp hair, his frustration growing. His eyes scanned the chamber for any sign of magic or life.