Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 65: Opening The Chamber of Secrets

Rose blinked hard, testing to see if what she was seeing on the map was real. Amazingly, this wasn't a trick of the mind. The Chamber of Secrets had appeared on the Marauder's map, boldly and clearly before their eyes.

"This is crazy," Rose said, shaking her head. "The Chamber of Secrets isn't supposed to appear on the Marauder's map."

"No, it isn't," Scorpius agreed.

"Well, what do you suppose it means?" Holly asked.

What did it mean? Rose knew for sure it wasn't just a coincidence that the Chamber of Secrets had magically appeared on the map just for the four of them, and not anyone else. Fate had a funny way of displaying itself.

Albus sighed. "Probably trouble," he replied.

He had a point there. Then a thought occurred to Rose.

"What if it's a sign from the Founders?" she suggested. "This might have something to do with the prophecy."

"I don't know. It might be," Albus said, shrugging. "But what does the Chamber of Secrets have to do with what's going to occur? Remember, my father already took care of that issue."

"Maybe we need to go into the Chamber of Secrets," Holly said lowly.

Rose stared at her friend with wide eyes. "Are you mad? We can't possibly go in there. It's been strictly off limits from students and teachers since the Battle of Hogwarts."

"That may be," Scorpius told her. "But what if that's our only option? Why else would it appear on the map?"

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again. She hated to admit to herself that Scorpius may be right.

"What's the matter, Rose?" Scorpius asked, smirking. "You're not scared, are you?"

Rose tried not to blush while he was giving her the smirk, but failed miserably, making her mentally curse herself. She swore that stupid smirk was still her weakness. Suddenly, Rose felt the need to prove Scorpius wrong.

Holding her chin up high, she replied calmly, "No, I am not scared." Then she stood up and headed towards the door, looking at her friends expectedly. "Well? Are we going or not?"

Her friends stared at her, dumbfounded. Rose couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

"You're not serious, are you?" Scorpius asked her, confusion etched on his face.

"What's wrong?" Rose retaliated, copying his signature smirk. "Scared?"

Scorpius stood up, heading over towards the door and standing beside Rose. Grinning, he replied, "Not at all."

* * *

Scorpius and Rose were insane.

Albus knew going into the Chamber of Secrets and risking getting them all into some serious trouble was just a way for the two of them to prove each other wrong. Not only that, but they were obviously flirting with one another.

He had to admit, he was pretty curious to enter the Chamber of Secrets and see if it meant anything to the prophecy. It was the very room where his father, at only 12 years old, slayed the basilisk that was threatening the school and saved his mother's life. History was made in the Chamber of Secrets, and it felt almost sacred to visit it.

Rose had cast a cloaking spell over the four of them so they could get through Hogwarts hopefully undetected, but that still didn't ease Albus's anxiety. If they ran into Professor McGonagall or any other teacher, they probably detect them in a heartbeat. Each footstep they took made Albus wince as they echoed in the stone corridor. Plus, it was nearly pitch black in the castle except for the faint glow from their wands, adding to the uneasiness that someone could be lurking near them. Albus lost track of the amount of time they'd been tiptoeing through the hallways.