The Legacy of Salazar

Groundbreaking

If you had asked Hermione, back when she had just started at Hogwarts whether she would ever follow Draco Malfoy, Slytherin pureblood, into something called the Chamber of Secrets that would have been a resounding no. And yet, here she was, trying not to linger on the way the bones of small animals crunched beneath her shoes.

Draco led the way, looking far more relaxed than he ought to be. Or maybe he was just familiar with this place. He had found her just after dinner, something different in his grey eyes.

"Merlin has something he wants to tell us. Will you trust me?"

Hermione hadn't understood him until he led her into the girl's lavatory on the second floor and he kneeled down next to the sinks to hiss something. Parseltongue. He looked up at her frozen expression and said, "Merlin taught me how to get in."

He had offered his hand to her. "Trust me."

So now she was here, in the Chamber of Secrets with Draco Malfoy. She tried not to think, or focus on the grime and the filth, on the pounding of her heart.

The tunnel gave way to rough-hewn rock, and Draco paused briefly. "Don't panic, there's a snakeskin up ahead."

Lucky he had mentioned something because Hermione probably would have shrieked a curse otherwise. It was still an uncomfortable shock to see the poisonous green skin of an enormous snake. Merlin had killed this thing? Hermione had seen him take down a mountain troll, sure, but this was a Basilisk.

He scared her sometimes.

"Almost there, now," Draco said and around the corner, they found another door – a thick metal one with large emeralds set for the eyes. Draco cleared his throat and hissed. The door didn't move. She saw Draco frown and he tried again. Still nothing.

"It's—not as easy as it looks," Draco said in an offhand way, glancing over at Hermione. He took a deep breath. He hissed again, barely moving his lips and the snake moved. It slid back, and the door swung open.

"There we go." Draco took the door and stepping back. "After you," and his voice sounded almost kind.

Or maybe Hermione was reading too much into it.

She went through the door and he followed, shutting the door behind them. The space opened up before her, a large cavern filled with columns. It was illuminated by what looked like half a dozen miniature suns, balls of golden light that floated at the ceiling. She could just see a group of people standing near a large statue at the far end.

As they drew near, Hermione noticed a large circular table standing near the statue's feet. The stone looked as if it had been pulled right from the ground. Merlin stood on the far side, his back to the ancient statue of Salazar Slytherin. But also present was Fred and George Weasley, the two of them standing off to one side and watching their approach, and Ginny Weasley, who was sitting on the edge of the table.

"Excellent!" Merlin said with a broad smile. "What do you think, Hermione?"

"This place needs some couches."

"We concur!" cried Fred and George.

"Fair enough," Merlin said with a chuckle. "But before we get into that, I suppose I should explain why you're all here."

"And here I thought you would ask us to guess," said Ginny rolling her eyes.

Merlin paused, clasping his hands behind his back. Hermione could sense the atmosphere change, the way the mood turned serious. Ginny pushed off the table so that she could stand, all eyes on Merlin as he chewed his cheek for a moment.