Then, the statue representing Hufflepuff, carved in the likeness of a badger, began to emit a low, rumbling sound, as if its massive form was gradually stirring from a thousand-year slumber.
At the base of the statue, where it met the wall, mysterious runes flickered with a golden light, the glow spreading along the contours of the statue as though it were the lifeblood granting it movement. As the light flowed, the statue slowly lifted its heavy feet, detaching itself from the wall!
The statue's movements were deliberate and unhurried, like a loyal guardian fulfilling its duty. The carved badger seemed to come alive, its eyes gleaming with a gentle yet resolute light, and its once-endearing expression now bore a solemn and dignified air.
"Thud, Thud, Thud~"
With each step of the ten-meter-high statue, the ground quivered slightly while the dragon's skeleton remained towering and unmoving. Ian felt as though he were standing on unsteady ground, as if an earthquake had struck.
"Is this the last line of defense left by the founders?"
Ian felt as though he had been transported back to the first time he'd seen a giant in a wizard's tale, and he stared up in awe at the towering statue, the overwhelming surge of magic leaving him utterly dumbfounded.
Deep within him, he felt as though he had established some kind of connection with the statue. Of course, this connection didn't allow Ian to transform into light and merge with the statue, becoming a colossal ancient being in an instant.
"Raise your hand?"
Ian tentatively gave the command, and sure enough, the statue raised its hand in response to his thoughts, the golden light swirling around it as if gathering into some form of magical attack.
However, Ian didn't dare to test it in this confined space; if he accidentally caused the chamber to collapse and ended up buried beneath the rubble, he, unable to Apparate, would truly find himself in the Forbidden Forest of trouble, reuniting with his ancestors.
"If this is indeed a last resort left by the four founders, there must be a way to move them out, right?" Before Ian could figure out how to relocate the massive Hufflepuff statue,
"Crash, boom!"
Another violent tremor and sound erupted.
The serpent-shaped statue representing Slytherin also began to stir. Its coiled form seemed to be imbued with a soul, twisting and writhing as its cold stone eyes flickered with an eerie green light. The statue detached from the wall, leaning forward as if a long-hidden schemer had finally found the opportunity to strike.
As it moved, the snake's body scraped against the ground, producing a hissing sound as though whispering ancient Slytherin incantations, the noise echoing ominously in the silent chamber.
The aura emanating from these two statues was entirely different, and as they stood up, they revealed the areas behind them— two stone passageways!
"Blimey!" Ian wasn't the only one surprised.
Far above, Snape, who was who knows how many meters up, felt the magic he had cast on Ian's wand falter. He immediately frowned and quickly pulled out the Marauder's Map he had confiscated to check Quirrell's location.
Seeing that Quirrell was still in his bedroom, Snape let out a slight sigh of relief. He thought that no matter how reckless Ian was, he wouldn't dare to provoke a professor in their own quarters.
"That slippery layabones!"
Perhaps assuming that Ian had finally reached his limit and used magic to clean the toilets, Snape didn't get up but merely muttered a complaint before returning to his experiment.
The potions in the cauldron bubbled away, and he was attempting to see if he could bypass Ian's Infinite Firepower Potion and concoct a substitute for it.
...
Ian didn't hesitate for long.
Seeing the two passageways revealed by the statues standing up, he weighed his options for a moment before diving into the passage behind the Slytherin statue. The long stone passage was far less grand than the ancient underground chamber, but it held its own eerie allure.
Having already broken the rules, Ian immediately raised his wand, casting a Lumos Charm to dispel the darkness in the passage. This was a secret tunnel that, while it didn't leak water, was far more unpleasant to traverse than one that did.
The glow from Ian's wand illuminated the passage, revealing walls that were dark and grimy, clearly untouched for years, littered with the remains of various small creatures.
Moss grew over the bones, which were covered in mold, and the mold seemed to be feeding off the moss, filling the entire passage with a nauseating stench. Ian felt his stomach churn.
He quickly cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself to avoid retching up his dinner. As he pressed on, Ian soon arrived at a platform connected to a tunnel.
"Creak, Creak~"
He poked his head out from the opened stone wall and immediately saw the outline of a massive creature lying motionless on the platform, resembling a lifeless sculpture.
"So, this connects to the real Chamber of Secrets," Ian muttered.
The glow from his wand illuminated the platform, revealing the enormous, greenish sheen of a basilisk's shed skin.
It lay coiled on the small platform, hollow and brittle, clearly belonging to Slytherin's basilisk— a highly valuable potion ingredient.
Ian jumped from the stone wall onto the platform and immediately began to pack the snake skin into his enchanted pouch without a second thought. He then glanced toward the deeper area ahead.
He knew.
The Chamber of Secrets, along with its great treasure, was right there.
"I've uncovered an even more astonishing secret within Hogwarts today; I'll have to come back for the basilisk when I have time," Ian thought. After weighing his options, he dove back into the passage behind the stone wall.
A night's time wasn't much, and he needed to manage it wisely. Retracing his steps through the foul-smelling tunnel, Ian quickly returned to the spacious underground chamber.
The two statues were still standing there, maintaining their connection with him.
"Why didn't the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw statues stir? I'm clearly a Ravenclaw, and I've received recognition from Lady Ravenclaw more than once!"
Ian was certain that the other two statues also concealed similar passageways behind them, but no matter how he tried to recite the spells he had just learned, the two statues remained stubbornly inert.
"Is this the meaning of 'unapproachable' for a cold woman and a passionate man?" Ian wondered aloud. He even attempted to manipulate the Hufflepuff and Slytherin statues to pry the other two founders' statues from the walls, but after considerable effort, he achieved nothing.
The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor statues seemed as though they were permanently fixed in place. Perhaps the dragon skeleton could help lift these two statues?
That creature was far larger than the ten-meter-high statues.
"Reanimate the bones!" Ian raised his wand and directed it at the massive dragon skeleton in the center of the chamber, but this action only confirmed his suspicions about the magical resistance of the prehistoric beast. The bones remained lifeless, as unyielding as the stone walls themselves.
"GaZhi GaZhi~"
The skeleton of the dragon merely shuddered violently for a moment; Ian's magic failed to control it. This wasn't just a matter of the dragon's innate magical resistance but also a reflection of Ian's insufficient magical power and skill.
"Is this what it feels like to have a treasure trove but no key to unlock it…" Undeterred, Ian increased his magical output and attempted several more times, but the dragon's skeleton only swayed in place, refusing to budge.
From the feedback of his failed attempts, Ian sensed that even if Dumbledore and Grindelwald were here, they wouldn't fare much better than he did in controlling this skeletal beast.
"At least I still have you two," Ian muttered, turning to the two towering statues.
Though riding on the shoulders of the statues wasn't as thrilling as commanding the bone dragon, they were still the likenesses of the four founders, which carried a certain prestige.
He imagined riding the Slytherin statue during the Quidditch finals to cheer for his house, thinking it would utterly demoralize the Slytherin team and weaken their performance.
To be honest, Ian wasn't particularly fond of Quidditch, but he was very keen on earning House points. He was motivated to prevent other houses from gaining an advantage.
And making a grand entrance? Who wouldn't want to be the center of attention?
(To Be Continued…)
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