<h4>Chapter 62: Stories about secret rooms</h4>


    Dumbledore''s surprised exmation drew Drac''s attention as well, making him look towards the unyielding brass faucet.


    "This snake motif seems like Szar''s style; he might have secretly modified this pipe to conceal a hidden chamber that isn''t noted in the deeds," Drac observed, intrigued by the faucet.


    He was quite dissatisfied with Szar Slytherin''s little tricks and couldn''t help but tease, "I never imagined Szar would be this kind of person, cing a hidden chamber entrance in the girls''vatory; and that Voldemort isn''t much different, managing to find the entrance in the girls''vatory!"


    In fact, even though Drac was a close friend of Slytherin, he didn''t know the exact location of the hidden chamber.


    Initially, the chamber''s entrance wasn''t located in thevatory. At the beginning of its construction, Slytherin and his descendants could ess the chamber through a concealed trapdoor and a series of magically protected passages, avoiding the risk of being used of perversion by entering the girls''vatory.


    However, by the 18th century, with the increase in students and water usage, Hogwarts'' plumbing system had be increasinglyplex.


    In the 18th century, one headmaster of Hogwarts nned to build a girls''vatory near the chamber''s entrance, which is now the half-abandonedvatory where Moaning Myrtle is.


    Due to the construction of thisvatory, the concealment of the chamber was threatened.


    At that time, there was a student at Hogwarts named Corvinus Gaunt, a distinguished direct descendant of Slytherin, who was very familiar with the chamber''s location. Through his modifications, the entrance to the chamber was secretly protected and connected through a pipe to the location of the brass faucet in the girls''vatory.


    Thus, the entrance to the hidden chamber that Drac and Dumbledore saw was formed.


    "There has always been a legend about the hidden chamber at Hogwarts; it seems it might be true," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "ording to the legend, this hidden chamber was built by Szar Slytherin before he left the school, and only he and his sessors could open it."


    "The legend says that the chamber is home to a terrifying monster that only Slytherin and his sessors can control. When it is unleashed at Hogwarts, it will ''purify the school,'' eliminating all those whom Slytherin deems unworthy of learning magic."


    "Nonsense," Drac scoffed. "With Szar''s proud nature, no matter how much he quarreled with Godric and the others, he wouldn''t turn his hand against innocent students. Even if he did leave a monster, it was probably just a legacy for his descendants."


    "Uncle Drac, do you mean that Slytherin didn''t leave the monster as an act of revenge?" Myrtle leaned forward, asking curiously. "I always thought that after the conflict with my mother and the other two heads, he built the hidden chamber in a fit of anger to eliminate the specially admitted Muggle-born wizards."


    "From what I know about Szar, I would be more inclined to believe he built the hidden chamber to protect Hogwarts," Drac said, pursing his lips as he looked at Myrtle. "You should know Szar''s ideology, right, Myrtle?"


    Myrtle nodded.


    "Slytherin believed that admitting Muggle-born wizards would expose Hogwarts and endanger the castle," she said.


    "Hmm, so it''s more likely that, holding this belief, he built a hidden chamber before leaving," Drac exined slowly. "He left a powerful monster in the chamber to protect Hogwarts from external threats and released it when necessary. This exnation seems to align better with his nature."


    After listening to Drac, Dumbledore wiped his eyes with a touch of emotion.


    "What a touching story! A great founder, even when falling out with friends, doesn''t forget to protect their shared legacy," he said emotionally. "It seems the magical world has greatly misunderstood Slytherin''s character!"


    Seeing Dumbledore''s emotional response, Drac hesitated, reluctant to interrupt his feelings.


    "Er, Dumbledore, let''s hold back the emotions for a moment and hear me out..." he nudged Dumbledore''s arm, "Actually... the magical world doesn''t really have such a big misunderstanding about him."


    Dumbledore looked at him in confusion.


    "Szar wasn''t as noble as you think," Drac said, after some hesitation, speaking quietly to him. "His hidden chamber is definitely like the rumors say, only his sessor can open it."


    "In that case, it''s likely that Szar intended for his sessor to use the monster''s power to turn the tide in times of external invasion, thus making his Slytherin House naturally overshadow the other three houses..."


    Dumbledore''s expression froze.


    The emotional impact was somewhat diminished, and the strong feeling of inspiration had vanished.


    "Forget it, as long as Slytherin didn''t intend to harm Hogwarts students, that''s already quite good..." Dumbledore silently rephrased his thoughts.


    "As far as I know, Szar had no creativity; he liked to use Parseltongue for passwords and thought it was very secure," Drac said with interest as he turned the non-functioning faucet. He identally unscrewed it. "If the chamber was left for his sessor, the entrance should be opened with Parseltongue."


    "That makes sense. Tom Riddle, being a descendant of Slytherin, would naturally speak Parseltongue," Dumbledore said with a knowing look. "Tom''s mother was from the Gaunt family, so he has half of the Gaunt family''s blood."


    "No wonder," Drac said, casually tossing the removed faucet on the ground, sighing. "Slytherin probably didn''t expect his heir to misuse what he left behind to do bad things..."


    At this moment, Moaning Myrtle finally emerged from the toilet.


    She had been secretly observing Drac and Dumbledore for a while, and seeing them discussing a faucet, her curiosity got the better of her, and she floated over to them.


    "I died right around here!" She looked at the sink area, suddenly disying a proud expression, her eyes sparkling with excitement.


    "Oh? Do you remember how you died?" Drac leaned back against the sink, asking with interest.


    "Oh, it was so terrifying!" she said with relish, showing no sign of fear. "It happened right here; I remember it very clearly. Someone was mocking me for wearing sses, calling me a four-eyed dog, and I came here to cry, then suddenly heard someoneing in."


    "But what annoyed me was, it was a boy who came in, speaking some ridiculous, iprehensible words at the sink. So I ran over to scold him to go away, to his own boys''vatory, and then—" Moaning Myrtle puffed up her chest proudly, her face glowing, "—then I died!"


    "If I remember correctly, what you''ve described is simr to what you told Headmaster Dipet about fifty years ago, Myrtle," Dumbledore said gently. "What we want to know is specifically how you died. Or rather, what method did the boy use to kill you?"


    "Actually, I don''t know exactly how I died," Myrtle said mysteriously, leaning closer to Drac. "I just remember seeing a pair of huge, terrifying yellow eyes, my whole body seemed to be grabbed, and then I floated away..."


    Then Myrtle became excited again, her face full of joy. "Actually, dying wasn''t so bad; I came back as a ghost. I haven''t even settled scores with Olive Hornby yet! Oh, she certainly regrets mocking my sses back then!"


    Dumbledore nodded.


    "ording to Myrtle, it seems Tom didn''t personally kill her. So the guess that there''s a monster behind this faucet is likely correct. And that monster is probably under Tom''s control," he said.


    Then, Dumbledore turned to Drac. "Can you open this entrance, Professor Drac?"


    "Of course!"


    Drac eagerly flexed his wrist and raised his hand towards the faucet.


    A deeply dark sphere of light appeared in his palm. The sphere, like a ck hole absorbing everything, continuously gathered the surrounding magical energy, its aura growing increasingly powerful and terrifying.


    Dumbledore initially thought Drac intended to use Hogwarts'' deeds andndlord privileges to open the Slytherin''s entrance mechanism. But upon seeing the terrifying aura of the ck hole, he instantly realized.


    "You mean opening the entrance... is by forcibly sting it open with magic?!" Dumbledore''s eye twitched, and he quickly stepped in front of Drac. "Professor Drac, don''t be reckless, stop your magic at once!"


    "How else are we supposed to get in without sting it open? I don''t speak Szar''s Parseltongue."


    Drac''s wine-red eyes seemed to be glowing as he eagerly looked at the faucet, refusing to stop.


    "You''ll ruin the castle''s magical system, Drac!" Dumbledore''s expression darkened, even drawing his wand. "There''s no need to gamble with Hogwarts'' safety for a weak Voldemort!"


    Saying this, he raised his wand towards Drac.