In the deafening silence that seemed to last for eternity, Merlin sat in purgatory, waiting for any sort of reaction from his mentor and master. Finally, Salazar opened his mouth, the rest of his body seemingly petrified. "I see..." he muttered, as if there was nothing more to say. In worry, Merlin quickly began to explain. "While test-riding my newest broom, I crashed and was helped by a Muggle prince while he was on a quest. Prince Arthur. We have become friends."
By the time there was a lull, Merlin saw Salazar's head tilt towards the ceiling before he spoke. "Have I taught you NOTHING!?" Salazar screamed, the entire room quaking under the sheer pressure of his magic. Merlin found himself gasping for air as Salazar turned around, his eyes filled with betrayal. "Through all those who attended this school… You have been the best and brightest… You have been the one I picked to pass on my teachings..." He slowly walked toward Merlin, his gentle footfalls disproportionate to the fearful power he emanated.
Merlin gasped, still wanting to explain. "We—We can live in peace… Arthur is not like his father; we can build a kingdom for both—" Before he could finish, he was thrown aside, his entire body slamming against a shelf, which shattered under the force of impact.
"You can build nothing of the sort!" Salazar raised his voice, pulling Merlin's wand away with the Summoning Charm, the spell bringing it silently to his own hand.
With a sigh, he turned away, indifferent to Merlin's pain as he spoke. "You have been blinded by your life of peace… You have not seen the lengths and terrors Muggles have gone to in their hatred of our kind… I hoped you would have seen that." Salazar shook his head, pressing his fingers to his temple. "There is no peace in communion… The only peace we have attained, the one you have thoughtlessly lived in, was only brokered through segregation. I have told you this time after time, what none of the others seem to understand! Now, including you..."
As Merlin barely got to his feet, leaning against the wall to keep himself upright, Salazar caressed the sheet-covered box with one hand, the other playing with the locket around his neck. Merlin's gasps for air fell on deaf ears. "I had come so close to trusting you with my final request before leaving… However, I suppose only the bounds of blood shall carry out my will for generations to come… To keep the peace I have built with my own two hands, from the top of the towers down to the deepest bowels of this school…" After a few seconds of silence, he finally looked back at Merlin and tossed his wand to the floor in front of him. "Leave."
Merlin, shaking, stared down at his wand before looking back up at his mentor in disbelief. "M-Master...?" Before he could say anything more, Salazar cut him off with a silencing spell, locking his lips together. "There will be none of that… You are no longer an heir of my tutelage… If anything, I would cast you out of my house. Leave me now before I force you to do so myself."
With a gasp, I was suddenly broken from the story, the loud bell of the clocktower jerking me from my seat. With a few unsteady breaths, I quelled my beating heart, licking my dry lips before speaking. "You were the one he told… about the Chamber." The old image of Merlin slowly nodded, a deep sigh escaping his nose. "Indeed," he murmured, reliving one of the worst memories of his life. "I spent years of my life as a professor in these halls, searching for where he hid the Chamber of Secrets and the beast he raised within it… Salazar had a habit of building hidden rooms for only those he deemed worthy to view and learn from."
"Like the one you described earlier? Do you know of many more?" I asked, hoping one might contain a clue I could find as an heir to Salazar. Merlin nodded in response. "Yes, just like that one. However, I must apologize—after all these long years, the locations of his hidden studies have eluded me." I frowned with disappointment, now left with only a loose lead to the Chamber's location.
"Thank you," I said, giving a nod to Merlin as he turned his chair back toward the horizon. "Think nothing of it… Think of it as my own selfish desire to aid you in righting the wrongs of your bloodline." As I stood up, I paused at his words. He knew I was truly an heir of Salazar. Staring at his slow rocking motion, I held back from asking how he figured it out. Instead, I pondered a sudden idea that came to mind—wondering if Salazar had created an enchantment to resonate with his own bloodline for years to come, to resonate with my blood.
'I must hurry,' I thought with gritted teeth, quickly heading out from behind the major staircase. As I did, students from other houses turned their heads one by one, their distraught and accusatory gazes stinging all over my body. I quickly walked away from the main stairs, where morning breakfast was being served, the hall full of students glaring at me for being a Slytherin.
I made my way through the main courtyard and toward the boathouse. The further I walked, the less populated the area became. Returning to the winding road toward the boathouse I had been rushed through before was nostalgic, if not a bit wistful. I longed for my years here to end so I could leave and never look back. There had been many triumphs, but just as many scars. I grasped my chest, the weight in my heart growing heavier just from the memories I had buried deep.
"Alohomora," I whispered, waving my wand at the locked wooden door, an audible click accompanying my voice. Opening the doors, the humidity in the air sharply rose as I stepped inside toward the staircase, looking down at the filled docks. With a sigh, shaking away my nerves, I closed the door behind me and carefully made my way down the stairs, ensuring the moisture in the air wouldn't make me slip on the stonework. This place certainly was a great place to hide something—a room used only once a year, never thought of by older students or staff, only the newest students who were on everyone's mind.
At the end of the top stairs, there was a small level portion where new students stood as they were introduced to the school. I could hear faint hissing whispers a few steps off the beaten path. Looking around, I walked toward the same area where Merlin's painting was hung in the main school halls, where the barely audible hissing could be heard. 'Why would he ask to be placed in a location filled with such bad memories?' I wondered, placing my hands on the cold stone, feeling around as I closely examined each individual brick.
After a few minutes, I felt a familiar sensation against my fingertips and paused, the hissing growing ever so slightly louder. I removed my hand and intensely gazed at a single gray brick. The texture was slightly different from the others surrounding it, resembling scales. "This is it," I whispered, taking a breath before tapping my wand against the brick.
Slowly dragging my wand back, hissing emanated from the wall, and a gray stonework snake followed my wand, using my arm to keep itself upright. "Feed me twice with magical power." I paused, hearing the wall hiss instructions that matched Merlin's words. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and stepped forward, headfirst
into the undulating doorway.