The Chamber's History

"What?" Ron stared at Harry as if his best friend had grown a second head. "You're a Parselmouth?"

"I told you about the voice last time," Harry said defensively. "You didn't believe me."

"You didn't tell me it was a snake."

"Ron," Fred and George said together, both unusually firm.

Ron closed his mouth. Cho looked at Edmund. "Do you know what the Chamber of Secrets is?"

Edmund thought for a moment. If they were going to panic, they might as well panic around facts rather than rumors.

"You all know Hogwarts was founded by four people," he began.

Everyone nodded.

"According to the old stories, the castle was built on land once tied to Salazar Slytherin's family. In the beginning, the four founders searched for gifted children and brought them here to train. Later, Slytherin disagreed with the others. He wanted Hogwarts to admit only students from pure-blood families. He believed Muggle-born children were unreliable and unworthy of magical education."

"Charming," Hermione said flatly.

"The argument grew bad enough that Slytherin left the school. Before he left, he supposedly sealed a hidden chamber somewhere in the castle. Only his heir would be able to open it and release whatever he left inside, purging the school of students he considered unworthy."

Ron shivered. "That's not exactly a bedtime story."

"So the Heir of Slytherin is here now?" Cho asked. "That is why the Chamber opened?"

"The Chamber was opened once before, fifty years ago," Edmund said. "A student died. Another student, Tom Riddle, caught the supposed culprit and received a Special Award for Services to the School."

Hermione's eyes sharpened first. "The student who was expelled..."

"Hagrid," Edmund said.

"No," Harry said at once. "Hagrid would never."

"The book does not name him directly," Edmund said, "but the expulsion records make it obvious. The girl who died was Myrtle Warren, the ghost in the girls' bathroom on the second floor."

The room was silent again. Then Edmund added, "Tom Riddle was Voldemort." Everyone except Harry flinched at the name.

"Then Voldemort opened the Chamber and framed Hagrid," Harry said, already rising. "I have to tell Dumbledore. He can clear Hagrid's name."

Edmund flicked his wand. Harry dropped back into his chair.

"Sit down," Edmund said. "What evidence do you have?"

Harry froze.

"Exactly. If you tell Dumbledore that Tom Riddle became Voldemort, he may believe you. If you tell him Voldemort opened the Chamber fifty years ago, he will ask for proof. You do not have any."

Harry's excitement withered into frustration.

"I am telling you this so you will be cautious," Edmund continued. "Do not go looking for the Chamber. It is not a treasure room. It is a danger that already killed one student."

That ended the conversation for the night.

Edmund returned to Ravenclaw Tower, but he did not go to sleep. He entered his trunk instead and checked several tools he might need. His Parseltongue still was not ready. He had already slipped into the second-floor girls' bathroom once and tried to open the entrance, but the sink had given him no response.

He would need Harry a little longer.

By the next morning, Ron had managed to spread most of Edmund's explanation through the school. To his credit, he did not mention that Tom Riddle had become Voldemort. Even without that detail, the story was enough to send Hogwarts into a frenzy.

Every copy of Hogwarts: A History in the library vanished from the shelves.

Students who usually slept through History of Magic began badgering Professor Binns about the Chamber until the ghost finally lost his temper and declared the entire legend nonsense. Fred and George turned the panic into business by selling handmade protective charms, at least until Professor McGonagall confiscated their entire remaining stock.

Dumbledore summoned Edmund to his office before the week was out.

"Mr. Gaunt," Dumbledore said, looking tired rather than angry, "your explanation seems to have made the students more afraid."

"I told them the facts I knew," Edmund replied. "Was any of it false?"

Dumbledore sighed. He was a man who cared about evidence. Without proof of wrongdoing, he still preferred to think of a student as a child who could be guided.

"No," he said. "But facts can still frighten children when they are given without shelter. I do not want Hogwarts to become a place where students spend every day waiting for an attack."

Edmund studied him for a moment. Dumbledore's love for the school was not fake. Seeing the students live in fear clearly weighed on him.

"Then don't let them stare at the fear all day," Edmund said. "Give them something else to focus on."

Dumbledore's blue eyes sharpened with interest.

"What did you have in mind?"

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