The Ambitions Of Rebekah Potter

Chapter Twenty Four

For the next few days, everyone was curious about the Chamber of Secrets. No one had actually known anything about and so everyone tried to get Hogwarts: A History out of the Library. Hermione had complained about it.

"All the copies of Hogwarts: A History have been taken out," Hermione said as she walked up to the alcove in the highest bookshelves. "And there's a two-week waiting list. Why did I have to leave my copy at home? With all the Lockhart books, there wasn't enough room for it."

"I think I brought mine," Rebekah said as she rummaged through her endless pouch, quickly becoming impatient and simply summoned the book. "See? I have every book I have ever brought with me."

There was very little about the Chamber in the book, only mentioned once as the room that Salazar Slytherin had placed into the school before leaving.

The bell rang and it was time for History of Magic. Professor Binns entered through his blackboard and very slowly, began lecturing in a flat drone. It was the same as ever until Hermione shook her hand in the air.

"Miss?"

"Granger, sir," Hermione said clearly. "I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets."

That gained everyone attention, several of the Gryffindors sat up and most of the Slytherins took the books off of their sleeping faces.

"I deal with facts, not myths and legends, Miss Granger," He said dryly and then turned to Rebekah when she held her hand up. "Yes, Miss Potter?"

"All legends and myths are part of history though. A lot of the time, people just exaggerated the facts and those adjusted facts had been passed on to the next generation, resulting in those legends," Rebekah tried to reason with him.

He realised that all the students looked awake and very intrigued. "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much. But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course," He said. "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Hermione's hand was back in the air. "Sir, what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," Professor Binns said in his hoarse voice.