Scorpius almost reached out and pulled Albus away from the opening of the pipe, but it was too late. His best friend had disappeared down the pipe that would lead him to the Chamber of Secrets. It's been decades since anyone has been down there. (At least that's what Scorpius thought.) Who knows what could be in that chamber now, 30 years after Harry Potter defeated the basilisk that had inhabited it.
"Well," Rose spoke up, crouching down in front of the entrance of the pipe, peering down it. "I suppose we should follow him now..."
"Let me go first," Scorpius blurted out, not knowing what came over him.
Rose lifted an eyebrow curiously. "Any particular reason?"
"Um...n-no." Why was he acting so weird around her all of a sudden?
"Are you worried about me?" Rose asked, smirking in suggestion.
Scorpius felt his face heat up, and he mentally cursed himself. She was purposely making him act like a fool! "No! I just figured I ought to be a gentlemen and go first, you know?"
"Sure," Rose replied, her back turned to him, facing the pipe again. He could by her tone that she was still smirking. "Though I appreciate the gesture, I don't need you to act manly and tough in front of me. Unlike you, I'm not afraid. See?"
And with that, Rose sat down and pushed off, vanishing down the pipe. She acted as if it were a safe, fun water slide.
Scorpius couldn't help but feel a twinge of something when Rose slid down the pipe. And that was worry. Why worry for Rose so much, but feel completely fine with his other two friends going down that pipe? He didn't understand. He couldn't possibly...
"You still have feelings for her," Holly suddenly said, making Scorpius jump. He'd almost forgotten that she was standing there.
"W-what?" he choked out incredulously, wide-eyed.
"You heard me," Holly retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Scorpius shook his head in disbelief. "Why would you think...?"
Holly giggled. "Are you daft? It's obvious, isn't it? You two have been flirting nonstop all day..."
"She's the one flirting with me!" Scorpius yelled, then realized how loud that was, hoping Rose couldn't hear them all the way down the pipe. He lowered his voice and added, "If anything, she's the one who has feelings for me."
Holly sighed, letting Scorpius's words sink in. "Look, I'm as surprised by Rose's actions as you are. It's not like her to be so...bold. Maybe you're right and she does have feelings for you, and her way of dealing with it is teasing you."
Scorpius thought about that possibility. It did seem logical. He hated to admit it, but the idea of Rose having feelings for him again excited him. Was he denying his own feelings?
"Okay," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Let's say I do have feelings for her..."
"So you admit it?" Holly asked excitedly, hopping in place.
"No," Scorpius interjected, maybe a little too fast. "This is a what if scenario. What if I had feelings for her back? How would we possibly deal with that? It's not like we can ever start dating again. What I did to her was unforgivable."
Holly pursed her lips, then asked after a moment. "What if she's ready to forgive you?"
Scorpius sighed, knowing that idea was too big of a long shot. Rose was extremely stubborn, which made the likelihood of her forgiving him for cheating on her imperceptible. But another part of him thought, If that's the case, then why does she keep teasing me?
Shaking the thought out of his mind, Scorpius eyes ventured over to the pipe, making him focus on what they were there to accomplish. Maybe Rose was right by saying he was scared. But replaying the conversation he just had with Holly in his head, he realized he wasn't scared of going down the pipe.
He was scared because of Rose.
Was she alright? Did she land at the bottom safely? Was there someone dangerous down there, who had been waiting for them? Was this all a trap? These thoughts fueled Scorpius's courage to slide down the pipe.
He marched over to the entrance, sitting down and firmly grabbing the sides of the pipe. He muttered to Holly, "Wish me luck."
Holly gently patted his shoulder and replied, "Good luck!"
Then, she gave Scorpius a big push, propelling him down the steep, slimy pipe. It reeked of sewage, and the twists and turns made him sick to his stomach. The moisture of the pipe made him slide down faster, hitting the curves at top speed. Scorpius felt like he was rushing down an endless, lightless water slide. Finally, the pipe leveled out and Scorpius could see a hint of light.
He shot out the end like a cannonball out of a canon, landing on the ground with a damp thud. Scorpius groaned, vowing to himself that he'd never do that again. Salazar Slytherin must have been a real daredevil to create such an entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Never thought you'd come down, mate," Albus said, who was standing nearby with Rose, who had her wand lit as a torch.
Scorpius sat up, surveying his surroundings. They were in a dark tunnel, nearly every inch of it covered in slime. The odor in the tunnel wasn't too great either, reeking of toilets and sewage. Scorpius and his friends would definitely need a shower when they returned to their rooms.
"Hey, where's Holly?" Albus asked, then they all froze when they heard an eerie Wheee!
"What is that?" Rose asked nervously, looking around to locate the noise. It was getting closer, the high pitch echoing loudly. Scorpius thought it was a ghost at first, but then realized where the noise was coming from.
He chuckled, and walked over to the end of the pipe. "I think I found Holly."
Echoing thuds and Holly's wheee's continued until she shot out of the pipe, landing on her feet but losing her balance and ended up crashing into Albus. She laid on top of him, giggling, while he moaned in pain from face-planting onto the slimy floor.
"Oops! Sorry, Albus!" Holly told him, wincing at the situation. "Although, I do appreciate the soft landing."
Albus groaned in reply, then moved his face to the side and said, "Babe, I'm happy you landed safely, but can you please get off of me?"
Scorpius laughed at the couple, but it immediately subsided as he watched Holly help Albus up, wiping a smear of gunk off his cheek with her thumb, then preceding to peck him on the opposite cheek. He couldn't help but feel jealous.
Forcing himself to look away, he took out his wand and muttered "Lumos," to himself, then inadvertently snapped at his friends, his frustration getting to him,"Let's head down the tunnel, guys."
His three friends looked at each other, thinking What's up with him? They all shrugged and followed Scorpius as he trudged with heavy footsteps down the tunnel. The group was silent, the only sounds around them being the loud wet slaps of their footsteps, the creaking of the water pipes, and eerily enough, the crunching of tiny animal bones that littered the floor of the tunnel. No one bothered to acknowledge the carcasses. Instead, they kept going, reluctantly turning with every turn, knowing they were almost there.
Finally, they reached the last bend in the tunnel, and the group came face to face with a round vault door, covered in two carved entwined serpents. Scorpius's body was now trembling, as he recalled the significance of this chamber. That door with the serpents was the only thing standing between them and whatever their need to be there was.
"Scorpius, can you...?" Albus asked, and Scorpius immediately knew what he meant.
Say open, like you did before, Salazar Slytherin whispered in his mind.
Scorpius breathed in deeply through his nose, then let a faint hiss escape his lips. His mouth tingled, like it had down the first time he spoke Parseltongue.
Just like that, the stone serpents slid apart, letting the chamber door crack open with a deep groan from not being opened in three decades. The Chamber of Secrets was now open.
The four friends walked inside, marveling at the size of the dim chamber. Pillars with serpents wrapped around them were stacked all the way down to the front of the chamber, where a towering stone statue of Salazar Slytherin loomed, making the place even more creepy than it already was.
Ah, isn't my statue marvelous? It is certainly something that is not worth being cooped up in a dark chamber where no one can see it, Salazar boasted. Scorpius ignored the prideful man in his head.
"So, this is the place where my father saved my mother's life 30 years ago, huh?" Albus muttered, obviously baffled by the idea.
"And the place where my parents shared their first kiss," Rose added, a smile etched on her face. Scorpius felt butterflies in his stomach at the sight of her smile.
"And the place where a giant, murderous basilisk lived for 50 years," Holly chimed in, her tone way too peppy for the statement she uttered.
"One of those instances is not like the other," Scorpius muttered jokingly.
The group continued down the long runway of the chamber, each of their wands clamped tightly in their hands. The thought of someone being in there with them at that very moment made Scorpius's heart pound. He was ready to hex whatever danger lurked in their way.
"There's nothing here," Albus said, his eyes darting around in confusion. "Then why do you reckon we were supposed to come down here?"
"Guys, look!" Holly chirped, pointing down at the front of the chamber.
Everyone fixed their gaze on what she was pointing to, and squinted. There was an object sitting inside the mouth of the Salazar Slytherin statue. Curiously, the group rushed down the long aisle of the chamber until they were directly below the statue. Up close, the object was what appeared to be a strangely-shaped rock.
"It's too high up," Rose said, standing on her tippy toes to attempt to look at the object. "I'm gonna climb the statue to get a better look."
Scorpius eyes widened in alarm. "No!"
His friends all looked at him funnily. "Why not?" Rose asked him curiously.
He quickly thought of an excuse that wouldn't make him look suspicious. "It's just...uh...w-what if you fall?"
Rose frowned. "That's what you're worried about? Me falling?"
Scorpius cleared his throat and nodded, hoping she was buying it. "Uh, yes."
Rose's ice blue eyes met Scorpius's gray ones, locking like magnets. Scorpius couldn't bring himself to look away. He wished he knew what Rose was thinking, for her facial expression was indistinguishable.
Finally, Rose snapped her eyes away from him and huffed out a breath, saying, "Fine. If you're so worried about me, why don't you climb up it with me?"
Scorpius gulped, craning his neck to look up at the towering statue. Climbing that wouldn't be too hard, right? Hesitantly, he nodded and replied, "Sure, why not?"
The two flirters stepped up to the opposite ends of the stone statue, each finding their footing and beginning their climb. Scorpius heard his and Rose's shoes squeak against the stone, remembering the wet tunnel they'd just walked through. He prayed neither of them would fall. Well, especially Rose.
Focus on climbing, Scorpius scolded himself.
"Be careful!" Holly called up at them.
Scorpius shoe slipped slightly. "No offense, Holly, but your encouragement really isn't helping!"
Rose climbed a bit faster than Scorpius, and had reached the statue's nose. She smirked down at him and said, "What's the matter Scorpius? Scared?"
Scorpius gritted his teeth as he climbed the last bit of the statue's beard, resting against the nose. "In your dreams."
The two stayed put at the nose, carefully peering down into the gaping mouth. The bronze-colored object was round and oval-shaped, with risen lines scattered all over it, resembling veins. It definitely didn't look like any kind of rock Scorpius had ever seen.
"What the hell is that?" he asked, adjusting his position so he could reach down and touch it. As soon as he pressed his palm against the stone-hard object, he jumped back, nearly losing his balance. It was throbbing, like it had a pulse.
"What is it?" Rose asked, reached down to touch it as well. As soon as she set her hand on it, her eyes widened, staring at the object disbelievingly. "What the...it's almost like it's...pulsating."
"It's like it's alive," Scorpius added, then looked at Rose. "But that's impossible. How could a rock be alive...wait, what's wrong?"
Rose's face had hardened as she slowly took her hand away from the object. She looked like she was having a horrible realization.
"Rose, what is it?" Scorpius repeated, worry taking over him.
"Scorpius, that's not a rock," Rose said gravely, then looked Scorpius straight in the eyes. "That's an egg."
~ ~ ~
That ending though...What do you suppose is in that egg? ;)
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a blast writing it! :)
Remember to vote, comment, and share! Love ya! *infinite kissy faces*