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For days on end, the only thing the students talked about was the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch's behavior made sure no one could forget it for even a second. He kept pacing around the spot where it happened, like he thought the attacker might come back.
He scrubbed the writing on the wall with Madam Skour's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but it didn't work—the words still shone brightly on the stone.
When he wasn't patrolling the scene, he'd lurk in the corridors with bloodshot eyes, suddenly jumping out at unsuspecting students and throwing them in detention for random reasons, like "breathing too loud" or "smirking."
"Can you believe those idiot Gryffindors actually think Harry is the Heir of Slytherin? That he attacked Mrs. Norris? Utterly hopeless," Malfoy said loudly in the Hogwarts Great Hall.
"Oh? So you know something about the legend of the Chamber?" Lillian asked, clearly intrigued.
"Not a ton," Malfoy said with a wave of his hand, "but I do know it has to do with Salazar Slytherin. So there's no way his heir would be a Gryffindor."
"Well, you can't say that for sure," Lillian replied, sounding half-annoyed and half-disappointed. "Anything's possible. How do you know what criteria he used to choose his heir? If you ask me, Harry could be the Heir."
Malfoy's face turned bright red. He started mumbling nonsense under his breath.
"The Heir of Slytherin probably isn't Harry," Augustus jumped in to bail Malfoy out. "I've read up on that bit of history. Malfoy's got a point—it's unlikely the heir would be from Gryffindor."
Malfoy nodded gratefully. "Exactly. No matter how you look at it, Harry can't be the heir. The real one has to be someone else—and definitely a pureblood Slytherin."
"Oh? Are you talking about me?" Loki strolled over, wearing a smug grin. Ever since he started studying magic under Augustus, he often came over to the second-years' table to eat. "As a pureblood with generations of Slytherins in the family, I should be honored, right?"
"If we're just talking about blood purity, who here isn't pureblood?" Malfoy sneered, clinking his cutlery loudly. "No need for you to show off."
"Oh really?" Loki replied, a glint of disdain flickering in his amber eyes. "If we're talking family history, the Malfoys don't exactly come out on top. No deep roots, no legacy. Your family wouldn't be fit for the spotlight, let alone something like inheriting the Chamber of Secrets."
"Alright, that's enough," Augustus said calmly, cutting through the tension like cold water on a flame. "A person's family doesn't mean everything.
Neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore came from some grand old family, and who today can match what they've accomplished? So don't get too attached to your last names.
Don't let them blind you. Time reveals the truth. Only by shedding these superficial labels can you walk further on the path of magic, which is the pursuit of truth."
The three of them fell silent at his words.
The afternoon bell rang, and the group headed off to History of Magic.
Out of all their classes, History of Magic was the dullest. Their professor, Binns, was the only ghost teacher in the school. The most exciting part of his class was when he floated through the blackboard to enter the room.
He was extremely old, with skin wrinkled like dried parchment. Some said he never realized he'd died—he simply got up to go teach one day and accidentally left his body behind in an armchair by the staff room fireplace. Since then, he carried on exactly as before, without the slightest change.
Augustus, unlike most students, actually enjoyed the subject. He found it fascinating to study how magical civilizations evolved from their earliest days to their prime. It didn't matter who taught it—the content itself was valuable and meaningful.
Professor Binns was droning on about the 12th International Wizarding Conference, when he suddenly looked up, startled. "You are—?"
"I'm Lillian, Professor," she said clearly. "I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Well," Binns said slowly, "yes, I suppose I could." He stared at Lillian intently, as if he'd never really looked closely at a student before. "But the legend you mention is rather sensational—honestly, quite ridiculous…"
Even though Augustus already knew a lot about the Chamber's history, he was still curious to hear how Binns would explain it from his perspective.
Now, the whole class was hanging on the professor's every word. He blinked his old, tired eyes at them—all their faces were turned toward him, unusually attentive. This kind of interest clearly made Binns uncomfortable.
"Ah… well then," he said reluctantly. "Let me think… the Chamber of Secrets… So, as you all know, Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago—exact dates are unclear—by the four greatest witches and wizards of the time.
The four Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built the castle together, far from the eyes of Muggles, since back then, ordinary folk feared magic. Witches and wizards were often persecuted."
He paused, scanned the room with his hazy gaze, and continued. "In the early years, the founders worked well together, seeking out children with magical talent and bringing them here to learn. But over time, disagreements arose—especially between Slytherin and the others.
He wanted Hogwarts to be more selective, only admitting those from pure magical families. He didn't trust Muggle-borns and thought they were unreliable. Eventually, this led to a fierce argument with Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."
Binns paused again, his lips puckered like a withered old turtle.
"That's what the reliable historical records tell us," he said. "But those facts have been buried under the bizarre legend of the Chamber. The story goes that Slytherin secretly built a hidden room in the castle, without the other founders knowing.
"According to the tale, Slytherin sealed the Chamber so that no one could open it—except his true heir. Only the heir would be able to unlock it and release the horror within to purge the school of all unworthy to study magic."
When he finished, the class was dead silent—but not the sleepy kind of silence his lectures usually caused. Every student was still staring at him, waiting for more. The atmosphere was tense, and Binns looked a little annoyed.
Augustus chuckled quietly to himself. What Binns had said matched everything he already knew about the Chamber.
But honestly, it didn't matter to him who the heir was. The heir of some legendary wizard meant nothing to someone like him—someone who in his past life had almost set foot into the divine realm of magic.
One step into that realm, and everything changes. Even if Salazar Slytherin came back to life, at best he'd just be another legend of the present day.
But Augustus had his sights set higher—on that elusive, unreachable state of true magical transcendence.
Everything else was just fleeting illusions, pretty mirages in a shallow world.
"....."