Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 305 Entering the Secret Chamber

Chapter 305 Entering the Secret Chamber

Without the slightest hesitation, Professor Castor's sharp grey eyes scanned the rotating archway of light and shadow. He gave Karen a concise and clear gesture—follow him. Then, he swam forward first, his figure disappearing into the distorted light curtain.

Karen immediately followed. The moment he passed through the archway, a strange sensation enveloped him. It wasn't an impact or resistance, but rather like a cool, supple film of water gently brushing over his body, instantly absorbing all the lake water clinging to him. The heaviness of his soaked robes and the biting chill vanished in an instant; his hair and clothes became completely dry, as if he had never touched the deep waters of the Black Lake. Only a trace of the cool touch from penetrating the water film remained on his skin, but it quickly dissipated into the surrounding air.

He instinctively took a breath, the dry, slightly cool air carrying a peculiar scent that filled his lungs—a mixture of ancient parchment, some long-dried herbs, and a faint, indescribable smell of mineral dust. It was completely different from the damp caves or gloomy dungeons he had imagined.

The sight before her made Karen's eyes widen slightly.

They were in a wide, rectangular stone chamber. The light did not come from torches or the usual magical flames, but from dozens of fist-sized, round crystals embedded in the walls, emitting a soft, steady white light, and from several large, waist-high glass jars in the corners of the room. These jars were filled with clear liquid, bubbling with extremely fine bubbles, containing samples of strangely shaped, difficult-to-identify magical creature tissues. These tissues themselves emitted a hazy bioluminescence, together illuminating the entire space clearly.

What's most surprising is the space itself. Looking at the rock face from the outside, it's impossible to imagine that such a spacious area lies inside. The area far exceeds the thickness the rock face should have.

"Expanding space." Professor Castor's deep voice sounded beside him. He was also quickly scanning the surroundings, his wand not retracted, but held at an angle ready to cast a spell at any moment. "A very skillful technique. It didn't rely on brute force to carve out the mountain, but directly distorted and expanded the original spatial structure, and perfectly anchored and concealed it. And what's most surprising is that this space has existed so stably for over a thousand years. Salazar Slytherin's mastery of spatial magic far surpasses the imagination of many modern wizards."

His tone carried a pure admiration, but the wariness in his eyes remained undiminished. "Stay alert, Karen. Just because the outside is undefended doesn't mean the inside is safe. The deadliest traps often lie beneath seemingly harmless appearances." As he spoke, he began to smoothly wave his wand, muttering several complex detection spells in a low voice.

An invisible magical wave spread out like ripples, sweeping across the ground, walls, and ceiling.

Karen immediately suppressed her surprise, took a deep breath of the dry air, and activated her "Eye of Truth" to its fullest extent. In her grey-blue eyes, the world was once again filled with dazzling magical light.

However, the scene that came into his "eyes" was once again unexpected.

The entire stone chamber was enveloped by an extremely ancient yet exceptionally stable silver-white magical network—clearly the basic magical framework that maintained the existence of this extended space, with an exquisitely crafted structure that appeared to be non-aggressive.

The illuminating crystal and the specimen jar were coated with faint, continuously circulating magic, perhaps for safety, as steady as breathing. Aside from that, he saw none of the expected protective magic, curse runes, or trigger-based magical traps that shimmered with dangerous light. As far as the eye could see, the flow of magic was smooth and harmonious, like a—a suddenly abandoned but still functioning workplace.

"Professor," Karen reported in a low voice, her voice unusually clear in the dry, quiet stone chamber, "I didn't find any trace of protective magic or traps. Apart from the basic magic for maintaining space and lighting, and the preservation magic on those specimen jars, this place—is very clean."

Castor's detection spell seemed to have reached a similar conclusion. He frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat surprised. "There is indeed no trace of trigger magic. But this is not simply arrogance—" he pondered, his gaze sweeping once more over the clean, dry environment and the spells that were still functioning steadily.

"Of course, a more likely reason is that this place was not an ancient ruin or treasure trove that required heavy defense for him, but rather a private workplace that he frequently used during his lifetime."

"Look, air circulation, dust removal, and even possibly temperature-regulating magic are all operating silently, even though the master is long gone. These measures are to maintain the stability of the research environment, not to defend against external enemies. He was perhaps extremely confident in the secrecy and uniqueness of the entrance, believing that only he or his successor could enter this place, so there was no need to set up mechanisms inside." He paused, his tone slightly complicated, "This certainly saves us a lot of trouble, but it also reminds us that we are currently standing in the private space of a legendary wizard."

Even so, he wasn't completely relaxed. "But it's always good to be cautious. Watch your step and anything that seems unusual. Some ancient magic doesn't exist in the form of modern spells; perhaps we just haven't triggered it yet."

The two began to move cautiously. The stone slabs beneath their feet were relatively smooth, covered with a thin layer of dust, leaving clear footprints with each step. Although the air was dry, it didn't feel stale; it seemed as if some extremely subtle air circulation system was working silently.

Karen's gaze was drawn to the enormous glass jars. He slowly approached one, and by the light emanating from the jar itself and the crystal walls, he could make out what was submerged inside—it appeared to be a huge, still-open, vertically pupild reptile eyeball, as large as Karen's head, floating in the bubbling liquid, as if still indifferently watching the intruder. In another jar were several scales, each about the size of a palm, still attached to bits of flesh and shimmering with a bronze metallic sheen.

"These specimens—" Karen murmured to herself, "are extremely well preserved, their magical activity almost completely sealed. These processing techniques—"

"Far beyond any preservation products available in Diagon Alley in this era," Castor continued, carefully examining a shelf filled with various crystal vessels and silver tools with his wand, his tone revealing obvious amazement. "Not only that, look at the variety of these materials—some of the creatures, such as this feathered serpent's nerve cord that shimmers with starlight blue, or the fragments of carapace with golden threads soaking in that jar, have long been extinct in the modern magical world, only mentioned sporadically in the oldest encyclopedias, though Nico has some specimens of them as well."

But there weren't as many as here. The fact that Slytherin could acquire and process them so easily certainly demonstrates his exceptional abilities. On the other hand, it may also indicate that at least a thousand years ago, the magical world was vastly different in terms of both resource abundance and ecological environment compared to today. His gaze deepened, as if he were seeing a more primitive and mysteriously powerful ancient era through these specimens.

His gaze swept over the most conspicuous, massive laboratory table in the center of the room, crafted from some kind of black stone. The table's surface featured intricate grooves and channels, with metal clamps along its edges. Dark stains, their original color indistinguishable, clumps remained on its surface. Beside it stood a stand, holding a set of silver scalpels and probes of varying sizes; even covered in dust, their exquisite craftsmanship was still evident.

"This place is more like a —" Karen concluded, her tone incredulous, "a laboratory."

A hidden Slytherin personal laboratory beneath the Black Lake.

Professor Castor nodded slowly, a thoughtful glint in his grey eyes. "A laboratory dedicated to research—most likely magical creatures, or related fields. Interesting." His gaze returned to the specimen jars. "Slytherin is known for its fondness for basilisks and snakes, but the origins of these specimens—are clearly far more diverse and dangerous. Some can only be identified as reptiles or aquatic creatures. What he was investigating might be the nature and application of magical creature power, or the bloodlines of magical creatures, but whatever it is, it demonstrates a depth and breadth far exceeding the simplistic assumptions of later generations."

After the initial shock and wariness, a strong desire to explore arose in Karen's heart.