In the girls' bathroom that hid the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, Moaning Myrtle was staring fixedly at the sink. Though she was a ghost, her eyes were filled with fear—she had just witnessed something unforgettable.
Dumbledore entered the bathroom with Eda and Harry. He had come to solve the problem of the Chamber—to resolve the mystery that had troubled Hogwarts for a thousand years and to bring back the missing Ginny.
He brought Harry along because Harry was a Parselmouth, and the entrance to the Chamber could only be opened with his help. Eda came because she was the one who had found the Chamber's location, and she was also capable of protecting herself.
Moreover, Dumbledore himself was here; he was confident he could protect the two of them. Without that confidence, he would never have risked bringing his students into such danger.
Seeing Dumbledore, Eda, and Harry walk in, Myrtle pointed at the sink and said, "Professor, you might not believe me, but I really saw the sink open! That red-haired girl who threw a diary at me—she jumped in!"
A red-haired girl—Ginny fit that description perfectly. And since she was the only missing student, it was almost certain that the girl who had jumped down was Ginny.
However, Dumbledore and Eda didn't understand when Ginny had ever thrown something at Myrtle—let alone a diary.
"Was it the diary I picked up?" Harry asked. Dumbledore and Eda might not know, but he did. He and Ron and Hermione had brewed Polyjuice Potion in this very bathroom, and it was here that he had found Tom Riddle's diary.
On the way here, Harry had learned that this bathroom was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets—and that only a Parselmouth could open it.
Looking back, he realized that throughout the whole school year, the three of them had been so close to danger all along, and yet nothing had happened to them. It was nothing short of pure luck.
Myrtle nodded. "That's her! She's the one who threw that diary at me!"
Hearing those words, Harry had already begun to realize the truth. He turned to look at Dumbledore, only to find that Dumbledore was looking at Eda.
Unlike Dumbledore and Harry, Eda didn't look at anyone. Instead, she gave the sink a fierce kick. At that moment, she understood everything—everything that had puzzled her before suddenly became clear.
She finally knew why such a drastic change had come over Ginny. It was because Ginny was the one who had stolen the diary. Ginny was the so-called "Heir of Slytherin" who didn't truly exist. Ginny was the one who had opened the Chamber of Secrets and attacked the students.
A deep sense of guilt washed over Eda. She felt she had let down Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who had always cared for her so kindly. She had failed to look after Ginny as she should have. She had always prided herself on her intelligence, yet she hadn't noticed anything strange about Ginny.
If only Eda had noticed Ginny's odd behavior sooner—if only she had paid more attention to her instead of spending all her time searching for the Chamber—maybe everything would have turned out differently.
Seeing Eda's guilt, Dumbledore spoke gently, "It may have been a lapse on your part, but the blame doesn't rest solely with you. You mustn't be too hard on yourself. Besides, self-reproach won't help anyone—better to save your strength for rescuing your sister."
Dumbledore could deeply relate to Eda's feelings.
If he himself had realized sooner the importance of family—if he hadn't been so obsessed with Grindelwald, if he had trusted him a little less, if he had stopped him from attacking Aberforth—perhaps Ariana wouldn't have died.
But regret changes nothing. There are no "what ifs" in life—and even in the wizarding world, there is no such thing as a potion for remorse.
Eda, of course, knew that guilt wouldn't help. She only wanted to vent her feelings rather than keep them bottled up inside. Holding in such emotions, she knew, was bad for one's mental health—it could make a person ill.
While the three of them were speaking, the door to the girls' bathroom opened again. Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout entered one after another.
These three were the backbone of the school, so naturally, they had come to see what was happening. Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, was looking after the four Weasley brothers and informing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley of the situation.
Following behind the three professors came Gilderoy Lockhart, his golden curls gleaming as usual. Though he tried to put on a casual smile and greeted everyone cheerfully, his face betrayed nothing but reluctance.
It was obvious he had been forced to come—he clearly wanted no part in this.
"What's going on?" Dumbledore asked.
Snape gave a cold, derisive laugh. "Afraid of the basilisk, this useless fool tried to run away. When I went to his office, he was packing his bags."
Professor Flitwick's eyes were filled with contempt as he added, "Lockhart has brought shame upon Ravenclaw's name. A complete fraud—a coward! He even tried to ambush us while we weren't paying attention, but he couldn't even hold his wand properly!"
Even the usually kind Professor Sprout looked at Lockhart with open hostility. If she weren't worried about dirtying the floor, he might have already become fertilizer for the plants in her greenhouse.
Dumbledore nodded calmly, then said, "I believe everyone here knows why we've gathered. I need one professor to accompany me below, to kill the basilisk and rescue Ginny Weasley. Do we have any volunteers?"
At those words, the three Heads of House all stepped back in unison, leaving Lockhart's position conspicuously forward. It made him appear as though he had eagerly taken a step ahead.
Of course, all three of them knew perfectly well that Dumbledore didn't actually need their help to go down there—he hadn't even summoned them personally. But as Heads of House, they had a responsibility and duty to be present.
"Very good, Gilderoy. I've always had faith in you," Dumbledore said calmly. "You haven't disappointed me. In a moment, we'll enter the Chamber together."
Lockhart looked helplessly at everyone present, completely understanding what was happening now. He turned to Dumbledore and said quickly, "Headmaster, I think it would be much better to let Professor Snape go down instead. After all, he's the Head of Slytherin House."
Better someone else than himself — anyone could go into the Chamber, as long as it wasn't Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Don't be so modest," Dumbledore replied, in a tone dripping with irony. "Think of all your great adventures."
No one knew where Dumbledore had learned to be so sarcastic, but he clearly wasn't in the mood to waste more time. Turning to Harry, he said, "Harry, speak to that tap in Parseltongue. Open it."
Harry focused on the tiny snake engraved on the faucet, imagining it was a real serpent, trying to summon the right words. Perhaps because Lockhart's nervous fidgeting was breaking his concentration, it took him three attempts before he finally managed to hiss, "Sss…"
At once, the tap shone with a brilliant white light and began to spin rapidly. The sink moved, sinking out of sight to reveal a large, gaping pipe — wide enough for a person to slide through.
The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets had appeared!
"I believe Professor Lockhart would be delighted to go first," Snape said coldly. He was, after all, quite skilled at kicking a man when he was down.
The situation was already decided — the only way forward was to go down and investigate. But Lockhart? Go down there? How could he possibly dare?
Lockhart, desperate and panicking, shouted, "No! I'm not going down there! I'm not going to die for some little Weasley girl! I refuse! Ow—!"
Before he could finish, he suddenly collapsed to the ground. It turned out that Eda, unable to endure his cowardice any longer, had kicked him squarely. She hadn't held back at all — the force of the kick sent Lockhart sprawling, and even Eda herself nearly lost her balance. If Harry hadn't caught her in time, she would have fallen too.
"Shut your filthy mouth!" Eda yelled, pointing at Lockhart's nose. "You fucking clown! Fraud! Coward!"
Eda had never been known for her temper, and now, with her anger boiling over, Lockhart was simply the perfect target for her fury. The fact that she hadn't used the Cruciatus Curse was proof of her self-restraint.
"Yes! I'm a coward, I'm a fraud — I never did any of the things I claimed! So please don't send me!" Lockhart pleaded, his voice trembling. "It was all other people's work! I just wrote it down as my own! I—I used Memory Charms on them to make them forget everything!"
At this point, denial was useless. Admitting the truth would only destroy his reputation — refusing to admit it might cost him his life. Lockhart didn't dare gamble that the monster below was full, nor did he dare assume Dumbledore would save him.
As long as he didn't have to go down there and die, he was willing to admit to anything.
As for fighting back — don't be ridiculous. He'd already tried that on the way here, and his wand had been confiscated.
Besides, Dumbledore was standing right there. Resisting now would be no different from suicide.
"These words of yours, Lockhart," Dumbledore said evenly, "will appear in The Daily Prophet soon enough." Then he turned to Snape and added, "Keep an eye on him, Severus."
After giving instructions about Lockhart, Dumbledore was the first to step into the passageway. Eda followed closely behind. Then Harry, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout all jumped in one after another, leaving only Snape, Lockhart, and the ghost Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom.
Lockhart turned to Snape with a desperate, pleading look. "Please, Professor Snape—let me go! Have mercy!" he begged.
It seemed like he was asking for forgiveness, but in truth, Lockhart was waiting for a chance to strike. He planned to attack Snape the moment the man let his guard down. If he could knock Snape out, no one would be able to stop him from escaping.
As for all those things he had just confessed—once he left Hogwarts, he could easily deny them again. Besides, Lockhart didn't believe any of them would come back alive anyway. This was the Chamber of Secrets, after all—the legendary lair of Salazar Slytherin himself!
But Snape remained unmoved. He simply stared down at Lockhart, his expression cold and unreadable.
"I have hated cowards," Snape said icily, "for my entire life."
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