Finally, Harry had obtained the crucial information he sought about events from fifty years ago.
At the same time, as Nolan silently pieced together the various sources of information, a realization dawned upon him.
"I always thought that only beings like us cared so much about bloodlines. I never expected humans to be just as obsessed with them."
His first thought was of the person responsible for everything—the one who had set all these events into motion: Salazar Slytherin.
"But even if we now know this, what good does it do? We still have no way to wake Hermione up."
"All we can do is wait for the professors to finish cultivating the necessary herbs," Ron said, clearly disheartened.
Harry also fell into silence.
They were stuck in a dilemma, unable to move forward, trapped in place with no solution in sight.
Without another word, they returned to the school.
But soon, Ron received shocking news.
His sister, Ginny, had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets.
"That damned bastard! What the hell does he want?" Ron slammed his fist onto the table in frustration.
The mere thought of Ginny suffering in terror—or worse, being harmed—made his worry unbearable.
He would rather have been taken instead of her.
"If Tom Riddle released the Basilisk fifty years ago, it means that even someone who isn't Slytherin's direct heir can enter the Chamber."
"And I have a feeling that the reason he's made it so obvious that Ginny has been taken is because he wants us to go after her."
Harry spoke with unwavering confidence as he tried to soothe Ron.
"Maybe we should talk to Moaning Myrtle. She might know the key to entering the Chamber of Secrets."
The more he thought about it, the more convinced Harry became.
The Muggle-born student who was killed back then—it had to be Myrtle.
Before setting out, Harry turned to Nolan for support.
"Will you come with us?"
After all, Myrtle had mentioned seeing a pair of enormous golden eyes right before she died.
This lined up exactly with what Hermione had described about the Basilisk's eyes.
To Harry, Nolan was an incredibly powerful ally.
With his help, their chances of survival in the face of danger would be significantly higher.
"Of course." Nolan agreed without hesitation.
He wanted to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Too many people were being drawn into this conflict— even Dumbledore, the headmaster, had been affected.
Nolan was deeply curious about the mastermind behind all of this. What was their goal? What were they trying to achieve?
After all, for an event from fifty years ago to suddenly resurface, throwing the entire school into chaos—
To the point where Hogwarts had to enforce strict curfews to prevent any more students from being petrified—
This disruption to school life was becoming unbearable for Nolan.
He wanted it to end.
With Nolan joining them, Harry felt a surge of confidence that they could rescue Ginny.
The three of them hurried to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Upon seeing Harry, Myrtle's transparent form brightened with excitement.
"Oh, are you here just to keep me company?" she asked eagerly, floating closer.
"No, we need to know how to get into the Chamber of Secrets." Harry's expression was serious as he met her gaze.
Myrtle's face fell, disappointment clear in her ghostly eyes.
She had been alone for so long, and just when she thought someone had finally come to talk to her—
It turned out to be only temporary.
Ron, however, wasted no time.
"My sister has been taken by someone evil! We need to get into the Chamber and save her."
Myrtle's curiosity was piqued.
"Why do you want to go to the Chamber?"
Harry had no time for explanations; he simply looked at Myrtle expectantly, hoping she had the answers they needed.
She pondered for a long moment before finally turning her gaze toward one of the sinks.
"Maybe that's the entrance? I'm not entirely sure."
She had always felt there was something unusual about that particular tap, but she had never known how to access the Chamber.
Harry cautiously placed his hand on the sink and, being observant, immediately noticed something—
A tiny engraving of a snake on the faucet.
Hesitantly, he spoke in Parseltongue, mimicking the eerie hissing he had heard recently.
With a deep, rumbling noise, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets slowly revealed itself.
Before they descended, Myrtle giggled mischievously.
"Harry, if you die, I'll let you share my toilet!"
That was… a rather unsettling joke.
Myrtle beamed at him, completely unfazed.
Nolan had no interest in entertaining such crude humor.
Without hesitation, he was the first to step into the Chamber, followed closely by Ron and Harry.
The Chamber itself wasn't as grand as they had imagined.
The most striking feature was a massive statue—an eerie human-like figure looming over them.
But their attention was quickly pulled elsewhere.
Ginny lay motionless on the cold stone floor.
"Ginny!" Ron cried out in panic, rushing to her side.
Harry immediately tried using spells to revive her.
But just as he began casting, a shadowy figure materialized before them—
Moving with lightning speed, he snatched Harry's wand away.
Only when the figure finally came to a stop did they see his face clearly.
Tom Riddle.
"What have you done to my sister?!" Ron demanded, standing up abruptly, ready to fight.
But with a mere flick of his wrist, Riddle sent Ron crashing to the ground, unconscious.
Harry quickly stepped in front of Ron, shielding him from Riddle's gaze.
The tension in the air was suffocating.
And then, in the midst of it all, Nolan spoke.
"You were the one who released the Basilisk."
His tone was calm, as if he had no fear of the situation.
He could see it clearly—Tom Riddle was nothing more than a fragment of a soul, a mere memory given form.
"Fifty years ago, I entered the Chamber, awakened the Basilisk, and killed a Muggle girl."
Riddle smirked, an unsettling glint in his eyes.
"So tell me, why does a vampire—a royal vampire, no less—choose to associate with these blood-traitors and Mudbloods?"
He eyed Nolan with genuine curiosity.
"Perhaps it's fate." Nolan chuckled softly, utterly unbothered by Riddle's words.
But Harry had had enough.
He interrupted their exchange, his voice filled with anger.
"You were a student here once! Why would you do something like this?!"
Harry's eyes burned with frustration and disbelief.
He simply couldn't comprehend how someone could betray their own school—
And their own humanity—
So completely.