Five paintings combined into one! Finally able to emerge into the world!
Ethan's eyes blazed with anticipation as he eagerly waved his wand with a theatrical flourish.
"Whoosh!" The other four paintings besides the snake head immediately materialised in mid-air, floating like fragments of a nightmare made manifest.
The ink-black serpent bodies connected to each other with fluid grace, forming a complete world-devouring python that seemed to stretch beyond the boundaries of physical possibility!
Great Snake Portrait, complete!
[Name: Eternal Slumber]
[Type: Living Portrait]
[Grade: Tier 2 · Purple Epic]
[Description: A creature that exists only in myths and legends, now recreated by your artistic vision]
[Effect: Consumes massive magical power, can coil around objects with its serpent body and swallow them into its belly, causing them to fall into eternal dark slumber.]
[Evaluation: Hogwarts' Most Ecstatic Snake.]
"Come forth, my little treasure..." Ethan murmured with obsessive devotion, spreading his arms wide to welcome this earthly python like a conductor summoning his orchestra.
"Hiss..." Black mist surged upward like slowly writhing mountain ranges, filling every corner of the Chamber with its overwhelming presence.
Compared to this monstrosity, the original basilisk looked as insignificant as an earthworm next to a dragon. The ancient serpent squeezed itself into a corner, trembling in absolute terror!
Master, what kind of monster have you created?!
Even when it had travelled the world alongside its old master Salazar Slytherin, the basilisk had never witnessed anything so massive and terrifying. This thing emanated an aura that suggested it simply shouldn't exist in the mortal realm, carrying the presence of a superior being that made the basilisk involuntarily want to prostrate itself in submission.
Ethan looked up at those golden pupils suspended in the rolling black mist like twin lanterns of judgement. His lips curved in satisfaction as he spoke with soft authority:
"Go. Give Hogwarts a little shock."
Use fear to unlock Slytherin's true Chamber. Obtain those precious treasures that even Voldemort coveted.
In the Black Lake - Slytherin Common Room
Malfoy was half-heartedly playing wizard's chess, his mind wandering as pieces moved across the checkered board with mechanical clicks.
A nearby student voiced what everyone was thinking: "Do you think, with final exams approaching, that Chamber monster will strike again?"
Another student sighed wistfully, "I really hope it appears once more so we can cancel exams directly. How wonderful that would be."
Malfoy laughed with aristocratic confidence, "You think the Chamber opens whenever you wish it would? Besides, Hogwarts is so heavily guarded now that mastermind has no way to cause more trouble."
Plus Ethan's here. What's there to fear?
"Checkmate." Malfoy was about to smugly knock down his opponent's king when the chessboard beneath his hands suddenly began trembling with violent rattling.
"Hmm?" Malfoy frowned, noticing the water in a nearby goblet creating ripples that spread outward in perfect concentric circles.
As if some massive creature was drilling upward from the depths below, shaking the very foundations of the castle!
"BOOM!" Within seconds, the entire common room began shaking so violently that books tumbled from shelves and portraits swayed on their hooks!
"What in Merlin's name?!" Malfoy instinctively ducked with his head covered, looking around frantically as his carefully styled hair fell across his eyes.
An indescribable fear crept up from the depths of his heart like ice water in his veins. As if something ancient and terrible was approaching.
Creak, creak. Subtle sounds rang out amid the rumbling, barely audible, yet somehow Malfoy's heightened senses caught every nuance.
He turned toward the enormous floor-to-ceiling window that faced the Black Lake, covering an entire wall with its curved glass surface.
A writhing shadow was rising from the depths, visible even through the murky water.
Instantly, all sounds receded like a tide pulling back from shore. Malfoy's eyes widened until they threatened to fall from their sockets, his breathing stopping entirely.
In his vision, he could only see that shadow continuously, relentlessly climbing upward. So close he could make out the individual gaping scales covering that impossible form.
Bit by bit, it climbed past the window with deliberate menace. Blocking out the faint bioluminescent light that usually seeped down from the Black Lake's surface.
Merlin's beard, that's a living thing? A living creature whose single body segment could cover our entire window?
Unimaginable. Unmeasurable. Such blasphemy against the natural order!
In this moment, Malfoy's mind went completely blank, all higher thought processes shutting down in self-defence. He could only stare with slack-jawed horror at that indescribable shadow hovering past their window.
Spreading darkness across their pale faces like the shadow of death itself.
Until a piercing scream shattered the deadly silence:
"AHHHHH!" The sound seemed to tear the very air apart.
Instantly, like pressing a detonation button, the atmosphere of pure terror in Slytherin's common room exploded into chaos!
"Help us! Someone help!" "Merlin above! What kind of monster is that thing?!" "I want my mother!" "Isn't Hogwarts supposed to be the safest place in the wizarding world?!"
Amid the pandemonium, Malfoy stood frozen as the desperately fleeing crowd knocked him about like a rag doll. He continued staring blankly at that shadow coiling ever upward with hypnotic grace.
Only one coherent thought remained in his shattered mind: Hehe, seems like we're all doomed.
The Chamber has truly been opened once again. This time, it's targeting all of Hogwarts without mercy!
Ancient stone groaned under impossible weight. Somewhere in the darkness, scales scraped against centuries-old masonry with the deliberate patience of predators.
Floor by floor, the creature ascended—past the ground level's great spaces, through the first floor's familiar corridors, beyond the second floor's hidden passages. Black scales scraped against every ancient brick, each window reflecting the creature's passage like a dark mirror, the sound resembling fingernails dragged slowly across glass.
Using its unimaginably massive body to block the bright moonlight streaming through windows, the creature spread darkness and primal terror within the stone walls.
Shattering the peaceful night completely!
Even the castle's supernatural residents weren't immune. Ghosts huddled silently into translucent balls, their usual confidence evaporated. Portraits screamed and fled from frame to frame in panic.
Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar clung together like frightened children, their spectral teeth chattering audibly.
Even the most fearless, mischievous Peeves lost his perpetual grin. Watching that massive body gliding past with serpentine grace, he froze for several seconds, then popped vanished without his usual dramatic flair.
From bottom to top. Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor... Without mercy or discrimination, they were all enveloped and swallowed by creeping shadow.
Weeping and screaming filled every corner of Hogwarts like a symphony of despair! Even Voldemort himself at his most terrible couldn't have achieved such widespread psychological devastation!
"Ah... ahhhh..." Gilderoy Lockhart collapsed against a wall corner, his usually perfect hair dishevelled, eyes wide with primal terror. His hands clutched his head as his entire body trembled like autumn leaves in a hurricane.
In his fractured mind, long-buried memories surged back like a dam breaking.
"No... no... I'll never dare again! I'll be honest, never steal others' experiences again!" Lockhart raised his wand toward himself with shaking hands for the second time in his career.
A crying smile spread across his handsome features like a broken mask.
"Please, let me forget all of this horror... Obliviate!"
Whoosh! White light flashed, heavily knocking Lockhart unconscious against the stone wall.
As he fainted, a blissful smile appeared on his face, finally finding peace in enforced ignorance.
Headmaster's Office
"Pop!" Peeves materialised with his usual dramatic flair, but his typical mischievous demeanour was replaced by genuine panic. "The Chamber's been opened! The Chamber monster has escaped!"
Headmaster Dumbledore had been preparing for this confrontation, his weathered hands steady despite the magnitude of what approached.
With calm dignity that seemed to emanate from his very core, he replied, "I know. Thank you for informing me, Peeves."
"Could I trouble you to assist the other professors in organising student evacuations?"
Peeves nodded with uncharacteristic seriousness, then popped and disappeared again to fulfil his assigned duty.
The assembled professors sprang into action, their faces grim with the weight of responsibility. Even Snape, who usually delighted in cutting remarks, pressed his lips into a tight line and remained silent.
Forget Potter's dramatics! This is more intense than my time serving at Voldemort's headquarters.
Professor McGonagall asked with barely controlled trembling in her usually steady voice:
"Headmaster Dumbledore, is this truly the Chamber monster? What... what exactly is this creature?!"
Dumbledore spoke with the calm that comes from accepting the unknown: "I must confess, Minerva. It seems even I, despite my advanced years, have much I don't understand. There exist forces in this world far beyond my comprehension."
"What's certain is that Hogwarts faces an unprecedented crisis. Whether we can weather this particular storm may be beyond our direct control."
"All we can do is our utmost to ensure the students' safety, whatever the cost."
McGonagall felt her world tilting on its axis. She had never expected to hear such uncertain answers from the seemingly omnipotent Headmaster Dumbledore.
Who exactly is the mastermind orchestrating all this? How can they move so freely through our heavily guarded castle? What do they ultimately want? What kind of immensely powerful being could command such forces?
"I... I understand." McGonagall nodded with visible effort, quickly departing the headmaster's office to join her colleagues in their rescue efforts.
The office fell quiet again, containing only Dumbledore and his faithful phoenix companion.
"Fawkes," Dumbledore called softly, his voice carrying decades of weariness, "no need to remain by my side. Go to the person who needs you most."
"Chirp..." The phoenix released a single, melodious cry, spread its magnificent wings, and transformed into living flame before flying away on its crucial mission.
On the walls surrounding them, portraits of previous headmasters swayed constantly from the trembling structure. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling in steady streams like snow.
They all watched their successor with solemn gravity as Albus Dumbledore stood before the arched doorway, gripping his Elder Wand like a sword of legend. His white beard and hair danced in winds that seemed to come from nowhere.
Soon... "Hiss..." A low, hoarse voice like wind howling through cemetery grounds drifted from beyond the walls.
Dumbledore's azure gaze sharpened as his grip tightened on his wand. He made a silent vow that no matter what terrifying, logic-defying monster he faced, no matter what kind of impossible being this mastermind proved to be, he would fight to his last breath to protect the countless students behind him.
The next second, Dumbledore's expression shifted to one of profound amazement.
His eyes widened slightly, his gaze continuously rising as he stared in wonder at the figure materialising before him.
That was an existence standing between heaven and earth, whose mere physical presence could make insignificant humans abandon all thoughts of resistance.
Dumbledore gazed with open fascination at those golden vertical pupils looking down at him like twin suns capable of judgement.
Suddenly he released a chuckle that held equal parts admiration and exasperation.
He lowered his wand with deliberate ceremony.
Still chuckling, he murmured with paternal fondness: "Ethan, I really do need to investigate your bloodline more thoroughly."
From that gigantic serpent body came a faint, familiar scent mixing crushed walnuts and rare minerals. Dumbledore's experienced senses immediately identified this mythical monster as an artistic creation.
A masterpiece painting by the prodigious artist Ethan Vincent.
On the wall, the portrait of Phineas Black, the most irritating former headmaster, laughed with malicious glee:
"Didn't you confidently declare that the boy promised you Hogwarts would remain safe?"
Dumbledore fell silent for a long moment, then released a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of centuries:
"It appears we experienced a fundamental misunderstanding of terms."
Perhaps Ethan's definition of "safe" simply means "technically still alive".
Dumbledore contemplated this revelation with growing concern.
"Heh, now even I cannot predict how this grand performance will reach its conclusion."
Like carefully arranged chess pieces suddenly scattered when someone flips the board, strikes you with it, then kicks you off the table entirely. While you're still reeling in confusion, they gently pat your shoulder and comfort you: "Trust me, everything will be perfectly safe."
"Ethan truly is a once-in-a-lifetime genius, rare as a newly born star..."
The next second... "HISS!" The ink-black serpent released a roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of reality and opened its maw wide enough to devour both heaven and earth.
It lunged toward Dumbledore and the ancient castle beneath him with inexorable purpose!
Instantly, warm darkness enveloped Dumbledore like the finest velvet. All screams and wails vanished into peaceful silence.
Like sinking into soft cotton clouds, a profound sense of tranquillity instantly soothed all pain and worry.
The world vanished together into eternal slumber's embracing darkness.
Truly a merciful act... for humanoid creatures.
Dumbledore mused as he compliantly closed his eyes, surrendering to this strange fate.
In his heart, he felt genuinely curious about this destiny that had veered so completely off its predicted rails.
Harry floated drowsily in the dimensionless dark cradle, surrounded by comforting warmth and growing sleepiness.
Yes, if I die here too, that would definitively prove I'm not the one who opened the Chamber, wouldn't it?
Until an ethereal call rang in his ears like distant silver bells:
"Wake up, Harry. You should go save the world."