Staring at the Marauder's Map, a gift from the twins, Jane Yu fell into deep thought.
The map was crowded with tiny black dots representing wizards and witches, each labeled with their English names. The dense overlap of dots made her feel like her trypophobia was about to act up.
But she already knew all the classrooms and secret passages marked on the map—
After all, with a group of ghostly friends who were hundreds, if not thousands, of years old, it was hard not to know all the secrets of the school.
She closed the map and, after careful consideration, came up with the perfect location.
—The Chamber of Secrets.
She believed this spot could satisfy everyone's needs:
First, it was located in the second-floor girls' bathroom, a location that was neither too far nor too close to either the dungeons or the towers. Second, its entrance could only be opened using Parseltongue, ensuring absolute secrecy. Third, it carried the distinctive traits of Slytherin, perfectly meeting the preferences of the Slytherins. And lastly, since Harry was the only one who could open it, it balanced the interests of the Gryffindors.
All the members raised their hands and feet in agreement with this decision.
Even Harry, the "doorman," bravely declared that he would guard their shared sanctuary, even if it meant being mistaken as a pervert frequenting the girls' bathroom.
At first, everything went smoothly—
The Slytherin students proudly led the other three houses on a tour of the Chamber of Secrets. It was, after all, a relic left behind by their founder a thousand years ago! A current-day hotspot for magical tourism!
The Gryffindors, on the other hand, claimed that climbing onto the beard of Slytherin's statue to play games was exhilarating—like dancing on the edge of danger.
If Salazar Slytherin knew about this from his grave, he'd probably rise up to duel Godric Gryffindor again, just to show him the "excellent qualities" of Gryffindor students a thousand years later.
This harmony lasted until Harry, under strict surveillance by the professors, sent out a warning that he was no longer available.
Without their "key," the club members began to complain. Draco angrily grumbled:
"Who would've thought that a thousand years later, Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets would need a Gryffindor to open it!"
Fortunately, Jane quickly resolved the issue. She brought a bucket of snakes from the greenhouse and the Forbidden Forest, including corn snakes and hognose snakes. These snakes had been specially trained by her pet cauliflower snake and owl, and now hissed phrases like "Help" and "Open the door" with remarkable fluency.
She began distributing the snakes.
One per person, fair and square.
"Merlin's beard!" Ron's face twisted as he turned green, holding the corn snake between two fingers. "Why do we Gryffindors have to keep snakes?"
His twin brothers advised him to endure it for the greater good. After all, the club members were using Slytherin territory to play games; taking care of a few snakes to honor their founder's legacy seemed only fair.
Although the snake was the symbol of Slytherin, it didn't mean every Slytherin student was comfortable with these cold-blooded creatures. However, their pride compelled them to suppress their fears and tremblingly say:
"You Gryffindors aren't scared, are you?"
The Gryffindors, stung by this provocation, had no choice but to put on brave faces, no matter how terrified they were.
Ron, the representative of this forced bravery, retorted with a twisted expression:
"Don't pretend—you're the ones about to wet your pants!"
"I'll have you know, we brave Gryffindors aren't afraid of snakes! We could fill Gryffindor Tower with them!"
Listening to this, one could imagine Godric Gryffindor, if he were aware of the situation, rising from his grave to duel Salazar Slytherin again.
The Hufflepuffs, meanwhile, seemed to lose their usual cheerfulness, muttering things like "They're kind of cute, one by one," "Badgers can eat snakes," and "They look delicious" to comfort themselves.
The Ravenclaws, true to their academic nature, studied the snakes' habits and weak points, noting that these were non-venomous snakes incapable of causing harm. They accepted the serpentine "keys" with relative ease.
It could be said that this was both a cultural and biological invasion by Slytherin.
But soon, a new problem arose—
With the castle's mice population wiped out by the snakes, the "keys" turned their attention to the students' pets.
"My Scabbers!" Ron cried, holding the corn snake in one hand and Scabbers the rat by the tail in the other, struggling to pull the half-swallowed rodent out of the snake's mouth. "You stupid snake, he's not your food!"
In just a few days, Scabbers' tail had been bitten off, and his body was covered in bite marks. The poor rat looked emaciated and trembled constantly.
"I can't keep him anymore!" Ron angrily waved the corn snake at Jane, complaining, "There are three snakes in our dormitory! Scabbers can't even move! He won't eat or drink—he's going to die!"
"And Neville's toad!" he continued his protest. "If it weren't for its slight toxicity, it would've been eaten already!"
However, the other Gryffindors didn't share Ron's outrage.
His roommates, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, had grown attached to their hognose snakes and immediately defended them before Jane could respond:
"It's just a cute little snake. What did it do wrong?"
"Rats are part of its natural diet—it doesn't know any better!"
The Ravenclaws shook their heads at Ron, criticizing his lack of understanding about snake behavior:
"Why don't you feed it according to what the books say? Once it's full, it won't be interested in your rat."
Ron was left speechless and had no choice but to grudgingly continue looking after the snake.
But soon, the snakes caught the attention of the school authorities.
Due to the wizarding habit of free-range pet care, the snakes roamed the castle freely. They slithered into students' clothes and shoes, coiled around bedposts and bookshelves, and hid in drawers... Their presence became ubiquitous.
With the favorable living conditions—warm temperatures and the magical energy of their owners—the snakes began reproducing. Eggs appeared in nests everywhere, and unowned snakes wandered the castle, creating a scene of chaos. Many students found themselves sporting bite marks.
Some Gryffindors woke up to find a snake tasting them with its tongue. After leaping out of bed in terror, they'd step on something cold and squishy. And when they tried to escape by putting on their shoes, they'd find a snake resting inside.
"This isn't Gryffindor Tower!" the terrified Gryffindors roared. "This is Slytherin! There are more snakes in our dormitory than there are Slytherins in the entire school!"
They were forced to master the art of grabbing snakes by their necks and became inadvertently desensitized.
After receiving complaints from students, the snake-catching squad was dispatched.
Professor McGonagall personally led the raid on the Gryffindor common room and dormitories, where they uncovered fifty or sixty snakes of various colors. The sight of the writhing, multicolored mass was almost enough to make even the seasoned professor faint.
"You... you..." she stammered, too shocked to form coherent sentences. She wanted to crack open the students' heads and see what was inside.
Why were snakes popular in Gryffindor?
Was the Sorting Hat's decision-making really flawless?
Were these students truly meant to be in Gryffindor and not Slytherin?
These were the same questions plaguing the other house heads.
They, too, had received complaints and joined their own house's snake-catching operations.
Across the four houses, over a hundred "suspect snakes" were captured. Many were found with mice or other small snacks still in their mouths.
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