The bathroom was silent except for the sound of a leaking tap dripping. Tom leaned against the sink as though he owned the room.

“You’ve been asking questions,” he said softly. “About me. About the Chamber. About what really lies beneath this castle. That’s why I chose you.”

Your chest tightened. “Chose me?”

Tom’s lips curled into that faint smile, a smile that could be mistaken for kindness if not for the steel in his eyes. “You’re cleverer than Ginny. Stronger. I only needed her for a time. A diary must feed, after all. But she was… tiresome. All tears and trembling hands. You, on the other hand…” His gaze sharpened, pinning you in place. “You’ll open the Chamber willingly. You want to see what lies beneath.”

You shook your head, though your heart betrayed you with a quickened beat. “I don’t-”

“Yes, you do,” Tom cut in. “You’ve thought about it. Wondered. The castle whispers secrets to those who listen. Haven’t you felt it? The pulse in the walls? The eyes watching from the darkness?”

Tom tilted his head, studying you as though reading every flicker of your expression. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll guide you. Just let me in.”

He guided your fingers to rest on the sink. “Now,” Tom whispered, “speak to it. In the language of serpents.”

“I don’t-”

“You do,” he interrupted. “I can give you the words. Don’t think. Let them pass through you.”

And they did. A low hiss rolled from your tongue.

The sink shuddered, and with a grinding roar, the porcelain spiralled downwards into the floor.

Tom’s eyes gleamed with triumph. “Perfect,” he said, almost reverently. “You see? You were always meant to open it. Not Ginny. You.”

Tom stood at your side. “Come,” he said, extending a hand as though inviting you into a dance. “The Chamber awaits.”

You hesitated, but Tom’s eyes locked onto yours, filled with power, hunger and something hypnotic. Against every instinct, you stepped forward.

You slid down the stone until you landed with a thud on the cold rock below. The air here was heavy, damp and close, pressing against your lungs.

Torches burst into life along the walls, though no hand had touched them.

Tom landed lightly beside you. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”

At last, the corridor opened into the Chamber itself, with a statue looming at the far end.

“Here,” he said softly. “This is where the future will be rewritten. And you will be the one who begins it.”

Your pulse thundered in your ears as Tom stepped closer to the statue whose mouth yawned open.

The basilisk stirred.

And you realized there was no turning back...

Not now.