A Web Of Magic - Volume 1 Chapter 63 Opening

Magnus could have transfigured something into a snake but that wouldn’t be the real deal. Transfiguring non-living objects into the living only gives them a new form not life. If the wizard doesn’t know how that animal should behave, it will not know what to do. Magnus could transfigure a snake that might look and sound like one, but as long as he himself doesn’t know Parseltongue, the snake too wouldn’t. It’ll only be making random hissing sounds. So, he had to give up that day and look in the library for a suitable spell. While he could do all sorts of spells, he never thought of learning how to summon a snake. He didn’t know what purpose something like that would have until now.

He found the spell that was developed in India a few decades ago- the Snake Summoning Spell, “Serpensortia”. It didn’t take long for him to learn it and he was back in the girls’ bathroom four days later. He took the usual precautions and got ready to summon the snake.

“Serpensortia”

A black cobra some 7 feet long immediately came into existence in front of him. It stared at him making hissing sounds as it unveiled its hooded head. Magnus knew the snake will not completely listen to him. The spell doesn’t have too much control on what happens after you summon it. ‘It’s a good thing my Mind arts reached Lv4.’

Magnus looked at its eyes and cast “Confuse”. The snake went into a daze. Then he cast the spell he learned at Lv4 Divination, “Intent.” Intent connects the minds of the caster and the recipient and makes it easy to know the intent of the other. It’s very handy when both don’t speak the same language. With the help of Confuse, Magnus can now pass across his thoughts almost as a command through Intent. It may not work as well against a wizard, but it’s very handy against creatures.

“Foodfood” the snake’s intent came through. Magnus paid it no mind for now. He wasn’t a fan of snakes. He levitated the snake and brought it close to the inscribed tap and commanded it, ”Say open.”

The snake obeyed and let out a hiss in reply. A muffled sound was heard immediately from underneath the sink. It sounded like an old gear turning and soon the sinks split in the middle and retracted into the ground. All that’s left now is a giant hole in the ground that led to who knew where. Stale air floated out of the hole showing that it didn’t see much ventilation. ‘Alright, now what? Do I just jump in? That sounds stupid. Is there another command for stairs?’

He commanded the snake to ask for stairs. It took a few tries to get it right as apparently there’s no word for stairs in snake language so he had to improvise. Winding stairs slid in from the side of the walls leading all the way down. Magnus laid down an illusion spell around the entrance just to be safe. It’ll not give a pause to anyone stubborn but it’s enough to throw off any casual glances. ‘When I reach the next level, I’m learning the Notice-me-not charm,’ he promised himself.

He went down the stairs with the snake levitating in front of him. When it got too dark, a floating light manifested near him with a wave of his hand. The last part required him to jump some 2m but that wasn’t a problem. ‘I must have come at least a 100 meters down. Damn, this stinks. Hope whatever is down here is worth the trouble.’

He was in a tunnel looking cave that led further into the distance. He found some discolored animal bones on the ground that might be decades old. ‘Is there some kind of a beast living here? That’d explain the bones.’ He used his focus crystal to divine for any danger. It still showed him mild grey so it’s alright for now. He eventually reached a door in the cave wall. It was circular with snake motifs adorning its surface. ‘Is this the lab?’ he checked and the directions did lead him to the inside of the door. “Well, there you go. Say open,” he commanded the snake. It obeyed and hissed once again.

A latch opening sound was heard following which a metallic snake came slithering in from the hinge of the door and moved across the circ.u.mference. Wherever it passed the snake motifs curled in. When the metal snake reached the hinge once again, the door opened outwards with a hiss. ‘Nice mechanism. But they could have toned down on the snakes,’ Magnus commented in his head.

As Magnus entered, he saw a long dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars with snake designs rose towards the dark ceiling from the pools of water surrounding the chamber. The whole place had a green gloomy look. ‘Well, someone likes dark and damp places,’ he looked down on Slytherin’s tastes. ‘Still, impressive,’ he gave credit where credit is due. If this was really built by Slytherin then it’s really amazing for the enchantments to last a thousand years. Before he could step forward, the book of Merlin flew out from his sling bag and floated in the air beside him. He seemed to have triggered the condition for the book to animate once again.

“Well done, you found the entrance to the lab. That completes the trial. Now follow me. Teacher Slytherin left some nasty things lying around, wouldn’t want you to get caught in them unnecessarily,” the book cautioned him. It led him towards the giant statue of what could only be Salazar Slytherin. He looked different from his other portraits, slightly older with a long beard and a monkey like face. All the while Magnus was observing his surroundings as well as the focus crystal hanging on his right hand. The closer they got to the statue, the darker the crystal became indicating increasing danger. Magnus assumed that the statue was probably enchanted with some nasty curse. [Identify] showed him nothing. He raised his vigilance and was ready to fight or flee at a moment’s notice.

“Here we are,” the book led him to a corner to the left of the statue. A green line spread from the bottom of the wall upwards, across and then downwards forming the outline of a door.

“Usually, we’d need the Locket of Slytherin and a Parselmouth to get in. But a good wizard always finds a way. Nice work with the snake by the way. I expected some kind of an enchanted item but this works too. Now use the snake to speak these exact words, “Open, Slytherin. Wisest of the Four”. It must speak these exact words or something else might open and you’ll wake things you shouldn’t,” the book explained.

“Very well. Well you heard him. Go on, speak,” Magnus conveyed his words to the snake. The snake could only do as it said in confusion. It felt the aura of something ancient that made its blood shudder in horror. It wanted to both bow in subservience and crawl away in fear. As soon as it spoke the words, a glowing serpent symbol appeared on the door and the stone door opened inwards without a sound.

“Welcome to the real lab of Slytherin.”