Chapter 321: The Imposter Heir
The quiet in the bed next to him felt almost oppressive. Even Madam Pomfrey had fallen asleep, so Kyle quietly slipped on his shoes and clothes, and crept out of the Hospital Wing. The castle was eerily silent.
As soon as he entered the main hall, he remembered that Professor McGonagall had mentioned Dumbledore wouldn't be at school today. But that didn't matter, because he soon ran into Professor McGonagall herself on the third floor.
"Kyle!" she snapped, clearly startled and furious. "You're supposed to be resting in the Hospital Wing—not wandering the halls!"
"Professor McGonagall, I know where the Chamber of Secrets is!" Kyle blurted out. "The entrance is in Myrtle's bathroom, under the tap that doesn't produce any water."
"What?" Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in shock, but she quickly regained her composure.
"You stay here. Do not move," she ordered firmly.
With a swift flick of her wand, she summoned her Patronus—a transparent tabby cat. She murmured instructions to it, and it sprang up the stairs, disappearing with a few graceful leaps.
But Kyle had no intention of staying put. As Professor McGonagall conjured her Patronus, he took a quick step backward, slipping into a hidden passageway nearby.
He knew the professors wouldn't let him go with them to the Chamber of Secrets, but he felt an overwhelming urge—perhaps even from the strange dreams he'd been having—that he had to go himself.
Emerging on the other side of the passage, Kyle took a moment to orient himself and then hurried towards Myrtle's bathroom. The "exploding textbooks" that had once littered the area were gone, though Kyle barely noticed as he made his way to the tap.
Speaking Parseltongue, he opened the entrance and turned to Myrtle, who was staring at him in surprise. "The professors will be here soon," he told her quickly. "Make sure to tell them that this is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."