Why put the entrance tothe Chamber of Secrets in a girl's bathroom?

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 88365

Geoff wrote:

> Myrtle knew that the tap has never worked in her time in the place, 
> i.e from perhaps 1940 onwards. That tap could not be an original 
piece of Hogwarts plumbing because taps weren't around a thousand 
years ago. I recently visited the old  underground conduits in Exeter 
which were built to bring water into the cathedral and the city about 
600 years ago and although they were an excellent piece of 
engineering for their time, they were stone lined and there was no 
piping in the sense that we would expect today. The interesting 
question becomes whether there has been an heir of Slytherin at 
Hogwarts prior to Tom Riddle who was there at a time when a piped 
water system was installed.

Berit replies:

Just for the sake of argument :-): I agree of course that Myrtle 
wouldn't know whether the tap worked prior to her time, but canon 
doesn't really support any heir of Slytherin prior to Tom, who ever 
opened the chamber, does it? After all, the ones who should know 
(Binns the history professor for instance) seems to believe the tale 
of the chamber of secrets is just a myth (well, except for Dumbledore 
maybe :-). So if there had been one or several major outbreaks of 
mysterious muggle/"mudblood" killings during Hogwarts' history, even 
if they happened hundreds and hundreds of years ago; 
wouldn't "Hogwarts - A History" have mentioned it? One just get the 
feeling it has been quiet about the chamber of secrets ever since 
Salazar created it. With one exception; Tom Riddle's adventure.

Also, even if the Muggle world didn't have plumbing a thousand years 
ago, it doesn't mean the Magic world didn't; they don't seem very 
advanced technically compared to te Muggle world of our day and age, 
but the opposite might have been true long, long ago... Though I must 
admit I'm inclined to go with you on this one :-)

Carol wrote;

Or possibly Tom himself etched the snake on the tap when he first
discovered the entrance as a way of identifying the entrance for the
person who discovered his diary. Or he might even have been showing
off--writing "the Heir of Slytherin is here" in secret code. Whatever
his motive, I think he's the person most likely to have etched the
snake on the tap. (I entirely agree with the rest of your argument,
especially Myrtle's use of "never" to mean "never in my time at
Hogwarts." She's still mentally a little girl of about twelve who
would have little knowledge of or interest in Hogwarts' thousand-year
history.)

Berit replies:

It sounds probable that Tom was the one etching the snake into the 
tap after he discovered where the entrance to the secret chamber was 
located. But if the sinks and the "modern" plumbing wasn't there when 
Salazar created the entrance, I wonder how the whole construction 
slid away so easily. Also, some coincidence that the modern pipe 
system led straight to the chamber of secrets. Great luck, wouldn't 
you say? But it's magic I guess :-)

Well, as you see I'm still a bit inclined the plumbing system/pipes 
etc. were there at Salazar's time, unless some later, "modern" Heir 
of Slytherin-engineer knowing about the chamber of secrets made sure 
the pipes connected to the chamber when it was installed many hundred 
years later. Which I doubt somehow. At least that person seem to have 
been able to restrain him or herself to not unleash the chamber's 
monster :-)

Well, I like arguing :-)

Berit
http://home.no.net/berjakob/snape.html