The basilisk gateway, was: Preparing

[constancevigilance]

Kneasy, regarding the idea that there might have been other chamber 
openings:
> 
> You might have opened a can of worms (or Basilisks) here.
> Why restrict it to Merope? Why not the youngest of any generation
> of Sal's direct descendants? That way they'd each sort of be a true
> heir, at least until they were superceded by the next generation.
> 
> Pop in, do a little light dusting, change the litter in the 
Basilisk tray...
> all part of the ancestor worship instilled in the bloodline.
> 

CV: I couldn't snip that last bit, it was too funny.

All we know is that the Chamber hadn't been opened since Tommy did it 
and that the existence of it was generally not known. We also know 
that the existence of parselmouths was not widely known, either, so 
there were apparently lots of Sally's secrets that were well kept.

In any case, we seem to have de-mystified the issue of where the 
carving might have come from. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit if 
Tommy learned about the location from a relative.

> But Tom gets unlucky (or lucky, depending on your poinnt of view),
> 'cos old Sal is in, active and looking for a new partner now that
> Grindelwald has proved such a disappointment.
> The rest, as they say, is history.
> 

CV, confused here. You think Salizar had something to do with 
Grindelwald? I was just thinking that Grindelwald was a Nazi wizard 
who was sent to occupied Norway to open a magnet school for the Dark 
Arts. I thought that even before JKR said that the magical world was 
involved in WWII. In my thesis, Dumbledore used (or created) the lake 
portal to Durmstrang as part of that battle.

Well, as you say. That's a whole basket of basilisks.

CV