Chapter One - The Hall of Bones
Weasley scoffed, pointing accusingly at Daphne's standing form.
"She's a Slytherin!"
"I'm sorry, was that supposed to be offensive?"
Daphne G. to Ron W.
Harry twisted in his sheets, feeling dizzy, blinking up at the dark ceiling of the hospital wing. Somebody had removed his glasses and his vision was blurry as a result, leaving him disoriented and confused.
The door to the room was standing ajar, and from outside hushed voices could be heard. It sounded to Harry like the shrill voice of Madam Pomfrey, speaking to a man with a voice which he could not place... And then came the unmistakable, drawling voice of Professor Snape.
Snape!
Harry blinked as it all came back to him in a rush – the Shrieking Shack, Sirius Black, the rat! Pettigrew! And Professor Lupin – he was a werewolf! And the Dementors...
Sirius!
He struggled furiously with his sheets, finally freeing himself from them, placing his naked feet onto the cold, stone floor. He immediately pushed them into his wet trainers, found his round spectacles on the bedside table and shakily rose from the bed.
He had to save Sirius! But how would he do that? Madam Pomfrey and bloody Snape were blocking the door.
Looking to his side, he caught sight of a tuft of red hair, sticking up from under the duvet. Oh God – Ron! Harry thought and swallowed deeply. Was he alright?
Suddenly, a hand sneaked up from behind him and placed itself over his mouth. In fright, he twisted around and to his relief found an unharmed, but deeply distressed Hermione there. He hugged her briefly, glad she was alright.
"Hermione, what happened? How's Ron? Is he going to be alright?" he whispered, careful not to attract the attention from the men outside the doors.
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry!" she mumbled in a thick voice, clearly on the brink of desperation. "Yes, yes, Ron will be alright, it's fine but... But they captured him! Pettigrew is gone and they captured Sirius – he's going to get the Kiss, the Dementors are on their way!"
"What?" Harry exclaimed in a furious whisper, gripping her shoulders tightly. "No! No, there has to something we can do!"
Hermione didn't look at him. She bowed her head down, chewing on her lip, clearly working something out in her mind.
"Hermione! If you know something... Just – if there's something we can do, even if it seems crazy... tell me!"
She looked up, a determined look on her face. She fished out a thin, golden chain out of the neck of her robes and threw it around Harry's neck too. Then, she started fiddling in a very nervous manner with a little, sparkling hour-glass that was hanging from it.
"There is, maybe, a possibility we could at least try something... It would be highly illegal of course. We would probably end up in Azkaban if somebody finds out, but... perhaps, all we need is a little bit more time..."
Harry just looked at her as if he'd never seen her before, wondering what the hell she was talking about. Of course they needed more time, and here she was, wasting it on some weird, golden trinket. They should try to sneak out and save Sirius before it was too late.
Hermione turned the hour-glass over once and the dark space of the hospital wing dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was flying backwards very fast. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him; his ears were pounding. He tried to yell, but he couldn't hear his own voice –
And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything came back into focus again.
He was standing next to Hermione in a very close proximity to the Whomping Willow. Its branches were swirling threateningly towards them, and Hermione hurriedly pulled him with her, away from the tree into the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. She pushed him rudely behind a tree, made sure nobody was around and proceeded to check her wristwatch, her frizzy locks of hair dancing wildly in the evening breeze.
Harry was very confused.
"Ten minutes to eleven..." she muttered and hauled the golden chain back into her robes.
"What the hell just happened?" Harry exclaimed, and Hermione immediately hushed him with a finger pressing on his lips.
"Harry, you need to be quiet," she whispered, looking around the tree in the direction of the Whomping Willow again. "We have just traveled one hour back in time with my Time-Turner. It always pushes you back to the roundabout place where you were at that point in time. We should emerge from under the roots of the willow any time now... Aha!" she exclaimed, waving for Harry to crawl closer so that he could see what she was seeing. "There we are, now. Aw, poor Ron. He must be in so much pain..."
"Are you telling me," Harry began, feeling a bit faint. "That we are here, behind this tree – and we are out there too. At the same time?"
Hermione nodded importantly, and slipped closer, so that she could whisper quieter still. "I got this Time-Turner from Professor McGonagall at the beginning of this year. There was no other way for me to make it to all of my classes otherwise, and she had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry in order for me to get one.
"And she made me swear I would tell no one... Harry, Time Traveling is very serious business, and if we were to see ourselves – if the past us saw us, I mean – it would be a catastrophe! It can't happen, so we have to be very careful. Understand?"
"Yes, sure but..." Harry began, but then froze still in spot. Out from under the Whomping Willow climbed Peter fucking Pettigrew. "I need to catch him," he growled, struggling to stand up. "Before he gets away again..."
"NO!" Hermione screeched, and pulled him down onto the ground again with a strong grip around his left arm. "You can't be seen, remember? Seriously, Harry, you just promised me to be careful."
"But he's right there," Harry argued, staring the other challengingly into the eyes. "I'll just swoop in, grab him by the neck, and-"
"You will do no such thing!" Hermione hissed and huffed impatiently. With regret, Harry simply watched as Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf, how Snape suddenly awoke and how Pettigrew transformed into a rat and suddenly was gone. He watched as Sirius dashed after him, and how he himself followed close behind.
"Look, Harry, just trust me," Hermione whispered. "We need another plan. We're just wasting time like this, precious time we need if we are going to save Sirius from the Dementors."
"The Dementors!" Harry realized, his heart starting to hammer painfully against his ribcage. "Oh God, they're coming! We have to do something!"
And with that, he was up on his legs, running with all his might towards the Black Lake where he knew he'd been when the Dementors swooped down on them.
Behind him, Hermione was following in his tracks, spluttering furiously at his idiocy. Harry didn't care – the Dementors were going to kiss Sirius, and he had to do something!
Then, on the other side of the lake, he saw himself. He saw his futile attempts at conjuring a Patronus. Tiny flickers of silvery smoke.
Any moment now, someone would save them... But there was a growing suspicion mulling through Harry's mind, leaving him more nervous than he had ever been in his whole life. He had traveled through time. Perhaps... Perhaps, he was the one... What if?
Soon, he realized, it would be too late. And Hermione had almost caught up with him. He needed to act – NOW!
He rushed forwards to the edge of the bank, aimed with his wand at the horde of Dementors and yelled at the top of his lungs:
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
And out of the end of his wand burst, not a swirling cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. A stag! It charged towards the Dementors, chasing them away. Harry saw his other self look at him in wonder, and then fall to the ground, out cold.
Done with its mission, the stag came galloping back to him, lowering its antlers, looking at him with shimmering silver eyes. Prongs, Harry realized. Then, in a swirl of silvery mist, it was gone.
Hermione caught up with him, and promptly pulled him out of sight behind a big oak. "What did you do?" she hissed furiously at him, her hair frizzed out of recognition. "I told you to be careful! And you go out of your way to do this?"
"Look, Hermione," Harry whispered in a soft tone, holding his hands up as if in surrender. "I had to do it. I just saved out lives – see?" he said, twitching his head in the direction of the Black Lake. "I was supposed to do it, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here right now, would I?"
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, biting her lip, looking as if she was at the brink of tears. "Would you please just stop and listen to me? We need a plan. A real plan, alright? You can't just rush off without me like that."
"I'm sorry," Harry said, feeling very guilty all of a sudden. "I'll be careful from now on – honest!"
Hermione smiled sadly, clearly not believing him at all, but seemed to calm down nonetheless. "Alright, let's think..." she said, frowning deeply. Harry pondered on it too, a blurry sort of plan slowly forming itself in his mind.
"I have an idea," Harry said, unsure himself. "It would be... a risk, I think. But it could work, well, technically..."
"What is your plan?" Hermione pressed, looking impatient.
"The Chamber of Secrets", Harry explained and Hermione instantly gasped in realization. "We need a place for Sirius to hide where no one can find him, right?"
"Harry, that's brilliant," she beamed, but suddenly turned very grim. "But how do we get him there? We don't even know where he is supposed to be taken, look! There's Professor Snape, right now, carrying us away."
"Perhaps..." Harry began, a wild sort of plan forming itself in his mind. "If we had the Marauder's Map... Snape said he'd found it in Professor Lupin's office, right? So, if we get a look at it, we could see where they've taken Sirius. And then..."
"But, Harry, how exactly are we going to take him down into the chamber? We'd need to get him to the girls' restroom on the second floor... And the chances of them keeping him anywhere close to there..."
"I know! But I'm desperate, alright?" Harry urged hastily, willing the other to understand and agree. "Either it works, or it doesn't. We just need to do something, alright? Look, we send Sirius a message – with that spell that turns the letters into flying little airplanes – and tell him to ask for permission to use the bathroom. See, the Basilisk moved throughout the pipes all over the school, and people were attacked in all sorts of parts of the castle... There has to be more entrances – probably in every restroom. We only found one just because of Moaning Myrtle..."
"But how do we know that for sure?" Hermione interrupted with a frantic expression on her face.
"We... We could just ask Myrtle... We could ask her to check the pipes for us. I'll bring her into the chamber and let her look for a way to the bathroom closest to Sirius – we can look it up on the map... And then I fly through the pipes on a broomstick. Easy!"
Hermione just stared at him for a couple of seconds, looking completely dumbstruck. "That... That's absolutely crazy" she finally said, shaking her head slowly. Then, she sighed. "But it could work if... you're absolutely sure the Basilisk is dead, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," Harry confirmed quickly, and grabbed hold of her arm to pull her with him back to the castle. "Come on!" he exclaimed, impatient to reach Professor Lupin's office as soon as possible.
"Hold on!" Hermione said, and rapped his head with her wand once. Before Harry could complain, an odd feeling of something sticky running from the top of his head, down over his body made itself known.
"What did you do?" he yelped in surprise, and Hermione immediately hushed him pointedly.
"It's the Disillusionment Charm," she explained, and rapped her own head as well. Her body immediately turned colorless, as if she'd suddenly acquired powers of a chameleon and simply faded into the background. "We can sneak around easier like this."
"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, and finally had his way as they both bolted towards the castle, making their way through its halls in record time. Soon, they stood in front of the door leading to their goal. Together, they sneaked into Lupins office, immediately finding the map, lying innocently on their professor's desk, right next to the untouched cup of Wolfsbane Potion. They snatched the map from off the table and looked frantically for Sirius' dot on it. And there it was! Just brought upstairs by Snape, who met Professor McGonagall in the entrance hall. They must have run just past them!
It was strange, seeing another two dots labeled Harry Potter and Hermione Granger being brought up into the hospital wing, while another pair of dots, with the exact same names, were ever so innocently standing on the second floor.
"Alright, they're taking him upstairs," Harry said, folding the map together and placing it into his pocket. "Let's write the letter."
Hermione sat down in the chair behind the desk and immediately started scribble hastily on a sheet of paper. Harry took a deep breath and had a quick look-around. The office was filled with all sorts of interesting instruments. And cages, where monsters for Professor Lupin's classes no doubt had been held. And then, right next to the door, stood just what Harry needed. Broomsticks!
He hurriedly walked over and grabbed them by their shafts, he immediately recognized them as Fred and George's. Professor Lupin must have taken them here after he confiscated them a couple of days ago, when the twins had been having a game of catching a Snitch in the middle of the fifth floor corridor.
Looking at the brooms fondly, Harry nodded confidently to himself, letting out a breath he had been holding. Perhaps they could actually do this! Then, Hermione was at his side, giving him a sharp nod. She had finished the letter and they sneaked out into the dark corridors again. Soon they entered the girls' restroom, their ears immediately assaulted by quiet sobbing coming from one of the stalls.
Harry reached into his pocket and took out the Marauder's Map again to have a look at it. "They've taken him to Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor," he whispered hurriedly. "We have to make sure the letter reaches him through the window, or else it will be spotted if someone is standing guard."
Hermione nodded at him and went to one of the bathroom windows, opened it and charmed the letter to fly away and complete its mission. So far, so good, Harry thought to himself. Now, to the next part of the plan...
"Er, Myrtle?" he asked carefully.
A splosh of water seeped through one of the cabins, the one from which the sobbing had come from.
"Who's there?" cried a girls voice. "Is it you, Peeves? Want to make fun out of me again?"
"It's me, Harry Potter," Harry said hurriedly. "I killed the creature who was responsible for your death... Remember?"
He silently prayed to all gods of the world it would work. A sniff was heard and the shimmery form of the ghost emerged from out of the toilet stall.
"Harry Potter?" she asked in a shaky voice. "I don't see you. Are you finally dead and a ghost too?"
"Er, no", Harry said, waving the Marauder's Map in the air for Myrtle to see. "We're right here, we're invisible."
"Please, Myrtle, we need your help!" Hermione pleaded hurriedly as the ghost came closer to them.
"Need my help?" The pearly white ghost slowly came closer, a suspicious expression on her pale face. "What would you need my help for? And why me? Why not any other ghost?"
"Well, because... Because no other ghost knows the sewer system as you do," Hermione said kindly. "You spend a lot of time there. You know how all the restrooms join together, don't you?"
"Well, I do!" Myrtle said proudly and crossed her arms over her chest. "So what?"
"A friend of mine is in trouble with... er... with some bad guys who always bully him... If he walks around the castle after curfew he will get in trouble. But, if he could use the sewers to get around, we could get him out trough the Chamber of Secrets, which is empty now... You know, the place from where the Basilisk came out at you all those years ago..."
"You want to save your friend, who's bullied by some guys and forced to be up after curfew? And you want to get him out through the sewer system?" Myrtle asked incredulously. Hermione closed her eyes for a few seconds, and Harry cringed in discomfort. Said like that, there was no way she would fall for it-
"That's... nice of you," Myrtle suddenly decided, and wiped tears from off her cheeks. "I wish I had had friends like you when I was still alive..."
Hermione coughed to mask her surprise, and smiled up at the hoovering ghost. "So, will you help us, then?"
"I will", Myrtle said generously, clearly enjoying the attention. "Which bathroom can he use?"
Hermione and Harry hastened to look at the map, concluding that if Sirius was taken to a toilet, it would most certainly be the one on the left side of the corridor outside of Professor Flitwick's office – it was certainly the closest one.
"On the seventh floor, the boys' restroom on the left side of the corridor," Harry explained to the ghost. "Look out for a little snake engraved in one of the sinks."
Myrtle nodded importantly and turned around. With a splash of water, she then entered her toilet and was gone.
"What do we do now?" Hermione asked quietly and sneaked a peek at her wristwatch, murmuring eleven twenty to herself. Time was running out.
"We wait for Myrtle to come back," Harry said, keeping his eyes locked on the little dot labeled Sirius Black, as if it would pop out of existence would he turn his eyes from it. He watched as the dot traveled to one of the windows marked out on one of the walls, and then over to the door that separated the room he was locked into from the corridor outside.
The little dot labeled Severus Snape moved closer to the door and stood still there for a while. Trust Snape to muck things up, Harry thought to himself furiously. Then, as if through a miracle, the two little dots moved out of the room and into the bathroom where Sirius had been told to escape.
Now, where was Myrtle? They needed to hurry!
They had to wait for two whole minutes before she finally turned up.
"Harry?" she called, and he immediately raised the map to wave her in.
"Right here!"
"There is a snake," she huffed once she'd come closer, "and a really large pipe. I couldn't enter trough the sink but one of the others has a connection to it. It's too small for a mortal, however..."
"That's no problem!" Harry said in relief. "Thank you! Look, Hermione and I will go down this pipe. Then I want you to enter the large pipe you saw in the other bathroom through the small one and come down as far as it gets. Only use the largest pipe when there is a cross. You'll eventually end up in the Chamber of Secrets. We'll wait for you there to see from which pipe you come out of. Alright?"
Myrtle nodded excitedly and, to Harry's great relief, did as she was told. Harry turned to the sink and hissed for it to open. Then he nodded to Hermione, handed her one of the broomsticks and jumped down the pipe.
He slid down for a long while. It was dark and wet just like he remembered it from last time he visited the chamber. There were little bones from dead animals on the ground when he arrived. Soon thereafter, Hermione was spat out as well, and hurriedly stood up to his right, a grimace of disgust on her face.
"Lumos," Harry murmured and the room was instantly lit up as the tip of his wand was illuminated. Now, they could see the little mountain of stones where the ceiling almost broke down a year ago. It separated the tunnel, leading to the Chamber of Secrets, from the high-roofed hall filled with bones they were now standing in.
It seemed to be a giant meeting point for all the pipes. Harry saw dozens and dozens of openings in the ceiling where other larger pipes began. Myrtle would no doubt emerge from out of one of those any second now... Sure enough, as if summoned, he saw a pearly white shape emerge from out of one of them.
Harry promptly mounted his broomstick and looked back at Hermione, giving her a pointed look. She immediately caught on and straddled her broom as well, and they both flew upwards to where Myrtle was hoovering mid-air.
"Good job," Harry told her with a big smile. "You did brilliantly. Thank you!"
She giggled coyly at him and batted her eyelashes. "Well, of course, I am happy to help. And remember, Harry, you can always come and share my toilet if you ever die..."
"Er, sure... Thanks, Myrtle," Harry said and and watched as she turned around and left trough the pipe which lead to her home restroom. He signed for Hermione to follow him, and they made their way up through the pipe that the ghost had ever so kindly showed them. Sometimes along the way it felt like they passed though some sort of wards. Harry felt his skin tickle when it happened and he was sure that it was spells put in place to make sure no water or grime could reach the chamber.
Finally they reached the end of the pipe and it opened up at his command. Silently the sink moved and Harry and Hermione carefully sneaked into the bathroom. Sirius was still there, thankfully, standing in front of the urinals. Snape stood just outside the wide open door, glaring in at him with a sadistic gleam dancing in his eyes.
"Done washing up for the Dementors, Black? I hate to remind you, we're on a tight schedule... Can't miss the point when justice finally reaches you, after all..." Snape drawled.
Furious at how Snape dared speak to Sirius like that, as if he actually deserved to lose his soul though a Dementor's Kiss, Harry aimed his wand at his black-clad professor, and shot away a spell.
"Stupefy!"
Completely caught unaware, Snape had no chance to avoid the oncoming spell and dropped face-first to the dirty floor. Sirius immediately sprang forwards towards the fallen man, bent down to poke at him before he turned around, eyes wide.
"Harry?" he whispered, looking around but seeing nothing, because his two saviors were still hidden under the Disillusionment Charm.
Harry stepped forwards and came to stand right next to his godfather, laying his hand carefully on the other's shoulder. "I'm here," he whispered and then, a moment later, found himself in a bone-crushing hug.
"Sirius – can't breathe!" he panted, and his godfather let him go with a big grin on his face.
"What are you doing here, Harry? How did you get in?"
"I'm saving you, of course," Harry said, pushing his broomstick into Sirius hands. "Hermione and I came through the pipes..."
"Oh," Sirius said with a happy grin. "Hey there, Hermione! Wait, where's that other boy? What was his name – Ron?"
"Yes, yes, Ron is fine, he's in the hospital wing... but let's talk about that later," Harry whispered hurriedly. "We have to go before somebody catches on, and realizes you have escaped."
He led Sirius to the pipe opening and sat himself down behind Hermione on her broomstick. On Harry's command, Sirius swooped down the pipe, and Hermione soon followed suit, Harry turning around to hiss at the sink to close, so that no one would ever find out what had happened to Sirius Black.
When they reached the Hall of Bones Sirius made a disgusted sound.
"Where the hell are we?" he asked and looked around at the surroundings. "I mean – you're bloody brilliant, Harry, and Hermione of course. I can't thank you enough! It's just... Well, I thought I knew every secret passage and room there was at Hogwarts..."
"It's... Well, er..." Harry began, not sure how Sirius would react to the truth. "It's the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets," he said, very slowly.
"You found the Chamber of Secrets?" Sirius exclaimed in disbelief. "But you're only a third year! James and I searched for it for ages and didn't even find out what kind of monster lived in it..."
"You searched for the chamber?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, of course. Remus and Peter helped too, sometimes... We wanted our map to be complete, you know." He shrugged. "And of course we could have teased the slimy Slytherins with the fact that it were Gryffindors who found it first."
"Well, actually the first one to find it was Voldemort, fifty years ago when he went here to school himself. I only found it because of a cursed diary he'd created that set free the Basilisk inside the chamber. He kidnapped Ginny Weasley to lure me here so he could kill me."
"The – what?" Sirius exclaimed with a dumbstruck expression on his face.
"Harry, we haven't got the time," Hermione pointed out, the bones under her feet rattling as she moved around restlessly. "In ten minutes we have to be back in the hospital wing, as if nothing happened. We have to get a move on!"
"Right!" Harry said, turning back to Sirius. "Look, the point is, I killed the Basilisk so the chamber has to be safe as of now. I fear you'll have to stay here for a few days until the world has calmed down..."
"Wait a minute – you killed the monster? A Basilisk?"
"Harry!" Hermione prompted impatiently and Harry mentally thanked her for not letting him get carried away.
"Next time, Sirius, I'll tell you everything. I promise. Now, I'll just have to get you into the Chamber itself – you can't stay here after all. I'll hurry back, Hermione."
And with that, he grabbed hold of Sirius hand and led him through the hole in the pile of stones Ron had dug out while Harry was on the other side, rescuing his sister. They arrived at the entwined snakes on the stone wall, separating the tunnels from the chamber itself. "Open", he hissed at them and the walls fell apart, creating an opening leading into the grand stone chamber.
Sirius coughed as the smell of rotten Basilisk flesh hit him. With a wink of his wand it was gone.
"Where did you get that wand?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Nicked it off from Snivellus when he was busy being stunned and all that. Nice shot, by the way."
"Thanks..." Harry said a bit hesitantly. "But... Don't you think he will need his wand?"
"He'll get it back," Sirius said with a mischievous grin. "Eventually..."
"Well, alright," Harry said, already hurrying back towards the exit to make his escape with Hermione. "See you soon," he called behind him and was almost out the doorway when Sirius called out from behind him.
"Harry! What kind of password was that? You know, if I accidentally lock myself out or something..."
"Er, it's kind of... Parseltongue..." Harry stuttered, ice cold fear filling him as he recalled the reactions he'd gotten from most people at Hogwarts last year when his 'dark gift'was out in the open.
"You're a Parselmouth?" Sirius questioned, and Harry held his breath. "Wicked!" he then exclaimed and smiled widely in his godson's direction.
"You don't have a problem with that?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"What, with you speaking another language?" Sirius laughed. "Come on, it's not like you can do anything about it... Trust me; I know better then anyone how it is to be labeled dark just because of who you are or what you can do... Well, Remus knows a lot about it too. You won't get any hatred from us, Harry, if that was what you thought."
"Oh... Alright..." Harry didn't know what else to say. "Well, I'll bring you some food once it's safe. But now I really have to go..."
"No problem," Sirius said, waving his hand in a dismissing gesture. "Did you like my present?"
Harry once again halted in his tracks and shot the other a questioning look, but then remembered Sirius couldn't see him. "What present?"
"The broom." Sirius grinned. "Did you like it?"
Harry's eyes widened. "You sent it to me?"
"Sure did!" Sirius said happily. "Think about it as 12 Christmas presents combined together, for the ones I've missed..."
Harry's gaze softened. "I love it, Sirius. I love it."
Then he turned around and ran. He hurried to Hermione's side and together they flew up the pipes and into the girls' restroom on the second floor where they left the broomsticks inside of one of the closets. Realizing they only had two minutes left they ran out of the second floor corridor, flew down the staircases and into the first floor corridor, where they raced to the hospital wing as if they had a horde of Hippogriffs hot on their heels.
When they finally arrived at their destination, they had to face yet another problem before they were safely back into their beds – the crowd of people blocking the wide open door. The crowd consisted of Madam Pomfrey, a livid looking Professor Snape and the Minister for Magic himself – Cornelius Fudge.
"You don't mean to tell me, Snape, that you had Black locked up safely, and then decided to just let him out..." the Minister spat out in a befuddled voice.
"I did not let Black out – he simply wanted to wash up and I took him to the restroom just across the hall. He clearly had an accomplice, who stunned me in the back-"
While everyone was busy watching Snape break down into hysterics, Harry and Hermione carefully sneaked closer and closer until they could finally slip through the door and into safety – arriving just in time to see their past selves disappear in a swirl of colors.
Hermione hurried to cast finite on both Harry and herself, breaking the Disillusionment Charms, and they both sprang forwards towards their beds, crawling down into them as if nothing had happened. Through the door came Snape's outraged yells.
"This has Potter written all over it! Black used the Confundus Charm on him earlier this evening – he must still be confunded and-"
"Harry Potter has been lying in his bed, all evening, recovering from an awful Dementor attack," Madam Pomfrey interrupted in a scandalized voice, but Snape wouldn't be stopped.
"POTTER IS AN UNSUFFERABLE LITTLE BRAT WHO ALWAYS STICKS HIS NOSE INTO PLACES WHERE IT DOES NOT BELONG!"
"Now now, Severus," came the calm voice from Professor Dumbledore, having finally arrived at the scene. "I am sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for whatever it is that is upsetting you."
"Headmaster," Snape wheezed, his voice shaking in rage. "Black! He's gone – he escaped – Potter helped him! I know he did!"
"There you are, Dumbledore," said Fudge in an angry voice, interrupting Snape's ranting. "How do you explain this, pray tell? A convicted murderer, locked into a top floor room by one of your entrusted men, managing to escape... And now, that same entrusted man tries to blame it all on an injured child?"
"I assure you, Cornelius," Dumbledore spoke in a tired voice, "that we will do everything in our power to ensure Sirius Black can harm no other student in this castle. Severus, please, will you gather the others and start a search party?"
"But, Headmaster, Potter – the Confundus Charm..." Snape began but then quieted. Soon thereafter, hasty footfalls could be heard, and Minister Fudge sighed loudly.
"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," he said in a regretful voice. "I'd watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore."
"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore cheerfully. "He just suffered a severe disappointment..."
The Minister and Dumbledore spoke quietly to one another for a little while longer, and Harry was slowly sinking down into a deep sleep, when the door suddenly fell closed with a silent bang, and the Headmaster slowly strode into the room.
"Awake, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore asked in a soft voice and Harry immediately snapped his eyes open and sat up a little more in his bed.
"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked and Harry swallowed nervously in reflex at the searching blue eyes that met his over the rim of half-moon shaped glasses.
"I'm alright," he responded a bit half-heartedly, but the other just smiled cheerfully at him.
"That is relieving to hear, my boy," he said and sat down at the end of his bed. "I am here to tell you that there are some bad news... Sirius Black has managed to successfully escape and is on the loose once again. I'm afraid this means you are still in immediate danger and should be very careful once you leave Hogwarts in a few weeks time."
Harry nodded slowly at the searching look Dumbledore was giving him and promised he'd be careful. He hadn't spoken to Sirius about whether he could tell the Headmaster about what he'd done or not, and felt it might be best to keep the secret. At least for a little while.
Professor Dumbledore looked at him in a very peculiar way, as if he secretly suspected Snape was actually right, and Harry had in truth helped with the escape. But he couldn't... right?
"Is there something you want to tell me, Harry?" Dumbledore asked slowly, waiting patiently for an answer with his hands in his lap.
"...No, Professor," Harry said a tad bit hesitantly, but it seemed to be enough for the other, who simply arose from the bed and began making his way out the door again.
"Very well," he said. "Now, I must let you rest. It has been a far too long day, for all of us. Do get better, Harry."
And then he was gone.
The following day the entire wizarding world was aflame with the news of Sirius Black's escape. Snape still pressed his argument that since he had been attacked from behind, someone had to had a hand in the criminal's escape. He wanted to blame Professor Lupin for it and had promptly let it slip that the man was a werewolf. Since it had been a full moon that night, and thanks to the fact that it was later confirmed he had failed to take his Wolfsbane Potion, Remus Lupin was freed of all accusations of being Black's accomplice.
However, he was not freed of the accusations of turning on a full moon night, putting all of Hogwarts students in immediate danger – and was therefore relieved of his duties as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Harry was devastated it had turned out that way – not only was Remus Lupin the best Defense teacher he had ever had at Hogwarts, but also one of the last remaining links he had to his parents. Having known that Lupin had been close friends with his father had somehow made them seem a bit less distant to him. It was the same way with Sirius, of course, but he had known Lupin for a longer period of time, and he quite liked him.
So, as soon as he heard of his professor's unemployment he hurried to his office on the second floor and caught him just as he was closing the last of his trunks.
"Professor!" he exclaimed at once, making the other whip around in surprise. "I can't believe they sacked you, how could they? It wasn't your fault that-"
"Now, now, Harry," Lupin said, holding up his hands. His face was covered in shining scars that stretched as his mouth twisted into a sad smile. "It is quite alright, you do not have to get angry on my behalf. In fact, I quite agree with the decision."
"You... What?" Harry exclaimed in bewilderment. "Why?"
Tiredly sinking back against his now empty desk, Lupin sighed heavily and gazed at Harry with a look of pure affection. "Does the fact that I am a dangerous creature that could harm innocent students mean nothing to you, Harry?" he questioned in a bewildered tone.
"No," Harry answered immediately. "No, it's like Sirius said – it's something that you can't help and that you shouldn't be judged for as long as you don't hurt people because of it..."
"Sirius said that?" Lupin asked, frowning in confusion. "When did..." Raising his eyebrows in suspicion, Harry got pierced by a narrow-eyed look. "Harry, is there something you would like to tell me?"
"Err", Harry began, fiddling nervously with the hem of his sleeve. "We sort of went back in time and took him down to... to the Chamber of Secrets..."
Lupin just stared at him in utter befuddlement for what seemed like an eternity. Then, his lips twitched up into an odd grin and he was laughing quietly. "Oh, Harry," he breathed out after he was done snickering. "I should have known you had a hand in this. But, the Chamber of Secrets? How on earth did think of that? I know of course, like the rest of the staff of the events last year. But, I could never have dreamed of... Well, I suppose you have inherited your father's curious streak."
Lupin smiled at him in a warm kind of way that had Harry's stomach turn to mush. He smiled back at the grown man and got an approving nod in return before he arose from the desk and started to rummage through one of it's drawers. "I suppose you had a Time-Turner, then?" he asked.
"Yeah, Hermione's got one, for her classes. We used it to go back an hour so that we could fly through the pipes and get Sirius out through one of the toilets."
"And then you proceeded to stun Severus for the second time that evening," Lupin answered with a look that Harry didn't know whenever it meant he was disproving or mildly impressed. Then he grinned again and Harry relaxed. "Ah, poor Severus... He was so disappointed. And the loss of his wand seems to have left him a bit... My, and all this time, with the Aurors searching every cranny of the school grounds, Sirius has been down in the Chamber of Secrets, all safe and sound?" Lupin started sniggering again and finally found what he was looking for in the drawer. Pulling it out, Harry instantly recognized his father's invisibility cloak.
"I went back for this this morning," Lupin explained and handed the cloak over to its owner.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said automatically, accepting the gift slowly.
"Please, call me Remus, Harry. I am not your professor any longer, after all."
"Alright," Harry said. "Ah, I should probably tell you that there are still two broomsticks in the toilet on the second floor. We didn't have the time to return them."
"It's okay, I'll make sure to return them to the Weasleys before I leave."
There was a long pause.
"I'm going to miss you, Remus."
Looking a bit surprised, Lupin raised his eyebrows and stepped forwards to lay a comforting hand onto Harry's shoulder. "And I you," he said, giving the shoulder in his hand a soft pat. "But I'm sure we'll meet again, Harry."
"When?" he immediately asked, looking up at the scarred face of the other, watching as the other's expression turned into that warm one again.
"Whenever you want to, Harry. I'm just an owl away, after all."
Unable to stop himself, Harry reached out and wrapped his arms around Remus' slim body, and held on tight as the other started patting his back softly. Then he let go and immediately made for the door, calling: "Goodbye, Remus," behind him as he went. Before he could walk out the door however, the other stopped him.
"Harry, just one more thing. You said Sirius is safe in the chamber, right?"
"Yes," Harry confirmed, a slight worry stirring in his gut. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
"No, no your secret is safe with me," Remus hurried to say, holding his hands up. "I am just curious... How will you get Sirius out of the chamber?"
"Oh," Harry said, relieved the other wouldn't tell on them. "We figured he could swim out one of the pipes leading out into the Black Lake and then transform back into a dog once he's out of the waters. You know, no one managed to catch him last time, did they?"
"No, you're absolutely right," Remus confirmed with a crocked smile.
Harry smiled back at him and turned to walk out of his office with confusing feelings of regret, wondering when he would get to see the other again.
The next couple of days flew by way too fast in Harry's opinion. Since Pettigrew was on the run, Sirius would have to continue his life as a fugitive until somebody caught the rat. Nobody but Harry, Ron and Hermione, as well as Professor Lupin, knew that he was in fact no murderer, but an innocent. Despite that it had seemed like Professor Dumbledore secretly knew they had something to do with Sirius' escape, they had decided against telling him. Without proof, chances were he would take matters into his own hands and send Sirius straight back to the Ministry of Magic and the Dementors.
Hermione had argued against the decision, believing that if only Dumbledore knew what was going on he could help them, talk to the Minister and make sure Sirius became a free man again. Ron had been ready to agree with her, and Harry had almost caved in. But in the end, they all agreed that the decision was up to Sirius himself, and he said he didn't want to take the risk of the Ministry capturing him again. And that sealed the matter. Dumbledore and the other teachers at Hogwarts would be left out of the loop. Perhaps that was for the best, Harry reasoned, thinking with dread about what Snape might do if he found out exactly what had happened to the man who he hated so much...
So, Harry, Ron and Hermione kept their secrets to themselves and used all their free time to sneak down into the Chamber of Secrets to visit Sirius. He was glad for the company, a bit starved on that at this point, and happily joked around with them and wanted to know everything about what they had been up to. He particularly seemed to enjoy the story about how the three of them had sneaked into the forbidden corridor on the third floor and found themselves facing off Voldemort in a struggle for the Philosopher's Stone.
He payed them back by telling stories of his own time as a Hogwarts student, and about the struggle he and his closest friends had had to go through to finally become Animagi. He also told them of the mischief they'd let loose in the school and about how things had eventually led up to the point where they had created the Marauder's Map. While on the subject, he had also decided to adjust the map a bit, so that the Chamber of Secrets could be seen on it as well. Something that had Hermione positively squealing in excitement at seeing in action how it was done.
Despite being left alone at most times, Sirius seemed to like it down in the Chamber of Secrets – mainly thanks to the nifty little room he had found when out and about exploring it. Right between the great legs of the Salazar Slytherin statue was a stone door that would open if you simply knocked on it. Inside was a complete set of living quarters: with a grand living room, a set of comfortable sofas in front of a crackling fireplace, the walls entirely covered with bookshelves stacked up with ancient looking books (which had Hermione climbing on the walls in excitement, although she ended up scoffing in annoyance that they were all written in some language she neither recognized nor could understand). It also held a small spiral staircase that Sirius proclaimed led to the Basilisk's lair – a place he hadn't felt all that interested in exploring.
Through one of the doors leading out of the living room, there was a cozy little bedroom furnished with wardrobes and end-tables in an elegant oak material. Sirius particularly liked the bed, even though it was in a deep green color, and spent a great deal of time jumping up and down in it in his dog form.
Through the other door, you ended up in a grand study which seemed to have served as some sort of research station with a lot of potions supplies: crystallised bottles filled with liquid in varying colors, lots and lots of scrolls filled out with script in dark black ink, loads of cauldrons and brass scales. It seemed like somebody had been down here doing some sort of experiments... but of what kind was hard to tell. All the writing was done in Latin, so none of them could read it.
Through the potions laboratory, there was another door which led into a small, windowless room filled up with piles of gold. Again it looked like somebody had already been there, looting the bigger part of it, but quite a hefty sum remained.
Sirius had decided to take what he could from off the Basilisk carcass to sell it on the black market, earning some easy cash that way. And since he had already gathered what he could get from off the big serpent at the point when he found the stacks of gold, he decided to leave it be since he'd earn a fortune on the rare Basilisk parts either way. Definitely enough for him to survive as he hid from the Ministry of Magic.
As soon as he had gathered all he needed, it was time for him to leave. Harry was alone with him in the chamber, as Ron and Hermione haven decided to leave them alone this time, after Harry pleaded for them to do so. He wanted some alone time with his godfather. He didn't know when they would next see each other, after all.
Sirius was busy shrinking all the packages of Basilisk skin, fangs and vials of venom, so that they would easily fit inside of his robe pocket. Harry was just sitting beside him, watching him longingly and wishing he could go with him.
"Now, don't give me that kicked puppy look," Sirius said jokingly. "You know I'd love to take you with me. But I just can't."
Harry sighed. "I know. It's just, the Dursleys…"
Sirius turned around abruptly. "The what?!"
"The Dursleys. You know, my aunt and uncle; the Muggles I live with. They hate everything magic related and I'm no exception. They treat me like dirt, and I really don't like them either."
"You live with them?" Sirius exclaimed in disbelieving outrage."That's where Hagrid was taking you that night, when I lent him my motorcycle? That's preposterous! How could you have possibly ended up with those people? Lily wasn't even on good terms with her sister; everybody knew that – what, you said they treat you like dirt?"
Harry watched with a rapidly beating heart how his godfather started pacing back and forwards, scratching the back of his neck frustratedly.
"Sure, your parents named me your godfather," he continued in a furious mumble, "but it was a time of war and they weren't stupid. That wasn't all they did to secure your future in case of their passing. I was there, I saw with my own eyes how they wrote a testament. They even included a whole list of people for you to stay with in case the worst happened. If they both died and if I wouldn't be able to take care of you – although I did try to take you in, but that Hagrid practically ripped you out of my arms on Dumbledore's orders... That man was always suspicious of me ever since he found out there was a traitor, playing as double agent with Voldemort, and with me coming from a Dark family and all that rot..."
He paced some more, mumbling to himself in a voice so quiet Harry couldn't make out a word. Then, he stopped in his tracks to state in a clear voice:
"There were loads of people who could have taken you in – they can'tall be dead! I know even Snivellus made the list, and I've seen him alive and merry myself!"
"What, Mum and Dad wanted me to go live with Snape?" Harry gasped.
Sirius looked at him with a dull expression for a couple of heartbeats, before shrugging offhandedly. "Yeah, horrible, isn't it? Your mother was friends with him in school, you see, stood up for him a lot – although I never understood why. He never thanked her or anything! They eventually stopped hanging out, thankfully. But apparently, she still thought him good enough to care for you... Sometimes, I wonder if she might have been a bit too nice, your mother... But how in the world she managed to convince James will always remain a mystery to me. They bloody hated each other; Snivellus and your dad..."
"Yeah," Harry said and looked away. "Snape keeps reminding me of how horrible he thought Dad was, and how much he thinks I resemble him..."
"Well," Sirius said, looking at him critically. "You do look a lot like him, you know... Except for the eyes, you have-"
"Mum's eyes, I know," Harry answered in a monotone, but smiling nonetheless. "I just wish I could come with you," he said as Sirius put the last little vial of blood into his pocked, all packed and ready to leave.
"One day, you will," Sirius assured him and wrapped his arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. "I'll come and get you, and the Dursleys will pay for the way they have treated you. But not today, I fear... The life of a fugitive is not something I want to put you through. No matter how tedious a time you have at the Dursleys – at least I know you're out of danger."
Giving each other one last great squeeze, they let go and together trekked back to the hall of bones, where the pipe that led into the Black Lake was located.
"Now, time to say goodbye," Sirius said, kneeling down before Harry to look into his eyes. "We'll see each other again soon, I promise, okay? Just remember, you are incredible. Absolutely brilliant! You are brave and strong, and you have already faced off some things not even grown up Hit Wizards would dare to face.
"I am so proud of you and so thankful for what you've done for me. But, from what you've told me about your life, there is no question about it – there's more danger out there, waiting for you. Therefore, you have to promise me you will be careful with who you trust. You're rich, you're famous, you're handsome," Sirius said and grinned widely at him. "Just like me – and you've done some great things. Jealously will be your worst enemy. It can corrupt even the best of friends, and combined with cowardly, it can easily lead to betrayal... You know what happened after Peter betrayed us...so please, Harry, promise me to be careful."
"I will," Harry answered, a thick lump in his throat. "I promise."
"That's my godson." Sirius slapped his shoulder once and stood up. "Now: Freedom, here I come!" he called enthusiastically and climbed into the proper pipe. Harry watched as he used Snape's wand to perform the Bubble Head Charm and a Heating Charm to keep him dry, before he waved once at him and disappeared deeper into the pipe.
Clutching the recently updated Marauder's Map tightly in his hands, Harry both watched and listened to his godfather, even after he was out of immediate view.
"Ugh, you should see that," Sirius suddenly exclaimed in a disgusted voice that sounded a bit muffled from inside the pipe.
"Everything alright?" Harry asked wearily.
"Yes, it's just that we're immediately under the lake, and there's a ward here, keeping the water away. It's like looking at the surface of the lake, just upside-down... Will be creepy once I get inside of it and gravity returns... Anyway, don't forget to write, Prongslet. I'm off!"
Harry only heard another splash of water and everything fell silent. Sighting, he checked his watch. It was around sunset, and all the students and teachers would be too be busy having diner in the Great Hall to notice a big black dog emerging from out of the Black Lake. And the Dementors had been called back ever since they had decided to attack Harry, so Sirius should have no problems in his escape from off the school grounds.
Harry decided that he'd rather not go back up to the official school grounds just yet, he wasn't hungry anyway. He might as well just spend some time in the cozier parts of the chamber, where his godfather had so recently been. Well inside of the living room, he decided to be a bit adventurous and sneak up the spiral staircase to the room where the Basilisk had had its nest.
The room was a round one, and very high. Harry could just barely see the ceiling far up. Intoning Lumos, his wand lit up and he could suddenly see in the dark spacy room. The nest was exactly that: a nest. Grass and hay covered the ground of the cave-like room. It was mostly clean, however he could also see some bones from dead animals as well as some left over scales that the Basilisk had shed at some point in time. The hay was arranged in a giant spiral. It was obviously the place were the Basilisk had rolled up and slept for hundreds of years.
Harry took his time looking around, not really knowing what he was searching for – until he found it. At first it looked like a patch of snake skin lying in the middle of the spiral of hay. However, there was a strange glint to the green, almost turquoise object that made him curious. So he walked closer and carefully crouched next to it to have a better look. The object was too big for a scale, to full in volume... It looked the size of a muggle football, but the shape was entirely different.
Maybe it's a jewel, Harry mused and stretched out a careful hand to touch it. Dragons were famous collectors of treasure after all, maybe Basilisks made a habit of it too?
But the thing didn't have any sharp edges...
And then it hit him – it wasn't a jewel, but an egg!
The realization made him freeze in shock, staring fearfully at the egg. Judging by its size, which was roughly like that of a dragon egg, if he compared it to the one Hagrid had hatched two and a half years ago, it could not be anything else than the spawn of a very large creature. And the setting left no doubts of its origins. Tiny freckles in dark blue and black were spread above the turquoise shell of the Basilisk egg. It seemed almost innocent. Well, if one didn't think about the deadly serpent that lay curled inside, that was...
Harry's thoughts ran at a furious pace in his mind. What the hell should he do with an bloody Basilisk egg? He couldn't just leave it here – what if it hatched and found its way into the school? He couldn't take it to the teachers either because he would have to explain were he got it from and why he had been roaming about in the Chamber of Secrets in the first place. Snape would have a field day with that, for sure.
On the other hand, he was almost absolutely sure that there would be very few ways to destroy the egg, if the shell was only half as resistant as Basilisk scales.
Harry stroked the smooth surface of the egg with a single finger, wondering how such a dangerous thing could be so beautiful.
Suddenly, as if in response to his touch, there was a loud CRACK and a deep fracture appeared running around the surface of the egg.
Oh shit, Harry thought in panic. It was hatching!
Panicking, he hurried to his feet, dancing around the room looking for something that could help him. Seeing nothing of the sort, he started chanting in a desperate voice, pleading for the egg to halt its hatching process. "Oh please, oh please, no, don't hatch, don't hatch!" And to his great astonishment, it stopped, stilling completely as if it had never moved in the first place.
Terrified it would start to crack open again if he left it behind, Harry carefully picked it up and put it into his book bag, doing his best not to shake it too much as he descended the stairs and made his way out of the Chamber of Secrets and into the Hall of Bones. There, he mounted his Firebolt and swooshed up the pipe leading to the seventh floor boys' bathroom, doing his very best to walk calmly on his way through the corridor, until he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady that concealed the Gryffindor common room from other students.
"Scurvy cur," he intoned to the now vastly skittish woman inside the frames, having become awfully traumatized after her violent encounter with Sirius last Hallowe'en.
Scoffing pompously, she peered at him in suspicion and nodded once. "He was a scurvy one, indeed, that dog," she agreed and finally opened up for him. Doing his best not to look too suspicious, he hurried through the common room, head down, making his way towards the spiral staircase leading to the boys' dormitories. Midway through, though, he was halted as someone called out to him.
"Harry! Here we are!"
Letting out a shaky breath in relief, recognizing Ron's voice, he looked up at his friends and beckoned with his head they should follow him to the bedroom.
Once safely inside, he hurried to put away his broomstick before stripping himself of his bag and tossing it onto his bed in a way that suggested it was filled with hot potatoes.
"Sir- er..." Ron began, but hastened to reformulate himself as Hermione elbowed him in the stomach. "Er, I mean, Snuffles got out alright?"
"Yeah, he's fine," said Harry impatiently and stretched out his right arm to point shakily at the book bag lying innocently on top of his crimson bed covers. "There's a Basilisk egg in there."
"A what?" Ron exclaimed fearfully, and Hermione hurriedly turned around to slam the door firmly shut behind them as well as locking it, narrowing the risk of someone overhearing them.
"But that's impossible," she argued, hurrying forwards to rip the bag open so that she could look inside. "Basilisks don't lay eggs!" she stated in a lecturing voice, before starting to recite: "The first recorded Basilisk was bred by Herpo the Foul, a Greek Dark wizard and a Parselmouth, who discovered after much experimentation that a chicken egg hatched beneath a toad would produce a gigantic serpent- WHOA!"
Having finally caught sight of the impossible egg, she flung herself backwards and landed heavily on top of Ron's bed. Sitting up, her wild hair standing on end, she pointed shakily at the turquoise egg that had now fallen out of the bag and lay twitching on top of one of Harry's pillows, in clear view. "It's- it's cracking open!"
"Stop! Stop!" Harry chanted desperately, and to his utmost relief, once again it obeyed his command.
"You don't reckon it's gonna charge out at us and, you know..." Ron swallowed thickly and took a careful step backwards, "kill us?"
"What did you think bringing it here, Harry?" Hermione hissed out in a crazed voice, backing up on Ron's bed so that she leaned against the head-board, hugging one of the pillows in front of her heaving chest.
"Wha- I don't know!" Harry gasped out, out of his mind in fear of what would happen next. Would the baby Basilisk keep obeying him, or would it eventually have enough and come out despite his orders? Would the egg itself cave in under the pressure and crack open? "I panicked and... I know, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have, but I didn't know what to do with it. I couldn't bloody well leave it down there, right? What if it hatched and started attacking the school?"
"I think that might be a problem whichever way you look at it," Ron whined pitifully and picked up his own book bag to shield himself with, when the egg started shifting again and another long crack appeared on its surface. "Maybe we could kill it?" More and more fractures could be seen on the smooth shell and it rustled slightly as if something was moving inside.
"Yes, but how?" Hermione whined, covering her face with the pillow in her arms. "A Basilisk's scales repel magic, just like dragons' do. And cover your eyes, you idiots!" she hissed furiously as she sneaked a peak at them from behind her fluff filled shield. "The Basilisk's yellow gaze is deadly, if you remember?"
"Right!" said Harry and closed his eyes hurriedly, trying to sort through his panicking mind to find a solution before it was too late. "Er, well, last time I killed the Basilisk with a sword... But Dumbledore has it now and... Well, I had to get it in the mouth where it didn't have any scales... But this is much smaller, right, so perhaps if we could transfigure something into a knife, or..."
In the middle of his tirade, Hermione had scrambled to the floor, searching wildly for something to use from under Ron's bed. Suddenly, she found a ruined quill and put it on top of the bed before pointing her wand at it. "Scalprufors," she cried and the feathery object turned to a steeled blade with a wooden handle.
Harry hurried to pick it up, but paused as he took a closer look at the instrument in his hand. It looked more like a cutlery than a blunt weapon. Would it really be strong enough to pierce the snake's thick skin?
Before he had any more time to think on it, there was a loud cracking sound behind him and Ron and Hermione squealed in unison as the sound of a long body stretching across hard eggshells and soft bed covers could be heard. Bracing himself, Harry took a deep breath, adjusted the grip he had on the knife, and prepared himself for making a wild lunge at the deadly creature. This was a case of kill or be killed, and he had to at least try...
"Massster?"
Harry froze in the middle of his lunge and felt how his heart made a violent jolt inside his chest. On the other side of Ron's bed he saw his two friends huddle together, hiding behind their respective shielding objects. They didn't seem to have heard anything, which meant...
"Massster?" came the voice again, and Harry felt dread as he heard the snake behind him shift around again, drawing closer to his exposed and defenseless back. If he couldn't see it, he couldn't defend himself if it decided to attack him with its deadly fangs. If he could see it, it would kill him with its eyes. Perhaps, if he turned around and didn't look upon it?
Violently, he whipped around, the transfigured knife held high in his hand as he held his breath and carefully cracked his eyes open an inch. Immediately, his eyes zoomed in on the very things they should not look at and Harry felt his heart drop. He was dead, he knew it.
But then, as nothing happened, he stupidly couldn't help but open up his eyes further so that he could see properly through his wire-rimmed glasses. What he saw made his lungs fill with air again, pure relief making his legs give in as he fell to his knees, the knife slipping out of his sweaty hand, clattering to the ground.
"HARRY!" Ron and Hermione yelled fearfully from behind their cover, both certain he had met his demise at the gaze of the serpent.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he reassured in a scratchy voice. "I don't think it's deadly after all, its eyes are blue... er, well milky, sort of. They're not yellow at least."
"Massster!" the Basilisk hissed again, sounding impatient this time, and slithered across the covers to stick out its head over the edge of the bed, coming close enough to his face so that the tip of its forked tongue touched the edge of his nose as it smelled the air for him.
"Y-yes?" Harry responded hesitantly, not sure if the snake meant he was its supposed master, or if it was looking for Slytherin himself. He had been the master of its mother after all...
He scrambled backwards, hitting his head painfully on the frame of Ron's bed as it halted his escape, terrified as the snake slid down from his own bed and onto the floor. Its sleek, scaly body was very thin and about three feet long; the head of it was flat and triangular in shape. It had thin nostrils and non-existent lips – its mouth tinted in a shade of yellow as the rest of its body was covered in dark green scales, except for parts of its belly which was covered in small specs of yellow as well. As it opened its mouth to hiss at him again Harry spotted tiny little fangs that sparkled white as they caught the light of the lantern hanging from the roof.
"Warmth... Massster!" And without further ado, it slithered up into Harry's lap and slid its triangular snout under the edge of his shirt, slipping in to warm itself on his stomach.
Yelping in surprise, Harry grabbed it with both hands and held it up in height with his face, squirming uncomfortably as its tail end slipped under his shirt instead of the head.
"What's happening, Harry, are you killing it? It hasn't got you, has it?" Ron asked fearfully and arose slightly to get a better look at the goings on. "IT'S GOT HIM!" he roared as he saw the position the snake and his best friend was in, and flung himself over the bed and onto the floor where the knife lay. He grabbed it firmly by the handle and turned around to defend Harry at all cost.
"RON, NO!" yelled Harry, halting the other in his tracks right before he made to make a lunge for the snake. "It's not trying to kill me, it thinks I'm its master."
"It thinks what?" Hermione shrieked and Ron's eyes went round as saucers.
"That's bloody mental," he breathed out, paling to the point where his freckles stood out against his skin like furiously red dots, but he let the knife fall to the ground once more with an audible clatter.
The snake in Harry's grip had grown impatient and started to twist around for release, hissing furiously at him to let go. Frightened it would decide to bite him for it, Harry dropped it, and it immediately took its chance to slip under his shirt in search for both cover and warmth.
"WHAT'S IT DOING?" Ron exclaimed in a terrified voice that Harry had thought was reserved for encounters with spiders.
"Calm down, it's just resting," Harry assured, gaining himself a look of pure disbelief from his best friend.
"Just resting?" he repeated dully and backed up to sit down on the edge of Harry's bed, as far away as he could manage from the little pieces of turquoise eggshells covering the covers.
Sneaking out of cover, Hermione slowly came up next to Harry and carefully hunched down at his side, inspecting the bulge on his shirt with narrowed eyes. "Are we still killing it?" she asked in a hushed voice, piercing him with intent brown eyes.
"Of course we're killing it!" squeaked Ron from above them. "It's lethal! We can't leave it to roam around school, offing people."
"No!" Harry said at once, feeling his heart sting painfully at the prospect of killing his snake. When it had become so, he didn't know, but somehow it all just made sense to him as he felt the light weight of it pressing snugly against his stomach. He had to keep it safe. "I'll take care of it... We can't kill it. I'll keep it."
Ron and Hermione stared at him in disbelief, before Hermione decided to swat him over the head, almost knocking him over. "Harry, you idiot!" she exclaimed, looking very worried. "What if the eyes suddenly turn deadly? What if it starts biting you? Besides – it's strictly illegal to keep Basilisks. Ever since the Medieval times! Do you know what would happen to you if someone found out? They'd throw you into Azkaban!"
"Then they won't," stated Harry coldly, laying his hands carefully on top of the curled up body of his snake, protecting it from harm. "I'll find a way. And if there isn't one, I'll make one. The snake is mine..."