Author's Note: Yep, it's me again. This story starts during the middle of the "Career Advice" chapter in Order of the Phoenix. It's amazing how much difference one small comment can make sometimes... Yes, the first bit of the dialogue is lifted from Order of the Phoenix, so I do need to make it clear that I don't actually own the characters, dialogue, scenario, and so forth – all of that is the property of J.K. Rowling.

"Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

It was Harry's first time making a Floo Call, and he did not yet know what to expect. True to form, the emerald fires took only his head to the fireplace in Grimmauld Place, leaving the rest of his body in Umbridge's office at Hogwarts. His head spun its way through the Floo Network, arriving at the desired destination. Harry's head felt as though it had gone through an exceptionally hot electric washing machine, and his knees were already objecting to having been left behind in a position Harry never expected to be in.

"Sirius?"

A man sitting in the room jumped and looked around. As it happened, it was not Sirius Black, but rather it was Remus Lupin, one time Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher and part-time Werewolf. He was understandably shocked at seeing Harry's head in the fire.

"Harry!" Remus practically yelled. "What are you – what's happened, is everything all right?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "I just wondered – I mean, I just fancied a – a chat with Sirius."

Lupin frowned. "Sirius told me that he gave you James' old Two-Way Mirror before you went back to the School, but I'm guessing Snape took it from you and-"

Harry cut Lupin off before he could go any further. "Two-Way Mirror?"

Lupin smiled, forgetting that Harry was making a Floo-call from Hogwarts. "It was one of our better inventions; I'll probably talk the Twins through making a pair. In short, they allowed James and Sirius to talk to each other when they were in separate detentions. It's a bit like a portable telephone, only you can see the person on the other end."

Sirius came down the stairs, looking fairly flustered. "Remus, I heard you call Harry's name, is everything- Harry! Why are you in the Floo? Did Snape take the Mirror?"

"Actually I never opened the package." Harry admitted, sheepishly. "I'm in Umbridge's office to use her Floo since it's the only one here not being monitored."

Sirius gave a bark-like laugh. "I see... how, may I ask, did you convince Umbridge to let her use her floo to call me? She's not about to burst through the floo to come get me, is she?"

Remus shook his head. "She wouldn't be able to get in because of the Fidelius charm... but if Harry was able to name this place clearly enough for the Floo, then that's a hole in the charm that we should have Dumbledore re-check."

"Guys, my knees are hurting and I've probably only got about ten minutes of distraction left before I get interrupted." Harry said.

Sirius wagged his finger. "It's your own fault if you get caught doing this, Harry. Especially since I gave you a foolproof way to contact me, one that gets around every ward known to Wizardry."

"Is it completely undetectable?" Harry asked. He wasn't willing to take risks. Well, okay, maybe he was, considering his current predicament, but Umbridge's Floo was unmonitored.

"It's better than running up Umbridge's Floo bill," Remus joked, "though that in and of itself would be a decent revenge."

Harry heard footsteps in the distance. "Is Kreacher coming down the stairs?"

Sirius shook his head. "It's on your end. Harry, promise me that you'll use the Two-Way as soon as you get a chance."

Harry nodded, and pulled his head out of the fire...

Harry was scouting out the seventh floor corridor before even thinking about using the mirror. His dorm wouldn't be a safe place to do this, even if the rest of the Fifth Year Boys were on his side after the Quibbler Interview, as it was likely his room was 'bugged'. Likewise, the Common Room would be insecure due to Umbridge policing the fires every night. The only safe place Harry could think of to contact Sirius from would be the Room of Requirement, but even that was guarded.

Harry paced back and forth, invisibly, as he considered the Aurors that had been stationed across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. I need a safe place to contact Sirius from, a place where nobody else can enter. I need a way to get around Umbridge's paranoia.

To his amazement, on the third pass there was writing on the wall that neither of the Aurors seemed to have noticed. Hogwarts Holds Many Secrets. Harry smacked himself in the head when he realized what Hogwarts was trying to tell him.

Of course, Harry said to himself later, I should have thought of the Chamber of Secrets long before this, but I had tried to forget everything about the Chamber after what happened last time. But if the Castle is directing me to the Chamber, then the Chamber will see use once again.

One quick, invisible trip to the second floor Girl's Bathroom confirmed Harry's suspicions – that only three people at Hogwarts knew where the Entrance was, and only one person at Hogwarts could even use it. Making sure that the coast was clear, he whispered for the one being that could help him at this point. "Myrtle! Myrtle!"

Myrtle emerged from her U-Bend, and floated over to where Harry's voice was coming from. "Harry? Is that you? Are you dead?"

Harry sighed and removed the Invisibility Cloak. "Myrtle, can you do me a huge favor?"

Myrtle, who looked slightly crestfallen that Harry was in fact still alive, nodded. "I can, though I don't see why I should."

Harry ploughed on through the depressed ghost's objections. "I'm going to practice opening and closing the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and I want you to try and learn how to open and close the chamber – I need to see if I can open it from the other side once it's been closed."

Myrtle looked at Harry slyly. "Are you planning on finally sneaking Ginny to a quiet corner of the castle?"

Harry blushed at the idea of taking anybody, least of all Ginny, into the Chamber of Secrets for some alone time. "It's more that I need a place where Umbridge can't find me."

Myrtle smirked. "I suppose I can try and learn Parseltongue, if it helps you."

It took a few minutes of work, but Harry was finally able to open – and more importantly close – the Chamber of Secrets. Myrtle was also progressing well, having managed to open the Chamber on her fifth try, and closed it on her fourth.

Harry smiled. "Are you certain you're not a Parselmouth?"

Myrtle's laugh was an interesting sound, one Harry was sure he didn't particularly want to hear again. "I may be, I may not be. It doesn't hurt that I was hearing those sounds a lot a few years ago."

This is true, Harry said to himself, and opened the chamber once more. "Myrtle, I want you to close the entrance behind me. If anyone that's not Ron or Hermione asks you, you haven't seen me."

And with that, Harry slid into the place where he and Ginny had almost died. As he slid down, his mind remained fixated on one thing. Would Ginny be willing to come back down here with me?

Harry decided to take no chances, and made his way to the area where the Basilisk had nearly killed him. Once there, he noticed that there was no smell of rotting flesh, which his nose thought was odd. Lying where the Basilisk's corpse should have been was merely the skeleton of the gigantic thing. The fangs were still on the skull, save for the one lying near a pool of black, the one he had stabbed the Diary with so long ago...

Pushing the memories out of his mind, Harry lit his wand and unwrapped the package that Sirius had given him months before. On the back was what appeared to be a hastily-scribbled message from his godfather.

This is a two-way mirror. I've got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.

Harry glanced around in a fit of paranoia. Will I be able to get out of here by myself? As he thought this, he realized that a patch of the wall was glowing. He put the mirror in his pocket and walked to the glowing wall.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Another message from the school. Harry placed his hand to the wall, and to his amazement the wall became the seventh floor corridor that the Room of Requirement could be accessed from. He flinched when he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.

"So you truly are the one that killed the Basilisk. I was wondering if you'd return here."

Harry spun around, and faced a ghost that looked familiar.

"Who are you?" Harry asked apprehensively. His wand was raised, though he had no idea if he could do anything to a ghost.

"I'm Salazar Slytherin."

Harry's mind was racing. Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, constructor of the Chamber of Secrets, and ancestor of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Considered the source of modern Anti-Muggle Sentiment.

"I feel as though I should apologize to you. I never intended for my basilisk to actually attack anyone; she was supposed to guard the Chamber of Secrets. Imagine if Tom Riddle had discovered the true purpose of this place." The ghost shuddered dramatically.

Harry felt fairly confused. "What is the true purpose of this place, then, if not to house the Basilisk? Were you really enraged about muggleborns attending Hogwarts?"

The ghost held up his hands. "One question at a time, though I think I can answer both before you are looked for. The true purpose of this room is to control the... I believe you call it the 'Room of Requirement' in case the room was rendered unenterable or unusuable. Yes, I did build the Chamber of Secrets and I did store a Basilisk in here, but I never hated muggleborns – being one myself, it would be hypocritical to do so."

"Then why did you leave the other founders?" Harry asked.

"I don't remember, it's been so long. I didn't actually leave the school, though. I just hid myself down here and kept the Room of Requirement a secret from the other Founders for as long as I could. To my surprise, I was able to continue monitoring the Room's entrance even after I became a ghost." The ghost looked at the ceiling, then sighed. "You don't have much time; your friend is looking for you, and is worried about you."

"Can you change the entrance of the Room of Requirement so that it's not across from Barnabas the Barmy? It's too heavily guarded for me to enter safely, and I need to contact someone without being interrupted by anyone."

The ghost closed his eyes, and held his hand up to the wall. It shone white for a moment, then resolved itself to the patch of wall next to the Hospital Wing, bordered by a pair of statues. "The entrance has moved. Do try not to make me have to do this again anytime soon. It was nice to talk with you, young man."

Harry smiled at the ghost. "I do have one last question. Can this wall send me to where the entrance is now?"

The ghost returned Harry's smile. "The wall will take you to the Room of Requirement directly; as I said before, the Chamber of Secrets is an emergency control room for the Room of Requirement for in case the room can't be accessed normally. Once you're inside, the spell you want is Kuro Requiem. You'll be able to change the entrance deliberately then, though if someone inside needs to escape unnoticed the room will usually change entrances and exits automatically based on need."

"Thank you... erm..." Harry said, as his hand reached up to the wall.

"Please, call me Salazar." Said the ghost warmly. "And feel free to visit me anytime, it does get awfully lonely down here."

Once within the Room of Requirement, Harry changed the Entrance to the room again – this time to across from the Honeydukes Passage on the third floor. The patch of wall appeared deserted, and the Marauder's Map confirmed that the corridor was empty. Harry took his leave and made his way to the Gryffindor Common Room to inform Ron and Hermione of this latest development...