Slytherin State of Mind

by mgrm9

Having remembered the kindness that Ron Weasley showed to him on the train before Harry was sorted into Slytherin, Harry befriends the youngest Weasley when she is sorted into the same house the following year.

Slytherin State of Mind

Blurb: Having remembered the kindness that Ron Weasley showed to him on the train before Harry was sorted into Slytherin, Harry befriends the youngest Weasley when she is sorted into the same house the following year.

Notes: So I have been on a Harry as a Slytherin kick for a while and came across some Ginny as a Slytherin stories as well, which of course led me to wonder about what if they were BOTH Slytherin. I couldn't find any (though please give me recommendations if you do know any) so of course I had a little story pop in my head. I couldn't rest until I wrote it. Its not too deep into the plot as I originally intended it just to be a "meet the parents" story, but then I felt that I needed to set up the story a bit more, then I just kept going into more and more detail, making it turn out to be rather a summary of the years before the "meet the parents". It is unbeta-ed as I just wanted to get the story off my chest. It is a quick little story- broken up into two/three posts as it was getting longer than I had anticipated. For this story I obviously skip over and skim past a number of things, in general one can assume they occur (Quidditch, various events in the year), but I just chose not to focus on them. If anyone is interested in writing an elongated version of the story, using mine as a sort of an outline please let me know because I for one would love to read it! The writing of this put me a little behind in my larger story that I am currently working on- a Pride and Prejudice/Harry Potter FF. I obviously do not own any of the characters, etc.

Please enjoy my story and leave a review :D

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Part One

Despite Harry's incessant attempts to convince the Sorting Hat otherwise, the hat loudly declared, "Slytherin!" minutes after being placed on the young boy's head. This pronouncement was met with complete and utter silence in the Great Hall, which was only broken, a solid minute later, when the aforementioned house snapped out of their silence and cheered. The other houses looked on in shock, the Gryffindor students all had a matching look of disgust on their faces as they had assumed that they would get the famous Harry Potter and for the house they hated most, Slytherin, was just a bigger slap in their face.

Harry had little choice other than to pass the hat back to Professor McGonagall and slink over to the table that hosted his newly assigned house. He slowed as he approached the table, unsure where to sit due to spurning Malfoy and his friends earlier that day – something he regretted a little now that he realized that he would be living in close quarters with them for the next seven years – and not really knowing anyone else. Thankfully another boy by the name of Theodore Nott, who had just been sorted a few minutes prior, shifted over allowing Harry a spot at the table. Sliding into the seat, Harry gave the other boy a slight nod in appreciation and they sat next to one another in silence.

The rest of the sorting went by smoothly and after a brief, and rather odd, announcement by Professor Dumbledore they were finally allowed to dig into the feast. Harry had never seen so much food at once, let alone been offered so much, so he happily dug in, eating in silence. He took the opportunity to eavesdrop on the surrounding students, picking up information from the various conversations. Out of mutual respect for space and silence, he seemed to have formed an alliance – Harry would hardly call it a friendship – with Nott, so when the feast was over and they were led to the dormitories, the two boys fell in step next to one another.

That evening, he and Malfoy formed an uneasy truce in the spirit of Slytherin unity though neither boy seemed to put much stock in the agreement. Being in Slytherin Harry faced a steep learning curve surrounded by pureblood witches and wizards. While it was not at all a friendly atmosphere, Harry did appreciate it as the competitiveness in the house forced him to quickly pick up all that he had never learnt due to being raised by muggles. Harry did not entirely mind the solitude that he experienced from being in Slytherin, he had never had friends before and so he hardly felt the need to begin making them now. Instead he happily focused on his studies, quickly excelling in all of his subjects. Harry even considered Nott somewhat of a friend as time went by as they always sat next to one another in classes, meals and when studying in the common room or library. They even conversed from time to time, finding that they shared a number of similarities despite their extremely different upbringings. With the other members of Slytherin, Harry was politely distant, not wishing to offend any of his sly and cunning housemates, but at the same time feeling little connectedness with the group. Malfoy mainly avoided talking to Harry and in return Harry refrained from antagonizing the other boy. Harry spoke to the girls sorted into the house in his year from time to time, but found most of them to be annoying and rather catty.

Not long into the school year a paper was posted in the common room that they would have their first flying lesson with the Gryffindors the following Saturday. Feeling some nervousness at the prospect of flying and disliking attempting wizard-related things for the first time in front of his housemates, Harry did not look forward to the lesson, which was especially amplified when he saw the other house joining the class. Despite being instant friends on the train to Hogwarts, Ron refused to speak to Harry after the Sorting, instead brushing by with his group of friends: Neville, Seamus, and Dean whenever they would pass in the hall or in class. This saddened Harry the first few times before he grew to expect it, though he feel anger that the other boy would drop him just because of where he was sorted. It was not as if Harry had any choice in the matter.

The morning of the flying lesson, Malfoy was antagonizing the Gryffindors over breakfast, snatching Neville's Remembrall until Professor McGonagall came over, using a stern glare to force him to retreat. Harry watched the interaction carefully, realizing the impact this might have on the lesson later that day. Indeed later he was proven correct in paying particular attention to the exchange when Malfoy resumed provoking the other house after Madam Hooch stepped away to take Neville to the Hospital Wing after he fell and broke his arm.

Malfoy grabbed the Remembrall that had been left behind, announcing, "I think I will leave this somewhere for Neville to find. The roof perhaps?" His cronies Crabbe and Goyle laughed on cue so he mounted his broom to do just that.

Harry, while usually avoiding confrontations with anyone, especially with someone in his house, tried to keep from interfering but Neville alway seemed so helpless that he couldn't help but intervene. Closing his eyes briefly he stepped forward, "Malfoy, try to pick on someone that is at least here to defend himself."

Eyes narrowing, Malfoy turned to Harry, "If you want to be pathetic Neville's defender, then you can get it back for him." Malfoy pushed off the ground, taking off. Harry paused only for a moment before following.

Harry chased after Malfoy forgetting all of his previous nervousness about flying and as he approached he yelled, "Give it back, Malfoy."

"Protecting the Gryffindors? Maybe you should be one. I think I'll keep it."

"Don't be stupid, I was placed in Slytherin for a reason, though I didn't realize that being outright mean when the person isn't there was a Slytherin trait, I thought we were more cunning and sneaky that that. Maybe you are the one who shouldn't be in Slytherin."

Malfoy's face clouded over with that insult before replying, "Fine, if you want to give Longbottom his precious toy back, you can, I don't need it."

Harry knew that his housemate wouldn't give in so easily so he hunched over his broom, ready for whatever Malfoy was about to do. He saw Malfoy bringing his arm back for the throw and prepared to pick up speed to catch it, wherever it was tossed. A moment later the Remembrall was launched in the air in the opposite direction and Harry shot off. The ball began picking up speed as it fell towards the ground, but so did Harry. Only a few meters off the ground, Harry swooped under the ball and snatched it out of the air, landing moments later.

After all of that drama, Harry hardly knew how to face the other students, so he just turned to Ron, passing him the ball, and quietly said, "Just give this back to him, okay."

Ron stuttered out a response, "Of course, yeah thanks for getting it."

Before Harry could respond, the approach of his head of house storming over in billowing black robes caught his eye. His eyes widened, waiting for the strict Professor Snape to get him in trouble or even expel him.

Once he was close, Professor Snape spoke slowly in his deep voice, "Mr. Potter, come with me." He never raised his voice, but the slowly spoken words were much more fear-inducing than any yelling could ever be.

Harry complied, quickly exchanging a nervous look with Nott. They walked through the halls at a brisk pace, Harry nearly jogging to keep up. He felt some confusion as they approached the Slytherin dormitory as he expected to have gone to Snape's office to receive whatever punishment he was due, but felt an overwhelming sense of dread that he was about to be sent to pack. He might not have the most friends here, but he was infinitely happier at Hogwarts and Slytherin that he ever was back with the Dursleys. Instead, Snape barked out the password and strode over to Marcus Flint.

"Mr. Flint, I need to have a word with you." The fifth year looked up in confusion at seeing Snape and a first year in front of him but he complied, following their head of house away from his friends. Once they were away from prying ears, Professor Snape continued, "I believe our seeker, Mr. Higgs, is still injured from the final game last year?"

"Yes, he likely won't be able to play again."

"No matter, I have found a new seeker."

Flint looked as if he was about to argue but instead turned to Harry to ask, "Do you even know anything about Quidditch?"

"No, nothing."

"Monday after class we will begin our training. You better come willing to work."

"Of course," Harry took deep breaths to keep from stuttering out his words. One cannot show weakness in front of other Slytherins.

"We will be able to get him a broomstick? A decent one," Flint asked, facing Snape once more.

"Of course."

Flint nodded, turning away. Once Flint was out of earshot, Professor Snape turned back to Harry, "I better not be making a mistake. You need to train hard and do well. I expect the cup again this year. We are rather not used to losing."

"Of course, sir, I will be sure to do well."

"Good, I do not expect any less from a member of my house."

Harry nodded, standing there waiting to be excused, but Snape just turned away and briskly strode out of the common room.

After this experience, Harry did find himself working harder than ever, both on the field and off of it, ensuring that he would no disappoint his head of house in any way. Snape had, at first, been rather mean to Harry despite usually being nice to members of his own house, but with the success that Harry was showing, Snape began to pick on Harry less. Harry grew to respect his head of house more over time, watching how he kept the devious Slytherins in line.

Harry grew to be closer to Nott as well, after divulging the secret of being added to the Quidditch team. Nott helped him train more and, after Harry's dispute with Malfoy during the flying lesson, both boys tried to avoid Draco, neither wishing to face his wrath. On Halloween as they walked to the library, they saw Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor girl with bushy hair and no friends due to her studious ways, run into a bathroom crying. The two boys exchanged a look, continuing on to complete a last homework assignment before the Halloween feast.

Part way through the feast, Professor Quirrell ran into the hall declaring that there was a troll in the dungeon before fainting. The students were ushered back to their respective houses, but as the Slytherin mob started to leave the hall, Harry turned to his friend, "Nott, I don't think Hermione knows, I don't remember seeing her at the Gryffindor table."

"Do you stare at that table often?"

Harry silenced his friend with a look, "Seriously, I think she is still in the toilet, we should go tell her."

Nott sighed, "I swear you should be a Gryffindor."

Appreciative that his friend conceded, Harry did not say anything in response to the intended insult, just slipping away from the group, Nott close behind. When they found Hermione, they found the troll with her and, after a few minutes of yelling spells and throwing debris, Nott finally took the troll down with a basic levitation spell that dropped the troll's club on his head. Moments after the troll fell, a group of professors walked in demanding to know what occurred. Hermione, grateful for the two Slytherins, took on all of the blame, losing points for Gryffindor house while Snape awarded both Harry and Nott points.

Going through an experience such as that together made it difficult for the two Slytherins to ignore Hermione and so while they were not entirely friends after the experience – Slytherins and Gryffindors never were friends – the three found themselves spending more time together. Often Hermione would sit with Nott and Harry in the library and all three found the new group beneficial for succeeding further in class.

Once, as they were walking back from the library together, they saw Malfoy and Weasley in a fight in the hallway so the three ducked into a hidden passageway as to not be seen. None of them wished to publicize their new friendship, so they followed the tunnel away from the fight, in hopes that it would lead them away so they could get back to their respective houses. The hall kept leading further and further up Hogwarts with no exits. When they were about to turn back, there was finally a door at the end of the hall. The three eagerly piled out of the door and fell into a dark room. Growling emerged from the dark and all three looked up to see the most beastly creature ever, a three headed dog with drool coming out of its mouths as it growled at the intruders. Pushing and shoving, the three quickly found an exit, which Hermione had to unlock it with a quick spell.

"What was that thing, they should not be allowed to keep it in Hogwarts!" Nott declared feeling a little embarrassed at the amount of fear he had felt. Harry murmured in agreement.

"Did you see what it was standing on?" Hermione asked, with a look of determination on her face, "I am sure it was guarding something."

The next few weeks seemed incredibly busy to Harry, between Quidditch and Hermione's insistence that they find out what the three-headed dog was guarding. She cajoled them into looking into it, Nott agreeing to do research with her and Harry, once he recalled that there had been an attempted break in at the vault that he and Hagrid had visited, trying to get information out of the groundskeeper. They made little progress due their main priority of coursework, so by Christmas all they had gotten was the name Nicholas Flamel. Harry received a mysterious invisibility cloak for Christmas and, as he was the only Slytherin left, used it to entertain himself by wandering around the castle at night. He came across an astounding mirror, which was sadly moved a few days later, and overheard Snape threatening Professor Quirrell on a different occasion.

Harry informed his two friends of the latter as soon as they returned, feeling that it must be related to whatever the dog was guarding. When he told them, Nott immediately said, "Quirrell, of course he is trying to steal whatever is being guarded, I always thought he seemed rather shady."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "How do you know it isn't Professor Snape that is trying to steal it?"

"He is too loyal to Dumbledore. I know he comes across as evil and mean to other houses, but there is no way he would do such a thing." Nott replied.

"I agree with Nott, we know Snape too well, he is our head of house after all."

The rest of the year went by quickly, Hermione figuring out that it was the Sorcerer's Stone that was being guarded and whom it was being guarded against. Hermione spent an increasing amount of time with the two boys from Slytherin, and seemed to continuously complain about "that git Ronald Weasley" with whom she seemed to argue endlessly. The year came to a close, with Slytherin winning the Quidditch cup thanks to a skillful catch of the snitch by Harry and finals that did not seem overly difficult to the three friends due to their diligent studying. During the period after finals, they found out that Dumbledore had left to go to London and they realized that Quirrell would attempt to steal the stone that night. The three went through each of the stages, sneaking past a sleeping Fluffy, going through Devil's Snare, Harry using his seeker skills to catch the key to unlock the door, Nott using his practice at Wizard's chess to pass that stage during which he was injured, the remaining two walking past an unconscious mountain troll before Hermione used logic to solve potion's riddle. Harry moved on alone to face Quirrell, using the skills he gained in Slytherin to lie to and trick the professor. Dumbledore arrived nearing the end of the fight after Voldemort left Quirrell's body.

At the End-Of-Term Feast, where Slytherin's colors decorated the hall, Dumbledore caused some great drama as he awarded Hermione some one hundred points for her actions in protecting the stone. The entire school held their breath, waiting to hear if any other points would be awarded, as Gryffindor moved up in the rankings. In the end Dumbledore awarded both Nott and Harry one hundred additional points each giving Slytherin a strong victory.

The summer seemed particularly awful to Harry that year after all of the adventures he had been a part of and all the magic he had learned. He felt some disappointment that neither of his two friends had written, so when Dobby came and admitted that letters had been intercepted, he felt great joy to see that he had not been forgotten. Harry did get locked away due to the mess Dobby made, but he found solace in reading his letters, excited to see his friends once again. It did not escape his notice that Hermione mentioned Ron multiple times in the different letters, having bumped into him in Diagon Alley on two separate occasions that summer.

Evidently Dumbledore realized that Harry had been unable to receive his annual Hogwart's school list letter so, once again, Hagrid came to collect Harry. Due to the last minute arrangements, they went to Diagon Alley to purchase school supplies the day before the train was due to leave. Because of that, he stayed the last evening in the Leaky Cauldron. So excited to return to school, Harry woke up frightfully early and was on the train platform nearly an hour before departure. The reunion with Nott was very similar to their first meetings, with a calm head nod exchanged, though they did grin at each other as the train pulled away from Kings Cross Station. Hermione found them part way through the train ride and sat with them for some time. She returned to a Gryffindor compartment as the train neared Hogwarts.

Without the pressure of being sorted and having a friend at his side, Harry found the Start-of-Term Feast much more enjoyable. He was able to sit and watch the new students being sorted, completely understanding the looks of terror on many of their faces. Spotting a girl with red hair hidden in the back, Harry wondered if she was at all related to the prolific Weasley family. This was answered when Professor McGonagall called for "Weasley, Ginevra" and the girl stepped forward. The hat seemed to sit upon her head for a particularly long period of time, definitely longer than the rest before her. Murmurs began to break out as the girl sat there with a nervous expression for first one minute, then two, then three. Everyone had expected that particular sorting to take next to no time, as everyone knew that Weasleys went Gryffindor.

Harry looked on in interest, remembering his own sorting that went similarly. Finally after what seemed like forever the hat declared, "Slytherin!"

The hall echoed with gasps and one or two of the Weasley's yelled, "What! No!" Even the professors had shocked expressions on their faces despite usually avoiding showing their thoughts on the sorting. The girl slowly walked over to the Slytherin table on shaky legs. None of the Slytherins knew how to react to the declaration so only a few brave souls politely clapped. Harry, remembering the slightly sick feeling in his stomach after he had been sorted, was one to clap and he nudged Nott into doing so as well. He slid over and gestured for the girl to join them.

In a quiet voice she said, "Thank you," as she sat down.

When the speeches and sorting were over and the meal begun, Harry turned to the girl, determined to put her at ease, "Hi, my name is Harry Potter and this is my friend Theodore Nott. Your name is Ginevra Weasley?"

Her voice was timid and shaking a little, "Its Ginny actually. It is nice to meet you, I have heard so much about you, especially after last year."

They continued chatting politely throughout the feast until the first years were ushered out in order to be shown their respective houses.

Nott turned to Harry as soon as Ginny was gone and asked, "You are determined to be her friend?"

"She needs one. Most of Slytherin do not know what to do with her and we both know how difficult it is to befriend people outside the house, especially with our house. She needs someone to look out for her and we are going to do it."

"Its your Gryffindor complex again," Nott responded, wrinkling his nose, but, as always, a moment later he agreed.

Once they set Ginny at ease, they found out that she was actually quite funny and lively. She could hold her own against the two boys and oftentimes teased them when they became too serious. In turn they helped her with some of her schoolwork and protected her from the other students. Many of the Gryffindors and even some Hufflepuffs took it upon themselves to tease her and call her traitor for her sorting, but once they realized that at least Harry or Nott were with her at all times, the teasing died down. The rest of Slytherin house still gave her distance. Hermione was her only other friend, who she met through Harry and Nott, though Hermione was less present this year as she grew closer with some of her friends in Gryffindor. Despite this Hermione grew close with Ginny and enabled Ginny to meet with her brothers from time to time.

Ginny felt forever grateful that Harry and Nott befriended her. Being sorted into Slytherin in her family was pretty much the worst thing that could happen, so while her brothers tried to seem supportive, there was always an underlying sense of distrust towards her. It was as if now she was sorted into Slytherin they were not sure if they actually knew their little sister. It was worse when she got her first letter from her parents, her mother asking what went wrong while her father added a postscript wondering if she hated muggles now. Ginny felt it to be entirely unfair that she received to much negativity from the sorting, she had begged and begged the sorting hat to put her in Gryffindor – that was what had taken so long – but the hat had been insistent that it saw Slytherin qualities about her and that she was destined for greatness in Slytherin. Of course telling her family that would not have been any better, they would probably have taken it that she was destined for greatness as a dark witch. They already felt some concern due to the Boy Who Lived being in Slytherin that he was going to now turn into some dark wizard as well. Ginny had never felt so disconnected from her family, they now treated her extremely carefully, as if saying the wrong thing would turn her into some dark witch. For the first time in her life she felt completely isolated from the rest of the Weasleys and if Harry, and subsequently Nott, hadn't befriended her, she wouldn't have known what to do. She had so looked forward to Hogwarts for years that the whole sorting thing created the potential to put a major damper on her excitement. Instead, Harry had befriended her and she now had two amazing friends, one of which being the famous Harry Potter, whom she had idolized for years. Despite the familial issues that had arose, Ginny could not dislike being in Slytherin as Harry and Nott were the best friends she could ask for.

It was nearly halfway through the year when Harry began to notice how often he saw Ginny scribbling in her diary whenever she had a moment alone. Once he came into the library to find her and saw how she sat with her homework set aside with her diary in front of her instead. He came up behind her, making her jump when he said, "You know your homework won't do itself. I swear you spend more time writing in that diary than doing anything else."

Ginny quickly closed the diary, blushing a bright red color, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," she swatted at his arm, "it's rude and I could have messed up my ink."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Come on, if you aren't going to do homework, come fly with Nott and me, its getting cold so we wanted to sneak in a few last good flies before the winter."

"Fine," she agreed, packing up all the parchments and books spread around her.

As the year progressed, whispers abounded that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin after he accidently revealed his abilities as a parselmouth. Despite his efforts to convince the students otherwise, everyone seemed determined that he was the heir. Everyone felt that the evidence was too strong between him being both a parselmouth and a member of the Slytherin house. Only Nott, Hermione, and Ginny continued to believe him. Malfoy began being much nicer to Harry and his friends, thinking that the rumors were true. Each of the Weasleys approached Ginny over time warning her away from being friends with Harry. She defended him each time, appearing more and more distraught after each conversation.

Harry mentioned the diary a few more times over the year, teasing her about what she could be writing before Ginny finally had the courage to face him, days after Hermione had been petrified. She approached him in the Slytherin common room, "Harry, can we talk?"

He looked up to see an uncommonly serious expression on her face and scooted over on the couch, "Of course."

"In private?"

Harry nodded, following her out, walking in silence until they found an abandoned classroom. Ginny took a deep breath before beginning, "I… I am afraid that I might be causing the attacks." Harry went to interrupt with assurances, but Ginny just raised a hand before continuing, "To start the year I had no idea, I was as shocked as any body to see Mrs. Norris petrified and the writing on the wall, but as the year went on I started noticing that I would wake up with lapses of memories, the last thing I remember always being writing in the diary. I think its possessing me, or something, causing me to open the Chamber of Secrets and allowing the attacks, but I don't know what to do. Harry I need help."

"Oh Ginny," Harry responded, pulling her into a hug briefly before continuing, "We will figure it out, I promise. Can I tell Nott?"

Ginny nodded, before sniffling, tears beginning to run down her face, "What if it is me, what if Hermione wakes up and hates me? What if Hermione never wakes up?"

"They are working on it, she will wake up and will forgive you. How about we go visit her and then you can tell Nott and me everything you know. Then we'll try to destroy the diary and close the Chamber so this can't happen again."

Ginny nodded once more, wiping the tears away. "Thank you Harry, for everything."

"It is no problem, you're one of my best friends, and I would do anything for my friends."

When they snuck into the Hospital Wing that night, Ginny gently grabbed Hermione's hand, trying to keep from crying. It was horrible seeing her friend in such a state, let alone knowing that she had been the cause of it. "I promise you that it will stop," Ginny whispered to Hermione, "You will be the last one. I am so, so sorry." Harry felt as if he needed to do something so he slipped his arm around Ginny's shoulders without a word. After a few minutes Ginny let go of Hermione's hand and wiped away the tears that had fallen down her face. She turned towards Harry and pulled him into a hug and whispered, "Thank you."

Before they left, Harry went to squeeze Hermione's hand as well when he noticed something inside her fist. Pointing it out to Ginny, the two of them worked until a piece of paper came free. Harry flattened it out and read it before whispering, "It's a basilisk. The monster is a basilisk." Ginny paled, but he continued, "It travels through the pipes. That's why I can hear it."

"Wait, what?"

"I've been hearing it all year, though I didn't know why I was the only one. Its because it's a giant snake which is why I can understand it, and its traveling through the pipes. Hermione, you are a genius!"

"So what are we going to do?" Ginny asked, her voice timid. She cleared her throat and spoke more strongly, "How do we stop it?"

"I think… I think we have to go into the Chamber and kill it."

"I don't even know how to find the Chamber. I just know that that it was opened once before, and the last time it was opened someone died and I can't let that happen."

"It was opened previously? And someone died? Who? Ginny, how do you know this?"

"I overheard Professor McGonagall talking about it before I knew that it was me, but that's all I know."

"Maybe if we find out who died or opened it last we might be able to figure out where the Chamber is. For now, we should head back to Slytherin and go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Harry?"

He had begun to leave, but hearing Ginny's quiet voice, he paused, "Yes Ginny?"

"Can you keep the diary for now? Don't open it, please don't open it, but I want it to be away from me. I can't keep it anymore."

"Of course!" When they returned to Slytherin, Ginny fetched it from her room before they parted ways.

They had told Nott the following day and while he sat in shocked silence throughout the entire story, his only response was, "Well, if we learn more about the diary, perhaps we know who opened it previously and when. I'm sure if we find out when it was opened then it would be rather easy to find out who died, student deaths are obviously not that common."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look, feeling rather stupid that they had not had the same thought. Of course whoever possessing the diary was either connected to or the person that had opened it before, why else would it force Ginny to do its work. Harry took out the diary, looking for any marks, but Ginny spoke up first, "His name is Tom. Or at least that is how he introduced himself to me, Tom Riddle."

"It may be before Professor Snape's time but perhaps he has heard the name before," Harry said, "Though perhaps I shouldn't be the one to ask, he likes you a great deal more, Nott, and this is a delicate situation."

"I will ask this afternoon, when he is in his office and will let you both know what he tells me," Nott agreed. The rest of the morning went by excruciatingly slowly for the three, each wishing for it to be that evening so they could learn what Snape knew. Harry passed the diary to Nott for the day, to keep from the inclination to write in it as he felt a strong pull to do so. Nott bound the book and kept it in the bottom of his schoolbag to keep himself from being tempted as well.

That evening the three huddled in the corner of the Slytherin common room, Nott, looking positively gleeful. "Well tell us," Ginny demanded, the moment they all sat down.

"I believe that Tom Riddle was, in fact, the one who opened the Chamber before. But I have more information. When I asked Professor Snape about the name, he positively blanched and turned to me in shock. He demanded to know how I knew that name and if my father had told me. Snape should have known better, I don't speak to my father except when I must."

Ginny did not know how to pose the question, so she tentatively asked, "Wasn't your father a Death Eater?"

"I think so, but if you ask him, he just says he was never convicted. I think that Tom Riddle was a Death Eater as well. And I am near positive that he opened the Chamber as well. Snape just said that the year that the Chamber was opened, Tom received a special service award from the school for turning in Hagrid as the one who opened the Chamber. I think we all know that there is no possibility that Hagrid was the one to do so – he never would be the Heir of Slytherin. Riddle must have been."

"So Riddle somehow enchanted the diary for someone to continue his work? But how do we destroy the diary?" Harry asked.

"I am not sure we need to, if we kill the basilisk, then the diary will become useless I think," Nott responded.

"Well now we just need to know how to get to the Chamber. And how the hell to kill a basilisk," Ginny stated, trying to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"You may all tell me how amazing I am now: I did further research before coming here. I went to the trophy room where all the awards are kept and Riddle received his award in 1943. We just needed to find out who died in 1943, so I asked the ghost who has been here forever – the Bloody Baron – and he said that the only reason why he remembered so well was because the girl who died became a ghost. Any guesses who it might be?" Nott asked.

"Moaning Myrtle!" Ginny exclaimed. Other students looked up at her exclamation so she lowered her voice once again, "Perhaps she can tell us how she died, or where the Chamber is. I can talk to her. Let's go now."

"Ginny its after curfew, we will go tomorrow," Harry said.

She gave him a look, "Do you or do you not have an invisibility cloak? We can go now."

Harry and Nott exchanged a look, knowing that she would not accept any other answer. Harry said, "If we go now, we should be prepared in case we find the Chamber. How do we kill a basilisk?"

"Did you not read the entire page that Hermione ripped out? Roosters are their mortal enemy," Nott stated, rolling his eyes.

"Roosters? That seems a little ridiculous. So do we just bring a rooster, let it loose and hope the thing dies?" Ginny asked.

Harry narrowed his eyes, thinking back, "That makes sense though, Hagrid told me earlier this year that someone was killing all the roosters."

"Are there any left?" Nott asked.

"We can go look," Ginny offered.

"So a rooster and the diary, that's all we need?" Harry asked.

"Well and the invisibility cloak," Ginny pointed out. Both boys gave her a look. Just over a half hour later, the three trudged over to the bathroom that Moaning Myrtle usually inhabited, the rooster they snatched from Hagrid trying vociferously to escape the confines of the bag in which it was being kept. Ginny poked her head into the bathroom first, before gesturing for the boys to follow.

Moaning Myrtle's greeting of, "Oh, you again," towards Ginny made all three stop in their tracks.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. Myrtle dove into one of the toilets, causing Ginny to repeat herself, loudly demanding for a response.

"No greetings for poor Myrtle, tell me this or that. Humph, I don't know that I want to help you. So rude."

Harry spoke up in a soothing tone, "We just wanted to ask how you died, if there is anything you remember."

"What a horrid question!" Myrtle declared, beginning to wail.

Nott rolled his eyes and said, "We are just checking if our suppositions are right, that you were killed by Slytherin's monster last time the Chamber was opened."

At that she quieted down, "Yes, well I suppose so, all I remember is the eyes, next thing I knew I was dead and a ghost."

Having made the most progress of the three, Nott spoke up again, "How do you open the Chamber? We want to kill the basilisk."

"Why don't you just ask her?" Moaning Myrtle pointed her translucent finger in the direction of Ginny.

"She doesn't remember, she was being forced to open the Chamber and she can't remember any of it. Please help us," Nott insisted.

Myrtle flew over to Nott and looked over him critically, "If you die in there, I hope you come live in this bathroom with me."

Nott pressed his lips together, trying to avoid laughing at the comment, "If I promise that I will, will you tell us where you saw Ginny open the Chamber?" Myrtle nodded rapidly so Nott added, "I promise. Now where does the Chamber open?"

"Well, I've never seen her actually open it, but she always stood by the sinks, so I believe it is over there," Myrtle offered, before hiding away back in her favorite stall.

Ginny, Nott, and Harry slowly walked over to the sinks, not entirely sure what to look for. How exactly sinks would lead them to the Chamber, they knew not, but Myrtle had no reason to lie. Examining the sinks, Harry spotted one that uniquely had Slytherin's symbol on it. "I think I found it," he announced. The other two rushed to his side and even Myrtle came closer to see what would happen.

"Say something in parseltongue," Nott insisted.

"I don't know how to make myself speak parseltongue," Harry said snappishly. He took a steadying breath, "Open."

"English," Ginny said.

Harry sighed, imagining the sink was a real snake- the only time he was able to speak parseltongue in the past, "Open."

The sink began to move and Ginny gave a small shout of joy. It revealed a dark hole, none being able to tell exactly what was down there or how deep the fall was. They exchanged looks trying to figure out who would go first and if it was safe. Nott had an idea and turned to Myrtle, "Myrtle, could you please do us a favor? You are, very sadly, already dead, so could you go and tell us how far the fall would be?"

Myrtle threw a small fit, but they could tell that she was interested and appreciated being included. She dove into the entrance and moments later she gave them the clear. Not knowing what to expect, the three still fought over who would go first until Ginny rolled her eyes and stepped forward. A moment later the other two jumped down following after. They slid down a large pipe, none of the three being able to repress a scream, falling for what felt like forever before they landed, covered in slime from the way down.

"Ick!" Ginny said, wrinkling her nose at the slime covered walls, but continued on, lighting her wand with a quick, "Lumos."

The continued on, with all three wands lit, prepared to close their eyes at any sounds or strange site. All three felt an increasing sense of foreboding as they passed by bones and skeletons of various animals. They all froze, seeing a large curving green skin on the ground, closing their eyes simultaneously. After a moment, not hearing it move, Harry gathered the courage to open his eyes. "Perhaps it is sleeping?" he suggested, his voice just a whisper. Harry inched closer, "You can open your eyes; it is just the skin."

"Blimey it is huge," Nott exclaimed.

"Let's keep moving, this place gives me the creeps," Ginny said, avoiding looking at the skin, as an overwhelming sense of guilt hit her again.

They continued on, going down the tunnel through the turns until they were confronted with a wall carved with two hauntingly realistic snakes. Harry commanded it to open, easily speaking parseltongue this time. The wall obeyed, sliding open to reveal the chamber, decorated with pillars covered in serpent carvings. At the end was a wall with the carving of Slytherin's face high above it. As if possessed, or perhaps he was, Harry stepped forward, hissing out words to the carved face, trying a number of phrases and words until the mouth of the statue began to move. "Close your eyes!" Harry shouted.

Within a heartbeat, the three had their eyes closed. Nott quickly grabbed the bag with the rooster in it, digging out the squirming bird. A moment later they could hear something slithering out, hitting the floor with a shudder. They began backing away, eyes closed, nearly shaking with fear. A brief thought that they were not nearly prepared enough for this moment crossed Harry's mind.

Not knowing what to do, but fearing that they would die in an instant, Nott flicked the rooster. It let out a crow and in return they heard the basilisk hiss something in return, coming closer. Panicking, Nott flicked it again, harder, until the rooster let out a loud cry. The room shuddered as they heard a loud impact on the floor. After a nearly a minute of silence, Nott half opened one eye to see the giant snake laying on the ground not moving at all. "I think we're clear."

They slowly opened their eyes and looked around, exchanging looks of relief and surprise. Ginny spoke up first, "That was thankfully rather anticlimactic."

"Imagine fighting that thing. No thank you," Harry replied.

"So that's it then? Do we just go tell Dumbledore that we killed it and that's that?" Nott asked.

"Maybe we should take some of its teeth and skin that it had shed? As proof," Ginny suggested. The others agreed, collecting a few of the horrendously sharp teeth in the bag that the rooster had previously inhabited. Ginny tucked the rooster under her arm and they headed back, pausing only to sever off a piece of the shed skin in the tunnel. They reached the end of the tunnel, back to where they had originally landed, trying to figure out how to come back, when Ginny paused, "Can we do something about the diary? Please? It really is a horrible thing and I would hate for it to get in the hands of anyone else."

They agreed and Ginny tried to burn it using a flame that Hermione had taught her, but nothing happened, the diary showed no traces that anything occurred. The trio took turns trying to destroy the diary using the basic spells they knew before Nott dug out one of the basilisk teeth to see what would happen if the diary was stabbed. When the diary began spurting ink and let out a dreadful shriek, the other two picked up extra teeth and stabbed it as well. When all that was left of the diary was a gaping hole and a slow dribble of ink, they stopped, putting it and the teeth back in the bag.

While it felt a relief to release their anger and tension onto the diary – and to ensure that it would never be used again – this did not solve the next problem that arose: how to leave. They discussed possibilities before Nott spoke up, "I have an idea," he paused, before shouting, "Myrtle! Myrtle!" Harry and Ginny joined in and it was nearly a minute of their loudest screams before Myrtle came swooping down into the tunnel.

"Oh you are alive," she greeted them, obvious disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah, but if it will cheer you up, we have avenged you, the monster is dead," Nott replied in a hoarse voice.

"Oh! Well that is good news, but I don't see what you are all shouting about."

"We need help getting out of here now."

"I am not sure exactly what you want me to do about it. I obviously can't help, its not like I can carry you up," Myrtle said.

"No but you can fetch Dumbledore, I am sure he can think of some way to get us out. Please? I would greatly appreciate it."

Myrtle moaned and complained for a few seconds before agreeing, setting off. The three exchanged nervous looks, concerned that she would not succeed or even complete the task they had requested. Nearly fifteen minutes later they felt an immense amount of fear that they would be trapped there forever, but heard the flaps of a bird. Seconds later they could see a red bird, about the size of a swan, flying into view.

"What are we supposed to do with that?" Nott asked, with obvious disapproval in his voice.

Harry grinned, remembering a conversation he had earlier in the year with the headmaster, and grabbed the tail feather. Situating everyone so they would not fall or leave anything behind, Harry gestured for the bird to take off. They emerged from the pipe to the image of Professors Dumbledore and Snape, with expressions of interest and disapproval on their respective faces. Dumbledore led them to his office, not letting them stop to change despite their disgusting attire, so they could explain to him exactly what had occurred.

Settled in the office, Harry took the lead, changing the story a bit to not implicate Ginny at all, explaining that he had found the diary in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom a few days previous, glossing over how they connected it to the Chamber of Secrets before picking up his story with the truth in how they figured out all the facts from Hermione's note, to Snape's information, ending with how they had gone down into the chamber. Suitably impressed, but furious that they would do such a thing instead of letting the teachers know, Snape lectured them for five minutes straight before Dumbledore raised his hand.

Once Snape silenced himself, Dumbledore spoke, "I am sure you are not leaving out any other important information," he gave them a look, letting them know that he realized that there was some information missing from the story, "so I will just say that this was a foolish thing to do, but you rendered the school a great service today. I will award each of you a suitable amount of points, but for now, please return to your dormitories, and rest."

Snape led them away, the three tiredly trudging back to the Slytherin house. The next morning word got around extremely quickly and as they walked into breakfast that morning, they were greeted with whispers of the story, each more dramatic than the last. Malfoy walked by, bumping Harry's shoulder as he passed, with a disgusting look, "I heard you three betrayed the house last night." He continued on before they could respond. Other than that, most of the Slytherin house was silent or congratulatory towards the trio, the vast increase in points that morning helping to ease any undecided feelings in the house. The Weasleys had a quick turn about in feelings, and Ron nodded to Harry in appreciation in the hallway later that day. About a week later the school settled back down and for the first time that year, things passed rather peacefully. Nearing the end of the year, those petrified were revived and Hermione greeted Ron with a large hug before the two awkwardly separated.

Viewing the exchange, Harry leaned to his right and whispered in Ginny's ear, "I would bet you a galleon that they end up together by seventh year."

She turned to grin at him, in part in response to the statement, but also to Harry's continual comments and actions intended to liven her up and ease the guilt she felt over the chamber incident. "I would be stupid to make that bet, I know it will happen."

Later that day Hermione greeted them in the library, quickly hugging them each in turn, out of sight of the rest of the school. "I heard that you three killed the basilisk!"

"With a great deal of help from you," Harry responded. They settled down to complete schoolwork and coach Hermione through everything she had missed.

Hours later, only minutes before curfew, the four packed up their bags and Nott quietly said, "We have missed you, it felt weird without you helping us with our essays."

"You just missed me giving you answers," Hermione teased.

The exams came and went, drastically reduced and easier due to the excitement of the year and before anyone realized, it was time to return home for the summer. Ginny, Nott and Harry found a compartment on the train and enjoyed a comfortable ride back to London. Ginny noticed that Harry grew more pensive as they went further south and while Nott stepped away to buy something off the trolley, she slipped over to his seat, grabbing his hand, "What's wrong?"

Harry smiled halfheartedly, "How do you always know when something is wrong?"

"How do you always know when something is wrong with me, Harry?" Ginny asked in return, raising her eyebrows to indicate that she wouldn't let him avoid the answer her question.

"Its just that I hate returning to the Dursleys. I wish I could just live at Hogwarts and be with you guys all year round."

"Well, we will write. Weekly, I insist. I would suggest you come visit me, but I doubt my parents would allow me to have any of my Slytherin friends over this summer, even if it is the famous Harry Potter."

"I feel so stupid, I forgot how much your parents are mad about the Slytherin thing."

"It is easy to forget, I think, when they are ignoring me and we all are having such an enjoyable time together," Ginny replied, "Though I can't imagine it could be any worse than Christmas, and that was just disapproving looks and silence. We will have to entertain each other this summer through letters and hope that summer will pass quickly."

Nott opened the door and returned as Harry agreed. Glancing over to them, Nott stood still in the doorway, with a suspicious look on his face. He took in their new positions and the hand that Ginny had placed on Harry's. Noticing the scrutiny they jumped apart, blushing and not looking at one another. After an awkward moment, Nott asked, "So what are we talking about?"

"Summer," Harry responded succinctly.

Nott made a disgusted noise at the topic so Ginny added, "We agreed that we would write to one another. You better be a part of this as well."

"What better things do I have to do this summer?" Nott asked teasingly. Ginny stuck out her tongue. The final length of the trip passed quickly and in easy conversation, much too soon they arrived and were forced off the train. Harry helped Ginny with her trunk, until they were able to find the rest of her family. The Weasley brothers looked on uncomfortably as Harry and Ginny quickly hugged before Harry disappeared to go find Mr. Dursley. While he did not look forward to summer at all, Harry found himself smiling a little at the prospect of writing to his friends this summer.