Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, their spells, or the wonderful world they live in. We can all thank J.K. Rowling for that!
A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update- I promise I'll be quicker next time! Enjoy the chapter, but don't forget, I desperately want feedback! Please review!!!! And thanks to my unofficial beta MioneJeanWeasley!
Into the Chamber Again
Chapter Two
Slytherin Slime
Ron paused as he grasped the large brass doorknob. The first time he had done so, five years ago, he was appalled that he was about to enter a girls' toilet. Now, it was hard to believe that something so fatuous had once mattered to him. He took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy wooden door; the out-of-order sign clamored. Hermione followed. The ancient bathroom was just as gloomy and depressing as ever. The ceiling had developed an odd yellowish stain, which appeared to be growing by the second. The number of damaged wooden stall doors hanging off the hinges had increased. Several tiles were missing from the floor, revealing the cement slabs beneath. Water covered the floor, but Moaning Myrtle was nowhere to be seen. Ron found that odd, she rarely left her stall. Ron's eyes lingered towards a partially shattered mirror above the eerily familiar sink.
"So that's it then, the entrance." Hermione, too, was looking at the intricately carved sink. Ron had nearly forgotten that she had never been into the chamber; she was petrified at the time. He shuddered at the memory of a limp Hermione, and hoped he would never have to see her like that again.
"Yeah, that's it." Ron muttered. They both stood in silence until Hermione asked the obvious question that had been on both of their minds.
"So how do we open it?"
Ron was immediately filled with a nervous energy. He thought back to second year. He had also been nervous then, for his sister's life had been in danger. But tonight, not just one life was at stake, but perhaps everyone's in the castle. Ron knew what to do. It was finally his chance. He no longer had to wait for Hermione to know an answer to a problem, or for Harry to take charge. No, Ron was needed here. It was his moment.
Ron slowly made his way towards the basin of the sink; Hermione eyed him curiously. He traced his fingers over the tarnished copper taps until he found the hidden serpent. He knew what he had to do next. He closed his eyes in concentration and opened his mouth. A horrible hissing noise escaped his mouth, just as it had Harry's five years ago in this very spot, just as it had Harry's as he opened Slytherin's locket.
Several seconds passed, the sink remained in place. Ron immediately became frustrated.
"Ron, shall we-?" Hermione started. Ron shook his head. He could do it; he just had to make the correct sound. He opened his mouth once more and tried again. This time, the tap lit up and began to spin rapidly. Hermione let out a small gasp as the sink began to disappear below them into the depths of the darkness.
"Ron, you've done it!" Hermione beamed, "How did you do it- speak parsletongue?" He, too, was actually quite shocked his feeble attempt had worked. He couldn't help but smile, something that had been rare in the last few months.
"I dunno. I just tried to do what Harry did last time," Ron offered sheepishly. The pair grinned at each other until Ron glanced over at the black hole, bringing them back to reality.
"I'm going first," Ron declared. He had to take charge, be a leader.
"No," Hermione said firmly. Ron raised an eyebrow. "We'll go together," she confirmed. The couple grasped hands and plunged into the darkness.
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Hermione fell with a thud into pile of what seemed to be bones. She shuddered at the thought. Her hands were covered in something, but it was too dark to tell what it was. Ron was sprawled out next to her, coughing loudly.
"Lumos," Hermione muttered, revealing the filthy stonewalls. The pipe had shot them out into a small circular tunnel. It looked as if an explosion had taken place; bits of the wall and the ceiling had caved-in. The ground was indeed covered in bones, along with a thick layer of dirt and slime.
"Well no one's bothered to clean up in here," Ron said in disgust as he flicked a black moving blob off of his hand. Hermione couldn't help but smirk at his expression. He did have a point though; one would have thought that Dumbledore would have been down here after all that had happened.
"It's this way." Ron led her through the tunnel over various bits of stone and skeletons. They walked through the winding tunnel for what seemed like ages, until they came to a sudden stop in front of a solid wall. Hermione wondered if they had somehow managed to take a wrong turn, although she did not remember the tunnel leading in any other directions. Just as she was about to question Ron, she noticed the carvings on the wall and understood. Two intertwined snakes were staring through Hermione with their emerald eyes; they were far too life-like for Hermione's liking. She looked over at Ron who spit out the same horrid hissing noise as he had earlier. Except for this time, it was different, he was much more confident.
The effect was immediate. The serpents slithered in circles until they were completely freed from one another; the wall moved aside to make way for Ron and Hermione.
"Well done Ron," Hermione said in awe, "I don't know what I'd do without you." Ron beamed and took hold of her hand. Together they walked into the chamber. Hermione could definitely get used to this, the feel of Ron's hand against her own.
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Ron grasped Hermione's hand tighter. Although he had never been this far into the chamber, only Harry had, it still brought back bad memories. There were moments when he had thought Ginny was dead, that there was no point for Harry to risk his life. Ron had been sick with worry at the thought of losing his sister and his best mate. It would have been his fault. Ron pushed the memory aside; there was no point in dwelling on the past.
As they walked past the rows and rows of serpent-covered pillars, a horrible thought occurred to Ron.
"Do think there's any chance the basilisk skeleton would have been…er … removed?" He asked anxiously.
"I-I don't know." Hermione muttered. The two continued in silence until they came to a halt at the opening of the pillars. A large stone statue of a stern looking wizard with billowing robes stood in the center of the circular chamber. Lying before him, on the bloodstained floor, was what was left of the enormous basilisk. The whole of the skeleton was not to be seen, for its tail disappeared into the darkness. The giant snake had to have been over hundreds of feet long.
"I had no idea it was that large." Hermione mused.
"Neither did I," Ron agreed. The idea that the snake before him had once been alive, lurking through the school's pipe system, was terrifying.
"Well I suppose we ought to collect the fangs." Hermione suggested.
Ron nodded his head in agreement as they walked nearer to the skull of the basilisk.
"Diffindo." Hermione ordered, pointing her wand at a large fang; it fell to the ground, severed from the rest.
"Should we get more than just the one?" Ron asked.
"Yes, yes," Hermione said somewhat distractedly, "Good thinking Ron." She repeated the spell; Ron joined in, speeding up the process until they had taken a significant dent out of the number of attached fangs.
Hermione reached into the familiar beaded bag, rummaging through the myriad of items they had collected over the last months. It still amazed Ron that a bag of that size could be enchanted to hold items bigger than Harry, Hermione, and himself combined.
Ron's eyes flickered in recognition as she pulled out the tiny, shimmering, golden cup, emblazoned with the badger of Hufflepuff. Although this was the perfect opportunity to destroy the horcrux, he still shuttered in recollection of his last experience with the dark magic. The enchantment of Tom Riddle had ever so continently reminded Ron of all of his insecurities. That was when it hit him; he wouldn't be destroying another horcrux tonight.
"It's got to be you." He declared, not out of desperation, but out of honest understanding. After spending all of his time around Harry and his odd way of thinking, which no doubt had come from Dumbledore, Ron had learned a thing or two about the fundamentals of magic.
"What?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"You've got to do it, destroy the horcrux," Ron explained, "Harry's destroyed the diary, I got rid of the locket-it's your turn. You're a part of this." Hermione nodded. She grasped the iron handles of the cup and reached for a basilisk fang…
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