Knight of Sitri Chapter 3

HI everybody! As promised, chapter 3!

I don't own Harry Potter or DxD.

As the hospital wing disappears, Harry momentarily finds himself in a place of darkness before he saw a faint light. Slowly, the light grew brighter as he rose out of the floor in a dank chamber. Looking around, he saw a face carved into the wall, and behind him, a row of snake heads rising from the floor and forming a path towards a large circular door. The place smelled of decay, and was lit only by old torches that seemed to be on their last legs. There was about half a foot of standing water on the floor, which seemed to be coming from the serpent statues.

"So, you're here." A voice said from right next to him. Jumping back, he turned and saw that there was a girl, who only looked slightly older than him, with black hair down to her shoulders and almost pure silver eyes. She also had a pair of black wings, and was wearing a rather plain outfit of a t-shirt and sweat pants. "Well, Nymphadora found a good place, but it could use some fixing up, right?" With a smile, she waved her hand.

The fire on the nearby torches extinguished, replaced with an extremely bright glow from a ball of blue light in the air above them. The water on the floor evaporated almost immediately, and Harry's pants dried as well.

"That'll do for now." she said, looking around, "So, shall we get down to business Harry Potter."

Harry asked the first question that came to mind. "Who are you?"

"My name is Zela Sitri." She answered simply, "I'm an outcast member of the prestigious Sitri family, one of the seventy two pillars of the underworld. I suppose you could say that I'm also the head of your new family."

"new family?" He asked, surprised by the term.

"Well, I guess it might be better to say that you're part of my army, but for a devil, there's not much of a difference between the two." Zela replied, looking inside the nearby statue's mouth, "Man, what kind of secret chamber doesn't even have a meeting room? Come on, let's go explore." Without waiting for Harry's answer, Zela walked away from the statue and through the circular door at the end of the chamber. After a few seconds thought, Harry followed after her.

"So, where are we?" Harry asked after catching up to her.

"I think Nymphadora called it the Chamber of Secrets." She answered him, poking her head into each of the hallways for a few seconds before walking again, "As I understand, it's underneath of your school."

Harry froze up for a second, and Zela looked at him in interest, "What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing." Harry said, shaking his head, "Just that one of my friends was killed down here."

"I heard." She sighed, "The girl with Red hair, right? Unfortunately, there isn't anything I can do for her."

"Why not?" Harry said softly, "You brought me back, didn't you?"

"The two cases are totally different." Zela countered, "The girl's soul was ripped to shreds. No magic in this world or any other can save her. Besides that, even if she were revived, she would never be able to live with her family again. With you, no one but me, Nymphadora, and Voldemort know that you were killed, but her body was already found. If a dead body comes back to life, she'll undoubtedly be killed by the ministry. Worst case scenario, even her family gets targeted by the Fallen Angels and their minions."

"So, there's nothing you can do?" Harry confirmed, and Zela nodded.

"Sorry to say, but I'm not a god." she said, looking down one of the halls and sighing, 'Okay, this is getting tedious." Snapping her fingers, a swarm of locusts burst out of nowhere. "Search." she said loudly over the buzzing of their wings, and the swarm dispersed in all directions, "That should make this easier. While they're searching, I'll answer a few questions. So, ask away."

"What exactly is going on?" Harry asked her first.

"Well, that's a tough one." she chuckled, "Let's start with the basics. You died earlier today, and I brought you back to life as one of my servants. In your case, my knight."

"Knight?"

"Well, the underworld has a liking for chess." she replied with a slight chuckle that was lost over the echoing hum of the locusts' wings, "So, each high class devil receives a set of chess pieces called evil pieces. We can then use these evil pieces to turn humans into devils, even if the human was killed. Which piece we use determines the characteristics of that devil. In your case, you have a knight, so you'll be a sword fighter."

Glancing down at the sword of Gryffindor harry had clutched in his hand, she nodded, "I can see you've got a weapon already, and if Nymphadora is to be believed, you made good use of it. Slaying a basilisk is no small feat, even for a mid class devil. Anyway, so you're now a devil. As a result, you'll find that your stronger, faster, live longer, and are overall better than humans. You also have increased healing, and your skills will be boosted at night, since that's the time when we have the most power."

"Why did you turn me into a devil?" Harry asked before adding hastily, "Not that I'm angry or anything. Just curious."

"Well, it was a contract." she answered, taking a slip of parchment identical to the one that Tonks had, and that he had taken from Lockhart's office. "Remember this? We give these to those who would be willing to make contracts with us so that they can summon us. I imagine you found one in Gilderoy's office? He's one of my better clients. That man would give anything for a bit of fame. Anyway, it only appears to devils or to those that have a wish they truly want granted. Just before you were killed, you made a wish, right? To live?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"Well, your wish activated the circle on his parchment, and I fulfilled my end of the contract. Your end is rather simple. Using your new skills, you must help me and my family whenever needed. It could be something as basic as defeating a stray devil to fighting in a rating game. Other than that, you'll be making contracts with humans to increase your own prestige and make your way up the ranks. If you really try, you might even make it to Ultimate class. Once you reach that, there isn't much you can't do."

Before she could continue any further, the swarm of locusts returned and buzzed around them. Almost as if she could speak to them, Zela nodded her head a couple of times before she said, "Thanks guys." With another snap of her fingers the swarm vanished. Looking over at Harry, she explained, "They're my familiar. I sent them to check around to find someplace better suited to a conversation than a filthy sewer. Seems they lucked out. This way."

Harry followed just behind her again as she walked through the corridors as easily as if she had been doing it all her life until they stopped in front of a door. It was made of solid silver with a green snake emblazoned on the front. There was no visible knob or lock, but it seemed to hum with power. Harry could also hear a faint hissing that he recognized as Parseltongue. It spoke "Keep away, lion."

Zela placed a hand on the door, and the same magic circle that Tonks had made appeared on the door. Silently, the door opened. Inside was a massive room the size of the great hall. There were around a dozen small tables and chairs spaced out, along with a dueling strip down the center. Several large bookcase stood along the back wall, packed full of all manner of old tomes. The walls were covered with Slytherin banners and emblems, and at the back was a single silver shield that gave off light to the entire room. There were also a number of large hallways along each wall.

"According to my familiars, this place is one of the four hidden residences of the founders." Zela said, stepping inside and gesturing harry in, "There were all sorts of enchantments on the door, so it was rather difficult for my locusts to break in, and those that did were killed, so there's still something in here."

As if in response to her words, the hissing harry heard grew louder. "We warned you." it said firmly, "Now you will not leave this place alive."

"Yeah, somethings here." Harry said, lifting the sword, "It's a snake."

"Most likely." Zela replied, "This is the quarters of the one called Baron of the Snakes, so that's a good guess."

"It's not a guess." Harry shook his head, "I'm parseltongue, so I can hear it. It's saying we won't leave alive."

"Let them try." She laughed, "I'm not so easy to kill."

The hissing grew steadily louder, and Harry held his sword at the ready while Zela was just absentmindedly looking around. After a few minutes, not one, not two, but three full grown basilisks burst into the room from the connecting hallways. Harry staggered back in fear, his eyes covered, but Zela was fazed.

"Their gaze can't kill you." She said calmly, "Of course, don't go getting into a staring contest with them, since even we aren't invincible, but its safe to look."

"even if you say that..." Harry gulped, staring at the ground rather than the beasts themselves.

"Leave this to me." Zela smirked, walking forward, "This won't take long."

"Insolent girl!" One of the basilisks hissed, lunging at Zela. Harry only saw it for a split second before being skewered by a massive pillar of stone. Dozens more speared the rest of its body.

"You're in my territory now." Zela said as the stone sinks back into the ground, leaving a basilisk corpse full of holes lifeless on the ground, "Everything of the earth belongs to me, be it metal, stone, or magma. Underground like we are now, you've got no chance of winning." As if to prove her point, the stone beneath the great serpents liquefied, locking them in place. Two more stone spears ended both of them.

"That was fast." Harry gulped, looking over the carnage, "You just killed three of them in the time it took me to kill one."

"Well, unlike in your chess, the king is expected to be able to fight." Zela replied, snapping her fingers again. The locusts return en masse, and Zela directs them simply, "Harvest." The swarm instantly started to rip the hide, muscle, bones, and venom of the beasts away, leaving no trace of their existence expect the blood on the ground. With their task finished, the locust vanish, taking the body parts with them.

"Well, that should make a bit of money." She grinned, "Basilisk hide alone will make a huge profit, and the bones will sell pretty well after a bit of forging. The venom might take a while, but when it does... well, suffice to say that basilisk slaying is very profitable whatever race you are."

"That was incredible." Harry said honestly.

"Thanks." Zela nodded, sitting on one of the old chairs. "But it's not that impressive. Most High class devils could have done it as fast. Anyway, now that we've got someplace to sit, let's talk about the future. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you've got a maniac out to get you."

"Figured that much out myself." Harry shrugged, sitting in one of the chairs that miraculously still held his weight without any trouble.

"Obviously, that's a problem. You're a member of my household now, so I can't have you dying on me. Though as he is now, you wouldn't have any trouble killing him yourself, its my understanding that before before he fell, his strength was roughly equal to the upper teir of the High class devils. So if he regains that power, you're dead, plain and simple. I'm going to pull a few strings so that Nymphadora will accompany you after you leave school in a couple of days. She'll set up a magic circle at your house as a means of getting in contact with us, and escaping should you need to. Actually, I might just have something better in mind if I can manage it..."

"But I can't use magic outside of school." Harry told her.

"Minor details." She countered, waving her hand dismissively, "That only applies to your normal magic. A devil's magic is completely different, and the ministry won't be able to track it. So, I'll get into more details about that once we've got time to have a proper talk. People will notice that you're missing if we don't get you back in about an hour or so. Any questions that you need to know before we keep going? I'd like to get anything out of the way in case we need to get you out of here in a hurry."

"Earlier, you mentioned fallen angels." Harry asked, remembering their conversation about Ginny, "What exactly did you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." she shrugged, "Fallen Angels are angels that have fallen. For whatever reason, they have fallen from grace and lost their place in heaven. It's commonly believed that such creatures become devils, but that's not the case. Fallen angels, despite their past, still worship God, and try to continue doing His bidding in an effort to redeem themselves. Usually, that means killing devils and in all too many cases, those near them. To most fallen angels, contracting with devils, or having any relation to devils is grounds for death. That's one reason why you might want to keep this to yourself. It won't just be your head at risk if you get discovered."

"Why?" Harry asked, stunned at how casually she talked about it.

"It's pointless to try and rationalize the actions of those trying to kill you." Zela replied easily, "Anyway, there's a good chance that you'll run into them soon enough. When that time comes, your best bet is to run and hope that me or Nymphadora gets to you in time. The Fallen ones are more ruthless than Voldemort, and the spears of light they wield will burn you from the inside out. Nothing is more deadly to a devil than light."

"What exactly am I expected to do?" Harry asked her after a moment of thought, "You've told me all of this, but what exactly is the point?"

"Devils are, in general, selfish creatures." Zela said, looking him in the eyes, "I am no exception. I have a goal that I want to attain, as I'm sure you have. To that end, I fully intend to use anything I can to move myself closer to that goal. As a result, I want to assemble the strongest team, the strongest Peerage the underworld has ever seen. That's where you come in. As my servant, your strength reflects well on me, and help me to get that much closer. Eventually, once we've gotten enough members, I'll enter into some Rating Games and You'll be expected to fight alongside the others of my peerage against our opponent."

At this, she smiled, "Of course, it's not all about me really. In a rating game, you can make a name for yourself as well. Preform well, and you can move up the ranks. Once you've gotten the strength and the experience, there isn't anything that can't be gotten. If you want power, aim to become the Rating Game champion. Money? The prizes for top games are enormous. Status? It's a simple matter for a top ranker to have his pick of whatever noble bride he wishes. Strength? Master your new powers, and you could destroy entire countries if you desired. Women? Aim to become a 'King' and create your own Peerage, a harem if you will." Smiling knowingly, she added, "Or perhaps you simply want a family. Whatever goal you have, helping me is the first step towards achieving it. Simple, right?"

"So, basically, You're going to use me and I'm going to use you?" Harry clarified.

"Correct. It's really a win-win situation. You've got a whole bunch of people that want you dead now. I'll protect you, teach you to protect yourself, and beyond that you can do whatever you want. In return, you fight for me and help me to reach my goal. Fair enough?"

"I guess." Harry shrugged, "But it still seems like I'm getting the better deal."

"You're a weird one." Zela laughed, "It might seem that way, but I think we're even. So, I take it you're fine with the way things work out?"

"Well, I've been called a freak all my life. Changing it to devil won't change much in my mind." He replied, "Let's do it."

"Perfect." Zela smiled, holding out her hand, "Than I look forward to working with you for the foreseeable future."

"Yup." Harry replied, shaking her hand.

At that moment, a dark blue light shone on the back of Harry's hand. Glancing down, he saw it was the same magic circle as on the parchment glowing on the back of his hand. In his other hand, the sword of Gryffindor responded by glowing red. Harry felt the two hands pull at each other, and when they met the sword vanished in a flash of light. When the light cleared, the circle had stopped glowing. It looked like an ordinary tattoo, but it still felt completely different.

"There." Zela smiled, sitting back down, "That's a good sword. To be sure it didn't get lost, I bound it to the circle on your hand. No one else will be able to see it, and you can call it to your hand at a moment's notice. Simply place your hand over the mark, will it to appear, and you're good to fight. Anyone asks, just say it vanished while you were sleeping. It's a magic sword, so that's to be expected. In the mean time, I'm thinking of making this place our headquarters."

"Really?" Harry asked her, looking carefully around the room.

"Yeah. It's large, more or less unreachable by normal people, and by my estimate, it could house an entire peerage comfortably while still having space to practice for a rating game. The fact that its below a magical school just make it better. The school would serve as a recruiting ground for my remaining members, and it would be easily reachable to all of them without the risk of opening a magical gate where others could stumble upon it. Really, it's about as perfect as I could think of. Better than Nymphadora's apartment for sure."

Harry was about to ask her why she would recruit at Hogwarts when a small red demon appeared in a puff of smoke on the table. Zela took one look at it and nodded. "Looks like that's the end of this meeting." she said sadly, "That's Nymphadora's signal. Someone's on their way to the hospital wing, so we'd better get you back before the realize that you're gone. Remember, don't tell anyone anything. When you were stabbed, it was a freak bout of accidental magic. The sword vanished in the night. You've been sleeping peacefully in the hospital wing all night. Right?"

"Yeah." Harry said, getting out of his chair. Part of him was apprehensive about Lying to Professor Dumbledore and everyone, but if what she said about the fallen angels was true, it was better for them to not get involved. "How am I getting back?"

"How do you think?" she asked, jerking her head back towards a magic circle that hadn't been there a minute ago. "We'll continue this once you don't have school to worry about. A pleasure to meet you, Harry."

"You too." Harry nodded, stepping into the circle and sinking into the floor again.

On the other side, Tonks was standing lazily. Aside from a slight nod, she gave no indication that she saw him rush over to his bed and climb back in. Almost a minute after he got back under the blankets, the door to the hospital wing opened.

"Miss Tonks." Professor Dumbledore said softly, "How is everything?"

"No trouble. "She answered him quietly, "They've been sleeping soundly through the night. I sent Madam Pompfrey to bed. She was practically dead on her feet out here. How did things go with the ministry?"

"Not well, I'm afraid." He sighed dejectedly, "Cornelius refuses to listen to reason. He is claiming that the boy who attacked the hospital wing couldn't have been Voldemort, and because there's no reason to suspect that he wasn't involved, they won't release Hagrid. Clearly, it won't hold, but the degree to which that man can ignore the obvious is astounding."

"Why do you say it won't hold?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Hagrid is a lot of things, that is true. However he is well known in the wizarding community. Scarcely a student has come through this school without meeting him, and even after they left, he will be remembered. When news breaks that the minister has thrown him in Azkaban without just cause or a trial, many of the most influential witches and wizards of the generation will be demanding he be released. Fudge is too cowardly to stand on principle against them. He'll most likely try and assign blame elsewhere and release Hagrid to keep public opinion in his favor. Still, every hour that Hagrid is in Azkaban is an hour where justice has not been served. It's been said that its better for ten guilty men to go free than one innocent be confined. Even worse when it might be more than one..."

"More than one?" Tonks questioned, but Dumbledore gave no answer.

"I've revised the order for the students to be sent home in light of the events of today. The students will be given the rest of the term off to spend time with those that were petrified. I hate to impose, but..."

"Watch Harry." Tonks replied, " Make sure that he stays out of trouble, and that a certain dark wizard doesn't get to him."

"Exactly." Dumbledore nodded happily, "I heard that your skills in tracking and disguise are top among the aurors, so you shouldn't have any trouble. I sincerely doubt that Voldemort will try anything at this time. He would know that I will be on alert, and to try and take Harry at his current skill would be foolish in the extreme. No, I'm more concerned that there may be a few students who wish to follow in their fathers footsteps. They might try and take matters into their own hands."

"Piece of cake." she answered, "A couple of bratty school kids haven't a chance."

"I'm grateful." Dumbledore said as the first rays of sunlight peek through the window, "I must be going. Good Luck, Miss Tonks. I'd like to talk to you and Harry tomorrow morning after he wakes."

A sudden gust of wind swirled through the room, and harry knew instinctively that he was gone. With the exhausting day over, and even after everything that had happened, Harry still found himself drifting off into another troubled sleep.

Lucius Malfoy laughed wildly to himself as he read the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. "Narcissa, it appears that Arthur Weasley's daughter opened the chamber of secrets. Isn't that dreadful?"

His wife scowled at him as she always did, though she also knew better than to contradict him, "Yes dear." she answered, sipping her tea.

In the kitchen, the elf Dobby was hurriedly making over a dozen different dishes at once for their breakfast, spinning wildly in an effort to keep every pot from overflowing. Lucius chuckled and said, "Dobby! None of that rubbish today. We're having a feast. Start again, and I want it done on time."

"Yes Master." Dobby cried, vanishing the contents of the pots with a wave of his hands before gathering the new ingredients to get started on his newest task. Just as he's about to get started, there was a knock on the door. Apparating away, Dobby opened the door and said to the black haired boy, "How may Dobby help you, Sir?"

"His elf? "The boy sneered, "bring me your master, foolish creature."

"Yes sir." Dobby said fearfully, "M-May Dobby have you name, sir?"

"Voldemort." He replied, and Dobby let out a loud screech. Voldemort responded by kicking him as hard as he could, "GET LUCIUS!" he screamed, and Dobby vanished with a terrified squeak. Only a minute later, Voldemort heard the sound of chairs falling over, along with hurried footsteps. The door to the dining room opened quickly and Lucius threw himself onto the floor.

"My Lord!" He said hurriedly, "It brings me great joy to see that you have returned to us after so long, and it is an honor to have you in my-"

"Your arm, Lucius." Voldemort said, cutting off Malfoy's ass kissing. Lucius didn't need to be asked which arm, as he silently rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and presented it to his lord. The dark mark, though slightly faded, was clearly visible on his flesh. Touching the tip of Harry Potter's wand to the mark, it darkened to its former color, elating a small intake of breath from Lucius. "Now, we simply wait." He said calmly, striding past Malfoy without concern.

The door to Dumbledore's office flew open, causing the aged Headmaster to jump. Severus Snape strode in, right hand grasping his arm. Before Dumbledore could ask what was the problem, Snape drew back the sleeve to reveal, for the first time in over a decade, the dark mark in all its glory.

"So it's true." Dumbledore sighed, "Not that I doubted it, of course. There was simply no other explanation. But I can't deny I had hoped I was mistaken."

"What concerns me is that there was no build up." Snape added, sitting across from him, "two days ago, the mark had almost faded completely, yet suddenly it burns as fiercely as in the days of the Dark Lord's prime. It should not have been possible for him to become so strong so quickly. We would surely have noticed by now had this been in motion for any length of time."

"So many things don't add up anymore." Dumbledore said softly, "How could Voldemort, who should not have had a physical form, have bypassed our wards, strangled the rosters to protect the basilisk, open the chamber, and inevitably dragged Ginny Weasley into the chamber? And the messages on the wall. A spirit could not have written them, nor a serpent. After last year, we made absolutely sure that he could not reenter the castle through possession anymore. We're missing something, and until we find out what that is, Voldemort is one step ahead of us."

"What will you do?" Snape asked, well aware of what Dumbledore was about to say.

"We're recalling the order." He answered, "Severus, I need you to make your preparations."

"Of course." Snape replied, leaving the room to fortify his shields.

With Snape gone, Dumbledore turned his attention back to the piece of parchment in from of him. It was old and tattered, and showed distinct signs of magic. In fact, he'd seen this parchment before. Tapping his wand to it, he spoke, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

No sooner did he finish then lines of ink spread across the paper, forming the intricate map of Hogwarts perfected so many years ago by the Marauders.

Minerva had passed this along to him the night before, compliments of the Weasley twins. While they were infamous for their pranks, after watching them grow these past few years, Dumbledore couldn't help but see the many remarkable similarities to the Marauders of old. They may enjoy having fun at another student's expense, but when the cards were down, you could not ask for better Gryffindors. Evidently, they had seen the name 'Lord Voldemort' on the map, and hastened immediately to Professor McGonagall, who passed the map along to him. Though Voldemort no longer appeared on the map, it had been invaluable during the search. He'd been able to send Aurors into Hogsmeade to cut off any escape made through the hidden passageways. None of them showed signs of break ins or outs, thus it can be inferred that Voldemort escaped through the forest, and likely disapparated off of the mountain. Where he was now, no one could say.

"Godric." Dumbledore said to the first of four portraits in the back of his office, "Could you inform Minerva that I would like to speak with her?"

"Of course, Lord Dumbledore." The valiant knight bowed, striding out of his portrait.

"Helga, the Weasley family is staying inside of guest quarters. Could you inform them I would like to speak with them in one hours time?"

"Of course." The plump woman stated sadly, "That poor child..."

"What the hell were you thinking, Salazar!?" Rowena glared at the portrait beside her.

"You cannot blame this on me!" Slytherin scowled back, "Though none of you would care anyway. I enchanted that creature myself. Its eye cannot be used to kill those of magical blood. It's only muggleborns that I disapprove of. Albus said so himself. The cause of death was unknown dark magic."

"And you likely know exactly what it is." Rowena countered, "After all, wasn't that your reason for creating the chamber of secrets? To teach your students Dark Magic?"

"You're not some saint, Rowena." He sneered coldly, "As I recall, more than a few of your students died because you didn't understand that testing experimental charms on children isn't a good idea!"

"Enough!" Dumbledore shouted, "Both of you, enough. What's done is done. Arguing won't solve anything. Salazar, do you have any theories as to what could have killed her?"

"Remind me again, what state was the body found in?" He asked.

"Completely unharmed aside from a cut hand, no sign of any kind of trauma, and her soul was in a similar condition to Azkaban prisoners killed when the dementors go out of control."

"Soul damage is far from common." he frowned, "Even among the dark arts, few would dare to take it that far. The killing curse, of course, causes great damage to the soul, but you would have noticed that already. The soul fire curse could create damage of that caliber, but there are too many variables. How could a student have learned it, and moreover, why? A horcrux could cause similar damage, but it would take months before it could accumulate to such a level. And then, of course-"

"Stop it there." Dumbledore said softly, rubbing his temple to focus, "I've long thought that Tom created a Horcrux to stave off death. Could Ginny have somehow acquired the horcrux? Impossible. Tom would have never left something so precious lying around. The risk would have been too great. No, this was no coincidence. Could a horcrux have taken control of her?"

"It's not impossible." Slytherin answered, "Though it's unlikely. She would have had to pure her entire being, her heart and soul into it and allow it to feed on her energy. Gradually, the soul fragment would have become stronger and could have taken control for a short while. What are you thinking, Albus?"

"I'd like you to listen to my theory, Salazar, and tell me if its possible." Dumbledore said, turning towards him, "Ginny was given the horcrux by a death eater, not knowing what it was. For whatever reason, she grew overly close to the object, and it gained a foothold in the young girl's psyche. Then, one night it takes control, and forces the girl to strangle the roosters. Afterwards, she is forced to open the chamber of secrets-"

"I'll have to stop you there." Salazar cut him off, "In order to open the chamber, one would need to be a parseltongue."

"Lord Voldemort is a Parseltongue." Dumbledore replied, "And if the soul fragment is his, than it stands to reason that while it was in control of her, she would be able to speak parseltongue. It is only a language after all. I myself have learned a number of phrases since the last time the chamber was opened, though I never could hit the trigger."

"Fair enough." Slytherin sighed, "Continue."

"Ginny is forced to open the chamber of secrets, and releases the basilisk. She also wrote the messages on the walls using her own. Throughout the year, she opens the chamber several times, causing multiple attacks. Finally, when the horcrux believes that it is strong enough to manifest its own form through Ginny's life force, it takes control one last time. Slicing her hand open, Ginny writes her own kidnap message, and goes into the chamber. When help doesn't arrive in time, Ginny's life force expires, and Voldemort returns to his physical form."

Salazar looked deep in thought for several minutes before nodding, "It's possible in theory, but it would be nearly impossible to confirm. Moreover, too many things still don't add up. It's unlikely that the horcrux would have been able to open the chamber unless it was created for that purpose. What use is there in creating a horcrux if you're going to risk its destruction?"

"Unless it wasn't meant to protect him because he had another horcrux?" Dumbledore added, and Slytherin looked dumbfounded.

"Multiple?" Slytherin asked softly, "You mean to tell me that this man is so depraved that he would split his soul not just once, but multiple times? You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid that is the scenario which makes the most sense." Dumbledore sighed, "Regardless, until we can find more evidence, this is all merely supposition."

"Lord Dumbledore." Gryffindor said, returning to his portrait, "I've finally managed to track her down. She'll be along shortly."

"Thank you, Godric." Dumbledore nodded, returning to his thoughts.

There you have it. Harry's had his meeting with Zela, Dumbledore's trying to piece everything together, And fudge is still burying his head in the sand. Next chapter may or may not be up next week, depending on whether i can upload while I'm on a trip. Until then, feel free to leave a review and/or PM with any comments, suggestions, or questions.