Harry's smile faded at the headmaster's worry. "All we did was talk, Headmaster."
"I know that, Harry." Dumbledore said. "I was listening. Let's go to my office and we can talk about your 'future'."
Harry nodded and followed the old man.
"So you won?" Dumbledore said.
"No, that was bullshit." Harry said. "Quite a few did die, including you by the way and me."
Dumbledore groaned. "You're not making sense, Harry."
Harry sighed. "Add Albus Dumbledore to party." Harry said.
As before Dumbledore jumped.
'Harry Potter has invited you to his party
'Accept?
'Yes/No'
"Just push yes, Headmaster." Harry said. "Then say 'Play History Cinematic'. It won't hurt you." Harry had spent a few saves perfecting this bit. It was a simple illusion spell that was a pure and utter info dump. Harry had a few more lined up. Luckily those carried over.
Dumbledore did as he was told and frowned as he watched the illusion.
"Yeah, I know you trust Snape." Harry headed that off. "I respect that but it doesn't mean I'm going to trust him yet."
"This seems to be a bit insane." Dumbledore said.
"I know where the other Horcruxes are. I can get rid of them but not destroy the object. Just didn't feel like preserving a ratty old diary." Harry said. "It's worthless to most unlike some of the other things Riddle's perverted."
"You were upset that I called him Voldemort earlier." Dumbledore noted.
"Ginny was upset enough." Harry said calmly. "Right now, Voldemort's name scares them, just his name. It was like shouting 'boo' at someone who was already wound up like a spring."
Dumbledore blinked. He hadn't thought about that.
"I plan on getting Sirius free and mental help. Eleven years in Azkaban focusing on revenge can't be good for your psyche." Harry said.
"Why are you willing to work with Lucius?" Dumbledore said. "He was a-"
"Death Eater? Yeah, I know but he is powerful politically and financially. So he's a good ally." Harry said. "If I'm going to change the world I can't think in terms of black and white. I'll need to work with people I don't trust or like."
"You could alienate yourself from others." Dumbledore warned.
"I know. That's why I'm not pushing him to make too many changes." Harry said. "When can we go down to the Chamber of Secrets to get the basilisk?"
"I'll have to make some calls but we should be able to by the end of the school year." Dumbledore said. "Go to the Hospital Wing before going to your dorms, Harry."
Harry grinned and nodded.
Needless to say Madame Pomfrey was not happy with him when he came to her. "I'm having enough trouble with getting the potions down their throats I don't need you." She said before dismissing him. "Go to your dorm and rest, Potter."
"Yes ma'am." He said before escaping. He ran into Arthur Weasley who had been waiting for him. "Is something the matter?" Harry hadn't seen the man so upset before.
"Why are you helping us, Harry?" He asked. "Do you pity us?"
"No, not at all." Harry said. "I do owe Ron for helping me with the troll and what happened at the end of last year and he, Fred and George did probably save me from starvation last summer. I just don't know how else to repay you."
Arthur looked at Harry's face. He sighed. "So it's not pity that made you help us." He stated.
"No, saving Ginny is more thanks to my people-saving-thing." Harry admitted. "Please, just accept the money. I'll front the costs of the mind healer. I've got enough. You accepted me into your family when you had no reason to. I just want to help."
'Your 'please pity me' skill has gone up!'
The man groaned. "Fine. It's really just pride that's making this uncomfortable for Molly."
"Thank you." Harry said. "Madame Pomfrey told me to go back up to my dorm to rest, I'll see you later, Mr. Weasley!" He waved as he hurried up the stairs. That had been so uncomfortable.
* * Several Hours Later * *
Harry had his nose buried in the book he had found in the Chamber when his stomach growled. 'When did I last eat?'
He put a bookmark to mark his place before putting the book into his inventory and muttered, "Tempus." He groaned. "Too early for breakfast." Harry muttered before pulling his invisibility cloak out of his trunk and shoving it into his inventory.
"ID Create: Transport." Harry muttered and wiped away the notification.
The dead silence of the Instant Dungeons still creeped him out so he hummed the Mission Impossible theme the entire way down.
In front of the picture of the bowl of fruit Harry put his invisibility cloak on and exited the ID and tickled the pear.
"Um, excuse me?" Harry acted like the somewhat shy nearly thirteen year old he was supposed to be. "Can I have something to eat?"
Once again he was shocked by the house elves' ability to quickly put a meal together.
"Here you goes, sir." A young house elf said.
Harry smiled and thanked the elf. They were powerful beings so a little respect went quite a ways.
* * Several Days Later * *
Harry hissed at the sink in front of several reporters and the people that would give the basilisk value. Harry had been down the night before and had cast a doom spell that would give anyone walking in without his permission pure and utter terror though it would not harm them directly.
~Platform~ He hissed. This time the platform was wide enough that all could fit easily. Harry walked on to it confidently and called the others on.
Once everyone was on Harry continued his Parseltongue demonstration. ~Descend~ The platform went down smoothly.
"Mr. Potter, what made you realize the entrance was here?" A reporter in snazzy dark blue robes asked.
"Well, Hermoine, my friend, realized that the basilisk was using the pipes to get around and the me and Ron Weasley figured out that Myrtle was the one killed by it the last time the chamber was opened so we asked her about it and then I found a small snake carving and used parseltongue to open the entrance." Harry frowned in remembered disgust. "Though we had to slide down the pipe. Wish I knew about the platform thing."
"So you've been down here since then?" Another reporter said.
"Yes, with Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Professor McGonnagal." Harry said. "Professor Snape was the one to suggest the platform idea." Harry hated the smirk that the potion's master gave his head of house when it worked.
"So the greasy bat is worth something." Someone muttered.
The rest of the ride was peppered with questions and general non-answers that drove the reporters to madness after going over their notes.
Harry walked off of the platform once it stopped nearly level with the floor and walked into the gloom with a murmured, "Lumos." That had been the key phrase that would disable the doom spell until the counter phrase(tiddlywinks) was given.
The light revealed the forbidding serpentine architecture. The impressive door with the snake lock caused a few to step back in nervousness.
Harry mentally laughed maniacally. If they were this scared of the door Harry couldn't wait to see their reactions of the 30 meter long basilisk that lay dead beyond it.
~Open~ Harry hissed to the discomfort of the crowd. Harry barely hid the grin as several reporters screamed.
"Holy Shit!" One yelled. "How did this thing go unnoticed?!"
One of the specialists ran up to it. "I want the skull." She said bluntly. "And the first dozen vertebrae."
"Oh god, you're going to enchant to scare people." Another said.
"Yes, glowing red eyes of doom." Her grin seemed to calm everyone down.
"Myrtle said the eyes were yellow." Harry helpfully said. "Though red is more intimidating."
"Don't encourage her, Potter." The second specialist glared at him.
"Hmm." A third walked up. "How did you say you killed it?"
"I took the Sword of Gryffindor and drove it through the roof of the basilisk's mouth.
"Oy, Rose, open this beauty up." The third specialist said.
"Ally-oop." The first specialist, Rose, jumped up to the top of the basilisk's head and put her hand at the base of the skull. Ozone filled the air as the woman used electricity to make the basilisk rear back, the mouth dropping open.
"I just wanted the mouth open, woman!" He yelled.
Rose grinned. "You know I love to put on a show, Monty!" The giant snake lay back down with the jaws open wide enough for Harry to comfortably stand.
'It could've eaten me whole.' Harry thought morbidly.
Monty put a long metal rod to prop open the mouth.
"That isn't going to collapse, is it?" Harry asked nervously.
"Nope, it's a special alloy that resists all but the most acidic liquids and can hold it's own against the fury of a Hungarian Horntail." Monty smiled. He was incredibly proud of his creation. "It can also hold up over a thousand kilograms. Alright, I can see where the sword went through." The man carefully bent into the cavernous mouth. "Looks like it just missed the venom sacs and went straight through the brain. Pity Fawkes took out the eyes."
"Those are worth a lot?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes, they're very rare since most people tend to blind any basilisk they come across first thing." Rose said sliding down. "I mean that takes out most of the basilisk's range of attack. A couple of the ribs are fractured and it was in the beginning stages of malnutrition. There's also a lot of control magic centered in the brain. Poor thing must have been going mad."
Harry was less than sympathetic to the monstrous snake since it had tried to kill him.
"What kind of control magic?" Dumbledore asked. He was concerned that Voldemort knew unknown magic.
"Older than the person you're thinking of, honey." Rose said. "No, last time I saw this was a couple centuries ago." She tapped her lip with her eyes closed.
'How old is she?' Harry mentally wondered. 'Observe'
'Rose Estraz
'Wanderer, Animal Expert
'2300/2300
'?/?
'PWR:?
'STR:?
'DEX:?
'INT:?
'WIS:?
'LUCK:?
'Status: excited at seeing the basilisk
'Info: An immortal who likes new things and travels the world. She also has the ability to control energy to the point it is rumored that she can travel through time.'
"Besides the broken ribs and fang, is it in good shape?" The second specialist said drawing a rune cluster in mid air.
"Oh, beginning stages of malnutrition as well." Rose continued. "The control magic did have a new addition, I'd saw about fifty years ago but that was simply the Imperious. Kind of impressive that it stuck for so long. Must have been a simple command."
"'Simply the Imperious'?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.
"Yeah, opposed to the thousands of other more difficult to cast mind control spells." Rose said as she prodded one of the fangs. "I mean the Imperious just requires… Uh…" She stopped as she realized what company she was in. "It is simple to cast which is why it is so dangerous." She finished.
"So you've cast it?" A reporter asked.
"Not on a person." Rose said. "There are many more ways to control a person that aren't illegal, are much easier, and less prone to backfire. On animals, yes, I have cast it."
The reporter pouted. Every reporter worth his salt knew that this woman had done illegal things but nothing seemed to stick.
"It's really simple?" Harry asked.
"All of the unforgivables are simple, Mr. Potter." Rose said. "Again, that's was makes them so dangerous."
"Skinning it is going to be a bitch."
"Eli!" Rose yelled back. "Watch your language!"
"Well it is!" Eli yelled back. "Just look at it! And the discarded skin! Did you see that one?! We'll have to set up a portal or tan it down here."
"Same with butchering it." Monty agreed. "I doubt that the headmaster would want us parading several tons of snake meat through the school."
"I'll get a hold of Mikey, she owes me some favors." Eli walked out of the chamber.
Rose shook her head before bringing out a wand and drawing a series of runes. "It'll slow time down." She explained. "Just on the basilisk though. While I probably could do it for the entire chamber it would be more work than it would be worth."
"We have a warning system." Harry said quickly.
"I felt it and have taken it into consideration." Rose said. "This won't affect that. We'll be able to get this out of here within a week, depending on when Mikey gets here."
"What does she have to do with anything?" Dumbledore said.
"Mikey is excellent at making portals in the space/time fabric. We'll be able to get this out of here, skinned and butchered in one of my warehouses." Rose said. "Then, if you'll give the green light, we can document and explore down here."
"As long as you give all documentation to me." Dumbledore said.
Rose nodded as she watched Harry out of the corner of her eye as he cast radar spells. He seemed to be looking for something in particular.
Harry was trying to see if the room with the portrait was still there. His radar spell had picked up things that he hadn't seen in the secondary timeline so maybe time flowed differently for each?
He felt the woman's eyes on him but ignored it as he continued to look for rooms.
"I got her!" Eli walked back in with a middle aged woman whose head now looked like it was on a swivel.
"Holy shit." She said as she saw the basilisk. "No wonder you need one of my star gates."
"Still calling them that?" Monty asked. He thought that it was a stupid name from a stupid show.
"I can name my inventions whatever I want, Monty." She bristled up before pulling a bag out of her pocket. Out of this bag came a very large box. Mikey put the box down, tapped it with her wand and backed up quickly.
After a few minutes an archway with a small console on the side was sitting to the side of the basilisk.
"Which warehouse?" Mikey asked. "The one in Bristol? That one's got the large scale butchering stuff, right?"
"Yes, finished the last order yesterday." Eli said.
"Order?" Harry asked. "What would need butchering equipment that can take on this?"
"Dragons mostly." Rose said. "Yes I do have a permit to butcher them." She snapped at Dumbledore. "Most people want just the skins but the blood is useful in several potions and the meat is tasty when roasted on a spit."
"And the heartstrings are used in wands." Harry said. "What about the bones?"
"Useful in ritual magic and potions." Eli said. "Not all ritual magic is evil, Dumbledore. They're also useful in warding, especially the skulls for some reason."
Dumbledore sighed. "I know it isn't but much of it is."
"It is used as a shortcut for self improvement." Eli snapped. "Some ritual magic is evil, I'll grant you that, but most things you can do with ritual magic you can also get with hard work and dedication."
"And there are no rituals that can grant immortality." Rose said. "The closest are soul jars and that is only a illusion. Destroy them and you're mortal."
"But as long as you have them, you can't die?" A reporter said.
"More correctly your soul remains stuck. You can die and I've been told that it is incredibly painful to the point where it used to be used as punishment for extreme cases." Rose looked distant. "Or torture to get information or confessions."
Dumbledore frowned. All of the research he had found on Horcruxes had said it could only be done by choice.
Rose sighed. "Of course, soul jars do require a hefty price, a human life is easiest to sacrifice." She paused. "A thing of enough value to the person doing the ritual also works."
"You say that like human lives are worth little to you." Dumbledore said coldly.
"Does a complete stranger's life matter to you?" Rose said. "A lunatic's? A serial killer's? The life of someone already dying? One life rarely equals another, Dumbledore. I'm sure if I pulled someone serving a life sentence from Azkaban to use as a sacrifice few would care."
"But some are worth something." The old man stated.
"In terms of magic to power rituals, age and whether or not the sacrifice is magical is all that matters." Rose said. "Well, virginity also matters in some but who that person is rarely matters."
Dumbledore said nothing.
"Of course animal sacrifice is another matter." Rose said. "If a ritual calls for a certain species then another species won't work or will give you an unintended effect."
"Just, get that thing out of here and do your surveys." Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, shall we go?"
Harry paused. He really wanted to ask them some things but right now Dumbledore had a lot of power over him. "Yeah, sure." He watched as Rose controlled the snake into the star gate.
He'd have more chances to talk with them.
* * Several Days Later * *
Harry looked down at the list in front of him. Rose had told him that, by right of slaughter, the entire corpse belonged to him.
She was willing to pay G150,000 for the skull and first dozen ribs and vertebrae(G30,000 for the skull, G5000 for each vertebrae and G2500 for each rib).
The amount of skin was amazing until he thought about it. The snake was as nearly a meter high and 30 meters long. Rose also offered to get the skin tanned into leather, stating that it had properties similar to dragonhide but was lighter weight.
Harry smiled as he thought of having a suit made of basilisk leather or at least a vest and jacket.
The general proceeds would be insane even after processing. Just Rose's purchase of the skull, vertebrae and ribs would easily pay for the school's new brooms, top of the line teaching brooms even. None that would go very high, no more than 5 meters, nor very fast.
Maybe a decent set of back up brooms for Quidditch players. Harry thought back to his beloved Nimbus 2000 being destroyed. Not super expensive ones but not ones that would completely screw them over if they lost or had their broom broken.
Harry looked back down at the list. Prices were listed beside each item though the skin had two(one for untanned skin and one for tanned leather).
"Alright, definitely want a jacket and a vest out of the leather." Harry muttered. "But that's about it. I'm going to have so much money left over." Harry groaned. He doubted that the Weasleys would take any more money because of their pride. "I could buy a house and ward the ever living shit out of it." Harry muttered. "Maybe Dumbledore would let me stay there for the summer. One can dream."
Harry thought for a moment. "ID Create." The world went silent except for the faint whistle of the wind.
Harry smiled. He could hide in IDs for the summer. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Dumbledore about his reset. Harry knew he didn't want Dumbledore knowing about the Herptomancy grimoire, which was still safely in his inventory as were most of his school books, quills and parchment.
"Oh god, I'm going to have deal with Aunt Marge." He muttered. "ID Destroy."
That would be so much fun.
"Harry, are you packed?" Hermoine said. "Or were you messing around again?"
"Nope, fully packed and ready to go." Harry got up and followed his female friend. "Hey, Hermoine?"
"What?" She asked.
"Were you aware when your were petrified?" Harry asked.
She paled slightly. "Yes, I was. So where the others from what I heard."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't think about it." Harry said.
"Don't worry, you stopped it." She smiled. "Let's go."
Harry nodded. It was time to return to the muggle world for a while.
Blah, yeah the builds are going to be why this probably won't die very easily. I get bored, I do a new build.
Maybe I'll have Harry do some unlocking runs.
That being said, things like spell mastery will generally go kaput at the beginning of a new run. He'll know the basic form of the spell(like Cure) and any he had learned in canon. If I make a build that starts after third year then he would know the Patronus. After fourth year he'd know the summoning charm and so on.
To lolkid to each of your reviews in order. I'd respond in pm if I could.
(Chapter 1) Should I center the system messages? I mean you don't say how I should align it and the other five I see keep it left aligned.
(Chapter 4) *sigh* This is not Severitus. Though that would be an interesting run. Mentor!Snape is not Severitus.
For those who don't know. Severitus is a challenge from a long time ago(2001) where Snape is Harry's real father and Harry looking like James is due to magic. Starting on his birthday the magic on Harry starts to fail and he starts to look like Snape. Oh, and Lupin's back at Hogwarts… for some reason.
