Chapter Nine
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After a few minutes of running down the stone corridors the adrenaline from the fight started to wear off as the stress from the past day began to take its toll on Harrys stamina. He slowed to a quick walk, mindful of any other people wandering around the castle, and tried to catch his breath. Now that he had the evidence he needed to clear his name he did not want to risk it being stolen or confiscated. He glanced down at the book, curious as to its seucrets. It truly looked like just a mundane book, but he had seen its ability to take over somebody's mind. It was while he was staring at its dull black leather that he heard a voice in his head.
"Who are you!?" It shouted suddenly, causing Harry to stop in his tracks and ineffectually cover his ears. The voice sounded like it belonged to an older student who seemed quite angry that it was talking to him instead of Hermione.
"Im the person you have been framing, you- you arse!" Thought Harry angrily in return. To think that whatever was inside this book caused him all this trouble, not to mention attacked Luna and the others, and then had the audacity to be so bold. "Who are you and why are you doing all this!" He demanded.
"Ah, so I finally meet the famous Harry Potter." Replied the book angrily. "However you defeated my older self, I doubt such luck will save you this time!" It shouted afterwards. At the same time a force started to slam into and squeeze his brain, causing him to hunch over on the ground. It seemed to be trying its best to kick him out of his own head, but he focused as hard as he could on resisting the foreign presence.
"It will be over soon!" Shouted the voice again. Harry could feel the pressure build even greater. Blood pounding past his ears was all he could hear, and even that faded as his consciousness retreated inside his mind from the attack. His thoughts started to go through various memories, pictures from things he had seen in the past. One image in particular caught his attention through the pain; a small sprite of white energy floating in darkness. He remembered it from in the mirror last year and something about it drew his focus towards the memory. Just as his focus was about to completely slip away, absorbed in the shimmering white flames, the pressure disappeared. Now he was the one in control as he started getting glimpses of the thoughts of whatever was possessing the book. It was all the motivation he needed to make one final mental push before his eyes cleared and he quickly dropped the book to the floor as if it had turned into a snake. He stared at it on the stones for a moment, the thought of the ball of energy still at the front of his mind. It took him some time to pull himself back into reality and kick the book under a tapestry.
"I wont be touching that thing ever again." He said out loud to himself with a shiver. Harry quickly double checked that the book was hidden under the nondescript tapestry depicting an english countryside. Sure it would be safe he realized the importance of what he had gleamed from the book. Behind the statue was one final student with red hair, undoubtedly one of the Weasleys. Knowing that the big snake was already quite hungry and expecting a meal he groaned at the realization he had to go back.
Quickly running back the way he came he tried to think of some way to kill or get around the behemoth. Having only a borrowed wand and an invisibility cloak it was quite apparent his options were limited. Shaking the thought from his mind, knowing that he would likely get more than one chance against the beast, he rounded a corner, coming face-to-face with one of the last people he wanted to see.
"Harry Potter, what are you doing out this late?" Asked a uncharacteristically disheveled Gilderoy Lockhart. In his arms were several suitcases with clothes and papers sticking out from the containers, a sure sign that the man was leaving somewhere in a hurry. Despite his dislike for what he assumed was nothing short of a fraud he hoped that the man would be of some help.
"Theres no time to explain, I need you to get the other teachers." He stated, continuing to run past the man. "There are a lot of students in danger in the bathroom just around the corner." He yelled over his shoulder to the flabbergasted wizard still standing in place.
Making his way to the bathroom once again he propped the secret entrance door open and commanded the pipe to "stay open" and jumped back down to the chamber of secrets. Taking note that all the students were still immobilized and safe in the entrance hall he barged back into the damp room containing the giant bust of Slytherin.
"Issss thisss my masssterrr?" Boomed a loud voice from the other end. "I have been waiting sssssoooo long for my food." Harry gulped at the sight of the snake knowing exactly how fast and powerful it was.
"No, not the same massster as before. I ssssimply am here to ssstop anymore ssstudentsss from being harmed." He shouted in parseltongue doing his best to avoid its eyes even from across the room.
"Nonsssensss, the ssstudentsss i ssseek are unworthy. They would be best ssserved as preyyy." It slithered forward towards Harry who was doing his best to stand confidently. "What happened to my other massster?" It questioned upon reaching his half of the chamber.
"That wasss only a book, not an heir of the great Ssslytherin. He asssked you to do thingsss that would only ssseeee you drove from your home." Harry was glad for the bulk of his robes that hid his trembling legs. Trying to butter the creature up wouldn't work half as well if it knew how afraid he was. His plan worked for a moment as the snake seemed to relax as it grew silent and stared at the boy, who was just barely able to keep his actual gaze away from the piercing yellow orbs. However its calm lasted only a moment.
"I wasss promisssed a great meal for my actionssss. I am the king of ssserpents and will not be denied what I am owed!" It finally exclaimed before leaning back its head and lunging towards the small boy. He narrowly avoided being hit this time, somewhat used to reading the snakes movements. Managing to roll onto his feet he instinctively jumped once more as the snake swung its head to try biting him again.
Having no other option the boy ran down the wet walkway towards the statue the snake resided in. Both himself and the snake paused and looked upwards as a bright flash of red light and a loud screech filled the chamber. Harry recognized it as the Headmasters Phoenix, Fawkes. The brightly colored bird swooped down and dropped a dark lump of cloth at the boys feet before gliding around towards the black snake. Harry quickly picked it up to see that it was the Sorting Hat of all things.
"Reach inside and use the sword you find. That turkey wont be able to hold the thing off for long." Flapped the gap on stitches on the closest side of its brim. Not in a position to argue about wether a sword could fit into such a small place he turned the hat upside down and thrust his hand into its depths. He was somewhat surprised to feel his hand be filled with what could only be the hilt of a sword. Not thinking twice about his luck the he pulled the shining length of steel out to see it was an ornate longsword sporting a large red jewel in the hilt. It was a bit heavy and awkward because of his size but not unbearable when he hefted it with both hands. Taking a deep breath and shoving the sorting hat into his robes he stared up at the snake once again wishing he had any sort of knowledge on how to defeat it.
It was then he noticed Fawkes swoop down one last time, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaw of the monster to scratch out both of its eyes. The beast hissed loudly and began flailing about trying to hit anything it could. Fawkes flew back up into the darkness above and at this point Harry was now the only thing near the snake. It took only a moment for it to calm down and grow still, obviously listening for noise and tasting the air with its dark purple tongue. Harry kept as motionless as possible, still unsure of what to do.
"I can tassste you ssspeaker," It hissed as it started slithering towards where he stood. Harry almost started to run but the snake bit its own tail by continuing to speak. "But the scent is faint. You will have to move sssomtime, and when you do I will sssssstrike." Harry kept his breath steady but gave a small sniff, now thankful for being covered in muck after his two slides down the pipe.
Suddenly his pocket started fidgeting and he remembered the hat was inside. Carefully he slid it out of his pocket and held it up. The hat looked at him and slowly mouthed "put me on". Taking note that the snake was going to slide past him he cautiously slid it over his hair.
"Dear me, seems I have less to be worried about than I thought." The hat started. "Put me on right away next time. Two heads are better than one after all."
"What the bloody hell am I supposed to do? You've seen how easily it has taken me out before." He thought alongside the several instances he had been slain by the creature.
"Don't sell yourself short, you've faired pretty well all things considered. Should only take four more tries, seven at the most." His headwear spoke casually in response.
"You realize you're talking about me dying, right? Ive done quite enough of that for one night." Harry's eyes strayed the the large mouth that had eaten him several times.
"Well you're just going to have to deal with it. None of the Professors can get into this part of the chamber and most of them have decided it would be better to go looking for you then come in here anyway. You made the correct decision coming here to face that beast. If you don't stop it the last hostage will likely die." Harry gave a mental sigh as he admitted the hat was correct.
"Fine, what do you think should I do then?"
"Simply follow my commands and things should clear up. And tell that idiot of a professor to go get Me and Fawkes right away next time. That being said, you better prepare yourself quickly."
"What?" Was the last thing he could ask before the Hat started yelling out loud.
"Alright you blasted creature, we let you live long enough. Lets see who the real King of Snakes is!" The monster whipped its head right in the direction of where they were and started moving at them like a train.
"Inssssolensssssse!" It hissed furiously. In a moment it was within striking range and raised back its head in preperation.
"I would jump as far as you can to the left right about now." Mused the hat. Harry complied and threw himself the the left doing his best to land into a proper roll. He unluckily landed in a large puddle and was soaked, his thick robes now weighing him down. He turned back to see the snakes head closing in only a meter away. "Jump forward past it and try stabbing its neck." Was his next bit of advice. Hie did so but was hit by the side of the moving snake and thrown a few feet away. It felt like he had been hit by a car and was a little more than dazed when he landed.
His adrenaline kept him awake though and he rolled over and up onto his feet. This time the snake was far too close to be dodged. Its open mouth and giant fangs nearly about to close on him. He made one last attempt to strike the snake, raising his sword to its open mouth and thrusting as hard as he could. However his last thoughts were seeing the sword only pierce through the side of the creatures mouth and a sharp pain, hearing a disappointed hat exclaim "Bloody knew I should have stayed in the office." before his vision faded to black.
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Harry waited just outside the entrance to the chamber, calmly going over his plans while waiting for Fawkes to arrive with the hat. His heavy robes had been discarded having long since realized they would only get wet and slow him down. While it was a bit cold in only his trousers and undershirt the extra mobility would be a needed advantage against the snake. Several small pebbles that were shrunken larger stoned rested in his pocket for later use. Now he was tying a strip of cloth from his school robes into a loop. Just as he finished a bright ball of flames came into existance nearby, transforming into Fawkes who held the Sorting Hat.
"Harry Potter, I hear you wanted to talk to me?" Asked the hat as the bird landed on Harry's shoulder and deposited the ratty cloth into his hands.
"It would be easier to show you." Harry replied and promptly brought the hat over his head. It took only a moment for the hat to reply.
"Quite an interesting night you've had, young man. Ill do what I can to help. Now lets get this over with." Harry gave a mental nod and took the hat off and withdrew the familiar sword from its insides. Taking his loop of torn cloth he tied it around the hilt of his sword, fashioning a sling which he then looped over one shoulder. Adorning the hat once more and hissing at the door to open he strode confidently into the chamber.
"Fawkes," he said looking at the bird, who gave a questioning coo, "Could you please wait here until I give you a signal. From there I need you to teleport above that snakes head and scratch out its eyes." The majestic bird gave a somewhat unconfident look at his request. "Don't worry, I've seen you do it a dozen times. Ill keep it busy so if you're quick it should be pretty easy." He said scratching the top of the phoenix' head. With another coo and a nod it flew to a nearby torch to nestle comfortably in its flames.
"Who daresss intrude in the Chamber of Sssecretsss!" Bellowed the Basilisk from the far end of the chamber. "Only ssspeakersss and my prey are allowed."
"I ssspeak the language of sssnakesss." He replied.
"What isss your purpossse here, young ssssnake?" It questioned, slithering closer to where he stood. "Do you come with my massster?"
"If you mean that sssilly little book then no. In fact, I dessstroyed it a while ago." He bluffed. It was now safely hid in a toilet upstairs.
"How dare you dessstroy the ssshade of Ssslytherins heir!" It screeched making Harry whinge.
"I can explain why it isss better that thing is gone." He offered, knowing the snake would want to listen.
"Very well, but thisss better be good."
"Perfect, just one quick thing." He replied.
"Fawkes, nows a good time!" He yelled, switching to English and then continuing in parseltongue.
"Now then-" he started, noticing the snake tilt its head questioningly at his casual outburst. Having played perfectly into his trap he was thrilled to see Fawkes burst out right over the beasts eyes and tear one out with its beak in an instant. A moment later the bird had jumped to the other side and gouged deeply into the other orb. Crippled and in immense pain the snake began thrashing about once again. With it so distracted Harry made his move.
Running over to the closest piller he began climbing it as quickly as possible. After so many years of erosion there were plenty of things to use as foot and hand holds. He kept having to shrug his sword back onto his shoulder so that it did not clang against the stones but other than that he silently made his way up to the highest torch sconce, tossing the flaming stick as far as he could across the room. Hanging on the warm arm of metal he waited silently for the snake to collect itself and begin hunting him.
"Treacherousss vermin, I will enjoy digessssting you!" It shouted after calming down. The familiar signs that it was listening and tasting for him were present. As he had hoped it smelled the burnt out torch and went there first, hissing in anger as it realized he was not there. "I know you are ssstill here traitor. If you come face me with honor I will kill you quickly."
"Okay, toss me now. Good luck and dont hesitate like last time." Encouraged the hat to Harry. "If you let it eat me again I expect you to cut me out."
"Its the least I can do. Good luck to you as well." The boy replied. Silently slipping the Sort hat from his head he took aim and threw it several meters from the bottom of his pillar. Adjusting his grip he reached into his pocket and palmed a few of the stones he had prepared.
"Fool of a boy, come back and get me!" Shouted the hat on the floor. In only a few seconds the Bailisk had turned around and crossed the chamber to come staring down at the hat. Its tongue flicked out only inches from the headwear.
"You tassste of that blood-traitor Grtffindor but I have no interssst in you. Tell me where the hatchling issssss!" The Basilisk exclaimed, its tail smacking into the ground dramatically.
"Like hell I'd tell you. Run boy!" Replied the hat, giving the cue for Harry to toss his stones at the base of the pillar.
All at once the snake lashed over to where the stones had landed while Harry deftly swung his sword off his shoulder and caught it in his hand. Time seemed to slow as the snake paused, confused to have bit down on only air. Letting go of the sconce he began to fall, taking the sword in both hands and aiming for the top of the monsters head. A grim joy filled him as he felt the resistance of its scales being pierced and saw the shining blade sink into its skull. Hanging on with all his strength he rode the top of its head as the creature began thrashing around once again. Catching his knees against the side of its head he levered the sword towards him, slicing through the skull and out the side. At that moment the hissing stopped and the mass of black scales grew still with its head flopping to the ground bringing the small boy with it. Harry hit the ground with it and lay dizzy and breathless for a few minutes. A plopping sound nearby stirred him enough to roll onto his back and look at the approaching sound. He almost laughed at the comical sight of the hat hopping along the wet flagstones.
"Excellent work Harry, couldnt have done it better myself." It said when reaching him. The torn fabric making up its features were twisted into something resembling a smile.
"So what were you saying-" Harry started, taking in a deep breath, "about four tries?" A chuckle escaped from the enchanted hat.
"Four, twenty-four; all the same as long as the job gets done. Speaking of which, theres still a princess in need of rescuing."
"Blasted hat, you know that girl called me some real foul names. Im inclined to leave her down here for a while longer." Harry stood and stretched, massaging several bruises as best he could.
"What, dont miss the hero worship?" Now the hat started laughing rather loudly at him. After quickly trying to wipe off some of the blood and grime, refusing to reply to the hat, he picked it up and plonked it down on the head of the slain Basilisk, casting the strongest sticking charm he could.
"If you apologize when I come back I wont have someone take a picture this." Now Harry was the one laughing. It was short lived as the tensing of his muscles hurt quite a bit. The hat harrumphed.
"Maybe then ill get the proper credit for slaying this thing."
"We'll see about that."
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It took Harry a few minutes to find the secret room. Inside was an old table and some empty shelves, as well as a very distraught looking Ginny Weasley. Upon noticing who it was entering the room her face morphed into a sneer and she lept at him throwing several punches that would have hit him if his mind was not still fresh from battle with the Basilisk.
"Bloody hell would you just wait!" He yelled as he dodged to the other side of the room. "I dont blame you for attacking me but you should really give me a chance to explain."
"Like hell im letting you kill me that easily you asshole!" She lept at him again and this time he decided to just hit her with a body binding hex. Despite his better judgement he caught her before she hit the floor.
"Im leaving the door open and will unbind you when I leave. When you realize the truth I expect your thanks to be in the form of leaving me alone." Harry said angrily before going to the door and casting the counter to his spell. Running as fast as he could he headed to the exit of the Chamber, waving a particular finger at the hat on his way past. Just as he reached the door he heard a very high pitched scream which brought forth a chuckle from the tired boy.
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"Maybe things can go back to normal now." He mused to himself as he walked under the invisibility cloak. Footsteps up ahead caused him to flatten against the wall until two students passed by unaware of is presence.
As he walked this made Harry realize that things might never be be the way they were. Some in the school had left him alone out of fear or apathy, neither of which made him thankful to them. For those that had attacked him or failed to believe in him as a friend he felt immense anger towards. There was never any evidence against him other than circumstance. Before he wouldn't have believed so many would take up the ridiculous witch hunt against him so easily. Even now something in the back of his mind kept him in disbelief, wondering if something else caused all of the suspicion. He made a mental note to ask Dumbledore if the posessed book could have been the culprit behind even more grief in his life. However he did not get his hopes up that his betrayers were more innocent than they seemed. What he was certain of was that his Professors would never regain his trust.
When he had been attending class they had treated him even worse than the students. None of his work seemed to ever be done right and no matter what there was always something wrong with how he cast spells. Binns he decided to give a pass as the ghost was oblivious to the situation and likely couldnt have even been turned to for help anyway. Snape had unexpectedly treated him the same as always
but this did not improve the boys opinion of the potions master. The rest, most notably Flitwick and Mcgonagall, had acted unreasonably cold or vicious towards him. The deputy headmistress clearly had some bias against him now, which just made him all the more angry that she was judging without knowing him. Wether or not she was dumb enough to think he didn't know she sent the twins after him he had yet to find out, but he assumed she would act as if she had not. His own former head of house though was more than Harry could deal with. He had seen the short man as a brilliant and kind mentor. The kind of which he had wanted his whole life. When he had seen how quickly the short man threw him out of the house this image was shattered. As much as he would like to forgive him, if he wasn't going to be forgiving others for less then he would definitely not be making amends with his former dueling instructor.
Distracted from his deep thoughts, he didnt notice how much his posture began to straighten and steps widened as he carried on. All the cards were in his hands now, and despite not considering the angle himself, his subconscious recognized it. It brought back his confidence which he had all but lost.
If anyone had been able close enough, they would have been able to make out a minuscule spark of flame fade away from the edge of Harrys curse mark. The last ember finally burning out, consumed by the hole of darkness...
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"...And so it is with a happy heart I am proud to announce the close of this year at Hogwarts. For some, this goodbye will be our last, as a student at least. For the rest I will be seeing you soon anyway so there is no need to get emotional about our time apart." Students around the Great Hall chuckled at the headmasters humor. "We all know its nice to have a break at home with our loved ones, but I do hope that you return with everything you take away, and perhaps a bit more." Dumbledores grand end of the year speech was interrupted by the applause of the student body. When it died down he continued further. "As for those who have signed up, or wish to sign up, to stay a week longer to greet the awoken petrified students, the deadline will be an hour after the end of the feast. One week from now, another small gathering shall be held to say farewell to those affected by the attacks this year and any who wish may return to see them. Make sure all arrangements for returning students and family that day are made in advance if possible. Now without delay, let us all give one final cheer and say farewell!" Given the suddenness to his goodbye most of the listeners were a few moments to catch up. Suddenly though the entire room shook with applause. Nearly every student in the school had been close to a victim or two of the attacks and the school had been full of excitement and relief since the end of the whole ordeal. Just weeks before it was almost certain that they would not be able to return the next year and it made them all exuberant to know they were coming back.
Harry on the other hand, while not exactly in too rough shape anymore, was still by himself. He knew he probably didn't need to be anymore but he hadn't even attempted yet to get over how horribly some people had treated him. They weren't necessarily to blame, only having the information they had, but their actions were more than enough to break whatever connection he had with them. While he had of course spoken a few words to some when needed, and listened to all their apologies, only one or two had at least not done or said something to him during his exile. Even though he was always patient when listening to their pleas of forgiveness he never found himself able to think of anything to say back in return.
Since discovering the chamber he had spent his time alone after breaking up the plots of "Tom Riddle" the book. He remembered the completely horrified look on the old mans face when he spilled the beans about Lord Voldemort almost taking over the school, or at the very least nearly killing a bunch of students. He had of course hidden the secret of his supposed "immortality" from the man, not knowing himself what the true cause could be. Whatever it was, he had noticed a slight tug at times on his forehead where the scar should be. This was an especially strange sensation as in the past when he touched it himself there had never been a sensation where the curse mark rested.
Many of his thoughts were otherwise directed towards thinking about the implications of what he could do, and worrying about the negative side affects that would undoubtedly come with. Death, even temporary, couldn't be healthy for anyone which even he could see that at his age. It didnt bother him much for now as he found the experiences to blur away, especially the first couple of times when he had not been expecting it. Ultimately he did decide not to dwell too much on actively using his strange power, and reasoned he did not want to find out if killing himself would work the same as being murdered.
Outside of his confused thoughts he had happily taken advantage of having his wand back to the fullest. The first spell he had tried to cast was a conjuring spell for a boquet of flowers, followed by a charm that would cause the color to continuously change, both of which should be easy for his year level. Sadly the flowers had been slightly wilted and only turned blue and then red before settling on a dark brown. With a little experimentation he had it down, along with as many other spells he had been itching to try. Nearly all day he would cast whatever spells he could think of from his private studying during the year. This left him feeling very tired, unable to cast any more spells at certain points, but using his magic again was so exciting he hardly noticed.
Harry's solitude during the final week was met with a mixed response by the inhabitants of Hogwarts. The boy who lived was glad that most of the student body would simply apologize to him, and upon taking the hint he didn't want to talk any further, would then leave him alone. He had considered going easy on some of them, genuine apologies being hard to ignore, but never found himself actually doing it. Then there were the ones who expected their previous friendship to make up for what happened, barely giving an apology before cracking smiles and trying to pat him on the back. Cho and Cedric had approached him, with Cho acting as if she hadn't lead a group of girls that had tied Harry up and hung him naked upside down in front of the great hall. Cedric, whom had sent several nasty curses his way, was smart enough to only mutter "We were true idiots, Harry. Please forgive us one day." Before quickly dragging his girlfriend away as Harry readied himself to hex her face off.
On top of the apologies every other moment he allowed himself to be found was spent receiving thanks and praise for saving classmates or family members. An older red-head prefect from Gryffindor, one Percy Weasley, had simply handed him a scroll of parchment detailing a contract for a blood-debt by saving his two youngest siblings. When read later, it described how any member of the family, outside of those involved with the initial debt, could be called upon for anything within their power. Harry would eventually store the parchment in the bottom of his trunk and forget about it for so long that it simply vanished. Soon after he had received the parchment the Twins showed up, literally shuffling down the hallway on their knees with their heads to the floor.
"Harry, it goes without saying that we are truly sorry." Started the one on the left, eliciting a snort from Harry in response. There was a slight pause before the other continued.
"We don't deserve your forgiveness,"
"But we wanted you to know that we only did-"
"What you would have done if someone attacked Luna-"
"And was still walking around the castle."
"So we are sorry,"
"And if you ever find we deserve forgiveness,"
"We will be waiting..." A few moments of awkward silence followed, before the twins decided it was best to leave without even looking up and slid back on their knees around the corner. Their words made him rethink things though. Harry knew that a lot of his motivation for staying at school was to get back at Luna's attacker. While he knew the motivation for most of the assaults on him was unjust, many had merely been upset over someone they care about being harmed. He had spent the rest of the night considering what that meant, and he ultimately decided that he would have to start forgiving people next year. That would require some time apart however. Not to mention he would rather be left alone to deal with everything that happened. Until Luna awoke that is.
So the longest week of the year began for Harry as the school rested for one more night before departing. Soon he would be truly left with nothing to do but wait for his beloved friend to be healed.
With the Great Hall nowhere empty he stood from his chair and desk in the corner pulling the cloak of invisibility off his shoulders and into his bag. Even the clacks of his shoes on the stone as he exited sounded lonely, but they wouldn't be for long...
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A/N
Thanks again for reading!
~fumbls