AN: If you find yourself trapped by a machine and the only way to get out was to ask it a riddle it can't solve, ask this, Q: Why did the dog cross the road? A: Because it was chasing the chicken. The reason why no computer will ever be able to solve this is because they only function within the boundaries of the question. If you add in detail the machine didn't know before as a part of the answer, you win, even if it is obvious to you.

Hunting is fun. Harry and Luna each caught a rabbit and ate it for dinner; all in wolf form….There's something about hunting in wolf form that creates a wild thrill. Anyway, after eating, they transformed into their human selves and Harry made the grass grow around the carcasses to decompose them. Luna spoke now,

"Since we're technically married, do you want to live here instead of at your Aunt and Uncle's house?"

"Definitely! I'm glad you asked….Hey, we could grow our house near here."

"A great idea. Where do you suppose we grow it?"

"Possibly on top of a hill next to the river or something."

"What tree do you suppose we make it out of?"

"A sequoia, but we'll have to make it wider than most sequoias, and then hollow it out or something."

"Couldn't we just have the tree grow us some rooms?"

"Yes, that would be easier. That and the tree is more likely to survive."

And so, they sent Dumbledore a letter about living there, and then they got to drawing plans for their new home, setting up a table in front of Luna's home. So far, they drew out a plan for a huge sequoia that you enter through a parting in the roots covered by moss, then you would have to fly upward into a circular entrance in the center of the main room. This main room would be like a living room/work quarters. They might make windows, but they would have to figure out a way to grow perfectly clear wood so that they don't just have a bunch of holes threatening the structural integrity of the thing. Or, better yet, they could make a new species of plant that creates light in dark places. Then a small flight of stairs would take them to their bedroom, which would have a structurally supported entrance large enough for an adult Norwegian Ridgeback to enter, as well as several layers of a growth at the bottom of this floor that mimics cloth so that they could have a bed to sleep on.

Half way into planning this, they heard a 'POP!'ing sound. Harry looked around to see Dumbledore and Professor Snape walking towards them. Harry and Luna got up to greet them, Luna spoke first,

"Why are you two here?"

Dumbledore answered, "I came here to put protections around your house and Severus came here to take Harry to his Aunt and Uncle's to communicate to them that he can no longer live in their house." Then he went to in front of the house and started casting wards. Severus said,

"Let's go, Harry." and held out his arm. Harry's stomach started churning in anticipation. One trip through a straw later, they arrived at Privet Drive. They walked side by side down the sidewalk past Mrs. Fig, who smiled at them as she passed. Snape nodded to her and they continued to number four of Privet Drive. Snape knocked noisily on the door and they heard Vernon yell,

"Coming!" Seconds and the sound of breaking glass later, they were greeted by a beet red and bearded face. Vernon had obviously been drinking some form of hard liquor like it was water, because he smelled of Vodka and couldn't hold himself upright correctly. It took a while for Vernon to recognize who was at the door. He recognized Harry first, saying in the moments before he recognized Snape, "Get away from this house you filthy little-" and then he recognized Snape, who was in full wizard's clothing. "Why the heck are you dressed like a weirdo?"

Snape ignored the question, saying, "Is Mrs. Dursley here at the moment?" It took a while for him to think, but Vernon finally had an answer.

"Ummmmmmm….No? Um….I mean, yes. PETUNIA!"

"Coming, dear!" She yelled from the living room. When she saw them, she said, "What are you two doing here on Christmas? Why are you dressed like that?" and then her eyes widened. "Are you one of them?!"

Snape casually drew his wand and spoke with a slow, low pitched, and nasally tone that hinted at impending doom, pronouncing every syllable. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, you are under arrest for the neglect and abuse of two children, one of them magical. As per paragraph three of the 'Regulation of Child Abuse Act' of 1977, you will be sent to Azkaban for a total of three days or more, depending upon the severity of the crimes you have committed. Neither of your children will be living with you any longer and neither of your children's locations will ever be disclosed to you. You will-"

Aunt Petunia may have been scared speechless, but that didn't stop Vernon from putting them in more danger, "What's this rubbish! You have no right to threaten me, sir, this is my house and I've done nothing wrong!"

Snape's wand flicked to him, paralyzing him and causing him to fall on his face, and before he even began to tilt forward, Petunia was paralyzed as well. Then he said in a tone that would have scared the cloak off a dementor, "I am afraid you are incorrect, Mr. Dursley." He then crouched to whisper in Vernon's ear, "You two have done everything wrong." He then stood up and finished what he was saying before, "You will now be transported to a hearing concerning the charges brought against you, courtesy of the Ministry of Magic. At this hearing you will be interrogated through magical means. I have personally recommended the means with which you shall be interrogated. May it be the most painful experience you have ever felt or will ever feel. You do not have a right to remain silent. You do not have a right to an attorney. You do not have any rights to speak of….You will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth without the aid of another whether you choose to or not." And with that, he pointed his wand at each of them and they were apparated somewhere else, probably the Ministry of Magic. Snape said, "I've always wanted to do that." Dudley saw the whole thing from behind them. He stood, gaping at the professor and Harry, not knowing how to react.

Harry spoke to Dudley, "Hello, Dudley."

"Um, Hi." He said, still stunned.

Snape spoke now, "Dudley Dursley, you will be tested for magical talent. If you are found to be magical, you will live with Harry. If you are not, you will live with the most suitable muggle guardians we can find that have no knowledge of Vernon or Petunia. Do you accept these terms?"

"Yes, and I am magical."

Snape looked surprised at this, "How can you know-?"

Suddenly, an owl flew in and landed on Snape's shoulder, a letter in its beak. Severus, unperturbed by this (unlike Dudley, who gasped in wonder), plucked the letter from its beak and read it. The front said,

Severus Snape

Front Door Step

4 Privet Drive

Winging

Surrey

The inside had a small piece of parchment with only a few words written in haste on it.

Dear Professor Snape,

We have recently detected magic in the Dursley's house. We don't know what type or by whom. Thought you ought to know. I hope the owl gets there fast enough.

In high regard,

Mafalda Hopkirk

Improper Use of Magic Office

Ministry of Magic

Harry read it beside him. After he was done, he said to Snape, "Wait, I thought Unaided Magic was supposed to be undetectable."

"We put wards around your home that allowed us to detect any form of magic being caused or activated inside."

Dudley spoke, "What does that letter say?"

Snape answered, "It says that magic was worked inside your home. Are you the one who did it?"

"I think so. I asked for plants for Christmas and they were given to me a month ago as an early Christmas present. I got a few vines and some flowers. Well, I was always amazed by how you made those trees at the park grow, Harry, so I tried to make the plants grow. Just a couple of minutes ago I was able to make a bud open, ever so slowly, when all of the other buds were shut."

Snape then changed his thought process, focusing instead on how the two reacted. "Hey, why is it that you two aren't completely freaking out about Vernon and Petunia?"

Dudley spoke first, "Well….they did deserve it, didn't they? With how they treated Harry all these years, I'm surprised you guys haven't done this sooner. Why haven't you done this sooner?"

"Simply because that would break a number of protections that relied on Harry calling this place home and being accepted here. Why didn't you react, Harry?"

"Dudley said it. They deserved what they got. Although, I was surprised. I thought you were coming here to tell them that I was joining some advanced program and would never see them again."

Snape got to the point. "Well, anyway, Dudley, do you want to come live with Harry?"

"Yes."

"Very well. You two hold onto my arms."

-oOoOo-

A quick trip to Luna's home and Dudley fell to the floor. Harry only stumbled. Luna and Dumbledore were both waiting. They were at a table talking about Luna's and Harry's plan to grow a house. When they arrived, Dumbledore stood, saying,

"Ah. I see Dudley is a wizard. I assume you did all that you came to do?"

Snape said, "Yes, Dumbledore. Everything went well."

"That's good. I suppose you should go on without me, Severus. Harry, Luna and I have a few matters to discuss." and to Dudley he said, "Do not worry, Dudley. Of all of the witches and wizards I have ever met, these are by far the strangest, and that is saying something. If you wish to be housed somewhere else, somewhere that suits you better, I believe we can make arrangements."

Dudley, who was looking around at the garden, house, and wide-open spaces with wide eyes, said, "No….I think I'll be fine right here, thank you."

"Indeed. Well, if you are sure; Luna, Harry, follow me." Dumbledore said, walking in the direction of the forest. Dudley explored the inside of the house with Xenophilius and Snape apparated away. Harry told Norberta that they were coming with Dumbledore. They were walking down a forest path Harry had built and then Dumbledore's Phoenix, Fawkes, swooped down and landed on his shoulder lightly. Harry saw a silver bond between them.

"Dumbledore….I thought you couldn't effectively use Unaided Magic."

"Well, Harry, it appears you were a little too hasty to assume we couldn't use it. The truth is, we just learn it much slower than most. As you know, we all already use Light Magic pretty well. However, because we learn everything else so slow, we must specialize early or we will never effectively use any of it. The only other kinds of Unaided Magic I can use are Soul Magic and Fire Magic, and I suspect I can use two because of my bond with Fawkes. Severus uses Shadow Magic. Sprout uses Growth Magic. Hagrid uses Soul Magic. McGonagall uses Energy Magic. Lockhart learned Unaided Magic at an early age, but was only ever taught Light Magic and Soul Magic."

"Interesting. I wonder what he has bonded to."

"A mixed group of several werewolves and more humans, he tells me. He used to use these bonds to stop himself and others from completely losing their minds every full moon. A sort of anchor for his mind, if you will. Anyway, that's not what I came to discuss. You are aware of Colin Creevey's petrification?"

"Well, Luna and I now share all that we know with each other, so yes. I also know that the creature from the Chamber of Secrets is a basilisk, which explains why I was the only one that could hear it."

"Good. Now, I have a feeling that you are Slytherin's heir. I would normally assume that the scar on your forehead gave you the ability to speak parseltongue, but that wouldn't follow, as Voldemort's consciousness would have to take you over for that to even work. So, it is much more likely for you to be Slytherin's heir. That was practically proven to me when Ron came to Hogwarts early to investigate the Chamber of Secrets. He started by looking into Colin's mind and was petrified somehow. He now lies on a hospital bed until he can be restored by the mandrakes. I think this strange because you saw the eyes of a Basilisk through the mind of Filches cat and you only felt a pain in your chest. You were not petrified. It is possible that your direct heritage gives you some resistance to its glare."

"...So, you want me to be the only one to enter the chamber when and if we find the entrance? You want me to kill the Basilisk?"

Nodding, he said, "You are the only one with even a remote chance of success. Especially considering that you would likely be able to wrest control of the Basilisk from whoever has been using it recently."

Luna spoke up. "No." They stopped and turned to look at her. Harry felt a great deal of anger and more fear coming off from her. Though her demeanor was calm, it was also intimidating. "I'm not going to risk his death. We only just bonded this year and our bond changed to Gold this morning. There is no way he is going to do it."

Harry spoke now, "Luna, would you please consider that over half of the school is in danger?"

"I don't care about them, I care about you."

Dumbledore cut in, "Unfortunately, Luna, Muggles are no longer the other heir's target. Harry is."

"What?" She said, now looking like she would sooner chain Harry to a tree than let him go back to school.

"The thing is, Luna, Voldemort is the other heir."

Harry asked, "How?"

"I don't know, but I do know that Voldemort is trying to come back again, and now you are his primary target. The last time the chamber was opened, Voldemort, or Tom Riddle as is his true name, opened it, though he was able to pin it on Hagrid and his pet Acromantula."

"Aragog?" Harry and Luna asked together, now familiar with the secretive spider they had bonded so well to. How anyone could think such a spider was the monster, as caring as he was for his sons and daughters, was a mystery to them.

"Yes, unfortunately. That's the reason why Hagrid is now the Keeper of Keys and Grounds, and why I hide that his umbrella is his repaired wand. Now, Luna, think. Would you rather Harry take on Voldemort on his own terms, or would you allow him to ambush Harry in his sleep? Better yet, which would he more likely survive. And, before you consider hiding him, remember what happened to his parents. They hid, but they died just the same. I'll leave you to think on this, you two. Have a good rest of your day. I'm sorry that those as young as yourselves have this burden. If I could take your place, I would in a heartbeat." And, with a sorrowful expression on his face, he turned and was gone.

-oOoOo-

Harry and Luna spent most of the rest of their Christmas planning their house. They made presents for each other, and found a present from someone they didn't know under their Christmas tree. Harry got a black cloak from Luna and Xenophilius made out of non-conductive fabric and copper wire with a matching glove for his left hand, which left his palm clear of fabric and rimmed with copper. Each had runes that helped cool it down when electricity ran through it. This cloak and glove allowed his own electricity to pass through him while protecting him from spark-based offensive spells. It also allowed him to do much more damage with electricity and store much more energy-based magic within him. He also got an invisibility cloak from someone anonymous.

Harry gave Luna and Xenophilius several special flowers. He called them Eternity Flowers because, on top of everything else he made it do, he made it heal itself at an incredibly fast pace as well as be able to grow new vines at a protected section of its root, making it almost impossible to kill entirely. He made them out of a few Lotus flowers he found on the muddy bank next to the river. He gave the flower the ability to grow anywhere and then made it an aggressive and highly resilient vine with big leaves and relatively thin vines for fast growth. He then gave it the ability to be pollinated by any insect or bird. After that, he changed how it planted its seeds. Instead of the normal way of spreading, each flower on a single root would fly off of the stem up to the thermals above and would travel for several days, dropping up to five - ten tiny seeds onto the dirt below along the way. These seeds were too small to kill anyone when landing. As a final touch, he gave each flower deep neon blue petals covered in very small gold specks and made them glow those colors in the dark, then made them grow all over their house, covering every inch in aggressive vines. They smelled like apple pie. He was also planning on giving some to Dumbledore. Perhaps he would bring some to the grounds? Have them growing on the Whomping willow?

Anyway, Christmas eventually ended and school resumed. When they got off of the train, Dumbledore was standing right in front of them. "Come with me." He said, leading Malfoy (who was now in their group) Harry, Luna, and Neville to the hospital wing. Along the way, Harry and Luna had a short exchange of feelings, and of questioning. During this connection, there was a resounding feeling of peace and completeness amongst the two, while the other two were very nervous. When they got to the hospital wing, they saw the world through two minds and their intelligences were combined into one. They knew, before they even arrived, that they were heading to the hospital wing because Hermione had been petrified, which explains why she wasn't with them. She must have gone to school early with Ron, perhaps hoping to investigate the chamber together.

When they did arrive at the hospital wing, Malfoy and Neville reacted negatively at Hermione's petrified body, while Luna and Harry had already gotten over the surprise on the way there. They now began to investigate. Harry didn't bother checking her mind. He knew what he would find there. However, he did check her pockets as Luna simultaneously checked her closed hand. He only found her wand in her pocket and put it back. Luna, however, found a slip of paper that said simply, "Girl's bathroom."

Luna thought to Harry as she burned it covertly, "Well, that certainly simplifies it for us."

Harry thought back, "Yes. Should we guard the entrance?"

"I will stand at the entrance. You should go inside and destroy the monster. Or you could bond with it like Fluffy."

"Agreed." And with that, Harry and Luna went to their common room and left through the bedroom window in their shadow forms. They flew into the lowest window they could find (practically invisible, as it was nighttime) and, still in shadow form, went to the girl's bathroom. When they got there, they looked and they looked, but they couldn't find anything in the minutes they were there before Moaning Myrtle showed up and said,

"What is a young couple such as you doing alone in a girl's bathroom the night after Christmas?"

Harry said, "Odd as it sounds, looking for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."

Myrtle now took up a dreamy tone, "You know, sixteen years ago I died right here in this cubicle."

Luna asked, thinking it was strange for someone to die without wounds (she had no wounds that showed how she died) in this particular bathroom, "How exactly did you die, Luna?"

She answered in the same dreamy tone, "Well, I don't know. I had been crying my eyes out because a girl had made fun of my glasses. I heard someone come in and mutter something in a made up language. I could tell it was a man because it was deep, so I opened up the stall and told him to 'Go Away!' and….I died. I decided to delay crossing over to the other side of death because I wanted to know what killed me, and possibly thank it or him if I could. Unfortunately, the last thing I remember, and the only thing I know, is a pair of large yellow eyes over there by those sinks." and at this she sobbed a little. "I've tried, but there's something that prevents me from moving through it, so I've decided to go other places in the castle in recent years, looking for a way around the wards. I have found none." Then she sobbed deeply, flew up into the air, and crashed down into a toilet, spraying the cubicle with water.

Harry and Luna now looked for some indicator of the entrance as they thought back and forth, Luna asking first.

"What do you think we should be looking for?"

"Any sign that Slytherin would use to tell his children that this is the entrance."

"So, like a snake or something?"

"Yes. If it comes in the form of a marking, the more realistic, the better."

"This snake, here, looks pretty realistic, but it's not a marking." Luna said, showing Harry a mental image. He went to the front sink where Luna was looking and she showed him a realistic snake poking out of the metal of a sink knob. He turned the knob and no water came out, nor did any entrance reveal itself. Luna spoke now, "Perhaps parseltongue?"

"Yes, I thought that as well." Harry thought, now trying to speak it. "Open." He said to the snake. Nothing happened. He said it again and the same.

"Um….That was English. Shall I try?"

"Of course." Harry said, backing up a little. Luna stared at the snake for a while. Harry could feel her admire it as if it was a real and beautiful snake of black scales.

"Open." She said in a strange voice. Immediately, the sink sank into the ground and the entrance was revealed. Impressive. Thinking to Harry, she said, "You must feel that the image is actually a real snake in order to speak to it."

"I figured as much."

"I know. Down you go, then." Luna thought in a worried tone. Harry went over to the entrance, which took the form of a ramp. Before he left, he turned to Luna and held her waist in his left hand and the bottom of the back of her head with his right, slowly kissing her. As they are always in each other's minds, this didn't frighten her, but only came as a pleasant surprise. Their patronus armor glowed into existence for only a few seconds, lasting even after they were done kissing. Then, looking back at Luna, he transformed into a pillar of shadow and disappeared into the depths. A dramatic exit fit for a dramatic death.

Luna stood for what seemed like an hour that was actually about twelve minutes when Harry drifted back into the room. The very moment he drifted into the chamber, she couldn't feel his mind any longer, though the bond still existed. The moment he came back, she asked him the all important question. "What happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing anywhere! I saw a massive snakeskin, but there's nothing else! How in the hell can you have a bloody Chamber of Secrets without a bloody monster?!"

"Calm down, my love. I'm sure there's an explanation."

"... (sigh) yes, and we will find it in due time. For now we need to-"

"-guard the chamber secretly in the hopes of-"

"-catching the-"

"-heir-"

"-in-"

"-the-"

"-act."

Then they both stopped thinking for a moment. Without realizing it, their thoughts and identity melded itself into one individual mind. Strange. They slowly unentangled their minds from each other, being careful not to switch anything. Then, when they were apart, they thought to each other the same thing simultaneously,

"Agreed."

-oOoOo-

The days went by slowly. Neither Luna nor Harry found it very easy to go anywhere near the chamber because Dumbledore had now put pictures in every single room in the entire castle. The only rooms he wasn't allowed to put pictures in was the bathrooms and dormitories. However, because of the invisibility cloak, they were still able to enter, just not as quickly as they could in their shadow form.

Harry spent most of his time in the chamber now, and Luna spent her time at the entrance. It was a pretty nerve-wracking business, since neither person knew what was going on with the other. At first he explored the numerous tunnels, finding nothing but a curious mind-ward set around the head of the Slytherin statue in the main chamber. It was similar to the wards in the chamber itself that was preventing him from communicating with Luna. After exploring and mapping the entire tunnel system on his first day, he asked Luna about the ward. She said that it was very likely that it was put there to prevent anyone bonding with the monster in safety, which told them that the monster was inside the statue. After that, Harry stayed hidden behind the statue, waiting for the monster to come out. After several weeks, nothing happened, and he began doing his homework as he waited.

At about this time, the club that had posted sign-up sheets months ago was now being held. Not surprising was the fact that most of the school had shown up. It was held in the Great Hall for this reason. Harry and Luna came, and Harry brought along Cuddles for dueling purposes, setting defensive spells around her first.

When Harry entered the great hall, it had a reasonable amount of people in it. The back of the great hall had three adults standing in a group talking to each other. Harry recognized Snape and Lockhart, but the third individual he didn't recognize. The third had a scarred face and grizzly hair. One of his eyes was replaced by a blue one, which whizzed in its socket, as if trying to absorb every detail in the room. When he entered, Harry noticed that the eye had paused on him for a second, and then returned to its whizzing. He could see the slightest smile pull on the man's scarred visage. After a while, Harry and Luna were joined by Neville and Malfoy. Harry and Luna felt a stab of emotional pain when remembering why Ron and Hermione couldn't join them.

Seconds later, Lockhart and the others turned around and he said,

"Ladies and gentleman, attention!" The room became deathly quiet, "Now, for reasons I am sure you all know, this school needs a form of training for every student focusing on the practical application of defense. So, I've volunteered to host this dueling club within the great hall. I have two assistants here, though they are arguably more skilled than I am at dueling. One, as you know is Severus Snape. The other is Alastair Moody. Now, as I understand, many of you have had training from Harry Potter's classes. Because of this, I expect it to be interesting. To start us off; for those who don't know how to cast a simple defensive spell, you must say 'Protego' in order to cast it. Professor Snape and I will demonstrate.

With that, Snape and Lockhart took the left and right sides of the room and faced each other. They drew their wands, bowed, and then stood ready, wands facing each other. Lockhart began,

"3...2...1...go." Snape said lazily, 'Expelliarmus!' then Lockhart said 'Protego!' and the spell hit an invisible shield, impacting with a small spark, leaving a shockwave on the shield like water. They stopped and turned towards the audience. Lockhart said,

"There you have it. I want you all to separate into pairs and dual. Remember, the purpose is to disarm only. I don't want to catch any of you casting unforgivable curses on each other." Everyone got into groups. Harry went with Malfoy and Luna went with Neville. When Harry and Luna parted, Luna said,

"Goodbye, Furry Potter." Harry grinned a little at this. He couldn't believe she remembered! That was months ago! He could feel her humor and affection seep through their bond. Anyway, Malfoy and Harry faced each other, wands drawn.

"Scared, Potter?" He said, smiling in a friendly manner.

"No, my apprentice. I am not even scared of death." Harry replied humorously. Despite the humor, Draco knew he was serious. He really wasn't scared. Of anything. Ever. This wasn't from some proud 'I ain't never scared of nothin' motto, but from an incredible peace inside of himself. He didn't know where it came from at the time. He never figured it out until he was seventeen. Words from Lockhart could be heard above the gentle whispers of the crowd.

"I want you to begin in three...two….one….now." Harry and Malfoy knew that spells were being launched all around them. Most of the kids that Harry had never taught were disarmed when the first spells were cast. Harry let Malfoy cast the first spell, siphoning it off and casting his spell. Malfoy copied his siphon and simply waited for another spell. They paused for a second and then Harry said,

"You know, I think that spell siphon is a little OP."

"Yes, it is."

Harry then said 'Lumos', flicking his wand at Draco's siphon. As with all other things made of shadow, the siphon collapsed when the bright light was introduced. Harry then neutralized Draco's spell with his siphon and followed up with three spells split from one stinging spell. He blocked two with his 'Protego', but noticed the third coming up behind him too late. Upon Draco receiving a sharp pain in his back, Harry launched a spell he invented. A silent spell that has the same effect as the Expelliarmus, but tears through the 'Protego' while retaining its effect. It's completely useless against the siphon, but still very useful since the only people who truly knew how to make the siphon were all within this school. As expected, Malfoy said 'Protego' and was disarmed.

Harry was interrupted by a gruff voice. "Wait, how did you manage to disarm him even after he protected himself?"

"I invented a silent version of the Expelliarmus that punctures through the Protego while keeping its effect."

"Oh. I already know that one. All you did was modify the normal Expelliarmus."

Lockhart then said at the front, interrupting all dueling, "Well….that was certainly a good start, but we need to see how someone really duels. Moody! Any pair you thought was exceptional?"

Alastair, being the man he is, clapped his hand down on Harry's shoulder, "I thought Harry and Draco, here, were a notch better than some others I saw."

"Right. Draco, Harry, to the front, please." They did as he was told. Harry said to Draco as they were parting,

"Don't hold back, Draco."

"I won't." He replied with a savage grin. This was going to be fun.

When Draco and Harry got to their respective sides of the room, Snape whispered into Draco's ear. Harry, having his improved hearing, heard Snape say, "Summon a snake the first thing you do. This might distract him."

Then the duel began. Draco started them off with 'Serpensortia!' His wand made a 'BANG!' and a snake of average size flew out of his wand and landed between them. Harry immediately put up his patronus armor to ward off any spells Draco might throw at him as he briefly studied the snake. Draco wisely didn't cast any more spells. It was, he found, highly poisonous. That wasn't going to do him much good against Harry, but could easily kill another student. Furthermore, he found that this 'snake' wasn't really a snake at all. It was a mindless killing machine that only obeyed its master, which was nothing like any of the other snakes he had met. He quickly found that it was impossible to bond with it. That's why Harry didn't think twice about burning the monster alive.

"Incendio!" Harry said, and the little snake-version-of-a-psychopath burnt to ash in seconds. This seemed to surprise everyone except Norberta and Luna. Everyone knew that he had a passion for life. For many of those bonded to Harry, to see him incinerate a snake was as strange as seeing Pennywise lovingly hug a small child, saying 'I'm sorry you lost your boat, Georgy. Do you want a balloon? They float! They all float, Georgy! Just like your boat! Would that make it better, Georgy?', not that they knew of that muggle book. Seeing Harry incinerate a living thing was like seeing a darker side of the world for the first time to many of them, and was a rather scary contrast to the 'life is sacred' attitude he usually adopted. This made them doubt that Harry was honest about not being the heir that was attacking people. This made them accept the possibility that he could have been fooling all of them with a cleverly constructed mask. No one would suspect a loving, passionate person such as Harry to be the heir trying to kill Muggleborn, just as no one would suspect that a poor, stuttering Quirrell would try to bring a dark lord back to life, and those thoughts are exactly why they suspected Harry now. Many of them wondered if this was what kind of thing Lockhart was warning about.

A boy in the crowd yelled, "What are you playing at?" Harry looked into the crowd and couldn't find out who asked. He looked at the faces in the crowd and saw fear in their eyes. More, he smelled the fear. The room stank with its powerful scent, and Harry's wolfish instincts were brought out because of it. His patronus armor collapsed when this happened. Harry, barely forcing back the transformation, grabbed his head in his hands and gritted his teeth. This caused many people to become much more frightened, which only added to Harry's problem. If it weren't for his various companions that he had bonded to, he would have transformed before he was able to sprint out of the room.

-oOoOo-

Harry ran, rather than flew, as quickly as he could to his common room, because he couldn't use unaided magic. Just as he shut the door, hair began to crop up all over his body. The smell was all over him. Everything smelled of salty sweat, bitter fear hormones, and sour adrenaline. Harry, not knowing that he would be transforming today, hadn't worn any clothes enchanted to disappear when he transformed. The transformation was as slow and as painful as a normal werewolf's transformation for some reason. As Harry tore through his clothes with his claws, Luna and Lockhart entered the room at the same time, fur cropping up all over their bodies as well. Luna seemed to be the only calm one, was the only one who seemed to be wearing transformation clothes, and her transformation was quicker than theirs. The man in the picture frame above the fireplace was gone when Harry looked. Harry led the way to the unused bedroom that Harry had only entered once before at the beginning of the year.

When they entered, it was rather cramped, but at least there was a queen size bed they could lay on. Lockhart tore up the door with his claws, growling as his did so. Harry smashed the desk chair to smithereens. Luna, however, just sat in the corner, watching them behave like….well, animals. She did this with a humorous expression on her face, if ever a werewolf had one. Eventually, the smell of fear was purged from their fur with their exertions, and their minds loosened. Luna transformed back to normal before the other two and took Harry into their bedroom. On the way across the hall, Luna saw Dumbledore enter the room quietly, carrying a set of robes. Harry didn't flip out like Luna had expected and they entered their room without incident.

Upon entering the room, Harry went directly to the closet and grabbed a set of clothes, transforming back into human form. Luna looked away, blushing a deep red. Harry noticed this and mentally giggled while putting on his clothes. This time the transformation was quick. After putting on his clothes, they opened the door and went back into the common room where they found Dumbledore standing, absent of the robes he was carrying.

"Hello, Albus." Luna said.

"Hello, Luna. Do either of you know what happened?"

Harry spoke up, "Well….I was dueling Draco in that new dueling club and incinerated a snake he had summoned. Then everyone just suddenly became extremely afraid. I don't really know much of why that made me transform, but it did."

Luna then said, "I felt the fear Harry sensed bring out the more violent instincts of his wolf-self out, where it loosely separated itself from the human-self and took form in the forefront of his mind, forcing him to transform. Strangely, I had no such reaction. Lupin had a similar reaction but wasn't affected as deeply. I felt a multitude of minds calming both of them and it saved them enough time to make it to the common room with me before transforming."

Lockhart then came out of the unused bedroom and said, "Well, that was strange. What just happened?"

Harry said, "Your wolfish instincts reacted to the fear you smelled, taking control of your mind."

"Didn't you cure that?"

"No, we only broke down the barrier between wolf and man, allowing the man to control the wolf. Now we must control our instincts to prevent the wolf from becoming more powerful than the man."

"How in the hell do we do that?"

"With time we will know."

Dumbledore then asked, "Luna, why do you think you didn't react as they did?"

"It could be my naturally calm demeanor, or that I am a female, or that I was at the back of the class, furthest away from the fear. Perhaps a mixture of those things."

He nodded, "Interesting. You three will give me updates on your conditions, yes?"

Harry and Luna spoke in unison, without any overlap, which seamlessly mixed the tones. "If anything changes, you'll be the first to know."

Lockhart, who had recently made a cup of tea, spit the tea in his mouth back into his cup, splashing tea all over himself and the hardwood floor. Harry and Luna looked at him with the same questioning expression. Dumbledore asked,

"Do you two often say things in unison now?"

Harry and Luna said, "I don't talk in unison, do I?" Then parted their minds from each other when they realized what they were doing. Harry and Luna, having been through a strange experience, had melded their minds to completely understand what the other had went through almost automatically. This made them speak and act as one person. Dumbledore laughed at this,

"You know, this reminds me of something Aristotle once said; 'Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.' Fitting for this situation, don't you think?"

Lockhart said, "I'll say! How do you two do that, anyway?"

They did it again without noticing, "Our minds become one. Our bond is now so powerful that we are able to meld our minds together, sometimes without realizing it, apparently." Then Harry stopped talking and Luna continued as Harry began wondering why is it that the people in the dueling club where scared in the first place. "We've been keeping our minds together so much that we now learn and think with the same mind. Sometimes this causes us to do the same thing at once, which can be a little alarming to others. Even some skills, such as parseltongue, have been able to cross over our bond."

Harry spoke now, "I think that the reason why they were afraid is because they knew that I loved animals, particularly reptilians, and then they saw me kill a snake. Many of them must have seen this, thought that I had lied to them about my love for snakes, and then took that to its furthest conclusion; that I am a cold blooded killer who has opened the Chamber of Secrets and is trying to kill people."

"That seems to match the emotions I picked up from the other's minds."

The conversation degraded into obvious banter and small talk. Lockhart and Dumbledore eventually left and Harry repaired the damages of the unused room, then Luna and he went back to the Chamber of Secrets to guard it. After a few hours, Harry hid in the shadows and did his homework. Potions, his least favorite class, had assigned another essay. Two scrolls long. He was so sucked into writing that he didn't notice Ginny Weasley walk into the chamber. He didn't notice who she was dragging with her. He didn't notice her point her wand at Harry. Until it was too late, that is.

Harry glanced up briefly and a blur of red registered to him. He looked now and saw Ginny with her wand pointed at him. Then, a figure on her left seemed to materialize on her left and put a hand on her shoulder. He smiled an evil smile. Ginny fainted, falling onto the floor. Harry looked down at what Ginny was dragging. What he saw made his blood boil.

"Luna."

AN: Alright, it's official. I am evil. That kind of cliffhanger? What do you think about it? Any comments? Anything you want to happen in this book's future? I won't know if you won't tell me, so tell me!