Sorry again for the long wait! My week has been rather hectic…
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Within the Chamber she Lies
Chapter 11: Within two weeks…
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His return had been rather odd. Moody had once again scared Vernon to hell and back again and gone back to Hogwarts with a simple grunted "Behave" to Harry. Luckily it had been dark outside so nobody had seen the green eyes darken in a wicked gleam.
As soon as Moody had disappeared in the sky the boy was shoved inside the house and locked in Dudley's second bedroom with an enraged cry from the huge man. "IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO HAVE HIM TEINT OUR HOUSE IN THE SUMMER! NOW HE'S GOING TO HAVE TO STAY HERE FOR TWO WHOLE WEEKS! FREAK!"
Harry, from his sitting position on the floor, growled low and sneered, speaking loud enough for Vernon, Petunia and Dudley to hear. "It's not as if I wanted to come back here willingly!"
The Boy-Who-Lived heard hurried shuffling behind the bedroom door but, as surprising as it sounds, Vernon didn't bother to enter and give him one of his punishments. "You dare speak back to me, Freak! Oh, how I long for the day when you turn seventeen! (The age for a wizard to perform legal magic and be an adult). I'll kick you out of the house with a smile!" Vernon said gleefully from behind the door.
"You won't have to kick me out, Vernon! I'll show myself out as soon as midnight sounds!" Harry grunted back, his fist tightening around his wand: Holly and Phoenix feather, 13 inches.
Vernon gave a harsh bark of laughter and Harry heard the man walking away, the floorboards of the hallway creaking painfully under each of his steps. "It's the first time we're both agreeing on the same thing, boy!"
Harry kept silent and hid his wand and cloak, along with his diminished trunk, under the loose floorboard he had discovered years ago. He had decided to leave Hedwig in the owlery so he didn't have to worry about her.
Harry decided to wait all week before going to Diagon Alley, at least until Vernon forgot about him being in the house. He had learned to stay quiet and sneak around at night; he knew each creaking floorboard and how to avoid them. And since he had two baskets full of food the only reason he would have to get out is to go to the bathroom.
He took out a quill that automatically regained its original size, some ink and a bunch of parchments and books. "It was a good thing to spell this stuff to go back to their normal sizes when I touched them. Dobby must've put the same spell on the food. I hate this stupid underage wizard magic law!" he muttered discontentedly.
"Oh well, might as well do the best of it. I have a lot of homework and study to do." Mindless of the time it was, Harry set off to do his homework.
"This is going to be a long week…"
………
Back at Hogwarts, things were far from being peaceful; Umbridge was always sporting that wide smile and kept giving points to the Slytherin students while taking a huge amount off the Gryffindors for almost no valid reason.
Ron liked to call it her 'little power trip' since Harry was gone and nobody couldn't do anything about it.
She seemed to gain more confidence and power as days went by; Remus obviously kept his distance from her since he was considered a dark creature. That, and the full moon was coming in a couple of days.
The werewolf in him often had the urge to rip the infernal woman's throat to shreds just for the fun of it and it almost made Remus chuckle if it hadn't been such a serious situation. He would be sent to his death, yet he would remain a hero to Hogwarts. Stupid curse…
Snape was taking advantage of the fact that Potter was away to mock the boy and make his Slytherin students laugh during potions class, much to the dismay of Ron, Hermione and every other Gryffindors qualified by the NEWTs in the class.
However, down in the bowel of the castle, lower even than Snape's dungeons, things were very different. There, alone in the Chamber of Secrets, a girl was meditating.
Tendrils of magic kept flowing around her as she slowly regained her unusual power. A blue eye opened and glanced furtively at the magically heated egg, magic she had regained.
Satisfied with the egg's condition, she closed her blue eye and continued to relax her mind, all the while thinking about a certain green eyed boy. Unknown to her, the old yellowed egg shook for a mere second before going back to its normal unmoving state.
………
Oh, how he loved his father's cloak! Harry waited patiently for the Dursleys to go to work and for Dudley to go to school and he slipped it on carefully so it covered every inch of his body. Getting out by the backyard to not raise suspicions by the front door opening alone, he walked around the house and started his trek down Privet Drive.
As he thought, Mundungus "Dung" Fletcher was prowling around the house, trying his best not to look suspicious. Harry almost snorted; Dung always looked shady, and he certainly wasn't the best person to check on the Boy-Who-Lived since the guy's daily activities were more than doubtful.
Harry walked beside an inattentive Dung and continued swiftly down the street and towards another. After walking for about 20 minutes, he stopped near an alleyway and finally lifted his wand above his head.
On cue, the Knight Bus appeared with a loud Bang! And Harry almost lost his footing. Stan showed up, as usual, but the man frowned when he saw no one waiting to take the bus. "Stupid pranksters," he muttered angrily, "I hate it when they do that!"
He told the conductor to move along towards the next stop with a grumble and, seconds later, there wasn't any trace left of the magical bus having been there.
An hour later it reappeared in front of an old pub. A few passengers got off and the still invisible Harry was one of them. His mood had changed from energetic to disgruntled during the trip.
He was lucky to have his father's cloak because his hair probably was a total mess and he was just glad not to have been sick in the bus. The darned thing seemed only to jerk more as the years went by. Still, he had left 2 galleons near where Stan was sitting. It must've been the noble and rightful Gryffindor in him that made him do that.
Tom was scrubbing his counter when Harry slipped inside the Leaky Cauldron at the same time as the few Knight Bus passengers who had gotten off at the same time as him, and he slipped as easily in Diagon Alley using the same strategy.
He quickly set off towards Knockturn Alley, walking near the shops so he wouldn't be pushed around. Still, there were less people walking around than when it was the start of the school year.
He found the entrance of Knockturn Alley and, with a quick intake of breath, he set off to find the library he was looking for. Dark witches and wizards were making suspicious transactions in the dimly lit alleys and he had to duck a few times when two grouchy wizards started to bicker and throw curses at each other.
With all that he faced, Harry was no longer scared of this place and could even have showed them a thing or two. Unfortunately he couldn't use his magic outside of Hogwarts, less he wanted the ministry to follow his magic trail; and this wasn't the best of places for the popular Boy-Who-Lived to be found.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally found the damned library "Books of the Dark World" and stopped to rake his nerves and rearrange himself to look presentable. He tamed his dark hair with Dudley's hair gel (and shuddered thinking about Snape's hair) and made sure his scar was covered completely, afterwards checking if the black cloak he was wearing was straight and clean.
He slapped a full-on sneer that clearly said "Don't mess with me or else!" on his face and straightened his back to look taller and more imposing just like he had seen Malfoy senior and Snape do with so much ease (though it looked more as if they had something stuck up their ass).
He made sure that no one was looking when he slipped the invisibility cloak off and folded it neatly under his arm. There was no one to welcome him when he entered so Harry helped himself up and immediately set off to find the book he was looking for.
The place was creepy; it was crammed with books that had gathered at least 10 years worth of dust and spider webs. He searched and searched for it, but he didn't find the book he was looking for…and that was starting to irritate him.
He was dusting yet another book when a hand closed around his shoulder. Harry whirled around and his wand was now pointed at the person's throat, a valuable self-defense instinct.
The old man almost tripped backwards in fright at having a wand pointed at his throat and waited for his new customer to put it away. He just used these few seconds to quickly study the young man; he wasn't very tall but held himself with pride and confidence, along with an air of defiance.
The librarian concluded he was from a wealthy family and noted to himself not to take this customer by surprise next time less he wanted to get hexed to oblivion. "Awfully good reflexes, I must say."
Harry blinked and sneered, putting away his wand. He knew he couldn't use it, but nobody knew that.
"Don't do that ever again, old man." Harry found it easy to talk like this, as if he truly was evil; he just had to think about everything that had happened to him since he was born and the words were flowing out of his mouth effortlessly.
The old man nodded and asked what he was searching for. "I may be of some help, since you've taken on the task of dusting all my books."
Harry straightened his back and glared even more and the half-shaved, smelly old librarian hurriedly bowed his head in respect. "If you had shown up earlier I wouldn't have had to check every damn book one by one, you fool. But now that you're here you'll help me."
Harry tried to keep his voice as grave and smooth as possible. "I'm searching for a particular book, a very rare book." The boy smirked darkly for emphasis and the old man beside him smirked back, showing his yellowed teeth.
"That I can help you with, sir! Rare books are my specialty!"
Harry decided to play with the old man and took an air of indifference, looking at his fingernails. "I very much doubt it. I searched everywhere for this book but you don't see it in my hands now, do you? I would be ready to pay the price to have such an item in my collection."
The man first looked indignant when he heard Harry's remark but he quickly became more interested when the words 'pay the price' popped up. He bowed even more. "And what would that book be, most magnificent wizard?"
Harry mentally rolled his eyes. 'What a kiss ass!' He raised an eyebrow at the man's flattery and smiled the darkest and most dangerous of smiles, making the old man unconsciously hold his breath. His customer's green eyes seemed to shine with unknown power.
"I want Salazar Slytherin's book, the one that tells of his life. And I don't want no cheap copy of it; I. Want. The. Original. Version…written by the man himself." Harry punctuated his phrase so that old man understood every word coming out of his mouth and the librarian paled slightly. This wasn't just a game anymore; this highly unusual customer meant serious business.
The smelly man looked around quickly and motioned for Harry to follow him with a sign of his hand. They walked behind the counter and into the backstore. There, the dust was even thicker yet they passed by each and every book to finally stop at the far end where a small secured chest stood, the only thing completely devoid of dust in the entire store.
It was a vivid green, a very familiar green, and painted snakes adorned the chest, though they looked more than real.
"The book is in there, one of a kind, it is." The dark librarian said with a glint of awe in his eyes when he looked at the chest. "But nobody has ever been able to open the trunk. 'Tis heavily warded and repels every unlocking charms known to wizard. Every time it's been sold it's been brought back because the owner couldn't open it and thought of it as a hoax. But 'tis no joke." The old man said seriously with a raspy voice.
Harry was beginning to grow tired of waiting and he huffed loudly. "How much do you want for it old man? I don't have all day!"
The librarian looked at him suspiciously. " 'Tis 200 galleons. You can pay all of this?"
200 galleons was indeed a big amount of money; no wonder why the man wanted to make sure he wouldn't be duped.
Harry sneered. "Just bring the damn thing in the front and I'll do the rest." Then, the green eyed boy stalked out of the backstore and waited for the librarian to bring him his due.
The small chest was put down on the counter and the dark man's eyes widened when a thick pouch of money was almost thrown carelessly on the counter in front of him. With shaky hands he opened it and he smiled a maniacal smile. "M'pleasure to do business with you! Hope to see you soon!"
Harry took the chest and held it securely within his grasp, not even bothering to say goodbye.
He went back 'home' in the same fashion he came and lucky for him, the Dursleys still weren't back from work and Dudley from school. He glanced quickly at the clock in the living room and almost gaped at the time it was; he had departed at nine in the morning and it was now four in the afternoon! He had spent almost four hours in Knockturn Alley!
He ran up the stairs and took a quick shower to get the greasy gel out of his mop of hair and locked himself in his bedroom to be left alone when the Dursleys would come back. It was now time to discover the mystery of the locked trunk.
It was proving to be quite the problem at first since he couldn't use his magic to try to open it. Then again, the old man had warned him that unlocking spells didn't work against it.
No. Salazar Slytherin had been known for his intelligence and cunningness, it was a Slytherin trait even now. The chest had to open some other way. Salazar had probably made sure that only a true Slytherin would be able to open it. "THAT'S IT!" Harry exclaimed loudly in enlightenment.
He examined the painting on the chest closely and traced the snakes lightly with his fingers. "This must be it…" He concentrated and hissed lowly; "Open."
The little painted snakes suddenly coiled around on the smooth green surface and Harry quickly took his fingers off since a snake hissed at him. There was a small sound of a lock opening and the snakes went back to their previous unmoving state.
Harry stared. He had succeeded where everyone else had failed. "HA! Take that Lucius Malfoy!" Harry muttered happily, relieve that such an artifact was now in his possession instead of in Malfoy's or even Voldemort's.
The Boy-Who-Lived let out a bark of laughter when he noticed the odd writing on the cover and again thought of Malfoy who wouldn't even had have been able to read it; it was written in a clear and flourish handwriting of this period of time but there was a twist. It was written in Parseltongue.
Harry had to concentrate more to read the language since he was only used to speak it. It was weird to see snake language usually hissed written down and yet Harry couldn't say it was impossible since he had never even tried.
"Journal of Salazar Slytherin" Harry read out loud when he was able to figure out how to read the title properly. He opened the book and before he started to read the first page, he noticed a small note on the back of the cover.
"If you read this then I am dead and have given this book to someone trustworthy in Knockturn Alley-" Harry snorted That someone was dead because now there wasn't anybody trustworthy in Knockturn Alley.
He passed over that detail and continued to decipher the message. "-so that this book won't fall into the wrong hands. My dear daughter, when you read this I hope you will have found some happiness and forgiven us for not being able to take care of you until the end. Find the keys and save your legacy. Salazar Slytherin."
Harry did a double check but there wasn't anything else written down in the message. At least, 'My dear daughter' was proof that Salazar had an unknown direct heir and the 'forgiven us' meant that Salazar hadn't been alone to raise her.
Harry's suspicions were now completely erased. Serenity had told the complete truth and now he would know the whole story. Something bothered the green eyed boy, though. That last part had been too mysterious and had to have a hidden meaning, yet it didn't make any sense.
"Find the keys and save your legacy? What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked himself, but try as he may nothing came to mind. He shrugged it off and decided to wait for Serena to read it; maybe she would know the meaning of this last phrase.
"Monday, October 30th, Red Moon
Our previous experiments being total failures, we didn't expect this one to succeed above all our expectations. We will continue to monitor the project 'Blood Mix' closely and mark down its progress…"
Harry read and read, sadden by what they had first thought about her: an experimentation, and nothing else. But as he read, he noticed that the man talked about her with more familiarity as she grew.
"Saturday, July 30th, Blue Moon
She is now a month old and no longer seems to be an experiment for us. Godric insists on giving her the name Serenity because she is the most peaceful baby he has ever come across. He says that he feels his whole self unwind when he is close to her; personally I think he has breathed in too many chemical products from my potions office…"
Harry rolled his eyes. Pure Slytherin comment. There was an entry for each week and the reading only became more interesting as his eyes scrolled the pages of the journal.
"Tuesday, May 21st, Green Moon
Our little girl is growing. Godric is spoiling her way too much but I guess I am too, since she cannot go outside. She surprised us today with an early display of magic by levitating a vase that was going to fall on her. She'll be powerful beyond our wildest expectations, and it is sometimes scaring me. Too bad no one would accept her as she is a creation. Godric also had very good news; he found two other witches to help us make our second project come true. Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff accepted, no questions asked, to help us finance the magic school we wanted to create so much. Godric showed the blueprints of Hogwarts to Serena. I think she memorized the whole thing by heart the first day…"
And it went on and on. Harry was so engrossed in the story that he completely forgot to eat. Vernon didn't even bother to tell him to get out of the bedroom so he must've completely forgotten that Harry was even there by now.
The journal was somewhat detailed, but Salazar never truly mentioned clearly what kind of power Serena possessed and what kind of magic she was best at. There weren't any magic spells written down, probably because if the book fell into wrong hands the person wouldn't be able to hurt anyone with it.
So Harry spent part of the night reading about what kind of life Slytherin led, until his eyes dropped and forced him to stop, much to his displeasure. He went to bed and fell asleep soundly, the green leather book held tightly in his arms.
The boy spent the rest of his second week reading, stopping only to go to the bathroom, eat or sleep; not even replying to the owls his friends sent him. The book not only talked about Serena, but also of Salazar and Godric's lives. Their first day in Hogwarts or the day when Salazar went to Knockturn Alley to get the egg. The ministry butting in his business even more as days passed by.
As Friday came, Harry was now keen on going back to the castle, if only to see her. She was Hogwarts' secret, and she now was his as well. He would not force her to come out. He would stay with her and learn even more about her. They probably knew things the other didn't and that excited him, even more than Hermione in front of a new encyclopedia she didn't read yet.
Umbridge could do anything she wished to try to break him, she would not succeed. Maybe before, but not now. Never. Harry now had a strong will to live, if only for her, but still a spark in him, greater than when he learned he was a wizard, had lit up.
He held his head in confidence and defiance when the time came for an auror from the Order to pick him up. He would not be toyed with anymore; he would not bend to their will.
House points meant nothing to him any longer. He knew the truth; Gryffindor and Slytherin were allies, if only their ancient spirits and not in this time.
A sparkle lit in his vivid green eyes, a sparkle that would've given Dumbledore's a run for his money.
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Another chapter done! Hope you liked! (10 pages long)
R&R!!!
Love ya all!
Eternal Cosmos