(A/N: What's up. Just that I'd take some to explain a few things with my story. I originally wrote this shortly after reading Book 6. Back then I had a bunch of wild theories about the Horcruxes and other things. As for Harry using the Unforgivable Curses, I believe that if the situation called for it, he would use them only as a last resort. He's already proven that he's willing to use them in Book 5 when he faced Bellatrix. And he'll need to resort to the Killing Curse to defeat Voldemort. This is a war after all. I haven't forgotten Voldemort's other minions such as giants and dementors, they're coming later. As for my theory on a Horcrux being at Hogwarts, I know it seems unlikely. But that's the point. Who would suspect Voldemort hiding a piece of his soul at Hogwarts. It's the last place anyone would look. Not to mention it could be in the Chamber of Secrets. No one knows, or knew, where the entrance was, you need a Parselmouth to get in, and it's guarded by a basilisk. Voldemort did return to Hogwarts in an attempt to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. He could have hidden a Horcrux then. For my theory on Voldemort attempting to make Harry a Horcrux was a way to explain Harry and Voldemort's mental connection. Dumbledore said that Voldemort accidentally transferred some of his powers to Harry the night he gave him his scar, this was explanation how.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but nothing

CHAPTER 11- The Horcrux of Hufflepuff

Harry stood behind the pillar, breathing heavily. He had seen something that nearly killed him. Very, very slowly, Harry looked around the pillar, and saw exactly what he feared. A basilisk. Not just one, but an entire nest, of about six basilisks. Turns out that The Chamber of Secrets was the home of not just one basilisk, but a bunch. They were curled in a circle around what looked like a type of shrine. Thankfully, Harry hadn't made eye contact with any of them, or else he would be dead already. It seemed, however, that the basilisks deadly stare didn't effect other snakes.

Harry ducked back behind the pillar as one of the basilisks began to rise.

"I sssmell blood." it hissed. "Human blood."

Harry heard more movement, indicating that the other basilisks had risen. Harry's heart began racing. He had a feeling that even though he was a Parselmouth, these snakes wouldn't obey anyone but the heir of Slytherin. One basilisk had been hard enough to kill, but six. And Fawkes wasn't here to poke their eyes out. Suddenly, coming into The Chamber of Secrets alone didn't seem like such a good idea.

"We haven't eaten in ssso long." hissed one of the basilisks. "Must eat."

"It might be the massster." suggested another.

"No." hissed a third. "Hisss ssscent isss different."

Harry considered making a run for it, but couldn't bring himself to move. He heard the basiliks approaching. Quickly, Harry shut his eyes, as he saw movement on his left. He heard as the giant snake moved by him, not daring to open his eyes.

"It'sss here sssomewhere." said one of the giant snakes.

Harry couldn't take it anymore. Almost uncontrollably, he opened his eyes the slightest bit, and saw the blurred outlines of four basilisks, their heads were turned away from him.

Harry opened his eyes a little wider, and gasped. He saw that there were not four snakes, just three. One of them was almost twice as long as the others, and it had two head. Harry had heard about this happening to snakes, but he didn't know it could happen to basilisks too. A one-headed basilisk was enough trouble.

The three snakes, or four, however you see it, were flicking their tongues in and out, trying to pinpoint the source of the smell.

Harry slowly began inching around the pillar, but stopped as he saw three more basilisks on the other side. Harry was cornered.

"We're clossse." hissed one of the basilisks.

Harry seemed to be suffocating with fear, for he could barley breath. It wouldn't be long before the giant snakes found him.

Suddenly Harry had an idea. It was a desperate attempt, but it was all he had. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the Decoy Detonators that Fred and George had given to him. He tossed it a short distance away, where it ran off.

Harry shut his eyes again, and waited. A few seconds later, there was a loud high-pitched noise from somewhere on the other side of the chamber. Technically, snakes can't hear anything besides Parseltongue, but the noise was so loud that it created a vibration that caused all the basilisks to go rapidly crawling in that direction. They didn't notice Harry crouching by the pillar.

Harry wanted desperately to leave, but didn't know if it was safe to do so. He needed a way to get by the giant serpents without them noticing. He tried thinking back to what that page Hermione got out of the library said about basilisks. He remembered that basilisks were born from a chicken eggs, hatched beneath a toad. They have a murderous stare. Spiders flee before them. And they flee from the crowing of a rooster, which is fatal to them

Harry's eyes snapped open. The rooster's crow was fatal to them. Of course. It was his only chance. He pointed his wand at a rock and transfigured it into a rooster.

"Sonorus!" He said, pointing his wand at the rooster.

The rooster blinked in confusion, but did nothing.

"Come on, crow!" Harry urged the rooster.

But it merely cocked its head sideways and stared at Harry.

"I sssmell sssomething elssse." hissed one of the basilisks excitedly. "Behind that pillar."

Harry pointed his wand at the rooster and bellowed "LUMOS!"

The rooster crowed loudly at the instant flash of light. There was an immediate cry of pain from the basilisks, followed by the sound of exploding flesh. Then everything was quiet.

Harry slowly looked behind the pillar. The bodies of the basilisks were not more than a few feet from his hiding spot. All their heads had exploded.

Harry laid back against the pillar and breathed a sigh of relief. He had just killed six basilisks, one with two heads, single handily. He wondered if any other wizard in history had ever managed to pull that off. He would have to ask Hermione, she would know.

Suddenly he remembered the whole reason why he had come down here in the first place. Harry got up and walked past the dead basilisks and over to the shrine. There were snakes all over it. One of the snakes was carved out of stone and was coiled around something. A strange black box, with two keyholes.

Harry's heart started racing again as he picked up the box. He tried to open it, but predictably, he couldn't.

"Alohomora!" he said, pointing his wand at the box.

It didn't unlock.

"Specialis Revelio!"

Nothing happened.

Harry stood there a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, he gave up. It seemed the only way to open the box was with the keys. Maybe Hermione could figure out another way to open it up.

Harry turned around to leave, and accidentally stepped on a snake. It hissed loudly and struck, getting Harry in the leg.

Harry fell backwards, more in surprise than in pain. He pulled up his pants leg and looked at the spot the snake had bit him. The skin wasn't even broken. There were two red marks, but nothing more.

Harry looked at the snake in confusion. It hissed at him, exposing its fangs. Only they weren't fangs, they were keys.

Of course, it was ingenious. Even if someone did manage to get into the Chamber and past the basilisks, they wouldn't be able to open the box without the keys. Keys held by something only Voldemort could communicate with. It was brilliant. He couldn't believe that out of all the snakes he could have stepped on, it was this one. He hadn't felt this lucky since the time he took Felix Felicis. Perhaps it was fate.

He grabbed the snake, it began hissing madly, and held it over the box. The snake struck, its key fangs going into the two keyholes. Harry heard a click, indicating that the box had unlocked. He put down the snake, which quickly slithered into the darkness, and slowly opened the box.

Inside was a small golden cup. There was a small carving on it, in the shape of a badger. It was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff Horcrux.

Harry stood there a moment, holding the cup. There was a piece of Voldemort's soul sealed inside this very item in his hands. Now the question was, how did he destroy it?

He heard a squawk and saw the rooster he had created with a snake, that looked like a python, wrapped around it. But when the rooster got his attention, it made him realize that the swarm of snakes were closing in on him.

"Back off." he ordered them.

They obeyed his command and backed off. Harry turned his attention back to the cup. Was there some special spell needed to destroy the cup. Harry shrugged and placed the cup on the floor. He had an idea. It was worth a try.

"Avada Kedavra!" he cried, pointing his wand at the cup.

A jet of green light shot out of his wand and hit the cup, which flew about five feet in the air. A few seconds after it hit the ground, and something that looked like a black ghost erupted from the cup. Harry recognized the face of Voldemort on the ghost.

The piece of Voldemort's soul howled in rage and pain. And then it was gone, vanishing in a flash of light. The cup lay still on the ground, being just that, a cup.

Harry picked it up and looked at it. It was just a cup. No longer a Horcrux. This piece of Voldemort's soul was destroyed. He had done it.

Harry smiled, and pocketed the cup. He turned and began making his way back down the Chamber.

"One down," he thought. "Three to go."

(A/N: I know, I know. The two-headed basilisk is real cheesy. But I wanted to make a real monster in the chamber other than just a few more basilisks. As for Harry destroying the Horcrux so easily, I always thought that besides completely destroying the item the Horcrux was in, the Killing Curse would kill the piece of the person within the item. Harry was simply trying a theory and it paid off.)