Author's Note: I have one thing to say, and one thing only, regarding the hellish delay in posting this chapter - which, I might add, has been mostly written for the last three days. Just four words. I. Hate. Real. Life.

A.N.2: So apparently, most people had their money on Trelawney as the traitor - go figure. Who knew she was so unpopular? And then there were the many readers who had Ginny pegged as the spy. Heh. I'm not quite that predictable, people. Glad the scene with the Basilisks went over well, wasn't sure about the bloodthirsty, yet sort of subservient personas I gave them. Erm, to the guest who reviewed about the category - you are absolutely right, this isn't really fitting into the horror category. It was meant to be a lot darker, but Harry distracted me with his big green eyes and hijacked my plot. So, I'm changing the category to Romance/Drama. That's what happens when, like me, you tend to let the story flow where it wants. Thank you for drawing my attention to that, I'd almost forgotten about the category. When I started it was meant to be more... horrific. Oh well.

Warnings: Slash, Light-bashing, sympathetic!Voldemort, increasingly insane!Harry, some swearing.

Disclaimer: I think I should own Harry Potter, since JK totally ignored the potential for slash with her characters, but sadly I do not. Such is the way of the world.

A.N.3: Hmm, some discerning readers out there apparently. Yes, I have still been calling him Riddle, haven't I? It's because Harry's the only one who's allowed to call him Tom - that ban on using his name extends to me too. He was very clear about that when I started writing this fic. Only Harry gets to use his first name. Fearsome dragon or not, I prefer not to argue with the Dark Lord. Especially when my story depends on his cooperation. I have touchy muses to begin with: the last thing I need is for 'His Lordship' to get all offended with me. As to why Dumbledore is not in prison at the moment, he is out on bail, awaiting trial. It's not until the 17th of September, remember?

A.N.4: Oh, by the way... believe me, Ginny will be playing a part in this little intrigue. She doesn't know that Harry's sleeping with Riddle yet, you see. Once Dumbledore informs all the Order people of Harry's new allegiances... it'll be ugly. Attack of the Fangirls, anyone?

A fair number of students had been penned in the Great Hall, and were under the assault of almost twenty Ulamas. The birds wheeled and dove above the terrified students, shrieking their deadly cries as their lethal talons lashed through the air. Spells and hexes flew toward the creatures, but nothing could bring them down: even the spells that hit their mark simply slid off the gleaming feathers.

Most of the students were huddling under the tables in a futile attempt to shelter from the attacking creatures, while Professors McGonagall and Flitwick attempted to beat back the birds. Lost in the clamor of the battle, no one noticed the approach of a scraping, dragging sound - but everyone noticed when the doors to the Great Hall were slammed open, reeling drunkenly on bent hinges.

Two fully grown Basilisks lunged into the Hall, their deadly yellow eyes obscured by mask-like bands of dark mist that clung to their scales. The screams of the students redoubled as the massive snakes rose up and towered over them, hissing, crests rising in aggression.

Harry stepped forward between the two serpents, wand directed at the Ulamas and the spell that Riddle had taught him dancing on his tongue, his green eyes blazing the color of the Killing Curse.

"Kill them!" he hissed, the sibilant tones somehow ringing throughout the Hall more clearly than the loudest shout.

The Ulamas rose up into the air, moving into twin arrow-shaped formations, and dove. The Basilisks reared to meet them, fanged maws gaping.

What followed would later become Hogwarts legend, a tale recounted to each new group of First years, as infamous as the stories of the Forbidden Forest. Students would whisper in awe of how the Basilisk seemed to flow through the air like wraiths, everywhere at once, their fearsome jaws clenching shut around Ulamas and tearing the dark birds from the air. They would tell of how Harry Potter stood fearlessly at the serpents' sides, purple flames blazing from his wand to wrap around the Ulamas like fiery lassoes, yanking the birds down into the waiting mouths of the Basilisks. And many long years later, when no one who had actually witnessed it remained, they would still be telling awestruck tales of how, after the last Ulama fell, the two Basilisks returned to the doors of the Great Hall and laid their massive heads on the cold stone at Harry Potter's feet.

The Hall lay deathly silent for a moment. Everyone stared in awe at the two snakes, bowing down to the Boy Who Lived. Harry slipped his wand into his pocket and reached out, laying one hand on each serpent's snout.

"Well done, my pets." he murmured. Then he looked up, and fixed his gaze on McGonagall.

"Professor, I think it would be best if you and Professor Flitwick were to escort the students back to their dormitories. Tom and I will deal with the Ulamas, but it will be easier if we do not have to blind the Basilisks."

"O-of course, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said, stuttering just slightly as she began herding the students out from under the tables.

Smirking at the terrified expressions of the other students, Harry rested one foot on the side of one of the Basilisks necks, winding his hand into the surprisingly silky crest and bracing himself against the huge, ridged skull. "To the second floor, my pets."

Yes, Master. they hissed obediently, their tones quivering with glee: the one carrying Harry lifted its head slowly and tilted slightly, allowing the young wizard to shift his other leg up so that he was straddling the back of its neck. They then turned and slithered out into the Entrance Hall, the students streaming close behind.

Another battle was just winding down in the Entrance Hall. The last Ulama was plucked from the air and swallowed whole by a Basilisk, beside which stood Tom Riddle. Harry nodded to him and called, "Great Hall's clear, Tom, I'll get the second floor - you take the third."

Riddle nodded, summoning the rest of the Basilisks back to him. The students watched in awe as the massive serpents came boiling into the Entrance Hall, then the snakes turned and began slithering their way up the grand staircase.

Harry and Riddle spent the rest of the day sweeping every floor in the castle clear of Ulamas. The Basilisks not with them in person were slithering through the piping to each and every chamber, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to root out their foes. Every so often they came across pockets of students who had been trapped when the attack came: not until they reached the fourth floor, though, did they find anyone who had been seriously injured.

They came across a knot students clustered in the fourth floor corridor. At the center, a group of Hufflepuffs were clustered together: many of the girls were crying. With a sinking sensation, Harry leapt down from his serpentine mount and hurried up to them.

"What happened?"

Ernie MacMillan turned to face him, tears running down his pale cheeks, his hand clenched so hard on his wand that his knuckles were dead white. "It's Hannah." he choked out. "She's..."

"Oh, Merlin." Harry breathed. Pushing the students unceremoniously out of the way, he beheld the motionless form of Hannah Abbott. She was crumpled on her side, her brown eyes wide open with fear, still and lifeless.

Anger roared up inside Harry like a raging inferno. It took every fiber of his will to hold it back, to keep his magic in check: grasping for an anchor, he flung his mind out toward his lover.

Tom!

What is it, my love?

Hannah Abbott's dead, she was one of my Chimaeras - Dumbledore has to pay for this!

A wave of calming energy, mixed with steely determination, flowed through their link. He will, Harry. I swear, we will make him pay a thousand times over for the pain he has caused. Get your friends back to their dorms, then meet me in the Entrance Hall: the Basilisks found a pocket of Ulamas on the fifth floor, they're going to sweep down and drive them to the Entrance Hall. We'll finish it there.

Harry's eyes snapped open, and he turned. The students were clustered loosely around him, pale and wide-eyed, waiting for his instructions. Harry fixed his gaze on Ernie and Justin.

"Take them back to your common room." he said quietly, his voice filled with quiet anger and firm authority. "Tom and I will finish with the Ulamas: when that is done, we will make our move against Dumbledore.

Harry scrambled back onto the Basilisk who had agreed to carry him and directed it toward the Entrance Hall, his heart beating fast with hatred. Come hell or high water, something connected to Dumbledore was going to die today.

...

Albus Dumbledore was enjoying his morning cup of tea when Remus Lupin burst into his office, his face white as a sheet and his amber eyes tinged orange with the glow of the wolf.

"What have you done?" he shouted, his customary refined manner shattered into smithereens.

Alarmed, Dumbledore sat forward in his chair and set the teacup gently on the desk. "Whatever do you mean, Remus?"

Remus reached out with one hand, grasped hold of the delicate cup, and quite literally threw it out the window. "This!" he bellowed, thrusting a copy of the Daily Prophet at Dumbledore.

Heirs of Slytherin Save Hogwarts from Ulama Attack! the headline screamed. Feeling as though he had swallowed a lead weight, Dumbledore skimmed quickly down the article - penned by none other than Rita Skeeter.

It is no secret that during the last few years, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has played host to a great number of dangerous magical creatures. All that paled, though, in comparison to yesterday's shocking revelation, when it was made public that Hogwarts had been invaded by a flight of Ulamas, resulting in the death of a student.

Lucius Malfoy, Headmaster of Hogwarts, gave the Prophet an exclusive interview this morning. "The death of Miss Hannah Abbott is a terrible tragedy, but the situation could have been so much worse." the Headmaster told this reporter. "Once again, the wizarding world must gives thanks to Harry Potter for his timely intervention."

Thanks are also due to Hogwarts' new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Tom Riddle. It became known yesterday that Professor Riddle and Harry Potter share a rare gift: both men are Parselmouths, able to speak the language of snakes. It was this rare gift that allowed the duo to save the students of Hogwarts from a terrible fate.

Through circumstances as yet unknown, the pair found the entrance to the fabled Chamber of Secrets within Hogwarts and called on the monsters therein. Twelve Basilisks were unleashed from the Chamber, but remained under the tight control of Mr. Potter and Professor Riddle, who used the snakes as remarkably effective weapons against the ravening Ulamas. All the birds were slain, and the Basilisks returned to the Chamber without harm befalling any of the students save Miss Abbott, who fell victim to the Ulamas before she could be rescued.

When asked if he was concerned at the time about his ability to control the serpents, Mr. Potter gave this modest statement. "I wasn't thinking about my own danger at the time. The school was in trouble and I had to do something, that's all there was to it." Professor Riddle's sentiments were similar: "I've known of my gift for many years, although I never expected to encounter a student with the same ability. As Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it is my duty to protect my students from all things Dark, and I can think of few creatures darker than the Ulama. I only regret we were not in time to save poor Miss Abbott."

Though nothing definite has been heard, rumors are rife that the Ministry is considering granting both Professor Riddle and Mr. Potter the Order of Merlin for Outstanding Valor. Praise has also been pouring in from grateful parents, remarking on Headmaster Malfoy's expert handling of what could have been an insurmountably tragic situation.

"You set the Ulamas loose on Hogwarts?" Remus snarled, his eyes growing more and more orange by the second. "You set them loose, knowing Harry was there?"

Dumbledore sighed and laid the paper on his desk. Outwardly he maintained his mask of sympathetic calm and regret, but inside his mind was racing a mile a minute. How much did Remus know, or suspect? He had decieved Harry into believing that the werewolf was fully complicit in his plans, but in truth Remus had been told very little. He had protested strenuously against Dumbledore's plans after the elder wizard had suggested the possibility of Harry being sent to Azkaban. If he knew the full truth of the former Headmaster's schemes...

"Remus, old friend. Can you not see what has happened?"

Dumbledore gestured at the paper. "Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort. He has corrupted Harry, turned him away from the Light. It grieves me more deeply than you could know, my friend, but we cannot allow Harry to become a figurehead for the Dark."

Remus's eyes flared fully orange and his lips drew back, revealing fangs. "You mean to kill him." the lycan breathed.

The older wizard froze. The look in those wild, feral eyes - in that moment, Albus Dumbledore knew that he had overplayed his hand. His long fingers twitched delicately toward his wand...

With a ferocious howl, Remus lashed out and swiped his claws across Dumbledore's chest. The old man was thrown from his chair across the room, but his hand closed around his wand, and he fired a desperate Stunning spell.

The Stunner missed its target, but it saved the wizard's life. With another infuriated howl, Remus spun and dove out of the window in a shower of breaking glass. Dumbledore regained his feet and rushed to the window, in time to see the werewolf cross the boundary of the wards into Muggle London and Disapparate without a trace.

...

...

I swear, the next chapter WILL be up soon. Like, in less than two days soon. Hang in there, faithful readers! You unfaithful ones can drop off a cliff, of course. (Just kidding!)