Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


Chapter 12 – The Heir of Slytherin


Harry fell for what must have been a full minute before the hole levelled off and he came to a stop.

"Careful, pup." Said Sirius as he helped Harry to his feet. "Wand out and eyes sharp. Any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away." Harry nodded and they began to follow Dumbledore down a tunnel. Sirius had maneuvered him so that he was in the middle of the group and protected on all sides, as such he ran into the auror in front of him when they all stopped suddenly, gasping in horror; one auror even screamed. Ignoring Sirius' protests, Harry pushed his way to the front and immediately saw what had them scared.

"It's a snakeskin." He murmured, heedless of Sirius' calls for him to come back as he followed the skin from head to tail. "It must be sixty feet long at least."

"Harry, get back here now!" Sirius instructed, using a stern voice he rarely did – usually leaving such things to Moony – but that let Harry know that he'd better do as he was told. As he did his shadow danced against the wall and when a groaning sound, likely simply due to the age of the tunnel, was heard it proved too much for one scared auror. Letting out a frightened scream the young auror drew his wand.

"Reducto!" He shouted, pointing towards Harry's shadow. The spell impacted with the wall and the tunnel began to shake, rocks falling from the ceiling. Everyone dived for cover while casting shield charms and when the dust settled a wall of rock stood before them and Harry was no longer in sight.

"Harry!" Sirius cried, rushing forwards and moving what rocks he could with his bare hands. "Harry!"

"I'm ok!" Harry called back with a cough. Sirius sighed in relief.

"Don't move, we're coming to you." Using his wand, Sirius began to levitate one of the rocks out of the way but hastily put it back when the tunnel began to shake again.

"The integrity of the tunnel has been compromised." Said Dumbledore. "We must move cautiously or the entire cave could collapse in on us."

"But how long will that take?" Harry asked.

"I cannot say. There is quite a great deal of damage."

"Harry, you stay put, do you understand me?" Sirius said in that same tone of voice, knowing exactly what his godson was thinking.

"But what about Ginny? It could be too late by the time you get through!"

"Harry you do not move from that spot!" He heard Sirius order but the thought of leaving Ron's sister to the monster was too much. With a muttered apology he knew Sirius couldn't hear, Harry took off down the tunnel. "Do you hear me, Harry? Harry? HARRY POTTER!"

-H/G-

Following the tunnel it wasn't long before Harry came to a door, of sorts. The snakes on it telling him he was at least headed in the right direction.

"Open." He hissed and the metal snakes began to move, unlocking the door. What lay beyond was vastly different than the cave like tunnel. This must be Slytherin's chamber, Harry thought, for indeed it could be nothing else. Someone had spent a great deal of time building this place, with statues of snakes lining a pathway that led to an eerie statue of a face. It wasn't the face though that drew Harry's attention though. There, lying before the statue was the one he had come for.

"Ginny!" He gasped and ran forwards, dropping to his knees at her side. "Ginny, wake up! Please wake up!" He begged, reaching forwards to check for a pulse; he didn't like what he found. "You're cold as ice. Ginny please don't be dead, wake up! Wake up!"

"She won't wake." Harry whipped around and came face to face with a boy he had never seen before, though judging by his uniform he was a Hogwarts student.

"Who…who are you?" Harry asked.

"My name is Tom Riddle." The boy answered as he approached, bending to pick up Harry's wand, which he hadn't even realized he'd dropped.

"Thanks." He said, holding out his hand; however, Tom did not return his wand to him.

"You won't be needing it." Harry began to suspect there was something off about this boy. He decided to test that theory.

"You've got to help me, Tom, there's this monster-"

"The basilisk won't come until it's called." Tom replied calmly, confirming Harry's suspicions for how could he know it was a basilisk? He, Ron and Draco were the only living Hogwarts students currently not petrified who did. Without another word, Harry bent and began to try and lift Ginny so he could carry her.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Harry." Tom spoke and Harry put Ginny down; he wasn't strong enough to lift her anyways. "You see, as poor Ginny grows weaker, I grow stronger." Harry looked between Tom and Ginny and it was then that he noticed a small black book in Ginny's grasp with the name Tom Marvolo Riddle written on the front. "Oh yes, Harry. It was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets." That thought hadn't even crossed Harry's mind.

"No. She wouldn't…she couldn't!"

"It was Ginny who set the basilisk on the mudbloods and Filch's cat, Ginny who wrote the threatening messages on the wall."

"But why?" None of this made any sense to Harry.

"Because I told her too." Now that made much more sense. "You'll find I can be very persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing, she was in, shall we say, a kind of trance. Still the power of my diary began to scare her. She tried to dispose of it and became quite melancholy when she couldn't. Enough so to draw your attention. I eased up then to placate your suspicion, I was not yet strong enough to face you so I continued to lead little Ginny in completing Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Noble work? You mean killing children?" Harry spat. "Besides you haven't completed it this time. Soon the mandrake draft will be ready and everyone who was petrified will be awake."

"Haven't I told you? Killing mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For many months now my new target has been you."

"But why? I've never met you, I've never seen you before. You're not even really a Hogwarts student, are you?"

"I was once, fifty years ago." Tom replied. "I survived as a memory, a piece of my soul preserved in my diary for all these years. Ginny Weasley woke me up when she began writing to me and her soul was enough to latch onto. It was quite annoying at first, hearing the trials of an eleven-year-old girl, but then she began writing about you, and I was quite intrigued."

"And why would I intrigue you?" Harry was getting annoyed. He wanted answers. Finally though it seemed that Tom was willing to give them.

"How is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent was able to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

"Why do you care how I escaped?" Harry didn't like this turn of topic. "Voldemort was after your time."

"Voldemort is my past, present and future." Said Tom. Turning around he began to use Harry's wand to write his name in fiery letters hanging in the air. When he was done, a final wave of the wand had the letters rearranging themselves and Harry felt his blood ran cold at what they formed: I am Lord Voldemort.

"You…you're the heir of Slytherin." He said once he'd found his voice again. "You're Voldemort."

"Surely you didn't think I was going to keep my filthy muggle father's name? No, I fashioned myself a new name, one I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak when I became the greatest sorcerer to ever live!"

"You're hardly the greatest sorcerer to ever live if even a baby could stop you." Harry goaded. "You're not even the greatest sorcerer in this castle. Dumbledore is." He may not like the Headmaster but Harry couldn't deny that he was a great and powerful wizard.

"Dumbledore was too weak to stop me then and he will be again now."

"But he's not the only one, is he?" Harry countered. "There are many people fighting you and we will stop you!" Tom merely stared at Harry with hate filled eyes. Suddenly a loud cry was heard and both whipped around as a red object became visible at the end of the Chamber and headed towards them.

"Fawkes?" Harry murmured when it drew near enough to see that it was indeed the phoenix. Fawkes was also carrying something with him and as he flew overhead he dropped it for Harry to catch. As he unfolded it, Harry was surprised to see it was the Sorting Hat.

"So this is what Dumbledore sends his pawn: a songbird and an old hat." Tom scoffed. Turning away from Harry he faced the statue and spoke in a language few understood. "Come to me serpent of Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!" For a moment nothing happened, then a grinding was heard as the mouth of the statue began to open. "Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter." Tom sounded like he was going to enjoy what came next and as a hissing sound grew louder, Harry knew he wouldn't. The moment he saw movement within the statue's mouth Harry turned and ran.

"Kill him." He heard Tom order the basilisk. "Parseltongue won't save you now, Potter, it only obeys me." Harry cursed as he ran knowing Tom was right; he remembered what Professor Kettleburn had said about the snake's loyalty to Slytherin and his heir. Within moments Harry could hear the beast coming up behind him and it was then that the worst happened: he tripped. Harry was done for, he knew it even as he tried to stand and run again; he could see the basilisk's shadow growing bigger and knew it was too late. Fortunately, although he had forgotten, Harry wasn't alone. With a screech that somehow calmed him, Fawkes swooped down and attacked the basilisk. From the shadows Harry could see that Fawkes had gone for the serpent's head and Tom's furious cry confirmed the phoenix had taken away the basilisk's deadliest weapon.

"Your bird may have blinded the basilisk but it can still smell you!" Tom growled. Harry turned then and looked the basilisk head on for the first time. It was bigger than he thought, bigger certainly than the snakeskin, which Harry now figured must have been shed some time ago. Where its yellow eyes were supposed to be there was now a bloody mess. The basilisk was writhing in pain and Harry could almost feel sorry for the beast if it wasn't intent on killing him. Not giving it anymore time to recover, Harry started running again, going through a side tunnel. It wasn't long before he heard the basilisk coming after him again and Harry knew he couldn't keep this up for long. The basilisk was bigger and faster than him and he'd tire long before it did. Suddenly an overwhelming stench hit him, nearly making him choke, and Harry got an idea. Whatever was making the smell – which he suspected to be the pool of…something nearby – was bad enough to make him want to hurl and might be strong enough to block his scent. Seeing an alcove not far ahead, Harry ran for it and grabbed the largest rock he could – the better to try and smash the basilisk's skull in with if this didn't work – and hid in the alcove, staying as still as possible. The basilisk quickly caught up to him and to Harry's dismay it stopped right in front of the alcove, its forked tongue flicking rapidly, smelling the air around it. The basilisk didn't immediately attack him, however, the foul stench seeming to mask enough of his scent to confuse the beast. Harry remained absolutely still but the basilisk didn't move on. Thinking quickly, and wondering if he had gone completely mad, Harry threw his one weapon as far as he could down the tunnel. The rock landed with a satisfying clang and the basilisk's head turned in the direction the sound had come from. Finally it moved on and Harry could breathe again. He waited a few moments until he was sure that the serpent was far enough ahead before he moved forwards again as well. Taking the opposite fork from the basilisk, Harry found himself back in the main Chamber with Tom looking furious at the sight of him. Harry paid him no heed though as he went to Ginny's side.

"Yes, Potter, the process is nearly complete. In a few minutes Ginny Weasley will be dead and I will cease to be a memory. Lord Voldemort will return, very much alive!" Harry cringed and began thinking of a way, any way, out of this. He barely had any time though for with a deafening screech the basilisk returned. Harry jumped to his feet and looked around for anything he could use to fight the beast. He was about to try and wrestle his wand away from Tom, seeing no better solution, when something shimmered in the corner of his eye. Turning he saw that something had appeared in the Sorting Hat. Without further hesitation, Harry ran forwards and grasped the object, pulling it free and seeing that it was a sword. Harry slashed at the oncoming snake and though he saw no damage, it was enough to make the basilisk recoil for a moment. Thinking fast, Harry ran towards the statue and began to climb; he needed to get to higher ground or the basilisk would run all over him. With a few more swings to keep the basilisk at bay for a moment Harry made it to the top. He had had some training with a sword before, Sirius believing that the use of physical weapons, not just magic, would be useful lest he ever lose his wand in a fight. It wasn't much training though, swords not being readily available in this day and age, and although this sword felt like it was made for him, Harry knew he was out of his depth. Still, he wasn't about to give up and kept swinging the sword no matter how wildly. This strategy meant that the basilisk kept recoiling for though it wouldn't do any real damage, the sword was still sharp enough to leave minor cuts on the basilisk's thick hide. When the giant serpent reared back for another strike Harry saw an opening. Bringing the sword in front of him Harry thrust the sword straight up as the basilisk descended.

-H/G-

"HARRY POTTER!" Sirius roared angrily but got no reply. "I'll kill him." In his head Lucius agreed, they both knew that Harry had gone on without them, against explicit instructions. They both wanted to wring his neck, but they first had to catch up with him before the basilisk did so that there would be a neck to wring. It took nearly twenty minutes to reinforce the ceiling enough to be able to clear a path without the tunnel collapsing on them. Finally though they were able to move on and did so as fast as they good, wondering as they went if they were already too late. When they reached the snake-guarded door they were glad to see it was still open for no doubt it would require Parseltongue, and the one speaker in their group was no longer with them. When they passed through the door they were instantly struck by the grandeur of what could only be Slytherin's fabled Chamber. However, this didn't hold their attention for long for at the end of the Chamber they saw a monstrous snake rearing up before lunging towards a familiar figure.

"HARRY!" Sirius screamed, having never been more scared in his life. They watched in horror, frozen in place, as the basilisk descended, only it stopped before hitting the statue as one might expect had it swallowed Harry whole. A loud screech followed and the basilisk pulled away from whatever had stopped it. They watched as it swayed about for a moment before falling to the floor in the dead heap with a resounding thud. The figure on top of the statue collapsed as well, though only to its knees and it was enough to set them all running in his direction; Harry was still alive and had somehow defeated a thousand year old basilisk. Passing right by Ginny and another boy he didn't know, Sirius forgot about magic entirely and began scaling the statue. In his adrenaline fuelled state it didn't take long to reach the top and rush to his godson's side, only to freeze at what he saw. Harry was alive alright, but not for long if the gauge in his arm and the deadly fang he was holding were anything to go by.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I wasn't fast enough." Harry said and Sirius wept.

"Oh Harry…you did great. And I have never met anyone braver." Any anger he had felt towards Harry was gone, replaced by overwhelming anguish knowing these were to be his godson's last moments. "Let's get you down from here." With a little help from Lucius and a levitation charm they were on the ground in seconds. Not even Lucius could keep his mask in place when he saw that his nephew had been bitten, though he refrained from saying anything as they joined the others. The scene they found though wasn't what they had expected, at least not Sirius and Lucius. McGonagall was kneeling at a still unconscious Ginny's side, but everyone else had their wands trained on the other boy.

"What the bloody hell?" Sirius asked having never thought Dumbledore would point his wand at a Hogwarts student.

"It's Voldemort." Harry moaned as he collapsed next to Ginny, unable to move further with the venom coursing through him. "When he was sixteen." Ignoring the hows or whys, both men whipped around and pointed their wands at the teenager, though he only had eyes for Harry.

"Remarkable isn't it? How quickly the venom of the basilisk penetrates the body." He said with a look of triumph. "I guess you have little more than a minute or two to live."

"You find that amusing, Tom?" Dumbledore asked, sounding every one of his many years for the first time that night.

"Don't bother with your pathetic tirade to try and make me feel remorse, Dumbledore." Tom snapped, though his eyes never left Harry; he was determined to watch him die. "It didn't work fifty years ago and it won't work now." Dumbledore sighed but said no more. While he desperately wanted to know how Tom was here, he wouldn't interrogate him now, it could wait the few minutes it would take for the venom or reach Harry's heart. For his part, Harry hadn't paid any attention to them. When he'd collapsed his eyes had gone to Ginny and stayed there. While the young Voldemort may not be capable of remorse Harry was, and he was feeling immensely guilty and remorseful that he had been unable to save Ginny. He reached for her hand and pulled it towards him. As he did the book Ginny had been holding fell out of her grasp, landing open on the floor.

"Funny isn't it?" Tom's voice broke through the haze his mind had become. "The damage a silly little book can do. Especially in the hands of a silly, little girl." That was it, Harry thought. It made sense now; at least he thought it did. Tom had said more than once that he was a memory preserved in his diary and that he would only return completely when Ginny was dead. However, she wasn't dead yet, and that must mean that Tom was still tied to the diary. Forcing his mind to clear and his arm to move, Harry grasped the basilisk fang and raised it over the diary, looking Tom square in the eyes.

"What are you doing?" Panic entered the dark lord's voice and Harry knew now he had it right. "Stop!" He tried to pass Dumbledore and everyone else to reach Harry, but he was too late, Harry had brought the fang down as hard as he could on the diary. An inhuman scream left Tom as he began to crack, magic seeping out of him. Another blow to the diary and it was all over, the cracks taking large pieces out of him until he was no more. Or so Harry thought. Although Tom Riddle undoubtedly no longer stood before them he was still fighting back. The magic that had left him had not disappeared or gone back into the diary, but instead had gathered around Ginny. The magic grew, Ginny's own joining the fight to defeat Tom even as he continued to leech from her. Unfortunately for Ginny, Tom had been feeding on her soul for months and it became clear that she wasn't going to win on her own. Without thinking Harry jumped in, throwing his arms around Ginny even as he willed his own magic to save her.

"You can't have her!" He screamed. "Ginny! I won't let you, you can't!" Using the last bit of his strength Harry reached out with everything he had. His magic responded accordingly and fuelled by his desperate attempt to save Ginny, it entered her, joining her own soul in its attempt to push the foreign one out. A golden glow surrounded Harry and Ginny, protecting them from Tom's attempts to regain control. They were in vain, however, for with the help of Harry's soul, Ginny's could fight back enough to repel Tom and he no longer had an anchor to hold him to this world. With a final screech of rage, Tom Riddle faded away.


A/N - I said I'd try to get this out today and I succeeded! I'm very proud of myself.

I thought the basilisk smelling rather than hearing Harry worked better, snakes don't hear like we do, it has more to do with vibrations if I'm not mistaken, and I always thought it weird that the basilisk never tried to smell Harry out when he was stuck in that dead end. In the movie at least, can't remember if it's the same in the books.

And yes, Tom actually mentioned his soul was in that diary, not just that he was a memory. Since he actually did most of the standard evil villain rant anyways I took it slightly further since he was absolutely certain that Harry was going to die, so why did it matter? It also helps out in the next chapter.

Review please!