A/N: OK, I haven't heard from my Beta in weeks! Maybe she moved, forgot about me, is really busy, got a boyfriend, went on vacation, etc. I'm tired of waiting. So here's chapter 12. Please forgive my mistakes! I catch some of my errors, but it's REALLY hard without a Beta. If you see any blindingly erroneous mistakes, just post them in your reviews, and I'll correct them ASAP.
"Potter!"
"Hello, Professor," Harry said, folding his Invisibility Cloak and placing it safely back in his pocket.
McGonagall clutched her chest and leaned again on the sink again. "Potter, what do you think you're doing here?"
"I need him," Remus said. "He speaks Parseltounge."
"Harry Potter? No."
"I'm afraid he does," Remus said. "He's the only Parselmouth I know, therefore he is the only one who can open the Chamber."
"But a student..." McGonagall said weakly.
"I'll be seventeen in two weeks," Harry said, annoyed.
"I don't know..."
"Minerva, just watch. Then you'll know it's true. Go ahead, Harry."
Harry moved over to the sink in front of Myrtle's stall, and stared hard at the copper snake. "Open up," he said.
Lupin shook his head. "Parseltongue, Harry."
Harry suddenly felt a jolt of fear. His scar was gone. Did that mean his abilities were gone as well? Maybe he wasn't a Parselmouth anymore.
He looked at the snake, trying to believe that it was alive. The wand light reflected off the snake's eyes...
"Open up," Harry said, but this time a hissing noise emitted from his throat. He felt a thrill rush through his veins as the tap glowed and began to spin. The sink began to move and a few moments later it was gone, leaving in its place a large pipe several feet across in diameter.
"Are you coming?" Lupin said gently to the wide-eyed woman.
"That's the entrance?" McGonagall said shakily. "To think it was right here and we never found it..."
"Minerva?"
"But what about the monster?" she said, her voice a little louder. "Surely you are not planning on challenging it to a duel, are you?"
"Not tonight," Lupin said. "Besides, it can only come when the heir of Slytherin summons it. And unless Harry here is hiding his true lineage, I can safely say that none of us fit that criteria. Would you like to go first, Minerva?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Then I will, by your leave." Lupin nodded to her, then slipped into the hole and disappeared from view.
Harry looked over at McGonagall. "It's OK, Professor. I promise."
McGonagall seemed to pull herself together. She marched over to the hole and slid her slippered feet into the opening. Then without another word she too disappeared from view. Harry waited a few seconds to let her get a head start, then he slid into the dark opening.
The pipe was if possible even more slimy and dark than he remembered. He slid on and on into the inky blackness, feeling his stomach flip as the pipes steepened. Finally the pipe leveled out and Harry landed on the cold damp floor of the tunnel.
Lupin helped him up, and then looked expectantly at him. Harry realized that Lupin expected him to lead. "Um, let's try this way," he said, pointing to the right. McGonagall looked at them strangely but didn't say anything as Harry lit his wand and led the way down the tunnel.
The only sounds to be heard were the echoing footsteps. Harry felt something crunch under his foot. Raising his wand, he saw the same piles of small animal bones. Then in the darkness he saw the huge shape of the Basilisk skin.
"What's that?" McGonagall breathed, her eyes wide.
"It's just the skin," Harry said, walking over to it and poking it with his lit wand. "See? It's dead."
"A Basilisk?" McGonagall gasped. "That's what's down here? But you said it can't come unless Slytherin's heir summons it."
"Right," said Harry. "Careful not to do anything to the walls. They look as if they might cave in any moment."
They walked on in silence. Several twists and turns later they came to the solid wall on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set in emeralds.
"Open," Harry hissed, and they obliged. He looked back at Lupin and McGonagall, who were both looking more nervous than before. "It's OK," he repeated. Then he stepped through the doorway.
The Chamber was exactly as he remembered it. On either side of the long room, tall pillars sporting even more carved serpents rose to the blackness above. Harry moved forward between the columns and from the footsteps behind, he knew Lupin and McGonagall were following. His trainers made squeaking noises on the damp marble pavement as he walked.
Finally he came to the end. The statue of Salazar Slytherin rose impressively above him. The eyes seemed to be leering down at the three unwelcome visitors. Harry moved forward, to the foot of the statue. His heart leapt when he saw the small square object lying open on the floor. It was the diary.
"Look!"
Harry picked up the diary and held it out to McGonagall and Lupin. Lupin nodded, his face breaking into a relieved smile, but McGonagall was looking angrily from the diary to Lupin and back again. "We came down here for a diary?" she exclaimed, her voice rising dangerously.
"Not just a diary. A Horcrux. Listen, we'll... I'll explain everything when we get out of this place. How do a nice hot cup of tea and a few cleaning spells sound to you?"
"You'd better have a very good explanation for this," McGonagall said, snatching up the diary and stomping away towards the doors at the opposite end of the Chamber.
Harry looked up at the giant statue of Slytherin. "That's where the Basilisk came out," he said softly, and pointed to Slytherin's mouth.
Lupin said nothing, but Harry felt a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Ginny was lying right between the feet right there. I thought she was dead," Harry said. For some reason it was important to explain this. "Riddle was standing over there. He took my wand while I was with Ginny."
Lupin's grip on Harry's shoulder tightened. "He said he was the greatest sorcerer to ever live, but I told him he was wrong. I told him that Dumbledore was the greatest wizard ever. Then Fawkes flew in and brought the Sorting Hat. Riddle called the Basilisk, and told it to kill me, but Fawkes pecked its eyes out and the Sorting Hat gave me Godric Gryffindor's sword. I somehow managed to kill the Basilisk when it stuck, but one of the fangs was embedded in my arm. I was right over there." Harry pointed. "Against that wall. I thought I was dying. Riddle thought so too, because he told me I was going to join my dear Mudblood mother.
"But then Fawkes came and his tears healed my wound. Riddle was furious. He was about to kill me, but I plunged the Basilisk fang into the diary and ink spurted everywhere. Riddle started screaming, then he just disappeared. Ginny woke up. She was scared everyone was going to blame her for doing it. But she was OK."
Both stood silently contemplating the things that had happened in this room. Then Harry heard someone clear their throat.
"Remus, Harry, I think it is about time to be going." McGonagall's voice had lost its sharpness. "I believe you have more to tell me than you first let on."
The Headmaster's--or in this case Headmistress's--office had not changed much since Harry had last been there, only weeks before, but realities away. Gone were Dumbledore's silver instruments and knick-knacks, but Fawkes's perch was still present, as well as a Pensieve in the corner. The same large desk still stood in the middle of the room. Harry could hear the soft snores from the portraits lining the walls.
Harry let go of the rock McGonagall had turned into a Portkey in the Chamber. The Headmistress conjured up two chairs. "Pardon me while I go change into some decent clothes," she said briskly. Harry looked at her blankly, then realized that Minerva McGonagall was coved in dirt and slime from the Chamber. Her hair had come out of the long braid, and some of it was plastered to her face. Her red dressing gown was red no more. Harry had to bite back a laugh. He'd never seen his Transfiguration teacher in such a state before.
"Don't sit on the chairs or couch before cleaning yourselves off if you value your life," the woman warned, before disappearing through doorway behind the desk.
Harry and Lupin began casting spells to clean themselves off. Harry wished he had Hermione. She was always much better at Charms than he was. The Scourgify spell Harry was using was only vanishing some of the mud on his robes.
Several minutes later, McGongagall emerged, wearing her school robes. Her hair was wet, but pulled neatly up into a bun.
"Merlin's Beard," she muttered when she saw Harry and Lupin still trying to clean off the mud they had missed. "Scourgify!"
Harry's robes were spotless again. "Thanks, Professor," he said gratefully, sinking down into the chair. It was soft and plump, a far cry better than McGonagall's usual straight-backed chairs.
"Now," she said, sitting behind her desk and watching them over the tops of her spectacles. "I believe you have a story to tell me, Mr. Potter. Forgive me for eavesdropping, but I could not help overhearing a tale you told Lupin in the Chamber and it is very contradictory to the Chamber of Secrets story I am acquainted with."
With a quick glance at Lupin, who sighed, but nodded in approval, Harry held out the diary. "This is Tom Riddle's diary, Professor. Or Lord Voldemort, when he was young and at Hogwarts. It's a Horcrux, but not just a Horcrux, because writing in it will allow Voldemort to possess the writer. Watch."
Harry borrowed her pen and ink and wrote, "My name is Harry Potter," on the first page. The ink faded into the page. Suddenly words began to appear on the page. "Harry Potter. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Tom Riddle."
McGonagall watched, wide-eyed. "This is the diary Ginny Weasley wrote in all the time in her first year?"
Harry nodded. "If you write in it too much Voldemort can possess you. He can make you do things. That's what happened to Ginny. One of Voldemort's Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy, slipped the diary into her cauldron in Flourish and Blotts at Diagon Alley in her first year. She wrote in it and Riddle made her kill the roosters, and write the words on the wall in blood, and open the Chamber."
"So she was innocent," the headmistress said quietly. "I told them she couldn't have done it, but that boy, Draco Malfoy caught her in the act. He told his father and they sent Ministry officials to take her away."
The clock on McGongall's wall struck 4:00. Had it only been four hours since Harry had said good-bye to Leila? It had felt like much longer.
McGonagall straightened. "You still haven't told me how you both seem to know so much information, and why your story, Mr. Potter, is so different from the accounts I have previously heard."
Harry glanced at Lupin, who, heaving another sigh, plunged into the account of the Aperio, and the other reality they had lived in. Lupin explained about the prophecy, quickly outlined the doings of the Order of the Phoenix, and told of how Dumbledore had been the one to discover the Horcruxes, hindered by the recent events of Dumbledore's death and Snape's betrayal.
"The diary was the first Horcrux discovered, and likely Ginny Weasley's story would have been very similar had it not been for Harry here," Lupin concluded.
Harry took up the story and explained how he, Ron, and Hermione had figured out the clues, and how he had killed the Basilisk and destroyed the Horcrux, rescuing Ginny.
"That makes a lot more sense," McGonagall said once Harry had finished. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Now I understand why you both seem to know much more than you should. An Aperio, though. Good Lord, one of those hasn't been seen in a thousand years. It's very complicated magic and nearly impossible to undo. I understand why you are trying to keep this a secret, though." she acknowledged. "It is for the best."
The clock struck 5:00, and Lupin glanced up. "Did it take an hour to tell the story?" he said, alarmed. "I've got to get Harry home before his parents wake up!"
McGonagall stood. "Gentlemen, I thank you for your time. It was a most enlightening experience. Please know that I stand behind you in every decision you make from now on."
Harry looked gratefully at her. "Thank you, Professor. We need all the help we can get."
McGonagall escorted them to the front doors, and bade them good night. Harry and Lupin mounted their brooms and flew across the grounds, but as soon as they had passed the gate, Harry landed.
"What are you doing?" Lupin said, looking confused.
"I'm apparating," Harry said firmly
"Harry! No! You're not..."
"Seventeen... I know. I'm almost seventeen, and I can do it. Besides, Leila told me Dad gets up early sometimes, and I can't risk being found missing."
"But..."
"I can do it, Remus! I apparated myself and Dumbledore from the cave to Hogsmeade, didn't I?"
"I...
"It's the quickest way home, and we really can't risk taking any more time than we must. You can just go on home. I told you, I can do it myself."
Lupin looked wearily at the stubborn teenager. "All right, Harry. Go ahead. I won't stop you."
Harry took a few steps back, then paused. "Thank you, Professor. For coming tonight."
"I couldn't have found this," Lupin held up the diary, "without you, Harry. Now go, before James and Lily wake up. I'll set about calling another Order meeting."
Harry closed his eyes, and thought of the three D's. He concentrated on the Potters' house in Godric Hollow, he pictured the front yard in his mind, and then he turned.
The sensation of being pulled through an airless tube filled him. He couldn't breathe. The world was spinning... And suddenly Harry felt his feet land on firm ground. He was standing, if only a little shakily, in front of his house.
As the first blushes of pink lit the eastern sky, Harry flew through the still-open windows into his bedroom. He landed a bit breathlessly and was startled by a soft snore.
Leila was stretched out on his bed, fully clothed, her face hidden by a mop of dark hair. One arm hung limply over the side of the mattress.
"Leila, get up!" Harry said, and shook her.
She rolled over and moaned, blindly swatting away his hand. "No, Mum..." she mumbled in her sleep. "He's not here...off shagging Cho...somewhere..."
Harry was horrified. "Leila, you prat! Get off my bed this instant!"
She groaned, and opened one sleepy eye. "Hawwy?" she muttered.
"You're in my bed, squirt," he said, and unmercifully shoved her off. She landed with a thud on the floor.
He turned back to shut the window, and suddenly felt a wave of tiredness sweep over him. Depositing his broom in the closet, Harry fumbled around in the dresser for a pair of pajamas, and pulled his shirt off over his head.
"Eww, I did not need to see all that," Leila snapped. Harry turned, and saw her pulling herself back onto the bed.
"Sod off," he replied, grinning as he slipped the pajama shirt on over his head. "Honestly, Leila, what are Mum and Dad going to say if they find you in my room at five in the morning?"
Harry heard a gasp. "Mum and Dad," Leila said weakly. "The Silencing Charm..."
She dashed out of his room drawing her wand and mumbling things under her breath. Harry finished changing and crawled into bed. His head had hardly hit the pillow before sleep overtook him.
Author's Note: I don't really like this chapter. Not as well as the previous one, anyway, but better ones are coming. Please review!
Some of you have said it'd be interesting if Harry was no longer a Parselmouth in the new reality, but for my own reasons, I've decided to leave him the ability of speaking to snakes. And for those of you who are positive Ginny never went into the Chamber of Secrets before the last time when Harry rescued her, I'm not too sure about that theory. To actually call up the Basilisk, I think she would've had to actually go into the Chamber. She left the diary in the Chamber right before she was caught because Riddle told her too. The diary being in the Chamber is one of the reasons she ended up in Azkaban. More on Ginny's case in chapter 21. Please don't send me reviews saying, this isn't CANON! No, this story isn't canon. It's AU—Alternate Universe.
Later: Oops… Er, yes, blushes furiously Most of you caught my blatant error! I didn't re-read HPCOS before writing this, so obviously I had some details mixed up. Thanks for the many people who corrected me. Ginny killed the roosters because of their cry. Not to feed the Basilisk. Then how does it eat? I wonder. Does it just live forever without food? Or survive on little animals that make their way down into the Chamber?
Just got back from a long day at White Water, a water park in Atlanta. My whole family went 'cause today's my 19th birthday. Yay! It was really fun, but now I've got a nasty sunburn on my cheeks.
I'm really excited! I'm currently writing chapters 22 and 23, the Harry-rescues-Ginny-from-Azkaban chapters… they will be up soon, I promise! I really need a beta, though. My chapters have so many Americanism/grammar/spelling mistakes in them. Any good Betas out there looking for a job? I beg you! Contact me! elisa . richards (at) gmail . c o m. Of course, without the spaces.
