Author's Note: The list from last chapter is reproduced in this one. You really only need to read the bold part to get the gist.

Draco heard the familiar sound of the wall shifting and grinned at the red-headed girl who entered his room. "Morning, Ginny. Cutting Defense, are you?"

"Lockhart wouldn't notice if half the class skipped as long as no one interrupted him," she whispered. "I just have to be back in time for Transfiguration."

Draco sat up straight. It sounded like she was trying not to cry. "Are you okay?"

Ginny nodded, even as her bottom lip wobbled dangerously. Wordlessly, she sat next to him and started massaging his shoulders. Within ten minutes, Draco couldn't feel any more pain in his back. He rolled back over and looked at her again. She sniffled. "I tried to talk to Ron and Jamie, but Percy came. I don't want to get into any trouble."

"About what?" Draco was stunned when she began to cry. He wiped away her tears. "Don't cry, Ginny. Please, don't cry. I'm sorry."

She sniffled. "It's all my fault. All of it."

"What's your fault, Ginny? It can't be that bad."

"It is. It's my fault that Colin and Hermione are in the hospital. And all those other petrified people, and poor Mrs. Norris. I'm the one who killed Hagrid's chickens. I didn't know they would stop it."

"How is it your fault?" Then what she said kicked in. "You killed Hagrid's chickens?"

"It was an accident. I was practicing my spells and they were loose. I didn't mean to hit it with the binding curse. Then the second one started squawking and I had to shut it up. I was so scared I'd be in trouble that I hid the bodies back in the coop." She buried her face in her hands and Draco awkwardly patted her back.

"It's okay. Don't worry. I won't tell. I promise."

"I'm such a bad person," she wept miserably.

"No, you're not. You didn't know. And no one else will either, Ginny. I won't tell anyone, not even Jamie," Draco pledged. "You've helped me and now I'll help you."

-----

Ron and Jamie were sprinting for the Staff room at full speed, a scrap of parchment clutched in Jamie's hand. Hermione had done it. The creature in the Chamber was a basilisk. This would have been great and all, if McGonagall hadn't used the sonorous spell to inform all students to return to their dormitories. They ignored it and ran into Snape just outside the staff lounge.

"It's a basilisk," Ron shouted.

Jamie gave his dad the parchment. "This was in Hermione's hand. She figured it out."

'Very typical, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Ron's mouth dropped. "Is that all?" Then his mind caught up with his mouth. His most hated professor who never gave Gryffindor points, had just done so. "I mean, the teachers have been looking all year, and a ton of students were petrified."

"Mr. Weasley, you may want to be silent now. Professor McGonagall will be here momentarily with your brothers and then . . ." The potionsmaster broke off and stared at the window. "I don't believe it."

"ALL STUDENTS LEAVE THE CASTLE IN AS ORDERLY MANNER AS POSSIBLE. TEACHERS PLEASE ASSIST THE MINISTRY WITH THIS EVACUATION."

"Go into your room, and don't leave, Jamie. Take Mr. Weasley with you. Fudge, Umbridge, and Malfoy are all down there. I will return as soon as possible."

"Wait a minute," Ron yelled. "Why would McGonagall bring Percy and the twins here? And what about my sister?" Professor Snape didn't answer him. "Ginny," he whispered in horror. He turned and leapt out of the room, running down the hall, screaming for his sister. He reached the wall where they found the first message. A new one had been emblazoned on the wall. "HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER." Ron didn't realize that he had stopped, until a strong arm seized him around the waist and hauled him back to the Staffroom. He was roughly thrust through the door, and Snape left without another word.

Jamie knelt next to him. "I'm so sorry, Ron. Come on."

Ron followed Jamie down the corridor that led to the other boy's parent's chambers numbly. His little baby sister was gone. Ginny was gone. He kept repeating the fact to himself, but was unable to process the information. It couldn't possibly be real.

Jamie led him to Draco's room where the blonde boy lay sacked out from sheer exhaustion. He must have had a physical therapy session this morning. Jamie shook him a few times before he woke up. Catching sight of Ron, he started to make a snide comment, but it changed into, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"There was another attack and the monster took his little sister into the Chamber of Secrets."

Draco shoved himself up into a sitting position. "What! Why Ginny? She's a pureblood."

Then it hit Ron hard. "How dare you? How dare you say her name and pretend to care! You're an evil, nasty, horrible Slytherin and probably in on the whole scheme!" He collapsed into tears at the foot of the giant bed.

Somewhere through the emotional tide, he heard Malfoy demand. "Help me, Jamie!" Moments later, there was a hand on his shoulder and Malfoy peered down at him. "I would never target your sister, Weas-Ron. Never. Ginny is the only friend I have besides Jamie."

"What are you talking about?" Ron muttered, thickly.

"Your sister came down to my room to make sure that I was okay after overhearing you all fight. It was as if I had never ever made fun of her. She gave me the most amazing back rub of all time and it actually made the pain go away. She's done it every few days since and doesn't want anything in return. She's kind just for the sake of being kind, just like Jamie."

"Bill always called her a miniature mum," Ron croaked. "She takes care of Errol, keeps the twins out of big trouble, and reminds Percy to eat and sleep. What are we going to do without her?"

"She can't be dead," Draco whispered. "If the monster was just going to kill her, then it wouldn't have taken her back to its lair." He sat up straight. "Where's the list? We have to look it over again. We can still figure out the monster and where it is."

"It's a basilisk. Hermione found out right before she got petrified." Jamie showed him the slip of paper.

"Giant snake, murderous stare, poisonous fangs, spiders fear it, and the crow of a rooster is fatal to it. Oh, Bloody Hell."

"What, Dray?"

"She told me and I promised not to tell anyone. I didn't even realize what she was saying. She was crying and she even said that it was all her fault, but I didn't ask her why. Ginny killed Hagrid's chickens. She knew the monster was a basilisk."

"Ginny's not the Heir of Slytherin!" Ron shouted, angrily, towering above the boy.

"Of course not," Draco said irritably. "But the Heir was controlling her. There's loads of ways to do it. The Imperious Curse, possession, memory charms. The Heir didn't have to do anything because he could force Ginny to do it for him. But how would you control a basilisk?"

"By speaking parseltongue! Humans can't understand it. Only a parselmouth like me would hear anything! That voice in Lockhart's office? I bet that was the basilisk or the Heir. No one else would have even heard the hissing while it sounded like shouting to me."

Draco caught on fast. "And Slytherin was a famous parselmouth. The ability would be passed down through the generations."

Ron was writing as fast as he could to amend the list. If they could figure this out . . .

Jamie comes to live with Professor Snape.

Dobby warns of great evil coming to Hogwarts.

Jamie hears a voice in Lockharts office.

Initial Attack. Mrs. Norris was petrified on Halloween just outside the Girls Toilet on the second floor. Message left on wall. "Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir Beware.

Hermione and I do some sleuthing and find the first spiders. Hermione gets the idea for Polyjuice. She gets Lockhart to sign a permission slip for Moste Potente Potions and starts brewing it in the Girls Toilet.

The bludger attacked Jamie at the quidditch game, and Professor Lockhart removed all of the bones in his arm. Dobby appears in hospital wing and confesses to bludger. Colin Creevey is petrified.

Jamie discovers that he's a Parselmouth at the Dueling Club.

Hagrids chickens are killed by Ginny.

Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly-Headless Nick are petrified.

The Polyjuice Potion failed. Hermione turned herself into a cat person.

Someone through Tom Riddle's diary at Moaning Myrtle. Jamie's chivalry demanded we enter the Girls Toilet again and remove the offending book.

Hermione figures out the diary, and Tom Riddle takes her and Jamie back in time to show them how he 'caught' the 'Heir of Slytherin' and what the idiots thought was the monster. Diary is stolen by Gryffindor Girl. (Ginny?)

Umbridge kidnaps Jamie and Snape rescues him.

Draco comes to live with Snape and Jamie. He's uh, paralyzed.

Hermione gets petrified along with the Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater returning from the Library.

Hagrid gets sent to Azkaban.

Snape goes into the Forbidden Forest and interrogates Aragog (AKA: giant spider). Aragog is afraid of Monster.

Ginny tries to confess something important.

Ginny is taken into the Chamber and the school is evacuated.

"Who else is noticing that every attack is near the Girls Toilet?"

"I told you I didn't care about the toilet, Jamie!" Ron announced triumphantly, turning crimson under the identical Snape smirks that Jamie and Draco bestowed upon him. "Okay, so for whatever reason, the Heir of Slytherin is basing his operation out of the Girl's Toilet. A galleon says that the entrance is in there?"

"Where's the proof, Weasley? If you're wrong, then we could waste time in the wrong place."

"Moaning Myrtle," Jamie shouted. "You said it yourself, why would a ghost haunt a bathroom? One who-"

"Died there," Draco finished. "Moaning Myrtle died in that bathroom. She was the student fifty years ago, killed by the basilisk. She never even knew what killed her. Alright, to the Girl's Bathroom. Jamie, you stay here."

"WHAT?"

"If you think for one second that I'm going to let you go fight a basilisk and whoever the real heir is, you're mental, Harry James Potter-Snape. Completely mental."

"It's not like you're going to be any help to me," Ron protested. "Jamie saved the Sorceror's Stone last year. He's more than capable of handling an overgrown garden snake."

Ignoring the jibe at his useless legs, Draco growled. "Overgrown garden snake, Weasley? The thing grows to be up to thirty feet long. It has a murderous stare and its fangs are poisonous. There is no way that I'm letting my best friend anywhere near that thing. He's just a kid."

"I'm the same year as you," Jamie said hotly.

"But almost a year younger," Draco countered. "Besides Professor Snape would have my head if I let you leave this room with Fudge and Umbridge running around."

"They're outside. I'm going, Draco. Every second counts for Ginny. Dad will understand. If he doesn't, well, I'll have a lot of time to try and convince him otherwise." Jamie darted out of the room before either older boy could lunge for him, not that Ron would have. It was with a grimace that Draco accepted the crutches and followed to the two Gryffindors down to certain death-by Snape if not by basilisk.

-----

Ron was shocked to find Lockhart two doors down from the Girls Bathroom. By the time they realized he was there, he had seen them. "Damn it," Draco swore. "We'll have to take him with us. Jamie?"

"Expelliarmous."

Lockhart looked rather shocked when his wand disappeared from his hand and watched in astonishment as Jamie passed it to Ron. "What are you three doing here? Everyone's been evacuated. It's dangerous here!"

Draco snorted. "Some Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. We found the chamber and we know what the monster is so you're going to help us rescue Ginny Weasley, Lockhart."

Lockhart stared at them incredulously, turned and fled. Jamie hit him with a petrificus totalis and he fell to the floor.

Draco shrugged. "I suppose that works just as well. Leave him there. Oh, and Lockhart? The monster is a basilisk so keep your eyes shut." The wizard moaned and clamped his eyes shut tight. "Okay, moving onward."

Myrtle was overjoyed to see Jamie. "There was a girl in here earlier, Jamie. She had that awful book with her too. I bet she's the one who threw it at me."

"Myrtle," Jamie interrupted calmly. "Was the girl Ron's sister?"

"She looked an awful lot like him, now that you mention it," the ghost mused before glaring at the redhead. "You're whole family is just terrible." The sinks exploded to life and doused Ron.

Peering out from under the soaked red mop on his head, Ron uttered, "Bloody hell, I'm sick of her doing that. If Ginny and I make it out of this, I'm making her clean the bathrooms for the rest of her life."

"You do that, Weasley," Draco muttered. "How do you do that, Myrtle? From across the room and all."

"The sinks always respond to me," the ghost replied smugly. "Except for that one. That one only listens to hissing like what the girl was doing. It never worked either."

"See, Dray. You need me to do this," Jamie darted forward and glared at the offending sink. A moment later, he was hissing downright eerie sounds at it, and the sink opened up into a tunnel-like slide.

"Oh, great," Draco complained.

"Don't suppose there's a devil's snare under this one do you?" Ron asked nervously. When he got an odd look from the Slytherin, he shrugged. "There was under the last one."

"I doubt it, Weasley. Slytherin was into monsters not plants."

"The plant is a monster," Ron muttered half-heartedly. "Well, she's my sister, so I guess that I go first?"

Draco shook his head. "Let me go first. It won't hurt me, and then if necessary, I can put up a cushioning charm for Jamie."

"Hey!"

It was too late. Draco had already sat down and shoved himself down the tunnel, hauling the crutches after him. He glared at the quickly retreating blonde hair, and turned to Jamie. "Together then?"

Jamie wavered for a second at the mouth of the dark hole. Biting his lip, Jamie retrieved the charmed glass ball that Hermione had created for him at the beginning of the year, and shrugged. Then he yelled down the hole. "I'm coming down, Dray!" Ron swore and quickly followed.

-----

Draco emerged in a rocky cave like room and cast the cushioning charm for his best friend. He even left it up for Weasley. It was with great pleasure that he later recalled how he had removed it a split second before their bumbling Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher came crashing down after them. Moments later the three were looking down the end of a wand.

"I'll go in just far enough for a bit of the skin. Snakes shed, don't they? I'll tell them what I found, the girl dead, you three insane at the horrific sight, I'll be a hero for managing to rescue just you three. How many wizards have faced a basilisk after all? I'll be even more famous. Bolder than the Basilisk. That's what I'll title it."

"Lost our minds?" Ron asked skeptically.

"I do possess a rather advanced memory charm. Wouldn't have gotten where I am today, without it."

"Hah, Dray, Hermione owes us five galleons," Jamie burst out suddenly. "We told her he couldn't have done any of that stuff. Oh." The boy suddenly quieted as he realized what Lockhart intended to do.

"Oh, indeed, Jamie. And why did we leave the man's wand where he could get to it, Weasley?" he sneered.

Lockhart shouted "Obliviate!" A burst of light filled the cave . . . from the wrong end of the wand.

Ron laughed. "I didn't. I left him mine."

Draco burst out laughing. "Congratulations, Weasley. That was positively Slytherin."

Before Ron could retort, there was an odd cracking sound. Draco flung himself over Jamie just as the rocks came down. When the dust had settled, there was now a stone wall between them and Ron.

Jamie peeked up. "That isn't good."

"No kidding," Draco muttered. Only one of his crutches survived the cave-in. He'd have to lean on Jamie for quite a bit. "Weasley, you still kicking?"

"Sorry to disappoint," came the muffled yell. "Can you get to Ginny still?"

"Yes, we'll go rescue your sister, you stupid Gryffindor. Try and get us out of here if you would be so kind. If we're lucky we'll be back with her soon." He turned to Jamie. "It's up to us now, Jamie-boy. Shall we go kill a basilisk, rescue the damsel, and save the school all before dinner?"

Jamie grinned. "Lets."

-----

Slytherin's chamber was impressive, and surprisingly basilisk free. Unfortunately, there was a red-haired figure slumped on the ground right underneath the great statue of Slytherin. Jamie ran on ahead, leaving Draco to make his way as quickly as possible. Without the light to guide his path, it was easier said than done. For this reason, he was still ten feet away from Jamie, when a tall and handsome boy almost see-through like a ghost appeared from a small door inside the statue's mouth. He didn't recognize the boy and therefore distrusted him.

Apparently Jamie had met him before. "Tom. Please help us. It wasn't Aragog. It's a basilisk. We have to get out of here quick!"

Tom cocked his head. "Jamie Snape, I do believe. I was ever so pleased to have you writing in my diary, although I couldn't give away what I already knew."

Warning bells went off in Draco's head. This was a very old, very Slytherin game. Tom was playing with them for an unknown reason and that made him dangerous. Jamie didn't understand this however and repeated his plea a little louder. Draco dropped the crutch and crawled desperately forward. "Stop talking, Jamie!" he ordered. "He's not a friend!"

Tom laughed. "I'm heartbroken, Master Malfoy. Expelliarmous. Your father was a dear friend of mine and I've come to learn that so was your father, little Jamie. Your adoptive father, that is. Because Jamie Snape is just a way to hide Harry James Potter."

"Potter-Snape," Jamie shook, but his voice remained strong. "And I only use the last half for every day purposes."

"Oh, but this is hardly an every day event. I'm meeting the boy who Dumbledore believes to be my downfall, the fool. What's so special about you?"

"Who are you?" Jamie asked, softly, already knowing the answer.

"I am Lord Voldemort," the teen laughed, spelling out the name in gold light and rearranging the letters to read Tom Marvolo Riddle. "I will one day rule the Wizarding World through a tyranny of fear, and kill your parents only to be stopped by you. Yes, little Ginny Weasley is a marvelous correspondent, isn't she? She wants so badly for you to like her, Harry, and she's so worried about you, because of the changes that she's overheard her older brother and Hermione discussing."

"Thanks a lot, Weasley," Draco muttered. He was still about six feet away from Jamie, but he didn't dare move while Voldemort Jr. held both of their wands.

"You see, when you returned to Hogwarts this year, not only were you adopted, you were diagnosed with asthma, and you were terrified of everything around you, especially the dark." He waved the wand once with a nonverbal spell.