Happy holidays everyone! I hope you're all having a great winter season. Now that my exams are over, I'll be posting more regularly. Also, this fanfiction will be coming to an end within the next couple chapters. Once it's over, keep your eye out for Ravenfire Ashe: Third Year!

Chapter Fourteen

My eyes flickered open to a dimly lit room.

I was lying on wet tiles that were glassy and dark green. In fact, the entire room seemed tinted somewhere between black and green, not unlike the Slytherin common room, but I knew that was not where I was. As I sat up slowly, I noticed that my hair and robes were damp. Glancing around, I saw that the flooring I was laying on was surrounded by water that lapped onto the stones.

The hall was enormous, or so I assumed. I couldn't tell how big it truly was because my eyes met a wall of darkness before it met the perimeter of the chamber. Drops of water echoed endlessly, and I felt vulnerable, like I was the prey waiting for the predator to attack.

Then I saw two bodies lying beside me. When my eyes landed on Ginny, then Willow, everything came flooding back to me. Immediately, I reached for my wand, which should have been tucked into the waistband of my skirt, hidden by the folds of my robes.

But it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" a voice echoed from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder at the boy as he dangled my wand in front of me. I snatched for it, naively thinking that I would be able to retrieve it, but he pulled it away at the last moment, chuckling.

"Give it to me," I snapped, getting to my feet and facing him fully, "And the journal too. Where is it?"

The boy looked thoughtfully at my wand, as if truly considering handing it back to me. Then he shook his head with a smirk.

"No, I think I'll hold on to this for a little while longer. I wouldn't want you trying to fight me, would I? And as for the journal…well, it's in good hands. Better hands than yours, anyway."

"You have no idea the gravity of my situation. The Death Eaters themselves are expecting me to keep the book safe for the Dark Lord."

As soon as the words passed my lips, I wished that I could have taken them back. I didn't even know this boy. What if he was going to tell someone that I was working with the Death Eaters? What if he was going to tell someone we were trying to bring back the Dark Lord? I hadn't meant to tell this strange boy my secret, but he didn't even looked phased by the information.

"And who exactly do you think I am?" he purred, creeping ever closer to me.

"It doesn't matter," I retorted, sticking up my chin in defiance, "You're nothing."

Before I could say anything more, the boy's hand closed around my neck. In an instant, he was pressing me up against a giant, granite statue that stood tall in the middle of the room. He glared daggers at me before slowly lowering his lips to my ear.

"I. Am. Lord. Voldemort," he hissed as I felt his warm breath cascade over my cheek.

He had to be lying. But what if he wasn't?

"No, you're not," I spoke so cautiously that it sounded like a question, "The Dark Lord is dead, and he's older than, what, fifteen?"

He loosened his grip around my neck, and I pulled back enough to look at him without crossing my eyes.

"I am as I was when I was a student at Hogwarts. I am but a past projection of my current self. I'm a memory. But nevertheless, I am the Dark Lord."

"I'm still not sure I believe you. The kind of magic you're speaking of…I know nothing of it. How do I even know if it exists? I just don't understand."

The boy relaxed and smirked at me, and I couldn't help but feel that it was a pitying smirk. As if he thought my lack of knowledge was adorably pathetic.

"You will…in good time. I will explain everything when the boy joins us."

"The boy?"

"Harry Potter."

My heart skipped a beat. I didn't want Harry to join us. I didn't want him anywhere near the Dark Lord, no matter how old or real he was. There was nothing safe about this situation, and the less people dragged into it, the better I would feel.

The Dark Lord seemed to think that I was on his side. Was I? I didn't know, but he seemed to. I would be able to negotiate with him, especially if I were to be his second when he came back officially. I could get me, Willow, and Ginny out of this situation remotely unharmed. If Harry were to join us, I didn't know what would happen.

"And how do you know he will?"

The Dark Lord didn't respond to me immediately. Instead, he paused, listening to something I couldn't hear.

"Ah, yes. They have already found the Chamber."

"They?"

"Potter, the Weasley boy, and…another."

I should have known Harry wouldn't have done this by himself.

"Can I trust you?" he asked, turning is eyes back onto me.

"With what?"

"It's not important. I need to know if I can trust you?" he asked, desperation flashing in his eyes.

"You can," I lied.

When he handed my wand back to me, I lifted an eyebrow in surprise. That was not what I had been expecting, but before I could say anything, he turned his back to me and began moving away.

"But…" I started, gripping my wand tightly and watching as he froze mid-stride, "I will not allow you to hurt Willow."

The boy slowly turned to face me, his eyes piercing through me like knives. His expression warned me not to defy him further, but I remained unmoving. On the inside, I was terrified, but I worked hard to keep my outward composure. I would not allow him to hurt my friend.

"Excuse me? You'll not allow me?" he responded.

"I will remain loyal to you," I answered, my voice sounding surprisingly even and confident when I felt as though I was about to implode, "but I made a promise to her. She's my priority, and if you try to hurt her…I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

He approached me again, raising his index finger as if he were about to scold a child.

"You…" he hissed, but stopped abruptly.

We sat in an awkward silence for a moment as he listened again. I wished that I could hear what he did, but the only sound I noticed was our breathing echoing through the Chamber and the thundering of my heart in my chest.

"Someone's coming," he told me as he shoved me behind a nearby pillar so roughly that I almost slipped on the slick stones, "Stay here until I tell you otherwise."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he shot me a look that silenced me immediately. Frowning, I sunk into the shadows behind the pillar as he leaned against the other side. Then the slam of metal on metal echoed through the Chamber. The loudness of it shook the floor, and it was followed by the soft sound of feet slapping on the wet ground, coming closer and closer.

At least I only heard one pair of running feet. Perhaps Harry had convinced Weasley and the other to stay outside in case of an emergency.

"Ginny!" Harry Potter cried out suddenly. His voice was unmistakable as he begged her to wake up, terrified that she was dead. "Ginny, please!"

"She won't wake," the Dark Lord interrupted, and I could only imagine him dramatically stepping out from the shadows.

"W-who are you?" asked Harry.

But when the Dark Lord replied, his voice dropped so low that I could barely hear him. I could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation and the occasional echoed consonant. I peeked around the pillar just as the boy bent down to retrieve the wand that Harry must have cast aside when he reached Ginny.

"It won't come until it's called," the Dark Lord was saying, speaker louder now, perhaps for my benefit.

"Look, give me my wand," Harry replied, "I might need it."

"You won't be needing it."

The conversation grew increasingly quiet again until the Dark Lord raised his voice, "We're going to talk now!"

I flinched and twisted my fingers around my wand nervously. What would happen to Harry? I needed to protect him too, right? I remained behind the pillar, but I gripped my wand tightly, ready to jump into action if the Dark Lord tried to hurt anyone.

I was just as confused as Harry probably was. Everything that'd happened over the past year only jumbled my mind further. Now, half of that confusion was being explained, leaving me filled with shock and more confusion. Regardless, fear and adrenaline overtook any other emotion.

"Haven't you guessed yet, Potter?" I heard the Dark Lord say, "Ginny opened the Chamber of Secrets."

I had been able to jump to that conclusion, but I hadn't known how she could have until now. The Weasley girl was a sweet, kind Gryffindor. She wouldn't hurt a fly if given a choice. The only way she could have pulled this off would be if she were possessed. I knew very little about possession. All I knew was from movies and stories about demons and exorcisms. However the Dark Lord ad possessed Ginny, I knew it had to have been with extremely dark magic, and that was if possession was even possible to do.

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

I peeked around the pillar and raised my wand at the Dark Lord. I felt like a traitor for doing so, but I would have felt even more like a traitor if I'd sat by and did nothing while my friends were threatened. If the Dark Lord tried to hurt anyone, I could easily cast some kind of stunning spell to save them.

If he was only a memory, he probably wasn't as strong as he would be if he were alive. Besides, I must be able to hurt him with my wand if he took it from me originally. And if he took Harry's wand.

"Dumbledore saw through you while you were at school, and he still frightens you now," Harry said.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!"

"He's not as gone as you might think!"

As soon as Harry's words had finished vibrating off the walls, a new sound invaded the room. It sounded like an unsettling, mysterious song filled with minor intervals and accidentals. It grew louder and louder until I had to cover my ears. Suddenly, a bright, red bird cut through the turquoise air.

It dropped a worn-out piece of fabric at Harry's feet and landed on his shoulder. Finally, the bird's song ceased, allowing me to uncover my ears. The heavy silence was broken by the Dark Lord's voice.

"That's a Phoenix, and that is the old school sorting hat," he observed, glancing at the pile of burlap on the ground. Laughing, he continued, "This is what Dumbledore sends his defender? A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now? Perhaps you'd feel safer with your friend, Miss Ashe?"

At the last of his words, the Dark Lord pointed Harry's wand in my directions. Harry's eyes shot up from the hat lying on the ground and to the pillar I was standing behind as an invisible force pulled me from the shadows as if I were a puppet. I struggled against the spell, but it was useless. I was even powerless to raise my own wand.

The Dark Lord moved my body to his will, like he was my puppet master.

"She helped you defeat me a year ago, but I think you'll find that her loyalty has shifted quite a bit, wouldn't you say? Totam Vulpi!"

With a whimper, my body was forced to change into a fox. I stood on four legs, my bushy tail resting on the wet ground. Harry's eyes widened with shock and betrayal. I knew he was thinking of the fox fur that I'd given to Hermione, claiming it was my familiar's fur. Even if he didn't think that I'd purposefully given Hermione the animal fur, he knew that I had lied about it. I wanted to explain, but all that came out of my mouth was a strangled bark.

But regardless of what Harry was feeling, he narrowed his eyes at the Dark Lord.

"Wait, if she's on your side, why are you giving away her secrets?"

"I am simply making it clear who she belongs to now."

"I trust Raven," challenged Harry, "She defeated you with me last year, and she can do it again."

For a moment, the Dark Lord looked angry. Furious, even.

But his eyes relaxed within a second, and he gave Harry an evil smirk. My heart swelled at Harry's words, but it was quickly overcome with guilt. For someone I worked so hard to trick, he had a lot of faith in me. Or a lot of loyalty towards me anyway. I only wished that I had that undying loyalty towards him. As I tried to deal with my conflicting emotions, the Dark Lord lifted his curse on me.

Taking back control of my own body, I turned myself back into a human again just as the Dark Lord turned to face the stone head along the closer wall of the chamber. He began hissing so naturally that he was clearly communicating with something, as Harry did during the dueling club. It was, if I remembered, parseltongue. As the granite mouth began to open, the Dark Lord flicked his wand at me, forcing my eyes to shut.

"Let's see how well you can defeat the basilisk together."