Chances Are Keeperoliver Chapter Twenty One

A/N: I would like to start this chapter with an explanation. Earlier in the story I had Lucius Malfoy found guilty of bribery. He avoided a prison sentence by paying dearly for his freedom. Not a bribe, mind you, but an honest fine levied by the Ministry. It was much more than a bribe he would have paid to Fudge for his freedom. He also lost his position with the Ministry. This oversight was due to my wishing to get the story out to you faster and with more Harry and his new family. I hope this explains how Lucius is still free and is still a problem. As always, Ollie the Keeper.

Chances Are-}

Harry's first step was to have a talk with Hagrid, since he was the one Tracy mentioned that had anything to do with the incident in 1945. He knew it was going to be hard as Hagrid didn't feel right with talking about it. It was the one chapter in his life that was his darkest memory.

Harry tried on several different occasions to try and get him to talk, but it was no use. He was beginning to lose hope when Luna came to the rescue. "Harry, perhaps you should let me try to get Hagrid to talk. After all, it is my idea to keep the book from everyone else, and because of that, things aren't going right. It's not going to hurt anything if I try."

Harry thought on it for a minute and then agreed with Luna, but she wouldn't be doing it alone. Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Remus and Sirius had to be there as well, in case something should go wrong, like Hagrid losing his composure. If there were others there then he felt safer with numbers as witnesses. Plus with all of them there, one of them may pick up on something that others missed.

Rather than face him in his hut, Luna got Hagrid to talk in Harry's empty classroom. He didn't feel comfortable there, but he agreed with her wish all the same. Luna started the talk, "Hagrid, thank you for agreeing to talk with us. I know it is uncomfortable for you here, but I think you know what we face in the Chamber."

"No you'd be wrong there Luna. I don't know nothin about the Chamber and what's in it. I didn't know back then, and I still don't know now. I don't know what you want from me."

"Well, to start with, why were you implicated back in 1945?"

"Another student did it. He knew I was keeping something that the school would frown on."

"So, he thought what you had let you into the chamber?"

"Na, he knew it wouldn't allow me to do that. He just wanted to make himself look good in front of Professor Dumbledore. I guess him and the Professor had not seen eye to eye on a number of things."

"So, what was it you had that this student didn't like?"

"An Acromantular. It's a large species of a spider. I named him Aragog."

"So you don't know what type creature is hidden in the chamber?"

"Na, but I do know that Aragog didn't like it one bit. He fought me keeping him in the castle. Kind of weird, that, cause Aragog wasn't feared of nuttin. So, what ever it was in the chamber, made it feel unsafe to Aragog."

Hermione was taking everything down as Hagrid spoke. She was going to ask a question when Neville asked, "Hagrid, do you know the name of the person that was killed back then."

"Ya, and that's why I don't like it here in the castle. Her name was Myrtle Warren. Now she is known as Moaning Myrtle."

Hermione snapped her head up, "You mean Moaning Myrtle in the Lav?"

"That'd be her. Poor girl didn't even know what happened, I imagine. Can't understand why she was so disliked by the other students. They always picked on her."

"Did you know her?"

"Not really. She was in Hufflepuff two years below me. I was in Gryffindor."

"But you knew of her?"

"Well, ya. Never talked to her, but I never rediculed her either. I guess you could say I was like her, but no one ever picked on me. They never talked with me, but that was fine as I had other things going on."

"Aragog never did tell you what was in the chamber. But you know he was afraid of it. Did you ever talk to him about it later?"

"Aragog asked me to leave it alone, as it is all over with. He thanked me for helping him. He told me I was welcomed back to his nest anytime, but under no circumstances would he allow a wizard into his nest. If one were to show up, then he would not be held responsible for what his children would do."

Luna looked to Hermione to see if she had everything down and if she needed anything else. Hermione asked another question, "Hagrid, is there anything going on now that we should be aware of?"

"Now that you mention it, there is. A large number of spiders have been leaving the castle of late. I can't figure out why."

Luna looked to Hermione again and Hermione shook her head no. "Thank you Hagrid, we appreciate your time and patience. But tell me, why did you wait so long to tell us?"

His smile lit up the room when he answered, "Never had a pretty one ask me before. Now I have three pretties here. It kind of opens up your mind." Harry, Neville Remus and Sirius had to agree with him, and the three girls blushed, but had beautiful smiles on their faces.

Now that Hermione and her crew had more to work with, they could finally get going on finding something. It finally came down to Harry telling Luna that he didn't want to take a chance on Ginny ending up with the Diary, so he had to tell Professor McGonagall what they were doing and what it involved. She wasn't happy with the problem, as she remembered the incident they spoke of early in her teaching career. She still visited with Myrtle from time to time, to talk to her and let her know she was not forgotten.

Now Harry had to figure out what to do to force the issue of the book. He wouldn't let Ginny or Luna try to let it control them, but he had to let someone let it try. He thought of letting it control him, but then he would be incapable of reacting to a difficult situation.

Again and again the book found it's way back to Ginny's school bag, and there was no way to stop it that he knew of. However, someone did figure a way to stop it.

Luna had been looking out for a way to keep the book out of Ginny's bag, and it just so happened that she was thinking on it, when she saw Daphne walk by Ginny and stopped to talk to her. Ginny scooted over to let her sit, and pulled her bag with her. Daphne took the seat and began talking, "Ginny, have you and Harry figured out what to do about the book?"

"No, and it's getting tiring finding it in my bag when ever we think we have it trapped. There is more magic than we could imagine embedded in it. This Tom Riddle must have been quite strong in magic. I wonder if he did it in school?"

"I don't think so Ginny. Hogwarts doesn't teach that type magic. It is forbidden magic. The darkest magic."

"Do you have any idea of how to deal with it?"

"I wish I did, Ginny, but it is beyond me. Millicent and I have searched the library from one end to the other, to include the forbidden section, but still came up with nothing."

Luna was still watching the talk between her two friends and when Daphne got up to leave, she knocked Ginny's bag off the bench and helped her pick everything up, except the diary, which Daphne stuck in her robes. Luna watched as Daphne made her way out of the hall and disappeared around the corner. "Harry, I think Daphne is going to do something stupid. She took the diary from Ginny's bag and walked out with it."

"Why didn't you stop her Luna?"

"I wanted to let you know before I went to her, in case something happens to us. I'm going now to get her." and she got up from her bench and took off for Daphne. She had to go slow to make sure she didn't miss her. She was nowhere to be found on the ground level, so she went down to the dungeon to look, knowing that was the general vacinity of the entrance to the chamber. By the time she got to the Lav in the dungeon area, a message was already painted on the wall.

{ENEMY OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED!}

Luna went into the Lav and found it empty. She saw Myrtle up in the window and asked, "Mrytle, did a student enter in here recently?"

"Yes, but she was quite preoccupied as she ignored my questions. Then she hissed at the sink and it opened up to let her in, then closed right behind her."

"She hissed at the sink? What do you mean she hissed at it?"

"Just that, she hissed at it, like, HSSSSSSS. You know like leaking air from a tube or a balloon."

"Thank you Myrtle. I think I know what you mean. I'll be back later to talk to you again."

Luna went right to Harry and told him what Myrtle told her. His response was not favorable, "Damn it, that was not what I wanted to hear. Daphne let herself become controlled by the diary. Look, we have to work fast. Hermione go to the library and look for what will scare a spider. Luna, you go to Professor McGonagall and tell her what happened. Fred, George, Neville and Seamus, you come with me. We need to get Remus and Sirius to help us." and they all took off for their destinations, with Ginny folllowing Harry and her brothers.

Harry didn't try to stop her as he knew it was a waste of time. She was too stubborn to listen to any logic he might give her, besides, he liked having her with him and he would do everything in his power to keep her from harm.

Luna found Minerva before she went to her office and told her what was going on. Minerva then went and got Filius and Severus and had them join her in the dungeon area.

By the time they got down there, it had already started. Four people and Mrs. Norris were found petrified. Colin Creevy, Michael Corner, Justin Finch Fletchly and Nearly Headless Nick were also found with Mrs. Norris. There was also a flood of water on the floor as if a water line broke. They were all taken to the hospital ward and would wait for the potion to be brewed from the Mandragora root that Neville brought to school with him and Harry. The brewing would only take a couple of days. If Neville had not brought it with him, it would be another three months before the roots from school would be ready to harvest.

Harry found the Professors and Mr. Filch standing outside the Lav where Daphne disappeared into and asked if they were alright. "For now they are, Mr. Potter, but unless we find out how they became like this, I'm afraid more will follow, and if there are this many everytime it happens, then we may not have enough potion to cure them. Professor Snape didn't have any on hand and the Mandrake root here at school is still too juvenile for use."

"Has anyone seen Daphne Greengrass lately?"

Severus answered as she was in his house. "No one has reported her as missing, Potter. Why should she be missing?"

"Can we take this matter somewhere more private Professor?" and they left for the Potions lab.

Hermione went to the Library where she found Penelope there and she helped Hermione look for the answer to the question Harry gave her. She found it in Hagrid's book of magical creatures. Her and Penny were about to leave when they heard scrapping in the hallway. They looked out into the hall and saw a reflection in the armor across the hall and saw the movement, then two big yellow orbs. It was the last thing they would see until the potion was done for the petrified students. Hermione had the answer gripped tightly in her hand and held Penny's hand in her other, That was the way they were found by Percy as he was doing his rounds as Prefect.

Six people were affected that evening, five of them students, and a cat. Harry and his friends had to find an answer quickly before someone died rather than be petrified by what was happening. The group quickly made their way to the ward to find Penny, Hermione and Percy all there. Percy was between the two girls, holding the hands that were grasped together. Harry could see the tears in his eyes.

Neville went right to Hermione when he saw her, and took her free hand in his. He found the paper in her hand and took it from her so that he could hold her hand properly. He opened it up and read what was on it, "Harry, Hermione found the answer you were looking for. The creature in the chamber is a basilisk and it is using the plumbing to get around. It doesn't have access to the school this way though. So Daphne must have released it somehow."

Luna heard this and went running for the lav to help Daphne. Seamus saw this and was in pursuit of Luna. Luna was faster than he thought, and he never did catch up to her until she made it to the lav. When he finally did get to her, she was already looking around the wash tub looking for a clue as to how to get in. She was listening to Myrtle as she did it. Myrtle pointed to a faucet and Luna looked to find the raised mark of a snake on it. Luna tried hissing at it like Myrtle told her, but it didn't do anything. When Seamus joined her at the tub, he pulled her into a hug to calm her down.

It was another ten minutes before they were joined by the rest of the group and Luna pulled Harry to the faucet she found, "Harry, I think this is the entry to the chamber. Myrtle said Daphne hissed at it to make it open."

With the picture of the snake and the hissing sound, Harry took it as meaning Parstle mouth, so he tried using it. It opened when Harry asked it to. It split in two, and the center piece drew back and a chute appeared that they could slide down into the area below. Luna was the quickest to respond and jumped onto the chute and was followed by Seamus. Harry was too late to stop them, so he joined them, followed by the rest, except for Minerva. She stayed at the top to keep the entry open.

Ginny grabbed Harry's arm as soon as she landed and stood up. She was not going to let go of him the entire time they were down there. It made it hard for Harry to move, but it made it easier for him to continue on.

They came to a dark section of the tunnel that was blocked by something. Fred and George went forward to see what it was and about gagged when George called out, "It's a snake skin, but it has to be over forty feet long!" Fred added, "I'd say a good ton in weight."

Harry felt Ginny grip his arm tighter. He knew she was frightened. He patted her hand and led her on down the tunnel. As they passed the skin, Harry felt the link open up and Ginny used it to say, 'You best not try to leave me Harry. I hate snakes. If this is what we are going to be facing, then you can understand when I tell you this one really scares the crap out of me.'

'I know Gin. I don't look forward to seeing it myself. But if Daphne is in danger, then we have to go on.'

'I know we do Harry, by why does it have to be snakes?'

Then they came to a huge round door that was the entry into the chamber. Harry used his snake talk again and it opened to reveal a huge hallway that went on for a good way and then opened up into a large room that was made scary by the gigantic bust of Salazar Slytherin. In front of this bust was the body of Daphne Greengras lying on the ground with a young man standing over her. Or the vision of a young man as it was not quite there. You could see right through him, like he was a spirit. It had to be Tom Riddle.

Harry stepped back as Remus and Sirius went forward to talk to the spirit. Before they could say anything, the spirit spoke, "Which one of you girls is Ginny Weasley?" Ginny pulled Harry forward with her.

"I'm Ginny Weasley. Why do you wish to see me?"

"And the other must be Luna Lovegood?"

Luna went forward, but did not stop with Ginny, but went right to Daphne, "What have you done to Daphne?"

"She served her purpose and got you two down here, and is now serving another purpose."

"And what is that?"

"Restoring me to my past glory. In giving me her life, I bring back my own life. Such is the fate of the weak, to fall to the strong."

"Well, you can just stop it, as we have the advantage here." Luna yelled out.

"Yes, so it would seem, but once again I hold the one thing to change that balance to my advantage. I will get to that later. Now, I see someone here that I am interested in meeting. You are Harry Potter, are you not?"

"How do you know who I am?"

"The young girl was a wealth of information to me. Such as your half brother, Neville Longbottom. Now. Answer me a question if you will Harry. How was it you defeated the greatest wizard ever known?"

Harry looked to Fred, George, Neville and Seamus, "Did I ever beat Albus Dumbledore guys?"

Neville answered, "Ya Harry, remember that game of exploding snap you played him in?"

Harry slapped his hand to his forehead, "That's right, I did. But how did you know that Tommy?"

"THE NAME IS TOM, NOT TOMMY. I wasn't talking about Dumbledore, I was talking about Lord Voldemort."

"Why should you care about a dead person? Besides, I didn't beat him, he beat himself. It was his own spell that did him in."

"That's a lie. He used the death spell on you and there is no defense against it."

"Well, I'm here and with that being said, where is he?"

"You know where he is, since it was you that beat him."

Harry let out a laugh that echoed in the chamber. "Do you know how absurd that sounds, Tom. You are telling me that a fifteen month old baby defeated what you called the greatest wizared that ever lived."

Tom stood there for a moment, trying to decide whether he was being laughed at or if the boy meant what he said. If he thought about it, it did sound absurd. A mere baby defeating him at his prime. "Then tell me how he was beaten?"

"I told you, he beat himself. He fired the AK spell at me, and it bounced back and hit him."

"And I told you there is no defense for the killing curse. Someone else must have been in the room with you, so who was it?"

"My mother would have been if he hadn't killed her a few seconds before he tried to kill me." Harry shed a few tears with that announcement.

"If she got in his way, then it was her own fault. So, who else was in there?"

"Just me and Voldemort. He fired the Ak at me, and it hit me, but bounced off me and hit him in the chest. He died, and I was scarred." and Harry showed Tom the scar on his head which was still the golden color.

When Tom saw the scar he screamed, and lost his contact with Daphne. She opened her eyes and saw Luna sitting over her. Luna tried moving her, but she was too heavy, so Fred came running to her and picked her up and tried running with her, but Tom saw it and using Daphne's wand, was able to trip him. Daphne was somehow spared being hurt when Fred managed to turn over and she was on top of him. He felt a few ribs break as he landed.

Tom then began firing at the rest but was unable to do any damage as he was still weak, so he did the one thing he said was his advantage. He called for Salazar Slytherin's greatest weapon.