Chapter 25
Into the Chamber
Shortly after lunch the next day, every resident of Hogwarts stood at every available window and watched the arrival of the dementors. Older students looked just as terrified as the younger ones as the ghastly beings, along with a deathly chill, descended over the castle and grounds. The dementors were not allowed inside the grounds though, they were only allowed to patrol outside the protective enchantments. However, regardless of where the dementors were not allowed to be, no one would be going outside today.
One particular resident of Hogwarts, Remus Lupin, stared out of his new office window with a forlorn expression on his face. He was confused about a lot of things. Albus had told him about the dementors and why they were coming here, but he just couldn't bring himself to believe that Sirius would come here to harm Harry. Eleven years ago, Sirius supposedly betrayed Lily and James to Voldemort. He was their secret keeper, but Remus couldn't bring himself to believe that Sirius would willingly betray them.
He. Just. Couldn't.
We were such good friends. Remus thought as a tear slid down his cheek. There is no way that Sirius could have…that Sirius could have…
He shook his head, and turned away from the window. It was the same inner struggle he had had for the last eleven years, and he could never bring himself to believe it. There was no evidence, and even Remus knew there had been no trial, but given his condition, he couldn't demand a trial for Sirius. He just knew that there had to be more going on here than what it seemed.
During that time, Albus had not been Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, but even after he took the position, Albus didn't see the need for a trial.
"What's done is done," Albus had said, "and there is no sense in drudging up history because the obvious conclusion is that Sirius betrayed them."
Remus shook his head again as he began to sort through his things and get his office in some sort of order. He had never agreed with that reasoning, there had to be more to it than that, and now he was ashamed that he had let Sirius sit in Azkaban all these years, but no one would have believed what a werewolf had to say. Remus just hoped that if Sirius was really on his way to Hogwarts, that he would be able to find him, and hopefully, finally, get the real truth.
Then there was Harry's situation.
Remus couldn't believe that he was in Slytherin. That had come as a complete shock, and Albus had already filled him in on what happed last night and told him what he thought about the Chamber of Secrets. Harry was only twelve years old though, and there was no way he was involved!
Remus had spent the last eleven years away from Harry because Albus had told him that he was well taken care of. Albus also hadn't wanted Harry to learn that he was wizard, because Albus was afraid that the fame to go to the young lad's head. Remus understood that, but he didn't agree that it was the best thing to do, especially because Harry was with the Dursleys. He knew how Petunia and Vernon felt about magic. He had heard Lily talk about her sister a few times, but Albus didn't want another James Potter on his hands. Remus hated that reasoning with a passion, but again, there was nothing he could do about it. Granted, James was an arrogant little piece of work, but in the fifteen months that Remus had known Harry when he was a baby, he always believed that he favored Lily more, but Albus had insisted that his way was the best.
But now…but now Albus was saying that Harry was into the darks arts, and had dark families influencing him, but again, something just wasn't adding up. If that was the case, then why was Harry friends with a bunch of Gryffindors, and a muggle born no less!
He had only seen Harry for a brief moment, but in that brief moment he learned something. He learned that Harry couldn't be dark. He had been pranked by some Gryffindors it seemed, and truthfully, he hadn't seemed all that upset about it. To Remus, a dark evil Slytherin would not have put up with that.
Remus had to admit that the Parseltongue made him uneasy, but he also knew that did not automatically make Harry evil or dark. After all, he himself was a werewolf and people would automatically think that he would rip them to pieces, but he would never do that. Well, in human form anyway, but the way Albus had been going on about Harry though, one would think he was the next dark wizard.
An audible growl could be heard from the new Defense Professor as he put away some books on his bookshelf.
Albus, Albus, Albus. Albus said this, Albus said that. Albus believes this, Albus believes that. Albus, Albus, Albus. Remus thought bitterly, as he snatched up another stack of books to be put away. Something isn't right here. My instincts tell me that there is more here than what there seems, and I will seek out the truth!
Dear Salazar Slytherin,
I know he have never met, but my name is Sirius Black. I never thought I would say this about you, or any Slytherin for that matter, but….
"No, no, that isn't right." Sirius mumbled, as he crumpled up the letter and tossed it aside. He sighed, and reach for a fresh sheet.
He was sitting next to the fireplace in Merlin's large brightly lit library, trying to come up with a way to express his thankfulness for everything that had happened, but he just couldn't seem to find the right words.
Dear Salazar,
My name is Sirius Black, and I never thought I would be writing to the famous Founder of Sly….
"No, that's not right either." He said with another sigh. "That makes me sound like an obsessed fan girl or something."
"That or an eight year old." Merlin chuckled from the doorway.
Sirius glanced up and sighed once more. "Are you using legilimency on me again?" He asked in a curt tone.
"Yes, and I know it seems like an invasion of your privacy, but it helps me to help you. Your mind is not as far gone as I had feared, but it still needs to heal."
"I think just being away from that place helps a lot." Sirius said with a small smile. "I know I feel better than I have in a long time. I'm sorry I snapped though. I know you're only doing it to help me."
Merlin nodded. "Being away from the dementors is only a start, but good food and a clean stable environment has a lot to do with it too."
"Not to mention, knowing that my friends are alive and well." Sirius said with a chuckle.
Merlin smiled at the young man. "Yes, that too I think, but your nightmares are still happening every night and your eyes are not as…alive, if you will…as they should be. You also seem to be carrying around a large weight of some kind. Maybe some kind of burden?" He asked.
Sirius stared into the fireplace as a faraway, haunted look came into his eyes. "Maybe." He answered quietly.
Merlin studied the young man a moment, but then he reached into his pocket. "Well, I have news, and I thought you might like to hear it. It's a letter from Salazar and he says they are keeping an eye on Pettigrew via some kind of a map, and also that he has spoken to both James and Lily. He says that there is a way for you to talk with them, through mirrors?" He asked questioningly. "Salazar says you may know what that means."
Sirius's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Yes!" He exclaimed. "I know exactly what he means!"
Sirius went on to explain what the map and the mirrors were, and by the time he was done Merlin was watching the excited man with a smile on his face. Sirius was interrupted though, as Nehum suddenly appeared in a ball of flames with a letter in his beak. Merlin took it, and began to read.
~M.
The dementors were sent, by the Ministry, here to Hogwarts because of Sirius's escape. This was done because Albus thinks Sirius is on his way here to finish off 'Harry', but Salazar and I don't think that Albus wants them here anymore than we do. Speaking of Salazar though, he knows. We have forgiven each other, and I have never felt better. Thank you for all that you have done for me. It was well worth the wait, even if my prank didn't work out like I had hoped. (But more about that in another letter.)
Salazar and I are working on a way to rework the ward I set forth all those years ago, so that we can actually find this dark object, but I don't know if we will be successful. We do know what Lucius Malfoy was up to though. Someone has opened Salazar's Chamber and has set Emeralda loose. Salazar has not been able to get down there to speak with her yet, but he hopes to soon.
In other news, Remus Lupin is now the new Defense Professor, and he is an old friend of Sirius and James, so please let Sirius know that. We will be watching him closely to see if it is safe enough tell him about what is really going on, though Salazar doesn't want to. He feels that too many people know as it is, but James, Lily, and Minerva are saying that we should. They say it's not fair for Remus not to know. I agree with them, but what are your thoughts on this matter?
Severus is a little uncertain about Remus being here, but that is only because he is a werewolf. Salazar says that it doesn't matter, and I agree with him, as long as he drinks Wolfsbane when the time comes. Severus is willing to play nice though, as long as Remus doesn't hurt anyone. James says it has more to do with Sirius trying to feed Severus to Remus when they were students, so you might want to ask Sirius about that.
Send Nehum back as soon as you can. We need him to fetch the mirrors from James as soon as he has them ready.
~G.
Merlin was both happy and concerned after he read the letter, but then he looked at Sirius with a questioning gaze.
"Did you try to feed one of your classmates to a werewolf when you were a student?" He asked.
Sirius shifted around uncomfortably and that haunted look entered his eyes once more, but he nodded. "Yeah. It was a stupid thing to do, but he should have kept his nose out of other people's business." He said defensively.
"While I agree that is probably true, you should not have done that." Merlin said, as he handed the note to Sirius.
Merlin watched as Sirius read the note. He turned pale and his hands started shaking right away, but his color had somewhat returned as he finished.
"Who is 'G'? He asked.
Merlin smiled and went on to tell Sirius about Godric, and the prank he tried to play on Salazar. Sirius found the whole thing hysterical, but began asking questions about other pranks they had played.
Merlin chuckled as he remembered one particular incident.
"As you know, I attended Hogwarts at the age of six hundred years old and was sorted into Slytherin, and Salazar told me that he had invented a potion that would allow someone to walk through walls. Well, one day Salazar dared Godric to sneak up on Rowena Ravenclaw and scare her." He said with a chuckle.
"Now, you have to keep in mind that Rowena was a formidable witch and she was not easily frightened, but that night, Godric snuck into her personal chambers by using Salazar's newly created potion. He waited, unseen, until she had settled in for the night, then he suddenly leapt into view with a loud cry. Rowena screamed and leapt out of bed and began hexing Godric, who tried to run out the room through the wall. Unfortunately for him though, the potion had mostly worn off by that time, and Godric became stuck in the wall with his backside still in Rowena's living chambers. Rowena took great pleasure in hexing his backside, but Salazar, who had been waiting outside of Rowena's chambers, finally went to save him. Salazar drank his potion and walked through the wall until he found Godric, who was by that time in a lot of pain and starting to panic, and had him drink more of the potion. Then Salazar pulled him into the corridor." Merlin said as he laughed loudly.
"Rowena stormed out of her chambers, and found the both of them laying in the corridor laughing themselves silly, but they had to run for it because Rowena was not exactly happy with them. She hexed them all the way down the corridor, until they disappeared into another wall. She didn't speak to either of them for nearly a week, BUT because of that incident, something remarkable happened. The shortcuts throughout Hogwarts were created." He said with a chuckle. "It's amazing what the result can be when something does not go according to plan."
Sirius laughed loudly and had tears running down his face as Merlin finished his story, but he wiped them away and looked up at the ancient wizard.
"Whose idea was it to use the potion to make the shortcuts?" He asked, as he laughed again.
"Well, that would have been Helga. You see, Helga was always the one to think outside the box, so to speak, and she used that incident to come up with a plan. I do believe that they used mild blasting curses to make the tunnels though, because loud booms and bangs could be heard coming from inside the walls for weeks." Merlin said as he chuckled lightly. "Living at Hogwarts in those days was something else. You never knew what Salazar and Godric were going to do next, or Rowena's reaction to them. She was always yelling at them about something or another, but Helga would always take Salazar and Godric's side and tell Rowena that life would be boring if it weren't for the two of them. In the end, Rowena always had to agree with her. The Founders, all them, loved each other dearly."
"So why did they end up hating each other?" Sirius asked. "Salazar and Godric I mean."
Merlin suddenly looked down at his hands, and shook his head as a frown appeared on his face. "Sirius, I'm afraid that is not my story to tell. Although, I hate to admit that I played a big part in it. Perhaps we should leave that for another day. For now, let's focus on happier times."
Sirius nodded slowly. "I understand." He said quietly, but then he smiled as he caught sight of the letter that he had been trying to write.
Merlin saw him gazing at it, and he also smiled. "Sirius if I may, perhaps it isn't Salazar you should be writing to, but another Slytherin who is risking his life to keep your friends safe."
Sirius slowly looked back towards Merlin and nodded. "You're right." He said quietly. "Admitting my past mistakes is one of the steps to healing my mind, right?"
Merlin nodded. "That is correct. I'll leave you to it then." He said, as he gently patted Sirius on the shoulder and left the room.
Sirius reached for another fresh sheet of parchment and began to write.
Dear Severus…
"Are you sure about that? Because that goes against everything I have read about the man." Hermione said, as she glared at Fred.
Fred sighed and shook his head. "Trust me Hermione, Salazar Slytherin didn't hate muggle borns. He would not create the Chamber of Secrets to kill them all or to scare them away from Hogwarts. I don't care what Draco Malfoy says, but he is wrong."
"But Malfoy said that Muggle borns would be next." Neville whispered.
It was late afternoon on Halloween, and the twins, Neville, Hermione, and Colin were sitting in the Gryffindor common room discussing the number one topic of the day at Hogwarts, The Chamber of Secrets. Rumors were flying all over the school about the Chamber, what it was for, and what kind of dark scary monster lay within it.
Hufflepuff house was convinced that it was a torture chamber, Ravenclaw house was convinced that it held books filled with knowledge of the darkest of the dark arts, and Gryffindor house was convinced that it was a mixture of the two. All three of the houses however, just knew that the monster that lay within it was going to kill them all. Every member of Slytherin house on the other hand, was walking around the school with smug smirks plastered on their faces.
These rumors were currently being fanned by Ron, who was at the moment, loudly advocating that he knew who had opened the chamber, and it was 'that sneaky, slimy, evil, Slytherin Harry Potter'. Thankfully though, no one was paying attention to him at the moment. Unfortunately however, that only seemed to make Ron even angrier.
"I'm telling you he opened the Chamber!" Ron shouted over the hum of conversation in the common room. "It's all Harry Potter's fault! He's a Slytherin and a Parselmouth! He's evil! Don't you see!?"
"Ron, for the last time, Harry is not involved, and you know bloody well that Salazar Slytherin didn't create the Chamber to kill muggle borns!" George yelled at him. "The Bloody Baron is a muggle born! You know that!"
That declaration brought all conversation to a screeching halt, and all eyes landed on George.
"It's true." Percy stood up and said. "During Christmas last year, Harry found a book written by Slytherin himself in the Slytherin common room. Yes, at first he hated muggle borns, until one day he came across a muggle woman trying to drown her three year old son in a river. He killed the muggle woman, and saved that little boy. It turns out that that three year old muggle born was none other than the Bloody Baron. The Baron told us that story last year during Christmas Holiday. It was after that, that Slytherin realized muggle borns were in more danger from the muggles than the half bloods and pure bloods were. After that, he convinced the other founders to allow muggle borns to permanently stay at Hogwarts during all holidays and the summer, so that they were safe from their muggle relatives."
"What book is this?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I don't know, but Harry has the original book, and Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape both have a copy of it. They are well aware of how Salazar Slytherin had a change of heart about muggle borns." Percy said calmly. "The opening of this Chamber has nothing to do with killing them."
"We have seen the book." Fred said. "And it only mentioned that the Chamber was built to protect the school. It did not say where the entrance is, but it did say that the so called monster was a giant snake. The snake was put there to protect the school from muggles." He emphasized.
George nodded. "Muggles attacked Hogwarts a lot back then because muggle repelling charms hadn't been invented yet. That whole thing with the Hufflepuff badgers last year was another protection. I'm pretty sure that Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had their own protections too. It's just that Salazar's was a giant snake."
"Then if it is a giant snake, then Potter has done something to it to change it or something!" Ron shouted. "He can talk to snakes! Everyone knows that!"
"He has a point there." Seamus stood up and said. "Potter is the only Parselmouth since You-Know-Who."
"So then Potter is responsible!" Lavender Brown shouted.
"No!" Hermione shouted back. "Harry would never do something like this. You people don't even know him!"
"I don't think Harry had anything to do with it either." Parvati stood and said. "He is really nice and because of his study group last year, I got good grades on my exams. He helped me with potions, and he took his time and explained it all to me. I don't think he would have done this."
"But he is a Parselmouth Parvati!" Lavender shrieked. "If there is a giant snake in the Chamber of Secrets then Potter is controlling it!"
Parvati shook her head. "No, I refuse to believe that."
"Perhaps, we shouldn't have mentioned the giant snake part." Fred whispered nervously to his brother.
"I think you're right George." Fred whispered back, as chaos erupted in the Gryffindor common room.
Shouting could be heard coming from those that supported the idea that Harry was not responsible and those that thought he was. The rest just sat there in silence as the shouting match grew louder. It didn't stop until Minerva came in to tell them all to quiet down and head to the Halloween feast.
The Halloween feast itself was wonderful. The food, as always, was delicious, and Albus took the time to announce that Remus was the new Defense Professor. After that, the Hogwarts choir put on a lovely show and sang songs about different Halloween themes. Some were scary, but some were funny, and a good time was had by all.
The very end of the feast was a nightmare though. Albus stood up with a grave look on his face and loudly cleared his throat. The entire great hall became quiet, and Salazar glanced at Godric, who just shrugged and turned his attention towards the Headmaster.
"It has come to my attention that numerous false rumors about the Chamber of Secrets have surfaced, and I want you all to listen closely to what I have to say." Dumbledore began, and Salazar sighed.
"Let's hope he doesn't mess this up." He mumbled, and Godric nodded.
"The Chamber of Secrets was built by Salazar Slytherin himself. We do not know that much about it, however, what we do know says that Slytherin built the Chamber as a defense for the school to keep Hogwarts safe from the muggles. Slytherin DID NOT build the Chamber to rid the school of muggle borns, as some of you have been saying." Albus said, as he looked towards the Slytherin table with a stern gaze. "If you have questions about that, I suggest you ask the Bloody Baron to tell you his story. Now, to address the rumors about a monster…"
"It's a bloody giant snake!" Ron suddenly jumped up on top of the Gryffindor table and shouted. "Fred and George said so in the common room! They said that a book Potter found in the Slytherin Common room said so! It's Potter! Potter is the one who can talk to snakes! He did it! He killed that girl in the hall! It's all Potter's fault!"
"MR. WEASLEY SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Minerva bellowed from her seat at the head table.
But Ron wasn't paying attention to her. He was in a near hysterical state with his accusations and he looked around the room with a panicky expression on his face.
"IT WAS POTTER! HE KILLED HER! HE KILLED THAT GIRL AND HE USED THAT GIANT SNAKE TO DO IT! HE WILL KILL YOU ALL! HE WILL…"
Ron didn't get to finish, because Minerva shot a silencing spell at him, at the same time Fred (or George) hit him with a stunning spell. Ron landed in a crumpled heap onto the already cleared off table, but everyone just stared at him, and no one made a move to help him because Albus cleared his throat again.
"Miss Lovegood has not been killed." He said calmly, as he gazed out at the clearly frightened student population. "She has only been frightened into a petrified state, but she will be cured soon. Madam Pomfrey has gone to Diagon Alley to fetch some already matured mandrakes, and Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey will begin brewing the antidote tomorrow."
"Is the monster really a giant snake?" One Ravenclaw asked, as she nervously glanced towards the Slytherin table.
"Yes Miss Chang. The monster is a giant snake." Albus confirmed. "Now, I suggest you all be careful as you walk through the corridors. Stay in large groups, and if you see anything, please let a Professor know. Thank you. You may all return to your houses now."
Salazar was fuming as they all made for the door. He could hear whispering all around him and people were pointing and staring. Salazar didn't care that Albus had told the truth about the Chamber, and what lay in it. He didn't care that Albus had mentioned Luna Lovegood and her condition, but what he did care about was the fact that Albus did NOTHING to dispel Ron's hysterical accusations about him, and right now all he wanted to do was hex the idiot.
"Well, look on the bright side Salazar, at least he didn't come right out and say she is a basilisk." Godric said. "That would have thrown the whole school into a panic and parents would be showing up tomorrow to yank their children out."
It was late in the evening and Godric, Salazar, Severus, Minerva, and the twins were all piled up in Severus's office trying to make sense of the situation. The twins were sitting silently in a corner and staring at the floor. They had already apologized profusely for telling the entire common room that it was a giant snake that lay in the chamber, but Salazar had told them it was fine. He didn't care about that. He was however, still fuming about Albus's lack of opinion on the whole 'Harry Potter is controlling the giant snake' issue.
Ron had been taken back to the Gryffindor common room after dinner, and according to the twins, he had amassed quite the following already because of Albus not addressing the issue.
Salazar sighed heavily. "I suppose your right Godric, but I just can't believe that he would put this much pressure on a 'child'. The entire school is going to be looking at me thinking I'm going to attack them next. The least he could have done was say 'No, I don't think Harry had anything to do with it'."
"It's going to be bad." George said quietly. "Nearly everyone in the common room has sided with Ron now. Percy, Hermione, Colin, and Neville have taken our side of things, but they are outnumbered. As soon as we got back to the common room, Seamus Finnigan pointed out that Dumbledore hadn't denied Harry's involvement. As soon as he said that, nearly everyone jumped on the 'Potter is evil' bandwagon."
"I'll address the House tomorrow morning before breakfast and set them straight." Minerva said with a firm nod. "I'll also ask Albus why he didn't deny Mr. Weasley's accusations, and I'll let you know what he says tomorrow."
Salazar nodded. "Thank you Minerva. I don't rightly care what the school, as a whole, thinks of me, but it's the fact that Albus would let a 'child' go through this kind of ridicule that bothers me. It's just not right."
"So what now?" Severus asked, as he looked toward his mentor.
"Tonight after everyone is asleep, I will head into the Chamber and find out what is going on. The only one who can give me real answers at the moment is Emeralda, and I plan to get them."
The meeting broke up after that, but Salazar could only shake his head. This whole thing was quickly getting out of hand, and Albus, as usual, wasn't helping matters.
Salazar disillusioned himself, and quietly made his way out of the Slytherin common room, then he quickly headed for the second floor. He slipped into the out-of-order girl's bathroom, and silently made his way to the sink.
"Open." He hissed in a barely audible whisper.
He stepped back as the sink began to sink into the floor, and he peered into the blackness below and sighed. When they updated the plumbing for the school, they really did major damage to the entrance for the chamber, and it looked like his stairs were now gone. The opening was now a large slimy pipe, and it looked like he was going to have to rebuild the stairs.
Salazar sighed, then began the long trip to the bottom.
With each step he had to build, he started to grow even angrier. What was Albus thinking? Was this punishment for not listening to the great and wise Albus Dumbledore? If so, it was petty and not something Salazar would expect from the Headmaster.
When he finally reached the bottom, he sighed with relief and looked around. This part of the chamber was still as he remembered it. He walked the few hundred feet to the door, and studied it. It did look like it had been opened recently.
Salazar sighed and shook his head, but then he looked at the snakes on door.
"I am Salazar Slytherin, Founder of Hogwarts and creator of the Chamber of Secrets. The password is 'open'." He said.
The main snake turned its head and nodded slightly, then all the snakes on the door began to move, and the Chamber opened. He breathed deeply and smiled as the old familiar musty smell of the Chamber assaulted his nose. As crazy as it sounds, out of all the things that had changed at Hogwarts, he was glad that that one small thing had not.
He made his way to the front, then stared at his own statue before him, raised his head up, and spoke with authority.
"Emeralda, come forth."
His statue's mouth began to open, and Salazar instinctively turned his back. He heard as Emeralda moved out of the statue, and slithered onto the Chamber floor.
"Who has disturbed me this time? And who dares to call me by the name my Master gave me?" She demanded with a dangerous hiss. "Speak now, or die!"
"Emeralda, it is me." Salazar said softly. "It has been many, many years my dear."
"Master?" She asked, her voice now softer. "You look…smaller."
"I know. It is a long story my sweet, but I need to ask you something. The other night, you woke up and attacked a student. Why did you do this?"
"A student? No Master, a filthy muggle is what she was. The little Master said so."
"Emeralda, she was a student." He said gently. "The girl is of pure blood heritage. Who is the little Master you speak of? I am not aware of such a person."
Salazar heard the great snake coil around herself, but her voice took on a defensive tone. "He is just like the little Master before. Years ago another came and said he was your Heir. He wanted to rid the school of muggle borns. I told him I wouldn't do that, and that I only attack when the filthy muggles are here, so he left. A few nights later he came to me again. He was frightened and in a panic, and said that muggles were attacking the school and told me where they would be. I struck, and petrified the filth over a period of several months. I told him about my blinders, and said that if the filth is that big of a problem that he should take them off. He did, and one died." She hissed triumphantly. "After that he came to me once more, and said they were gone, and that I could rest easy once more. He never told me his name though. I asked many times, but he only said that he was my new Master."
"He is not your new Master Emeralda. He is an evil boy with his own agenda, but did you just say that you don't have blinders?" Salazar asked, as panic welled up inside him at the realization of just who Emeralda had killed. "Is that what you are saying?"
"Yes Master. Why? Is this bad?"
"Yes my dear. I'm afraid you have been tricked."
"Tricked!" Emeralda yelled. "No! That cannot be!"
"I'm afraid so my dear. There have not been muggles at Hogwarts in nearly seven hundred years. He lied to you, and when he took off your blinders, it must have been a student that you killed." He said sadly.
"No. No. Master, I did not know! I am so sorry! What heritage was the little one?" She asked sadly, and Salazar felt the Chamber shake as the full weight of her head hit the floor.
"A muggle born I suspect, given his hatred for them." Salazar said softly.
"Master, I did not know. I killed a little one. How could I have not seen this? Master forgive me!" She pleaded.
"I do not blame you my dear. This is not your fault. Turn your head, so that I may comfort you."
He heard as she turned her head away from him, and he went to her. He softly patted her greenish scales, and laid his forehead on her neck.
"I do not deserve to live. I have killed a little one." She said, as her body trembled. "The little one from the other night, is she…"
"No. She has only been petrified. She will be all right my dear. This is not your fault Emeralda. It is his. Did this new person, the one who also claims to be your Master, give you his name?"
"No, the one from before was a handsome boy with dark hair. This new boy is gangly looking with red hair, but they speak the same and know what to say to me. If they didn't look different, I would say it's the same boy."
"I see." Salazar said, as his mind began whirling with this new information. Then he thought fast and came up with a plan. "Here is what we do now Emeralda. I will replace your blinders so that no more die, and then, from now on you only answer to me. If this boy comes back, you come find me and tell me what he is doing, but do not be seen. Stay inside the walls, and use the pipes to get around. There are many here that understand our language and they will be able to talk to you through the walls, but I am the only one that can speak our language. This boy is an imposter, and is no way connected to me. It is very important that you do not attack, no matter what this boy tells you to do. There are NO muggles here, and there never will be. Also, do not hurt this new boy if he comes back. I suspect that whoever he is, he may be in great danger. Just play along with what he says, and do not tell him that I have told you any of this."
"I will answer only to you Master, and I will listen for the ones who know our language, and go where they tell me."
"Thank you my dear. Here, in this time, I go by Harry Potter. I will tell you the whole story another time, but my dear, it is imperative that you call me by that name. Also, if you can't find me, ask for Godric. He goes by the name Gordy now."
"Harry and Gordy." She said, as if testing the new names. "I understand. What should I do if someone asks me why I am looking for you?"
"Tell them the truth, but do not say who I, or Godric, really are because no one will believe you. Tell them that a boy with red hair is trying to trick you into hurting students, and that you only hurt muggles if they are attacking the school. Assure them that you mean them no harm, but tell them you must find me, Harry Potter, so that you can tell me your information. Tell them you know that I am a Parselmouth, and this is why you wish to speak to me. If they insist on you telling them your information, tell them, but come find me anyway." He said, thinking of Albus and the likelihood that he would be one of the ones Emeralda would find.
"This is all very confusing Master, but I understand." She said softly. "Please remember to tell me why you are now called Harry Potter, just so that I know."
"I will my dear, I promise, but right now it is late and I must get to bed. I am pretending to be a student after all, so it will not be good if I'm caught out of bed at this hour."
"Sleep Master. You need your rest. You are very small now."
Salazar chuckled as he patted her large head. "I will Emeralda. Now, let me climb on top of your head so that I can replace your blinders."
She nodded, and Salazar climbed on top of her large head, and began working on her eyes so that she wouldn't kill anyone else. Emeralda's hide may be resistant and can repel most spells, but just like a dragon, her eyes are vulnerable.
When he said goodbye to her, he got as close to her face as he dared, but still avoided looking directly at her, least he petrify himself.
"My dear, do not feel bad that a student died by your gaze. It is not your fault and it was many years ago. If anyone is at fault, it is me. The last time we spoke I told you to obey all my descendants, and you did. The handsome boy may have been my decedent, but he does not speak the truth and he is dishonest. Do not feel bad Emeralda."
She nuzzled his cheek lightly, almost knocking him over in the process, but Salazar stayed on his feet as he wrapped his arms around her head.
"All right Master." She said softly. "But I will only obey you from now on."
"Very well. I must go now."
"Get some sleep Master. You look tired.
Salazar smiled softly as he patted her neck. "I will." He said.
He watched as she returned to the statue, then he made his way out of the Chamber and back to the pipe. He sighed as he stared up at it, but then began ascending the stairs to make the long trip back up to the bathroom. He knew that he would have to vanish the stairs as soon as he reached the top, just so that no one would know that he had been down there.
*A/N* Another Chapter is up! Second year is starting to really take shape now! I know some of you may still have questions. Like how did Godric evade the twins and the map, and what about that little black diary he is carrying around, but i promise they will be answered when the time comes. Also, i know some of you may be wondering..'Well what about Myrtle?' But she will pop up soon too! Thanks for reading and i hope you guys like the new chapter! Please remember to leave a review and let me know what you think! Also, i just want to thank all of you have F, F, & R'd! You guys keep are the ones who keep me writing and i thank you so much!