"Ah, hello Harry. How are you this evening?" Professor Dumbledore asked, when Harry entered the room. All Harry could manage to do was repeat his question "Professor, what are they doing here?" It was then the Minister Fudge decided to speak up, and he answered Harry's question. "Harry m'boy, we're here to install Madam Umbridge as Hogwarts High Inquisitor." he told him. Umbridge gave quiet, fake chuckle that instantly annoyed Harry. Harry then asked Fudge "What is a High Inquisitor, and why does Hogwarts need one?" Fudge explained to Harry "The High Inquisitor is a teacher that makes sure that other teachers are doing their jobs right, and that all of the Educational Decrees are followed, if the High Inquisitor finds need to create any. If they should find that any teacher cannot do their job correctly, they have express permission from myself to unemploy said teacher."
Harry looked at Umbridge, then asked the Minister "Does the High Inquisitor have to be unbiased in all of their opinions?" Fudge answered swiftly "That they do m'boy. We can't have any person trying to get rid of teachers just for what they look like, how they sound, or anything else like that." Harry smirked at the information, then told Fudge "You may want to find another High Inquisitor then Minister. My godfather, Sirius Black, has told me that Madam Umbridge here has a thing against half-breeds. I'm afraid that she might try to get rid of our Care of Magical Creatures teacher and gamekeeper, Hagrid. He's a very good friend of mine, and he has the student's best interests at heart." Fudge looked at Umbridge "Is this true, Senior Undersecretary?"
Harry was silently laughing to himself at the look on Umbridge's face. Her face turned beet red, and she was shaking in anger. With much reluctance, she told the Minister the truth "It is true, Minister." She then looked at Harry with a look of anger and shock. Fudge then turned to Dumbledore, then asked him "Is there anybody you could recommend for the job, Dumbledore?" Dumbledore looked at Harry and smiled, then answered "Of course, Minister. I'll ask Professor McGonagall if she could take up the post. I've known her for a long time, and I know that she is unbiased in all of her opinions. Although, it's going to require that she's going to have to drop all her classes with the First through Fourth Years." Harry then saw Umbridge crack a smile, then told Dumbledore "I can teach the little darlings. I'm well-versed in the art of Transfiguration, and I'd be glad to help Professor McGonagall out. After all, these young wizards and witches are the key to the future."
Harry started to feel anger course through his body, as Umbridge proposed this idea. Something just didn't feel right about her, and he knew that whatever she was up to. Dumbledore turned around in his chintz chair and looked at his pet Phoenix, Fawkes. "Can you bring Professor McGonagall here please, Fawkes?" Dumbledore asked the gracious-looking bird. Fawkes bowed his head, and flashed out of the office. A few seconds later, Fawkes flashed back in with Professor McGonagall, and when she saw the Minister and Umbridge, her expression was the same as Harry's. "Albus, what are they doing here?" she asked him. Dumbledore explained the situation to McGonagall, and waited for her reply.
"Of course I'll accept. I care for the education of these young wizards and witches, and will not have their learning deterred by teachers who cannot teach." McGonagall told the Minister and Professor Dumbledore. "Excellent, Madam Umbridge I'll draw you up a contract and you can start teaching tomorrow." Dumbledore told Umbridge. With a wave of his wand, a job contract appeared out of nowhere on his desk. Umbridge took a quill of Dumbledore's desk and signed the contract rather quickly. "Welcome aboard, Professor Umbridge." Dumbledore told her. Umbridge gave another of her quiet, fake coughs which made Harry want to hit her with a Silencing Charm, but he refrained from doing so. "If that's all then, we must be going." Fudge told everyone. "That is all." Professor Dumbledore told them. Fudge and Umbridge then used the fireplace in Dumbledore's Office, to Floo back to the Ministry.
"Now Harry," Professor Dumbledore started asking him "what was so important that you needed to tell the gargoyle it involved the safety of all of the students in this school?" Harry totally forgotten about why he came to the office in the first place, until Dumbledore said something. Professor McGonagall was looking at Harry also, when Dumbledore asked this. "Professor, I need to borrow the Sword of Gryffindor. There's another Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, and it must be a hatchling of the one I killed two years ago." Harry explained. Professor McGonagall covered her hands over her mouth, and Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry intently. "How do you know there is another Basilisk in the school Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry recounted how he heard the Basilisk's voice when he was taking Daphne back to the Slytherin Common Room. "We were in the dungeons when I heard the voice, and I came straight to you, Professor." Harry finished telling them. Dumbledore got up from his seat, and walked over to the case that held Godric Gryffindor's Sword. He took it out of the case, and handed it to Harry. "Go Harry, but take Professor Black with you just to be safe." Dumbledore told him with a wink in his eyes. Harry grabbed the sword, thanked Dumbledore, then ran to Sirius's office which was also on the Third Floor. He quickly knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Sirius opened it.
He saw the sword in Harry's hand, then asked "What are you doing with the Sword of Gryffindor in your hand?" Harry told him "There is no time, I'll explain it to you on our way there." Harry then ran out of the office, with Sirius in pursuit. He told Sirius about the Basilisk, then about Umbridge and Fudge and by the time they reached Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Sirius was all caught up. "I agree with Dumbledore for sending you to come get me. It's too risky by yourself. Besides, this is kind of like another adventure between me and your dad. You look so much like him. It makes me miss him though." Harry understood Sirius's feelings, because he felt the same thing for the past fifteen years. They walked up to the sink that had the inscription of a snake on it, and Harry opened the passageway to the Chamber of Secrets.
"You ready Sirius?" Harry asked his godfather. With a smile on his face, Sirius jumped down the hole and yelled back at his godson "SEE YOU DOWN BELOW!" Harry smiled at his godfather and followed behind him. The slide was the same as he remembered, and the feeling of dread was there also, and so was the nostalgia. The first time he been down there he was saving a friend, and now he was down there to save the school. While in this reverie of the memory, he was quickly brought out of it when his butt hit the ground rather hard. "OUCH!" Harry yelled in pain, while Sirius laughed at him. "So this is the Chamber of Secrets huh? A lot more cavier than I expected." Sirius said aloud, while he lit his wand up. Harry followed suit, and told him "This isn't the actual chamber. This is the path to the chamber. Be warned Sirius, when we go in there, you have to close your eyes when I tell you to. I don't want to lose you again." Sirius nodded at Harry, and they continued forward.
They walked until they stopped at the familiar second entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Harry opened it using Parseltongue, and they continued walking forward. Harry kept hearing the Basilisk speak, and he was looking around everywhere for it, until they reached the center of the chamber. Harry saw the skeleton of the Basilisk he killed two years ago, and in the mouth of Salazar Slytherin's Head, Harry saw green scales. "Sirius close your eyes right now." Harry told his godfather. Sirius nodded and closed his eyes. Harry then screwed up his eyes in concentration, then asked the snake in Parseltongue "Who are you and why are you here in the Chamber of Secrets?" The Basilisk answered in reply "I'm a Basilisk by the name of Rex. That's the skeleton of my mother right there. This Chamber is my home. Who are you."
Harry edged closer and closer to the Basilisk, not taking his eyes off of it. "My name is Harry Potter, and I'm a Parselmouth. That's how I can understand and communicate with you. Can you come out so I can get a good look at you?" he asked the Basilisk. The Basilisk slithered out of the hole in Slytherin's Mouth, and Harry quickly closed his eyes and walked into the wall. He asked the Basilisk "Are you the last Basilisk down here?" The Basilisk replied "Unfortunately, I am the last Basilisk down here. My brothers and sisters ate each other when we were all born. I'm the only one that's left." Sirius kept quiet since he didn't want the Basilisk to know that he was there also. "Can you look at the water, so I can open my eyes and actually look at you?" Harry asked the Basilisk. The Basilisk slithered over by the water, and looked at it.
"It is safe to open your eyes now Harry Potter." the Basilisk announced. Harry opened his eyes and walked next to the Basilisk's neck. It was considerably shorter than it's mother, and Harry could easily kill it with a slice to the neck. "How big are you?" Harry asked it. The Basilisk answered "I was born merely a week ago, so I'm still small. Currently, I am about ten feet long and five feet wide. Why do you ask?" Harry had brought up the Sword of Gryffindor above his head when he asked the question, and when the Basilisk asked it's final question, Harry brought down the Sword of Gryffindor with all of his might on the Basilisk's neck. He told Sirius "You can open your eyes now. I killed the Basilisk."
Sirius opened his eyes to see a beheaded Basilisk laying next to a Basilisk skeleton. "Well done Harry. Now let's get out of here." Sirius said in utter boredom. Harry conjured a bag with a charm on it to make it be able to hold a lot of things. "In a minute Sirius. I want to collect all of the Basilisk Fangs. I have a feeling that they'll be useful in the upcoming war with Voldemort." Harry told his godfather. They spent the next half hour ripping the Basilisk Fangs out of the two deceased Basilisk's mouths. Sirius then took a spare bit of parchment out of his robe pocket, and casted "Portus" on it. The parchment glowed blue, and the two touched it.
Harry felt the familiar tug behind the navel like he usually did when he travelled by Portkey. A moment later, they were in Dumbledore's Office. "I take it that the Basilisk is dead?" Professor Dumbledore asked them without looking up from the paperwork he was filling out. Harry casted a Cleansing Charm on Godric Gryffindor's Sword, and placed it on Professor Dumbledore's desk. "Yes, we took care of it, sir." Harry told him before walking out the office, and heading back up to Gryffindor Tower. He was extremely tired after everything that happened today. It was a short trip back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and when he entered he saw Hermione and Ron were waiting up for him.
Hermione was the first to see him, and asked him "Where have you been? We've got Prefect Duty in two hours." Harry groaned as Hermione told him this, and he answered "I'll tell you guys what happened later, but Hermione can you wake me up in two hours. I'm really tired and I would like to get a nap in before Prefect Duty." Hermione nodded at him, then Harry went to the Boys' Dormitory to go to sleep. "What an interesting first day back." Harry thought to himself as his head hit the pillow. He felt like he barely got to sleep when Hermione woke him up two hours later for Prefect Duty. They had to walk around the castle for three hours, and make sure no students were breaking the rules or were out of bed. Harry yawned loudly as he and Hermione searched the Seventh Floor corridor, then he asked Hermione "Do you think we're going to pass out from exhaustion with all of this O.W.L homework, and Prefect Duty?"
Hermione stopped where she was standing, then looked at Harry. "You probably will, because you have: Quidditch Practice, Prefect Duty, Occlumency Lessons, and O.W.L homework. I'm sure everyone else can manage it somehow." she answered. Harry groaned as it looked like this would be his busiest year yet. "D'you think I can get someone else to be Prefect. This is absolutely going to mess with my Quidditch schedule, and Angelina will blow a gasket if I miss tryouts or practice." he asked her. Hermione gave a scandalous glare to Harry as if he suggested to murder somebody. "Are you telling me Quidditch is more important than the rules of our school, and ensuring that others are following said rules?" Hermione asked him.
Harry learned his lesson from last time, and kept quiet because he knew the answer would further anger his best friend. She once again gave Harry a glare that could kill even a Basilisk, and they continued their Prefect Duty. Throughout their walking throughout the school, they had caught no less than ten students out of bed, and another five students trying to leave their common rooms. Hermione gave out many detentions to all of the students, and all Harry could do was feel sympathy for the students who incurred Hermione's wrath by breaking the rules. By the time they went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, it was midnight and Harry was ready to pass out again. "I'll see you later Hermione. If I don't oversleep that is." Harry told her as he headed to the Boys' Dormitory.
This time when his head hit the pillow, he went to sleep instantly. The best part about it was that he had no nightmares and no dreams at all. It was just sweet nothingness, and he rather quite enjoyed it. He slept away as he waited for the next day to arrive, and he knew that he had Charms that day, so it would be easy. With this knowledge, he let all of his troubles fade into the blackness of his dreamless sleep.