Hey, ya'll. Time for a new chapter!

Review Replies

Haosbattler: Heeheehee. I love cliffhangers. Evil though they are, I do love them. And don't worry, Jesse will be going to Duel Academy. I have figured out how I'm going to do that and you'll see what I do when we get to the first chapter of Year Four. Cool. Jesse's actually my second favorite character, after Jaden. Thanks for your review.

EndlessNight025: Heeheehee. Kinda made that obvious huh? And I already responded to the other half of your review. Thanks for your review.

Angel-of-Anime Mizumi: Don't worry about it. You'll see what. Yay! Blueberry muffins and strawberry smoothies (takes them and hands them to Jaden and Jesse)

Jaden and Jesse: YAY! (Takes blueberry muffins and strawberry smoothies)

And the lemon bars for Haou, chocolate marble cake for Yubel and Madeline cookies for Harry.

Haou: huh, never had these before (tastes them) these are awesome!

Jehu: can I have one?

Haou: promise to leave me alone for the rest of the day?

Jehu: (weighs pros and cons) hmmmm, oh fine

Haou: (hands Jehu lemon bar)

Jehu: YAY! (Takes lemon bar and walks off with white tiger)

Yubel: (takes chocolate marble cake) thank you

Harry: ohh, COOKIES! Thanks! (Takes cookies)

And thank you for your review.

Shyannada141 Meow: Lockhart is just a huge idiot. I've never liked him, though I hated Umbitch more. Thanks for your review.

Lupine Horror: I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'll make Celestia like Yubel but we'll see. Thanks for your review.

StrawHatLuffy94: Yup. They will be entering Duel Academy after their fourth year and I'm considering Chazz but I'm not sure yet. We'll see when I get there. Thank you for your review.

Okay, now that the review replies are taken care of, here's one more note and then on to the story.

This chapter actually alludes to what I have planned for Jesse but I shall say nothing more about that (smirks mysteriously). And I hope I explained the matter clearly enough (even though it likely isn't possible, but, hey, in a world of magic of all kinds, I'm pretty sure anything is possible). If anything needs clearing up, just PM me and I'll do my best to make it clearer. This note is associated with the (1) in the chapter.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

27

The Heir of Slytherin

The Chamber of Secrets

Jaden and Harry stood at the end of a long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling high above their heads, shrouding the ceiling in black shadows and an odd greenish gloom that seemed to intermingle seamlessly with the shadows. The chilly silence stretched for several long moments before Jaden finally took his first few steps forward, wand in hand.

Harry walked after him, wand also in his hand. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked, though they kept their eyes narrowed, ready to close them at the smallest sign of movement. Finally, they reached the last pair of pillars and were faced with a large statute as high as the Chamber itself. It was ancient and monkeyish with a long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, through which two enormous stone feet peeked out. Beneath the statue's feet, lying facedown, were two figures in black robes; one had flaming-red hair while the other had messy teal-colored hair.

"Ginny!"

"Jesse!"

Harry and Jaden immediately dashed forward, falling to their knees beside Ginny and Jesse respectively. Harry, not thinking, flung his wand to the side and grabbed Ginny's shoulders and turning her over. He could see that Jaden was doing the same thing with Jesse. Both of them were as white as marble and Ginny felt so cold. Her eyes were closed, which meant she wasn't Petrified, did that mean…?

"Jesse! Wake up. Please, wake up," Jaden whispered, shaking Jesse's shoulders but Jesse remained motionlessly.

Harry, seeing that Jaden wasn't having much luck with Jesse, didn't even try to wake up Ginny beyond shaking her.

"They won't wake," a soft voice said.

Harry and Jaden jumped and Harry spun to face a tall, black-haired boy leaning against the nearest pillar, watching them, looking strangely blurred around the edges. Jaden simply lifted his head, narrowing his eyes.

"Tom Riddle? What are you doing here?" Jaden asked.

So this is Riddle? Harry thought. "What do you mean they won't wake up? They're not…" he began.

"They're still alive, but only just," Riddle said.

Jaden narrowed his eyes, warily. "What are you?" he asked.

"A memory," Riddle said quietly, "preserved in a journal for fifty years." He pointed and Jaden and Harry turned to find the journal that he had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"You've got to help us, Tom," Harry said, lifting Ginny's head. "We've got to get her and Jesse out of here. There's a basilisk. I don't know where it is but it could be along at any moment. Please, help me."

Riddle didn't move.

Jaden's eyes narrowed more.

Harry managed to lift Ginny half off the floor and went for his wand, only to find that it was gone. "Did you see…?" he began but broke off when Riddle, still watching him, twirled his wand between his long fingers.

"Thanks," Harry said, stretching out a hand toward it.

A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth as he continued to twirl the wand idly.

"Listen, we've got to go! If the basilisk comes…" Harry began.

"It won't come until it is called," Riddle said calmly.

Harry frowned, placing Ginny back on the ground. "What do you mean? Look, give me my wand. I might need it."

Riddle's smile broadened. "You won't be needing it," he said.

Jaden ground his teeth together. "Why are you here if not to help us?" he demanded.

Riddle didn't even spare Jaden a glance, his gaze fixed on Harry. "I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter-Yuki," he said. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you."

"Look, I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later," Harry began, starting to lose patience.

"We're going to talk now," Riddle said, pocketing Harry's wand and still smiling broadly.

"How did Ginny and Jesse end up like this?" Jaden demanded, glaring at Riddle.

Finally, Riddle spared Jaden a glance and seemed to be assessing him. "Well, that's an interesting question and quite a long story," he said pleasantly. "I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley is like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?"

"And how is Jesse caught up in this?"

"Patience. I am getting to that. It's that journal," Riddle said, gesturing to the black book. "My journal. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes; how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, how"—Riddle's eyes glinted—"how she didn't think the famous, good, great Harry Potter-Yuki would ever like her."

There was an almost hungry look in Riddle's eyes as he gazed at Harry.

Jaden shifted over until he was seated next to his brother, placing Jesse gently back onto the ground.

"It was very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven year old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic. I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom. I'm so glad I got this journal to confide in. It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket." He laughed, a high cold laugh that didn't seem to suit him but it made the hairs stand on the back of Harry's neck.

"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul is exactly what I wanted. I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than Little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter-Yuki? Your brother seems to have," Riddle said softly, glancing at Jaden who was white and staring at Ginny in shock.

"Ginny was the one who opened the Chamber, wasn't she?" Jaden asked quietly.

"Indeed. She was also the one who strangled the school's roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent on Slytherin on five mudbloods and the Squib's cat."

"No," Harry whispered.

"Yes," Riddle said calmly and went on to explain how Ginny didn't know what she was doing and then recited some her entries in which Ginny had told Riddle how she was losing her memory and thought she was the one whom was attacking everyone. Harry was horrified by what he was hearing and also angry, digging his nails into his palms as he clenched his hand. Jaden was no better, glaring at Riddle so hard that his eyes had flickered to pure gold.

"It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her journal," Riddle said. "But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. That's where your dear friend Jesse came in, Harry, Jaden. Jesse found it and, while it would have been better had I been able to meet you as that was who I was most anxious to meet, I did find it fascinating to speak with him. He was certainly a unique person and to think, he started writing in that journal only because he wanted information about this Chamber. And all it took to get him to open up to me was gaining his trust by showing him the famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, and it worked for he sought more information and, eventually, I convinced him to start telling me how he really felt."

"Hagrid's my friend," Harry said. "And you framed him, didn't you?"

"We thought you made a mistake," Jaden said.

Riddle laughed again. "It was my word against his, Harry, Jaden," he said and went on to explain how his plan had worked; about how Hagrid got into trouble every other week and he was the model student and how no one seemed to consider the possibility that Hagrid wasn't the Heir of Slytheirn. And how Dumbledore supported him to the end, though Harry snapped back that Dumbledore probably saw right through him and Riddle told him about how he had preserved the memory of his sixteen year old self in the journal in order to finish Slytherin's noble work.

"Though I do still find it odd about Jesse when he began writing in my journal," Riddle said, studying Jesse with an odd expression on his face and went on to explain without prompt. "After little Ginny got rid of the journal, I decided that I may as well try to get your little friend Jesse to pick up where little Ginny left off but, for some reason, I could not. It was as if there was something within that boy that was preventing me from using him as I used Ginny. I was still draining him to power myself up but I could not possess him. It is very odd and very intriguing," he murmured. (1)

Jaden moved until he was kneeling protectively in front of Jesse, glaring at Riddle, though he couldn't begin to understand what Riddle meant. Yubel seemed thoughtful in the back of his mind and Haou was quiet about the matter, also seeming to be thinking about something.

"I was also hoping on using your friend to get to you, because you have been my target, not the killing of mudbloods. My target this entire time has been you. Stupid little Ginny told me all about you and I was just most anxious to meet you. From everything Ginny has told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery, particularly if one or more of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak parseltongue."

"So I planned on making Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. That was when Jesse Anderson found us and I decided to draw you to me through use of two people rather than one, and perhaps gain answers about how Jesse Anderson was able to resist being possessed. Either way, I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter-Yuki."

"Like what?" Harry demanded.

"Well,"—Riddle smiled pleasantly again—"how is it that you, a boy with no extraordinary magical talent, managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care? Voldemort was after your time," Harry said.

"Voldemort," Riddle said softly, "is my past, present and future, Harry Potter-Yuki." He pulled out Harry's wand and spelled his name—Tom Marvolo Riddle—in the air in fiery letters and then, with a wave of Harry's wand, the letters rearranged themselves, spelling I am Lord Voldemort in fiery letters.

"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry, I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world."

Harry stared in shock at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who would later grow up and murder Harry's parents and many others. Finally, he forced himself to speak. "You're not," he said, his voice filled with hate.

"Not what?" Riddle snapped.

"He's right, Riddle," Jaden spat, golden eyes flaring as he glared at Riddle. "Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in the world. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now."

"Yeah, why else would you be hiding?" Harry shot back at as well.

The smile vanished from Riddle's face. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me," he hissed.

"He's not as gone as you might think," Harry snapped back, hoping that he was right anyway.

Riddle opened his mouth to respond, only to stop when music started to sound around them. Riddle whirled around, trying to find the source of the eerie, spine-tingling, very unearthly song that raised the hair on Harry's scalp. Then, as the music reached a high pitch, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.

A familiar crimson bird with a glittering golden tail and gleaming golden talons, gripping a ragged bundle, appeared, that odd music coming from its beak. A second later, the bird was flying at Harry and it dropped the ragged bundle it was carrying at Harry's feet before landing heavily on his shoulder; Harry stared.

"Fawkes?" he said.

"That's a phoenix!" Riddle and Jaden said at the same time, causing the latter to glare at the former.

Riddle eyed the ragged thing Fawkes had dropped. "And that's the old school Sorting Hat."

Harry looked at the hat, wondering why Fawkes had brought that there while Riddle let out a long hard laugh that echoed all around them.

"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender? A songbird and an old hat? Do you feel brave, Harry Potter-Yuki? Do you feel safe now?"

Jaden glanced at his brother and then at Fawkes, wondering why that was here.

Harry, only half-listening to Riddle who had asked him how he survived the last two times Riddle had tried to kill him, was weighing his chances against Riddle; it was two on one, and Jaden still had his wand as well as his powers, while Harry only had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat. And the longer he remained trying to decide what to do, the more life dwindled out of both Ginny and Jesse. As it was, Riddle was starting to look clearer and more solid.

Harry finally lifted his head. "No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," he said finally. "I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't kill me. It's because my mother died to save me. My common mundaneborn mother. She stopped you from killing me. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck, barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding…"

Riddle's face contorted and then he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful countercharm. I can see now, there is nothing special about you after all. I wondered, you see. There is a strange likeness between us after all, even you must have noticed. We're both half-bloods and orphans and probably the only two parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike but, after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

Harry stood up and Jaden followed suit, his wand in his hand as he pointed it at Riddle, prepared to defend his brother since he was the only one with a wand at the moment. Yubel hovered in spirit form right behind Jaden, glaring at Riddle and Jaden knew she would materialize into solid form in an instant. Jaden was still weak from the fiasco in the Forbidden Forest as well as when Lockhart tried to obliviate them though so he knew that Yubel wouldn't be able to materialize into solid form for very long.

"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter-Yuki, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."

Jaden moved until he was standing in front of Harry, glaring at Riddle with cool golden eyes.

Riddle glanced at him. "And you, Jaden Yuki, yes? If you get out of the way, I may let you live. I only want to teach Potter-Yuki a lesson," he said.

"You'll have to go through me. I won't let you harm my brother," Jaden snapped.

"Then you will both die." Riddle turned to face the statue and opened his mouth, hissing, though Harry was the only one who knew what he was saying.

"Ssspeak to me, Ssslytherin, greatessst of the Hogwartsss Four."

"Close your eyes," Harry hissed in an instant to Jaden who nodded and quickly closed his eyes, gripping his wand tightly. Harry turned and quickly backed away, grabbing Jaden's arm and dragging him with him as something slithered within the depths of the statue's mouth that had opened at Riddle's command.

Harry closed his eyes once he and Jaden were next to the dark Chamber wall and Fawkes took flight, his wing hitting his cheek. He swallowed, fear flooding through him; he couldn't see what was happening but he did hear, he somehow knew what was happening. The basilisk was there.

Then he heard Riddle hiss, "Kill them!' and he could hear the basilisk started to move toward them.

'Jaden, Harry, follow my instructions!' Yubel hissed suddenly.

"Will you be all right, Yubel?" Jaden asked worriedly, remembering what happened with Nearly Headless Nick.

'We are not ghosts and we are not the spirits of human beings. Therefore, we are not affected by the basilisk's gaze. Run to the right, it's about to strike.'

Harry dashed to the right of where he had been standing, only knowing which way that was since he hadn't closed his eyes right away, and dragged Jaden along with him, trying hard to ignore Voldemort's cold laughter.

'Statue right in front of you, turn left,' Celestia called and Harry did as he was told, running forward and just barely avoiding the attack; he heard the sound of the large serpent's head cannoning into one of the pillars and then tripped, taking Jaden down with him..

'Get up!' Yubel shrieked.

Suddenly, there was the sound of mad hissing and something thrashing wildly, slamming into pillars.

'You can open your eyes now,' Celestia said. 'That phoenix just blinded the basilisk!'

Harry opened his eyes and turned, seeing an enormous poisonous green serpent thrashing, its eyes having been scratched out. Flying around its head was Fawkes who had just flown away, blood on its long golden beak. The serpent spit in agony and tried to attack Fawkes, prompting Harry and Jaden to use the distraction to try to inch away.

"Jaden, can you help at all?" Harry asked.

"I don't know any spells that'll be of any help and I can only materialize Yubel for a short time, not long enough to help Fawkes in any way. I'm sorry," Jaden said.

"It's okay," Harry said.

"Leave the bird! The boys are behind you. You can still smell them. Kill them!" Riddle hissed.

The blinded serpent swayed, Fawkes sung that eerie song again and blood continued to pour from the serpent's ruined eyes. Harry was scared, he didn't know what to do or how to get out of this mess and save both himself, his brother, his friend and his friend's little sister. He took a deep breath.

No, now is not the time to start panicking. I have to be brave. I'm a Gryffindor! I have to be brave, he told himself as he, still gripping Jaden's arm, inched backwards and then pulled the other boy to the ground as the serpent's large tail swung over him, slamming into a pillar and sending chunks of rock to the ground.

Suddenly, something landed in front of him with a splash. He glanced at it, noticing it was the Sorting Hat and then looked up at Fawkes who must have dropped it off and was now distracting the basilisk again. He picked up the hat and looked at it in confusion, wondering what good the hat would do.

He gripped the hat. Please help me, he thought.

Suddenly, he felt the hat contract and he glanced down at it and then noticed something poking out of it; a hilt glittering with rubies the size of eggs.

"A sword?" Jaden whispered.

Harry immediately grasped the hilt and drew the sword, revealing a gleaming silver blade.

"Kill the boys! Leave the bird! They're right behind you. Sniff, smell him!" Riddle shouted.

Harry had an idea of what he should do. It was risky but he had no other choice. "Get behind me," he ordered Jaden who, though he looked confused, did as he was told and ducked behind Harry as the other boy got to his feet.

The basilisks head was falling, its body coiling around it, hitting pillars as it twisted to face him. It then lunged blindly, Harry dodged and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again and nearly got Jaden had the other boy not quickly jumped backward. The basilisk lunged again at Jaden and Harry threw himself in front of Jaden, throwing his whole weight behind the sword as the basilisks mouth nearly closed in on him and drove the blade to the hilt straight into the roof of the serpent's mouth.

Warm blood drenched Harry's arms and a searing pain erupted just above his elbow. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper into his arm and it splintered as the basilisk keeled over sideways and fell, twitching to the floor.

Harry slid down, clutching at the fang and wrenching it out of his arm, feeling white-hot agony surging through him steadily from the wound. Jaden scrambled to his side, eyes wide. "Harry," he whispered.

"At least it's dead," Harry mumbled.

Jaden, curling an arm around his brother to steady him, gazed at him with tears in his eyes. "Harry," he whispered. Not Harry, I can't lose someone else I care about, I can't, he thought and then turned to glare furiously at Riddle who was slowly approaching them even as Fawkes landed on the ground next to Harry.

"You were fantastic, Fawkes," Harry murmured.

The bird trilled softly and then rested its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent's fang had pierced him.

Phoenix tears, Jaden realized in awe as he watched a few thick pearly tears fall from Fawkes's eyes.

"You're dead, Harry Potter-Yuki," Riddle said. "Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter-Yuki? He's crying, just like your weak, worthless brother over there."

Jaden glared.

Riddle glanced at him and smirked. "You are weak and worthless. You couldn't do a single thing to prevent your brother from dying. Some brother you are," he sneered.

Jaden flinched because Riddle was right. Jaden had been useless throughout this entire ordeal. All he had done was get in the way.

Fawkes lifted its head and then trilled while Riddle's eyes suddenly went wide. "Get away, bird! Get away from him!" he shouted, pointing his wand at Fawkes.

"Expelliarmus!" Jaden hissed and the wand was immediately sent flying from Riddle's hand. "I may not have been much help but at least Harry will live to fight another day. Phoenix tears, Riddle, have healing powers."

"Of course, I forgot," Riddle said, looking at where the wound had been, but now it was gone, and then quickly dashing toward where Harry's wand had ended up and snatched it up as Fawkes took to the air and soared away.

"But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter-Yuki, I can take care of your brother later, as worthless as he is, he will be easy enough to take care of. You, on the other hand…" He raised the wand.

Fawkes returned and dropped something in between Harry and Jaden.

Jaden did what came first to him. He snatched the basilisk fang that Harry had dropped next to him and then drove it straight into the heart of the book, startling Harry, though the other Gryffindor was even more startled by the long, dreadful piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the journal in torrent, streaming over Jaden's hands and flooding the floor. Riddle writhed and twisted, screamed and flailed.

And then he was gone.

Harry's wand fell with a clatter.

Silence except for the steady drip, drip of sink still oozing from the journal followed; the basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.

Harry stared at the journal and then at Jaden. "Why?"

Jaden glanced at him. "I just did the first thing that came to my mind," he said quietly, pulling the basilisk fang from the journal.

Harry smiled. "And Riddle thought you were useless," he said quietly.

"I was," Jaden murmured.

"We're only second years, Jaden, and you were still weak after what happened in the Forbidden Forest and with Lockhart; neither of us knew enough spells to go against a basilisk and you couldn't make Yubel solid. But you were the one that defeated Riddle, Jaden, so that's something to be proud of," Harry said.

Jaden smiled a little and then stood up slowly, helping Harry, who was clutching at his head, to his feet. Together, Jaden, holding the journal—he had dropped the basilisk fang—and Harry headed toward the basilisk. Harry retrieved his wand and, with a tug, the sword while Jaden picked up the Sorting Hat.

Two faint moans sounded and Harry and Jaden glanced toward the source.

Ginny and Jesse were stirring.

Harry and Jaden immediately hurried toward them as Ginny and Jesse sat up and blinked, gazing around at the dead basilisk and then over to Harry and Jaden, the latter of whom was still holding the journal.

Jaden immediately ran toward Jesse and collapsed beside him, wrapping his arms around him, tears of relief in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're all right," he said, holding his best friend close to him.

Jesse weakly wrapped his arms around Jaden.

Ginny was staring at the journal Jaden held and then turned to Harry, tears pouring down her face. "Harry, oh, Harry, I tried to tell you at b…breakfast but I couldn't say it in front of Percy. It was me, Harry, but I swear I didn't mean to. Riddle made me. He took me over and…and forced Jesse to come with him down here. And…how did you kill that…that thing? W…Where's Riddle? The last thing I r…remember is him coming out of the journal."

"It's all right. Jay, show her the journal," Harry said and Jaden, who hadn't let go of Jesse, held out the journal with one hand. Harry gestured to the fang hole. "Riddle's finished. Look. Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, Jesse, let's get out of here."

"I'm gonna be expelled," Ginny cried as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. Jaden and Jesse were slowly getting up nearby, Jesse's arms curled around Jaden's shoulders. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since Bill came and now I'll have to leave and what'll Mum and Dad say?"

Harry didn't respond, he simply urged Ginny toward the entrance to the Chamber. Jaden and Jesse brought up the rear. Jaden glanced at Jesse. "How did you come to be down here anyway?"

"I don't really remember," Jesse said. "I had forgotten my History of Magic textbook in the dorm room and asked Professor Sinistra to escort me there. While we were walking, I spotted Ginny and she looked scared and then she ran. I wanted to help her so I went after her and…I don't really remember what happened after that."

Jaden observed him, thinking back to Riddle's words, about how he couldn't possess Jesse like he had Ginny, though he was still able to take Jesse's life force like he was doing with Ginny.

"What?" Jesse asked with a frown when he noticed Jaden was staring at him.

"Nothing, I'm glad you're all right," Jaden said, deciding that, right now, Riddle's words weren't important. All that matter was that both Jesse and Ginny were all right, Riddle was defeated and the basilisk was dead.

In the back of his mind, Yubel and Haou exchanged glances.

'It is odd that Riddle was unable to possess Jesse, but could still drain his life force, and yet was able to possess Ginny,' Yubel said, keeping her words to where only Haou could hear them.

Haou nodded in agreement. 'It is odd. The only thing I can think of is two souls in one body. I mean, if he was trying to possess someone with two souls, surely the second soul would not just let that happen. I know I wouldn't had Jaden's and Jesse's positions been reversed.' Jaden was called the reincarnation of Haou but that wasn't exactly true because reincarnations did not have the spirit of the previous incarnation sharing the current incarnation's mind and body; it was more two souls in one body as Haou had said.

This is primarily why many, who didn't know the full truth, termed what Jaden had as Dissociative Identity Disorder.

'Jesse could be like Jaden, could have another soul within him that he doesn't know about,' Haou murmured.

'That would explain why Riddle was unable to possess him,' Yubel said. 'Though who?'

'How should I know? I sure hope it isn't him though, even though Jesse bears an unkindly resemblance to him,' Haou said.

'You just don't want it to be him because he drives you crazy,' Yubel said amused.

'And he's crazy himself!'

'So are you.'

Haou scowled but couldn't exactly deny that so he simply said nothing.

All the while Yubel and Haou were talking, Jaden and Jesse were following Harry and Ginny out of the chamber and toward where they had left Ron, Atticus and Lockhart. Jaden, wondering why Yubel was silent in the back of his mind, nudged her.

You all right? He asked.

'Yes, I'm fine, Jaden,' Yubel assured him.

. . .

Outside Chamber of Secrets

The four of them reached the cave in and Harry, speeding up, shouted, "Ron! Atticus! Ginny and Jesse are okay. We've got 'em."

A strangled cheer sounded and Ron's eager face appeared in the sizable gap he and Atticus had managed to make in the rock fall. "Ginny!" Ron shouted and thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. "You're alive. I don't believe it. What happened? How…what…where did that bird come from?" Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny. Jaden and Atticus helped pulled Jesse through and then Jaden and Harry followed suit.

"He's Dumbledore's," Harry said.

"How come you've got a sword?" Ron asked, gesturing to the sword Harry was holding.

"That is so cool," Atticus said brightly.

Harry shook his head in amusement. "I'll explain when we get out of here," he said and then glanced at Ginny who was still crying.

"But…"

"Later." Harry didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Ron and Atticus who had been the one who opened the Chamber, not in front of Ginny anyway.

"Where's Lockhart?" Jaden asked.

"Back there," Ron said, jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see."

Led by Fawkes, they all walked back to the mouth of the pipe where Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.

"His memory's gone," Atticus explained. "When his Memory Charm bounced off Yubel, it hit him instead. He hasn't got a clue who he is, where he is or who we are. Ron told him to come and wait here."

Jaden pitied what happened but couldn't exactly help but feel oddly satisfied over what happened.

'I did not know that would happen,' Yubel admitted.

"He's a danger to himself," Ron said.

Lockhart peered at them good-naturedly. "Hello, odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"

"No," Ron said.

"So how are we gonna get out of here?" Atticus asked.

Fawkes flew over to them and Harry observed the phoenix. "I think he wants to take us," he said.

"Can he carry us?"

"He's not an ordinary bird. C'mon, Ginny, grab Ron's hand, Professor Lockhart…" Harry said.

"He means you," Ron said to Lockhart.

"…you hold Ginny's other hand. Jaden, take Lockhart's other hand, Jesse, Jaden's." Harry tucked away the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt and Jaden tucked the journal into his pocket as well.

A few minutes later, they were flying through the tunnel behind Fawkes, with Lockhart shouting, "Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!" from below.

. . .

First Floor Girl's Bathroom

When they arrived on the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the sink that hid the pipe slid back into place and Myrtle goggled them.

"You're alive," she said blankly.

"There's no need to sound so disappointed," Harry said.

"Oh, well, I was just thinking. If you had died, you'd have been welcomed to share my toilet," Myrtle said, blushing silver.

"Urgh, Harry, I think Myrtle's grown fond of you. You've got competition, Ginny," Ron said.

"And so does Alexis," Jaden said with a teasing smile.

Ginny was still crying though.

"Where now?" Ron asked, glancing anxiously at Ginny.

"Let's just follow Fawkes," Jaden suggested.

"Sounds good to me," said Jesse with a weak smile.

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and that was the second to last chapter of Year Two

Bakura: (sets Ministry of Magic on fire) okay then. What else do you have to tell us?

Blaze: (sighs) did Ryou, Severus, Jaden and Harry get the characters I don't hate out of there?

Yami: yeah, they did

Blaze: good. And, for this story, not much. I'm almost done with the last chapter of Year Three and then I'll be starting on an extremely AU (as in I probably won't even bother on following the book AU) version of Year Four.

Jesse: and?

Blaze: and I'm also working on a Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V story that follows a rather unique OC of mine somewhat as it also closely follows the canon storyline

Jesse: hmm, interesting

Blaze: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.