CHAPTER 37
Being woken in the middle of the night by a goblin was not the most pleasant of ways to be woken, but much less so when you are woken by a goblin thirsting for blood. The moonlight glinting off the curved pointed teeth of the shadow warrior still stood out in Harry's mind as he ran through the halls, sending a shudder through him, he was glad that maniacal grin was not directed toward him.
Skidding around the last corridor, his invisibility cloak flapping around his legs he began thinking of the room he needed as he passed the tapestry of three dancing trolls for the first time. Soon he was settling behind the bank of monitors and backing up the multiple tapes.
"Shadow One, Strider. What was the time of the attack?" Reaching up to his throat Harry keyed his throat mike.
"Strider, we are at attack +24 minutes."
"Roger +24, repeat +24."
"Confirmed."
He clicked the video machines and the time codes rewound at high speed, while one machine sat quiet.
"Damn it!"
"Shadow One! Be advised we have lost video on corridor five level 2! The system seems burnt out again. Proceed with caution! Will check the audio system."
"Roger Strider. Meeting with Keeper complete. She and the heads are making the rounds now."
"Great… and here I am out of the dorm with McGonagall and her bunch checking up on us." Harry muttered under his breath.
"Shadow One, I hope you have something planned for me. Keeper will be pissed if I'm caught out of the tower."
"Roger that, Strider. We've got one of our own holding down your fort," came over the line in a chuckle.
"Laugh it up! She's in charge of my grades not yours Shadow One!"
"Roger Strider."
"Keying up the mikes in corridor five level 2 now. Will report when done. Strider out."
"Roger, Shadow One out."
Pulling on a pair of headphones and settling in Harry began to listen to the secondary system. Quiet followed by the puffs of suppressed automatic weapon fire, shouts from the goblins… that were almost immediately strangled out by whatever had petrified or killed them. Soon after he could hear something heavy scraping in the hallway. some form of odd hissing noises and then the area was quiet again.
"Shadow One, Strider. What ever it was is large, and heavy. Be advised, it did not pass any further than that hall! The entrance is there someplace, I'll be down with a copy of what I have in ten."
"Roger, see you in ten."
Harry stood in the room that once held Hagrid's pet Fluffy, watching as the goblins hauled boxes up from the trap door.
"Armor piercing ammunition, and goblin blades, whatever that thing is we will hunt it down," said the goblin behind Harry.
"I hope it's enough."
"It will be, that is enough to take down a full size dragon. I know, we tested it." Placing his hand on the young man's shoulder, he continued, "Now let's hear what you have."
Slowly they went through each of the recordings from the individual microphones. At one point Shadow One asked for it to be replayed.
"Did you hear it?" Harry asked.
"Possibly." The tape was played again. "Yes, that…Parseltoungue!"
"What?"
"Parseltoungue, young Harry, it is a magical language. The language of snakes, it was said that one of the founders of this school spoke it, Salazar Slytherin. Where was this recorded?"
"The girl's bathroom, level two."
"Then that's where we are headed. Harry stay here, and let me have a copy of that recording."
"Keep your comms open. I've put in a request for backup, but Mr. Gold said good hunting."
A predatory smile spread across the goblin's face. "Hunting is what we do."
It had been ten minutes since the team had found the entrance and used the recording to open the portal, five minutes from the time that they described the entrance area covered in bones and large discarded snake skins, and less than two from the start of the fire fight. Thirty seconds later Harry was charging down the hall with his spirit guide, the cougar known as Gosheven, and the Sword of Gryffindor in his hand.
Reaching down to the back of the golden cat Harry willed his magic into it and the ghostly cat flashed and became solid, as Harry's grin became more feral. Of the things he had learned to become one with the spirit guide, this was his favorite. When they joined it was one heart, one mind, one body, but this… his mind was his own but he could see, hear, and feel more. He was being gifted with as many extra physical abilities as his magic gave physical form to in the spirit animal, he became a true human predator. Though it did have a drawback. If he was lost in the power and kept it up too long… it could destroy him, his humanity forever lost leaving a predator without any guiding force.
He found the portal in the center set of sinks in the restroom, a gaping maw that led into darkness. Looking at his companion he drew a deep breath and smelt burnt gunpowder, blood, and the stench of death. Steeling himself he looked again at his companion and shrugged.
"Geronimo!" he said as he jumped into the portal. Landing at the bottom on uneven footing he felt a weight near him. "Let's go."
He crossed the floor covered in animal bones as quickly as he could, only pausing a moment to look at the large snakeskin circling the room… It was almost as wide as he was tall...
"Bloody hell! Stay close we need to get in there."
Approaching a large door he did what he heard the leader of Shadow group do, he pulled out a recorder and pushed play. A strange hissing sound came from the small speaker and the stone of the wall started to move like vault bars; large hunks of stone pulled away and the door rolled to the side.
Quietly he stepped into what he assumed was an entrance chamber with large pillars holding up the ceiling some thirty feet above his head. Blue torches circled the room giving it an eerie glow. Along the far wall was a large stone face carved into the wall, the face of a man with a beard and mustache reaching from floor to ceiling. Just in front of it was a large pool. Goblin bodies littered the ground, among them stood a small redheaded figure, laughing.
He slowly moved to one of the side pillars and began working his way down toward where the figure stood. Checking the bodies nearby as he went - so far only one was alive and he was unconscious and probably would not last long judging by the damage to his chest - Harry moved on.
"Stupid Goblins did you believe that you could possibly withstand the power of the heir of Salazar Slytherin? The pet he left here alone is worth more than your kingdom of pathetic creatures! Now because of you I will need to begin my conquest a little early, as I'm sure more of your pathetic kind are on the way! Hogwarts will be mine this very night and any who stand in my way will die by my hand and my will as the heir of Slytherin, Lord Voldemort."
Speaking away from the wall to give Gosheven a distraction to move behind her, Harry asked, "Lord Voldemort? He's been missing for over thirteen years, and you don't look that old. Who are you his daughter?"
"What's this, a goblin my pet did not kill? No matter, I'll kill you myself before he returns from killing the last of your little friends." A bright green light slashed against the pillar Harry hid behind. "You have no wand goblin… You cannot defeat me." A piece of the pillar shattered as a pulse of light hit it. "Step out little goblin, I'll make your death quick!"
Reaching into the goblin's tactical vest Harry pulled loose a cylinder, pulled the pin, counted quietly then tossed it around the corner.
"More of your toys goblin? They will no more-"The flash-bang erupted in a flash of light and sound that drowned everything.
As the figure screamed Gosheven hit it from behind and Harry charged from the front. A stunned look came over her face as Harry's fist descended. "Who said I was a goblin?"
A few seconds later and a couple of zip ties and Harry was looking at the contents of his captive's pockets, a wand, an old diary and nine knuts...
"What the hell is going on here?" he asked looking down at the unconscious form of Ginny Weasley.
Then hell's own serpent exploded from the water.
As it reared back, its head was easily twenty feet into the air; it was wider than a car and its skin was the color of the stone in the room, its fangs longer than his arm. Grabbing the girl he ran, throwing her in an alcove he turned to see Gosheven attack the monster, his body flared with magic as they made contact. Dropping to his knees Harry knew something was wrong, his magic was being pulled into the Spirit animal at an alarming rate making him feel slow and exhausted. He watched as the cougar destroyed the eyes of the creature and was batted by it across the floor and with a final flash the cougar was no more.
The creature thrashed around smashing into the pillars knocking great pieces from them and shaking the walls, its great tongue writhing in the air. Slowing it turned its head toward Harry extending its tongue again, tasting the air. It reared back and struck.
Harry rolled to the side as the head passed and scrambled to a goblin body, where he undid the tactical harness and pulled it loose. Gathering his feet under him he ran.
He moved toward the water tugging on the tactical vest and pulled a pair of grenades from the pockets, pulled the pins and threw them into the room.
The first was a standard baseball grenade but the other was a teargas canister. Just as the water covered him he heard a loud thud as the grenade exploded. Surfacing he could see the monster flailing its tongue around trying to get his scent again.
Harry quietly moved to the shallow area toward the statue, and climbed behind part of the carving. He pulled out his small first aid kit and unrolled it. Pulling loose a few plastic cases he flipped two open. Out of the first he pulled loose a pen-looking device, turned the dial on the end to its maximum and stabbed the needle into his leg. He knew what he had done was foolhardy but without the boost of adrenalin he was not sure he could even move.
He then heard more of the guttural hissing and the serpent moved toward him much faster than he would have thought possible for something so large. He moved quickly to a side alcove he hoped was out of the line of view of the girl, he could hear the serpent moving closer as his heart hammered in his chest. Turning with his back against the wall he watched as the monster struck, smashing its head against the lower roof in the alcove its mouth gaping open. Harry struck, slamming the magical blade up through the soft palate of the serpent through a venom sack and into its brain. Its body thrashed wildly for a few moments then slowed to a stop.
He walked around the carcass into the sight of the young redhead, who was now standing free of her bonds. "Potter, oh yes I know who you are. The great Harry Potter. How did you defeat the most powerful wizard in the world? How did you survive and I end up being destroyed?"
"You? If you are this powerful wizard why are you using this poor girl?"
"My plans may have been a little rushed by the appearance of you and these sub-creatures," she continued fingering the wand in her hand. Harry's hand dropped to his side as he felt for his missing wand, he knew his custom wand was still in his robes. "Given time I will drain her completely and become what I was again, and once again lead my world in the great works of Salazar Slytherin. Fifty years I slept in that diary only to find that you stopped my magnificent work."
"When I opened the chamber the first time that oaf Hagrid was blamed, and afterwards I was watched too closely by that muggle loving fool Dumbledore. Only he seemed to believe that the oaf did not do it. So I created the diary so I could lead another in the continuation of my ancestor's great work."
"And then there was poor Ginny. The boy she has dreamt of since her mother started reading the stories to her, broke their betrothal. Even if she had only heard of it recently, it pushed her into a deep depression, so once she started writing to me it was easy to manipulate her, to use her."
Harry stumbled forward and dropped to his knees. "Apparently, my pet did infect you with its venom. Amazing isn't it how quickly the venom of a basilisk gets into your blood, anything it is introduced to it will destroy." Harry looked up at her then down at the blade coated in venom. "While I'm not sure how you destroyed its eyes, I must applaud your efforts. Removing the weapon that would have allowed it to kill you with just a look is an amazing feat. I would say that it will only be a few minutes and you will be dead, then I will let them think that you saved me and by the end of the year, Tom Marvolo Riddle will be Lord Voldemort once again. In a brand new body."
Harry moved his hand as it trembled at his side and pulled out the diary. "Not without this."
"You have no way to destroy it, even with your wand it would be impossible for you."
Tossing the diary on the ground Harry rose onto his knees. "Oh yeah? How about a blade coated in Venom?" stabbing down in a vicious stroke piercing the small book.
Ink bled from the book and an ear piercing scream exploded from both the girl and the book. Pulling the sword loose he stabbed again and there was a blinding flash of light as Harry collapsed unconscious next to a small redheaded girl that was sleeping soundly for the first time in months.