AN: Gornuk is an older goblin working part time who never had children. He's actually not representing Gringotts at all and the other goblins probably think he's going a bit weird. Sorry for any confusion
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas.
Harry found himself following Snape down a hall and into an abandoned classroom, his anger leaving him to replaced by shaking and a cold sweat. He'd almost died to a man's stupidity. Harry began to feel sick as he was grabbed by the arm and forced down into a chair.
"What did you do, Potter?" asked Snape, a furious scowl. Harry looked at the professor with glazed eyes. Do? What did he do? There'd been a snake he'd stopped and he'd hit Lockhart with something. Which did Snape mean? "Well Potter? What was that spell that killed the snake?"
"Shield spell." Harry swallowed bile. "Old shield spell designed to break solid objects."
"Who taught it to you?" snarled Snape. Harry was losing focus, finding it hard to concentrate. Merlin he felt tired. Hlifskera was a hard spell for a teenager to perform. At least he hadn't died. Harry felt the bile rise in his throat again at the thought of that snake striking at him. "Potter?" Snape's voice cut through the haze, the man's foul face inches from Harry. He tried to focus on the professor's eyes but found he couldn't. Instead he threw up down the front of Snape's robes, then slid out of the chair and passed out.
HPHPHP
Snape sat stiffly in his chair in the staff room, glaring at Lockhart along with McGonagall and Flitwick. Lockhart, his knees back the right way around and his tongue no longer horned, squirmed uncomfortably. He'd been denied the return of his hair or the removal of the boils until Madam Pomfrey was certain Harry was fine. Lockhart couldn't be charged with anything that would stick, his lawyers would make sure of that, but Snape knew Albus had been looking for an excuse to put the man on probation.
"What spell did Harry use Severus?" came Flitwick's voice, filled with curiosity. Of course he'd want to know. Flitwick was a duelling champion. A spell that unusual would of course capture his interest.
"Apparently some kind of shielding charm," replied Snape, trying to sound disinterested. "Seems unlikely to me. The boy probably lied to get out of trouble."
Snape watched Flitwick's eyes widen in excitement. "A shielding spell you say? That sounds like one of the old Viking spells I've heard of. Their shields were generally designed to only take one hit before collapsing, but they would usually do so in some beneficial manner." Flitwick looked positively gleeful. "I wonder whether Harry would like some proper duelling instruction." Snape felt amused at the slight jab at Lockhart, but only grunted disinterestedly.
Madam Pomfrey bustled in, glaring at Lockhart. "The boy's exhausted. He'll be out of it for the next few days if I'm not mistaken. I think he overdid the spell a fair bit. Had he not been panicked, I'm sure he would have been fine." The edge in Pomfrey's voice was clear,
"Indeed," said Dumbledore from behind Madam Pomfrey, closing the door behind them. "The actions you undertook were foolhardy and dangerous. Come Gilderoy. My office, now."
The staff room quietened down, watching as Gilderoy stood stiffly and followed the headmaster, not even bothering to ask about removing the last two hexes. As the door closed behind them, the tension in the room abated. Aurora Sinestra let out a sigh of relief, placing the paper she'd been hiding behind back on the table. "Thank god for that," she said, shaking herself. "I honestly thought you were going to hex him Poppy. Tea anyone?" Aurora ignored the look of outrage on Poppy's face as she busied herself with the kettle. Snape settled back into his chair. With any luck, Gilderoy would stay out of everyone's hair now and they could focus on finding this Chamber of Secrets. Snape just hoped that the Duelling Club would take the students minds of it, at least for the time being.
HPHPHP
Riddle snickered at Lockhart's embarrassment. Flattened by a little boy. Though it did make Tom wonder. What was so special about Potter? His host certainly never told him of the boy's potential. What he gleaned from his host was limited at best. It was far too concerned with its own insignificant life. However, he supposed the host was not entirely useless. Some things the host could do were very convenient.
Tom Riddle strode into the Chamber of Secrets, cursing his host's body. Humans were so frail, so weak. He longed for when he could finish consuming his host and have a body of his own again, a strong one, but this would take time. Time to brake his host's will, time to take everything he needed. However, that didn't mean he was going to lie idle.
"Speak to me oh greatest of the Hogwart's four." Riddle watched as the statue of his ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, opened its mouth and his servant, the basalisk slithered out, hitting the floor of the chamber with a heavy thud. Slowly, her eyes closed, she turned her head to face him. "Master?" she asked, her tone submissive.
"My faithful servant," said Riddle, raising his hand to caress the skin of his monster, his slave. "I have a task for you. We will purge the unworthy from this school. The squib was only the start. Before I leave this place, not a single blood traitor, half-breed or mudblood will be left. Come. I will guide you."
"Who shall we kill first?" asked the snake eagerly.
Tom smiled. "I think we'll start small. Let's have some fun with this."
"Yes master." The snake slithered over to the sewer pipe, sliding into the plumbing of Hogwarts, ready to hunt."Let me rip them. Let me kill them. Kill. Kill. KILL! KIIILLLLL!" Tom winced. She was just as insane as he remembered her. She'd been trapped down here for centuries, so it wasn't a surprise, but it did mean her usefulness was limited. Tom hoped she'd hold it together long enough for him to complete his plans. He sighed and followed the snake out of the Chamber up a flight of stairs hidden in the entrance pipe. It wouldn't do to leave her unsupervised. Anything might happen.
HPHPHP
Colin Creevey, a muggleborn first year in love with his camera, walked away from the hospital wing. He'd tried to sneak into the hospital wing while Madam Pomfrey was on her break, but the wards had been surprising... not to mention a little embarrassing. Colin supposed he should head back to Gryffindor Tower before he ran into Snape or something. It wasn't as bad now that Filch was around but... and that was really unkind. Colin knew he shouldn't think like that, but it had been hard to like the man, or his nasty cat.
Colin looked up as the sound reverberated through the hall. It was a sort of sliding sound, like a heavy weight being dragged across a stone surface by hand. Immediately Colin stiffened. He'd never really believed the Chamber of Secrets thing, especially since Harry said he hadn't, but now he didn't feel so confident. "Hello?"
A hissing sound filled the air and Colin slammed himself up against the wall, a hand clamped over his mouth to stop himself from screaming. What was that? The sliding sound grew closer and Colin looked around for a way out, only to find that all the doors seemed to have suddenly closed. The sliding sound was right on top of him now and so reluctantly, Colin turned to face the monster.
A gigantic snake rose above him like a tree trunk, dark and glistening with moisture. Colin stood very still. What was it waiting for? Had it not seen him? Did it need orders? Colin thought hard. His camera had a flash. He could blind the snake and escape. Plus he would have a picture for the professors. Colin quickly raised the camera to his eyes and clicked, for the first time coming face to face with a pair of large yellow eyes. Colin did not see the snake reel back from the flash and flee. Instead, he stood propped up against the wall, completely frozen.
"Oh my!" shouted Professor Lockhart, coming round the corner, his skin and hair restored. "Another attack! Someone, fetch the other professors! I'll secure the area." A fourth year girl, probably one of his fans, ran off, not noticing the gleam in her idol's eye. This looked like the makings of another book if he'd ever seen one.