A/N I'm not going to pretend that I'm a big fan of Hinny. Frankly, it grosses me out in the same way that Bellamort does (yes, I'm a dedicated and jealous Harrymort shipper). Their scene in this chapter was, by far, the most difficult thing I've written for this story up until now. Also, I made up Ginny's scrunchy-nose mannerism. But to be fair, I've made up a lot of stuff by now. And, yes, it all belongs to Rowling [insert miserable sigh here].

The tunnel opened up to a medium-sized chamber. A small, smokeless fire was lit in the centre, casting shadows upon the refugees clustered around it.

Harry only had a moment to reflect upon the similarities between this fire and the one at Voldemort's camp in the Forbidden Forest one week earlier, before he was suddenly caught in a tight embrace. It was Hermione, and being nearly smothered by her familiar bushy hair and hearing the fierce, desperate whisper of his name was what tipped Harry over. Hermione rubbed small circles on his back whilst he tried to regain his composure.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" George called to the room, ignoring their emotional reunion. Ron glared at him.

Ginny was waiting for her own hug after Hermione finally let go. It was quick but hard, with a none-too-gentle smack against his bicep. "Where the hell have you been!" But it wasn't a question, and it wasn't an accusation. She pulled away, and just as quickly disappeared to the shadows.

"Hello, Harry." It was Luna Lovegood. She sounded the same as ever, but her eyes were lined with red, her cheeks dirty from smudged, dried tears. "It is good to see you again." Amazingly, her tone reflected her words, more than the remnants of grief on her face. She was always so calm, so ready to believe the best in people.

"Hey. It's good to see you, too."

He had to fix this. He had to. He couldn't let his Master kill all his friends just because they'd taken refuge here.

George was back with Dean Thomas in tow. Dean rummaged in a rucksack before finally pulling out an impressive array of lost wands. "Try these ones, Harry," he said. "Just don't ask where they came from. You don't want to know. Just a sec, I know there's at least one or two more in here…"

No, Harry did not want to know where they'd come from. But more than that, he didn't want one of the wands. He wasn't allowed a wand. And perhaps if he was good enough, obedient enough, his Master would grant him the favour of sparing his friends' lives. "Yeah, thanks, Dean," he said. "Um…can I try them later? I'd like to get fixed up first. Maybe get a bite to eat."

Dean looked up from his search, one brow raised. "Didn't you lose yours?"

"It broke," Harry corrected. "But I'm good for now, thanks."

George and Dean exchanged confused looks. Well, it wasn't like Harry could tell them the truth. He'd just have to keep deferring until they backed off. They couldn't make him take a wand. Even if they shoved one in his hand, he wouldn't use it. He'd come this far without one. He didn't need one.

Hermione was back, and she had her own wand drawn, and was looking at Harry expectantly. "Did you want to come closer to the fire, so I can get a better look at your injuries?" she asked.

"Sure," Harry said, nodding, and followed her towards the brighter part of the room. The fire took most of the chill out of the room, and Harry wondered if Nagini had coiled up nearby to warm herself. She would have to be careful to find a spot where no one would trip on her.

"Okay," Hermione said, facing him. She had a faint blush on her cheeks. Harry didn't know where it came from until she gestured to him in a sweeping motion. "Take your clothes off so I can fix you up."

"Sure," Harry said, wondering why she was so shy with him after they'd spent the better part of the year camping together. He was just about to pull his jumper over his head when he remembered the Dark Mark on his left arm! How would he explain that away? Not to mention the protective runes all over his chest and back! "Actually, Hermione. It's just this one cut here on my neck. It's not even that bad."

"Harry James Potter!" she scolded, frowning. "Do I have to stun you to heal you properly? Take your shirt off right—"

"Hermione!" he pleaded. "Look, it's really nothing. I promise you."

She stepped back and looked at his exposed skin appraisingly, which made Harry blush in turn. "Well, you don't actually look that bad," she admitted. "Dirty, but that's easily fixed." Before Harry could flinch, she'd cast a cleansing charm over him, followed by an Episkey on the few small wounds he would let her see.

Luna came by with a bun in her hand, which he took gratefully. "Thanks, Luna. I haven't had much lately." He ignored the strange look that got from Hermione, who must have been wondering how he'd gotten any food at all wandering about lost in the Forbidden Forest for a week.

Before long, Ginny was back, smiling tentatively at him. He patted the spot next to him, which was thankfully free of snake. She sat next to him, and slipped her hand into his.

He'd been wrong. This was way more awkward than when he'd held Lord Voldemort's hand, mere hours ago.

That had felt strange, but also somehow right.

This was just…no.

Harry delicately slipped his hand away, pretended to brush non-existent crumbs from his shirt, and smiled nervously at her. "So, the Chamber of Secrets. It must have been pretty bad having to come back down here. You okay?"

"Not really," she said. "But where else could we go? Not many of us got away, and you're the first friendly face we've seen since we got here."

"Whose idea was it? Ron's?" he asked. Harry loved Ron like a brother, but if he could pin this whole debacle on him and spare the rest of his friends, he'd do it. Ron was already guilty of mimicking Parseltongue to open the way, after all. The Dark Lord already had his fate decided, Harry was certain.

"It was mine."

Well, damn. Harry sighed, and rubbed his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "I'm just not sure it was a good idea, you know? I was actually pretty surprised to find you all here. It was a long shot."

"That was the idea," Ginny replied, sharply. "No one was going to look here, now were they?"

Harry shrugged. "I did, in the end. Someone's going to come looking here, sometime."

"You and what other Parselmouth?" asked Ginny, shaking her head.

"Well, there is this one other guy…" Harry answered, playfully. Ginny didn't smile back. Considering the circumstances, that the man in question had in all likelihood killed off most of her family in the past week, Harry realized too late that the joke was in poor taste. "Sorry," he said, softly.

"If you were anyone else, I—" but instead of slugging him, or cursing him with the Bat-Bogey Hex, she kissed him hard on the mouth. Harry closed his eyes and leant into the kiss, bringing his left arm around her neck, and started to stroke the soft, stray hairs at the base of her ponytail.

It was when Ginny opened her mouth and began to flick her tongue against his lips that Harry realized just how wrong this felt. All the chemistry that he'd felt last year, last summer, was gone. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised. After all, he'd changed in so many other ways. He opened his eyes, which only made that feeling intensify. Harry tightened his mouth, warding off any wet intrusions, and pulled away slowly.

Ginny scrunched her nose up, and Harry distinctly recalled finding the same mannerism adorable before. Now it just made her look like a long-haired Ron.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, uncertainly. "I'm sorry if I…if you don't want…"

"No, It's fine," said Harry, far too quickly. But then he got an idea. "It's just that, why don't we go for a walk?"

She stared at him blankly. He couldn't blame her, really. Next to the fire was clearly the best part of this dank, awful place which held so many terrible memories. But Harry needed to move about the Chamber to complete the Map, and he couldn't go by himself, not without a wand. He could use her attraction to him to help him. He gave her a coy, slightly nervous, smile. Reaching forward, he took her hand in his, trying not to let his discomfort show on his face. "Just you and me, huh?"

She let him pull her up to her feet, and then away from the fire. A short distance away, when they'd almost left the room, she drew her wand. Harry froze, panicked for a moment, but she was only casting a Lumos. "Where to, Hero?"

"Don't call me that! I'm not. Not even a bit." Harry could only pretend so much.

She pulled at his hand then, making him stop and turn around. "None of that," she said, her eyes burning with the fierceness of her conviction, of her misguided faith. "You did so much. And there's still time, right? So long as you're alive, there's still hope. Hermione and Ron, they told us what you've been up to this year. We can finish this up now, together!"

She was wrong, of course. Their only hope would have come with his death, not his survival. But still, this was the Ginny that he'd fallen for. Her passion, her conviction…Harry had only ever stumbled along. He had always tried to do what was expected of him. Until he'd stopped, and done what he had needed to do. Even if he still felt the same way about her as he used to, and it was a strange relief to be able to admit that he no longer did, he didn't deserve her.

But he'd known that for a week now. "How are you still so good, Gin?"

She smiled brightly at him. "Seriously? Of all the people to ask me that? Anyway, just one more, right?"

At first Harry was confused, but then he backtracked through their conversation and realized what she meant. One more Horcrux. "Yeah," he lied. "Just the snake."

Just his sister. As if he was going to let these filthy rebels hurt her! Where was she, anyway? Was she following him like she was supposed to, or basking next to the fire?

"Ron said You-Know-Who had her in some kind of protective cage. Any idea on how to get past it?" asked Ginny.

Harry shook his head, and pulled gently on her hand again to get her moving. He had a lot of ground to cover. "If Vol—hey, is the Taboo still in place?" At Ginny's shrug, he decided to pretend to play it safe. "Well, this is You-Know-Who we're talking about. Nothing's going to get past a shield he casts, right?"

"I guess he's got to let her out sometime. We'll have to wait a bit, anyway, until things settle down a little. They've got to let up eventually, right?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, absently.

Ginny walked silently next to him for another few minutes, but she finally stilled and glanced around anxiously. "Where the hell are we going, Harry? Let's go back."

But he pulled harder on her arm, leading her towards the main Chamber. "I have to see it. Where it all happened back then. And I think you should, too."

Ginny yanked her arm away. "I did. And I don't want to again, alright?"

Harry breathed deeply to calm himself. He needed to map the rest of the Chamber. Why was Ginny being so difficult? "Come on, Gin. Just a little longer."

"No, Harry!" She turned to go, taking the light with her.

Harry watched her go. It was getting darker every second.

Then Ginny tripped. Harry rushed over, and nearly gasped as he felt the brush of an invisible something slither past his leg. "What was that!" she cried.

"Ssssshhh," Harry soothed. There was no need to bring the others. "It's okay!" He called out, just in case. "She just stumbled on a rock. Tell them you're fine!"

"Of course I'm fine," Ginny snapped, glaring at him. "There was no rock, though."

Harry tried to look confused. "Then what did you trip on? You're usually not that clumsy," he teased, smirking.

She scowled up at him from the ground, but shook her head good-humouredly when she took the hand he offered to help her up. "Shut up."

"You didn't twist an ankle, did you? If you can't go on…" Maybe if he tackled her pride, she'd keep going on the walk with him.

"I said shut up!" But she was grinning, and then she was pulling him along, further and further from the others.

The Basilisk wasn't disgusting at all, as Harry had feared. It had completely decomposed, and all that was left was its formidable skeleton, missing a few fangs of course. Harry wondered if his Master really could bring it back to life. It had been dead a long time. Snape had been a success, but he'd only been killed days before. Perhaps only the skeleton would be reanimated. But that wouldn't be much different from the Inferi that his Master was already so skilled at creating. And given Voldemort's excitement, Harry guessed this was something else altogether.

"I don't know why you'd want to come here again, of all places," Ginny murmured, sidling close to him. Harry wrapped an arm around her. He felt like a complete lout, bringing her here. At least he could try to comfort her.

Unfortunately, Ginny saw this as invitation to resume her attempts at intimacy. Her left hand raised up to his the bottom of his shirt, and before Harry could even think to protest, she'd started to pull it up.

She rubbed her hands back and forth against his skin, before looking up at him curiously. She must have felt the runes that had been scratched upon his torso. They were barely raised, and once they'd scarred would be barely discernable, but now they were inflamed and red. They looked and felt a bit like bramble scrapes, really. Actually, that was a good idea…

"What are…?" She had grasped the bottom of his jumper, and Harry quickly pushed her hands away. He didn't succeed fully, but he managed to keep her lifting his shirt up.

"Don't. I got caught up in some thorns, trying to get a few blackberries. Not that I saw that many in the Forbidden Forest."

She nodded, as if taking his words at face-value, before scrunching her nose up again. How did I ever think that was cute? Harry thought again. "Why'd you take your shirt off?" she asked.

"Well…so…it wouldn't get torn."

More unadorable frowns. "But it's torn anyway."

Harry nodded. "Obviously that was before I realized that the brambles were ripping it up. Look, just drop it." He finally pried her hands off his clothes.

"Why didn't you let Hermione…"

"Drop it, alright?" Harry snapped, unthinkingly. At her crest-fallen expression, Harry winced apologetically. "Sorry. I'm just still on edge. Everything's been…Forgive me?"

Ginny softened. "I know. It's been super hard on all of us. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you. Out there by yourself. You should have gotten one of us to come with you, you know. I would have gone with you. You know that, right?"

He couldn't talk. He just nodded.

He didn't deserve these friends.

He still had a job to do.

Harry took Ginny's free hand in his own, and tugged her along. Finally, he managed, his whisper hoarse from his unhappiness, "Come with me now, then."

And she did, lighting his way further into the darkness.

George was livid when they returned. "Where the fuck have you two been!" he snarled at them.

Ginny, stepping forward, glared at her brother. "None of your business," she stated bluntly. Harry was impressed that she managed to keep her tone level, what with the sparks practically flying from her eyes.

Ron stood nearby, nibbling on his lip. He looked worried. No doubt he'd been as upset as George at finding Ginny missing. "It's been hours, mate. I know you guys had a lot of, um, catching up to do." With this last bit, his face flushed crimson. He didn't continue, unwilling to elaborate on what he thought 'catching up' entailed. Harry didn't bother to ask, either.

"We didn't go anywhere. I was just looking around. I'm allowed to do that, aren't I?" Harry protested.

"Not with my sister, you're not," snapped George.

"I can do whatever I—" Ginny's voice was raising now. Her eyes gleamed with her rage. If she were a Basilisk, George would be done for.

"Not without telling anyone where you were going! We had no idea where you'd run off to. And with him!" George shot back, uncowed in the face of Ginny's anger.

"With Harry! With my boyfriend!"

Uh oh, Harry thought.

George sniffed disdainfully. "If that's really even-"

"I saw them leave." It was Luna, who still hadn't wiped the dirt from her tear-streaked cheeks.

"And here I thought all you ever saw were your stupid Nargles," George bit back.

"Leave her alone!" Ginny hissed.

By now the small group—Harry, Ginny, George, Ron, and now Luna—had attracted the attention of the rest of the student rebels. Some looked curious, though more than a few were casting Harry suspicious glances. He could hear quiet murmurs, mutterings of agreement with George. Whispers in Harry's defense. These were quickly drowned out by the escalating voices of the Weasleys:

"I don't trust him. How can-"

"-his whole fucking life, George! You think-"

"I still don't think we should just-"

"We checked him out. He knew about-"

"-think I know my own boyfriend."

"Well it's on you then-"

Hermione, bless her, had come over to Harry and, taking hold of his arm—his left arm—led him back to the fire. Harry smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he said awkwardly as they sat down. He discreetly rubbed at his Dark Mark through his clothes. She shouldn't be touching it. It almost seemed to burn now with a phantom pain.

"I'm sorry," she said, sympathetically. "George has been kind of off lately. He's not himself."

"Yeah. I know. I understand." And he did. It still hurt.

Luna came and sat down on Harry's other side. "I think everyone's changed a bit," she offered.

Hermione nodded and said, "How could we not."

No, Harry thought. Hermione was still the same. Luna. Ginny. Sure, George was angry. His twin was dead. Half of him was gone. Harry wondered if it was kind of like losing a Horcrux. Were twins bound at the level of the soul? If that were so, what a cruel trick of fate to let one live alone.

It was Harry that had changed. And they had no idea. George might be suspicious of him, but he truly had no clue that Harry was here to damn them all. Harry still held the glimmer of hope that at least some of them could be spared, though. Voldemort had changed his mind once before, after all.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, before Hermione cleared her throat. "Harry," she began. "Actually, I've been thinking."

Well, that didn't bode well, Harry thought worriedly. Hermione was always the smart one. The one that noticed far too much. "Yeah. Um, what is it?" he responded, trying to sound casual.

"Well…" Now she looked nervous. Well, it couldn't be too bad. If she suspected him of being the traitor he was, she would have drawn her wand. Instead she was fiddling with her earring. "I was wondering about the statues."

"The statues," Harry repeated, stupidly. That wasn't at all what he'd expected her to say.

She nodded, her nervousness shifting to her characteristic excitement when presented with some new idea or challenge. "Yes. The snake statues. You said, way back during second year, that some of them responded to Parseltongue."

"Yes…" he ventured, warily.

"Well, we were wondering, or rather I was wondering, if maybe, and this has I think quite a good chance of working, that some of them might have a Parseltongue trigger and might open with a particular phrase, and maybe-"

"I wish I had brought my Spectrespecs," Luna offered, dreamily gazing at the air around Hermione's head.

"I do not have Wrackspurts, Luna," Hermione huffed.

"Hermione just gets like this when she's excited over a new idea," Harry explained. "But it's not a bad idea. Have you noticed any snake engravings or statues in the area?"

"Yes, I've catalogued them. Some of them even hiss if you get too close." And she pulled out a Muggle spiral-bound notebook and pen. Harry hadn't even noticed that she still had her beaded bag with her. "Tomorrow, I think, we should begin to investigate them. Hopefully one might be a separate exit. We need to get well past the anti-Apparition wards set up around the castle. There are too many Death Eaters stationed around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. We'd never be able to get out. Not all of us, anyway."

That would work, Harry realized. If there really was an exit. He could lead them all out to 'safety'. He would have to send a message to his Master. Or perhaps his Master was paying attention to his thoughts even now. Surely Lord Voldemort would not have sent both his remaining Horcruxes into the enemy camp with no means of communication.

And the Dark Mark worked as a summoning device, Harry knew, though he had no wand to activate it.

"That sounds like a good idea, Hermione," Harry said. "Those guys have finally stopped arguing. Maybe we can all get some sleep. Then try your plan tomorrow?"

Hermione grinned at him. Luna offered her own bemused smile. All three tried to find a comfortable spot next to the fire.

Judging from the constant shifting, none of them could easily settle. The fire was too hot, the stone ground too cold. After a long while, when almost everyone seemed to have fallen asleep, Harry finally gave up and moved away from the others.

It was only a short distance, but it gave Nagini a chance to find him, quietly pressing against him on his other side, protecting and protected. Feeling her next to him was what allowed Harry to finally relax into sleep.