Birthing and Basilisks
Sadie and Tracy gripped Ginny and made her sit on her own seat.
"Don't embarrass Harry," scolded Tracy.
Harry felt a little uneasy around Ginny and preferred to sit between Tracy and Sadie.
00O00
Exams came and went without any excitement. When he had handed in his parchments to Professor Flitwick, Harry checked his schedule only to find that he had nothing left to sit. He crossed Charms from his list, wiped off his quill and tucked it away, crumpled the parchment into a ball, and pitched it in the bin on his way out of the classroom.
His Slytherin friends all gathered in the corridor. Cora was babysitting Chip while Sadie took exams.
"That exam was easy, wasn't it?" Tracy teased. "Sadie? Harry? Wasn't it a no-brainer?"
"It was OK," said Sadie. "Charms isn't my favourite subject."
"Not everyone's as clever as you, Tracy," Harry retorted, sticking out his tongue.
"I thought you were good at Charms," said Draco.
"I am," said Harry. "I wrote loads about everything."
"Nuts," Goyle spoke up. "The profs don't want to read loads."
"Yeah," Crabbe added. "I'm sure the teachers want to eat lunch at some point. As do I. What do you think, Draco? Could we get some food?"
"Are you hungry again? Breakfast was only a few hours ago."
"I'm a growing boy."
"Somebody put a brick on his head," Daphne giggled.
"He's not the only one who's hungry," Harry chimed.
"Lunch isn't for another hour," Theo reported, checking his watch. "The plates won't be there."
"Maybe we can get the food to appear anyway," Pansy suggested. "With exams and all, students are coming and going at odd times. I think it might just work."
The gang of Slytherins trumped down the stairs and seated themselves at their table in the Hall. The food didn't immediately appear, so Theo and Draco fell to discussing how incredibly easy the Astronomy exam had been, while the others watched Harry defeat Sadie and then Daphne at Gobstones.
Before too much longer, their new tagalong showed up and put her bag down on the table as well. She unknotted the red and gold tie from around her neck and stuffed it deep into the knapsack with obvious disgust.
Hermione sauntered over as well and sat down beside them.
"What're you doing here?" demanded Pansy.
"Ginny's here," said Hermione.
"What makes you think you have a chance with the famous Harry Potter?" said Ginny with a sneer worthy of Draco himself. "You wear braces. Your hair is all a mess."
Hermione's cheeks flushed pink. "I am not pursuing Harry Potter! I just wanted to talk about Professor Kettleburn's idea for studying Parseltongue. And now that the Chamber of Secrets episode is over we can get back to trying to heal the house divides. It's a pity that Quidditch just divides the houses."
"Don't talk about Quidditch, you'll only embarrass yourself!" said Ginny.
Pansy smirked at that. "Good one!"
"Girls, girls!" admonished Sadie.
The bell sounded the start of lunch, and food instantly began appearing on the table in front of the waiting Slytherins. After lunch, Harry left the hall, holding hands with Sadie. Hermione hurried alongside him and Ginny followed close behind. It was like having an entourage of weird girls.
"We should see Professor Kettleburn right away," said Hermione. "He said I could help with the research on snakes. I've been trying to persuade him for months. He only agreed if you assist with your Parseltongue skills, Harry."
"You're a presumptuous schemer, Hermione Stranger," said Ginny, appearing on Hermione's other side. Hermione was close by Harry's right and Sadie was holding his left hand, so Ginny could only trot alongside Hermione and glare at the other three. "Why don't you find that funny?" she demanded.
"Because it's a bit rude," said Sadie.
"Everyone should roll around the floor laughing just because I say the word 'phlegm,' or fire around Bat Bogey Hexes," snapped Ginny.
"In what universe is it great to have a mucus fixation?" retorted Hermione.
That did make Harry snigger a little bit and Ginny bared her teeth.
Harry knocked on Professor Kettleburn's door.
"Enter."
Harry slipped into the high ceilinged room, wrinkling his nose at the mixture of strange smells – straw, animals, dung, and the scent of magical fermentation.
Hermione covered her nose and mouth with her hand, then flushed, and took her hand away, trying to look as though she did not notice the smells.
Sadie sniffed deeply. "Mmm. A heady aroma."
"You're gross!" said Ginny.
Harry was starting to see why Ginny might be unpopular as she said.
"Good afternoon, Mister Potter," said Professor Kettleburn. "Bringing friends are you? Today we will be interviewing a runespoor. Miss Granger will write it all down."
The runespoor was a curious little snake with three heads.
"How are you today, little snake?" asked Harry in Parseltongue.
"I have a plan!" hissed one of the heads. "I'm going to figure a way to get some food. Wait. Do you comprehend the True Language? You can get some food for me."
"What a wonder it is that a human should be able to communicate with us," said a second head dreamily.
"You're both pathetic!" retorted the third head. "No wonder you got us landed in this glass prison."
"Glass walls do not a prison make," said the second head.
Harry related this conversation to Professor Kettleburn. Hermione hastily wrote it down.
"As I suspected," said Kettleburn. "The three heads are the planner, the dreamer, and the critic."
"So Professor, you're retiring to spend more times with your remaining limbs?" said Ginny loudly.
Ginny was certainly as unpleasant as the critic head of the runespoor. Harry wondered whether the other two girls would match the other two runespoor traits. Hermione could certainly be a planner, but never a dreamer. Sadie might possibly be called a dreamer, given her antics during the Christmas Hols.
"Get me beetles!" demanded the planner head. "They're my favourite. So crunchy."
"I will not share!" said the critic head. "Go away and leave me in peace while I eat."
"He wants beetles," said Harry. "And he doesn't want to share."
"You have a talent worth developing, Potter," Kettleburn praised.
00O00
The time came for investigating the Chamber of Secrets. Only Sadie accompanied the party of Harry and the Professors. That was a mark of special favour to her. They all had mirrors for looking around corners and special eyeglasses to filter out lethal magic, although Harry was confident that Eridhne would not attack them.
Harry, Sadie with Chip in her bag, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Kettleburn and Snape proceeded to the first floor bathroom.
"Hello Myrtle, how are you?" squeaked Chip.
"How do you think?" Myrtle snapped. "With a gigantic snake wriggling through my bathroom and stuck haunting a toilet?"
"The snake used to be controlled by a seriously evil wizard," said Harry, "but not anymore. Now it's friendly."
"Fat lot of good that does me!" sobbed Myrtle.
"Aw! You're right of course," said Sadie.
"Of course I'm right!" screeched Myrtle.
Snape's wand was out. "An exorcism may be in order," he muttered.
Professor McGonagall gave the ghost a stern look. "You really must be quiet while we work. We won't take long."
Harry found the snake symbol on the tap and hissed: "Open!"
The wall opened, revealing the dark pit.
"Our young heroes have shown us the way," said Dumbledore. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."
Brooms were conjured. Good enough to get them all down to the dark, slimy tunnels that reeked of magic, slime and basilisk.
"This is unmistakably the lair of a great magical serpent!" said Kettleburn. "What a curious odour! I must mention it in my paper."
"Mm. Isn't it delicious?" said Sadie, sniffing deeply.
"The place could do with a good clean out," said McGonagall.
Bones crunched underfoot and a strange light shone up ahead. They found the basilisk skin.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Sadie.
"The iridescence, the reverse polarisation and the subtle fluorescence all show magic," said Kettleburn.
"The poor basilisk is really big as you can see, and it needs proper feeding," said Sadie.
Harry led them to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Salazar Slytherin, I presume," said Dumbledore, pointing at the huge statue. "This is the place for the basilisk to dine, is it not, Sylvanus?"
"Perfect," Kettleburn affirmed.
"Then let us summon the house elves." With a clap of Dumbledore's hands, the elves of Hogwarts arrived, bearing fresh meat from the vast larders of Hogwarts. Raw and bloody as ordered, chickens, ducks, geese, tenderloins of pork and beef, two sheep carcasses. All flew up to the roof of the Chamber. Sadie was such a poor flier that she was on Harry's broom. It was distracting with her thin arms around his waist.
Harry studied the moving sketch of a snake Kettleburn had given him. "Eridhne!" he called. "We've brought you food. A feast. Come and get it."
"Ah, at last!"
Eridhne slithered out and began to swallow the raw meat before her. Harry duly reported her words which were all along the lines of "Meat!" and "Tasty!" Eventually, Eridhne was gorged and slithered back into the statue, ready to sleep and slowly digest her feast. The sleeping draught on the meat would guarantee she would sleep it off.
Basilisk parts were gathered, and venom extracted from the remains of the feast.
"I must see to the wards around the Chamber, so that no villain such as Voldemort can ever get in again!" said Dumbledore.
"This is a crowning moment, my friends," said Kettleburn. "An actual basilisk! Slytherins two young heroes did us a great service, indeed."
00O00
It was June, and during classes, Harry received a message from Professor Snape telling him to go to the Hospital Wing.
He and Sadie hurried up there. Cora was lying on a bed, her long red hair loose and her green face gleaming with a sheen of sweat. "Her water's broke!" said Madame Pomfrey. "The baby's coming."
"Harry!" she moaned, clutching her son's hand.
Sadie massaged Cora's temples and the hag smiled wanly. "Soon you'll get to hold your beautiful little baby!" said Sadie.
"You can wash her face now, McIntyre!" said Madame Pomfrey. "Potter, you can just be with her."
Sadie dabbed Cora's green face with a sponge.
"I would like to help," squeaked Chip.
"No need," said Madame Pomfrey. "She's in the best of hands."
The hag's huge green belly rippled and pulsed as she pushed. Eventually the baby was born in a hot slippery rush. Cora looked weary, but her blue eyes shone as she cradled the little green child in her arms. "Goldie!" she said. "Harry, you have a new sister."
"Awww!" said Sadie. "Look Chip, Cora has a new baby and Harry has a sister. Harry, this is the right moment for that memory locket."
She was referring to that locket which was to reflect one of Harry's most special memories so that it could be relived. This was definitely the moment. A historical moment. With a giddy feeling, Harry registered that he now had a baby sister! Goldie was bawling her head off, her little mouth in an O, like a polo mint. She already had a little tuft of blond hair on her green head.
"Truly one of the highlights of my job," said Madame Pomfrey.
00O00
It was the end of term. The Great Hall was hung with green and silver bunting and the great serpent banner hung behind the High Table. Slytherin had won the House Cup again.
Professor Dumbledore was back in his customary seat, sipping a glass of water as he chatted quietly with Professor McGonagall. He stood up a few moments later when the last students had taken their seats.
His eyes were twinkling. "The end of another year."
"We can all live without fear now," Dumbledore continued. "The Beast of the Chamber has been slain, and the Chamber of Secrets sealed forever."
Widespread applause burst out. Harry admired how Dumbledore could lie with a straight face. He fully agreed with the old wizard's position though. Eridhne's existence must be kept a secret shared by only a select few of Dumbledore's staff and Harry's close-knit group of friends. There were those who would hurt the basilisk if she became common knowledge.
"It has been a trying year for all of us. I hope you will all have a nice leisurely holiday to unwind. Certainly we professors could use the rest," Dumbledore joked with a twinkle in his eyes. "But before we get to that, we must recognize the winners of the House Cup. Congratulations to Slytherin, with five hundred sixty points."
The House Cup looked very nice, all shiny silver, sitting at the head of the table next to the Quidditch Cup. Slytherin had beaten Ravenclaw in their match. Gryffindor had actually lost to Hufflepuff and come bottom in both cups once again.
"It's almost too easy," Harry observed.
"Quidditch or the House Cup?" Ginny asked. She was sitting near Harry again, although Sadie, Tracy and Millie were sitting between them.
"Both cups are too easy!" the gang chorused.
00O00
The next day, the Slytherins were up bright and early to pack their trunks and be off in the horseless carriages down to Hogsmeade station to catch the train. Harry couldn't help but feel sad at his friends leaving the old castle for another long holiday.
Theo shook Harry's hand while Draco clapped him on the back. He hugged the girls each in turn, finally gathering Sadie in his arms and squeezing her so tight she squeaked. She nuzzled his cheek with her green mannequin face.
"Be seeing you soon at Hill House," she murmured. They gazed into one another's eyes. Harry had always found her wide, staring eyes fascinating, but now he thought he couldn't look away. Holding her in his arms felt exciting. Spontaneously they put their mouths together and his lips touched the cold, hard lips of her mask-like face. He was sad at seeing her go, but it wouldn't be for long.
He heard Sadie sniff as the carriage clattered away. He waved and he saw Chip's smiley mask peering out of the carriage window.
"Goodbye!" Chip squeaked. Harry waved until the carriage was out of sight and then went back to the castle and to his mother and sister.
THE END