"Lady Roxanne, you need to come urgently" Toby appeared in front of Roxanne, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Lord Cyrus sir too" he said looking at Cyrus. "It is the school healer in the fire"
Roxanne leapt to her feet, she was the first to reach the floo.
"Roxanne, there has been an incident" Madame Pomphrey's face flashed in the Greengrass floo "the children are ok" she added quickly seeing the concerned look on Roxanne's face, allaying any fears her old friend may have. "The details are pretty sketchy for now, but another student has been injured and somehow your two were involved. The infirmary floo is open if you want to step through."
Without saying anything she stepped into the floo, closely followed by Cyrus.
Stepping out of the floo, Roxanne strode out of the infirmary office door and looked around, finding the children's beds, she rushed to Daphne's side. Daphne instantly clung to her mum and buried her face in Roxanne's robes.
Cyrus approached Harry "Are you ok?
"I'm fine" Harry replied then grumbled "But I am being held against my will" in Madame Pomfrey's direction giving her a glare.
"Probably no more than you deserve" Cyrus replied ruffling Harry's hair. Harry slumped back down in his bed muttering under his breath about wicked witches.
Cyrus looked to Daphne, she was upset obviously but seemed unharmed so he turned his attention to the other beds, the Chang girl appeared to be in a pretty bad way, she was sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning moaning in her sleep until Poppy came and gave her another potion and she settled down.
One of the last two occupied beds contained Lockhart who was sitting up staring into space with an introspective look on his face.
Dumbledore was the last patient and he did not look well at all, white as a sheet and looking a mere shadow of the man Cyrus had last seen.
"Poppy?" Roxanne got the healer's attention "You are sure Daphne and Harry are ok?" she asked seeking reassurance.
"Physically they are fine" Poppy started "Harry's right arm has been injured but appears to have been fixed with the application of phoenix tears. He won't elaborate more than that" They all turned to look at Harry who was just stared back impassively. He knew better than to share information in a public setting.
"Daphne has had a rather quick and large drain on her magic, but being young it is rapidly replenishing." Poppy concluded.
Poppy looked around at the other three patients, Albus will survive but it was a close thing. Miss Chang was in for a long recovery, after a prolonged drain of her magic. Lockhart surprisingly was the best of the three, despite being petrified, the speed at which the restorative was administered meant that his recovery was almost complete.
"They won't give me details but it is obvious they have been through some traumatic event, some time with a mind healer maybe appropriate." Poppy finished.
Roxanne nodded "Is it ok for us to take the children home now? We will have them back in time for class on Monday"
Poppy glanced towards Dumbledore, the old man was in no state to argue. "Of course, dear. Make sure they take a dreamless sleep potion before going to bed tonight though. I will let Severus know once the lockdown has been raised. Oh!" she thought who is going to call off the lockdown?
"Give me a minute before we go" Roxanne said and approached Lockhart who snapped out of his daydream and smiled his award-winning smile at her.
"Professor Lockhart" she began before he interrupted with a 'please call me Gilderoy' and another smile. "Gilderoy, would it be too much to ask for a copy of your memory of the event?"
"Certainly, my dear, there isn't much of it I am afraid. Everything for today that happened before my petrification is gone sorry, but you can view the aftermath. I am afraid I didn't help much." Gilderoy raised his wand to his temple and withdrew the memory and placed it in the vial Roxanne provided to him. She sealed the vial and slipped it into her robes.
Harry was first through the floo, keen to get out from under Madame Pomfrey's care.
They settled into chairs in the 'War Room' back in the Greengrass Manor. Croaker was already there which just left Sirius Black who turned up a few minutes later.
"So, what happened?" Cyrus looked at Harry and Daphne
"It all started when I was called into the headmaster's office. He wanted a quiet chat" Harry began.
"I went with him to make sure he behaved himself" Daphne added.
"Which I did. We were having a friendly chat when it was discovered that Hermione was missing and she was probably in the Chamber of Secrets" Harry said.
"Her skeleton will lie in the chamber for ever" Daphne explained.
"The school was locked down and I agreed to open the chamber so Dumbledore and Lockhart could go and get her back from Cho who had obviously gone a little crazy." Harry
"You needed to be a parselmouth to open the chamber which is why they needed Harry" Daphne explained again.
Without realising it they had started to do the Weasley twin speak.
"Anyway, once the chamber was open, Dumbledore and Lockhart went to retrieve Hermione while we just hid in the shadows and left them to it" Harry
"But Riddle was there, well almost there, some sort of weak manifestation of a schoolboy Riddle. And it wasn't Hermione there, it was Cho" Daphne
"Hermione wasn't there, she was in the library. Madame Pomfrey told us she was found exiting the library later in the morning by one of the paintings." Harry
"And don't you dare give her a hard time about that Harry Potter" Daphne said with a warning scowl "This is our own fault, nobody else's"
Harry opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then closed it again before giving a curt nod of agreement.
"Then after a brief exchange of words, Riddle set his basilisk onto Dumbledore and Lockhart" Harry
"The basilisk being Slytherin's monster fabled to be hidden in the chamber" Daphne
"A basilisk!" Everyone exclaimed.
Harry and Daphne nodded.
"Dumbledore protected Lockhart from the worst of its stare, but he was petrified and banished to the side of the chamber" Harry
"Where I was hidden, so I administered the restorative." Daphne
"Dumbledore conjured this massive stone wall between himself and the basilisk." Harry
"It was very impressive" Daphne
"The wall was also between me and the basilisk which was handy. But the effort was too much for the old man, and he keeled over. I had to summon Fawkes to take him to the infirmary. Then the basilisk got through the wall and so I took off down one of the side tunnels with the basilisk following" Harry
"By then Lockhart was starting to recover, so I propped him up against the wall, and went to check on Cho and investigate what this Riddle shadow was. It turns out that the dark artefact we thought Cho was using to curse people, was actually Riddle's old school diary which was drawing on Cho's magic to create some form of physical manifestation of his schoolboy self. It seemed only partially successful. When I went to see if Cho was ok, I tripped over her and fell to the ground. Riddle fired a spell at me while I was down." Daphne
"Which is when the basilisk chased me out of the tunnel. I banished Daphne out of the path of the spell which went on to hit the diary causing Riddle to disappear. I then stabbed the basilisk with a sword Fawkes had got for me." Harry
"Then we got Fawkes to fire flash us all to the infirmary" Daphne
"So, in all fairness" Harry said "This time none of it was our fault. We are but mere pawns in all of this. Manipulated by older and wiser wizards."
"And the memories will bear this out?" Roxanne asked suspiciously, the story seemed to be too downplayed.
"More or less," Harry mumbled not meeting her eyes.
Cyrus quirked an eyebrow at him "Very well, let us watch these memories and we will see if they back you up"
Cyrus asked Daphne for her memory and dropped it into the pensieve. Everyone reached forward and placed a hand on the rim, full emersion, not the projection over the pensieve.
As they exited Daphne's memory, everyone started talking at once, getting louder and louder trying to make themselves heard over each other until Roxanne stood up and glared at them all.
"That is enough, we will watch the other two memories and then we will have a civilized conversation. Is that understood?"
Everyone looked embarrassed and nodded.
Roxanne dropped Harry's memory into the pensieve as everyone composed themselves and took their seats again.
Harry's memory was just as horrifying as Daphne's, in addition it showed them what had happened to Dumbledore, Harry's interactions with Fawkes, the sorting hat, and of course an up-close view of the inside of a basilisk's mouth.
In contrast Lockhart's memory was quite tame, he was too far away to hear what Daphne and Riddle talked about, and as Riddles back was to him, you couldn't even tell who Riddle was. But he did have a particularly good view of the action, and his memories were crystal clear and detailed.
The appearance of Harry and the basilisk naturally had caught his attention, so he missed seeing the curse fired at Daphne.
What he did have was a perfect view of Harry with his arms outstretched, a spell coming from the wand in his left hand and the sword exiting through the top of the basilisk's skull. Harry was front on to Lockhart and was easily identifiable.
And the final memory that Daphne set up with Harry, her and the basilisk. It too was brilliantly sharp and vibrant. Say what you like about him, Lockhart's memory and power of recall was extraordinary.
They exited the last memory and sat there thinking over what they had seen.
Cyrus was torn between being furious at Dumbledore for dragging them into that situation and admiration for Daphne's and Harry's actions. He went and hugged Harry "Thank you son" he said quietly "That was one of the bravest things I have seen."
He then gave Harry a clip around the ear.
"Ow. What was that for?" Harry said rubbing the side of his head.
"That is one of the more stupid things you have done, and for you that is saying something." Cyrus pulled him into another hug.
"Damn Harry" Sirius said, he looked like he was going to say something else, but words eluded him. He leapt up from his chair and started walking around in circles with his wand drawn tapping against his leg, he looked like he was looking for someone to curse, growling under his breath. All the years in Azkaban he had felt helpless, not being able to look after his godson. But that was nothing to how helpless he felt watching those memories.
Croaker was silently quite pleased. Yes, it was a dangerous situation that children this young should not have been put in, but they were safe meaning he could look past that at what they had actually achieved. As usual with these two, he was astounded at the outcome. One horcrux down, leads on several others, and a verified way of destroying them. He tried his best not to look too pleased.
Harry sat there thinking about what had happened, sure it looked impressive, but through all of it he was just reacting, there was no plan, there was no forethought. All his actions were being driven by others or events. Not like Daphne who from the moment she squeezed his hand and disappeared into the darkness, to the moment Riddle had tried to kill her, she was in control over what was happening. He let out a loud sigh.
Daphne sat silently in her chair trying to objectively review her performance. The killing curse was terrifying, but she was sure that she had moved enough for it to miss her, the need to say the incantation out loud meant there was plenty of warning, but she was grateful for Harry's banishing charm to put it beyond doubt. The more she thought about what had happened the more upset she got.
Roxanne looked at Daphne "Daphne, you were incredible. The interrogation of Riddle getting him to expose the identity of the horcruxes was brilliant" she praised the girl.
"But Harry" Daphne started to say.
"But Harry nothing, he did what boys like him do, run around reacting to anything and everything, no thought, just all action" She looked at Harry "Brave, yes. Impulsive? well I will leave that for others to say. But you were magnificent the way you played Riddle, recognizing that he liked to talk, playing on his vanity to draw out his secrets. That was brilliance."
"Yeah, right up to when I tripped over Cho" Daphne said sarcastically.
"But you didn't trip over Cho" Roxanne said looking puzzled. Everyone stared at her "You didn't trip over her" she repeated "It is very clear in the Lockhart memory, you stepped on the stream of magic the diary was drawing from Cho. As you are more magically powerful, the diary started draining magic from you instead, that is why you stumbled, the sudden drain of your magic."
Daphne couldn't believe it "Are you sure?" she asked.
Roxanne nodded "I am not surprised that none of you noticed, you were all distracted by Harry playing with his basilisk. Watch the memory again, you can see for yourself" Roxanne was surprised that this is what had been bothering her, not the killing curse. She couldn't wait to get Daphne alone for a heart to heart about facing the killing curse and the belief in yourself and your skills.
"So, what else did we learn?" she asked.
"Harry and Daphne are a damn sight fitter than Dumbledore and Lockhart. And I think Fawkes has a thing for Harry, coming when being summoned like that is very rare if it is not your familiar" Croaker said.
"Daphne is scary good at the stealth thing, one second she was there and the next she wasn't" Harry said "She went the length of the chamber in the dark without a sound, I was tripping over stuff every second step"
"Harry, apparently, is a closet Gryffindor" Daphne said. She felt a lot better now knowing that maybe her skills had not let her down. Although she still wanted to confirm it for herself.
Harry looked at the sword of Gryffindor on the table, he had brought it with him as there was nobody to take it off him. "Can I keep it?" he asked excitedly.
"No!" was the resounding response from everyone. Harry muttered darkly under his breath.
"It was a bloody basilisk! A big one at that!" Sirius said.
"And it bit you, are you sure Poppy said the wound was healed?" Roxanne asked. Harry rolled up his sleeve and showed them the scar. A big round puncture wound in his arm, healed but not repaired like other wounds fixed by magic. "Apparently there was so much poison that it will never fully repair" Harry said "I am scared for life"
"Can I see the diary please Harry?" Croaker asked.
They all fell silent as Harry rummaged around in his robes until he found the diary. He drew it out and placed it on the table. He went to slide it across to Croaker but found he didn't want to. Shaking his head as he fought off the compulsion charm, he slid it across the table where Croaker stopped its momentum with a wave of his wand. He had no desire to touch the diary.
They watched as he cast a series of diagnostic spells upon it. "Only the compulsion charm left on it, with a mild residual stench of the horcrux. It still fells evil, but the soul piece is definitely gone." he looked up "What are you going to do with it?"
"We are going to give it back to its owner" Cyrus said surprising them before adding "If it really belongs to Lucius Malfoy then it would have been given to him for safe keeping by Voldemort himself. Once he becomes aware of what it is, or was, I think he is very much going to want it back, and will be willing to pay dearly for it"
Roxanne agreed "It is only a matter of time before what happened in the chamber becomes public. Lockhart just won't be able to help himself."
"But he didn't do anything, why would he want that to become public?" Harry asked.
"He never does anything" Roxanne stated "But he will get his name in the paper linked to events in the chamber, saving the headmaster, the rescue of a student, and of course killing of a basilisk" Roxanne explained "The only photos will be of Lockhart and maybe of the basilisk. Then sometime next year he will write a book about it. By then people will have forgotten the exact details except what they read in the Daily Prophet, that he was involved in the killing of a basilisk in the chamber of secrets while rescuing a student."
Daphne agreed "Gilderoy Lockhart and the Chamber of Secrets"
Harry laughed.
"Sounds a bit cliché, I know." Roxanne continued "But the fearless hero, Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Attacks on students and the Headmaster, the great Albus Dumbledore"
"Our hero investigates" Daphne took over from her mum "The acromantula in the forbidden forest, the roosters being killed off, and of course the perilous investigation of the pipes and tunnels under the castle"
"Until the final showdown in the chamber of secrets, where he kills the monster and saves the day" Roxanne finished "It practically writes itself. I could write it myself in less than a week."
"But what about these two" Sirius said "Surely they should be the ones getting their photo in the paper and getting the credit for this."
"Hell no." Harry swore "After the way that Rita Skeeter has been having a go at me lately, if I never see my name in the paper again it will be too soon"
"Anyway, Harry has got the basilisk. Way more valuable. A basilisk that big would be worth a fortune in potions ingredients alone, not to mention the skin for armour, the flesh is a goblin delicacy, and the fangs and bones for weapons." Croaker said.
"So, it is mine now?" Harry asked excitedly.
"You killed it so you have a claim. The chamber is outside the school's wards so the basilisk was not actually in the school at the time, so I don't see why not." Cyrus pointed out. "
"Plus, you are the only one that can get back into the chamber" Daphne said.
"You mean I can keep it?" he said his eyes wide with hope.
"Yes Harry, it certainly looks like you will be able to keep it" Roxanne said with an indulgent smile "But don't you dare think of bringing that rotting carcass into the house."
"Wake up Master Harry sir" Toby was shaking Harry awake "You have to go back to school this morning"
Harry rolled over and opened one tired eye. It had been a busy weekend.
Toby shook him again "Please get up Master Harry, miss Daphne has said if you make her late, she will be hexing you"
Harry grumbled a bit but got up and got ready to return to school, getting downstairs just in time to step into the open floo after Daphne.
They appeared back in the infirmary office which caused Harry to groan. By now he was starving having not had his breakfast and was eager to get to the great hall, but as he feared Madame Pomfrey had other ideas and insisted on giving them both a physical check-up before grudgingly letting them go.
The corridors were deserted as they made their way to the hall, not a student to be seen despite the lockdown being lifted.
Putting a group of teenage children into lockdown without any explanation had the inevitable effect of weird and wild stories flying around the castle.
The most popular story was that Potter had attacked the headmaster again, with students showing off old copies of the Daily Prophet with the photo of Harry standing over Dumbledore's petrified body. This story was fuelled by reports that a student had seen the headmaster in the infirmary and when they returned later, he was gone and had not been seen since. Potter's attack must have been so bad this time that the Headmaster was either in St Mungo's or perhaps even dead.
Another story was that Potter and Greengrass together had taken their revenge on Cho and she was also in St Mungo's, because she was missing as well after being seen in the infirmary by the same student.
But the most frightening story was that Potter and Greengrass were hiding out in the chamber of secrets. It had been confirmed that they were not locked down with the rest of the students and had not been seen since before the lockdown started. The story said that they only came out of the chamber to attack their next victim.
Naturally, students were reluctant to linger in the corridors and most had spent the weekend in their common rooms. Those that had in any way wronged Potter or Greengrass were especially nervous, not helped by their fellow students who were prophesising their grizzly and bloody demise. This left the entire student body on edge, despite the best efforts of Harry and Daphne's friends to dismiss the ridiculous rumours.
Harry and Daphne meanwhile walked quietly along holding hands and enjoying the magic of the castle. Harry was carrying the sword of Gryffindor, sheathed in an old leather scabbard, he was still reluctant to turn it in, after all he had found it.
They heard the noise from the great hall two corridors away, it sounded like there was something big happening. They picked up their pace.
Harry pushed open one of the large wooden doors, the noise was deafening coming from inside the hall.
The seventh year Ravenclaw prefect, sitting at the end of her table closest to the door, saw it open and turned to see who it was.
Upon seeing them, she let out a scream and backed away from Harry and Daphne bumping into those around her. This got the attention of the others at her end of the table, who also tried to back away screaming and pointing.
In no time at all the other tables noticed. This had a flow on effect with those tables having everyone backing away from Potter and Greengrass not wanting to be their next victim. They all crowded toward the end of the tables furthest away from Harry and Daphne, screams turning into frantic whispers to each other, no one want to draw attention to themselves, until in a surprisingly short period of time the hall was silent. Everyone was staring at Harry and Daphne standing there in the doorway, holding hands, Harry with the sword in his hand.
They slowly walked towards the Slytherin table under the silent watchful eyes of all the students. As they were passing the Hufflepuff table, Daphne reached out and grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet that caught her eye.
She showed it to Harry. The top half of the front page was a moving picture of Harry stabbing the basilisk through its open mouth and up though its brain. He was practically standing inside its mouth it was so large. The mouth was stretched wide open as if it was just about to swallow Harry whole, fangs glistening with poison.
The bottom half of the page was less frightening but no less impactful. It showed a picture of Daphne and Harry standing beside the dead basilisk providing a scale as to just how large it was. The head was as tall as Harry and the thick body stretched off into the darkness of the chamber.
Both pictures were taken from a memory obviously, but a memory of remarkable clarity, with the moving images being so life like, they were practically leaping off the page.
The headline screamed "Potter Slays Slytherin's Monster"
Harry dropped the paper and looked around at the frightened students cowering away from them at one end of the hall.
"Well, shite" he exclaimed.
Author's Note:
Hi all. I know I promised a chapter of reward and retribution, but as most of you probably know first-hand, telling your parents what you have been up to is never short nor particularly pleasant. Also, it is never easy, which is why this chapter has taken a little longer to write.
As always, thank you for reading and the reviews. It never fails to surprise me how some of you can predict a particular idea I had been thinking off incorporating. This just pushes me to be even more creative when it comes to twisting cannon.
Greg