Disclaimer: One Piece and Harry Potter does not belong to me, each belongs to their respective author.
Challenge by TheBlackSeaReaper.
-.- The Heir of Slytherin
They were standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.
Could the basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? And where was Ginny?
Ace, still with fire on his hand focus on something at the very end of the chamber and moved forward. Neville pulled out his wand and moved between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. They kept their eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following them. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, Neville thought he saw one stir.
Then, as they drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.
Neville had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. But Ace was staring between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.
"Ginny!" Neville muttered, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. "Ginny — don't be dead — please don't be dead —" He flung his wand aside, grabbed Ginny's shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be —
"Ginny, please wake up," Ace muttered desperately, getting beside Neville. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side.
"She won't wake," said a soft voice.
Ace stood up and turned to the voice.
A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges. But there was no mistaking him —
"Tom — Tom Riddle?"
Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Neville's face.
"What d'you mean, she won't wake?" Neville said desperately. "She's not — she's not — ?"
"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just." Neville stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen.
"Are you a ghost?" Neville said uncertainly.
"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."
He pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. For a second, Neville wondered how it had got there — but there were more pressing matters to deal with.
"You've got to help us, Tom," Neville said, raising Ginny's head again. "We've got to get her out of here." He looked up. Riddle was still watching him — twirling Neville's wand between his long fingers.
Ace had taken a step further, staying between Riddle and Neville.
"Who are you?" Ace said.
"As your friend has said, my name is Tom Riddle." A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. "And you must be Ace"
The boy said nothing.
"I've waited a long time for this, Ace, or should I say, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you."
"Yes? Well, tell me, How did Ginny get like this? "I asked slowly.
"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."
"You are the stranger?" said Harry.
"Yes, with the help of the diary," said Riddle. "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes — how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, how" — Riddle's eyes glinted — "how she didn't think famous, good, great Portgas D. Ace would ever like her. . . ."
All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Ace's face. There was an almost hungry look in them. "It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom. . . . I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in. . . . It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket. . . ."
Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that Neville though it didn't suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.
"If I say it myself, Ace, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted. . . . I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her . . ."
"What d'you mean?" said Neville, whose mouth had gone very dry.
"Haven't you guessed yet, Neville Longbottom?" said Riddle softly. "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat."
"Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries . . . far more interesting, they became. . . . Dear Tom…"
"Leave the dramatic discourse of villain, who cannot help brag his plan and only answer one thing. Are you the heir of Slytherin? The one who controls the Basilisk? "
"Yes, it's me, It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance. . . as"
Ace clenched his fist tightly. "That all I wanted to know"
And with that he rushed against Riddle and let out a blow against him, which threw him against the wall of the chamber.
"That's for Hermione." He told the figure that he had been left on the floor. "But don't lose consciousness yet, I still have to give you another blow, and this time for Ginny. Even though I suppose you will be disappointed, no one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again - "
"Haven't I told you," said Riddle quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been — you." Ace stared at him. "I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery — particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue. . . .
"So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her. . . . She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last. . . . I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."
"Like what?" Ace spat, fists still clenched.
"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you — a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.
"Why do you care how I escaped?" said Ace slowly.
"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter. . . ."
He pulled Neville's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:
Tom Marvolo Riddle
Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:
I am Lord Voldemort
"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry — I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"
Neville's brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder so many. . . . At last he forced himself to speak.
"You're not," he said, his quiet voice full of hatred.
Ace and Riddle turn in wonders tn Neville who was standing next to Ginny.
"Not what?" snapped Riddle.
"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," said Neville, breathing fast. "Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days —"
The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.
"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.
Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly.
Then, as the music reached such a pitch, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar. A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle. A second later, the bird was flying straight at Neville. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Neville looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye. The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Neville's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.
"That's a phoenix. . . ." said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.
"Fawkes?" Ace breathed.
"And that —" said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat —"
So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Neville's feet. Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark Chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once —
"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Neville Longbottom? Do you feel safe now?"
Harry didn't answer. He might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but he was no longer alone, and he waited for Riddle to stop laughing with his courage mounting.
"To business, Harry," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice — in your past, in my future — we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he added softly, "the longer you stay alive."
"As if I knew, in addition, you did not cry a few moments ago that you were the most powerful wizard, I am not going to do the homework for you." And with that he began to move forward again "But you have given me another reason to hit you, I recently made a friend, and he is in a bad place thanks to one of your followers, and as his leader, you will be responsible. You messed with two of my friends, I'll show you what happens when someone messes with my nakamadas. "
But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again. "No, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him. . . ." He cast an amused eye over Neville, Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away.
Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed — but Ace understood what he was saying. . . . "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."
Ace wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder. Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving.
Horrorstruck, Neville saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.
"Neville, Close your eyes," Ace shouted, as he himself did.
Neville backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and as he shut his eyes tight he felt Fawkes' wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. Neville wanted to shout, "Don't leave me!" but what chance did a phoenix have against the king of serpents?
Ace felt like something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. He felt it shudder - he knew what was happening, he could sense it, he found his Kenbushoku Haki, he could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then he heard Riddle's hissing voice: "Kill him. Kill this one" The basilisk was moving towards Ace; he could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Ace prepared himself to release a blow, concentrated his fire, with a Hiken would suffice…. But Neville, where was Neville? he couldn't hit him.
He heard something hit the rock, and something fall on the ground. Then the voice of Neville.
"Ace" shouted the boy "The Phoenix, look"
And Ace opened his eyes.
The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. And then Ace saw what Fawkes was doing.
Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabers — Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake's tail thrashed, narrowly missing Ace, and before Ace could shut his eyes, it turned — Ace looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony.
"NO!" Ace heard Riddle screaming. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!" The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly.
Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes.
"Good," said Ace. "Let's finish this."
With that Ace began to climb one of the snake columns, and when he was on top, he jumped, hitting the snake. It fell against the ground.
"KILL THE BOY! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! SNIFF — SMELL HIM!" Ace was on his feet, ready.
He jumped again, but this time the snake was ready, knew he would be attacked, and with that he let himself go back, dodging Ace, before pushing his body again, The basilisk's head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face him. He could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow him whole.
Yes, let him come, and Ace clenched his fist to hit, connect with the jaw and pushing the snake back against the ground. But as warm blood drenched Ace's arms, he felt a searing pain just above his elbow. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into his arm and it splintered as the basilisk keeled over sideways and fell, twitching, to the floor.
Ace fell in front of the statue, there was no sign of Ginny or Neville, and he hoped they were well, while he turned his sight to his shoulder, the fang still pinned, and unable to transform into fire, 'how was it possible?' He wondered as he took the fang out.
The basiliks were on him, listening to his breathing, and preparing to drop into a final attack, he was preparing to descend, and a scream was heard in the heights, a cry of attack, and the basilisk that had stopped to listen to, just Drop at the force of something else that had fallen on him.
The basilisk remained on the ground, and a figure rolled over him, Neville watched the basilik before running towards Ace, on the crown of the snake, Ace could see something bright.
White-hot pain was spreading slowly and steadily from the wound. Even as he dropped the fang and watched his own blood soaking his robes, his vision went foggy. The Chamber was dissolving in a whirl of dull color. A patch of scarlet swam past, and Harry heard a soft clatter of claws beside him. "Fawkes," said Ace thickly. "You were fantastic, Fawkes. . . ."
"Ace" said Neville, "Resist Ace"
"You defeated the Monster, Neville," Ace said.
He felt the bird lay its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent's fang had pierced him. He could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of him.
"You're dead, Harry Potter," said Riddle's voice above him. "Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."
Ace blinked. Fawkes's head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers.
"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I'm in no hurry." Ace felt drowsy.
"You" murmured Neville, Ace couldn't focus him.
"What are you going to do, Neville Longbottom?" Riddle said "You don't have a wand, you don't have your sword"
Everything around him seemed to be spinning.
He did not expect to die so soon, he had lived on the last live until the his twenty year and this time until twelve, no, that was not right, he expected at least to live a little longer, after all, he had more experience, and instead of improving, these was worse. Neville was with him, but last time, he had at least the vast majority of the people he loved with him.
Something was wrong, he remembered what it was like to die, and he didn't feel that way. The pain was leaving him, instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus. Ace gave his head a little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on Ace's arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound - except that there was no wound -
"Get away, bird," said Riddle's voice suddenly. "Get away from him — I said, get away —" Harry raised his head. Riddle was pointing Neville's wand at Fawkes; there was a bang like a gun, and Fawkes took flight again in a whirl of gold and scarlet.
"Phoenix tears . . ." said Riddle quietly, watching Fawkes fly "Of course . . . healing powers . . . I forgot . . ."
Sure he planned to say more, but he couldn't because a fist connected against him, and left him on the ground. He looked into Ace's face.
"Where do we stay?" Ace asked mockingly "Ah, yes, one for Hermione"
"So you want struggles?" Riddle asked. "Like a dreadful muggle?"
"You don't deserve that I fight with you in any other way" and took him by the neck to release another blow "That's for Ginny"
"You will not be able to kill me that way, I am a memory in life"
"Yes, a memory brought by the diary, right?" Ace said.
Neville then understood something, and began looking for the diary, finding it in a corner, ran to take it, and opened it.
"No, stop that," Riddle shouted, as he tried to run to stop Neville just to be stopped by Ace, who took him from the back of the neck and pushed him against the ground.
"This is for my cell mate."
Without thinking, without considering, as though he had meant to do it all along, Neville seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book. There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Neville's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then — He had gone.
Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it. Shaking all over, Neville pulled himself up.
Ace watched Neville, from the corner of his eye, something bright caught his eye, and turning to see a sword sticks into the basilisk's head. With a huge tug, he retrieved the glittering sword from the crane of the snake.
"Yours?" Ace asked.
"It got out of the hat," Neville replied as he gathered his wand.
Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring.
As Ace hurried toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes traveled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Ace, in his blood-soaked robes, then to Neville, and the diary in his hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.
"Ace — oh, Ace —it was me, but I — I s-swear I d-didn't mean to — R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over — and — how did you kill that — that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary —"
"It's all right," Ace said, and asking Neville for the diary showed Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here - "
"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as Ace helped her awkwardly to her feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and — w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"
"Ace, Neville!" Shouted voices from a distance.
From the entrance of the chamber, Fred and George arrived, followed by Ron and Luna, but flying in front was Mecha, who quickly came to stand on Ace's shoulder and pinch his ear with his beak.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," the pirate murmured.
"Ginny," said George, as he arrived at the crying girl.
"Are you alright?" Said Fred.
Ginny could only hide her face in her hands, while crying; and George hugged her while stroking her hair.
"Ace," said Ron. "You defeated the monster."
"Actually it was Neville, I just distracted him," he said, passing the sword to the boy, and leaning against the wall and sitting on the floor.
"Where did the sword come from?" Luna asked; Looking at her surroundings.
"From the Sorting Hat, Fawkes brought it, and I left it on top of the statue ... of Slytherin"
"I don't think we can go back without it," said Ron. "I'll go for the hat."
"Oh," murmured Luna.
Ace was sure that her disappointment was because she had not been right and there was no treasure, but it quickly passed when it was her turn to be able to hug Ginny who cried more.
Mecha had stood on Ace's knees, and looked suspiciously at Fawkes who had stood beside Ace. Ace just looked at them. "Please, Mecha, don't start a fighting, it's the last thing I need"
"Mecha is only worried about Ace," Luna said.
"Hey guys," Ron exclaimed from a distance, and to everyone's surprise he was in the mouth of the statue. "I think you will want to see this."
Inside the mouth was another tunnel, small in length, but leading to another, smaller chamber, but when they arrived they could only stop and look inside.
"I must admit it," Fred said to Luna. "We owe you an apology."
"Yes, you were right," said George.
For his part, Fawkes was pulling Ace's robe, inviting him to leave, and return to the surface. Ace, as it was expected, ignored him, while he saw that there were several torches on top of the chamber, using his fire, he lit them. The gold lit up before the fire, and the precious stones lit up like stars; the light illuminated other non-metallic objects, they were going to need bigger bags or several trips.
"Wow," Ron muttered. "What do we do with this?"
"Take it out," Ace said. "Take what you can."
"They will take it away," said Neville
"Not if they don't know we got it out, and it's here."
They filled two bags each, filling them with beautiful things they saw, they knew they couldn't take everything, but at least they would have what they liked.
They took the sacks from the chamber, and carried them through the tunnels, through the hole in the wall they had made, until they reached the entrance tunnel, where they found Lockhart tied.
"His memory's gone," said Ron. "The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself." Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all. "Hello," he said. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"
"No," said Ron.
Fawkes agreed to take them through the tunnel, but not the treasure sacks.
Holding hands, they climbed the tunnels, and all of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom
Myrtle goggled at them. "You're alive," she said blankly to Ace.
"There's no need to sound so disappointed," he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses.
"Oh, well . . . I'd just been thinking . . . if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," said Myrtle, blushing silver.
"Urgh!" said Ron as they left the bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. "Ace! I think Myrtle's grown fond of you! You've got competition, Ginny!"
"Thank you, but, No."
Tears were still flooding silently down Ginny's face. "Where now?" said Neville, with an anxious look at Ginny.
Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor.
"I think he wants to take us with his master." Ace said.
Everyone remained silent, tense at the situation.
"Come on, Ginny," Ace said. "I will accompany you."
"But Ace," said Neville. "We've broken hundreds of rules, we too ..."
"Yes, that's why I'm just going," said Ace. "Ginny is also one of us, I won't let her be expelled, and I won't risk you either. Get something to take out the treasure, and take it to Moby Dick" and with that he extended his hand to Ginny. "Let's go"
They strode after Fawkes, and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagall's office. Ace knocked and pushed the door open.