Chapter 33
Warning this chapter will have a battle.
Over the next few days, Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater's petrification was the topic of conversations amongst Hogwarts students. After the incident, the students discussed who was behind the recent attacks; many wanted to blame Harry for doing it, but they remembered that he gave a magical vow saying that he was not responsible. Some like Ron Weasley and a few others were adamant that Potter was the one who was responsible for getting the vow he gave. Weasley kept on making snide comments about how Potter would soon be expelled and sent to Azkaban. This was largely ignored, as many people remembered what happened at the wizengamot and the amount of trouble it caused.
The parents of the students who supported Morrison received a mixture of howlers and warnings for the parts they played. Many of their parents were not pleased that they had to pay a considerable sum to Lord Black but did so anyway, fearing the repercussions should they not do it. The Smiths were in total hell at the moment due to Zach's actions against many of the people from other families pulled out of the alliance they had with them. Not to mention had to pay back over 80 million galleons downgraded to a Most Noble House.
No one had it worse than Albus Dumbledore, as he had been on the receiving end of many howlers and a lot of pressure from the Wizengamot. That required the old headmaster to retreat to his office and try to put out the fire. The whole affair had shaken him so much that Dumbledore did not leave out of his office for 8 days. If that weren't enough, he had received a lot of shouting from the past few headmasters and mistresses. Suffice to say that Dumbledore was in total hell as he had taken drinking to a whole new level. Many of the professors could even smell the alcohol on his breath.
Harry was currently sitting in transfiguration, waiting for the dismissal bell; he had just finished an exam for the subject and looked forward to getting a little rest. He was currently sitting next to Nicole as she was one of the few people in the entire school he actually liked. While she was working on her conjuration, he was currently reading about Advance Level of Battle Transfigurations; Master Sakai and Master Robinson had been pushing and pushing him to his limits and beyond. Harry had to admit that they were doing a good job of training him as the more they pushed him, the better he became.
This is exactly what he needed the challenge to be the best he could be. Harry continued training with Daphne, Blaise, and Tracey, and they were growing in their magical powers. Daphne even began doing her spells silently and was surprisingly well adjusted to martial combat. The woman even managed to develop her own battling style. Using her flexibility, Harry noticed that her movements were like an Olympic gymnast and ballerina to outmaneuver and get her opponents' best. Her movements were fast, unpredictable, and very creative. That combined with her ability to use spells creatively, her unpredictability, and her observation skills, made her a formidable duelist. Much like him, he incorporated martial art movements into her style, which greatly impressed Harry. Not to mention her elemental abilities were coming along quite well, but there was always room to improve and refine her skills.
When the bell rang, Professor McGonagall, sitting at her desk, stood up "that's enough for today. For your homework's I want a two-parchment essay on the difference between conjuring inanimate and animate objects. Dismissed! Potter stay. I like a few words with you."
As the students began to leave, so did Harry, who did not want to be in the woman's company any more than he had to be.
McGonagall noticed that he was leaving and spoke out, "Mr. Potter, I told you to stay. I have something I need to discuss with you" she said, halting him before he could get to the door.
Harry leaned into Nicole and whispered, "I'll see you later" she gave him a gentle nod and left the room. Turning around, he saw that she was still standing behind her desk with a stern expression on her face "professor, I have work to do. Can this wait?"
"It cannot" she replied, "the headmaster wishes to speak with you after dinner."
"Why does he want to see me this time" he drawled. "Haven't I suffered enough of his presence as it is? Honestly, I've grown tired of listening to his excuses about the greater good."
"Mr. Potter, your ire at Professor Dumbledore is well-known, and while some of his actions are reprehensible. You will show him respect" she said with a frosty glare.
The look did not deter Hadrian; she gave him, "respect is earned, Not given freely. While we are on the topic, I do not even respect you" he replied. "I may be in your house, but you have done nothing to help with the masses that I was forced to deal with. Well done in showing how useless you really are" he mockingly clapped at her.
"That will be 25 points from Gryffindor House for insulting me" she said, flaring her nostrils.
"Whatever comes to talk to me when you are done making excuses for that decrypted goat and tell him. If he wants to see me tell him to do it himself, I'm not at his beck and call I'm not at his beck and call. Tell him I said that" before she could deduct more points and reprimand him, he left the classroom and closed the door behind him, leaving a gaping Minerva.
"That boy will be the death of me, one of these days" she muttered, sitting back in her chair.
(0^0)
Most of the day passed by quickly, in Hadrian's opinion, not that he was complaining. His lessons with Master Sakai today were difficult initially, but he soon adapted to it and managed to amaze his instructor with his current level at the battle transfiguration. The master gave him his homework. Practice the spells they discussed that evening. Giving her a respectful bow, he went to his room for a shower and a change of clothes. After cleaning up, he and Byakko went to the great hall and at Slytherin's table with the others.
Blaise and Harry were currently engaged in a conversation on what they were going to do during the summer. Blaise explained that his mom was taking him to Italy to visit his family and that they would be gone for well over a month. Harry asked if he would attend the International dueling circuit this year, which the dark-skinned boy replied that he was going to win this year's tournament. Harry just commented that he would have to get past him and Miwa and warned him that her skills and power had grown exponentially.
Blaise then started praying for a miracle that he would not get pitted against the woman till the end of the tournament and that he could have a chance at winning one of the divisions.
Harry, of course, just laughed at him and started talking to Ulrich.
The seventh year was sweating bullets as his NEWT exams were coming soon, and he had been up the past few nights going over materials for his exams. Luckily, Severus still agreed to help them out every once and with Professor Black. The two choreographed a tutoring session with the students who originally began learning under him. After some time, they were able to gain a firm grasp on DADA and even managed to cast a solid corporeal Patronus.
As they were eating dessert, Harry felt the hairs in the back of his neck spike up and immediately knew what it meant "oh no!" he said in an annoyed voice.
"What's wrong," Lilith asked him.
"The redheaded bottomless pit is coming this way" everyone immediately knew who he was talking about.
Before Ron could even utter a word, Adrian groaned out, "what do you want this time, Weasley?" he didn't even look at the redhead.
"Shut up, the snake. I didn't come here for you," he said, slightly irritated that the boy didn't even turn his head to him. "I'm here for Potter," he said, looking at the back of Hadrian's head.
"This has something to do with; Dumbledore, doesn't it" he drawled.
"He has requested to see you in his office," Ron replied. "He sent me to come and get you," he said with a bit of superiority in his voice.
Hadrian just laughed, making Weasley look at him as to what he found so funny. "His pet cat didn't work, so he sent you to do his dirty work. That is sad" he shook his head.
"In any case, I'll tell you the same thing I told McGonagall' if he wants to see me tell him to do it himself; I'm not at his beck and call.' Now can you leave? We want to finish eating," he said dismissively.
Ron's face was turning red "you can eat later. Dumbledore says he wants to talk to you about the attack on Hermione and Clearwater."
"I swear you, and he is not that smart" Harry shook his head. "As for the attacks, it was already settled in court, and I was proven innocent."
Harry was now standing up, looking down at the boy "this is your last chance, Potter. Come quietly, or I will make you" Ron then took out his wand.
"Would it kill you to say please?" Harry said nonchalantly.
That was Ron's breaking point "that's it. Slugulus Eructo," he cast the slug vomiting charm at Harry.
Harry leaned out of the way and nailed Ron in the face giving him a bloody nose, then kicked delivered a powerful kick to his right kneecap, breaking it in the process. As Ron screamed in pain, Harry yanked the wand out of his hand and snapped it in two before delivered a spinning kick at the red face knocking him out along with two teeth.
"You think he can teach me some of those moves" Aaron whispered to Nicole. Fortunately, it wasn't low enough where Harry could hear it.
He would have responded, but Professors Black, Snape, and McGonagall came rushing in. "What happened?" McGonagall asked, looking at the unconscious of one of her lions.
"Professors," Harry began, "we were enjoying our desserts when Weasley came over and started telling me that Dumbledore wanted to see me. I told him the same thing I told Professor McGonagall earlier today. After an exchange of words, Weasley said, 'this is your last chance. Come quietly, or I will make you!' He then pulled out his wand and tried to curse me." Harry went on to how he defended himself, broke a few of the boy's body parts, and snapped his wand.
"It's true, Professors," Tracey came in, "we saw everything." The others immediately agreed and said the same thing.
Severus stepped in before Minerva could speak. "Minerva, while I'm inclined to leave, Mr. Weasley here on the ground. I am not his head of the house, and I trust you will deal with him. Me and Professor Black will escort Mr. Potter to the headmaster's office to see what he wants," he said in a finality voice.
Severus then turned his head to Hadrian "come along, Mr. Potter," he swept out of the great hall with his robes billowing.
Harry just rolled his eyes and followed along with Professor Black in tow.
The three walked the corridors until they arrived on the floor where the headmaster's office entrance. Severus looked at the gargoyle and said, "sherbet lemon," giving the password, the floors started rotating, and they ascended the stairs.
Arriving at the door, Severus opened it for them and saw no Albus Dumbledore at his desk. The past headmasters and mistresses were sitting in their portraits, and Fawkes was on his perch, not looking well. Walking in, Harry made a b-line toward the phoenix.
Harry sensed that Dumbledore was still in the room as the fool did not disguise his magic and evidence of the smell of alcohol. Putting the thoughts out of his head, he gave a respectful bow to the phoenix "hello, Fawkes."
The phoenix had grown to like Harry and trilled weakly. Having studied magical creatures and different physiologies along with the different cares they required, he understood that phoenixes only acted weak like this if they were going through their burning days.
"Oh, burning day, huh," he said with a bit of sorrow in his voice "not fun, is it?"
Fawkes trilled again.
Harry sensed the headmaster was watching from the top of his staircase "come down, headmaster, and say what it is you have to say," he said, not taking his eyes off Fawkes. "Just so you know, I am not a fan of your human friend," he whispered. Again, Fawkes trilled, but it was more of an understanding as he was aware of what he thought of his human counterpart.
The next moment Fawkes burst into flames and turned to a pile of ashes.
"Glad to see that you are here, Mr. Potter" the voice of the goat fucking headmaster was heard. "Professor Snape and Professor Black, thank you for bringing him. I trust that you two will be staying?" asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Severus said in a silk tone. Cassiopeia didn't bother uttering a word; she just stood as Dumbledore was coming down the stairs.
When Albus reached the bottom floor, he saw that Harry's attention had not left the perch where Fawkes went through his burning. "I take it you noticed that Fawkes has gone through his burning day, Mr. Potter," he said as a matter of fact.
"He can be quite moody on these days," Albus added.
"I would be too if I were too sick that I couldn't even speak, let alone fly," Harry replied. He then saw something moving in the ashes until a head poked out. Fawkes looked just like new hatching as he was coming out from the ashes.
"Right then," Albus said, "how did you know I was here?" his question was directed at Harry, who turned his attention away from Fawkes.
"The fact that you didn't say anything when we came in. Whenever someone gets within range of the door, you always say come in. Second, you have a thing for the theatrics, and last, your breath smells a little bit like alcohol."
Dumbledore was slightly embarrassed breathing into his right hand; he smelled it and saw that it definitely had the scent of Firewhiskey. Quickly, taking his wand out, he cast a breath-freshening charm on himself. "Thank you for catching that," he said.
"I take it you know why you are here?" he asked.
"It has something to do with Granger and clearwater being petrified" Harry had a feeling this was why he was summoned.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled "unfortunately so dear boy. "You see, Mr. Weasley, along with two others, found Miss. Clearwater and Miss. Granger in the hallway a few days ago. "I'm sure you can understand that Mr. Weasley was very distraught over finding his friend in such a state.
Harry just kept a neutral expression resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
The two were engulfed in silence for a few minutes until Dumbledore resumed. "Mr. Potter, I understand that you and Miss. Granger does not get along, but what is going on is not how to air out differences."
"Are you suggesting that I have something to do with what happened to those two?" he questioned the old man. "You really are not that intelligent are you! In case you were not aware, I gave a magical vow saying that I had nothing to do with the attacks."
"My apologies," Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly voice, "I did not mean to make assumptions. It's just that Mr. Weasley was distraught over what happened to Miss. Granger that I had to ask. I am well aware that you gave a magical vow, which did absolve you of being the main suspect. A few of the students are not so convinced, especially not young Ronald."
Harry snorted. "That's because the boy is an idiot! One would think that his parents would have taught him about magical vows" this time, he did roll his eyes. "As for the other nitwits who are placing the blame on me, maybe you can explain what a magical vow is as they have either forgotten or don't know."
Dumbledore responded, "Mr. Potter, I understand your feelings, and I would kindly ask you not to insult Mr. Weasley or the other students. But remember that some of the students are still young and barely have a grasp of what's going on."
"That is not my fault," Harry replied. "If the parents don't teach them, then there is little I can do."
Albus let out an exasperated sigh "quite correct!" he admitted. "However, I would like to talk to you about magical vows. I hope you know that they are serious and very dangerous; if one wrong word is uttered out of the caster's mouth, then they could risk losing their lives or their magics."
"Your concern is noted," Harry spoke, "and I am fully aware of the consequences. However, considering how most people are, things sometimes require certain measures. Haven't you ever heard the saying: desperate time call for desperate measures?"
"That I have," Albus said
"Now can I go! I have work to do!" Harry said.
"In a few moments," Dumbledore raised a hand, "I still have to ask you a few things."
Harry let a breath out of the corner of his mouth "fine, get on with it," he drawled.
"You see, as you know, many of the students are worried about who is going to be attacked next," Dumbledore stated. "And your interviews with the press have been … unfortunate consequences. More notably towards myself and this school."
"You have no one to blame but yourself," Harry said. "I seem to recall last year a troll got into the school and nearly killed an eleven-year-old. Per your orders, you instructed the students to go back to their dorms while leading the teachers to the dungeons. It may have escaped your notice, but the Slytherins common room is in the dungeons, and you would have been responsible for a lot of casualties."
"I admit that was my error in judgment," the headmaster replied.
"You appear to be making a lot of errors lately," Harry said in a neutral voice. "While we are on the topic. Were the wards alerting you if dark creatures fixed?"
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "They were indeed, and I made sure to do it myself" he tilted his head slightly.
His micro expression did not go unnoticed by Harry; rather than say anything, he remained quiet.
"I can safely assure you that whatever has been causing these attacks will be dealt with soon," Dumbledore said firmly.
"That remains to be seen," Harry replied, "my faith in your ability to handle a situation like this is shallow, and it's growing dimmer every second. For your sake, I hope you deal with this sooner than later."
Dumbledore lost the twinkle in his eyes "rest assured, this matter will be dealt with. However, there is one more thing I like to discuss with you before I send you off."
Harry just raised a single eyebrow.
Albus continued. "Do you perhaps have any idea as to how this person or creature been able to get around the castle undetected?"
Harry, of course, had an idea but knew he had to choose his words carefully. "I say that the person must be having help. Someone who knows how to get past the wards without setting them off."
The headmaster leaned back into his chair "thank you for your time. Your free to go," he dismissed the boy.
As Harry left the room, he got a weird sense of dread creeping on him. Whatever was happening, he had a feeling something dangerous would soon be arriving. Going to his special room to think about what just happened in the meeting and Dumbledore's micro expression. Making it to the door, he muttered the password and opened the door to see his friends sitting in front of the fire doing their essays.
Daphne was the first to notice that he had arrived as she looked up from her charms work. The expression on his face indicated that he was in deep thought. "Harry are you okay?" she asked. The other two turned their heads and saw the expression on his face.
"I'm fine," Harry replied, "but something is concerning me."
"Oh no," Tracey muttered, "what happened in the old goat's office?"
"I'll tell you when dad gets in here," he plopped in a seat next to Blaise.
Ten minutes later, Severus came into the room and noticed the grim atmosphere and knew right then that something was wrong.
"What is it?" he asked in a concerned voice.
The three Slytherins looked to Harry. The boy explained how he thought Dumbledore knew more than he was telling in the meeting. He explained Dumbledore's micro-expressions when questioned further when he said he fixed the wards around the castle. Severus had a feeling he knew where this was going as he notices the headmaster's micro expression. The other three didn't know what was going on, so Harry elaborated more.
He explained how a person's micro-expressions indicated that they were hiding something or if they had something planned.
"You're saying he knows something about the attacks," Daphne chimed in.
"I think he suspects something is up and is unwilling to tell anyone in a position to do anything. Think about it he controls the wards around the castle. Surely he could pinpoint where the creature will appear," Harry said, not trusting the headmaster was doing all he can.
Blaise was the next to speak, "that is scary. Just what is that fossil trying to accomplish?"
"I am unsure" Severus replied, not liking Dumbledore games "however you four need to stay vigilant and carry your mirrors with you. The potion to revive someone is almost complete. I say sometime in May; it should be complete."
"Dad, you should also know something," Harry said, bringing Severus' attention to him. "Draco told me that his father was looking for a way to get Dumbledore suspended from his duties as headmaster."
Harry spoke again "he also mentioned that he was looking for a way to get Hagrid sent to Azkaban."
Tracey was the one to speak, "why would he do that? Why would he go through so much to have them removed?"
"I don't know," Severus admitted. "Lucius is very cunning and intelligent. He would never do something like this not unless he could get away with it. For the time being, you four keep your heads down and do not draw attention to yourselves. I will see what I can find on my end" he swept out of the room and left the teens to their devices.
"Why am I getting the feeling that something bad is about to happen?" he asked them.
"Don't know. Let's just try and tough it out for a little longer," Harry suggested. "This whole thing is getting out of control," he commented.
"No joke!" Blaise commented.
The four stayed in the room the rest of the night. Harry offered them a few rooms, which they took, and after wishing each other good night, they went to their separate rooms.
(0^0)
What remained of the few months left in school was surprisingly quiet. Weasley had woken up in the infirmary and immediately told the teachers that Potter had attacked him. But the Snape intervened before Minerva could and said that there were witnesses who saw him pulling his wand out on Potter first and attempted to hex him. That brought Weasley's attention back to the destroyed wand sitting next to him on the nightstand. The fool was about to throw a temper tantrum, but Severus intervened and put the boy under a silencing charm.
Ron was excused from classes for the next few days to pay a visit to Ollivander to get a replacement wand. It had taken him well over an hour until he found the proper and was completely unaware of how he was able to pay for it.
Harry talked with Professor McGonagall and said that he would foot the bill for a new wand for Weasley on the condition that she keep his name out of it as he didn't want Weasley to know how he got the money. It was no secret that Harry did not like Ron, but he did feel responsible for the destruction of the fool's wand being destroyed. Just because he felt bad about it didn't change his opinion about the redhead. He was doing what was right and what he was taught.
His latest trip to the three broomsticks went amazingly well. Griphook had contacted Madam Rosmerta and informed her about Potter's offer. She agreed to meet with Sirius and Griphook to discuss the investment he wanted to make. After some negotiating, she agreed to sell him 43% of ownership, hire some extra workers, and renovate the establishment. Provided that he would send some more money to help along. Harry agreed, and within the next few weeks of April, she had posted job ads with the Daily Prophet and had gotten three new cooks and two servers.
That's not all; the entire three broomsticks were completely renovated to make it look like a place that had a place in the 20th century. The people certainly approved as she had gotten many more customers with the new additions to the establishment as the place felt more alive.
Griphook had looked into certain properties that were free and found a perfect spot for the boy library after looking into some open areas. Sirius had met with Xavier and Cyrus and explained what Hadrian was trying to build. They were on board with the plan and decided to help by providing funds for books and overseeing the construction while he was in school. The building would be ready in four months, along with a different book's arrival from what they have reported. Harry placed Cyrus in charge of hiring the workers and told him to do a thorough background check.
Lord Greengrass agreed as he knew the boy had to be cautious as to who was being hired. Sirius was placed in charge of making sure the books had arrived safely and not tampered with. Naturally, the man groaned, but Harry explained why he needed Sirius to check the shipments as he wouldn't put it past some people to put curses or hexes on the books. It was only after he explained that Sirius understood and agreed to oversee everything else in his stead.
The school's last investment was of great surprise from the board and Dumbledore, who was baffled that he was willing to invest money into the school after everything that had happened. Harry explained his reasons as to why he was willing to donate money to the school, and the board agreed to give him an estimate of how much he would need to donate.
In the coming weeks, there was new furniture's for the different houses, a recreation room for the students to recline if they couldn't go to Hogsmeade, new rooms in the library where the students can do private lessons to ensure their privacies, and new workstations for the different classrooms. The entire staff was pleased about the prospect of the improvements, and even Dumbledore found that he couldn't complain. The students certainly approved the changes as the atmosphere was much livelier than in over 50 years.
The entire affair may have costed a small fortune, but Harry still had more than enough for the next thing he wanted to purchase. However, he thought at best to put that idea on a back burner as he had to be sure as there were different variables and a lot of paperwork that would need to be filed. At the moment, his only concerns were passing his OWL's and working on the whole basilisk problem.
Everything seemed to be returning to normal. That was until Lucius came with Minister Fudge three days after May had started and told Dumbledore that the board had voted to suspend him for a time as he couldn't find who was responsible for the attacks. Hagrid was taken to Azkaban by Fudge himself. Harry thought that it was a load of dragon dung that Hagrid was being sent to Azkaban for a past incident. According to Severus, Lucius had threatened the board members that if they didn't agree to sign the paperwork to remove Dumbledore, he would curse their families and discreetly let them know that the minister was on his side.
So now Hogwarts was entirely vulnerable to attacks from the outside. Harry placed a discreet call to Mrs. Schwarber and informed her of Hagrid's incarceration. While he didn't have any love for the half-giant, he didn't hate him either. Hagrid was a big man with the mentality of a child who said he would let an innocent man suffer.
Mrs. Schwarber explained, as the incarceration had just recently happened and the ministry's growing problems, that it would take a while before he got the half-giant a trial. When asked about how soon Hagrid could get a trial, she said in approximately nine days. Harry said that he would be sending her to defend the man, but that was it.
Currently, he was in the changing room with his fellow Gryffindor teammates preparing for the final quidditch match of the year. The last game of the season was against the hufflepuffs, meaning he and Cedric would be butting heads for the golden snitch. After Wood has given his speech and showed the strategies they were to use, he led them out of the room and headed to the pitch.
As the team was walking, they were intercepted by Professor McGonagall, who had a sad look on her face "this match has been canceled," she said, shocking the entire team.
The captain spoke, "you can't cancel quidditch" he said, looking a bit upset.
"Silence, Wood," Minerva said "you and your teammates will change and go to Gryffindor tower at once. Mr. Potter, I need you to come with me! There is something you need to see," she said to him.
Harry wanted to retort but saw the expression on her face and followed along. Walking back to the castle, she led him to the hospital wing, where they saw Tracey and Daphne standing over a bed. When they turned around, Harry saw that the former had tears in her eyes and saw the grave expression on Daphne's face. Looking over, he saw one of the few people he didn't want to see petrified. Before McGonagall could speak, he rushed to the side of the bed only to see the person who was the closest thing he ever had as a brother laying their petrified.
Harry looked at Blaise with horror marring his features as he was white as a sheet. "Come on, Blaise, I know you're playing! Come on, games over man" he tried to get him to move, but nothing he did made Blaise move even an inch. Reaching for his hand, he could feel how cold it was. This was a nightmare; as much as he wished that he could be dreaming, this was painfully real.
Minerva watched Potter and could honestly admit that she was horribly wrong. From what she saw, Potter and Zabini were brothers in but blood. It didn't matter that they were indifferent houses; the boys got along famously. "We found him near the library, along with this. Does this mean anything to you" she showed a mirror in her hands.
When he turned him around, she looked positively shocked as his emerald eyes were glowing with rage add to the fact that she was feeling the boy's magical power. The power that he was releasing was practically enough to level the entire hospital wing and probably a good chunk of the castle as a whole "Mr. Potter; I am truly sorry about everything you have been going through this year. I was wrong to judge you so harshly."
She watched as the boy in front of her suddenly became wrapped in golden flames. The expression on his face and the fire in his eyes was slightly like the ones she had not seen in many decades. Only Charlus Potter and a handful of others like Albus were capable of releasing this kind of power. The girls next to him had collapsed to the ground gasping for air. It was taking her own magical prowess to try and keep the boy's magic from expanding even further.
Harry was so lost in his anger that he didn't even realize that the girls next to him were on the ground gasping for air. The only thing on his mind at the moment was revenge against the bastard that put Blaise in this state. He was going to drive whoever did this through the hells of fire and back. No one attacks his family, and this will not go unpunished, he swore to himself. Grabbing Blaise's hand, he said, "Blaise I promise you whoever did this to you will know the meaning of pain and suffering as they did not know what they had just unleashed. And only after they had ever suffered more than they ever thought was possible will I finally kill them."
Minerva now looked at the young man with fear in her eyes as she could tell that he meant every word and was silently praying that whoever did this better run for the hills. She noticed that Greengrass reached up and grabbed his arm.
Harry felt someone grabbing his arm only to see that it was Daphne. He had completely forgotten that she and Tracey were in the hospital wing and reined in flames surrounding him and the magic he was unleashing.
Daphne started to stand straight up but was a bit wobbly "Harry, I know you upset, but this won't help things" she tried to keep him calm. "Whoever did this will pay, I guarantee you, but now is not the time."
Harry regained his rational mind and gave her a nod before turning to his head of the house "get Lady Zabini in here. She has a right to know what happened to her son," he ordered.
McGonagall made no move to argue with him and immediately went to Poppy's office to place a call to Mr. Zabini's mother. Five minutes later, she returned with a paled Carina Zabini, who dashed to her son's side. She looked at her son's friends and asked what happened. They explained that he was found like this near the library and then brought here. After explaining what happened, they were sent away.
Harry went to the room of requirement while the girls went back to the Slytherin common room.
(0^0)
Ten days later, things around Hogwarts were chaotic as Blaise was a pureblood, and that could only mean that none of the other purebloods were safe either. Worst of all, the people who delighted in accusing Harry of being the one who attacked them came to realize the error of their ways. Everyone was aware of how close Potter and Zabini were and even tried to apologize to him, but he didn't have it. Harry barely spoke to anyone at school now except for the few friends he had made. The teachers had taken to escorting the students to their different classes, and now the students were traveling in groups.
Cariana had come by every day to see her son. She had asked Severus when the potion would be ready but only got that it was coming along slowly. Cariana knew that he was doing the best he could as the antidote was very complex and difficult to brew, even for some other potioneers.
Right after lunch, Harry went to the hospital wing with Daphne and Tracey. Arriving, Harry flicked his wand in his hand and conjured some flowers for Granger and Clearwater. While he did not like Granger for her personality and other wrong issues with her, her state was going too far. He then walked over to Blaise's side. "I wish you could move, man," he said softly.
Spending a few hours in the hospital wing, Harry went back to the room of requirement. The girls just went back to the Slytherin common room. Tracey had to drag Daphne with her as she wanted to stay with Harry but allowed the brunette girl to drag her away.
Harry soon found himself in the ROR sitting in front of the fire, meditating. He did this whenever he felt troubled. Byakko rested his head on his partner's lap, trying to dissolve the grief he felt. For he knew how much his partner had cared for the boy in the hospital wing.
Deep in meditation, Hadrian unintentionally accessed some of Voldemort's memories while he was still in school. He was close to exiting when a vision popped up, and he saw what appeared to be a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle as a Slytherin prefect. Harry suddenly got a feeling that maybe he should keep watching.
He saw Tom approaching the sink in a deserted bathroom and spoke in parseltongue opening the chamber. When the chamber had opened, someone from the stall came out shouting, go away, but her body immediately went stiff as soon as she saw the eyes of the basilisk snake. Voldemort didn't need a spell to tell that the girl was dead. He was aware of who the girl was, a muggle-born girl named Myrtle Warren. Turning his head back to the basilisk, he sent the creature back down and told it that he would meet it when it was safe again.
He then fled the bathroom before anyone could spot him.
Harry then saw how Voldemort was looking at Aurors' group as they were levitating the deceased girl down the stairs. He was then approached by a younger Albus Dumbledore who inquired why he was out so late. Voldemort spoke about the rumors going on around school as Headmaster Dippet was going to close down the school and voiced his disapproval of having to leave as it was the only home he ever knew.
Dumbledore said that the headmaster may not have a choice as now that somebody got killed. Riddle voiced an opinion, so if the person who was responsible were caught, then Hogwarts would remain open. Harry saw through Riddle's mask and knew he was planning something. Then he saw Dumbledore stepping forward to Tom with his eyes twinkling and asked if there was something he had wished to tell him. Harry was no fool as he had an idea of what the headmaster was getting at. He had seen that twinkle many times and knew it was probably Dumbledore trying to use legilimency.
Riddle denied saying that he had nothing else to say, and Dumbledore sent him off on his way as Dumbledore went to meet with the headmaster. Riddle pretended to go back to his own common room and instead headed for another floor, where he soon took out his wand and opened the door to a young Hagrid who was hovering over a chest. The half-giant looked completely shaken by what was going to happen. Whatever was in that chest had to be something of great importance.
Harry listened intently as Voldemort subtly blamed Hagrid's little pet for the school's attacks and the murder of the muggle-born girl. Hagrid tried to defend his pet's actions, but Riddle said that the girl's parents would be here tomorrow, and that the least Hogwarts could do make sure that the thing that killed the girl was slaughtered.
Unfortunately, that was as far as Harry got as he was immediately pulled out of the memory, panting heavily.
Byakko looked at his friend and saw his discomfort "what happened" he asked. Harry got his breathing under control and replied, "it would appear that we were right and that it is a basilisk that's been going around petrifying the students. Not only that, I think I know where the chamber is and why Hagrid was sent to Azkaban."
"What do you mean" Byakko asked.
"Before being pulled out of the memory, I saw that Riddle had subtly insisted that whatever Hagrid was protecting in his chest was innocent. Also, that a girl by the name of Myrtle Warren was accidentally killed from looking into the eyes of the basilisk" he paused, suddenly getting an idea.
"Can one of the house-elves come here, please?" he asked, hoping that one of the elves would come—the next moment, an elf popped in front of him.
"What can Axel do for young Hadrian Potter and the White monarch?" the head elf asked.
"Hello, Axel I'm sorry for disturbing you at the moment, but I need to know something. Do you know anything about the basilisk that has been attacking the students in Hogwarts?"
The elf looked down in shame "that I do. Every elf who has ever worked at Hogwarts knows of the giant snake."
"Have you noticed any of the students acting weird or out of sorts?"
"Axel has heard a few of the elf's whispering about a red-headed girl been acting strange all school year."
"This red-headed girl is she in her first or second year? And what do you mean she's been acting strange?"
The chief elf responded, "the girl is indeed the first year. She has been acting weird as she was covered in feathers at one point and didn't even realize it and stood outside on one rainy day looking dazed. I'm sorry, sir, that is all I know!" he bowed his head in shame.
Harry offered the elf a gentle "Axel raise your head" the elf did as he was told, "I appreciate the information you brought me. Thank you, it was of great help" he then rubbed his head. The elf popped away.
Harry was thinking back to what the elf said a first-year redhead girl. That brought his attention to only one person Ginny Weasley. When he thought about it, the girl did give off a dark aura that wasn't hers. The few times he had seen her in the hallways and the great hall, she seemed rather pale and out of it. That, combined with what Axel had described her, led him to believe that Weasley was somehow involved in this mess. But something was missing. Weasley was not a parseltongue, so how could she be responsible for the attacks?
Something was amiss. Turning his head to his familiar, he spoke, "I'll see you later, Byakko. I need to go speak with the others" getting up from his seat, he left the room and headed for the great hall. Byakko was silently hoping that nothing would happen to the boy and ordered some food from the house-elves.
(0^0)
When Harry got to the great hall, he saw the girls sitting at the Ravenclaw table and motioned to come down to the end of the table. Their he filled him in on how he thought Weasley was responsible and explained her behavior. Neither Daphne nor Tracey wanted to believe it, which Harry sympathized with as he didn't want to believe it either. But something was going on, and Weasley had something to do with the attacks. As they were nearing the end of dinner, McGonagall got up from her seat to address the students.
"Everyone, may I have your attention, please" all of the students stopped talking and face her. "I am pleased to announce that I have good news." A few of the students started talking with each other wondering what the good news was. Some of the students asked questions like: Were they still having exams? Was quidditch back on?, Whether Dumbledore was coming back, or if they caught the Heir of Slytherin?"
Harry just shook his head. These people need to get their priorities straight as they were far more important than quidditch and exams.
Minerva resumed control over the students and silenced them "I am pleased to inform you all that Professor Sprout has informed me that the mandrakes have finished maturing and are ready to be sliced up, and the potion to revive the petrified students will commence shortly."
"Also, our gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid will be returning tomorrow with a full pardon" she added.
Many of the students cheered at this information. On the other hand, Harry breathed a sigh of relief as two good things had just happened: one, the students will be revived, and that meant Blaise as well. Two Hagrid was given a pardon for the crimes he had been accused of. However, he soon felt cold, getting a bad feeling about something. Looking around, he noticed that one of his fellow Gryffindors was not present. Ginevra Weasley had been absent the entire feast. Getting up from his seat, he beat a hasty retreat back to the room of requirement as fast as possible.
Making it back to the room, he saw Byakko sitting next to the fire. When the god noticed that he had arrived, he asked what was going on. Harry explained what McGonagall announced at dinner about the mandrakes maturing, and the petrified students will soon be revived. Followed by Hagrid getting a full pardon and will be able to come back tomorrow.
Byakko was about to congratulate him but saw the expression on his face and asked what was troubling him. Harry explained how he suddenly felt cold and how Weasley was not at dinner tonight. Expecting the worse, Harry went up to his room and pulled out a combat uniform as he had a feeling that he was going to need it. Going back down, he saw that Byakko was now standing up before the god could even speak. Harry lifted the front part of his uniform and indicated for Byakko to assume his tattoo form.
"I'll explain why I'm in uniform later" he told him as Byakko assumed his tattoo. He then left the room and was about to head to the staircase but heard McGonagall's voice through the corridors. "All students will return to their house dormitories at once! Teachers will report to the staffroom for a meeting."
Harry had a sneaking suspicion about what the meeting was going to be about; closing off his mental link, so his dad didn't know what he was thinking, he cast as a darker version of the disillusionment charm on himself stealthy made his way to the staffroom quietly. Arriving at the staffroom, he listened in on the conversation. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he didn't require an eavesdropping charm.
"What is going on, Minerva?" Professor Sprout asked.
"It has happened," she said gravely. "The monster has taken a student. Right into the Chamber itself."
Harry heard Professor Flitwick squeal, and Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. He also heard his dad ask, "how can you be sure?"
"The Heir of Slytherin," said Professor McGonagall, who was struggling to speak, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'"
Professor Flitwick burst into tears.
"Who is it?" said Madam Hooch, who had sunk, weak-kneed, into a chair. "Which student?" "Ginny Weasley," said Professor McGonagall.
Harry knew that something bad was about to happen, and Weasley had something to do with it.
"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," said Professor McGonagall. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said . . ."
Not listening any further, Harry dashed to the girl's bathroom, where he was positive the ghost of the girl who had died years ago would be. This was going to end tonight. Arriving at the entrance, he quickly made sure he had everything he needed his two wands, a set of talismans, his watches, the glasses to block the stare of a basilisk, and a few recording crystals.
Walking in, he asked, "Warren, are you here? Where are you" he looked around for a second before seeing the head of the ghost appear out of one of the toilets.
"What are you doing here? This is the girl's bathroom?" she asked.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need information" Harry began. "Do you remember how it is that you died?"
Myrtle's whole aspect changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question. "Ooooh, it was dreadful," she said with relish. "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So, I unlocked the door to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then —" Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining.
"I died."
Harry had a feeling he was on the right track. "This boy you mentioned! Have you seen him at any other points before or after you died?"
"Only a few times" she said gravely. "He always seemed to look at me with disgust and sneer at me whenever I would pass him during the halls. After I died and returned some years later, he cruelly laughed at me being dead" she said it with a crestfallen face and looked moments away from crying.
"Look, I apologize for asking these questions, but my need is urgent" Harry said softly. "Did you see a first-year girl coming this way? She has red hair!"
"Oh yes" Myrtle confirmed with a different expression. "She spoke in the same language as he did and was rather rude when she spoke to me. Why is she a friend of yours?"
"No" he shook his head, "more like someone who I have to attend school with."
"Last question" he sucked in a breath, "when you died, did you perhaps see a pair of eyes coming from the sink" he pointed to the sink in front of him.
"Yes" she replied in a hushed tone. Over there, that sink was where I saw a great big yellow eye."
Harry gave her a nod. Then he started inspecting the sink; it was enchanted from what he could see while using his elemental sight. Next, he found a snake carving on it. Mentally chatting with Byakko, he knew what he would be getting himself into either his new family would kill him or the basilisk and whatever was controlling it was. Deciding to cast those thoughts aside, he took a breath and said "open", but nothing happened as he spoke English.
Clearing his throat, he spoke again "open" he said in parseltongue. The next thing he knew, the sink started opening. Bringing his mental shields to full strength, he looked down to see that there was a dark chute that seemed to be going down for miles. Knowing that he would need proof, he took out two recording crystals and had them record the events.
"You know you are an adorable boy" Myrtle said "if you die, I wouldn't mind sharing my toilet with you" she giggled.
Harry looked at her for a moment then replied, "thanks, Myrtle, but I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment. If I don't come back within 4 hours tell the staff where I've gone. The name is Hadrian Potter."
With that, he flicked his wand out and jumped down the chute, and watched it seal again. Sliding down the chute was mostly disgusting, in Harry's opinion. Seeing that he was about to approach the bottom, he mentally said 'aristo momentum' he waved his wand to slow down his speed. His slower speed enabled him eased to the ground, and he managed to place both feet firmly on the ground. Looking around, he saw he was stepping in a pile of bones, most likely the remnants of the basilisk meals. Once again, he pointed the wand toward himself and said "scourgify" to clear the slime off of him.
Waving his wand again, he said "lumos" to emit a small source of light. Pointing his wand in front of him, he saw a tunnel that looked like it went on forever. Walking forward a few meters, he soon spotted something huge on the ground. Silently hoping that it wasn't the basilisk, he proceeded forward cautiously.
When he got close enough, he pointed his wand toward what was on the ground and saw that it was just the snake's skin. "Bloody hell" he said as he examined the length of the skin, not only that he could tell that it had been recently shed and was giving off some foreign magic. "This thing must be over sixty feet long," regaining himself, he moved forward.
The more he moved forward, the more he could read the level of enchantments that the chamber was radiating. Many of the enchantments were old and heavily strong. Salazar appeared to have not wasted time using obscure levels of magic when creating the place. Deciding to test how strong they were, he asked, "can any of the house-elves come here" his voice just echoed. "Damn must be a strong elf ward around here somewhere" then silently prayed that the mother of magic would grant him strength for what he was about to face. Moving forward, he soon found a giant vault-like entrance with different snakes on it.
"Alright, better call for back up" raising his left arm, he turned his watch a few clicks to the left "Uncle Jack, are you there?"
"Hadrian you should be in bed" his uncle responded. "I'm at work right now. What do you need?"
"Look, I know you're going to be pissed at me, but for the time being, I need you to listen. I am currently in a tunnel connected to the chamber of secrets."
The next thing he heard was his uncle's angry voice. "YOUR WHERE?" he shouted through the communicator. "What were you thinking going in there without supervision?"
"OI" Harry shouted back to make his uncle stop yelling. "Look, I know you ticked off that I went alone, but right now, I need you in full captain mode and for you to listen to me. I will gladly take whatever punishment you and the family decide later, but for the time being, I need you as the captain of the ICW."
Jack seemed to have settled down a bit "we're going to talk about this later, young man" he said with a lot of steel firmness invoice. "What do you need?"
"I need you to gather a few of your men and bring them to moaning Myrtle's bathroom at Hogwarts. Tell them that the creature that has been petrifying the students was a basilisk and to bring whatever equipment's they are going to need to defend themselves."
"I am very unhappy with you now," Jack said, "is there anything else?"
"Apparently, Ginevra Weasley was taken into the chamber" Harry replied. "And you are going to need to bring a parseltongue with you. It's the only way to get into the chamber."
"Do what you have to do! Just get here soon" he continued.
"Fine" Jack grumbled. "Get the girl but proceed with caution and keep the communications up."
"Will do" Harry then looked at the entrance and took a breath "open" he said in parseltongue. One of the snakes started moving while the others drew back their heads, and then the vault-like door opened halfway. Slowly, Harry stepped in.
Note: The duel between Harry and Voldemort is about to begin shortly. I suggest you all either grab some popcorn or other snack if you want to read.
The next thing he knew, he was standing in a 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. Harry saw that the torches were lit, providing a minimum brightness; as he stepped forward, he began to see someone lying on the ground near a large water pool. He was currently sensing the life forces of two different individuals, the girl on the ground and another person hiding in the shadows.
When he got halfway into the chamber, he waved his wand and mentally said, "accio Ginny Weasley" the girl in question was magically pulled and caught in his hands. He felt her pulse and could feel her lifeforce dimming "dammit she cold as ice" he said. Harry then got in a dueling stance and pointed his wand at the darkest part of the chamber "come out! I know you're there."
He then suddenly felt cold creeping up his spine when a tall figure suddenly emerged from the shadows of the cave. He was tall, and Harry had to guess that the boy was either 16 or 17; his skin was pale but still visible to see ad was holding a wand. "How did you know I was here?" the boy asked.
"Weasley is not a parseltongue" Harry replied "that message that was underneath the first one had a different form of writing. Isn't that right, Tom Riddle, or should I call you by another name… Voldemort."
The boy gave a dark chuckle as he neared Hadrian "in the flesh well so to speak…" he stopped to admire his body.
Ignoring the comment, Harry asked, "how are you here? You supposed to be dead?" there was no way Voldemort was able to get past the enchantments of the map as it would have detected him.
The Slytherin boy said, "I am a memory. Preserved in the diary for 50 years."
Harry spoke in a cold, expressionless voice, "do I look stupid to you. You no memory! They are not capable of manifesting a physical body" he kept his wand trained on him while looking around the chamber.
"You are correct" Voldemort said, amused. "That diary is something much more."
Both of them stopped moving and eyed each other like a pair of dragons who were about to brawl. Neither of them bothered to say anything. Hadrian was not the stupid Gryffindor Dumbledore wanted; he was him and knew that there was no way that Voldemort could be here. This was something else, a physical construct of magic given the younger version of the man who murdered his parents.
"I have waited so long to meet you, Hadrian Potter," Voldemort said with glee breaking the silence.
Hadrian ignored what he said. "How did your diary end up in her possession" he asked, not in the mood for games.
"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's in the state she is in right now is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."
Harry kept his eyes narrowed on the boy in front of him. "Talk" he said.
"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 Harry Potter would ever like her. . ."
All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry'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 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…" he imitated a girlish voice.
"You fed on her vulnerable state and took advantage of her" Harry summarized. "She doesn't even know that it was her that was opening the chamber, was she?"
Voldemort gave a high cold laugh. The entire laugh echoed through the chamber. "You really are intelligent" he commented. "And no, she didn't know, but she suspected, of course. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries . . . far more interesting, they became. . . . Dear Tom," he recited, in a mocking girl voice, "I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes, and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked, and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me. . . . There was another attack today, and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad. . . . I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"
"If I say it myself, Harry, 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 . . ."
Harry didn't show any emotions. The more Riddle spoke, the more evil he became in Harry's eyes. He was a parasite who prayed on the weak, just like Dumbledore.
"Of course, Ginny didn't like what was going on and was about to dispose of the diary, and I couldn't have that" Voldemort held a scolding smile. "That was when we, unfortunately, ran into Blaise Zabini. Ginny told me how you preferred to spend time with the Slytherins rather than with the members for Gryffindor. So, I came up with an idea, why not petrify the closest thing you ever had to as a brother."
Harry flared his nostrils. "But why him! Why target Blaise?" he asked, his irritation growing.
Voldemort started chuckling, "dear Harry, Blaise was only targeted because of how close he was to you, and I needed to send a message. I desperately wanted to meet and talk to you."
"Let me ask you this" Harry strengthened his mental shields to maximum "how did Hagrid take the blame for the death of Myrtle Warren?" he wanted to change the topic.
Riddle held a cruel smirk on his face. "That was rather easy. I was aware that brainless oaf Hagrid cared for an acromantula, and I used it to my advantage. It worked so well that even I was surprised at well it worked. I could barely even keep myself from laughing when he was expelled."
He continued. "On the one hand you have, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, a model student . . . on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls. It was pretty obvious who would be the more likely suspect."
Harry had to admit that it did make sense. Hagrid was a half-giant with the mentality of a child. The man even tried to hatch a dragon in his hut. When compared to Riddle back then, all evidence would eventually be pointing at him.
"Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as the gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed. . . . Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did. . . ."
Harry just snorted. Of course, Dumbledore would know something about this matter. "Your disdain for Dumbledore is greatly palpable. What happened after Hagrid was expelled?"
"After that oaf was expelled" Riddle began, "Dumbledore kept an annoyingly close watch on me," he carelessly said. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead an-other in my footsteps and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."
"You really are a self-righteous bastard. You know that" Harry commented as the two began circling each other. "You said you wanted to talk with me. Why?" his eyes were burning with flames.
"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent was able to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar while my powers were destroyed?" His eyes were now blood red. Harry was not going to let his guard down and end up dead.
"Why do you give a damn how I escaped?" Harry asked. "And why did you become Voldemort in the first place?"
"Voldemort" he spoke softly, "is my past, present, and future… Harry Potter." He then took the wand he was gripping and wrote three words:
Tom Marvolo Riddle
Then he slashed his wand, and the words completely changed into a new name:
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. Do 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!"
Harry had finally lost it and began laughing. His laughter echoed throughout the chamber. "You're a half-blood! Now that is some delicious irony. Your death munchers hate anything and everything to do with muggles and muggleborns, yet their master is a half-blood. Through your monologuing, I was able to figure you out. I thought you were just an arrogant, self-righteous arsehole but instead, your nothing more than a weak bastard with daddy issue."
Riddle's faced turned murderous. He was about to speak, but the boy continued, "however, there is something I want to know. You said your father abandoned you and your mother before you were born. Let me guess; you were raised in a muggle orphanage, weren't you? Even so, how did you find out about Hogwarts?"
Voldemort snarled. "Dumbledore came to get me one day and told me everything about the magical world" he said as he remembered that memory many years ago.
"And each year when the school ended, you asked the headmaster if you could stay as you didn't want to go back" Harry enquired.
"Yes," Riddle confirmed. "Each I asked headmaster Dippet to let me stay, but Dumbledore always convinced him to send me back to that hellhole."
"Sounds like Dumbledore" Harry commented. "Damn bastard doesn't know when to stop meddling in matters that don't concern him. I'm going to take a guess here and say that he knew about your hatred of muggles, didn't he."
"He more than knew and did nothing" Riddle said in an angry voice.
Harry spoke again "I have one more question. That diary you spoke what is so special about it?" he questioned slowly.
Once again, Voldemort gave a dark chuckle. "You're not leaving the chamber alive, so I see no harm in telling you. That diary is a creation that I am most proud of: A Horcrux. Want to know anything else before you die?"
"No" Harry replied, "and by the way, thank you for that information."
"What" Voldemort was now confused.
Harry raised his still activated communicator "uncle did you get all that?"
"I did and more. Well done, Hadrian!" Jack said over the communicator.
Riddle was pissed Potter faked him out. "You little brat; you had this planned from the beginning!"
"Mostly" Harry admitted, "I just wanted information from you, but I never expected this much. So that you know, no one likes a braggart! How does it feel to be burned by the boy who so desperately wanted to meet?"
Voldemort let out a primal scream and fired an organ liquefying curse; the orange spell raced to the boy. Harry deflected it and fired a blood-boiling curse that Voldemort dodge. Riddle's eyes opened wide and mentally said, 'this boy not only pulled off a Slytherin tactic but also used dark magic' he then began firing a variety of different spells at the boy.
Like Voldemort, Harry had started using dangerous curses, most of which were either grey or dark in nature. The two combatants were either attacking or defending against the others' spells. Harry was carefully observing the spells Voldemort was using, and he could tell that they were very dangerous, none of which were taught at Hogwarts. Harry, of course, retaliated with the different combat spells he learned in Japan and leveled the playing field.
That was until he started using his family spells. Harry began using a combination of different spells the Blacks and Potters have created over the years, and they are truly dangerous and destructive in their own ways. Compared to his duels with Miwa in the past, they seemed more tamed when compared to now as he was now fighting for his life. The duels with her may have been brutal, but they were nothing compared to the spells he was facing now.
Riddle couldn't believe what was going on. The 12-year-old boy matched his spell for a spell, and the duel intensified between them. They began to show a few injuries. He wasn't even aware of the spells the boy was using on him but could only guess that they were dangerous. So, he upped his game using parselmagic, making his spells even deadlier than they already were.
Harry quickly noticed that Voldemort's spells had intensified, and his style had become that much more vicious. He could only guess that the bastard was using parselmagic, a dangerous combination of regular magic amplified by parseltongue. Deciding to up his game, he powered up his own spells by adding different runic clusters to his spells to increases their powers.
As their spells became more dangerous, the chamber they were in was becoming less grand as many of the spells were impacting the snake statues, destroying them.
"Your using runic clusters to enhance your spells" Voldemort shouted.
Harry snorted. "Your using Parseltongue magic," he said. "I'm a little disappointed, though. I expected more of a challenge from the great Lord Voldemort. If Salazar Slytherin was here, he shakes his head at one of his supposed descendants was dueling at the moment" he mockingly said.
"You dare question my lineage" he hissed in parseltongue and continued using parselmagic against Potter. "Let me show you what I am really capable of" he made his spells dangerous, and cand his casting became faster.
Harry had to stumble a bit under the barrage but was powering through the pain of some of the spells that we're able to break through his shields. So, he decided to try the new spells he created. When he saw Voldemort fired an orange and white spell at him, Harry mentally said, 'protego coglex' the spell was one of the three spells that he had been working on. The usual silvery-blue shield manifested but had something yellow in the middle.
Voldemort thought the spell would have hit, but the boy manifested a shield that he had never seen before "what the" he didn't get to finish as the spells shot back at him with more speed and power than he used to cast it When it impacted the ground it created a lot of smoke that cloud his vision.
Harry used the distraction and threw some of his talismans at the unconscious Ginny Weasley. The talismans formed a protective shield in the form of a cube that surrounded her; he didn't want any spells to get near her. Bringing his attention back to Voldemort, he saw the smoke get transformed into a dozen daggers sent his way.
Battle transfiguration now. Harry conjured a brick wall to block the incoming daggers. Hearing them impact the wall, he transfigured the bricks into a golem and sent it at Riddle. Who turned the golem into a pile of sand and rotated his wand a few time till a tornado formed and he sent at him.
Harry pointed his wand at one of the torches and drew the fire toward him. Rotating his wand a few times, he turned the fire into a tornado and sent it to intercept the incoming sandstorm. The collision of both their attacks made a small explosion, creating some black smoke that Riddle vanished.
"You little brat!" he snarled. "You found a master, haven't you" he then conjured two tigers and sent them toward Harry.
Harry transfigured the tigers into a set of spears and sent them to his opponent. Voldemort conjured a wall made of quartz to avoid them. When the last of the spears made contact, he vanished from the wall, conjured a fire whip, and slashed it at Hadrian.
Avoiding the fire whip, Harry pointed his wand at it as it was coming down on him and transfigured it into a set of small fireballs suspended in the air. Waving his wand at Voldemort, the ball of fire started shooting at him. Voldemort was now on the defensive from the incoming shots of fire.
With his opponent distracted, Harry decided to use a spell he got from his family grimoire. Waving his wand in a way that almost looked like a dance, the tip began to glow pink and extended three inches; the spell was a favorite of Harry's. Continuing his wand movement, he sent eight pink arrows at Voldemort, who had just gotten rid of the ball of fire. He didn't even have time to put up a shield as the projectiles impaled him in the head and several areas above his waist.
Harry leaped forward and continued to move his wand in an elegant dancing fashion, and when he stopped, the projectiles that impaled Voldemort exploded, destroying the upper half of his body, and fell over. He was about to celebrate his victory but saw that the upper part of the body he had just destroyed rebuild itself.
When it was complete, Voldemort got back up and started a cold high pitch laugh. "I have to say that I am impressed. You Potters deserve your reputations as a warrior family."
Harry smirked at him. "If you weren't evil to the core, you would have made a perfect sparring partner for me. What a waste of talent."
The two continued trading dangerous spells until Voldemort grew impatient and decided to use his elemental abilities. "ventus, terra, ignis cometa" the usual fire comet spell was a dangerous spell that would manifest a big ball of fire, pressurizing it until it was big enough and would shoot toward its opponents. Now it was being enhanced by earth and Ventus magic.
Harry saw what the older boy was doing and responded in kind. "Fulgar, Ventus, Haiyoku," the hydro blast enhanced with the elements of air and lightning shot from his wand and intercepted his opponent's attack. When they collided with each other, they fought for dominance. Both teens began pushing more magic into their attacks, and it started creating shockwaves. Different lighting colors were striking in all directions, and the ground started to shake from the intensity of the spells.
The shockwaves and lightning were becoming more dangerous as neither of them was willing to let up, as they both knew that only one would walk out of the chamber alive tonight. The power struggle was only being intensified.
A/N: I will be wrapping up Book 2 soon but before that I wanted to tease a bit. Yes I know one of you will say I am men for this but where's the fun in giving a battle all in one chapter? Anyway, Harry made some investments using the winnings he got from Morrison. Not long after Blaise was attacked and that was the final motivation Harry needed to pursue the matter. He learned the truth about why Hagrid was expelled in the past, it was orchestrated by Tom Riddle. Grudgingly I have to admit that it was an impressive idea.
Dumbledore micro expression should be noted as they can indicate if a person is telling the truth or is hiding something.
Harry ventured into the chamber of secrets with the recording crystals as he was going to need proof. There he met a fragment of Voldemort's sixteen-year-old self, where it explained his origin. The next thing a duel between the two commences and it will prove who is stronger and who will be leaving the chamber.
FYI: The real showdown hasn't even started yet. This is only the beginning. Who will walk when the smoke clears Harry or Voldemort? Stay tuned people!
Next Chapter: A memory is awakened, and Harry learns the truth.
On a personal note: I like to talk with the person who is called Otsutsuki Naruto.