Harry felt a moment of disorientation as he groggily opened his eyes, trying to figure out where he was. His mind focused and he recognized Mistress Andromeda's living room, feeling the memories of earlier returning to him. He frowned slightly as he stretched, he really wanted to be upset with her for slipping him that potion, yet he couldn't deny that he felt fantastic.
He glanced at the clock, seeing it was past six in the evening. He snorted softly, no wonder he felt great, he had slept almost ten hours, which was probably more than he had slept all week before that.
Feeling how calm his magic felt and how relaxed he was in general, he decided to spend some time meditating. He had been neglecting the practice and it had honestly been showing, his emotions flaring far easier.
Closing his eyes, he gathered his Occlumency, clearing his mind with casual ease before flitting through the happenings of the past month, analyzing them and putting his mind at ease. Occlumency required constant upkeep, as ignoring emotions and significant events lead to build up, which in turn deteriorated one's emotional control.
He froze when he worked through one of the most emotionally loaded memories, when McGonagall had told him about Hermione. Ginny Weasley. The girl had clenched her teeth before snapping his eyes to him, her entire appearance practically flooding with guilt.
He hadn't paid attention to it at the moment, being too occupied with keeping his anger in check. She knew something; that was not the usual blushing reaction she got when he made eye contact with her, that was pure and simple guilt, oozing out of her very being.
Harry stood up from the sofa, throwing his robe on in the process. Mistress Andromeda had apparently used a Switching spell on him at some point during the day to make him more comfortable. He glanced at the clock again, he should be able to make the end of the dinner; Weasley would most likely be there. Jogging at a steady pace towards the great hall he frowned when he heard a loud commotion down the corridor.
A huge crowd was gathering and they were all whispering in a hushed tone, like they were afraid to upset something unseen. Harry waded through the crowd before reaching what had caught their attention, feeling his magic bubble in him as he saw the text covering the hallway wall.
'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever'
It was the same blood red paint that had adorned the walls in October; the dripping message sent a chill through his spine.
"All students are to return to their common rooms at once!"
McGonagall waded through the crowd with Snape and Flitwick, her stern command getting the students moving. Harry took one last glance at the text before making up his mind, heading towards the Gryffindor common rooms instead of his own. The Gryffindors sent questioning glances towards him as he waded through them before spotting his target, the Weasley girl was walking apart from the rest of them, her face clearly distraught.
He moved up next to her, noting that she wasn't paying attention to anything going on around them, merely staring at the floor. As they turned the corner, he slipped his invisibility cloak over them both and pulled her into a classroom. She squeaked in surprise before recognizing him, at which point it looked like she couldn't decide if she should panic or blush. To Harry it looked like she was doing both.
"Hey, Ginny wasn't it?"
"Uh, umm, yeah?"
'Always use all resources available to you.' The mantra from Mistress Narcissa rang in his head and he mentally groaned, yet knew what he needed to do. If she knew something and had kept it quiet for this long, then bullying her would probably not achieve much. He flashed a confident smile, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.
"Harry Potter, pleasure to finally meet you Miss Ginny Weasley."
"Uhh, uh, umm, y-you too?"
Harry grinned mentally; at least her panic seemed to have abated; now she was just confused and incredibly flustered. He moved closer to her, his body only inches from her.
"I've been looking at you lately."
"Oh?" It sounded more like a squeak than an actual question.
"Yeah, and I have admit I'm a bit worried, you look like something terrible has happened, beyond the obvious that is."
She opened her mouth and closed it, staring at her shoes as if trying to decide what she should say. He gently cupped her chin and lifted her eyes up to his.
"Hey, hey, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to, I understand if you have been afraid to talk to the teachers. But how am I supposed to help you if I don't know what's wrong."
She blushed even deeper at his touch, seeming frozen against the wall.
"Uh, umm, y-you don't understand, I don't think you can help with t-this."
He moved even closer, placing his other hand on her back while flashing her a cocky grin, something he heard his father liked doing.
"Come on now, you know who I am right, The-Boy-Who-Lived? Do you really think I wouldn't be able to help you?"
Her eyes widened in awe and Harry had to mentally thank all those trashy adventure stories that had spread around about his supposed adventures as a child.
"W-well, it kind of started during the summer." He smiled at her hesitant face, urging her to continue.
"I f-found his strange book among my school books. It was really weird but really cool as well, it would write things back to me when I wrote in it. It sometimes even showed me these cool memories."
Harry kept his encouraging smile up, not letting his suspicion show on his face. A book with independent thought and the capability to display memories was so far out of the realm of normal charms work it wasn't even funny.
"Well, the guy in the book was called Tom and he was really nice, yet he seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated with me during the year. That was until I spoke to my friend who I think was being bullied, Tom suggested I'd give him to her so she could have a friend to help her out." She glanced at him hesitantly.
"You're doing great." He gently moved his hand slightly lower to the top of her buttocks, rubbing her lower back while still keeping his encouraging smile in place.
Her flush returned to full force but she continued her story.
"I did as he asked and my friend was really happy... but a few months after I no longer had the book, I started remembering these really weird things. Like, I was doing stuff, but I wasn't really doing stuff? I don't really understand but I'd remember these parts, or well, shards of memories of things I didn't know I had done."
She was frowning now while Harry furiously cycled through her story in his mind. Memories returning meant a memory obfuscation charm that was slowly breaking down. The other part of her discussion sounded like possession or mind control of some sort. The more he learned the less this book sounded like a book, it sounded like an entity.
Seeing the red head was looking at him in question he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, while softly squeezing her bum. He was pretty surprised at how firm it was; witches rarely did any sport besides Quidditch; he guessed she must fly a lot. Harry knew there was a reason why the all-female Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies had so many fans, and it sure as hell wasn't their performance.
Her squeak was adorable and Harry was surprised at how malleable she was; her infatuation with him must have been brewing for a good while.
"That sounds pretty strange; do you recognize anything specific from these memories?"
She gathered her breath, glancing at the hand palming her butt before flushing again. When she finally got her mind back on track her answer was the jackpot he was looking for.
"Uhh, I don't know really, like I can't really tell if I had been dreaming or not. Can't tell what's real and what's not you know? But, like, in a lot of the memories I remember seeing this h-huge hole in the second-floor girls' bathroom, which is really strange because no one ever goes there. Because of Myrtle constantly hanging around there, you know?"
Harry slowly nodded while resisting the urge to fist pump, Moaning Myrtle, killed in 1943, right during the time the Chamber had been opened for the first time.
"Thank you, Ginny, your help has been invaluable, maybe I'll see more of you later all right?"
"All right, H-harry."
He squeezed her again before winking at her, getting another squeak as he slipped away. Harry really did place her infatuation behind his ear, he was pretty sure that in a few years she'd get down on her knees in the great hall if he asked her for a blowjob. Something to keep in mind for sure; especially for a hormonally charged teenager.
The school was eerily quiet as he ran down to the second floor; the total evacuation of students had obviously been very efficient. He didn't worry about Ginny; he had left her practically outside of the Gryffindor common room.
Reaching the girls' bathroom, he snuck inside, making sure to keep quiet. Seeing it was empty he removed the invisibility cloak while studying the room. The decor was old, very old in fact. Hiding the entrance to the Chamber here sounded like something Slytherin would do, this was probably among the last places one would search.
He started combing through every corner and panel before finally freezing as he spotted a small snake engraved into the side of a tap. He carefully traced it with his finger, feeling a small hint of magic hidden beneath. A snake, of course, parseltongue was a Slytherin family trait, what better way to bar the entrance from anyone that didn't belong.
Focusing on the snake he started hissing, "Door, reveal, open..."
On open a loud creak was heard underneath the floor before it magically folded in on itself, revealing a wide pipe that led down into the darkness. Harry stared into the oppressing darkness before his rational side took hold and he realized he could use some backup.
He cursed when he realized time was of the essence and he had absolutely no way of contacting Mistress Andromeda, he really needed to learn that Patronus charm she used to send messages around with, seemed dead useful. Oh well, nothing to it, if the heir really did have someone down there then this was his best chance of catching him. He wasn't really too worried about the girl, his priority was revenge, he didn't even know her.
He slid down the pipe on his feet before tumbling into a pile of carpets, grateful for the elasticity that dampened his fall. A muttered Lumos charm later he gasped quietly as he took in the corridor he was walking through. It was everything he though it should be, majestic yet intimidating, the countless carvings of snakes leaving little doubt to whom this place belonged to. He thought about donning his invisibility cloak but the place was pitch dark, meaning he would still be spotted because of his wand light.
Reaching another door, he repeated the command from earlier, watching with a small sense of satisfaction as it melted away, revealing a huge chamber dominated by a gigantic statue of a man. Salazar Slytherin no doubt.
The flickering torches on the wall revealed two people in the middle of the Chamber, a small blonde girl lying on her side, hopefully only unconscious, and a tall handsome boy standing next to her, smirking at Harry.
When Harry got closer, he saw malice hidden in those eyes, but what was stranger was the transparency of the young man. He looked like something between a ghost and a man. Studying the girl, he recognized her, it was the girl that had happily skipped to the sorting hat earlier in the year, Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw first year.
"Harry Potter...I guess I should not be surprised that you found your way here, considering the stories I have heard about you."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Although I confess myself confused as to how you actually got in here, only one with Slytherin family magic may enter."
"I'm just that good."
The boy smirked in response.
"Ah confidence, I recognize many of my traits in you Harry. Brutality, confidence and charm, you could become great under my tutelage."
"And who would you be?"
He wrote out 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' in flaming letters, watching in amusement as Harry merely frowned at the name. With an exaggerated twirl of his wand, he reached over and tapped the text, gleefully watching it reform into 'I am Lord Voldemort'.
Harry kept his face Occluded but couldn't help the tinge of panic that ran through him, he had been expecting a student; instead, he got the Dark Lord. Talk about biting off more than you can chew.
The last time he had fought Voldemort the battle itself had been pathetic, he had been crushed by someone faster, more powerful and certainly more skilled. He had improved, but not by a long shot enough to match what he had fought then.
"Why are you here?"
The man studied him for a while before grinning; Harry assumed he couldn't resist bragging.
"Why to clear this school of filth and to rise again."
Harry noticed the blurry boy had gained more definition, like a camera that had come into focus better. He was gaining strength. He quickly looked around, spotting a small diary in the hands of Lovegood, who looked like she was suffering from hypothermia, her skin very slowly but steadily paling.
Fuck, if he was ever going to have a chance it was now. He whipped out his wand and sent an Expulso charm at the boy, frowning when he only grinned in return. The charm passed right through his body and smashed against the wall, causing a spider web of runes to light up but causing little damage, the chamber was clearly warded. While the ward was clearly old it still mitigated the damage.
"Now, now Harry, there's no need for that."
Harry pointed his wand at the diary instead, still getting a superior smirk from the man. After a moment of hesitation, he moved the wand to Lovegood's head instead, watching as a flash of fear went through Tom's eyes before he eased out what looked like Lovegood's wand. It certainly looked too feminine to be his.
"Would you kill her Harry? Poor little Luna Lovegood?"
Tom sent a quick wordless cutting charm at Harry who reflexively parried it, yet he surprised at how feeble it was. It barely kept consistency and when he flicked it away it faded into nothing. Tom looked at the wand and frowned, making Harry breathe a sigh of relief.
The wand was either a terrible match or he simply was still too weak to properly cast magic, or both. Either way it was a good thing for him. Tom looked at him and started speaking, his soft steady voice echoing in the Chamber.
"I was first in Ginevra Weasley's hands you know? She proved to be a real treasure trove of information when it came to all things Harry Potter, I'd be careful around that one, bit stalker-ish if you know what I mean. She also surprisingly managed to resist me, spending the majority of her time fawning over you with her friends instead of writing in the diary. Even getting her to do the slight things she did proved to be a real challenge; I knew it would have taken me years to fully control her."
Harry heard him mumble "seventh daughter of the seventh generation..." before he glanced at Lovegood, showing a cruel arrogant smile.
"Then a stroke of luck occurred, she mentioned her dear friend Luna Lovegood and how lonely she seemed. It only took a bit of compulsion before she happily handed me over to the poor broken girl. Miss Lovegood had seen her own mother die during a failed spell experiment when she was nine and never received proper counselling. Her father lost what was left of his mind in grief and let his mind follow whimsy fairy tales instead of focusing on the cruel reality where his wife was dead. Poor Luna only wished for attention from her father so she copied the only parental figure she had, talking about the same fairy tales in hopes of recognition. Desperate, yet it barely worked, letting the poor girl cope with her mother's demise."
His grin became disturbing.
"Then she arrived at Hogwarts, hoping to make new friends. Yet no one had told her that children are the cruelest of them all. They took one look at her and labelled her loony, classmates started picking on her to fit in with the rest of the cool people. Those that had sympathy didn't want to expose themselves to the bullying, so they looked the other way, pretending it never happened while the broken girl was shattered even further. Then I arrived, the first friendly person who would talk to her and listen. She devoted hours each day writing in me, letting my magic sink its hooks deeper into her, bypassing her natural mental defences before slowly possessing her body completely. Her. Very. First. Hogwarts. Friend."
Harry felt bile rise up in his throat as he fought to control his rage, that fucking bastard, that scheming cold son of a bitch. Glancing at him he saw that Tom had become even more corporeal, draining the girl of her life.
He swore loudly and tried to will himself to kill the girl. Yet looking at the pale fragile little thing he could only curse his own weakness as he compared her bullying to his and her loss of parents to his own. He could relate far too well and not even Occlumency could keep his sympathy at bay.
"FUCK!"
He swore as he sent a cutting curse at the diary, watching it easily deflect the spell as it skipped across the ground. Tom's laughter was mocking in its cruelty and he switched his focus to him instead, sending every offensive spell he knew at him, yet all of them whizzed happily through his incorporeal body, letting out a pathetic fizzling sound as if to mock him.
Feeling desperation rise he focused his hate into a finely honed weapon, ignoring everything but his wish to crush this man. He broke his promise to Mistress Narcissa, but he saw no other options.
"Lacero!"
The word was almost hissed out, a spell of the Dark Arts taught to him by Mistress Narcissa. Instead of the usual flush of pleasure that accompanied the art he managed to Occlude it; his rage and anger focused at the utter devastation of his enemy. Battle rage it was called among older wizards, yet Harry had never heard the term; he only knew what he felt, a thrumming sense of hunger for the fight itself.
Much to his surprise the dark magic served where light one couldn't; cutting a massive gash across Tom's leg, exposing a hint of bone for a second before blood flooded out. Of course, he was a dark magic construct at the moment, not yet human, he could no more ignore dark magic than he could his own existence. Tom narrowed his eyes in hatred as he summoned a solid dark grey shield and conjured a set of bandages around his leg.
"You little shit, you don't know what I am capable of!"
He switched to parseltongue, his voice triumphant.
"Speak to me Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts four!"
The last hissed sentence caused the entire Chamber to light up in runes, pattern after pattern traced on each wall and leading to massive Slytherin statue that was slowly opening. Tom saw Harry look at the runes in surprise and let out a gloating laugh.
"Shocked? Parseltongue is but a fraction of the Slytherin family magics; those of us touched by his greatness can instinctively learn all languages and runes at an incredible rate. All descendants of Slytherin have been Rune Masters; the skill is in our magic."
Harry barely kept his face neutral as a sense of shock passed through his body as memories started flashing through his head.
Harry, nine years old, being tutored by Miss Brown, the alias of Andromeda Tonks, as she seemed shocked yet incredibly pleased at the rate, he was learning Latin.
Harry, eleven years old, reading the musty Wizengamot tomes under the direction of Mistress Narcissa, as she marveled at his ability to read and memorize the almost ancient version of the English language with such ease.
Harry, twelve years old, learning Ancient Runes at a rate the books told him was impossible, wondering why it all felt so easy to him.
It was all connected. All of it. He had some Slytherin magic in him, the Horcrux had given him far more than just parseltongue.
A loud scraping noise combined with a jumbled hissing noise snapped him out of his thoughts and he glanced at Tom, seeing a gleeful smile on his face as he stared right back at him with a feverish stare. Harry ran through everything he had learned; the basilisk gaze supposedly had no effect on Salazar Slytherin himself and he had 'bestowed the same gift upon his heirs'.
Harry swallowed nervously as his Potter blood thrummed in anticipation for the fight. If he closed his eyes, he was dead, there was no way he could fight a beast like that while keeping an eye on Tom without vision. Trying to use his peripheral vision was just as doomed, it only took the slightest glance for the basilisk to send its magic down his eyes all the way to his core. No, he would face this enemy like a Potter of old, with eyes open and facing the enemy head on.
When Voldemort came for his grandfather, Charlus Potter, he had met him at the front door of Potter Manor, wand in hand, knowing he had no chance of victory but willing to buy time for his wife. When Voldemort broke down the wards at Godric's Hollow, James Potter waited in front of the door, knowing he could not win, yet willing to give his life for his family. The same unyielding quality now resided in Harry Potter as he awaited the beast, knowing his chance of survival was slim at best, yet also knowing he would never back down, never flee from a challenge.
The moment the gigantic head of the snake slithered out of the hole in the statue Harry met its eyes, feeling a burning magic travel all over his corneas, like small fingers poking and prodding, attempting to break through. Something within him rebelled and lashed out, neutralizing the magic in its tracks. Harry shuddered in relief before the battle lust returned with a vengeance, flooding his limbs with concentrated magic.
"EXPULSO!"
This time his curse was aimed at the wall above the hole in the statue, his intentionally grossly overpowered spell breaching through the old and weakened wards like a hot knife through butter. A huge explosion caused the wall to cave in, raining down huge chunks of heavy sharp rock on the basilisk that desperately tried to escape. It was far too late for that, the heavy Hogwarts stone cutting deep lashes into its skin while crushing the entire tail end of the dark green snake. It slithered free while letting out a hissing roar of pain, its clearly crazed yellow eyes homing in on him.
His Potter blood thrummed as he met it head on, his magic swimming in joy at the challenge. The snake attempted to bite him down but his magically reinforced body dodged the attack, especially as the crushed back end of the snake prevented it from coiling its muscles the way it usually did for lunges.
Potters had always excelled at transfiguration and the current battleground he had created for himself with the explosion was a Transfiguration Masters wet dream, rocks and stones littering the floor. Harry let his magic go free, transfiguring every single scrap of rock into spears, knives, gigantic cleavers and spikes that he banished towards the snake, grinning in hazed joy as he watched his physical weapons dig deep into its skin.
Basilisk hide might be resistant towards magic but there was a reason why Potters were considered a beast's bane, transfigured weapons cared little for magical resistant hides. He had not forgotten the effectivity of the porcelain shrapnel he used against the troll more than a year ago.
In his haze he did one key mistake though; take his eyes off Tom for too long. It only took a moment but Tom used that time to drop his grey shield and throw a cutter at him. He barely noticed it in time, dodging out of the way, but it still grazed his chest, cutting all the way to the ribs. His wound made him stumble, tripping on all the rubble the explosion had caused.
The basilisk instantly capitalized on his weakness, dragging its weary body forward for one last attack. Harry tried to dodge it while banishing a rock spear at its mouth but it was too late, he felt a large fang cut open the side of his thigh the moment the spear pierced through its brain. He grinned at his victory over the beast before staring at his leg in muted horror, watching the clear green liquid that marred the sides of the wound.
A sense of burning hit him only seconds later, like someone had taken a glowing hot poker and shoved it into his leg. He gasped in pain as he fell to his knees, feeling the burning spread up his leg, like a growing vine made out of molten lead, eating its way through his veins.
A cold laughter spread in the Chamber and he turned his sweat-soaked head towards Tom, seeing the superior smug grin still on his face. He was giving him satirical applause.
"Very impressive Harry, such a shame it had come to this. You, on your knees, recognizing my superiority while you rot away in pain from the venom."
Harry stared apathetically at him, realizing the truth of his words. The venom was lethal, there were no cures for a basilisk bite.
"I'll make sure to send that mudblood bitch you like your regards when I finish the job I started."
Rage. Unholy unhindered rage drowned out the searing pain, overrode the remains of his Occlumency and flooded his body.
"Fuck you!"
If he was going to die, he was going to take that fucker with him. Not even noticing the lack of a wand in his hand he reached out for the diary across the room, watching it lift up from Lovegood's grasp and fly the distance of the Chamber into his hands.
He gave one last snarling grin at Tom who lifted his wand in a panic, no doubt to stop him, before he smashed the diary into the mouth of the dead basilisk, watching row after row of sharp teeth pierce through the magically reinforced leather with childish ease.
"NO! What have you done!? You fool!"
A row of serrated holes appeared across his chest and he started screaming in pain and disbelief as the venom devoured the diary. Hole after hole appeared across his almost solid body, throwing him to the ground as he bellowed in anguish, dark blood-like smoke leaking out of the holes.
Harry watched with a sick sense of satisfaction as Tom's very soul seemed to seep out of him, a dark shriek echoing from both the spectre and the diary. Tom collapsed in on himself and disappeared into thin air while dark, almost black blood bled and boiled out of the now silent book.
It was done.
As Harry's rage depleted, he felt the incredible searing pain return, every limb, every bone, every inch of his body felt like it had been doused in liquid fire, his nerves sending panicking signals to his brain, making him twitch and scream in agony as his death approached.
Yet something else incredibly significant had happened the moment he decided to extract vengeance.
On October the 31st, 1981, Tom Marvolo Riddle attempted to kill one Harry James Potter. His spell was reflected back at him and Harry defeated him in single magical combat, gaining a sliver of Slytherin magic through Riddle's soul.
On June 6th, 1992, Tom Marvolo Riddle possessing the body of Quirinius Quirrell attempted to kill Harry James Potter. Harry's touch proved poisonous for him and Harry defeated him in single magical combat, elevating him to second in line for the title of the heir of the Slytherin family.
And now today, Harry James Potter defeated Tom Marvolo Riddle, Heir of Slytherin for the third time in single magical combat. The magical energy released from the Horcrux, the ambient magic flooding the chamber, the magic of the Slytherin family, recognized this event for what it was.
The moment one potential heir defeated the other one for the third time and claimed the title for himself. It surged into the victor, bolstering the amount that had been given by the original Horcrux, pushing forward his magical right as the true heir. The family magic seemed almost amused as it detected snake venom within the body, gathering its significant power and knowledge.
No snake could ever harm the lord of serpents or their spawn. The diary had lacked a circulatory system or anything the family magic might recognize, not to mention being weakened because of the drain on the Lovegood girl, rendering it useless against the venom that stained its pages. Harry Potter on the other hand was in incredible shape, brimming with magic of his own that happily assisted the Slytherin magic in attacking a common foe.
Harry barely noticed the surge that passed through him before he suddenly felt a heat spread across his limbs, which instead of increasing the pain as he expected it to, started dampening it. His screaming changed to clenched teeth before he suddenly gasped in relief, feeling the last vestiges of pain leave him as a foreign magic washed over him like a hot pleasant shower.
Staring at the wound in his thigh he watched in awe as his body expelled the green venom, seemingly ignoring its acidic quality. His hands were still trembling, phantom pain lingering in his nerves, but he didn't care. He started laughing at the whole situation, he laughed in relief, in joy, in disbelief at his own survival, in victory over his foe. He simply let go, lying on the damp floor of the Chamber of Secrets laughing his heart out.
A small groan of pain made him abruptly stop.
Sitting up he looked at the small awakening blonde girl, watching her groggily open her silvery grey to the world. He gave her a small smile and a wave, his own euphoria of survival still bolstering his mood.
"Hello, do you come here often?"
Her eyes widened as she took him in, before expanding to small tea plates as she saw the chamber and the basilisk. Harry expected a multitude of questions yet the one he got still surprised him.
"Is he dead?"
Her hesitant voice left little to question about whom she meant. Harry gave a grin and nodded, kicking the head of the basilisk next to him to call attention to the diary. She looked at the diary for a few seconds, her face unreadable before she dove at him, hugging him desperately as she started to cry deep heart-wrenching sobs.
Harry sighed before returning the hug, a part of him wanted to lecture her on trusting a god damn self-aware book but with the state she was in, he didn't think she needed any more chastisement. He started rocking her gently as he murmured in her ear, promising things would be all right. The words meant little but the effort counted, he knew from experience.
Deciding he was tired of being wet, cold and bleeding he stood up, easily carrying her bridal style as looked around the Chamber. He briefly entertained the idea of finding some private study of Salazar Slytherin's, before he discarded the idea. Voldemort had known about this place for years, even in his arrogance he would never leave information that was dangerous to him this close to Dumbledore. Still, he would return to search the place later, just to make sure, but he highly doubted he'd have any success.
Summoning his and Lovegood's wand he started leading them out of the Chamber, already wishing for some fresh air. After a moment of hesitance, he summoned the diary, Lovegood would need it for evidence. He froze briefly at the door when he realized he had wandlessly summoned the wands, barely muttering Accio. He remembered summoning the book during the fight without a wand as well. Huh, interesting.
Reaching the pipe, he frowned for a second before twirling his wand, creating a set of stairs leading up. He was fairly certain Salazar probably had a better system in place but he wasn't really interesting in investigating that now. His limping walk to the Headmaster's office was only interrupted by Lovegood's quiet mumble.
"Thank you."
He glanced at the small shaking girl, before giving a small smile.
"You are welcome Lovegood."
"Luna, please. You saved my life."
Harry nodded. Another life-debt. Not planned but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Then call me Harry."
She smiled in return before curling up against him again. He was pretty sure she could walk but didn't really care either way by this point; it wasn't like she was heavy.
The gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office jumped out of the way the moment he approached, he briefly wondered if it did that automatically for wounded students or if Dumbledore knew he was approaching. He heard a loud argument going on inside, two distinct voices arguing, neither of them the Headmaster.
"Even if the Lovegood girl is missing you have no right to sit in that chair Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Board of Governors suspended you from the post!"
Dumbledore just smiled genially at Lucius Malfoy, not seeming the least bit disturbed by his shouting, before turning to Harry who had just entered. His look made the other two men turn around and the tall confused looking man with similar hair as Luna's, merely more faded, started out of his chair with a look of relief on his face.
"Pumpkin!"
Luna looked up from Harry's lap and quickly scrambled over to the man to hug him. Harry briefly glanced at the strange yellow robes the man wore before turning to Dumbledore and Malfoy.
"The beast in the Chamber of Secrets is dead. As is the heir of Slytherin."
Malfoy sneered at him.
"And what would a child like you know about that?"
Harry grinned, the coagulated blood in his mouth tinting his teeth a dark red and giving him a macabre grin.
"I killed them both."
Malfoy seemed to falter slightly before he composed himself, yet Dumbledore became tense.
"Mr. Potter; who was this heir?"
Harry threw the ruined book on the desk.
"One Tom Marvolo Riddle who seemed to reside in this diary. He had somehow managed to control students during the year, Lovegood was just another victim."
The very air in the room seemed to shift and something within Dumbledore's posture shifted. It was nothing you could see with the naked eye yet it was terrifyingly obvious to the people in the room that something in the atmosphere had changed. The magic felt like a sharp poised sword, hanging invisibly in the air.
Harry was acutely reminded of the fact that the genial old man before him was also the reason why Voldemort had always hesitated to attack the school. Swallowing nervously, he continued, sending a significant glance towards the now stiff Lucius Malfoy.
"It was originally found among the books of one Ginny Weasley. One can but wonder how Miss Weasley came to be in possession of such an incredibly dark object."
The magical pressure in the room kept increasing as Dumbledore carefully inspected the diary, casting a few nonverbal detection spells, his clear blue eyes shimmering with contained power. When they shifted to Malfoy Harry almost exhaled in relief that the stare was not directed at him.
Say what you want about the man, but Mistress Andromeda was very correct in her advice to not make an enemy of the Headmaster. Malfoy looked like he'd rather be anywhere but, in the room, right now, a small bead of sweat traveling down the side of his face.
"Indeed, Mr Potter, it seems like quite the mystery. Who would want to so harm the Weasley family, especially right before the vote for the new Muggleborn Act in the Wizengamot. The Act which is sponsored by Arthur Weasley and if I remember correctly; quite staunchly opposed by one Lucius Malfoy."
His voice was genial and seemed quite friendly yet the pressure in the air was anything but, Harry felt like he was choking; yet he knew it wasn't even being directed at him.
"In fact, should it had come to pass that Ginny Weasley had been found guilty for attacking fellow Hogwarts students, I'm quite certain that the scandal that surrounded the Weasley family would have been most upsetting."
Harry glanced at Malfoy's hands and saw a faint tremor in them as he attempted to compose himself.
"Professor Dumbledore, certainly you can't be insinuating that I would have had anything to do with this tragedy?"
The pressure increased even further and Harry could see Malfoy's feet wobble slightly. He felt slight awe at the sheer amount of power the man sitting before him possessed, he was well over a hundred yet his magical core seemed as terrifying as the stories told.
"Of course, not Lord Malfoy, there will however be an investigation launched into this matter. Until there is sufficient evidence, I would never make such an accusation. Yet I feel it prudent to inform you that should any similar objects, or any Dark object for that matter, find their way into the hands of Hogwarts students, then I will have little choice but to take matters into my own hands."
The pressure abruptly disappeared completely and Harry drew a shuddering breath.
"Now, seeing as the monster is dealt with, I assume I will have little worries of regaining my position as Headmaster. I believe our discussion is concluded Lord Malfoy."
The man didn't even seem to care about the abrupt dismissal, happily slinking out of the room with a scowl. Harry scoffed quietly; deep down the man really was a coward. An intelligent and highly dangerous coward though.
When the man had left Dumbledore smiled at Harry before frowning at wounds he carried.
"Hmpf, seems like old age really is starting to slow my wits. A wounded student standing in my office, Madam Pomfrey would have my beard if she knew. I believe we have much to discuss Mr Potter, but I also believe it can wait until tomorrow, you and Miss Lovegood look like they could use a night in the infirmary."
Harry wanted to argue but the man played dirty, including Luna in suggestion. He could ignore his own wounds but who knew what was wrong with the girl after what she went through. He sighed before nodding.
"Yeah, sounds good Headmaster."
His mind was whirring as he walked towards the Hospital wing with Mr. Lovegood and Luna, the older man thanking him profusely and promising his help in anything he might require. He absentmindedly nodded in return while thinking over everything that had happened.
Why was he not dead? This was the second Horcrux he had encountered, how many had Voldemort made? He had Slytherin family magic in him, what did that mean for his future? Harry sighed as Madam Pomfrey shouted in surprise upon laying eyes on his bleeding form, so much for a quiet year.