Author's note - This chapter was a bit of an unplanned chapter, but after it was finished I felt as though it was something that simply needed to be written. In some ways, I think I've been wanting to write this chapter since I began this story, all those years ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Chapter 72: The Chamber of Secrets; Revisited
The first thing Ginny noticed as they made their way to the second-floor girl's bathroom was how alive and awake the school was now beginning to feel. Harry had done the spells that McGonagall had included in her letter, and it was as though a fresh breeze had blown through Hogwarts. The portraits were putting themselves to rights, and Ginny thought she even saw Nearly Headless Nick floating through one of the classrooms they'd passed.
"Er, there's something I just realized," Harry said as they paused outside the entrance to the bathroom. He glanced at her and Brogan, a slight blush on his face. "How are we going to open the Chamber?"
Ginny was startled to realize she'd forgotten that Harry could no longer speak Parseltongue. Brogan cleared his throat next to them.
"My biggest worry isn't getting in, but getting out once we're down there."
"We'll need some brooms," Harry and Ginny said together as they met each other's eyes.
"I'll go," Ginny said, fighting the nerves in her stomach. She wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing the opening to the chamber again and was suddenly keen to put it off a bit.
"No, let me," Brogan said, stopping her.
"Uh, well, actually," Harry looked sheepishly at them for a moment. "Perhaps we could just cast a summoning charm?"
Ginny couldn't help it; she laughed. "What a great pair we make! Both grown up around magic, and neither of us thinks of the simplest solution. Well done, Harry. If Hermione were here, she'd be pleased as punch, no doubt."
"I don't really want to fly," Brogan said, sounding rather miserable. Ginny nudged him with her shoulder.
"Where's that borrowed Weasley bravado gone to? You'll be ace at it now; I just have a feeling. Besides, I'll even let you ride with Harry."
Harry snorted and shook his head at her. But he gave Brogan a kind look and reached out to touch the other man as though to reassure him. "It'll be perfectly safe."
"Oh, sure," Brogan grumbled. "Easy for the Quidditch player to say. The last time I was on a broom, I almost fell off. Hey, don't laugh. I said almost."
Ginny bit her lip and tried to remain straight-faced as Brogan glared half-heartedly at her.
Harry raised his wand arm and nodded at Ginny to do the same. They joined hands without really thinking about it, and then both cast the spell at the same time. Ginny felt the heat of her bracelet again and had a profound sense of power emanating through her. Even Brogan looked a bit flushed.
"Have we ever tried casting simultaneously before?" she asked as Harry released her hand.
"No, but maybe we should start," Harry muttered, rubbing at his wrist.
"Yeah, that was intense. And I only felt the echo," Brogan said.
A moment later, and they heard the brooms making their way up the hallway. Ginny was impressed.
"That was surprisingly quick."
The brooms gracefully came to a halt in front of her and Harry. They each grabbed one, and then she nodded at him to enter the bathroom, taking a deep breath to steady herself.
The three of them stared at the sink and then looked at each other. Thankfully, Moaning Myrtle wasn't bemoaning her state in the after-life from her favorite cubicle. Ginny reached out and squeezed Harry's hand in support.
"Go on, try speaking it, if you can," she murmured. "You might just be able to fake it enough."
Harry cleared his throat and closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side as if listening to something inside himself. When he spoke, it came out as half-hissing and half-English. Disappointedly, nothing happened. Harry tried it again, and this time it was even more English and less snake-like. Harry gave them a hopeless look after he tried it a third time, speaking totally in English, with not even the hint of a lisp or a hiss.
"Bugger," Harry said. He glanced at Ginny. "I don't suppose you could give it a try?"
Ginny frowned. As though they'd been waiting for the chance, the memories she'd long ago left behind her seemed to be flinging themselves up from the depths of her mind. She felt a sudden burst of anxiety settle around her like a scratchy, threadbare blanket. Scenes that she would like to say belonged to another person were suddenly there- within her mind's eye- and she felt increasingly frantic, the need to flee hitting her head-on.
She shivered as her body temperature suddenly plummeted. Her heart started beating faster, and she felt her palms turn clammy. Ginny heard Harry say her name with worry in his voice, but it was too late – the memories had her. She was a bad person, didn't they know that? She'd allowed Tom to control her. She'd hurt people, she'd hurt Hagrid's roosters, she'd even hurt Hermione, for goodness sake. Ginny knew she was no good, that she was just a stupid, silly little girl… Harry Potter would never love her, not the real her, not the silly girl that had let Tom Riddle win…
A moment later, she felt the reassuring warmth of Brogan's hand slip into hers, and she was suddenly no longer in the middle of the maelstrom the memories had created. She now felt as though she was just outside of it all, watching with a detachment that she knew couldn't be her own. Ginny released a long breath of air and turned gratefully to him. Brogan's calm and cool demeanor as an Empath was such a strength in times like these.
Brogan offered her a tender smile and held out his other hand for her to hold. "Let's try something. Allow me to be your anchor. Imagine the memories are pages in a book, and you're merely rifling through them as you try to find the memory you want. I'll handle the emotional part of it, don't worry. Harry and I love you. Nothing you share with us will ever change that. You can do this, Gin."
Ginny signaled that she understood and gazed at Harry, who still looked worried, but nodded encouragingly at her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, its warmth chasing off a bit of the chill. Ginny felt the connection open up between all of them, and while there was still a tiny part of her embarrassed to be sharing her darkest shame with her lovers , she nonetheless knew it was important she get through this.
Ginny took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Taking Brogan's advice, she imagined her past as a giant book filled with pages. Images from her first year made her wince, particularly the ones of her writing in the diary and staring at Harry from across the common room. As the diary's power grew, so did the shame and the darkness of her memories. After flipping through them as dispassionately as she could, Ginny saw what she was looking for – a vague impression of Tom trying to teach her parseltongue.
Before he could possess her fully, he had needed her body to remember certain things. He'd needed her throat to know how to work while speaking his foul language. God! She had been so stupid! She felt the tug of emotions advancing on her once more, but this time she was secure in the knowledge that Harry and Brogan were holding them off. She shivered again, even though her feelings of shame felt less close to her now. As Brogan and Harry both gave her a squeeze of reassurance and acceptance, Ginny suddenly knew what to do.
"Open up."
There was a sudden light, and then the sink began to rotate – shifting out of the way until they were looking at the man-sized hole that led to the Chamber of Secrets. She realized that she'd forgotten how often she'd dreamed of the opening the year after it had all happened, and it felt odd to be staring at it now in an awake state. Harry moved and put his arm around her, pulling her in tight as Brogan continued holding her hand.
"Are you okay?" Harry murmured, and he rested his head against her forehead. His thumb tenderly stroked her cheek as Ginny slowly nodded in reply. In more than one way, she was okay – stronger than she'd felt in a long time. She felt as though she could finally look at the Chamber as something that had happened to a different version of herself.
"I'm shaky, but I'll be better soon," she finally said. Ginny turned and then hugged Brogan. "Thank you for that." She looked back at Harry. "Thank the both of you for accepting all of…all of me."
"What are Empaths for, anyway?" Brogan said with a small grin. "And as for accepting you, that's not even in question. You were taken advantage of, plain and simple."
"Yeah, Gin," Harry said, joining them and wrapping his arms around them both. "You have no reason to feel ashamed. To this day, I am still impressed you held him off for a whole bloody year."
They stayed like that for a small moment, and Ginny eventually felt silly, having a group hug in the girl's bathroom, of all places. She pulled back as Brogan began to inspect the opening and felt Harry's arms linger around her as he held her tightly. He kissed the side of her neck as she felt his love surround her with warmth, thawing her out a bit. Tom had been so wrong – Harry did love her, and she knew it. She felt something fade away inside her – maybe the last of her embarrassment, or the last of her shame. Perhaps it was even the last of her self-doubt, she wasn't sure. But it felt good to finally let it go.
They broke apart and turned to watch Brogan squat down by the opening. He appeared disgruntled as he stared down into the dark passageway. "This opening is a bit intimidating, isn't it? Or is that just me?"
"You think? I was just going to say I remember it being a bit bigger the last time I was looking down it," Harry said, joining him. Brogan snorted in amusement.
"You were a scrawny, speccy-git, with only mere delusions of one day being this tall, Harry," Ginny said dryly, already feeling in better humor. She joined them as Harry smirked at her.
"We just sort of just…jump in, don't we?" Brogan eventually asked. Harry and Ginny nodded as he glanced at them, an unhappy expression on his face.
"I was afraid you two were going to say that. Bloody hell, we're going to break into a million pieces at the end of it."
"Here, I'll go first. Although now I'm suddenly missing Gilderoy Lockhart for some strange reason," Harry said with a half-smile. He shrunk his broom down first and then slipped it into his pocket. He kissed Ginny on the forehead and then turned, moving so he was even with the opening, pushing his legs over the sides as he sat. They watched as Harry shrugged to himself and then waved at them as he then threw himself down the long passageway. They listened to his loud 'whooh-oooos' all the way down until a soft thud was heard.
"Made it!" Harry shouted, sounding far away. "In one piece, too!"
Ginny shook her head and looked at Brogan. "He's such a show-off, sometimes."
"Aye, but a lovable one, at that. Ladies first?"
Ginny stared down the opening and then looked at Brogan. "Together?"
Brogan grinned as though in relief. They arranged themselves over the opening, and Ginny shrunk her broom down like Harry had done. Once they had everything tucked in, Ginny settled on the inside of Brogan's legs and braced herself. He kissed the side of her head.
"I'm assuming you're going to break my fall once we get down there, Gin," he murmured. Ginny snorted and turned to look at him.
"And here I was pretty sure it was going to be you breaking mine."
"Think we can tell Harry to cast a cushioning charm?"
As if knowing he was being talked about, they heard Harry's voice call out from below. "Come on, you two!"
"Impatient sod," Brogan called down. They heard what sounded like a muffled 'pfft' from below, and Ginny shook her head. She caught Brogan's eye.
"Hold on tight," she said. As soon as she felt his arms go around her waist, she pushed off from the floor, sending them both quickly down the tunnel. Ginny couldn't help the burst of exhilaration she felt as they plummeted downwards. Brogan swore in her ear, and then she felt his arms tighten around her as they started moving even faster. She had no memory of this sensation and could see why Harry had sounded excited. Ginny was a bit put out that it ended when it did – she could have done that for a bit longer, really. She and Brogan came flying out of the end of the passage and somehow managed not to kill or maim themselves. With his wand already alight, Harry was smirking at them as they landed.
"Ah, I get two of you for the price of one. Brilliant," he said as he helped them up. Ginny made a face as she looked around – there were so many skeletons. She shivered as she realized how long the Basilisk must have been feasting on creatures down here. It gave the area a severely macabre feel.
"Ew, gross!" Ginny couldn't help but exclaim as her feet made a soft yet sickening sort of crunching noise as she tried to move over the skeletons.
"Yeah, looks like the elves didn't clean up this bit," Harry said, looking around as well.
"Where's the actual entrance?" Brogan asked, his voice sounding anxious. "I assume this isn't it?"
"We have to head down this way for a while." Harry paused and then used his wand to create a large floating ball of light, like the smaller ones he'd used at the flat. Like those, this one moved as they did. Ginny released a long breath. Somehow the area didn't feel quite as spooky with more light around. Although, everything sounded muffled and softer down here. Oddly muffled, actually…
"And then there will be a big pile of rock where Lockhart's spell backfired, which caused a partial cave-in. Thank God, I'm a full-grown wizard now with two able-bodied people with me to help." Harry continued, distracting her from her thoughts.
"What makes you think I'm helping you?" Ginny asked lightly, determined not to let the atmosphere bother her. She started moving off the way Harry had indicated. "You're the Headmaster now, Harry. I think you can handle things by yourself."
"Ha-ha. Brilliant," Harry muttered as he started to follow her.
When they realized Brogan wasn't joining them, they stopped and looked back. He was staring back up the tunnel they'd just come out of, frowning.
"Brogan?" Harry asked. "Are you planning on joining us?"
Their lover looked at them, appearing a bit self-conscious. "Sorry, I just thought I heard someone else up there, moving around. But, maybe it was just the wind or something."
"Probably Moaning Myrtle, claiming her rights to the cistern again," Ginny quipped.
Harry walked back over to the passageway and looked up, cocking his head as though listening for something. He shrugged a moment later, putting a hand on Brogan's shoulder.
"I think you're just a bit spooked. I don't hear anything."
Brogan listened again, too, and then smiled briefly. "Aye, me either, now."
Ginny watched as Harry leaned forward and gave the other man a small kiss and a reassuring squeeze. They joined her a moment later, and she let Harry take the lead this time. She hung back and took Brogan's hand. She could sense his anxiety.
"All right there?"
"Yeah, yeah," Brogan mumbled. He flashed a slight grin at her. "Guess I let some of your nerves leak into my own for a bit."
"Completely understandable," Ginny said, nodding.
The trio walked along in silence for a bit when Ginny remembered to ask the question she'd been thinking back in Dumbledore's office.
"Harry? Why did Dumbledore advise McGonagall to make sure the elves were safely locked away in the Chamber?"
"He said there were some very old Slytherin elves still at the school that might have had information for Voldemort about how to control the school better or get into the office. He didn't want the Death Eaters to try and hurt the elves, either. He also said McGonagall bade them to stay within the chamber until she or the next Headmaster released them. I have to do some sort of spell to break the enchantment once we get to the entrance. Dumbledore said the elves were pleased to have someplace so big that needed a good cleaning."
"Did Professor McGonagall have to tell them how to get down here?" Brogan asked, sounding more like his usual self.
"Yeah, how did they even know where it was?" Ginny asked curiously.
Harry stopped in front of her as they came to a fork in the pipes and headed to the right after a moment's hesitation. He glanced back at them.
"Well, Dumbledore said, and this is actually…well, Hermione would be absolutely chuffed to hear this. But Dumbledore said that after what happened with the diary, he realized that in all the years prior when every clever witch and wizard had searched high and low for the Chamber of Secrets within the school, no one had ever thought to ask a house-elf if they knew where it was. Apparently, a few of the older family elf-lines did know, and they'd passed it down to subsequent family members."
Ginny stopped, causing Brogan to almost walk into her. "Are you telling me that if you three had just asked an elf back in your second year, then most of the things that happened wouldn't have?"
Harry looked at her in understanding. "Sad to say, but most likely, yes. Well, to be fair, Dumbledore did say the only house-elves that knew about the Chamber's existence were the elves that had come from old, Slytherin families that had died out. They wouldn't have willingly shared the information outside of their line, and that elves breed so infrequently that it wasn't hard to keep it quiet. They'd also been sworn to keep the secret unless directly asked by the Headmaster."
"Bloody hell," Ginny muttered. She felt astounded.
"House-elves are linked to each house at Hogwarts then?" Brogan asked. "I had no idea about that, I have to admit."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, apparently old pureblood families can donate their elves to the school if they so choose. Dumbledore said the Slytherin ones in particular only like hanging out with other Slytherin elves if you can imagine. And they only clean the Slytherin areas of the school. The other three house's elves are pretty interchangeable. Hard to believe, I know."
Harry stopped as they entered the area where a large bunch of rocks was piled. Ginny could see an almost human-sized hole near the top.
"All right, you two take that side. I'll tackle this area, and we'll soon be able to get through easier," Harry said.
They made quick work of it, and soon there was a big enough hole to go through, made all the more sturdy by Brogan's quick transfiguration of a few larger boulders into support beams. As they passed through, Ginny felt a shiver but told herself to ignore it. It was just her nerves again.
She stared at the snakes on the wall ahead of them, their emerald eyes blinking in the glow put off by the circle of light Harry had conjured. She could guess what she needed to do next. She looked at Harry for confirmation, who was pulling out the letter Professor McGonagall had left for him. Ginny could tell it was the page of spells.
"I think I have to do this bit first," Harry said, frowning."It's some sort of final spell, so the school and the elves wholly accept me." He made what looked like a complicated wand movement and then called for Dobby.
Nothing happened.
"Try using your wandless magic," Brogan eventually suggested after Harry attempted the wand movement three more times to no avail. "And instead of trying to capture the exact motion, see it in your head."
Harry shrugged, and they watched as he closed his eyes and then moved his hand in a similar fashion. This time there was a small pop! of noise, and the air felt different in the tunnel, suddenly. Ginny realized her ears felt different, as though they'd been clogged before.
"Dampening charm," Brogan muttered next to her, tilting his head to the side. "A damn good one, too, judging by the fact that none of us even really noticed."
Ginny nodded because suddenly they could hear all sorts of noises – like before, it was as though the castle was coming alive, even all the way down here. She could hear water dripping somewhere as the most prevalent sound, then the faint sound of the wind as it whistled through the pipes. But there was also something else underneath it all. Something…slithery. And even though Ginny knew the Basilisk was dead, had, in fact, seen its dead carcass in her nightmares for some time after her first year, she felt a slow spike of fear start to bloom inside of her.
She and Brogan exchanged a look. "What was that?" he asked, confirming that he had heard it as well.
"The wind?" Harry asked from behind them, sounding hopeful.
Ginny looked back the way they had just come, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She moved closer to Brogan out of instinct. She realized they had both adopted a fighting stance automatically.
"It's probably nothing-" Harry began, and Ginny turned her head to give him a look when she felt Brogan's hand on her arm. Mostly, she felt his nails digging into her skin. She stared back down the tunnel, and then she saw what had frightened him – two large yellow eyes were peering at them from the darkness, and Ginny felt her blood run cold.
"Oh, fuck," Ginny whispered, feeling an odd sort of déjà vu. In her dreams after the incident with the diary, some dark part of her had often wondered what it had felt like to Riddle's victims to see the Basilisk staring at them. She had no actual memory of the activity herself, of course, but she had an idea that the feeling coursing through her now may have been very similar. It was the worse sort of dread she had ever felt.
She felt Harry at her back, and immediate warmth filled her, and then he was aiming his wand at whatever it was staring at them in the dark. The three of them joined as Harry gripped her hand with his, and Brogan cast a Lumos spell of his own and sent it zooming down the long passageway. Ginny couldn't believe her eyes as the light caught the iridescent scales of the giant snake that was now moving towards them.
"Oh, shite," Harry mumbled. "It's his fucking snake. I should have known…Come on you two, we have to get into the Chamber. Now!"
Later, Ginny would assume the only reason she moved was because of the bracelet, for most of her felt frozen to the spot. Harry tugged on her hand, and Brogan, who also appeared a bit in shock, also pulled her with him.
She had thought, back in her fourth year, that if she ever came face to face with Voldemort's snake – the snake that had bit her father and almost killed him – that she'd have a few choice spells up her sleeve that she'd like to cast at the thing. But now she knew she had been naïve – the snake was HUGE, and right now, it looked highly pissed off.
"We need to kill it, but we need some Basilisk fangs to do it. Damn it! Ginny, I need you to use Parseltongue one more time. Ginny!" Harry's voice cut through some of the fear-induced fog in her mind, and she realized what he'd said. Confusion filled her.
"What do you mean, we have to kill it? That? It's going to eat us and digest us later, for Merlin's saggy…you want me to fucking speak Parseltongue? Now?"
Brogan looked at her, and then a grim, yet determined expression filled his face as the snake came closer. "Whatever you guys do, do it quick. I'll try to hold it off."
Before either Ginny or Harry could stop him, Brogan surged forward, moving closer to the snake, like a mad person. Ginny watched as he aimed his wand at a few stones that were underfoot. Harry and Ginny both stared in wonder as he transfigured the stones into two large, concrete walls. A few more quick, rapid movements from his wand and more walls were flying up, blocking the path of the snake. Ginny could hear its angry hiss as it tried to go around the wall, but Brogan was quicker and blocked it in. But she knew it would only be a matter of time before it slithered over them.
"Ginny!" Harry said again, his voice sounding panicked. "I'll explain later, come on, try! Please!"
He nodded towards the twin snakes on the wall, and she tried to clear her head. Without Brogan to ground her, or perhaps, because her mind was on what was going on, all she could do was stare at Harry, her throat dry and her heart beating like a drum.
Come on, Ginerva, a tiny voice said inside her head. It was the same voice that she always heard when she needed an extra push to be brave. She now realized with a start that it was her own voice – not Aine's, not her Mum's or even Harry's. She could do this. Harry reached for her, kissing her quickly, and when he pulled back, she saw how full of confidence he was for her to do what needed to be done. Nodding her head in determination, she stepped closer to the snake symbol and then closed her eyes to clear her head. She ignored the sounds that Brogan and Harry made as they fought together to keep the snake far enough away from her.
"Open," she hissed, and for a moment, she didn't think she had got it right, but soon the snakes started to glide their way around the wall, and she heard the sound of gears moving.
"Harry, Brogan! It's open!" Ginny yelled as she turned. Voldemort's snake was just gliding over the last wall Brogan had constructed. It moves so bloody fast! Harry was attempting to fire stunners at it to slow it down. The men quickly backed up, still shooting off spells as Ginny grabbed them both to jerk them through into the actual Chamber. Unfortunately, her action made Brogan lose his footing, and Harry grabbed ahold of the other man to keep him from stumbling forward instead of backward. The entrance was closing shut in front of them. Just in time, too – Ginny shivered as she saw the large teeth of the snake as it opened its gigantic mouth to bite one of them.
"Fuck me, that is one hacked-off snake," exclaimed Brogan as they stared at the entrance they had just come through.
"Nagini," Harry said as he turned to Ginny to make sure she was all right. "He calls her Nagini, and she's the reason we had to come down here in the first place. Dumbledore's portrait was so sure he'd taken her with him. I'm sorry, you two, I didn't bloody think."
Harry slipped his hand into hers, squeezing. "Are you all right?"
Ginny merely nodded, feeling numb inside. "Maybe you should tell us what we're doing down here, Harry."
Harry opened his mouth to speak, and then they all heard it – the sound of gears turning again. Brogan came to stand on the other side of Ginny.
"Um, guys…you know what's really interesting about snake language? They can speak it, too. Apparently."
"Oh, shite," Harry and Ginny both said together, and Harry was pulling her away from the entrance even as Ginny reached out to grab Brogan's hand.
"Come on!" Harry shouted, aiming his wand to the area behind them, and Ginny watched as tiny vines started growing out of the darkened ground.
"Good idea," Brogan said, as he also aimed his wand to the other side, causing more vines to grow towards the entrance. It wouldn't stop the snake, but it would slow her down.
Before Ginny could get her bearings, Harry was pulling her further into the Chamber, and suddenly she was face to face with an image that had haunted her for years. Especially in nightmares and other times when she felt particularly low. The great stone statue of Salazar Slytherin stared down at them, pinning her with his austere and superior glare. She wondered how a sculpture could always make her feel as though every part of herself had been judged and found lacking.
"Dobby!" Harry shouted next to her. There was a loud pop of sound as the elf appeared in front of them.
"Harry Potter, sir, the house-elves are-''
"Not now, Dobby. We need basilisk fangs. Do you have any handy?"
"She's coming through!" Brogan called from behind them.
Ginny turned her head to see the snake beginning to break through the vines that he and Harry had made grow. Ginny held up her bracelet hand without thinking about it and meant to cast a shield – any shield that might protect them for longer than a few seconds. Her wrist grew warm, and suddenly a giant wall of smoke began to appear in front of Nagini, stopping the snake in its tracks. Brogan then joined her as he added his hand to hers. The Chamber was suddenly filled with a very rotten-egg type of smell, and the smoke Ginny had created started to turn green. She and Brogan both started to cough as the smoke continued to grow exponentially towards them. They heard a loud hiss from behind the thick smog as Nagini announced her displeasure at being trapped.
"I had an uncle who said the only way to keep snakes off your property was by using sulfur. Your Fumos spell, by the way, was a good idea, Gin. Pretty powerful, too, I might add," Brogan said.
Ginny gave him a small smile as she waved her hand in front of her face, still coughing. Harry walked past them, and they watched as he used his bracelet hand to do some sort of spell in front of the smoke. It was suddenly easier to breathe, Ginny noticed, as the air started to clear out.
"Thanks, love," she said, clearing her throat.
Harry nodded and then hurriedly turned back to Dobby. "Now, Dobby, about those fangs?"
"Headmistress McGonagall told us to clean the Chamber, Harry Potter, sir, but she said that we should save the teeth of the foul creature."
Dobby disappeared for a moment and then popped back in front of them, holding three large basilisk fangs. Ginny frowned at them.
"What exactly are we going to do with these?"
Harry gave her a grim smile. "They're for Nagini. But I thought we'd have time to figure out how to use them. Dumbledore said that no weapon made will kill her because of what Voldemort has used the snake for. It has to be something naturally poisonous, magical, and ancient. These fit the bill, and they were nearby."
Ginny glanced back at the smoke they'd managed to keep Nagini at bay with and could almost make out her dark shape slithering back and forth. She realized that meant the smoke was starting to thin out a bit.
"I suggest we start coming up with ideas then," she said firmly.
Dobby made a noise, and the three of them looked at him. He gave them an apologetic smile.
"Please, Harry Potter, sir, and His Ginny, and Professor Caley-"
"It's just Brogan, Dobby. I told you that before."
"Professor Brogan, sir! Would you allow me to help you? Second-Dumbledore told Dobby he might be needed and to be prepared."
Harry glanced at Brogan and Ginny, a slightly anxious look on his face as though he wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Dobby would say. "Er, okay, Dobby. Prepared for what, exactly?"
"To help take care of that foul creature." Dobby pointed at the increasingly visible Nagini, and Ginny watched as the snake dodged back and forth. Ginny almost felt powerless to turn her head away…it really was quite mesmerizing.
When she finally looked away, she saw Harry and Brogan exchange a look as though a question had been asked. She saw Brogan shrug slightly as though deferring to whatever decision had been made. Harry looked at her, and she also gave him a shrug of approval. If Dobby wanted to help them, far be it from Ginny to argue with the elf.
"We can let him try," she said when Harry still looked doubtful. "We'll be at the ready to trap her in again if something happens."
"Yeah, at the least, it's better than just trying to come up with more creative ways to keep her away from us," Brogan added.
Ginny felt as though they were being watched. She turned to see that a few of the house-elves had come out to see what was going on. She recognized one or two of them from their visits to the kitchens. Some looked frightened, and some looked shocked that Dobby was talking to them, but all of them appeared curious and kept eyeing the quickly fading smoke with trepidation.
"Whatever we're going to do, let's do it now," Ginny said, jerking her head back towards Nagini. Harry nodded and came to stand next to her and Brogan. He looked at Dobby.
"Okay, Dobby, whatever it is you're gonna do, do it quickly. We'll be behind you, in case you need us." Harry paused and then looked at Brogan and Ginny. "Wands or bracelets?"
"I think," Ginny stopped and remembered Brogan helping her before and how the bracelets had made them move together, almost as though on instinct. "I think bracelets will be quicker."
Joining as a trio, with Harry in the middle, they moved as one to the smoke-filled area keeping Nagini back. They could now hear her hissing, sounding even angrier than before. Ginny felt a shudder go through her. She gripped the basilisk fang tightly even as she squeezed Harry's hand in reassurance. He gave her a long look, and she nodded in determination. She felt Brogan's calm flow through them and knew they were ready.
Dobby walked in front of them, suddenly looking far too diminutive to Ginny's eyes. The elf looked back at them, a half-worried sort of smile on his face. Harry nodded and then waved his hand, the smoke clearing at once. There was an infinitesimal moment of time as Nagini coiled, as she realized she was no longer being held back. Ginny watched as the snake studied the three of them, completely ignoring the elf in front. Ginny felt her heart start to beat faster as Nagini's gaze seemed to settle on her, precisely as if the snake thought that she was the weakest link. Again, Ginny felt that strange sense of being mesmerized as Nagini started to move.
"You shall not harm Harry Potter and his friends!" Dobby suddenly shouted, and the snake reared up as though in surprise. But it soon changed into anger as it hissed at the tiny elf. Nagini slithered closer, and Ginny felt herself take an involuntary step back in response.
Dobby snapped his fingers at the snake, and suddenly Nagini was encased inside a giant cage. Ginny watched as the bars seem to grow and then contract around the gigantic snake, fitting loosely around her. Gold loops appeared around each bar in a continuous loop. Nagini angrily tried to stick her head through the bars, trying to snap at them, but they held her back. Or perhaps it was because of whatever the golden loops were doing; Ginny wasn't sure.
"I will never underestimate elf magic ever again," Brogan said, sounding impressed.
"Dobby?" Harry asked as he stepped forward.
"Harry Potter can now transport the creature to where he needs it to go," Dobby said, as he folded his arms, nodding his head in satisfaction.
"Can't we just kill it now?" Ginny asked as she walked around the cage. She didn't like the idea of taking the bloody snake anywhere. She wondered if Dobby had the power to make the snake unconscious for them. None of Harry's stunners had seemed to work; Nagini's skin was apparently too thick for magic to penetrate.
"I think you should be the one to do it," Harry said quietly behind her, and she paused, turning to him.
"What do you mean?"
Harry indicated the area around them and then gave her a pointed look. "We're in the Chamber of Secrets. There's a giant snake. And killing her will hurt him. Or so Dumbledore's portrait assures me. It should be you, Gin. You're not a little girl now, my love, and this place can't hurt you anymore. You are strong; you've always been strong."
Ginny swallowed roughly and felt touched at Harry's absolute belief in what he was saying. But the slight sense of fear she'd felt at his suggestion was starting to grow. "But how do I…? I mean, I just…stab it?"
A ghost of a smile crossed Harry's face. "Well, it worked for me, once upon a time."
"You had the bloody sword of Gryffindor, Harry. All I have is this…fang," Ginny said stubbornly, feeling as though he'd gone bonkers suddenly.
Harry came over to her and touched her face tenderly. "You know, you're fierce enough to probably kill it with just a glare. You just need proper motivation. Should I attempt to get you angry?"
Ginny pursed her lips at him, but his slight chiding had helped, and her fear melted away from her.
"Here, allow me," Brogan said. He used his wand on his fang, and it stretched until it was more in the shape of a spear rather than an aged and stubby tooth. He handed it to Ginny. "Now you just have to aim."
Harry smirked at her. "Is my star Chaser out of practice? Does she need a few practice stabs?"
"Shut up, Harry," Ginny said, staring at the now spear-shaped fang. Could she do this? Why shouldn't she? The snake had caused worlds of pain, she was sure. It had almost killed her father, for Merlin's sake! And if Dumbledore's portrait believed killing it would hurt Voldemort, then… she stared at Nagini in the cage. Its yellow, horrible eyes were like slits as it sat, coiled as though about to nod off. But Ginny knew it was a façade. The snake was waiting. Plotting. Probably imagining them all as pincushions for her sharp teeth. Ginny felt herself shiver.
"I can't just…kill it in a cage," Ginny finally said, looking at the two men. They both seemed to understand what she meant. After a long moment, Harry nodded his head.
"Then, I reckon we take her back with us," Harry began as he moved forward, but Ginny placed her hand on his arm to stop him.
"Have Dobby release her," Ginny said softly.
Harry looked at her as though she were quite insane, and, later, Ginny herself would wonder if there was a touch of that in her actions. As though understanding what they were discussing, Nagini began to stir in her cage.
"Gin?" Brogan asked. "Did you just say-"
"It's the only way I'll be able to do it," Ginny said, watching Harry. He met her gaze, his green eyes unreadable. But then she saw it – his knowledge that she was right. He nodded once and then stepped back, his arm going in front of Brogan, to keep the other man from joining her.
"This is nuts," Brogan muttered, looking at Harry and then her, a deep frown on his face.
"I can't kill it as it just sits there, Brogan," Ginny explained, as she gripped the fang-spear in one hand and her wand in the other. "But if she does bite me, I'm trusting you two to kill it for me, all right?"
"Just remember we don't have access to Phoenix Tears this time," Harry said quietly. Ginny gave him a slight smile.
"You didn't either, well, you didn't know you did. Have some faith, love; I've been told I'm a pretty good aim, now and again. Besides, we don't even know if Phoenix Tears would work on her venom. Who knows what Tom has done to her."
Ginny stared at the snake in the cage. It had uncoiled and was now laying flat; well, as flat as it could. Its yellow eyes were trained on her, and Ginny swore the snake had just understood everything they had just said and looked…happy. Happy at the prospect of having me for dinner, Ginny thought. Shaking her head and steeling herself, she gripped the spear and then forced herself to loosen her grip just a bit. You never got the Quaffle in the goal if you clung to it too tightly—first rule of playing as a chaser.
Suddenly a flare of power distracted her as a protection spell went up around her. Ginny looked at Dobby, who had come to stand next to her.
"It'll keep the snake inside this area for a bit, Harry's Ginny. It is best to kill it before it can get through."
Despite her nerves, Ginny smirked slightly and nodded, understanding. She looked at Brogan and Harry and saw their worried expressions, yet she also saw how they both steadfastly believed she could do this. Suddenly feeling a bit bold, she blew them each a kiss and then looked down at Dobby.
"Whenever you're ready," she said, her heartbeat starting to feel as though it was in her throat. She roughly swallowed and attempted to push her fear away. She could do this – she would, in fact, do this.
The elf nodded and then snapped its fingers. The bars around Nagini slowly started to fade. Ginny glanced down and realized the elf had left the circle and was now standing next to Harry. She focused her attention back on the snake, and Ginny took a deep breath as it slowly started to glide towards her.
The snake moved unhurriedly, its tongue moving gracefully in and out of its mouth; Ginny would have thought it was just out for a Sunday slither to get some exercise if she didn't know any better. Ginny moved to the left as the snake went right. They were both eyeing each other, sizing each other up. Nagini looked on with an almost detached air; Ginny's gaze was determined and wary.
Nagini was long, much longer than she'd thought, and Ginny found herself getting distracted by the way the light shone off of her green tinted skin. She noticed how thick the trunk of the snake was, the sense of power pulsating through it. Ginny imagined being trapped alive in there if the snake decided to eat her. She felt a queasy burst of nerves in her stomach at that mental image and shook her head. Nagini reared up slightly, the flaps on the side of her head widening a bit, giving her a hooded and predatory look. Ginny suddenly found that she could not look away – the yellow eyes of the snake pinned her to her spot. Ginny suddenly forgot why she was here – wasn't it time for a nap? A nice lie-down. Yes, that sounded pleasant, didn't it? Unbeknownst to Ginny, her body had started to sway in time to Nagini's movements…
"Ginny!" The sound of Harry's voice made her blink, and she realized she had walked closer to the snake – far closer than she'd meant, and she realized the snake's tail had come up behind her. Ginny turned so that she was standing sideways and used her wand to cast a few jinxes at the snake's giant tail. Nagini hissed in anger and backed away, but only just. The snake reared up even higher, as though staking Ginny as her prize.
"Oh, no you don't," Ginny hissed back.
Ginny raised her spear and gazed at Nagini, still feeling the echo of having been mesmerized. Voldemort had obviously imbued his snake with some sort of power to enthrall its victims. The snake's head started moving from side to side in a gentle bobbing kind of motion, and Ginny found herself forgetting what she was doing again. She had an uncontrollable urge to touch the body of the snake. To run her hands down its thick and supple hide, and to feel the pure power of the snake's body under her fingertips. She didn't realize she had stepped forward again, hand stretched out, until a red stunner went flying over her shoulder, hitting the snake in the middle of its torso. This time, Nagini rose up to her full height, an incensed hiss escaping her mouth. The snake was apparently done with trying it the easy way. Ginny moved to get a good angle to throw the spear and felt herself fall backward, a cry escaping her lips in surprise.
Nagini's tail had rewound behind her and tripped her, and Ginny screamed as she felt the tail begin to tighten around her leg. Good God, the pain! Ginny shuddered as Nagini tried to get a better grip on her. More stunners came flying at the snake from Harry and Brogan, and Ginny cursed angrily. She aimed the fang-spear and then let it fly, watching as it arced gracefully towards the snake. Nagini hissed and squeezed Ginny's leg even more and simply ducked out of the way.
Ginny gasped as the spear lodged into the stone wall somewhere behind Nagini and felt herself almost collapsing with fear. Nagini weaved and bobbed and lowered her head toward where Ginny lay, and she heard herself sob. Why had she thought she could do this? She was an idiot. She was going to die, here in the bloody Chamber of Secrets, perhaps how she should have died all those years ago. Perhaps this was only fitting…she would never get to marry Harry or live with him and Brogan, and she would never get to-
Harry's voice calling her name again brought her back to herself, and she chanced a look over to see that he was holding another spear. With a flick of his wrist, the spear was speeding towards her. With instincts that had long been asleep this last year – she hadn't played in a while, after all, Ginny reached up and deftly caught it. With one fluid movement she turned and heaved forward with all of her strength. The fang-spear landed in the very heart of the snake just as its great mouth was starting to open, its fangs gleaming in the strange half-light of the Chamber.
A large, gaseous, yellow and green cloud erupted from deep within Nagini, and she made a horrific noise, as though she were being torn apart in two. Ginny saw the wound caused by the spear splinter outwards, with sickly green spikes spreading throughout the snake's body as the Basilisk venom quickly started working.
"Ginny! Move!" Harry was yelling again, and she vaguely saw the protection circle Dobby had placed around them collapse. Ginny clumsily tried to untangle the bottom part of her body from the snake's tail but she felt as though she was stuck in quicksand. Soon, she felt both Brogan and Harry tugging on her shoulders, moving her out of the way just as Nagini's head landed right where she'd been sitting with a loud thud. Ginny huffed out a sob as Harry and Brogan held her, both of them saying her name over and over again until she stopped crying.
Eventually, through their connection, Ginny felt their strength and love begin to sooth her own tumbled, fucked-up feelings and she was thankful for them. Her leg was throbbing with pain, but Ginny could only numbly stare at the creature in front of them, feeling utter disbelief and yet also, strangely satisfied.
The bastard's snake was dead. Because of stupid, little, silly Ginny Weasley. And Ginny felt good about it. In fact, she felt more than good – she felt right.
And although not one of them knew it, they had just scored a vital point for their side in the oncoming battle.
Because miles away in the heart of London, Lord Voldemort lurched forward, clutching at his chest as though in a world of pain, falling to his knees.
o-o-o-o-o