A/N: Thanks for being so cool about posting the last chapter early. My weekend was awesome and a nice break to the normality of adult life.
As I said in chapter five, this is my favorite stretch of the book. In this chapter we do get to see some communication between the kids and adults (as a few of you mentioned you hoped to see. ;) ). So one comment on this chapter, in this world Minerva was born in October 1935 (8 on October 4th) and so no, she wasn't a professor when Riddle attended the school. In fact, he had been gone for two years before Minerva's first year. That said, there were students at the school who would have remembered him and other events for which he may or may not have been responsible. I'm basing her age on what Pottermore said prior to the release of Fantastic Beasts 2.
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Hermione woke on the Monday before her birthday. She knew her birthday was on Friday, but she suspected her father any maybe even friends had planned to celebrate the day all week. Hermione tried to get them to tell her their plans or just save it for the weekend. None of her friends would comment, but the glint their eyes told what she needed to know. Her father had decided to ignore any comments Hermione made in her letters about his plans and updates on the construction of their new house.
Hermione thought this week (and her birthday as a whole) seemed to come faster this year and before she knew it she would be a teenager. She certainly didn't feel any different knowing in four short days she'd officially pass into a new age bracket. She stretched in her bed before getting up to get ready for that day's classes, she thought over the coming week. Her friends complained about Mondays. Mainly since it was the first day of the week where you had a deadline to get out of bed. No lie-ins or slowly moving into the activities for the day. That thought process had merit. For Hermione, she never knew what to think of Wednesdays, it's the middle of the week and she was the same distance from the previous to the upcoming weekend.
Today didn't feel like a normal Monday and weekend seemed a touch closer than it should. She was excited, as excited as one could be on a Monday, but a touch worried on just what her father would have selected as her present. She decided regardless of the size, she would put it in her bag and open in private once it was delivered. She also expected the arrival to be amid some sort of spectacle.
After dressing and collecting the books and notes she would need for the day, Hermione wasn't surprised she was one of the first students to the common room. She was slightly surprised was when she found Harry dressed with his bag studying at their table. Her friend was obviously focused and didn't notice her sitting across from him. "Good morning Harry." Hermione immediately recognized the handwriting on the parchment as Kitmu's so she assumed Harry was working on his language study early this week. "What has Kitmu got you doing now?" Harry blinked at Hermione and began to stretch.
"Like the first assignment, but he did respond to the questions I asked." Harry slid the piece of folded parchment toward his friend. Hermione read the note and immediately pulled out a notebook and began to compare what Kitmu had provided with what she had been able to find.
"This is interesting Harry and it agrees with everything I've found in my research." Looking to the clock in the room Hermione noticed the Hall would be opening soon. "Let's get to the hall and maybe Professor Snape will be there." Since Harry was getting hungry it was an easy decision and within a few minutes the pair were on their way.
The doors had just opened when they entered and saw all the professors eating. It hadn't dawned on them the professors never seemed to eat breakfast in the morning. Professor Snape set his napkin on the plate before it vanished telling the girl the professor had finished his meal. "I'm going to talk to him now." Harry followed Hermione toward the high table while Severus watched the approaching pair and nodded when they paused.
"Good Morning Professor. I know we have our additional potions class this evening but would you have time for a discussion either before classes or during our open period?" The wizard thought on his day and did not have any open periods that coincided with the children. As he was thinking, Draco made his appearance and shot Harry a questioning look. The dark haired wizard just mouthed 'later'. "If you three can finish your breakfast quickly, we can discuss whatever before your first class." Hermione spun quickly and beckoning the boys to follow her.
"Let's eat. I think this is something important but I can't figure out why. Ok?" The boys looked to each other and decided to not question her until they had spoken with Professor Snape. Severus watched the trio as they ate their fill and returned to the head table in a remarkably quick time. They followed close when the surly professor stood and left the Hall. Minerva watched the scene unfold and made a note to discuss whatever this was with Severus later in the day.
Unlocking the door to his office, Severus shuffled everyone in before he shut and silenced the room. For some reason he felt it was important to keep this between only a few people. "Now explain." Severus looked directly to the young witch who, while keeping the younger wizards in line, also seemed to have an ability to see things others missed.
"Um, I think the best way to describe is to make sure you know everything I've been doing this year." Severus raised his eyebrow and waved for the witch to continue. "When we got back to school and heard about Neville's dad, I knew that while the muggle family in my old house had been saved, someone else was injured." Hermione pulled out her notebook and set it on the table. "This is the notebook where I detailed everything I saw in the vision and what I've found in the library regarding magical creatures. In short, I don't think the beast is a boitatá." Severus nodded. "I had figured the aurors would have come to the same conclusion."
Severus was pleased to see she wasn't upset to find out others had previously came to the same conclusion. While Hermione was very intelligent, she was still a young witch and those in the DMLE and Department of Magical Creatures had decades of experience.
Severus spoke to give her some additional information. "They are still unsure what the beast could be, but a boitatá has been ruled out."
"Um, this may seem random, but please hear me out." While Hermione took a tangent to the discussion, Harry and Draco were honestly lost. They hadn't thought much about the beast more than it was dangerous but after growing up in the magical world, they believed the DMLE would figure it out. The fact the group who the entire wizarding relied on keeping them safe were lost on the origin of the beast was worrisome. Unaware of her friend's thoughts, Hermione continued on. "This summer Harry's lessons were focused on the languages of magical creatures. The last language he was taught wasn't from Kitmu but an uncle called Gibby." Hermione looked to Harry who nodded.
"Yes Hermione, Lucius had mentioned Gibby. He is well known for his language skills and is much sought after." Hermione nodded eagerly while flipped through her notes. Once she found the page she wanted, she set it in front of the professor and tapped on a sentence.
"The language Harry learned is something called Parseltongue." At Professor Snape's surprised expression, Hermione continued. "I thought it was a familiar term so I went back through the books I had read and found a reference to it in some of the books Headmistress Mathews added to the library. So I asked Narcissa if either of the family libraries had something on it. This is what she sent me." Hermione then extracted a book and set it on the desk next to the notebook. "This is a book written about five hundred years ago by a secret descendant of Salazar Slytherin who proved a bit more information on the man and his talents. I can't find any other book that goes into this much detail regarding him, but if this is true than I think…". Hermione was interrupted when Severus raised his hand.
"I share your concern. Have you been able to discover anything about what happened during the 1942-1943 school year?" The dates had no meaning to Hermione. Severus sighed and glanced at the clock. "We do not have the time to go over everything. Know that I think you are on the correct track and there are things you haven't been told. We will discuss after your classes finish for the day and before our class. May I keep your notes Hermione?" The witch explained it was a copy and linked to her original notebook. The copy would update as she added or changed things. Seemingly impressed, Severus waved his wand over the copy. "Now, if I make any changes to this, you will see those in your notebook as well."
Happy that she hadn't wasted her time, Hermione and the boys promised to not mention anything they had discussed, before heading out for their first class of the day. Shortly after the trio left, Severus sent a note to Minerva and scheduled a meeting during their shared planning period before lunch. The professor then began to read the notebook and found all of the notes that Harry shared including the 'voice' the boy had been hearing since his return to the castle. 'Come…come to me…let me rip you…let me tear you…".
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Since the trio had left the Hall before the owl deliveries, Hermione's first birthday present was delivered at lunch. The not so inconspicuous package from her parents was wrapped in bright muggle wrapping paper which had apparently been charmed to since the muggle happy birthday song on repeat. Hermione didn't trust the innocent looking item and placed it in her bag. "Aren't you going to open it?" The question seemed to come from everyone around her. "No, I'll do it later when I have more time."
Draco knew exactly why and privately he was pleased. She was still upset about last year and he didn't think Rich would send anything not somewhat embarrassing. And because of that, Draco was happy he wouldn't have to stifle his laughter. It took him a bit too long to realize Hermione hadn't appreciated how much he had laughed the year before. He knew she still used that quill box, but it always remained safely hidden in her bag. He squeezed her hand under the table in silent support. Hermione glanced and gave him a squeeze in return. The pair sat hand in hand for the rest of lunch.
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The rest of the day seemed to fly by and finally the trio made their way into the dungeons and toward the potions classroom. After lunch, Severus informed them the discussion on Hermione's theory would take place in the potions classroom before the class would begin. After taking their seats, they were surprised to see Professor McGonagall, Headmistress Mathews and an old elf walk into the room. After the new arrivals also sat, Hermione noticed the copy of her notebook and the book from the library were on the table.
"Hermione, before we go into detail on what your research has found, I want to tell you how impressed we all are on your methods. The leap to get to this was rather large but we believe you have made a correct assumption. I don't believe you or Draco ever met Kitmu's uncle, this is Gibby." The children all turned to the elf and nodded their heads in respect to the small creature. "We have discussed a number of things with him today which support your ideas. I want you to listen to what Headmistress Mathews and Professor McGonagall have to tell you. As you said earlier Hermione, this may seem somewhat random but it will all connect, sooner than you may realize."
The Headmistress gazed at all in the room and stood. "It seems the books I added to the library were more useful that I had anticipated. Severus mentioned not finding any books to verify the claims in the book by Harold Sayre that Mrs. Malfoy provided. I contacted Ilvermorny and they loaned me a few other books. These will not be in the library and depending on what we find in them, we may allow you to read them later." Hermione's eyes widen but she said nothing.
Sophie chuckled before continuing. "I read your questions related to the founders and realized those were my same questions when I read about them. I don't think the questions related to how they came together are important just now. But, I think, the questions regarding their break up and the rumors of what each of did afterwards are important." With a sigh Sophie turned to her deputy head, she was not looking forward to hearing this story again.
Minerva took one deep breath and began the tale of the chamber of secrets. "As you have found in your reading, when Slytherin left Hogwarts he warned the others at some point his heir would free a creature. This creature was tasked to complete Slytherin's quest. It was thought to have only been a rumor for almost a thousand years. Slytherin's descendants were watched for almost five hundred years before most believed the threat to be nothing more than empty words."
The look of anguish in Minerva's eye gave the students a sense of dread they had never felt. "A few of years before my own start at Hogwarts the rumors proved to be true. Salazar's creature was freed and allowed to roam the halls of the school. At some point the lair of the beast was named the chamber of secrets and became as mythical as the beast itself. The beast was known to be in the school for just a part of one school year. After a student had been identified as releasing the beast, the attacks stopped. Before the attacks stopped, another student had been killed." Minerva watched the students sadly.
"The student who was identified as responsible, I believe to be innocent, but there was enough circumstantial evidence to ensure he would not graduate and be allowed to practice magic. At the time of the attacks, the boy who had been the one to identify the other student as responsible was a fifth year prefect named Tom. When Tom grew older he began to rally for a wizarding world free of muggleborns. After some research, it was discovered Tom was actually the last known descendant of Salazar Slytherin through his mother. The case of the chamber was reopened about the time you were all born and based on the original investigations notes and memories; the DMLE changed their opinion to believe the true culprit was none other than Tom himself. It was just one of the charges brought against the man. Eventually the he was found to be incapable of living with the general wizarding world and sentenced to a sanitarium of sorts."
Hermione tentatively raised her hand and looked to the adults before she even thought about opening her mouth. With a bit of a smirk, Severus beckoned for the witch to speak. "Would it be safe to believe that when Gibby told Harry there was only one person left who could speak Parseltongue but didn't have the mind to do it, he was talking about this Tom guy?" The professors nodded. "So do you know how he released the creature while he was in school?" As Hermione's question fell from her lips, Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and interrupted her.
"Wait, are you all saying the Slytherin's beast is what attacked Neville's dad? And that it is at the school? Are any of us safe?" Draco's panted questioned caused Harry and Hermione to gasp. Hermione hadn't actually thought that yet, probably because she had unanswered questions.
"We don't know Draco. But what we do know, is that Harry is a parseltongue and if the beast is still at Hogwarts he should be able to communicate with it. In fact, based on what you've already told me about the things Harry has heard, I believe he has already spoken to it." Harry was surprised at the revelation.
"Well, I guess I'm glad that I'm not crazy, but from what Hermione told us about the beast, it's huge." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and once she had everyone's attention she spoke.
"We aren't allowing you to interact directly with the beast. Severus has informed us of what you've been hearing, have you been able to communicate with the beast?"
"No Professor, last night, when we were waiting for Hermione to finish her yoga, I heard it and tried to communicate but what I heard afterward didn't make sense. It was out of context." Severus leaned his head against the wall and shut his eyes. Everything that had happened, everything that could happen. It was then his eyes popped open.
"Sophie, that last vision of Paulo's, it was just the beast hissing with a second voice. We had thought it was a second beast, but what if it was Harry?" Sophie sat eagerly before calling for the vision and Paulo. It took a bit longer for the vision and the pensive to make their way to the dungeon but they arrived shortly after Paulo. The wizard was quite interested in what was happening as the vision was poured into the pensive. "I will play this vision on the wall, but there is nothing to see. Harry, you must listen and tell me what you are hearing."
As the sound of eery hissing filled the room, Harry's eyes bulged a bit before hearing his own response. "That was from last night. That second voice is mine. I was asking it questions. The response was simply repeating the same words, 'hungry, so hungry'. The questions I asked were what the creature was, where it was, who it was, just me trying to prove to myself I wasn't losing my mind."
Gibby stood quietly in the corner listening to the beast and the boy. "This beast is the one left by Salazar himself. The family has records, I will be back." Before anyone could respond the elf popped out of the room.
"Severus, I feel this is getting beyond a Hogwarts issue, would it be possible to contact whomever at the Ministry and request their presence?" Severus stepped into his office and called Malfoy Manor; after informing Lucius it was time to bring Amelia Bones in, Severus returned to his classroom.
"Lucius will contact the DMLE. Since Frank is still at St. Mungo's, Madam Bones has taken over the case. Ah, Sophie I would like you to be prepared, Amelia can be … intense. She and her family have been through quite a bit over the last few years and has only been back in her role at the DMLE for a little under a year. She doesn't take kindly to others doing the work of her department but has acknowledged the need to include others when necessary." Minerva rolled her eyes at the description. She remembered Amelia as a student and intense was a kind way to describe her. As head girl, Amelia walked a very narrow path and was very black and white when it came to right and wrong. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too difficult.
As the dinner hour drew near, Sophie and Paulo left while Minerva called for the meal to be served in the classroom for those remaining. "Miss Granger, I must say, I'm quite impressed with what I read in your notes. Some of the conclusions you made were unsupported so we will work on that as we go on. I understand the need for it, since you knew where you needed to be and where you currently were." Hermione continued to eat before thanking the witch.
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Amelia Bones was surprised when she received a request from Lucius Malfoy for a meeting. She had met with Lucius and his muggle partner earlier in the day and was still a bit irate at just how much the Ministry would have to pay for muggle technology. She was not in the mood to renegotiate a deal that was already substantially in their favor. After muttering a few choice words, she responded with her acceptance and informed the overly blond wizard her floo would accept his visit.
The witch cleared her desk and settled facing the fire as the green flames spun to life and died once the wizard in question arrived. "Amelia, thank you for this. I know it's late and unexpected. I received a note from Hogwarts and they have requested the DMLE presence. If you are available, it's related to the case Frank Longbottom had been on before his accident."
Amelia looked surprised. "This was not what I was expecting. Do I need to bring aurors? Has the beast been found? Another attack?" Her mind had flipped into auror mode immediately and her questions were flying quickly from her lips.
"No, I believe the beast is still hidden but this is more a theory on where it could be." Amelia stood and without any additional questions, she called for her cloak and bag of necessary items. "We are going to the Potions Master's Office, if you will follow me." Lucius didn't wait for a reply as he stepped in the grate he throw a handful of floo powder on the ground. "Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts School." The wizard spun away with the witch quickly on his heels.
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On arriving they were met by Severus who ushered the pair into the classroom and motioned for them to sit in two unoccupied chairs. "Sophie and Paulo will be notified of your arrival and send the students to their dorms for the night. They are in the Great Hall but are waiting to be called back here." Minerva sent the message and quietly called for one of the Hogwarts house elves to clean up the dishes.
Once Sophie and Paulo had arrived Severus began to explain what had been discussed that day. "Madam Bones, much of what we are going to say is quite speculative in nature, but at this point nothing else can explain what has been happening these last few weeks." Just as the Hogwarts Professors were ready to begin their explanation Gibby returned with a pop.
The elf handed a book and some loose parchment to Severus before settling himself near the back of the room. He found it better to see everyone and be forgotten. Severus flipped through the parchment and noted a detailed drawing of a portion of the school's second floor with an area circled with "site of new plumbing" written above the red circle. Severus quickly identified what the location was now and passed the notes onto the others. It was the book that had his attention.
"Madam Bones, I believe I know where the entrance is. Apparently all the descendants of Slytherin knew but only one ever opened it." After handing the book to down the line, he continued. "The entrance is hidden in plain site. I do not believe it's been open since 1943. However, since the beast has escaped there must be a secondary opening. We need to find that opening before we attempt to open the original portal."
By this time the notes and book had made their way to Amelia, who was reading everything with a surprised expression. "Are you telling me the beast that attacked my second in command is actually the beast Salazar Slytherin supposedly left nearly a thousand years ago?" Severus looked to the witch with an expression that was devoid of emotion but could readily be identified as saying obviously.
He took a few moments to ensure Amelia understood what he wanted to say before responding. "As I said, there are some metaphorical leaps but they aren't as large as you may believe. This information only provides a bit more support to our current belief. If you will allow it, I will explain what we've put together through research, personal experiences and some well timed questions."
Severus went through all the evidence Hermione had gathered and then Harry's experiences. Amelia was shocked to learn the young boy was a parseltongue and quite intrigued to find the young witch had put together much of the research with just some books from the library. Amelia needed to read through everything and have some discussions with the Head of the Department of Mysteries before moving forward with anything, but did promise to keep Lucius updated on their findings. Finally she asked if Harry did end up communicating with the beast for him to immediately inform the headmistress or one of the professors. The witch turned to leave, and almost as an afterthought asked a question that had Lucius shaking his head. "Has Mr. Potter listened to the recording from Frank yet? That static may actually be the beast." With that the witch left.
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"I need to get a copy of the audio from Rich and will bring it. I'm leery to play it really, just based on what Harry's already heard." Before he could continue the old elf spoke up.
"I will listen, the boy doesn't need to know." The elf again was silent and prepared himself to again hear the beast his family had always known was real. It worried him just what the beast would say and hoped it would give him some insight on what was occurring.
"Thank you Gibby, that seems like a better alternative. Would it be ok if Harry led us to some of the places where he heard the voice?" Lucius wanted the beast to be removed from the school before it turned its attention toward the school's population. The group walked through the school while Harry pointed out all the locations. Severus added one location to the tour and as they approached the girl's bathroom on the second floor, there was an oppressive feeling in the air.
Gibby stated he wanted to check the entrance first and after receiving an all clear, Minerva and Sophie walked into the flooded bathroom. "Hello Myrtle." Minerva's quiet voice filled the room as the translucent memory of Myrtle Warren appeared from the wall. The ghost acknowledged the woman and gazed at the new woman. With a shrug toward her, Myrtle raised a questioning look to Minerva. "This is Sophie Mathews. She is the new headmistress, as I'm sure you have heard, Albus is gone now." The ghost looked a bit speculative and then opened her mouth. Minerva was prepared to hear the moans the girl had become known to do but was surprised.
In a quiet whisper, like the last of the wind through the trees. "Is he really gone?" At Minerva's nod the ghost seemed to almost sag in relief. "He was so mad that I never told him how I died or who was involved. He swore if I told anyone else he would make sure I was banished. He said he knew how to make a ghost's life horrible. He allowed me to be killed, so why couldn't he have know something more about ghosts?"
Minerva settled on the bench and the ghost moved to sit next to the elder professor. As a student Minerva had met Myrtle and found when the girl wasn't in a mood, she was a good companion. Myrtle must have remembered those early days as she whispered how much she missed talking to Minerva. "Myrtle, did Albus bind you to this room?"
The ghost sat for a moment in thought. "I don't know but he said I was unable to leave." Minerva's anger increased at the thought of what the old wizard did. "Since he is gone, I can tell you what happened, right?" At Minerva's nod the ghost went into her story. The bullying the girl experienced seemed to be pretty standard at the school. Severus could testify to similar and worse experiences. When she got to her last day as a mortal, both of the witches in the room sat up straight.
"I was in here crying, sort of hidden when a fifth year boy came into the room. The Slytherin prefect, he was one of the few that didn't speak to me but his hatred was more obvious to me. He stood in front of that sink and began to hiss. The sink moved and shortly thereafter something came out of the opening. It was so hideous and then it looked at me. I don't believe I lived a second longer. I watched as the boy's expression changed from shock to something more smug. He sent the beast back into the opening and closed it. He extracted a book and his wand before doing some spell. He began to spasm and the book shook at the same time. There was a bright light and the boy picked up the book and left the bathroom. I don't know what happened but since that day the boy never returned here nor has the opening been accessed."
The witches listened with awe, Myrtle proved what the DMLE believed and determined Severus's theory about there being a secondary open was correct. "Myrtle, do you want to move on? Or would you prefer to stay at Hogwarts? We can ensure your ability to leave this room, if you desire."
The ghost floated up and appeared to be in thought. "Do I have to decide right now?" When the witches shook their heads, the ghost relaxed a bit more. "I will think on it and let you know. I promise to not be as troublesome going forward. I think with him gone and telling someone my story, I am starting to feel better."
After a few more minutes of discussion, the living witches left the room to find everyone else standing outside the door. "You were correct, Myrtle confirmed the opening hasn't been accessed since she died. She also validated who was responsible for it being opened in the first place."
Lucius had been standing in the back of the group with the children. He knew their curiosity would lead them to trying to figure out what was going on and he wanted to nix that. "I don't want any of you to start to look for either of the openings. We will provide you with all the information during Christmas if not before then. I think you can all handle that." With a bit of reluctance, the children accepted their new restriction.
"Does that mean I have to stop researching?" Laughing Lucius just shook his head knowing if even he said yes the young witch would figure out some way around it.
Hermione wondered if the rest of her birthday week would be as exciting as Monday had been. Professor Snape informed the children their potions class would meeting Saturday as they had accomplished nothing that evening. While there were a few individuals who knew of the beast, it was decided all information regarding Slytherin and his creature would be kept from the majority of the school to limit panic. In a twist of fate, the only person that would be able to warn the school and those in it, was the same boy, who in another life and time, would have fought the beast personally protect the same group.