A what?
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He found himself in an unending black void. It was similar to the limbo but only this time it was pitch black and Harry could see nothing wherever he looked. "Hello?" he tried calling but no one answered. "Fate?" he thought that maybe he was brought back for some reason and maybe this was now where he belonged.
Suddenly Harry found himself in front of a giant red door. It looked like the bars of a prison in red color. There were some runes engraved on the metal bars as Harry noticed but he couldn't understand them, not that he could understand runes before either.
Each bar of the gate was as thick as his body. Harry wondered what this was as he walked closer to it when he heard a faint growl and his feet stopped moving. The feeling around the place changed all of a sudden as he felt the air around him got extremely dense. It was as if he was drowning underwater and could barely breathe as he began to pant lightly.
It was then that he saw those huge red pair of eyes looking right at him from the other side of the gate. Harry felt a chill as he looked at those eyes. Each one was about the size of a car if not more. He wondered what it was as he kept looking at them when he felt drawn towards the gate.
The feeling was similar to when he was in the vicinity of a horcrux as Harry realized that and quickly stepped back from the gate and he could feel the feeling weaken as he put more distance between himself and the gate. He wondered what it was as those eyes moved, moving up as if they belonged to a monstrous beast and then Harry heard a roar which felt like a thousand needles piercing through his body.
He woke up panting and drenched in sweat as he looked around. His pillow and mattress were slightly damp from the sweat when Harry saw Neville walking towards his own bed. If Harry wasn't mistaken he'd say that Neville was probably standing next to his bed when Harry had woken up. He looked at the round faced boy getting underneath his blanket as if nothing had happened, or probably he didn't notice that he was caught standing next to Harry?
Harry wondered what was up with the boy as he grabbed the bottle of water that he had on his bedside table before taking a few gulps off of it. Sweating so much had made him thirsty. He decided to go back to sleep but realized he couldn't as he didn't feel sleepy anymore. He sighed tiredly as he looked at the time.
It was around four in the morning and sunset wasn't until two hours. Harry wondered what else he could do when something came to his mind as he got out of his dorm and headed to the common room. It was empty. He looked at the dormitories of third year boys and headed for it as he applied silencing and undetectable charms on himself just to be extra safe.
It was all quiet inside the third year boys' dorm and Harry immediately spotted the Weasely twins' beds by the window. He also saw the marauders' map peeking out of Fred's transfiguration book and couldn't believe his luck.
Taking out his wand Harry summoned the map and it flew right into his hand. Harry looked at it, revealing the map of Hogwarts and could see everyone. He quickly got out of the third year dorm and came back to his own before hiding the map safely in his trunk. He couldn't believe that taking back the map would be this easy. Now he needed something to keep him busy until breakfast.
Harry decided to go to the room of requirement when something else came to his mind. He headed out of the common room and towards the second floor and found the girls' lavatory. From the looks of it the place definitely appeared as if it hadn't been used for a long time. He grabbed the handle and pushed open the door before gritting his teeth in regret as the door creaked loudly, its noise echoing on the entire floor when the whole castle was asleep.
Harry quickly cast some silencing spells on the door hinges before looking in the map to see whether someone was headed this way. It was unlikely that anyone was patrolling the corridors at this hour but still, checking for it wouldn't hurt.
He sighed in relief when he didn't find any movement on the map before he walked inside the lavatory. It was completely dry with stains of water on the floor as Harry wondered whether Myrtle was even there. He didn't find her on the map so maybe she wasn't in the bathroom? It was a good thing as he didn't want to attract any unwanted attention as he headed straight for the central pillar of the lavatory which would open up to reveal the chamber's entrance.
He found the snake engravings underneath the taps and thought whether it would work. He doubted it because the last time he could speak in parseltongue it was because he was Voldemort's horcrux. That wasn't the case this time so there was a high chance that he might not have that skill anymore.
However, Harry decided to give it a try so he stepped back a few feet from the central pillar and focused. "Open!" he said surprisingly in parseltongue and heard the rumbling inside the lavatory before the pillar slowly started to part away. For some reason Harry felt a bit relieved as the entrance opened in front of him.
Hopefully his father and the others had destroyed the diary, Harry thought as he walked ahead and went down the entrance without noticing that someone else had followed him to the place.
Harry got out into the cave-like opening which he distinctly remembered from the last time when he was here. He should've utilized more of this place in his previous life but it never came to his mind. This place would've served an amazing hiding spot for students who were hiding away from the death eaters when Harry, Hermione and Ron were on the horcrux hunt in his previous life. Just like the room of requirement this place wasn't on the marauders' map.
He saw the basilisk's old skin and the place where Lockhart had tried to attack him and Ron with Ron's broken wand before Harry noticed the round metal door with the snake-lock on it. That's what he called it in his head as the door had its lock made in the shape of various snakes. He slowly walked towards it as he said 'open' in parseltongue just like before and the door swung open.
If his father and others had destroyed the diary then luckily they wouldn't have the tragedy of petrified students like it had happened during Harry's second year in his previous life. He realized he needed to know how many horcruxes had already been found and destroyed this time if he wanted to be sure of all things regarding Voldemort.
He was about to head down through the round door when he felt the familiar sensation of anger and turned around but by then it was too late as Harry was hit with a spell square on his chest. It pushed him through the door and down into the actual chamber where he had battled the basilisk last time. Luckily he didn't hit the floor which would've been bloody painful.
His falling was stopped mid-way as Harry saw Neville looking at him from the round door which confused him. What was Neville doing here? As he felt the cold and wet floor on his back Harry tried to get up but found that he couldn't. He was trapped in magical bindings as he saw Neville come down through the stairs. Also, for some reason Harry's anger was rising as well and he didn't know why.
"What are you doing here?" Neville asked.
"I could ask you the same," Harry said as he tried to calm himself down.
"How do you know about this place?" Neville asked. "I heard you speaking in parseltongue out there." Harry didn't miss Neville's wand pointed at him. This Neville was different. However, Harry was more shocked as to how Neville was interacting with him. It seemed like he, too, knew about this place. Had Neville also been brought back just like him, Harry thought.
"I call it a forbidden talent of mine," Harry said. "Look, I won't tell you anything unless you tell me first about how you know about this place."
Neville looked at him for a moment before taking a few steps back. Harry realized that Neville wasn't going to answer his question as he grabbed his own wand when he saw something impossible. Neville's fingers started to change into really long talons, like that of an eagle and the boy jumped on him.
He was fast and Harry didn't have the time to defend himself when suddenly he felt the urge to kill Neville and tried to hit him with a punch. Shockingly it connected but not literally as Harry saw his punch and Neville's attack hitting each other but not completely. Instead they hit an invisible barrier as the impact sounded like the crackling of thunder which echoed throughout the place. Also, Harry didn't miss the fact that Neville was in the air hovering.
The boy slowly came down as his feet touched the wet floor. Harry kept looking at him, shocked beyond anything over that had happened just now as he felt his anger towards Neville rise again and out of nowhere he pounced on the boy. However, Neville was ready. The boy didn't seem himself either, just like Harry but unlike him Neville seemed to be in more control as he dodged Harry's punches effortlessly as Harry tried to make sense of what was happening.
Suddenly Harry was surrounded with fire and the heat almost burned him as he cried in pain. He fell on the floor with a slightly burnt body. His clothes were almost completely burnt along with a good amount of his hair as Harry lay there panting and writhing in pain with Neville approaching him.
"Don't kill him," he saw Neville speak but what happened next confused Harry.
"We won't get another chance like this," Neville said again, however this time the tone of anger in his voice was very much noticeable.
Harry wondered why Neville was talking to himself. He also thought if the boy was possessed when his eyes widened in shock. Was Neville a host for Voldemort just like Quirrell was? Harry couldn't think of anything else but then why had Neville's fingers changed into talons? It was still like that as Harry saw with Neville standing beside him.
None of this was making sense.
"He doesn't know it," Neville said again. "Are you sure? Yes. Look at him. He doesn't know what we are talking about. He has no idea what he's housing inside his body. If we kill him then there's a good chance that it will escape and we won't be able to find it again."
Harry looked at the boy thinking as if Neville had lost it, or maybe not if he was a host for Voldemort.
"Harry?" Neville said looking at him. "Do you know about the Yayu?"
"The what?" Harry asked.
Neville looked at him for a while before speaking to himself again. "See, I told you," he said. "He doesn't know. So then what do we do about him? Maybe ask Jyava. We are already here. We might as well ask her too."
"Are you talking to Voldemort?" Harry asked but was ignored as he saw Neville walk past him and towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin. Harry grunted, getting up on his feet as he winced because of the pain from his burnt wounds. He wondered how he was going to explain his wounds to Pomfrey. Or maybe he could just tell her that Neville had attacked him.
However, his thoughts came to a halt as he saw Neville stand in front of the statue's mouth with both his hands raised.
Harry didn't need any more convincing as he fired a 'stupefy' towards Neville. However, the spell dissipated before it even hit him. It seemed like there was a barrier between him and Harry when the familiar rumbling fell into Harry's ears as the hair on neck body rose up. He never heard Neville say anything in parseltongue but it didn't matter as he saw the shadow of it move before the basilisk came out of the statue's mouth.
Harry closed his eyes immediately as he wondered where he had ended up. That fate had told him nothing about anything like this. Suddenly he felt a surge of anger within him just like before. However, this time it was far stronger as Harry felt losing control over his body.
He slowly turned around and opened his eyes and shockingly didn't die or got petrified when he looked straight into the basilisk's eyes. He felt losing control over his body and suddenly Harry found himself once again in the black void just like in his dream.
He looked around, wondering what was happening when he heard the growl once again, only this time it was clearer and it sounded angry. He turned around and saw the red gate behind him. It was slightly opened and he could feel the dark energy seeping out of it when he suddenly went into a trance and saw the secret chamber. However, the view was different this time as it felt like watching someone's memory through the pensive. He could see through his own eyes but he couldn't turn his head or body. It was as if someone else was controlling him and all he could do was watch.
Neville saw Harry's bloodshot eyes glaring at him and the basilisk. "Can you take him?" asked the basilisk in a woman's voice as it looked at Neville who had his eyes on Harry.
"I don't think anyone of us can take on it," Neville said as his fingers turned into talons again. "But that doesn't mean we can't try, though. I still don't feel its actual power. It's using Harry as a medium to try and come out. It would've been a lot easier if you also had a host because we are about to fight with a host ourselves."
"I chose not to have a host, Ethel," the basilisk said looking at Neville who smiled when the entire chamber echoed with a piercing roar coming from Harry. "I thought we'd have more time."
"It's not that easy with it," Neville said as he prepared to take on Harry who sprinted towards him. Neville didn't miss the very faint black aura that was slowly surrounding Harry like black smoke as he jumped up, dodging a fatal blow from Harry who got hit by the basilisk's tail and was thrown into one of the snake heads on the side of the tiled pathway which led to Salazar's statue.
The impact was hard as it broke the snake's head at the point of impact while Harry landed on the wet floor before standing back up as if nothing had happened to him.
"Be gentle next time, alright?" Neville said talking to the basilisk. "We don't want to kill the boy."
"Well, then in that case it's hard to put him down," said the basilisk. "The boy is going to get seriously hurt one way or another."
"Well, try at least," said Neville as they both saw Harry heading towards them. "Maybe a blow to the head will knock him out. I think it's trying to break free because it senses us."
"You should've said so before," the basilisk said and before Neville could understand she hit Harry again with her tail, only this time the blow was to the head. He blacked out before hitting the ground. Neville looked at the basilisk that looked back at him as if she would've shrugged if she had shoulders.
He shook his head before walking up to an unconscious Harry who had begun to wake up. Hearing his groan Neville realized that Harry was now himself and decided to let the boy see things through his own eyes as Neville also wanted to know how Harry knew about this place.
Harry was confused. A second ago he was in the black void and now he was waking up in the secret chamber, lying on the wet floor when he saw Neville. He had seen everything that had happened as if it were a memory that he was watching in the pensive. He tried to stand up but a sharp pain in his leg and ribs forced him not to.
"You have broken bones and burn wounds. They'll heal but it's better if you don't get up." Harry looked up at Neville who'd just spoken.
"No thanks to you," Harry said before looking at the basilisk. "I heard you speak," he said. "What is going on?"
"You first," said Neville as Harry looked at him. "How do you know about this place?"
"I could ask you the same," Harry said. "Are you housing Voldemort inside your body?"
"Why would you assume that?" Neville asked in a completely normal tone which made Harry realize that the boy was speaking like before, as if he was talking to himself…or maybe someone else inside his body was talking instead of Neville.
"You are hosting someone inside your body," Harry said sounding a bit doubtful when he saw Neville approach him and before he knew it Harry felt him penetrate into his memories. He never got a chance to defend himself as Neville forced his way into Harry's mind.
"I told you," the voice inside Neville said.
"But…these memories looks older than Harry," Neville said. "How can that be possible?"
"Only one answer," the voice said as Neville realized what it meant. "You are thinking correct. Also, look on your left." Neville did and saw a huge sphere of black goo floating in the middle of all of Harry's memories.
"Is that what I think it is?" Neville said
"It's protecting itself," the voice inside Neville's head said. "Even if we wanted to we cannot look inside it…into its memories."
"Does Harry know about its presence?" asked Neville.
"Even if he didn't he knows now," the voice said. "Or at least he knows that there's something wrong with him. When it took over that boy a little while ago I presume he went into its psych plane where he could see everything that it was doing through his body but he couldn't do anything about it. Just like how it happens when I take over you."
"So what do we tell him?" asked Neville.
"Nothing unless he tells us how far back in time he has travelled," the voice said. "Maybe he knows something that is about to happen."
Neville agreed before coming out of Harry's mind as the boy gasped. "Sorry," Neville said as Harry looked at him like he would kill Neville. "I know you have questions but we have some questions of our own that we would like to ask you," he said. "I know you are confused as to what happened to you a few minutes ago and if you want to know the answer to that, answer our questions first…and don't lie."
Harry looked from Neville to the basilisk which was dangerously close to him. Despite knowing that he had looked into the basilisk's eyes a few times already now and hadn't died he still did his best to avoid eye-contact with the monstrous snake. He did have questions of which he wanted answers to and the way Neville was talking to him and interacting with the snake Harry figured he couldn't be housing Voldemort inside him.
"Alright," Harry said slowly as he decided he might as well tell someone about him seeing Neville had already looked into his mind. He didn't know how much that boy had looked into as Harry hadn't really learned to properly defend his thoughts and memories from a mental intrusion.
"Did you travel back in time?" Harry looked at Neville as he heard the question. Harry wondered how he knew about that. He debated whether telling him the truth would be a good idea. Would it create a time paradox? Could he afford that? He didn't want to lose his family again, especially not this time when it seemed perfect. "Answer the question."
Harry snapped out of his thoughts. "I have been given a second chance," he said thinking that was probably how he should've answered that question. "I don't know if I was sent back in time or to a different…reality I guess, but all I know is I lived a similar life like this before and this time I want to live it amongst those who I didn't have the last time."
Neville and the basilisk exchanged looks before Neville spoke again. "How did it happen?" he asked.
"I don't know whether you'll believe me…"
"Look at us," Neville said interrupting Harry. "Do you really think after seeing my fingers change into talons and a basilisk speak to you that we will find whatever it is that you have to say unbelievable? Why don't you try us?"
Harry shrugged as he thought why not. He was dying to tell someone the truth about himself as it was eating him on the inside. It might just as well be a crazy shape-shifting Neville and a talking basilisk from this world.
"I was killed by Voldemort before I was brought to a white void where a voice who called itself fate, told me that I had failed my life's minimum ambitions so I would be given a second chance to live my life the way I was meant to," Harry said before looking at the two. When they said nothing and kept staring at him he sighed in annoyance. "See? I told you it would be hard for you to believe me."
"Did you see the face of this 'fate' that sent you back?" Neville asked.
"No," Harry said. "There was only voice. It sounded weird, however, as if the voice…"
"Was coming from all directions?" Harry looked at the basilisk.
"Yes," he said. He saw the basilisk and Neville exchange looks again. "How did you know that?"
"The one you talked to," Neville said, "the one who introduced himself as 'fate', his actual name is Sven. He is what humans refer to as a divine beast, just like Jyava here," Harry saw him point at the basilisk before Neville pointed to himself, "and myself. My name is Ethel."
"You have a name?" Harry asked looking at the basilisk who nodded her huge head. He then looked at Neville. "And your name is Ethel?" Neville nodded. "Where is Neville then?"
"He is here," Neville or rather Ethel said. "I am just borrowing his conscious to talk to you because he is my host."
"I still don't understand any of this," Harry said. "What is a divine beast?"
Neville smirked.
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Thanks for reading…