The Potter Timeline

Year 2 Episode 21 - The Chamber of Secrets

To say Harry was terrified was an understatement. The Basilisk was hidden somewhere in the black of this spooky chamber, and for all he knew, it could be waiting for him. But he didn't know what else to do except...move forward.

He tried walking as quietly as possible, but his footsteps, accompanied by splashes of shallow water, still echoed off walls and a tall ceiling he could not see. After a couple meters of blindly trudging ahead, his heart pounding, Harry was startled when two torches with green flames lit on either side of him. The torches hung diagonally on the sides of smooth, wide columns of stone stretching upwards into darkness. Carved serpents wrapped around these columns in a downward spiral. As Harry gazed at these ancient sculptures with their eyeless sockets and triangular heads, a chill ran down his spine - he could swear the snakes were watching him walk by. Soon, more green torches lit ahead, and more columns appeared. There were ten of these serpent-entwined columns on each side of the wide stone walkway before it ended, and the Chamber of Secrets opened up before him.

The floor was a perfect circle composed of enormous stone slabs. Darkened alcoves cut into the walls on both sides of the circle. Next to these alcoves more flames appeared on torches and the entire chamber took on an eerie, greenish glow. When all the torches were lit, there, at the center wall, on the opposite side of the circle, a huge statue appeared, cut out of the very rock. Harry gazed up at its enormous form. The figure was immediately recognizable: the chamber's creator and one of Hogwarts founders, Salazar Slytherin himself. With arms stretched out as though commanding or summoning something or someone, Slytherin's bald head, monkey-like face, and thin beard reaching below his waist, looked just as Harry remembered from one of those Chocolate Frog cards he'd bought. Harry noticed cracks running diagonally along the statue's torso up into the right arm. The sculpture was clearly ancient - nearly a thousand years old, like the rest of the chamber.

Slytherin's piercing eyes, gaping mouth, and grim expression made the twelve-year-old shudder. The silence of the chamber was creepy too, as though an impending doom was to occur any moment. But then, the silence was broken.

"Welcome, Harry, to the Chamber of Secrets..."

The familiar voice seemed to come from everywhere. Its echo inside the chamber transformed it into an otherworldly sound, and Harry wondered if he was hearing it with his ears or if it was simply in his head. But he was surprised when a figure emerged from within the alcove on his left. The robes of Slytherin House, the dark wavy hair, and the piercing eyes were all too clear.

Tom Riddle.

"Are you...real?" Harry asked.

The Slytherin walked into the circle with that grim face.

"Oh yes, Harry. Very real. But if you mean flesh and blood, no. At least...not yet."

Harry was puzzled.

Riddle laughed.

"You wonder how I was able to appear outside the diary, how I am now able to appear outside of...you? It's quite simple - through death."

"Death?" Harry responded with a furrowed brow.

"Yes. After Ginny Weasley helped me open the chamber and Slytherin's beast was released, the death of that Squib was the first step. It gave me the power to move beyond the confines of a mere book, beyond the girl's own dreams and nightmares."

"You wrote the flaming words in the air that Halloween night."

"Correct, Harry. Then I showed myself to you, caused those odd things to happen in your room to get your attention. To get you to write in the diary."

Harry shot a glare at the figure.

"So you could possess me!"

"Of course. And you fell into my trap quite easily."

The Slytherin walked slowly around the boy with an intense glare.

"When that stupid girl went on about the great Harry Potter, I asked her more and she told me. She told me everything she knew about you. And what I found most curious, Harry, was how you got that..."

Riddle pointed his finger at Harry's scar and his expression grew darker.

"...how a mere infant managed to vanquish the greatest wizard of all time. And I knew, if a boy having practically no magical ability and little talent could survive the killing curse, he must possess some power to do so - a power so potent, it can repel the curse and keep him alive. I knew then that I needed to possess this power myself. And what better way to do that than lead you to my diary - lead you, Harry, into my own memories."

"But how could you have known the diary would get to me?" Harry asked, "Dobby took it from the restroom after Ginny tossed it there."

Riddle smiled.

"It wasn't very difficult. Elves may be magically powerful, but they aren't the smartest lot. I appeared to this...Dobby and told him that no matter what he did with the diary, the Chamber had already been opened and it was too late. I inferred, indirectly, that the only way I could be stopped was if you faced me yourself. He bought this, like so many in your world, under the misguided belief you were their high savior. And so, thanks to that ignorant creature, the diary arrived in your hands. I merely had to wait until you wrote in it. And so you did."

Tom stopped and stared at him.

"But when I passed from the diary to you, what did I find to my great astonishment but another...soul already residing with your own..."

Riddle turned and pointed his open hand at the floor as though to conjure something. Another image slowly appeared. It looked like a small, pale, ugly child, though certainly not a human one. It lay helpless on the stone floor in a fetal position, its skin flayed, its red eyes gazing up at Harry giving the twelve-year-old's stomach a churn. One of its arms was twitching uncontrollably and Harry felt repulsed by the mere sight of it. Tom then knelt down and gently picked up the creature, cradling it in his arms like it was his child. The child laid its head on Tom's shoulder and hunched in close to the Slytherin. This was horrifying to behold. Riddle looked at the creature.

"There, inside you, Harry, this sickly, weak soul piece resides - a vague likeness...of me."

Riddle now gazed hard at the twelve-year-old.

"So, that's what happened. When Lord Voldemort tried to kill you, the curse rebounded and this...shard, this residue of his soul became lodged inside his intended victim. That, and the images in your nightmares, Harry, tells me that I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. That I was able to split my soul into multiple fragments. And so, I have...Lord Voldemort...has."

"It's not much of an existence, Tom," Harry countered, "you wander around as a spirit, having to possess people and cajole them to do your bidding."

"But it is an existence!" Tom spat at the boy, "I have done what no one ever has! I have achieved...immortality. And with the second death caused by the monster, my power increased even more, which is how you can see me now. And to complete the process, I used those nightmares of yours to lead you here, Harry. To lead you to your...destiny."

He looked at the child once more.

"All I need is to reunite with this fragile piece - a piece containing enough power to give me even more strength. Once we become whole, I'll take from you your 'power', Harry, and discard your own, worthless soul. The great Harry Potter will be no more, and Lord Voldemort will once again live in a human body...immortal - unable to be killed..."

Riddle's face changed aspect and he stared at the creature, talking in that fast, chattering voice. The creature looked up at Tom and talked back to him in the same voice. Harry bowled over in pain as his scar began burning and he placed his hand over it in reflex.

The images of Riddle and the child blurred and flowed toward one another as though the two were attempting to merge. Harry felt as though his scar was turning him inside out. And a deep darkness began creeping into his mind, overshadowing him. Harry grew alarmed. The power of the two shards combined seemed too great to resist...

But to his surprise, it stopped almost as quickly as it had begun.

The pain in the scar receded. Tom's face showed frustration as it seemed he was unable to complete the process for some reason. Something was preventing it.

In that brief moment, Harry recalled the conversation with Dumbledore during first term - the conversation concerning his survival of the killing curse.

"...it is my belief that your mother's sacrifice created a type of magical protection - a protection that allowed you to survive a curse which had been, until that time, considered impervious. More specifically Harry, I believe that protection came to reside in her blood and consequently, yours..."

He gazed up at Tom.

"You can't possess me, can you? You might have taken control of my body a few times, but you can't completely take it over. And you're not able to merge with the other soul piece, either."

Riddle's face turned to near rage at these words.

"At this moment, no. Something inside you seems to inhibit it. Some...annoyance."

Harry's confidence rose.

"It's the very power you're seeking, Tom! That power is what's stopping you!"

Riddle, holding the creature, slowly walked toward him, seething.

"What power is it?! How did you survive the curse?! TELL ME!" he shouted.

Harry stepped right up to the images with even more confidence and to his surprise, they blinked and shuddered. Tom's face registered alarm, even if momentarily.

"My mother's love, Tom, her sacrifice was the power! That's how I survived the curse! And it resides in my blood - that's why you can't succeed now!"

Riddle's face turned to rage again.

"Nonsense! Mere...love? That's impossible!" he replied, his image and that of the sickly child beginning to fade.

"Believe it or not, Tom, it's true. And as long as it's in me, you'll never take possession!"

Harry stood with a firm gaze at the Slytherin, his fists clinched in determination. But to his surprise, Tom's face relaxed and he gave Harry his own confident look.

"Very well, Harry Potter. If your...mother's love, your...power resides in your blood, then let's see how long you can keep that blood from spilling out..."

Harry's brow furrowed as he noticed Tom look up at something behind him. Harry was about to turn and see what the Slytherin was gazing at when he heard a low, hissing, gurgling sound. He then felt a hot, horrid-smelling breath on his head. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood on end, his heart started pounding, and adrenaline rushed into his veins with a fury.

The Basilisk was right behind him.

Harry swallowed hard, then tried bolting to his left toward the columns. But before he could get two steps, something slammed against his back, sending him flying through the air several meters and landing with a thud on the wet, hard stone floor. Harry's glasses flew off his face and he winced as pain shot through his elbow and left side.

Riddle laughed.

"Now, let's match the great Harry Potter against Slytherin's monster. Let's see how long the savior of the wizarding world can survive..."

Fear shot through Harry's system as he scrambled to his glasses. The Basilisk slid quickly along the floor toward him. Harry was just able to grab the glasses when the Basilisk bit into his pants leg.

"AAHH!" he cried out, searing pain erupting from the point where a fang punctured his calf.

The serpent then picked him up and flung him to his right. Harry slammed onto the floor again in between two of the columns. Pain was now coursing through his leg, arm, and both sides. But he managed to put his spectacles back on his face, though one of the lenses was cracked. Harry hurried on all fours behind a column, trying his best to get away from the enormous creature. The moment he heard the snake sliding toward the column, Harry limped to another and fell against the stone, hoping the Basilisk didn't see him. He stood there, breathing hard, trying not to panic at his bleeding, wounded leg, feeling the poison slowly seep through his veins.

"Come now, Harry! Surely you can defeat the Basilisk with your mother's love!" Tom uttered mockingly.

Harry gazed across the walkway toward the other columns, trying to think of what to do. The poison in his leg was causing it to numb, and his vision blurred in and out. He had to get to the entrance, had to get help. He turned toward the back wall.

"If I die, Tom, you and the other die with me!" he shouted, hoping to mislead the Basilisk.

Sure enough, the creature slid toward the wall on the back side of the column in the direction of Harry's voice. Harry limped as fast as he could to the other side.

"Didn't I just tell you, Harry? I succeeded," Riddle answered, "even if I and this soul piece perish, there are others. Lord Voldemort can't be killed. He is, I am...immortal!"

Harry made it to the other side and hid behind a column. The Basilisk hissed loudly, paused, then began slithering toward Harry's position. The boy was panicking now. Glancing around desperately, he didn't know whether the poison would end his life first or the Basilisk.

'HELP!' he thought frantically, looking for anything that could save him. But there was nothing.

Then, just as all hope seemed lost, help came.

As the huge serpent slid across the walkway toward Harry, it suddenly froze in place. Harry froze as well when he heard...music coming from the darkened ceiling of the chamber high above! He moved to the other side of the column and gazed up.

A flaming light the size of a football was soaring downward into the chamber. The Basilisk, looking away from Harry and up at the light, raised up, its huge body coiled, prepared to attack. It was the first time Harry got a glimpse of just how large and frightening Slytherin's serpent was. But the flaming light grew larger as it descended toward the Basilisk. The music grew louder as well and when it was merely meters above the coiled snake, Harry realized it wasn't music at all, but rather the cry of a...bird!

The serpent reared back with a tremendous hiss. The crimson-colored bird flew toward its head. Slytherin's monster then snapped at it violently. But it hit nothing when the bird rolled in the air, evading the bite. Before the snake could turn and reengage, the bird did a 180 and flew right at its head with a loud screech. Harry heard something crunch and the Basilisk let out a shriek. The boy saw dark fluid splatter across the walkway floor. In the green light, color was hard to make out. But Harry guessed it to be blood.

"NOOO!" Tom Riddle yelled from the chamber circle.

The Basilisk uncoiled, spun around, and attempted to snap at the flaming bird again. But the bird was too quick. It flipped over once more and hurtled toward the creature's head. Another shriek ensued and more blood splattered on the floor. The enormous snake hissed and writhed in pain, its tail slamming against the column Harry stood behind, knocking the boy to the floor. He turned over and gazed in astonishment at the serpent. In the dim light of the torches, Harry could see that the beast's eyes had been ripped out by the bird and blood was flowing from its sockets. With another shriek, it retreated to the shadows behind the columns on the other side. The flaming bird hovered in the air briefly before flying down and landing next to Harry.

"Fawkes!" he uttered in surprise and elation.

The beautiful phoenix tilted its head at him. Harry smiled.

"Am I ever glad to see you!" he uttered, though not fathoming how the bird could possibly help him beyond eliminating the Basilisk's deadly stare.

But Harry felt a sudden, sharp pain move from his wounded leg into his stomach - the poison was spreading. His vision briefly went blank, and he felt dizzy. His breathing became difficult as he pulled his pants leg up to see the wound more clearly. It was horrific. Blood was seeping from the gash and the skin around it looked blackened even in the green light of the torches. Then Harry's strength gave way and he collapsed on his back, staring up helpless into the darkness, realizing this would be the last thing he ever saw.

Fawkes leaned over him and Harry gazed back at the bird.

"I'm glad you...came," he told it with shallow breaths, "but I think...it's too late..."

Harry was surprised to see tears form in the eyes of the phoenix. Was Fawkes actually crying for him? The bird then turned and leaned over Harry's exposed leg. Harry stared upward again, expecting to finally black out and the end to come. And in that moment, he thought about...Hermione. His heart ached. He wished he could see his best friend before he died, wished he could tell her that he...

"AAHH!" Harry yelled out.

Intense pain erupted from the gash in his leg and adrenaline in his body caused him to briskly sit up. He stared at Fawkes in amazement. The bird's tears were falling onto the wound in Harry's leg, causing it to bubble and smoke. Then, to the boy's astonishment, the blackness around the wound began disappearing, leaving normal-looking skin. Harry felt a cool sensation inside him as the poison in his system seemed to be dissolving. Finally, the wound closed up and disappeared altogether.

Harry was dumbstruck. He was cured!

He stared at Fawkes wide-eyed.

"How?" he asked the bird.

But the phoenix merely gave him a chirp and lowered its head into Harry's hand like it did in Dumbledore's office. This brought to mind what the headmaster told him.

"...phoenixes'...tears have healing properties..."

"That's right!" Harry shouted in relief. He gave out a brief laugh. But his elation ended quickly.

"Your bird might have blinded the Basilisk, Harry! But it can still smell you!" Riddle uttered from the circle.

Tom now spoke in Parseltongue.

"Find the boy...kill him...KILL HIM!"

"Yes...master..." the hissing voice of the Basilisk replied.

Harry heard the sound of the beast sliding behind the columns on the other side and started panicking again. Though healed of his wound, he still had no way to fight the monster. He looked at Fawkes, wondering what to do. But the phoenix hopped back away from him. Harry then noticed something on the ground where the bird had been standing: a dark, faded cloth of some kind wrapped in simple twine.

As the Basilisk slid across the walkway, Harry quickly grabbed the cloth and scrambled to his feet. Fawkes flew into the air. As Harry started to sprint back toward the circle, he felt something grab his collar and lift him up. At first, he was alarmed the giant serpent had reached him and was attempting to hurl him again. But then that musical cry of Fawkes erupted over his head. Harry looked up and saw that the phoenix was carrying him! He then heard a loud SNAP as the Basilisk tried to grasp the boy with its fangs but completely missed.

Fawkes took him toward the edge of the circle to the right of Slytherin's statue and gently let him down, flying off toward the statue's head. Harry spotted Tom Riddle at center, still holding the child in his arms, the pair glaring at him. The sound of an angered, blinded snake made its way through the columns, heading toward the circle in a fury.

"KILL THE BOY! KILL HIM!" Riddle spat at the Basilisk.

Harry bolted into the alcove to the right of the statue. As far as he could tell in the dim light, the alcove ran deep into darkness to who knew where. But he had no time to contemplate this. He took the cloth and removed the twine which...suddenly struck him as familiar - it seemed like the same twine Dumbledore wrapped his invisibility cloak gift in at Christmas of his first year!

Dumbledore must have sent this via Fawkes!

When the twine was removed and Harry unfolded the cloth, he was astonished to find...the Sorting Hat? His brow furrowed. Why would Dumbledore send him this of all things? But when Harry held up the old hat, two objects dropped out of the bottom. The first one clinked onto the floor, and in the dim light Harry was relieved to find...his own wand! But the second object was larger and clanked loudly onto the stone floor, echoing into the darkness beyond. Harry was mystified.

It was a blue, ceramic water pitcher.

'Huh?' he wondered with a scrunched-up face. This object seemed even crazier than the Sorting Hat.

'Why would Dumbledore send...'

But Harry's eyes lit up as he remembered McGonagall's transfiguration class from first term and...Hermione!

The sound of the Basilisk sliding across the circle alarmed him, and Harry grabbed up the pitcher and his wand. He bolted into the darkness of the alcove.

"Lumos!" he uttered.

The light from his wand revealed a rough, hewn out cavern that curved toward the left. He could hear the snake's hiss as it blindly entered the alcove after him. Running nearly full out now, Harry noticed several more tunnels leading off to the right, but he stayed to the left on a hunch. The twelve-year-old had a time trying to avoid stumbling on pieces of rock which seemed to have fallen from the ceiling, leaping over one just in time. But up ahead, he saw greenish light. As he drew closer to it, the serpent closing in behind him, Harry realized it was the Chamber of Secrets again. The two alcoves formed a single cavern around the back side of Slytherin's statue.

Harry flew into the circle where Riddle stood.

"Your wand will do you no good against the Basilisk, Harry. It's charmed to repel magic of any kind. And what do you plan to do with that water pitcher, throw water at it?"

Tom laughed again. But Harry said nothing. He stopped inside the circle and turned to face the alcove. As the Basilisk drew nearer to the mouth, Harry thought about the pieces of fallen rock inside the cavern then looked up at Slytherin's outstretched, right arm. When the snake had almost reached the mouth, Harry called out to it.

"Stand down! Stand down!" he hissed in Parseltongue.

But the Basilisk did not respond. Riddle laughed again.

"She responds only to me, Harry. You are not her master!"

Harry's heart was beating out of his chest as he gazed into the darkness, but he stood firm, waiting for the right moment. Then, the enormous serpent appeared. Its head, with those bloody eye sockets, swished back and forth as it tried to sniff Harry out. And upon finding him only ten meters away, it gave out an angry hiss and slithered toward him. In the next moment, Harry recalled Lockhart's duel. He pointed his wand at the pit of Slytherin's right arm, right at the crack running through it.

"BAUBILLIOUS!" he shouted.

CRACK!

A lightning bolt spewed from the tip and exploded against Slytherin's arm lighting the entire chamber briefly. The enormous arm of stone separated from the rest of the statue and fell to the floor.

CRASH!

Dust and splinters of rock flew everywhere as the arm collapsed right on top of the Basilisk's head. The creature let out an ear-splitting shriek and writhed in pain. Losing no time, Harry placed the water pitcher upright on the floor of the circle. He then backed away, turned, and pointed his wand at it.

"What are you doing?!" Riddle asked in alarm.

Harry gazed at him once, then looked at the dazed Basilisk which was shaking its head, trying to recover from the blow.

"REPARIFARGE!" Harry shouted.

White light from his wand struck the pitcher and it instantly untransfigured into...a rooster, just as Harry expected.

"NOOO!" Tom uttered.

Harry then expected the rooster to crow, recalling the words from Scamander's book.

"...the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it..."

But the cock seemed oblivious as it strutted around the circle as though trying to understand the environment it was in.

"COME ON!" Harry shouted at it, "CROW!"

But the bird did nothing but glance around ignorantly. Harry became frantic as the Basilisk seemed to come to its senses and smell him once more. Its huge body coiled up and the head of the creature rose with a tremendous hiss, ready to strike down its victim. But then, a hunch crossed Harry's mind and he raised his wand.

"LUMOS!"

White light erupted from the tip. The rooster stared up at it.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!

The Basilisk shrieked at the sound of the rooster's crow and started to slither backwards.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!

This time, the enormous snake turned to flee through the alcove, but missed the mouth and slammed right into the wall above it, falling back onto itself, stunned. Harry continued holding his lit wand high.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!

Now the Basilisk uttered an ear-splitting shriek which caused Harry to wince. But the shriek dissolved into a mere gurgle from the throat of the beast. Its head shuddered violently, and the Basilisk collapsed motionless onto the stone floor, quantities of blood pouring from its gaping mouth.

"YES!" Harry shouted in relief, breathing heavily while gazing down at the oblivious rooster.

He did it! Slytherin's monster was dead!

Harry turned to face Riddle, who stared at the dead serpent with rage on his face. He glared at Harry.

"You may have killed the Basilisk, but this is not over!"

Harry just stared at the images momentarily before turning back to the rooster.

"Converto Pitcher!" he uttered, and the bird morphed into a likeness of Aunt Petunia's water pitcher.

He looked at Riddle again.

"You already know, Tom. You can't possess me."

"No, Harry Potter. Perhaps not. But we are a part of you now and always will be. If we can't control or possess you, we'll at least make your life a living hell. We are in your memories, your dreams, your...nightmares. There's nowhere you can go that we won't be there. We will know your every move and any chance we get, we'll interfere. We'll drive you to the point of madness and there's nothing you can do to stop us."

Harry glared angrily at Tom.

"I'll find a way," he replied firmly.

Tired and ready to get out of the horrid Chamber of Secrets, Harry pocketed his wand, folded up the Sorting Hat and stuck it in his robes. Then, with the pitcher in hand he headed for the entrance door, hoping he could somehow open it this time.

"One more thing before you go, Harry," the image of Riddle said.

Annoyed, Harry stopped and turned to gaze at him.

"What's that?"

"Merely...this..."

Tom and the pale creature gazed at one another and began their chattering. But this time, the chattering grew so loud it sounded like they were shouting at the top of their lungs. Riddle's face distorted and twisted into something demonic. The images became like shadowy flames of black.

Harry cried out in terrific pain. He dropped the plastic pitcher which bounced across the stone floor before coming to rest. The boy then collapsed to his knees, bringing his hand to his forehead trying to suppress the awful burning in his scar. But the voices grew even louder in his mind and the darkness began creeping in again. Harry couldn't tell whether the physical pain in his scar or the torturous voices in his head were worse and he felt like fainting.

On all fours now, breathing heavily, he looked up to see the images sway and blur, their yelling and shouting becoming fiercer.

"Fawkes!" Harry cried out, reaching up with a shaking hand.

"Fawkes! HELP!"

He heard the singsong cry of the phoenix and caught a glimpse of flaming light descending from the top of Slytherin's head. Harry's vision began to go, everything turning to blackness. But he felt the tug of the bird's talons on his collar and the next thing he knew, he was soaring up toward the ceiling of the chamber.

But the darkness and the voices overwhelmed him, and he passed out...