AN: Sorry for the delay, but following the (bad) news has been a bit distracting for the past few days. But here it is, the probably penultimate chapter (apart from a short epilogue). I hope to have the last chapter ready in 10 days at the latest.
"Good luck! And be careful," Ginny called and sighed as Harry and Ron disappeared.
"Let's hope nothing happens to either of them," Hermione muttered to herself as they made their way back from Apparition Point.
"I'll get my map and watch them," Ginny said. "It's still better than just sitting around and waiting for them to come back."
"They've got a map with them, right?" asked Hermione, worried.
"Yes, Harry took his map with him," Ginny replied. "On the other hand," she hesitated. The thoughts of the chamber always gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach. But It was time to face this dark point from her past. She had no intention of letting Harry go down there alone. Alone like, without her. "I think I'll take another look at the new map, the one with the Chamber of Secrets," she finally said.
Raising an eyebrow, Hermione briefly glanced at Ginny. Giving her a small smile, she said, "I'm going to take a look at the books I brought from Hogwarts. I might have found something."
"All right," Ginny replied. "See you in a bit. Or do you want to read in your room?"
Hermione seemed to ponder this question for a moment and then shook her head. "I'll come into the living room when you're there too. In case you notice something odd on the map, or if Harry and your brother have problems, we could…." Grimacing, Hermione took a deep breath. "In an emergency, help could call help, or...go to Hogwarts ourselves to help."
Ginny nodded, understanding Hermione's point. But she refused to think that anything would happen to Harry and Ron. "Of course, you're right, but...let's cross the bridge when we get there."
While Hermione disappeared into her room, Ginny went down the corridor to Sirius' room where Harry was staying and hesitated before entering. Somehow she had the feeling to intrude here. Not because Harry slept here. After all, it was his godfather's room. Ginny glanced around and then opened the nightstand drawer. She had to grin when she spotted the new Hogwarts map. Harry had left the map exactly where she would have put it, too.
On the way down to the living room, Ginny stopped briefly in her room to obtain the Marauder map.
Because Hermione was already studying her books in the sitting area, Ginny headed to the dining table to not distract her. She spread the two maps out in front of her, activated them and took a deep breath of relief when she spotted Harry and Ron on both maps as they walked past Hagrid's hut up towards the Hogwarts.
Ginny's eyes followed the two dots until they reached the castle, where the two suddenly disappeared. Alarmed, Ginny leaned forward to have a closer look at the map, but a brief glance at the other map gave her a sigh of relief. On the new map, there was a passage that didn't show up on the old Marauder's map.
Ginny let her eyes wander towards the chamber stretching almost beneath the entire castle, consisting more or less of three large rooms. The largest was marked on the map as the Pillar Temple. From there, what appeared to be a narrow corridor led to the girls' loo on the second floor, where she had woken up so many times. Next to the Pillar Temple was a large rectangular hall with a massive block of stone at the far end, bearing the name Salazar Slytherin's statue. Ginny shook her head in disbelief. She didn't remember ever seeing that statue. Behind the statue, a corridor led to another hall that wasn't quite as big. From here, a long, relatively wide corridor led away from the castle and ended somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. The exit shouldn't be very far from the edge of the forest, Ginny surmised. Maybe 500 yards. With the map, this exit should be easy to find.
Suddenly, Ginny's breath hitched, and her eyes widened. There was someone down there in the third hall. Ginny could clearly read the name Nathaira next to a dot. But wait, no. It wasn't a dot like the Hogwarts students. It was a...it looked more like an S. Should that really be the basilisk?
Ginny glanced over at Hermione. "Hermione? Can you take a look at this?"
"One moment, please, Ginny," Hermione replied. "I just want to finish reading this section."
Ginny nodded and remembered that she wanted to keep an eye on Harry and Ron. Searching the map for their names, she was relieved when they were still in this mysterious corridor.
"What's up?" Hermione asked, leaning over the map.
"Look here!" Ginny said, pointing at the name Nathaira. "There's someone down in the chamber, and that's not a usual dot either. It looks more like an S. Could that be the basilisk?"
"Nathaira?" said Hermione pensively. "Sounds a lot like Gaelic. Wait a minute."
Searching her bag, Hermione muttered, "I'm not very good at remembering Gaelic words. That's why I got myself a dictionary. It's quite useful in Scotland. Just where is it?"
"How many books do you have in your bag?" asked Ginny, puzzled.
"I'm not sure," Hermione replied. "About twenty-five or thirty." With a proud mischief grin, she added, "I magically expanded the bag and cast a Featherweight spell on it. Ah, here it is."
Hermione flipped through the dictionary and paused. "I thought so. Nathaira is Gaelic and stands for snake."
"Ol' Salazar was very imaginative with naming, wasn't he?" Ginny giggled, leaning back over the map, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "Let's hope she's the only one down there. Imagine there was a whole basilisk nest." After searching the chamber, Ginny breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as she noticed Harry and Ron exiting the castle. The smile turned into a frown as first Harry and then Ron suddenly disappeared from the map.
"What the hell..." Ginny exclaimed, taking a step back, knocking over the chair in the process.
Harry and her brother were standing at the table in front of her, debating.
"Harry. I'm sure it was Malfoy. I know his voice..." Ron exclaimed, stopping suddenly and looking around.
"Erm...Hermione? Was it planned that we arrive above here?" asked Harry. Hopping off the table, he looked down at his portkey and chuckled.
Hermione's eyes widened. She blushed slightly but then had to smile. "'Seems I need to re-read the passage explaining how to set a portkey destination."
"What about Malfoy?" Ginny asked, giving Ron a wary look.
"We heard Malfoy say that You-Know-Who is expected at Hogwarts soon."
"Voldemort," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
"That's what I said," Ron replied, unimpressed. "And you knew who I mean."
"What happened?" asked Ginny, worried. She didn't remember seeing the blond git on the map. "Where did you meet him anyway?"
While listening to Ron's version of their almost encounter with Malfoy, Ginny searched the map to find out where the blonde Slytherin was now but couldn't find him anywhere.
"We have to warn McGonagall that she is being spied on," Ron said when he'd finished.
"Good idea. But when should we talk to her?" interjected Harry. "Dumbledore told me to tell her or Mad-Eye Moody about the Horcruxes. She's obviously very busy."
"I'm sure Professor McGonagall knows she's being observed," Hermione said. With a thoughtful look, she sighed. "For the last few months at Hogwarts, there has always been a feeling of being watched. Over time, it makes you paranoid." She gave Harry a doubtful look. "Are we really the only ones who know about the Horcruxes?"
"Yes," Harry replied. "We and Sirius. That's why Dumbledore wanted me to tell someone from the Order of the Phoenix before he went to the Ministry. For the last few years, he'd been insisting we keep it a secret."
Hesitatingly, he glanced at Ginny and huffed. "I did tell him that you deserve to know what the diary really was, though, and...and I told him that I'll tell you. Here are the Horcruxes, by the way." Harry placed a leather bag on the table.
Muttering to himself, he glanced into the bag as if he was looking for something. Finally, he shrugged. "There should be a pair of gloves in the bag. We're only supposed to touch the Horcruxes with the gloves. But what's the point." He dumped the contents of the bag onto the table.
Ginny took a step closer and stared at the journal. It looked a little more worn as in her memories. But other than that...
"Don't touch anything," Harry said.
When Ginny looked up, Hermione just withdrew her hand, startled. "Sorry…"
"It's okay," said Harry. "Breac said these things has a negative vibe, and we shouldn't touch them."
"Who is Breac?" asked Hermione.
"The man in the painting who hid the Horcruxes for Dumbledore."
Hermione gave Harry a surprised look but didn't ask anything further.
"What's all this stuff in here?" asked Ron.
"This is the diary Malfoy planted on Ginny and urgently wants back," Harry explained. "That's why he broke into your house in the spring and kidnapped Ginny."
Harry pointed to a golden locket with a curved S in the shape of a snake on it. "It's a locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. I don't know why, but we found it in the house at Grimmauld Place. Sirius' brother Regulus must have gotten his hands on it somehow and wanted to destroy it."
"This is a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff," Harry continued. "Sirius got it when he claimed Bellatrix Lagangre's Gringotts vault after she'd been in Azkaban 10 years. Malfoy arrested Sirius because of this cup. He wants it back."
Pointing at a ring with a large gem, Harry said, "This must be the Gaunt Ring. The Gaunts, like Voldemort himself, are descendants of Slytherin. The ring once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. Dumbledore believed the ring was the first Horcrux Voldemort ever created when he murdered his father, who was a Muggle."
"What? He's a half-blood?" asked Ron, dumbfounded.
"Yes. He is," Harry replied. "I doubt his supporters know that."
"Are that all, or are there more of them?" asked Hermione
"Dumbledore wasn't exactly sure," said Harry. "He said there has to be something else, something that once belonged to Ravenna Ravenclaw."
"That could only be her tiara," Hermione interjected. "But it's gone missing centuries ago."
"Exactly," Harry confirmed. "Dumbledore thought Voldemort might have found it, though. And..." Harry held up a hand reassuringly. "There's something else. I think it was Snape who'd told Dumbledore about a snake called Nagini that is constantly around Voldemort. Dumbledore suspects that this snake is also a Horcrux because it...well...it makes things an ordinary snake wouldn't do. Plus. Voldemort is talking to the snake. Nobody understands what they're saying, but the snake seems to be following his instructions."
"He talks to snakes?" asked Ron, dumbfounded. "That's creepy."
"I saw the snake myself, and..." Harry hesitated, remembering something he had forgotten. "And I saw him talking to the snake, and I...I..." Harry took a deep breath and said softly, "I even understood."
"You have what?" asked Ron, dumbfounded.
"If you understand Parseltongue, can you also speak it?" Hermione asked, frowning.
"When did you see the snake?" Ginny asked, concerned, putting her hand on his arm.
"When they kidnapped me to revive Voldemort," Harry replied in a toneless voice.
"While it's a rare gift, there's nothing wrong with being able to talk to snakes," Ginny assured Harry. "Last summer, I also had the feeling I could understand a snake I met in the garden at the Burrow. The snake's hiss sounded familiar but in the end...I thought I was imagining it." Ginny suddenly had an idea. "Maybe it can even be useful," she said. "On the new map, I discovered a snake living in the Chamber of Secrets. Maybe, it's the Basilisk. Look."
All four of them leaned over the map, peering at the spot Ginny was pointing at.
"Nathaira. Sounds creepy too," Ron muttered to himself.
"It's Gaelic and simply means snake," Ginny explained.
"And we have to kill the beast to get the basilisk venom," Ron stated.
"Yes," Harry replied, and he didn't sound very enthusiastic. Removing his glasses, he massaged his face.
"Do you have a plan yet, mate?" Ron looked at Harry with raised eyebrows.
Harry huffed and shook his head. "Not yet. But we have a few things to consider."
Ginny nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. First of all, we have to figure out how to get down there. We need to find the entries."
"We have to find something to protect us, or we'll be dead the moment the basilisk looks at us," Hermione interjected.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Not to mention how we could kill a basilisk."
"The cry of a rooster kills a basilisk," Hermione explained.
"Finding a rooster should be easy. Maybe the rooster at the Burrow is still alive," said Ron.
"Will Tom go down into the chamber again?" Ginny suddenly asked, chills running down her spine at the thought. "What do you think? He might seek out his old ally, the Basilisk. You said he'll be coming to Hogwarts soon. What else could he be up to there?"
"I'm afraid no one knows. But yeah, you have a point," Harry replied. "The question is if he knows the entrance in the Forbidden Forest. It would be easier and safer for us to take the entrance in the Forbidden Forest because those wannabe Death Eaters are spying around the castle."
"Yes, that's right," agreed Ron.
"But if Voldemort knows the entrance in the Forbidden Forest, he will certainly not enter the chamber through the girls' toilet. And..."
"And then he'll have the entrance in the Forbidden Forest guarded once he gets to Hogwarts," Ginny nodded, reading Harry's thoughts. "Perhaps the entrance is already be guarded."
"Exactly. This means we better go to the Chamber before Voldemort comes to Hogwarts," Harry confirmed. "Does anybody know when Malfoy wants to inaugurate the new Headmaster?"
"Probably sometime next week," Hermione said. "If the Prophet of the Day is to be believed."
"This means we still have a few days to figure out how to deal with the basilisk," Harry said, glancing at his watch. "Let's start planning tonight. But for now, I'd like to take advantage of the nice weather and do some flying."
"I love that idea," Ginny said with a big smile.
"Some fresh air sounds good." Hermione nodded. "I'll watch you fly a little, and then I need to take another look at the books again. I'm on to something interesting."
The next morning, Harry and Ginny met in the hallway on their way to breakfast. They had had a long discussion with Ron the night before about how they could best get into the Chamber of Secrets and how to protect themselves from the basilisk. Hermione, meanwhile, had sat over her books, occasionally throwing in a hint. But in the end, they had not come to a decision.
In the kitchen, they found Hermione talking to Dobby while buttering her toast.
"Good morning, Hermione," Harry said, smiling at her as he sat down.
"Did you make friends with Dobby?" Ginny asked as she took the seat next to Harry.
"Yes, a bit," Hermione replied thoughtfully. "It's interesting. He uses spells I've never heard of. Unfortunately, I don't have a book on house-elf magic with me. I would like to know more about it."
As footsteps on the stairwell announced Ron's arrival, Ginny noticed astonished Hermione blushing and glaring at her brother reproachfully while Ron mumbled a 'morning', apparently ignoring Hermione's presence.
"What's the matter with you?" asked Ginny, genuinely curious.
"Your brother should learn to knock," Hermione said in an accusing tone.
"And you should learn to lock the door when you shower," Ron replied.
While Harry tried to suppress a laugh, Ginny giggled loudly. "Good luck, Hermione. I'd appreciate it if you taught Ron to knock before entering. But it's probably easier to lock the door. I learned that pretty early...that is...unless you wanted to..." Ginny gave Hermione a scandalous look.
"Ginny," Hermione hissed disapprovingly.
"Did you at least apologize, Ron?" Harry asked, his lips twitching.
"I didn't get a chance," Ron replied grumpily, rubbing his slightly swollen nose. "She slammed the door before I realized the loo was occupied."
"Oh," Hermione's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I..."
"Me too," Ron replied, shrugging and staring at his plate.
In the silence that followed, everyone kept focused on their breakfast. Only Harry and Ginny exchanged an occasional glance and smirk.
When Ginny was done, Harry nudged her lightly, nodding in the direction of Hermione, who somehow couldn't take her eyes off Dobby and his activities in the kitchen.
"Dobby? May I ask you something?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
The house-elf turned to her, giving Hermione a toothless smile. "Of course. Miss Mione can ask Dobby anything."
"What was that spell, Dobby?" asked Hermione. "It was a magic spell, wasn't it? Even though you just snapped your fingers."
"That was a house-elf spell to keep the temperature constant," confirmed Dobby.
"Does that mean I can't do this spell because I'm not a house-elf?" Hermione asked sceptically.
"Yes," said Dobby with a serious expression. "This is house-elf spell. Miss Mione cannot do house-elf spells."
"Dobby's right," Ron interjected. "There are a lot of spells only house-elves can perform."
Hermione gave Ron a surprised look. "How do you know that?"
Ron shrugged. "My Aunt Muriel had a house-elf. I played a lot with her when I was little. She taught me a lot about house-elves."
"You played with Ricksy?" Ginny asked, surprised.
"Yeah. It was fun," Ron replied. "You didn't like Aunt Muriel and didn't want to visit her..."
"She was nasty to me," Ginny whispered to Harry. "But she always had a thing for Ron."
A scratching noise from the window made Ginny look up.
"It's Jolanta," Hermione called excitedly, jumping up to open the window. "She has the Daily Prophet."
The owl fluttered over to Harry and dropped the newspaper on the table.
Leaning over Harry's shoulder, Ginny peered at the headline.
Rabastan Lestrange elected Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot
"Bloody hell," Ron groaned. "He just broke out of Azkaban, and now he's Chief Warlock."
Hermione unfolded the newspaper fully and pointed to an article at the bottom of the page. "The Wizengamot will meet tomorrow to elect a new Board of Governors for Hogwarts. The candidate for the post of the new Headmaster is longtime Potions Professor, Severus Snape," she read aloud.
"Ha," exclaimed Ron. "Snape! I knew it."
"Does he really work as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix?" Ginny asked sceptically.
Harry pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know," he murmured, shaking his head. Sighing, he put his glasses back on. "Perhaps it is better if we don't tell anyone in the Order about the Horcruxes. Just to be on the safe side."
"Do you think Tom knows we have the Horcruxes?" asked Ginny. "As you know, Malfoy asked me where the diary was."
"I don't know," Harry said hesitantly. "Malfoy knows we have the diary and the cup. But does he know they're Horcruxes? Somehow, I doubt it. Voldemort wouldn't tell anyone what he did, not even Malfoy, who's desperately trying to return the two treasures to his master." Harry frowned. "But I have no idea if Voldemort misses the other Horcruxes. The diary and the cup are the two he apparently entrusted to Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, respectively. We found the cup in her Gringotts vault."
"I wonder why You-Know-Who doesn't show himself in public," said Ron.
"I asked Dumbledore the same thing, and I suspect it has something to do with him missing some or all of his Horcruxes," Harry said, shrugging. "Besides, he's got enough bootlickers to do the dirty work for him."
"Do you really think he will go to Hogwarts?" asked Ginny.
"Definitely," Harry replied. "Even Dumbledore thought he would try to go back there someday. It's where he learned magic, and this magic made him powerful. It's a place he still respects." Harry seemed to think for a moment before adding, "Taking over Hogwarts must feel like ruling over the magic for him, as if he's the true master of magic. The Ministry is just the place where his dirty work is done."
"When do you want to go to look for the chamber?" asked Ginny.
"I'll leave in the morning to be in the Forbidden Forest at dawn. I want to use the first light of day to find the entrance to the chamber," Harry replied, pursing his lips while giving Ginny a crooked smile.
"I'm coming with you," Ginny said with a firm voice.
"Are you sure?" asked Harry, worried.
"I am," Ginny replied. She'd been thinking about it for the past few days. She couldn't bear the thought that Harry was going down there alone; alone meant: without her. But there was something even more important... "I need to know that I was really down there in the chamber," Ginny explained. "I mean, I know I was there. After all, the map proves it, but I can't remember. I need to know what it's like there. I want those memories back."
Harry looked into her eyes searchingly and finally nodded.
"Of course, I'll come too," said Ron, giving Ginny a crooked grin. "After all, I have to take care of my little sister." With a more serious expression, however, he continued, "Even though I don't like the idea of you going down there." He raised his hands defensively. "Not just because Mum will give me hell if anything happens to you."
"You know it's dangerous?" Hermione asked, her eyes darting from one to the other.
"Hermione, you don't have to..." Harry began.
"That wasn't my question," Hermione interrupted him. "Of course, I'll come with you. I can't let you hot-headed Gryffindors go down there alone. Someone has to keep a cool head." At her last words, a tortured smile, a blush, and something that looked like fear fought on her face, but in the end, the smile won.
"All right. We'll leave in the morning," Harry said.
In the late afternoon, a visitor suddenly strolled into the living room. Mrs Weasley surprised the youngsters who were discussing the best course of action for the next day, except for Hermione, who offered an occasional hint but was otherwise hunched over her books. She'd said she wanted to verify something very important before leaving for Hogwarts in the morning.
"Good evening," Ginny's mother greeted them, looking around with a warm smile. "We finished our work at the safe house a bit earlier today and thought we could visit our children." She turned to Harry. "Harry, my dear. Would you be so kind as to pick up Arthur? He's waiting in the backyard of Grimmauld Place because he doesn't know yet where you live."
"Yes. Of course, Mrs Weasley," Harry replied and hurried off. "I just get my note with the address."
Ginny folded the Hogwarts maps lying on the table. As happy as she was to see her mother before leaving for the unknown in the morning, she wanted to avoid questions she didn't want to answer right now.
"Hi, Mum. Sit down," she said, moving a bit to make room for her mother on the sofa.
"I could make us some tea," her mother offered, looking indecisively towards the kitchen.
"No, thank you, Mum. Doing that, you would insult Dobby," Ginny explained and called, "Dobby!"
The house-elf appeared immediately, gave Ginny's mother a wary look and greeted her, "Good day, Mrs Wheezy. Dobby is glad to see you."
"Dobby, could you please make us some tea?" Ginny asked with a warm smile.
"Dobby likes to make tea for Miss Wheezy's guests," Dobby replied enthusiastically and disappeared again.
"I don't know...," Ginny's mother said hesitantly. "I don't want to offend your little Dobby, but I'm just not used to being waited on."
"Dobby likes it, and Harry pays him. He's proud to be here," Ginny explained.
"And you don't take advantage of him?" asked Molly cautiously.
"No, of course not. Hermione has a close eye on us to make sure we don't ask him too often for anything." Ginny giggled and looked up as Harry entered with her father in tow.
Arthur glanced around curiously, greeting everyone. "It's nice here," he said, taking a seat in the chair next to his wife.
As Dobby served the tea with scones and clotted cream, he said with a hopeful expression. "I is assume Harry Potter's guests will stay for dinner."
Harry looked around and said, "I'd be delighted..."
Arthur glanced over at his wife, who was looking at Dobby, obviously undecided. "I don't know... I don't want to cause any trouble..."
"Dobby likes having dinner guests. The more, the merrier," the house-elf replied, giving Mrs Weasley an innocent smile.
Turning to Ginny's father, Hermione asked. "Mr Weasley, does the Order know anything about the selection of the new Headmaster? We're not sure we can believe the Daily Prophet."
"Unfortunately not," the older man said, shaking his head with a sad expression. "Severus confirmed to Minerva that You-Know-Who wants him to become Headmaster. Severus is at Hogwarts most of the time. It seems since Dumbledore…." Arthur sighed. "Ever since Dumbledore's gone, Severus hasn't been called to report to Who-Know-Who. So we have very little news from there."
"And how about Professor McGonagall?" asked Harry. "Dumbledore has asked me to deliver an important message to her."
"I told her so," Mr Weasley replied. "But as I said, Minerva doesn't want to leave Hogwarts in the current situation while she is Headmistress, as Death Eater children are increasingly terrorizing other students. She will talk to you as soon as the Minister has dismissed her."
"And you really trust Snape?" asked Ron sceptically.
His father took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I'm not sure, but Albus always insisted on trusting him. Incidentally, Severus has informed Minerva that once he is Hogwarts' Headmaster, You-Know-Who will come to Hogwarts."
"That's what we've also..." Harry began, and Ginny quickly squeezed his hand.
"That's what we've assumed when we read that Professor Snape was going to be Headmaster," Ginny said quickly. "But we were also wondering why Tom...erm, You-Know-Who never shows himself in public."
"As long as he doesn't come out in public, there's less terror," said Ginny's mother, who obviously had a hard time talking to her kids about the subject.
"When was the last time you were at the Burrow?" asked Ron suddenly. "I hope we can go back home sometime."
"I was there with Bill the day before yesterday," his father replied. "We inspected the property to make sure everything was okay, to check if the windows and doors were closed and such. Bill deactivated some alarm charms someone must have set to find out when we're coming back."
"Are the chickens still there, or did they fly away?" Ginny asked with an innocent expression. When her father nodded in astonishment, Ginny said quickly, "I'm only asking because Mum would be sad when the chickens were gone."
"Yes, but we only let the chickens out of the coop during the day." Ginny's father smiled. "Bill installed a timer charm so the chicken coop door would close at night, and the fox couldn't eat the chickens."
Noticing Ron giving Harry a meaningful look and Harry nodding in reply, Ginny had the distinct feeling the two planned to pay the Burrow a visit after their parents had left.