Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter.

Chapter 11

A night later

Ariana readjusted the straps on her dragon-hide armour across her chest for the tenth time that night, dainty white fingers weaving in and out of the frayed and rough material in nervousness. She had recently come into a complete set of size-adjusting dragon armour while exploring the hidden depths of the Room of Requirement one night, and planned to use them to their full potential.

The leather cuirass she donned fit her body perfectly as ochre and midnight black threads interlaced into and out of one another along the curves of her torso, each one in a more curious pattern than the next. To complement that, a seemingly ancient pair of amber leather gauntlets was on the hands the same young girl, each one with a hidden history of bloodshed and war.

To the neophytic eye, these looked like discarded pieces of history, but the truth lay deeper as the old artefacts still thrummed with unseen power, capable of withstanding the most grievous of physical and magical assaults.

Ariana glanced to her side to look at her silent companion, an individual with a hard face and worry etched into both the irises.

"You ready?" she whispered, the noise softly echoing around the room.

Her ally gave a start and stared at her with piercing eyes. "Are you sure about this? All you need to do is open the door, and I can do the rest whi-..," her ally whispered back in a low voice, full of undisguised worry.

Ariana interrupted the speech with a low growl, noting internally that this was the fourth time she was hearing this.

"Albus, for the last time, I am seventeen… not ten," she murmured strongly with passion as she faced away from him to look at the surroundings.

"I have already faced this beast once before."

It truly was a dismal looking place in the night, Moaning Myrtles bathroom. A single sliver of moonlight that penetrated through the only window was the only source of illumination in the bathroom. Dirty and unused sinks and toilets that called this place home were yellowed and rusted from a lack of care.

Given the history of the place, it was a truly sombre tone for a sombre place.

It was around one in the morning when Ariana and Albus sneaked out to rendezvous, after a long and thought out plan on how to tackle the upcoming trial.

Albus, who still wearing his day robes, gave a deep sigh and pinched the top of his brow in exasperation. After some silent contemplation, he turned to face the stubborn girl who was crossing her arms in defiance.

"Very well," he acquiesced wearily.

"But if anything goes wrong with the plan, Fawkes will instantly transport you to safety, is that clear?" Albus continued strongly, with a voice that carried hints of emotion that Ariana could not decipher.

She slowly nodded back at the one person she could trust fully in this world. Clutching her yew wand tightly in her fist, they both then turned their attention back to the sink in front of them to the accursed entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

She then stared unblinkingly at the only sink in the bathroom that was engraved with a symbol of the snake on the tap and strained her mind, feeling something deep down stir restlessly within her.

"Open."

The harsh use of Parseltongue made Albus jump slightly, the unfamiliar sounds grating on his old heart as the sinks separated to reveal a black and forbidding hole in the floor. Albus recovered quickly and walked towards the gaping cavity, starting to stroke his long white beard thoughtfully.

"Fascinating… truly fascinating, the countless secrets that Hogwarts still possesses," he murmured as he started to bounce on the spot in excitement, his glasses bouncing on his face as he got into a jig.

The sound of a cleared throat broke his wonder and dance, causing him to look up and be greeted by the face of an amused girl with an eyebrow raised in curiousness at the sight.

Albus coughed sheepishly and readjusted his glasses, "Well, we have no time to waste do we?" he exclaimed brightly as he picked up two sentient objects up off the floor, which gave strong protests, and leaped down the hole without pause or a look back.

Ariana covered her face with her palm when she heard a faint whoop from Albus as he was sliding down the pipe, alongside the offended squawk of a rooster and the disgruntled cries of the sorting hat.

She took in a deep breath and looked at her hands as she stood alone in the murky bathroom, alone for all the world could care, as she prepared to jump down to join Albus.

"Would you look at that, my hands are actually trembling," she muttered to herself, an unnatural chill descending down her spine.

Ginny killed all the roosters in Hogwarts when she was possessed back in my second year. This time however, we have one. Even the sorting hat was brought for safety measures.

Ariana shook her head and banished all dismal thoughts out of her mind and leaped off the edge into the abyss with one final thought flooding her brain.

The cry of the rooster should kill the basilisk instantly. It should be easier this time … right?


The first time Ariana slid down this slide with Ron, she was screaming bloody murder from the sheer terror of the unknown. This time however, unlike Albus, who rode down with glee, she hurtled down in complete silence, every muscle tense, every sense heightened as she spiraled downwards on cold and slippery stone.

She made a noise in protest as she reached the bottom, colliding into something soft. She glanced up and realized that Albus has been waiting for her below with outstretched arms and was currently holding her up under her arms to avoid a fall on the sharp and jagged bones that littered the floor in abundance.

As Albus gently put her down, she knelt down and curiously studied the bones that she breezed past the first time she was here. Metacarpals, fibulas, phalanges and more were strewed around the place in a haphazard manner, each one telling a story different from the last, dictated by the scars that lay permanently etched upon them. She bent down and grabbed the nearest one and managed to prop it up with some effort.

The bone was clearly that of a large individual. It was a femur with the indentation of a large bite mark on it, and judging by the ball and socket joint at one end, it was roughly three feet and seven inches in length. That would make this individual most undoubtedly a half-giant or a young giant.

Ariana shivered as she let go of the bone, thinking of Hagrid's half-brother Grawp, who she met briefly in her fifth year. With gravity as its guide, the large bone fell back onto the remnants of what were once sentient creatures with a muted clatter, the still air deadening the propagation of the sound.

Albus waited patiently for Ariana to return to the task at hand, his countenance losing all traces of humour when the said girl finally turned towards him, a grim face returning his look in response.

"Let's begin," he instructed briskly as he began to clear some of the bones around them with his wand to expose the damp and spoiled blackened earth beneath them, an amalgamation of grime and clay that was discoloured by bodily fluids, blood and shattered bones.

"Exactly how I taught you, make sure not a single wand movement is off," Albus cautioned, stowing away his wand with haste back to from the deep folds of his majestic robes that had layers that seemingly never ended.

Ariana said nothing and clenched her wand tightly in her petite fist, gritting her teeth in preparation for the uncomfortable and unnerving experience this particular ritual gave rise to.

Albus strode with purpose away from the little circle of free earth he created and placed himself behind Ariana, positioning his warm wizened hands on her thin shoulders.

"Ariana, I will catch you when you fall," he assured with gentle calmness, his sky blue fixated past her onto the door on the other side of the dark and foreboding cavern.

It was akin to the high-security doors in Gringotts except that seven silvery snakes decorated it in a fan-like manner at an oblique angle, all of them pointing outwards from a florid albeit rusty hinge. The large snake skin that lay in-between both the subjects did not shock Albus as Ariana had warned him about it beforehand, but the sheer monstrosity of the size gave even the great Albus Dumbledore pause.

Ariana steadied her breath and pointed towards the clear patch of earth and began chanting words of power that strained her entire body with each passing word that passed through her red lips. With an upwards flourish, she began to wave her wand in a highly intricate motion, tracing out red and brown runes in the foul air.

After a minute of unblinking focus, she let out a gasp and fell backwards into Albus' waiting arms in unconsciousness, flopping like a marionette whose strings were just suddenly severed.

Albus looked proudly down at her drained face, her sallow complexion, and the large black bags under her eyes from the magical exhaustion.

"Well done my child, what you did – not many children your age could replicate… probably not even myself," he extolled softly with a full heart as he sat down cross-legged on the bones, not caring about the discomfort as he gently shifted her limp body onto his soft purple robe.

He waited for a couple of seconds and then glanced up towards the patch of cleared earth that lay before him and watched a lumpy shape slowly arise out of the ground, its brown exterior shimmering as it slowly morphed into a distinct humanoid shape.

The figure finally transformed into the recognizable shape of the young girl he was so dearly fond of, and gave a slight chuckle at the hacking cough it gave as it spat out some mud out of its earthen mouth. This was a ritual that was privy to few amongst the elders in the Wizarding community, to temporarily transfer your consciousness to a golem as your body remained safe and intact.

Ariana's coughing subsided as she looked down at her new form. It was a carbon copy of her original self, even down to the very last stray thread on her clothes, save being brown and entirely made of the filthy earth that lay down in the chamber.

She raised her hands and watched as the runs of mud in the hard creases of her hands coursed like mini-rivers on their way to her wrists. After examining her entire body and was satisfied with the results, she looked towards her own sleeping body as Albus protectively cradled it, akin to the way a mother wolf will shield her cub from a raging storm.

"Albus, I am going now," she croaked, the voice parched and scratchy from the lack of moisture in her current form.

Ariana picked up the sorting hat in one hand and the caged rooster that was magically silenced in the other. She felt them both shimmer and disappear from existence even though she could still feel them and looked over to Albus to nod in thanks for the powerful disillusionment spells.

Albus looked at her over his glasses at her seriously for a second.

"Remember, you can only return to your body if your golem is destroyed entirely or if ten minutes pass," he urgently reminded.

Ariana nodded again and turned away and walked stiffly towards the door that blocked their path. Once more she used the ophidian language that only direct bloodlines could inherit… save her.

"Open."

The snakes on the entrance suddenly sprung to life, their metal forms creaking and groaning as they slowly unlocked the door. A hiss of cool fresh air hit her face as the door sprung open. She rigidly walked through the door into the main chamber and climbed down a short ladder, hearing the door clang shut behind her.

As she shambled down the long path in the grotto, she spied pale stalactites full of limestone that hung ominously on the ceiling. Turning her head left and right, she was assaulted with memories of the past as both sides of her were dotted with large grey statues of snakes with their fangs bared, interspersed by numerous passageways.

She reached the end of the hall and gazed solemnly upon the exact spot where Ginny had once lain, a love interest that was all but lost now in this new world of hers.

Ariana then peered up at the colossal statue of a fierce head, and then towards the opening at its mouth, where a beast lay dormant until summoned with the right phrase.

Not wanting to waste precious time, she raised her raised her right arm as best she could and chanted the same phrase Tom Riddle had used once before, a long time ago.

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four!"

A low rumbling echoed through the cavern as the mouth of the statue slowly lowered to the floor, revealing an entrance that was so unnaturally black, that the dim light itself seemed to bend away from that particular spot.

"The gaze can't harm me in this form, so there is no reason to be afraid," Ariana murmured to herself in reassurance as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

A low hiss caused her to snap her head up in attention as she watched as a colossal snake around 40 feet long emerge from its lair and rear up using its powerful body in a sinusoidal manner to study the tiny creature before it. It was only slightly smaller than the last time she saw it.

It was a hideous creature by all standards. Green and grey scales overlapped each other in a grotesque fashion as spiked protuberances on top of its head resembled a thorny crown. The thing which stood out the most was the face. A twisted face which housed long, sharp yellow fangs that promised utter annihilation on whatever they came down upon.

The basilisk cocked its head to one side and narrowed its black eyes, sniffing the air before addressing the waiting creature.

"You are not my master, yet you speak the Ancient Tongue and know the incantation to summon me," it hissed in in confusion, its body twisting and rippling as it spoke.

Ariana said nothing but stood completely still where she was with mouth clamped shut, the hidden weapons ready in both hands to strike at the perfect moment.

The basilisk ignored her silence and brought its body closer to the ground, sliding lower across the floor towards her in curiosity.

"I smell traces of him on you, are you one of his brood?"

As the beast was slithering closer and closer, Ariana readied her items with a tightened grip, earthen breaths quickening in anticipation.

When the gargantuan snake was about ten feet away from her, she finally broke into action.

Now.

She dispelled the disillusion charms and the silencing charms off the caged rooster and brandished it towards the basilisk with ferocious intensity using her left hand.

"Your death will save millions," Ariana hissed in triumph as the crows of the magically amplified rooster resonated around the cave, causing small amounts of debris to rain down through widening cracks on the ceiling.

She expected the basilisk to curl up into its death throes the second it heard the sound, however, it seemed to just create indiscernible noises that resembled the harsh grinding of stone against stone which chilled her to the bone.

It was… laughing?

"Little creature, did you expect my master to not prepare for such a trivial matter?" It hissed in glee, rearing up and opening its mouth to display a terrifying row of fangs, its ears safely guarded by layers upon layers of dark magic.

Ariana widened her eyes in horror and quickly fumbled with her right hand in an attempt to draw out the Sword of Gryffindor through the hat. But not fast enough, as last thing she saw before the beast lunged at her were the desolate black pits of its throat.


Ariana's body sudden jerked up and heaved as she took frantic gulps of air to her own fleshy lungs once more, her golem form completely destroyed by the sheer strength of the basilisk in a single strike.

The panicked look on her face was enough to signify to Albus that something had gone wrong.

"Albus, it's immune to the cry of a rooster," she gasped as she struggled to maintain her breathing, grasping onto the front of his robes, "It's still in the castle, we need to cut off the exits points before it escapes."

Albus quickly pulled her to her feet and bellowed as loud as possible.

"FAWKES!"

The majestic phoenix appeared in a blinding flash of fire and perched on Albus' outstretched arm.

"Time is of the essence. Apart from this basilisk, I know of no other in the wild. It will not escape," he promised with a determined face. As he mentally gave Fawkes the locations of the pipes he needed to be teleported to, he turned back to Ariana with slight fear etched in his face.

"If the small chance that beast comes up here… if it is truly your last hope… use your necklace to escape," he faintly instructed, avoiding eye contact with her.

Before Ariana could react, he vanished alongside Fawkes in a burst of flame, the floating embers of feathers floating to the ground like flakes of snow, showering onto everything.

She reached for her neck and gently traced the outline of her pendant that was given to her as a safeguard with her index finger as she mused internally.

Why is he so deathly afraid of this necklace? Isn't meant to take me somewhere safe?

She held it up against a ray of light that shone into room, watching the light reflecting of it in a multitude of angles as she twisted it around in the air, theorizing on places of where it led to.

Before she knew it, Albus had appeared beside her again in a flash, but this time it was accompanied by the the feeble cry of an animal, the strangled cries of a dying phoenix.

"Albus, what happened?" Ariana yelped as she frantically knelt down beside the fiery bird that was writhing on the floor of bones, stowing her necklace back under her armour.

Albus ignored her and watched patiently as the thrashing phoenix finally burst into flames and gradually vanish from sight into a pile of ash. He then gently scooped out the chick that was reborn out of the glowing ash and deposited it slowly within the magically expanded pockets of his robes.

Only then did he turn back to the waiting girl, and gave a sigh before talking.

"We encountered the basilisk on the very last pipe we had to seal up. Although Fawkes was bitten, he managed to scratch out one eye while he bought me enough time to block off the final exit," Albus summarised as stood up, brushing off ash from his robes.

"Now, you climb back up while I finis-"

Ariana clicked her tongue in annoyance, furrowing her eyebrows as she interrupted him.

"Do you really have that little faith in me Albus?" she snapped as she crossed her arms, daring him to argue. "There are certain areas that require Parseltongue to access, and I know how the basilisk moves in combat since I have fought it before."

Albus remained silent for a second and then gave a small smile as he looked into shining green eyes that shone with unadulterated emotion.

"You certainly have your father's spirit and your mother's cleverness," he murmured to himself, lost for a moment in his memories of James and Lily's escapades during the last five years.

His visage then hardened and pulled out the Elder Wand with a flourish from his robes and motioned to Ariana to do the same with hers.

"Very well, but stay close to me. I have a plan," he commanded in a no-nonsense tone.

As they headed once more into lair of the wounded beast that was seeking vengeance, they both knew that it was the key to defeating its master for good, and there was no turning back this time.


A/N: Sorry about the hiatus! Will be resuming updates again! Thank you all for your support:)