I jumped for all I was worth, sweat was trickling down my face in rivulets and my breath was laboured and pained. Each move irked my side as my thigh smarted from the pain of learning to balance my new leg as I tried to move and jump and survive.
Another flash of spell fire and I hurled myself to the side, rolling on the floor until I sat up a few metres away.
For his part, Mr. Moody had not moved at all, he stood rooted to his position like an old oak tree, wooden and strong and lazily watching the goings-on of silly men. He flicked his wand almost absent-mindedly and the dusters around the chalkboard behind me came alive, sharp carnivorous teeth appeared at their ends and they lunged at me.
I threw a desk up to block them, but in that time, I made the cardinal error of turning my back on the real enemy. I yelped as my wand was angrily snatched out of my hand and I watched it fly through the air and land in Moody's waiting palm.
He glared at me as I breathed hard, collapsing down on the floor and massaging my thigh. The thirsty dusters fell to the floor lifeless a moment after.
"35 seconds. You're getting better."
I nodded as my blood boiled at the sheer humiliation of it. I knew I was only a partially-trained First-Year and he was a decorated Auror with decades of experience, but to be totally decimated in under 1 minute would itch anyone's sense of self. There was also the gnawing thought that there was no way I could ever stand up to Voldemort one day.
I had devoted myself so thoroughly to the mystery of the basilisk and the perpetrator behind it, I never considered the repercussions on my schooling and my ultimate purpose. There was no denying the fact now. I was falling behind.
"Up you get."
I slowly rose back up, my eyes glued to the floor.
"None of that lad, you have time, you will get better. This is training for mobility, not spell work."
I didn't have time, but one problem at a time.
I breathed out and turned up to face Mr. Moody who was looking at me with…what I assumed was a soft expression for him. I liked Moody because no matter what, he never once looked at me with pity. Having been through the same hurdles as me, he understood what that felt like and why I was driven to be fearsome, to some degree at least.
But today was the day I was going to finally ask him for the biggest favour yet. I had been biding my time, slowly gathering up the courage and the rapport to be able to ask this and it was now or never.
"Mr. Moody, I was wondering if you could help me with one other thing."
Moody was drinking from his private canteen while his magical eye remained trained on me. He swallowed and closed it up, returning it to the dark pockets under his robes.
"Go on."
"I was hoping you could take me back to…" I didn't know how to phrase it better, but honesty was the only way forward. "I would like to visit the Chamber again."
Whatever he was expecting, this was not it. He stared at me for a long moment and then nodded once.
He grunted.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
#
When we re-entered the secret entrance off the Grand Staircase, I expected, I don't know, something else. I had been absent for the aftermath of the Chamber business, but in the time I was away, the inner room had been completely refurbished. The zigzag snakes on the walls of the corridor were gone and the dead end was now replaced with a hole large enough for Hagrid to get through.
I followed Mr. Moody through that hole in the wall and into the inner chamber of mirrors with snakes writhing in them. Here too, a hole had been blasted through the ground that led to an underground walkway.
We emerged on the other side in short order and my breath caught at the casualness of it.
I had re-entered the Chamber of Secrets and it looked different.
The millennium of dirt, grime, dust and skeletons had been swept away. The floor underneath looked almost pristine in its cleanliness. The boulders had been moved back and restored, as much as possible, to their original places. The cracked statue of Salazar Slytherin remained imposing in the distance. Yet despite this, I felt the sense of death and danger - something that clung to the place as the echo of the beast's millennium-long hunger remained alive in some sinister way.
Now that I wasn't being chased by a homicidal XXXXX creature, I could appreciate that the Chamber was a light and airy room, there were, oddly, wind chimes strategically placed at high locations near the ceiling. Where the wind came from, I had no idea. They stood motionless.
There was not much else to see…I didn't know what I was expecting to see here to be honest. I thought the remains of the basilisk would still be here. But the body had already been shedding – desiccating – when I was pulled out of its-
Chocolate Frogs are-
"So what were you hoping to find here?"
I blinked, broken from my recitation by Moody's question.
I took one more look around the room and sighed.
"I- I'm not sure, Mr. Moody."
"Nothing, that's what. Ministry Aurors, top-notch curse breakers, historians and even a couple of ritualists have combed this hole top to bottom. There was nothing here. It's a glorified cage for the beast within, nothing more." There was a long pause and then Moody sighed. "Lad, I, more than most, understand some of what you might be going through at the moment, but reliving memories, it does no good. You went through something awful, but that's not the point. Do you know what the point is?"
I turned to him. My heart was thudding in my chest and my ears were burning. I hated being here, but it was taking every ounce of my concentration not to freak out.
"How do you mean?"
Moddy sighed. "The point, Mr. Potter, is that you survived. You jumped headlong into the belly of the beast, literally, and you lived to tell the tale. You saved your school and helped your friends and destroyed a threat that grown wizards five times your age would quiver in their boots to face. You made it to the other side and now, now the only thing left to do is move forward."
He really wanted me to understand this, truly. And a part of me desperately wanted to agree with him. But I couldn't. In my mind, I remembered that night when Suraj was crying his heart out and I patted his shoulder and I promised, I promised, I would bring justice for Kingsley. Until then, I couldn't - wouldn't - move on.
"Something on your mind, lad?"
I blinked and turned to Mr. Moody. Coming back to the Chamber was my last hope, the only shot in the dark that I had left and other than an ugly ruptured statue and motionless wind chimes, it had not amounted to much.
"I want to move on, Mr. Moody, I do. But- but the work isn't done yet."
Moody was silent, not frozen, but waiting- waiting for me to- to do something.
"I-I have to…" I sighed. "I know the Aurors have finished their work, but something was going on. Someone let that thing out and now Fred and Alicia are in the Hospital Wing and Kingsley and Filch are dead. Someone did that and we need to find out who." I paused for breath and finally looked Moody in the eye. "I need to find out who."
Moddy crossed his hands and eyed me with both his eyes. "Why?"
"Because- because a friend asked me to and I want to."
Another long pause followed. Seconds trickled by as Moody assessed me in that unnerving way he does. At last, he snorted and smiled, his vicious scars standing out even more making me wish he would go back to scowling.
"That's as good a reason as any, I wager. Well then, I'll help you."
I stared wide-eyed and unblinking. "You-you will?"
Moody chuckled. "You're a good lad, you sacrificed a lot and paid the price in full s'far as I'm concerned. And you're not wrong about the Auror investigation. Shacklebolt was popular in the department and there are many, many, who were very unhappy by the decision of the higher-ups to close this matter. Most of them would be more than willing to keep digging, even if it's on their own time. Many of them are."
I sputtered, not knowing what to say to that. "I-I had no idea, how- no, why not tell Suraj?"
Moody shook his head. "That's the wrong question. The right one is: what have we found out so far?"
I sucked in some air and then nodded. "What have you found out so far?"
Moddy chuckled once more and I felt like I could get used to the way his scars elongated and shifted when he was smiling. Still off-putting though.
"Let's get out of this disgusting hole and grab a cuppa."
#
I hugged them with all my might and they hugged me back. For once, the tears gathering in my eyes were tears of joy and I was not ashamed of them. It felt good to see them, warm and whole, alive and aware.
Fred Weasley leaned back from me as he disentangled a choking Alicia from my other arm's grasp.
"Let us breathe, Potter," he said with a smile.
I nodded and took a step back. My eyes were planted firmly on the ground, I couldn't look them in the eye.
"Harry," Alicia said, "you know what happened to us wasn't your fault, right?"
Two warm hands materialised on my shoulders from behind. Cedric leaned some weight on me, giving me his strength and his conviction. "Nobody blames you, Harry. Nobody. You did everything you could and they're fine."
"But Kingsley and Filch are not," I said. Nobody knew what to say to that. I shook my head and dispelled those thoughts. "Cedric, can you please tell Suraj to meet us in the room after classes today?"
"Why?"
"I have news."
#
I sat on a desk in the middle of the empty classroom. Alicia had gone back home to spend some time with her parents who were beyond overjoyed to have her back. She put up a weak fight, but I insisted that she go too. Not every one is lucky enough to have parents and those that do, should cherish them. She left without further protest.
Around me in a circle sat Cedric, Fred and Suraj. Fred and Suraj were eyeing each other, not sure what to make of the other, but they stayed silent as I gathered my resolve and told them what I had learnt from Mr. Moody.
"Someone high up in the Ministry ended the investigation as to who was responsible for letting out the basilisk." I started. "But the Aurors never stopped investigating and they've hit a dead end."
Suraj looked at me, hope blossoming in him for the first time since this whole bloody business began. "What do they know?"
I shook my head. "Not much worth telling, which is why they're leaving you and your Dad alone for now. They didn't want to cause more distress when they had no leads. All they know is that someone who can speak Parseltongue was roaming around the school controlling the basilisk. Someone who knew of the Chamber's existence as well as how to get in and out of the school unnoticed, even by Dumbledore. One of the reasons Dumbledore didn't fight his sacking as Headmaster is because he wanted to devote himself to this investigation. He's leading the charge unofficially."
Even though the news was hopeless, Suraj breathed out a sigh of relief. "They'll keep looking, won't they?"
I nodded and smiled. "Yes." I wished I had more to offer.
Cedric turned to Fred. "Have you spoken to the Aurors?"
Fred smiled but there was no warmth in it. "First thing Alicia and I did after waking up. Gave us a right fright it did to see them swarming around us, followed by my Dad nearly smothering me in a hug. Haven't seen him cry like that since…well, you know…"
Cedric grimaced and said no more.
Fred looked at me. "But there was something I didn't tell them. Couldn't tell them."
I tilted my head. "Go on."
"It was the Map. I was lurking about, watching the Map for Filch and Norris-" he paused and gulped. "Hard to believe the old nut is dead." He breathed out. "Right, I saw them on the edge of the corridor I was at and was making my way away from them. But then I saw you at the end of the corridor they were walking down. You were alone, so I was going to give you a heads up when I heard Filch yell and fall and then…" He shrugged. "Everything sort of went black and now here I am."
I furrowed my eyebrows and scratched my head. I glanced at Cedric who seemed equally perplexed.
"Did you see Harry alone? Just Harry? Not me?" Cedric asked.
Fred nodded with conviction. "It was Harry alone."
Three pairs of eyes turned to me and I felt hot under my collar.
"That makes no sense, I was with Cedric the whole time." I turned to Cedric and he made a sound of agreement. "When we found you and Filch, we were together and we came out from a shortcut passageway to cut across the floor. I was nowhere near you before you got petrified. We were- we were chasing the voice." The voice of the basilisk. The horror. How stupid had we been to chase that thing down on our own. I shuddered, not wanting to think of it any further.
Fred rested his chin on his palm. "The Map doesn't lie."
"That you know of," Cedric said, a little heatedly. "How much do you even know about that Map?"
Fred snapped his gaze at Cedric and was ready to fire back when Suraj stood up and all conversation halted. Throughout the exchange, he hadn't let his gaze waver from me.
"Can someone please tell me what this Map is about?"
Silence for a moment and then Fred pulled the parchment out of his robe pocket.
A few moments and a whispered incantation later, Suraj was staring blankly at the living Map of Hogwarts. "This is- this is extraordinary. I mean the rune and charm work alone is- wow." He whistled in appreciation.
For a moment, I saw a flash of the old Suraj and I welcomed the sight of it.
"Can you let me study this for a week?"
Fred seemed uncomfortable. "I'd have to ask George. It's not just mine to give away."
"Well, that's never going to happen then, is it?" Cedric shot.
"What does that mean?" Fred shot back.
"It means, Weasley, that after your attack, your brother has not exactly been kind to-" He eyed me and then spoke in a slower voice. "Harry was at St. Mungo's for months. We were scared. All of us. And your brother started a smear campaign against him, blaming him for your attack, for Dumbledore's sacking, for…"
This was news to me. "For what?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter."
"I think it does. What else did he blame me for?"
Cedric turned to Fred who turned to Suraj who looked pointedly above my head.
When it looked like nobody was going to answer, I felt anger rising within me. "I have lost a limb, countless hours of sleep and Merlin knows what else, the least you guys can do is be honest with me."
I turned to Fred and Suraj and Cedric followed my lead. It seemed he was forced into the position of being his brother's keeper.
Fred sighed and didn't speak for a long moment. Then, "Look mate, this isn't…" Another sigh. "Not many people feel like this, very few actually. There's this cult of Truthsayers."
I blinked trying to comprehend the words. I didn't interrupt.
"They believe that You Know Who is not the one who caused the Purge."
The temperature in the room rose a few degrees. I studied Suraj and Cedric and neither of them seem surprised by this. This cult then was widely enough known.
"Then who do they think caused it."
Fred sighed. "See that's where… they think your parents caused it. They think your parents knew that you were being targeted for some reason, this is where it gets nutty. Like you're some kind of chosen one. So they…they did some kind of ritual that backfired and caused the Purge when You Know Who targeted your family."
"That's…that's…"
Not entirely unbelievable. Voldemort killed all the children, which made no sense. He even killed the children of his own followers ensuring they would turn on him for good. But for my parents, for any parent, how far would they go to protect their child if a Dark Lord was after him? If they knew their child was the Chosen One?
"I know it's nonsense. I do, of course I know. Of course!" He said it a few more times for effect. "But Harry, there's lots of people, lots and lots of people who lost their children and their nephews and nieces, their grandchildren, their brothers and sisters. But you survived and it's-"
"I never asked to survive. Do you think I had any say in it? I was 1!"
Fred shook his head in denial vigorously. "No. Harry, I promise no. I just wanted you to try to see…Merlin I'm not explaining this well."
"Your brother is a Truthsayer then?" Cedric said, his voice low. But I knew him well enough to know that this wouldn't end well.
Fred sputtered and was silent.
"Was he the one who attacked Harry then?" Suraj asked the question hanging in the air.
"Attacked? No. He wouldn't do that. I mean, I would stop him if he ever tried. Believe it or not, I'm the good twin." He winked, trying to add some levity to the situation.
"And the good twin was petrified and in the Hospital Wing for months, ended up as a vegetable while trying to help the Boy Who Lived. What do you think a Truthsayer would do then?" Suraj said the words academically, without inflection, like he was solving a logic problem. "Someone who believed he lost his brother and sister to the Boy Who Lived and now lost another brother to boot?"
There was silence in the room.
I couldn't look anyone in the eye.
"I'm going to report this to Professor Sprout," Cedric said, standing up. "If there are other 'Truthsayers' working in the school, this should flush them out."
Fred stood up, his face red. "Hey now, you're not going to-!"
"He covered Harry in pig's blood and nearly infected his leg!" Cedric yelled, his voice rising several octaves, finally losing his calm.
Fred seemed horrified to hear that, but he held his ground. "My brother would never do that."
"Wouldn't he?" Suraj chimed in. "I've seen George architect some truly vicious pranks and that's when he was chasing laughs, not revenge."
Fred balled his hands into fists, ready to defend his brother. Cedric seemed equally sure.
I felt numb. But that numbness gave way to a consolidated will, a desire to do what needed to be done to nip this in the bud because I had bigger problems.
"Fred."
All three of them turned to look at me. Whatever they saw in my expression must have cowed them enough to end their bickering.
"I'd like to meet with your brother."
