Author's Note: Rpeh on the beta work
Chapter 14
Harry walked down the hallway. He peered around each corner, wondering why he was bothering as if it was the basilisk, it wouldn't make much difference how careful he was. He tried to hiss a greeting. The snake, if it was there, was not responsive.
"Did you think that would work?" Circe asked as she fell into step next to him.
"Do you have a better idea?" Harry asked.
"Find Euryale and let her seduce the damn thing out of our hair?" Circe asked.
"Interesting idea. How about we shelve that for now and worry about the more immediate future? One hopefully free of petrification or death," Harry said.
"Fair enough," Circe responded. Harry noticed she was holding her eyes half shut, ready to snap them closed at any moment. He wondered if that would actually be an effective defense. He figured it would work, as long as she had some type of warning. But the same could be said of closing her eyes regardless of how open they were to start.
He could feel her tension and her nerves as they moved through the hallway. He wondered if he should even be afraid of a basilisk, given that he knew a great deal more about magic than he'd have dreamed of during his second year at Hogwarts when he'd last encountered, well, what might be this very one. Hell, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, he knew more about using a sword, too. He certainly knew far more about the creatures than he had then. And he thought he knew ways to counter it.
But no clever thoughts of how to deal with it sprang forth in his mind. He figured he could throw a ton of power at it and hope for the best. As he thought of that, though, a nagging sensation in the back of his mind told him that would not work as a solution to his current predicament.
He spared another glance at Circe, taking stock of her tense muscles and general caution and figured he might be wise to take a similar approach. If she was afraid of the creature, there had to be a reason for it. And being cocky in this situation could cost him his life, so he figured adopting her more cautious approach might be wise.
The problem was that caution annoyed him. So, his 'cautious approach' only lasted until he reached the three bodies and his brain started to catalogue the scene before him.
There were two boys and one girl. The girl and one of the boys were petrified. The second boy was missing a leg and had a multitude of bite marks on his body.
The corpse was the closest of the bodies. Harry knelt down next to it and examined it. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for.
"Venom got this one," Harry said.
"Probably," Circe agreed. "He's hungry. I'm surprised he didn't take the whole body."
"Maybe he did," Harry said. Circe frowned and nodded.
"We'll have to get a count of the students," she said.
"Do you recognize any of them? I don't think they were in any of my classes but I've been working mostly with the younger students," Harry said.
"I think those two were in one of mine," Circe said. She let her voice trail off as Harry turned his attention to the petrified students.
It was fairly clear they'd been interested in taking advantage of the fact that most of the students were at the feast and they could use the time to be alone and unbothered with less of a risk of a wandering adult. The girl's robes were pushed off her shoulders, exposing her breasts. She wore a look of surprise and it looked like her arms were making their way back to cover her body. He resisted the urge to conjure something around her body, figuring he should leave the scene undisturbed for the moment.
The boy, for his part, looked confused. His own robes were loose and didn't appear to be that far from joining the girl's. But Harry gave him some bonus points for the fact that he appeared to have been petrified while in motion to try to protect her.
Harry looked in the same direction as the two petrified bodies and scanned the hall for anything of note. A few of the suits of armor looked particularly polished and the moon shimmered off a freshly cleaned window.
"They must have looked that way and saw it," Harry said. Circe turned her gaze in the same direction and nodded. But someone else screamed before he could respond.
"What is this!?" Professor Warbeck yelled.
"At least three students were attacked," Harry said as calmly as he could manage as he turned his attention to the professor.
"What did you do?" the professor demanded.
"Nothing," Harry said. "I found them like this. They were attacked by a basilisk."
"A basilisk, inside Hogwarts? Utter nonsense!" Professor Warbeck said. "You must have had something to do with it!"
"We didn't," Circe said. Professor Warbeck's eyes shot over to her and his lips curled into a frown as Harry could tell he debated if he wanted lump her in with Harry or not. It seemed fairly obvious that Circe was making an impression on him.
"Oh my God!" Lida Spore shrieked as she came running up behind them with Elric Silverberry. She skidded to a halt and bent over to catch her breath. Elric rushed past Professor Warbeck and stood next to Harry.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"They attacked three students!" Professor Warbeck yelled.
"Don't be daft," Lida gasped through ragged breaths. Harry figured it wasn't the best time to make a joke about doing more cardio.
"They're standing here with three dead bodies!" Professor Warbeck continued shouting.
"Only that one is dead," Harry said, pointing toward the corpse. "These two are petrified."
"You're right," Lida said. She looked toward the girl and then summoned a thin shift to her and levitated it over the girl's body, letting it rest gently down on her.
"It's not like that's any different than being dead," Warbeck snapped. "And the fact that you can discern the difference only makes you look more guilty."
"You might want to watch your damn mouth, Professor," Harry said.
"Excuse me?! How dare you!" Warbeck snapped. He was growing an interesting shade of purple that Harry hadn't seen since the last time he'd argued with his uncle.
"If I wanted three students dead, you'd never find the bodies," Harry said calmly. He continued to examine the petrified students. He could feel their magic locked inside them. He wondered if he could use it to counter the curse. But given that he knew there was a cure for petrification, he figured it was probably safer to not try.
"Boy!" Warbeck yelled. Harry's eyes shot to the professor and the man froze.
"Phyllida," Elric started, his eyes widening and his voice cracking as he looked at the Potions Professor. "He just petrified Professor Warbeck. He might have actually done this."
"Don't be silly, Elric," Lida said, putting the emphasis on his name as if telling him to stop using her full name. "They were both at the party with us. We were moments behind them. We'd have felt or heard something if either of them did anything. Although…what exactly did you do to Professor Warbeck?"
"He's in time-out until he can behave," Harry said.
"I think I'm going to have to reprimand you for, well, something. You're not supposed to use magic against others like that. You should let him go."
"It'll wear off in fifteen minutes or so," Harry guessed, not actually caring if it would wear off at all.
"He isn't wrong either. There's not much we can do about someone who's been petrified. There was a scare about fifty years ago in Hogsmeade and the villagers never recovered. They still aren't sure what happened to them," Lida said.
"It can be reversed with a fairly easy, well, actually I'm not sure," Harry said, his eyes shifting over to where Circe was examining the bite marks on the corpse.
"The potion isn't very difficult," Circe said. "Getting mature mandrakes in time is the most difficult part."
"In time?" Harry questioned.
"Mandrakes?" Lida asked.
"Human petrifications become permanent after ten to twelve months. Sometimes fourteen," Circe explained.
"I've never heard of a potion that can restore something like that," Elric said.
"Mandrakes?" Lida asked again, her tone growing more alarmed.
"Yeah," Harry said.
"They're far too dangerous to have at a school! I don't want to have them anywhere near the greenhouses. Their cry kills people!" Lida argued.
"I'll grow them then," Circe scoffed. Lida's eyes narrowed.
"I'm the botanist here," she said.
"And afraid of growing the only plant that will save their lives," Circe shot back.
"Fine! But Mandrakes? Really?" she asked.
"Yes. It's a simple draft. The hardest part of it is chopping up the mature mandrakes and stewing them for the eighteen consecutive hours it takes," Circe said. "But once it's done it'll reverse most curses of this nature. It can take a bit longer if they've been frozen longer, but it will work as long as there's still some magic left."
"Fascinating," Lida said. She raised her wand and a moment later an almost comically large notebook with a quill stuck between the pages came zipping through the hallway. She caught it and flipped through the pages. Harry moved over toward her finding the scene to be curious.
She stopped slightly over halfway on one marked '667 – Mandrake' and Harry saw a crude drawing of a mandrake and a few scribbled notes. She added some more to the bottom about the possibility of being used in a restorative draught and then snapped the book shut.
"But what do we do with them?" Elric asked, gesturing to the bodies.
"Get them to the infirmary," Harry said.
"We'll have to contact the parents as well," Lida sighed. "His father is a viscount, I believe."
"So, the Headmaster might have to actually come out of his office," Elric scoffed.
"We'll have to try to talk him into it, yes. Whether or not he's responsive to the idea will be another conversation," Lida said.
"It's weird I haven't met him," Harry added. Lida frowned.
"He's not in very good health," she said. "It can be difficult for him to be around crowds, or people in general."
"It's best if he's left alone. Professor Fletcher is an earl, isn't he? Perhaps he can help," Elric added.
"Maybe he can. I'll make sure she's properly dressed before her parents come. No need to ruin the poor girl," Lida added. She moved the conjured sheet and started to attempt to shift around the clothing.
"Can you ruin a peasant?" Elric asked. Both Lida and Circe glared at him but he seemed rather oblivious to it as he went about moving the bodies of the two boys.
"Elric, we treat all the students equally," Lida scolded. Which, given the flood of power Harry felt from Circe as thoughts of pigs filled her mind, was probably the best the man could hope for.
"Sorry," he said, not sounding bothered one way or the other. "What are we going to tell them anyway?"
"To me it looks like he found them in a compromising position and reacted poorly. Probably out of jealousy. Weren't the two of them from the same village? Anyway, they seem to have fought and he petrified the two of them while one of them murdered him," Lida said. Harry arched his brows as she finished speaking.
"That isn't what happened," Harry said.
"Can you prove otherwise?" she asked. "It's the most logical explanation. And there is a giant mistake every few years. It's the nature of being surrounded with power while being a teen."
"I'm surprised it doesn't happen more," Elric added.
"It was a basilisk," Harry said.
"Again, can you prove that?" she asked. "I don't mean to be dismissive but if there were a loose basilisk around the school, I feel like we'd have much bigger problems than we do. And that we'd be in far more danger."
"Maybe we are," Harry said. But he knew it was pointless, he was going to lose the argument so he didn't feel like having it any longer. Instead he watched as Elric and Lida levitated the bodies and prepared to move them to the infirmary. Harry watched, his expression unreadable as he found it concerning that both of his colleagues were so efficient at covering up a scandal. Almost as if it was a common occurrence.
"I suspect you'll want to be out of here before Professor Warbeck wakes up," Lida added. "But don't think this gets you out of a reprimand. I'm sure he'll give me an earful in the morning and I'm going to take my frustration at having to listen to him out on you."
"Right," Harry sighed. He shook his head and turned to Circe, figuring that she had to be on the same page about their next step as it felt altogether too obvious. He nodded toward one of the corridors that contained stairs to the second level. "Shall we head there then?"
"Where?" Lida asked.
"Let's go," Circe said.
"The second-floor lavatory. The Girls' one," Harry said, not sparing a glance back at Lida as he and Circe fell into step
"There isn't one," Lida said.
"Excuse me?" Harry stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"There isn't a girls' bathroom on the second floor," Lida said, confusion evident in her tone. She paused for a moment before adding. "There aren't any bathrooms on the second floor."
"What?" Harry asked. He could feel Circe tense near him. Out of the corner of her eye he saw her glance shift to him, confusion with a hint of fear evident in her eyes, before she looked back at Lida.
"I don't know how to make that any clearer. There isn't a bathroom on the second floor. Well, unless you're Elric and decide to just go in a corner and vanish it," Lida said.
"Oh, come on that was one time. On a dare!" Elric countered. Lida shrugged as if that detail was irrelevant to her conversation. Harry figured it best to not think about her words for any longer than absolutely necessary. He pondered if Circe would be willing to wipe that memory from his head. He figured she would as long as he returned the favor.
"Really?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation in any other direction.
"Really," she said. "And if you think it's a basilisk, wouldn't it be wise to have more than the two of you?"
"We'll be fine," Circe said. Her eyes flashed to the frozen Professor Warbeck. The professor's shoulders were twitching as the spell started to fade away. Circe paused for a moment then reached out and tugged on Harry's sleeve. He got the message and they continued walking toward the corridor.
It wasn't until they were out of earshot that Harry decided to speak.
"Do you know more about this time than you're letting on?" Harry asked. He already knew the answer but he thought it might be worth seeing how honest she was willing to be with him.
"Some," she said. "But I don't think as much as you're assuming."
"Oh?"
"I know when we are. But I'm sure you've figured that out by now. I know who we're here with. But I'm sure if you cared you'd have figured that out as well. I've got a better idea for the history than you, I suspect," Circe said.
"And were there rumors of the Chamber of Secrets from this era?" Harry asked.
"Not that I can recall," Circe said.
"Doesn't it feel a bit odd that we'd be sent here if the basilisk was the problem given that, well, we've both dealt with it already in our lives?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure that's the right question."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe we have to do something to ensure we deal with it later in our lives," Circe said.
"So, we're not supposed to just kill it?" Harry asked. The second he said the words something felt off about them. A force he couldn't quite understand or place rang through his mind that killing the creature was a monumentally poor idea. He noticed Circe took the moment to peer over at him.
"Does killing it feel right?" she asked.
"I guess not. But I'm still not sure what the point is then," he said.
"Either am I," she said. "I'm just saying that we might want to have more of a plan than to attack him."
"Him?"
"I called him Asclepius because I thought that was clever of me. I don't think he had a name before me. At least not one he mentioned to me," Circe said.
"How did you find it, anyway? Were you looking for the chamber?"
"No."
"I don't believe you."
"Well, I wasn't. It's a much less interesting story than that. I noticed the markings on the sink in the restroom, got it to open, and found the creature," she explained. Harry couldn't help but think there was more to the story.
"That is remarkably lame," Harry said.
"I'm aware. It was weak and I think dying. I think it was recovering from something but it wasn't vocal enough to explain to me just what that was. I kept my distance from it and nursed it back with some restorative drafts and food. He was aimable enough but…"
"But?"
"Once he was strong enough he ignored my protests and broke out of the chamber. He killed Myrtle before I managed to use the Imperius curse to dominate him back," she said.
"And then you blamed Hagrid."
"I did," she admitted. "It seemed an easier solution. And it got that hideous spider out of the school."
"A bit hypocritical don't you think?"
"Yes. But it was about survival," she shrugged. Harry felt himself grow infuriated by her words. He had to force himself to take a few deep breaths to not snap about the casual disdain she showed for Hagrid. There was something almost clinical about her tone. She should have felt something more for ruining his life. But it didn't seem that she cared in the least.
He opened his mouth as he lost the battle about snapping at her. At least until something about her expression startled him. It was contemplative. He could sense confusion from her. And that she was only stating facts as best as she could recall them.
He thought of what exactly it meant to have two people bounding around in that pretty head of hers. As she chewed on her lip he got the distinct feeling that Circe and Emily weren't in full agreement on their past actions. He figured the best course of action was to let her argue with herself about it rather than putting in an opinion.
"You never opened the chamber after that?" he asked.
"I didn't."
"What were you even trying to do with a basilisk?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said. Harry raised his brows at her.
"You don't know?"
"I don't. Every part of me knew I was being stupid and that it would almost certainly end poorly. But I assumed it would end with me being killed and not someone else. And I couldn't resist the glory I thought would come from taming Salazar Slytherin's pet. I was young and dumb," Circe said.
"Yes, you were," Harry nodded. His companion's brows shot upward as she glared at him.
"Don't make me start listing all of the stupid things you've done," she said.
"I don't blame others for them," he commented. Which had the desired effect of snapping her mouth shut. It also earned him another pointed glare as she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. But before she could comment, they arrived at the second floor corridor.
They both paused exactly where the bathroom should have been and stared at the blank stone wall.
"Well shit," Circe said.
"We had to know she'd be right," Harry sighed.
"I was hoping there would be some type of clue," Circe responded.
"That would have been nice," Harry said.
"It's all just solid wall," Circe frowned. She reached out and traced her fingers over the stones.
"Well, we know the chamber is there somewhere," Harry said.
"Except that we don't," Circe responded.
"Yes we…shit," Harry said as it dawned on him. "The castle changes."
"The castle changes," Circe agreed.
"What do we do then?" Harry asked. They were both just starring at the wall of the corridor, lost in their own thoughts. Circe took a deep breath before she spoke.
"Be creative, I guess," Circe said.
"Well, my first thought is blowing a hole in the floor to see where it leads," Harry said. "But I have the strangest idea that isn't what you have in mind by being creative."
"No. It wasn't. But if you're going to do it, I think I'll watch. It should be entertaining," Circe said.
"Make sure you catch me when the floor collapses," Harry teased as he focused his eyes on the floor as he started an elaborate hand motion that he knew wouldn't do anything. Circe rolled her eyes on him.
"You have to know I'd let you fall," she said.
"I don't think you would."
"I would."
"Well, fine. But if my idea is out, I'm sure you'll have a better one? Otherwise I'll have to get drastic and who knows what I'll come up with if left to my own devices," Harry said.
"I'm going to research everything I can find in the era about the Founders and a basilisk," Circe said.
"How will that help? We already know about both of those things."
"Maybe something important was lost to time. Maybe I'll find something interesting. Maybe it will merely give me something to do with my times other than ignore Warbeck's incessant attempts at flirting and teaching remedial potions to imbeciles," Circe said.
"The students aren't that bad," Harry said.
"Yes, they are," Circe said. "They make the version of you that showed up on my island look like a savant."
"The version of me that was kidnapped and dragged to your island," Harry countered.
"And it takes them far too long to brew anything," Circe said, pointedly ignoring his aside. She raised her brows and challenged him to make another comment along those lines. Part of him wanted to. The verbal back and forth amused him and he was enjoying the argument of it all.
But, on the flip side, he was tired. It felt a bit early for it. But he'd found the early mornings, the exercising, and the planning and teaching of lessons to be a bit more tiring than attending the school had been. His fourteen-year-old self would have found the earlier bedtime laughable. Of course, his fourteen-year-old self could have very well been half his current size, so he would have almost certainly kept his opinion to himself.
Of course, that brought back odd memories of his cousin. Really, he'd had the occasional thought of Dudley ever since he'd started taking boxing lessons with Silverberry. Those thoughts often turned to the amusing notion of getting into a fight with his cousin now. And in his thoughts, he won those engagements quite easily. It was almost worth it to think of arranging a meeting with his cousin whenever he got back to his time.
That would be a pointless waste of time. He knew someone like Dumbledore or Sirius, or even Hermione, would tell him that there was no real reason to carry any animosity toward someone like Dudley Dursley. That the worst punishment he could do would be to ignore him and the Dursleys. To make them all feel as if they didn't matter, and that they were incapable of crushing him despite their best efforts during his childhood.
But they weren't the only mentors he'd spent time with in the last year and a half. He wondered for a moment what his more recent teachers would think of his family.
Seth's response was easy to picture. A blank stare and a shrug of his shoulders along with some commentary on how he was responsible for his own actions and if he thought that was the best course to take that he would be responsible for any consequences there might be. He'd almost certainly start on some long-winded analogy that didn't actually go anywhere or make any sense, and probably wound up somehow related to food and when it was all said and done Harry would have forgotten what the intended purpose of the conversation should have been.
Circe, however, was harder to judge. A few months ago he would have put her in the camp that ignoring the Dursleys was the best course of action. But now, given what he'd learned about her, he doubted that would be her reaction.
"You still with me?" Circe asked. While he was still staring ahead at the wall, she'd started to leave the corridor. It took him a few steps to catch up with her.
"Yeah, lost in thought," he said.
"Hopefully thinking of something helpful."
"Not really. Can I ask you something random?"
"Go ahead."
"Would you seek out and harm people from your past that wronged you?" he asked. Circe blinked at him.
"You don't know me very well, do you?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe I don't," Harry said.
"Scylla. Glaucus. Both Tom Riddles," Circe said. "Both versions of me don't have a very good track record of letting things go."
"How is it?" Harry asked. He did his best to not look at her as they walked back through the corridor. He could sense that she was looking away from him as well. It took her a few steps before she answered.
"Empty," she said.
"So, you wouldn't advise it?"
"Do what you want to do," Circe shrugged. "It's a thrill when you do it. It's electric when you succeed. It's not until after that it feels petty, worthless, and unnecessary."
"I see," Harry said.
"People are different," Circe continued. "If you think you need to do something like that, then do it. You won't know how it is until it's done. But if you're able to let it go, well…I spent a very long time wishing I'd been able to do that."
"I'm sorry," he said.
"For what? It wasn't your fault. As far as I'm aware you weren't the impulsive young girl furious at the world and willing to do anything at all to get what she wanted, damn the consequences," Circe said. Harry knew that those consequences had been far greater than she'd ever been able to anticipate. He wondered if she'd have really had to face them. It wasn't like there weren't ways for her out of it. He wasn't sure if it was just a general stubbornness or if, perhaps, she felt like she needed some sort of punishment for it all.
It wasn't until they were making their way back to the staff hallway that he spoke again.
"If you're going to research, well, the past, what should I do?"
"Investigate," Circe said.
"Any clues on where to start?"
"You could walk around the castle and hiss at things until you get a response."
"Do you think that would work?" Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"No. But it will amuse me."
"Any suggestions that are, you know, helpful?"
"Flirt with the chatterbox that wants you to fuck her and see if she knows anything about the Chamber of Secrets?" Circe suggested.
"Excuse me?"
"Miss Spore," Circe added.
"I gathered that. I don't think she wants to have sex with me," Harry said.
"You'd be wrong," Circe said.
"She's engaged," Harry countered.
"I wasn't aware that affected libido," Circe deadpanned.
"Are you jealous? Is that why you're so antagonistic to her?"
"I'm not at all."
"Yes you are."
"I find her annoying," Circe admitted. "I don't think I've made a secret of that. She needs to be gagged."
"You're blushing," Harry teased. Circe's eyes narrowed. He could feel magic rising in her. He could sense a transfiguration on the tip of her tongue. He raised his own brows at her, daring her to try it. He thought he could resist it. He brought his magic forth to shield himself but in an instant hers faded away.
"I'm going to my room now," she said, turning away from him and reaching for the door.
"Can I join you?" he asked. She froze and slowly turned over her shoulder to look at him. Her eyes were wide, her expression more alarmed
"Just what are you asking?" It took Harry a moment to realize why she'd looked so alarmed about that. About what she'd been referencing and just what his words could imply. He felt the flush rise to his cheeks as it occurred to him.
It was an appealing thought, really. She was beautiful, no one would question that. And she was intelligent, had a sense of humor when she wanted to, and he'd spent a great deal of time with her. But even if he'd fantasied about that she had tried to kill him. And she almost certainly thought of him like a child.
"I, uh, wanted to continue our conversation," Harry stammered. Circe relaxed as he got the words out, but her expression didn't soften.
"Go to bed," she ordered. "The snake will keep until morning."
"Maybe I will," Harry said, knowing full well that given she'd just told him to, he certainly would not. Her only response was to nod at him and enter her room. He stood in the hallway for a few moments before turning on his heel and walking back down the corridor.
He wasn't quite sure what exactly he should do. But he knew he'd accomplish nothing by doing nothing. He figured he may as well accomplish something by doing something. In his mind, that sentence made way more sense.
He regretted his decision almost immediately. He found Silverberry arguing with Professor Nash and Professor Warbeck. They pounced on him as soon as he emerged. Elric gave him an apologetic look as the Professors accused him of various nefarious activities.
Warbeck didn't mention that Harry had frozen him with a look. Which Harry had to admit felt odd to him. But he guessed it made sense that Warbeck didn't want to admit that someone much younger than him had rendered him helpless with nothing more than a look.
He gave them fifteen minutes of his time. That was all he could tolerate. Once they left a gap in their scolding he cut in. It was a rather short conversation. He told them in no uncertain terms that he'd had nothing to do with the fates of the students. And if they didn't believe him, they could meet out on the grounds and settle it.
The older men both looked shocked at his proposal and stammered over each other. He didn't bother trying to figure out what it was and instead continued by saying that he was going to find what hurt the students, deal with it, and fix the ones that were petrified.
The way he saw it they had two options. They could help. Or they could stay out of his way.
He didn't bother waiting for an answer. He stalked off down the closest hallway. Part of him expected them to follow him and continue their lecturing. But the heavy footsteps that followed after him were not those of the two professors.
"Wait," Elric said. Harry slowed his steps until the Gryffindor was at his side.
"What?" he asked.
"If you really think there's a basilisk loose in the castle would being alone be safe?" Elric asked, repeating Lida's argument from earlier.
"I'll be fine," Harry said, repeating Circe's excuse.
"No offense but I care more about my own well-being than I do yours," Elric said.
"I'm sure you'll be fine too."
"I hate snakes," Silverberry said. "I came across a gorgon in an empty classroom once and nearly died of fright."
"A gorgon? In the castle?"
"I mean technically it was a boggart, but you know," Elric explained with a shrug of his shoulders. Harry couldn't help himself, he chuckled as he continued down the hallway without a destination in mind.
"Fair enough," he said. "I suspect seeing one would freak anyone out."
"Anyway, the thought of a gigantic serpent slithering all around the castle doesn't sit well with me. But you'd think someone would have noticed something before. I mean it can't be that easy to hide," Elric mused. Harry had to admit he had a point. But, then again, in theory he knew where it was hiding. Which at least warranted one question.
"Have you ever heard of The Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.
"No. What's that?" Elric responded. Harry paused and wondered how much truth he should put into his next sentence.
"It's rumored that Slytherin created a secret chamber in the castle where he stored a basilisk he bred. And that his heir would be able to control the creature," Harry explained.
"Who said that?" Elric asked.
"Does it matter? It's a rumor," Harry said.
"Well, it's kind of dumb, don't you think?" Silverberry asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Why would anyone do any of that? I mean I guess I can see having your own secret sanctum in the castle. I can at least see that being a benefit. But if you were going to do that why would you put a gigantic deadly animal in it? And why would someone who devoted a good portion of his life to the wellbeing of the school and its students put such a creature in said school?" Elric asked.
"The rumor is that he wanted to use it to get rid of Muggle Borns," Harry said.
"The whole six of them in the school?" Silverberry responded with more than a hint of sarcasm. "Not doing a good job of that considered the three students in question were all Purebloods."
"I don't know it's just a rumor," Harry said.
"Not one worth spreading further, I think. Anyway, the news spread fairly quickly through the castle. I was on my way up to Gryffindor tower when I ran into the Professors. I should go and at least explain to them that Dunstan and Euphemia should be able to recover. Maybe see if anyone of the students knew of a feud or anything."
"Good idea. I should do the same with Hufflepuff," Harry said.
"I think Phyllida beat you to it," Elric said.
"Then I should see if she needs any help," Harry said.
"Fair enough. Good luck."
"You too."
"Oh, and Harry? If it is a Basilisk. And you find it. Well, let's just say I'm always game for a good hunt."
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said as they continued on their separate paths. He didn't have much of an intention of actually talking to Hufflepuff students. But it was the direction he was going so he continued down that way.
It did present at least one interesting opportunity, though. As he quickly realized that the common room was underground, which, in theory, put him closer to the chamber. He took longer than necessary to walk toward the Hufflepuff common room, letting magic guide him as much as it would allow.
Nothing stood out to him as unusual as he continued on his way. In hindsight, he should have probably started his searching in the dungeons. But from what he remembered that was what everyone had done, and no one before Emily Riddle had managed to actually find the entrance to the Chamber. So, he may as well go about it another way.
He was only moderately ashamed to admit that he did try stopping and hissing on occasion, for no other reason that he figured there was an off chance that it might work. He did not get any responses. And thankfully, as far as he saw, no one noticed he was doing it.
It didn't surprise him to find Lida already in the common room. She was attempting to explain what happened to the three students. The younger crowd gathered around her looked exceptionally alarmed and unless Harry was mistaken, a few of them were crying. Lida seemed to be out of her depth.
She was talking too much. He realized how unsurprising that was. But it wasn't helping her cause with the kids. She was being too clinical, too blunt, and the younger kids were terrified by her words. Harry could see them imagining a similar fate befalling them. And to make matters worse she just wouldn't stop talking.
She was trying to be reassuring. He could see that. But she wasn't providing any hope. She was too concerned about being perfectly correct that every minor doubt turned into it's own sentence or three and every question turned into ten or fifteen more impossible situations. And it just continued, compounding with each passing moment.
He knew he had to save her. He moved next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. She stiffened against his touch but it caused her to pause long enough for him to interject.
Lying to the students shouldn't have been as easy as it was. Or at least it felt that way. But what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them at this point. When they asked him questions, ones he was sure Lida had answered moments before, he focused on what positives he could come up with rather than anything negative. He was sure, he assured them, that they'd be able to save the two petrified students and that there was virtually no chance that any of the other students would share their fate.
A half hour later they'd calmed most everyone down and life returned to normal. It surprised him how quickly they recovered, and how quickly their conversations changed back to normal topics. A small part of him suspected they were putting on a front, and that as soon as he and Lida were no longer within earshot the rampant speculation would resume once again.
Lida was hesitant to leave but it didn't take Harry very long to realize that the students no longer required their presence. She seemed to find comfort in being around the students and it felt odd to take her from it. But he pulled her from the common room after a few more minutes with an excuse that the students would be fine and they needed to give them a sense of normalcy.
He didn't see much of a reason in adding that her babbling probably did provide some sense of normalcy. Either way she did leave, mostly willingly, with him.
She let out an annoyed sigh as they moved away from the common room. She spared a quick glance for a painting of a fruit bowl and then turned her gaze to Harry.
"I need a drink," she said.
"Hogsmeade?" Harry asked.
"Not fast enough," Lida said. She walked straight up to the fruit bowl. "The elves always have some of their wine available if you ask nicely."
"Fair enough," Harry said as she opened the portrait. He watched her enter the kitchen, letting his attention linger on her as she did. Circe's words were fresh in his mind but he didn't let his thoughts dwell on that. He did feel it appropriate to give her a few moments' head start though, as it would get him out of talking to the elves.
It worked wonderfully too. Almost as soon as he entered the kitchen he found a dark bottle in his hand. He gave a nod to the elf who'd shoved it into his hands before sampling it. It was far too sweet, the sweetness of it overpowering the alcoholic burn he'd anticipated. As a whole, he'd have much rather not consumed it. But there weren't any other options so it would have to do.
Lida chatted with the elves for, well, two bottles worth of their wine. Still, as soon as he finished the second one a third wound up in his hands. By the time that they left the kitchens he was having trouble walking in a straight line. But so was Lida so he figured it wasn't worth commenting on.
They walked back to their rooms, thankfully not running into anyone else on their turn around the castle. They talked, but of what Harry had a difficult time recalling. That was compounded by the fact that he wasn't sure he said much.
They stopped outside of her room and she kept talking. His addled mind found some other aspects of her, like say, her chestnut hair and her flushed cheeks to be more interesting than her words. That had to be rude, but he was having a difficult time caring about that as she prattled on.
He wondered what she'd do if he kissed her. If Circe was right, she wanted him to, and to do much more. But it certainly wouldn't have been proper, and she might be a stickler for propriety. She had implied that she was waiting for her fiancé, after all.
Just as he decided to act to see what her response would be she shifted away from him, thanked him for putting up with her while she had a drink, heavily implied they should do it again, wished him a good night and slipped into her room.
Harry stood there, staring at the door, wondering how she'd managed to get it all out in one breath.
He woke early the next morning and ventured into the dungeons. A few Slytherin students were milling about. Given the early hour he assumed they had to be up to no good, but he ignored them as he didn't really care if they were breaking school rules.
He explored every nook he could find, letting his hands slide over the stone walls as he searched for any signs of magic. It wasn't particularly hard to find. He'd never paid closed enough attention to just how magical the castle was. But when he looked for it now, he found it in nearly every stone. It was rather disorientating to focus on.
Still, he didn't find anything that felt out of the ordinary. Most of it was a series of comfort-based charms for things like regulating temperature. None of it surprised him. And none of it seemed to be anything that would lead him to the Chamber of Secrets.
He spent over an hour exploring before he could sense Circe's annoyance at him not being at their morning sparring session. He walked from the dungeons and made his way out to the lake where he met her.
She made sure to take out her frustrations on him. Which did at least have the positive effect of her dabbing at one of the cursed wounds she'd inflicted on him with a potion-drenched rag a few hours later. She was rather apologetic about the injury, seeming so flustered that she hadn't even scolded him for accusing her of imitating Lida while she apologized every ten to fifteen seconds. He thought she seemed rather shocked that she'd managed to land the spell on him. It wasn't a painful enough and Harry chalked it up to a mere training accident.
After dinner he continued exploring the castle. Once or twice he was distracted by some intricate spell work on the building. But again, none of it got him any closer to the Chamber of Secrets.
He settled into another routine in the month that passed. A routine that turned out to be nothing more than an exercise in frustration. He didn't find anything that would get him any closer to the Chamber of Secrets.
On three separate occasions he thought he heard a familiar hissing sound as he walked around the castle. And on one of those Circe admitted to thinking she heard something as well. But they did not find anything. Thankfully, no other students were attacked.
There were a few rumors from the town of missing people. Which led Harry and Elric to investigating the town and the forest. He wondered if the snake was using one of the secret passages but best he could tell only two of them currently existed. And neither of them showed any sign of housing a gigantic snake.
Circe had managed to get her hands on some Mandrake seedlings. Harry hadn't asked where she'd scrounged them up from, but given her general foul mood he had a fairly good idea who she'd asked, even if she hadn't said how she'd managed to contact him.
Because of it, though, she was spending far more time with Lida Spore. Somewhere along the way Harry could see her warm up to the other herbalist. He suspected it had to do with how incandescently happy she looked when talking about, or learning about, plants.
One night in early December brought him and Silverberry toward the greenhouses. They'd forgone more boxing matches on account if it being an unseasonably warm night and had instead elected to explore the forest most of the afternoon.
Harry didn't think he'd find anything of interest in it. But Elric seemed to find it fun and he figured it couldn't hurt. They'd come across a particularly vicious group of Kelpies in a small stream and a pair of rather obnoxious redcaps that, well, he hadn't meant for the one that attacked him to explode. Hagrid would have probably been furious with him but he found himself less bothered by it than he should have been.
While Harry turned down the path toward the greenhouses, Elric left his company to venture to dinner instead. Harry thought the man probably had the better idea, but he figured it would be nice to check in on Lida and Circe.
They were actually giggling when he walked in and he couldn't help but enjoy their amusement. Whatever they were talking about had them both flushed crimson. It was a much better look for Circe. It made her eyes seem brighter and everything about her seemed happier. He wondered if the fact that she was spending less time with him, and far more time with Lida and herbs had anything to do with that.
When they heard the door open they'd turned to face him. Their expressions changing in an instant as Harry realized they were both wearing charmed earmuffs that looked anachronistic enough that they had to have been Circe's idea. He looked down and saw a juvenile Mandrake wiggling in Lida's arms. It froze when it saw him. And then it wailed.
A splitting pain rang through Harry's head. He steeled himself against it, but it had caught him off guard enough that he hadn't readied his defenses quickly enough. He lasted maybe ten seconds as Lida tried to shove the creature into a pot. But eventually, everything went black.
He woke up to Lida sitting next to him on the floor of the greenhouse. She had her wand drawn but it didn't feel like she'd cast any spells on him. He peered around, the greenhouse spinning slightly as his vision adjusted, and saw Circe patting down the dirt on a freshly potted mandrake.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"Only about a minute," Circe responded.
"That's really impressive. From everything I've managed to compile about Mandrakes you should have been out for at least an hour. Even with how small that one was," Lida said.
"I told you he'd be fine," Circe said.
"It looked like he might have hit his head!" Lida argued. Circe shrugged her shoulders as if she thought blunt force trauma to Harry's cranium would be a general improvement.
"I'm okay," Harry said. "Just a bit dizzy."
"Are you sure? There's no shame in being knocked out by a mandrake. If you need a few minutes we wouldn't think less of you," Lida said.
"I'm fine," Harry responded, thinking that Circe probably would think less of him if he allowed himself to be incapacitated by a Mandrake that was less than three weeks old. "Hungry though."
"Me too. I think it's time to head in for dinner. We're done potting the Mandrakes. Thanks again for your help, Emily. It did take less than half the time with the two of us."
"It was fun," Circe shrugged.
"Join us for dinner?" Lida asked.
"You go on ahead I'll catch up. Professor Warbeck wanted me to gather some ingredients for the week," Circe said. Lida nodded and helped Harry up.
"How are the mandrakes coming?" he asked as they left the greenhouse.
"Really well. I actually think they're a bit ahead of schedule. We smuggled some of Professor Nash's bubotubers and they eat them like you wouldn't believe and it seems to drastically increase their growth rates. Up to about a centimeter a week now," Lida explained excitedly.
"That's great," Harry said.
"It really is. I think if the rate stays consistent and we can manage a few more harvests of the bubotubers we are looking at maybe three more months before we can brew an effective antidote," Lida said.
"Fantastic news," Harry added.
"Yes. Yes it is. How was the forest? Or were you and Elric beating each other today?"
"The forest was fine," Harry said. "Nothing of real interest although we did run off some Kelpies."
"I see. Will you tell me something?"
"Sure."
"You really think there's a basilisk in something called a Chamber of Secrets?"
"I don't think I mentioned that to you," Harry said. Lida rolled her eyes at him as if he was being daft.
"Elric is a Gryffindor. Gryffindors are annoying braggarts. Elric blabs to anyone who will listen that the two of you are hunting a basilisk. He gave up your rumors about the chamber when I pressed him on it," Lida said.
"I see," Harry said.
"So where do these rumors come from? Because I've been at this institution for most of my life and I don't recall anything of that nature ever being a thing," Lida said.
"It's just known where I'm from," Harry responded, perhaps more testily than he should have. Lida only glared at him.
"And where is that? You've never bothered to tell me where you're from," Lida said, annoyance evident in her voice.
"London," Harry said. "I'm originally from London."
"I have a hard time believing such a rumor is common in London. I've spent time with the magical population of the city. The students we have from there have never heard such a thing," Lida said.
"Well, we don't run in the same circles," Harry said.
"No, we obviously don't," Lida said, looking rather hurt by his words. "I'll be honest with you, Harry. It all looks rather suspicious. And Professor Warbeck is trying to get the Headmaster to remove you from your post because of it."
"Only because he's dumb enough to think Emily would stay if I left," Harry shrugged.
"His reasoning aside it is very difficult to defend you when you spout nonsense," Lida said. "I believed you at first. But a basilisk? Really? From Salazar Slytherin?"
"Yes," Harry said.
"It doesn't fit, Harry," Lida said. "From the accounts we have the school was his idea. He devoted decades of his life to it. And he provided a majority of the funding for years. Why would he endanger the students in it?"
"Maybe he's not who you thought he was," Harry said.
"Or maybe he's not who you think he is," Lida countered.
"I grant you that's possible," Harry said. "But I find it to be very unlikely."
"Have you tried asking him?" she asked.
"What good would that do? A portrait can only be charmed to remember so much. I doubt he'd have bothered with details that would reflect poorly on him. Even if the damn thing decided to talk," Harry said.
"No, I mean asking him," Lida said.
"What?" Harry blinked as her words started to dawn on him.
"Going and asking him. It's not like he's dead," Lida said.
"What?" Harry asked again. Lida raised her brows at him.
"He lives in Wales. He's ancient, sure, but he writes a nice letter to the Headmaster every year with his donation to the school," Lida said.
"You're kidding me," he said.
"How do you not know that? It's common knowledge he's the last founder left."
"It never occurred to me," he said. Lida's eyes narrowed.
"You're keeping something from me," she said. Harry gave her a curt nod that caused her eyes to narrow more. But her response didn't matter. As soon as she'd said Wales something in him had clicked.
He knew what his next step was. In an odd way it made sense. After all, he was at Hogwarts with the heir of Slytherin. There was a sort of symmetry to it.
"I'm sorry but I have to go," he said, thoughts of his responsibilities fading from his mind as his next objective became clear. He knew the easiest way to get the answers he would need to come one step closer to being able to return to his time. He would have to go to Wales and talk with Salazar Slytherin.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing I do appreciate it. If you'd like to support me further, I am on PAT RE ON now at TE7Writes. The next two chapters of Ithaca are already live there, including the conclusion of the Past Hogwarts portion of the story!
Thanks again I do appreciate all of it!