I Am the Sleeping Dragon

by DZ2

Based on my Forget-Me-Not Challenge: Lockhart's attempt to take credit for the Chamber worked, but not as expected. Instead, Harry Potter lost something that's replaced by a strange, new, but familiar face. One that calls itself Damian Drake! Dark Super/OP Harmony

2. 1: Seven Minutes of Mystery

I Am The Sleeping Dragon

Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER

Recommended Reads: The Rise of the Last Potter by HPfanfictioner66, Harry Potter and the Spiteful Sorting Hat by Evening Ego, Summer Camp by Harry50, Inevitable by Raging Smurf, Trickshot, Apex and Damaged Raven by JustBored21, The Best Laid Plans by Lowten, Embracing His True Self by DebsTheSlytherinSnapefan, The Young Lord by SlytherinDarkHarry, Broken Shackles by Black Infinity 1289 and The Forgotten Memory by NightRaven789

Key Pairing: Dark Harmony

Other Pairings: To be determined

Normal Speech

'Thoughts'

/Parseltongue/

Review Answers:

Jostanos: I daresay even Dumbledore is going to be just a little surprised, even intimidated and, probably, even realise how he has to tread carefully now that the sleeping dragon has been tickled, old friend;

WhiteElfElder: So, remember how I said I had a plan based on my challenge? Well, the explanation is a funny one, but also a weird one and it's coming up soon, I promise;

Bluezinthos: Let me guess: you're a werewolf? Welcome to the party; also, horror movie villain vibes? I'm guessing a Star Wars reference because of the lightning? Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of the adventure, weird and INSANE as it may seem at times;

Phoedra135: That is where I got the idea for the name of the persona from, yes, as well as the name I used the first time I had a character called Damian Drake in another old, sadly-failed story of mine, but, yes, that is where the inspiration came from;

MMax: As I said to an above reviewer, the name was inspired by the character of the same name from Looney Tunes: Back in Action, but the character in question was originally in a sadly-failed story of mine from some time ago: when I came up with this nugget of weirdness and fun, I decided to dust off the name and use it again for this new and, as I'm sure you'll agree, definitely improved Harry…now known as Damian Drake;

"As I've told you time and time again, Ronald, my name is Damian Drake and, while I might not have much choice in being the Boy-Who-Lived, I do have the choice to be who I really am…which means, if you can't remember the truth of me, you're useless, so, while I go and save the silly little girl with a Lois Lane complex, why don't you clean up this other useless idiot's blood and wait here? This won't take long."

Then, while Ron was left floundering, wondering what, exactly, his best mate was thinking with saying he had such a silly name, the boy now known as Damian Drake took off into the tunnel, leaving the redhead alone with his thoughts.

Chapter 1: Seven Minutes of Mystery

Seven minutes.

To Ron's surprise, this was how long the guy who now called himself Damian Drake took to go down the tunnel, enter the Chamber's main interior and then return with Ginny in his arms, a look of annoyance, as well as satisfaction reflected in his eyes.

When he reached the spot where Ron was standing, having not cleaned up after Lockhart's accident, Damian scoffed before he set Ginny down where, to Ron's shock, the emerald-eyed scion then kicked Ginny in her side. "Oi! Wake up, you silly, little girl! If you think I'm going to feed a silly Muggle cliché, and your delusions about me being your Prince Charming and you being the helpless damsel, you're as delusional as Lockhart was a fake! The wraith is gone, the Basilisk still slumbers and you can stop pretending, so either open your eyes or I leave you here!"

To Ron's relief, as well as alarm, Ginny snapped her eyes open, where she flew into her brother's arms; when she went to turn to thank Damian, however, her eyes widened when she saw him holding his hand up to the Chamber's entrance before, to Ron's rage and Ginny's dread, Parseltongue rolled off of Damian's lips with surprising ease.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, Harry?" demanded Ron, but, this time, Damian didn't bother answering him – mostly because he had, once again, gotten Damian's name wrong – as he watched while a set of winding stairs appeared in the wall, leading the way up and out of the Chamber.

Seeing the steps, Ron fumed as he asked, "Why didn't you do that before? We nearly lost our heads because of that bloody slide!"

"Well, if somebody hadn't made such a stupid choice when they pushed Lock-Faker into the tunnel, I could have told the aforementioned Mo-Ron that Lord Slytherin, great as he was, would have built a way down into the Chamber walls," argued Damian, taking a step back from the stairway before he turned to Ron, "In any event, Ronald: I strongly suggest you get Sleeping Beauty here off to the Hospital Wing. And, when you do, try and sound intelligent when you ask Madam Pomfrey to give her a check-up, would you?"

"Harry…" Ginny began, but Damian scoffed as he cut her off.

"Since you were too busy stalking me and being a naïve, foolish little girl with Disney Princess delusions, I'll excuse your ignorance, Ginevra, and remind you that my name is Damian Drake, but, like your idiot brother, this is the last time I remind you…something I feel I am going to have to get used to saying to a load more idiots in this madhouse."

Ginny's eyes widened in alarm, if not wonder and disbelief, when Damian addressed her in his cool voice, his eyes now falling on Lockhart as he added, "Now, since you, Ronald, clearly can't follow instructions as easily as Professor Snape knows you can't, I suppose I'll take out the trash. So, you two might want to make a move and quick: I'll be along shortly."

"But Harry…"

Before Ron could say another word, his eyes widened in alarmed horror when he heard more Parseltongue leaving Damian's lips; this time, even Ginny was left horrified by the sound of something slithering through the tunnel from where Damian had emerged.

"The Basilisk!" exclaimed Ginny, earning a scoff from Damian.

"Unless you're…well, me, I strongly suggest you move…now!"

This time, neither redhead bothered to stick around.

Sleep

Damian, meanwhile, drew himself to his full height, watching with a mixture of amusement and curiosity as, just as the Weasleys left him alone in the tunnel with the now-approaching Basilisk, the dark-eyed youth drew in a breath before he spoke to the darkness.

/Beast of Slytherin, First Speaker and Founder of Hogwarts: I have freed you from the curse that bound you to go against your duties. In return for this gift, I ask you to shut your eyes, so that I might gaze upon you with the respect and reverence deserved of Lord Slytherin's ancient sentinel!/

To Damian's actual surprise, however, a soft, female voice replied to his hissing remarks.

/Do not fear, Speaker Hatchling of my Father: as per his decree, and the blood and life vow I now swear to thee, I, Apophina, Daughter of the First Speaker, solemnly swear to you that I cannot, and shall not, ever harm you or threaten you with my sight. Nor can my sight threaten any trueborn heirs of my Father, so gaze upon me freely, Child. I welcome the chance for a free discussion with a worthy Speaker as thyself./

Steeling himself, just in case the Basilisk was wrong, Damian watched as a green-scaled head, as well as bright, amber-golden-coloured eyes, appeared in the tunnel, where their owner then encircled him before, to Damian's surprise, she bent down and puffed at his face, making him smile as he reached out and petted her. /We are well met, Sister./

/Indeed we are, Little Hatch-Brother,/ replied the Basilisk, Apophina's, voice, her words filling Damian's ears with her eerie song as she puffed at him again before she flicked her tongue out, tasting his flesh. /Hmm, I taste power in you, Little One; real power, worthy of my Father. However, you also taste…off…somehow…like you are not all you seem…/

/I must confess myself confused by your words, Sister Apophina,/ said Damian, petting the Basilisk's scales as he explained, /I am all I am and more; my name is Damian Drake and, I assure you, this will not be our final meeting./

/Then, I look forwards to the next time, Brother Damian,/ said Apophina, again licking Damian's face, this time tracing her tongue across his scar, before she added, /However, I sense you have summoned me from my nest for another reason than to stake your claim to Father's legacy./

/Indeed I have,/ said Damian, indicating the corpse nearby before he smiled.

/I was wondering if you might do your Little Brother a favour and help me clean out the trash in this Chamber…but, be warned, unless I say otherwise, this will be the only time I allow you to eat another human./

Apophina actually began lapping at Damian like a loyal dog happy to see her master before she turned and, to his amusement, she parted her jaws as she pounced on the corpse of Gilderoy Lockhart, leaving nothing but a very happy Basilisk and her amused little brother speaker master standing in the tunnel, while all that remained of Lockhart vanished down Apophina's gullet.

An almost-fitting end for a fool who fed off of the glory of others.

Or so Damian thought as he dismissed Apophina, letting her return to her rest until the next time he came down into the Chamber.

Sleep

"What kept you?"

"I told you, Ronald," argued Damian, scowling more to himself than anyone else as he found himself bombarded by the Weasleys' presence as soon as he emerged from the bathroom. "I was doing your work for you…again…and cleaning up the garbage."

"What…" asked Ginny, leaning against the wall outside the bathroom as she asked, "What about Professor Lockhart? Ron…Ron said you killed him, Harry, but…hey! Where are you going?"

Damian didn't even bother answering her.

No prizes for guessing why.

Sleep

Reaching the Hospital Wing, certainly long before the Weasley Duo managed to catch up, Damian pushed the doors open where, ignoring the curious look he got from Madam Pomfrey, the emerald-eyed youth crossed the floor, passed through the closed curtains around one bed and, without needing to be asked or told to do otherwise, he sat down next to the still-petrified form of Hermione Granger.

There, for the first time since his recovery from Lockhart's spell, Damian seemed to drop his cold, hard exterior for that of the twelve-year-old boy he really was as he drew in a slow, calming breath before, turning to the petrified form of his fellow Gryffindor, he reached out with his left hand and, softly, with the care of someone holding or tending to a precious object, he ran his knuckles along the left-hand side of Hermione's face.

"It's over, Hermione," said Damian, his voice soft, but heavy with emotional pain as he smiled thinly before he told her, "Thanks to you…your brilliance, and your inability to turn your back on what our friendship means to each other, the school is safe, the victim, so to speak, has been pulled out of trouble's way and the guilty party…well, they haven't quite got theirs just yet…but they will."

Letting his hand move to Hermione's hair, Damian stroked the brown locks softly between his fingers, while his eyes never left Hermione's as he explained, "It all happened, exactly as I knew it would: thanks to my gifts, the diary burned up like…well, like paper, so I doubt the guilty party will be able to actually be called the guilty party. But, don't worry: I'll find a way to honour your sacrifice…and what that selfish pig has cost us both…just as I'll do the same for Creevey, Clearwater, Finch-Fletchley, Sir Nicolas…oh, and I suppose I'll avenge the honour, small as it is, of that psychotically-sadistic masochist, Argus Filch too…"

Here, Damian bent down before he brushed his lips against Hermione's brow as he added, "But, most of all, it's for you, my old friend…all for you. So, you rest now…I'll be back…"

Then, patting Hermione's left hand softly, Damian left the Hospital Wing.

Sleep

Had he looked back, however, Damian, and, indeed, Madam Pomfrey, might have seen something that the Healer would have dubbed impossible.

A lone tear, semi-transparent in form, but warm to the touch, trickling down from Hermione Granger's left eye, while the rest of her body remained frozen stiff, waiting for the recovery aid from a guy who, quite frankly, shouldn't have needed a whole year, more or less, to brew a damn potion.

Or so Damian thought as he left the Wing, blissfully unaware as to the pseudo-miracle that had just taken place where he'd been sitting.

Chapter 1 and it looks like, changed though he may be, the Boy Formerly Known As Harry Potter, Now Damian Drake, isn't completely without traits of the boy we know and love, but, even so, what in the name of sanity happened to him?

Also, how is it he seems as well-versed in Parseltongue, as well as all that it means and implies, as Voldemort himself might have been?

Just who, or what, is Damian Drake?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: It's time to go for the head and, while Damian doesn't appear to have invoked the power of the Sword of Gryffindor, I'd say he has a more-dangerous weapon in his arsenal…and I don't mean his lightning either; oh dear, if you're a certain blond who thinks you can get away with murder…you might want to avoid making him angry…whoops…too late!

Please Read and Review

AN: Portrayal

Apophina – English-translated voice: Shohreh Aghdashloo