Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Dangers in the past.
After Dumbledore finished reading the riddle, the room once again exploded in soft whispers. This time, none of the teachers said anything to quiet them. They couldn't do anything if they didn't figure out where the two teenagers had been taken.
Over at the Gryffindor table, Sirius and Remus were huddled together, talking softly to each other about possible locations. On the other hand, Peter was sitting quietly, a lost look in his eyes. If Ron and Hermione had noticed the look, they would have known something was wrong, but the two teenagers were much too shocked to notice Wormtail's unusual expression. Ron was still gaping at the head table, trying to convince himself that what he had heard was indeed correct. Slowly, he turned to Hermione, and the expression on her face clearly assured him that he had heard right. The girl turned to him and mouthed, "Chamber of Secrets."
Ron nodded slightly, and then buried his head in his hands. "We need Harry."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know if we can reach him in time. Even if we sent Hedwig right away, we have no idea how long it has been there, for all we know, Harry could still be in no shape to come."
Ron looked at her sharply. "So what should we do? Harry is the only one who can open the entrance to the Chamber. There is no other parselmouth, except for Voldemort, and if my guess is right he is the one down there."
Hermione stayed silent for a while, thinking about what Ron and Harry had told her about the Chamber of Secrets. Finally she looked up at her friend again, who was starring at her hopefully. If someone could figure this mess out, he was sure it was Hermione. "Ron, to open the Chamber you have to be a parselmouth because you have to hiss to the snake painted on the sink, right?"
Ron titled his head and nodded, wondering where Hermione was going with this.
"But Derek can go down there, too. Harry usually asks him to check the Chamber for Death Eaters when we suspect someone has been in the castle."
Ron nodded again slowly. "Yes. But I always thought Derek would have his own way of going down there. Why should a snake use that opening."
Hermione shook her head. "I asked Harry once. He told me there were other entrances but he hadn't been able to find them, neither had Derek. When Harry's pet snake goes down there, he uses the sink."
Ron sighed. "Ok, maybe he does, but how does this help us?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes you are so dense, Ron." The boy looked confused. "We need someone to open the door to the Chamber. Well, we have established that Derek can do that for us."
Ron's face cleared up in understanding, but then he frowned again. "That's good, but how do we tell it that we want him to open the chamber? It's not like we can talk to Derek."
Hermione nodded. "Well, we should hope he is trained enough to figure that out on his own. I'm sure that if we bring him to the entrance he'll know what to do."
Ron sighed. "I guess that's the best we can do for now. But I suggest we contact Dumbledore and Harry anyway. Who knows, maybe Harry is already strong enough to help us out."
Hermione shrugged. "Sure. We need to go up to Ryan's room anyway, we can send Hedwig from there."
With a final nod to each other, the two teenagers stood up and quickly walked to the teacher's table, drawing the attention of all students. The sudden silence in the room alerted the teachers that there was something going on. When Ryan saw the teens approaching, he stood up silently, waiting to hear what they had to say. He knew from experience that they were very good at solving this kind of riddle, having made it through the teacher's challenges protecting the Philosopher's Stone.
"Have you thought of something?"
Hermione smiled slightly at him, putting him at ease. "Actually Ryan, it was very easy. We figured it out as soon as the Headmaster read the riddle. The problem was getting in there without Harry. But we think we have figured it out."
The teachers sighed in relieve and the two teenagers motioned for them to follow them out of the room. Dumbledore nodded, but before following them, he turned to the heads of houses and ordered them to take the students back to their common rooms. They would be safer there. When the old man caught up with the others, he saw that Sirius and Remus had joined the time- travellers. He frowned to the two Marauders. "Why have you not gone to the Gryffindor common room with Professor McGonagall?"
Sirius looked him steadily in the eyes. "We're coming with you."
The headmaster's frown deepened, but Ron's voice prevented him from saying anything. "Don't bother, I'm sure they would find a way to follow us and they will be safer if they are in the main group instead of wandering around on their own. And we've no time to argue anyway."
Without another word, he began to lead the party to the third floor. The headmaster followed swiftly and moved to walk alongside the two future teenagers. "Where are we going?"
Hermione looked up at him. "We are going to Ryan's room. We need to send Hedwig with a letter to Harry and Dumbledore. We don't know if it will help, but if they make it back here, they could help us a lot. We also need to retrieve Derek, else we won't be able to enter."
"Enter where?"
Hermione looked away from the old man. "The riddle said it quite plainly: the room of the greatest founder. We know Death Eaters sent the note; maybe even Voldemort himself. Which founder would they be referring to?"
Daniel answered without a second thought. "Slytherin."
Hermione nodded, but before she could say anything else, Ethan stopped, a look from understanding passing through his eyes. "The Chamber of Secrets of Salazar Slytherin."
The two teenagers didn't stop but nodded their heads. The others started to follow them again, but deep frowns were etched upon their faces. Ryan was the one who spoke aloud their worries. "Ron, Hermione, we have no idea where that room is. For all we know, it could be only a legend."
Ron snorted loudly and turned around, walking backwards. "One of this days you will have to get Harry to finish telling you about our Hogwarts adventures. I can't believe he didn't tell you about this one."
Daniel and Ryan exchanged a confused look while Ethan walked pensively at their side. Ron had told him about the chamber. The teenager rolled his eyes and sighed. "Harry and I figured out where the chamber was in our second year. Tom Riddle was trying to possess Ginny and used her to open the chamber and release the monster that stays there."
Dumbledore titled his head. "Monster?"
Hermione grimaced. "Salazar Slytherin left a present for his heir: a basilisk. The worst part is we can't eve kill it. Harry will do so in his second year. Lets hope no one awakens it this time, else we'll have a bit of a problem."
Ryan looked utterly shocked. "Harry once told me he had killed a basilisk while at Hogwarts, but he never told me about the chamber. I think I' going to have a long chat with my godson."
Ron and Hermione looked a little nervous and Ron began to blush. "Maybe that's not such a good idea. I remember all the things we did that year. Dumbledore very nearly expelled us."
Ryan gaped at him, and was about to comment when the Headmaster cut in. "Are you sure this is referring to that particular chamber? There have been rumours that there are others. Besides we don't even know if they are here at Hogwarts, they could be at an old house of Slytherin."
Hermione shook her head. "No, Headmaster. It's not just the comment about the greatest founder. You see, the next line tells us where the entrance is. It's in the bathroom of Moaning Myrtle, the girl who cries forever. And he also refers to the king of snakes, the basilisk."
"I see you have it all figured out. Care to tell me what exactly the last line means?"
Ron smirked at Remus and Sirius, who were walking silently after them, both looking extremely uncomfortable. "The line refers to James and Lily, James is the stag and Lily the flower."
Dumbledore frowned. "Why is James the stag?"
Hermione smiled secretively. "That is better left unknown, Headmaster. I'm sure one of the Marauders will tell you when the time is right."
Ron smirked again, this time at Ryan. "Probably in many, many years."
Dumbledore looked curiously at them, but wisely decided to let the matter rest. Ethan, who had been walking quietly at their side, finally spoke. "Ron, you told me about what happened in your second year. I know for a fact that none of us can open the Chamber of Secrets. How are we going to get in?"
Ron flashed him a smile. "Hermione figured it out, as always. We will be using Derek."
Ethan nodded in understanding. "I'm anxious to get down there."
Ron grimaced a bit, remembering the dark halls and the basilisk's skin that had been down there when he last saw the place. "Well, I, for one, am not looking forward to it in the least. It's way too creepy and I didn't even go all the way in. If what Harry and Ginny have told me about the main room is true, I'm sure we will be having nightmares months."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took so long, I had some problems with my mail. Anyway, thanks to Tanya and Gates for beta-reading this.
Dangers in the past.
After Dumbledore finished reading the riddle, the room once again exploded in soft whispers. This time, none of the teachers said anything to quiet them. They couldn't do anything if they didn't figure out where the two teenagers had been taken.
Over at the Gryffindor table, Sirius and Remus were huddled together, talking softly to each other about possible locations. On the other hand, Peter was sitting quietly, a lost look in his eyes. If Ron and Hermione had noticed the look, they would have known something was wrong, but the two teenagers were much too shocked to notice Wormtail's unusual expression. Ron was still gaping at the head table, trying to convince himself that what he had heard was indeed correct. Slowly, he turned to Hermione, and the expression on her face clearly assured him that he had heard right. The girl turned to him and mouthed, "Chamber of Secrets."
Ron nodded slightly, and then buried his head in his hands. "We need Harry."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know if we can reach him in time. Even if we sent Hedwig right away, we have no idea how long it has been there, for all we know, Harry could still be in no shape to come."
Ron looked at her sharply. "So what should we do? Harry is the only one who can open the entrance to the Chamber. There is no other parselmouth, except for Voldemort, and if my guess is right he is the one down there."
Hermione stayed silent for a while, thinking about what Ron and Harry had told her about the Chamber of Secrets. Finally she looked up at her friend again, who was starring at her hopefully. If someone could figure this mess out, he was sure it was Hermione. "Ron, to open the Chamber you have to be a parselmouth because you have to hiss to the snake painted on the sink, right?"
Ron titled his head and nodded, wondering where Hermione was going with this.
"But Derek can go down there, too. Harry usually asks him to check the Chamber for Death Eaters when we suspect someone has been in the castle."
Ron nodded again slowly. "Yes. But I always thought Derek would have his own way of going down there. Why should a snake use that opening."
Hermione shook her head. "I asked Harry once. He told me there were other entrances but he hadn't been able to find them, neither had Derek. When Harry's pet snake goes down there, he uses the sink."
Ron sighed. "Ok, maybe he does, but how does this help us?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes you are so dense, Ron." The boy looked confused. "We need someone to open the door to the Chamber. Well, we have established that Derek can do that for us."
Ron's face cleared up in understanding, but then he frowned again. "That's good, but how do we tell it that we want him to open the chamber? It's not like we can talk to Derek."
Hermione nodded. "Well, we should hope he is trained enough to figure that out on his own. I'm sure that if we bring him to the entrance he'll know what to do."
Ron sighed. "I guess that's the best we can do for now. But I suggest we contact Dumbledore and Harry anyway. Who knows, maybe Harry is already strong enough to help us out."
Hermione shrugged. "Sure. We need to go up to Ryan's room anyway, we can send Hedwig from there."
With a final nod to each other, the two teenagers stood up and quickly walked to the teacher's table, drawing the attention of all students. The sudden silence in the room alerted the teachers that there was something going on. When Ryan saw the teens approaching, he stood up silently, waiting to hear what they had to say. He knew from experience that they were very good at solving this kind of riddle, having made it through the teacher's challenges protecting the Philosopher's Stone.
"Have you thought of something?"
Hermione smiled slightly at him, putting him at ease. "Actually Ryan, it was very easy. We figured it out as soon as the Headmaster read the riddle. The problem was getting in there without Harry. But we think we have figured it out."
The teachers sighed in relieve and the two teenagers motioned for them to follow them out of the room. Dumbledore nodded, but before following them, he turned to the heads of houses and ordered them to take the students back to their common rooms. They would be safer there. When the old man caught up with the others, he saw that Sirius and Remus had joined the time- travellers. He frowned to the two Marauders. "Why have you not gone to the Gryffindor common room with Professor McGonagall?"
Sirius looked him steadily in the eyes. "We're coming with you."
The headmaster's frown deepened, but Ron's voice prevented him from saying anything. "Don't bother, I'm sure they would find a way to follow us and they will be safer if they are in the main group instead of wandering around on their own. And we've no time to argue anyway."
Without another word, he began to lead the party to the third floor. The headmaster followed swiftly and moved to walk alongside the two future teenagers. "Where are we going?"
Hermione looked up at him. "We are going to Ryan's room. We need to send Hedwig with a letter to Harry and Dumbledore. We don't know if it will help, but if they make it back here, they could help us a lot. We also need to retrieve Derek, else we won't be able to enter."
"Enter where?"
Hermione looked away from the old man. "The riddle said it quite plainly: the room of the greatest founder. We know Death Eaters sent the note; maybe even Voldemort himself. Which founder would they be referring to?"
Daniel answered without a second thought. "Slytherin."
Hermione nodded, but before she could say anything else, Ethan stopped, a look from understanding passing through his eyes. "The Chamber of Secrets of Salazar Slytherin."
The two teenagers didn't stop but nodded their heads. The others started to follow them again, but deep frowns were etched upon their faces. Ryan was the one who spoke aloud their worries. "Ron, Hermione, we have no idea where that room is. For all we know, it could be only a legend."
Ron snorted loudly and turned around, walking backwards. "One of this days you will have to get Harry to finish telling you about our Hogwarts adventures. I can't believe he didn't tell you about this one."
Daniel and Ryan exchanged a confused look while Ethan walked pensively at their side. Ron had told him about the chamber. The teenager rolled his eyes and sighed. "Harry and I figured out where the chamber was in our second year. Tom Riddle was trying to possess Ginny and used her to open the chamber and release the monster that stays there."
Dumbledore titled his head. "Monster?"
Hermione grimaced. "Salazar Slytherin left a present for his heir: a basilisk. The worst part is we can't eve kill it. Harry will do so in his second year. Lets hope no one awakens it this time, else we'll have a bit of a problem."
Ryan looked utterly shocked. "Harry once told me he had killed a basilisk while at Hogwarts, but he never told me about the chamber. I think I' going to have a long chat with my godson."
Ron and Hermione looked a little nervous and Ron began to blush. "Maybe that's not such a good idea. I remember all the things we did that year. Dumbledore very nearly expelled us."
Ryan gaped at him, and was about to comment when the Headmaster cut in. "Are you sure this is referring to that particular chamber? There have been rumours that there are others. Besides we don't even know if they are here at Hogwarts, they could be at an old house of Slytherin."
Hermione shook her head. "No, Headmaster. It's not just the comment about the greatest founder. You see, the next line tells us where the entrance is. It's in the bathroom of Moaning Myrtle, the girl who cries forever. And he also refers to the king of snakes, the basilisk."
"I see you have it all figured out. Care to tell me what exactly the last line means?"
Ron smirked at Remus and Sirius, who were walking silently after them, both looking extremely uncomfortable. "The line refers to James and Lily, James is the stag and Lily the flower."
Dumbledore frowned. "Why is James the stag?"
Hermione smiled secretively. "That is better left unknown, Headmaster. I'm sure one of the Marauders will tell you when the time is right."
Ron smirked again, this time at Ryan. "Probably in many, many years."
Dumbledore looked curiously at them, but wisely decided to let the matter rest. Ethan, who had been walking quietly at their side, finally spoke. "Ron, you told me about what happened in your second year. I know for a fact that none of us can open the Chamber of Secrets. How are we going to get in?"
Ron flashed him a smile. "Hermione figured it out, as always. We will be using Derek."
Ethan nodded in understanding. "I'm anxious to get down there."
Ron grimaced a bit, remembering the dark halls and the basilisk's skin that had been down there when he last saw the place. "Well, I, for one, am not looking forward to it in the least. It's way too creepy and I didn't even go all the way in. If what Harry and Ginny have told me about the main room is true, I'm sure we will be having nightmares months."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took so long, I had some problems with my mail. Anyway, thanks to Tanya and Gates for beta-reading this.