Plot Bunny #3: What If...Harry Had Died in the Chamber of Secrets?
Taken from: The Chamber of Secrets (movie)
Scene that inspired ficlet: "Oh, Harry...if you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet!" "Uhh...thanks, Myrtle."
Category: AU approach
Rating: PG
Mini-note: Yes, I'm obsessed with CoS alternate scenes. So sue me. You'll get some blank notecards and an old sock.
~~~~~~
The memory of Tom Riddle screamed in agony, light spilling out of great holes in his body. Harry pulled out the basilisk fang again, closed the diary, and slammed it right through the cover. Riddle screamed once more before exploding into a million shards of bright white light.
All at once the adrenaline left him, and the sudden loss of energy caused him to gasp in shock. He swayed on his knees, clutching at the burning hole in his right arm.
Ginny abruptly sat up, breathing hard, eyes darting around the Chamber wildly. Her back was to Harry, but she must have heard his pain-filled gasps, for she turned around. "Harry! I swear, I didn't mean to, Riddle made me-" she blurted, and her eyes widened as she took in his dazed figure. "Harry, you're hurt!"
Harry looked down at his arm with blurring vision. He covered the wound with his hand, and tried to summon enough energy to speak. "Don't worry...Ginny, you need to get yourself out." He stopped to take another ragged breath. "Follow the Chamber and you'll find Ron." Her face was beginning to waver in his sight, and everything was getting fuzzy.
"I can't leave you!" Ginny cried, beginning to sound hysterical. "You're - you're the Boy Who Lived! I've got to take you with me, you need help!"
But by now, Harry wasn't listening. "Go...find Ron...get out..." His strength gave out, and he sank to the ground, curled up in a fetal position. He shivered, then lay still.
~ ~ ~ ~
Ron paced beside a mountain of rock. Earlier he had heard eerie voices, among which was Harry's and one he didn't recognize. Then there had been lots of reptilian screams, followed by oddly musical cawing from the scarlet-and-gold bird that had swooped past Ron's head a few minutes before, clutching something ragged in its talons. The snake voice had gone silent after one agonized scream from Harry, followed a few minutes later by another long, loud cry that belonged to the other speaker. Now all was silent, and it was all he could do to try and keep himself from imagining his sister and best friend, dead in some underground cavern.
A melodic call signaled the return of the bird, and it swooped through the child-sized hole Ron had managed to make in the rockslide. It perched on a boulder and looked back over its shoulder expectantly.
Ron could have died from relief when he saw Ginny climb through the gap. She was bruised and covered in slime, and there was some black stuff in her hair, but she looked completely unharmed. "Ginny!"
The siblings embraced one another, with the younger sister sobbing on Ron's shoulder. "Hey, there, it's over," he assured her soothingly. "Where's Harry?" Ginny just cried harder, and Ron began to feel panic setting in. "Where is he, Ginny? Where's Harry?!"
"Right here, Ron." The voice came from behind him, but almost as if from a great distance.
Ron whirled around to see Harry, bloodied and also rather slimed-up, holding a silver sword in one hand and a huge fang in the other. Ron's first thought was that his friend looked very pale, but his second thought came as he realized that not even Harry's clothes held color any longer, and the boy was hovering a few inches above the ground.
Ron's jaw dropped in shock and horror. What he was seeing was the ghost of Harry Potter.
"Or, if you're looking for my body, it should be lying somewhere back there in a puddle of ink and blood," the ghost continued, pointing towards the hole in the rockslide. "Not a pretty sight. What a way to go."
He drifted closer, coming to a stop next to Fawkes. "Phoenixes can carry heavy burdens," he said. "Fawkes can fly you back up into the castle; just grab hold of his tail feathers." His gray eyes, once sparkling emerald orbs, turned to regard the ceiling. "I'll meet up with you later; right now I've got some unfinished business to take care of." And with that, he glided into the rock and disappeared.
~ ~ ~ ~
Professor Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office, waiting for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to return with young Ginny. Oh, he knew that they had found the Chamber of Secrets, and he knew that Harry would undoubtably be able to open it, slay the basilisk, and return the Weasleys' youngest child intact.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore turned to regard the voice, feeling somewhat surprised that anyone had been able to sneak up on him. He quickly saw why this was so. "Ah, young Harry...such a tragic loss this is."
Harry's ghost blinked in confusion. "Er...actually, sir, I was going to tell you that Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart should be here with Fawkes any minute."
"I was referring to you, Harry, not Miss Weasley."
"...oh." Harry frowned and pulled out a familiar silver sword. "While I'm here, I might as well ask you this." He held up the ancient weapon. "I know the real sword is back with my body, but its image is bonded to me since I was holding it when I died. I wondered if perhaps you can explain to me what exactly this means...?"
~ ~ ~ ~
Ron ended up breaking the news to Hermione shortly after she was Restored. She had demanded to see Harry's spectre immediately, and much confusion ensued in which she tried to hug him and, when that failed, to slap him.
Harry's ghost hovered in a sitting position a few inches above the level of Hermione's bed in the hospital wing. "Look 'Mione, I know what I did was stupid, but there wasn't really any other choice. Unfortunately-"
"Oh, Harryyyy!" Harry winced as Myrtle appeared through the wall. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you since I heard you'd died too. Come on, I have to show you all around the plumbing!"
Harry's eyes widened. "Er...something has just come up, I think I'll have to take a rain check on that one." He zoomed out through the ceiling, Myrtle close behind.
"But you PROMISED! HARRYYYYYY!"
Taken from: The Chamber of Secrets (movie)
Scene that inspired ficlet: "Oh, Harry...if you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet!" "Uhh...thanks, Myrtle."
Category: AU approach
Rating: PG
Mini-note: Yes, I'm obsessed with CoS alternate scenes. So sue me. You'll get some blank notecards and an old sock.
~~~~~~
The memory of Tom Riddle screamed in agony, light spilling out of great holes in his body. Harry pulled out the basilisk fang again, closed the diary, and slammed it right through the cover. Riddle screamed once more before exploding into a million shards of bright white light.
All at once the adrenaline left him, and the sudden loss of energy caused him to gasp in shock. He swayed on his knees, clutching at the burning hole in his right arm.
Ginny abruptly sat up, breathing hard, eyes darting around the Chamber wildly. Her back was to Harry, but she must have heard his pain-filled gasps, for she turned around. "Harry! I swear, I didn't mean to, Riddle made me-" she blurted, and her eyes widened as she took in his dazed figure. "Harry, you're hurt!"
Harry looked down at his arm with blurring vision. He covered the wound with his hand, and tried to summon enough energy to speak. "Don't worry...Ginny, you need to get yourself out." He stopped to take another ragged breath. "Follow the Chamber and you'll find Ron." Her face was beginning to waver in his sight, and everything was getting fuzzy.
"I can't leave you!" Ginny cried, beginning to sound hysterical. "You're - you're the Boy Who Lived! I've got to take you with me, you need help!"
But by now, Harry wasn't listening. "Go...find Ron...get out..." His strength gave out, and he sank to the ground, curled up in a fetal position. He shivered, then lay still.
~ ~ ~ ~
Ron paced beside a mountain of rock. Earlier he had heard eerie voices, among which was Harry's and one he didn't recognize. Then there had been lots of reptilian screams, followed by oddly musical cawing from the scarlet-and-gold bird that had swooped past Ron's head a few minutes before, clutching something ragged in its talons. The snake voice had gone silent after one agonized scream from Harry, followed a few minutes later by another long, loud cry that belonged to the other speaker. Now all was silent, and it was all he could do to try and keep himself from imagining his sister and best friend, dead in some underground cavern.
A melodic call signaled the return of the bird, and it swooped through the child-sized hole Ron had managed to make in the rockslide. It perched on a boulder and looked back over its shoulder expectantly.
Ron could have died from relief when he saw Ginny climb through the gap. She was bruised and covered in slime, and there was some black stuff in her hair, but she looked completely unharmed. "Ginny!"
The siblings embraced one another, with the younger sister sobbing on Ron's shoulder. "Hey, there, it's over," he assured her soothingly. "Where's Harry?" Ginny just cried harder, and Ron began to feel panic setting in. "Where is he, Ginny? Where's Harry?!"
"Right here, Ron." The voice came from behind him, but almost as if from a great distance.
Ron whirled around to see Harry, bloodied and also rather slimed-up, holding a silver sword in one hand and a huge fang in the other. Ron's first thought was that his friend looked very pale, but his second thought came as he realized that not even Harry's clothes held color any longer, and the boy was hovering a few inches above the ground.
Ron's jaw dropped in shock and horror. What he was seeing was the ghost of Harry Potter.
"Or, if you're looking for my body, it should be lying somewhere back there in a puddle of ink and blood," the ghost continued, pointing towards the hole in the rockslide. "Not a pretty sight. What a way to go."
He drifted closer, coming to a stop next to Fawkes. "Phoenixes can carry heavy burdens," he said. "Fawkes can fly you back up into the castle; just grab hold of his tail feathers." His gray eyes, once sparkling emerald orbs, turned to regard the ceiling. "I'll meet up with you later; right now I've got some unfinished business to take care of." And with that, he glided into the rock and disappeared.
~ ~ ~ ~
Professor Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office, waiting for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to return with young Ginny. Oh, he knew that they had found the Chamber of Secrets, and he knew that Harry would undoubtably be able to open it, slay the basilisk, and return the Weasleys' youngest child intact.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore turned to regard the voice, feeling somewhat surprised that anyone had been able to sneak up on him. He quickly saw why this was so. "Ah, young Harry...such a tragic loss this is."
Harry's ghost blinked in confusion. "Er...actually, sir, I was going to tell you that Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart should be here with Fawkes any minute."
"I was referring to you, Harry, not Miss Weasley."
"...oh." Harry frowned and pulled out a familiar silver sword. "While I'm here, I might as well ask you this." He held up the ancient weapon. "I know the real sword is back with my body, but its image is bonded to me since I was holding it when I died. I wondered if perhaps you can explain to me what exactly this means...?"
~ ~ ~ ~
Ron ended up breaking the news to Hermione shortly after she was Restored. She had demanded to see Harry's spectre immediately, and much confusion ensued in which she tried to hug him and, when that failed, to slap him.
Harry's ghost hovered in a sitting position a few inches above the level of Hermione's bed in the hospital wing. "Look 'Mione, I know what I did was stupid, but there wasn't really any other choice. Unfortunately-"
"Oh, Harryyyy!" Harry winced as Myrtle appeared through the wall. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you since I heard you'd died too. Come on, I have to show you all around the plumbing!"
Harry's eyes widened. "Er...something has just come up, I think I'll have to take a rain check on that one." He zoomed out through the ceiling, Myrtle close behind.
"But you PROMISED! HARRYYYYYY!"