Ah, the first Honey Badger chapter. I've been looking forward to this!
Note: Some lines are paraphrased from the Chamber of Secrets
November 1st, 1992
Getting into the Chamber of Secrets took longer than he'd hoped. Bad enough he had to spend the morning at practice, but with so many peering eyes checking out the hallway to the second floor bathroom -along with Filch trying to scrub away the writing on the wall-, Harry had to double back and bring the invisibility cloak in order to get inside. By then it was already mid-afternoon and Harry was anxious for answers.
"Caireen! We need to speak!" The cavernous chamber made no sound beyond the drip-drip of water. Harry walked further inside, calling out to the basilisk.
He walked for a long time before finally hearing a quiet answer. "Harry?"
"Caireen? Where are you?"
"In my nest. Apologies for not rising to meet you. I had prey last night and digesting tires me."
The comment brought a chill of fear in the pit of his stomach. "What prey did you eat?"
"Roosters. A rare treat, for they are my mortal enemies. Your friend was kind enough to kill and bring them for me. Though I do wish she had brought them here and not left them in the wet room of the hidden door."
Harry had… so many questions to address with that answer! "You went up to the school?"
"I did." She admitted. "But it was safe. I saw no one inside of the room. None but your friend who brought the roosters."
"I understand. …this friend. Which was it?"
"The one you did not bring with the rest of your friends."
"Lissa?!" But that's impossible!
"No, Harry. The one who came after you brought your friends. The one called Innie."
"Innie?" The name felt foreign on his tongue. "I don't know this person."
"She carries your scent. Fainter than the others… The name is hard to say in the Tongue of Speakers. The human tongue may be more familiar to you to name this friend."
"Innie…" Harry's mind went through a rolodex of his friends at school. The closest he could find in his year were Lily and Sally, but those names are easy to pronounce in parseltongue and couldn't possibly be the intruder. He expanded his search wider, desperate to find the source.
When it hit him, he had to keep from doubling over at the sheer stupidity of his oversight. Ginny! Ginny Weasley! The same girl who not only has spoken to him via his friendships with Ron and the twins, but is the same girl he was warned about over four months ago! The girl who Voldemort planned to possess in order to use Caireen against the school. How could he be so stupid as to forget about that?!
Oh, right. Because that plan itself is so damn stupid he didn't think Voldemort would actually be dumb enough to do it.
That's one answer solved. Unfortunately, that leaves a very large can of basilisk-shaped worms in how Caireen will react when she finds out what's been done. Actually, that poses a very good question.
"I know who it is. I must warn you not to trust her. She was trying to lure you to the school in order to hurt the hatchlings."
"WHAT?!" An angry hiss reverberated from the hole hiding her nest. "How dare the hatchling try to fool me! I am the protector of this place! Ancient and powerful and terrible! I will rip and tear and kill any who dares defile my purpose!"
"Caireen! I know you are angry, and you are right to be angry; but I must ask you a question. Are there ways for your eyes to harm prey, but not kill them?"
"I do not understand your question."
"Can your eyes freeze prey, to be like ice?"
It took a moment before the snake replied. "It can happen, yes, when the sight of my prey is hindered. Mostly to fish, as the water prevents them from seeing my eyes in their full gaze. I find the method to be easier than when hunting on land."
Harry swallowed nervously as he realized the truth of the situation. Caireen can't know the truth. It would devastate her! That said, she hates lies and secrets. If she finds out later… What's he to do?
A mournful hiss came from the lip of the hole. "You have seen this happen."
"...I have."
"Then we were not alone. The hatchling… is it safe?"
"The humans are making a way to heal him. He will be safe."
"Another hatching was harmed by my eyes," She lamented. "I have failed in my purpose!"
"No, no! Caireen, you did not fail! It was a trick! A trick made by the same human who caused that girl to die all those seasons ago. He is to blame, not you!"
"You are kind, Harry. Kind and brave and caring; but I must submit to my failures." Her slithering echoed, voice fading into the hole. "I will stay here, in my nest. I will not leave no matter which of those claiming to be your friend calls out to me. You may visit if you wish, but I will not leave my nest. Not until I have atoned for what I have caused."
"Caireen?!"
"I must sleep now, Harry. Do not wake me. Do not enter. Perhaps one day I will see you again."
"Caireen, no! Stop!"
Harry pleaded for her to return, but the basilisk did not answer. Perhaps she fell asleep. Perhaps she simply chose to ignore him. Whatever the reason, the fact that she felt compelled to hide filled him with rage. Voldemort! This was his fault! Caireen has been nothing but kind, and he abused her trust to hurt others! The thought of not being able to see her again terrified and enraged him. So much so that Harry stormed out of the Chamber and marched straight to Gryffindor tower.
During the march he was able to gather some of his wits about him. Just enough that he re-applied the invisibility cloak, checked the Marauders Map, and hid close enough to the door that he could follow any Gryffindor making their way inside. He didn't have to wait long, though. A group of fifth years came along and opened the portrait hiding the entryway. Harry stepped inside and immediately placed his back to the wall in order to take in his surroundings. He gazed only briefly at his friends playing chess in a corner, and locked on once he found his target. Ginny Weasley was curled near the fireplace, writing in a book.
A diary. He realized. What better way to find out Voldemort's plans than by seeing Ginny's true feelings on the situation? Harry took in the rest of the room, surveying his options as to how to get his hands on that diary. Taking care of the movements in the room, Harry dodged drifting bodies as he made his way to Ginny's side. She seems pretty focused on her book. Good. Carefully, Harry took a poker from the fireplace and leaned it casually against her armchair, then wordlessly levitated a log closer to the end of the poker. Then, with silent apologies to Ron, he levitated a small, hot ember in perfect lining from Ginny's position, and let it fall.
"AH!" Ron thrashed about at the burning sensation. Thankfully he dislodged the ember quickly. Though, for poor Ginny, he also found the trajectory it must have come from. "Gin! What the bloody hell was that for?!"
"What?! I didn't do anything!"
"Oh yeah? You expect me to believe that wasn't you!"
Ginny stood up quickly. The book fell to the floor. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Ron continued shouting. Bringing enough distraction that no one noticed that a fallen book had mysteriously vanished. Harry tuned out the bickering. Instead he allowed the situation to distract everyone while he made a break for the exit. Considering the way the two Weasleys were going at it, one could explain away the sudden opening and closing of the door as someone wisely not wanting to get involved in the spat. Whether or not that's the case didn't matter to Harry. What matters now is getting up to the room of requirement getting the answers he needs to put an end to Voldemort!
Harry planted himself at the writing desk with fierce determination. "Alright, Voldemort, let's see where you're hiding!"
He flipped open the book, primed to devour its contents. The urge sputtered, however, on finding the pages to be blank. What the hell? They can't be blank! He just saw Ginny writing in it a few minutes ago. This doesn't make any sense! Maybe she has a secret lock to it? He closed the book and felt around the cover and spine. Though not seeing a lock, he found the book was peculiar. The faded date on the cover showed it to be about fifty years old. He flipped the cover open, hoping to find more clues, and found the name T. M. Riddle written in smudged ink.
T. M. Riddle … TOM Riddle. This book belonged to Tom Riddle Jr, son of Tom Riddle Snr, the man whose gravestone Harry traced on that single summer trip to Yorkshire. The man who died at the hands of his son. His wizard son. Voldemort you horrible, evil man. This is how he's possessing Ginny! Not as a shade, but through a book!
With a silent wish, Harry summoned a quill and ink to the desk. He turned the book over to the next page and wrote a simple Hello Tom.
The ink vanished when he stopped writing. Harry watched as new ink bloomed across the page. Ginny? Is that you?
No. My name is Harry Potter. Ginny says you give great advice and I'd love to hear some.
It seemed to pause before more ink appeared. Ginny isn't supposed to tell anyone about me. Though I confess that I am interested in talking with you, Harry Potter. Ginny speaks highly of you. Harry snorted "I'll bet she does." What would you like to know?
What Harry wants to ask is why Voldemort's such a piece of… things he's not supposed to say. That said, he's not really sure what to ask. After all, he was expecting hidden notes about Voldemort, not some talking book that seems to be a… younger version of him? Something like that. How is a book even able to talk to a person?
His eyes widen as a possible answer -and question- came to mind. Hurriedly he scribbled down the thought before he could think clearly on it. Are you a horcrux?
Harry held his breath as ink vanished and reappeared. How does a twelve year old boy come to learn about a subject so dark as a horcrux?
Are they really so dark?
Considering how they are created, I should say so.
Harry opted to bluff. I suppose you have a point. That said, you haven't answered my question.
Very astute; but, no, of course I am not a horcrux. I was a prefect at the time I wrote in this diary. I would never get involved with dark magic. That would be against the rules.
"Sure. Of course you of all people would never get into dark magic." Well, that settles it. This thing is a horcrux, whatever they are. Wait- Harry took a moment to analyze the situation. A horcrux is something that allows …part of -question mark- Voldemort to speak to people? To possess and control them? He might not have all of the pieces, but he knows now why they're so dark and dangerous. This needs to be destroyed!
Though, last time it happened, Melly had asked Caireen to break a horcrux hidden in a locket. Before that he had done the same with the diadem. That must have been a horcrux, too! Though with the state Caireen's in, he'll need to wait some time until it can be destroyed. But how to ensure the diary won't possess him like it did with Ginny? …He'll need to talk to Melly. She's done this before. They can do it again.
Harry shut the book unceremoniously. With a quick look through the map, he spotted Melly with her friends in the dungeon, and headed down to the Slytherin dorms.
When it came time for supper, the Slytherins left in groups towards the great hall. Harry waited patiently for the fourth years to make their way over. When they did, he was genuinely surprised to find Melly walking in the centre of a circle of friends. All of them seemed to be on the lookout. For what, there were few possibilities. Still, he did manage to get their attention. It was Pierce that noticed it first. A fluttering parchment on the wind. She grabbed the note and read it, then brought it to the centre for the others to see.
Melody, Dungeon 5.
They whispered hurriedly to each other, but soon the group split off into two. Pucey and Orpington went with Melly towards Dungeon 5, while the rest continued upstairs. Pucey went inside the room first, likely checking for traps, then beckoned Melly to come inside while leaving Orpington to stand watch. Melly walked through the door, but held it open longer than necessary, giving Harry the opportunity to step inside.
"Adrian, can you wait outside, too?"
"What if it's a trap?"
"It's not. I'm sure of that, now."
"...Okay; but if anything goes wrong be sure to call us, alright?"
"I will. Thanks, Adrian." The boy left the room, and Melly spun over to face him. "You can come out, now."
"How do you know where I am?!"
"Because your cloak is creepy and I can practically feel the creepy vibes radiating off of it."
In spite of the strange answer, Harry couldn't help but chuckle as he removed his hood. "You are so weird."
Melly burst into laughter. "I'm weird? Look at your face! Ha!"
Harry crossed his eyes briefly and grimaced. His nose had grown clown-sized about a half hour ago once he realized the truth about the diary.
"Geez, Harry, I never took you for a thief. You should really put back whatever it is you took."
"I won't, and I don't care that I broke the rules." He pulled the diary out of his robes and offered it to her. "This is what I took."
"What is it?" She asked while inspecting the cover.
"Tom Riddle's diary."
Her hand jerked back, nearly dropping the book in the process. "His what?!"
"His diary. It's how Voldemort's been able to possess Ginny Weasley to get into the chamber."
"You're kidding?!" She looked down at the book with fright and surprise. Then she seemed more confused than the others. "Hold on, why don't I know about this?"
Harry shrugged. "You probably didn't see it all happen."
"No, no. I definitely saw this happen before. I should have, but… weird, I don't remember this."
"You… did lose a lot, after what happened." Harry flinched apologetically. "I'm sure you'll get all of your memories back by next summer."
"Here's hoping. So… that means this is over, though, right? We just take the diary to Caireen and no one else can get hurt."
"It's… not that easy." Harry gave a quick version of the events in the chamber. Emphasizing how Caireen is now more or less out of commission until her 'atonement' finishes and she's willing to leave her nest again.
"I'm so sorry, Harry." She tapped the book against her thigh pensively. "Though there is a silver lining to this. I did kind of promised Mister Salvatore that if we ever encountered another dark object from Voldemort I would send it to him, first, for study before destroying it."
So she told Mister Salvatore about the horcruxes, but not me. "That's fine. How long do you think that will take?"
"Not sure, but I'll add a note to the package to explain the situation." Three knocks on the door punctuated the space. "Guess we should head out. Just leave the rest to me, alright?"
"Sure, no problem. Guess I ought to see Madam Pomfrey, first, anyways? Can't have the Weasleys figure out what I did."
Melly laughed at his expense. "Definitely not." She waited until the cloak was back on, then opened the door for the two of them to leave.