Chapter 13
Danielle and Harry arrived at Hogwarts as the sun was setting. They went straight to see professor McGonagall. She met them in her old office. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit Mr. Potter and Miss Malfoy?"
"We came to try to search for a um…a horcrux, " said Harry.
"A horcrux? And where do you expect to find this object?"
"Somewhere on the school property. That is why we came to ask your permission to search the school."
Professor McGonagall sighed and said, "I will allow you to search the school and surrounding property on two conditions. One is that you are to stay in this room during the day; I do not need my students interrupted. Second is that you confine your searching to after the students are in their respective houses."
"Thank you professor."
"I will inform Mr. Filch that you two have permission to wander the school. This will be your housing while you are here. I will send a house-elf to you for your meals and other things. I would like at least some information on your progress."
Harry nodded his head and she left the room, locking the door behind her. "Where should we start?"
"The Chamber of Secrets I suppose."
Together they made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They walked into the bathroom and Harry stepped up to the sink that had a serpent etched into the tap. "Open."
The sink slid into a cavernous space in the floor and showed the tunnel that was hidden behind the sink. Harry went first and Danielle followed. They slid down the wet, slimy pipe and came out in a tunnel. "Lumos."
Light flared from Harry's wand and they walked deeper into the tunnel, until they came to a cave-in. They climbed through a small hole near the top and walked a little further into the tunnel. They stopped in front of two entwined serpents that were etched into the solid wall before them. The light from Harry's wand made the emerald eyes of the two snakes glitter menacingly at them. The two serpents split revealing a long dimly lit chamber. Harry shuddered as he walked ahead of Danielle. They stood before the statue of Salazar Slytherin and both turned different ways, in search of anything that would lead them to a secret hiding place.
"I don't see anything magically concealed do you Harry?"
Danielle turned around when he did not answer and found in his place a solid stonewall. She then noticed the statue and the entwined serpents that supported the ceiling were gone. She was standing in what appeared to be a small chamber. She stepped forward and heard a soft click. Danielle dropped to the ground as a huge sickle swung out of the recess in the wall before her. She moved forward on her belly and felt the air currents the sickle was making above her. She was crawling along when the floor suddenly gave out below her. She screamed as she fell and hit the ground hard. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was two dark tunnels in front of her.
Danielle slowly opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She heard a noise behind her and scrabbled to her feet with her wand at the ready. Harry came tumbling out of a niche in the wall. He got up and looked surprised to find her. He had a few scrapes on his face and his shirt was torn in places. "Where did you go?"
"I went to the right of the statue and you disappeared. Then a swinging sickle nearly impaled me and the floor fell out from under me. Now I'm here, where did you go?"
"I fell though the floor and walked though the right hand tunnel before us, now I'm back where I started."
"I suppose we'll be taking the one on the left then?"
"That or the one inside the one on the right."
Danielle and Harry walked into the left hand tunnel with their wands out and ready. As they progressed further into the tunnel it began to get cold and damp. The tunnel narrowed off and fed into a long wide chamber. There were bones littered across the chamber and a dark archway at the end. Danielle was looking at the ground when Harry stopped suddenly in front of her. A hissing sound greeted them from the tunnel. A Basilisk emerged slowly from the tunnel and Harry backed up slowly. The snake was a brilliant green color and had one eye missing, while the other eye had a knife sticking out of it. Danielle tripped and landed on her butt, gaining the attention of the large snake. "Danielle can you transfigure into something?"
"Why?"
"Maybe you can distract it while I look for a way to kill it."
"The only things I can transfigure into are a hawk and a unicorn."
"A unicorn?"
'It took me forever to do, however instead of pure white I can only do black. For a while I couldn't get a horn to sprout out of my forehead."
"Aren't they supposed to be hard to catch?"
"Um Harry…you aren't thinking of matching a unicorn to a basilisk are you?"
Harry nodded his head and Danielle sighed. She changed shape behind Harry and he turned to look at her. There stood a black unicorn where Danielle had been standing. The snake chose that moment to lunge at them. Danielle galloped past Harry, confusing the snake. It followed her instead, while Harry tried to find something to kill it with. " Accio sword."
The sword stayed firmly planted in the serpents' eye. Danielle made another circuit around the snake, which lunged at her. She sliced it across its soft underbelly and raced off in Harry's direction. The snake hissed in pain and swung around to follow Danielle. Harry grabbed her mane and swung on her back. Danielle narrowly missed being bit as she galloped towards the tunnel the snake had come out of. The dark tunnel descended sharply, causing her to stumble a bit, before she regained her footing. They reached a place in the tunnel where Danielle would not fit in her current form, so Harry dismounted and Danielle changed back. They slipped through the opening and found before them a large eerily blue-lit chamber. On a pedestal in the center stood a cup.
Harry ran to it and pulled it off the stand. Water began pouring into the room and an opening appeared in the far wall. Out of that opening came the basilisk they had fled from. Danielle looked around for a weapon in the fast rising water but could find nothing. "Accio sword!"
When nothing happened she went through the other names that the sword could be that was sticking out of the snakes eye. Finally she got lucky and the weapon flew into her hand. She looked at it and vaguely registered the ornate R on the handle above what looked to be a raven. "I think you killed our snake Danielle."
"And I believe I just found our horcrux."
Harry walked over and looked at it. It was a Scottish dirk about sixteen or seventeen inches in length. Another opening appeared in the far way and they waded their way over to it, hoping nothing else was waiting for them in the dark. They made their way back to their room and showered before falling into bed.
Danielle woke up and noticed it was three in the afternoon. She stretched and got out of bed to use the bathroom. She came back and found Harry sitting up in bed. "I hope I didn't wake you?"
"No."
She climbed in bed next to him and he said, "I think we should destroy the two horcruxes we have, before we go looking for the next one."
Danielle nodded her head and kissed his cheek. He smiled at her as a knock sounded at the door. He got out of the bed and pulled out the blankets on the other bed, before the door was opened. Professor McGonagall came in, followed be a house-elf. The house-elf laid the food on the table and left. "How is your searching going?"
"We found one, now we just need to find the other."
"Let me know if there is anything I can do for you."
She left the room and Danielle and Harry sat down to eat. They dressed and made their way out to the forbidden forest after the sun had set and the students had all trudged to their dorms. They destroyed the spells that were on the two objects and made their way back to the room. Harry began pacing as soon as Danielle had closed and locked the door. She put the two items away and waited for him to say something. "Where do you suppose the other one is?"
"I don't know."
He paced back and forth in the small room, until Danielle grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. "What?"
She shook her head and kissed his mouth. She broke the kiss and pulled his shirt up his body. He tossed it on the bed and pulled her into his arms. Harry undid the buttons down her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. The shirt fell to the floor as Harry kissed her. He unclasped her bra and slid that off her shoulders too. She undid the button on his pants and tugged them down. Harry kissed her neck and pulled off her skirt. He pulled her to the bed and tugged her down on top of him.
Harry woke up in the early afternoon of the next day and rolled over to face Danielle. She was sleeping with her hand under her cheek and her lips were slightly parted. He leaned closer and lightly kissed her lips. She frowned and rolled over on her back. She turned her head away from him and he kissed down her neck to her collarbone. Danielle moaned in her sleep and he pushed the sheet down, baring her upper body. He lightly kissed the underside of her breast and pressed open-mouthed kisses to her navel. He kissed her hip and she threaded her fingers in his hair, which startled him. He raised his head and looked up at her. A knock sounded at the door and Harry got up out of the bed and threw on his robe. Danielle put on Harry's shirt and the door opened. A house-elf came in followed by professor McGonagall. The house-elf set down the food on the table and left the room. "Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley have asked to speak to you. They will be here shortly. I haven't that faintest idea how they found out you two were here."
She arched her eyebrow as Hermione came in, followed by Ron. Professor McGonagall left the room and Hermione took in both Harry's and Danielle's appearance. "So you've gotten back together have you two?"
Harry sat down on the bed, careful to keep his robe closed. "So have you found anything of importance?"
"We found one horcrux, now just need one more. Do you two have any ideas?" said Harry.
"I was thinking the Slytherin common room, I mean that was Tom Riddle's home really."
"But there's nothing really in the Slytherin common room, " said Danielle.
"We overheard the Bloody Baron talking to Nearly headless Nick about how there used to be a secret panel in the wall, but then it just disappeared."
Everyone looked to Danielle, as if she could confirm that there was indeed a secret panel in the wall. "I don't know if there is one or not."
"Well you are a Slytherin," said Ron.
Hermione elbowed him and her looked at her. "What?"
"We want to help."
"But how are we going to get four people into the Slytherin common room?"
"Harry can wear his invisibility cloak and Ron and I can use the invisibility spell. You can just walk in, since you are still a Slytherin."
Harry nodded his head, "Alright we'll leave at ten tonight then. We'll meet at the staircase down to the dungeons."
Hermione and Ron left the room to go get ready for tonight.
At ten Harry and her walked down the stairs and stood in front of the door that lead to the dungeons. They didn't have to wait too long for Hermione and Ron to show up. Hermione briefly dropped her spell and waved to them. They went down the stairs and Danielle turned left down a long corridor. Harry threw on his invisibility cloak and followed Danielle to Slytherin. After many turns and dark corridors, they stood in front of a solid wall. "Pureblood."
The wall slid open and Danielle walked in followed by the rest. The common room was mostly empty, except for her brother and his group of friends. "Danielle? What are you doing here?"
"I'm just searching for stuff."
He dismissed his friends, and walked over to her. "What exactly are you looking for Danielle?"
"A secret room in Slytherin."
He smirked and said, "Well good luck with that then."
He left and the common room was now empty. "Okay, now let's search for this hidden panel."
They each went separate ways, looking for a hidden panel in the walls. Harry found it behind a tapestry of the Slytherin crest. "Now how do we open it?"
Danielle got on her hands and knees and felt under the panel and found a latch. She pushed it to the left and the panel slid open. Together they went through the passageway which turned into a slide as the panel closed. They landed with a thud on top of a pile of hay. Danielle frowned and looked around for everyone else. She found Harry an arms length away. Hermione emerged a few feet away and Ron appeared right next to her. "So what's with the hay?" asked Ron.
Danielle shrugged and they made their way to the end of the hay pile. "Better then hard floor for once."
Danielle nodded her head and took out her wand. They walked through a doorway and into a small chamber. Near the only exit in the room were a dragon and a fire crab. Danielle tugged Harry back into the room with the hay and Hermione followed with Ron. "Any ideas?"
"Well we don't have enough people to stun the dragon, but if we could stun the fire crab, then we could distract the dragon."
"Sure, now how do you propose we get them apart?"
"Two of us will distract the dragon and the other two will take on the fire crab."
"I noticed the ceiling had an opening in it about halfway into the room. I say the two that are distracting the dragon should lead it away and hopefully come back, " said Harry.
"Well since it involves flying you should do it Harry," said Hermione.
"Who's going with me?"
"Ron."
"No I'm not."
"Fine then Danielle will go with you. You can fly on a broom right Danielle?"
"Of course, I usually practice out flying Draco. So where do we get brooms from?"
"I noticed two were on the left-hand side of the doorway. Good luck you two."
Harry and Danielle walked back into the room and grabbed a broom each. They mounted and kicked off from the ground. Danielle circled near the opening of the ceiling while Harry went to annoy the dragon. It shook its head and gazed at Harry with yellow eyes. Harry circled around again and this time the dragon roared and got up. Harry noticed the black ridges that ran along its back and nearly missed being hit by a jet of flame. Harry moved out of reach and the frustrated dragon tried to follow. It spread its wings and took off after Harry and Danielle. They flew up through the hole in the ceiling and left Hermione and Ron to deal with the fire crab. Hermione and Ron walked into the room and fanned out, circling the fire crab. By the time they finished defeating the fire crab, Harry and Danielle had made it back. "We have maybe a few minutes before the dragon comes back."
Ron pulled open the door and they all walked inside. Harry closed the door behind him and they were plunged into darkness. "Lumos."
Light flared from each of their wands and lit the small chamber. In front of them paced a Sphinx. It focused its tawny eyes on the four of them and said, "If you answer my riddle on the first try you can pass. However, answer wrong and you will die. If you say nothing I will allow you to walk away. Only two people may answer my riddle and pass through, the others must remain behind. "
"Does it matter which two pass through?"
"Yes, it does. Only a Riddle may pass through."
Harry turned back to Hermione and Ron; I guess we wait for Danielle. "But Harry you can go in too, " said Danielle.
"How do you figure?"
"Because he marked you as his equal when he tried to kill you. I believe you should be able to pass through."
"Okay we'll try."
Harry turned to the Sphinx and asked, "What happens to someone who passes through that isn't a Riddle?"
The Sphinx smiled nastily and said nothing. "We're ready to hear the riddle."
"First, think of some matter that sometimes can dance
it holds up our bodies and makes up our mass.
Next, they were once noble fighters now just some old men.
What becomes of great heroes who are
two hundred and ten?
Lastly, it may come new but once it is old it becomes
all rotten and disgusting to hold.
Now, put them all together and relate them to man
it's what every person becomes in the end."
Danielle and Harry looked at each other with frowns on their faces. Danielle began repeating the phrases separately to Harry. "Great heroes that are two hundred and ten? That would be dead, right Danielle?"
Danielle nodded her head and tried to piece the other stuff together. "Rotting is the third clue."
"Relate them to man?"
Harry shook his head and Danielle turned to the Sphinx and said, "a fighting corpse."
The Sphinx got up from its position and moved out of the way. Danielle took Harry's hand and they walked past the Sphinx. "We'll wait here, hopefully you'll be back soon."
"I don't get that riddle though. What was the purpose of it?"
They stepped out of the tunnel into a very large chamber that held a large lake. The water was dark and glassy. There was an island in the middle of the lake that had a small boat on it. "How do you suppose we get the boat?"
"Maybe with the summoning spell."
"Accio boat."
The boat glided across the water and stopped before them. They climbed in and the boat moved by itself to the other side of the lake. Halfway there something grabbed the side of the boat and tugged. The boat rocked precariously in the water but did not tip over. Something bumped the underside of the boat and shoved it hard to the left. Danielle fell in the water with a splash. She screamed as something grabbed her leg and tugged her under. Harry, who was still in the boat, was ready to jump overboard when Danielle surfaced again. "It's just a few grindylows."
He helped her back into the boat and then set off again. They made it to the other side of the lake and entered a large archway.
Danielle heard a soft click and dropped to the floor. Harry dropped to the floor after her. When nothing happened Danielle slowly got up and Harry followed after her. "Why did you drop?"
"I heard a click and years of training has taught me to drop. But I'm puzzled right now."
Harry walked further into the room and turned round to face her. "I don't see anything."
Danielle walked further into the room and her eyes widened at the sight behind Harry. "I believe I understand the Sphinx' riddle now."
Harry turned around and saw an army of Inferi. "How do you suggest we get by them?"
"With the Incendio spell."
Danielle and Harry walked further into the room. "Where is our final destination?"
Danielle twirled around the room and saw a doorway on the left hand side of the room past the cluster of Inferi. "Over there."
As soon as they had stepped halfway into the room, the Inferi charged. "Incendio."
Most of them jumped out of the way of the flames. Harry and Danielle slowly made their way to the door. One of the Inferius swung its sword at Danielle and she moved out of the way, gaining a shallow cut on the side of her face. Harry yanked open the door and shoved Danielle inside, before sending another jet of flames over his shoulder and closing the door. Harry turned around and saw Danielle approaching a small cup. "Found the last one."
"Let's destroy the spell now."
"Okay Harry."
Once they had destroyed the spell on the cup, they were walking back the way they had come when the floor gave out under them. They hit the ground in a cemetery and Danielle watched as the cup rolled away, to stop at the feet of the one man who she did not what to see. "So daughter disobeying me again?"
He raised her up and she searched for Harry and found him slowly getting to his feet. The Dark Lord grabbed her arm and revealed her Dark Mark, which he touched his wand to. Instantly his Death Eaters appeared and formed a circle around them. The Dark Lord shoved Danielle from him and turned to Harry. "I see you did one thing good daughter, you brought me Harry Potter. Now I can finish what I set out to do. Kill her, but leave the boy to me."
Danielle ducked the spells that flew at her and went running further into the graveyard. She feverently hopped that Harry would be able to hold the Dark Lord off for a little bit. She mentally sent an image to Hermione of where she and Harry were, in the hope that Hermione came with help.
Danielle tripped and fell and looked over her shoulder. Two of the Death Eaters were on her tail and one was a bout to aim a spell at her when someone in front of her shot a spell at them. Lupin helped her up and said, "Where's Harry?"
"Back there with the Dark Lord."
"Go help him, we'll cover you."
She noticed many of the Order members were there and ran back to help Harry. She found him on his knees in front of the Dark Lord. She looked around on the ground and found a stone near her foot. She picked it up and threw it at the Dark Lord's head. Surprisingly she hit him and he staggered. Harry got up and moved out of reach, while Danielle hid behind a tombstone. "Escaped did you daughter? No worry I'll deal with you after I kill the boy."
She sent a stunning spell over the tombstone, but it just missed him. It did however give Harry enough time to fire off a spell of his own. She kept the Dark Lord busy while Harry got in a few spells. Two Death Eaters appeared near her and she ducked behind another tombstone. They spotted her and gave chase. Danielle cursed her luck and sent a spell at the Dark Lord. "Use Sectumsempra Harry."
She did not have time to see if he listened because two Dementors blocked her path. The two Death Eaters that had been following her left and Danielle turned and ran. She did not get vary far, before she fell to the ground screaming. She looked up and saw Harry covered with a fine spray of blood battling the Dark Lord, before she blacked out.
Disclaimer: nothing Harry Potter is mine, that belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do however own Danielle Riddleand the riddle the Sphinx uses is mine, so please do not just take it without giving credit (It took a while to come up with it). Thanks to all who have reviewed.