Author's Note

So people keep asking me this and I'm sorry that I don't have a different answer. I'm really struggling with writer's block with regards to my other two stories.

I know that it's especially frustrating in terms of Goddess of Fire, because it's just a single chapter and then the story ends.

Thing is, I'm really drawing a blank when it comes to the Chunin Exams Finals. So please, bear with me.

I ended up spending an hour having tea with Luna and our mother. Time that I didn't really have to spare, but did it anyway.

Once Luna was sent back to Ravenclaw Tower and my mum and the Weasleys left, I spoke to the portraits in my office and enquired if anything interesting had happened these past few days.

It's then that I learnt that Harry, Ron and Hermione snuck back into Hogwarts at night, a few days ago. Sending a house elf, I quickly had them brought to my office. It didn't take much to learn everything.

Hagrid being arrested, him sending them on a fact finding mission and then what they learnt. Inwardly, I was horrified. What was he thinking, sending three twelve year olds into a nest of acromantula.

I didn't even know there was a nest. My first instinct was to plan for its destruction, but on second thought, a new idea popped into my head. That would have to wait however. I still had lots to do.

Once the three left, I apparated to Gringotts, to find out about the state of Hogwarts finances. It's there that I learnt a startling truth.

The school had multiple vaults! As the goblins informed me, since the school was founded over a thousand years ago, there have been plenty of witches and wizards who have left bequests to the school.

So much in fact, that the vaults were overflowing. I also learnt that the monies were under the sole control of the Headmaster, who could do with it as he pleased. For the most part that is.

Obviously, a Headmaster couldn't transfer the school's fortune to his personal vault. Turns out that the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Magic knew nothing of the money the school had.

What annoyed me however, is the fact that Dumbledore was so miserly with the gold. There is plenty of improvements that could be made at the school yet wasn't.

Still, this is a relief. I now have the funds to employ all the staff and equipment that I require. I make one further stop in Diagon Alley before I leave.

It's late at night that I return to Hogwarts. I had to visit many people and persuade them to accept employment at Hogwarts, but I finally managed it. They'll all be around tomorrow, to sign their contracts.

Fortunately, in the Headmaster's office, there are dozens of blank employment contracts. All it requires is my signature, that of the new professor, as well as their job title and description.

I spend an hour doing that, before I call for a light meal to be served. It's only around one in the morning when I go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a trying day after all.

I end up only having about five hours of sleep. After refreshing myself, I have a light breakfast then I leave my office. My journey through the castle is a convoluted one and I finally end up infront of a blank stretch of wall on the first floor.

Bracing myself, I walk right through it. Behind the wall is a staircase, which seemingly goes on forever. There are no torches on the walls, so I keep my wand lit. For nearly twenty minutes I descend into the bowels of the school. Inwardly, I'm surprised. I didn't think that the Founders had delved so deeply.

At the end of my journey, understanding dawns. I'm in a large natural cavern, perhaps four times the size of the Great Hall. The floor is slightly flooded and I can't see the cavern walls clearly, though a faint glow pervades.

I flick my wand and dozens of conjured globes of light scatter, illuminating the entire place. I'm equally dismayed as I am in awe. Stone tablets, onyx to be precise, inscribed with rows upon rows of runes line the walls.

Only about a third of them are glowing however. That means that most of the wards protecting the school are inactive. In the centre of room is a perfect stone globe, the height of a man, made of onyx as well.

The Heartstone of the wards, which is barely pulsing with magic. Firstly, I make a sweeping gesture with my wand. All the water dissapears, the stale air freshens and all the cracked stone instantly repairs itself.

Next, from a pouch in my robes, I withdraw an ewer made of gold. It's the size of my forearm. Gleaming silver liquid can be seen inside. I take a bracing breath then and float the ewer so that it hovers above the orb.

I haven't entered the cavern proper yet. I'm still on the lowest step. The moment the ewer is above the orb, I take my final step and stand at last upon the ground.

Wandlessly, I tip the ewer over, while at the same time, I hold my wand with both hands and fire a jet of pure magical power at the orb. The liquid hits the orb at the same time as my power.

Immediately, lightning crackles around the orb and I shut my eyes as it blazes with light. The thrum of magic is so heavy in the air that my body is shaking.

I maintain my output of power for nearly half a minute. Then I abruptly stop. I have to steady myself against the cavern wall. That took a lot out of me.

I open my eyes then. The runes on the Heartstone are glowing with a golden light. Slowly, the runes on the tablets that adorn the cavern walls, the lights are changing from blue to gold.

I know it will take months however, until the wards are fully restored. All the inactive tablets, their runes will steadily flicker back to life and glow blue over the next few weeks.

I'll have to come back down here, once a week and pour my not inconsiderable power into the orb. The Founders activated this entire ward scheme all at once.

The wards are supposed to be maintained by all the ambient magic discharged from thousands of spells cast daily and hundreds of magicals living in the castle.

The Heartstone however is what ties it together. The maintenance of which is the duty of the Headmaster. Judging by the look of the place, nobody has been here in at least a century.

Times have changed however. The Headmasters of Hogwarts weren't necessarily the most powerful witches or wizards around. Unlike when the school started and the Founders lived.

There were four of them however and immensely powerful on top of that. Each of them were atleast as powerful as Dumbledore is. I'm not quite there yet.

My mother always knew how powerful I was, but as a child, she cautioned me. Better not to draw any unnecessary attention from those that would seek to control me. Thus, nobody but her truly knows what I'm capable of.

Don't get me wrong, I was still the top student of my year and I was Head Boy, but when I graduated, people saw me as having the potential of being on the level of Bellatrix Lestrange. Not the level of her master.

I had long decided that I wasn't going to be the type of wizard the likes of Dumbledore, Voldemort, Slytherin and Gryffindor were. No. They use brute force or showy magic.

I, just like the Founder I idolize, use subtler magics. That of enchanting. But in any event, once I've sufficiently recovered, I summon the ewer back to me and then I apparate back to my office. Now that I've seen this cavern with my own eyes, I never have to walk down those stairs again.

I appear back in my office and call an elf to bring me a more substantial breakfast. After my large magical expenditure, I need to recharge, so to speak.

Once I finish, I immediately go through my correspondence. That takes a few hours, both to read and to reply. There's one that's of vital importance.

I'm negotiating with an apothecary to procure mature mandrakes for me. The mandrakes grown in the Northern Hemisphere are nowhere near maturity yet. That leaves me to look towards the Southern Hemisphere.

Because of the short notice, distance involved and relative rarity of the plant, it will be exorbitantly expensive. Nothing that the school cannot afford however, seeing as a large untapped resource has been made known to me.

After lunch, the new Professors and staff begin flooing into my office to sign their contracts. Those that can start immediately that is. I'm pleased to note that Bill is one of them.

As a Junior Cursebreaker, he's relatively unimportant to Gringotts, thus they can afford his abrupt resignation. The goblins are bastards however. Because he resigned without prior notice, Bill forfeits this month's salary.

Not that it matters in the end. As a Hogwarts Professor, he'll be earning substantially more than he currently does. Double actually. From two hundred and fifty galleons a month to five hundred. The Professors earn based on seniority however.

Still, even Mr Weasley will be earning more here than he does currently. That's not even speaking of Mrs Weasley. They'll finally have the money to live comfortably. Like they deserve.

Fiercely independent and not at all accepting of charity. There are ways around that however. My first enchanted item that I created was a loom. It took wool or cloth and created professional grade robes and clothes, with heating, cooling and resizing charms enchanted into the fabric as the clothes took shape.

Something that only a trained magical tailor or seamstress can do. Mrs Weasley was delighted by it when I gifted it to her. Bill and Charlie send her fabrics occasionally and she uses them to create clothes for her family. It's been awhile since any of the younger Weasleys have worn clothes that were hand-me-downs.

But I digress. I don't have time for my mind to wander. I summon the Head Elf Biffy. He appears before me in a pop. Old, even older than Dumbledore, he's stooped and shriveled, nevertheless, his mental faculties are fully intact.

" Biffy, we have a dozen new staff that will arrive tomorrow. Two of which are married. I require you to direct the other elves to prepare accommodation for them. I also need you to clean and prepare about ten abandoned classrooms and make them ready for use please. "

Unlike the other elves, he doesn't waste time on small talk. He bows his head slightly and pops away. I exhale. There's one more problem dealt with.

A cursory mental scan of the wards reveal nothing amiss, so that means I can relax for now. After eating a delicious but simple supper of roast beef and veg, I apparate directly into the library.

After casting all the detection charms I can, I'm satisfied that no person or creature is in the library with me. I seal the doors magically however and create a spherical magical barrier around me that will disintegrate anything living that tries to breach it.

It's then that I start scouring the library for any magic or creature that's capable of petrification. I spend hours looking and late at night, I come to a startling realisation.

There are actually a number of spells that can petrify, but it doesn't quite fit. All of the victims, despite being petrified, are actually in perfectly good health. It's like they are in stasis.

If dark magic was used however, that wouldn't be the case. There would be physical degradation of some sort. There is no evidence of it being the case. Also, the spells that can petrify leave almost a sort of heavy tang in the air. There was nothing of the sort near any of the victims.

That leaves creatures. There are only two that I've read about that is capable of such things. A gorgon and a basilisk. Both frightening prospects.

A gorgon is unlikely however. As far as I'm aware, the handful that exists are closely guarded by an entire battalion of Greek Aurors. What's more, they can only breed is specific circumstances.

A basilisk, while not quite as rare, would be more likely. Especially considering Salazar Slytherin's abilities. Still, I'll need to consult with Professor Kettleburn just to be sure.

When I finish, I send the books back to their places and then I dismiss the protective measures I cast. When I finish, I apparate back to my office. After a quick shower, I curl up in bed and fall asleep fast.

I awake at six in the morning and this time, I make use of the bath. For half an hour I simply relax in the warm water. Once that's done and I dress myself, I call upon two elves.

One brings a pot of tea, sugar cubes, milk and two cups. The other elf goes to fetch Professor Kettleburn. I know that he's an early riser as well. Five minutes later, the elf, Dipsy, pops into my office. Professor Kettleburn has a hand on her shoulder.

I thank her and she pops away. I gesture for the elderly Professor to take a seat. We both take a few moments to prepare our tea as we like it. Once he's ready, I speak.

" Good morning Professor. I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here so early in the morning. You see, I think I might know what's behind these petrifications. "

" I've done my research. As you know, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago as well. The whole debacle ended when a student died and Hagrid was the one accused of being behind it all and then expelled for it. "

" There are several problems with that. Notwithstanding Slytherin's supposed view on blood purity, which would preclude Hagrid from being the Heir. "

" If Hagrid were truly guilty, why was he not sent to Azkaban? Why was he merely expelled? A few days ago, Hagrid was taken into custody by the Minister of Magic. "

" Now correct me if I'm wrong but since when does the Minister arrest people? Isn't that the job of the DMLE? But that's not even the most interesting thing. "

" You see, there were three students with Hagrid at the time. They were hidden fortunately. Before he was taken however, Hagrid informed the students that if they wanted answers, they needed to ' follow the spiders. ' Yes, I'm as shocked by what he told them as well. "

" Naturally, the spiders fled into the Forbidden Forest. After wandering deeply, they came upon a large hollow in a clearing. There they met the creature that was accused of killing the girl, fifty years ago. "

" An acromantula named Aragog, who I'm told is the size of an asian elephant. He told them that even back then, he could feel it when the monster in the Chamber awoke. He begged Hagrid to let him flee, but Hagrid wouldn't. "

" According to Aragog, the monster is an ancient creature that spiders fear above all others. According to my research, it can be nothing other than a basilisk. What I'd like to ask you Professor, is if it's possible for a basilisk to petrify? "

Professor Kettleburn has a very expressive face. Throughout my narration, I can see his reactions clearly. Two stand out. His anger at Hagrid for sending students deep into the forest and his astonishment at my conclusion.

He looks gobsmacked. After a few minutes however, he snaps out of it, looking sheepish and embarrassed. He sobers quickly however.

" It is possible Headmaster. There is no spell per se, that can deflect its gaze. But the effect of its stare can me mitigated if seen through a reflection. "

" Now that you've mentioned the beast, it's startlingly clear. From what I remember, the floor was flooded where the cat was found. It likely saw a reflection. The area the girls were found makes it obvious as well. "

" There are mirrors on the walls there. The final victims likely saw the beast through the form of the ghost. Sir Nicholas is of course already dead, so he cannot die. Now the question becomes, how will we stop the beast? "

I nod along as he speaks. I'd thought of all those things as well. " To stop it, we'd need to find it. That's the missing piece of the puzzle. The statues I've animated are made of stone, so they will be unaffected by the basilisk's stare. "

" They are also stationed at almost every passage. What nobody knows however is that there are statues hidden in alcoves as well. They appear to not have been animated, but they are. "

" While I do not believe they could kill the beast, they are more than capable of both causing a distraction and of raising the alarm. The thing is, we now know what the monster in the Chamber is. What we need to find out is why this is all happening now. "

" This is beyond any student and all the staff have been accounted for during the attacks. I'm hoping that with more staff on hand, we'll be able to search the dorms for answers. In any case, thank you for your time Professor. I'll inform the other staff later on. "

He nods his head distractedly. A few minutes later, my floo chimes. I smile slightly. That must be one of the new staff members. I can't wait to see everyone's reactions.