Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


Chapter 23 – The Fallout


In the days following the incident down in the Chamber Harry was bombarded on all sides by an incredulous school, while Cornelius had to deal with everyone else. There had been enough witnesses to his defeat of a thousand-year-old basilisk that rumours began circulating, first throughout the school and then throughout Britain and beyond. By the end of the week Harry had heard every variation of the tale possible, ranging from silly but somewhat truthful to absolutely absurd, and culminating in him nearly having a fit when a fourth year Slytherin asked him if it was true that it was all a lie. The Slytherin said he'd had a letter from his cousin who attended Durmstrang and the word at the Bulgarian school was that he was an animagus who could turn into a basilisk, but not properly given his young age, and that the adults in the Chamber had seen his half-human half-basilisk form and so he'd been forced to obliviate them all – though how he was supposed to have managed that when he was too young to be an animagus wasn't mentioned – and so he had planted the story of his heroics in their minds to save face.

The fact that the tale had reached mainland Europe, twisted though it was, had Harry groaning, though had Cornelius doing much more. The Minister had been swarmed first by Ministry officials, then by every Minister of Magic in Europe, and several further abroad, until finally the International Confederation of Wizards contacted him. Cornelius had expected a lot of interest. Not only had the ward of the British Minister of Magic saved Hogwarts – the oldest and most famous wizarding school in the world – but the fact that it was Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, meant that there was always going to be a lot of attention on what had happened down in the now not so-fabled Chamber of Secrets. Cornelius had been prepared for it, had even been excited as it brought more prestige to himself, but he'd not been prepared for so much international interest. In mid November, a month after the incident, Cornelius appeared at Hogwarts again and Harry was pulled from his class to attend a meeting in the Headmaster's office.

"Harry!" Cornelius greeted happily and Harry returned his smile. Ever since he'd followed Harry down into the Chamber, with barely any hesitation to boot, Harry had found a new respect, and even affection, for his guardian. Cornelius had put his life on the line to protect Harry, something no one, save his long dead parents, had ever done for him before. What made it more important to Harry was that he knew, without doubt, that Cornelius had done it for him, not for his image. He knew his guardian well enough to know that not even his image was enough for Cornelius to risk his life, but he, Harry, had been.

"Cornelius. Headmaster." He greeted, taking the open, magically expanded seat, and settling himself and Ginny into it. Ginny had yet to recover from being possessed by Voldemort. What had happened down in the Chamber and what she'd been forced to do weighed heavily on her and she'd withdrawn inside herself. Madam Pomfrey said that her mind was doing what it thought necessary to protect itself and there was no spell or potion that could fix it. To try would mean to break her mind apart in the attempt to get passed the barrier it had created, and in so doing would likely see her become a patient in the long-term ward at St. Mungo's. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had wanted to take their daughter home upon hearing that, but it was quickly proven to be unwise. Ginny had been given a dreamless sleep potion after Madam Pomfrey had checked her over for injuries that day, but she had still woken up screaming; not even a dreamless sleep could keep the nightmares fully at bay. During those first few waking hours Ginny had been curled into a ball in a corner of the hospital wing, rocking back and forth. Nothing her family or the school matron did could reach her, let alone comfort her, and it was only when Harry appeared to check on her that she snapped out of it. With a strangled sob she'd launched herself at Harry and clung to him as she had after waking in the Chamber. She'd barely left his side since. Anytime someone tried to separate them Ginny would become frantic, crying, screaming and kicking to get back to him. It was the only time she uttered a sound, having not spoken in a month.

The Weasleys had been nearly as frantic, worried beyond belief for their daughter and sister. A specialist in mind magic had been brought from St. Mungo's to look at her and had offered no better news than Madam Pomfrey had, though he did offer a bit more insight. Having carefully used legilimency to peer into her mind, the healer had said that it was almost entirely darkness. Whatever a teenage Voldemort had done to her mind while she was possessed, which no one, safe perhaps Ginny herself, knew the full extent of, it had brought a blanket of darkness over her mind. She was constantly living in the pain and horror of what had been done to her with no apparent escape. Except for a tiny bit of light that Harry brought. The healer theorized that as Harry had saved her, she had latched on to him as the one being she knew with absolute certainty would protect her. She felt safe with him and as it was the only bit of safety she had at the moment, she couldn't let go or she would fall completely into the darkness. Only time would tell if Ginny would ever recover, both the healer and Madam Pomfrey cautioning them that it was possible Voldemort's possession of her had done irreparable damage. In the meantime, Ginny was a shell that only Harry could reach. She attended classes with him and followed him to the library, sitting there completely unengaged, and clung to him in the great hall during meals, eating only at Harry's encouragement. Those were the easy parts. Using the loo proved a challenge, but they managed it with Bill's help.

The eldest Weasley brother had requested leave from his job, which the goblins had granted instantly. Goblins, mean, spiteful and harsh taskmasters that they were, were also very familial. Nothing mattered more to a goblin than their family and it was widely known that you messed with a goblin's family at your own peril. Although he was a wizard, Bill was also considered an honourary goblin, of sorts, being one of the few humans the goblins liked enough to employ at Gringotts. It was well known that Arthur Weasley's daughter had been embroiled in the Chamber of Secrets incident, and so when Bill had requested leave the goblins had known it was to take care of his sister and had very approvingly – given his actions were the same as goblin's would be in the same situation – agreed to his request. Bill had then told Dumbledore he was staying at Hogwarts with Ginny, all but daring the Headmaster to remove him. With his eye twinkle on at full blast, Dumbledore had agreed on the condition that Bill assist Snape in covering the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes until a suitable replacement could be found; Lockhart having fled the castle instead of dealing with the monster like he said he could. Bill had agreed and his presence meant that there were no awkward bathroom situations. Bill stayed with Ginny while Harry showered and was able to keep her calm while normally separation from Harry had her reverting to a desperate panic. The mind healer supposed that this was because as Ginny's eldest brother, and eleven years her senior, Bill had always doted on her and been her protector and some part of Ginny recognized that. He wasn't a long-term solution though and even with Bill present Ginny couldn't be away from Harry for long. During her own visits to the loo Harry had to sit outside the door, which was left open just a crack, and talk to her the whole time. Hermione stepped up and accompanied Ginny into the girl's lavatory each time, keeping an eye on her lest Harry's voice not be enough to keep the darkness at bay.

Nighttime was the most challenging though. Ginny's screams woke the entire tower three nights in a row, even with a more potent dreamless sleep that Snape had brewed, before the adults agreed it could not continue. After much discussion, and initially much protesting on Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Cornelius and Aldora's parts, Dumbledore unsealed the Head Boy's room in Gryffindor tower, which was unused this year as the Head Boy was a Hufflepuff, and it was converted into a dorm for Harry and Ginny. The only reason the parents and guardians eventually gave in was because it was made clear that the children would not be allowed to stay in the room alone. All the Weasley brothers – save Charlie who hadn't been able to get time off work – moved in with them. It was, in part, to keep an eye on Harry given he'd be sleeping close to their little sister, but mostly it was to squash any rumours before they began, though from her brothers' point of view it was mostly to try and offer Ginny a safe space, one that not only had Harry there to protect her, but almost all of her brothers as well. The first night in the new dorm was a relief for all Gryffindors as they got a proper night's sleep. Harry and Ginny's beds had been pushed together after a fit from a panicked Ginny, allowing them to hold hands as they fell asleep, though they had woken snuggled together with Bill standing over them. Harry had felt a momentary panic, being caught in bed with his arms around Bill's sister, but the elder wizard waved off his concerns. Aside from them being only eleven and twelve years old, still children and too young to be thinking about sex, after seeing them together Bill did not see anything remotely inappropriate between them. Of course, that didn't stop him, Percy, Fred, George and Ron from doing what they said was their 'brotherly duty' and charming the bed curtains to remain open.

Things settled into a new normal at Hogwarts in the weeks following the Chamber incident, but it appeared that Cornelius was here to disrupt things.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked, not liking the haggard look both adults wore.

"As you know, Harry, there has been much interest in what went on in the Chamber of Secrets." Cornelius began and Harry merely nodded. "I have tried to keep much of the scrutiny away from you, but I fear I can no longer do so." Harry refrained from snorting. At the beginning Cornelius' attempts to keep people at bay had been weak at best as the Minister basked in the attention, and even glory, that Harry had brought him, and by the time things got out of hand, it was too late. "There has been so much interest in this incident from all sides. News of an encounter with a basilisk alone is enough to draw attention given how rare and deadly the beasts are. Normally there'd be no news, as any who happened upon one of the beasts would not be around to tell of it." Harry couldn't disagree with that.

"Even a Parselmouth isn't guaranteed to be able to control a basilisk." He said and Cornelius nodded.

"Add in who you are," He continued. "And that it all took place in the most famous school of wizardry in the world, and what's more, in the fabled chamber of one of the most powerful and famous wizards of all time, and you can see how it would interest so many." Harry could understand that. The founders of Hogwarts were among the most famous witches and wizards to ever have existed. Each wizarding society had their own famous wizards, but there were some known the world over. Merlin was undisputedly the most famous, and most powerful, wizard to have ever existed. In fact, he was so famous that he was known throughout the muggle world as well; a seven-year-old Harry had been quite shocked to learn that the Arthurian legends he'd grown up reading were not just legends. Directly behind Merlin, of course, came the witch Morgana, King Arthur's half-sister. She was the one responsible for his, and Merlin's, deaths and was the original source for the muggle world's stereotype of a wicked witch. The Hogwarts founders, of course, created the first school of wizardry in the world, something that many countries tried to emulate in the following centuries, though only eleven official schools of wizardry, those recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards, still remained.

Harry had been surprised to learn that six of the most famous witches and wizards of all time were British – seven if you counted Harry himself – given the vast number of wizarding societies out there, some of which were much older than wizarding Britain. In fact, off the top of his head Harry could only name two foreign famous wizards: Dzou Yen, a 4th century Chinese alchemist responsible for discovering the majority of potion bases still used today, and Meresamun, an Egyptian high priestess of the sun god, Ra, who was the first person in history to leave behind written records of magic, including the very first standardized spell. One of the few of Binns' lessons Harry remembered was learning about Meresamun and what she had left behind. The high priestess, in a personal journal, recorded that spell casting in her time was rather crude, with each witch or wizard creating their own spell, including wand movement and incantation, for the same purpose, and to varying degrees of success. In order to better worship Ra, Meresamun desired to teach all the priests and priestesses under her how to conjure sunlight successfully, and so had created the spell Hermione had used to great effect against the Devil's Snare in their first year. The incantation, Lumos Solem, had, some centuries later, changed to the Latin etymology used for the base of all standardized spells today, but the origins of the spell could be traced back to Meresamun in ancient Egypt.

"So what are we to do?" Harry asked, looking between his guardian and the Headmaster.

"I fear that we must put all the rumours to rest, or this will never go away." Cornelius now seemed hesitant. "It is the opinion of the Ministry, and Professor Dumbledore agrees, that allowing the public – select members of the public, that is – to enter the Chamber of Secrets and see it, and the slain basilisk, first-hand, will both allow the truth to be seen, and the furor of the last month to die down." Harry now understood Cornelius' hesitation.

"No." He snapped, grasping Ginny's hand tightly even as she began to shake, both having reached the same conclusion: to enter the Chamber required Parseltongue, which meant that Harry would have to go. Which meant he'd have to leave Ginny, or she'd have to enter the Chamber again and face her nightmares. "I won't put Ginny through that."

"Harry, I know you want to protect your friend." Cornelius sounded much more understanding and even concerned, than Harry would have expected, but it did nothing to change his mind. "But this cannot go on. For reasons both understandable and not, the world is at our door and we must allow them a look inside if we are to send them on their way."

"Cornelius is right, Harry." Dumbledore spoke up and Harry shot him a glare.

"Fine, go back into the Chamber then, I certainly won't stop you. But there is no way I'm leaving Ginny to go back down there for a press conference, and I won't make her go either. Find yourselves another Parselmouth."

"You know we can't, Harry. It is not that easy." Harry turned his glare on his guardian.

"You yourself said the 'world was at our door.' Surely one of those bloody harpies is a Parselmouth, or at least knows one."

"It does not appear so." Dumbledore held up his hand to stop Harry's retort. "You know how rare a gift Parseltongue is, Harry. You are the only one in Britain, the only one in Europe even. At least that is known. If there are other Parselmouths in Europe they have chosen not to reveal themselves."

"But surely from Aisa? The Middle East? Africa, Australia, South America…there are many places where snakes are much more common than Europe, places that have sent people to badger us. There's bound to be a Parselmouth among them."

"You are probably right, Harry, but they are not coming forwards." Said Cornelius.

"I can count on one hand the number of recorded Parselmouths throughout history, Harry, and only one is still living." Dumbledore's pointed look told Harry exactly which Parselmouth he was talking about. "While it is true that there are almost certainly other Parselmouths in the world, such a rare gift would make their numbers very small indeed, and none of those few are known to us, except you." Harry snarled and prepared to argue back, but a squeeze on his hand brought his attention to the girl beside him. Ginny was looking up at him, and though her eyes were still watery with tears, there was also a determination there that he rarely saw. Over the last month Harry had gotten quite good at reading Ginny's expressions and movements. He had to if he was ever going to know what she was trying to say, given she still hadn't said a word. The nod of her head told him she was saying yes to something, while the determination in her eyes – not to mention the current topic of discussion – told him exactly what that something was.

"Ginny…" He said. "You don't have to go down there just for some bloody wankers who stick their noses where they don't belong. I won't let you." A flash of anger overtook the determination in her eyes, something Harry had seen a few times before. While Ginny had withdrawn into herself, and for the most part was content to go through the day following Harry's lead, occasionally her real self appeared, mostly when her brothers tried to order her about, or make decisions for her. Harry sighed knowing he couldn't make this decision for her. "Are you sure?" With a tightening of her mouth and a renewed look of determination, Ginny nodded. "Alright." Harry said, turning back to the two adults. "We'll go back down into the Chamber of Secrets."


A/N - A very explainy chapter, I'm not too fond of them but I feel it was needed. I also really enjoyed writing the bits on wizarding history, small as they were. Dzou Yen came right from Harry Potter wiki, can't take credit for that one, though I added the bit about him creating potion bases still used today. Meresamun is more my own. She was a real ancient Egyptian priestess at the sun god Amun-Ra's temple at Karnak, though I, of course, added all the magic bits.

Next up, back down to the Chamber of Secrets!

Review please!