I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC.

Hello guys, Badger here. How are you all doing today? I hope you are well. I am glad to see this story is receiving a lot of love, especially with a few newcomers to this story.

The previous chapter was well recieved, which I was glad to see. There weren't any complaints about the fight scene, so I seemed to of done well. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because this chapter marks the end of Second Year. That's right, the Chamber of Secrets era ends here. A bit more action and suspense this time around. It was a bit of a wild ride wasn't it?

Anyway, I won't keep you any longer, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 27

Returns and Revelations

Harry and Amelia Bones were joined by Cornelius, as they stood in Dumbledore's office, as he explained what happened, with Harry telling them about what happened before Dumbledore arrived, however he left out Tom telling him how James was an heir of Slytherin. He wasn't sure if it was true or not, but he was going to ask James to explain, after he was cured. After the Basilisk was killed, Ginny was taken to the Medical Wing, where Dumbledore headed to his office, as he found it would be better, believing it would be better, as the less people who knew, the better. Amelia removed the monocle, and pinched the bridge of her nose, at everything that was told to her.

"So, a dark object was smuggled into the school, and possessed a young girl in her first year" She let out in a clipped tone "All without your knowledge…how could you not realise this happened, as far as I remember, there are wards embedded in the castle, that should alert a dark object being smuggled inside"

"Alas, I'm afraid I do not have an explanation" Dumbledore sighed, picking up the diary on his desk, which was next to the sword "If I had to guess, the diary has enchantments to stop any wards picking up the darkness it possesses"

"What exactly is the diary, Albus?" Cornelius asked

"I have a few ideas, though I am not entirely sure" Dumbledore replied "I will have to examine the diary further, in order to find out"

Harry glanced at Cornelius and Amelia looking at Dumbledore, with Cornelius raising an eyebrow, whilst Amelia narrowed her eyes at the headmaster, suspicion clear as day on her face. It was obvious they suspected that there was something that Dumbledore wasn't telling them and Harry didn't blame them either.

"Well, in that case, Amelia we need to send a message to the Ministry and inform them what has happened" Cornelius said, after a moment "Hagrid is still in a holding cell…I'm sure he will appreciate it if he was set free"

"I'll see to it immediatley, Minister I will also disband the Aurors, now they are now longer acquired" Amelia nodded, before she turned to Harry, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder "I am glad that you are safe Harry…as your Magical Guardian, I don't want to see you hurt again…"

Harry smiled softly, before she sent another suspicious look at Dumbledore as she left.

"You are a hero Harry" Cornelius smiled, as he patted him on the back "You slayed the beast and destroyed the Dark Lord yet again, stopping him from returning…no doubt, this will appear in the Daily Prophet…if you wish, I can see that you are rewarded for this"

"No thank you Minister" Harry replied "I don't want a reward, but…can you make sure the others are credited as well…it wasn't just me in the Chamber after all"

"Of course" Cornelius nodded "Everyone involved, Mr Fred and George Weasley especially will be credited, as well as rewarded if they so wish…and, with what you have told us, we will see that Lockhart is arrested and put on trial, to see what else he has taken credit for…I doubt he will be arrested, but when word gets out, he will have his awards stripped"

With another smile, he put his bowler hat back on his head, before he left the office. Harry watched him leave, before he started heading out himself, where he was stopped by Dumbledore.

"Harry, please stay a moment" Dumbledore spoke "I want to talk to you"

Harry stood still for a few seconds. He wanted to leave. He didn't want to spend any more time in the office, with the Headmaster. However, he felt the old man would pester him to no end, so sighed, as he made his way back to the desk.

"What is it sir?" Harry asked

"I may not have been there to begin with, but I am sure you have questions about what Tom Riddle had told you" Dumbledore replied "If you want answers, I can try my best to give them to you"

Harry eyed the headmaster, with a small calculative look. As he didn't trust the man, he wasn't sure what he should ask. Then again, there was one thing that had been bothering him since the Duelling Club.

"There is one thing sir" He said slowly

"And what is that Harry?" Dumbledore asked

"Why…why can I speak Parseltongue?" Harry asked, being careful of his words "Professor Snape told me that Vo…Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth and Tom, himself, revealed himself to be the Heir to Slytherin…which if I remember, is something that only those are born into, or related to the family, possess…so… how come I can speak the language when I have no relation to Salazar Slytherin?"

"You are right in saying that Parselmouth can only be used by those related to the Slytherin Bloodline" Dumbledore replied, running a hand through his beard "Though you are an interesting exception…though, it's possible that he ended up transferring some of his abilities to you, when he gave you that scar"

"That's possible?" Harry asked "How?"

"I do not know" Dumbledore answered "Though, I do not believe it was intentional…though, I must say, the two of you share similarities…determination, resourcefulness…though there is one thing that makes you different"

"What is that sir?"

"You pulled this out of the Sorting Hat, did you not?" Dumbledore asked, holding up the sword, to which Harry nodded "Well, maybe you should take a closer look…see for yourself"

Harry gently took the sword in his hands, being careful of the blade, which was still stained with blood. He looked to see, engraved on the blade, was the name GODRIC GRYFFINDOR. Dumbledore smiled gently, as Harry's eyes widened.

"You may be a Slytherin Harry, but you have a brave heart" He said "An aspect that Godric's House strives for…for only a true Gryffindor could pull his sword out of the hat"

Harry looked at Dumbledore, unsure of what to say, when the door to the office opened, where Lucius Malfoy walked in. What surprised Harry though, was the elf that was with him…an elf he was very familiar with.

"Dobby" He said "This is your master…you are an elf to the Malfoys?"

Dobby let out a small, scared, yelp, as he tugged on his ears and looked up at Lucius, who was glaring down at the small elf, his grip tightening on his cane. The man sneered, as he made his way up to the desk, using his cane, to push Harry out the way, not very gently either.

"The Board of Governors were given word of what happened" Lucius spoke, in a forced polite tone, as he handed Dumbledore a small scroll "They wanted me to give you this…as you had supposedly returned, I thought it would be logical to come straight here"

The room was quiet as Dumbledore unrolled the scroll, and read through its contents. Harry noticed that Lucius would sometimes send a hateful glance his way, whilst Dobby kept himself a few steps back, fidgeting and squirming, as he looked at Lucius in fear.

"Well, if they wish for my return as Headmaster, then I accept" Dumbledore spoke, after he finished reading "Please, do tell the Board of Governors that there are no hard feelings"

"Of course" Lucius replied, through clenched teeth "Though, they were not told of who was possessing the poor girl who was sent into the chamber…I wondered if you knew who"

"Voldemort" Dumbledore responded, after a second, as he looked at Lucius, his eyes serious with no sparkle that they usually had

Lucius' eyes widened slightly, but it disappeared after a moment. He nodded, stiffly, before he walked out the office, Dobby following him dutifully, sending Harry and apologetic glance. Harry watched them leave, before he placed the sword back on the desk, where he caught sight of the diary and an thought came to him.

"Sir…do you mind if I take that?" He asked

Lucius was walking back down the corridor, that led to the Headmasters office, fuming deep inside at what happened, when a voice stopped him.

"Mr Malfoy, wait"

He slowly turned, with an exaggerated grace, where he saw Harry approaching him, the diary in his hands.

"What do I owe the pleasure, Potter?" He spat

"I have something of yours" Harry replied, placing the diary in the mans hands, who looked at it with narrowed eyes

"I don't know what you are talking about" He lied

"I think you do sir" Harry replied hotly, stepping closer "Something tells me, before term started, you smuggled the diary into Ginny's bag, leaving it in her possession…for your own, selfish, gains"

"Oh really?" Lucius asked, giving the diary to Dobby and stepping closer to Harry, towering over him, threateningly "Prove it"

Harry said nothing. He just stared back up at Lucius, his green eyes glowing faintly. Lucius smirked as it became obvious Harry wasn't going to do anything and began to walk away again. Harry stopped Dobby, as he began to follow, who stared at Harry in confusion.

"Open it" He said, gesturing to the diary

Dobby did so, where the pages fell open and he was surprised at what he saw. Lucius stopped and looked back, when he realised Dobby wasn't following and called out to him.

"Master has given Dobby a sock" Dobby spoke

Lucius looked confused, until his eyes widened, when Dobby lifted a sock out from the diary's pages and dropped the diary on the ground.

"Master has given Dobby clothes…Dobby is free"

Lucius fumed, when Harry smirked, revealing he had taken one of his socks off, by lifting up his trouser leg. His hand gripped his cane tightly for a moment, as he looked at the boy. He thought about retaliating, but thought better and choose to keep walking. There was no point. His plan failed. Once, James was cured, its possible that he would activate the blood feud, if Harry told him everything. Even if James chose not to, the last thing Lucius wanted to do was attack Harry and cause James to activate the blood feud in retaliation. He may have lost his servant, but James will meet his own sticky end, soon enough.

The next few months saw a return to normalcy. The Daily Prophet printed a few articles about what happened, though there was no mention about Tom Riddle being Voldemort, though he could understand why. Thankfully, the paper did give credit to the others, especially the Twins, for their part in the whole ordeal. As the news spread, students and teachers began thanking Harry for saving the school. However, there were a few, Malfoy and Ron, still sent a few insults and comments his way, that he ignored. As the weeks went on, he spent a lot of time with the Twins and Ginny, who seemed to slowly, but surely, get used to being around him. He also spent a lot of time with Daphne and Susan as well. As well as that, there was word that there was progress on the Mandrakes so a cure will be ready in good time and Hagrid returned to the castle and was given some money by the Ministry, as a form of apology. One day, he was in the Great Hall, where he and Daphne were sat with the Twins, having a laugh, when Daphne notices something at the other end of Great Hall and her eyes widened.

"Harry, look!"

Harry followed her gaze and his eyes widened to see both James and Luna standing in the Great Hall doorway, unpetrified and moving once more. Harry wasted no time in jumping out of his seat and rushing towards them, where he wrapped James in a tight hug. This action caught the purple haired boy off guard for a moment, before he laughed and returned the gesture, just as Daphne arrived and gave Luna a short, but friendly, hug.

"You're back" Harry said, as the two let go "You're up and walking again"

"Thanks to you" James smiled, as he gave Daphne a hug two "every one of you…I am just glad you guys were able to solve it"

"Well, we only figured it out, when we came across the information you found" Harry replied

"Actually, that wasn't me" James grinned, as he gestured to Luna "Luna here found the information on the Basilisk"

"I was reading through one of the passages in my books and happened to come across it" Luna replied, before she tilted her head and asked innocently "Do I get a hug Harry?"

Harry laughed slightly, before he wrapped Luna in a hug, which she kindly returned. Everyone may have been watching them but Harry didn't care. He was just glad to have James back. His best friend. A friend he was beginning to see as a brother.

That evening, James and Harry entered their dorm room together, for the first time in months, where James immediatley called for Jinx. The small elf popped into the room, before she let out a squeal and bounced with excitement, when she saw James, before she hugged his legs. This caused James to chuckle and pick up the elf in his arms and return the hug, being careful with he smaller size. The sight made Harry smile.

"Jinx is so happy to see Kind Master James" Jinx said, as she hugged James and didn't look like she was going to let go any time soon

"I am glad to see you too Jinx" James smiled "Now, I want you to head back home and wait for us…I will call you if I need you"

Jinx smiled, before she popped away. James then turned to face Harry, a serious look on his face, that made the green eyed boy slightly nervous.

"Don't hide it Harry" He said "I know there is something you want to ask…go ahead, ask away"

Harry opened his mouth, before he hesitated and closed it again. He thought about his words carefully, before he spoke.

"James…are you really an Heir to Slytherin?" Harry asked

James' eyes widened in fear, before he closed them and took a deep breath, before he looked at Harry again, the hazel of his eyes almost staring into Harry's soul.

"Yes" James replied, much to the boys shock "I wish it wasn't so…around a thousand years ago, a member of the Slytherin Family married a member of the Badger Family, because of their knowledge and ever growing wealth…then, fast forward a good few generations, I was born…how did you find out?"

"Tom Riddle" Harry replied "Or Voldemort, at least a memory of him…he told me, seemed to hope you would form an alliance with him…why didn't you tell me?"

"Why do you think?" James asked "You have seen before hand what the fear of the Heir of Slytherin did…everyone knows my family have dark origins and magic…besides, I am ashamed…I am proud of the Badger Family and what we have accomplished, but I am ashamed of the part of my heritage that is tainted with a family festered with a vile past"

Harry watched James as he spoke. He seemed vulnerable. Angry. Ashamed, just like he said. James paced the room as he ranted. It was clear he hated that his family held any relation to the Slytherin Family and seemed to hate himself because of it. He could understand why James would choose to keep it secret, but had to ask something that was also on his mind.

"How come you didn't hear the Basilisk?" He asked "And can you even speak Parseltongue?"

"I don't know if I can speak Parseltongue" James sighed "I don't really want to know…besides even if I did, I doubt I do…I don't understand snakes, so its possible I can't…I have a theory as to why…after a hundred years or so, after first marrying into the family, there was one child, who didn't believe with the Slytherin beliefs…this caused arguments and a divide in the family…therefore he, and a few others, were disowned from the family…in the Magical World, when you are disowned you will lose some Magical Abilities…in this case, as they were disowned from the Slytherin Family, their Parselmouth ability was taken from them…one of those people was my, many times, great grandfather…"

"He never spoke Parseltongue?" Harry asked

"I can't find any records of him doing so" James sighed "Even in my dad's journals he never mentions speaking Parseltongue himself…like I said, it's only a theory, but it's the only logical explanation"

Harry nodded slightly, as he watched James pinch the bridge of his nose, before he let out a small sigh, looking exhausted.

"I understand if you want to stop being friends" He said "It's quite a big secret to keep…and it wasn't really the best way to find out either"

"I'm not going to stop being your friend" Harry replied instantly "True, it is a big secret to keep from someone…but I can understand why you chose to keep it a secret…besides, you have had my back since day one of meeting you…now I have yours…I am your friend no matter what"

James' eyes widened slightly, before his shoulders slumped, as relief washed over him. James looked at Harry, a smile across his face, his eyes tired, but glowing softly. Harry smiled back, as the bond they shared, grew stronger.

Aww, what a nice ending to the chapter.

What did you guys think? Good? Bad? There is quite a bit to go through with this one.

The starting section, though similar to canon, is changed, with both Amelia Bones and Cornelius Fudge in the Headmasters office as well. It occurred to me when writing this chapter that I had Daphne's father and Neville's grandmother appear when the attacks started, but were never seen afterwards. Oh well, I can always use them in other plot points. Yes, sadly, Dumbledore did not inform Amelia or Fudge about the Horcrux's. You can come up your own theories as to why, but the reason for this in my story, is that, as we know a Horcrux is one of the most vile pieces of magic out there and the less people that know of their existence the better. I also added the small moment between Harry and Amelia to remind you she is his guardian...still unsure how big of a role she will have. I also hope you like the moment, when Dumbledore tells Harry about how brave he is and how he is a Gryffindor at heart. I wanted it to show that, even though Harry doesn't trust Dumbledore or have much respect for him, Dumbledore holds a lot of respect for Harry. This concept will come up again in future chapters and plot points.

Then we have the return of James and Luna. Seeing as we have a lot of James/Harry shippers, I thought this will be a nice moment, even if it doesn't lead to anything in the end. I imagine we all would give our friends a hug in this scenario, no matter who they were. Plus, what would you call the James/Harry ship, I can only think of Hames and Jarry, but what can you think of?

Then we had the small section at the end, when Harry asks James about his Family History. Originally, the chapter was going to end in the Great Hall, but as I wanted this chapter to end Second Year, with the next chapter starting on the train ride home and building up to Third Year, I wrote a short but sweet section here. I quite like the brief moment between James and Jinx, just to show more of the bond the two of them share. I think its cute, okay. Though, I hope you don't mind my reasoning for why James couldn't hear the Basilisk when Harry could. To begin with, James could actually speak Parseltongue, but then I thought it wouldn't make sense, as to why he couldn't hear the Basilisk or understand Harry, when speaking to the snake in the Duelling Club. Maybe there will be a small subplot in the future where James develops and learns the Parseltongue language. Let me know if that is something you would like to see.

You may have noticed a lack of bashing in the Chamber of Secrets era. Looking back, I noticed there seemed to be Hermione bashing almost in every chapter, so I decided to dial it down and focus on story for the time being. There will be more in future though, don't worry.

As of the end of Second Year, in the friend group, we have:

Harry, James, Daphne [The Main Trio]

Neville, Susan, Pansy, Luna, Fred, George, Tracey, Astoria [Friend Group]

Ginny [Possible friend]

Tonks, Fleur [Possible friends, still to be introduced]

As you can see, the friendship group has grown considerably. Ginny will soon become a friend of the trio and we have Tonks and Fleur to introduce in future years. Do let me know if there are any characters you want to see make friends with the group, even if they only make a few brief appearances.

That is all. Another Hogwarts year down. I must say, I am writing and publishing these chapters faster then expected. I thought this story will take at least a year to finish. But, now, it seems I will be done a lot quicker. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next Chapter, which will kickstart the Prisoner of Azkaban era.

Badger out.