Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Chapter Twenty Two, Year Two: Worst Day

"But then, I hazard that you already know that," Dumbledore concluded.

Tom looked at Salazar in shock, wondering how Dumbledore knew that they already knew. Salazar shrugged as if to say, 'it's Dumbledore'.

"Yes, sir. We were on our way to see you when we ran into Professor Snape. Then we got a little sidetracked…" Salazar trailed off. "What exactly happened to Professor Snape?"

Dumbledore sighed. "He was hit with the Cruciatus curse. A dark torture spell."

Salazar blinked. He hadn't heard of that when he was alive. It was a scary concept that someone could just take out a wand and torture you. In his time people needed to make an effort.

"Sir, how did you know that we knew?" Tom asked.

Dumbledore stared at Tom. Tom stared back; he had gotten plenty of practice staring down the cats in the orphanage. Dumbledore eventually looked away. Salazar watched all of this with narrowed eyes.

"Tom won't help Voldemort," Salazar stated, earning wide-eyed looks from Tom and Dumbledore. "Voldemort tried to possess him, I doubt Tom will try to help him."

"Harry," Dumbledore said, sounding tired, "I don't blame you for trusting Tom. In fact, I'd be surprised if you didn't. Trust is a great thing, and being able to trust is even greater, but Tom can be very persuasive when he wants to be…" he trailed off staring rather pointedly at Salazar.

"I don't take kindly to people who try to choose my friends, nor do I take kindly to people who only tell half-truths," Salazar said coldly. "I'm sure you have a reason why I shouldn't trust Tom, but manipulation certainly isn't the reason."

Dumbledore tried to look Salazar in the eyes, but Salazar stared fixedly at a spot on Dumbledore's desk. Eventually, Dumbledore said, "I am worried that Voldemort can possess Tom through a bond they share. That would place the school in danger and also you, Harry."

"Isn't there a way to dissolve the bond then?" Tom promptly asked.

"…No, it acts like Harry's curse scar, except that the bond you share with Voldemort is completely one-sided. The only thing you can do to prevent Voldemort from seeing out of your head is to learn Legilimancy."

Salazar perked up. "Then, what about me? If my scar with Voldemort links me to him similarly to the way Tom's works, shouldn't I take Legilimancy too?"

Dumbledore stared hard at Salazar, who stared at Dumbledore's robes. The orange rabbits hopping around on the lime-green grass were making him vaguely ill.

Eventually, Dumbledore agreed. The two were able to totter back to Gryffindor Tower and collapsed on their beds. It was 4AM.

……

Salazar didn't understand why they still had to go to their morning classes. They had stayed up for half the night, first taking care of Severus, and then debating with the Headmaster. The least they could do was to sleep late.

It didn't help matters that Ron kept complaining throughout breakfast that Scabbers was gone, and that Draco made a bit of a ruckus when he insisted on sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"They're all hostile toward me," Draco said, gesturing toward the Slytherin table. The Slytherins glared at Tom, Salazar and Draco when they looked over. "They seem to think that having one's mother murdered in an attempt to bring back the Dark Lord should bring pride to the family. They don't seem to think that I should've gotten angry and tried to stop the ritual." He stared at Tom.

Tom shifted a bit in his seat.

"Guys, I don't think this is the proper time to atart having this conversation," Salazar said, sounding slightly stressed. He had been constantly looking around the Gryffindor table, making sure no one was watching this exchange, and generally looking quite shifty. People were beginning to look at him oddly.

"No one…noticed did they?" Draco asked.

"No one noticed what?" Hermione asked, closing Voyages With Vampires with a snap.

Before anyone could answer that question, McGonagall came along, handing out schedules. Salazar was relieved until he saw the glare that she sent Tom.

……

It was officially the worst day of Salazar's life. First, there was the problem that he didn't get a decent night's sleep. Then, it seemed that he was being stalked by both Colin Creevey and Lockhart. And then, he had to have class with the man.

What added insult to injury was that the Defense classroom used to be his classroom when Salazar had been teaching at Hogwarts. The adjoining office and living quarters had been his too.

And when the moron let loose the Cornish pixies, who began to destroy the room, he wanted to clobber the man or maybe hit him with that Cruciatus curse he had learned about during a free period.

So, it was with the idea that he could relax and talk to Basle, his basilisk, (1) and be able to avoid Creevey until dinner that he made his way to the Chamber of Secrets.

When he arrived in the chamber, he found that various parts of the ceiling had crumbled. There was luminous lichen growing in places, rat skeletons everywhere, and it was very wet. Salazar scowled. Obviously something had happened to his drainage system.

And then he casually looked toward the front of the chamber and nearly had a heart attack. Some moronic descendant of his had carved, or had someone carve, the face of Salazar Slytherin into marble. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been modeled after one of his older portraits.

He wished that the spell to give portraits personality had been invented in his time. Then he could've screamed that this carving was not a good idea.

Salazar sighed and wondered where little Basle was. He needed a cuddle.

A/N: Another quick update. Or it was supposed to be. I actually had the chapter finished two weeks ago, but sinceI didn't have my laptop in Rochester...anyway,nothing really happened in this chapter. Well, something happened, I'm just not sure what though….

Just to clear something up, Salazar is opposed to Draco going into the Chamber because then it would be used more publicly, and Dumbledore would have access to it and stuff. This way, it's more private, and no one gets hurt.

1. Basle: Traditional British English for Basel, which is the third largest city in Switzerland. The basilisk is its guardian creature. And also the town that James Sprenger was born in. A direct quote from the Malleus Maleficarum 1948 version states that, "…in which the Pontiff, lamenting the power and prevalence of the witch organization, delegates Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger as inquisitors of these pravities…" So, more irony.

Review:

Toki Mirage: I could go several possible ways, and I haven't made my mind up yet. Actually, I think I might've...whatever. Severus is one of my favorite characters, but it's so fun to torture him. .