Back to Hogwarts
Harry put his schoolbag - maybe he could just call it a bag now – on the ground and opened it to let his basilisk out. Supra passed his head and looked around him a bit suspiciously. As Harry started to put the protective enchantment in place, he hissed softly and got completely out. He started to crawl and explore the cave. He could sense the magical creature that had lived here not so long ago.
'What is this place?' He asked with curiosity.
'It is a cave, near Hogsmeade, the village we departed from to go to the House of Gaunt,' replied Harry while applying the last protection.
'We are back at Hogwarts then,' said Supra. He stopped in front a spot where the ground was heavily scratched.
Harry glanced at him. Supra was inspecting the spot where Buckbeak had been sleeping in while Sirius was hiding there during his fourth year.
'My godfather lived here a year ago,' he started to explain. 'He had a Hippogriff.'
Supra hissed and turned away from the scratched ground. He headed towards the opposite of Buckbeak's sleeping spot.
'Why was he leaving here?' He asked then. 'I didn't know wizards were living in caves.'
Harry chuckled and proceeded to tell his basilisk the whole story. After all, he had nothing else to do now.
Sirius Black was his father's best friend and had been wrongly accused of his and wife's murder fifteen years ago. He had been sent in prison for this, but he managed to escape from this prison three years ago. With the help of Harry, they unmasked the real culprit who had sold his parents to Voldemort.
'He can transform into a rat?' Spat Supra with disgust. His eyes sparkled with greed. 'I wish him to never cross my path.'
Harry shivered at the idea of being eaten alive by a basilisk.
'Yeah, that wouldn't be something I'd like to see,' replied Harry with a grimace. 'Unless he is still under his rat form. Then it wouldn't be worse than one of your normal lunches.'
'Hey,' exclaimed Supra feigning to be outraged. 'I have manners!'
'Sure, you do,' laughed Harry. 'I wouldn't mind you getting us rid of this guy though…'
'I thought you unmasked him,' replied Supra. 'Is he not locked in a cell right now?'
Harry sighed and told the snake how Pettigrew had managed to escape that night. Their only victory had been freeing his godfather again who fled with Buckbeak, the said Hippogriff. However, they came back near Hogwarts, in this cave, upon Dumbledore's advice, to keep an eye on Harry during his fourth year as he had been enrolled against his will in the Triwizard Tournament.
Once Harry was done talking, he felt very tired.
'So, he does care about you,' finally said Supra.
'Who? Sirius? I guess he does, he is my godfather after all.'
'I am not talking about him,' replied Supra with patience. 'I am talking about Dumbledore.'
Harry looked at him annoyed. Supra tilted his head a bit and narrowed his eyes. He was almost four years old, which was inherently young, but he carried a thousand years of wisdom with him. Harry was his master, but still a little one. It was Supra's duty to help him through his ordeals.
'Say what you want,' hissed the basilisk with amusement, 'but I see a wizard with a lot of responsibilities who still managed to put everything in place to keep you as safe as possible.'
'It's not like he had the choice, isn't it? He needed me alive for the Prophecy,' retorted Harry.
'If all he cared about was the Prophecy, then don't you think it would have been better to train you as soon as possible, to give you all the knowledge and skills to defeat Voldemort, should he return one day?'
'That's because he needed me at my aunt's place. Thanks to my mother's sacrifice, only her blood could protect me from Voldemort.'
'Well, I heard a lot of interesting things in Hogwarts pipes. Things such as the fact that Hogwarts is the safest place of the Wizarding World. Or that Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort ever feared.'
Harry withstood his gaze while frowning.
'Salazar was right,' hissed Supra still sounding very amused. 'You can be very stubborn sometimes. All I am saying is that if Dumbledore wanted it, he could have taken you at Hogwarts as soon as you had been retrieved to train you. But he chose otherwise. From my point of view, it feels like he tried to give you a life as normal as possible while postponing the Prophecy's eventuality. Doesn't sound like a cold mastermind to me.'
'Well maybe you are right,' pouted Harry. 'But he made a huge mistake then, because I got to live quite the opposite of a normal life!'
'Errare humanum est,' replied Supra contendly.
'Perseverare diabolicum!' Retorted Harry.
Supra didn't answer, still looking satisfied with himself. Both knew Harry was wrong. As soon as Dumbledore had realised his mistake, he had tried to fix it. Letting Harry in and trying to provide him the guidance the boy needed. Too bad he had already met Salazar. But if Harry hadn't gone to the Chamber, if the statue hadn't been broken, who knows what could have happened then. Harry sighed and stretched.
'You must be hungry,' he finally said, changing the subject. 'Come here, let's get you ready for a little hunting game.'
Supra hissed in approval while letting Harry apply the Disillusionment Charm to him. The boy guided him near the Forest and let him go. He would wait for the basilisk in front of the cave under his Cloak. He watched the giant snake disappear in the wood. Supra had started to grow at an alarming speed since Salazar had left them. No snake could compare to him in size now. Harry was guessing his length was now bigger than fifty feet at least. But to be sure he would need to measure the creature. He smiled while picturing himself telling to Supra to stand still while he was using a measuring tape to figure out his real size.
The sun was setting. The cave overlooked the stretch of forest that ended in front of the bridge leading to Hogwarts. The castle stood out in the rising darkness and its lights warmed Harry. He had missed the school greatly. He felt a pinch in his heart while thinking about Ron and Hermione that must have been on their way to the Great Hall for dinner. Well, that was if Hermione wasn't currently bossing Ron around to study in the library for their coming O.W.L.s. A normal student life Harry couldn't taste. He was feeling a bit depressed and the talk with Supra hadn't helped.
He had never taken the time to think about how Sirius had reacted when he had learned about his flight from Hogwarts. Was he angry or scared? Was it enough risk for his taste? Did he want to look for him? Would he show up to defend Hogwarts? At this point, lost for lost, he would certainly be there.
Harry's plan was to make sure this war wouldn't happen. To his mind, the fact he had obliviated Bellatrix should make Voldemort curious enough to get to talk to him. That's all Harry needed, get to Voldemort, and find a way to speak with him, away from his followers. There was a tiny chance it could happen, and Harry was betting everything on it. And if it didn't work… well Harry was ready for the worst.
But if it worked. If he managed to lure Voldemort into a discussion. If he managed to convince Him of the madness of his plan and show him his mistake. If he succeeded in showing the darkest wizard of all time, there was a light waiting for him at the end of the tunnel… If Harry survived, what would happen then? Could Voldemort walk back in the Wizarding World he had almost destroyed? Could Harry come back at Hogwarts? Did he want to come back?
He smiled under his Cloak. Who could have guessed he wasn't ready for the success of his endeavour?
