Updated as of 2/06/19
A/N: Please note I used some deleted scenes/parts from the book
"Is it true you can talk to snakes?" Fiona looked up from the book she was reading at the Gryffindor table to see a familiar blond standing in front of her.
"Yes," she replied before looking back down at the book.
"If I brought you a snake you could tell me what it said?"
"I can already tell you 'put me down' would be what it would tell you," she said as she closed the book. "What do you want?" Draco sat down beside her, facing the aisle, and leaned against the table.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you…? We're not friends, you realize this right?"
"Right." He cleared his throat. "Just Potion's partners," he added with a nod. "We got the highest marks on the essay."
"Good to know. Was there something you needed besides to complain about not knowing I could talk to snakes?"
"You staying for the holidays?" he asked.
"I'm supposed to, yes. Why?" She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Just wondering." He stood up, unnecessarily adjusting his robes. Fiona opened her book and continued to read. Draco hesitated but soon walked away.
That night during study hall Harry couldn't help but feel eyes on his back. He turned to see a group of students look at him. They looked away once he looked at them. He turned back to his work only to turn to see another group look at him. When he looked at Ginny and she looked away he let out a sigh. He closed his books and gathered his things.
"I'll see you back in the common room," Harry said. Fiona started to gather her books too. "You don't have to come with me, Fee."
"I know," she said as she stood. Harry gave her a small smile and stood. They two left the hall, everyone turning to watch them go. As soon as they were out of sight Harry stopped. Fiona turned to him and tilted her head. He stepped back towards the other room and listened as a few students spoke about them. Some thought he was the heir while others were convinced that Fiona had to be it. Fiona's face was stern and she started to walk back towards the room. Harry grabbed her hand and shook his head.
"Don't listen to them," he whispered. She nodded but frowned as they started to walk away.
The two had walked only a few yards away from the hall and up a small set of stairs when they bumped into Hagrid.
"Hello you two. You alright?" Hagrid asked.
"Hagrid, what's with the… dead chicken?" Fiona asked.
"Second one killed this term," Hagrid told them as he held up the dead rooster in his hand. "I reckon it's either a fox or a blood sucking blood-bear. So I've just been up at Dumbledore's getting permission to put a little charm round the ol' hen coop." Harry looked around. "You sure you're all right? You're awful hot and bothered?
"It's nothing. Look we better get going. We've got a lot of studying," Harry excused them before the two headed up the grand staircase. They were about halfway to the common room when they suddenly heard the voice.
"Blood...I want blood..." They looked at each other before following the wall. "they all must die. Kill... Kill... Kill! Time to kill." They saw a lot of water on the floor and turned the corner to see Nearly Headless Nick floating in midair and spinning slowly.
"Harry… it's Justin." They looked down to see the boy on the ground. Harry kneeled down beside him while Fiona stood next to him.
"Caught in the act!" The two turned around to see Filch standing at the end of the hall. "I'll have you two out this time. Mark my words."
"No! Mr. Filch! Y-you- you don't understand!" Harry called after him.
"Oh!" Fiona jumped seeing a line of spiders retreating near the body. Harry stood and he and Fiona walked to the window where they were leaving by. They heard footsteps and saw Filch return with McGonagall. She gasped seeing Justin and hurried over.
"Professor... I swear I-we didn't!"
"This is out of my hands, Potter," she said.
…
She led the two to a statue of a griffin and motioned them to it.
"Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you." The two walked up to it. "Sherbet lemon." The griffin started to spin and stairs came up. The two stepped on them and rode them up. They reached the top and Harry pushed open the only door.
"Professor Dumbledore?" he asked before the two walked in. They walked up some stairs and Harry noticed the sorting hat up on a shelf.
"Bee in your bonnet, Potter?" it asked.
"I... I-I was- I was just wondering if you'd put me in the right house," Harry said.
"Yes, you were particularly difficult to place. But, I stand by what I said last year- you would have done well in Slytherin," it said. "Both of you…"
"You're wrong," Harry said. The hat hummed. There was a low chirping sound.
"Harry, look," Fiona said as she pointed. Harry turned to see an old phoenix. The two walked over to it. Harry smiled up at it and then it burst into flames.
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked. The two looked up to see the headmaster up on a balcony.
"Professor! Sir, your bird- there was nothing we could do- he- he just caught fire!" Harry tried to explain.
"Oh, and about time, too." The two looked confused. "He's been looking dreadful for days. Pity you two had to see him on a burning day." Dumbledore headed down the stairs. "Fawkes is a phoenix. They burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and then they are reborn from the ashes." Suddenly a baby phoenix poked its head out of the ashes. "Ah, fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, and their- their tears have healing powers."
"It's beautiful," Fiona said. Dumbledore smiled at her. Suddenly the door burst open and the three turned to see Hagrid.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir! Wait! Listen!" He approached them. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, it wasn't Harry or Fiona!"
"Hagrid-"
"In fact, I'd be prepared ter swear it in front o' the Ministry of Magic!"
"Hagrid! Relax. I do not believe that either of them attacked anyone," Dumbledore said putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Well, of course you don't, and... Oh... Oh, right. Well, I'll, um- hum. I'll just wait outside, then."
"Yes." Hagrid left the room.
"You don't think it was us, Professor?" Harry asked.
"No, Harry. I do not think it was you... or Fiona. But I must ask you, is there something you wish to tell me? Either of you?"
"No, sir. Nothing," Harry said even though Fiona was giving him a look. When Dumbledore looked at her she shook her head.
"No, sir," she said.
"Very well, then. Off you go."
The two left Dumbledore's office and started back to the Gryffindor common room. They were silent about half the way until Fiona suddenly stopped walking. Harry turned to her to see her hugging herself.
"Fiona?"
"Maybe you should've told him," Fiona said. "About the voice and how after we hear it we keep finding people..."
"You could've told him too," Harry pointed out.
"I know but… coming from me…"
"It wouldn't mean any less coming from you," Harry said.
"No, it's not that…"
"Fiona? What's wrong?" He took a step towards her, tilting his head to the side in concern.
"You know I didn't open the chamber, right?"
"Of course you didn't," Harry said.
"But… I am related to Salazar… if people find out I hear something before people are getting attack they might think-"
"No one thinks it's you," Harry said. She gave him a look.
"You heard them, Harry. People do."
"You're a Gryffindor, not Slytherin."
"You're a Gryffindor too and people are suspicious about you," she pointed out.
"That's only because no one expected me to sneak Parselmouth."
"And they do expect it of me. Given the choice between Harry Potter, the boy who defeated the dark lord or Fiona Gaunt the girl who's related to Salazar Slytherin… who do you think people will-"
"Stop." Harry put his hand on her shoulder. "Fiona, I know you, Gryffindor house knows you. You're nothing like a Slytherin no matter your family name." Fiona bit her lip as tears came to her eyes and Harry pulled her into a tight hug.
The great hall was decorated for Christmas night, the ceiling was snowing and the trees were all decorated. Most of the students had left for the holidays but a handful from each house decided to stay, including Draco and his lackeys. Ron, Harry and Fiona were sitting at the Gryffindor table in a section that was almost empty as Hermione brought over her plate of sweets.
"Everything's set. We just need a bit of who you're changing into," Hermione said quietly.
"Crabbe and Goyle," Harry said.
"We also need to make sure that the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating Malfoy."
"How?" Ron asked.
"I've got it all worked out." She pulled out two cupcakes. "I filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. Simple, but powerful." She put them down. "Now, once they're asleep hide them in the broomstick cupboard and pull out a few of their hairs, and put on their uniforms."
"Whose hair are you ripping out then?" Ron asked.
"I've already got mine. Millicent Bulstrode– Slytherin- I got this off her robes," she said holding up a small container with hair in it. "I'm going to go check on the Polyjuice Potion. Make sure that Crabbe and Goyle find these."
"Fiona, are you changing too?" Ron asked. Fiona shook her head.
"I… I can't go in there. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Harry said giving her a smile. "I understand." She smiled back.
"I'll go help Hermione," she said before getting up and following after her.
…
"We'll have exactly one hour before we change back into ourselves," Hermione said as she put the potion into three glasses. She handed one to each boy. "Add the hairs."
"Ugh- essence of Crabbe," Ron said.
"Cheers!" Hermione said. The three took their drinks, Fiona grimacing when she saw their faces.
"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Ron groaned. He dropped his glass. It shattered on the ground as he ran into one of the stalls.
"Me too," Hermione said also dropping her glass before running into another stall. Harry dropped his glass with a groan.
"Ughh!"
"Are you alright?" Fiona asked. Harry leaned over the sink. Then he started to notice the skin of his hand bubbling then his face until he looked like Goyle. "Woah…" Fiona turned to see Ron come out of the stall looking like Crabbe. "Wow…that is…" Fiona let out a breath.
"Uh... Harry?" Ron asked. Harry turned to see him.
"Ron!"
"Bloody hell!"
"We still sound like ourselves. You need to sound more like Crabbe," Harry said. Ron lowered his voice a bit.
"Uh... Bloody hell."
"Excellent." Harry grinned.
"But where's Hermione?" Ron asked.
"I- I don't think I'm going. You go on without me!" Hermione called from one of the stalls.
"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Just go. You're wasting time!"
"Come on," Harry said and the two left.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Fiona asked.
"N-Nothing."
"Hermione, you can trust me."
"Okay… come in," she said.
…
Harry and Ron followed behind Draco to the Slytherin common room through the dungeons after running into Percy then him.
"So I was thinking maybe a rose," Draco said. "Or maybe the jewelry…"
"What?" Harry asked. He and Ron exchanged confused looks.
"For Gaunt," Draco said as he looked back at them. The two looked shocked and Draco rolled his eyes. "I told you yesterday. I need to pick which one to give her for Christmas. Then the other I can give to her for her birthday once I find out when it is… a rose might be a bit much though," he mused.
"Why would she take a gift from you?" Ron asked.
"Did all those sweets rot your brain?" Draco hissed as he glanced back at him. "I'm not going to tell her it's from me. Not right away, anyway."
"Why are you getting her anything?" Harry asked, resisting the urge to glare. Draco frowned and looked back at the two suspiciously.
"I told you," he said.
"I forgot," Ron said.
"She's…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "I've finally got her to talk to me besides just defending Potter. I'm trying to get her to… be my friend."
"Since when do friends give each other roses?" Harry asked. Draco looked around to make sure no one was around.
"Uh…My father suggested I… put more of an effort into befriending her by giving her a present."
"So you don't actually like her?" Ron asked.
"I-I already told you two," he hissed, his cheeks turning pink. "I guess it's a good thing you forget things so easily. Can't go around telling anyone." Harry and Ron exchanged wide-eyed looks. Draco said the password to the Slytherin common room and the three went in. Draco sat down on a couch. He looked at the two. "Well, sit down," Draco said. The two sat on a couch across from him. "You'd never know the Weasley's were pure-bloods, the way they behave. They're an embarrassment to the wizarding world. All of them." Ron's fist clenched, his knuckles cracked. "What's wrong with you, Crabbe? " Harry nudged him.
"Ahem...Stomachache," Ron said.
"You know, I'm surprised that the Daily Prophet hasn't done a report on all these attacks. I suppose Dumbledore is trying to hush it all up. Father always said Dumbledore was the worst thing that ever happened to this place," Draco said.
"You're wrong!" Harry couldn't help himself from shouting. Draco stood.
"What? You think there's someone here who's worse than Dumbledore? Well? Do you?"
"Harry Potter?" he offered with a gulp.
"Good one, Goyle. You're absolutely right. Saint Potter," he spat. "And people actually think that he's the Heir of Slytherin!"
"But then you must have some idea who's behind it all."
"You know I don't Goyle. I told you yesterday. How many times do I have to tell you?" he walked over to a table and sat on it. "I don't think Gaunt would tell me if she was but… she can be kinda scary sometimes," he admitted quietly. He picked up a small present and shook it by his ear. "Is this yours?" he asked. Harry shook his head. Draco put it in his robe pocket. "But my father did say this: It's been fifty years since the Chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me who opened it- only that they were expelled. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So, it's only a matter of time before one of them is killed this time. As for me, I hope it's Granger." Ron stood and Harry quickly stood to hold him back. "What's the matter with you two? You're acting very...odd."
"It's his... stomachache," Harry said. Ron nodded. "Calm down." Draco took out the present he'd pocketed and opened it.
"S- scar," Ron whispered.
"Hair!" Harry whisper-shouted. Ron covered his head and the two ran from the room.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Draco called after them.
…
"That was close!" Ron exclaimed as he and Harry ran back into the bathroom.
"Hermione, come out. We've got loads to tell you!" Harry called out.
"Go away!" Hermione called out from inside the stall. The two looked at Fiona who bit her bottom lip. Myrtle floated out into view.
"Ahh! Wait till you see. It's awful! He- ha, ha, he- hee!" she giggled.
"Hermione? A- are you OK?" Harry asked as he pushed open the door. Ron grimaced. Myrtle continued to giggle.
"Do you remember me telling you that the Polyjuice Potion was only for human transformations?" Hermione asked. Harry put on his glasses. "It was cat's hair I plucked off Millicent Bulstrode's robes. Look at my face."
"Hee, ha, ha!" Myrtle giggled before floating away.
"Look at your tail!" Ron exclaimed with a grin. Fiona smacked his arm. "Sorry."
"Let's get you to the hospital wing," Harry said.
"Have you spoken to Hermione?" Ron asked as he, Harry and Fiona walked up the stairs to the grand staircase after dinner that same night.
"She should be out of hospital in a few days, when she stops coughing up fur balls," Harry said with a slight chuckle. "Speaking of… have you found Grimm?" he asked as he turned to Fiona.
"He was in the dorms this morning but I couldn't find him after lunch," Fiona said. "I think I'm gunna look a bit more…" The three stopped seeing a lot of water on the ground.
"What's this?" They ran down the flooded corridor.
"Yuck!"
"Looks like Moaning Myrtle's flooded the bathroom," Harry said. The three ran in to see the sinks running and they could hear Myrtle crying.
"Oooh, oooh, ooooh, huh– huh." Harry pointed to where she was up by the window. "Come to throw something else at me?" she asked.
"Why would I throw something at you?" Harry asked.
"Don't ask me! Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me."
"But, it can't hurt if someone throws something at you. I mean, it'll just go right through you," Ron pointed out. Myrtle flew down so she was right in front of him.
"Oh sure! Let's all throw books at Myrtle because she can't feel it! Ten points if you get through her stomach!" She punched through his stomach. "Fifty points if it goes through her head!" She punched through his head.
"But, who threw it at you, anyway?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, I didn't see them. I was just sitting in the U-bend thinking about death - aah - and it fell through the top of my head. Uh-huh. Whoo-oooh-whoooo..." she moaned as she floated away. Harry noticed a book on the ground and picked it up. He shook it a bit to get the water off before looking to Ron and Fiona.
"Guess we'd better turn the taps off," Fiona said. "Someone could slip." The boys nodded. They moved to the large set of sinks and turned all the taps. One of the sinks wasn't running but none of them took any notice.
…
"Grimm!" Fiona called about an hour before curfew that night. She let out a sigh as she stood at the bottom of the grand staircase. "Where is he?" she asked aloud. Suddenly she heard a meow and looked down to see the cat looking up at her from the entrance to the dungeons. "Grimm!" She quickly headed down as the cat walked down a corridor. "Come back!" She looked down and saw a little black box on the floor with a green ribbon where Grimm had been sitting. She picked it up and looked up to see Grimm rounding the corner at the end of the corridor. She ran after him and turned the corner to see Draco standing there with his arms crossed.
"Lost something?" he asked with a smirk.
"No."
"Then what are you doing all the way down here?"
"None of your business," Fiona said crossing her arms.
"You're outside the Slytherin common room, Gaunt," he pointed out. "It is my business. What's that you've got there?" He nodded to the box she'd picked up.
"Uh… I found it. Is it yours?" She held it out to him.
"Nope." He shook his head. "Guess it's yours now," he said making her frown, if he was trying to be subtle he was failing horribly. "So what are you doing down here? Unless you came looking for me?" he asked with a smug smirk. Fiona let out a sigh.
"I lost Grimm," she admitted looking down.
"Your cat? You lost him?"
"He ran away and I followed him down here."
"And now you can't find him."
"Look, unless you know where he is, leave me alone."
"Of course I know where he is."
"You do?" Fiona looked surprised.
"Would I lie to you?" he asked. Fiona gave him a look. "Don't answer that. Follow me," he muttered the password and a part of the stone wall behind him opened up; he turned to her. "Aren't you coming?"
"I'm not going in there," she said shaking her head.
"Scared?"
"I really hope you're not going to say you'll protect me again," Fiona said. Draco winced. "Besides, I don't know the password so I'm not allowed in."
"Are you always this difficult? I'm trying to help you."
"If Grimm is in there, bring him out here," she said as she crossed her arms. "I'm not setting foot in there." She put her arms around herself in more of a self hug. Draco let out a sigh and shook his head.
"Fine. Wait here," he said. He went inside and the wall closed behind him. A few minutes later Draco came back with Grimm in his arms. "Happy Christmas," he said jokingly with a chuckle. "He likes it down here," he said. "This isn't the first time he's been down here either; seems to always be waiting out here until someone lets him in."
"So this is where you go all the time," Fiona said to the cat that looked at her lazily.
"I think he likes me," Draco said with a smirk as he looked down at the cat.
"That makes one of us," Fiona said. Draco frowned.
"I helped you find him. The least you could say is a thank you," he muttered as he put the cat down. Fiona frowned and looked away.
"Thanks," she said.
"Was that so hard, Gaunt?"
"Stop calling me that," Fiona snapped with a frown.
"It is your name," Draco reminded her.
"My name is Fiona."
"Fine then... Fiona," he said with a smirk.
"Thank you. Good night," she said before turning, Grimm following by her side.
"I have a name too you know!" Draco called after her.
"Good night, Draco," Fiona said without looking back at him but she knew he was smirking even more.
…
Fiona and Grimm returned to the Gryffindor common room. No one was still awake, the room was empty. Fiona noticed the book Harry had picked up earlier on a desk but thought nothing of it. She simply went upstairs to bed.
After getting changed she was about to get into bed when she stopped. She turned to look at the little black box she'd put on her bedside table. Fiona shook her head and laid down, facing away from it. Grimm meowed softly and Fiona turned to see him holding the box by the ribbon in his mouth.
"I don't want it, Grimm," she whispered. "If he wanted me to have it he should have given it to me himself." The cat walked around the bed and put it down in front of her. Fiona let out a sigh and picked it up. She looked at the cat before looking back at the box. Fiona pulled at the ribbon and lifted the lid of the box. There was a note inside and she could easily recognize the handwritting.
Merry Christmas
Fiona put the note aside and pulled out a chain, at the end was a sphere pendant. She held the chain up and saw that inside the sphere it looked to be snowing, like it was a mini snow globe charmed to have an endless snowfall.