Chapter 11: Into the Pipes
Harry had told Luna that what she had seen when the Raven's eyes had flashed white was probably the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Once she had recovered more, she pressed him as to where that was, eventually getting the answer of that one bathroom that Moaning Myrtle haunted. They had to work around their busy schedules, but they finally found time the following Sunday when they could investigate. Sadly, there was no telling what kind of danger the Raven had warned them about or even how close it was to occurring. Luna had considered filling him in on the Grey Lady's warning, but eventually decided that it would only worry him more. They needed to be focused, so she decided that the details of that encounter could wait until after they'd looked into the problem. Both of them agreed that at least checking on things was the wisest course of action, because if there was a real threat they wanted to know sooner rather than later. Besides, from what Harry had said about his second year there was probably a basilisk corpse decomposing down there. They were incredibly valuable due to their spell-resistant scales, the venomous fangs, and simply as a trophy. Not many people had ever seen a basilisk and lived to tell the tale, after all. Killing one without the use of a rooster's crow was almost unheard of, and Luna still found it peculiar that nobody had told him of the creature's value.
So it was that when Sunday rolled around they met in front of the bathroom after lunch, Luna carrying a small bag of things they might need. She had water, some snacks, and blank paper she could use to map out the area as they went. Harry had been too busy running from the basilisk and handling the Tom Riddle memory to do much of that last time he was down here. They headed in together and Harry led her to the sink that had the little carving of the snake on the faucet. Leaning forwards, he whispered to it in parseltongue. As he spoke the word open the sinks all changed, splitting open to reveal the large pipe beneath while some parts slid down or up to make the entryway for them. "Nothing to do but jump from here, as far as I know there aren't any steps." he said, before going in. He slid down until he reached the same room with all the animal bones as before and moved to the side before Luna slid down behind him.
Luna thought that the whole slide was rather fun all in all, and she couldn't help screaming out as she went. "Weeeeee!" she yelled, before eventually reaching the bottom and joining Harry in the room littered with the bones. "Okay, that was awesome." she said, smiling at him as she looked around. "Nothing beats a nice creepy place to explore. Lead the way, my good sir." she said, moving to follow him as Harry began heading onwards. After sliding down she realized that perhaps being loud wasn't the best course of action and they both attempted to be much quieter moving forwards.
It wasn't long before they reached the door with the serpents carved into it, and Luna froze upon seeing it. "Harry, do you know where the other end of this tunnel system leads out?" she asked him, trying to think about how something like this could be a danger. It would be difficult to put this to any use, especially if it was restricted to only wizards who knew parseltongue being able to use it properly. Voldemort could speak the language, but aside from him there weren't any other known people with that particular ability. Even having heard Harry speak the language, she doubted that she would be able to replicate the sounds with any consistent accuracy. Besides, even if she got the sound right it could be that there was an innate magic you needed for it to function properly. Luna had lots of questions, but very little answers which was the biggest thing that was bothering her.
Harry thought for a moment before shrugging. "Have to admit that I don't know the answer to that. I think it's a closed off system of tunnels, but having not explored the entire thing I can't really say for certain." he explained, Luna nodding to herself as she listened to him. After thinking about it for a moment Harry had an interesting thought and considered the matter. "It's possible that there could be an exit near the lake. For caverns like this to exist it would make sense for there having been some sort of water flow at some point in the past. I doubt that this was all created from scratch if Slytherin wanted this place to remain a secret." he reasoned.
The logic of Harry's idea seemed solid, but they couldn't really figure anything out without more information to draw from. "That's a good thought, and definitely worth investigating." Luna told him with a smile. Moving forwards, she ran her hand over the rough stone of the carved serpents. It seemed to be sealed shut properly from what she could tell, so in theory there shouldn't be anybody waiting for them on the inside. At least, not from this side of things. Even just thinking that was enough to send a shiver of fear down her spine, but she grit her teeth together until the feeling lessened. After a few moments she stepped back and motioned to Harry to proceed. "Okay, go ahead and open it so we can see if anybody's been in the chamber since the last time you left it." she told him.
Just before Harry moved to do as Luna asked he froze, and turned to look at Luna. "Wait, before I move forwards why don't you cast that tracking spell. We can't look for specific people, but perhaps you could focus on humans and see if any have been down here recently. It might not work, but it's worth a shot right? I suppose you could also try using Malfoy as the focus, we do know he was given a task to perform. Assuming he wasn't lying to be more intimidating, but somehow I don't think he would try that." he said. While Malfoy might be more than happy to threaten people with his father all the time, something told him he wouldn't use the threat of the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters unless there was at least a small amount of truth to it. After all, if any were to catch wind of it and he was lying he didn't think being the son of Lucius Malfoy would protect him. Draco was a bully and was blinded a bit by his father's views that were impressed upon him, but even Harry knew that he wasn't stupid.
Once again Luna was impressed by her boyfriend and nodded. "I think that's a great idea. It won't be able to tell anything if it's not recent, but if it is there should be some indication. She closed her eyes and concentrated before bringing her wand up and spinning as the cloud of gold dust began to appear. "Appare Vestigium!" she called confidently Almost immediately the door itself lit up with a faint aura of magic, but as far as magical footprints there were none to be seen save from their own. Still, she felt much more confident after having cast that and gave Harry a nod. "Alright, go ahead." she told him and moved back to watch.
Harry did as she asked this time, and the door opened to the snake tongue. "Lumos Maxima." he said clearly, lighting up his wand brightly as they continued forward. They were into the actual chamber itself now, which had suffered some damage from the basilisk thrashing about. Nothing so serious as to cause it to be structurally unsound though, from what he could see of it. They found the basilisk's body and he paused as the memories of the terrifying battle began to resurface. Without Fawkes there he would have died that night, and Ginny along with him. He looked over at Luna and reached out a hand, needing whatever support she could offer. "Aside from facing the Dementors with Sirius, this was probably the scariest thing I can ever remember facing. At least when I faced that dragon in fourth year I just had to avoid it on a broom, but the only way to survive this was killing the snake." he explained, a shudder running through him.
Luna was looking over the corpse of the basilisk, with a worried expression on her face. She couldn't imagine what facing down that creature while it was still alive must have been like, even seeing its corpse was scary. She grabbed Harry's hand before using it to pull him towards her as she hugged him tightly. "It's alright now Harry, you did what you had to do to survive. Not only that, you put a stop to a threat that could have started killing children instead of merely petrifying them. Well, it already got one I suppose." she admitted, remembering Myrtle. She held onto him and rubbed small circles into his back until he started to relax. Finally she pulled away but held onto his hand tightly when she did. "Did Dumbledore never tell you how much these things are worth?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. This entire creature is easily worth at least three or four thousand galleons all told, more if you find the right buyer." she explained to him.
All he could do was stare at her as she told him how much that thing was worse. "Really? I mean, he never told me anything about its worth I think he was more concerned about Ginny, Ron, and I making it out alright." Harry admitted with a shrug. It had been a terrifying experience, so he'd never given much thought to the corpse in the after math of everything. "Do we need to ask him to try and sell it? It is on Hogwarts grounds after all." he pointed out to her. Harry didn't want to steal something from the school if it really was that valuable.
Luna shook her head, chuckling. "No, Harry you don't have to ask to sell the dead basilisk. "It's right of conquest. You killed the creature so it's yours to do with as you please." she told him. "I'm sure Snape would kill to get his hands on a creature like this, the venom is worth an incredible amount. As a bonus, it's still mostly intact, probably because of the chamber being magically sealed with that serpent door. If you wanted you could take the head of it as a trophy and mount it on your wall when you get a place of your own." she said, chuckling as he cringed a little at the thought of that. "You're right, that is a bit dark." she admitted with a chuckle upon seeing him make a face.
"Okay, well if that's the case I think I would like to contact Gringott's and see if they could handle harvesting the basilisk and then selling it. I trust them more than I do most wizards, plus there would be a commission for them in it with selling the goods. If nothing else the gold they could make by helping me should be enough to get their help." Harry said, thinking aloud as he nodded to himself. He didn't want any part of the beast mounted on his wall or anything like that. If it was put to use he was more than happy to be rid of the great big bloody snake that had nearly murdered him four years ago. The only thing he considered taking was one of the fangs to keep as a trophy, but after thinking about it he dismissed the idea. Having survived the encounter was more than enough in his opinion.
"I think that's a marvelous idea, Harry. Trust me, the goblins are more than capable of handling this sort of thing. I would suggest advising Dumbledore when they're coming so he doesn't panic upon seeing a group of goblins descending on his school." she said, smiling a little as she looped her arm through his. "I can see why Ginny was convinced you were a hero. Waking up and seeing that monster dead on the ground next to you, anybody would think as much. I don't think she'll be too upset with us for dating, but I would expect her to be a little awkward at first as she tries to let go of her crush on you." Luna explained, knowing Harry would be kind to her about it like he was with everyone. She just didn't want him to be surprised if their friend seemed to be acting a little off around them in the near future.
"Yeah, I'll make sure to let him know when they decide on the day to come out and do it." he assured her. Harry raised his eyebrows when she went on to talk to him about Ginny and he nodded. "I'm sure, I was half expecting her to jump down my throat when we kissed at the party but she gave us space. Thanks for handling telling her by the way, I'm not sure I would have had any idea what to say that would've comforted her. Or that it would've even been appropriate for me to try. Maybe she's actually starting to move on." he told her, a hint of hope in his voice. Crying and emotional girls was a territory he had yet to really explore too much and he was hoping he wouldn't be forced to. Helping Luna was different, because it also involved getting to know and understand her better. He didn't think that kind of emotional intimacy was commonplace, and even with Hermione he'd always been a bit reluctant to let her find out too much about his situation growing up with the Dursleys. She was a great friend and he trusted her with his life, but there was a reason he'd never thought of her as anything other than just a friend. That reason mainly being her innate tendency to try and control things wherever possible. It was great for some things, but when it came to emotions things weren't that simple.
Luna smiled and leaned in for a kiss after seeing him get all contemplative, nipping his lip lightly when she did to try and bring him back to the present. "Not a problem Harry. You leave chasing off other girls to me, and if there are any guys who come after me I'll make sure to direct them your way to deal with. However, I doubt anybody will try and take me away after seeing you in the Triwizard tournament. You might not look it, but you can be a rather dangerous enemy." she told him, rather proud of the reputation he'd unknowingly cultivated over the years.
Harry was a little surprised that his girlfriend thought he was dangerous, and he couldn't help a smirk from appearing on his face. "Oh, I am. Taking you here to a place you can't leave unless I let you. For all you know that was my plan all along. Getting you here all alone so I could have my wicked way with you." he said, teasing her as he moved closer. Luna fake fought against him, but he succeeded in wrapping his arms around her and giving a kiss. He made it the longest one they'd had yet when she leaned into him, and when he pulled back he was seeing stars. "Mmm, we'll definitely have to practice snogging soon." he told her with a wink.
Giggling, Luna reached out and smacked his arm. "Easy, Harry. If you're not careful you might bite off more than you can chew. You have no idea what you might get yourself into." she told him, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. It felt fun to just goof off a little with her boyfriend, usually their lives were so serious because of all that was going on. She was afraid after the incident with the Raven statue he wouldn't let her do anything fun, but she was glad to be proven wrong. The trip down here might not be the cleanest, and they were trying to see if anything was dangerous but it was enjoyable simply getting to be alone together. They could be themselves without interruption, and that was always a gift.
Seeing her being so playful was a good thing, and he was more than happy to play along. "Perhaps, but even if I do I imagine it would still be rather...enlightening." Harry said, his imagination running wild. He knew they weren't ready to get overly physical with each other yet, so left it at that for the moment and reached out for her hand. "Come on, we should be heading back. Our next adventure won't be nearly as fun but should be plenty rewarding. I asked Remus to come and help us do a makeover of the Shrieking Shack." he explained, when she gave him a questioning look.
"Oh, I'm sure it will be." she said, her mind imagining things much along the lines of what Harry probably had. His comment about doing a makeover of the Shrieking Shack made her smile. "That sounds excellent, it will be nice having a place outside of the school to go to and get away from everybody." Luna told him. She didn't mind sharing Harry's time, but more and more she was enjoying the time that got to spend just them and no one else. "As fun as coming down here was, it's not exactly the most practical of places to go since I would never be able to enter without you there to help me." she said with a chuckle.
Harry smiled as he thought about the two of them all alone in the Shrieking Shack. "I'm looking forward to that, too." he said, with a smile. With that, he led the way back towards the opening, closing it after they'd gone through to make sure nobody would steal the Basilisk before he could get the goblins down here. Once they reached the room with the bones he looked up at the long pipe and frowned. "I hadn't thought about this part. Last time Fawkes carried us out of here." he admitted, wondering how on earth they could climb the length of the pipe without help.
Luna couldn't help but laugh a little at the poor planning. "You really should have thought of this ahead of time, Harry. The only thing to do is call Fawkes and see if he'll help us." she said. Moving into the pipe, she leaned back and called out at the top of her lungs. "Fawkes, can you help us? We need a lift!" she yelled, moving back to Harry and leaning against him as they waited.
As they waited, Harry frowned. From what he knew about Phoenixes, they were unlikely to appear merely when requested by a person who wasn't their familiar. "I don't think he'll come, Phoenixes only usually listen to their bonded witch or wizard. I think he only helped last time because Professor Dumbledore said help would always be given to Hogwarts to those who ask." he said. Before he could add on anything else there was a flash of fire and the Phoenix appeared before Luna. While he was more than a little surprised he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Fawkes, you came!" he said, relief flooding him as he flew closer and waited for them to grab on. He did so, and Luna held onto him. Together, the three of them then flew up and out of the pipe and back into the bathroom. It proceeded to close behind them, and Fawkes vanished in another flash of fire as it went back to Dumbledore. "Well, what did you think?" he asked her.
Luna smiled at him, shaking her head. "I think you have far more secrets than you think you do. It was fun, though. Kind of cool to see a legendary creature in the flesh, even if it is long dead. To be honest, I'm not sure I would have liked seeing it alive." she admitted, making them both laugh. After the laughter died out though, she turned serious as she looked at Harry. "It was also good for me to check it out myself. If there is danger coming from the Chamber of Secrets, I don't think it's there yet. Which gives us time to prepare and plan, maybe even find some help." she said, smiling as she began to feel more relaxed. "Definitely a good thing." she told him, sounding a lot more convincing this time.
"Oh, it's definitely much more friendly dead I can assure you. Let's go and bother the house elves until they give us food, I heard the twins talking once saying there's either an apple or a pear you have to tickle on this particular painting, and if you do it will let you into the kitchen." Harry explained, heading towards where he thought it was. It took them a while but they eventually found it alright, and the house elves were more than happy to serve them something to eat. Once their bellies were full, he leaned in for one last kiss before he had to go to Quidditch practice. "I'll see you tomorrow. It wouldn't really do for the captain not to show up for his own practice." he told her.
Luna nodded and gave him a smile. "Stay safe up there, I need to go and get cleaned up after heading down there." she said, waving before turning to head towards the Ravenclaw common room. She was pleased to have eased up some of her concern about the Chamber of Secrets, and content with the way things were progressing with Harry. They weren't rushing anything and the better they got to know each other the more comfortable they became. She finally had somebody she could really open up to and she wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.
A/N: Okay, so there is a change from canon in here. In the seventh book Ron does in fact go to the chamber and open it with an imitation of Harry's parseltongue, but the thing is that always really bothered me. If you can simply imitate or learn to speak the language over time it doesn't make sense to me to also make it a rare magical gift passed through bloodlines and associated with dark wizards. If anybody can just guess until they get it right wouldn't other followers of the dark attempt to teach themselves? I don't know, it's just something that always really bugged me. So for my story there is an actual magic associated with parseltongue that makes it function the way it does. Harry and Voldemort are the only users we know of. Anyways, thanks for reading I hope you all enjoyed.
