Beta: AriArlene [real life friend who loves fanfiction]
Original Release Date: 8/23/15
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the canon Harry Potter universe or any other universe.
Chapter Thirty One – Clashing of Minds and Bodies
Looking around and spotting the hovering hexagonal sensor, Harry and Neville edge forward slowly, looking from side to side.
"What do you think we should do?" asks Neville quietly.
"Considering that we are armed with our wands, the goggles, our body armor, and a sword apiece, our odds are probably pretty low…begins Harry, still thinking before adding, "I do still have my PRT, and if we can get the girls to touch it and then we activate it, they will be sent to a safe point. But unless we are touching it as well, we might be left alone down here."
"Add in that we both have some fighting experience, our odds are slightly increased. But, what else do we know about basilisks, other than not being able to stare into their eyes is instant death?" asks Neville subdued.
"I'd figure that there are some fangs we'd better watch out for. Not certain if there is any poison, so let's assume there is poison" answers Harry, still plodding along slowly, an endless stretch of wall and floor in front of both of them.
In the Great Hall, the doors burst open as Remus enters after exchanging just a few words with Sirius, Amelia, and a few Aurors in the hallway, decked out with the same goggles as Harry and Neville, and a specifically made version of the armor for Auror use.
Arriving at the unofficial command post, Remus sits down before adding his Omni Play to the mix, bringing up a 3D view of under the castle from Harry's view.
"Fred, George, what's the situation?" inquiries Remus calmly.
Exchanging looks, Fred answers, "Our sister, Ginny and Luna Lovegood have been taken by a girl named Fay with the basilisk under Hogwarts. Harry and Neville have given chase, and have vanished from our map. We only see Harry and Neville because of the one sensor underground."
Nodding his head, Remus asks, "Amelia, Sirius, did you get that?"
"Yes" replies Sirius tersely, sound coming from Remus's Omni Play.
"I hate to ask this of you, but were there dots for Ginny and Luna on the map before they disappeared underground?" asks Remus gently.
George makes a strange sound before clearing his throat and answering, "Yes. We got a warning for them to close their eyes before the basilisk got to them."
"Mmm, smart move. Unfortunately we can't communicate that to Harry and Neville, due to a lack of sound…wait! Harry's watch might be still connected. Harry! Do you read me?"
The sound of static comes right before Harry's voice is barely heard, "…emus? Is…at yo..Remu..?
"Harry, stay where you are, Aurors are on their way. Repeat, Aurors are on their way, stand by for them. Do you understand?" states Remus.
Static sounds answer for a few seconds before cutting off completely. Exhaling, Remus says, "It looks like they are too far away from Harry's or Neville's Omni Connect. Fortunately I saw that this might happen and made a slightly more portable version, carried by Sirius to coordinate the Aurors underground. Unfortunately it is a particular channel only, so unless Harry or Neville try to scan for it and connect, if they are even within range, they won't be within contact. The only thing we can do is try to watch through the video feeds, as the mapping device we placed under Hogwarts also doubles as a connection station, video only though."
In Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Amelia stands in a semi-circle around the pipe leading to under Hogwarts.
"We've got a confirmed five students under the castle. Two hostages, two students who put themselves in harms way, and a single student, who I suspect has been orchestrating these petrifications. Thanks to Mr. Black here, and of course Mr. Lupin of Marauders Emporium, we are armed with special goggles that should keep us from getting petrified or worse, dying if we look into the basilisk's eyes. Alongside that, they have provided our special plate armor of which the ministry refuses to pay for. My plan is an arrow shaped formation with Sirius at the back, taking care of our special communication systems. I will form the tip alongside Shacklebolt. Alice, Frank, you two will be on the right flank, twenty or so feet behind me, with Moody and Tonks on the left flank. Everyone will be in a pair, and as we near the chamber, we will break off into three groups. Sirius will stay back, but still close enough to keep our comms alive. Shacklebolt and I will lead the forward charge against the enemy, with the Longbottoms, Moody, and Tonks providing support to the students until they are clear. Then we close in and finish off the basilisk. Everyone clear on their role? No? Mr. Black, you first" announces Amelia grimly, getting acknowledgements from everyone.
Nodding his head, Sirius takes his pack and hugs it as he slides down into the abyss below, goggles on. Silently, Tonks, Moddy, Shacklebolt, Frank, Alice, and finally Amelia follow behind at thirty second intervals. Proceeding forward in their agreed upon formation, the Aurors and Sirius make their way towards the Chamber of Secret, hoping to catch up to Harry and Neville before they confront the basilisk.
In the Great Hall, small pockets of general chatter are heard, but only for brief periods of time.
"Do you think that Harry and Neville will be alright?" asks Fred quietly.
Looking over the two tablets, both with 3D displays, Remus finally answers, "They stand a better chance than anyone else their age. We can hope that they will wait for Amelia, Sirius, and the rest of the Aurors, but they might be consumed with saving the girls."
Silence falls over the Gryffindor table as the feed showing Harry's view disappears, with Dumbledore getting up from the table. Switching the view to Alice Longbottom, Remus speaks quietly, "Sirius, Harry's feed just cut out."
Hearing those words, Sirius's whole body tremors, not wanting to find Harry in a similar state like he had found James's body so many years before. Repeating the message to the rest of the group, Sirius gets the command to pick up speed alongside the rest of the group.
Reaching a circular door covered with snakes, Harry and Neville exchange looks before Harry steps forward, scrunches his eyes as he tries to picture speaking with a real snake, only stopping as the sound of stone rubbing against stone is heard. Waiting with wands in hand, posture changing slightly as the circular door swings open without a sound.
Stepping into the area beyond the door, the duo move even slower than before, despite the drive to rush in and save the girls, peering around for any danger that might lurking. Seeing nothing, they progress deeper, finally reaching a chamber of large proportions and three prone bodies.
Spotting the bodies on the floor, Neville growls softly, "What's our plan?"
"Not to die" replies Harry, running towards a figure cloaked in the darkness created by the gigantic statue of a human head in the middle of the room.
Sending stunning spell after stunning spell at the figure, Harry growls in anger as each fails to meet its mark.
"My my Harry, such rudeness from you, although I find myself surprised that you can see me so easily" comes a masculine voice, a teenaged and brown haired male stepping out from the darkness.
Taking a chance in the lull of spell casting, Neville holds his wand in his right hand as he carefully checks the pulse of each girl. Giving Neville a sideways glance, Harry records the slight nod of Neville's head before asking to the unnamed individual in front of him, "And who are you? Why are you doing this?"
Smirking, the individual answers, "My name is…Tom Marvolo Riddle."
Snarling, Harry answers, "Voldemort. And the diary must be a horcrux then. But why do you need the girls?"
Narrowing his eyes, Tom thinks to himself, 'Potter knows about horcruxes, it would be good to kill him soon", before chuckling softly, "To regain a body of course. The Fay girl stole my diary, and little by little I began to possess her, controlling her actions. Of course she stole it from a Weasley."
"How do you get a body from that?" asks Neville, wary of any impending attack.
Smiling, Tom answers, "Every second we spend here is another second her life slips away and I grow stronger."
Raising their wands, Tom announces, "But now that you know that, I'm afraid it is time for you to die", before hissing loudly, causing the sound of rock grating against rock to resonate throughout the room.
Stopped in their tracks, Harry and Neville just stop and stare as the basilisk slithers and falls out of the opening of the mouth, pausing only slightly to find out where the two boys are.
Exchanging looks, well, as much as they could in their googles, Harry and Neville split off from each other, hoping to help divide the basilisk's attention. Spreading spell from both sides of the basilisk at its eyes, the two boys having to do what they can as they dodge being bitten at, slammed by the powerful tail, all the while of Tom laughing and smirking at the predicament. Finally managing to land some severing spells on the basilisk's eyes, finally blinding it.
Snarling in a fit of rage, Tom hisses at the snake, Harry too busy fending off an enraged basilisk to pay attention. Suddenly the basilisk turns its attention all on Harry, slamming him hard enough to be thrown dozens of feet across the room into a pillar, where Harry just slides down the pillar, not moving.
Roaring in newly found rage, Neville whips out his sword, wielding his wand in one hand and a sword in the other, running right at the basilisk, determined to extract revenge for Harry. Slowly but surely Harry comes to, feeling his chest plate severely weakened and dented at the back as well as the front. Knowing that it was probably the only thing to save him from having his lungs punctured, he moves slowly not eager to draw Tom's attention, but also wanting to help Neville.
Finally coming to the circular door, the Aurors hear Neville's rage induced roar, and charge in wands at the ready as Harry banishes his hidden sword through the basilisk's skull from across the room, as the basilisk's tail sweeps around hitting Neville squarely in the chest, throwing him across the room, opposite of Harry.
Noticing first that the basilisk had been injured, Tom hisses some dying instructions as the basilisk weakly slithers and manages to break the skin just enough to allow the poison to seep into Harry's body, it's final act to its master.
Charging in yelling a multitude of spells at Tom, who realized too late that the Aurors had arrived, somehow, all missing the red and gold phoenix that soared in silently, landing on Harry's chest, a few tears rolling down and into the open wound on his right leg.
Silence falls as the Aurors come to a stand off to a not a completely human Tom Riddle, unable to hurt him. Coming to, Neville comes face to face with his parents who's faces begin smiling despite the tears running down their faces.
Discovering his vision returning and body returning to normal, Harry grabs his sword, blade now covered in basilisk venom, teetering as he cross the room before wordlessly plunging the sword into the diary, unseen as Tom and the Aurors continue their stare down. With ear splitting sound reverberating around the room, the diary gushes ink, the color fading from Tom Riddle with Fay returning to a more normal color.
As Shacklebolt and Amelia check the girls, Sirius runs to Harry, grasping him in a bear hug before berating him, "Harry Potter! As your godfather, I will not allow you to charge into such dangerous places when Aurors are more than capable of handling the situation! You will be grounded from any Quidditch practice over the summer! At least until the week before classes resume", sniffing and wiping his eyes before adding, "And thank you for not dying. Lily would kill me if you had. And I'm proud of you, suffice to say."
Following suit, Amelia pulls Harry into a hug once he is released by Sirius. "Don't do that again" murmurs Amelia only loud enough for Harry to hear.
Helping the girls out of the pooling water, the Aurors conjure some blankets to help wrap them up in. Looking around the chamber, Amelia murmurs, "Such a large chamber, it needs some inspection before being sealed."
Frowning, Sirius asks, "Something wrong, dear?"
"Just noting that we need to document this chamber and inspect it before we seal it off, so no other students will fall prey to this."
Pulling a handheld camera out, Sirius hands it to Amelia and says, "Here then. It's not a sound camera, so it should serve the purpose of at least documenting what you see down here. All of the photos will be available to you once we get home."
Turning in a circle, Amelia replies, "That might be good, but I think that the ministry will need to send at least a few curse breakers if possible, and see if there are any hidden traps or spells left around here. We can't just allow this place to be sealed without making certain that there isn't another way in. A repeat of this would be a terrible shame."
Nodding his agreement, Sirius asks, "So what do we do with a dead basilisk?"
"Sell it and replace the Hogwarts broomsticks and other upgrades?" suggests Harry.
"Hmm, not a—blast! Remus hasn't heard from us yet!" shouts Sirius, running over to the pack sitting on the ground.
Finally getting Fay awakened and somewhat walking, the aurors help her alongside Ginny and Luna exiting the chamber, goggles no longer on. Finally getting everyone into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Amelia allows Harry and Neville to walk in front of the group, still making their way slowly to the Great Hall, with Kingsley and Tonks assisting Fay to the Hospital Wing.
Entering the Great Hall, silence reigns as the group proceeds to the location of the podium as Amelia steps forward and begins, "Hogwarts, these two fine gentlemen have faught bravely to rescue three young ladies from a basilisk. The basilisk is dead, however, no one is to enter the bathroom as it is under investigation by the Ministry of Magic henceforth. If you are unaware of the significance of a basilisk, it should be noted that looking into its eyes means sudden death, and merely looking into a reflection of its eyes will result in petrification, a reversible condition."
Stepping down, Amelia quickly converses with Professor McGonagall who had just arrived in the Great Hall, before motioning to Sirius, Remus, the aurors, Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Luna to follow her as she and Professor McGonagall make their way from the cheers of the Great Hall and through some hallways. Arriving at a gargoyle who promptly jumps out of the way, the group make their way up a spiraling and moving staircase, arriving at a great set of doors.
Entering the room, the young four are shocked to see Dumbledore and a red faced Lucius Malfoy, who hadn't noticed them enter.
"I demand to be able to give Draco his medicine to be able to resume going to classes!" shouts Lucius.
With a twinkling look in his eye, Dumbledore asks, "And do you have enough to supply Mr. Creevey a chance to return to classes as well?"
"I didn't buy this to share, I only bought it for Draco!" exclaims Lucius angrily, before turning around and noticing the crowd behind him, paling in only mere seconds.
Plopping the ruined diary onto Dumbledore's desk, Amelia states calmly, "Here is what was found alongside the three girls when the boys arrived."
Rubbing his hands together, Dumbledore asks, "And I suppose you dispatched the beast plaguing the castle? Good job, most impressive."
Beginning into the tale of entering the Chamber of Secrets, the recount of the battle, and the rest of it, Lucius keeps backing up, not eager to be in the same room when-
"Lucius, have you heard of an artifact that possess someone with remnants of a soul, say decades old?" inquiries Dumbledore in a nonchalant tone of voice.
Confused as the conversation and the group face him, Lucius clears his throat before answering, "I have not", before placing his hands on the door to leave when said doors burst open, catching everyone off guard.
Mrs. Weasley pushes past everyone, taking Ginny tightly into her arms, Mr. Weasley a short way behind her. Conversation begins again, with Amelia and Dumbledore asking Lucius more questions, about how he had come to be there that evening, if he would be willing to obtain some more restorative for Colin, before a familiar face speaks up , "Dobby has brought master his tea", pausing all conversation nearly instantly.
"It's time to go" instructs Lucius, knocking into Dobby who drops the teacup, spilling it everywhere, earning him a kick.
Watching them disappear, Harry quickly takes off his right shoe, removes his sock before shoving the diary into it, running after the pair.
"Mr. Malfoy, you forgot this" shouts Harry, tossing the wooly sock at Mr. Malfoy who surprisingly catches it with ease, removing the diary from the sock, tossing the sock over his shoulder.
"Why would I want this, boy?" sneers Mr. Malfoy, throwing the diary back at Harry.
"Come Dobby" commands Mr. Malfoy heading towards the nearest exit from the castle. Realizing that Dobby wasn't following, Mr. Malfoy turns around and shouts, "I said 'here' Dobby!"
"Dobby is a free elf. Master gave Dobby a wooly sock", before standing proudly beside Harry, sock in hand.
"ARRRGH!" exclaims Mr. Malfoy, before striding off.
As Mr. Malfoy leaves their line of sight, Harry turns to Dobby and asks, "What will you do now, Dobby?"
Pausing to think, Dobby answers, "Dobby doesn't know. Dobby never planned for this."
"Then why not join our family?" asks Sirius, having appeared out of nowhere.
"What if Dobby wants paying?" challenges Dobby.
Chuckling, Sirius answers, "Three galleons a week fine, Dobby?"
Clutching his chest, Dobby answers, "Dobby will accept no more than a galleon a week, if he can serve the most kind Harry Potter."
Digging into his pockets, Sirius flips a galleon at Dobby who catches, eyes growing big at the sight of a galleon.
"Consider yourself part of our family now, Dobby" says Sirius kindly, giving Dobby a hug who then breaks down into tears.
Authors note: So apparently I confused some people with the character of Fay Dunbar. My apologies, I was just looking for someone to take and write in the diary of Tom Riddle, who was in Gryffindor and NOT Ginny, as she had people/friends to feel more comfortable with. I also didn't want to create my own character to do so as well, hence the Harry Potter Wiki to find a character. Obviously she was just a person in the movie and not the books, so my apologies.
-Katiek121 – Thanks, I thought it was a pretty good idea. :)
-Son of Whitebeard – I'm not certain what you mean by dark, unless you are referring to five students under Hogwarts, or that it is dark and that our witches and wizards are using special goggles to see [and light is probably hard to come by as well]. :p
To remind everyone, because of my new job [which I love, forty hours a week, not including the two hours of driving each day], releases will become slower. However, I do have some chapters of fanfiction finished, and will be releasing them so that there will be at least some form of a release. That doesn't mean the chapters that are finished are for this [they aren't], so please be patient. Thanks. :)