Chapter 01: Den of the Basilisk

The entry tunnel opens up and splits into four more tunnels as she enters the first room, which has mostly rotted floorboards. There are several pieces of newer furniture. Included is a bed, which appears to have dried body juices on it from a previous user's love-making. The desk has a few writing utensils and other supplies as well. There is a rather large collection of books around the room, some of which she is curious about.

Looking at the finer details she realizes one of the tunnels has muck like the snake has on its belly skin. And since being highly dangerous is an assumption for everything down here she uses her clone jutsu that she has gained from the anime. The clone jutsu is one of the most useful for gathering information, alongside the transformation and the substitution. The clone technique gives the memories of the copies back to the original and the others as well. The transformation can give shape to any living being that can be imagined. Substitution typically replaces a person with a log, but can be used to switch with enemies or others when used by those powerful enough.

She pauses, realizing that she now has complete control over natural things, like plants, similarly to a druid. However, crystals and metals are also included in this definition. She sighs as she decides to make more entryways into her forever home. After all the stuff she read by Skeeter she isn't so sure that she should blindly follow Dumbledore like she has been doing. The ability to expand and create them from nothing will also be useful, no matter how useful it has yet to be determined.

"Ten of you need to go down each tunnel to investigate and thirty more should investigate this room." She orders, taking on the role of leader like she has done in fifth year as the Dumbledore's Army leader. Despite it currently being between her second and third year of Hogwarts, she knows that she will be fine.

The clones quietly draw their wands and begin making their way down the tunnels as she waits. Patiently standing for information to return to so long has her body achy. She decides not to lean against the wall until her clones are able to without problems. Once she sees it is safe, she leans against a dry patch of wall.

"Wait… We might even be able to run things through the rest of the tunnels outside the door as well, maybe even breed snakes for their venom down here." A clone says suggestively before several others look at her for approval from where they are looking at the bookshelves.

"Twenty clones are to go searching through the rest of the school's empty looking tunnels. Anything needing reporting will be investigated until it becomes too dangerous for the clone to do such. Thereafter the clone will pop and send the memories and knowledge back to us." ten of the clones remain as the others head straight for the tunnel she has just entered through.

"Dobby." A clone calls causing them to feel magic struggling against that of the tunnels. Dobby is being blocked from entering by some dynamic wards that she can barely sense under her partial control.

Harry speaks up, "I claim the lineage and rights of the Gaunts and their ancestors. Should magic deem it necessary, I will bestow the title of steward to Dobby the house-elf until further notice." Dobby appears in a deafening crack, wearing a spunky outfit of fluffy, mismatched Christmas pajamas. His ears, arms, and feet each have a different sock, also fluffy though none of which match while the socks on his ears are made attached to an equally fluffy knitted hat. Harry briefly wonders if he is sweating underneath it all, even as she and her clones all smile fondly at the little guy.

"Miss Rose calls for Dobby?" he asks with such hopeful eyes. Memories of her sternly telling him to leave her alone enter her mind and she sighs.

"Dobby, I want you to take me to Gringotts. I need to talk to them about excavating this area." Dobby glances around, causing his fingers to start twitching. "Don't start cleaning." Harry orders before he can fully snap his finger. He nearly trips despite standing still.

"Why? It is very messy and Dobby doesn't want Miss Rose getting sick." Dobby pouts at the reprimanding from her. He looks closer to sad tears than she has ever seen him. She ignores his puppy dog technique, knowing that it is also for their safety that they don't mess with anything themselves. There might be curses down here that target house elves.

"There is a reason I want to go to Gringotts, Dobby. This is the Chamber of Secrets, which I now own and you are steward of." Dobby's shock has him plopping onto his rear to sort through his thoughts. Harry nearly panics before realizing that a thick rug materialized under him, conjured by his magic out of instinct. Harry sighs, knowing the little guy has probably never heard of an elf steward of any kind. She mentally snickers at mentally seeing the little fellow dressed up with a monocle in one eye with clothes similar to what he has on now. His book will have a cover equally as fluffy and colorful.

"Dobby wonders why Miss Rose has picked Dobby. It was kind of obvious that she hated Dobby for ruining her time with her relatives a few hours ago." Rose stares at him before sighing as she rubs her face. A brief moment passes as she plans on how to keep him quiet about her secret.

"Dobby, tell me the number one way that can keep you from informing others about my number one secret, as of right now, without it being necessary and without sharing it with my enemies." Dobby tilts his head in confusion at the suggestion.

He stands up taller and prouder than she has ever seen him. "Dobby feels honored that Miss Rose will tell Dobby her deepest secret… This one will not share information with the enemies of the Miss in front of this one. This one swears that the only time this one will share information is when Miss's allies absolutely need to know. Thus this one, known currently as Dobby the free elf, swears with all his mind, magic and might." a swirl of magic is felt in the air before Dobby huffs a little. Harry notices that he looks a little tired.

"Dobby, you may bond with me for the day, however, I expect you to allow me to negotiate with you for the service of all my elves with a lawyer present. I refuse to abuse any of you simply because you are so used to it." Dobby blushes a little and reaches out and touches her arm.

"Does Miss Rose accept this one day, temporary offer of completely trustworthy service from Dobby in return for a power up?" He asks with his tone of voice formal and strong even as his eyes glitter.

"I will accept the same conditions for a service term of one week. A power up will be given whenever you need one for that duration of time. Do you accept my alternate offer?" Dobby looks somewhat surprised before he smiles at her. She sees that he is thinking about it.

"Dobby agrees only so long as Dobby can help tidy up the Chamber of Secrets for Miss Rose." He renegotiates another condition.

"I can only accept your condition on the terms that we also have curse breakers down here during this time to prevent you from coming to harm. Do you agree to this?" Dobby looks somewhat bewildered before his eyes widens at the sudden thought he has.

"Dobby accepts only so long as Miss Rose treats all her elves the way Dobby sees us deserving." He says before wincing as she grimaces.

Harry knows what he thinks of himself, the little fellow feels that he isn't too deserving and that his work can easily be done by others. "Dobby, for so long as you believe that every elf deserves the world I will agree to this." Dobby's eyes are suddenly misty as he nods and he tries wiping away his tears before she can see them. "Dobby, I know this is going to be hard for you, but please listen quietly until I am finished, okay?" The little fellow nods eagerly before she tells him her story.

Dobby stares at her, tears in his eyes as his shoulders shake with silent sobs. Harry awkwardly hugs him, pulling him into her lap, glad that he isn't doing anything suicidal. He hugs her back and whines deep in his throat. After a few brief moments Dobby looks up at her. "What is Mistress's name?" he hiccups again.

"You can call me Harry." Dobby gives her a small smile, knowing that she cares about him at the very least, more so than her counterpart born here has. He snaps his fingers, making the evidence of tears and sadness vanish before her eyes.

"Dobby is happy to meet Miss Harry and would like to escort her to Gringotts for a Rite of Requirements test." Harry's eyes fly wide open at remembering the vaults she has relations to. She literally has conquest over Dark Lord Voldemort, especially since she has tricked him soundly. All his minions can now be collected across the world to testify for their guilt, and she can also collect up to 50% or more of all their wealth in any form that she likes.

She takes his hand in hers before he silently pops them into Gringotts' Lobby. She stumbles a little, not quite used to the travel method being so much easier on her than both the Floo and Knight Bus combined. A few guards narrow their eyes at her appearance even as she walks up to the teller. She realizes that she still has a little blood on her outfit and Dobby quickly cleans her outfit with a brief charm.

"I am requesting a Rite of Requirements test, please." The goblin gives her a polite grin for a moment, obviously happy that they will be unfreezing her assets. After a moment he frowns, and it is obvious he is aware that something has happened to her recently.

"Griphook, please escort this young lady to Accounts Manager Lurnott." The goblin in question appears in front of Harry with an interesting gleam in his eyes. Harry has never noticed how the goblins interact with other races and is rather surprised when he gives a shallow but respectful nod to Dobby.

"Follow me, please." Harry is guided through the tunnels. She allows Dobby to have a gentle hold on her right hand, knowing it is signaling something to the goblins that they pass by. She is surprised when she sees one give her a fond grin of sorts, still filled with fangs as any other goblin emotion on display will be. Harry instinctively smiles back at her, a little confused and wary since she has never seen a goblin so happy.

They come across a somewhat elaborate door, which has a rather astonishing symbol on the front that is larger than her head. Harry stares at the rune that is on both the door and her forehead knowing that it has to mean something. Why she has ignored the runes class before is beyond her but now she definitely wants to take it with Hermione.

She is shaken out of her thoughts by Dobby giving her a gentle tug on her sleeve. She blinks as she looks around, flushing from a little embarrassment before she motions for Dobby to take the lead. He leads her into the room even as she takes a moment to ground herself, knowing that she needs to be reasonable during her meeting with the goblins on all fronts.

"Good morning, Honorable Goblin." Harry greets Lurnott as politely as she can. He glances up at her, a little stunned by her greeting him so politely. He gives her a small smile and she continues, "I'm Harry and this is Dobby, he is my steward." The goblin turns toward the elf in time to see him blushing, all evidence of her truth seen in the way he looks at her with adoring eyes.

"Good morning, Steward Dobby, Harry. Why are you registering as both male and female, Harry?" Harry pauses, not knowing if he should tell him.

"I have the memories, knowledge and abilities of an alternate self. In that life I was male and in this life I am female." The goblin raises an eyebrow before nodding. He begins digging through the cabinet on his left, looking for something for her.

"Dobby and Mistress Harry are here to purchase the use of a Rite of Requirements test." Dobby says in a tone that is as formal as he can talk. The goblin looks at them, with a look that is asking if they are serious.

"The Rite of Requirements has always been free." Lurnott says as he watches them for their reaction.

Dobby blinks at the news, a little shocked and bemused at the news. He grumbles a little about Hogwarts elves being dumb before he looks up at Lurnott. "Dobby apologizes, Dobby was told by a Hoggy-Warts Elf that Dumbles said it costs 30 galleons. That is also why Hoggy-Warts have not been telling students or residents of the test." Lurnott sighs with more than a little relief on his face. Now it is kind of obvious that they have been worrying about frozen assets being claimed by the ministry or something. It also makes it seem like Dumbledore is claiming everything as the head of the Wizengamot or something.

"I will have this remedied as soon as possible, Dobby. For now we will begin with Miss Harry's test." He pulls out a parchment and places it in front of Harry. Harry takes it and begins reading through the runes, seeing the mark she has on her forehead among the array more than once. Dobby suddenly bristles with rage as a knife is placed in front of her. "It will need as much blood and magic as you can donate. With how young you are, there is no promise that you will have enough magic per drop of blood as those that the standard tests are given to. Usually those who try are seventeen at the least." He explains to the two of them.

"Dobby, calm. I will allow you to get a vow of protection for me later, right now this is the fastest way to determine what property I can live on without Dumbledore interfering." Dobby relaxes as he gives a fanged grin at Lurnott, pleased with what must be a very tiring thing for anyone who isn't an elf. They can be stubborn when negotiating according to rumors. Dobby is quiet as he allows her to pick up the knife. She looks at it and knows that Dobby still doesn't want her hurt in any way. She ruffles his hair with a gentle touch to distract him for a moment before she starts.

Dobby watches Harry slice her thumb before she starts collecting blood in her cupped hands. She focuses on pouring as much magic as she can into her hands and watches with shock as the blood turns a golden hue with black swirls on the surface. Harry let's her makeshift cup fill with blood before she smears it all on the parchment, still letting her magic hover over her skin as she continues to touch the parchment.

After a few moments the golden ink gains a slightly darker tone before it starts spreading across the page, making several different letters from the forming ink. She winces, not realizing that there would be so much she could inherit from those families. She hands the test to Dobby, who reads over it quickly and stares for a few moments.

He hands the test to Lurnott with a smirk. "Dobby would like to collect all debts and cancel all betrothal contracts until further notice." Harry sits up, regaining their attention.

"Actually, I think I would like a betrothal contract with Fred and George Weasley, they are twins and I find them entertaining. Write the contract from scratch and make sure that they have the option of passing it up. Let their father see it first and he may or may not approve of it. Register me as Ariel Jamie Potter, a cousin of Rose Lily Potter." Dobby salutes her, knowing that she has a crush on the twins. Harry leans back to listen to them both make deals with each other. "Dobby, if they want to buy it, or if they know someone who will, there is also the basilisk corpse and its many hides in the chambers." Dobby gives her a blank stare before he turns toward Lurnott in time to see a quizzical look.