I own nothing.
A/N: This chapter had to go through a few iterations before I found what I wanted from it, hence, why the long wait. But good news! The first draft of the next chapter is complete, so it shouldn't be too long before its also posted.
Please enjoy and review!
Chapter XXIX
March 1994
Harry should have known he'd end up here eventually. He should have known it from the first moment that it was reported that there been another attack. He was in an empty office, a single candle as the only source of light, but it did little to illuminate the room. He had been collected from his dormitory by Auror Shephard and placed here just as the sun had begun to peak out from the horizon. That had been an hour ago. In that time, sitting there in near darkness, Harry couldn't stop his thoughts from racing as he kneaded a hole through his palm.
Of all the chaotic thoughts that plagued Harry's mind, the only one he could be absolutely sure of was that something terrible must have happened. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been brought to this room and made to wait this long. Lockhart would have undoubtedly come skipping in with his trademark smile and swagger, immediately sharing the tale of his heroic triumph. Had he been injured or worse, killed? If he had been killed, did they think Harry did it? After all, only Dumbledore and his friends knew that he had been helping Lockhart.
Harry's musings were interrupted when his attention was drawn to the door. He could hear footsteps just outside accompanied with the tap-tap of a walking stick. When the door opened, Harry was greeted with the sight of an old man, scars all across his face, with one magical eye, and one leg made of metal. Harry didn't need an introduction to know who this was.
Auror Moody stood stoically in the doorway for a moment. His large frame blocked most of the light from the hallway which kept his face mostly shrouded in shadow. "So, you're Potter's boy, aye?"
Harry straightened in his seat. "Yes, sir."
"I'm not a sir, Potter, I'm an Auror." Moody stepped into the room and took the seat across from Harry. The small candle that now floated above them allowed Harry to make out the jagged contours of Moody's face. Just the sight of it caused Harry to feel his stomach tightened.
"Tell me what you know." Moody's magical eye zeroed in on Harry.
"About what?" Harry knew better than to provide full disclosure.
"Relax, Potter. We're already aware of your role in Professor Lockhart's investigation."
Harry started to calm down, but only a little. "Where is Professor Lockhart?"
"Dead. Draco Malfoy, too." Moody's brazen tone made it seem like he was completely unfazed that two people were now dead.
"What happened?" Harry murmured in shock.
Moody brushed off his question. "You'll find out when the Minister makes his official statement. Right now, I'm only interested in what you know prior to the events of this evening."
Harry sensed that there was no point in holding back. "Draco didn't act alone. He wasn't even the one controlling the basilisk."
"Who was it?"
"His name is Adrian Grey."
"How was Malfoy involved?"
"He wanted me out of the way so he could control Slytherin."
"Idjit." Moody grunted. "What about Lord Malfoy? Was he involved in any way?"
"I don't know. We never found any evidence that pointed to it."
Moody was then silent for at least a minute. He appeared to be thinking quite intently about something. He then scooted in closer and spoke softly. "Alright, Potter, who else knows this?"
Harry paused at the question and the change in tone and body behavior from the old Auror.
"No one else. I was the only one assisting Professor Lockhart."
"Boy, if you think I don't know when someone is lying to me, then your Pop clearly hadn't told you about me."
"I—"
"Shut it. Doesn't matter." Moody waved him off and started to stroke his chin as he thought. "Alright, you're not going to tell anyone else about this. No Aurors, no officials, not even the Minister."
"But—"
"I said shut it. We don't need more questions asked." Moody then shuffled a bit, as if he believed they were being watched.
"What about Grey?"
"He still in the Chamber?"
Harry nodded. "As far as I know."
Moody took another moment to assess the situation. "He's no longer a threat, not with the basilisk off the board."
Harry felt his anger start to surface. "You don't understand."
"No, boy, you don't understand. War is coming. He's coming. And the little power plays that Lord Malfoy has been spinning for the last thirteen years are about to take their first hit. It won't take him down completely, but it's the start we need."
"You can't leave Grey there. You can't let him get away with this. Not after all he's done." Harry hoped to appeal to the lawful Auror side of the man in front of him.
Moody, though, was quick to dismiss him. "He's contained for now, so we wait until Dumbledore can settle this more discretely."
"Dumbledore isn't here." Harry growled. His anger started to boil over. Why wouldn't he listen?
"He's coming back, I've arranged it." Moody easily noticed that Harry wasn't a fan of this plan of action. "I can see your fire, Potter, and one day you'll learn to direct where it needs to burn. Hell, I'll even help you. But you must understand, this is for the greater good."
Harry met Moody's eyes and refused to back down. He didn't care about the 'greater good,' all he cared about was that there was still a threat. A small smirk appeared on Moody's face at Harry's stubborn resiliency.
"You're just like your father, Potter. He was a royal pain in my arse, too. Good Auror, but even he could get lost in a black and white view of the world." Moody's gaze became more intense. "Sometimes justice must give way to something bigger."
Harry heard what he said but disagreed completely. His father had taught him his whole life that doing the right thing was not something to be compromised. And right now, all Harry understood was that a criminal like Grey did not deserve another chance to escape like he had the last time Harry trusted Dumbledore to handle him.
Moody leaned in. "Now there's one last thing you're going to tell me. Did you and Lockhart find the Chamber's entrance?"
Harry made sure not to break eye contact. "No," he lied and he knew that Moody could tell that he had.
Moody reared back, suddenly towering above Harry and appearing larger than before. For a moment, Harry feared that the grizzled Auror might retaliate, but instead, he backed off. "You're free to go. Auror Shephard will escort you back to your common room."
About two hours later, all students and faculty were summoned to the Great Hall to hear the official report about the previous night's occurrence. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stood at the headmaster's podium. A full contingent of Aurors surrounded the entire Hall, spaced apart by a few feet. Standing just behind Fudge, was Alastor Moody, his stern expression surveying the room.
Harry sat with Daphne at the Slytherin table. For the first time that year, it was their table that showed the after effect of losing one of their own. Down the table, Harry could see Pansy Parkinson barely able to remain upright. Her eyes were puffy from hours of crying. Crabbe and Goyle had vacant expressions, probably unable to comprehend that they were now goons without a master.
The crowd eventually settled down and Fudge started to speak. "Good morning, students, we have gathered you all here to inform you that, at long last, Slytherin's monster has met its end." Fudge paused to look down gravely. "But we paid a terrible price. Professor Gilderoy Lockhart perished in the act of vanquishing Slytherin's monster, a fifty-foot basilisk: the most dangerous serpent known to wizard kind." Fudge had to pause again to compose himself. "Last night, we also lost the Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." A loud sob erupted from the Slytherin table as Parkinson clutched her friend. "The reason behind Mr. Malfoy's presence at the scene is still inconclusive," Fudge paused with a brief glance at Moody. "However, it seems that he may have been the one responsible for reopening the Chamber of Secrets."
The hall erupted in hushed chaos, some in disbelief, others in agreement. The whispered died down once Fudge raised his hand for silence.
"In light of these tragic events, it has been decided that the current school year will be suspended until a full-inquiry can be completed. Hogwarts will reopen for the next school year in the autumn and will still host the Triwizard Tournament. All OWL and NEWT level testing will be conducted at the Ministry at a date to be determined. For now, you will return to your homes. The Hogwarts Express is currently in route and should be here later this afternoon. Until then, we ask that you remain in your respective dormitories. But, seeing as now the threat has been eliminated and to allow us all to heal together, you may, if you choose, move about the castle with counselling being offered in the hospital wing for those that desire it. The hallway on the first sublevel by the dungeons, however, remains off-limits. Be safe."
Slowly, students began to rise from their seats and make their way out of the Great Hall. Harry, though, remained exactly where he stood. Moody turned to him and the two locked eyes. In that instance, it was like Moody knew what Harry was planning to do.
"Let's go, Harry," Daphne said next to him.
"Yeah, I'm coming." Harry finally turned away from Moody and placed his arm around Daphne's waist and started towards the door. They didn't make it very far before Harry noticed Danny, Hermione, Fred, and George standing together near the entrance waiting for them.
When Harry and Daphne made it to them, Harry spoke. "The Room, now."
Once they all made it to the Room of Requirements, using one of the school's many secret passageways to avoid the Aurors, they made themselves comfortable in the armchairs Harry had asked the room for.
"It's good to be back," Fred said with a slap to his armrest.
"Who would have thought we'd miss your whip, Harry?" said George.
"I would hardly think this is the time for jokes," chided Hermione.
"Who says we're joking?"
Hermione rubbed her forehead. "It's always too difficult to tell. I just assumed."
"Better watch it, Hermione. You're started to sound like her." Fred pointed at Daphne.
"So, like an intelligent human being, capable of logical and complex thoughts," Daphne quipped.
"Precisely," George declared jubilantly.
"What's going on, Harry?" Danny asked. He could sense that his brother wasn't interested in mindless chit-chat.
Harry crossed his arms. "They're not going to do anything about Grey. They want Draco to take all the credit so that it blows back on his father."
"What are we going to do?" asked Hermione.
Harry shook his head. "Nothing, we're going home."
"Harry, mate, fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice…" said George.
"You're not coming with me," Harry insisted.
"The hell we aren't!" Fred retorted.
"What's the point of training us if we aren't going to help you?" asked Hermione.
"Listen to her, mate. She's the smart one," George pointed out.
"I'm not letting you go alone," Danny finally said.
"Yes, you are."
"You can't stop me." Danny stated heatedly. "Or them."
Harry didn't have the patience to keep arguing and judging by their expressions, it wouldn't have done any good. "Mum's going to be pissed."
"Just at you," said Danny, fighting a smile.
"Alright, we have until the train gets here," Harry started to game plan.
"I heard one of the Aurors say that it should arrive at 3pm," stated Hermione.
Harry checked his watch. "That's five hours from now."
"Is that enough time?" asked Danny.
"It'll have to be." Harry looked at all of them one at a time. "No one can know we're doing this. We find Grey and we discretely hand him over to Auror Moody. He can make sure that Grey answers for what he's done without disrupting the narrative everyone believes. If we're caught…" When his eyes fell on Daphne, she was not looking back at him. Harry then realized that what he was talking about doing went against everything he had promised her.
"Can you guys wait outside for me?"
The four Gryffindors then each realized that there was one among them that was not on board.
"You got it, Harry," said Fred as they made their way out.
Once they were alone, Harry turned to Daphne and it was not a welcoming sight. She didn't speak, she didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence. They stood in silence for what seemed like forever. Harry didn't have a clue what to say. Daphne, however, did.
"I knew this would happen. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it." Daphne seemed to be talking more to herself. She then looked at him.
"When you said you'd try, I wanted to believe you. I wanted it because I was starting to have the same feelings I believed you were and I thought…" she paused, slowly exhaled and collected herself. "…I thought we could do it," she finished in a whisper.
"We still can," he pleaded. "This won't—"
"—Don't, just don't." Daphne interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I don't care what your reasons are. If you want to go, go. If you feel that you can't leave this to the Aurors or Dumbledore, then go."
"If…" Harry stopped himself to consider what he said more carefully. "Will you still be here when I get back?"
"If you don't leave, you don't have to find out."
The way she spoke gave Harry the sudden uncontrollable need to hold her, so he closed the distance between them to wrap her in his arms. She didn't immediately return the hug, but he did eventually feel her hands fist into the back of his robes and squeezed him closer.
They stood there in silence and part of Harry wanted to just stay there and never let go. Unfortunately, the situation at hand couldn't be ignored, so he pulled back and stared deeply into her eyes. "I won't be gone long. Wait for me in my room, please," he pleaded.
Her reaction was that there was no reaction. Her eyes stared blankly at him as she took a few steps away from him.
Harry wanted to immediately take his words back. To stay. But instead, he found himself turning around and leaving the Room of Requirements.
The five of them stepped into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with Harry in the lead. The ground was wet as it seemed that Myrtle was having yet another particularly bad day in her unending processions of bad days. Thankfully for them, there were no sounds of sniffling coming from any of the stalls. Myrtle must have flushed herself down one of the toilets.
"How do we find the entrance, Harry?" asked Hermione. She looked around, but there were no obvious signs of where the entrance resided.
"Better yet, how will we open it?" added Danny.
Harry walked over and stood over the spot he and Lockhart had first tried to trick Grey. "Excieo."
Fred and George, who didn't understand what Harry had just done, both came to stand next to him. "What does that mean?"
"It's how Malfoy would let Grey know that he was here with a message."
"And now that Malfoy is dead…"
"…He'll know it's you."
"Yep."
"Why would he open it for you, though?" asked Danny.
Harry was about to answer, but Hermione beat him to it. "People like Grey don't like not getting what they want, and what he wants is Harry."
"You attract the worst people, mate," Fred joked.
For Harry, Fred's words only served to remind him of who he had just left behind. He had felt like a zombie walking out of the Room of Requirements to meet up with Danny and the others. The only thought he could muster to keep himself from walking back to her was that he had to bring Grey to justice. He had to force himself to focus only on that thought. Not just for himself, but for the others, too. They had volunteered to go with him and expected him to lead. He had to make catching Grey more important than anything else.
'That isn't true. Daphne's more important,' a voice in his head argued.
'Then why didn't you stay with her?' a second voice asked.
'Grey doesn't deserve to escape justice. He must pay for his crimes.'
'You mean you must make him pay.'
No! This isn't about me!'
'Then why are you here?'
"Grey!" Harry suddenly lashed out in rage. "Let me in!"
"Merlin Harry!" Danny chastised. "The whole castle will know we're here."
"I've got it." Hermione had her wand out and cast several silencing wards around the bathroom.
"I'm right here, Adrian! So, let me in!" Harry flicked his wand into his hand and pointed it at the ground.
"Harry, come on, mate, you've got to stop." George put a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry ignored George and shrugged off his hand. "Reducto!" The spell created a small crater in the floor. Harry cast the spell again and again, sending small pieces of shrapnel all over the bathroom. He finally stopped when he found himself out of breath. Breathing heavily, he looked at the progress he had made. The crater was only a few centimeters deep.
"There's probably enchantments," said Hermione. "I doubt Slytherin would have wanted anyone able to break in."
Harry quickly turned to them. They all had cautious expressions, like they didn't know what Harry might do next.
"Harr—" started Danny, but was immediately interrupted.
"Danny," Harry nodded to the ground. "You try."
"I don't—"
"Use your real power, not your wand," he impatiently instructed.
"Maybe we should think of something else," said Danny.
"Direct it to the middle of the hole."
"Harry…"
"Do it, Danny!"
"No." Harry took a threatening step towards his brother. "I'm not doing it, Harry. Hermione's right, we're not getting in this way."
Harry pointed at the ground. "You're going to try."
"I think we all need to take a step back and think this through," said Hermione with her hands raised to urge caution.
"Yeah, Harry, you don't have your head on straight right now," said Fred, trying to reason with his friend.
"And we get it, mate," George said softly. He and Harry made eye contact and Harry knew that they understood what happened with Daphne.
"It's better that she's not here." He spoke slowly, pushing down his true feelings, as he looked between them. "She's not trained, she wouldn't know how to handle the unexpected," he rationalized as a part of him knew it would have been better to tell them the truth, to open up. But he didn't and once more rationalized that now wasn't the time.
"Do we?" George asked with a hint of uncertainty.
Before Harry could say anything, he was interrupted by the sound of moving stone. Turning around, he saw the circle of sinks in the middle of the bathroom began to move out to reveal a large cavernous hole. As Harry and the other stepped forward, the sink closest to them began to descend giving them an opening.
"Lumos Maximus." Harry's flare lit the hole as it floated down until it disappeared into the darkness.
"That's a long way down, Harry," said Fred.
"And we have no way of knowing what's at the bottom." Hermione pointed out. It was then a flight of stairs etched their way into the stone surface.
Danny walked up beside Harry at the hole's edge. "You know what this means, right?"
"He's still down there and he just let us in." Hearing himself, Harry's senses began to return to him and he forced himself to push down all thoughts of Daphne. He turned to the others. "We go down one after the other. I'll go first, then you, Fred, and then George. Hermione, after them." Harry turned back to his little brother. "I want you covering the rear."
The look they shared was enough for Danny to realize that Harry meant for him to stay out of danger. If this was a trap, and it undoubtable was, then Harry needed to give Danny the best chance to escape.
"It's time to head down the rabbit hole, folks." George's attempt to hide his nerves hardly fooled anyone.
"You've read Alice in Wonderland?" asked Hermione in disbelief.
"Of course, the magical version has some really freaking stuff."
"Yeah, the Muggles don't know what they're missing." To accentuate their point, they mimed their heads exploding.
Hermione's brow rose in curiosity at the prospect of reading a new version of the classic novel. Harry, though, didn't want the conversation to turn into starting a book club.
"Wands out, eyes and ears focused from here on out," Harry instructed as he took the first step down the hole. "Take it slow and be sure of your footing." Even with his trainers on, he could feel the lack of traction.
The descent was slow and long. The staircase was rather narrow and the stone was wet and sleek. Hermione and George both nearly slipped which would have them all fall down the dark tunnel. Harry would cast a Lumos Maximus every few minutes to try and light their way, but he had yet to see the bottom.
"We must be moving underneath the lake," Hermione deduced.
Harry agreed. The temperature was dropping and the air was becoming moist. The only sound not made by the five of them was the drip-drop of water from above. Farther and farther down the tunnel they went until, finally, Harry's flare landed on the bottom and it was not made of stone.
"What are those?" Fred asked over Harry's shoulder.
"Bones, probably what the basilisk has been feeding on for all these centuries."
Harry looked for a clear spot to take his first step, but the entire floor was covered by the remains of rats and other small animals (and even some bigger ones).
"Where did they all come from?" asked Danny.
Harry stared back up the hole. "I'm sure Slytherin's heirs would drop down food when they could." Harry looked around the small room until his eyes fell on the passage to his right. The others came to stand behind him, all staring into the next dark passage they meant to pass through.
"Who's ready for the dark, mysterious, probably dangerous, passage number two?" George quipped.
Harry looked behind him to make sure that they were, in fact, ready. Hermione looked a bit scared, but her inner Gryffindor was still in control. Fred and George seemed calm enough, they were used to relying on each other. Danny's eyes were roaming. He, like Harry, was falling back on the training they had grown up with.
"Remember, everything is a possible trap. Only step where Danny or I step." Danny took the cue and stepped up beside Harry. They shared a look and Harry gave him a confident nod before they started walking.
The passage proved not to be very long and it soon opened into a pitch-black chamber. If not for the light of their wands, they would have been walking blind. This posed a serious problem. They needed the Lumos Charm to light their way, but that would mean they couldn't cast other spells. No wand could cast two spells at the same time, after all.
"Everyone send up a flair." Harry then pointed in the direction he wanted each person to cast. Fred, George, Hermione, and Danny each sent a flair at varying degrees to their left and right while Harry cast as far as he could in front of them. George and Hermione cast too high and hit the ceiling, though, it did reveal that they had about ten feet of head room. Fred and Danny both hit a rock wall to the left and right, respectively, and Harry's landed without hitting anything.
"Is this the Chamber of Secrets, then?" asked Fred.
"It's big. I'll give it that," his brother replied.
"Can't say much for the décor."
"I don't know Fred. A few curtains. Some throw pillows." George then snapped his fingers like he had just figured something out. "And a rug, right over there, that will really tie the room together."
Fred looked in the direction George had pointed and held up his hands to frame the scenery.
"I see what you mean, George. But you forgot one thing." They looked each at other and at the same time said, "Breakfast nook."
"Will you two please take this more seriously?" chided Hermione.
"We are," they again spoke in unison.
"This is just how we project confidence and bravery."
"We wouldn't want you all to know how pants-filling scared we are right now."
"We all are Gryffindors, after all…well except you, Harry."
Their eyes then turned to Harry but he hadn't been paying attention, Danny either. Their focus had remained trained on the expansive landscape in front of them.
"It's too big," said Danny.
Harry examined the distance to their sides. The chamber was about fifty feet wide, and judging by the fact that his flair hit nothing, much longer than a hundred feet. "No bigger than the Great Hall, just longer."
"Do we spread out to search?" asked Danny.
Harry shook his head at the idea. "I don't want to, but we may have to."
"Errr, Harry? Danny?"
"Care to share."
Harry turned to the twins and took a deep breath. "Well, the hat did want to put me in Gryffindor, but I thought I should be among Slytherins to keep an eye on the students that may become a threat to me or Danny. I suppose I wanted to continue the family tradition and be in Gryffindor and, I'll admit, I was a little nervous on how my father would feel about it, but—"
"Ummm, Harry?" Fred started, not knowing what Harry was doing. "Is now the best time?"
"No, it's not." Harry deadpanned, starring pointedly at Fred and George.
"Right." Fred and George started nodding in agreement. "Message received. Enough shenanigans."
"We're in total serious mode now."
"Told you," Hermione said under her breath.
"Now, we have a large terrain here. This may be the Chamber of Secrets or just another antechamber, so we need to search it." Harry then glanced at Danny. "However, we're not splitting up. Danny and I know enough to know what to look for in case Grey set any traps."
Danny gave him a confident nod and turned to the others. "You three will follow behind us. Fred, George, you're taller so we want you to light the way. Hermione, you will keep sending out flairs." Danny gave her a small smile, "Just aim lower this time." Hermione returned his smile meekly as each of them nodded at Danny's instruction.
"Do your absolute best to step where we step." Harry added and then turned to Danny. "And no heroics. If we see Grey, you leave him to me."
Danny understood and nodded. He gripped his faux wand tighter. Thankfully, his own training had progressed far enough that he could channel most spells through it. Even still, Danny already understood that his purpose here was defense and any serious spell work would be handled by his brother.
They got into positions with Fred and Hermione behind Danny and George behind Harry. Again, their progress was slow. The light of Fred's and George's wands only extended so far and Hermione's flares always seemed to be consumed by the darkness. Without much sight, their other senses heightened. Every drop of water resonated like a choir. Their footsteps echoed endlessly. Any thought of stealth was futile.
As they traveled, the little light they had never revealed anything of importance. The only thing the cavern held was emptiness. That was until Hermione's flare hit something other than rock.
"Holy Hannah!" Fred exclaimed.
"Is that…a snake's skin?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, a basilisk's skin to be exact," Harry stated more precisely. He remembered the life-sized model Lockhart had been using to train, but it was clear that his estimates had been a little off. They soon reached the pale-colored husk and surrounded the head.
"I've read how big these get, but this is…incredible," marveled Hermione.
"Say what you want about Lockhart, Harry, but…" George ended with whistle.
"Yeah, I know." The reverence of the creature and Lockhart's achievement soon faded. "Fred, George, keep your lights up. We don't want anything sneaking up on us."
Fred and George did so but their eyes kept turning back to the basilisk. Harry surveyed what they could see but it was still only darkness. He took stock of the situation and checked how the others were doing again. Fred and George seemed okay, if not a little more nervous. Hermione was absorbed with studying the basilisk head that she was ignoring any fear or reservations that she may be feeling. Turning to his left, Harry saw Danny walking slowly down the basilisk's body.
"Danny?" he called after his brother.
"I'm watching the perimeter, don't worry."
"Harry? Worried? How could you possibly think that?" Fred asked sarcastically.
"He's usually so carefree," George added.
Harry chose not to respond as he caught up with Danny.
"We should keep going."
"Yeah, I know, it's just…" Danny looked up and down the scaly remains of the ancient creature.
"I know." Danny always was fascinated with magical creatures. It was probably the reason why Harry had allowed them to stop for so long.
"I know it did terrible things, and I'm glad it's dead." Danny paused and then looked up at Harry. "Do you think it wanted to do it?"
"I don't know. Slytherin had to have gotten it as an egg and raised it here to be his monster."
"I bet it didn't even know that what it was doing was wrong."
"Maybe." They would never know, would they?
"Danny, Harry, come look at this." Hermione called to them.
Harry and Danny both turned and had the same thought when they saw Hermione about to grab something in the basilisk's mouth.
"Don't touch it!" They yelled, but it was too late.
As soon as Hermione's hand made contact, a loud resounding crack reverberated throughout the cavern. Fred and George, who had been standing just next to Hermione but with their backs turned to her, spun around and looked up at the rapidly growing crack in the stone ceiling above them.
Harry and Danny started to run towards them but there was no way they could reach them before the ceiling collapsed in front of them. An image of Fred and George grabbing Hermione and pulling her out of the way was the last thing they saw. It was impossible to tell if they had gotten out of the way in time.
Harry stopped and held Danny back as debris crashed around them.
"Hermione!" Danny cried as he struggled in Harry's arms. A loud unrecognizable, yet clearly feminine, scream was the only response.
"Hermione!" Danny called again, his body beginning to glow.
Harry, sensing what Danny was planning to do, held him tighter. "No Danny, you could cause another cave in."
"I have to get to Hermione!" Danny struggled to free himself.
"You could end up killing us all!" Harry yelled, desperately trying to get through to his brother.
"I can do it."
"No, you can't." Harry said with a shake. "This was a controlled cave-in. A trap. Anything you'd try could bring it all down on us."
"I don't care. I have to get to—"
"Danny!" They heard faintly.
"Hermione!" Harry finally let Danny go and he rushed to the wall of stone. "Hermione! Can you hear me?"
"Danny!" Even next to the stone, the loudest her voice got was that of a faint whisper. "Danny! I'm here!"
Harry came beside Danny. "Fred! George!"
"We're all okay Harry!" One of the twins responded. Their voice, too, was distorted and barely above a whisper. "Hermione's got a pretty good cut on her forehead and Fred's arm is broken, but we're fine!"
"Good, George! Is the path back clear!?" As Harry tried to talk, Danny had started to run up and down along the wall looking to see if there was a way through.
"Looks like it!" There was a pause. "Yeah! I think it is!"
"Can you move?"
There was a longer pause this time as Harry was sure that George was making sure of Hermione and Fred's status.
"I think so!"
"Alright," Harry paused as Danny returned with a shake of the head. "Get them out and some help!"
"What about you guys?"
Harry looked at Danny. "We're going on! Listen George, you can't tell anyone we're down here! Do you understand?"
There was, again, another long pause. "I understand, Harry!"
Harry stepped away from the wall and turned to a puzzled Danny.
"We can't let the story change that Malfoy acted alone."
"What about us?"
Harry turned back and scanned the wall. "If Adrian planned for this, he must have another way out of the Chamber." He looked back to Danny. "We'll just have to find it."
Harry looked at his watch. "We still have three hours."
"Then let's go." Danny gave one last long look at the wall, as if hoping a way through would suddenly appear, before he joined Harry to face the dark void in front of them.
With it now just the two of them, Danny took over lighting their way while Harry sent out flairs. They didn't end up traveling very far when one of Harry's flairs hit what looked to be a vault door. Once they were in front of it, they saw it was decorated in an intricate serpent-inspired design.
"This must be the entrance," stated Harry. He placed a hand against it, trying to get a feel as to how they could open it.
"So, do we wait to see if he'll open this for us, too?" Danny asked skeptically as he inspected the door.
"He will."
Just when Harry said it, an iron serpent began to slither along the outline of the vault. It appeared to be the unlocking mechanism. They both took a step back and got into defensive stances. As a credit to their training, their breathing was steady and their hands were still.
The final latch disengaged and the door slowly opened. Unsurprisingly, they saw only darkness on the other side. Harry took the first step inside and the moment his foot landed, a series of torches burst to life. Harry held up a hand to hold Danny from entering. He wanted to survey the room before letting his brother enter.
The first thing he noticed was the heavy aura of magic. It attacked his senses and gave him a feeling of light-headedness. He had to shake his head to try and clear it. And yet, he still needed to check the chamber. Each of the torches rested in the mouth of stone-serpent statues that ran along the side of a thirty-yard passage surrounded by water. At the end of the passage was the room's most striking feature; a large sculpture of Salazar Slytherin's head. The head was surrounded three-quarters by water with two bridges leading to both ears. The most important thing Harry noticed, however, was that Grey was nowhere in sight.
Harry gave a small wave and Danny joined him at his side. "Where is he?" asked Danny as his face scrunched up. He also must have been feeling the effects of the ambient magic of the chamber.
"Not sure, yet. Which means—"
"—More traps," Danny finished. Danny then gripped his stomach and hunched over. Harry put an arm around his shoulder.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, it just feels like there's a knot in my stomach."
Harry had a similar feeling, but it looked as if Danny was having a more severe reaction. Danny then stood up straighter with one arm kept across his stomach.
"I'll be alright." He obviously wasn't, but he wasn't going to let it stop him.
Harry gave him a nod and they turned to the path in front of them. Both raised their wands and cast every detection spell they knew. As it turned out, the floor was covered in trip-sensitive spells. They were, fortunately, all within Harry and Danny's ability to disarm. It just was a matter of time.
"You feel like this is too easy?" asked Danny as he disengaged another trap.
"These are just meant to stall us." But a thought then came to Harry. The same must have occurred to Danny as he soon said.
"But didn't he want you to come down here. Why do all this just to escape now?"
That was when another thought came crashing into Harry consciousness. Grey knew Harry would come and he would know that Harry would check the passage for traps. Which could only mean…
Harry whipped his head up to the ceiling. "Danny! Ballistic shields now!" Above them, a sea of stalactites started falling like a wave, forcing Harry and Danny further into the chamber. They started running, setting off all the spells they hadn't disarmed yet. Without breaking stride, Harry and Danny countered and protected each other from darts, arrows, tripping spells, and a myriad of curses and jinxes.
"Harry!" Danny cried, as he almost tripped.
"Keep up, Danny!" Harry helped his brother keep his balance. They were nearly to the statue where Harry could only hope the stalactites would not follow them. When they were just five yards away, Harry's attention was drawn to the one of the paths leading to the statue's ears. Appearing from within the head, Grey stepped out and gave them a smile and a little wave.
Harry, still too preoccupied with protecting himself and Danny from curses and traps, could do nothing to stop Grey before he disappeared back into the statue.
"Head for the left ear!" Harry told Danny. Together they ran up the path and through the stone doorway. They were immediately met with a flight of stone steps and, given their momentum, were unable to stop from tumbling down them.
They landed hard on the stone ground with Danny ending up on top of Harry. The added weight of his brother caused Harry to hit his head pretty hard on the ground and caused him to see some stars.
"You okay, Harry?" Danny asked as he rolled off him.
Harry put a hand to the back of his head to check the swelling. He found a bump that was hot to the touch, but at least there was no blood.
"Nothing a little Headache Potion won't fix." Their attention was drawn to the doorway closing. Turning to the other side of the room, they witnessed the same happen to the other door; they were sealed in.
Danny lit up his wand and started to rise to investigate, but soon dropped to a knee in pain.
"Harry," he groaned. "There's something in here. It's…it's bad."
Harry struggled to his feet, he still felt a little woozy, as he came to Danny's side. "Can you tell where?" Harry lit his wand and looked around but could see no immediate threats.
"I don't know." Danny gripped his head. "It hurts, Harry, it really hurts," he grunted as his body started to emit a soft glow.
Harry stood up straight and started to take a proper survey of the room. It was a single room chamber. There was a decent size library etched into the stone wall opposite them with a large stone desk in the center. In one of the corners closest to them, was a bundle of rags and blankets. This was obviously where Grey had been sleeping, however, there was no sign of him in the room.
As he looked around, he too began to feel a darker presence, though, his reaction wasn't nearly as severe as Danny's. His eyes were drawn to the desk, there was something on it. As Harry got closer, the dark presence grew larger.
"It's over here, Danny."
"What is it?" Danny grunted from the ground before managed to rise and join his brother.
Harry reached the desk and saw a few rolls of parchment and a large gold locket embroidered with an ornate 'S.' Danny soon stood next to him, his body growing even more brightly.
"It's the locket." Danny's voice had a different feel about it. As if Harry was speaking to an entirely different person. Danny started to reach out for it, but Harry grabbed his arm to stop him. He did not know what was happening to Danny and his ever-cautious mind sought to protect his brother. Danny, though, simply turned his head, his eyes glowing white, and spoke calmly.
"I have to, Harry."
Without understanding why, Harry let go. Danny's attention turned back to the locket and when he picked it up, his body erupted in light while a dark aura gathered around the locket. A silent battle then waged as the two opposing powers fought to overtake the other. Harry could do nothing but stand back and watch. Meanwhile, Danny gritted his teeth and strongly squeezed the locket with his fist. Soon, the dark aura surrendered to Danny's pure light. Once the aura was gone, Danny released the locket and it fell harmlessly onto the desk. Danny then returned to normal and passed out into Harry's arms.
"Danny!" cried Harry as he checked his brother. Thankfully, his pulse was still strong and his breathing was steady. Harry eased him down to the ground before he returned to his feet and looked at the locket. He no longer felt the evil he had before and, with a small hesitation, picked it up for a closer inspection. The 'S' he had seen was actually a serpent which gave Harry a sinking suspicion as to whom it once belonged. Harry looked between it and Danny and tried to make sense of what had happened and what it meant. Knowing he wouldn't get answers now, he pocketed the locket. Harry then returned to Danny's side.
"Rennervate," he cast, but it did not revive his brother. He tried the spell again, but only got a sigh and soft grunt, like someone sleeping who didn't want to wake up.
"Harrrryyy!" Came a voice from outside the room. Loud hissing followed and two small openings appeared in the wall that faced the chamber. Harry gave Danny a worried look before he cautiously stepped forward and looked through what turned out to be the eyes of the statue. He found Grey standing amongst the rubble staring back at him.
"Hello, Harry," Grey casually said.
"Hello, Grey." Harry looked around at the disheveled chamber. "Was this worth it?"
"Considering what it took to put this all together, I'd say so. After all, to finally best the Great Harry Potter," Grey held out his arms in exultation. "It feels damn good."
"So, you're going to leave me in here. You're going to let it end like this?"
Grey's briefly sneered before he returned to his jovial manner. "No, no, no, Harry. That's not going to work. Just like when you and the hunter tried to trick me into coming out. I've had a lot of time to myself, I've learned self-control." Grey brought a hand up to rub his temple. "I'm in control." He repeated, but more to himself.
He then pointed his finger angrily at Harry. "You didn't make it easy, Harry! You ruined my plans twice!" Grey's body shook with rage. "If you hadn't taken so long to finish your morning run, then that Creevey boy wouldn't have seen the basilisk first. And then you let that Asian bitch take your place in the bath. Both times, it should have been you!"
Grey then seemed to gain control of his anger and returned to the serene state he had been before. "But it's all worked out in the end, wouldn't you say? Pity that you brought your brother along, I only wanted you."
"If you let him go, then I'll stay. You can do whatever you want with me."
"I already have what I want." A creepy smile spread across Grey's face. "Goodbye, Harry. I really must be off. With all the attention elsewhere, I should be able to escape without being noticed." There was some more hissing and the statue's eyes began to close.
"Grey!" Harry called in a last-ditch effort, but it did nothing and the room was plunged into darkness. Harry reached for his wand for some light. He quickly found torches on the walls and lit them.
"Danny?" He had to wake his brother. "Danny, wake up." Harry heard his brother groan as he started to return to consciousness.
"Harry!" Danny called out. He rubbed his eyes and started looking around.
"I'm here." Harry answered from the doorway.
"What's happening?" Danny asked groggily.
"We're locked in. Grey arranged all this to trap me in here."
"What do we do now?" asked Danny.
"We find a way out," Harry stated, making it sound simple. He pushed on the doorway with all his might but it wouldn't budge. "We just might have to think outside of the box in order to do so."
Harry looked around and his eyes landed on the bookcase.
"Check the bookcase and desk, see if Grey left behind any of his plans or if there's a layout of the chamber."
When Danny made it there, he stopped, as if suddenly remembering what had happened between him and the locket.
"Harry, what happened to me?" Danny asked as he stared into his hands. His face was full of confusion and fear.
"I don't know and now's not the time, Danny," Harry stated calmly. Neither of them had answers to what happened and they had more pressing matters.
"Yeah…" Danny clenched his fist and shook them a few times. "Yeah…" he then dropped them to his side and returned to his task. "It looks like a few have been taken down a lot." Danny brushed his hand along the dusty shelves and then started to grab a few.
Danny paused suddenly at one of the books he pulled. "Whoa!"
"What is it, Danny?" Harry turned around quickly, thinking that something else might have triggered Danny's magic. He was thankfully to see that it was just over a book.
"It says 'Slytherin' on it." Danny held the green leather-bound book up to Harry.
Harry climbed down the stairs and walked over to his brother. Danny held out the book to him. Harry turned it over a few times and looked at the first few pages. "It's Slytherin's alright. It might be his personal diary."
There was an urge to start reading, but they still had a more important matter to address. Harry set the book down and looked over the others that Danny had pulled. They were mostly just an assortment of spell and potion books. Nothing stood out. Harry turned to survey the room again but the chamber was pretty sparse. Whether it was always like this or Grey didn't want to leave anything for him, Harry did not know.
"Start testing for a weak spot in the walls." Harry pointed to the opposite doorway. "We may need to blast our way out of here."
"Okay." Danny walked to the door and held up his hand and closed his eyes. He then started to wave his hand and concentrated on finding the best place to start blasting. Harry returned to the other doorway to do the same. Immediately, he felt strong resistance. Harry peeked over at Danny who was already moving down the stairs and towards the center of the chamber. He turned back to the wall and started to expand his detection spells to the rest of the room.
They proceeded in silence until they met in the middle.
"It all feels the same, Harry," Danny said with a look of dejection.
"I know." Harry walked them back to the doorway they had entered and raised his wand. "We might as well start here."
Danny raised his wand alongside Harry.
"No need for that, you'll need your full power."
Danny looked at his wand before he pocketed it and raised his hand at the door.
"I'm ready."
They both began to send Reducto's at the door, chipping away little pieces of stone with each spell. Minutes passed before Harry had to stop to catch his breath. Danny stopped also but only because Harry had. He still appeared totally at ease, despite the spell work.
Harry, still breathing heavily, looked up at their progress and saw a clear difference in the impact his spells had versus his brother's. Danny just had more power to put behind his spells.
"You keep going. Just remember to pace yourself, it may take a while."
Danny nodded, raised his hands, and sent more Reducto's at the door. The room shook and a few more chips of rock splintered off. Danny repeated the process, always getting a few bits of the door to break off, but never that much.
Harry watched him for a few minutes to make sure that Danny was handling everything okay. Harry had suspected that whatever had happened with the locket may have taken a lot out of him, but so far, Danny still looked strong. It was clear now that if Harry had been here alone, he'd never would have gotten out.
Harry returned his attention to the stack of books and the rest of the library. He walked over to them and his eye landed on Slytherin's diary. His curiosity was piqued and picked it up. He leafed through it until he found the first mention of the Chamber of Secrets and started reading to the steady rumble of Danny's spell work.
More time passed and Harry started to notice longer intervals between Danny's spells. He looked up from the diary and noticed the first signs of fatigue in Danny's face and posture.
"Take a break, Danny."
Danny sent one last Reducto, chipping another piece of the door away. He looked up to check his progress only to see a five-inch-deep hole in what had to be a foot and a half thick door. Danny came over to Harry and plopped down next to him.
"You good?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," he stated between heavy breaths. "It just takes a lot out of you." Danny looked around. "It'd be nice to have some water."
"Grab that cup over there." Danny did so and handed it to his brother.
"Aguamenti," Harry cast. Danny accepted the cup gratefully and downed the refreshing water. He then cast the Water Conjuring spell himself and handed the cup back to Harry.
"Thanks," said Harry as he took a sip.
"Anything interesting in there?"
"A few things. For one, history may have the fall of the Founders wrong. It says that Slytherin had fallen in love with Ravenclaw. He admired her and saw her intelligence and his power as a formidable combination. 'Our children will dictate history,' he said."
"Weird," Danny replied as he looked over Harry's shoulder at the diary. "I wonder why no found out."
"It's because he was rejected privately and it wasn't like he was going to go around telling people. It turns out that Ravenclaw had already fallen in love with one of her adult students." Harry looked at Danny. "He was a Muggleborn."
"That's how it started?" Danny asked in disbelief.
"He didn't know which student so he started building this place and found the basilisk to raise. His students thought he was doing it because he hated all Muggleborns, but it really was just one."
"Sounds like he went through a lot of trouble just to kill one person."
"Well here's the thing, Ravenclaw knew that Slytherin was after her lover and devised a way to hide him from any form of detection."
"Like an invisibility cloak," offered Danny.
Harry dropped the book with a condescending look. "We're not related to Ravenclaw, Danny."
"Still, it's a possibility."
Harry went back to the book. "She forged a ring that could change his form to any appearance he desired."
"That sounds handy. It almost makes coming down here worth it."
Harry was sure that Danny wasn't trying to blame Harry for their current predicament, but the thought stuck in Harry's head like a thorn.
"No, it doesn't." After all, what had they accomplished? They were trapped in the head of Salazar Slytherin. Grey escaped. Their friends were almost killed in a cave in.
'And Daphne.' Harry's inner voice reminded him.
Danny turned to his brother.
"We did the right thing, Harry. We had to try."
"And if something worse had happened to Hermione? Or Fred? Or George?" They met each other eyes. "You?"
Danny looked down. Would he be defending their actions if the others hadn't made it out safely?
"It was wrong to come here. I…I was wrong." That made Danny look up. It wasn't very often that Harry would admit a fault. But even though what Harry said rang true, Danny would stand by his brother.
"We did what Dad would've done."
"And if he had, he'd been trapped here forever." Harry looked up at the hole Danny had been creating. His brother still had some ways to go but it was even more clear now that Harry would never have gotten that far before he'd drop from exhaustion.
Danny didn't know what to say and once again stared into his hands and the power they held. Harry remained silent, and so, Danny went back to blasting.
"Harry. Harry!"
Harry looked up from the diary. "What is it?"
"I'm almost through."
Harry shut the diary and set it aside to come and stand next to his brother. He could just make out a beam of light peeking through the door Danny had been blasting.
Harry released a big sigh of relief as he patted Danny on the back. "Good job, Danny."
Harry checked his watch. They had about thirty minutes before the train was due to arrive. They were going to be cutting it close.
Danny mustered one last powerful Reducto and managed to make a hole big enough for them to squeeze through. Danny hunched over in exhaustion but with a pleased smile at what he had accomplished.
"You did good, little brother," Harry said with a pat on the back.
"We still need to find a way out."
"The water," Harry said. "It has to go somewhere. I'd bet it's connected to the lake somehow."
"Thank goodness Mum taught us the Bubblehead Charm."
They were just about halfway to the hole when they were suddenly blinded by a flash of fire.
"Bloody hell!" Danny cried as the fire dissipated. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Their ears were filled with the calming music of the glowing phoenix, Fawkes.
"You couldn't have arrived a few hours ago," Harry said heatedly.
Fawkes squawked and tilted his head as if to say that they shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
"You're right, sorry." Danny turned his attention to Harry. "Say you're sorry, Harry."
"Right, sorry, Fawkes. Can you get us out of here?"
Fawkes responded with a few notes of his music to say yes. Danny and Harry squeezed through the hole so that they would have more room for Fawkes to fire transport them out of there. As soon as Harry was through, he felt a pull from his side. Slytherin's diary ripped its way out of Harry's pocket and returned to rest on the desk.
Harry and Danny shared a confused look. Harry squeezed back through the hole to retrieve the diary. It was too important of a find to leave behind. But when Harry tried to leave the chamber with the book again, it flew out of his hand and returned to the desk.
"It must be bound to this place." Harry rationalized. He quickly checked and found the locket was still in his pocket. That, at least, would have them leaving this place with something.
"It's a shame, really," Danny shared a look with his brother. "We could've have been famous."
Harry let out a grunt of laughter and ruffled his brother's head. "Let's get out of here."
They both grabbed one of Fawkes extended legs.
"Remember to exhale," Harry reminded Danny.
In a flash, they found themselves in an empty classroom. Harry and Danny coughed uncontrollably and braced themselves against the nearby desks. Fawkes squawked loudly and flapped his wings again.
"We're sorry, Fawkes," Danny apologized. "It's just really hard to breathe when you do that."
Fawkes squawked a few times again but didn't flash away. Instead, he turned his attention to the door just as it opened.
"Like I said, Potters are nothing but pains in my arse," Moody said from the doorway.
"Are Hermione and the others alright?" Danny asked urgently.
Moody stepped the rest of the way in and closed the door. "You two need to find friends that are better at lying."
"Are they okay?" Harry demanded.
"Aye, they'll be alright. Tried to fool me with some hogwash about a prank gone wrong. They were released from the hospital wing about an hour ago. They should be at the Entrance Hall waiting for a carriage to take them to Hogsmeade."
Danny headed for the door, but Moody stood in his way. "What did you find down there?"
"Let him go, I'll answer your questions," said Harry.
Moody gave Danny a long look before he stepped aside. Danny turned quickly to his brother and Harry gave him a nod that it was alright for him to go.
Once it was just Harry and Moody, they spent a few minutes debriefing. Moody would have had him stay longer but his and Danny's portkey was due to leave soon. Harry, though, had one place he had to check first. He ran as fast as he could until he reached the dungeon. He made it to his room and threw open the door.
"Daphne!" he called, hoping to see her there, waiting for him on his bed.
But Harry was completely alone.