I own nothing but the plot, and not even all of that.

A/N - I'm not much one for trigger warnings, but some may find the following scenes... intense or unsettling. If you would rather not read the nitty gritty details, they will be summarized by characters in the story in the chapter that will follow this one.

The group entered the Chamber together, and examined their surroundings. There were many stone columns supporting the ceiling. Their stone surfaces were worn and cracked as if the atmosphere in the chamber were slightly acidic. The pillars were so large and numerous that they prevented one from seeing from one side of the chamber to the other. Depending on how large the chamber actually was, it would be easy to get lost in here.

"What are your names, gents?" Lockhart asked the troopers. "I don't want to be traipsing off on this adventure with strangers."

"I'm Sarge," Blue Sarge answered. "This is Shooter, Blaze, Trance, and Meilo."

"I suppose I can see Shooter, and perhaps even Trance or Blaze, but Meilo?" Lockhart asked.

"I like the Meiloorun fruit," Meilo responded.

"Very well," Lockhart said. "I suppose I've no room to talk. I still don't know what my mother was thinking. Gilderoy, I ask you?"

Water dripped from the ceiling to form small rivers on the floor. The group followed the water, trying to be as quiet as they could. If someone was in the chamber, they surely knew intruders had entered, but they didn't want to give away their positions if possible.

The feeling of panic was nearly overwhelming, and Neville kept having to stop for a moment and regain his courage. Finally, they exited the forest of stone columns and entered a circular clearing they guessed was in the very center of the chamber.

There was a short, circular plinth in the center of the clearing bordering a pool of water. It looked like this was where all the water dripping from the ceiling gathered. In the pool there was a large stone statue of a man's head. His face appeared stern and unforgiving. Laying on the plinth, scarcely breathing, was Ginny Weasley. She was not, however, alone.

A gorgon was bent over the young girl. She was incredibly thin, and looked ancient. Her face was lined with cracks. She wore no clothing, and her wrinkled skin had a greenish grey tint. She was wet with a slimy mucus that coated her from head to tail. The light grey snakes that grew from her head in place of hair were clustered and tangled together. They hung down like long, thick, rope-like braids trailing down to her waist, mostly covering her breasts. She stared with eyes as black as coal at the intruders as they approached the low platform.

"Don't look her in the eyes," cautioned Lockhart.

Harry looked closer at the creature, avoiding her eyes. The snakes that grew out of her head were staring back at him.

"Hello!" called out Professor Lockhart. "I don't suppose you'd mind terribly backing away from the girl…" he started to say. He was abruptly cut off as the gorgan hissed at him, her features twisted in rage. The snakes in her head began to rear up and dance about. They hissed and bit at each other as they responded to the gorgon's rising ire.

"Now, now," Lockhart called out, chidingly, "that's enough of that!"

"I think she's telling us to get out," Draco whispered.

"We will leave," said Professor Lockhart, in as calming a tone as he could manage, "once we've collected our little friend, there."

The gorgon shrieked at the intruders. Her black eyes began to glow a sickly yellow, then flashed. Harry and Neville were looking at Ginny, but looked away in time to see Professor Lockhart throw his arm over his eyes. Draco tried to cover his face with his arm, but wasn't fast enough. In the blink of an eye, he was petrified. Blue Sarge and Blaze also weren't so lucky. They had been aiming at the gorgon with their weapons and were frozen where they stood.

Shooter, Trance and Meilo had looked away in time. They opened fire on the creature. The gorgon hissed and advanced on them, dodging the blaster fire. Her hair snakes were completely awakened now, exposing the gorgon's breasts. They lay wasted and limp on the creatures chest, but leaked copious amounts of a milky white substance that coated her body from the chest down. The venom she secreted slimed her body and provided a lubricating effect, allowing her to slide over the stone floor at a surprising speed. She moved mostly like a snake, but supported her upper body with her immensely strong arms. She crawled towards them, scrabbling at the stone with clawed fingers while her lower body slithered behind her. She used her tail as a spring to leap left or right to avoid the blaster fire.

Lockhart had positioned himself so he was between the students and the gorgon. Lockhart realized with horror that with all the dodging of the troopers fire, the gorgon was now in position to attack the boys.

Neville had frozen again. The boy seemed to be particularly vulnerable to the psychic waves emanating from the creature. He had his eyes squeezed shut, and was unable to see the monster that had singled him out.

In a moment, the gorgon was upon him. Neville let out a high pitched squeal as the monster hissed at him and bared her fanged teeth. Her claws tore at his flesh in a dozen places, and the punctures burned as the venom that was still squirting from her breasts leaked into the wounds.

Suddenly, the gorgon was flung off of Neville. Professor Lockhart had grabbed the creature by the serpents growing from her head and yanked her off of the boy. The monster screamed in rage as she scrambled to turn and attack her assailant. Lockhart held on tightly as he dragged her away from the boys. His hand and arm were being bitten repeatedly by the snakes he was using to drag the gorgon, but he kept up his effort. The skin of his arm was turning black, the venom burning in his veins. He threw the gorgon down and pointed his wand at her face. "Abacinare!" he shouted.

The gorgon shrieked in pain. She seemed to be crying tears of blood from the eyes Lockhart's spell had ruined. She squirmed away from Lockhart as fast as she could go, vanishing from sight in the maze of pillars. Lockhart dropped his wand, and fell over. Harry, who had been trying to help Neville, dashed over to the professor. Professor Lockhart was covered in blood from the snake bites he had endured. Tears spilled out of his eyes, and the skin of his face was swelling as his body reacted to the venom that was wreaking havoc with his body.

"Did I do it?" he asked Harry in a wheezing voice that was both filled with pain, but also with hope. "Did I make my end... extraordinary?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry said, his voice filled with guilt and pain. "You were truly amazing." Lockhart looked over Harry's shoulder as a golden flame flashed into existence. A large bird with red and gold feathers erupted from the flames, and landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry was feeling incredibly guilty over their casualties, but having Fawkes on his shoulder gave him a feeling of warm acceptance.

"Hello, Sarah," Lockhart said to Fawkes. "I'm so happy…. to see you... again." Fawkes trilled once, which brought a smile to Gilderoy Lockhart's face. He closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

Fawkes could sense there was nothing he could do for Lockhart. He could smell the venom in the man's blood, and it was too much. Even if the phoenix had arrived sooner there were simply too many bites with far too much venom to counteract. He could, however, do something about the injured boy lying nearby. The venom, while deadly, was only on the surface of Neville's wounds. It had not yet entered his bloodstream.

Fawkes flew down and landed on Neville's chest. Crying healing tears as fast as he could produce them, he coated the punctures with the pearly substance. Small wisps of vapor emerged where the tears and venom combined, and the deadly substance was neutralized. Fawkes started to sing, filling the air with a happy feeling that drove off the sense of fear that still permeated the Chamber.

"Thank you," Neville said to the bird, and reached his hand out to pet the magnificent creature. Fawkes's singing suddenly turned into a squawk as the head of an arrow erupted from Fawkes's feathered breast.

Fawkes fell off of Neville, who let out a scream of horror. The phoenix burst into flames. Whirling around, Harry saw a gorgon approaching the plinth. At first he thought it was the same one Professor Lockhart had dealt with, but this one looked far younger and had a bow and quiver harness on. Her head snakes were dark green.

She notched another arrow from her quiver, and let it fly at Harry. With a snap-hum, his lightsaber sprang into life. The green plasma blade intercepted and vaporized the arrow.

Harry dashed forward to advance on the gorgon. He had to dodge another arrow she sent his way, but he closed the distance quickly. She bared her fangs as she prepared to attack the Jedi at close range. Harry swung his lightsaber at the monster, expecting to slice her in two, but the gorgon was faster than any foe he had yet faced.

She twisted her torso as she dodged the glowing green blade, her back lying nearly flat on the floor as it passed over her. Quick as lightning, she was back up and on the offensive. From a sheath attached to the quiver strap she drew a knife. Harry used the limited time he had to quickly retrieve his preferred lightsaber from his mokeskin pouch. Igniting it, he now wielded two blades.

Harry saw her eyes turn yellow and closed them in time to avoid her petrifying attack. She used the opportunity to throw her knife at Harry. Warned by the Force, he leapt into the air. Twisting his body over the flying blade, Harry landed and swung both lightsabers at the gorgon. They appeared to be dancing as she twisted and twirled to avoid the blades of energy Harry was swinging.

She hissed in pain as the green blade nicked her shoulder. She produced a second knife from her quiver strap. Harry was now trying to both attack the gorgon and defend himself from her. The creature lunged forward to strike at Harry's neck, but missed as he twirled away. She had overextended herself and left herself open to the Jedi's weapon. Again, Harry had to squeeze his eyes shut to avoid her paralyzing attack.

The gorgon tried to dodge his counterattack, but was only able to avoid the emerald green lightsaber. The ruby red blade caught her neck and her head toppled off her neck as the body collapsed at Harry's feet. Her head snakes writhed as they died.

Leaving the body of the gorgon lying where it fell, Harry ran back to Neville. He turned off his lightsabers. Neville was standing, and cradled a small chick he had picked out of a pile of ashes on the floor. They stared at each other for a moment, turned, and ran for Ginny.

Ginny was clutching a black, leather book in her arms, and was still unconscious. "She won't wake," said a voice. An older boy, dressed in older style Slytherin robes was walking up to them. He carried Ginny's wand, twirling it gently in his long, delicate fingers.

"Who are you?" Harry asked. The troopers aimed their weapons at him, but didn't fire since Potter was engaging him in talk.

"Ginny was right about you, you know," the boy said. "You truly are heroic. It confirms that you were the chosen one after all. So how did you do it?"

"How did I do what?" Harry asked. He was wary at the sudden appearance of this boy next to Ginny.

"How did a mere baby defeat the greatest wizard of all time?" the boy asked.

"Who are you?" Harry asked again. "What do you mean that Ginny was right about me? How do you know Ginny, and what is wrong with her?"

"So many questions," the boy said. "Tell you what, I'll answer yours if you answer mine."

"I don't know how I defeated Voldemort," Harry said. "It was probably something my mother did. Who are you?"

"My name is Tom Riddle," the boy answered. "Why do you think your mother did something and not your father? He was the Pureblood wizard, after all. Your mother was just a Muggleborn."

"I honestly don't know," said Harry. "I was an infant. What is wrong with Ginny?"

"She poured her heart and soul into a diary," Tom said. "The diary is taking over."

"Is there any way to stop it?" Harry asked.

"It's my turn," Tom chided. "Are you prepared to meet your parents?"

"Yes," Harry said, gripping his lightsaber. "Are you prepared to meet yours?"

"Snappy comeback, Harry," Tom said, "but I'm immortal, so no. Did you know that the gorgons were only Her attendants? They worship Her. She is their queen. She gives them commands and they follow."

"No, I didn't," Harry said. "So what does that make you?"

"I'm the one who controls the queen," Tom said with a smile. "Your fight has just begun. Goodbye, Harry Potter." Tom turned to the statue and spoke to it in a language predominantly composed of hissing. The mouth of the statue began to open. The feeling of fear sharpened. Harry closed his eyes and began to give himself to the Force.

"Now you will die, Harry Potter," Tom said. A loud hissing filled the chamber as the basilisk emerged from the statue and said something to Riddle. Tom answered back in the same language. Harry didn't dare open his eyes, but he could sense where everyone was in the Force.

He could feel Neville hiding behind one of the pillars. He could feel Shooter and the remnants of Blue Team begin to attack the basilisk. The basilisk was much bigger and slower than the gorgon, but their blaster fire didn't seem to do much more than make the snake mad.

The basilisk struck at where Harry was standing, but missed when he ducked out of the way. It reared back in time to avoid the blade of Harry's lightsaber as he counterattacked. The basilisk whipped its tail and swept Shooter off his feet and into a column, where he collapsed. MeiIlo and Trance continued to fire. The basilisk suddenly swiveled its head to look at them, and they went stiff as statues.

Harry took the opportunity to attack and jumped onto the the basilisk just behind its head. Knowing it could not look at him, he was able to open his eyes. He could barely hold on as the giant snake thrashed about, trying to dislodge him. Harry let his wand spring into his hand and he tried to cast a sticking charm on himself. The basilisk gave out a hiss of triumph as Harry was flung off before he could cast it.

Harry hit the floor and rolled. Unfortunately, before he could stop his momentum he impacted one of the columns. His lightsaber went flying, and he felt the sharp pain in his chest of broken ribs. Thanking the Force that he had at least kept hold of his wand, he summoned his lightsaber back to him. Turning to face the snake again, he squinted his eyes in case he needed to close them in a hurry. The snake wasn't facing him, though. It was looming over the two troopers. Trance was missing a leg, and the Meilo was still petrified. The snake reared back and then opened its mouth wider than Harry would have thought possible. Harry screamed as the snake descended on Meilo, fitting him entirely in its mouth. It swallowed him whole.

Harry snapped his ruby red lightsaber into life again. As the snake turned to face him, he clamped his eyes. shut. The Force, having no need of his eyes, guided his lightsaber up as the basilisk struck. The snake' s eyes rolled to the back of its head as the red blade penetrated the roof of its mouth and emerged through the top of its skull. It writhed as it died, it's body impacting several of the columns surrounding the clearing and breaking them. There was a groan of moving stone from above as the weight of the chamber ceiling shifted. Several boulder sized chunks of stone fell, but fortunately did not hit anyone.

Harry turned off his lightsaber and faced Tom Riddle, who was looking at the dying basilisk with a thunderous expression. Riddles glared at Harry.

"You will be punished for that," Riddle said, petulantly.

"If you don't mind," said a new voice, "I'll handle the punishments around here, Tom."

"Dumbledore!" yelled the boy. The Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick emerged from the pillar forest and approached the Riddle.

"I should have known you would be skulking around," said Tom.

"Considering this is my school," said Dumbledore, calmly, "it was foolish of you indeed if you thought that I would not come to my students aid."

"You're too late, Dumbledore," Tom said. "I've won! Young Ginny grows weaker and weaker, while I grow stronger and stronger. In just a few more minutes, Lord Voldemort will rise again! Very… much… alive!"

"Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed.

"Or not," said Dumbledore, using his wand to fish the book out of Ginny Weasley's clasped hands. Riddle waved Ginny's wand and it flew away from Dumbledore into the outstretched hands of Professor Flitwick, who began to quickly examine it.

"Give that back!" yelled Tom, his eyes flashing red.

"You forgot to say the magic word," said Flitwick. He dropped the book on the ground, pointed his wand at it, and called out "diffindo!" The book sat there, unaffected by the severing charm. Tom began to laugh.

"You see?" he taunted them, "my horcruxes make me undefeatable." Professor Flitwick looked up upon hearing the word "horcruxes."

"Oh!" Flitwick exclaimed in understanding. "So that's why…" he said. Tom watched with growing horror as Flitwick readied his wand again.

"Avada Kedavra!" The tiny professor shouted.

"No!" Tom screamed as the green spell flashed over the diary. Tom vanished in the blink of an eye. At the same time, Ginny opened her eyes and gasped for breath. She looked around her in confusion.

"Harry?" she asked in a quiet squeak. "Where are we?"

"In the Chamber of Secrets," Harry answered.

"Harry," Ginny said, "it was me. I tried to tell someone, I tried to get rid of it..."

"It was not your fault, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said. Ginny gasped as he came into her view.

"Headmaster," she whimpered, "I tried to give it to you, I really did..."

"It's alright now," Dumbledore said. "I am very proud of how hard you fought against him." McGonagall sat down next to the girl and wrapped her in a hug.

"It's alright, dear," McGonagall said, comforting the young girl. "You are not to blame for this. You tried to tell us. I'm sorry I didn't investigate as thoroughly as I should have. Please do not blame yourself."

Dumbledore examined the body of Professor Lockhart.

"I am very sorry, my friend," he said, softly. Albus placed Gilderoy's wand on his chest.

Harry looked at the frozen troopers, then at Draco, and finally at Dumbledore attending to Lockhart's body.

"Malfoy will pay for this," Harry said.

"I should think being petrified should be more than enough to end your feud," Professor Flitwick said, disapprovingly.

"Not Draco," Harry protested, angrily. "His father. Lucius Malfoy is responsible for this. He started it all!"

"Mr. Malfoy will face the full force of the law for his crimes, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. He faced Harry and softened his tone. "Please don't take any rash actions in the name of vengeance, Harry. That is not the path Master Toma would wish you to take." It did not escape Harry's notice that the Headmaster had referred to Toma as 'master' for the first time. He did not yet know whether that was to influence him or in genuine respect.

"I won't attack him unless he attacks someone first, if that's what you're worried about," Harry said. "But I won't let him get away with this, either." Harry turned and faced the basilisk.

"I need to get him out of there," Harry said.

"Get whom out of where, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I need to get Meilo out of the basilisk," Harry said, flatly. "It ate him." He ignited his lightsaber and moved to cut the carcass open.

"Harry, stop!" commanded Dumbledore.

"I can't just leave him in there," Harry protested.

"I understand your anguish, Harry," Dumbledore said, "but we must not cut it open. Every part of a basilisk is deadly, and it will take a team of trained professionals to safely extract Mr. Meilo. I will personally see to it that this is handled with all the respect he is due. For now, though, I'm afraid we must leave him."

"How will we get out of here?" asked Neville.

"The same way we all came in," Dumbledore said. The teachers levitated the petrified victims and the body of Professor Lockhart and they all left for the chamber entrance together.