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Chapter 24- The Basilisk
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"It can't be that simple." Sirius stated.
"No. Of course, it can't be that simple. None of this is simple. I'm just saying it's an option to look into." Remus rolled his eyes. He'd been working on this for months now and had just relayed one option. There was only a small amount of a slur in his voice. Sirius had only managed to get this one option possibility out of him because of the several fingers of scotch that had been poured for him.
"But. So, say we do get one in a room with the things." Sirius squinted at him in thought. "Wouldn't it need some kind of encouragement to actually, you know." He made a slurping noise and swallowed.
"Oh, how eloquent." Remus remarked, and couldn't fight the smile from coming to his face. "It wouldn't even be that simple. Say it does get the pieces of soul out. Then what?"
"Yeah." Sirius tapped his chin. His eyes were glassy, but he always could hold his liquor. The several years of abstaining didn't seem to have altered that ability. "Yeah, because then they'd just be sort of residing in it, not destroyed."
It was exactly that that had made Remus think it wouldn't work. They would have to kill the Dementor after, and he wasn't sure that was possible, nor moral. They'd already sacrificed a poor Niffler. Though, killing a Dementor wouldn't be as heart wrenching as killing an innocent creature like a Niffler. Then again, there was also very little chance a Niffler army was going to come after then and avenge their fallen brother. Who knows what a band of Dementors would do if they intentionally killed one of them off.
Neither of the men seemed sure just how ascensioned a Dementor was either. Thus, if they should feel bad about this being a potential option.
"They're drawn to happy feelings too. I can't see these soul fragments appealing to their interest." Remus commented.
Sirius let out a shudder. He'd had the most interaction with the beings. Clearly, he wasn't reveling in the idea of facing one again. "Couldn't we just track down some Basilisk Venom?"
Remus let out a snort. "Sure, I'll just call up the local Apothecary and check with them, yeah?" He joked.
Basilisk Venom was incredibly rare, thus incredibly expensive. The only chance they would have of coming across some was if it was fake, and even then it would cost half of Sirius' vault to pay for it.
Sirius didn't take the scoff to heart. He had been doing his own research in the library as well to try and come up with some kind of solution. The Black library was full of books on the darkest sort of magic. Usually the books had pleasantly boring titles written on the spines so it wouldn't be obvious to anyone perusing the shelves. He hadn't been able to find anything about transferring a Horcrux though.
Yet anyways.
He didn't have too much to do with his days, but he was still a bit of a slacker and hadn't thrown his all into reading through every one of the books. He'd always needed Remus' motivation to get him going in school. Remus had been coming over for a few hours on the weekends lately to check through the Black library himself, which was where they were now.
"How much longer do you think it will be before Albus decides that killing the Horcruxes is more important than preserving the previously thought lost relics?" Sirius asked. He was rather close to taking the items from his vault and attempting to use Fiendfyre on them himself. He could get replicas made of the items, what would it matter anyways. They were clearly just going to be stuck behind a glass display case for some thief to attempt to steal later. Having them be fakes would just save the worry down the line.
Remus pursed his lips and gave Sirius a look. "If they can be stored in a vessel, then there must be a way to transfer them."
Sirius shook his head in agitation. "Right, well I have to wonder, even if we do manage to pull the Horcrux out, what if it just latches itself onto the closest thing nearby? You've seen what it looks like when it gets destroyed. I'm not all too keen to see what it looks like when it is its own entity just appearing before us."
Remus considered him for a moment. "It latching onto the closest thing it comes in contact with is a real possibility."
"Then we should destroy the bloody things as they are. I don't give a fuck about the pricelessness of ancient relics." He argued. "What if it latched onto a person?" He worried. "I'm not killing you or Albus."
"I appreciate that." Remus smirked then let out a long sigh. "So that crosses Dementor's off the list of potential ways of destroying them. I doubt we'd be able to track down the answers to these questions or get a Dementor interested in a Horcrux in the first place."
"Back to the drawing board then." Sirius muttered.
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"I just don't remember being that small." Ron laughed as he sat back against the couch. He'd been regaling a story about the third years Care of Magical Creatures class he'd witnessed the previous day while the others were in Potions class. One of the third years had literally gone running back to the school after Hagrid had told them about Thestrals. It seemed one of the Thestrals nearby nudged the third-year boy, and he hadn't been able to see it.
Ginny and Harry were chuckling appreciatively at the story as they sat cuddled together on the opposite end of the couch. They were all fairly wiped after their Quidditch practice and were pushing their homework obligations until after dinner time.
In the meantime, Ginny was content to recuperate sitting in Harry's lap and nuzzling into his neck every now and then.
Ron was in a pretty good mood lately considering Lavender had ditched him after his Valentine's Day confession to her. He'd taken it in stride with barely more than a shrug of his shoulder. He'd actually said it was too bad he hadn't told her a few days earlier so he could have saved the money he'd spent on her.
Emotional range of a teaspoon that one.
At least when it came to Lavender. When it had been Hermione, well that had been a difficult one to watch. Clearly Ron really hadn't cared about Lavender beyond whether or not she'd let him get a hand up her skirt. And Ginny wasn't sure her dorm mate had let him go that far, nor did she want to.
Ginny heard the portrait hole open and looked over to see Hermione come through and search the room with her eyes until they landed on the couch they were all occupying. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she bee lined her way over to them sitting down in the middle of the coffee table and shaking with nervous excitement.
"I figured out how she died." Hermione leaned forward to whisper to Ginny.
Ginny had to stifle a laugh at the look on Hermione's face as she said it; coupled with what she'd said it made her look deranged. But Ginny quickly realized what she was talking about and her initial humor gave way for intense interest. She slid off Harry's lap and leaned forward. "And?" She asked breathlessly.
"Who is the 'she'?" Harry asked with mock intensity. Ron too had leaned forward.
Both the girls turned their heads to look at the boys before resting their eyes only on each other's and having a silent consultation.
In Ginny's opinion this was all up to Hermione. She'd simply been the sounding board for her, all her theories and rants had she'd felt needed to be voiced to someone. Ginny was that someone for Hermione, and she wasn't going to betray her trust, not even to Harry, whom she'd also been the sounding board for when it came to the exact same subject. Ginny held both of them dear to her, and even though both would benefit from being each other's sounding board about this, and she had said such, she knew it wasn't up to her.
The waver in Hermione's expression was met with a hard glare from Ginny. She'd piqued their interest now. She could have just grabbed Ginny and hauled her up the stairs to their dorm, but she hadn't. And Hermione didn't make mistakes like that.
"Alright." Hermione caved easily.
Ginny allowed herself a self-indulgent smile. One less thing she had to keep to herself. "Not here though." She told her. "Let's go to that empty classroom." She meant the one they'd been doing their Daily Prophet and Quibbler reading in.
"Where's Neville?" Hermione asked, looking around again.
"With Luna." Ron answered. "Probably in the Greenhouses again."
Hermione sighed. "Fine, we'll tell him later." She led the way to the room and put up a silencing charm. "It's about Moaning Myrtle."
Ron snickered at the name and Ginny gave him a weak whack to the arm.
"She haunts the girl's toilet on the second floor." Hermione continued without concern for Ron's reaction. "Does he know?" Hermione directed the question at Harry and nodding at Ron. "About Tom Riddle?"
The three of them turned to face Ron who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"No." Harry admitted.
Ginny bit her lip. Ron and Neville had both not been told and that felt wrong all of a sudden. The two of them had helped with all the newspapers. It hadn't been quite fair to keep that from them. Then again, the two boys didn't seem entirely interested in all of Hermione's continued research.
"It's You-Know-Who's real name." Ginny told him.
"Ginny." Hermione scolded.
"Cut it out Hermione. If you're going to tell us something involving Tom, then you wouldn't have invited Ron if you didn't want him to know. Just like you wouldn't have said anything about Myrtle in front of Harry and Ron if you didn't want them to know that."
A faint blush came to Hermione's cheeks on her calling out. "Alright." She breathed out.
"What's Tom Riddle got to do with a ghost in the girl's toilet?" Harry asked.
"He's the reason she's there." Hermione told him heavily.
"Are you sure?" Ginny asked in reflex, knowing it was a stupid question immediately. She couldn't help the question from flying out of her mouth. It was rhetorical of course; Hermione wouldn't have said such a thing without knowing for sure.
"Can you fill the two of us in?" Harry asked, meaning he and Ron. "How, When, Why?"
"Okay. So, Myrtle was killed in 1943 in the girl's toilets. Her body was the final straw after there had been several attacks on students, mostly Muggleborns. They'd all been found petrified until that point. The school was going to close, but then Tom Riddle." She made a face at the name. "He pinned it all on H-, um, a student." She corrected herself. "Who had been keeping a dangerous creature in the school. That student was expelled, and Tom Riddle received a Special Services award."
"What was the creature?" Ron asked. "The one that the expelled student had kept?"
"An Acromantula." Hermione told him.
Ginny caught how Ron tensed up at that. He was terrified of spiders.
"But an Acromantula couldn't have killed her the way she remembers dying." Hermione continued. "However, since the attacks all stopped after that I guess no one looked into the matter further."
"Not even Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Not even after all this time? He knows who Tom Riddle is, he had to have at least exonerated the student."
"He did." Hermione told him sadly and braced herself. "Harry. The student that got blamed was Hagrid."
Ginny sucked in a breath and turned to Harry. He'd told her about how Hagrid had been the one to introduce him to this world. How he'd essentially been his first friend. He'd given him his first Christmas present.
Understandably, Harry looked shell shocked. "He." Harry started, but he didn't seem able to say anymore.
"Tom Riddle was the reason he'd been sent to Azkaban and couldn't finish his education." Hermione explained. "He'd had it all pinned on him. Dumbledore managed to free him from Azkaban but wasn't able to get him allowed back as a student."
Ginny clasped her hand in Harry's to offer some emotional support. She liked Hagrid, but she didn't know him as well as Harry. He'd brought her down to his hut for tea a few times and she could see how much Hagrid cared about Harry as well. He was an enormous teddy bear. One that saw the good side of every type of dangerous creature out there. Probably because he himself was seen as dangerous, and gave the appearance of it as well, but he had the best heart.
"What was it that actually killed her?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"Okay." Hermione prefaced. "We know that he was descended from a line of Parselmouths, yes?" She asked.
Harry and Ginny nodded, Ron looked startled, but did no more than blink at her.
"And we know that he was looking through the castle for secrets and such? Something special from his mother's side of the family. Something that made him feel more important."
"Like what?" Ginny asked in confusion. "A snake that can kill people with its- Oh!" Her hand flew to her mouth. She had heard of a snake that could kill with only it's eyes. "No!" She asked in astonishment.
Hermione's eyes went wide in acknowledgment and she pursed her lips as she nodded. "So, you see how I drew this conclusion."
Ginny let go of Harry's hand and stepped forward. "You think there's one in the school? How could there be? After all these years. One of them supposedly hasn't been seen in centuries."
"Supposedly is the right word it would seem." Hermione told her.
"Uh. Guys?" Ron interjected. "Hello." He wanted to be clued in.
"Have you two heard of a Basilisk?" Hermione asked importantly.
The boys looked at each other, both at a loss.
Hermione pulled a book out of her bag and handed it to Harry. Ron moved over to read over his shoulder. It was their Fantastic Beasts book, but though both boys had been taking the class, neither read through the text for anything other than their assignments though.
"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wonderous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."
"So, the thing can be killed by sticking it in the same room as a rooster?" Ron asked dubiously. "Seems like an easy way to ward the school against them."
"Yeah." Harry agreed. "Why didn't they just do that when people started getting petrified?"
"Well, I'd assume that they hadn't considered that it was a Basilisk. They hadn't been seen since the 16th century." Hermione exasperated. "But given what we know now, I'm pretty sure there is still a Basilisk somewhere around the castle. And I'm pretty sure that if we search the second-floor girls' toilet we'll find a clue as to where."
"Hold on." Ginny held up a hand. "What exactly did Myrtle say about her death?"
Hermione took her book back from Harry and stashed it in her bag. "She said that she'd been in the girl's toilet and heard someone come in. Then there was a distinctively male voice that made a hissing noise. When she came out of the stall to see who it was, she saw two great yellow eyes, then the next thing she knew she was a ghost and haunting Olive Hornby for a decade or so."
"Who'd Olive Hornby?" Harry asked curiously.
"Her school bully." Ginny replied, not taking her eyes off Hermione.
"Huh." He replied. "And now you want to go hunting for a Basilisk." He asked Hermione directly.
"No." She rolled her eyes. "I just want to do a little reconnaissance and see if there is anything special about the second-floor girls' toilet."
"To find the lair of a Basilisk." Harry finished.
"You are not bloody looking for a Basilisk." Ron told her incredulously.
"I never said I was looking for it. I'm looking for where it MIGHT be." She told him haughtily. "I hardly doubt that even if I do find where the entrance to the lair is that it would be just accessible to anyone. You'd more than likely need to be a Parselmouth to open it. Do you see any Parselmouth's around here?" She bit.
Ginny's eyes locked on Harry's at that.
"What." Hermione caught their interaction.
"What?" Ginny asked her back innocently.
"What was that look?" She asked the both of them.
"Nothing." Ginny stated. "I just like looking at him alright?" She offered lamely as a cover up. "He's got… pretty eyes." She added and bit her bottom lip as a laugh escaped her. It was easily the worst cover up she'd ever attempted.
Harry couldn't help snickering at it either. It had broken some of the tension in the room though. "I'm a Parselmouth." Harry explained.
Hermione's jaw dropped open and the bag slid off her shoulder to make a loud thudding noise on the floor.
It was rather unheard of. Ginny herself had needed a minute to process that when he'd told her. Meanwhile, he'd told her about the Horcruxes at the same time, so it had just been one more piece of incredible information and paled in comparison to the other.
It took a few moments for Ron and Hermione to recover from their shock. Now they were all standing outside of the second-floor girls' toilets. After a careful look around to see if anyone was watching, and Hermione had ducked inside to ensure that there wasn't anyone actually using the toilets, they all headed inside.
"Hello Ginny." Myrtle greeted her and considered the boys curiously. "Why did you bring boys into the girl's toilet?"
"Hi Myrtle." Ginny greeted her back. She hadn't been back to the toilet since she and Hermione had first talked to her, a fact she hoped the girl ghost wouldn't bring up. "Myrtle, this is my brother Ron, and my boyfriend Harry."
"Boyfriend?" Myrtle looked Harry over thoroughly and seemed slightly put out.
Ginny hesitated and shared a look with Hermione. "Yes." She nodded slowly.
Myrtle's chin tilted up slightly. "Hmm." Was all she remarked.
"I hope you don't mind." Hermione told her. "I told Ginny your story, and the boys."
"And is he your boyfriend?" Myrtle cut her off and indicated to Ron.
Hermione blushed. "Um. uh, n-no."
Ginny exchanged a humorous glance with Harry at that. She and Hermione never did figure out who it was that sent the flowers on Valentine's Day two weeks ago. There was a chance it had been Ron, though it had seemed a gift that had required a level of deep and emotional thought that she wasn't entirely convinced that Ron possessed. Right now though, Hermione was looking suitably flustered, and Ginny hoped Ron would see that the girl clearly still had feelings for him.
"Oh?" Myrtle asked and raised her eyebrows, looking at Ron in interest before giving him a small smile and batting her eyelashes a bit.
Harry's hand grasped Ginny's then tightly. They both needed the physical contact to stop them from bursting out loudly in laughter at how uncomfortable Ron was now looking.
"Anyways." Ginny managed. "We were all going to take a look around the room, see if there was some clue as to how a great beast might have gotten in here. You know, besides using the door."
Myrtle looked confused. "I've been in this room for nearly half a century. Don't you think I'd know if there were a secret entrance to another place here?" She sounded offended. "I am a ghost after all. I can go through the walls."
Ginny shrugged. "Yeah, well. No harm in looking, right? We just want to see for ourselves."
"You said that you were in one of the stalls when it happened?" Hermione asked and headed over to the row of stalls.
Myrtle floated along behind her and went to the one in the middle. "Yes. I was in this one. I came out and looked over there." She pointed to the circular arrangement of sinks. "Then that was the last thing I did alive." She said dramatically, looking at Ron, who was blushing at her attention.
Ginny went to the sinks and walked around them. There were eight of them. It was an interesting lay out to have for the plumbing, but it was aesthetically pleasing too. "They look like this in the boy's room?" She asked her brother and Harry.
"No." Harry told her, walking over to them as well. "They're all against the wall in the boys room."
Hermione furrowed her brow. "Why wouldn't they have the boys room looking the mirror image? That's usually how bathrooms are done."
"Usually, but this is an ancient castle. This probably wouldn't have always been a toilet." Ron pointed out. "It could have been something else and was converted after."
Hermione looked at him in surprise. "I never considered that."
Ginny hadn't either. After pacing around the sinks twice and seeing nothing she climbed up on one of them.
"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.
Ginny stood on the sink and held onto the mirror for balance. "There's space behind here. Could be something in the middle." She had to go up on her tip toes in order to see over the mirror and behind it. "I don't see anything." She remarked.
"Yes, well-" Hermione started.
"No." Ginny cut her off. "I don't see anything. It's completely dark. There's some kind of grate or something, but then it's just blackness." She turned to Myrtle. "Would it harm you in any way to go down past the grate and see what's down there?"
Myrtle floated over to her and peered over the mirror as well. She went over the top of the mirrors to hang in the air above the center of them and lowered slightly. "No thank you." She told them easily enough and went over to sit in the stained-glass window.
Ginny looked down at her friends, unsure about what just happened.
"No thank you?" Ron asked. "Because you don't want to or because you can't?"
"What do you mean?" Myrtle asked looking down at them vacantly.
Harry put a hand gently on Ginny's leg and offered her his other to help her down. She hopped to the ground and the four of them went down the little aisle between the stalls towards Myrtle.
"Myrtle." Hermione started. "You said you were able to go through walls, and you told me you've been down the pipes and into the lake."
"Yes." The ghost said. "The Merpeople aren't very nice to me, but it is pretty down there."
"So why is it you don't want to go down and inspect the hole in the middle of the sinks?" Harry asked.
Myrtle tilted her head at Harry. "I can do that. Why didn't you just ask me to?" She gave them an indignant look and soared over to the sinks. They all watched as she once again hovered over the center of the sinks and lowered herself to the height of the mirrors, then promptly flew back to sit on the ledge of the window again and began humming to herself.
"There must be a ward or something." Hermione went back towards the sinks. "This is incredible."
Ginny followed her over. "How many centuries has this been here and no one knew about it?" She asked no one in particular.
"So, this could be Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.
Hermione turned to Harry abruptly. "You read Hogwarts a History!" She beamed.
Harry rolled his eyes at her. "Yes. I finally read it." He drawled. "And," he studied the sinks more carefully. "Maybe there's some kind of lever or something that should allow you access. Like in Indiana Jones."
"We'd probably need some kind of key or something if that's the case." Hermione nodded.
Ginny and Ron shared a look, not knowing what they were referring to. But the two of them had listened to Bill's stories of the hidden tunnels he'd helped discover in Egypt and both started looking for something out of place. Ginny was searching for an etching of a Rune or something. It could be some sort of spoken 'key'. Harry started turning on and off the taps while the others were looking around the mirrors and under the porcelain sinks.
"This one doesn't work." Harry said. The three others went to his side.
"That sink has never worked." Myrtle said from her perch. "Even when I was alive it never worked."
"Look." Ron pointed at a small raised section on the faucet. "That looks like a snake." The four of them peered at it.
Hermione went to check all the other sinks. "It's only that one."
Ginny turned to Harry. "Maybe try telling it to open in Parseltongue?"
He worried his lips a moment but moved to place himself directly in front of the sink, the other three moved back. Letting out one long nervous breath he said the word. "Open." Nothing happened.
"That was English, mate." Ron told him.
Harry stared at the sink harder. "Open up."
Ginny wanted to laugh. It had still been English, but the sight of Harry trying to order a sink to open she couldn't help but find amusing.
"Still English." Ron told him helpfully.
"When was the last time you spoke to a snake?" Hermione asked. "Did you know you were doing it?"
He shook his head. "I just talked to it. I didn't know I wasn't speaking English. It wasn't until my cousin's friend told my uncle about it in front of me that I learned I'd been speaking another language." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Open Sesame."
Even Hermione muffled a laugh at that one. "This isn't Aladdin's Tomb, Harry." She chuckled.
He shot her a crooked grin, showing he'd done that one in jest.
"Maybe if you concentrate on the snake carved into the faucet. Pretend you're talking to it, and it's real." Ginny offered.
Harry nodded and lowered his head to stare more intently at the snake. After nearly a full minute of staring at it he closed his eyes. A short hissing sound came out of his mouth.
The four of them had to step back in surprise as there was a great groaning noise and the sound of scraping metal. The sink they'd been focusing on began to lower and revealed the large opening in the floor behind it. The grate that Ginny had seen was gone and it was just an abyss below.
Hermione let out an exultation and clapped her hands together with a small jump. "You did it! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" The other three were frozen in shock while Hermione was shivering with exuberance. "How far down do you think it goes?" Hermione asked and moved forwards.
Ron's hand shot out and stopped her from getting too close. "You aren't thinking about going down there, are you?"
"No. Of course not." She told him. "I'm hardly prepared for that right now."
"Right now?!" Ron exclaimed. "You mean you WILL be going down there?"
"Well... yes." She stated. "Of course, I want to go down there. We'll need brooms, and torches. It looks rather dirty as well. We should probably bring parchment to map it out as well, it is a pipe or tunnel of some kind. I would assume that there may be a labyrinth of tunnels."
As Hermione rambled off her list Ron was staring at her incredulously. Ginny and Harry's shock was wearing off and they each stepped a little closer to the opening as well. It really was just a dark drop. Ginny raised her wand and cast out a ball of light, directing it down the hole. It kept going until the light wasn't visible.
"ROOSTERS!" Ron yelled, stopping Hermione's tirade and gaining the other two's attention as well. "How have you listed every bloody thing you can think of except for the one that can save your life?"
"Well, yes. Of course, the roosters." She rolled her eyes.
"Well you could bloody well say it!" Ron chewed out looking at her angrily. "You're listing off food to bring on the journey and brooms. Those are a given as well."
"Ron." Hermione sounded wounded.
"It can't just be us either. Not when there is a potential Basilisk down there." He started pacing. "We need someone with more experience. We need Professor Lupin, and maybe an Auror. McGonagall might be able to transfigure things into roosters. We need a whole gaggle of roosters."
"It's called a flock." Hermione corrected him quietly.
"I don't really care." He told her deliberately. "You are not going down there without a thorough plan. Treat this like you're studying for a final or something." He warned her, pointing a finger in her face.
Ginny and Harry had rested back against the sinks that were still standing. He'd pulled her against his side with an arm around her hip while they watched Ron berate Hermione with interest. He was hell bent on her safety and it was rather endearing.
From the expression on Hermione's face she was seeing his worry the same way. Her cheeks were flushing prettily and her eyes growing glassy.
"Think she's going to cry?" Harry whispered.
"She might." Ginny grinned. "She also might just throw herself at him." She waggled her eyebrows at Harry and turned back to listen to Ron who was now going on about how they needed several people to go down there in teams 'in case the worst happens'.
She sucked in a breath at that. Harry tugged her tighter against him. "It'll be fine, Gin." He kissed her temple. "We'll just sort out the roosters first." The stood up straight and removed his arm from her side. "I'm going to close this now." He told them and stood in front of the opening, closing his eyes tight and eventually letting out another short hissing sound, the sink rising up from the floor once more and blocking the entrance.
"I think we should tell Sirius." Ginny told Harry. "If it has to do with Him, then he'll want to know."
Harry nodded, then turned to Hermione. "This is a little bigger than your story now."
She shook her head. "It's all part of it. And a remarkable find." She beamed.
()()()
The sun had set by the time the four students had gathered back in the girl's toilet. This time they had the Headmaster as well as Professor Lupin and Sirius Black with them.
They'd all gone down to the Great Hall for dinner as though nothing was amiss, and Hermione had requested a private audience with the Headmaster afterwards and told him what they'd discovered. Harry and Ginny had gone to Professor Lupin's private quarters and shared the story with him as well. He in turn alerted Sirius.
The three adults stared in awe as Harry opened the entrance again for them. Hermione had told them about how she'd figured it out, and Myrtle told them her story as well.
Upon hearing the story of the girls demise once more the Headmaster looked stricken. "I should have seen it." He said aloud, more to himself. "My dear, I can only apologize. I knew that it hadn't been Hagrid's creature that was causing the attacks but had no proof that it wasn't. It wasn't until many years after your passing that I learned Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth, and at that point there was much going on in our world and your demise was simply one of the many."
The ghost didn't look to be moved by the apology, and no one else seemed to have anything to offer by way of condolences.
With nothing more he could say to the ghost Dumbledore turned his attention to the living students. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It must have taking quite a bit of sleuthing to discover this."
Hermione's brow furrowed at his choice of wording. "You do realize that I intend to go down there." She told him. Ron moved closer to her then, so their arms were brushing against each other, as a show of solidarity.
"Miss Granger, it is potentially very dangerous down there. I cannot allow you to be put in harm's way like that if I can prevent it." The headmaster told her.
"With all due respect Headmaster, I am of age and am the discoverer of this. Because of that, I have every right to be part of the team that goes down there." She argued.
"Yeah." Harry pipped up. "And you'll need me down there because of my Parseltongue. You might have other doors and such that you'd need that language to open."
"If Harry's going down there, then I'm going down there." Ginny stated firmly.
"If Ginny's going down there, then I'm going down there." Ron piped up, though he was looking at Hermione when he said it. "And I'm of age as well."
The Headmaster pursed his lips and drew in a breath through his nose. "I would require mister Potter to accompany us, but only with the consent of his guardian." He turned to Sirius.
Sirius had only been paying half attention to what was going on, he was busying himself with circling the sinks with Professor Lupin and casting out balls of light to go down the tunnel. Turning back towards them he locked eyes with Harry, a wave of concern crossing his eyes. "Everyone is sure that this creature is most likely a Basilisk?" He asked the room at large.
"It makes the most sense." Hermione said firmly. "Students had been petrified, one killed the instant she saw its yellow eyes. Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth. Everything adds up."
Sirius hesitated, but Harry was staring him down in challenge. "Roosters." He told them. "A fucking lot of roosters."
Harry grinned at him.
"Alright then." The Headmaster relented. "Miss Granger, Mister Potter, you may both accompany the team down when we go. Mister Potter, if you could please?" He indicated back to the sinks for Harry to close the opening again.
Harry sealed off the entrance again.
"Mister Weasley, I would ask that you not come with us though. The smaller the number of people down there the better."
"I'm of age as well." Ron argued.
"Your sister is not, however. Perhaps you should stay back with her."
"What?!" Ginny exclaimed. "You aren't going to let me go?"
"Do you believe your parents would consent to this?" The Headmaster asked dubiously, knowing the answer.
Ginny crossed her arms and gave him a blazing look but said nothing.
Hermione imagined her own parents would have something to say to her about going into an unknown tunnel with a potentially deadly beast inside it. But what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and try as they might have, they still did not quite understand this world she now lived in. Best to just not tell them.
She didn't want Ron to go down there with them, and she felt bad about that. But if Ginny had to stay back, then she wanted Ron to stay with her rather than have Ginny be nervous the whole time on her own. Perhaps if they managed to get down there and do away with the beast, then they could all go down there and explore it.
Ginny turned her eyes on Hermione imploringly, as though she would have any say to overrule the Headmaster, but she didn't.
"Very well then." He moved on. "Please allow us some time to consult on the best approach." He looked towards the Defense professor and Sirius. "We have something else to discuss now, if you four wouldn't mind heading back to Gryffindor. And I don't believe I should need to say this, but I will. Please keep this discovery to yourselves."
They all nodded, even Ginny who was pouting more than anything.
Sirius followed behind the Headmaster and Professor, giving each Harry and Ginny a short hug on his way out. He whispered something in Ginny's ear as well that had her features relax slightly and nod at him.
When it was just the four of them, plus Myrtle who was back perched in the window looking down at them, they all exchanged rather awkward glances.
"Well, this isn't fair." Ron broke the silence.
"You can understand his line of thinking though, can't you?" Hermione asked.
"What? Because I didn't discover it and can't speak a dead language, I'm not capable of being any use? I'm of age. I can do... something. Handle the birds or something. At least I have experience with bloody poultry." He argued.
She didn't want to say anything about how it couldn't be too hard to deal with the birds. It would just put him in a worse mood. He headed for the door and she followed behind him. "Are you two coming?" She asked Harry and Ginny.
"I think we'll meet you back in the common room later." Harry told her, looking at his girlfriend who still looked upset.
Hermione nodded and left them there, hurrying to catch up with Ron.
"Ron." She tried to slow him down grabbing hold of his arm. "I'm sorry. I couldn't think of any way to convince him on the spot that we needed you down there as well."
"What does it matter." He huffed. "You don't need me at all. Best just to be the minder for my sister. It's the only reason I'm even attending this school, isn't it? Probably what you've been thinking. Couldn't possibly just be for my education with how stupid I clearly am."
"I don't think that!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why would you think I thought that?" She pulled him to a stop. "Ron. I know you chose to attend school for more than just to accompany Ginny and for Quidditch."
"Maybe I didn't. Maybe the only reason I'm here is because of Quidditch." He challenged.
"Well." She was taken aback by how he had rounded on her. "Well then fine. But don't you dare assume that because of that I'd consider you useless. I've seen you play chess hundreds of times; I know you're a good strategist. I was listening earlier when you were laying out a plan of approach. It was well reasoned."
"Then why am I still not good enough for you?" He burst out at her.
She blinked in shock. "What?"
"I get that we have different interests. But how could that be so much of a bad thing that you wanted to end things? I had thought that we were getting on just fine. You were all wrapped up in the Daily Prophet stuff, so we hadn't been seeming much of each other, but still! Was there something I missed? Did I offend you some way?"
Hermione swallowed and her breath hitched. "No." Her chin was warbling.
"Then what?" He asked, anger still prevalent in his question.
"I. I."
"You what?"
"I'm a prude, okay?" She admitted angrily, feeling increasingly upset. "I knew you wanted to go further than I was letting you, and I just wasn't ready for it. I figured it was better to break up with you before you got tired of me stopping you and moved on to some other, more willing girl."
The anger evaporated from Ron's face. "I never pushed you." He said concern. "I let you dictate how far you wanted to... I tried everything I could to be the perfect gentleman for you." He said quietly.
Hermione felt like a hand had been wrapped around her heart and it was starting to squeeze. "You were. You are." She blinked away the tears. "I just. I couldn't help bringing situations to mind where you got tired of me and moved on. And." She stopped to take a steadying breath.
"That's why you broke us up? Because you thought I'd eventually cheat on you?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, it certainly didn't take you long to move on to 'Lav-Lav'." She commented, immediately regretting it.
"Hey. Don't you dare get mad at me for my choice of how to get over you. You dumped me, not the other way around." He told her off.
"I know. I'm sorry." She bowed her head.
"So, it wasn't because we're too different. Or because you just don't think of me that way. That was all just shite you made up because you were insecure." His anger was back.
Hermione couldn't respond verbally. She felt the heat of shame rising to her cheeks and nodded her head.
"Do you have any idea how that made me feel? You're brilliant Hermione, telling me we were too 'different'," he made air quotes, "had me believing you were ditching me because you thought I was a fucking moron."
"I'm sorry." She repeated, the unwanted tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked down at her shoes. "I was just so sure I wouldn't be enough for you." She hadn't realized he might take it that way. It hadn't been her intention at all.
Now she felt absolutely retched. She crossed her arms in front of her, cupping her elbow and waiting for him to continue laying into her.
She deserved it.
He didn't though. He took her chin in his hand and raised it gently. With his thumbs he wiped away the trail her tears had left.
She melted at his touch. He was just so wonderful to her. Even when he was as angry with her as he was then, his blue eyes were boring into her and he was a perfect gentleman. His whole everything was so perfect.
Without further thought she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and kissing him. She'd finally admitted to him her real reason, he could cast her aside and reject her if he wanted to, but she had to prove to him that she was being honest. She still wanted him very much.
He was standing still and unresponsive as she moved her lips against his. She didn't want to relent though. She'd been dreaming of his kisses and missing them.
Slowly his hands moved to her hips and pulled her tighter to him and he began to kiss her back. His hand moved into her hair and he took charge of the kiss. It was just like it had been before, but more. She'd bared her worries to him and he was right, they'd been unfounded.
"I missed you so much." She whispered when she pulled back. Resting her forehead against his and feeling that hand around her heart let it go releasing a wave or warmth and comfort over her whole body.
When she opened her eyes to look at him though, he wasn't reflecting the emotions she was feeling. He still looked angry, hurt and confused. He placed his hands over her arms and pulled them from around him and took a step back. "You really hurt me Hermione." He told her. "You really hurt me, and I need some time to process this."
A cold shiver ran through her spine and he held her wrists out before her. He wasn't rejecting her. He was just going to think things over. That was fair. That was fair and she needed to let him do that. She loved thinking things over. Incessantly and to the utter annoyance of those around her.
"Okay." She said shakily and took a step back from him and her arms dropped to her sides as they slipped out of his hands.
The both of them stood there staring at each other, not knowing what to do then. After a minute Ron turned and started slowly heading back towards Gryffindor Common Room. He paused and looked back at her, raising his eyebrows as if to ask if she was coming.
Swallowing her nerves, she managed to make her feet move, walking silently alongside him.
()()()
Harry had let her lead the way. She was in a mood.
And she was too stubborn to be pulled out of it easily.
He'd thought she might want to go to the Room or Requirement, but she led him to the Prefects Bathroom instead. It had been a while since they'd gone there. And the last few times they'd tried it had been occupied.
He really needed to start carrying his map around with him.
Harry followed her in and locked the door behind them. She sat down on the side of the tub in a huff, crossing her arms and not even turning the taps on. He said nothing as he went around the tub and turned the faucets on for the lavender and vanilla scented one's. She seemed to like those.
As the tub filled, she still sat there in her sulk. He tried not to find it as adorable as he did. She would most likely glare at him if her expressed that on his face. Slowly, and in full view of her on the opposite side of the tub, he pulled his shirt over his head. Her eyes raised up to look at his bare chest, then to his eyes. He couldn't resist giving her a sly smile in challenge. Wanting her to start stripping off her clothes as well.
She simply narrowed her eyes at him, and he saw the tightening of her jaw. Then she looked away again, determined to stay in her mood.
Undeterred he popped the buttons on his trousers and pushed them down with his boxers so he was naked before her. He watched her carefully as she fought the urge to look over at him again. She'd seen him naked multiple times now, and he wasn't at all shy about it with her anymore. Nor was she with her body. Then again, she hadn't seemed shy about her own nakedness since day one.
She also had nothing to be shy about in his opinion.
He slipped into the full tub and waded across the small distance to where her feet were in the water and took one foot in his hand, massaging it slightly.
"Ginny." He started.
She replied by letting out a huff through her nose, but he could see he was wearing her down slightly. He took her other foot and gave that a bit of a rub as well. Slowly he worked his hands up her calves. Then up her thighs. She began swaying slightly back and forth with his movements.
"You don't fight fair." She moaned softly as she enjoyed his massaging the underside of her thighs.
"Why would I want to do that?" He asked lightly and placed a kiss to the inside of her knee. Her trousers were rolled up to her mid-thigh. He knew she wanted to simply take them off and join him in the water. She was just being obstinate. "I can make you feel even better if you come in here with me."
"I don't want to feel better. I just want to be angry about it for a while longer." She told him unconvincingly.
"How about you be angry about it while I give you a back rub?" He offered with a cheeky grin and continued to work his hands higher up her legs.
Her eyes rolled back behind her lids as he massaged her muscles. "Fine." She gave in, lifting her shirt over her head and pulling her legs out of his hands so she could stand up and strip off the rest of her clothes.
Harry couldn't help but grin at the sight of her naked before him. He couldn't wait for the day to come when he could wake up to that sight and spend a lazy morning tracing patterns in the freckles that covered her body, preferably with his tongue. He found himself particularly hypnotized with the scant few that adorned her breasts.
She slipped into the water and he watched as her breasts became buoyant. She gave him the smirk that told him he must have the stupid look on his face he got every time she was doing something that made his brain shut off.
"You said something about a back rub?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye.
He hummed his assent and pulled her into his arms, kissing her thoroughly as he massaged from her waist to her shoulders with her pressed up against him.
The humming and moaning she was making from his hands was only serving to make him harder. It was with great relief he felt her take him in hand and start rubbing her fist up and down in a relaxed movement. He began kissing his way down her neck as his hands moved to her bum to massage her there.
She removed her hand from his erection and placed it on his shoulder. "You're going to be careful down there, right?" She whispered.
He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. She didn't look the least bit angry any more, only worried.
"You're going to close your eyes at the slightest sign or sound of movement?" She asked and swallowed heavily.
"I promise." He whispered, feeling a warmth in his chest that came every time she showed how much she cared for him. "There will be at least five of us, probably more. What are the odds that it is still alive down there anyways?" He asked, more trying to placate her fears than to receive an answer.
"If it's still down there, then it's still alive." She told him knowingly. "Basilisks can live for hundreds of years. I doubt that Tom Riddle brought one from the orphanage with him. He probably found it down there after it'd been there for hundreds of years." She explained.
Harry frowned. He hadn't thought of that. "How would it have survived?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. But I remember someone from the Ministry stopping by the Burrow once. He came to inspect the property, even the chicken coop. I was maybe ten at the time and mum let me tag along while she showed the property and wards to him and I was asking him why he needed to see the chicken coop. He told me about how he had to check for dangerous creatures and asked about whether we had any toads in the area. I giggled when he told me about how the Basilisks were hatched, because it seemed so odd, I'm pretty sure he was joking with me, just being a little silly. But later on, I looked them up and was amazed with how dangerous they were. Their a level five dangerous creature Harry. That's as high a danger level as it gets."
"Then I'm glad you aren't going down there." Harry told her honestly.
"Harry." She gave him a hard look, then a small pout came to her lips.
"I would be terrified if I found out you were going down there without me too." He kissed her temple. "I promise I'll listen as carefully as possible and close my eyes at the first sound of movement. Maybe there's a charm we can all use to amplify any sounds as well. Give us all a heads up."
She let out a big sigh. "Yeah. I'm sure between everyone, plus Hermione, all the bases will be covered."
He cupped her cheek and gave her a sweet kiss. "I love you, you know that?"
She smiled reluctantly and nodded. Her legs wrapped around him and she captured his lips again. "Show me how much."
Smiling against her lips he guided them over to the side of the tub pressing her against the wall there. His hands resumed their task of massaging every bit of her body he could, spending extra time appreciating her breasts one at a time.
"Does this feel good for you?" He asked out of lust and curiosity, meaning his touching her breasts.
She hummed and rested her head back. "I like when you rub your thumbs along the underside." She told him and rocked against him. "I like when you kiss them too." She smiled coyly.
Needing no further encouragement, he lowered his head to bury it in her soft mounds. Her little nipples were hardened peaks showcasing her arousal. The sensation of them against his face was indescribable. Like he was running his skin across warm silk perhaps. If warm silk smelled and tasted the way she did.
His fingers came around the underside of her bum and found her entrance. He grinned against her breast when he felt how slick she was there, even in the water he could tell the difference of her own wetness. She let out an appreciative sigh as he ran his fingers along her slit and she ran her own fingers through his hair, keeping his head in place against her chest.
He gave her a soft bite so she would loosen her grip enough for him to raise himself up and line up the head of his penis with her entrance. He tried to maintain eye contact as she twirled her hips, lowering herself down marginally on him with every rotation, but the sensation was too much for him to be able to keep his eyes open. They both let out a sigh of contentment when he was fully sheathed inside her. This was his favorite place in the world.
He gripped the taps beside her head with one hand for leverage as he slowly moved in and out of her as though they had all the time in the world.
()()()
AN- Definition for a Basilisk taken directly from Most Macabre Monstrosities.