AN: I do not own Harry Potter, that honor goes to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 15: The Heir of Slytherin
Harry ran as hard as he could, trying to track the sound of the Basilisk through the walls. His heart hammered in his chest as he tried not to imagine the horror he would find by following the Basilisk's murderous chanting. A series of muffled bangs went off somewhere up the corridor followed by another distant explosion. The Potion Master's heavy footfalls followed Harry as he rounded the next corridor.
"Potter! Get back here this instant," Professor Snape ordered in a breathless voice.
"This is too important," Harry yelled as he shoved aside a tapestry. "Give me more detention later."
The professor's response was cut off by the tapestry closing off the entrance. Harry ran to the other end of the narrow corridor and pushed with all his might, swinging open a heavy and ornate picture frame of a vagrant wizard from the fourteen-hundreds.
"Seize them… bite them… kill… all," the Basilisk called again, this time closer to where Harry was.
Harry ran harder toward the Basilisk, unsure of what to do if he met the creature. He hoped to lead people away from the dangerous beast at best. A flurry of activity made him look up as five students appeared in the corridor with scared looks on their faces.
"This way, no matter what House you are in, this way! Get into a classroom. You, boy at the end of the corridor. Come with us. This is an order from the Aurors," the tall Ravenclaw Prefect ordered as he ushered the students into the closest open door.
"Go ahead, I'm working with Kingsley," Harry lied and continued to run past the other students who gave him bewildered looks.
"Potter, this is no laughing matter. Get back here," Professor Snape's voice followed Harry as he ran up the corridor. "What, why are all these students here?"
"Professor, the Aurors said there is another attack and everyone needed to get to safety. Help me barricade this lot in here so we can look for more students," the Ravenclaw Prefect said with a shrug.
Whatever the Potion Master replied, Harry missed at because he had to dodge out of the way of two Hufflepuff Students running past him, headed toward the stairs for the dungeons. "Lock yourselves in a classroom," Harry yelled as he continued his run. All six suits of armor in the alcoves of the corridor creaked to life, a dull green glow appearing behind the visor of their helmets.
After climbing the stone spiral staircase to get to the second floor, Harry realized the Basilisk sounded like it was in the wall next to him, making him slow to a stop and pulling out his wand. Now faced with the beast, he didn't know what to do. He could feel rather than see something massive behind the thick stone of the castle walls. His hesitation allowed a breathless Professor Snape to catch up with him.
"Potter…" the Potion Master hissed as he came to a stop at the top of the stairs. He was about to say something before he stopped. "It's there, isn't it. You can tell." It wasn't a question.
"It's enormous," Harry breathed as he tracked the progress of the snake up through the wall. It was headed for the third floor. "How are we going to beat it?" he asked himself, half pleading something would give him an answer outside his hastily concocted ideas. He cursed himself a fool for not working harder on the spell he wanted to modify.
"You are doing nothing but getting to a classroom and waiting this out. If I'm right, your warning may have given the school enough time to keep everyone safe… at least until we can evacuate."
"This won't stop here. Not while Lockhart has the Diary. There will be more deaths and the Basilisk will have free reign of the castle if we don't stop it. Could you imagine what it could do if it got out?" Harry asked in a quiet voice. He tracked the hisses of the Basilisk with his eyes, trying to imagine where it would be going.
"A problem for adult wizards to figure out, not twelve-year-old boys. Now, for the last time… Potter!"
Harry took off down the corridor after hearing the triumphant cry of the Basilisk. It had found prey. Footfalls ringing in his ears, he turned down the next corridor and took the stairs two at a time as he climbed the narrow staircase to the third floor. Fumbling in his robes, he eased the door open and used the small mirror to scout the corridor. After verifying the coast was clear on both sides he started to move into the corridor when a rough hand snatched him off his feet.
"Last warning, Potter. You are trying my patients. If you want to run to your death, fine. But if you do, the Aurors will not have this rare chance to find the Basilisk while it is weakened. I will stun you if you run off again." Professor Snape slammed the door shut and cast the Locking Charm on the handle.
"I can get to my feet, thank you," Harry grumbled, yanking his arm away from the professor who was trying to get him to his feet.
"Follow and listen. I don't intend to die or spend the next few months petrified," the Potion Master ordered with a sneer.
Harry followed behind the professor, listening out for the Basilisk. A minute after they left the stairwell, a crash echoed from the corridor where the stairs were. Professor Snape gave Harry a withering glare as he picked up his pace.
Standing at the end of the next corridor was an unfamiliar stout adult wizard in brown robes and a floppy, brown hat. He looked around with a look of concentration. With a wand each hand, he ushered students with his left wand while covering the corridor behind them with his right. "Right little ones, no need to be a spaz. Single file into the next classroom. Recludus," the dark-haired wizard called, using his left wand to open a door farther down the corridor.
Harry heard the door crash against the wall, making him jump. "Who is that?" he asked, more to himself than to the professor.
"How should I know, Potter. There are several foreign wizards in the castle tonight," the Potion Master spat as he glared at the wizard ushering the last few students to safety. "This is the second foreign wizard I've seen while chasing you to stop your foolish desire for heroics."
"I just wanted to make sure no one else got hurt or died," Harry explained as he moved past the last student.
"You, student… by order of your Ministry, get in the classroom. We're locking down the school as a safety precaution," the stout wizard ordered with narrowed eyes.
"This is where your journey ends, Potter. Follow what the Yank says," Professor Snape ordered with a sneer. He looked down his hooked nose at Harry as his eyebrows knitted together.
"Right," Harry complied but a loud crash from above them cut off anything else he might say.
"That'll be the third floor. No screams so the beast didn't find any students," the stout wizard said in a conversational tone. "Right, I'm off to group with the others."
Professor Snape shoved Harry into the classroom and slammed the door behind him. A loud squelching noise told him the professor sealed the door. When he turned around, he noticed the scared looks of the twelve students from every House. Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones held each other for comfort as they stared back at him.
"Potter, any idea what is going on? Last we heard was that Granger girl screaming about a beast getting loose in the Great Hall. Almost everyone had left at that point, but the ones who were inside got locked in by the Aurors and Professor McGonagall. The suits of armor came alive and started protecting students until the Aurors arrived to escort us," a tall, skinny Ravenclaw witch said in a breathy rush.
"Stimpson, right?" Harry asked as he inspected the door. He thought she might be in the same year as the twins.
"That's me," Patricia said with a grin. "So, tell us, what do you know?"
Harry turned to see a few curious looks from the other students, but they turned back to their hushed conversations once they saw him looking at them. "The professors and Aurors will handle what's going on, but I think this is the end for Hogwarts," he answered in a soft voice. He knew the wizarding community would never let their children come back to Hogwarts if they knew a Basilisk was still alive.
"What do you mean?" Hannah asked in a sharp voice.
"Nothing, I'm probably wrong," Harry answered as he pulled out his wand. "Revelio Incantatem," he murmured as he pointed his wand at the door. A faint blue mist connected his wand to the door before dissipating. The image of a silver door floated at the end of his wand before fading away. "I've never seen that spell before."
"What was that?" Susan questioned as she moved closer to him. Patricia and Hannah stood on either side of Susan with puzzled expressions as they looked at Harry's wand.
"A simple spell reveal. I read it in a book once," Harry answered with a shrug. "My guess is Professor Snape locked us in here with a sealing type of charm but it isn't the normal Locking Charm. It must be one of his own creation or a more advanced spell than I know."
"Something so dangerous the professors and Aurors are running scared is out there and you're trying to figure out what spell was used to…" Hannah's tirade was cut off by a loud boom.
"Right, I think we should focus on fortifying. That sounded a little too close for comfort," Harry said as he turned to the others. Several pale faces looked back at him. "Does anyone know any strong shielding charms we can put on the door?"
A sea of blank faces greeted his question. "I can do the Shield Charm," Patricia said after a moment.
"Find… the speaker," a hissing voice echoed around the room.
Harry's blood ran cold. "Right, everyone… no time to explain, but levitate all the furniture you can over here. If anyone knows the Hardening Charm and the Stickfast Charm, now is the time to use it. Don't stare at me, move!"
It took a few seconds for the other students to realize he was as being serious but after watching him for a moment, they started levitating the largest objects they could to block the door. "Colloportus," Harry said three times, sealing the three hinges on the heavy door. "Right, to the barricades," he muttered and pointed his wand at the teacher's table. He levitated it so it fit inside the door and pushed a desk in front of it to keep it upright. "Duro… Duro… Collous," he cast in rapid succession.
"That was impressive," one of the boys muttered as he dropped another desk beside the growing pile.
"Thanks, now we just need to add more desks to put more weight behind it," Harry said as he levitated another over.
"Let me stack them, tops first, against the door," Patricia suggested and looked over her shoulder. "Marie, help me with the Sticking Charm. Your skill at that far surpasses anything any of us can pull off. Harry, you just keep turning things to stone. I forgot how useful that spell is."
Happy to let someone else deal with trying to glue everything together, Harry added the Hardening Charm to anything that might help with the stability of the barricade. The entire room of thirteen students worked together to build a sizable blockade in front of the door with plenty of desks left over. Harry couldn't see the door anymore as it was covered by four layers of tightly packed desks, stacked four high, in front of it.
"So, we've blocked off the door. Are you going to tell us why we did that?" a gruff boy asked from behind Harry.
"Because I have a bad feeling and I always follow that hunch," he answered, looking the muscled blonde Slytherin boy in the eyes.
"Draco did say you were a bit of a prat," the Slytherin said with a chuckle. "Wouldn't you agree, Derrick?"
"Draco can be the prat," the other Slytherin boy with dark hair answered with a lazy flick of his hand. "Potter, you did someone I know a favor, so I'll back you up this once."
"Uh, thanks?" Harry said with a shrug. He didn't recognize either of the Slytherin boys. Derrick nodded to Harry like a debt had been repaid. Confused, Harry thought it must have something to do with the Slytherin's House system. He knew they traded in debts and favors to gain more prestige for themselves, but he didn't know the rules.
A loud hiss woke him up from his musing. He spun to look at the door, startling Susan. "Harry, what is it?" she questioned, holding her hand over her chest. "Don't scare me like that."
"Get back from the door," he called to Patricia and Marie who were setting up another row of desks, helped by an older Hufflepuff and a first-year Ravenclaw girl. Aubrey looked terrified but resolute as she levitated another desk for Patricia to stack on the pile. All four of them turned to look at Harry.
"What?" Marie asked, her eyes searching his face.
"Get away from the door, something is out there," Harry hedged in a gruffer tone than he'd intended. His nerves were on edge as he tracked the hissing of the Basilisk toward the door.
"There isn't," Patricia started but stopped a moment later. "Something is moving out there," she whispered and moved away from the wall near the door.
"What is it?" Aubrey squeaked. She stumbled backward and caused the desk she'd been levitating to fall. The resounding crash made everyone jump and Aubrey scream.
"Wow that scared me," Marie said with a laugh and pointed her wand at the broken desk.
The wall shook as something heavy hit the solid oak door Professor Snape sealed shut. Screams and shouts echoed around the classroom as the Basilisk hit the door again. The sound of wood splintering cut through the commotion made by the students. There was silence in the classroom as everyone stared at each other.
"Add more desks!" Patricia screeched, casting a levitating charm on the closest desk and flinging it at the stone barricade of upended desks.
Desks were piled high as everyone tried to put more protection between them and the raging monster outside the door. Both Slytherin boys cast Hardening Charms on the desks while Patricia and Marie used Sticking Charms on the desks to bind the barricade together. Hannah struggled to help, tears streaming down her face as she stared at the shaking wall. The young Hufflepuff wasn't the only student who struggled with trying to add more to the barricade.
Harry listened to the ravings of the Basilisk as he enchanted a few old bits of parchment that had fallen out of one of the desks to make a large, thin barrier. After sticking the paper to the ceiling and floor, he turned it to stone. The sound of crumbling stone and breaking wood made his breath catch.
"It's getting through," someone screamed.
"We're out of desks," Susan announced in a high-pitched voice.
"Someone break the blackboards off the wall, we'll use that as a small barrier to get behind," the dark-haired Slytherin ordered. "Lucian, copy what Potter did… I'm loathed to say it, but that's smart."
Lucian snorted and flipped his blonde hair. He rummaged around in his robes and pulled out a roll of parchment. "Engorgement Charm, right Potter?" he asked with a sneer.
"Yes," Harry answered as he repeated the same process with the other sheet of old paper. A long rip appeared in the middle of the parchment as he stuck it to the ceiling. He repaired the rip, secured the parchment to the floor, and turned it to stone.
"Hey, listen," someone said into the silence.
Harry was so focused on his work, he missed the fact the Basilisk had stopped attacking the door. The sound of heavy, metallic footfalls on stone echoed around the classroom, muffled by the stone barricade in front of the door.
"It sounds like the suits of armor that protected us before," Hannah said with a grin.
The Basilisk gave a horrendous screech that sounded like a mixture of anger and fear. Harry couldn't hear what it said, but he knew the Basilisk retreated from the door seconds later. The classroom was quiet as they listened to the small army of suits of armor march past their door. It took a full minute before the sound died down into silence.
"Is it gone?" someone asked in a whisper.
"Probably, but we should be ready just in case," Patricia said, regaining her composure and looking toward another Ravenclaw boy. "Eddie, don't just stand there. Hop to it," she ordered.
It took less than three minutes to build the small barricade in the far corner of the classroom. After that was complete, everyone sat around talking about the monster that tried to get in the classroom. Harry remained quiet as he rested against the front of the anchored blackboard. Patricia flitted around the room, spending a few minutes talking to the small groups of students. Harry's mood worsened as he watched the other students, knowing their time at Hogwarts had come to an end. His thoughts turned to his friends. He hoped they were safe from the Basilisk's attack and prayed no one else died.
"Food for your thoughts," a light voice questioned as they sat beside him. Harry turned to see Susan looking him in the eyes, her brown eyes flicking over his face. "You look like you ate a lemon," she said with a tight-lipped smile.
"I'm just tired," Harry lied with a small smile.
"Thank you for helping… you know, earlier," Susan said with a warm smile. "Hannah says you know more than you let on, but Auntie always told me it is sometimes better to not know. I know she tried to help you out at the start of the new year," she rambled as she rubbed her knee and looked at the floor.
"I'll have to write her a thank you letter," Harry managed to get out after a moment. Any mention of his time in Azkaban set his teeth on edge and worsened his mood.
"Auntie said you were taking an advanced course only available for really smart people and future high profile Ministry officials."
"Hermione is the smart one. I don't know that I'll be working for the Ministry," Harry said with a shrug.
"Really? Why? Auntie loves her job. You'd be great at it. I heard you rallied everyone together when those evil spiders attacked," Susan said in a breathy voice.
"I was in the right place at the right time," he said, trying not to let his frustration show in his voice. Susan pestered him with questions that he answered with half-truths and questions of his own as they waited for a professor or Auror to give the all-clear.
Before long, someone produced a deck of Exploding Snap, drawing a small group of students into a large circle in the middle of the room. Harry watched as Derrick and Aubrey laugh at Marie when the cards blew up in her face. Dark spots of soot dotted the pale girl as she blinked her eyes, looking around at the others laughing at her.
The faces of Harry's friends flashed through his mind as he watched the other students play another round of exploding snap. A lingering feeling of helplessness washed over his body as he imagined his friends die from the Basilisk's gaze or venom. He promised himself he wouldn't be helpless again as he gripped his wand tighter under his cloak. Time ticked away in his head as his mounting worry gnawed at his stomach. He expected the Aurors to come to get them after an hour or two, not three hours after the attack. The other students in the room started to get tired, finding spots to lay down while continuing to complain about being stuck in a classroom, forgotten by the rest of the school.
Patricia took charge when a few students suggested they destroy the barricade in front of the door so they could go back to their dormitories. She stood in front of the wall of stone desks with a wand drawn as she threatened the others with incurable curses on anyone that attempted to destroy the barricade. When most of the students settled in for the night, the sound of a loud bang against the barricade made someone scream.
"Be at peace, we are American Aurors and the castle is safe," a muffled voice boomed from behind the stone barricade of desks.
A ragged cheer went up from a few students while others scrambled to their feet with excited looks on their faces. It took the Aurors five minutes of constant bombardments on the barricade to enter the room. They had everyone stand in the far corner so no debris would hurt the students if a spell exploded a desk. One stone shard came close to hitting Lucian, the only student who didn't hide behind the half-wall made out of the blackboards, causing him to yelp and throw up a Shield Charm while he ran to safety.
"Impressive, if a little overdone," a gruff voice called as the last of the desks crumbled to the floor.
"I don't know, something made a ruckus in the corridor," a softer voice commented as the smoke cleared, revealing a slender, brunette witch in green robes and a rotund wizard in an orange half-mask that covered his eyes. Black symbols were covering the entire mask, making the wizard look sinister despite the warm smile plastered on his face.
"Something tried to get in, thankfully Harry here," Patricia said with a wave of her hand toward Harry, "gave us the idea to block the door with desks. What happened? What attacked us? More spiders?" she asked in quick succession.
"Something for us to know and you to hopefully never find out. There are two more wizards out here that will escort you to your cafeteria," Lydia, the magizoologist witch Moody introduced Harry too, said with a small smile. Her eyes darted around the room, finally landing on Harry.
An uncomfortable feeling of being weighed and judged made Harry's skin crawl. It was the same gaze he'd come to expect from Moody or one of the veterans at Providence. The stark contrast of the young, vibrant witch's face and the heavy weight of her gaze made him feel self-conscious. Trying not to scrunch up his shoulders, he glared back at the witch in retaliation. A manicured eyebrow rose on the witch's face in response to his glare in an almost mocking challenge.
"Follow me, students. Watch your step," the half-masked wizard ordered as he turned, waving his wand over the stone debris on the floor.
Harry fell in behind Aubrey and a skinny Hufflepuff boy as they followed the Aurors out of the classroom. In the hall, Dawlish and Proudfoot stood guard at either end of the long corridor, their wands out. Harry wondered why the two British wizards hadn't greeted the students. His question was answered a moment later when Dawlish raised a wall by chanting and waving his wand, sealing off his end of the corridor. He squeezed past the milling students and took up the spot Proudfoot had recently vacated. The tall Auror repeated the same spell, making a wall build itself from conjured slabs of stone, before giving the all-clear to the foreign wizards.
"Right, do not move ahead of the group and don't try to run off on your own," Lydia ordered in a hard voice. "Move," she hissed as she raised her wand higher. She strode ahead of the group.
Harry watched in awe as Proudfoot and Dawlish worked hard to seal off corridors with either a wall of stone or thick, smokey green glass before the students got to the intersecting passages. The half-masked wizard remained behind the group, his back to the students as he floated backward. Dawlish and Proudfoot led the students through the castle as they moved ever closer to the Great Hall.
The Entrance Hall had every entrance blocked by thick walls and metal doors. Dawlish communicated through the door to another wizard before the iron door opened with a loud, rusty creak. Six wands pointed at the group of students and wizards as they stepped into the large room. Kingsley stood in the middle of the room, looking at a large piece of parchment stretched out on a table with another, older-looking wizard. Harry tried to look at the parchment as he was led with the other students into the Great Hall.
"Oh, Harry, you're okay," Hermione's voice called as he was led to his House's area of the hall. The long House tables were gone, replaced by rows and rows of tan cots for the students to sleep on.
Ron sat up, rubbing his eyes as Harry came closer. "What happened, mate?" the red-haired boy asked as he swung his legs off the cot.
"No talking," Percy ordered as he strode over to Harry. "You're the last Gryffindor accounted for. Take a cot and try to get some sleep. We'll be going home in the morning. No questions," the Prefect said before striding off, his back straight.
"I did like you asked and told any adult who would listen that another attack was going to happen," Hermione said in a low voice as Harry took a seat on a nearby cot. "Did… did you know what happened?"
"Yes… and I think it got someone," Harry confirmed in a low voice. "I think this is the end of Hogwarts."
"Nonsense, where would all the students go?" Ron said in a low voice.
"Where is Neville?" Harry asked, realizing he didn't see his last friend anywhere. A kernel of fear dropped into the pit of his stomach as he turned to look at Hermione's face.
"Oh, he's with Madam Pomfrey. He tripped on the stairs when they were bringing him and a few other students back. She's keeping him over there by where the High Table was. A few students got injured in all the confusion and panic."
"What part of no talking didn't you get," Percy hissed in a low voice. "That'll be five points from both of you. Stop acting a fool. We have foreign Aurors watching our every move. It is important to show them we aren't a bunch of gossiping fools."
"He's the gossiping prat," Ron muttered once Percy walked off. "He's done nothing but suck up to those wizards."
Happiness welled up in Harry's chest when he realized all his friends were safe. While the future of Hogwarts was uncertain and the Basilisk was still loose somewhere in the castle, his friends were safe and the Aurors had things under control. Weariness flooded through his limbs as he lay back on the cot. His muscles seized and ached as he tried to get comfortable.
"Potter, get up," a familiar gruff voice ordered from somewhere in the darkness.
Harry opened his eyes and tried not to yell as Moody's face hovered just above him. The electric blue eye spun in its bronze socket, the iris disappearing into the Auror's skull. It took him a few seconds to wake up enough to sit up in his cot. Ron snored in the cot across from his while Fred and George took the cots to either side of him. Harry thought it might have been two hours or so since he'd laid down. Most of the students were asleep, covered up by multiple heavy blankets provided by the house elves. He swung his legs off his cot and dug around in his robes. After finding the comfortable handle of his wand, he took a deep breath and got up to face Moody and the other Aurors. He knew the conversation would come but hoped it would be after everyone had been evacuated from the school.
Moody stood by the large doors that led to the Entrance Hall, his blue eye glowing in the darkness. "Follow me," he ordered before opening the door with a wave of his wand. A short, dark tunnel of stone protected the doors that led to a narrow cut-back tunnel. Moody turned sideways and shuffled along the corridor, grumbling about security precautions.
Harry followed behind, trying to figure out what questions the Aurors might ask him. Blinking away the bright light of the Entrance Hall, he goggled at the changes to the large room. Thick stone slabs blocked off all the entrances with the exception of the stairs down to the kitchens. Cots were set up in the hall to allow the adults to rest. He spotted Kingsley, Dawlish, and Lydia as they stood near the large table. Professor McGonagall looked stressed and angry, her tight bun in disarray as she stared at a large placard fixed to one of the new walls.
"Potter," Kingsley said as he looked up from the same table Harry saw him standing in front of before. Large red pins were poked into the parchment in the table. "Follow us," he ordered before striding to the Chamber of Reception door. The green-robed witch gave him a piercing look before following Kingsley. Dawlish looked lost for a moment before starting to head to the door. Moody stopped the tall Auror with a glare.
Harry, after being prodded in the back by Moody, followed the other adults into the opulent room. He saw five chairs were spread out in front of one chair in the middle of the room. Harry didn't have to be told where to sit. After taking the solo chair, he stared at the three seated adults in the room, wishing he had his wand drawn under his robes. A dark-haired wizard in a three-piece Muggle suit entered the room and took a seat beside the witch. The last to enter the room was Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.
"I think, it is time to tell us all what has happened this year," Professor McGonagall said in a stern voice. "I am disappointed to learn how little I know about the events of the year. Let me be clear, Potter. Any information you have may be able to save a fellow student's life."
"What?" Harry gasped, trying to take in the new information. "The Basilisk kills by its gaze and venom. How could any more information save someone's life?" It took him a moment to connect all the dots as he spoke. "Lockhart… it must be Lockhart. He's taken someone, hasn't he? Who is missing?" a cold feeling settled in his stomach when he realized he hadn't seen Ginny Weasley in the Great Hall.
"Someone you," Professor McGonagall said in a somber voice but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Dawlish stuck his head in the chamber. "Ma'am, her family just arrived," he announced before closing the door behind him.
"Right," Professor McGonagall said in a breathy voice. Harry thought he could hear sorrow and uncertainty in her tone. "Mad-Eye, please," she said before striding to the door.
Harry watched as Professor McGonagall straightened her spine before opening the door and striding out into the Entrance Hall. He turned to look at the remaining adults. "Zoe Stewart, a second-year Slytherin, was taken by Gilderoy Lockhart sometime during the attack," Moody said into the silence. "What we need from you is two-fold. The first is where you think Lockhart took the girl. Yes, we know into the Chamber of Secrets… the writing on the wall made that clear. What we need to know is whatever you can even guess about the Chamber's location. The second thing we need is your cooperation to get into the Chamber. It has become obvious to us that the Chamber is concealed by magical protection only a Parselmouth can open."
"Why do you think that?" Harry asked, trying to piece together the information he was being told.
"A couple of reasons," Lydia said as she leaned forward in her chair. "You are a Parselmouth. You can hear and sense where the Basilisk is if it is in range of your… power for lack of a better explanation. By order of the Supreme Mugwump, we cannot talk about what happens within the walls of Hogwarts and will have our memories removed via a sanctioned Penseive. Know this, your ability will come out and it is almost always met by fear and misunderstanding. Known for their dark power, few understand the sheer power behind a Parselmouth's healing ability. That being said, more witches and wizards go dark who speak Parseltongue.
The Chamber of Secrets… a terrible name if I've ever heard of one, was created by a Parselmouth before he retreated from the school. Nothing is known about him after his disappearance except for his lasting rhetoric of blood-purity in Europe. This is not a secret. Some say he went on to change his appearance and accomplish great things under a new name. A few historians suspect the great wizard went into the Holy Roman Empire or the Byzantine Empire to find fame and fortune. Salazar Slytherin was a proud and vain man.
All of that is speculation, but what isn't speculation is there is a Basilisk in the school and it seems to have been left by Salazar. After discussing the information you've brought forward, as a first-hand witness to the events so far, we have come to the conclusion you are, or will be a key, to opening the Chamber of Secrets. What we need, is your cooperation to get past any defenses that would otherwise hinder or prevent a small group of us from saving Miss Stewart."
Harry sat back in his chair, lost in thought. He wasn't worried about helping them find and rescue Zoe. A small voice in the back of his mind told him to let the Slytherin girl who bullied his friend die by Lockhart's hand, but he ignored it. His silence made Kingsley speak up.
"Potter, your assistance will ensure your fellow student has a chance of survival. Without you, we could be hours or days in finding the entrance," the dark-skinned Auror said in a grave voice.
"I'll even throw in an invitation to my old school, Ilvermorny," the dark-haired wizard in the three-piece suit added into the silence. "It is obvious you need a better education than Hogwarts can provide."
Professor Snape's glower turned murderous as he glanced at the foreign wizard. Moody snorted as he stared at Harry's face with both eyes. Kingsley barked a laugh and shook his head. "Thaddeus, you never cease to amaze me," the Auror said with a wry smile.
"I second the invitation," Lydia said after a moment, a small smile creasing the corner of her lip. Her pronouncement was met with silence from the British wizards.
"American education has been on the decline for the last decade," Harry said into the silence. He ignored the splutter from the two foreign wizards and continued, "I would have helped without the invitation. I don't like Zoe for personal reasons, but as many of you know… some of this is my fault too. Giving the Diary to Lockhart caused this second attack. I have an idea of where the Chamber's entrance may be."
The hall went silent as they stared at Harry. "Do tell, where do you think the entrance is?" Thaddeus questioned in a harsh tone.
"It's an educated guess that a friend of mine and I came up with. Last time the Chamber was opened, a girl died. She was discovered…" he started to say but was interrupted by Professor Snape.
"In the third-floor girl's lavatory," the hook-nosed Professor finished with a look of concentration of his face. "You believe the girl to be Moaning Myrtle's bathroom then."
Harry was shocked the professor interrupted him, not because it happened, but because of the tone, the surly professor used. It almost sounded like the professor was talking to him as an equal. Unable to speak, he nodded his head and dry swallowed to try and clear the uncomfortable feeling in the back of his throat. "She was found in a bathroom stall. An odd place to be attacked. The bathroom is next to where the writing on the wall was this time. The one that said the Chamber of Secrets was open."
"That is also where the new message was written, just underneath the first. It reads, 'Her body will remain forever in the Chamber in service to the old ways.' The Red-Barron was found at the end of that corridor, petrified with a snarl on his face. Christopher, one of our Aurors, was found petrified on the second floor, near the stairs by the Astronomy Tower," Kingsley reported in a grim voice.
"How many paintings went dark this time?" Harry asked into the silence.
"An interesting question," the witch muttered as she looked him over. "Five paintings have darkened. You understand they are fragments and imitations at life?"
"How much more fragmented than the partial lives of the Hogwarts ghosts?" Harry shot back with a glare. "Have you been able to track the path the Basilisk took through the school? Can we for sure trace it back to the third-floor bathroom?"
"He thinks like you reported, Moody," Thaddeus mused as he looked Harry over. "We've tracked the Basilisk's path and it's unusual focus on the classroom you occupied. First-hand accounts of two paintings spotted the Basilisk on the third-floor corridor. Both have requested to be moved to a nice room in the tallest tower," he said with a chuckle.
"Why did you need me to tell you where I thought the Chamber's entrance was if you already know?" Harry questioned, trying to understand the adult's thinking.
"Lydia added that bit, to see if you were worth recruiting," Moody growled, his lip curling into a small smile.
"For every society you know a witch or wizard is affiliated with, add half a dozen or more to it," Professor Snape sneered as he looked at the others. "It is a consistent failure of the wizarding community as a whole. Secret societies and small groups with various objectives appear all the time."
"Some with questionable and evil motives," Moody growled as he stared at Professor Snape.
"We're moving off the topic and we have a child to save," Thaddeus interrupted.
"By putting another in danger," Lydia mused as she stared at Harry. He was feeling uncomfortable under her intense stare.
"I already said I would help. I planned on helping from the beginning," Harry said, feeling like he needed to defend himself for some reason.
"Then let's not waste more time, Potter. You know the danger you're about to walk into. We will keep you as safe as we can. This is a Known Wizard Killer class monster, a level five threat. If you see the Basilisk, close your eyes and run. Let us deal with the monster," Moody ordered with a glare from his good eye.
"Right," Harry lied with what he hoped would be a straight face. "We have roosters?" he asked as he stood.
"Yes and no. They may or may not work in the Chamber of Secrets. I suspect Salazar has enchantments to prevent the one thing that will for sure kill his monster to enter," Thaddeus said with a grin. "I specialize in Curse Breaking while Lydia is a world-renowned Magizoologist. I believe Dawlish, Severus, Moody, Kingsley, and Thomas will be joining us."
"The Ministry has been informed, but little communication has come from the top. We are acting as a first response team to find and save Miss Stewart. That is our primary goal. If we kill the Basilisk or capture Lockhart, brilliant. If not, we will have more chances at them later, but after we save the girl. Potter, follow all instructions to the letter, this isn't a time for heroics," Kingsley ordered with a glare.
"Right," Harry answered and touched his wand under his robes. His left arm brushed against Ron's old wand in his left holster, making him remember how one of the foreign wizards used two wands in the corridor. He'd rapped Ron's old wand with black Strengthening-Tape he'd knicked off Fred and George to secure the Spell-O-Tape better. Imagining himself wielding both wands made him straighten his back a little more.
Moody and Thaddeus led the way out of the room. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were shouting at Professor McGonagall near the huge double doors. They were tall and dark-haired, their faces tinged with red as tears fell down Mrs. Stewart's face. Aurors, professors, and a few mediwizards in white robes milled around the Entrance Hall. They all stopped and looked at the small group that headed for the wall blocking the Grand Staircase. The wizard in orange robes and the half-mask joined the group as Proudfoot and Dawlish waved their wands over the stone wall. As the two Aurors completed the first pass with their wands, the heavy stones melted and shaped themselves into a small archway.
A tiny chamber of stone was revealed as the doorway solidified. Harry could see the banister of the Grand Staircase sticking out of the wall in the center of the stone wall ahead of him. After being ushered into the room, Proudfoot stepped back and waved his wand. The wall behind Harry melted and shaped itself back into a solid wall. Dawlish didn't speak as he strode to the front of the group and performed the same incantation on the opposite wall. A tunnel appeared, angling upward, as the stone melted away to create the archway. Harry could see the stone stairs of the Grand Staircase appearing as the conjured stone melted away.
"Right, Dawlish and I first," Moody growled as he started up the stairs, his wooden leg echoing in the tunnel.
Harry followed behind Lydia while Thomas, the orange-robed wizard, and Professor Snape took up the rear. Thomas closed off the tunnel Dawlish made by making a thick iron door form itself into existence out of the rock around it. Harry noticed the stone around the door look darker, less vibrant than it had before.
The trip up the stationary staircase made Harry feel uncomfortable. Every portrait was empty, the occupants of the frames having left their homes to find safety. The Aurors sealed every doorway off the Grand Staircase with stone. An oppressive feeling of worry and doubt settled in Harry's stomach as he stared upward toward the third-floor. The lamps, now casting a low light to reflect the late hour, made the slow climb up the stairs feel foreboding.
"Right, wands out," Moody growled as he took up an offensive stance behind Dawlish. "On your mark, John."
"Removing the wall," Dawlish said in a low voice, a faint tremor lingered in his speech. Waving his wand over the stone, the wall melted away, disappearing into the original stone of Hogwarts. The dingy wooden door swung open to reveal a dimly lit corridor.
"Thaddeus, you and I take point. Dawlish, seal off every passage we reach until we get to the bathroom. After that, seal off the corridor on both sides and set Caterwauling Charms on everything," Moody ordered with a growl.
"So if we fall, the others will know the monster is loose… smart," Thomas said in a jovial voice.
Lydia gave a derisive snort as she elbowed her companion in his corpulent gut. Thomas grunted as he rubbed his stomach, but didn't say anything else. Kingsley gave Harry a wan smile. A reassuring gesture, or so Harry hoped.
"Don't stand there, move," Thaddeus ordered as he lifted his ornate wand higher and strode into the tunnel. The torches in the corridor burned brighter when he flicked his wand.
Harry winced as they passed a dark black portrait frame, a sign the Basilisk had destroyed another portrait and its occupant. He tried to remember which witch or wizard it was. The portraits of Hogwarts were part of the castle, as much as the suits of armor and the decorative tapestries were, and he hadn't given them much thought before. Now, every darkened frame made him less sure of the path he'd set himself upon. Dawlish blocked off every corridor Moody and Thaddeus cleared with stone. The three wizards worked in a coordinated manner. Moody conjured a mirror to peer around the corner before shooting a white spell down the corridor. After he gave the all-clear, Dawlish would seal off the corridor. When the group came to an intersection, Thaddeus would clear the right side while Moody cleared the left, both using the same spells.
The torches by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom burned brighter than the other torches, the red writing on the wall seemed to glow. Thaddeus increased the fires burning in the torches along the corridor to match the two torches by the bathroom. After Moody cleared the passage ahead, Dawlish blocked off the corridor and rushed past the group to seal them in. With a nod, Moody and Thaddeus took point as they entered the bathroom.
"All clear, for now," Thaddeus called through the door after a minute passed.
Harry stepped into the bathroom after Professor Snape and looked around. Six stalls on each side were on the left side of the room while a tall pillar of stone stood at the center of the right side of the room. Multiple sink and mirror combos were attached to the pillar. A small area behind the pillar and to the far right side of the room had cubicles for two showers. It had the same layout as a lot of the bathrooms all over the castle.
"Search from top to bottom for anything that might lead us to the Chamber," Moody ordered as he peered into a stall. A bright light shot past him as the sole occupant of the room came to investigate.
"Why are all of you here? Here to make fun of poor Moaning Myrtle?" the squat girl with pimples and thick, round glasses asked in a harsh voice. She peered around at all the adults, her eyes landing on Harry standing by the sink.
"We mean you no harm," Lydia said in a soothing tone.
"That's what they all say," Myrtle snorted as she crossed her arms.
Harry noticed the Ravenclaw crest over her transparent old-fashioned school uniform. "Myrtle, how did you die?" he blurted out before he thought about what he'd said. Thomas cuffed him across the back of the head.
"We don't…" Lydia started but stopped when she saw the expression of pure joy on the ghost's face.
"Ooo, it was dreadful," Myrtle chortled with a faraway look in her dark eyes. She whirled above everyone's heads as she came to rest on the top of a stall door, her eyes locked on Harry's bright green eyes. "Do you want to know, truly?"
"Yes," Harry answered. He felt his voice waver a little. The question had jumped into his mouth before he could stop himself from asking, making him feel awful for asking someone how they died. He didn't want to think what Frankie would say if he were to ask him the same question.
Harry missed the first part of Myrtle's narration as thoughts of Frankie clouded his mind. "… so I ran in here. To get away from that miserable witch, Olive Hornby. I was crying when I heard someone come in. They said something funny, a different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was a boy was speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then… I died," Myrtle said in a high-pitched voice, her last words trailing off.
"Where was the boy?" Moody asked in a quiet voice. Harry looked at the grizzled wizard, surprised Moody could sound almost tender.
"Standing where that boy is now… except a little more to the left. All I could see was a pair of large, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away..." Myrtle answered with a faint smile.
Harry turned to look to his right and frowned. His reflection stared back at him. A similar experience to looking through the Mirror of Erised came over him as he waited, hoping his reflection would do something. Nothing happened. Thomas appeared in the mirror behind Harry, his half-mask making him look more sinister than normal.
"Step aside, let Thaddeus look," Thomas suggested as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"That tap has never worked," Myrtle supplied with a giggle.
Myrtle continued to talk to Lydia as Thaddeus chanted and waved his wand around the mirror and sink. Moody, Dawlish, Kingsley, and Thomas each took one of the sinks and looked around the dark porcelain basins and the silver mirrors affixed to the circular pillar. Professor Snape strode over to the showers and peered inside, a dark light emanating from his wand.
With nothing to do but stand there, Harry looked over the last two mirrors and sinks. When nothing odd jumped out at him as being weird, he bent down and looked around the curved pipes of the sinks. He ran his hand over the cool pipe from the top where the pipe met the sink all the way around to where the pipe disappeared into the wall. Not finding anything suspicious, he tried it again on the next sink. He stood to watch the other adults muttering under their breaths as spells of different types emanated from their wands toward the sink and mirrors.
"Got something," Thaddeus announced after a minute. "Here on the back of the pipe near the drain. There is a snake." The dark-haired wizard touched the area he described with his wand. "Alohomora," he muttered, a purple light emanated from the tip of his wand. Nothing happened. "Aperio," he said again to no effect. "Resigno… Retego…" he recited as different flashes of light shot from his wand, aimed at the pipe.
Harry watched as all the spells the wizard tried either fizzled out or disappeared when coming in contact with the pipe. "Let me have a go," Professor Snape announced as he swept across the room.
"You'd know his work better than most," Moody growled but didn't stop the professor. "Thaddeus, let Severus try."
Harry watched with some fascination as the hook-nosed professor cast different colored spells without speaking. A look of concentration was etched on Professor Snape's face as he glared at the pipe.
"It is safe for Potter," the professor announced after casting a half dozen spells around the sink and mirror. "Potter," Professor Snape said as he whirled on Harry. "Speak Parseltongue to the sink. Say 'open in the name of the Heir'," he ordered as he took a step back.
Thaddeus made a low, disappointed sound as he shook his head. Lydia gave him a pointed look as she stepped away from Myrtle, her wand raised. "Give it a shot, Harry. It is why you are here."
Harry stood in front of the mirror and peered under the sink to see a small serpent engraved on the back of the metal pipe. "Open in the name of the Heir," he said aloud.
"That's in English," Kingsley said in a deep voice. "Try Parselmouth," he suggested with a wry smile.
"I don't know how to speak it," Harry admitted with a shrug.
"I and a good quarter of the school have heard you speak it," Professor Snape interjected with a sneer. "Try to imagine you are speaking to a snake. If you'd like, I can conjure another one to help speed things along."
"Thanks, but no thank you, sir," Harry shot back, trying not to shudder at the memory of the dueling club. He stared at the snake, imagining it was wiggling and hissing at him. "Open in…" he started to say, a strange hissing entering his ears, when a cracking sound came from the wall behind the sink. A sharp tug from somewhere around his stomach sent him flying back to sprawl on the floor as a bright orange rope disappeared from Professor Snape's wand.
Harry looked up to see the mirror and sink sliding to the floor to reveal a metal pipe the size of two adult wizards. A foul stench of dried dung wafted into the room. "Scourgify," Dawlish said as he pointed his wand at the open pipe. It took a minute, but the smell in the room lessened.
"Right, Thaddeus and I first," Moody announced as he stomped over to the pipe and used a mirror to inspect the pipe. He fired a spell up the pipe before checking with his mirror again. After a moment, he repeated the same process to ensure the way down was clear. "We'll send a warning back up the pipe if we encounter anything. Potter... you, Severus, and Thomas will be the last ones down."
"I still disagree that Potter needs to go," Professor Snape said in a cool voice. "He is a child and is prone to acting without thinking. A great failing of all Gryffindors."
Harry was about to say something when Lydia spoke up. "He has to come, Severus. There will be more challenges ahead, like this one. The little that is known makes it clear Salazar would want a worthy successor."
Professor Snape glared at everyone before nodding. He shot Harry a venomous look before turning back and watching Moody and Thaddeus jump into the pipe. They disappeared into the darkness without a sound.
Ten minutes went by with everyone keeping their wands pointed at the pipe. The sound of stone moving made Harry jump, his eyes flicking to the floor where the sink and mirror started to rise. "Open," he hissed, more prepared to speak Parseltongue on command. The mirror stopped halfway up the wall before sliding downward again, disappearing into the floor once more.
"The way is safe," the booming voice of Moody came from down the pipe.
"Right, Lydia, with me please," Kingsley announced and stepped in front of the pipe.
"After you," Lydia said as she flashed a dazzling smile. The two adults jumped into the pipe one after the other. Dawlish followed the pair after a moment.
"Harry, you can share my toilet if you die too," Myrtle called just as Harry jumped into the pipe. The ghost's voice echoed in his ears as he slid down the near-endless pipe, going deeper and deeper into the ground. He guessed the pipe would drop him off somewhere near Hagrid's house or possibly farther into the grounds. He could see different pipes leading off the one he was in. After what felt like an eternity in the dark, a dim light illuminated the metal pipe below him.
"Gotcha," Moody growled as a warm feeling settled over Harry's torso when he was ejected from the pipe with some force.
The feeling of weightlessness made Harry feel light-headed as he floated through the air in slow motion. A moment later, the feeling passed and he dropped to the ground. He managed to get his feet under him before he hit the uneven flagstones of the wide passage. Lydia looked him over and pulled him aside so Professor Snape and Thomas wouldn't hit him when they were ejected from the pipe.
Harry looked around the wide corridor with rough stone walls and uneven flagstones. Many of the large stone tiles were missing sections in some areas to reveal more stone beneath. Professor Snape landed with grace as his robes billowed out behind him while Thomas shot out like a cannon, almost hitting Moody as he skidded on both feet to a halt. Thomas' wand was raised as he looked around despite his explosive landing.
"There are signs the Basilisk used this passage recently," Lydia announced as she waved her wand over the floor. A few dark scales glittered as they reflected in her wand-light.
"Everyone, remain alert. Potter, take this," Moody said as he thrust a bottle into Harry's hand. "Draught of Living Death," he explained as he turned away. "If you are bitten, drink it. It isn't a cure but it will give you a little more time to live if you act quick enough."
"Right, Thomas, get the roosters ready. Lydia, I know you wanted it alive, but there is a child involved now," Thaddeus said as he turned to the green-robed witch.
"Two children, because of us," she answered with a sigh. "Need will out," she muttered and looked at Harry. "If we cannot contain the Basilisk, run. Survive," she said with a sad smile.
"Thomas, you know what to do," Kingsley said into the uncomfortable silence as he raised his wand higher. The rotund man produced two large cages from nowhere with two brown roosters in each cage. Harry gawked at the display of magic, even though he knew it was possible to vanish and conjure a live creature.
The trip through the winding corridor came to an abrupt stop when Thomas gave a cry of alarm and fired off a spell from his wand ahead of them. Harry, at the back of the group with Professor Snape, closed his eyes like he'd been instructed to. When nothing happened and Lydia gave the all-clear, he opened his eyes to see a massive white snake lying to one side of a chamber.
"This Basilisk must be centuries old," Lydia breathed as she ran a gloved hand over the snakeskin.
"This is no time to gawk," Moody growled as he stepped past the snakeskin.
"Right… right," Lydia muttered as she slid a silver knife through the membrane, removing a small section of the snakeskin. She tucked a sample into a small brown bag with a look of excitement.
"This must be the start to the tests," Thaddeus announced as he approached the end of the corridor. A massive wall blocked them from going forward. On it, two carved snakes, intertwined in the middle, seemed to look at the group with identical menacing glares.
Harry took a step forward to speak the word he'd been rehearsing in his head the entire trip but was stopped by Professor Snape. "Wait for them to tell you it is safe," he sneered as he looked over Harry's head.
"I will begin," Thaddeus announced as he stepped in front of the door. After muttering for ten minutes and waving his wand, he took a step back and shook his head. "There is something there. I can't tell what it is. We need the Supreme Mugwump's wisdom to know for sure what spell or spells are laid on the door."
"Only one way to tell," Thomas said before shocking everyone and striding up to the door. He placed his hand on the right snake's tail and pushed. The rotund man gave a strangled yell as he jumped back. The cage in his right hand no longer contained a rooster. The smoldering ruins of the deceased bird seemed to melt through the wooden cage.
"We know one of the spells then," Professor Snape muttered under his breath as his hand clenched Harry's shoulder a little harder.
"You are a fool," Lydia announced as she walked over to Thomas, her wand waving. "No curses or lasting injuries," she declared after giving the shorter wizard a hard slap on the cheek. Thomas took the hit with a grin as he shook his head.
"Potter, you're up," Moody declared after half-an-hour passed. The adult wizards tried everything in their arsenals to figure out what spells were placed on the door. Professor Snape found a nasty curse hidden on the left snake's body where it intertwined with the right snake. Thaddeus removed the curse but suffered a few deep cuts that Lydia had to heal.
"Open," Harry hissed at the two snakes. A familiar feeling of being yanked backward assailed him again as Professor Snape pulled Harry back with a Seize and Pull Charm. Getting to his feet, he watched the snakes on the wall split down the center of where they connected to reveal two doors. The massive stone doors swung inward to reveal the Chamber of Secrets.
The group stood at the end of a long and wide, dimly lit corridor. Many massive stone pillars of carved serpents rose to support the ceiling somewhere far above, covered by darkness. Long, dark shadows covered the chamber, cast from the serpent pillars. A strange green light seemed to illuminate the entire chamber.
Moody and Thaddeus moved ahead, their wands raised and ready. Thomas, Dawlish, Kingsley, and Lydia followed on their heels, each keeping their wands out and ready for any trouble. Professor Snape stayed behind with his hand firmly on Harry's shoulder. "Do… not… follow," the professor ordered in a harsh voice before striding off.
Harry watched as the adults walk away, their wand-light illuminating them in the unnatural green low-light of the chamber. He waited a few seconds before tiptoeing into the chamber and hiding behind one of the closest pillars. A prickle of fear settled into his stomach as he peered around the pillar and looked up into the giant face carved in the stone. It was ancient and monkey-ish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes. The statue's enormous gray feet stood on the Chamber floor and between the feet, laying to one side, was the figure of a familiar dark-haired Slytherin girl.
"Welcome!" a boisterous voice called from somewhere in the darkness. Gilderoy Lockhart appeared from behind a pillar, his face gaunt and his robes dirty. His normally well-maintained hair was messy and had an unknown dark substance covering one side. The look in Lockhart's eyes gave Harry an uncomfortable feeling. It reminded him of the deadened look of Crabbe and Goyle when they were under the Imperious Curse.
"Drop your wand and surrender," Moody growled. Thomas drew a second wand as he stood taller and placed his back to the closest pillar.
"I think… not," Lockhart said in a hiss that sounded unlike himself.
"I come," a hissing voice called from somewhere behind Harry, down the corridor they'd just entered from.
"It's coming!" Harry shouted at the top of his lung and darted away from the entrance passage. Ten seconds later, Harry felt the Basilisk before it appeared. He squeezed his eyes shut.
"I… the last and greatest Heir of Slytherin will watch as you all die. Especially you, Harry Potter!" a high, cruel voice called from somewhere in the darkness.