Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling
"What's the password to the headmaster's office?" Neville whispered.
"I think it was sherbet lemon last time," Harry said.
"I really hope he's here right now," Ron worried.
The four were hurrying through the hallways to get to Dumbledore before a small, redhead girl seemingly bumped into them on accident. She got knocked over with a yelp.
"Oh!"
"Oh, sorry Ginny, we are in a hurry..." Ron stopped, before offering a hand to his sister.
"Don't worry... What's the rush? Where are you off to?" Ginny asked.
"We're heading to the headmaster's office, we want to talk to Professor Dumbledore about something."
"Right, but didn't you hear? Professor Dumbledore is in an ICW meeting due to the dragon pox epidemic in Brazil," Ginny said.
"It's still not remedied at all?" Hermione gasped.
"No... dad says their ministry is in really bad shape, sadly. But Professor Dumbledore should be back in a couple of hours. He can actually do inter-continental apparition," Ginny squealed.
"Right, well, I doubt suppose the attack will happen in broad daylight anyway. We can talk to him then," Harry noted.
"Can you guys help me then, if you're free? I kinda bumped into you because I was heading to one of the storage rooms. Percy is locked up there, crying, and Professor Snape is mad about him skipping class," Ginny said gloomily.
"Why is he crying?" Ron blurted.
"Penelope Clearwater was his girlfriend, you know, the girl that was attacked?" Ginny said.
"No way, really? Percy was with Penelope?!" Ron yelled.
"Shut up, you git! I accidentally found out. Don't tell anyone, please!" Ginny hit him on the shoulder.
"Okay, okay. I suppose we could help him, right?" Ron shrugged, looking at the trio.
"Yeah, sure."
Once they entered the storage room on the second floor, they could very scarcely make out the interior due to it being barely illuminated.
Neville looked around, straining his eyes for a sight of a figure. "I don't see any-"
"Stupefy duo."
Before the four could even turn around, Harry and Ron were blasted off their feet into unconsciousness.
"What?! Gin-" Hermione turned with her wand out, only too late.
"Stupefy duo!"
And it was lights out for them.
Harry woke to blurry, dim, green light covering his vision. As the image came to a clearer view, he found himself in a huge dungeon of sorts, a rather ancient one from the look of it.
As he spun his view around, he was faced with a very large statue of an old man, standing at the end of the sickly-green chamber, opposite a hallway filled with monuments of snakes.
It wasn't really hard to put two and two together.
"How did this happen..."
"You pried too much. That is how."
Harry quickly snapped his head to see Ginny, standing behind him, staring at him with an expressionless, cold gaze.
"G-Ginny? What? How? Why are you here?"
"It isn't Ginny speaking. This body is merely a vessel."
"How is that even possible?" — but then he remembered last year; it can't be; is it the same? — "What are you doing with her?" Harry yelled. He went for his wand, only to find it missing. His thoughts were spinning at an overwhelming speed, and his heart wanted to burst out of his chest.
Ginny laughed strange, cold laughter, completely foreign to herself. "I believe your hearing is not well. Like I said before, she is used as a mere vessel for my will. But it would be rude for me not to introduce myself. I am Tom Riddle, a former student of this school, and currently, only a memory etched inside this diary." — he waggled a black, well-preserved notebook with his free hand, his other pointing Ginny's wand at Harry, "...though, I hope, not for long."
"I am rather embarrassed that you have to see me in this likeness," Ginny, or rather Tom went on. "I wished to speak with you in flesh, alive. Unfortunately, that couldn't be, so this will have to make do."
"Speak to me?" Harry said, surprised. His hands were subtly trying to feel his wand in his robes.
"Don't worry, you won't find your wand. Whilst Ginny made quite a lively fight to prevent me from breaking your wands, I still left them inside the storage room. I must admit, I did not expect this little girl to fight my influence for so long. Your friends owe their lives to her. She simply would not let me kill them," Ton said in a frustrated voice.
The other three began stirring, slowly making sense of where they were.
Flashes of terror went over their face as they realized where they have been dragged off to.
After seeing his sister and Harry talking, Ron began to shout "Hey, Harry... Ginny?! What's going on?"
Tom sighed. "Silencio," he uttered, while Ginny's body shivered in resistance. "At least I can shut them up."
"Now, a moment of peace just for us two, Harry. I've long been interested in you, ever since I found out about you."
Tom continued. "The famed Boy-Who-Lived in flesh, huh? Oh— this body? This girl merely came upon the diary by chance. How lucky she was to have found a friend in it, wasn't she? She was full of anxiety about her family, her school, her dreams, and you too, Harry. And she confided in me, she found someone who could listen and understand her. Oh, I was a friend to her, and she kept pouring her soul into me, as I poured my own soul into her, bit by bit," Tom said with a chilling smile. It was harrowing seeing Ginny emulate the boy in both voice and expression.
"Ever so slowly, I grasped control of her, and she was the one who opened the Chamber, both times unaware of why she had done it, yet aware that she did do it. It tore her apart. Of course, that only allowed me to further seize control, to make my grip firmer," he said.
All four kids stared at the girl, unsure of what to do.
"You were the one who opened the Chamber all those years ago. You are the memory of the same boy," Harry started.
"Oh yes, that is also how this diary came to be. All because of the death of a dimwitted, insecure little girl, just like Ginny. She will suffer the same fate, too, thereby giving me new life, making me return in blood and flesh."
To this, Ron charged at Riddle in fury, who repelled him with his wand. "No one move! I may not be able to kill you yet, but I can still inflict pain," Hermione and Neville stopped in their tracks.
Harry snapped back out of his shock. "You think we'll just let you?" he ground his teeth.
Riddle laughed softly. "Let me? Harry, you seem to be forgetting something. While Ginny may be protecting you from fighting me, it is not me you will be fighting at all," he grinned.
Harry's blood ran cold. Dismayed, he began— "Who even are you? What do you want? Why are you interested in me?"
"It seems you aren't as bright as Ginny portrays you to be," Riddle said.
Once again, Riddle raised his wand, now swishing it through the air, writing three words that glowed and shimmered.
"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE"
With a glint of a cold smile, he swiped Ginny's wand again, as the words rearranged...
"I AM LORD VOLDEMORT"
Harry stared at the glowing words, paralyzed. The other three kids were looking at Ginny in pure horror.
"Now do you get it, Harry? I wasn't gonna carry the name of my filthy muggle father for long. I conjured myself a new name, a name that will usher fear in every wizard at its mention, once I became the greatest sorcerer in the world..."
There he was, in front of him. Whatever he was, memory or not, this was the image of a man who caused so much suffering, destruction, and murder, who killed his parents, and who relished the opportunity to spread misery again.
After regaining himself, Harry snapped. "Not the greatest," he spat. "Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world. And he was onto you before, and he is now. He cornered you already. You couldn't destroy his reputation. You could do nothing — the students are going to get cured. And you will have failed."
Ginny's face twisted in a malevolent stare. The silence was broken by an ever-growing wave of music, music so unearthly Harry felt it in his bones. Flames erupted at the nearest pillar, showing Fawkes, a brilliant, scarlet Phoneix, carrying an old hat. Riddle chuckled coldly.
"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender? A songbird, and an old hat?"
Fawkes landed on Harry's shoulder, chirping soothingly. Harry heard a faint hissing somewhere deep within the chamber. Only he could understand it. "Come, come... let me kill you..." the same voice he heard twice before.
Harry made a hissing sound of his own in desperation, hoping that Hermione was right about his ability. "NO, listen to me! I am your master, stop!"
Riddle shook his head. "That will do you no good, Harry. I wouldn't have brought you here if it did. Parseltongue won't help you..."
"Now, off to the final question. How exactly was a measly toddler capable of downing the greatest dark wizard of all time? How have I met you twice, and both times failed to kill you?"
Harry spat the answer out of pure hatred. "No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," he said. "I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common, "filthy", "muggle- born" mother," he added, shaking with anger. "She stopped you from killing me. She was the one who led to your defeat. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. A miserable existence, barely alive. A measly thing, hiding in the shadows."
Riddle glared at him with an awful, contorted smile. "So, your mother died to save you. Yes, yes, that is a powerful counter-charm. So in the end, it was mere luck that saved you from me."
"We'll see about that." — Harry grinned savagely, as he shouted, "Ginny, HOLD HIM!"
Riddle's eyes went wide — his body started twitching and shaking, as he held an unsteady arm stretched to curse Harry. "Curse you, girl, let me go, NOW!"
Harry quickly shouted "Finite incantatem! Accio wands!" and prayed their weapons would reach them as the others got released from Riddle's spell.
After a brief while, a clattering sound was heard, but more along the lines of hitting a solid surface in repetition. It was as if something was desperately clanging against a barrier.
Harry followed up with a wandless sonorus charm, and hissing of his own — "OPEN!" and wands flew into his hands with blinding speed. Riddle was grunting and panting, still wrestling control over the body with Ginny. Harry quickly threw Ron, Neville, and Hermione their wands, as they both looked at Ginny's struggling body.
"What do we do?" Ron yelped.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted, hitting Ginny square in the face. Her body fell back, dropping the black diary onto the wet chamber floor, but was cushioned by Harry's downward wand swing.
She started twitching, before jutting her neck upwards, and letting a nasty black smoke come out of her eyes and ears. The smoke shimmered a bit, before forming a mist-like image of a handsome, black-haired teenage boy. Though his grimace was anything but handsome — he had a savage, bloodthirsty look on his face.
"Stupid, little girl! Out of all things, you fail to mention he knows wandless-" he couldn't finish his sentence before a stream of jets went through him. All four had cast offensive spells, but they couldn't damage him in this form.
"Fine then. I can kill you without a body just as fine!" Riddle snapped. He hissed, his voice roaring through the chamber — "SPEAK TO ME, SLYTHERIN, GREATEST OF HOGWARTS FOUR!"
A faint hissing sound radiated from the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin. The hiss grew louder, as the statue began opening its mouth.
"COVER YOUR EYES!" Harry yelled as all four turned away from a loud thud of a large, slithering body.
"KILL THEM ALL!" Riddle yelled.
"Ohhh boy..." Ron whispered as the group started running towards the corridor, away from the large chamber.
"How are we gonna fight a giant snake that kills by looking at you?!" Neville yelled in a frenzied panic.
"Fawkes! Where are you going?!" Harry shouted, as the scarlet bird with a golden beak leaped from his shoulder and soared into the ceiling, before a very loud, explosive spitting was heard, followed by painful cries and awful spurting sounds.
The group was stopped by thunderous trashing reverberations that echoed throughout the chamber. Hammering, pounding, and crushing were heard, spreading through the large room.
Harry regained composure first — "Look!" he yelled, as he pointed to two shadowy figures illuminated by the green light. Fawkes plunged his golden beak into the beast's eyes, ripping them both apart.
"He's destroying its gaze..."
They all slowly turned in fear, only to witness a yelping, disoriented, horrific snake desperately aiming for a phoenix with its saber-sharp fangs, as the bird elegantly avoided its clumsy attacks. The snake was enormous and shined a poisonous green color.
Harry flicked his wand — he ripped a statue's head from one side of the wall and lunged it straight for the snake — the statue flew into the serpent's body, bursting into a hundred pieces as the basilisk yelled in pain.
Ron shouted and Neville followed, hands unsteady but voice firm - "Reducto!" both spells hitting the snake's mouth as it opened its jaws to strike at the bird — its poisonous fangs broken, they flew to the walls and the floor. The snake's dark blood spurted around it in a frenzied fashion.
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but his face was hit by an incoming tattered hat, flung from the snake's trashing.
"Ouch! What in the world... Hey!" he shouted, looking at the hat which began to shine.
"Avoid hitting its fangs!" Hermione yelled, casting a severing charm at the basilisk's tail.
ENOUGH! Ignore the bird, aim for them instead. I said, IGNORE THE BIRD! Riddle hissed.
Ron and Hermione were almost back to back, casting a flurry of severing charms at the raging serpent, as Harry and Neville inspected the glittering ruby sword materializing inside of a hat, awe-struck.
"Neville, pull it out!" Harry screamed as he cast a blasting charm at the incoming basilisk. Ron and Hermione followed, barely knocking it back. Fawkes was fervently trying to distract the snake.
With weak knees, Neville kneeled to the hat and with a determined face, pulled the silver sword out.
"I've got an idea!" Harry shouted. "Ron, Hermione, distract the basilisk! Neville, listen..."
"Oh, do take your time, will you!" Hermione screamed in panic.
She and Ron heard two cries behind them – Wingardium Leviosa!
As the basilisk was roaring in rage, slithering quickly towards the pair who fell on their back, a sword flew on top of its head. Harry and Neville both swung their wands downwards, as the blade plunged itself into the serpent, its body twitching and slowly falling sideways in its cries and flailings until it fell silent at last.
"That's the second time this spell has saved our lives..." Ron panted.
"No kidding," Harry added, pulling the sword out of the now-dead snake with a flick of his wand.
They started approaching Riddle's form, which seemed to almost be shimmering with rage. There was pure malice in his eyes. His face twisted into a contorted smile again.
"Most impressive, Harry Potter. But, I fear that our fight is not over," he said, as his form shifted into black smoke and plunged itself into Ginny once more as she stirred to consciousness again.
"NO!" Ron screamed, as he ran after the black fumes — his friends following after him. He managed to brush off a part of his body with the escaping smoke, which made him stop for a bit, clutching his forehead in the same fashion as the time before Quirrell. His body shivered, as his eyes went wide.
"Poison... Diary..." He turned his face to the notebook with an almost mad look. He quickly went for it, as he flicked his wand and summoned the basilisk fang.
"Ron, what are you..." Harry also went silent at his realization, and so did Hermione and Neville.
Ginny started rising up, before noticing what was going on.
"What are you doing?!" she roared. "STOP, NO!" she quickly slashed her wand, launching a basilisk fang straight into Ron's stomach.
"NO!" the group screamed, but Ron held his hand as he coughed blood. "Wait..." he gathered his last ounce of strength from rage, looking at the body of his possessed sister fighting for freedom, and plunged the fang of his own into the diary.
There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Ron's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming, and flailing and then — Ginny went limp, her body going straight for the floor. Harry quickly cast a cushioning charm, before checking for her vital signs. He nodded, rushing quickly over to Ron, and dropping the stained ruby sword to the floor.
As the group regained their senses, they all gathered around Ron, who seemed to be getting worse terrifyingly fast. He dropped the fang to the floor as it clattered away, fighting his eyelids from closing. He kneeled to support his weight, holding to his stomach wound.
"I would have rather consoled Percy if I'm being honest," He said with a faint smile.
"Shut up..." Harry said with a quivering voice.
"What do we do?!" Neville went straight for his wand, hovering it over Ron's wound "Episkey... Reparifors... Vulnera Sanentur... " He shivered, his panic increasing quickly. He looked at Harry desperately.
"Harry, it's not healing! It's not healing! The wound is not healing!"
"I KNOW, NEVILLE! What are we gonna do..." Harry shouted, supporting Ron with his arms.
Hermione jumped in to support Neville since she knew a few healing charms, but Neville was by far the best in them out of them all, and nothing helped. Both of them had tears in their eyes. They placed Ron in a laying position so all of them could use their healing spells on him.
They were interrupted by a soothing cry as the beautiful phoenix descended on the now-pale Ron.
"Hey..." Ron muttered faintly. "Bang-up job on that snake, I tell you," he almost laughed.
The bird lay its head on the wounded spot in his stomach. Thick, pearly tears fell from its eyes.
Ron exhaled, musing over how it wasn't so terrible to die surrounded by friends, but his blurry vision started getting clearer.
"Blimey, what?" Ron blurted, more vigorously, nearly startling the group. "Wait, how I am getting better?" he said, with even more strength. His face was regaining color, blackened lids melting away...
"Phoneix tears..." Neville whispered. "One of the rarest medicines out there. I forgot it in my panic..."
"You were brilliant, Fawkes..." Harry said fondly, as Hermione and he caressed the bird. They helped Ron get up, Neville nearly tripping over one of the fangs in his happiness.
"Watch out, Nev! Don't want a repeat of this, please!" Harry shouted, pointing a finger at Ron's stomach and earning a chuckle from everyone as their tension was dissipating.
"How did you know what to do with the diary?" Hermione asked.
"Seems like I had a vision like the time we went after Quirrell. Of course, someone was nearly killed again. I guess every time something flashes in my head, someone's at risk of biting it," Ron said.
"How's Ginny?" Neville asked as Harry was healing some of her minor wounds.
"Physically, she's fine. Mentally though... Lord knows," Harry worried.
Ron's face turned to anxiety again. "What do you think that was? That cursed notebook..."
"Riddle mentioned it was some kind of diary. Maybe it was his and he cursed it to contain his image?" Hermione mused.
"What kind of blasted magic makes you imprint yourself into a book and go around possessing and killing people?" Ron whispered.
"If Riddle wasn't lying and he's You-Know-Who, then I wouldn't put anything past him," Neville said.
The group shuddered collectively, becoming fully aware that they might have crossed paths with the Dark Lord again.
Harry and Ron carefully rose Ginny's body and began making their way through the Chamber along with the other two. They were nearing the basilisk's corpse.
"Reckon we get Merlin's Third or Second Class for this?" Ron said as Harry and Hermione snorted. "Keep this thing away from Snape, he might assassinate us before we get the medal," Harry sniggered.
Neville was looking at the serpent, terrified. He carefully walked a huge circle around any trace of it, as Fawkes was gleefully flying around him, landing on his shoulder. He was carrying the sword that slayed it.
Harry attempted at sending an insult in parseltongue at the basilisk, but then couldn't think of anything to say in the snake language except something along the lines of "bad and stupid."
"So it's pretty much confirmed you are a parselmouth," Ron noted.
"Yes, it's time to breed a big one of my own," Harry gestured towards the serpent, smirking.
"Oh, don't joke about it, idiot..." Hermione said, though still laughing.
"I'm not joking at all. I will hide it in Snape's cauldron," Harry made an evil face.
"Oh, right! The hat!" Hermione shouted, before waving her wand and summoning the sorting hat.
They finally arrived at the stone door adorned with more statues of snakes. It was open from Harry's earlier sonorus-enhanced shouting.
"Blimey, this bloke was obsessed with snakes..." Ron observed.
As they crawled through the slimy tunnel leading out of the chamber, Fawkes' feather shined brilliantly gold, illuminating the way.
"How many classes do you think we missed?" Hermione mused.
"That's what you are worried about. Unbelievable..." Harry blurted.
As the excitement was dying down, Harry wondered and worried about much. Riddle was a parselmouth too, and so was Slytherin. Does his being a parselmouth indicate a connection somewhere there? What about that diary? What was Riddle capable of, really? His ruthlessness clearly knew no bounds, he thought, looking at Ginny. He was worried about her too. How is she gonna take all of this? How much was she aware of?
It had been just two years, and Riddle, or Voldemort, or whatever he wanted to call himself... did this much damage... and he did it while not being even close to his normal power.
How was the Dark Lord to face fully in person?
—
He was broken out of his musings by a shout from Neville.
"Harry! Look!"
Fawkes was urging them to take his tail feathers.
"Well, I guess we go one by one?" Ron asked.
"We can cast a sticky charm," Harry said.
"How is he going to carry five of us?!" Ron blurted.
"Magic, I guess," Harry chuckled. "Phoenixes do carry immensely large loads."
As Fawkes shined a mix of scarlet and brilliant gold flying through the slimy pipe, Harry hissed the bathroom entrance to open, hoping for a final time this day.
By the time they had come out, it was night. Probably midnight from the looks of it.
"Didn't know extracurricular activity would entail destroying remnants of a Dark Lord and its serpent servant, but it was a thrilling experience," Harry started, as the group laughed at the situation's absurdity.
They came out of the second-floor bathroom, not before being greeted by Moaning Myrtle. When Harry said he killed the monster responsible for her death, Myrtle sniffled a bit, before going for a hug at Harry, thanking him. He smiled while he clumsily attempted to pat her cold, ghost shoulders.
"I've heard about you, Harry. You are more than welcome to visit me sometimes," she said, beaming.
"I will," Harry smiled back.
As they ventured out into the hallways, it didn't take long for them to come across a patrolling adult. It was Mad-Eye Moody.
"Where have you all been?!" Moody shouted. "Your mother is in bits, Potter. Come here!"
They all rushed to the headmaster's office, which was filled with people, Albus Dumbledore at the center.
Everyone's eyes quickly turned to see the kids in ragged, dirty clothes. Neville was clutching a silver, ruby sword, Hermione the sorting hat. Ron was holding a ripped diary, while Moody was holding unconscious Ginny. Harry was at the front.
Dumbledore's face was overcome with a smile of relief, though he was probably told of their coming by Fawkes. Before Harry could say anything, Minnie jumped to hug him. Dumbledore whispered something to Moody, after which the auror bolted for Madam Pomfrey with Ginny still in his arms.
"Oh... where have you been? I've been looking all over, worried sick! What happened to you? What happened to all of you?!" she cried.
"It's a pretty long story," Harry uttered guiltily...
...
...
Minerva gasped in horror as she was taking in Harry's experiences in the chamber. Sirius' face was twisted in a dark frown, as the room was gradually filled with an air of soberness. All of the borrowed aurors were listening to the testimony, as were Professor Snape and Flitwick. Most of the other teachers were still tasked with protection and patrol.
"How could one of the founders keep such a despicable thing... in the chambers of the school no less!" Minerva gasped.
"Some Slytherin students were fond of boasting about their "weapon" against muggle-borns, though most of it boiled down to rumors and hearsay," Sirius said.
"I concur. Nothing substantiated was derived from their drivel, though there was much of it in the past," Snape added.
"Same here," Merula replied.
Dumbledore was looking at the pierced diary at his desk with a grave expression. He began — "I had my suspicions about the activity in the chamber half a century ago, when Hagrid was a student here, accused of negligent treatment of one of the deadly animals on school grounds — which resulted in the death of a girl. He was expelled as a result. I believed that he was not the culprit, and, to an extent, that a certain person unleashed a different creature, with very precise intentions."
After a brief silence and looks pointed at him, the headmaster went on.
"I never stopped enchanting the possible entryways to the school with charms that would serve to detect the creature, as I personally couldn't venture into the chamber — it is perfectly guarded against anyone who isn't a parselmouth, almost as much as a fidelius charm. It was exceedingly unlikely a student would be able to penetrate them, much less reinstate them without my notice. Looking at this dark item — he shot a glance at the diary — I believe this is the work of Lord Voldemort. Though he wished no harm to muggle-borns, out of self-preservation of course; fearing he will be found by me, he was working towards diminishing my public image and position at Hogwarts."
A few gasps shot across the room, though some of the people present just looked down with lips pursed, expecting such a conclusion.
"How could this enchanted item influence a student to that degree?" Merula asked.
"That is something I am unwilling to disclose at the present moment, Ms. Snyde. I will, however, say that these young, brave children here have achieved a great victory today, and have brought us closer to vanquishing the Dark Lord. They have given me a clue about one of his machinations. They have shown great courage and skill — and as such will receive special awards for their services to this school," Dumbledore replied, fondly smiling at the four students. He looked at the present aurors. "Be sure to accurately convey these children's testimonies to the ministry and, inevitably, the press. I suggest using a pensieve. Your services will likely not be needed going further, now that the agenda, the culprit, and their tools have been revealed."
Minerva and Sirius were looking at the group, primarily at Harry, still worried. Noticing their expressions, the headmaster went on. "I believe that's enough stressing talk for today. I wish you all proper rest, especially you four," he eyed the group. "If you understandably feel much distraught, I can send Madam Pomfrey to make you a sleeping draught. Your families will be allowed an immediate visit, and I will arrange for you to be able to skip classes. Your parents have all been notified and are on their way. There is no problem, I believe, as you all are exceptional students. Flitwick will escort you out of the office. Minerva, Sirius, I will need to talk to Harry for a brief while before I return him to you. I apologize, but I feel it necessary."
Sirius exhaled as Minerva pursed her lips, but they both nodded.
"You can all go now."
Professors and aurors left the office along with the children, congratulating them on their efforts and offering assistance for the night. Hermione, Ron, and Neville nervously waved to Harry as the door closed.
...
"First of all, Harry, I want to thank you," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling again. "You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."
He stroked the phoenix, which had fluttered down onto his knee. Harry grinned awkwardly as Dumbledore watched him. "And so you met Tom Riddle," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "I imagine he was most interested in you…"
"That he was. He was hungry to know what power I could possibly have that could threaten "even him". He was terrible..."
Harry looked at Dumbledore uncertainly but decided to go on. The headmaster peered thoughtfully at the boy.
"Professor, I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead, Harry."
"Tom Riddle was a parselmouth as well. Is there a connection between us?" Harry wondered.
"Unless I am mistaken, Lord Voldemort did transfer a part of his powers into you the night he attacked you, unintentionally of course. However, that need not be the case, and you simply possess a rare gift, like Mr. Weasley."
Harry felt uneasy. "So I was supposed to be in Slytherin? My abilities are... well..."
"Your abilities are merely that — abilities. Far more important than abilities is what you do with them, Harry. Choosing to believe in Minerva's danger the previous year might just have saved us from the disastrous event of Lord Voldemort acquiring the stone for himself. The prophecy gave you a choice, and you took it. Mr. Weasley's prophecy was only realized by a choice."
"The sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, though..."
"And the house would have gotten a fine, bright student to look forward to. In the end, where did the hat put you?"
"Gryffindor. Like I chose to."
Dumbledore smiled. "Like you chose to. Quite like you chose to barge into the middle of mortal danger out of the love for your mother, I might add," he continued.
Harry smiled bashfully, some weight seemingly lifted off him.
"Get some rest, Harry. I am thankful for everything you've done. I must attend to some matters myself, now. I will call your mother and godfather to escort you."
The headmaster's eyes twinkled as the boy was hugged by Sirius and Minerva while the flurry of questions ensued, all three of them leaving his office with a wave.
"Arthur Weasley leads a crackdown on dark items, and an extremely dangerous dark item just happens to find his daughter. I wonder, what man would all of this benefit the most..." Dumbledore spoke with unbecoming anger.
"Just you wait, Lucius. Justice will be swift and severe."