Disclaimer: The following characters, settings and referenced events are, and always will be, the property of J K Rowling.

– CHAPTER SIXTEEN –

A Throaty Problem

'So Snape reckoned You-Know-Who called him in the middle of your discussion?' Ron helped himself to a chocolate frog left over from Christmas.

Upon their return, Harry had begged off telling Ginny about the meeting, claiming tiredness, but he had barely collapsed on his bed when two quiet knocks announced Ron and Hermione's arrival. Now past midnight, the three of them were sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace in Harry's room.

'Yeah, real convenient.' Harry stared disgustedly into the flames crackling in the fireplace. 'Maybe I should get a Dark Mark; I could use it as an excuse to avoid McGonagall and Fulstrum.' He stifled a yawn.

Hermione slapped Ron's hand as he reached for yet another frog. 'We're supposed to be helping Harry, not stuffing our faces.' She consulted the list she had compiled. 'The diary was proof that Voldemort – oh, grow up, Ron­ – was descended from Slytherin.'

'But he didn't hide it though, did he?' said Ron around a mouthful of frog.

'He didn't need to,' Harry pointed out. 'He knew he was going to have plenty of other Horcruxes to fall back on.'

'What's next?' asked Ron.

'Hufflepuff's cup – wherever that is.'

'Didn't he nick the locket at the same time? Why couldn't it be that?'

'Because Snape reckons Voldemort would have held off using it – and therefore, not having it close to him anymore – until the last possible moment, and Dumbledore believes he's right. Well, I suppose the laws of probability dictate that Snape is bound to be right occasionally, even if it is very rare.' Harry fought to hide his grin.

'So next,' Hermione's quill moved down the sheet of parchment, 'is the eagle, which was hidden in Borgin and Burkes.' (Ron scowled).

'Yeah, well, he worked there. And he blamed Burke for his mum's death. So that was a really significant place.'

'Next was the ring.' More quill-scratching.

'It was a family heirloom and had the Peverell crest on it. So it was pretty logical for him to hide it in the Gaunts' house.'

'It's also where he committed his first murder from,' contributed Ron.

'But who did he kill to Horcrux the ring?' asked Harry frustratedly.

'It doesn't matter,' replied Hermione.

'Doesn't matter?' Both boys stared at her incredulously.

'No. Why would it? Not every murder involved someone connected with Voldemort. Hepzibah Smith only happened to be between him and the locket, otherwise he probably wouldn't have killed her.'

'Hermione,' Ron was still gaping. 'This is You-Know-Who we're talking about.'

'OK, possibly, then. Anyway, the person he killed to create the ring Horcrux might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, too.'

She frowned at the list.

'Now, Harry; Professor Dumbledore believes that the locket was done around the time of the Boneses' murders, right?'

Harry nodded. 'And Voldemort hid it in the cave near where the orphanage took him to when he was a kid. But I don't know who he killed, or if they were someone special or just an opportunity.'

'Again, that doesn't matter.' Hermione ignored Ron's dropped jaw. 'What Dumbledore wants you to concentrate on are the locations. Voldemort seems to be trawling back through his life, though not in any particular order; probably just as the opportunity has presented itself.'

'OK.' Harry forced his eyes to stay open. 'The diary was proof that he was descended from Slytherin; the ring connected him to the Gaunts and his first murder; the eagle – '

'Is a raving lunatic!'

'Shush, Ron!'

'– was at Borgin and Burkes, which is both connected with his mum's death and where he worked. The locket belonged to Slytherin and was in the cave from his childhood.'

'And where he first performed magic.'

'What?' Harry stared at Hermione.

'Well, maybe not the first time he ever did magic,' reasoned Hermione with just a hint of superior tone in her voice. 'But I wouldn't mind betting it was the first bit of truly evil magic he ever did.'

'"I can make them hurt if I want to",' Harry murmured.

'What, you mean that boy and girl Dumbledore told you about?' Ron looked up from choosing another frog.

'Yes.' Hermione frowned at Ron tearing the wrapper.

'So what does all that give us?' Ron started munching.

'Voldemort's line started with Salazar Slytherin, came down through the Peverells and the Gaunts, then Merope sold the locket to Borgin and Burkes before giving birth to Voldemort in that orphanage,' Harry summarised. 'Voldemort grew up in the orphanage, found out he could talk to snakes, and went to the seaside, where he did something to those kids in the cave.'

'Then he came to Hogwarts,' Hermione looked grimly at Harry, 'where he was a model student, prefect and Head Boy.'

'Except for him still running around with snakes and hurting people,' Ron put in. 'Not to mention getting Hagrid expelled.'

'Then he got a job at the place which swindled his mum –'

'Which brought him into contact with two Hogwarts founders' heirlooms.'

'So he nicked them,' Ron eyed the remaining food, 'then took off for … how long did Dumbledore reckon he was gone?'

'Twenty-five years, for the most part,' said Harry. 'He apparently spent a fair bit of it in and around Albania, though what the connection is there, I don't know. I just know that it was near there that he came across Professor Quirrell, and he disappeared back there after Quirrell died.'

'Probably Dark Magic.' Hermione seemed to have given up on Ron not eating all the food and decided she needed to get in quick if she wanted some for herself. Grabbing the last Chocoball, she continued. 'Eastern Europe has a really long history of the Dark Arts: you've got vampires in Romania, giants in Siberia, trolls in Poland – '

'Fine, we get the idea,' grumbled Ron. 'So does that mean he hid the cup in Albania?'

'God, I hope not.' Harry stared helplessly into the flames. 'We'd never find it. Where would we even start?'

'The snakes could probably tell you.' Hermione took a bite of Chocoball.

'What snakes?' Ron frowned at Hermione.

'The snakes which associated with the ones Voldemort possessed.' Harry sat up straighter.

'Huh?'

'The night Voldemort came back,' Harry explained, 'he told the Death Eaters how he had been hiding in a distant forest, waiting for them to come looking for him, keeping himself going by possessing animals … mostly snakes. But the snakes he possessed died faster because of it. Wormtail found him because rats told him about a place which had become dangerous for small animals. So it makes sense that other animals would also know about this place.'

'So you're going to go roaming through Albania, talking to every snake you meet?' snorted Ron.

'If that's what it takes to beat Voldemort, then yes.' Harry still stared at the fireplace.

'There's an easier way,' Ron said. Both Harry and Hermione looked across at him. 'Get Dumbledore to order Snape to get the information out of Wormtail. Well, he's been there, so he knows where You-Know-Who was hiding. It would also give us a chance to find out if Snape really is on our side or not, because if he disobeys Dumbledore, then we'll know.'

Harry stared at Ron. 'You know, that's really clever.' (Ron beamed.) 'Why didn't I think of that?'

'What, you want all the clever ideas for yourself?' Ron tried to look indignant.

'And when do you plan to go traipsing through Albania?' asked Hermione.

Harry came back down to earth with a bump. He couldn't go rushing off yet, even if he did know where to look; he had his students to consider. He was actually kind of enjoying teaching, guiding young minds through the steps necessary to guard themselves against the forces of darkness, feeling extremely proud of their improvements and successes. He couldn't just up and leave them in the lurch. 'It'll have to wait until after I finish school.'

'Why wait that long?' Ron looked appalled at the idea of not leaving as soon as they got the information out of Wormtail.

'How would you feel if you were in the middle of learning to defend yourself against Dark magic and your teacher suddenly up and disappeared? Then there's the Ministry. They're enough of a pain as it is; I don't want to give them the chance to get me for something because I'm not qualified even if I am of legal age now.'

'So what do we do in the meantime?' Ron snatched the last two frogs and tossed one to Harry.

'Try to think of somewhere here in Britain where the cup might be hidden.' Hermione finished the last of her Chocoball.

'But you said it was in Albania!'

'We only said it might be there; we could be wrong, but we won't find out for ages. If we have other possible places to check out, we might find the cup in the meantime and save ourselves a wasted trip.'

'OK.' Ron stared at Hermione. 'Where else might it be?'

'Somewhere important to Voldemort,' Hermione replied.

'That goes without saying,' muttered Ron. 'But where is there left? He's hidden something in every important place – his mum's house, his old workplace, his diary and, most important of all, the cave.'

'Why is the cave most important?' Hermione frowned at Ron.

'Well, that's where he hid the locket,' argued Ron.

'But it was only the locket which was most important,' countered Hermione.

'OK then.' Ron rubbed his eyes tiredly. 'Where do you reckon was the most important place in You-Know-Who's life?

'Hogwarts.'

'What?' Ron and Hermione broke off their argument to stare at Harry.

'Hogwarts is the only place Voldemort has ever truly felt that he belongs,' said Harry softly. 'I know, because I feel the same.'

'Except he hasn't been back here since he finished school and he didn't know Hufflepuff's cup even existed at that point,' Ron pointed out.

'He has been back here.' Harry dragged his eyes away from the flames dying in the fireplace. 'Ten years after he killed Hepzibah Smith, he came here to ask Dumbledore for the Defence Against the Dark Arts job; that was when he cursed it.'

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

'It would be a logical hiding place,' agreed Ron. 'But where would he have picked? It's pretty big, after all.'

'It would have to be somewhere he knew nobody would accidentally stumble upon,' reasoned Hermione.

'Like a place only he was able to get to.' Harry looked up at both of his friends. 'The Chamber of Secrets.'

'But why would he hide Hufflepuff's cup there?' asked Ron. 'Wouldn't it be more logical for him to have hidden Slytherin's locket in the Chamber? After all, he built it.'

Harry thought a moment. 'He might have been worried that Slytherin wouldn't give it back. Plus, at that time in his life, he'd only made three Horcruxes; the locket was going to be one of the last, remember?'

'If You-Know-Who felt the locket was so important, then shouldn't it have been the sixth Horcrux, rather than the fifth one?' Ron glanced across at Hermione, as if challenging her to find something wrong with his opinion.

Harry exchanged a nervous glance with Hermione before speaking up. 'Only if the Boneses died before Snape heard Professor Trelawney's prophecy. I could have my dates mucked up.'

'It'll be easy enough to find out,' Hermione said as she rolled up her parchment. 'I'll check the Prophets in the library during lunch-time. If Mr Bones was an Auror, then it should definitely …' she smothered a yawn, '… have rated a mention. Where are you going?'

Harry had jumped up. 'There's a quicker way to find out,' he said as he grabbed his Cloak and Firebolt. 'Look in the Chamber.'

Ron looked horrified. 'You're going to open the Chamber of Secrets?'

'Why not? It's not like there's a Basilisk in it anymore … not a live one, at any rate. What?' He looked from Ron to Hermione.

'Don't you think you should run the theory past Dumbledore first?' Hermione asked. 'Tomorrow,' she added as Harry still reached for the doorknob. 'It is pretty late, after all, and you did say he was tired.'

x

Two days later, Harry was halfway through a stack of third-year essays when there was a knock on the door. He glanced up to see Ron, Hermione and Ginny walk in.

'You know, students are supposed to wait for a teacher to say they can enter before barging straight in.'

'Like that applies to us.' Ginny returned Harry's wry grin.

Ron looked around at the piles of parchment. 'Wow mate, you're swamped. How do you get through all this?'

'By not being interrupted unnecessarily.' Harry smirked again.

Hermione looked slightly disappointed. 'Oh, OK. Well, we can come back later, if you like.' She turned to go.

'What?' Ron cried. 'You said we had to discuss this with him now.'

Harry glanced from Ron to Hermione. 'Discuss what now?'

'How we're going to find out if there really is a Horcrux hidden in the Chamber of Secrets.' Ginny's voice shook slightly.

Harry wasn't surprised – the Chamber was a touchy subject for her. What did surprise him was the fact that she was here with Ron and Hermione. He would have thought she wouldn't want to go near it again. And judging by the looks on their faces, he was willing to bet his Firebolt they were bracing themselves to argue with him to let them come along. He took a deep breath.

'OK, what do you propose?' Harry leant back in his chair.

Three pairs of eyes blinked startledly back at him.

'You're not going to talk us out of helping you?' Ron sounded like he couldn't believe his good luck.

'Nope!' Harry shook his head. 'So, let's hear it.'

Hermione pulled up a chair. Ron and Ginny followed suit.

'The way we see it,' Hermione began, 'the cup won't be as well protected as the eagle was. But we still need to be very careful about testing the curse. Voldemort –' (Ron's fists clenched) '– seems to have increased the strength and damage of each curse in succession, probably as he became more powerful and devised better ways to protect his Horcruxes.'

'How do you work that one out?'

'Because two of the first three Horcruxes he made – the diary and the eagle – weren't protected by curses which would kill you' explained Hermione.

'The eagle nearly killed Snape,' Harry pointed out. 'If Lupin hadn't arrived when he did, he would have died.'

'But it wouldn't have been the curse which killed him, but the collision with the mantelpiece. Now,' Hermione continued, 'if Dumbledore is correct, Voldemort made the Hufflepuff Horcrux between the diary and the Ravenclaw one, so the curse protecting it shouldn't be deadly either.'

'When did Dumbledore tell you that?' Ginny wanted to know.

'Last night.'

'You went to see Dumbledore last night?' Ron glanced at Harry, who shrugged; this was news to him.

'Anyway,' Hermione ploughed on, ignoring Ron gaping by her shoulder, 'it means that the counter-curse we'll need in order to get our hands on Hufflepuff's cup may not be strong enough to stop it injuring us like the one on the eagle did, so I think it would be best to have two people hang back to help the front line if we get injured.'

'No!' said Harry firmly. 'Three people will hang back. I –' he stopped Hermione as she opened her mouth '- will try to get past whatever trap Voldemort has set. No,' he forestalled Ron, 'think about it. Of all the people who have encountered these Horcruxes, I'm the one who has come off lightest. The diary almost destroyed Ginny,' (he noticed her pale slightly) 'but I only got hurt by the Basilisk, not the diary. And when Snape tried to test the eagle, considering I was thrown through a wall, I only got cuts and concussion. The Horcruxes don't hurt me as much as everyone else.'

Harry could tell Ron thought he had the wrong end of the broomstick, but Ginny looked like she thought the idea had merit.

'You know, that's not as far-fetched as it sounds.'

'Oh, come on,' argued Ron. 'It's just Harry trying to protect us as usual.'

'I'm letting you come along,' Harry pointed out. 'If I really wanted to protect you, I wouldn't even let you do that much. Look at it from my point of view. You lot are my best friends. You've always been there for me when I needed you most, and you're still here supporting me. But there's also the problem that the people who care about me most and put themselves between Voldemort and me tend to wind up dead – my mum and dad, Sirius, and Dumbledore. I don't want to lose any more friends, especially not because of me. I'll accept your help, but on my terms only.'

Hermione and Ginny only took a moment to nod their agreement, but Ron still wanted to argue.

'But what if you do get hurt?'

'I won't.'

'Why? Because you're the Chosen One? How is a Horcrux which was made only a few years after your parents were born supposed to know that you're OK to touch it?'

Harry stared down at his desk. He could feel Hermione watching him.

'Now's as good a time as any to tell them, lad,' offered Sirius's portrait.

'You stay out of this,' growled Harry.

'I mean,' the picture continued, ignoring Harry, 'you were going on before about their worthiness. Haven't they proven they're worth trusting with this?'

Harry forced himself not to look at Sirius, although he could picture the roguish dog-like grin.

'You're still keeping secrets from us?' Ron sounded slightly hurt.

'Ron, don't!' begged Hermione as Ron went to leave.

'It's OK, Hermione.' Harry finally looked up at them. 'Sirius is right. You deserve to know the truth.'

Ron turned. Harry held his gaze as he sat down again, then took a deep breath.

'You know that bit in the prophecy about "either must die at the hand of the other"?'

'You mean where you have to kill You-Know-Who?'

'Or he has to kill me.' Harry waited a moment for that to sink in. 'How would you feel if it was the latter?'

Even Hermione gasped at that one, though not as loudly as Ron or Ginny, nor did she join them in protesting the likelihood of that outcome.

'Dumbledore wouldn't be spending all his energy training you if he thought you were a goner…'

'Surely you're not going to take this lying down…'

'Do you really want to prove Trelawney right? She's impossible enough as it is…'

'I'm not going to lose you, not now…'

'Don't you think so, Hermione?' Ron turned to her, then blinked as he realised that, instead of joining in the argument, she had been sitting back in her chair, her eyes squeezed shut, though a single tear had escaped, and was quietly muttering to herself, 'This is all my fault,' over and over again.

'What's all your fault?' Ron was understandably confused.

'Hermione was the one who realised where the sixth Horcrux is,' said Harry quietly.

'What? Where is it?' Ron gaped at Harry while Ginny hugged Hermione and muttered something about 'boys'.

'Me.'

Ron blinked uncomprehendingly. 'You? How can you be a Horcrux? I didn't think you could be alive? And anyway, when would Voldemort have …?' His voice faded as his gaze rested on Harry's scar.

'No!' Ron was on his feet, backing away from the desk and shaking his head. 'No, no, no! No way. You can't … I mean, you would have to … But then how …'

Hermione gave a sob, broke out of Ginny's stunned grip and ran from the room. Harry had barely had the chance to get to his own feet, let alone call her name, when they heard a scream, then a very loud thud, as though she had fallen over something. Finally making it to the doorway, Harry (with Ron and Ginny both peering over his shoulders) stared at the scene before them.

Hermione was standing in the middle of the corridor, holding her wand, and shaking with fury. At her feet, piled one on top of the other, were Crabbe and Goyle.

'They were listening at the keyhole.' Hermione's teeth were clenched. 'How much do you think they heard?'

'Who cares?' Ron pushed past Harry. 'Come on, let's get them inside before Filch or Peeves turn up.'

Harry levitated them into his office (Hermione refused to let herself, Ron or Ginny assist because students weren't really supposed to do magic in the corridors), then the four of them stood looking down at Malfoy's old henchmen.

'Now what do we do?' Ginny glanced up as Ron shrugged.

'Wait for instructions from Dumbledore,' replied Harry. 'Sirius left as soon as we shut the door.' He nodded towards the empty frame.

Several tense minutes passed before Sirius came running back into view, gasping for breath and clutching his side.

'Remus is on his way; he'll try to get in through Honeydukes. Can some of you cause a diversion to keep Filch busy?' He glanced around the group.

Ginny grabbed Ron's hand. 'Come on.'

'Why does it have to be us?' Ron protested as Ginny dragged him to the door.

'Because you're Head Boy. You can catch me out of bed and I'll Hex you.'

'Hermione's Head Girl. Why can't she catch you?'

'What, you reckon you can guard those two –' (Ginny pointed at Crabbe and Goyle) '– better than Hermione can?' Her expression was very sceptical. 'Now come on!'

'I don't envy Ron being on the receiving end of Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hex.' Hermione was grinning widely as Ginny slammed the door.

'Are you going to be OK?' asked Harry as he collected his Cloak and Map. Hermione answered by pointing her wand at the unconscious Slytherins and adopting a serious, determined expression.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was stationed opposite the statue of the one-eyed witch, closely watching the Marauder's Map. Ron and Ginny had just been sprung by Filch, and Peeves was quickly racing towards them, when Remus's name appeared at the edge of the Map, steadily making its way along the tunnel from Honeydukes. Harry squinted at the corridor on the Map, made sure nobody was coming, then whispered, 'Dissendium', causing the statue to leap aside.

'That was fast,' said Harry as Lupin stopped into view.

'I Apparated along the tunnel,' explained Lupin. 'Only as far as the school boundaries, but it cut the time down considerably. Where are they?' He accepted the Invisibility Cloak from Harry.

'In my … I mean, your old office.'

'No, it's your office, Harry, and deservingly so.' Lupin's eyes glowed proudly as he donned the Cloak.

x

'You certainly worked a treat on them.'

Hermione blushed as she looked down at Lupin crouched beside Crabbe and Goyle, shaking his head as he examined them.

'What did you use?'

'Artus jinx.'

Lupin's head shot up. 'That's Auror level.'

Hermione shrugged. 'Tonks used it on Harry last summer.' She tried not to look pleased with herself, and failed.

'I don't mean to sound rude,' Harry looked up from the map on his desk, 'but you might want to hurry up. McGonagall just left her office.'

'No time for fine tuning then. We'll just have to come up with a good story as to why their brains suddenly aren't working properly.'

'No need,' snorted Harry as Lupin pressed his wand against Crabbe's temple. 'They never had any brains to start with.'

Three minutes later, the deed done, Harry and Lupin hadn't had time to do anything more than quickly tuck the Invisibility Cloak around Crabbe and Goyle when McGonagall knocked on the door. She faltered on the threshold when she saw Lupin leaning casually against Harry's desk.

'Rem … I mean, Professor Lupin … what are you doing here?' Her determined air was wilting before their eyes.

'He's tutoring Harry and myself, Professor,' Hermione answered her. (Harry sent out a silent thanks to Hermione while forcing himself not to glance at her.)

McGonagall looked from one to the other, clearly confused.

'Yes,' Lupin picked up the thread. 'Harry hasn't been too impressed with Fulstrum's refusal to teach him. Even with the issue of Voldemort aside, he still wants to be an Auror when he leaves school, and for that he needs Outstanding in Defence, so –'

'So I asked Professor Lupin to teach me,' Harry said. 'After all, he's the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to work here since I started and he was a friend of my parents and my godfather. Why wouldn't I turn to him?'

McGonagall turned her attention to Lupin. 'But how did you get in? I thought we had all the entrances … Tonks!' Her eyes flashed. 'I'll be having words with that girl. Just because she has feelings for you doesn't mean she can let you abuse those feelings.'

'I haven't abused anybody's feelings.' Lupin's voice held a very slight bite. 'Harry asked for help and we gladly gave it.'

Harry felt a twinge of guilt – did Tonks help Lupin get through Honeydukes?

'And you've been sneaking into the school all year?' McGonagall still sounded like she felt she was losing control of a runaway train.

'Actually, Harry has mostly been sneaking out to me. There's been a lot going on which you don't know about.' He leant against Harry's desk. 'For instance, did you know that the Ministry has tried to have Harry followed each time he's openly left the school? Or that Fulstrum is deliberately trying to make Harry fail on Scrimgeour's orders?'

'I may not be Albus, but I'm not a complete nincompoop, thank you. As head of the Order, I have been aware for some time that the Minister has had ulterior motives where Potter is concerned, but I've been guarding against that … or I thought I was.' She threw Harry a dirty look. 'I must say I am extremely disappointed with both your behaviour, Potter, and your attitude. I have been trying to protect you all year, and you have been making a joke of that protection behind my back. That little performance earlier with the Weasleys was all part of this too, wasn't it; I thought it seemed a bit contrived.' Her nostrils flared.

'So, to make certain it doesn't happen again, fifty points shall be taken from Gryffindor for the Weasleys' antics, fifty for dragging the Head Boy and Girl into this, and fifty for managing to get around the school's security.'

'Instead of being mad at Harry,' Lupin drew McGonagall's attention again, 'you should be happy that he is man enough to take charge of his own destiny.'

'While everyone's been busy trying to protect me,' Harry tried to steady his breathing, '– mainly by keeping me in the dark – I made bad decisions which got both Cedric and Sirius killed. Your good intentions also haven't stopped Voldemort getting to me. You can keep interfering, but you won't stop me. If I come face to face with Voldemort again, I'll be as well trained as I possibly can be. And I'll get help when and from whom I deem necessary.'

'I've been trying to help you all year –'

'You've been trying to help the Order all year, and getting me to help you. Even though you've got me teaching, you're still thinking of me as a child. Why else would you have just taken all those points off me.' (McGonagall looked slightly shocked at Harry's outburst.) 'But I'm not a kid anymore. I'm legally an adult, I've faced Voldemort several times and survived, I got through the Triwizard and I topped my OWL in Defence. Believe me, I do not need your help at present. If, and when, I do need it, you'll be the first to know.'

McGonagall stared at Harry, her mouth slightly open. When she finally drew a shaky breath, she said, 'You should, at least, inform me when you do leave the school grounds –'

'No!' Lupin cut across her. 'If the right people don't know about Harry's comings and goings, then the wrong people are less likely to notice either. Now,' he pushed off from the desk, 'if you will excuse me, I need to get going. If you wouldn't mind escorting me to the front door, Hermione?'

'Stay where you are, Granger,' ordered McGonagall. 'I shall see Professor Lupin safely to the gate. Then I want a word with you two in my office.'

Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick glance. 'Yes, Professor,' they mumbled as she marched from the office.

Harry counted to ten before allowing himself to collapse against the desk. 'Thanks for the tutoring idea.'

'No problem.' Hermione's voice was as shaky as Harry felt. 'What do we do now?'

'Go to McGonagall's office, I guess. How long did you knock Crabbe and Goyle out for?'

'Twelve hours, so they can safely stay here all night. They should wake up with roaring headaches at about nine tomorrow morning.'

'Roaring headaches?'

Hermione nodded.

'That gives me an idea. Come on.'

It was close to midnight when Harry and Hermione finally returned to the Gryffindor common room, feeling decidedly battered by McGonagall's fury and downcast by her refusal to change her mind. Nobody in the dormitories had realised yet that Gryffindor had just lost one hundred and fifty points, but Harry knew it wouldn't be long; news always travelled very quickly through the school. The main thing which Harry had to make sure of now was that no one learned the real reason why those points were lost.

'Are you all right, Harry?'

'What?' Harry was dragged out of his musings.

'I just said "Good night", and you didn't even blink.' Hermione was watching him worriedly.

'Mmm? Yeah, yeah, I'm OK. Look, can you get Ginny and meet me in my room? We need to get our stories straight.'

'For what?'

'Tomorrow morning,' Harry replied darkly.

By the time they all got down to the Great Hall for breakfast, the news was spreading like wildfire.

'She used an Unforgivable?'

'He looks so pale.'

'How did they ever think they would get away with it?'

'I always thought there was something wrong with that Mudblood –'

Ron's head jerked around at that one, but Hermione steered him resolutely to the far end of the Gryffindor table.

'Ignore them,' she said quietly as she helped herself to some toast. All the other Gryffindors glared at them silently. 'We knew something like this would happen. Better this than the truth. They'll forget it soon enough.'

'I know,' Harry suppressed a grin. 'What they need is a distraction.' He broke off as he saw McGonagall moving towards them.

'Potter, come with me.' Her expression brooked no argument.

Once she had led Harry to the ante-chamber where the Triwizard champions had gathered after selection, McGonagall turned.

'What are these rumours about Granger using the Cruciatus curse upon you?'

Harry took a deep breath. 'Ron, Hermione and I staged an argument in the Gryffindor common room before.'

McGonagall's brow creased. 'Why?'

'We needed a valid excuse for losing a hundred and fifty points. I couldn't allow the whole school to know about me being outside Hogwarts. The more people who know, the greater the chance of Voldemort finding out. Malfoy may be gone, but Crabbe and Goyle are still here.'

'Surely you're not suggesting that You-Know-Who has recruited –'

'No.' Harry held her gaze. 'But their fathers are Death Eaters –'

'Who are currently in Azkaban.'

'Goyle's isn't. Nor are their mothers. For all I know, they get together with Malfoy's mum to drink tea and gossip. And Malfoy's mum's sister is a Death Eater. A free one.' Harry's voice shook slightly; in his mind's eye, he once again saw Bellatrix Lestrange killing Sirius.

McGonagall regarded him for several moments, her lips pressed tightly together. 'Very well, Potter,' she finally conceded. 'I suppose the story you and Granger have invented is as good as any to safeguard the truth, but I am most displeased that you did not at least confide in me what your intentions were.'

She opened the door leading back to the Great Hall and was hit by a wave of raucous laughter. Harry could see Flitwick hurrying towards them.

'Headmistress, come quickly. Two Slytherin boys have been found in a girls' bathroom. They seem to have gotten drunk on Firewhisky and it's affected their memories.'

Confident that McGonagall's attention was no longer focused on him, Harry quietly slipped past her and returned to his friends.

'This one really takes the cake, mate!' Ron was clutching his side. 'S'even better than Fred and George's fireworks!'

'How did you manage it?' Hermione struggled to bring her giggling under control. 'We've been with you all morning.'

'I got Dobby to move them to Myrtle's bathroom, nick some Firewhisky bottles from the kitchens, and splash them with it. Don't worry,' he rushed on, 'I paid him.'

'But what about Myrtle?' Hermione pressed. 'She's adamant she saw them drinking, not getting dragged into the bathroom already unconscious.'

'Dobby again; I got him to word her up. Do you really think she wouldn't want to be in the middle of a bit of fun like this?' he laughed.

'Well, mate,' Ron grasped the table to support himself as he stood. 'You said they needed a distraction.' He glanced around the Great Hall where nobody seemed concerned about Harry and Hermione anymore.

Instead, on everyone's lips were the names Crabbe and Goyle.

Despite the kerfuffle with the intoxicated Slytherins drawing everyone's attention away from Harry, he still waited until the following weekend when the entire school, keen to see Slytherin's beaters cop another pasting, was outside watching the first Quidditch match of the new term (Ravenclaw versus Slytherin) before he felt it was safe for them to go down to the Chamber of Secrets.

Ginny glanced around nervously as they entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The last time she had been in here had not been a happy experience. Hermione, however, was full of curiosity. Not having been present when Harry had opened the Chamber at the end of their second year (being flat out in the hospital wing in a Petrified state), she only had Harry and Ron's description of what was about to happen.

'Go away.' Myrtle peeked out from the end toilet. 'Oh, it's you,' she said flatly when she saw Harry.

'What did you do to offend her?' asked Ron as Harry started examining the copper taps.

'I hope you're not going to try to murder anybody else,' Myrtle continued morosely.

'Why would Harry want to murder someone?' Ron stared at her, aghast.

'Well, I notice the boy he tried to kill last year isn't here anymore, so he obviously succeeded on his second try. And Professor Snape isn't here anymore, either.' She grinned at Ron as if that somehow explained everything.

Ron turned to Harry. 'What?'

'Ignore her.' Harry finally found what he was looking for: a tiny snake scratched into the side of one of the taps. He glanced up at the others. 'Ready?' he asked and got three nods in reply.

Looking back, he focused hard on the snake.

'Open up,' he hissed, causing the tap to glow with a brilliant white light and start to spin. Next, the sink sank out of sight, exposing a large, wide pipe.

Making sure his Firebolt was carefully wrapped in his Cloak for protection (they wouldn't be able to rely on Fawkes to return them safely to the school), Harry lowered himself into the pipe and let go.

'Where are we?' whispered Hermione, gazing around in awe after they had all shot out of the end of the pipe, landing with a wet thud in the dark stone tunnel.

'Under the lake,' Ron informed her as he lit his wand. Feet slipping on the damp floor, they headed down the tunnel, trying hard not to jump at the monstrous-looking shapes their shadows made on the wet walls.

While last time the tunnel had been as quiet as a tomb, this time small creatures scuttled around their feet. Lowering his wand, Harry saw that the tunnel was infested with dozens of rats, free to scurry about and multiply unhindered by the purging appetite of the Basilisk. Trying to step carefully through the rats – both living and skeletal – they pressed on.

Around the first bend, they wriggled their way through the rock fall and came upon the shed snakeskin. At least twenty feet long, the poisonous green coils seemed to mock them and their belief that its master's chamber was now conquered.

Three more bends and they finally came upon the solid wall which marked the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Two entwined serpents were carved onto the stone, large emeralds glinting out of their eye sockets.

'Wow.' Ron and Hermione's mouths gaped open as they stared, mesmerised, at the wall. Harry gave them a moment to take in the sight before them, then he broke the silence.

'OK, you lot,' he said, the sound of his voice making them jump. 'You remember what we discussed. You keep guard out here. Ron –' Harry handed the still-wrapped broom to his friend, '– take good care of that; we're going to need it to get out of here.' He didn't know why his throat was dry. The Basilisk was dead … there was nothing to fear … he was just being silly …

Turning on suddenly weak legs, Harry faced the snakes, concerned about what Voldemort may have lain to guard the Horcrux, but more worried that Ron would notice him shaking.

'Open,' he hissed, taking a step back as the wall parted and the snakes slid out of sight. With a deep breath, Harry entered the Chamber of Secrets.

He stood just inside the door a moment and gazed down the long length of the dimly lit room.

'Oh, Harry.'

Harry almost jumped out of his skin.

'You were supposed to wait outside!' he scolded, glaring at Hermione with what he hoped was a disapproving look but he wasn't sure it worked; his fear for Hermione's safety was battling with his relief that he had some company.

Throwing a look back at him which clearly said 'try and stop me', Hermione slowly walked between the tall stone columns, her skin glowing slightly green in the odd light.

'He had a real thing for snakes, didn't he?' she commented, gazing at the multitude of stone serpents twisting around the pillars up to a ceiling so high above them, it was engulfed in impenetrable blackness. 'You'd think he'd –' She broke off with a gasp. 'One of them just moved.'

'It was a trick of the light.' Harry wasn't sure if he was reassuring Hermione or himself.

'But –'

'Come on, we have to find that cup.' Harry pushed past Hermione and approached the back wall, but pulled up at the sight of the dead Basilisk. Phantom pain shot up Harry's arm as he remembered the Basilisk's dying moments but, if its fang hadn't broken off like that, he wouldn't have been able to destroy the diary so easily.

'Urgh.' Hermione looked slightly sick as she took in the rotted flesh, exposed bones and dried dark stain on the floor, a mixture of both the Basilisk and Harry's blood. Dragging her eyes from the scene before them, she looked up at the back wall.

'Is that Slytherin?' she whispered by Harry's ear, gazing in awe at the gigantic statue before them. Harry noticed that she had her wand out, ready.

'Mmm.' Harry's eyes followed the long thin beard up sweeping robes to the ancient monkey-like face. Why Voldemort would be proud of being descended from someone so ugly, he didn't know.

Concentrating hard, Harry once again hissed his orders. 'Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four.'

Hermione stifled another gasp as the massive stone mouth stretched wide to make a large gaping hole. She glanced at Harry and gave a nervous giggle, then stepped up to the statue and tried to peer inside the mouth but it was too high up. Chewing her lip, Hermione gazed around the Chamber, pondering the problem then, to Harry's horror, she grabbed the dead Basilisk.

'What –?'

Before Harry could react fully, Hermione pointed her wand at the carcass, which promptly transformed into a rope ladder. Waving her wand again, she made the end of the rope rise into the air, twisting and turning like a snake moving to a charmer's tune, until it hooked itself over Slytherin's nose. She gave a tug, testing its fastness. Harry grinned in spite of himself.

'OK, that's Transfigurations and Charms covered. Want to try for Potions?'

Poking her tongue out at him, she asked, 'Coming up?', a foot on the bottom rung.

Wondering just who was in charge of this quest, Harry followed.

'There's definitely something metal in there.' Hermione shone her wand down Slytherin's dark throat. Peering past her shoulder, Harry saw something shine as the light passed over it. 'It's too far down though,' muttered Hermione, thinking out loud. 'My arm's not that long.'

'Let –'

'No, it's OK; I've got it.' Hermione straightened her arm. 'Accio –'

'No!' Harry barely had time to cry out when something hit him in the face, followed by bone-crunching pain as he landed flat on his back on the cold stone floor at the ladder's base.

'Harry!'

Harry tried to blink the stars from his blurred vision (his glasses must have fallen off) as Hermione's anxious face appeared above him, and then his face was on fire. Thin shadows kept drifting in and out of sight, slapping him, then something long, thin and very strong wrapped around his neck and suddenly a burning face seemed trivial compared to the struggle to breathe. He could hear someone screaming, and someone was struggling against him, then Hermione's voice said 'I'm sorry about this, Harry,' and the screaming stopped.

Harry couldn't move. He couldn't blink, speak, swallow … anything. It was like someone had put him under the Body-Bind again. But just because he couldn't move didn't mean the fire had stopped. The worst thing was, he couldn't even cry against it.

Frozen with an array of shadows flapping frustratedly before him, as those shadows somehow burnt the skin from his face, was more than Harry was prepared to endure but he just lay uselessly as his body rose several inches into the air.

'What happened?'

Ron and Ginny ran after Hermione as they sped along the tunnel back to the pipe leading back to the school, her wand floating Harry before them.

'Will it carry all of us?' Ginny's pale face gazed anxiously at the Firebolt as Ron unwrapped it.

'It'll have to.' Ron glanced around at the group, sizing them up.

'Ginny, you sit right at the back … tie the end of that really tight around your middle. Hermione, you go in front of her …'

Harry felt Ron twist a long length of fabric several times around him and then tug, slamming Harry hard against himself and Hermione. Vaguely, through the pain, Harry realised Ron had used the Invisibility Cloak to strap him to their sides, stretched along the length of the broom.

'Ready?' Ron asked as he finished knotting the Cloak securely around his own waist. Then they were shooting upwards past dozens of side pipes, Harry's unblinking eyes staring at the faint light rushing towards them.

'What happened to –?'

'Not now, Myrtle!' Harry heard Ginny snap in the wild flurry of untangling everybody from the Firebolt and wrapping the Cloak completely around Harry. Bobbing vertically along in front of them, Harry saw corridor after corridor rush past as they hurried through the school, up to the Gryffindor Tower.

'He put them in the bottom of his … Ah, got them!'

Harry wondered, in the midst of the pain, what Ron was looking for in his trunk, then he heard Hermione muttering the instructions for Fawkes's tail feathers. Somebody grabbed his hand and forced him to grip something soft and silky, then the room dissolved before his eyes.

x

'Why was it so bad?'

'Come on, Ron,' said Lupin. 'Let Severus do his job.'

Harry was lying stretched along the length of the kitchen table at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, several blankets folded beneath him for cushioning as Snape leaned over him, casting spell after spell, none of which seemed to be doing much good. His face burned, his eyes stung and his head felt like it was going to explode.

'I can't work like this,' growled Snape and waved his wand yet again, releasing Hermione's Body-Bind. Half a second later, the burning intensified so much, Harry screamed.

Snape was thrown across the kitchen and slammed hard into the dresser, smashing several dishes. Swearing, he got to his feet and dived at Harry, jabbing his wand into the side of Harry's face. A bright light flashed like a flame before Harry's eyes. Snape jabbed again. Another flash. More jabs, each followed by its own firework.

The burning was easing, but something was squeezing Harry's throat, making his vision blur even more as precious oxygen was cut off from his lungs. His pulse throbbed loudly in his ears as everything started to blacken. The last thing he saw silhouetted against yet another blindingly bright flash was a hooded, white skeletal face, its dark eye sockets leering at him menacingly.

'Why did you leave that one till last?' Ron demanded angrily. 'You were hoping it would strangle Harry and kill him, weren't you?'

Harry opened his eyes in time to see a dark shape (Snape) make a sudden, angry movement, then pull up just as abruptly, as if he had been about to launch himself at Ron but thought better of it.

'That will do, Mr Weasley.' Dumbledore sounded extremely grave.

Harry squinted at the purple and white shape standing at the foot of the table. Groping his hand around, he tried to find his glasses, but then remembered that they had fallen off in the Chamber of secrets.

'It's all right, Harry; your spectacles are safe. Unfortunately, you shall not be able to wear them just yet.'

'Wha –?'

He felt around himself. He wasn't on the kitchen table anymore, but in a bed.

'Professor Snape moved you up to my bedroom,' said Dumbledore, pale eyes peering at him with concern. 'He felt you would be more comfortable after your ordeal.'

Snape's face darkened. Harry was pretty sure he hadn't been interested in easing any suffering.

'What happened?' he tried to ask but his mouth didn't work right. His face felt like it was caked with dried mud, pulling against his cheeks and lips as they tried to form words. He touched a hand to his face and it came away covered in deep blue sludge.

'Leave it!' ordered Snape. Squinting, Harry noticed a large pot of the blue substance standing on the bedside cabinet.

'The curse protecting the Horcrux hit you full in the face, Harry,' Lupin explained.

'I'm sorry, Harry.' Hermione sounded like she had been crying. 'It's my fault. I ducked.'

'So the Horcru–' Harry fought against the paste.

'The Horcrux is indeed hidden in the Chamber,' said Dumbledore. 'Your suspicion was correct. When Miss Granger tried to Summon Helga Hufflepuff's cup, the curse guarding it activated. Several tentacles sprouted from your face and started attacking you; one particularly enthusiastic one even attempted to strangle you.'

Harry raised a hand to his throat and discovered that it was bandaged.

'We got Fred and George to send over some Bruise ointment,' Ginny was standing next to a tall shape which Harry guessed was Ron.

'Do they –?'

'They are, as yet, unaware of the true situation,' said Dumbledore. 'You may rest easy on that score, Harry.'

'They think that I'm cleaning the place up in exchange for free accommodation. Very rough work,' added Lupin with a small grin.

Harry tried to grin back but the goop had definitely dried now and his face wouldn't move at all. He again reached up to touch his face but Snape stopped him. Before Harry could wonder what was going on, Snape had firmly gripped his fingers under the edges of the mud mask and pulled hard.

Harry felt like his face had been caught in the end of a vacuum cleaner.

Snape bared clenched teeth and pulled again. And again. Grunting, he fell against the bed as the mask finally came away with a very loud squelching sound.

Harry did several exercises, testing his face's ability to move once more. 'How bad do I look?' he asked the room at large.

'You look fine, Harry,' Lupin assured him. 'A little pale, but fine.'

'What do you mean "fine"? His face is all blotchy.' Ron sounded like he thought Harry might turn into a dangerous monster at any moment.

'Ignore him, Harry,' said Hermione. 'You just look like you're about to have an outbreak of pimples.' She sounded extremely relieved compared to how she had when Harry first regained consciousness and Harry took this to be a good sign.

'I hope you were paying attention, Weasley. Granger.'

Why did Snape always sound like he was in a classroom, Harry wondered as Snape unscrewed a jar filled with several cotton balls floating in an oily solution, then proceeded to wipe Harry's face with one of them before putting the jar on the table. Next, a large porcelain basin floated up from the floor and hovered just in front of Harry.

'Rinse.' The thin lips barely moved.

Harry scooped handfuls of cool water over his face, taking care not to splash the bedding.

'Properly!'

Harry gasped with shock, inhaling a lungful of water as Snape grabbed the back of his head and suddenly forced his face right into the bowl. He struggled as Snape's other hand roughly rubbed his entire face, then he was upright again, coughing and spluttering as Snape thrust a towel at him.

'I told you Snape was trying to kill Harry.' Ron took several angry steps towards Snape but Lupin pulled him back. 'First the tentacle, now drowning.'

'How was he trying to kill me with a tentacle?' asked Harry, spitting out a mouthful of water.

'He left the one that was strangling you till last. Probably hoping it would finish the job.' Ron continued to glare daggers at Snape.

'As I have already explained, Weasley,' Snape's voice was dangerously quiet, 'that tentacle was the anchor and, had I not destroyed it last of all, any other growths still on Potter's face would have remained there permanently. Or would you prefer your friend – ' (the lip curled) '– to walk around looking like an exhibit from Faumble's Fantastic Freaks?' Ignoring Ron's mutinous glare, Snape turned back as Harry was finally able to don the glasses Hermione handed him, and began packing the medicines he had used into a leather bag.

'You are to apply the masque once each day for the next week,' he instructed. 'It takes half an hour to dry, then it must be removed in one piece … I am certain such a task should not be beyond the abilities of even Weasley and Granger. You are then to bathe your face with one of the Puffskeins – there are just sufficient to last the week, so don't waste any – then rinse vigorously in fresh, clean water. If you use all of the masque before your treatment is complete, send Granger to fetch more. And take dittany. Four leaves every three hours.' He tossed a plant into the bag.

x

'Easy.' Both Hermione and Ginny held Harry up for a moment until his legs adjusted to the weight. A roaring cheer sounded in the distance.

'I don't believe it!' Harry looked towards the Quidditch stadium even though the castle blocked it from view. 'The match is still going.'

'Why wouldn't it be?' asked Ginny. 'We've only been gone an hour.'

Harry pulled up. 'Snape stopped a Voldemort curse from killing me in an hour?'

'And that's a bad thing why?' Hermione wanted to know.

'If he managed to fix me that quickly, then it means he knew the counter-curse, which means he knew all about the curse in the first place, which means he's definitely still working for –'

'Why aren' yeh lot watchin' the match?'

All four of them spun around. Hagrid was standing a few yards away, staring at them suspiciously.

'We were running through tactics,'' Ginny said boldly before Harry even had a chance to gulp guiltily. Ron's jaw started to drop but Hermione managed to kick his shin while Hagrid was gaping at Ginny.

'Ey?'

'Ron's been going over tactics with Ginny,' Harry held up the Firebolt. 'I was helping.'

'Bu' why weren' yeh at the game? An' what's with tha'?' Hagrid's suspicions increased as he jabbed a fat thumb at the Invisibility Cloak bundled in Ron's arms. Ron glanced down at the Cloak, his ears swiftly turning red.

'Er …'

'We didn't want anybody to see us,' Harry quickly said. 'These are Gryffindor's tactics; the last thing we want is for Slytherin to find out. You know what they're like, they'll pinch our ideas. I mean, they're already mad that Ron got to fly a Firebolt against them. Do you really think they'd pass up the chance to stop us winning the Cup by telling the other teams what we've got planned so they know how to beat us?'

'You're not going to tell, are you?'

'It's meant to be secret, Hagrid.'

'We'll lose the Cup.'

'Hagrid,' Harry moved away from the others and beckoned so that Hagrid didn't really have much choice but to lean closer. 'Do this …' he whispered urgently. 'For Ron … please. You know what he's like. He's really good when he doesn't let his nerves get the better of him but the rest of the time he's … well … you know … well, he needs all the help he can get. And that's what I was doing. Helping him. Only, don't let him know that; he thinks it's because I miss being captain. We have to keep his confidence up somehow, don't we?' Harry winked conspiratorially.

To his relief, Hagrid started to chuckle and winked back, tapping his nose and patting Harry on the shoulder for good measure. Harry's knees buckled. Hagrid continued to laugh as he headed towards his hut.

'That was brilliant, Harry!' Hermione and Ginny burst into fits of giggles once Hagrid was out of earshot and didn't stop as they headed up to the castle.

'Why did you have to let him think I'm hopeless?'