I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter eleven

Time passed slowly for Harry since Hermione's birthday. He spent all the time her wasn't doing homework listening for the disembodied voice. So far, he hadn't heard it. But that doesn't mean that the Basilisk wasn't on the loose. He tried t remember the first time he heard the voice and it came back to the day he had detention with Lockhart. He didn't have that detention so he was no where near the snake in order to hear it. No that he minded not hearing the snake. It really was creepy

Halloween approached and the castle was preparing for the feast. Harry found that he didn't care. He really didn't like the way everyone got excited around Halloween. Sometimes it seemed to be an even bigger holiday than Christmas. But for Harry it meant the day of his parents death.

He was planning on sneaking out of the castle to meet Remus, Sirius, and Tonks. He wanted to spend the day remembering his family with his... well family.

But for now, he had Quidditch practice, Animagus lessons, and other advanced lessons with his guardians. The last was something he wished he didn't have. He had the ability to do the magic but it always left him tired.

Right now, it was a week until Halloween and Harry was returning from the Quidditch pitch. And he was covered in mud. The situation seemed familiar but for the right of him couldn't remember what happen today. Then he ran into Nearly Headless Nick, literally. And now he was freezing for a different reason.

"Hello, Nick," said Harry through chattering teeth.

"Hello, hello. Are you alright? You seem a bit cold." Apparently, Nick was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that he floated into Harry.

"I just got back from Quidditch." It was only a half truth but that didn't make Harry feel guilty. "Are you alright? You seem to be a bit down."

Nick then prattled on how he wanted to be part of the Headless Hunt in which Harry tried to console him. He didn't have much luck and he didn't want to go to the Deathday party. He already had plans for that night.

Then he looked down at soft accusing mewing. It was Mrs. Norris. Harry wasn't doing anything and he still had twenty minutes until he had to be in the Common Room. And thirty seconds he saw Filch come running trough a passageway. He shook his head as he turned to the man.

"You, come with me." Filch was just looking to get someone in trouble. Harry, however, followed Filch to his office. He took out the parchment and tried to decide what Harry's crime was. A few minutes later, he heard a loud crash from above them. Filch ran out leaving Harry by himself.

He saw the Kwikspell packet and was tempted to look through it again. He also thought of running for it but that would cause trouble. So he sat there and looked around. He saw the draw that was labeled 'confiscated and highly dangerous'. That temptation was too great. He had a few more minutes before Filch returned so he opened the cabinet. He pulled out an old piece of parchment that was blank. He stuffed in his pocket to look at later. Harry ran to his seat when he heard foot steps.

Filch was able to give him detention even all he was doing was loitering. He even flinched when he said that it would be with Lockhart. Apparently, Lockhart requested that Harry to be given detention with him if Harry ever got it. Harry made a resolution to be more careful in the future, so he wouldn't have another detention. The only upside was that the detention was on Sunday instead of Saturday of the game.

Nick found him after Filch let him go. He was still gloomy. And the big question was about to be asked.

"I'm holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from al over the country. It would be such an honor if you would attend..." Harry quickly cut him off.

"I can't go. I have plans for that evening. My da— godfather, third cousin, and uncle are coming to see me. You know how Halloween isn't something that I get into. I really am sorry." Harry hated to disappoint the ghost but the Deathday party just wasn't something he was willing to suffer through again. "I'll see you around and maybe we can have a chat the weekend after Halloween. I do have Quidditch and a detention.

It was Harry's intention to sneak out of the castle unnoticed. Ron and Neville were already at the feast but Hermione, because she has a kind heart, decided to wait for Harry to come down. But Harry didn't know she was waiting. He didn't see her as he pulled on his invisibility cloak but she saw him. She noticed that it was raining again and hoped Harry wouldn't go outside. But that didn't happen. She followed him as he made his way to the Whomping willow. Hermione could see his footsteps in the mud. He pulled it off just before he reached the tree.

"HARRY! Where are you going?" she said in her best scolding yet curious voice.

Harry groaned for being so careless. Sirius really needed to teach him stealth (as if Tonks could). He grabbed a stick and prodded the knot that caused the tree to stop moving. It was time for their talk.

"Hurry up. We don't want to stand here in the rain all night. Besides, I'm going to be late if we don't move." Hermione curiously followed him into the tunnel and seized Harry's arm a little too tightly. "Will you relax? I know where we're going." He smiled at her as he tried to loosen her grip.

They were almost to the Shack when Hermione found her voice again. "Harry, where are we going? This seems to going on forever." She let go of his arm at last.

"Well, I was going to the Shrieking Shack to talk to Sirius and Remus but was interrupted. So, now we'll be spending a good hour telling you some of my secrets."

"Who's we?" She looked into Harry's eyes. Harry quickly looked away. It was as though she was looking into his very soul. He hated the affect she had on him.

"You'll see in a minute. I hope you like overtly expensive food. I think I can smell lobster up ahead." Since the summer, lobster became one of his favorite foods.

Harry pushed up the trap door and climbed through. Then he took Hermione's hand and pulled her up. She looked around in awe as Harry led her to the room he knew his family was in.

Hermione screamed as the big black dog jumped on Harry. She only relaxed when she saw that Harry was laughing. She screamed again, when she saw that the dog turned into his godfather. That was when Sirius noticed Hermione.

"Oh no," gasped Sirius.

Then Hermione fainted. Harry thought it would be better to let her wake naturally. Fortunately, for them, that only took fifteen minutes.

"You know Harry; you could have told us that you were bringing your girlfriend." Harry gave Tonks a glare.

"She's not my girlfriend." Then he noticed Hermione was awake. They explained that Sirius was an animagus and was teaching Harry. They thought it would be a way to keep him safe. She surprised them all when she asked if they would teach her as well. They talked for an hour before Harry and Hermione went back up the castle.

Then he heard the voice. The Basilisk.

He followed even though he knew what was going to happen. Hermione trailed after him confused. "What's going on? Where are we going?" she kept asking.

"Shh, I can hear something. I hear a voice." A minute later, they were in the corridor that the message was.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN

OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Underneath was Mrs. Norris. She was petrified. Harry could help but feel a little guilty. He could have saved her. He began to walk away; dragging Hermione with him but he was too late. A rumbling sound announced that the feast was over and they both would soon be found under the message.

A few seconds after the rumbling stopped Malfoy shouted through the quiet.

"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!"

"Idiot," muttered Harry."

And then...

"What's going on here? What's going on?" Filch pushed his way though the crowd. When he saw his cat, he threatened Harry just as he did last time. Then Dumbledore came. And finally, Lockhart led them all to his office ("Egotistical idiot," Harry once again muttered). Only this time Ron wasn't with them. He watched as Dumbledore looked over the cat in silence. Only Lockhart was saying anything. And everyone else wished he would shut up. Probably the only time Harry and Snape would agree on anything.

Filch, of course accused Harry of Petrifying the cat even though he was just a Second Year. even with a Fifth Year education he couldn't have done that to her. He wouldn't here of it when Harry said he didn't do it. He felt Dumbledore try to probe his mind again. He put up his shields and kept him out. Hew knew he couldn't fight him off for long so he kept his eye averted to the side where McGonagall stood.

Snape then caused the most trouble.

"Potter and his girlfriend (She's not my girlfriend) may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were they in the upstairs corridor at all? Why weren't they at the feast?" Harry wanted to wipe that smirk of his face.

"I don't like Halloween. If you remember from last year, I wasn't at the feast then either. 'Mi was being a good friend and decided to keep me company."

"Why go up that corridor? Why leave your tower at all?"

"I fancied taking a walk. I was done with my homework and didn't feel like staying in the tower." Harry was glad he rehearsed his answers and the Hermione was staying quiet. "If you're wondering about dinner, we had a large lunch and didn't deem it necessary to eat more." Then Snape tried to get into his mind. So Harry let out an ear piercing scream.

"It hurts. What are you doing to me?" He immediately receded out of Harry's mind. The smirk he had was now gone. "I'm going to tell my godfather that you were cursing me. Remus has been training me to keep people out of my head. But he never used such force on me."

There was a very awkward silence.

"You may go" Dumbledore said at last to Harry and Hermione.

Ten minutes later the two of them were telling Ron and Neville what happened in Lockhart's office. Harry would tell the two boys about Sirius on another day.

A/N please review.