ebtwisty9: Thanks a lot. I did try to update this one sooner so you wouldn't have to be kept in suspense too long...
Tmctflyboy: Yay! New reviewer! Sorry that it is confusing- hopefully this chapter will clear some things up... and some more more questions...
Evegreen Scepter: He does in this chapter. But in the first one, he had just met the creature. It is human nature to fight or flee. I was just using some basic psychiatry. Yes, Daemon is the phoenix.
PsychicLunar: Not really. It is just a safe-guard on the tomb reacting, nothing to do with Salazar being evil. Oh, and Celia was the one talking the whole time, just thought I would clear that up...
A/N- If you have already read this chapter, don't worry. I did update my story, however I added a prolouge instead of a new chapter. Hope you all enjoy!
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Celia spun around wildly, turning to face the dark gloom. The sizzling sound of fire was followed a moment later by a golden glow walking toward them. With a sigh, Celia sat down. The torch hit the familiar face of Professor Blair Kryeen.
"Miss Blair, you frightened me." Her voice was the one echoing in the halls, soft, melodious like a whispering wind, with a vague accent.
"Strong words Celia, considering you just wandered into my room in the middle of the night." Blair replied, snapping her fingers as the flames sprung from walls, lighting the entire classroom.
"It is the guardian Miss Blair, it tried to attack them." Celia gestured to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny behind her.
"Really? What happened?" Her tone was mildly curious.
"We came to find you." Harry stepped in, catching his breath and slowing his pounding heart. "And then that... guardian attacked us. It might have killed Ginny if Celia hadn't helped us with some spell." He wanted to make her feel guilty.
However, Kryeen only questioned him further. "What did the guardian look like? Did it say anything?"
"It was half-snake and... half woman. All it did was hiss at us a lot and then try to bite a few people." Ron muttered hoarsely.
"Parselmouth?" Blair turned to direct the question to Celia, whose pale cheeks blushed slightly in the light.
"I came too late to hear anything." She replied.
"You speak Parselmouth too?" Harry asked suddenly, surprised.
She gave a shy nod, amber eyes focused on the ground.
"Two snake-charmers?" The professor noted. "What did the guardian say Harry?"
Kill Professor Kryeen. He thought bitterly. "She said 'Mortals dare defy my father's rest! Die all, die and let me feed. I am so hungry, come little children... pay the blood to awaken the King of Snakes!' and then another bit about death, and finally she said that 'You escaped once but not again.'"
"Who defied Salazar?" Blair continued.
"I did," Ginny said, forcing herself to stand.
"Gin..." Ron's moan was lost upon his sister.
"I... helped to awaken the Chamber of Secrets; but Harry rescued me and destroyed it." The red-haired girl tilted her chin up to look Professor Kryeen straight in the eye.
Now Harry flushed and Celia gave him an encouraging, if weary, smile.
"I shall have to hear how that tale goes," Blair started, but was interrupted by a single rhythmic note from the phoenix Daemon.
"Later however, right now you don't seem to be in the mood to talk." A flickering smile passed over her lips.
"We came to ask you to take the coffin back." Harry said, his voice gaining strength.
"I believe I have already informed Albus about my opinion on that matter." She replied curtly.
"It is dangerous! That thing is out there killing people!" Harry lost his temper, standing up seething.
"Well then you go out there and be the hero little Harry, I do not play such naïve games." The fiery woman's voice was laced with power.
"And unlocking an ancient tomb is not naïve?" Harry felt the fury pounding through his head, obstructing reason.
"I do not fear the guardian, besides it may prove some fun in this dim old castle." She replied, daring him to yell at her again.
Attacking Hogwarts tore the boy-who-lived's last strand of patience.
"YOU INSANE WRETCH! PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS HAVING FUN? YOU ARE WORSE THEN VOLDEMORT, AT LEAST HE DOESN'T KILL FOR FUN YOU NUEROTIC WHORE!" The words poured out of Potter's mouth.
A blade was against his throat before Harry took another breath, breaking into a thin trickle of blood across his throat.
"HARRY!" Hermione screamed, jumping to her feet as Ron tried to stand miserably.
"Do not insult me Harry Potter. I am not like the rest of the magical world. I do not believe in any prophesy or see you as some saint... I will kill you." Her eyes burned into his skull. Harry did not dare reply as the blade's hot touch pressed against his skin.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flurry of crimson and felt the reassuring weight as Daemon perched on Harry's shoulder, solemn blue eyes looking up at the young professor with reprimand and warning. With obvious hesitation, Blair drew back the long knife and re-sheathed it; slipping it back into the high black boots she wore under her robes.
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"Stay still please," Celia chided Ron gently as she turned her charm over, muttering a spell and pressing it against his bruised back.
"Ow, that hurts." Ron said between gritted teeth.
Still, the magic worked as it flowed from the white stone to the skin, repairing bruises and a snapping bones together. She pulled away after nearly a minute.
"You'll be fine now." She smiled.
"Thanks," Ron murmured, rubbing his back.
Professor Kryeen sat at her desk, a bottle of amber-colored liquid in front of her. Daemon flew over her head, staring incriminating.
"I am being civil." Blair snapped to the scarlet bird. " I swear you are going to make me kill you someday."
Daemon flew over near Celia, and Harry glared at Blair furiously.
Suddenly, a great boom sounded at the door, followed by muffled voices.
" That man has a death wish." Kryeen hissed, drawing her wand and the knife in one swift movement as she strode over to the double bronze doors.
Harry recognized the voice and felt as though he had been punched hard in the gut. It was Lupin ... and Dumbledore.
With a roar, he jumped on the woman as she unlocked the door. Immediately, he felt a crushing hand grip his arm, disarming him Harry of his wand and pinning him against the stone wall.
Potter's arms were held fast behind his own weight, legs dangling inches from the ground as Blair held him with one hand on by his neck. In the other hand, she held the knife he had seen less then an hour ago. Free fire danced in the golden orbs, as light contrasted her tan skin and crimson hair with crossing shadow.
"Professor Kryeen!" Dumbledore's voice rang with power that shook the walls of the room and hurt Harry's ears; but Blair didn't move away from her position.
"Expelliarmus!" A jet of red light shot out of Remus's wand.
Without a breath's time, Harry found himself in front of Blair, both hand held by her as he was pushed forward as the disarming spell. It hit him, the trained instincts of the female Defense teacher dropping him and ducking just as Harry flew back a few feet to ram into the wall.
"Peterificus Totalus!" Hermione screeched, forcing Kryeen to roll out of the way,
"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore roared, fury etched in his usually calm features. Even Blair payed attention this time...partly.
"Or what? Your savior jumped me!" She spat, poise stiff and senses alert.
"You were going to hurt the Headmaster!" Ron yelled to defend his mate.
"I was going to do more then hurt." Her voice was deadly silk.
"Bitch!" Ginny swore angrily.
"Miss Weasely, let it be." Albus commanded sternly. Then turning to Professor Kryeen he spoke clearly. "We are taking the students out of the room. They will be nothing to bother you."
"Step foot in this chamber again and I will kill you!" Blair threatened.
" Do not touch them again!" Lupin snapped, truly angry for the first time Harry had ever seen.
"Or else what? Will you bite me?" An irritating flicker ran across her features.
"Let's go." Celia stopped all argument with those two words. Her voice carried a soothing note, enough to make Hermione, Ron, and Ginny walk out; as Celia helped Harry up despite the silent protests of his friends. She was the only one who had not raised against the dangerous professor. Still, her face was troubled as she led Harry carefully out the door.
A streak of crimson flew past them. Daemon scouted ahead down the hall.
Without a word, Celia allowed Lupin to take Harry from her. Harry leaned on his arm, angry at his own weakness. But his legs were being difficult...
The large doors slammed shut with an audible click.
"Inside we will be killed, and outside we are being hunted." Ron stated grimly. "We can't win."
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They walked down the dark halls, illuminated only by Dumbledore's wand as he led them through the castle. Ages seemed to pass, as they tramped on. At one point, Harry's leg began to feel better and he managed to stumble painfully along on his own until Celia pressed the necklace against his back, magic dripping to his leg.
"Thanks," Harry whispered. The oppressive silence seemed to swallow his words.
"It is fine." She replied in a hushed tone, her eyes darting around warily.
"What did you do last time, to get away from the guardian?" He asked.
"It was just a little trick," she shrugged modestly. "I used a light-spell to burn and blind it. Nothing permanent."
"It still saved us." Harry muttered.
"For now," She admitted.
Suddenly, the slow-moving group halted. The air was strangely still, like the calm before the storm and charged with deep magic. Then, the pale light in front of them lifted to reveal her.
Pale face contorted in fury, flickering tounge working between the fangs. For a moment, she didn't move; silver eyes locked onto the Headmaster, straying finally to Lupin. Then with a single movement, she seemed to decide.
"No mortals stand against me... I am the bloodline of my father, no others deserve my birthright..."
A jet of green light shot out of Dumbledore's wand; but the snake-woman simply recoiled for a second, then continued on hissing angrily.
"Remus, take the students and run." Albus commanded firmly.
"Headmaster I--" Lupin's argument was lost in the cry of a musical voice.
Daemon flew out at the creature, striking it with golden beak and talons.
The guardian shrieked in fury, trying to bite at the large red bird. Finally, a pale arm managed to reach out and roughly pin it to the ground.
"Die..." It hissed.
"Stop!" Harry tried desperately to talk to the creature.
It paused for a moment, and then glared with raw hatred at him.
"Bastard mud-blood carries my father's gift! I am his child, I am the last bloodline!"
But Daemon was still struggling, blood-red feathers fighting with determined icy eyes. Choosing to finish the smaller threat first, she leaned down to bite the slender neck cleanly in half...
A loud voice echoed across the halls, filling the stone of the walls and the bone of the people. Harry couldn't tell what the words meant, but he felt their ancient power coursing through his veins like a fever.
The guardian hissed angrily, blinking twice to look up at her new challenger.
Flames danced down the dark hall, illuminating it in a ghastly red glow as waves of heat crashed down. The heavy clod of boots rammed against the stone floor as she approached, cloaked with flame that tickled her skin; golden eyes alight with power.
She spoke the words again, and in a refracting echo, Harry understood them.
"Leave this place, go back to your father's home..." There was force in the words.
"The mortals... the bloodline must be purged. I must be the last, the most faithful..." The humanoid hissed, recoiling from the vivid form before her.
With a wave of her hand, Blair Kryeen pointed to the still phoenix.
"You have touched what is mine; and I shall drink to vengeance less you leave now!" Her strange language seemed to pound through Harry's body with exulting force.
For a fraction of a minute, the guardian and professor stood facing each other. The snake-woman shrouded in shadow, as Blair stood with fire dancing on her skin. Finally, the guardian backed down, releasing the phoenix hissing back.
"Another time, I will have the blood price..."
There was a time of silence as the fire died out, leaving thick darkness until their eyes adjusted.
"Did you want me to do that? Was that your plan, to get me to protect them?" Blair was speaking, seemingly to Daemon, who was ruffling his smooth feathers.
The knife was thrown next to him, burying itself deep into stone with force.
"Answer me now."
The bird stared up at her with blue eyes, cocking its head as if reading something. Then, it began to change. The body became translucent, the red giving way to pale peach. Feathers sunk in to smooth skin as the form became taller...
A boy of 15, transparent almost stood in front of them. The only hint of his former form was the startling red hair composed of a feather-like texture that fell down to mid-back, a long, straight nose; and piercing ice blue eyes.
"I was trying to prevent you from having to explain why your pet bird is really the shadow of a teenage boy." His voice was light, musical, and tainted with power.
When Kryeen didn't reply he continued.
"You didn't have to come save me."
She leaned down, nearly touching his nose.
"I will not betray him." Her voice was a fiery whisper.
"I released you from that bond a while ago." The boy once called Daemon replied.
"And I of yours, but you are still here." With that, the young professor strode off; her red cloak billowing.
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A/N- Twisted it up even more... Daemon looks a bit more like a ghost just for anyone confused. His origins will be explained next chapter. How do I do? Blair have a few secrets that are coming into light...