Chapter 2: The entrance to Hell

Harry pulled out of bed smiling. He couldn't seem to stop considering he'd pulled a prank on his father along with Sirius and the traitorous Wormtail. Ginny seemed to notice his happiness, and she noticed it wouldn't fade.

"What's up Potter? You may not be weird faced anymore, but why the bloody hell are you so happy?" Ginny asked.

"Well Weasley, you may want to take a look at the marauders today. They may seem a bit under the weather, WWW style." Harry smirked.

"NO, you didn't? He's your own father! Are you really going to engage in a prank war with him? For Merlin's sake Harry, you are on a mission!" She almost screamed at him.

"Yeah, yeah, but the old codger didn't say I couldn't have a little fun with it did he?"

"No, I suppose he didn't, but when exactly are you going to pursue Tom?"

"I think I'll do it next weekend to start, but this weekend, I'll go off and look for clues as to where he might be."

Ginny sighed at this. "Fine, but you better plan lessons because I know after next weekend; you won't be coming back for Monday or Tuesday. You're probably going to go all out until you put a trace on him." She said this in a reprimanding tone that would have made her own mother wince.

It made Harry cringe. "Bloody hell Gin, what are you, channeling your mum? And fine I'll give you the lesson plans, just get off my back. Besides you teach the newt classes with me anyway. The only ones I have to give you are fifth and third. You teach the other three anyway." He reasoned.

She seemed to accept this answer because she just went to that bathroom to get ready while Harry got out the stuff he would need for the lecture and headed out. When he got to the great hall, he could hear insane bouts of laughter coming from the tables. James and his buddies were all canaries and had to eat their breakfasts as birds. It was hilarious to see each of them try to get a piece of bacon in their beaks, only to see them miss the bacon and hit the plate hard.

After a while however, the laughter died down, and a banner came down. The banned was a huge one that fell over the house table and said "The Marauders are to be repaid for all of their shenanigans through the years- Berylbeak." This earned the four now revealed marauders glares from fellow students.

Harry and Ginny went to teach their newt classes, which they had first thing in the mornings on Tuesdays. Harry had set up the room for patronus lessons. Although it was the first week of school, he thought a patronus would be a fun way to begin the year.

The three Marauders were the first to come in. Harry felt bad about them feeling they had an unknown enemy, and there were still ten minutes till class began.

"Oi Marauders! Come here for a second." Harry asked nonchalantly. They all came over, rather downtrodden seeing that they had to move in little bird steps.

"Yes professor?" they asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth what did you think of that wondrous canary prank?" He asked

"It was quite good, but I just wish we knew who did it." Sirius said quite seriously.

"Well, look no further boys, that was just a little payback for clown-facing me yesterday, it really wasn't smart to make a rival out of me, especially before you tested the waters."

"YOU"RE BERYLBEAK?" They exclaimed.

"Yes, but no one else needs to know that do they?" They all shook their heads, frankly scared.

"But how did you know it was us?" James asked, put off that they had been found out.

"James, we're both Potter's although our relation is unknown, and I spare a glimpse at you an your friends in the great hall. Your faces were full of pure guilt. There was no doubt that something was up, but don't try to out-prank the master alright boys?" he stressed the word boys as a taunt.

"If you really want a war, we can give you one very easily professor." James taunted back.

"A threat from a canary, now that's funny!" He laughed and the Marauders went back to their seats.

The day went as it was suppose to. Ginny had to show them a corporeal Patronus because Harry's would reveal too much. At the end of class since there was enough time, Harry and Ginny had another mock duel, much to the students' pleasure, and Harry displayed some of his more prominent hexes.

The seventh year class went the same way, and after that Harry was free. He had no classes that day as the third and fifth years didn't have defense on certain days.

Ginny on the other hand had a few more classes to go through. Harry decided to sit the day out in his office and have a nice cup of coffee. As he got bored, he pulled out the Marauders map, and decided to have a look at what was going on. Something interesting caught his attention.

Harry bolted out of the room into the corridor he was looking for. He knew it was the right one when he heard bouts of laughter, and saw a circle of people. Inside the circle was an unsuspecting third year with a head the size of a small hippogriff.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked, only to find Sirius and James in the center, holding the poor boy at wand point. The two had lost their canary state and had decided to have a hexing spree. Harry immediately set the boy back to his original head-size and had a seventh year prefect escort him to the hospital wing. "Potter and Black in my office NOW" He said a little loudly. Clearly, everyone was quite afraid to hear him even raise his voice a bit. He hadn't even gotten close to angry after the Marauders got him with the clown pie.

"Yes professor." The two boys were petrified. The professor had seemed so nice, not one who usually got angry. And from experience, both boys knew that a person who seldom got angry was much scarier than a person who got angry often. They also knew that someone who didn't get angry and just nodded t them, would make it worse, as they would feel guilt.

The three got to the office and Harry closed the door. "Why exactly inspired you to do that to a younger student?" He asked calmly.

Both boys were looking down at their feet, shuffling nervously. James felt obligated to answer. "Well professor, you see, we saw it as an ideal opportunity to test our prowess in defense against the dark arts. We wanted to see if we had the skill to out duel you." He attempted.

"Flattery will get you into a deeper pit. From what I got, hexing innocent bystanders gives you a thrill? From what Ms. Weasley and I have assessed from you is that you think you are better than everyone else, and that gives you the right to hex people into oblivion. Well, for that I have to say I am disappointed in you. I'll bet that this year that notion of yours will die. Both of you, two detentions apiece, and if I may have your communication mirrors?" he summoned them before they could even open their mouths. "Now, off to charms with you two."

The two left the office without a sound and Harry smiled to himself remembering that he had to deflate James' head a bit, in order for lily to grow close to him.

The weekend came much faster than Harry had anticipated. Before he knew it, he had his last class for Friday- his third years whom were learning about Boggarts and how to dispel them. As soon as it was over, He grabbed his rucksack and headed off to Hogsmeade under his invisibility cloak.

He found a place behind the shabby Hog's head to apparate. Harry himself had no way of actually knowing where Tom was, which would make this extremely tedious. He decided to apparate to Borgin and Burkes. The shop was very unchanged since Harry had seen it in his sixth year. It hadn't been demoted or improved in any way. The only difference was the dark objects available to the public.

Harry got up the courage to go to the counter and ask about the young Tom Riddle. All he got was that riddle had disappeared. This meant that Hephzibah Smith was most probably dead. Out of curiosity, Harry decided to check a few other things. He went around town, and talked to all those who had ever come into contact with Tom. Every single person proclaimed him a sweet boy who was very nice.

Harry had to suppress a laugh seeing how gullible and foolish these people were. 'The ministry is either too innocent or too corrupt, no equilibrium for those bastards' he thought grimly.

Harry then had another idea. People weren't the ones who would know about the real Tom Riddle, but something else. He bolted towards a pet shop in Knockturn alley. Swinging the corner, he found what he was looking for. The storeowner had seen tom, but could say no more.

Harry stunned the owner and locked the shop up. He went to the section of the store that held the snakes. One cage was empty, probably was the home of Nagini. Harry went around to each of the serpents until he saw a rather small one. This one was only seven inches in length and was not suppose to grow any more. Harry asked him about Tom.

"I will tell you anything, but please take me away from here afterwards." The snake persisted.

"Fine, but what can you tell me about the boy who bought a snake from here? Do you know where he was going?"

"He was going to some place to avenge someone. He promised to kill some muggle after he left the shop. The owner was obliviated and would not know about him. He is planning a murder soon, as he left this shop a mere day ago."

"Thank you. I think I know where he is going."

"Why do you follow him? He seemed very powerful and evil. You do not seem very evil, but you have power that rivals his. Is there something you have to settle with this man?"

"Yes, the man killed my parents and many people close to me. I have some business with him. Please do not disclose my secrets."

"I would never betray my master's secrets. I will serve you as you wish for me to."

"Fine, let's leave now, but do not call me Master. My name is Harry and you will address me as such."

"Yes Harry, but do not forget that you must bestow a title upon me as well."

"Fine, how would you like to be called Lion?"

"That would suit me well. Let's leave."

"Fine slither into my sleeve. I have to keep you hidden from most."

"As you wish Harry." With that, the snake slithered into his sleeve and he apparated under his cloak to the library.

After gathering some old records, he apparated to the hog's head for a drink. At thepub, he read through the obituaries, but found no sign of the deaths of Tom Riddle Sr. and his parents. This meant that Tom killed them after MS. Smith. Harry bolted out of the pub at light speed.

From the Hog's Head, he apparated to Little Hangleton, hoping to catch Tom while he slaughtered his parents. Sure enough, he arrived just in time to see three flashes of green light blast the three muggles into their deathbeds. Silently, he snuck behind Tom and positioned himself for a complex tracer charm, much like the one used to detect underage magic. He fired it just as Tom fired the memory charm at Morfin.

Luckily enough, the shot hit Tom clear in the leg without him being any the wiser. Harry smirked archly. It was time to put the operation underway. Carefully, he pulled out a parchment. Tapping it with his wand three times, he whispered a transfer charm, to transfer the tracer from his mind to the paper, making it a type of marauders map to locate Tom.

Looking it over, he found Tom had apparated to Australia. Harry however knew it may have been a trap, as to check if someone had put a charm on Tom. The tracer Harry used was impossible to find, unless the tracker actually came into range. As long as Harry stayed away, the tracer was virtually indestructible.

He smiled and apparated to the three broomsticks for a nice drink, during which, he checked his watch. It was two in the afternoon, and he was sure he had left at four in the evening. This meant that he had spent a mere day for the entire mission. He was free for a week and a half.

Harry felt happy at that thought and sipped his firewhiskey while reading his Tom trace. He found that tom spent his time in the Hangleton residence for hours. He seemed to be sitting, and relaxing.

After about three hours, a few people joined him. Mcnair, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott were a few whom Harry recognized. Malfoy was only four years ahead of Snape, meaning that he had only graduated three years ago and was most likely only twenty.

It was around seven when Harry cleared out of the pub and headed to the castle. The trip had exhausted him and cost him a full night's sleep.

He checked the marauders map to find his path clear to his quarters. Quietly, he stole away into the castle, and slipped into his room unnoticed, by everyone except Ginny.

"So Harry, how was your day with Tom?" She asked causing him to jump.

"Bugger Gin, do you have to do tha- OW!" She hit him on the shoulder.

"First, don't call me Gin, second, just answer my bloody question." She said crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"Fine, lets see, I put a trace on him and have it on this map here. I found him as he was murdering his beloved father and grandparents and got him there. I even picked up Lion on the way." He added.

She looked at him quizzically. "Lion?" As if on cue, Lion slithered out of his niche in Harry's robes and slithered around his wrist like a bracelet. Ginny screamed bloody murder.

"Ginny relax, jeez who the bloody hell would've thought you would be scared of a tiny snake."

"Shut up Potter and just get that bloody thing away from me!" She said petrified and ran out of the room in trepidation. Then it dawned on Harry where her fear of a snake came from- the basilisk. It was then he realized why she hadn't been afraid of snakes in their dimension. In this time, the Basilisk wasn't dead, and the chamber was theoretically a threat still.

He ran after her, feeling guilty about his remark. He went into the bedroom where she was laying. She was on her bed, curled up and shock still. He crept up to her and tapped her. She bolted upright. The look of pure vulnerability on her face made him melt. The strong, ever battle ready Ginny that he knew didn't seem present in her.

He put a hand on her shoulder and began talking. "It's all right; no one can open the chamber this time. The diary is with Tom and if anyone opens the chamber, which they won't, I'll be there this time to end it quickly. The Basilisk is trapped and Lion isn't and evil snake. He helped me find Tom. He asked me to take him, because he didn't want to be surrounded by dark magic and dark snakes. Trust me he's not at all evil, and if you don't like him, he'll keep away from you." He said.

His words seemed to work because after he said them she hugged him and cried into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and he felt his stomach jump. After a while, they broke apart and she whispered "Thank you Harry" into his ear. The old Ginny seemed to bounce back out right away. "So Potter you must be tired. You have bags under your eyes which means you forgot to sleep. Why don't you go to bed and I'll wake you up for dinner."

"Thanks Weasley, but I won't forgive you if I have to miss dinner; you know food is my number one priority." He teased and she rolled her eyes.

"Ron has rubbed off on you and Hermione way too much. I mean he's got Hermione using curses and you thinking about food over a dark lord, Merlin knows what he's done to both of you." She said.

Harry decided to use his common sense for once. He knew if he lay down even for a second, he would fall asleep immediately. Therefore, he decided to pick up his mirror and call Hermione. Hermione's face popped up in an instant.

"Oh! Hi Harry, I'm guessing you called in to give your mission report?" It was more a statement than a question. When Hermione was in business mode, no one could get her to even get into small talk.

"Yes Hermione. I put the trace on Tom and I know he's right now in the old Riddle house. Also, any activities out of the usual will be reported regularly." He said. This satisfied Hermione and she swapped modes.

"Good work Harry, but you look a bit tired. Did you forget to sleep?" She asked with a knowing look on her face.

"Yes, but all's well. Now I get next weekend off and I even get to relax for a day." Harry responded, ready for a harsh telling off.

"Yes Harry, but do take care of yourself. I would say more, but Ron has told me not to 'baby' you. Anyway keep in touch with us seeing that we won't see you for another two years. Good luck!" And with that, she hung up.

Harry fell onto his bed and sleep instantly kidnapped him into a dreamless array of peace. It felt good to sleep after a successful day. It seemed that he was awoken by Ginny all too soon.

"Oh come on Weasley, what time is it?" he asked clearly irritated that he had been awoken.

"Well, it's about seven in the morning and you haven't eaten for enough time. I have to say, you may want to go for breakfast. The kids have inquired where you were and they seem to think you died. James and Sirius have also been looking for you quite a lot." He shot up. He had been asleep for over nine hours.

He got ready and went to the teacher's table for breakfast. James and Sirius came up to him within ten minutes.

They both had rather downtrodden looks on their faces, and James spoke first. "We're sorry that we hexed a student for no reason. You're right; we had no right to do it as we are not kings. Just because we top in many things does not mean we have the right to hex everyone in the castle."

Sirius nodded at this and added his own excerpt. "We went to the boy and apologized. We were way out of our league to do that to him and he accepted out apology. Again professor, we'll never do it again."

Harry smiled inside his mind, but kept a poker face outside. "Right then boys; I have to say I'm proud of you, but only if you mean it. I really hope that you aren't saying this just for the sake of it. As long as you see to it that that's the case, you are forgiven." The two smiled and nearly skipped across the great hall to their table.

Harry smiled outward this time. He'd made a difference in his father for the better. This made him quite happy with himself and the changes he was making. He ate his breakfast and headed back up to his office to rest. He had been absent for two days, so Ginny had filled in his office and paperwork (for which he was eternally grateful).

He laid back and relaxed, while enjoying a nice chat with Lion about his life and all that he had set out to do. Lion soon knew about his entire quest and all he had to do from start to finish. How it had happened Harry didn't know, but he had fallen asleep in his office, talking to Lion. It was a good thing that he had cast a locking and impertable charm while he spoke parseltongue, because after he fell asleep, Lion did as well, right on Harry's desk.

Harry awoke the next day to a hiss near his ear, where Lion had taken residence in order to wake his master.

"Wake up, it's time for breakfast and if you don't get up!" he hissed as loudly as possible.

"Huh, oh thanks a lot Lion, but you're right I better go take a shower first though. I'll feed you and then I'll set you in my room. Please watch the map and if you see any activity while I'm in class, I'll leave a portkey that'll lead you into my left sleeve." Harry said and got up to leave. He had one class in the morning that day and he intended to get a bite form the kitchen before he had to teach.

After he got ready, he ran to the kitchens to get some breakfast for himself and a bowl of bacon for Lion, which he banished to his room to save time. Ginny met him on his way to his first class, but he ran past her before she could admonish him for it.

He slipped into his fifth year class and began teaching the basics of dueling and defensive techniques.

It was late October when things began to get into motion. Tom had started to move around in various patterns, confusing Harry. His scar was also not very good, because the relationship hadn't developed yet. The piece of soul that rested within Harry was gone. This made for a confusing world.

It was the day before Halloween when Harry felt very apprehensive about what Tom was or was planning to do. The thought scared him, but he couldn't just act on a feeling. Voldemort wasn't actually doing anything, so he had no reason to ask Ginny to fill in for him. Acting on a whim would just leave him in a Dept. of mysteries situation.

"Ginny, I feel Voldemort's up to something. Could you please sit with me through my classes?" He asked hoping to convince her.

"Fine, but don't expect me to teach. I'll be under cloak. If you leave during my classes, just send a note up to me using that flying parchment spell they use at the ministry." Ginny said, obviously skeptical about Harry's assumptions. "Honestly, I think you're just paranoid because he murdered your parents on Halloween and let a troll into the castle your first year."

"Ok whatever, but Lion has been watching the map and is really anticipating something as well." Harry said annoyed. He had been convinced that something was up, and Ginny had to get him thinking about his bloody subconscious. Now he wouldn't be able to teach straight.

All was well throughout the day until his newt class, where the students were studying how to take down a dragon. It was a topic suggested for fun, as Harry didn't want them to work on Halloween. He had developed a bond with many students most of whom respected him and trusted him.

As they were discussing a strong conjunctivitis spell at the eye, Harry felt something slither up his left arm. Lion got as close as he could to the collar of Harry's robes and whispered "He's underwater now. He went directly inside the Bermuda triangle. Something's up lets go."

Harry sprung into action. "Erm… Weasley could you finish this up? I have to go, Tom's on the move." He said and ran out.

"Ready, I'm going to apparate. Did I forget anything?"

"Hmm… other than the fact that time is of the essence, no, nothing."

"Shut up."

"Just hurry up, I really don't have all day. Let's just go check it out an come back. You are really mean if you expect to leave Ginny here all by herself. What will she think of you taking your time to come back?"

"So what are you playing at Leo? Why should I care?"

"You obviously like her. Why don't you act on it?"

"Shut up, I've had enough of your cheek for one day. We're almost at the edge of the wards."

With that he lunged the last leg, cast a bubble head charm on him and Lion and apparated right above the ocean.

"This the spot? Lion, double check the map."

"Yes it is Harry. Really, I can read a map much better than you can and yet you doubt my abilities, jeez such confidence you instill in me."

"Humph, you know that's not true. Sometimes you get a bit arrogant and that tends to screw you over. Now I'm going down, so is this the exact spot he went down?"

"Yes just go and stop pestering me!"

Harry stopped levitation them and the fell into the water. Something was stopping them from sinking, so Harry decided to help them along. He cast the counter to a weightless charm, to make their weight triple what it was. The sunk slowly, but surely. For the hell of it, Harry cast the charm two more times making them twenty seven times their own weight. This let them sink faster than two hundred kilometers an hour.

After the fall, Lion seemed utterly distraught. There was a spot of light in the water about ten miles ahead. As Harry and Lion walked toward it, they began some light conversation. "What the hell is your problem? That wasn't very funny!"

"It is when you look at your face, besides you can consider it payback for the cheek before."

"At least what I said was true! Don't deny it, because animals can tell when a human lies to them. You humans don't know how to lie well, and it will be your downfall."

"Sod off Leo, sod off."

After about nine kilometers, Harry realized that he could breathe. Tom had cast a switching spell to swap the water for air in everything except color and weight; it was air that one could swim through. Just as Harry began to enjoy this a little too much, Lion began to hiss at him angrily to warn him to stay focused.

He stopped aimlessly swimming with a sigh and walked towards the light. When the weird air ended and normal air began, he pulled out his invisibility cloak and slipped it on. He was a bit big for it, but it still covered him head to toe quite easily, as long as he didn't move in long strides.

He came to a small castle. It looked in every way like Hogwarts except for one noticeable difference (excluding the size which was one fourth of Hogwarts), the crest. Instead of the lovable four section shield, there was a crest of only one person. It contained a snake and Salazar Slytherin. The snake was wrapped around the founder's head like a crown, and came down elegantly along the side of his neck. The founder had a nasty grin to him and his eyes were alive with flame dancing win them. He undoubtedly told his current heir if anyone was outside.

Harry felt his hair stand up as he contemplated fighting Tom. He was much more powerful now, whilst Voldemort hadn't even split his soul yet, much less found much dark magic to use. It was a half and half decision and he somehow knew that confrontation could not be avoided forever, even in this time period.

He sighed and got an idea, oddly enough.

"Hey Leo, can you be discreet and find a place for me to get in? You'll have to go from under the cloak to avoid Salazar's eyes. Also, when you get in, create a diversion to avert Slytherin's gaze. That way, I'll sneak in and we'll meet up. Remember, you can't talk once inside because he knows parseltongue as well."

"Yes of course Harry, good luck and be careful. We want to avoid a direct confrontation, so please don't give in to your bloody anger and let it cloud your judgment." And with that said, he slithered away ready to serve his master to the death. Harry just hoped he wouldn't have to. Harry only had to wait but five minutes before he heard a crash, and saw Slytherin's red eyes lose their fire. This meant that he was no longer being watched.

He slipped into the castle, making sure to leave traces of his footsteps unknown. He waited near the entrance for another five minutes before he felt Lion slither back up his robes. He let out a breath thankful that his little friend was safe. Little did Harry know what was waiting for him in the castle.

He entered the first chamber, only to come across a panel of doors. There were two. The one that led to where Voldemort was without any obstacles was obviously locked with a simple password spell that would cause it to open only to the password. He tried everything he could think of but to no avail. The obvious of all passwords wouldn't work. Harry gave up and decided to go along the path with the obstacles.

This, when Harry looked back at it, was a terrible decision.

The first room Harry came too was bone chilling. It had a certain cold prospect to it, one that only a dementor could give it. On top of the dementor's aura of bone-chilling numbness, there were about twelve dozen cooling charms on the room. Harry had only a few options. The first thing he had to secure was Lion. If Lion was exposed to the cold air, he would freeze up. Snake skin was never meant to be frozen.

He quickly cast a warming charm on his companion and took off his cloak. He wrapped up Lion in the cloak and put it on the ground on a conjured pillow. That would hold him at least. The next thing he did was cast his patronus. The stag bounded to the dementor, but this dementor seemed the least bothered by it. Harry knew the only way to continue would be to kill the dementor.

In his recent studies, Harry had found a foolproof way to kill a dementor forever. Before he had a chance to field test his theory, he had been called onto this mission and lost thought of it but now was the time. He had few options, so he transformed into Berylbeak and charged. The dementor could only be killed when it had its hood up and was attacked as it administered the kiss. Only the one being kissed could kill it, making the process extremely difficult not to mention dangerous.

Harry front out panicked. He had one option, but it was a gamble. He did it. He stood there in his phoenix for waiting for the dementor to lower its hood and open its mouth. As it did, a bluebell fireball began to for inside Berylbeak's mouth. Once the dementor took the final step in the kiss, he blasted it before his soul left his body and it fell down, dead.

Harry fell to his knees and took deep breaths. His theory had worked for once without the help or proofreading of Hermione, but that was definitely close. This was suicide, marching into Voldemort's castle so bloody early in the mission. It was not something he should have taken lightly.

Even if Tom himself didn't find Harry, he would inevitably have security of some sorts. But at least this explained all of the muggle theories about the triangle and disappearances. A dementor as hungry as that one needed souls constantly and Tom must need people to work like house elves to clean and cook. The only people he saw below house elves were muggles, so in a sick twisted way, it all made sense. Harry was still panting on the floor as Lion slithered over.

"Harry, are you ok? That was some trick you used, killing the dementor! I've never seen anyone do that without using an extremely dark spell to banish it; that was amazing. But again you were careless, and the entire thing was reckless. It's a wonder you're still alive. Again, be a little more careful JEEZ!"

'Yeah, you're right that was stupid, but don't get used to it. You will still be wrong almost every other time, so leave it there. I'm fine, and I just need a bit of chocolate. Dementors suck, trust me you were lucky not to have seen that thing's bloody face scared the hell out of me. Come on, let's keep going."

The pair entered the next room, which was almost as cold as the previous.

"What the hell Harry, does this guy have a bloody obsession with cold?"

"Not that I knew of, and frankly I'm a bit sick of it too. Wonder what he keeps in such a big room anyway."

Harry was right to wonder. The room was as big as half a Quidditch pitch and was covered head to toe in snow. The snow was fresh too, as if it had just snowed. It was a beautiful sight trapped in a dungeon. But unfortunately, Harry didn't have to wait long to find out what was hiding inside the dungeon, for a huge beast made it's way to greet Harry.

The beast was as big as a giant, but had white skin. Its torso and legs were covered in armor, as was its lower arms. It had a kendo mask on it' face made of pure gold, and was radiating a cold barrier. It was a frost-giant.

Harry had read about frost giants before, and what he read fascinated him. Frost giants were a formidable force, but had gone supposedly extinct after the ice age. The giants themselves were actually much smarter than their land counterparts, but also much slower. The only weak spot they had was their speed. They fed on anything alive and were almost immortal. Killing one was impossible unless a huge supply of magic was used. The one technique that could kill them was the dragon fire, but it would have to be backed up with an intense magical core for it to last long enough. This battle was a dangerous one.

Harry had few options but to do it. He needed a good position first, which would be easy considering the speed of a frost giant was nothing to boast about. He ran to the end of the room to gather the energy to perform the spell.

He stood waiting for the giant to come. It took what seemed like years, but when it was in range, Harry focused his mind only on the spell and yelled "Phlogiston Draconis!" Instead of the normal fire shooting out though, a small ball of fire began to form at the tip of Harry's wand. The ball grew until it was the size of hippogriff and then Harry let it go. It charged towards the giant, who was too slow to dodge it. The giant was hit right in the face, courtesy of Harry's aim and it fell flat out onto the ground.

Harry went to check on it. He looked it in the face and suddenly it opened its eyes and grabbed Harry's throat with one hand. Harry cast the dragon fire hex again and this time engulfed it inside the flame. He remembered on what had seemed his last breath that if exposed to heat long enough, the giant would die on its own. It would take a lot of magic, but he had no choice.

He enlarged the fire prison to hold the giant, but that took a huge blast of magic. To hold a prism like that for over a few minutes would be a devastating blow to him, but Harry had very little choice in the matter. If he was to die, he would die fighting and besides, this beat the hell out of reading and researching any day (not that he would say that especially to Hermione's face).

It was after about an hour that the giant collapsed and fell face first onto the hard floor, cracking its mask. Harry didn't have much time to soak in his victory as he collapsed as well. The last thing he saw was Lion slithering towards him, worry-stricken.

Harry awoke after what seemed minutes later. He turned to his snake companion.

"Hey Leo, how long was I asleep?"

"Oh Harry, you're awake! I had thought you a dead man for sure. Well, to answer your question, you were asleep for about thirty six hours."

"THIRTY SIX HOURS? Sweet Merlin, that means that we've been gone nearly three days! We better get going, we have very little time to lose."

Harry didn't even wait for a response, and Lion just had enough time to leap into Harry's cloak pocket as he bolted to the door that lead to the next beast they had to fight. Little did Harry know he was in for hell.

This new chamber was very archaic. It was filled with ancient style architecture and had Greek pillars. There were runes on many of the architectural things, but nothing Harry could identify. The temperature was quite refreshing after the two frozen chambers. As Harry proceeded, the door closed behind him.

At the same time as the door clicked closed, a creature charged at Harry, ramming him in the back. Harry was thrown into a pillar face-first. He heard his nose break with a crack! And he fell down with a thud. Fear coursed through him like blood. What was it he was facing? He quickly lurched out of the way as the creature attacked him again.

What he saw was a disgusting sight. It was a human body, slightly bigger than usual, with a bull's head on it. The whole thing was covered in brown fur-like material, except for the chest, which was pure flesh. It was a Minotaur. Harry fainted on the inside.

Facing down a Minotaur is not only extremely difficult, but also fairly putrid. When one looks at a Minotaur, he tends to see a human whose head was severed and replaced by a bull's. Harry however had little time for these thoughts. When a Minotaur charges at you, you tend to let all other things go until you are out of it's path.

Harry got up quickly, just as the Minotaur charged again. He dodged and began to think. What spells worked against centaurs? The same would probably work against Minotaurs, but they would have to be aimed at the underbelly. This was a tricky situation, but the impediment jinx would easily work to slow the beast down.

Harry positioned his wand at the beast's underbelly and shouted "Impedimenta!" But no curse shot out of his wand. He couldn't use any hexes, as he hadn't exactly had much to eat and his magical exhaustion had not passed over. This was bad. Harry was broken out of his reverie by a fist making contact with his stomach. The force was so powerful it knocked him off his feet and sent him flying.

Minotaurs had the strength of half giants too. This wasn't going to end well. Harry was too exhausted to use his wand, and too hungry to use brute force or logic (Ron would be proud). It seemed very unlikely. Just then Harry realized that he hadn't heard from Lion. He checked to see if he was hurt, only to find him missing. This relieved Harry that he was out of harm's way.

It couldn't end like this could it? Harry had to fight back and fast. The beast came at him again and pounded him with its horns. One of the horns jutted inside his left shoulder, making a deep wound and a dislocation. It was over. 'I'm going to die. All this for nothing; the mission is a failure.' He thought wearily.

He knew he never usually was the pessimist, but no force could save him now. His recklessness had dug his own grave and now it was over. He had had a decent life and a somewhat fulfilling one. If he was to die now, he would face death, not cower from it, prolonging the attack.

The beast began to charge at Harry ready to deliver its final blows. It rammed him again, kicked his face several times, breaking his glasses and causing his cheeks to swell up in pain. The beast punched his stomach and his jaw, breaking it. The worst part was that the Minotaur was just toying with Harry, causing him pain before it killed him and devoured him. The beast took the liberty to break a pillar and smash it on both his legs, breaking them. There was no escape now.

It was all he could do to watch as the beast enjoyed its attacking. He smiled, so as to make sure he died with a smile on his face rather than a frown. He was dying in a way that would help pursue the goals that he had fought for all his life and that was enough to make it somewhat worthwhile.

It was over. The Minotaur raised its fist to deliver the final killing blow to the spine, but instead fell backwards with a thud. Harry was utterly perplexed. Lion slithered out from under the body of the Minotaur and bared his fangs in triumph. He was covered in blood and was unharmed.

"Lion, what happened? Where were you?"

"Well while you were being knocked around, I took the liberty to slither up and down that vile beast, prodding it with my fangs. I had to bite the damn thing about twenty times until the poison began to take effect. Now, forget me you look like you're about to die, how the hell do you propose to get back?"

"Well, what if I immediately flame back? I may have just enough energy to go back to the hospital wing. If I do please go to Ginny and somehow tell her that I'm back. I know you have learned to write in English, so please just do it somehow."

"Fine, but don't use up much of your energy to flame. If you do that, you'll only waste your life. I just saved you, so try not to die immediately. Come on Harry just pull through a bit. Let's go quickly!"

Harry transformed into his phoenix form, with Lion clutching one of his talons. His wings were broken, as was his beak. But all that didn't matter as he prepared to flame for the first time in his life. With a flash of bluebell, they were gone.

Harry reappeared in the hospital wing in his human form. Lion had made a noise, and alerted Madam Pomfrey to Harry's arrival. The healer rushed in and took one look at Harry. She gasped clearly stunned at his condition. He had no time to lose.

"Cloak pocket on the left." He said right before he fainted.

Ginny was sitting in her quarters grading essays. Harry had been gone since Halloween and it was now December third. He hadn't come back yet and she was starting to get quite worried.

She was beginning to get an odd feeling of foreboding. She knew it was probably baseless, but she was still very worried for her partner and friend. She sighed trying to get the feelings out of her mind. Harry was strong and had could do anything. Hell, he had beaten a dragon, survived against and evil dark lord five times, slayed a basilisk, fought off hundreds of dementors and taken on death eaters countless times.

Just then, as she was getting comfortable with the thought, Lion slithered onto her desk. She almost screamed, but her curiosity won over fear. She got the guts to talk to the disheveled snake.

"What's wrong Lion? Why are you here and where's Harry?"

Lion grabbed a blank piece of parchment and sank his fangs into it, letting his poison write the words on the page, a skill which took him a month to master. The words formed in front of Ginny. "Harry is in the hospital wing, possibly on his death bed. He just flamed in after fighting a Minotaur, a dementor and a frost-giant. I suggest you go see him before he faints."

That was all the motivation Ginny needed. She sprinted outward towards the exit, allowing Lion to take residence in her robes. The pair was in the hospital wing in minutes flat, only to find that Harry had fainted. Ginny's heart skipped a beat when she saw Harry. He was covered in blood, and most of his bones were broken. He had a peaceful look on his face but his limps were askew in what seemed to be a very unnatural form. All that could be said was that he seemed to be dying.

Ginny let a tear slide from her eyes as she watched madam Pomfrey attempt to heal him. She had never seen him, the boy who lived, so weak and vulnerable. He was dying and there wasn't much she could do. But there was little that could be done. She had classes to teach and a mission to carry through. She quickly hid her grief and went back up to her room. She still had a few more classes to cover for the day, so her grieving could wait until later.

Three of the Marauders were sitting up in the common room talking and eating some Honeyduke's chocolate. Remus however, had some prefect duties to take care of and was due back any minute.

"Hey Prongs, isn't our first Quidditch game in a week?" Sirius asked.

"Aye Padfoot, we better practice. Your beater skills need to be brushed up, and my transition from chaser to seeker last year was for the best. I like seeking much better than chasing. Besides I'm the best seeker in Hogwarts." Wormtail nodded enthusiastically.

Lupin rushed in right then into the common room looking a little worried.

"Hey Moony what up?" James asked, obviously oblivious to the look on Moony's face.

"It's pretty odd; remember how professor potter was mission for a few days? Well, now he's back but he's lying in the hospital wing. Rumor has it that his condition's terrible." James' face fell. Even though their relation was unknown, James felt bad that one of his family members was in the hospital. Also, he had helped James and Sirius deflate their heads a bit.

Over the days they had him, Professor Potter was quite nice to them and always volunteered to help them with their problems, little or big. Since he wasn't too old, he was easily able to relate to them and guide them. Just a few weeks ago, he had helped James sort out some of his Lily problems and he had once given Moony this potion to help him retain his mind during the full moon.

He knew about their animagus forms, and yet he never told anyone. He knew about Moony's condition and took great lengths to avoid letting anything slip when discussing werewolves. He was a fair teacher all in all and the marauders were beginning to like him.

Ginny was finished with her classes and walked back up to her room quietly. She couldn't go see Harry because most of his students were visiting him. They had all been downtrodden by his condition; even most of the slytherins had come to respect him. But no one was as devastated as Ginny, except maybe Lion. Lion and Ginny had developed a small bond by Harry's condition. Because of it, Ginny had to spend time with lion and began to know him as a friend rather than Harry's pet. They had talked through the poison writing and had grieved together over the days.

It had been almost a week since Harry had arrived and very little had changed in his condition. His bones were healed and his blood replenished, but he was still quite comatose. The only injury that hadn't healed was the hole in the shoulder, which madam Pomfrey said would take another week, even with advanced magic.

The Quidditch match was also on hold in honor of the young professor, and even Dumbledore had said a few words honoring him. Ginny fell asleep as soon as she got up, which was fine as she didn't want to think about Harry or anything else at the moment.

The next day, Ginny grabbed Lion and went down to breakfast. There, she noticed most of the teachers were missing from the head table. As she wondered what was wrong, a student came up to her and gave her a note, telling her to go to the hospital wing.

She ran to the wing as fast as she could, hoping for the best. She ran in and saw that the professors were gathered around Harry's bed their heads hung low.

"What happened headmaster?" She asked her voice full of trepidation.

"I'm sorry Professor Weasley, but it would seem your partner has gone on. He is no longer with us." He said bluntly. It was always better to be blunt rather than to beat around the bush.

"No… that can't be! He can't be dead, he just can't!"

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the fic. I was just kind of wondering if Harry were to have a younger brother (like 1 year or so younger), what would his name be? Also, if he had a younger sister (like 2-3 years younger) and plz don't say 'Rose' cuz that's just unoriginal… anyway respond!