Chapter Twelve- The Chamber of Secrets take two

Myrtle's bathroom was exactly as Harry remembered it, still perpetually flooded with the ghost girl's misery. Speaking of ghost girls…

"Myrtle! Are you in here?" There was a sob from a cubicle, and then a curious silvery face peeked through the door.

"Harry? What are you doing in here? You never come to visit me…" There was an increase in the miserable sobs. Sora stared in wonder at the unhappy ghost. Of all the things at Hogwarts, it was the ghosts he had taken the longest to get used to.

"I'm sorry, Myrtle. I've been really busy. I promise I'll make more of an effort, okay? But I really need your help- can you tell me, did Sn-Professor Snape come in here at all?" The ghost drifted slowly out to meet them, adjusting her thick glasses.

"Yes, and he was so rude! Clutching at his arm, muttering to himself- and he never said a word to me at all!"

"Yeah, he's a real git," Harry said distractedly. Clutching at his arm? So the dark mark was hurting, was it? That had to be significant, Voldemort was after something… With a somewhat confused Sora in his wake, Harry rushed to the sinks, remembering an incident years earlier. There! The tiny carving of the snake. Harry concentrated.

"Open!" The word came out as a low hiss. Sora jumped a little. Awesome… With a heavy grating sound, the sink fell away, revealing the dark hole that led down to the mysterious Chamber of Secrets.

"Wow," Sora muttered.

"Now that's cool." Harry gripped his wand tightly, noticing that this close to the chamber, he suddenly didn't feel as tired. He wondered why.

"You ready? It's a bit of a fall."

"I'm ready. Let's bag ourselves a potion's teacher and find out what this dark lord of yours is after."

"Sure- but he's not my dark lord."

"Sorry, of course." And they both jumped in. Myrtle drifted closer to the sink and stared down, watching as the entrance closed over and became an ordinary, mundane sink once more.

--

Thud! Harry had been right- it had been a bit of a fall- or slide.

"Ow."

"I hear you. For some reason that hurt worse than it did when I was younger." Harry cast lumos, and held his wand aloft, illuminating the little cavern they were in, and the bones scattered across the floor.

"Gross," Sora muttered, summoning Oathkeeper and shifting forward cautiously.

"We should be careful- and quiet- from now on. Don't want to alert Snape, after all."

They both began to wriggle their way through the gap in the wall created by a backfiring memory charm. It was a tight fit, but they made it.

"The chamber's not far ahead," Harry whispered, hissing open to activate the stone snake guardians. They slid apart, and Harry dimmed the light from his wand as the two began to creep forward, following the light that came from ahead.

--

Severus Snape, all around unhappy guy, stood at the foot of the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin, as his cauldron continued to release bluish fumes that drifted up into the pipes. The potion was nearly finished completing it's work, and everyone in Hogwarts would be bound in enchanted sleep for twenty four hours. Or longer, if they were continuously exposed. Even now, one hand was clenched tightly around his forearm, digging into the flesh as if trying to tear something out. With his robes yanked up to expose his pale arm, the Dark Mark was a livid brand on his skin, throbbing with a dark scarlet light as Voldemort controlled his servant. Crouching at the entrance to the chamber, Sora and Harry watched, instantly connecting the smoking cauldron with the school's induced sleep. Harry gritted is teeth in silent fury, and turned back to Sora, communicating his question through his eyes. Sora nodded, and as one they raised their respective weapons.

Stupefy! Caught completely by surprise, Snape slumped, having not expected an attack in the highly secret chamber. He slumped forward, however, and only Sora's hastily cast aeroga kept him from falling head first into his own potion.

As amusing as that would have been. Slowly standing up, Harry blinked.

"Well, that was…easy." Sora agreed, shrugging a shoulder while glancing around the chamber. Everything was reflected eerily in the water all over the chamber, and with the blue smoke the room seemed to be nothing but a dream. The two slowly began to approach the downed professor and the cauldron.

"Ew, Harry, the giant dead snake stinks."

"Better it than me."

"Well, when you put it that way…" They cautiously came to a stop before the cauldron.

"This smoke- it must be what's making everyone sleep," Harry stated more than asked.

"So…will getting rid of it stop the affects?" Sora knew far less about potions than Harry, having only been in the wizarding world for a little while. He shrugged.

"Maybe. You know more than me."

"Well, whether everyone will wake up straight away or not, getting rid of this crap can only help." Sora tightened his grip on Oathkeeper, feeling uneasy. Harry was rubbing his scar distractedly, frowning at his unconscious teacher- with his oddly bright Dark Mark, and the smoking cauldron. He could try Vanishing it, he supposed, but he wasn't all that good at the spell yet. Judging by Sora's bemused look he would be no help in that department. Merlin, his head was aching something fierce, fighting off the potion had drained him more than he'd realized. Nonetheless he lifted his wand, focusing with all his strength on the innocent looking cauldron. He uttered the spell in a defiant little hiss, and with a sudden, sharp pop it disappeared- off to who knew where. He slumped, flashing Sora a triumphant but weary smile. Sora didn't return it, his attention suddenly elsewhere.

Oh yes, catching Snape had been incredibly easy.

However, knocking out everyone at Hogwarts had only been a part of Voldemort's plans, and while Sora and Harry were busy subduing the teacher, Tom Riddle had been lazily strolling down a highly secret passage into the Chamber of Secrets.
From the outside.

Figures someone as sneaky as Salazar Slytherin would have a way out- into the Forbidden Forest, of course. In one of those little quirks of fate, the Dark Lord entered the chamber- through the passage that came out of Slytherin's mouth, where the basilisk had once emerged. For what had a parseltongue to fear of such beasts? (Harry could argue this point.) Sora, hearing the grating of shifting stone, stared upright just as Harry vanished the cauldron, and found himself staring straight into crimson eyes. Voldemort was just as surprised, but his wand was out in a heartbeat.

Sora was just as fast.

"Harry!" And he spun, grabbed the boy, and flung them both down and to the side. Dark crimson light flared, missing them as they dodged the spells.

Harry was confused and very tired. He was winded as Sora flung them to the ground, but the cry of his name and the pain of the impact helped to clear his mind. He rolled to his knees as Sora regained his feet, Keyblade slanted across his body.

Then he saw what had attacked them, and froze for a moment before suddenly everything inside him seemed to go haywire, adrenalin surging through him like a shot of caffeine had been injected into his veins.

Voldemort was in Hogwarts. Voldemort was standing right in front of them.

This was bad.

--

The Dark Wizard fell lightly to the ground- too lightly for the distance, but that's magic for you. He was smiling, a not-nice smile, and his crimson eyes studied the two youths with something akin to pleasure. He didn't even spare a glance for the unconscious professor lying draped at the bottom of the statue's feet in a parody of Ginny's position years before.

"Well, isn't this unexpected. How nice of you two to come and meet me. Just the people I wanted to see."

Very, very bad.

--

Sora didn't waste time with pleasantries, he just shifted his grip slightly and flung Oathkeeper at the dark wizard in a strike raid.

You cannot apperate in Hogwarts, but technically this chamber wasn't in Hogwarts, wasn't recognized by any of the wards. The secret chamber couldn't be apperated into, of course, that defeats the purpose of having a secret chamber, but nothing stopped you apperating out. Or around. Thus, Riddle avoided the blow simply by not being there to be hit.

"Temper, temper." The wizard mocked, sidestepping the stupefy that Harry flung at him.

"Youth today. So very impatient…"

Sora began to hate him just because he sounded a little like Axel. Gah, scary place…

"Shut up," Harry hissed, infuriated that the monster who had ruined his life had dared once more to hurt the people he cared about.

"You bastard. What are you doing here? Why have you done all this?" Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted answers.

Fully in control of the moment, Riddle was lazy and unconcerned in his reply.

"Why, Harry, I had thought that would be rather obvious. Just out of curiosity, why are you and your key wielding friend here? Good job on staying conscious, by the way." Licking dry lips, heart pounding, Harry marveled at the craziness of his current situation. Beside him Sora was tensed, ready for anything, Oathkeeper humming in his grip.

"I asked first." Harry flushed a bit after that, realizing he sounded like a child.

Uh, newsflash…

Tom Marvelo Riddle, or Voldemort, if you rearranged the letters of his name, was in a fabulous mood. Why, his prey had simply wandered on up to him!

"Please, Harry, do be patient. Even you must have figured this out. You've been a thorn in my foot for far too long, surviving on luck. I'm afraid I'm going to end all that tonight. I can't appear weak before the world, after all. And as for your new friend…" The dark lord trailed off, his ruby gaze shifting to Sora, examining him, focusing on the glittering key in his hand, practically screaming Power.

"My, what an interesting weapon you have their, boy. What is your name? Sora, isn't it?" Sora said nothing, but stepped forward a little.

"You're not touching Harry," he said firmly.

"Well, that's nice, child. I tell you what, it's been a good day, after all. You hand over that weapon and I'll let your friend- and the occupants of this pathetic school, go unharmed. Your choice."

Harry erupted.

"Leave Sora alone, you psychopath! He's got nothing to do with this!" Without looking away from the dark lord, Sora smiled, a hard, ruthless smile.

"Hello, Tom. Harry's told me all about you." Sora ignored the hiss as the wizard reacted to his name.

"I'm afraid, however, that whatever you've been told about this weapon is incorrect. I cannot give it to you, and you cannot wield it. It is how it was constructed, or came into being." And cocking his head to the side, the Keyblade Master watched the Dark Lord of his current world, as if fascinated. And to the utter surprise of the other two conscious occupants of the chamber, tossed the Keyblade towards Voldemort in a lazy underhand throw.

Harry gaped.

"Sora! What are you doing?! Who knows what dark magic…" Harry trailed off, for as Voldemort caught the weapon, eyes wary but lighting up greedily nonetheless, the weapon flashed brightly and reappeared in Sora's hand, glowing brightly as if to say, 'so there!'

"Foolish child. Do you think a mere summoning charm would-"

Sora began to laugh.

"You must really be a piece of work if the Keyblade wouldn't let you hold it for even a moment." Then his expression closed over, mouth tightening.

"Foolish wizard," he mocked back, "thinking you understand everything. I told you, the Keyblade can do nothing for you. Now, I think it's time you left Hogwarts, because neither Harry or myself will allow you to harm anyone here."

Voldemort was a little taken aback, but laughed nonetheless.

"Arrogant little thing, aren't you? I might just keep you for a while, see if my Death Eater's couldn't break you in."

"Why? Couldn't do it yourself?" Harry winced, thinking that Sora was much too like himself, sometimes.

"Besides, if it is true that no-one but you can handle that thing, then I will simply have to handle you instead. Between you and Harry, my next few weeks should be quite amusing."

Ignoring the implied torture waiting for both Harry and himself, Sora felt himself go cold at the thought of being controlled, flashes of confused memory making him somewhat savage.

"Better than you have tried, you sick bastard." And instead of throwing the Keyblade, Sora leapt the eight or so feet between them and whipped the Keyblade around to strike. Harry reacted as soon as his friend moved, casting a succession of stunning and blasting spells as fast as he could.

Shocked at the speed of the blue-eyed boy, Riddle barely avoided the blow, and again apperated, this time to behind Harry. Harry felt the flare of darkness against his back like heat from a fire, and threw himself to the ground, rolling away and casting a reducto curse over his shoulder. Tom had been ready, however, and the crucio curse struck the rolling boy a fleeting blow across the shoulders. Harry had only a moment to scream, however, for Sora had crossed the intervening distance in a single bound and caught Riddle full across the face, flinging him to the ground.

Voldemort simply hadn't been prepared for the Keyblade's extreme reaction to dark beings. He felt weakened, as if the blow had struck more than his flesh. His face was ripped deeply across the cheek, and it was only that he'd been leaning back from Harry's spell that had saved him.

He began to get angry.

Dark energy reminding Sora of Nobodies flared around the now irate Dark Lord.

"Oh child, you are going to regret that."

Then, to coin a well used phrase, everything went to hell.

--

Dumbledore had been having a good evening. He'd just gotten a new supply of lemon drops, for one, and was enjoying them deeply as he watched Fudge splutter as he received his news about the captured death eaters in Hogwarts.

He was utterly unaware of the unfolding drama taking place at said school, blissfully enjoying his lollies.

"Now come, Dumbledore, surely…" The aged headmaster tuned out briefly as the Minister began once more to try to talk his way out of the trouble he found at his door.

"..must be a hoax. Probably that odd kid. I know that you…" He tuned out again, humming cheerfully. When the babbling Minister of Magic finally fell silent, he said brightly,

"So I immediately came here to collect some more aurors and your esteemed self so that we could take the testimonies of the Death Eaters that are recovering in our medical wing."

The Minister lunged for this, beginning his stalling once more, refusing to believe.

"And Potter! What on earth was he doing wandering around the Forbidden Forest? What kind of stunt-" However, the little drama was cut short as Fawkes the phoenix appeared in a burst of flames above their heads, and soaring over them, let a scrap of parchment flutter down to land in Albus Dumbledore's lap.

Curious, the wizard picked up the battered letter and looked it over.

Seconds later, he was on his feet.

"Cornelius!" He boomed, all traces of good humor having fled.

"Send a group of aurors to Hogwarts at once!" And without saying anything else, he reached up, grabbed a hold of the phoenix's long tail feathers and disappeared in a whirl of flame.

--

Donald and Goofy were standing guard before the imposing doors of Hogwarts, with Goofy keeping an eye on the enchanted map to keep track of any surprises. The castle was eerily silent, except for the occasional crash from an irritated Peeves, and the two warriors were on edge.

They didn't like being separated from Sora. They also didn't like being the only conscious people in the entire castle. The entire time they'd been there, it had been a place of noise, explosions and laughter. The silence that had overtaken the castle reminded them far too well of the silence of the dead. The silence of the battlefield, when all is said and done, and no one is left even to weep for the fallen. No, they didn't like this at all.

So when the group of Death Eaters came knocking at the front door, ready to cause some mayhem, Donald and Goofy were almost glad for the interruption. And the group of killers that came to Hogwarts that night were in for an unpleasant surprise, when upon finally breaking the doors down, they were introduced to a number of inventive Weasley Twin traps, and two very unhappy otherworlders.

Unfortunately for the aurors, some ten minutes later, they chose the same entrance, and a few of the traps were still operational…

--

Meanwhile, underneath Hogwarts, Harry and Sora were throwing everything they could think of at Voldemort, dodging and ducking around the chamber as they tried to follow the dark wizard's movements.

The fact that he was forbidden to apperate until of age was really pissing Harry off. He and Sora could have driven the wizard out if they could just follow the bastard. Instead, every time they came close to locking the wizard in a corner where they could unleash a lot of really nasty spells, he would simply apperate away.

Every. Single. Time.

Sora wasn't liking it either. At least when the Nobodies pulled their disappearing stunts they gave warning by way of the creeping darkness that created their portals.

Apperating? Merely created a popping sound. Poof. Gone.

The only thing that was keeping Harry and Sora alive and un-captured was their rather fantastic instincts, honed from repeated Bad Experiences. The other advantage they had, was that Voldemort didn't know what Sora, or his weapon, were capable of. For example, the first fire spell Sora used created a whirlwind of flames whipping around himself, and sent the dark wizard stumbling backwards without any of his usual grace. It wasn't the spell that unnerved the wizard, but the fact that he couldn't sense it and couldn't block it. This cheered Sora up immensely, and he started using magic in earnest, and between the barrage from himself and Harry, the two were holding their own.

A hurried and badly aimed reducto curse sent rotting basilisk everywhere, and Sora and Harry, gagging, took the distraction to duck behind a pillar to catch their breath.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Wait for Dumbledore to show up."

"And when that doesn't happen?"

"Wing it, I suppose."

"Knew you were gonna say that."

Sora took off, breaking into a sprint as he angled his way behind the dead basilisk, keeping out of sight as he followed the dark whisper that was the other wizard's presence. He thought fiercely of Harry, of the castle full of helpless children, and suddenly Oblivion was in his other hand. Smiling grimly, Sora bent his knees and leapt into the air, practically slamming into a surprised Riddle, and spun into a two-bladed Arc Arcanum.

Voldemort hadn't expected it. Duels on this world seemed to be reliant entirely on magical power and ability, and a physical attack was something the Dark Lord hadn't had time to adjust to.

The dark magic took the brunt of the attack, but the impact still sent the wizard flying, and Harry pounced from his hiding place and hit the downed wizard with an absolute deluge of spells, speaking so fast it was a miracle he got all the words out.

It didn't kill him, but it had to hurt.

Dumbledore was not a happy man. No, not at all. Hogwarts was his beloved school, and Death Eaters had dared to try to hurt the students sheltered within it's walls. Fawkes had fire-flashed the wizard directly to Donald and Goofy, who happened to be involved in a rather vicious skirmish with a mob of skull-faced intruders.

They were winning, of course, but it was still a brutal battle, with the Death Eaters using the darkest and nastiest of spells to try to kill the two odd defenders.

Then Dumbledore showed up.

Between Donald and Dumbledore's magic, and with the Death Eaters caught between the trio and the aurors, it was over fairly quickly.

The aurors split up to search the school and check on the children, and Dumbledore turned his attention to Donald and Goofy, immediately asking the whereabouts of his unluckiest student and the Keyblade Master.

Understandably, the answer 'the Chamber of Secrets' was met with some alarm, since only a parseltongue could gain access.

Once again, fate/luck/chance/whatever, had separated Harry from his allies and pitted him against an enemy that really, really, wanted him dead. This time, however, he had an unexpected friend by his side. More than one, actually, for Fawkes had left Dumbledore to his battle and, singing, fire-flashed directly into the Chamber of Secrets where a desperate fight was underway.