Vernon Dursley stopped just long enough for Harry to unload his baggage at King's Cross before speeding off. The summer had been uneventful after Harry had managed to shoo Dobby away without upsetting the Dursleys. He hadn't been invited to the Weasley household as expected and wasn't sure why. His decision not to include Ron on his adventure to save the Philosopher's stone hadn't been a hard one after Hermione's. His blunder had lost him one friend and he wasn't about to loose another. The world seemed to be changing around him and he couldn't do anything about it. This coming year threatened everyone but he had a plan. He was going to nip it in the bid and close the chamber at the beginning.

He approached platform 9 3/4 and put his hand on the wall. Solid, just as he'd expected from Dobby. Uncle Vernon had dropped him off late but the Weasleys' were running late too. They were supposed to at any rate. He glanced around but no hurrying crowd of red heads appeared. His watch ticked to 11 o'clock and kept ticking. He put his hands on the platform gate again and pushed but it held firm. He glanced at Hedwig and considered sending her off but didn't want to risk Dobby hurting her. He was still going over options when he felt a touch on his shoulder. "Harry? I thought I recognized you. Didn't you get on the train?"

He recognized Mrs. Weasley from the brief conversation last year. "Oh, no ma'am, Mrs. Weasley. My Uncle Vernon just dropped me off late. I didn't make it in time."

"Oh that's a shame. Come home with us and we'll floo you right into Hogsmeade. You'll miss the train ride but there's no harm done." She smiled at him and he saw Mr. Weasley walk up behind her and smile as well. He thanked them both and rode to the Burrow in their Ford Anglia. It occured to him that if he was forced to go into the Forest this year he couldn't could on the Anglia helping him out but since he already knew what the Monster was there should be no need. If he did his job right Hagrid would never even go to jail. His first view of the tilted, lopsided Burrow brought a smile to his face. These people were supposed to be his friends and he would make sure their daughter never had to be kidnapped. He could do this job right. Mrs. Weasley stuffed him full of cookies and packed him a sandwich before sending him off.

The floo ride to Hogsmeade was as disorienting as the book had described it but he managed to keep his cookies down. Mr. Weasley walked him to the school gates and said goodbye. He watched Mr. Weasley walk away before facing the castle and considering his options. Ginny Weasley had the diary, the horocrux. He could let things play out as normal or he could stop them early. When it came down to it a basalisk slithering around the school was too dangerous. He must get the diary and stop it, tonight if possible. He looked back at Hogsmeade and considered the layout. The train would stop just down the road and the students would ride the horseless carriages up to the castle. Somehow the luggage would make its way from the train to the castle without the students' help. His guess was house elves. Once the luggage was in the castle it would be significantly more difficult to get to it in the girl's dormitory. Last year his conversation with Fred and George had let him know that even those two didn't know how to get in yet. He hauled his trunk into the woods a bit, retrieved his invisibility cloak, hid the trunk in a hollow, covered it with leaves, and headed back to Hogsmeade. He found the train station without a problem and waited under his cloak.

The long afternoon passed slowly. Harry counted the number of cross ties and he watched the birds. Squirrels scurried near the wood's edge collected acorns for the coming winter. Distant voices from the village reminded him that he wasn't alone. Finally a grey-haired man approached the station and began arranging things. He sat out stairs and opened turnstiles. An enchanted broom came to life and cleared the litter from the platform. Sunlight faded into dusk and then settled into night. Hagrid led the thestral carriages down from the castle and left again. Finally Harry heard the distinctly muggle sound of a train whistle around the bend. He positioned himself towards the rear. Here he could avoid the crowds and quickly enter the luggage compartment. The train whistled again and again and the squeal of brakes followed the rush of air brakes. The scarlet engine stopped at it's appointed place and the students poured out.

Ignoring the chattering students Harry jumped onto the luggage carriage and pulled open the door. Thankfully it was unlocked. Inside the dim carriage trunks where neatly stacked three deep on each side and owl carriages swung from the overhead hand rails. "Lumos." For a moment he panicked when he realized he had no idea what Ginny's trunk looked like but his advance study saved him. Point Me Ginny Weasley's trunk. His wand spun in his hand then settled down and pointed slightly left. Walking forward it adjusted until it pointed directly left. Harry began his search. The first row of trunks were all brand new so he stacked them out of the way and found a stack of five, old, well used trunks each with a W on the front. The top opened easily but he recognized Ron's things and closed it. The second was neatly organized. Percy. The next two were locked but he didn't try forcing them. Ginny couldn't lock hers because she didn't know spells which meant they belonged to Fred and George. Finally he opened the bottom one and found it fully of girly things. This was obviously Ginny's. Quickly he pulled each item out, searched it for a diary and set it aside. Soon he was at the bottom but there was no diary. None. He went back over the stack of items piled beside him. He felt each item of clothing to see what was in its pocket then ran his hands around the sides of the trunk feeling for bumps and hidden panels but there was nothing. The only other place the diary could be was on Ginny herself. Furious at himself for forgetting this possibility he repacked her trunk. When he was finished he looked back over it and was sure he'd gotten it wrong but he didn't have time to fix it now. She would blame it on Fred and George surely. He restacked the trunks, pulled on his cloak, and left the train. He had to get to the feast.

The library had numerous books on dueling and several of those covered the stunning spell. Unfortunately he understood none of them. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire made it seem like you just pointed you wand and shouted but the mysterious Books ignored the intricate theory and complex inner control of magic that spell casting required. The stunning spell was out of his league.

Beside him Ron grumbled. "Are we done yet? Why'd you get on this kick about dueling anyways? Did you decide to imitate Lockheart?" Harry punched his friend in the shoulder. "Alright let's go. It was just an idea but we're not getting anywhere." They shelved their books and headed outside to enjoy the warm weather. Several students sat talking by the lake while others played pickup quidditch. Ron looked longingly at the game but Harry didn't have a spare broom to loan him. Instead they joined a game of football that Dean organized.

That night Harry lay comfortably exhausted in bed. He was enjoying Hogwarts more than he thought possible. This year required him to close the Chamber of Secrets but he didn't require Hermione to solve the riddle for him. His heart clenched at the thought of his would-be friend. He had barely spoken to her in real life but he felt like he knew her well. When her parents had arrived to collect her body he hadn't dared to go speak to them. He forced himself to breathe slowly.

Hermione was gone and he had to close the Chamber by himself. Since he was responsible for her death he couldn't confess to Dumbledore. He was stuck. Alone. Every spell had to be cast by him and every time Voldemort showed up it was on his shoulders. So far he had avoided thinking about the Deathly Hallows. Sometimes in his dreams he saw a stone arch and a fluttering veil. He turned over in bed. He wasn't about to start now.

Stunning Ginny to get the diary wasn't going to happen any time soon. He didn't have the magical knowledge and he knew he wouldn't get there any time soon. He could resort to physical force but that was unreliable. The best option was petrificus totalis the spell Hermione had used on Neville in the first book. While it had been mentioned in his dueling research as slow to cast and easy to block neither of those would help Ginny resist if he hit her from behind. Paralyzing her would mean she could see him unless he used an invisibility cloak but that could be traced to him which meant he needed a disguise and the best disguise would make her think he was Slytherin. Even better would be Malfoy. Satisfied with this long train of thought he drifted off to sleep.

Ties weren't hard to pick up consider that students abandoned them at the earliest opportunity and slung them over nearby tables, chairs, doors, and suits of armor. Harry kept a sharp lookout in the library and nicked a Slytherin tie within a week.

His robes did not have a Gryffindor crest nor did his socks have Gryffindor colors but his sweater did. Neville had a plain black sweater which he borrowed one afternoon. His first thought for his face was to pull a pair of tights over his head like he'd seen bank robbers do in a movie but he had no way of getting them. Finally he ripped a black sock and stretched it thin over his face to cover his distinctive eyes then wrapped a black t shirt around his head.

He stored these items and his invisibility cloak and another black t shirt in his backpack and began stalking her. After her herbology class on Friday she went to the library to study alone and he made his plans accordingly. The next Friday he waited in disguise under his invisibility cloak. He waited and a few minutes later than expected she passed by. He slipped his wand out and whispered huskily "petrificus totalis". She toppled forward and he levitated her to the ground face down. He slipped around the corner stowed his invisibility cloak and took out the extra t-shirt.

Approaching the girl half blind from his disguise he tossed the t-shirt over her face and levitated her into a nearby empty room. Opening her backpack he dumped it on the ground. There was no hiding this so he might as well act the part. It had obviously been enchanted to hold more than normal, perhaps by her father. Quills, parchment, books, loose paper, and notes. No diary. He upended the bag and shook until dust came out. Harry ran his hands inside and out looking for secret pockets. Finally, careful to still say nothing, he turned back to the books and examined each one carefully. There were no fake bindings and no false covers. He read a few words of each and he recognized them all as his first year books except for a few copies of Martin Miggs.

Nothing. She didn't have the diary. Resigned to failure he turned Ginny face down, gathered his things, and headed for the door. Before he left he undid the body-bind and cast a leglocker curse. He slipped on his cloak and two hallways later he removed his disguise while still underneath. The entire attack had taken only two minutes by his watch. The disguise was hidden in a suit of armor for him to dispose of later.

Surprisingly he heard nothing about the attack. No teachers questioned them and no rumors of Snape questioning Slytherins reached his ears. He could only surmise that she had told no one though he couldn't guess the reason. That weekend after the Slytherin-Hufflepuff game he and Ron played gobstones in the noisy commons room. Ginny talked with her friends and seemed happy and cheerful unlike how the mysterious books described her. Looking back and forth he could see the resemblance between the two siblings in both looks and behavior.

Today was Halloween and the diary would try to take control and unleash the monster. Underneath the cloak, down the hallway from the bathroom where lurked the basalisk, Harry lay in wait. The possessed would come here and he would not try to stop him. Instead he would flee before the monster and retrieve the diary later, hopefully when the victim wasn't possessed. He needed only a name. Any kid would be easier to deal with than Voldemort. He could even give Dumbledore and anonymous tip. For now he waited patiently to get a.

Time passed slowly; the hallway traffic thinned. He knew that in the great hall tables were loaded with food and the feast underway. A last group of gossiping girls passed him. One excused herself to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom but exited shortly unaccompanied by any large snakes. Somewhere below, Nearly Headless Nick was having his death-day party but here in the hallway there was only silence. One more student, a Hufflepuff hurried down the hall and then the castle was silent. No sounds of the distant feast carried here. Harry shifted from foot to foot under the invisibility cloak and waited. After a time Fred splashed through the water outside the bathroom as he jogged off somewhere with a package of fireworks sticking out of his pocket. Silence returned to the hallway. Mrs. Norris wandered by but no basalisk rose to petrify her.

Hours passed and footsteps echoed down the hall again. A crowd of students passed by and Harry realized the feast must be over. He went to bed hungry but lay awake late into the night wondering what went wrong. Perhaps, the thought wouldn't go away, the diary had never been given. The quietness of Quirrel's demise may have affected Malfoy's intentions and the diary lay unused in a secret room. If that was the case then he would have to break in and do a bit of robbery. Sometime during the night he fell asleep. In the morning he realized that that couldn't be the case otherwise Dobby wouldn't have tried to keep him away.

The following week passed quietly with no sign of Slytherin's monster. He avoided the hallway in front of the bathroom and waited on events. He mentally made a list of horocruxes. One (the diadem) was easily accessible but he had no way of destroying it. The others would require at a minimum apparition. He checked a book out on wizarding travel and realized it was rather hard and dangerous. There were reasons the ministry didn't let him learn until he was 17. He would have taken the risk but the theory was so advanced he couldn't even start. Unwilling to wait for 5 years he checked out the 3rd year text books to get a leg up.

Diary - unknown

Diadem - room of requirements

Cup - gringotts

Locket - Grimmauld Place

Snake - Albania

Harry - Hogwarts

He also had the possibility of speeding things up. If there was no diary loose he could speed up Sirius' release. Flipping through photo album Hagrid had given him last year he found photos of Remus and Mad Eye Moody. If he could get them involved maybe the future could be changed. If he hadn't killed Hermione then he could go straight to Dumbledore but that option was now off the table.

All his plans came to a halt the day his trunk was ransacked. After class he returned to find his clothes and books scattered across the room.

"Who did this?" asked Ron.

"I don't know but they took my invisibility cloak" replied Harry. Later that week a message written in blood was found on the wall. "Enemies of the heir beware." beside it hung Filch's petrified cat.

This was bad. He had lost his cloak and hadn't stopped the monster. Knowing that someone might be watching he couldn't reread his books. He had lifted the corner of the false bottom to make sure they were there but had dared do no more. The school was abuzz with rumors and he speculated alongside the rest. When he told Lavender and Parvati that the heir could turn their bedposts into snakes in the middle of the night they shrieked and ran off and when Lavender set her bed on fire trying to transfigure the posts away He got detention alongside her. In detention he told her that her bed sheets were lethifolds in disguise but she just heaved her bucket of soapy water at him.

Worry never left him. No one but a Gryffindor could have easily, or realistically robbed his trunk and the Weasleys were the obvious suspect. Percy was secretive but he would get a girlfriend at some point. Harry couldn't remember exactly when that happened and couldn't look it up in the books without someone potentially looking over his shoulder in an invisibility cloak. The twins were huddled up working on something but their pranks had been more spectacular than last year and Harry doubted Voldemort would prank the Slytherins. Ginny appeared to be healthy and had made friends with some of her roommates so that ruled her out. Ron could scarcely have hidden either the diary or it's effects from him. Lots of people in the common room were writing, some even in books or diaries but nothing stood out as evil. Of course no one had noticed Ginny being evil in the books either.

Thus began Harry's surreptitious search for the diary. He made friends with students in other years and spent time talking to them. He dropped in to the upper year's rooms to ask advice on Quidditch or schoolwork. When Cyrus Ogilvy needed help with muggle studies Harry jumped in to coach him. Always his eyes were alert for diaries and journals. Mentions of someone acting strange or out of character were music to his ears and he sought them out. Another student was attacked and paralyzed by the monster, Hagrid's chickens were killed, then Christmas came and the school emptied.

After news Hagrid's circulated through the shcool Harry had realized his error in searching for the diary owner. He could have opened the chamber himself and used a rooster to destroy the basalisk. That would have left the more dangerous diary free, however. It was best that he hadn'Now he had no chickens. Still, the attacks were progressing as normal and no one was being killed. There was no telling what the horocrux would do after such a drastic change. His advantage was his foreknowledge via the books and he wouldn't throw that away for anything except the destruction of the Voldemort.

Drastic times called for drastic measures. His first step was to make a replica of the map. He took a large sheet of parchment and checked out some books from the library. The end result of two weeks work was simple. When someone said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" the parchment would write "Because of your long term service to mischief, Messieurs Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail present the new and improved Marauders map." Regardless of what password they spoke the parchment would not show a map because there was no map underneath. Hopefully this would divert the twins attention from thinking a person had taken the map to finding a new password.

After sequestering himself late one night in an unused room he called "Dobby." Nothing. He waited. "Dobby." This time the little elf appeared and tugged on his ear nervously. "Harry Potter is calling Dobby. Dobby is needed? How did Master Potter know Dobby's name?"

"I'm very wise Dobby. I know many things." Dobby nodded his head vigorously. "I need your help Dobby. I need to find the heir."

"Dobby must not betray master's secrets. Dobby must punish himself for coming here."

"No Dobby. I order you not to punish yourself." The little elf looked conflicted at an order but not one from his master.

"Lucius had a diary and he gave it to someone, correct?"

"The great Harry Potter is very wise." Dobby stared at him with wide eyes.

"And Lucius gave the diary to someone when he took Draco to diagon alley, correct?"

Dobby nodded vigorously.

"Who exactly did he give it to?"

Dobby shook his head.

"I need to know Dobby. Many lives, my life, depend on it."

"But Dobby does not know. Master did not say. He only said the blood traitors would be punished." Dobby smashed his head into the wall at this admission and Harry stopped him. "Then I need help with one other thing. Can you get into the student dormitories?" Dobby knodded so vigourously Harry thought his head would bobble off.

"I need a piece of parchment from the Weasley twins." He described the Marauders Map and Dobby popped away. He proudly returned a short time later. Harry tore and wrinkled his piece of parchment to match his father's and altered the hand writing as well. Dobby took it back and left the new map where he had found the old. Harry thanked Dobby and asked him to return next week. Once Dobby had gone Harry surveyed the map. Every Gryffindor was carefully in his bed and none were Tom Riddle. Would the map show a possessed person as the body or the soul? No one lingered near or inside the bathroom.

Every night that week he surveyed the school carefully but couldn't catch the horocrux. Fred and George were up at all hours presumably working on the new password. Boys and girls gathered in secluded locations while prefects patrolled the halls. Now with the map in his control he took the time to memorize every secret passageway and password he could. He also took a trip into Hogsmeade and shopped for livestock. To his relief, roosters were for sale for just a few sickles. He didn't buy one but he now had an option.

Having found no evidence of the heir he called Dobby once again. "I need you to search for two things. I'm looking for a diary. You know the one?"

Dobby nodded fearfully. "I also need my invisibility cloak. Someone stole it. Can you do this?

"This will help the great Harry Potter stop the monster?"

"It is critical."

"Then Dobby will help." Dobby nodded then ran head first to the wall but Harry grabbed him.

"Thank you. Do it tonight while all the students are at supper. Meet me here after supper. You should first search the Weasley's rooms."

When Dobby told him that he was unable to find either Harry thanked him for his help. Stuck for further ideas and unable to watch the map 24/7 Harry settled on a different approach. He learned to cast a subtle gender line and cause it to heat a knut he would keep in his pocket. Then he got a Ravenclaw seventh year to link two knuts together telling him it was a homemade reminder system. Late one night he used the map to avoid Filch on his way to Moaning Myrtles bathroom, confirmed the snake really was on the spout of the sink (and realized he should have done this months earlier), wedged the knut into a crack by the door, cast his spell, and left. Now if any boys entered the bathroom he would know to check the map. He had 50/50 chance of catching someone. Unless Voldemort spotted his spell and removed it of course. Nothing he could do about that.

Days passed slowly. Then came the weeks and there were no more attacks. No one talked about the Heir now. The school year would end soon and this year would be Harry's best bet to destroy the horocrux. If he couldn't catch Voldemort now then the dark lord might complete his possession of his victim and disappear to anywhere. Harry waited.

He kept waiting and checking the map until the day he was kidnapped. He never heard anyone behind him but one afternoon he was heading to Quidditch practice and woken up in, what he presumed, was the chamber of secrets. Pillars of stone rose around him, carved into twisting snakes, their fanged mouths gaping open. A soft green light filled the room with unnatural shadows. Beside him George and Fred were unconscious on the ground. He still had his wand and an ennervate woke George but Fred remained still. Fred's fingers were tightly clutching a diary and on the back it said T. M. Riddle. Here at last was the horocrux in the worst possible place.

"Where is this place?" George asked. Harry waited and out of the darkness came a voice. "This is the resting place of the monster. This is the place where my ancestor left his power for me to find. This is the chamber of secrets. This is your tomb." A faded ghost-like boy stepped into view.

"Stupefy" George cast without warning but the red light passed through Tom. George clenched his wand tightly.

"You can't get away with it you know." Harry said. He wanted Fawkes to arrive as soon as possible. "Dumbledore is Headmaster here and he'll stop you. You've left enough clues behind that he's already tracking you down. He'll be here any minute."

"I've run rings around this school all year helping these two with their pranks. I know parts of this school no one has seen since the founders. I am the rightful heir of this school and Dumbledore is finished. You, however. You have a purpose." Tom looked pleases with himself and Harry knew what was coming. "Basalisk food."

"Whatever you have planned Dumbledore will stop. He's the greatest wizard of the age." Tom hissed and Harry ran for the tunnels. "George, run!" He looked over his shoulder but instead of following him, George was hitting the ghostly boy with a steady stream of spells. Harry stopped and turned back for his friend. His feet moved too slowly. He wasn't getting there fast enough. The teenaged voice of Tom was replaced by the bass of stone grinding along ancient paths. He reached the twin who was still casting frantically. A detached part of Harry's mind felt pride in the number and variety of spells that his friend knew but the rest thought only of gasping for air and panic at the coming basalisk.

Behind Harry the stone stopped. He grabbed George's arm. "Run. Don't look at it. We've got to go get Dumbledore. " George did not run. Instead he looked curiously at the monster curiously then fell dead. Harry's vision turned white at the edges and narrowed to a small pinprick just ahead. He knew he was running for his life. Phoenix song resounded like a heavenly choir around him and the sorting hat landed at his feet. Behind him the basalisk and phoenix were fighting but Harry ignored them, grabbed the hat, and ran for the tunnels.

Safely ensconced in a narrow niche he put on the hat which said "You've really buggered this up kid. Better get out there and fix it." The sword of Gryffindor dropped on his head and Harry turned back to the battle.

This time there was no bite to the arm and no phoenix tears were necessary to save him. Fawkes dropped him on the head of the Basalisk and Harry drove the goblin forged sword downward through its skull. The death throes of the beast hurled him to the floor but despite his injuries Harry was jubilant. He needed only to reach the diary and this was over. Scrambling to Fred's body he kicked the diary to floor, held his sword over it, "Too late boy. The boy's soul is mine and I an reborn." Riddle extended his arm and cast Avada Kedavra. Harry stepped forward and ducked underneath then brought the sword up. Inexperienced as he was he could put little strength into the blow but that didn't matter to the enchanted blade. Riddles's hand fell off in a spurt of blood. He ran and Harry chased him through chamber. At a hissed word from Riddle the exit tunnel grew stairs and the chase continued. Out of the bathroom and down the hall they ran. Harry could see the flapping cloak ahead and resolved not to let the older boy out of his sight. Tom turned a corner and Harry followed him but the dark lord pulled away. At the next corner Harry saw only his cloak. Then he was gone. Tom had escaped and all his work was for nothing.

Harry sat down where he was. Morning came and students roamed the halls. Harry skipped class that day but wasn't alone when the teacher's sent everybody back after the discovery of the still open chamber and the bodies within. The school year ended and Harry left Hogwarts unsure what he should do or if it was worth returning.