Warnings: Harry vs. the Basilisk. And bad French. I speak English, Japanese, and Spanish. So forgive me. ;;
The Hero Once More
"Thrust, thrust, left, feint, right, thrust, sidestep, block, and slash!" The fencing teacher knocked Neville's sword across the room. He looked disdainfully down at Neville. "You're supposed to hang on to your sword. I barely nudged you." He smirked pompously down on the fourteen-year-old boy.
Neville mumbled something about wishing he was at a footy game than here as he jogged to pick up his fencing practice sword.
"Tracey! Let's see if your incompetence has improved any!" The instructor called across the room where the other four were waiting their turns to practice duel. Tracey stood up gracefully and smoothed down her skirt. They didn't duel in traditional gear and masks, it wasn't practical and it was doubtful any Death Eater would acknowledge the rules of engagement.
"I'd love to shove this fencing sword up his tight ass," Mandy grumbled quietly.
"I think he might enjoy that too much," Roger whispered back with a dirty smirk.
Harry hmm-ed in agreement and winked back at Roger.
But much to the chagrin of their grandiloquent fencing instructor, Tracey was an elegant duellist. Her movements were fluid and graceful, and she moved like water, flowing from one move to the next. Harry enjoyed watching her fence; she was his antithesis in most ways. He always fought fast and intense with hard, angry movements that usually left him breaking the fencing sword. He was better with broadswords and scimitars.
Tracey didn't quite complete her finishing blow and the mock duel ended in a draw. Of course the instructor began to ridicule her. Harry rolled his eyes. He was such a pompous ass.
"Good, good!" Scrimgeour's voice boomed across the small training room. The Head of the department was followed by Moody and Shacklebolt. "It's good to see Tracey improving in physical combat." He grinned proudly.
"But you could have won. Constant vigilance!" Moody bellowed his trademark phrase as he stomped across the room. Harry's scar prickled. Lately Moody had been creating a sense of dread to well up inside of him. Neville said he was being paranoid, but Harry wasn't so sure. Why would he start feeling it now and not before? Moody hadn't done anything horrible to him lately, nothing worse than Scrimgeour and Harry didn't feel dread around him. He had a felt that something was off about him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
The five Myrmidons assembled in a row in front of their commanding officers and saluted briefly.
"Monsieur Papillon, Merci pour votre service excellent," Shacklebolt dismissed the instructor. He bowed nobly and left the room.
"We have a new mission for you five. Transportation of valuable artefacts from the German Ministry. Artefacts that we do not want falling into the wrong hands," Scrimgeour began to pace in front of them. "Now this is normally a job that an Auror could handle, but Moody suggested we give this to you to give you more field experience." Harry frowned. At ages fourteen the five of them had more field experience than half the Aurors on the force. "Moody will also be overseeing this mission. Here's are the details, you leave at oh four hundred hours tomorrow." Shacklebolt handed out five folders with detailed information on the artefacts and the contacts. "Any questions?"
"No sir," Harry and the other four answered at once.
"Good. Dismissed."
Harry took one last look at Moody before following Roger out. His magical eye didn't linger on him as long as it usually did. He had a bad feeling about this mission. Something was going to go terribly wrong. He could sense it so strong he could practically smell it. Tomorrow something atrocious was going to happen.
oOo
Harry was tired of waiting, and he was going now.
He took off running down the closest flight of stairs, jumping over banisters when necessary.
He didn't have time to diddle dally and grab his Myrmidons. Dumbledore was announcing the schools closure, and Harry's failure to keep them safe, at breakfast. Then there would be a short service for Colin Creevey, and after that? The students were packing their belongings and then the next morning they were heading off to the train. It was like the governors were trying to make sure Harry failed. But considering who was on the board it didn't really surprise Harry.
Harry skidded into the stone dungeon wall that was really the door into Slytherin, and gasped out the password. He rushed down the staircase to the seventh year boy dorm where his trunk was. He entered the room silently; the last thing he wanted was answering questions from a curious Blaise. Not that anyone could hear him enter over the racket Crabbe was making tonight. If snoring was part of the Olympics, Crabbe would have wond the gold medal.
But Harry's trunk wasn't at the foot of his green and silver four-poster bed. In fact, it wasn't even in the room. He did a quick search, even looked under Goyle's bed, which could be considered a biohazardous zone, but still there was nothing. He frowned. Where the fuck was his trunk? No one in their right mind would steal his trunk. He was Harry Potter from Merlin's sake. He silently fumed. He didn't have time for this.
He marched back up the stairs. He needed his trunk, inside was an enchanted katana sword he received in Japan that could cut through anything, dragon hide to reinforced steel. Harry knew a basilisk would be no match to his blade, Yuukan.
Harry had every intent of marching down the girl's side and waking up Tracey, but stopped in front of the portrait of Salazar Slytherin. He frowned at Draco's door. Would Draco...? No, Draco wouldn't move his personal things into his room... would he?
Harry looked at Salazar, and he stared right back. They really did have the same green eyes, although Salazar was ghastly pale and ancient in his portrait, but still they had the same vivid green eyes. "Are you going to say the password?" Slytherin asked icily. "Or are you going to keep me awake with your tramping through the common room at this ungodly hour."
"Riddle," Harry replied.
The portrait swung open and Harry went inside. The room was half lit, and Draco was lying on top of the sheets wearing only pyjama bottoms. Harry stared at the tempting image he created. Pale skin against dark green sheets. Silky silver hair. All Harry wanted to do was run his hand down over the pale skin, and kiss the soft lips, until Draco moaned breathlessly.
But Harry was distracted from Draco when he saw his trunk at the end of the bed right next to Draco's. Harry's blood boiled. How dare Draco touch his belongings with out his permission? They were hardly dating! Harry growled lowly and stalked to his trunk. He didn't have time to wake Draco up and yell at him. It was nearing two thirty in the morning and time was slithering by.
Draco stirred as the noise of Harry's trunk opening. He stretched like a content cat and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "Harry? Where have you been?" He asked. "I've been waiting forever," He whined slightly, but still sleepy.
"I've got something to do," Harry snarled out. He dug to the bottom of his trunk and rummaged around. Holy water, knives, a few arrows, a desert eagle... there. He pulled out his katana blade.
Draco sat up when he realized Harry wasn't planning on joining him in bed. "What? Something to do? Harry it's ... two twenty-three in the morning, what do you have to do?" He frowned.
Harry grabbed his dragon hide pants and gloves before answering. "I found the Chamber," He replied before kicking off his boots and shucking of his pants to pull on his dragon hides.
"The Chamber of Secrets? And you're going now?" Draco asked in disbelief. "No. No way."
"What?" Harry turned to face Draco. "Why not?" He asked without emotion.
"Because it two in the morning! You and the Myrmidons have been up for twenty hours already." Draco crawled to the end of his bed and sat on his knees facing Harry.
"I'm not going with the other Myrmidons. I don't have time to get them," Harry replied. He ripped off his shirt and grabbed a clean black one out of his trunk.
"You're planning on fighting a basilisk alone?" Draco cried. "No. I'm not letting you leave this room." He glared.
Harry slammed his trunk in anger and grabbed Draco roughly by his upper arms. "And exactly how are you going to stop me?" He pulled the smaller body to his roughly. Draco was awkwardly hanging over his trunk, his knees still on the bed while his upper torso touched Harry's. Harry's grip tightened to the point of bruising.
"Harry you're hurting me." Draco struggled uselessly as he looked up at Harry.
"That's what I do Draco is hurt people. That's what I've been raised to do." He roughly shoved him back onto the bed and crawled on top of him. "Now I'm going to go to the Chamber and hunting down this basilisk, and there's nothing you can do about it," He whispered hoarsely into his ear.
Draco felt a shiver travel down his spine. "Then take me with you," He whispered back.
Harry blinked in shock. "Take you? Fuck no Draco, you're staying here where you're safe." To emphasize his point he pushed Draco deeper into the mattress.
"I don't want anything to happen to you." Draco looked up at him through his dark lashes seductively. He rubbed his leg against Harry's calf suggestively.
Harry almost fell for it. It seemed too easy to sink into Draco and ravish the blonde boy. He wanted to so bad. He wanted to see those lush lips swollen and red. He wanted to hear his voice hoarse from screaming. He wanted to feel the pale flesh below him quivering in desire. But Colin's broken body and lifeless stare flashed through his mind. No. He had a responsibility to finish off this basilisk.
Harry leaned down and pressed a gently kiss to Draco's slightly parted lips as he wandlessly cast a light sleeping spell on him. Draco sighed and relaxed against the bed as his eyes fluttered to unwanted sleep. Harry took one last look at the blonde before grabbing his sword and Riddle's diary and left the room.
oOo
A girl's bathroom, Harry had to give Salazar credit for picking a perfect hiding place. And he had to give credit to Voldemort for making it a haunted bathroom. Although Dumbledore should have realized this was a possibility. After all, the poor girl was murdered by the basilisk here; it would be the first place Harry checked.
"You say it was this sink Myrtle?" He smiled one of his flirty smiles at the transparent, floating girl.
She giggled behind her hands and would be blushing if she had blood to rush to her cheeks. "I'm sure Harry."
Harry didn't really care for the way she kept emphasizing his name, but the poor dear did die when she was in her second year. She died a virgin. Harry sighed in sympathy. "Thank you." He grinned before turning to inspect the sink in question.
There was a small snarling snake cleverly camouflaged on the tap. He tapped it thoughtfully and glanced around the rest of the sink to be sure. He closed his eyes briefly and felt the magic surrounding the sink. All of Hogwarts was magical, every stone and beam of wood had been seeped in magic, not too much, but just enough. And this particular tap felt different. It was subtle, almost undetectable unless the right person was feeling it out. The magic was dormant, waiting to be activated... password protected. Harry grinned in triumph.
"Open," He hissed in parseltongue.
Harry was rewarded. The tap glowed brightly as a blinding white light engulfed the whole sink. The sink shuddered and jerked at first and then sank into the ground and out of sight, leaving a gaping hole exposed. Harry glanced in and saw a large pipe, large enough for a man, large enough for a basilisk.
"Oh my..." Myrtle breathed in wonder.
Harry grinned in victory before jumping into the pipe and sliding out of the young ghost's vision.
oOo
Draco shot up from his bed. Fuck. Harry played dirty. He shivered as he remembered the burning grip pushing him further into the bed. Fuck. He still wanted Harry bad, but there was no time for a quick wank. He stumbled off his bed and grabbed the first shirt and pair of pants that fell into his hands. He ran out of the room while still trying to button up the grey shirt. He had no time for perfection.
Tracey was having a pleasant dream. She and the other Myrmidons were sprawled out on the beach in Algeciras, at the southern tip of Spain. The sand was warm and the ocean spray was cool. There were no missions to be worrying about, or Death Eaters to fight. No magical world and its reliance upon her best friend. They were happy and carefree.
She wanted to Kill Draco Malfoy for waking her up.
"What do you want?" She hissed quietly. Daphne was the closest bed to hers and she didn't want to wake her up.
Draco had thrown her curtains aside and startled her awake, he was lucky he didn't do that to Mandy or Harry or else he probably wouldn't be alive right now. He leaned towards her intently. "Harry found the Chamber of Secrets," He whispered.
Tracey froze. Harry found the Chamber? So why the Hell was Draco waking her up? Unless... no. Harry! She cursed angrily. She pushed her covers aside and jumped out of bed. "Let me guess, he went off by himself?"
Draco nodded. "Yes, he went off an hour ago."
"And you didn't wake me up sooner?" She hissed again. Why–never mind. This was Harry. "He cast a sleeping spell on you so that you couldn't follow him." She sighed. Oh Harry, when will you learn not to needlessly throw yourself in danger? She wondered. But she, and the other Myrmidons, knew that he would never stop until all evil was banished.
She swept her long dark hair into a messy bun and pulled on a pair of slacks. Draco turned around as she put on a black top. "We have to get the others. Did he leave you any hints?" She asked.
Draco sighed. "No. He grabbed a sword out of his trunk, it was a slightly curved blade."
Tracey cursed Harry again. He took Yuukan, he definitely found the Chamber and was definitely hunting the basilisk. Fuck. "We have to wake the others. You grab Mandy, Hufflepuff is the closest dorm, and I'll get Roger and Neville. We'll meet in the main corridor on the first floor," Tracey ordered. She wasn't fond of giving orders and taking command, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
oOo
Harry slid down the dark and slimly pipe, it seemed endless. Small pipes periodically branched off in all directions, but big enough for a basilisk to slither through. The steep slope twisted and turned, and Harry knew he was way below the dungeons by now. Almost suddenly, the pipe levelled out and he landed with a wet thud as it spit him out. The stone floor below him was damp, and the tunnel around him was dark but he could stand with out any difficulty.
Harry started to walk cautiously. It was quiet. An oppressive quiet that sinks down to the bone. Harry couldn't help a shiver that ran along his spine. He cast a dim lumos to aid him, and it revealed small animal bones that littered the passage floor. He grimaced and stepped carefully around a rat's skull.
Harry continued walking, carefully, through the passage. It turned to reveal a small cavern. Harry gawked at the gigantic shedded snakeskin, an uncommon vivid green, much like his own eyes. It lay coiled and empty across the floor. Harry touched it gently and mused over how big the snake must be now. Shit.
He continued on, more cautious than before. He looked around every turn before walking; it felt like a labyrinth, with out the dead ends. And finally he came around the last corner and saw a sturdy stonewall, where two entwined serpents were carved. Harry traced the eyes; real emeralds glinted fiercely at him. He hissed again in parseltongue and the stone serpents slithered as the wall parted. Harry squared his shoulders and took a deep breath as he glimpsed into the Chamber of Secrets.
He was Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived.
Bring it on.
oOo
"Harry did what?" Mandy exploded.
"Why am I not surprised," Roger sighed.
"Fuck man, I'm his best friend," Neville swore.
Tracey nodded sympathetically. Now that they were a group, Roger would surely take control and uses his genius to find Harry.
"Draco, Harry didn't say anything to you?" Roger turned to interrogate the blonde.
"No." Draco sighed. "The only think he said was 'I've got something to do' and then 'I found the Chamber'."
"Shit." Roger sighed. "Okay, Tracey, we need a retracing step spell. We'll start in Draco's room."
oOo
Harry was standing at the end of a long and dim chamber. Stone serpents were carved everywhere, ornately over the floor, etched on the dim walls, and there were stone pillars carved with numerous serpents towering over Harry as they created a long hall and even longer shadows. An odd, greenish gloom seemed to the fill the somber Chamber. While definitely creepy, the room filled him with majestic awe. He walked silently towards the end studying each pillar.
As he reached the last pair of pillars, an enormous statue loomed over Harry. Harry knew who it was. An ancient stone statue of Salazar himself, a long tine beard fell almost to the edge of his robes, two gigantic stone feet jutted out at the bottom of the robe. Somebody had an ego, Harry thought dimly. Now where was this basilisk?
"Hello?" He called out in parseltongue.
The statue before him trembled a moment and the sound echoed around the hall. Harry saw the giant stone mouth open and a very long and very frightening basilisk poked his head out, testing the air with its tongue. He immediately stared at the floor.
"Master?"
oOo
Roger picked up Harry's discarded shirt. "This will work." He noddedand balled it up in his hand.
Draco was slightly confused. The Myrmidons didn't speak in complete sentences most of the time; they just seemed to know what the others meant. It left Draco frustrated, and slightly confused. "Harry's shirt will track him?" He asked.
Mandy sighed impatiently. "Yes, we need something of his so the spell only shows his steps, or else we'd loose his steps amongst the thousands of steps made by the students and staff of Hogwarts," She explained.
"Oh," Draco responded. That did make sense.
"Can you limit the time frame to just the past two hours? That should do it." Roger ignored the others as he turned to face Tracey.
"Of course," She nodded. She then murmured a lengthy incantation, without using her wand. Draco looked in awe as suddenly footprints glowing a dull gold walked into the room, to Harry's trunk, on to the bed, off the bed, and out the door again.
"Draco, you should stay here," Neville advised.
Draco glared at the bigger boy. "No. Besides, you could use me. What if you need some Slytherin knowledge to get into the Chamber?" He pointed out.
Roger sighed. "Whatever. Fine. Let's go."
The group of five left Draco's room and followed the faint footsteps as they walked out of the slytherin common room. They hurried along silently, and the atmosphere was tense. Draco mused idly that it took one and a half steps of his to match Harry's.
After several minutes the group ended up in front of a girl's bathroom on the second floor.
"A girl's lavatory?" Mandy smirked. "Did he have to pee first?" She joked.
Roger sent her a glare. "His steps don't come back out, obviously," He responded tersely.
"This is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Draco spoke up.
The other four looked at him with blank stares.
"Moaning Myrtle. She's a ghost, she died in there fifty some years ago and she now haunts it," He explained.
"That's around the time that Tom Riddle was here," Neville exclaimed.
Mandy pushed the door open and the others followed her in. It looked like a normal bathroom, expect for a transparent girl by the window singing. She stopped and looked at them curiously. "More visitors tonight? This is very odd."
"The previous visitor, where did he go?" Roger asked urgently.
"Down the hole," She replied.
They all looked at each other in confusion. "What hole?" Roger asked.
"It's gone now." She shrugged.
"How did he get the hole then?" Mandy frowned. This little girl ghost was starting to irrate her.
"He hissed and it opened." She replied and rolled her eyes.
"Oh shit." Neville moaned. He used parseltongue? No wonder noone could find it before! And how there was no way to get to him.
oOo
"You are not my master." The Basilisk hissed and flicked his tongue, tasting the air around the intruder.
"No, but I'm here to stop you from killing more innocents," Harry hissed back. He gripped his sword tighter and dropped into a ready stance as he observed the shadow on the immense snake.
"Silly boy, you cannot stop me."
"I think you are overconfident it your old age," Harry insulted back. The basilisk hissed back in displeasure. Harry watched the shadow approach him. This would be a challenge. He needed to blind the basilisk so he could face him properly, otherwise he wouldn't stand a chance.
He sensed the Basilisk lunge. He rolled out of the path and slashed as he turned as the snake rushed by. He missed the eyes, but cut deep across the massive jaw. The Basilisk screeched in pain. Harry closed his eyes tight to avoid the reflex of looking at his wounded prey. He retreated a few paces. Any good blinding spells? He thought to himself. He knew a few high-level fire spells, and a flesh slashing spell or two. That was probably his best bet.
He launched two slashing spells at the giant head, one right after the other. One hit the left eye, the other was across the snout. He ran to the left of the animal as it withered and lunched clumsily after him. He took a brief glance at the wounded snake. This could work.
The snake was thrashing angrily; Harry had a hard time avoiding the dangerous body. But he successfully leaped onto the back of the basilisk and carefully inched his way towards the head. The basilisk threw its body against one of the pillars, Harry heard more than felt the sick crunch of his shoulder contacting the stone pillar. He ignored the pain for now.
The basilisk threw itself against a wall this time, but Harry barely avoided hitting the wall. He leaped the last few feet to the top of the head. He unsheathed his sword as he straddled the beginning of its neck. His sword was forged to hunt dragons in Japan; he had no doubt it could slice all the way through a basilisk. He brought the blade down through the neck and twisted. He cut the bottom of the brainstem at the base of the skull. The basilisk dropped immediately when Harry cut off the brains functions. Harry fell of the snake as it hit the stone floor and rolled a few meters away. He stayed on the ground for a moment to catch his breath.
Well, that went rather well, he thought to himself. He gingerly picked himself up and approached the massive head slowly. The deadly poisonous fangs glinted in the dim light and Harry eyed them curiously. Basilisk venom was one of the most deadly poisons in the world. Merlin knows why they needed it when their gaze killed or petrified their prey, but Harry learned not to question the ways of nature.
He carefully sliced off one fang with his sword. It was also said that Horcruxes were difficult to destroy. But Voldemort was still a fool to let one out of his care. He took Riddle's diary out of his back pocket; it was a miracle it didn't fall out during the fight. He then carefully picked up the dangerous fang and stabbed it through the cover of the book. It resisted at first, but the sharp fang punctured the protection spells and blood began to ooze out. His scar burned like acid for a moment and then slowly faded. He wedge the fang all the way through before pulling it out again. Blood continued to leak out of the gaping hole and covered his hands.
He then ripped off part of his shirt and wrapped the basilisk fang in it before shoving it in his pocket. It could come in handy. He also put the bloody and destroyed diary in the pocket as well. He next walked back to the head of the basilisk, he needed proof that he completed his job, so he drew his sword once more, and it one clean slice he disconnected the head from the rest of the body. He cast an easy Wingardium Leviosa on the head and set it to float steadily behind him.
He finally took a moment to lean against a pillar to catch his breath. Fuck, his shoulder burned in pain and his head ached. He was pretty sure his shoulder blade was shattered, good thing it was his left shoulder and not his right. He couldn't move his left arm with out mind numbing pain. He also knew his Myrmidons were going to give him an earful when he reached the bathroom. He had know doubt they tracked him there by now.
But he couldn't really bring himself to feel guilty. He killed the basilisk and now the students weren't in danger.
He was a hero once more.
oOo
Sorry about taking so long to update! School is definetly taking up alot of my time this year, but i'll keep trying to get these out faster!
And Thanks to my amazing beta, El-Gilliath, again! -glomps you-
And another thanks to the HP lexicon, if it didn't exist, neither would this story. especially this chapter with the chamber of secrets.
And thanks to all the readers! especially: Bluebear 13, DestinyEntwinements (I will really try to make them often), MissiYoung, oracale, Saber ShadowKitten, Mithros, firebirdgs (answers: Yes, Harry knows about the prophesy. he used to work with unspeakables. two: that i can't tell. three: i haven't deceided yet. four: yes, i took 4 years of spanish i know. i'll incorporate Mexico in), Beebs, scarblade, smurff, GoddessMoonLady, lovedbytheangels, LetMeLoveYou, Lady Slone, Shadow of ZAFT (really? -glomps you- thanks!), Valerie747 (i know Draco's clingy, but i want them both to really depend on eachother), Miss Moonlight (really? I remind you of JK Rowling? yes, because i'm really her in disguise!...not. i wish though, all that money...), StarWest45, The Great and Powerful Ox, Jujube15, RavenMistress (I tried to make Draco a little more demanding, did it work?), Semper Fidelis (I love major paine! you're right, he does! ), ME, Shady gurl, Inkstained Scarlet (I really love yoru name for some reason...), El-Gilliath (-glomps you silly again- HA!), Priestess of Silvanus, Wolflady, fifespice, SadieW (more myrmidons in this chapter!), AnnF, LuthorCorp (-glomps you silly because of Clex fetish- ehem. anywho, yes, my beta and i took the advice of your review ), Dark Angel of Fire Ice (damn, i'm allergic to chocolate!), DracoDormiens7, sparkley-tangerine, DemonRogue, and Tequila4U522 (I tried emailing you... did you get it?). THANKS SO MUCH!
Review please! Let me know what you thought!