A/N Right. This is my grovelling apology to all of you, and my overwhelming gratitude to anyone who is still reading this. I am genuinely so sorry for two reasons. Firstly, abandoning the story completely after I promised no to was really rubbish, especially as I was still writing other fics. Secondly, I've just read over the beginning of this story and it is awful and I can't believe I made you all read that. I will be continuing with the story, and attempting to totally overhaul the beginning to drastically improve everything.

Please, please let me know if my characters are messed up or whatever because I know it's been a while. I will be trying to update twice a week but as it's exams it might fall down to once a week. Also, on my profile is a poll, so those of you who read my other stories please vote for what you want me to continue.

Again, I am so sorry, I don't have an excuse and I feel horrible, especially as I left you all on a cliffhanger.

P.S. To make up for it I tried to make it a long chapter and I threw in some ninja Dumbledore so don't hate me too much xx

Draco felt physically sick as he stared into the darkness. He couldn't believe he was doing this, literally serving up his best friend and a muggleborn to the Dark Lord on a platter. He wanted to scream and cry and just breakdown but it was too late for all of that now. The Weasley girl was dying in there, and the consequences for backing out now would be far worse than anything in the Chamber. After all, it was only a talk, admittedly one with the most evil wizard ever, but he was unlikely to do anything to hurt Harry.

Hermione coughed impatiently beside him. "If we're going, we should probably go now."

She pointed her wand forward and cast a light in front of them. "Lumos"

Harry gulped nervously but stepped forwards. Surely, whatever came next couldn't possibly be as bad as last year.

They all went forward cautiously, each of their minds working furiously. Hermione's Gryffindor braver was driving her forward, all she could focus on was her desperation to get to her friend. Harry was looking round, constantly convinced he could hear the hissing noise of a giant snake. And Draco was scheming, mind whirring desperately as he tried to figure out how he could possibly keep Hermione safe. It was all his fault that she had been dragged into this mess, and he wouldn't let anyone else get hurt today.

As he pointed up ahead with his left arm, he frantically made wand movements with his right, hoping he could pull this off. He muttered the spell as quietly as he dared, ensuring that it would still work. With a shudder the rock wall beside him started to fall and he pushed Hermione out of the way, intent on making sure she couldn't follow them.

Hermione screamed as she felt Draco shove her and saw Harry dash out of the way. The rocks continued to fall and she watched in horror as a large sized rock collided with the back of Draco's head. She grabbed his hand and dragged him away as he collapsed forward onto her.

As the dust cleared Draco slowly came to. He was trapped tightly under a rock, pressed up against someone. As he looked down and saw that it was Hermione he was trapped beside he groaned.

Harry on the other hand was well clear of the rocks and he called out to the others. He looked around, trying to figure out where they were. His stomah slowly sinking, his worst fears were realised when Draco called back to him from the other side of the blockade.

Hermione felt sick, and Draco's shouting and cursing wasn't helping. She lay back, confused as he shouted to Harry and then subsided to mutter to himself.

"No no no no! This wasn't supposed to happen! Damn! Screw this!"

"Draco?" Hermione was feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. His weight was pressing down on her and she was getting claustrophobic. "Can you move?"

"What?" Draco tried to roll of her but gasped sharply as the pain in his leg shocked through him. "Ah! No..."

"DRACO?!" Harry bellowed to him, trying to figure out what to do. "I'm going on. You guys go back for help."

"What?" His own discomfort forgotten Draco shouted back to Harry. "No! It's too dangerous!" Bloody hell this was a complete nightmare. There was no way Harry could go by himself.

"I have to!"

"Harry! No!" Hermione added her voice to the echoes now bouncing around the Chamber but it was too late. The two continued to struggle to free themselves while Harry forged on ahead without them.

As Harry walked forward he was aware of his sweaty palms and his shallow breathing. He gasped as he stepped forward and saw the youngest Weasley girl lying on the ground, her red hair spread out around her. She looked almost peaceful, she could have been sleeping if her skin wasn't so pale. He knelt down beside her and tried to undo the ropes that bound her. Her hands were icy cold though, and while he struggled with the bindings he heard footsteps behind him.

He stood up arubtly and turned to face the newcomer. He was a student, a older than Harry, but he had an odd translucent quality about him, almost as if he were a ghost, but not quite. Harry felt suddenly afraid and turned back to the unconscious girl.

"Help me!" He pleaded as the figure remained still, standing behind him.

"Don't worry about her Harry. She's just... a little occupied." The boy looked at her disdainfully. "No, I want to talk about you."

"Me?" Harry looked confused and then realised that there was something even stranger in what he had said. "How do you know who I am?"

"Oh Harry, don't you remember me? We were getting on so well last year until... well I'm afraid I pushed things a little."

Harry stared at him uncomprehendingly. "I'm sorry, I don't think-"

"Well think Harry! Who else would be down here, in Salazaar Slytherin's own Chamber. I admit I'm looking rather different today... youth is a wonderful thing."

Understanding dawned on Harry and he shook his head. "No. No! I don't- How- That's not possible!"

The stranger advanced slowly. "Oh yes it is. I am Lord Voldemort before everything you know about me. I'm a younger version, you see. I wasn't always the monster you think I am."

"Think Harry. I was just a pupil. I was just like you. I was an orphan, I was lonely like you in this school. We are the same Harry, you and I. We could be great together! Don't you see?"

Harry shook his head again but the words were confusing him. "No! I don't believe you!"

"Oh Harry, you don't think it was my fault do you? I was just like you once, before others tried to 'fix' me. Join me and I can keep you safe. Look."

The boy stopped talking and changed to a strange hissing noise that Harry realised must be parseltongue. "See? We are both so similar. You could master the snake as I did. We could be one and the same!"

A long low hiss came out of the shadows and Harry felt his heart rate speed up as a ginormous snake began to approach. He was frozen, paralysed by terror and all he could do was watch as it came slowly forwards and forwards, it's fangs gleaming in the light cast by Harry's wand.

Draco and Hermione lay in silence for a moment after Harry's footsteps echoed away into the distance. Then Draco moved, slowly reaching for his wand where he had dropped it.

"Wingardium Leviosa"

His hand trembled with the effort but finally he felt the pressure on his leg decrease.

"Come on Granger. Time to go." He rolled off her and tried to focus on anything except the agony in his leg and the sudden emptiness he felt at not having her pressed against him.

"What about you?"

He groaned. "My leg is probably broken, I certainly can't run to Dumbledore like this. You're faster. Now go!" He almost shouted the last bit at her, unfairly pouring his frustration out over her. She didn't care, she just took off running, with one last quick look over her shoulder.

Draco was left alone in the weak glow of his wand. His leg ached but all he could think about was Harry. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been, letting him go off to fight the Dark Lord alone- what had he been thinking? He sat on the cold floor and groaned in frustration.

Harry was cautiously watching the giant snake. It had stopped slithering towards him but he was still nervous.

Suddenly, with an almighty crash and a shout the blockade made up of rocks exploded, rubble flying everywhere. Harry fell to the floor as the snake seemed to rise up, taller and taller. He looked in amazement as he saw the Headmaster run towards the snake, a glint of metal in his hands. He had no idea what was going on but the snake collapsed in on itself, crumbling as it fell. The other boy, the one who claimed to be Voldemort began to laugh hysterically as Dumbledore rushed towards Ginny.

"You're too late! Too late you old fool!"

"No!" He cut through the boy with what Harry could now see was an elaborate sword but it passed right through him, leaving him unharmed. Suddenly, something caught Harry's eye. Lying beside Ginny was the small diary he had found previously.

"Professor! The book!"

He didn't know if it would do any good but surely that was somehow linked to the apparition. Dumbledore seemed to understand immediately and brought the sword swinging down, stabbing through the book.

The ghostly boy screamed, a noise that was twisted and monstrous and pierced through Harry's skull. Then he flickered and disappeared.

Harry gasped but the noise kept going he could barely see straight as professors rushed into the room, running over to him and the Weasley girl and everyone was talking and shouting and the snake's dead body was crashing down to earth. With a sigh his body gave up and he drifted into unconsciousness.