OOO

"Is that healthy for the bird?" Harry watched Draco stuff the rooster into a sack he'd grabbed out of the garden supplies. Dragon nudged at the bag with his nose and there was a flutter inside.

"What do you think I'm going to do, tuck it under my arm?" Draco carefully knotted the sack shut. "He'll peck up my arm and try to fly away. Besides, the rooster needs to be in a dark place so that he'll crow when taken out. This will keep him calm until we can use him."

"Alright. Just don't suffocate it or something."

"It will be fine, Harry. I promise. Burlap breathes. I swear."

Harry lead them back inside and tossed a handful of Floo Power into the fireplace. "The Hufflepuff Common Room!"

Draco and Dragon followed suit a moment later and they all stepped out into the room, dusting themselves off.

"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked.

"First, we need to use this." Draco pulled a bottle out of his pocket. "Come on, let's get to the infirmary. Make sure we have my cloak – even though they evacuated the school, if anybody is still around it's probably Madame Pomfrey."

"The rest of your potion I'm assuming?" Harry said, still looking at the swirling liquid.

"Yeah." Draco tucked it back into his pocket. "I figure it would be better to get help than not. There's not a whole lot let but probably enough to wake up a couple people."

"Are you sure that's a smart idea?" Harry kept pace with Draco. "I mean, not saying that we couldn't use help. But if this goes badly, I don't want to get anybody else involved."

"That's why we're doing this – to make sure it doesn't go badly."

"Yeah, but we only have one invisibility cloak and even that can only cover so many. More people is riskier."

"Don't you think they would be upset if we had the chance to wake them and didn't? If they could have helped but never got the opportunity?"

"You only have a little bit of potion anyway – how are you going to decide who to give it to? There are a lot of people Petrified, a lot of our friends. All of whom would probably want to help. If we can't give it to anybody, maybe we shouldn't give it to anybody."

"That's dumb!" Draco rolled his eyes. "That's like saying because some people can't eat, nobody should eat. It doesn't help anybody. I still think we wake up who we can then leave it up to them."

"Fine, fine," Harry groused. "Who are you going to give it to?"

Draco stopped in his tracks on a stairwell. "I really don't know."

"Cedric? Cedric might be helpful."

"Yeah. He's older and that could help."

"But…"

"…but I just realized something." Draco looked down at Harry from a few steps above him. "We don't know where the Chamber is. At all."

"Do you think somebody in the infirmary might know?"

"Maybe. They were all attacked in different places, though. I don't know if one or any of them was attacked near the entrance. But the basilisk has to be emerging from somewhere."

"Well… alright, what about Dragon?" Harry looked at the dog with a nod. "You could pick up Theo's scent and trace it, couldn't you Sirius?" He whispered.

The dog barked.

"Right then. We find out where the entrance is before doing anything else." Draco nodded. "Why don't you give him the diary? That should have plenty of Theo's scent on it. A bit of yours and mine, but hopefully that won't be a problem."

Sirius sniffed at the book Harry proffered and then put his nose to the hall, searching. However, even after going to the tower entrance and trying to trace from the portal, he shook his head. They all ducked into a side hallway and he shifted back to his human shape.

"I'm not getting much. I'm sorry," he apologized. "But whatever Theo used to sneak up on me in the garden – assuming it was Theo – he must have kept using. I can't get much of a scent off the book and any tracks other than ones to regular classrooms are pretty much covered up. I'm not getting anything that says he was headed anywhere unusual."

"Well maybe it's not unusual. Maybe the entrance is in a regular classroom." Draco sighed. "But we're wasting time with this. Have we checked the Marauder's Map?"

"I looked." Harry shook his head 'no.' "I can't even find Theo on it."

"I'm not surprised," Sirius said in an equally frustrated tone. "We never found anything like that and we couldn't map what we didn't know was there. Plus it could very well be Unplottable. I'd be surprised if it wasn't since Slytherin went to such great lengths to make it a Chamber of Secrets."

"Any ideas then?" Draco looked at them nervously. "It's getting late. The more time passes the longer before we can find and save Theo, if he's not…" He left the thought unfinished.

"I'm sure Theo's alright," Harry tried to assure him but without much conviction. "And there's got to be a way to find the Chamber…"

"If we knew if anybody saw the snake emerging we could ask." Draco sighed. "But we don't. We don't even know if the Petrified people are in the infirmary. They might have moved them because of the danger."

"What danger? It isn't like they can get Petrified twice," Harry pointed out. "And you know, I might have an idea about where to go for Chamber information. But…"

"But what? Come on, we don't have a lot of time!"

"It's kinda dangerous." Harry murmured.

Sirius looked at him apprehensively. "Harry? What are you thinking of?"

"The only ones who were able to give us any solid leads were… well… the acromantulas."

"Then that's where we're going," Draco said, resolved. "Come on, it's getting late. It'll be eleven soon."

Sirius shifted back and followed Draco out the front entrance. Harry came up behind him and grabbed Draco's arm.

"Draco… they're in the forest and it's almost midnight. And I know you like animals but…"

"We have to. We're running out of options and unless you have a better plan for finding the Chamber, this is what we have to do."

"Draco, these spiders are dangerous. Really dangerous. They might have eaten us! And there were a lot more of us then to defend ourselves. If the basilisk hadn't intruded we might have died. Besides, I'm not even sure I can find the way back to the nest. It's way back in the forest and we had a path of spiders to follow the last time."

"Harry… Look, I know they're a risk. I like animals but I'm not stupid. But I'm not leaving my friend in a lurch. Come on." He forced a grin. "You're the Gryffindor here. I thought danger was your thing?"

"I know." He took a breath as they reached the edge of the trees. "Well then, lets do this thing."

Steeling themselves, they walked beyond the boundary of the trees and into the eclipsing darkness of the forest. Even the stars were hard to see when the canopy of leaves was particularly thick and the clouds obscured the sky. Once or twice Harry thought he caught sight of the silver skin of a unicorn but it vanished quickly into the blackness. He shivered and pressed forward, trying to remember the path he'd taken the first time.

They didn't have long to go, however, when Harry stopped short at the sight of black eyes glittering in the darkness. His night-adjusted eyes made the outline of several large spiders ahead of them as well as…

"Firenze?" Draco whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I am doing what I can."

"But how did you know we'd…"

"You have come," the largest of the spiders murmured. "You have come at the waning. But you have come nonetheless." It stepped towards Draco. "This is good."

"What do you mean, the waning?" Draco looked at Firenze. "What's going on?"

"We came to ask about the Chamber again," Harry interrupted. "We need to know where it is, how to get into it. We know what's in there," he added hastily. "That it's a basilisk."

"Do not say its name!" The spider shrieked.

"Sorry!" Harry backed up.

"A girl died. Very near the entrance to hear our smaller brothers tell the tale," one of the others told them. "They spoke of a dank, watery place, warned us not to build our webs near there."

"A dank place where a girl died… Myrtle?" He looked at Draco. "Myrtle's bathroom?"

"That's near where Hermione was!" Draco added. "That must be it!" He turned back to the group. "But why did you come here? What is this about?"

"I came to give you something." Firenze held out a lengthy wrapped item he had been holding. "It was something my clan kept for a very long time, as a gift to an old friend. We were not sure if the time would ever come to give it away. But the stars do not lie. The sights seen… yes, I think that it is time." He handed it to Draco. "May it help you tonight."

"What about tonight? What's happening?" Draco sounded agitated as he grasped the gift. "A little more information would be nice!"

"Tonight is in many ways a beginning…" Firenze shook his head. "But I should not say too much. At least until there is confirmation."

"Why not!" Harry interjected. "It might help, you know."

"I cannot… I cannot say much. But there are whispers and prophecies you must be ready, young Potter. You and Draco both. Be ready and be wary."

"For what? The ba… the monster?"

"You know what it is you must do," the large spider hissed. "Do not hesitate. But go. The time is swiftly upon you both."

Then the spiders turned and skittered off into the darkness.

"That was odd…" Draco murmured.

"I must go too." Firenze set a hand on Draco's shoulder. "And may the earth protect what is her own."

With that, he galloped off as well.

"Creepy." Draco said after a moment. "Really creepy."

"I'm just glad we're alive." Harry looked down. "What did he give you?"

"No idea, but we'd better get out of here. We need to get back to Theo."

"That bathroom… And Draco?" He struggled through the brush. "You're not going to do anything stupid, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like the spider said, we need to kill the creature. You're not planning to, you know, keep it or something, right? Like with Fluffy? I know you brought the rooster but it'd be nice to be sure."

Draco's expression grew drawn and angry. "Harry, do you know what cockfighting is? Or dog fighting?"

"What? Where they throw animals into a ring and make them fight? I've heard of it."

They stepped out onto the grass of the school's lawn with Draco taking angry steps. "When an animal is trained to do nothing but kill that's all it can even do. Its personality becomes too violent to ever be successfully integrated into any kind of environment, human or animal. And when that happens, there's nothing to do but put it down." He hurried along, clutching the rooster's bag. "And it's terrible when it happens, terrible and sad. But it doesn't change what has to be done."

Harry nodded. "And what about waking any of the others?"

"I suppose… we might need help. We'll administer the potion and leave a note before they're fully awake. That way they can go get Dumbledore or somebody if we don't come up. Otherwise… well, otherwise we might die down there and nobody would know."

"Alright. Do you know who you'll wake?"

"I think…" he whispered and looked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. "I think that since Fred and George sent us warning, we help Ginny as a thank you to them. Besides, she's smart. She'll keep her head if something happens to us."

"Then we'll have to give some to Luna too. Since they're connected," Harry pointed out.

"Really?" Draco gave him a hapless grin. "Hadn't thought of that. But there should be enough for two." He slipped into the empty infirmary.

"Sure you didn't," Harry muttered.

Carefully, Draco dabbed the potion on their lips then slipped doses down their throats while Harry borrow a pad from Madame Pomfrey's desk and wrote down a note. As the girls began to stir Harry pressed it into Ginny's hand before he and Draco slipped on the invisibility cloak and disappeared down the hallway.

They came to Myrtle's bathroom soon after and, after a few brief questions, found a sink with the mark of a snake on it.

"So now what?" Harry peered at it. "How do we open it? With a handle or something? Should we tug at the pipe?"

"Maybe… Well, Slytherin wouldn't want anybody else getting in, would he?"

"No, probably not."

"So then how would he keep other people from getting into it? I mean, remember that story we read with Theo over the summer? The one where you had to 'speak friend and enter' to get into that mine?"

"Yeah? You're saying I need to say something in Parseltongue?"

"That would be my guess. Myrtle did say she heard somebody talking in a weird language."

"But what do I say? I mean, if it's a password, it could be just about anything – and there aren't a lot of clues."

"Try open."

Harry took a breath and did his best to think of snakes, to envision slithering.

Open.

The fixture slid back and revealed a pipe spiraling downward.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

OOO

Ginny shook her head and blinked to try and clear her sight. Everything was still fuzzy but she felt her limbs for the first time in what felt like ages. Carefully, she untangled herself from Luna who was likewise rubbing her eyes.

"Oh…"She groaned. "What happened?"

"I remember running…" Luna whispered. "There was a basilisk after us…"

"Now I remember!" Ginny looked at her. "We couldn't run fast enough so you took us to the water so we'd only see the reflection."

"I'm sorry about the Petrification," Luna said. "Had there been any other way…"

"I know. Beats being dead." She rubbed her eyes again then noticed a paper that had fallen to the floor. "Luna?" She looked over. "I think you need to read this." She swallowed. "Theo's been taken down into the Chamber and Harry and Draco have gone after him."

"Draco is awake, then," Luna whispered. "He must have helped us."

"Well what do we go?" Ginny got up and stretched. "Theo's in trouble, we can't stay here."

"They say we should make sure they come up and if not, get help." Luna pointed at the letter.

"Which might be too late." Ginny shook her head. "No, we need to do something about this. Of course we should probably send a message too. But we can't go down there unprepared." She looked at Luna. "You don't happen to have any roosters with you, do you?"

"No. But Draco probably would have brought one." Luna paused thoughtfully. "But if we need something to help them, there are lots of devices in Dumbledore's office."

"And you think its okay to just go there and get them?"

Luna shrugged. "I'm sure he will understand."

"Alright, if you know the password then lead the way."

"I am not sure how to get into the Chamber though. It is under the school, I'm certain, but I'm worried that we will not be able to find it in time."

"Getting into the Chamber? I don't know. Maybe in the Slytherin Common Room. Or… I think I remember Milli saying something about pipes…" Then Ginny snapped her fingers. "I know! The Room of Requirement!" She grinned. "If we walk back and forth in front of it and think about how we need an entrance to the Chamber, maybe it will make one for us! Come on!" She clapped. "The guys need us and we're going to come through for them, whether they like it or not."

"Just remember, sherbert lemon," Luna smiled. "It's the password to his office you know."

"How do you know, anyway?"

"Oh, you know. I'm good at listening," Luna said as they slipped off down the hall.

OOO

The boys landed with a thump onto the floor.

"Ow!" Draco winced. "I fell on that thing…"

"Is the rooster alright?" Harry caught Dragon as he slipped down. "And why don't you open that thing already, see what it is?"

"Yeah, I made sure to pad it on the way down." Draco reached for the ties on the package and opened it up. "And it's… a bow? That isn't strung and without arrows." Draco scoffed. "Great."

"Maybe it's magic. Let me see." Harry looked at it, a sleek shape made of ebony, detailed in gold. "HH," he said, looking at the working. "Hufflepuff?"

"I guess." Draco lifted it from his hands as Harry gave it back. "We'd better get going, though. Cape ready?"

"Ready."

"Then let's find Theo," he murmured.

They began making their way past monolithic snake statues, trying to ignore the weird shadows cast on the walls. At length they reached a door with twined snakes carved into it with emeralds set in the eye sockets. Draco's mouth dried and he gripped the bow and the bag while Harry brushed against Dragon for comfort.

"When we get inside," Draco whispered, "Sirius, you try and get Nott then get out." He barked. "Harry? Ready to do the honors?" He nodded.

Open.

They stepped inside under the cloak and saw a shadowy looking boy standing over the body of Theodore.

"Accio diary!" He called out. The book flew from Harry's pocket into his grasp, instantly making the other seem more solid. "And you might as well remove that cloak," the figure said with a smirk. "I knew you would come, Harry Potter."

OOO