OOO

"Whoa. Dumbledore's office." Ginny looked around, wide-eyed. She meandered towards the windows and, brushing aside the curtains, looked out. "You can see the Quidditch field from here!" She told Luna who was busy browsing a shelf of books. "So what do you think we should take? We probably won't be able to carry a whole lot." Walking over to a table full of whirring instruments, she touched one then drew her hand back when it sparked. "I don't even know what most of these do or if they would be any help. Do you know? I mean, your dad collects stuff like this doesn't he?"

"I think we should ask," Luna said, turning to look at her. "That would make the most sense."

"Ask who?" Ginny frowned. "Dumbledore's gone. Along with all the other teachers too, it looks like."

"Them." Luna nodded at the various portraits circling the room, hands folding and nodded. "Excuse me!" She called out. "I'm terribly sorry to bother you like this, but we were wondering if any of you knew how we could kill a basilisk!"

There was a chorus of grumblings and yawning.

"Intruders!" One woman shrilled.

"Hold your tongue; it's only a couple of idiot students," a male snapped. "And who do you think you are to infiltrate the headmaster's office? He will hear about this, I'll have you know!"

"I'm Luna Lovegood and this is Ginny Weasley and you are…" she leaned forward to read the nameplate below the portrait, "…Phineas Nigellus Black." She looked up at him. "You're related to Sirius!"

"I know my own name," he replied dryly. "And who my relations are. Now if you would please vacate…"

"No!" Ginny shot back vehemently, and then blushed. "I mean, no sir. We can't. We have to take something…"

"Theft?" Another of the portraits interjected.

"No, you don't understand! Our friends have gone hunting the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets and they could die and we need to help them but we don't know how. Please, tell us, and hurry," she pleaded. "We might not have a lot of time!"

"The Chamber is real?" A second woman said in surprise.

"You owe me thirty galleons Dilys," another wizard said smugly.

"Oh hush, Everard."

"A basilisk?" The former Black headmaster frowned. "I assume you have already checked the gamekeeper and grounds for any roosters."

"They were all killed," Ginny explained. "Anything else?"

"You might want to take along him." Phineas pointed towards something with a large velvet cloth draped over it.

Luna pulled off the fabric revealed a beautifully gilded cage with a sleeping phoenix inside.

"He's gorgeous," Luna whispered, transfixed.

"Fawkes is Dumbledore's pet and may or may not go with you. If he does it will be his decision. And if he goes, his tears are no better remedy against any injury you might incur."

"That would help." Ginny nodded. "But anything a little more, well, offensive?"

"You don't have your wands?" He said snidely.

""You know, you could be a little nicer about this," Ginny snapped. "Sirius is a lot friendlier than you are!"

"And you could use a little more common sense - something Sirius is lacking in as well. Unlike my erstwhile relation, however, I can see by your uniforms that you are Ravenclaws. I suggest you behave like them," he shot back.

"I think he's willing." Luna, who had by then undone the lock on the door, stood there with Fawkes perches on her arm. Suddenly, the bird flapped and flew across the office.

"Or not," said Ginny, looking worried. "We might be on our own."

"He's coming back," Luna noted. "With…"

"… with the Sorting Hat?" Ginny looked at the hat that Fawkes dumped into her arms before settling on Luna's shoulder.

"If Fawkes says we should take it, I think we should listen." Luna brushed his head. "He wants us to stay safe."

"Don't know how much help a hat will be, but I guess it couldn't hurt." Ginny shrugged, a pulled it on her head. "How do I look?"

"Like you have a very lumpy hat on your head," Luna answered plaintively as they descended the stairs, Fawkes taking to the air as they did.

"Well so much for dashing," Ginny sighed, rushing down the steps. "Come on, we need to move."

OOO

Harry froze beneath the cloak and the boy's face flexed in agitation. "Hesitation? Just as well. Don't want a repeat of last time, anyway. Accio!" He called a second time and the cloak flew to his hands.

As Draco and Sirius scatted, he tossed it aside with a flourish, giving Harry just enough time to pull out his wand. He shot a disarming spell at the boy, causing the cloak to float out of his hands and fall against the wall. Draco rushed behind a column and Sirius dashed over to Nott, licking his face in an attempt to rouse him.

"Leave him Black!" The boy whirled onto the dog and Harry shot a stupefy spell that missed him by a narrow margin.

"Focus on me!" Harry snapped. The moment the boy's attention was diverted, Sirius changed back into a human and quietly gathered Nott in his arms. "Who are you anyway?" Harry continued to talk and kept his wand trained on the figure, hoping to keep him distracted. "Other than the one releasing the basilisk!"

He sniggered as Sirius tried to edge towards the entrance. "You mean Theodore never told you about me? He should have. I'm one of his dearest friends. But that's right! I didn't let him." He sneered. "Really, though, we did become quite close. You can ask him about it, if he ever wakes up." Slowly, he and Harry began to circle one another. "Resisted to the end, that one, but it was never quite enough."

"If you did anything to him, I'll…"

"What? Kill me?" He chuckled. "A bit hard to do. Not exactly human, now am I?"

"I don't care what you are!" Harry growled. "I'll find a way!"

"Blustering or not, I wouldn't be so eager to save him if I were you." He glances, barely, at Sirius who froze, though neither his wand nor Harry's moved.

Sirius held Nott's body close to his chest, shaking the boy just slightly but not trusting enough to look away from the obviously malevolent apparition. He backed away, hoping that Harry or Draco would be able to do something soon.

"Yes that's right; cradle him like he's some kind of innocent," he snorted. "You know, Harry Potter, I really don't think he's much of a friend to you at all. After all, he's been attacking your friends all year…"

"Only because you've done something to him!"

"…to say nothing of the fact that he's a murderer."

"Wrong!" Harry stepped carefully, worried about slipping on the grime of the floor, his palms sweating as he gripped his wand. "You failed! Nobody died, no one at all!"

Again, the apparition chuckled. "Oh, Harry, Harry… I wasn't referring to that. You see, young Theo there is a matricide." His eyes shown strangely in the Chamber's flickering torchlight. "That's right. Your good little Gryffindor pal killed his own mother."

"Lies," Harry hissed.

"Not at all. And didn't you ever wonder what he really saw in the Mirror of Erised? He wouldn't tell you but he told me." A great look of pleasure spread across the boy's face, a smile that reflected the delight he took in the memory. "But I'll let you in on the secret. He sees his father, kneeling, and him standing behind his father, slitting his throat. When he watched, he could even imagine it, his father's blood gushing over his hands, warm and slippery…"

"SHUT UP!" Draco's voice came from behind one of the Chamber's pillars and he shot a bright red spell at him. The boy deftly evaded however and shot a disarming spell at Draco that sent his wand flying. Draco fell back behind the pillar as the boy caught the wand.

"Fool!" He sneered. "Now I have this!" He brandished the wand.

"And I have this!" Harry, who had taken the opportunity to accio the book, closed the cover he'd glanced inside and held it aloft. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sirius had finally reached the door and did his best to provide a last distraction. "Tom Marvolo Riddle? Is that you?" He laughed. "Doesn't sound so tough to me!"

Tom's eyes narrow. "No!" He swiped the air with the wands, forming the litters of his name – and then rearranged them. "Not Tom, never Tom! I am Lord Voldemort!" He screamed.

"And I killed you!" Harry pointed his wand defiantly. "And I'll do it again and again and again…"

"Enough!" He brandished the two wands. "Enough of this charade."

He hissed and the sound of creaking stone came. "And just to teach you a lesson," he said in English, "I think I'm going to kill your little friend over there first."

OOO

"He's gone!" Narcissa Malfoy's screams echoed throughout the manor, drawing her husband away from his desk. "Draco's gone, he and Harry, they've vanished… Lucius, Lucius, they've… Lucius!" She choked on her own sobs and Lucius took her into his arms.

"What's happened? Draco left? How do you know?"

"Tell him!" She shrieked at a quivering house elf.

"Dobby… Dobby overhears the young master talking about a diary mister Harry Potter found with mister Theodore and about going to Hogwarts," he stammered. "But young master is promising Dobby not to say anything!" He wailed. "Dobby does not wish young master to be hurt but young master did insist and he and mister Harry Potter, they uses the powder and goes back to the school!"

"Diary?" Lucius caught the word and felt his heart plummet. "They had the diary? Theo had the diary?"

Dobby nodded meekly.

"That bastard," Lucius whispered. "I'll kill him with my bare hands! Stealing from me, endangering my child…"

"Lucius!" Narcissa clutched his robes. "Lucius, Draco is gone now! Worry about all of that later!"

He nodded. "I'll contact the ministry. You go St. Mungo's, see if they have anything that can counteract poisonous venoms. I want the halls of that school swarming with aurors before the hour is out!" He strode out of the room, leaving Narcissa and Dobby. She turned to the house elf who cowered.

"There are house elves all over Hogwarts, are there not?" She murmured and he nodded. "Go to them. Tell them to help find the Chamber, if you care as much as you say you do."

He disappeared in a pop and Narcissa took a breath to collect herself. Draco had to be their focus now, Draco and Harry and whoever else might have been drawn into the whole debacle. But afterwards somebody was going to pay.

Fellow death eater or not, nobody touched her family and came away unscathed.

OOO

Draco could sense the snake almost before he could hear it, slithering slowly out of its cavern behind a statue of Slytherin. The sound of the grinding stone made his hair stand on end and he hastily untied the bag before squeezing his eyes shut. No longer having his wand, he wasn't sure he could wake the rooster up – an easy task with 'rennervate' made more difficult since he'd been disarmed.

"Come on, come on!" He whispered. "Wake up!"

There was a rusting and the rooster wriggled out of his hands, but it didn't crow. Draco felt around for it, blind, and came into contact with the bow he'd dropped. Not finding the rooster, he pulled it to his chest, and then stopped when he heard the scraping of the snake grow closer. Voices were murmuring but the blood was rushing in his ears and he couldn't quite…

"Draco, watch out!" Harry screamed and tumbled to get out of the way of another shot from Riddle.

Draco tumbled hearing the smash of the pillar behind him. Scrambling backwards, he held onto the bow, wishing the rooster would hurry up and start to call. There was no sound, however, and he could hear the hissing. Blind, he tried to get to his feet, but the back of the snake rammed into him, fracturing his leg and sending him tumbling. He tripped over the coil, wincing in pain, and could practically sense the head pivoting, turning towards him.

There was a sizzling sound and Draco realized the snake must be dripping venom, potent enough to make the stone dissolve. His body tensed, fearful of the strike as thoughts ran through his head of what venom like that would do to his body. Another leap, another crash of the strong-muscled snake and Draco was up against the wall. He edged along it, but knew that if the snake faced him, there would be nowhere else to go but into its coils.

Legs wobbling and jolting in agony, he tried to shake his nausea and fear of dying, to focus on what he could do. The minutes were ticking by, it was getting later and later but he found himself unable to come up with much. He still had the bow but it had no arrows and the rooster wasn't reacting as well as he'd hoped and if only he had something to wake the animal up…

A memory bubbled of the previous sun-dappled summer and he heard Theodore's voice echo inside his head.

…who deals death from afar, shot a strong arrow at her…

Draco lifted the unstrung bow, pointed as though his digit were the arrow, moved as if he was releasing. He felt a rush through his veins and clarity in his action. Though his eyes were closed, he saw a brief glow behind them, a brilliant flash though he could neither tell where it had come from nor what it did. The pulse radiated outward, warm and swift and bright as the morning. And indeed, in the land above there came the minute shift from night to day, seconds ticking past to the blossoming though darkened morning. Within the Chamber there was a terrible hiss and, off to his right, Draco heard the sudden crow of a rooster.

He went to run but his leg collapsed. Eyes still closed, he realized the shadow of the snake was upon him, realized what was about to happen.

"Now rot," he whispered as the still-potent fangs of the dying beast pierced his chest, sending a burning sensation throughout his body.

OOO

"DRACO!" Harry had been blinded by a flash then seen the snake, eye sockets bleeding, when it hissed in pain, He then saw it fall upon Draco and bury its fangs into the other boy's flesh. Horrified, he screamed for his friend, only to be hit in the back and sent sprawling on the floor.

"Idiot," Riddle laughed, striding over to stand over Harry. "And now, Harry Potter, fascinating though you are, I'm afraid the time has come for you to die. First, however," he bent over the body and lifted up the book, "I'll be taking back my property, thank you."

He smiled at the pages then found the volume suddenly wrenched out of his hand, launched by an expelliarmus spell cast by a blond who was running towards Draco, a bird next to her. Riddle turned his wands toward her but before he could cast a spell he found them gone as well.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" A female voice screamed the spell for a second time, sending both of his wands flying. Ginny tossed Theo's to Sirius who had reappeared in the door way. "Wake him."

As Sirius rushed out the door, Harry staggered to his feet and Ginny tossed him his wand. "Catch," she said. "And this!" She whipped the hat off her head and threw it.

"What am I supposed…"

"I don't know but it asked for you!" She glowered at Riddle. "You like snakes so much?! SERPENSORTIA!" A black adder sprang out of her wand and wrapped itself around Riddle; but he only laughed.

"Snakes are my allies," he said, hissing. "They wouldn't hurt me."

"This might," Harry said from running into him from behind.

He plunged the sword into Riddle's back and he gasped as it protruded through his chest. A thin trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth; but then he laughed again.

"Nice try! But it will take more than that!" He spread his arms wide. "Go ahead and try! Stay here long enough and I'll be able to take one of you again and then…"

"Harry!" Ginny barked. "Harry, Theo was trying to destroy the book!"

Harry looked at Riddle warily. Then with a swift motion, he pulled the sword out of Riddle's back and punted the book across the Chamber and into the puddle of venom that had pooled next to the corpse of the basilisk.

"NO! Accio!" Riddle screamed.

Too late, however; he began bleeding but it was blood and ink, and the diary in his hands dripped venom. "NOOOO!" He wailed again and it echoes throughout the Chamber.

Harry, still gripping the sword, looked down at the ruined diary, then over at Luna. "Glad the cavalry arrived. Is he alright?"

"Thanks to Fawkes," she beamed, petting the phoenix which had settled, along with the rooster, in Draco's lap.

"Lucky we found you in time or you both might have been goners," said Ginny with a grin.

"How did you get down here?" Harry looked at her curiously. "Did the entrance to the Chamber stay open?"

"I don't know if it was open – we just used the Room of Requirement." She looked at Draco. "And where did you manage to get a bow from? And is that one of our roosters?" She squinted at it. "It is, isn't it!"

"Uhn… Ginny?" He looked at her, incredulous. "I'm kinda… and I mean… isn't Theo… I mean, I heard his voice, he told me… he said how… but I didn't… did he…"

"Theo!" She gasped and looked out into the hallway. "Is Theo alright?"

Sirius carried him back into the room, looking pale and worried. "He's not waking easily," he whispered. "He stirred but passed out again."

"We need to get out of here," Harry said decisively. "Worry about explanations later. Here, Sirius, let me carry Theo. You change back…"

"You could just let Fawkes do it," Luna said, letting the phoenix carry her, floating, as if to prove a point. "They're very good at lifting loads."

"Right then. Everybody hold on and let's get out of here."

OOO

So everybody gets a few moments, big and small. Obviously there's a lot to be explained and I promise it will be in the upcoming chapters. Next chapter will be dealing with the fallout and will probably feature the adults more than the kids. And that will be out whenever I manage to find a spare few minutes, promise.