Heirs of the Founders
Chapter 12
Battle within the Chamber
Professor Dippet was shocked to find one of his students dead. He did not want to believe that someone had murdered Myrtle Mason, so he told the students that it was an accident. Because Muggles could not see Hogwarts, Myrtle's body was brought to meet them in Hogsmeade. Myrtle's spirit could not bear to see her parents look at her dead body so she did something else. She followed Olive Hornby all over the place. She did not let the bullying girl forget that it was her fault that she had died. Myrtle haunted her to the bathroom, the library, the Great Hall, even classes. Myrtle did not leave Olive alone and it had only been a day after her death. Myrtle was not going to stop.
"Miss Mason, please leave the classroom," said Professor Flitwick as Myrtle was pretending to cough every time Olive attempted to do a charm.
"But professor," said Myrtle.
"Please, I am sorry to say that you are a not a student anymore," Professor Flitwick continued. "You cannot be in here."
"Fine," muttered Myrtle and she pointed at transparent finger at Olive. "You can't hide from me, I know where you sleep!" She laughed and then drifted through the ceiling.
Myrtle's ghost wasn't the only one bothering Olive Hornby. Myrtle's best friend, Raye, knew that Olive had something to do with Myrtle's death. She cornered her after dinner one day.
"I told you already, Potter," Olive said. "I'm not the heir of Slytherin. I didn't kill Myrtle!"
"Maybe you didn't," said Raye, "but you chased her into that bathroom where she died. You were trying to trap here, weren't you? Is that bathroom the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets?"
"I'm not telling you!"
"Who killed Myrtle?" demanded Raye. "I know you know!"
"Fine, I'll tell you," muttered Olive, leaning into Raye. "It was Lord Voldemort."
Raye laughed. "Oh don't play games with me, Olive!"
"What's going on here?" said Tom Riddle.
The girls stepped away and looked at Tom. Olive smiled.
"Why, nothing, Tom," she said softly. "Raye was just leaving."
Raye narrowed her eyes at Tom and Olive before she walked away. She knew those two were up to something, but what?
The moment Raye turned the corner, Tom took Olive by the arm and hissed in her ear. "What did you tell her?"
"N-nothing!"
"Don't lie," he said. "You know I can tell if you're lying."
"She wanted to know who killed Myrtle," said Olive. "She still thinks I'm the one who did it."
"If you tell her that it was me," said Tom.
"I didn't tell her," Olive insisted, pulling her arm from his grasp. "I just…told her it was Voldemort."
"You did what?" he demanded. "No one is supposed to use that name!"
"I only said it to get her off my back!" Olive told him. "She didn't believe me. She thought I was joking."
Tom narrowed his eyes at her. "She had better not figure out the truth."
"How could she?" asked Olive. "There's no way she can tell that you and Voldemort are the same person."
"Shh!" he hissed. ""You are not to use that name anymore, understand?"
Olive nodded. "All right."
"I've got to go see the Headmaster," said Tom. "We'll talk later."
"This late?" inquired Olive as she checked her watch. "You don't think he suspects you, does he?"
"No, I would've been expelled already if that were true," Tom replied. "I think it's because of the letter I sent him. I asked if I could stay here for the summers."
"You think he would let you?" Olive asked.
"We'll see," he replied and without another word, he proceeded into the direction of the headmaster's office.
--
Raye tried to get her mind off Olive and the whole loss of her best friend by studying for finals. It was difficult. She wanted justice for whoever killed Myrtle. It was hard for her to sleep at night or to concentrate in school. She closed her potions book with a slam. It was too complex of a subject for her even when she wasn't stressed. Divination being her best subject, she decided to study that. She studied on fire scrying, palm reading and dreams. As she went further into the dream section, she realized how bizarre her dreams had been this year. She was dreaming about the founders and their heirs—whoever they may be. She decided to put herself in a dreaming state by relaxing herself with herbs. It wasn't easy to force the inner eye to see on command. A seer would see things when they least expected it. But when there was an emergency, it was possible to cause the seer to go into a trance. Visions did not always come to the seer when he or she put themselves into trance, but Raye believed it was worth a try. Raye learned that she seemed to go into trances when she looked at fire. She was the best student at fire scrying had she always had visions. Silently scolding herself for not thinking of this before, she went to the fireplace and knelt down.
Raye took in a deep breath in and held it for ten seconds before letting it out. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment the mysteries she wished to solve. What her dreams meant, the identities of the founders' heirs and Myrtle's killer. Then she thought of the name Olive gave her. It was random of her to give her a name like that. For all she knew, Olive could've made it up. Raye had never heard of it before but she thought of it anyway. It could very well be a clue. Raye had to use every source. After focusing, she rid her mind of all her thoughts. Her mind had to be clear before she went into a trance. It was always the hardest step into putting oneself into a trance. Raye was one of the few students that could do it. With her mind clear, she was ready to see whatever the fire was ready to show her. Raye opened her eyes and stared into the trance, keeping her mind blank. A few moments passed and then the dancing flames began to show her what she needed to see.
It started with the argument of the founders and Slytherin leaving the school. The remaining founders placed something of theirs into the sorting hat: Ravenclaw's boots, gloves and spectacles; Gryffindor's sword and Hufflepuff's mirror—the very same articles that Raye and her friends pulled from the hat. This proved that they were indeed heirs of the founders. She then saw a large snake within a dark place, hissing and lying in wait to be freed. Then the name Voldemort began to ring in her mind. She saw a tall man all in black with a face that looked like it was made out of face and the eyes looked bloodshot. He was gathering many people to his aid, all bearing a skull and snake on their forearms. This man was killing people left and right. It seemed that justice prevailed for a moment and the pale man was gone, but he had returned with an even more terrifying appearance. His eyes were completely red and his skin whiter than bone. His fingers were unnaturally long and his nose was flat with the slits of a snake's. He caused more terror until he was finally stopped by a teenage boy that looked familiar to Raye. She felt a strong connection to that boy, but she could tell the burden the boy went through. She did not want to let that young boy to go through that hell. All that could be stopped right now. Every time she saw that man kill someone, he said, "I am Lord Voldemort. I am Lord Voldemort." Raye was certain that this Lord Voldemort was the Heir of Slytherin. If she could find out his identity, then Lord Voldemort would never exist. This Lord Voldemort was just an average student at the school. Who was this Lord Voldemort?
The words "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT" were dancing in the flames and they began to shift to form a new phrase. The T moved to the beginning, followed by the O in "LORD", then the "M" until finally there was the name of the heir of Slytherin: "TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE." Tom appeared in the fire, holding the Chocolate Frog card with Slytherins' face on it. Behind Tom was giant snake she had seen earlier. It was all clear. She wondered how she could not see it before. Tom Riddle was the Heir of Slytherin and the very first sign was when he got Slytherin that very first train ride to Hogwarts. He acted like a perfect student after that, but in her mind, Raye knew it was all an act. She knew the truth now. He was the Heir of Slytherin and he had opened the Chamber of Secrets, unleashing the evil monster from within onto the students. Tom was the one who killed her best friend and he would become Lord Voldemort, the most feared wizard in the world. She could not let that happen! If she went to the Headmaster right now, then it wouldn't' be too late. Raye went out of her trance and she jumped to her feet all ridged. She had never felt a surge of adrenaline in all her life. She stormed out of the Gryffindor Common Room and ran as quickly as she could, jumping down the stairs, dodging students and whatever else was in her way. She had to tell Professor Dippet this news. It was possible that he may believer her, even though she had no solid proof. She only saw Tom's acts in a vision, but Professor Dippet must have had some respect for Divination otherwise he would not allow it as a subject at Hogwarts.
Ten feet away from the statue leading to the Headmaster's office, Raye shouted the password: "Billywigs!" The statue moved and Raye jumped onto the steps just as they came out of the ground. Raye stood on the top step and allowed the staircase to circle up as she caught her breath. The staircase stopped outside the Headmaster's door and she pushed it open.
"Professor Dippet! The Heir of Slytherin is--,"
Raye stopped dead. She saw Rubeus Hagrid sitting in a chair crying into his large hands. Professor Dumbledore was standing next to him, patting his shoulder. Professor Dippet was sitting at his desk, shaking his head and in the corner, stood Tom Riddle with unmistakably look of triumph on his face.
"Rubeus Hagrid?" Raye gasped, staring at him in surprise. "What's going on?"
"They think I'm the one who—attacked everyone!" sobbed the large boy. "But it wasn't me! I swear!"
"Rubeus, Tom found you trying to take the creature away," said Professor Dippet.
"But it wasn't 'im!" protested Rubeus. "Aragog wouldn't hurt anybody!"
"Aragog?" said Raye. "That big spider? You told me someone gave him to you when he was an egg!"
Rubeus nodded, looking at Raye for support. "Yeah, that's right—you saw him! Tell him Raye, tell him he wasn't a monster!"
"Raye, you knew Rubeus had a dangerous creature and you didn't report it?" Professor Dippet demanded, looking disappointed.
"I found Aragog on accident, Professor," Raye explained. "He kept him in a box and it was making clicking noises. I didn't know what was in there. But Aragog didn't' attack me; he just said hello."
"it spoke to you?"
"Yeah—it's an acromantula I think," Raye rubbed her head. She didn't take Care of Magical Creatures so she didn't know much about them. "But there's no way that Aragog could be the monster from the Chamber of Secrets and Rubeus couldn't be the Heir of Slytherin either!"
"I odn't think Rubeus meant to hurt anybody," sad Tom softly. "But you know how he is, Raye—he's always getting in trouble trying to turn monsters into pets."
Raye rounded on Tom. "You're the only monster here, Riddle! You're the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, and you're making Rubeus take the blame!"
Tom smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about, Raye."
"Yes, Riddle is a model student," Professor Dippet said. "It can't be him."
"But I know it's him," Raye said. "I saw it in a vision—he's the one who attacked everyone!"
Professor Dippet shook his head. "Visions? I think your mind is playing tricks on you, Raye. From all the stress."
"I wasn't seeing things!" Raye insisted. "Tom opened the Chamber of Secrets and he's the one who killed Myrtle!"
"It's too late," said Professor Dippet. "I've already made my decision. Rubeus will have to be expelled from Hogwarts."
"Noo!" wailed Rubeus, covering his face with his hands.
"Amando," said Dumbledore softly, "Rubeus has no where to go. His parents are both dead. Let's at least let him stay here as gamekeeper."
Dippet sighed. "I will need to think on it, Albus. Miss Potter, you are excused."
"You're making a mistake, Professor Dippet," Raye said as she was ushered out. "Tom Riddle is the Heir of Slytherin and opening the Chamber of Secrets is the first of his many crimes! He will be the most feared wizard someday unless he's stopped!"
Tom tightened his hand and his heart skipped a beat. Raye had figured out who he was. He would have to get rid of her.
--
Because of Rubeus' reputation, it was easy for the other students to believe he was the Heir of Slytherin all along. Raye told Amy and Serena what she knew. They seemed to agree that Tom Riddle had more possibilities to be the Heir of Slytherin than Rubeus Hagrid.
"First of all, Rubeus is in Gryffindor," said Amy. "And he was keeping a spider that can only live up to five decades. It seems illogical for Slytherin to place an acromantula in the Chamber with such a short lifespan."
"Yeah," said Raye, "and isn't the symbol for Slytherin a snake anyway? I bet the monster is some sort of snake. One that can live a very long time."
"Of course," Amy said with a nod. "It must be a basilisk. They can live for centuries and they can kill with just a glance."
"So that's why everyone is in the hospital wing?" Serena asked. "They saw the snake, but why aren't they dead?"
"Because they hadn't seen it in the eye," Amy replied. "Only saw its reflection, or through something."
"We need to stop Riddle so we can clear Rubeus' name," Raye said. "If we let him go free then he'll do very terrible things."
"You don't really think he'll kill more people do you?" Serena inquired.
Raye nodded. "Oh yeah, he'll kill many people. That's why we've got to stop him now. Our children's children are at stake here."
"How will we stop him?" Amy asked. "You told Professor Dippet already but that didn't work."
"That's why we'll have to catch him in the act," said Raye. "He may open the chamber one last time."
"But we don't even know where the entrance is," said Amy.
"I do," said Raye. "It's where Myrtle died."
"Are you sure?" Serena inquired.
Raye nodded. "Myrtle told me she heard something move. That's got to be where the entrance is."
"Worth looking into," said Amy. "Let's go."
--
The three girls examined the bathroom for a clue and Raye found the faucet with a snake etched into it. She remembered the day she and Olive were in the bathroom and she saw Olive grinning about something. She was the one who found the entrance to the chamber, not Tom.
"This has to be the entrance," said Raye.
"We'd better hide," said Serena.
They stood in the stall where Myrtle died, waiting for Tom to enter. Amy felt vibrations in the floor through Ravenclaw's boots. Someone was coming. She nodded at the two girls to be ready. The footsteps stopped at a sink and there was a voice. It was Tom's voice, but the words he spoke were unfamiliar. The girls heard something heavy scrape the floor and Raye broke open the door.
"Raye, wait!" cried Serena.
"It ends here, Riddle!" Raye shouted, grabbing him around the waist and causing him to lose his balance. They both fell down the large pipe, yelling at each other. Amy and Serena looked at each other, sighed and shook their heads. Serena jumped into the pipe, followed by Amy. When they reached the bottom, Raye was just getting up.
"You all right?" asked Amy.
"He kicked me!" Raye muttered. "Stop right there, Riddle!" She ran after him.
"Hold on, Raye!" Serena cried, running after her.
"Girls, wait!" exclaimed Amy as she ran after them. "We don't know where the basilisk is!"
Tom stopped at a door of intertwined snakes. He spoke in Parseltongue and the door opened. Raye, Serena and Amy were just barely able to make it through. The door caught on Amy's robes and she had to rip them out of the door.
"There's no where to go, Riddle!" Raye shouted. "We're going to turn you in!"
Tom reached the feet of a giant statue and turned around. "Not if I destroy you first."
"You're not the only heir here, Tom," said Amy softly, taking out Ravenclaw's spectacles.
Tom laughed. "You girls think you are the heirs of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."
"Yes," answered Serena. "And we think the founders wanted us to stop you. They left some things for us. We don't want to fight you, Tom. Just come with us and give yourself up."
Tom laughed. "I don't think so. Let's just see who was the greatest of the Hogwarts four!" Tom turned back around and began speaking in Parseltongue again. Amy felt something stirring within the giant statue. The mouth of Slytherin opened and the head of a snake was barely visible within the hole.
"Close your eyes!" Amy ordered the other girls, stepping forward with her wand raised. "Conjuctiva!"
The curse hit the snake right its big yellow eyes and screeching, it fell to the floor. The basilisk continued to screech and writhe in pain. With its eyes closed, the girls did not have to worry about being killed, or petrified. Raye withdrew Gryffindor's sword from within her robes and ran to the snake. She was just about to strike it when the writhing snake hit her with its tail. She smacked into a wall.
"Raye!" Serena shouted.
"I can't get close to it," Raye grunted, trying to get to her feet.
The girls, including Tom, moved out of the way. The basilisk hit pillars with its body. Tom yelled at the snake in Parseltongue to attack the girls. Though still in pain, the basilisk moved toward the girls, its eyes still shut. It licked the air, catching their scents. Raye moved cautiously around it, avoiding its head and stabbed it in the middle. It screeched again and began to move to Raye.
"Raye, move!" shouted Serena, attempting to stun the snake. However, the snake being so big, the spell did nothing.
"Nice try, Serena," Tom said with a smirk. "But it'll take more than that."
The Conjuctivitis Curse began to fade and the basilisk blinked several times. It opened its eyes once again, ready to kill the girls with its deadly glare. Noticing its eyes opening, Raye called out to Serena.
"Serena—the mirror!"
"The mirror," said Serena, "of course!"
"Mirror?" Tom mumbled. He knew that one of the few ways a basilisk could die if it saw its eyes in a mirror. "No!"
Serena took out the mirror from her robes and made it enlarge. She ran to the snake with the mirror held up. "Look into Hufflepuff's mirror and think what you've done!"
Catching sight of its eyes in the mirror, the basilisk screeched and its body became rigid. It's had fell down to the ground with a loud boom. Serena had to jump to avoid its enormous head. She shrank the mirror back to size and placed it within her robes.
"It's—it's dead," said Amy as she approached the snake.
"No!" shouted Tom in disbelief, hurrying to the snake and speaking in Parseltongue. The snake did not move and it didn't answer him.
"Now it's your turn, Riddle!" yelled Raye, her hands tight around Gryffindor's sword.
"Raye, stop!" Serena exclaimed, grabbing Raye's shoulder. "You mustn't!"
"I've got to!" Raye said. "He killed Myrtle and he's going to do so much more! He has to die!"
Tom folded his arms, looking at Raye. "You haven't got what it takes to kill me, Potter."
"Don't be so sure," Raye said. "You're no worse than monster over there!" she shook her head at the basilisk. "What gives you the right to attack people? How could you sic a monster onto everybody, onto Myrtle? She was in love with you!"
"I was merely following my destiny," said Tom simply. "Slytherin wanted me to carry out his noble work and purge the school of those unworthy to study magic."
"It doesn't matter how much magic is in your blood, Tom," Serena said, "It's what you do with it that counts!"
"Perhaps," said Tom. "But I did what had to be done. This is only the beginning of my great work. After I'm finished with Hogwarts, I'll clean the whole world. Muggles and Mudbloods have no place in this world."
"You're sick!" Raye said. "I'll kill you!" she jerked away from Serena and lunged at Tom, who raised his wand. Everything seemed go into slow motion. Before Raye could slash Tom with the sword or for Tom to hex Raye, Serena stunned Tom and Amy slowed Raye down with the Impediment Curse.
"Raye, it is not our place to choose Tom's fate," Amy said. "Let the Ministry handle it."
"Fine," Raye said. "I hope he spends the rest of his sorry life in Azkaban!"
Serena stared at Tom's stunned form. She couldn't' believe it had come to this. She looked at his wand. She paid for it so he could use it, and he was going to use it on her friends. He could have used it on her. Serena never saw this coming.
"Are you sure, this is what the founders wanted us to do?" Serena said slowly.
"Yeah," Raye said. "They wanted us to stop the Heir of Slytherin by any means possible. That's why they gave us these heirlooms."
Amy went to the basilisk and removed one of its fangs.
"Amy, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?" Raye asked. "It's already dead."
"I know," said Amy, "but this is the first time anyone's been so close to a basilisk in centuries. I'm sure it can be of use in potions. Besides, we can use some of its parts things as proof that the monster was a basilisk." Amy removed on of the snake's eyes and Raye shivered.
"Disgusting."
"You're taking out its eye?" said Serena. "But how can you do that without it killing you?"
"I suppose the basilisk loses that ability when it dies," said Amy as she wrapped the large eyeball in a piece of her robes. "I think I'll take its liver next…"
"Gross," Serena and Raye moaned.
After Amy gathered several more parts of the basilisk, Raye and Serena each took one of Tom's arms and placed them around their necks. They didn't take one more glance at the chamber and the dead basilisk on the floor. They had achieved victory, but what would become of Tom?
TO BE CONTINUED