"It was the truth..."

Star Wars, Episode IV

The Queen of Serpents

Chapter Nineteen

From A Certain Point of View

"speech"

thoughts

"parseltongue"

/mind speech/

=visions=

Writing

"Mione!" Sa'zar raced across the hall to his friend's side. "You're back!"

Over at the Slytherin table, Harry rolled his eyes. "He never changes," he muttered darkly.

Draco smirked. "You expected him to?"

Harry shrugged. "No, but it would have been nice."

Hermione smiled brightly. "I heard you helped Professor Snape with the draught Sa'zar."

Sa'zar nodded, digging into his pocket. "Here. I wrote down what we did for you."

"Oh good!" Mione snatched the parchment from his hand. "This is fascinating! You doubled the daisy roots and stirred an extra two times clockwise. Why do that and not -"

Sa'zar grinned at her, answering as best he could. Sure the questions were annoying, but right now he was to glad to have 'Mione back to object.

QoS QoS QoS QoS QoS

Tom bit back a sigh as Justin approached their table. It was not that he particularly disliked the boy; it was what he had to do. Not that he would show any sign of his displeasure. "Justin, I am sorry for your petrification. I should have gone to a teacher when I first realized that the basilisk had awoken." An earnest look decorated his face.

"It's fine," the other boy said. "It's not like you meant for it to happen."

"Still," Tom said, because he had to.

Justin waved the objection away. "I told you, it's fine. Hey, Ernie!"

Tom hid his scowl. Idiot. At least he had done what any Hufflepuff would do, which should go someway to alleviating the inevitable suspicion.

"You didn't enjoy that, did you?" Then again...

"What do you mean Cedric?"

The older boy shrugged. "The more unhappy and embarrassed you are the more formal you become."

Tom berated himself silently. That was what he got for underestimating his house mates. "I am embarrassed. I should have realized the teachers would not jump to conclusions. It was very foolish of me to act as I did."

"Yes," Cedric agreed. "Especially if you already knew..."

"Knew what?" Tom's eyes sharpened, his hand unconsciously wrapping about his wand.

Cedric gazed calmly at his friend. "You already knew where the Chamber was." A statement, not a question.

Tom forced himself to look blank. "How could I possibly have known?"

"Because you -" Cedric hesitated. "This isn't the place for a proper conversation. Do you want to continue outside?"

"The headmaster is about to speak," Tom replied coolly, "and I do not wish to miss the feast."

"Later then?"

Tom nodded. "Later." Like it or not, he needed to know what Cedric knew.

QoS QoS QoS QoS QoS

Albus smiled broadly at the assembled students. "Now, I am certain you have many questions, most of which I will be doing my best to answer. But first we must welcome back our long absent students."

The Gryffindor table immediately exploded in wild, whooping cheers. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, no less enthusiastic, were somewhat more sedate. harry clapped politely along with his house.

Dumbledore waited a moment for the initial enthusiasm to wear off before raising his hand for quiet. "Yes, it is good to have you all back. As to the events of the past year...

"To start, it is imperative that you be aware that no one is truly to blame - no, not even Salazar Slytherin Miss Brown. As you may have guessed, the Chamber of Secrets does exist. Its exact position appears to be directly under the lake. But I digress.

"While myth was correct in saying the Chamber existed it was wrong regarding the purpose. The Chamber was built as a last defense against invasion. Whether or not Salazar was able to tell the other founders of the Chambers existence before he left will likely be argued in depth by historians. As for myself I believe he did. Although, I recently read an excellent book - "

McGonagal frowned. "Albus..."

"But perhaps now is not the time. The monster - a basilisk - was Slytherin's familiar and purpose was to defend the school."

"But if it's supposed to defend the school then why did it attack us?" One of the Gryffindor's - Thomas if Harry remembered correctly - demanded.

Dumbledore beamed at him. "An excellent question Mr. Thomas. The answer is simply that she did not." There was a quiet rumble of confused murmurs. Albus chuckled. "Perhaps it would be better to say that she did not do it intentionally. It seems Slytherin never considered her dangerous and no one has ever convinced her that she is anything less than harmless." Disbelieving looks turned to muffled laughs under the headmaster's twinkling blue eyes. "In all fairness to Slytherin, it seems that there were once protections placed upon her which have since been removed.

"Without her master Emerald was content to sleep unless needed. Recent events however conspired to wake her. You all know Salazar Gaunt of course?" Several students nodded, while others turned to look at the young boy, who waved happily. "It seems young Salazar possessed exactly the right magic to form a bond with his ancestor's familiar. Emerald, it seems, has spent most of the year looking for her new wizard while Mr. Riddle," heads swiveled to look at the Hufflepuff table, "has been run ragged trying to keep her from 'playing' with his fellow students. I believe we do owe Tom some thanks for the lack of casualties."

Harry could not help but notice that Tom looked distinctly uncomfortable, slumping down slightly. Amazing what being in Hufflepuff had done for his brother. Harry doubted that Tom was aware of the changes though. He would be fighting them tooth and nail if he had.

"As some of you are aware," the headmaster's twinkling gaze fell on the Ravenclaws, "the basilisk has taken up a temporary residence in the Ravenclaw tower while the bond stabilises. She will be returning to her Chamber shortly until a spell has been found to shield her gaze.

"I know you are all longing to return to this delicious meal, but I do have two last announcements. First: because this years' events have made it difficult for the best of us to concentrate I am canceling all end of year tests." There was a rousing cheer, led by the Gryffindors. ("Oh!" Hermione cried,"I already studied." Sa'zar just gaped at her. "When? You woke up only yesterday!") Dumbledore raised a hand for silence. "Sadly, I cannot dictate to the government. OWLs and NEWTs will take place as scheduled." ("Good thing we're not taking them 'till next year then Fred." "Too true George.") "Second: I regret to say the Professor Lockhart will not be returning next year." Even the teachers were applauding at this. "It seems that there was some problem in Scandinavia he was needed to help with." ("More like we were going to sue him," Flint snorted. "But this is better. Out of our hair and if we need him he's there.")

Amid the cheering Harry found himself frowning. Cedric had tapped Tom and the two were now leaving, using the commotion as a distraction. Now what couldthat possibly be about?

A very Slytherin smirk (TM) crossed Harry's face. "Cover me," he muttered to Draco, who frowned opening his mouth. Harry shook his head, then jerked it toward Tom and Cedric. The blonde's eyes widened slightly in understanding and he gave Harry a quick nod. Smiling his thanks, Harry followed his brother from the hall.

QoS QoS QoS QoS QoS

AUthor's Note. I'm really sorry this chapter is so late. Part of the reason is that I'm not too fond of it... It had to be written though... And college has given me MASSIVE writer's block. (Which seems to be over now but...) Either way, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Please forgive me!

Okay, quick cannon check. This whole thing ended earlier than in cannon. Still close to the same time, but slightly earlier. That's my explanation for why the feast celebrating that everyone was cured did not occur the same night as the Chamber incident. It happened the a day later. (So not that big a discrepancy, but...)

To Taylor 1991 (because I can't PM you) yes there will be a sequel. The story has been planned out through year seven.

Now, just because Albus cancelled tests does not mean I did so...

Questions:

Chapter 19:

1- Where does the title come from?

2-What do you think Cedric knows?

Chapter 18:

1: Why does Tom keep avoiding Albus' eyes?

2: Where does the caution with curiosity line come from?

3: For all of us Americans, what is a hanky?

4: Why does Rolf get so sad when someone brings up his grandfather?

5: What is Slytherin House rule number one?

6: Each Founder gave two gifts. What was Galen's second gift?

7:What record has Emerald broken?

8: What are spren?

9: Who is Liz and what is her real name?

10: Why was Tom not paying attention in Transfiguration?

11: What is a conduct disorder?

12: What is Tom's 'origin story?'

13: What do you think Godric suggested?

Chapter 17:

1-What are Fred and George's sources?

2-What is a Wizzle?

That's all the questions for chapter 17. I just can't think of any others...

Chapter16:

1-Where does the chapter title come from?

2-Why does Draco mean "if you wait a millenia"?

3-What is a 'charmelis'?

4-Why is Norberta attacking the lake?

5-What is different about Daphne?

6-What is an Assessor? (Read 'A Necessary Gift' by cosette-aimee it's really good.)

Points:

Gryffindor:247

Hufflepuff:228

Ravenclaw:292

Slytherin:263