McGongall nodded to the team of former and current soldiers who knew how to deal with monsters in many forms. They were going to take down a basilisk, and the help would be more than welcomed.
She looked at the Puff leading them through the tunnel, having been here countless times for a break from the fear-ridden castle.
Jamie Potter was not what she was expecting from the child she had once bounced on her knee and had to spend a painful week when he pulled her tail too hard when he was a few months old. Compared to how he could have turned out had Dumbledore's plan to leave him with Petunia actually succeeded, she preferred the change.
A military bound Harry, no, Jamie, was preferable to a fearful child who was out of his league in a world that expected more than he could possibly offer.
"There is one thing I'm curious about, Mr. Potter. Out of all the clubs in the school why did you join the one widely regarded as a joke?" she asked.
That had been bugging her for a while now, ever since they did that play. All she knew of it was that the children who joined it loved foreign cartoons and did their best to recreate the magic in the shows. Well, that and a large portion of the more open Ravenclaws were in it.
"Tell me Professor, what do you know of our club's true goal?"
"Only that you seek to recreate magic on muggle shows and dress up in silly costumes for each meeting," she answered. That was all anyone outside the club knew of it.
"That is just the most basic thing we do in the club, and it's our best cover in case the Ministry ever takes a look at it. In truth it's more of a place where like-minded individuals try to stretch the bounds of conventional thinking. The school doesn't encourage thinking outside the box, and half the time if one tried to do some of the things we try on a regular basis they would be branded dark and arrested at the very least. For example, we are currently working on getting a muggle DVD player, which is something we can watch movies on, to work solely on magic. If the ministry ever caught wind they would slap a fine on us and take it away."
"And the costumes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you know how rare it is that we have a chance to act like the children we actually are? Or wear our favorite outfits and pretend to be something other than a witch or wizard without fear of being mocked? The costumes let us lower our usual barriers of the world outside our meeting place and let us get in the right mindset. Besides, it's harmless fun."
McGonagall decided then and there to sit in on one of their meetings once this was over with to see for herself whether this club was harmless. She knew Flitwick sponsored it regularly, often giving members to the restricted section for a project or two.
Jamie had only one thing to say once he actually opened the Chamber. He had never gone in because he had more sense, and he had never gone past the outer tunnels because this snake apparently really hated the cold.
"Slytherin has the worst taste in decoration I have ever had the misfortune to see," said Jamie flatly. Several of the other soldiers snickered in agreement.
Snape looked like he wanted to say something in defense of his house's founder, but even he reluctantly agreed that the amount of snakes and the relief on the back of the wall was a bit overdone. He liked snakes, but this was just ridiculous.
There, near the relief, was Ginny Weasly.
Instead of rushing to her, Jamie let the older soldiers take point and they scouted the area first.
"Clear!" sounded off from ten different points.
The closer Jamie got to the relief, the more he noted lines where the chin was.
"I think the basilisk comes from the mouth of the statue...why else would it have those lines?" said Jamie.
Snape privately agreed. Some of the soldiers crept up to the relief and started planting explosives around it. If that snake wasn't out before now, it would be in for a very nasty surprise once that mouth opened. There was enough C4 to destroy the relief itself!
"What it that white substance they put into the cracks?" asked Flitwick. Out of all the Professors, only Sprout had stayed behind.
Partly because her area of expertise was plants, not animals, but mostly because she was the best out of the four Heads who could keep the children in line and calm.
That had been Jamie's reasoning anyway. Everyone else had been armed with the strongest reflective sunglasses they could get to prevent instant death. And a rooster would have given them away in a heartbeat.
Jamie had the weirdest feeling that he was supposed to go to Ginny alone, so he had everyone hiding under a disillusionment charm while he checked on the girl.
A spectre appeared, and Jamie blasted him before he could say a word.
That clearly ticked off the ghost, or whatever it was. He turned to the relief, not even noticing the C4 lined along the mouth, which was odd. Clearly his possesion of the Weasly girl didn't include good eyesight.
"SPEAK TO ME SLYTHERIN, GREATEST OF THE HOGWARTS FOUR!" he shouted enraged.
The stone opened, very reluctantly because of the putty that had been wedged in there.
The second anything became visible, which was the snout, Jamie shouted "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Ten shield charms covered everyone there, as Jamie was next to Ginny he blocked most of the explosion and debris. The shockwave, however, wasn't covered by the charm.
Bits of basilisk fell down along with a smattering of dust and rubble.
The ghostly boy turned to Jamie enraged beyond belief.
"WHAT DID YOU DO POTTER?!"
"Funny thing, C4. Reacts even stronger when used by a command-detonated charm. Your little basilisk is dead, and once we find out what you're using to anchor yourself to Miss Weasly, you'll be nothing more than a memory," said Jamie.
"Got a diary here...doesn't look like it's burning," said Derrick. Around his shoulder was a lion in red and gold.
He was a Hogwarts graduate from shortly before the war ended thanks to Jamie. He was also one of the original Otaku club members when it was first formed.
Because the Ministry ran like headless chickens, and they didn't want any Death Eater children finding out about their side project, one of the Gryffindors had come up with the cover of a club for a rather new craze called Anime. Around that time, the only thing available had been Sailor Moon and Dragonball. However it had served their purpose and the craze had only grown, not shrunk in recent years.
The Otaku club was little more than a cover for the free thinking children who wanted to improve on things the Ministry wouldn't approve of unless they had to.
Like a potion-enhanced C4 that detonated on a specific command for instance. Any progress made in the club was passed on to old and current members, regardless of house. That was part of the reason why there were so many Ravenclaws in it...they needed the help researching half the stuff the club came up with.
"Any idea what that is?" asked Snape.
"My guess would be soul shard. I'm not detecting any of the usual damage-protection spells on it. Professor Flitwick, if you would be so kind as to call your cousins at Gringotts for someone to destroy this? We'll need their help to keep this girl from being killed by it," said Derrick.
"DON'T IGNORE ME!" shrieked the shard.
"How can we with such an annoying whine?" shot Jamie. The idiot hadn't even noticed that one of the soldiers had nicked the stolen wand from him...
An hour later the diary was destroyed beyond recognition, and they had an idea of who was to blame for this mess.
Lucius was cunning yes, but he had to work on his slight of hand better.
Jamie did however stop Flitwick after Dumbledore called him in for some advice.
"Yes Mr. Potter?"
"Sir, with your permission I would like to request that the Otaku club be allowed to use the Chamber for practice."
"I thought that the second largest study room would suffice for it's...activities?" asked Flitwick.
"Under normal circumstances, yes. However several of my friends wanted to take up archery, and the chances of hitting bystanders would drop if we were to do it in a secluded area. If we find anything we don't recognize we could always bring in a teacher to check it out. The Otaku club is, after all, one of the best at defense magic."
Flitwick hid a smile at that. For a club that hid it's true purpose behind the guise of children re-enacting their favorite shows, the members had the highest defense grades the school had ever seen. Not a single member had ever failed their OWLs or NEWTs.
Something that would annoy Hermione Granger would she ever become aware of this.
"I shall consider it. I suppose this has something to do with the fact only a parselmouth would be able to find either entrance, as none of the teachers have been able to find it since?" said Flitwick with a grin.
Jamie had neglected to tell them that fact, and he had claimed that he had never found where the other entrance went due to the slime that made climbing up a smelly, and quite easily impossible prospect.
Not a single teacher noticed the footmarks that went up without any reason why.
"Would it help if the Otaku club agreed to help carrying out the corpse of that basilisk so that we could sell it to increase the schools coffers?"
"That might tip the balance in your favor. I shall certainly ask."
Flitwick bid him a good day and headed towards the Headmaster's office.
For a Hufflepuff, Jamie Potter was decidedly a Slytherinish badger. He also knew why the boy wanted the Chamber for the club, and Archery was the least of his ideas.
It would be nice to practice some of the more...dangerous and controversial spells without having to worry about some Ministry drone coming in and ruining their fun. Flitwick was eager to try out that summoning spell that one of the graduates had finally worked out last year.
(It registered as a basic summoning charm, hence why the Ministry never picked up on it. Fortunately the charms to detect magic use only detected the type, not the power behind it.)
Dumbledore was less than pleased when he heard the request. However he doubted that the Otaku club could possibly do more harm than say, the Charm's club. The Otaku club was quite possibly the most useless one in the entire lot, so he allowed it. As far as he knew, they just pretended to be characters in those little shows they liked so much. He had even come to the club room on days they practiced to enjoy the show. Flitwick always gave him the days they were practicing something he knew Albus would have an interest in.
So he allowed it, as long as the club agreed to bring anything they considered dangerous to the teacher's attention post haste. They could explore the Chamber for him, and he wouldn't have to lift a finger to do anything.
He could always confiscate any books they found later after all.
Jamie wore his Roy Mustang outfit, complete with gloves and his contacts. This was the last meeting of the year, seeing as how the year was almost over anyway.
The club filled in, and everyone was there.
He snapped his fingers once, to get their attention.
"Alright, now that I have your attention... I have great news!"
"Get on with it!" shouted a girl in Lina Inverse's trademark outfit.
Jamie coughed.
"As you are all aware, the Chamber of Secrets has been found and the Monster killed thanks to our club's true reason for existing. I have gone through our club sponsor, Professor Flitwick (the tiny professor waved to everyone from his seat next to Jamie) and Dumbledore has agreed to let us use the Chamber for 'archery practice'" said Jamie, waiting for the laughter to die down. Many of them had by that point figured out why he had called them there.
"Now as you all know, we have never been able to practice some of our more...controversial...spells and items without worrying about a Ministry drone coming around. Those of you with Ministry family members or sponsors, if you feel uncomfortable, leave now."
Not a single person moved. Most of those with Ministry families knew the risk of staying in the club after their first demonstration of magic that Fudge and his cronies would most certainly never approve of because they were new. Those that might run home talking about it usually had their memory wiped and were convinced that they would rather join the drama club.
That was the second purpose of the Drama club, to take in the Otaku members who couldn't keep their mouth shut but still wanted a club to dress up in.
"Alright. Now as we all know, the Ministry would come down on us hard if they ever learned what we really do here. Which is why next year we are moving anything that would get us shut down into the Chamber. Flitwick and some of his goblin relatives have already warded the Chamber to keep anyone we don't want out. Next year I'll be handing out passes for those who want to do borderline spell research in the Chamber. Now the entire club won't be able to go in all at once, because that would draw too much attention. Which is why we'll be going in shifts to insure that our side projects are never found out. Once we clear out the basilisk corpse, which I have already promised we would to insure Dumbledore didn't bring anyone to get it himself, it will be ours to do as we wish."
"Please note that I will be the only professor that will come down there unless brought in by Jamie," Flitwick spoke up, "Any of the other teachers have no idea how we operate in here thanks in part to keeping Dumbledore out of the loop. Now I will be teaching you all more defense spells on a more personal basis in the Chamber. I have little doubt Voldemort will come back, and I don't want any of my fellow Otaku to be killed because of half assed spell casting."
Several students straightened up. Things were finally starting to pick up.
"Sir, what exactly did you face in the Chamber?" asked one first year.
"We face a soul shard, one of the most foul things created by magic. To create one you must become a murderer and rip your own soul into pieces. I find out any of you even thinking of trying it, I will hunt you down myself," said Flitwick bluntly.
Every student there looked sick at the thought of splitting their soul apart like that. One of the fourth years raised their hand.
"Yes?"
"Can we research ways to find and destroy them?" she asked.
"You find those spells, I will give you all a permanent pass to the Restricted Section and a get out of detention free card," said Flitwick.
With that kind of reward waiting for those who found those spells, the Otaku were more inspired than ever to help out.
"Now I have spoken to the ward masters, and I will be training anyone interested in how to clean, maintain, and shoot a gun in the Chamber. Oh, and there will be a minor archery range put in there as well. Sir Nicholas has even agreed to find a Japanese samurai who can show us how to use swords, if anyone is interested," said Jamie.
Now that got their attention. Many of the club members have always wanted to learn how to use a sword, but none of the ghosts had the correct skill set they wanted.
With that kind of treat waiting for them next year, many were more than eager to come back again, even if it meant they would have to remove the basilisk corpse first.
"Now that's out of the way, will all third years and above follow me to the secondary entrance? The sooner we get that corpse out, the less the Chamber will smell when we really start next year," said Jamie.
Flitwick followed them as a matter of course, having already been keyed into the wards. It took several hours, and multiple pain relievers, but the debris was cleared from the mouth, and everyone was able to see how long the basilisk really was.
It was quite a sight during dinner when several of the other students and teachers watched the Otaku Club coming out of the Forbidden Forest bearing the dead corpse of the basilisk...all eighty feet of it.
They came along the lake path to keep Dumbledore from finding the true entrance.
"As promised Headmaster, the Otaku Club pitched in to remove the corpse of the basilisk. The goblins will be here within the hour to make an assessment so that we may add it to the school's coffers," said Jamie.
Everyone was still in shock at the fact they had brought the dead basilisk out in the open for everyone to see. The head had been completely destroyed by the explosion, but it was still obvious what it was.
Jamie had the club bring the shed skin into the Chamber, since they didn't want it to be found by accident. He had only said they would bring the corpse, not the skins that the thing had to have shed over the years.
Luna Lovegood had already found several inside what was left of the relief. More than enough for the goblins to make armor for every student to have ever graced the club. And of course, one full set of goblin armor for Professor Flitwick, made entirely of basilisk skin (the most recent) as a thank you for having helped them over the years.
By law he couldn't have one made for him, but there was nothing against owning one that was a gift from a student, particularly an heir of an old line.
A nice little way of circumventing those silly pure blood laws. Flitwick was touched that they had it done, all for him.