Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It was a grisly sight that met Harry as he rushed into the Hogwarts hospital wing. Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Luna all laid out on hospital beds, their faces frozen in a strange mix of terror and grim determination.

"Harry, I wasn't expecting you back until tonight" said Prof. McGonagall, drawing the boy's attention away from his friends. Under normal circumstances Minerva would've perhaps taken some pleasure in surprising her normally alert student.

"Professor" Harry greeted somberly, turning his attention back to his friends. I promise guys. I'm going to find Ginny and make the Heir pay. "Do you know what happened?"

"Your friends were found in a hallway near the Room…."

"So Potter has come to say his goodbyes" Snape sneered, interrupting Minerva as he entered the room accompanied by Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore.

Harry was about to blow up at the Slytherin head but it turns out he wasn't the only one sick of Snape's attitude.

"Severus Snape, I will not have you speaking of these students my students so callously. Either say something useful or get out!" Minerva snapped.

"Now Minerva, I'm sure…" Dumbledore began, trying to maintain peace between his colleagues but the Gryffindor head wouldn't hear it.

"No Albus, I will not have you make excuses for this poor excuse of a human being!"

"Excuse me" Snape scowled, stepping out from behind the Headmaster, his hand inching towards his wand.

"Don't think you can intimidate me Snape. And you'd be smart to not even think of drawing your wand."

The room fell into a tense silence as McGonagall and Snape glared at each other.

"Fine" Snape growled, glaring hatefully at the deputy headmistress but Minerva wasn't impressed. "Like the other victims they've been petrified. But unlike the others they've been exposed to a very potent poison of some kind. I've begun working on an antidote though as they'll be dead in a matter of hours it won't be much good."

"Nobody asked you!" Harry snapped. "If they're in trouble, why don't you go make yourself useful!"

Snape glared hatefully at Harry and to no surprise to anyone that actually knew him, the young ninja glared right back. Realizing that with both Harry and McGonagall currently out for the potions master's blood, Dumbledore decided it was time to intervene lest things turn violent.

"Thank you Severus you're free to return to your work."

Giving a look of disbelief to the old man, Snape reluctantly turned to leave but of course he couldn't help but take one last petty shot at Harry.

"Of course Headmaster. It's such a shame that the great Harry Potter wasn't here to save the day."

It took all of Harry's restraint not to go chasing after Snape to pay him back for that comment but right now he had more important things to worry about. Sensing the still lingering tension Pomfrey took the opportunity to return to her office leaving Harry and McGonagall alone with Dumbledore.

"Minerva, please gather the other heads in my office" said Dumbledore.

Though reluctant to leave Harry alone with the headmaster, they both knew that she couldn't risk her job. Left with no other choice, McGonagall left to follow Dumbledore's instructions.

"So is this the part where you tell me off for not being in the castle?" Harry scowled.

"I assure you, Harry I had nothing to do with this" said Dumbledore, noticing the barely hidden accusatory tone in the boy's voice. "In fact it might interest you to know that the Hogwarts Board of Governors is currently debating my position as headmaster."

"My heart's bleeding for you."

Dumbledore gave a sad smile at the boy's display of sarcasm and left, leaving Harry alone or so they thought.

"Alright it's clear" Harry whispered, prompting Donnie to pull of the invisibility cloak. "So what's the word Donnie?" he asked, as Donnie put on his scanning goggles to start his own examination.

"Well I can tell you one thing. That Snape guy is wrong about his prognosis" said Donnie. "It's a venom not a poison. I also found traces of snake DNA."

"Well that fits Neville thought it'd most likely be a snake" said Harry. "So think you can do anything about it?"

"Well now that I know I'm dealing with a type of snake venom; I should be able to come up with something to buy more time. But without a clean sample of the toxin I won't be able to make an antivenom."

"Well then I'll get you some. For now, just work on keeping them alive."

Trusting Donatello to do everything he can, Harry decided to head to the staff meeting hoping that either Dumbledore or one of the heads of house would give him a clue to the Heir and Ginny's location.

Using his tegaki, Harry listened in from outside Dumbledore's office window as the professors gathered to discuss the situation.

"As I'm sure you've heard by now, there's been another attack" said Dumbledore. "Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Luna Lovegood have all fallen victim. To make matters worse Ginny Weasley has been taken."

As expected both professors Flitwick and Sprout were horrified to learn that even more of their students have fallen victim to the Heir's attack. But it was Prof. Flitwick that voiced the question on their minds.

"As much as it sickens me to ask; but why wasn't Miss. Granger as the only muggleborn the sole victim?" asked the charms professor. "It's a clear deviation from the Heir's usual targets. And why take Miss. Weasley hostage?"

"That would be because the Heir is targeting Potter" said Snape, walking into the room.

"Shouldn't you be working on an antidote" said McGonagall, glaring at the potions professor.

"There's nothing I can do. I've tried every antidote I can think of. I'm afraid Potter has led his friends to their deaths."

Outside, it took everything Harry had not to break in through the window and beat Snape to a bloody pulp but thankfully he had friends who would gladly do it for him.

"Snape!" Minerva growled, blasting the potions master back against the wall with a powerful banishing charm.

Enraged at the attack, Snape moved to draw his wand at the same time Dumbledore stood up to address both of his warring heads when suddenly the office door opened and Gilderoy Lockhart stepped inside.

"Sorry I fell asleep in the staff room" said Lockhart, acting nonchalant about the current crisis.

"You're just in time" said Snape, deciding to use the idiot to vent his anger.

"Yes at last your moment has arrived" said Minerva, forgetting her anger at Snape for a chance to get back at the annoying defense professor.

"My moment?" Lockhart questioned.

"Yes of course" said Prof. Flitwick "If I recall I believe you once mentioned being able to find the Chamber of Secrets."

"Yes I'm sure we can leave the rescue to you" said Prof. Sprout

As the conversation seemed to change focus to taking stabs at Lockhart's so called expertise, Harry decided it was a good time to leave and decided to head back inside the castle to take a more direct approach to information gathering.

Stepping out of the headmaster's office, Minerva wasn't too surprised when Harry dropped down in front of her; spooked sure but definitely not surprised.

"Must you do that?" the transfiguration professor questioned.

"Ninja" Harry said simply, as if it explained everything. In truth it did but that didn't mean Minerva wouldn't appreciate the boy at least making a noticeable sound before he appeared at least for her sake.

"I assume you were listening" said Minerva to which Harry confirmed. Harry then showed her the message that the Heir had sent him in order to lure him back to the castle early. Though it pained them to say it there was no doubt the Heir was now targeting Harry through his friends. "I do question how the Heir even knew how to use Ginny's T-phone."

"It's not that hard. It's the same as an ordinary cell phone once it's unlocked."

"You misunderstand. I'm surprised that the Heir of Slytherin the most famous figure of bigotry against muggles and muggleborns in history would know how to use a cellphone."

Harry had to admit that McGonagall had a point. If it had taken her, Neville, and even Ron and Ginny, whose father was known for his interest in the non-magical world so much time and effort to just figure out how to unlock the screen let alone use it; then how was the Heir able to operate Ginny's T-phone.

"Perhaps a question for another time" said Minerva, wanting to focus on the more urgent matter. "Snape isn't being much help in regards to saving your friends' lives. Perhaps your brother Donatello would be of some help."

"Way ahead of you" said Harry. "Donnie says that Snape's wrong and it's actually some kind of snake venom."

This seemed to relax Minerva a little as she'd seen examples of the purple clad turtle's genius. She just hoped that time was on his side to finish working on the means to save the poisoned students.

Understanding that it was important for them to track down the Heir to rescue Ginny and collect the snake venom sample, Minerva decided to follow Harry's lead and guided him to where they had found his friends petrified; not far from the Room of Requirement.

"I remember the plan was for Neville and Ron to sneak into the Slytherin common room" said Harry, putting on a pair of Donatello's goggles.

"What?!" McGonagall snapped. "And why would they do that?"

"Ron thought Draco Malfoy might know something about the Heir" the young ninja explained.

"I should've known you'd all start investigating once Mr. Creevey was attacked" the professor sighed. "Though I doubt someone so self-centered would manage to keep quite all this time."

Now Harry certainly wasn't expecting that as he turned to Prof. McGonagall with a look of surprise on his face.

"Just because I maintain a professional attitude doesn't mean I'm not aware of how much of a spoiled miserable brat he is" she explained.

"Snape should learn to take your approach" said Harry. "Still I should've been here to help them. They asked me to teach them to be ninjas; they were my responsibility and I was here."

"Enough of that Mr. Potter" Minerva said sternly, eyeing the still present scrapes and bruises from his battles with Tiger Claw and Kitsune. "From the looks of you, I'd say you weren't just goofing off in New York. Now were you able to bring anyone else with you?"

"No I only had enough strength left to bring Donnie with me."

"Then I suggest you stop wasting time and energy on self-pity and instead focus on finding the one who is truly responsible."

"You know that actually sounds like something Master Splinter would say" Harry smirked, his fighting spirit restored.

"I'll consider that the highest of compliments" Minerva smiled, watching as the young ninja turned his focus back to the crime scene.

"I got something!" Just like Donnie had found on Hermione there were traces of snake DNA in the hallway giving Harry a major clue.

"What did you find?"

"A trail." Harry moved to follow the trail of snake DNA when he noticed something strange about the wall. Searching he was surprised to find his friends damaged T-phones hidden by a disillusion charm. "Probably Hermione or Luna's work. Let's get these back to Donnie."

Minerva wasn't sure what to think when Harry led her to Snape's potions lab. But she was certainly smiling when she spotted the unconscious Slytherin head tied up in the corner while the brilliant Donatello was working on how to save her students.

"Got something for you Donnie" said Harry, handing his brother the damaged phones. "I'm hoping there's a clue as to what they were up against.

Minerva couldn't help but admire the purple clad turtle's genius as once again he defied the limitations of technology as he took out a perfectly magically adapted laptop.

"Looks like the last thing they did was take some pictures" said Donnie, pulling up the files.

Donnie and Harry couldn't help but notice how the transfiguration professor seemed to pale at the image of the giant serpent.

"You know what this is" said Donnie, turning to the professor.

"Yes and all I can say is it's a miracle they didn't die facing it." said McGonagall. "That creature is a Basilisk, one of the deadliest creatures in the magical world."

"Ok so it's a giant snake. What makes it so dangerous?" asked Harry.

"While its venom which I have no doubt is what's killing your friends is usually potent enough to kill in a matter of minutes. The largest threat is its gaze which can kill its victims instantly."

"So then if Slytherin's monster is a Basilisk then, why hasn't anyone died?"

Harry's question was indeed a good one and unfortunately Minerva found that she couldn't answer but thankfully as always Donatello had the answer.

"Reflection" said Donnie, at their looks of confusion the turtle explained further. "The first victim a Colin Creevey was found with his camera. Hermione and the others were using their T-phone cameras…"

"And the other victims were found surrounded by castle ghosts" added Minerva, she was starting to see the pattern. "The headmaster elected to hide that detail lest we frighten the students further."

Neither Donnie or Harry were sure what to think about that. On the one hand they were pretty sure that Dumbledore was simply trying to downplay the extent of the danger. But on the other, the brothers didn't like the idea of something so dangerous it could actually threaten the dead.

"Ok so Donnie want to finish what you were saying?" asked Harry.

"Right. What I'm saying is that none of the victims saw the Basilisk directly" said Donnie. "It's deadly gaze must only work if you look at it directly."

"Then that's all I'll need."

"Woah, Harry I can't let you fight this thing alone."

"Donnie you need to stay here and keep working. You're probably the only reason that the guys are still alive."

Donnie was tempted to explain that their petrified states most likely also slowed blood flow thus slowing the rate the Basilisk's venom could spread. But he couldn't deny the fact that Harry had a point; even with the slowing effect of the petrification, if he didn't keep sneaking in doses of antivenom they'd have died by now.

"I'll go with him, Donatello" said Minerva. "It is my responsibility to look after all of my students."

Trusting the professor to back up his brother, Donnie didn't put up any further arguments and went back to work leaving Harry and McGonagall to pick up the trail.

"Are you certain this is the place?" asked Minerva.

"Well this is where the DNA trail leads" said Harry, sporting his brother's scanning goggles.

After leaving Donatello to his work Harry and Minerva went back to the scene of his friends' attack and followed the trail of snake DNA to what the witch identified as the girl's bathroom belonging to Moaning Myrtle.

Harry wouldn't admit it but despite all of the strangeness he'd seen since he first left the lair last year, there was something that just felt really uncomfortable about entering the girl's bathroom. That feeling only grew as he came face to face with the room's ghostly residence.

"What are you doing in here? You're not a girl" asked the ghost.

Taking in her appearance Harry noted that the transparent girl had what would've been dark lanky hair, pimples, and thick round glasses.

Wow I think I found Stockman's soulmate.

Thankfully before things could get out of hand, Myrtle noticed that Harry was with Prof. McGonagall.

"Hello Professor" Myrtle greeted, Harry couldn't help but see why she was called Moaning Myrtle, given that even her greetings seemed miserable.

"Hello Myrtle. Forgive me but could you tell us how you died?" asked McGonagall.

Honestly Harry had expected the ghost to be offended by the professor's question. Instead she seemed actually happy that someone was interested and went on to tell her story. When Myrtle was a student at Hogwarts she had suffered from harsh bullying and had taken refuge in a bathroom to cry. But when she started to clean up she saw yellow eyes from behind one of the bathroom mirrors and the next thing she knew, Myrtle was dead.

"That's terrible" said Harry, remembering how Hermione herself had almost died crying in a bathroom.

"It was dreadful" said Myrtle, her voice clearly relishing in the fact that someone had shown an interest.

"Has there been anyone in here recently?" asked McGonagall. "Perhaps someone carrying a redheaded first year girl?"

"Yes. I saw a blond Slytherin boy dragging a girl through here. I hid because the boy had these really scary redeyes."

"Wait a blond Slytherin?" asked Harry, to which Myrtle confirmed.

"It doesn't necessarily mean Draco Malfoy" said McGonagall, though she herself was starting to wonder if they'd underestimated the Malfoy heir's cunning. "Myrtle can you show us which sink they used?"

The ghost directed them to a sink close to her usual stall, Harry's eyes quickly zeroed in on a tiny snake scratched into the side.

"Any clues on how to get passed?" asked Harry.

"The boy just hissed at it and it moved" said Myrtle, leaving Harry to question why didn't the ghost just say something about this month ago.

"Parseltongue" Minerva gasped, prompting Harry to ask what the problem was. "Parseltongue is the ability to speak to snakes. It's highly regarded as the mark of a Dark Wizard."

"Well I can't talk to snakes but if it's sealed by magic I have an idea."

Activating his Blood Vein, Harry placed his hand on the wall next to the sink and began absorbing as much magic as he could. A decision that he immediately began to question as he could feel the almost infinite amount of power contained within Hogwarts' walls.

Magical energy crackled around him as Harry struggled to keep himself from exploding giving Minerva a painful flashback to when his core was unstable. Deciding to put an end to the boy's reckless plan, Minerva reached out to Harry only to be blasted back as the bathroom was consumed in a blinding light.

"Ugh, ok that was something" Harry groaned, picking himself up.

"Yes it certainly was" said Minerva, relieved that Harry was alright. "Though reckless at least your idea worked."

Indeed, it did for where there once was a wall of sinks now was only a large pipe large enough for them to go down.

"Well that explains how the Basilisk has been moving around" said Harry, realizing that the deadly serpent had been using the castle's pluming as passage. Taking out his T-phone, he then texted the information to Donatello with instructions to rescue them should they not check in within the next hour.

"Well then shall we" said McGonagall, positioning herself to slide down the pipe.

"Down the rabbit hole we go" said Harry, following after the her as they entered the Chamber of Secrets.

As they made their way into the Chamber neither of them noticed Gilderoy Lockhart entering Myrtle's bathroom behind them.

"I just knew they'd lead me to it" Lockhart smirked, as he moved to follow after them.

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