Thank you, all of you who have read this story and to all of you who have taken that extra moment to post a review. Thank you, Harriverse, pisces146

Harry Potter and the Trip to the Past

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Chapter – 17

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Harry sat there for some time lost completely in his thoughts. He had heard the basilisk very clearly. So just in two weeks the basilisk was already moving around the School. The first to be petrified had been Mrs. Norris. When did that happen? It had been a little later into the School year last time. Now things were rushing on, simply. Was it because he, Harry was rushing things or was the timeline truly changed?

'Potter?' a soft voice interrupted his solemn thoughts and Harry looked up startled. Snape was looking at him with, was that concern, in his black eyes? 'Potter? Are you alright?'

'Yes, Snape. I just heard the basilisk already. The last time I heard the hissing of the basilisk much later. This time, it is only two weeks after School and I can hear the basilisk calling out to me to come to it, so that it can kill me…'

Snape stared at Harry. 'You can speak Parseltongue?' he asked.

Harry pointed at the scar. 'This is a kind of a link to Voldemort. This was the scar he gave me when he tried to kill me. I can speak Parceltongue and peep into his mind if necessary. That was why I learnt Occlumency in the first place.'

Snape's lips thinned and it looked as he was suppressing a shudder. He did not say anything, though. 'Do you still want to keep quiet about the basilisk?'

'Yes, no, I don't know! I want to observe a bit, but what if someone is killed outright this time instead of just becoming petrified like last time?' Harry shook his head violently trying to clear it. 'I really, don't know what to do Snape.' Harry looked at Snape, his eyes showing he was very disturbed.

Snape stared into those green eyes for a while and abruptly turned away. 'Come, let us start the potion. If Dumbledore comes in, he will become very suspicious. I will think about this and so will you and we can talk about this a little while later.'

They went to work silently and for the next half hour, Snape made him do the basic chopping and cutting, while he set the cauldron for the potion. The potion needed three cauldrons with separate potions prepared and then joined to the main potion that would be prepared later. It was tedious brewing and it needed to be attended to everyday.

Harry was thinking furiously as he chopped flobberworms, one of the cheapest and easiest things to chop for this potion; the last time he had heard it during detention with Lockhart and after Hermione was called a mudblood by Malfoy. This year he would not be calling Hermione a mudblood because that incident had already happened. How was Ginny? Harry's heart clenched a bit. In the two weeks he had been here, he had steered clear of Ginny. Ron was still on the periphery of his circle but the twins were closer. Hey understood and hopefully Ron would too. Harry did not want to lose his best friend this time. He had already lost too much; Ginny, and his kids with her; their amazing life together.

Harry felt truly miserable as he chopped mechanically wading in a lot of pity as he thought of his plight. It was a sorry state of affairs where, he could not even speak casually to Ginny. About half an hour later, there was a knock at the door and Snape flicked his wand and cancelled all the spells just in time, as Dumbledore opened the door. Harry was still chopping some roots and he did not look up, and Snape looked at Dumbledore and his lips curled. 'Your golden boy is fine Headmaster.' He said softly, but very sarcastically.

Dumbledore sighed. 'I know you start the potion today, Severus and I came here to see the potions started. I will not be coming here time and again. I just wanted to wish you and Harry luck and also hand over my contribution for the potion.'

Dumbledore placed a large bag of galleons on the table and smiled at Harry, who had stopped chopping and was looking at the interaction between Snape and Dumbledore.

'Thank you so much sir. But you need not have.' Harry told him, speaking for the first time.

'I know Harry. But I would like to. As will the other professors. Severus will have their contributions that include his own by tonight. This is an extremely beneficial idea and I am sorry to say I never thought of my self. We could have used this in the first war. You have thought of this though, and I hope this will make our world more accepting of muggleborns.'

Harry smiled and nodded and turned back to his chopping, which he did precisely and efficiently. Dumbledore left after a minute in which he was apparently mind – speaking with Snape.

Once he left, Snape placed the wards again and continued with his work silently for some time. After a good two hours and the potions were well and truly started, Snape and Harry sank down into chairs and stared at each other. They had half an hour before tending to the potion once again.

'Potter, I think we must act like we did with the Stone. We must get rid of the basilisk; that is more dangerous than anything else. Or if you can, we can bind it to you and make it your familiar. That would be equally beneficial.' Snape finished thoughtfully, looking intently at Harry all the time.

Harry shook his head. 'The basilisk id already bonded with Voldemort. I doubt, I can wean it away from Voldemort and bind it to me without looking into its eyes and at that moment I will surely die. Moaning Myrtle, you know the ghost who haunts the second floor unused bathroom, died like that.'

'What!' Snape exclaimed.

'Myrtle was a muggleborn, who was sorted into Slytherin when Voldemort attended School, Snape. He killed her and made a horcrux; the diary that we want to destroy in fact. He used the basilisk for that and did not kill her personally. I think the basilisk is bonded to him, and now with the diary, the re-ownership of the basilisk has already been established. That means Ginny has already been possessed at least once, because I heard the basilisk today. So he has re-asserted his command over the basilisk and I doubt it will listen to us. What we must do is to kill it and remove it without the knowledge of the diary or Ginny who is under the control of the diary and make sure he will not use the basilisk to unleash horror in the school.'

'The diary?' Snape asked while he processed everything Harry told him.

'We must take care of that later. Maybe even try and steal it from Ginny. Last time Ginny, in a moment of sanity threw the diary into the unused girl's bathroom on the second floor, where the entrance to the Chamber is. Perhaps she will do that this time too and we may be able to take it then and destroy it.' Harry told him, his eyes reflecting his mind that was years away as he thought of the last time.

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Snape watched the boy he had been prepared to hate; James Potter's boy. But lately, especially once he had known Harry was from the future, he had slowly forgotten his past with James Potter and had been drawn to this boy until, he now never thought of Harry as James or even Lily's child. Snape's eyes widened as the last thought came to his mind. He had also forgotten that Harry was Lily's boy as well. He had been relating to just Harry, not James's boy and not Lily's. Just Harry.

He looked at Harry who was frowning to himself, probably thinking about the horcrux and how to destroy them, he supposed and he waited silently, his own thoughts of the Boy-Who-Lived, very chaotic and confused.

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Harry was in fact thinking about the diary and also about Ginny. He was feeling very bitter and after wallowing in his miserable thoughts, Harry sighed deeply from the bottom of his heart and looked at Snape only to find him watching Harry. Harry smiled wryly at Snape and shook his head.

'When shall we do this?' Harry asked Snape, as they got to their feet and proceeded to the cauldrons that were bubbling merrily.

'Tonight?' Snape asked.

Harry nodded as he once again began chopping. 'Though I will confirm after I check with the map. If Ginny is sleeping, then it should be okay. You wait right here, in the dungeons until I come. Better not be in the second floor before we are able to deduce that Ginny will not come today. If she does and catches you, you may have trouble. Okay?'

Snape was silent for a while and then he reluctantly nodded his head, seeing the sense of Harry's words.

'If I don't come by midnight, I will not come tonight, and then we will do this once again tomorrow.' Harry told him, carefully scooping the newts eyes and dropping them a few at a time into the third cauldron.

'What if the Dark Lord possesses her again tomorrow?' Snape asked him, chopping some leaves.

'I will check the map every day until I am certain that she will not leave the dorms. On that day I will come to you. We will just have to sit tight on this one Snape. We cannot afford to make Voldemort suspicious, because then we will be going into the unknown once again.'

Snape nodded once and then after another half hour, he sent Harry away.

'Come tonight after you are sure and don't do silly Gryffindor things and get yourself killed. Now get out.' Snape told him and Harry smiled at Snape who did not smile back, but did not scowl either; he just looked inscrutably at Harry as Harry walked to the door and cancelling Snape's wards with a wave of his hand, walked out.

Malfoy, Hermione, Neville along with many others were waiting for Harry in the Great Hall. They simply pounced upon him the moment they saw him and Harry spent the rest of the day explaining what he did to the others and also discussing everything with them. He also saw Ginny with them, looking rather miserable as she sat by Percy, listening to everything.

Did Ginny already understand about the evilness in the diary? Harry desperately hoped so and prayed she would throw it away soon. The day sped fast and Harry, Hermione and Neville along with Malfoy, Blaise and Pansy walked down to the dungeons and knocked at the potion lab's door, in the evening just after dinner.

'Enter.' A soft and yet clear voice sounded and all of them entered nervously to find Snape stirring a cauldron, in a precise anti-clockwise direction. He did not look up at them until he finished and this time Snape asked Harry and Hermione to stay and told the others to leave.

Hermione was thrilled and she simply shivered in anticipation of helping with the potion and she cheerfully chopped and crushed and helped Snape along with Harry. They worked silently and after an hour, Snape dismissed them. The potion would continue to simmer for a long, long time. Harry and a very self satisfied Hermione left the potions lab and walked right into the others who had come with them and Harry let Hermione speak about the potion and what they had done in the lab the last hour.

Harry kept quiet and he went up along with the others smiling slightly and nodding at the appropriate places. Ginny was no where to be seen and Harry frowned. That meant she was elsewhere and he hoped it was not in the Chamber. Slowly the Harry and his Gryffindors group left the Slytherins and went up to their common rooms and settled for the night. Ginny was not in the common room also and Harry feigning tiredness, bid goodnight to Hermione and went up with Neville, Ron and the others.

Once Harry finished washing, he exchanged goodnights with the others and sat on his bed, after securely closing the curtains together. He took out his map and looked for Ginny. She was in the Chamber!

Harry sighed with extreme disappointment. Tonight was out. He kept looking at the Chamber of Secrets, but the basilisk was not there or it had not been called. He watched for some more time, but only Ginny was there walking around the Chamber. He sighed and lay back on the bed, wondering what he could do to remove Ginny out of the control of that diary. The first obviously would be to kill the basilisk and then take care of the diary, maybe even ask one of the elves to steal it for him. But whom could he ask who would not betray him later on, simply because he was not their Master.

Harry decided he could not take the risk and he would have to somehow steal it from Ginny or wait until she threw the book in the second floor bathroom. He lay awake for a long time that night before he fell asleep. He did not sleep well that night and woke up late, only after Neville woke him up.

'Bad night, Nev, I'll be only a minute, you carry on if you're hungry.' Harry told him, sleepily, his eyes tired and shadows already appearing lightly under his eyes.

Neville was looking very worried and concerned. Harry never slept later and never had Neville seen him look so tired. 'Are you okay, Harry?' he asked in concern. 'You're looking so tired.'

'I am Nev. Had a bad night and did not sleep well. All that excitement about starting the potion I think, I had dreams of chopping all kinds of yuck things, I kept waking up. To-night, I'll turn in early and I'll be fine.' Harry smiled widely at Neville even as he pulled out his clothes from his trunk and ran to the bathroom, shouting to Neville, 'Coming in a minute Nev,' before he ran to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Harry was as good as his word and in a few minutes, he was thundering down the stairs and greeted Hermione and Neville cheerfully.

'Harry, Neville was telling me you did not sleep too well?' Hermione asked Harry, looking at him with a critical eye.

'I didn't, Hermione. I was way too excited yesterday and that did not help me sleep properly. I am not so tired now after having a nice hot shower and am more than fine. Come on! I am hungry.' Harry finished with a whine and Hermione relaxed and the three of them went down to breakfast. It was Sunday and they ate leisurely, chatting mainly about the potion and wondering whom Hermione and Harry's mother were descended from.

'It would be wonderful to know and all these prejudices about muggleborns will never be there.' Hermione said enthusiastically. Neville and Harry simply smiled and let her talk.

Once they finished, they were joined by the twins and Ron and all of them went down to the dungeons once again and knocked on Snape's door, wondering whom Snape would choose to cut, chop and grind today.

Usually this type of work would have made everyone of them except Hermione run a mile but with the potion, everyone wanted to do something, to contribute and be a part of its making.

Snape opened the door and motioned only Harry to come inside and asked the others to get out. 'Both of you can come in the evening and grind beetle eyes for the potion. Now leave.' Snape told the twins and everyone left, Hermione with a look of great disappointment, but Snape did not even notice. 'Potter, cut the mandrake leaves, very thin and length-wise.' He was heard saying as he shut the door.

The others trooped out, with the twins looking excited. They would have their chance with the potion in the evening. Hermione was looking very down. 'Cheer up Hermione. Maybe Snape will ask for you tomorrow.' Neville told her.

'But why should he ask for Harry everyday and us only by rotation? That's just not fair.' Hermione protested.

'Because it was Harry's idea and he's seeing if Harry will stick through this. So he's pushing Harry and hoping that Harry will say he's tired or something or show disinterest.' Fred told her reasonably.

Hermione was distracted by this. She smiled. 'Professor Snape really does not know Harry very well, does he? Harry will see this through, I know.' She said and then from there all of them went up pretty satisfied with everything.

Meanwhile Harry and Snape were busy working, deciding to attend to the potion first, before talking. They worked in silence for sometime and after adding the as usual chopped and ground potion ingredients, Snape sat down and looked at Harry who was still adding the last bits of Belladonna leaves.

This potion almost required all the potion ingredients available and they had to be added in a precise manner. Added to that most of the ingredients were expensive and brewing tedious. That was why it was not usually attempted.

Snape sat there looking at Harry almost without blinking, deep in thought as he looked at the boy/man who was busy adding to the boiling potion. Harry Potter! Snape was bewildered, baffled and totally confused by this boy. He had tried questioning many times about the future, but Potter was giving him only what was necessary, not a wee bit more. Snape did not even know who else died apart from Dumbledore.

He also very badly wanted to speak to Lily, Potter had hesitated for a minute before he had answered Snape's question, whether Lily had spoken to him in a friendly manner or had she maintained the silence she had after she broke off with him. But Potter had not answered right away, though he had made all the right noises, and Snape thinking about that moment later, was understandably worried. But he did not know how to ask Harry about Lily. She was his mother and she was married to another man.

Here Snape scowled. The despicable James Potter. What did Lily see in him, he wondered that she would go and marry him of all the persons available in the Wizarding World. Snape scowled even more, a bit of jealousy, hatred, dislike and envy all mixed in his general hatred of James Potter.

From there Snape's eyes went to Harry. He was so different from James and even from Lily. While he was an adult mentally, even then Snape found him very much different from James, Lily, Sirius and Remus. While in the past Harry did not have any of them while he was growing up, even after the portraits were activated and even after speaking to his father and the others, he was still willing to acknowledge Snape's contributions to the war, to be polite and respectful to him, brushing aside his knowledge that Snape had been a death eater before he turned to the Light, a time during which he had done maximum harm to everyone and personally to Harry.

Harry finished with adding the leaves and came and sat down in front of Snape. Snape looked at Harry, 'Potter, what happened last night?'

'I saw Ginny there last night Snape. In the chamber. That was why I could not come and get you. I waited for some time but she was there until I went off to sleep. I could not take the risk to meet Ginny when she is possessed. What if Voldemort harms her permanently?'

Snape nodded once. 'To-night then?'

'Yes, if Ginny is asleep. If I don't come tonight then it will be because Ginny is in the Chamber. Unless I see her in her dorm, I will not try and venture out.' Harry told him and they left it at that.

That evening only the twins were called to help and Harry and Hermione along with Neville and the other Slytherins spent the day sitting by the lake. The weather was still very fine and all of them wanted to be outside as much as possible.

The days sped by and Ginny was in the Chamber of Secrets every single day. The first week it was only Ginny there, but slowly Harry also saw the basilisk along with Ginny and later, the basilisk leaving the Chamber by using the pipes. Harry lost much of his sleep that month and the next and kept watch over Ginny, every night until he dropped off to sleep.

There were no attacks anywhere until now, and Harry remembered that the first attack had been Mrs. Norris who was petrified on Halloween. Harry had seen it when he had come back from the death day party of Nearly Headless Nick. Apart from that first time, Harry, himself never heard the basilisk.

The potion was going smoothly and by the first week of October almost all the muggleborn students were prepared to brave Snape's harsh tongue and volunteer to help with the chopping, cutting and grinding of the potion ingredients. Almost everyone had also contributed and Snape had also started a second batch just two weeks after he started the first batch, so that more muggleborns could be tested.

Harry's days were busy in writing to Sirius and Remus who were constantly telling him to be careful and never to go anywhere alone, especially to Snape's lab. Harry had laughed at the implication of Snape's evilness and had promised accordingly. His nights were spent in watching Ginny who left at about eleven every night and came back long after Harry went off to sleep.

She was very quiet during the day and never spoke much. Harry also noticed Percy watching Ginny with worry, and even saw him speak to a very flustered Ginny and knew Percy was very worried for her.

The more closer the days moved towards Halloween, the more anxious Harry became. He told Snape that Mrs. Norris was attacked first and it had been during Halloween and there was frustration in his tone. Snape had not reacted to Harry's anxiety, but he too had felt the same.

They had discussed going into the Chamber so early in the School year, but Halloween was almost upon them and they still could not get into the Chamber. The Weasley girl was there everyday. Harry had even left the parchment with him for a week, because he had wanted to see for himself. He had watched and every day just like Harry had said, she would leave for the Chamber in the night and come back only in the wee hours of the morning. What was she doing there and why should she stay there for such a long time every night was perplexing, but like Harry said, they could barge in there and confront the Dark Lord when he was possessing her. Not after seeing what he had done to Quirrell.

Snape also saw the basilisk and had shuddered in fear when he saw it leaving the Chamber one night. He had sat still that night watching the basilisk as it roamed around the School and had breathed only when it went back into the Chamber without hurting anyone else.

Soon it was Halloween and Harry spent the day in anxious anticipation of what would happen. He prayed and prayed that Mrs. Norris would only be petrified and not killed like Moaning Myrtle. Snape was also equally anxious, though no one guessed it apart from Dumbledore who could not understand why. He attributed it wrongly to the potion Snape was brewing, because Snape left the dining room quickly saying he had to attend to the blasted potion.

This time Harry did not ask Nearly Headless Nick about his death day and so he did not attend the death day party. The moment the sumptuous Halloween dinner was over, Harry, Hermione and Neville left for the Library and sat there writing their transfiguration essays that needed to be handed in the next day. Harry however, had the map with him and was looking on and off in the second floor corridor.

But he missed seeing the basilisk when he closed it to concentrate on the essay and when he opened it next, he noticed Mrs. Norris roughly in the same place as before, just outside the unused bathroom on the second floor.

Harry wanted to run and see what had happened but he did not want to alert Hermione or Neville. The Slytherins were not with them that day because they had a party in the Slytherin common room and Draco had swaggered off to have fun. Harry yawned suddenly, 'Hermione, come on, let's take it easy. We have finished Transfiguration and we can do the rest tomorrow. Let us go to our common room, laze around a bit and sleep early today.'

Hermione looked at Harry in surprise, but seeing Neville nod along with Harry, she reluctantly agreed with Harry and soon the three of them walked leisurely to their common room. Harry threw himself on the comfortable couch and sat silently waiting for some news of some kind.

It came from Ron and the twins after half an hour. Ron, Dean, Seamus, the twins, Lee Jordon and Katie Bell burst into the Gryffindor common room their faces full of fear, excitement and horror. Harry had been keeping watch over Ginny the whole day, but she had vanished into the Chamber just after dinner. She still had to come back.

'You will never believe what happened just now. The Chamber of secrets has been opened!' Ron shouted as he came towards Harry, Hermione and Neville.

'What?' Harry asked trying to look astonished when he wanted to know everything all at once. 'Calm down Ron. What happened? No one was hurt were they?'

Ron shook his head very fast. 'No, unless you were to count Mrs. Norris. She was hanging all stiff as if dead, you know,' Ron gulped as he remembered and Seamus and Dean shuddered. 'Dumbledore said she was petrified, Harry. What does it mean?'

Slowly Harry understood what had happened. This time it was Flich who had discovered unlike last time, when he had accused Harry of killing Mrs. Norris. This time Harry had not been there and Ron and the others who were coming back from dinner had been alerted to the sounds of shouting from Flich and had to him to see the writing on the wall and Mrs. Norris petrified by a 'monster' that had been unleashed from the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry and the others sat in the common room, sleep all forgotten as they discussed loud and long about just what the monster could be and how it could have petrified Mrs. Norris. There were a few fearful comments about what would happen had it been one of the students or a professor. That set off another round of discussions that were carried out in a slightly scared tone.

Harry looked around and sighed as he did not see Ginny among the students and she still had not come even after Harry and the others had started going up to their dorms to sleep. Harry sped through his nightly washing and after wishing Neville and Ron and the others 'goodnight', Harry closed his curtains and opened his map.

Ginny was still in the Chamber and Harry sat there for almost an hour, watching her before he went to sleep. It was an hour before the basilisk came back into the Chamber and another two hours before Ginny came back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry had slept by that time.

End of Chapter – 17

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