Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Warnings: Violence , Gore and Lemons(Much Later)

Chapter 14

The Portkey, as was becoming constant, dropped Harry on his backside in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Harry got to his feet quickly, with as much grace as you could manage after being sprawled on the floor, and took note of his surroundings, and immediately went over to Hedwig, who had begun trilling happily as soon as she had seen Harry come into the office. While petting Hedwig, he noted that there were two cups of tea on the Headmaster's desk. Hermione had walked over to Hedwig as well, and joined Harry in spoiling the baby Phoenix.

"Harry, just in time, my dear boy. I understand that you want to go down to the Chamber Of Secrets?" Dumbledore said. He had been having tea with Ollivander, and he had left his office stating that he would be back when Harry arrived and would be waiting near second floor girl's toilet, saying that he was heading out to have a chat with Hagrid. Dumbledore assumed he wanted to ask Hagrid about any new developments that had taken place inside the Forbidden Forest after the last time he had visited. The forest had the largest herd of Unicorns in Britain, and he, with the help of Hagrid often asked the Unicorns for some of their tail hairs that he used in his wands.

"Yes Professor, Mr. Ollivander said that he had something to retrieve from the Basilisk. He said that it might be useful for crafting my new wand. Did he arrive yet?" Harry asked absently. He was distracted by Hedwig's attempts to fly; she had grown a lot and was apparently trying to impress him with her flying capabilities. He smiled softly at her, she would gain a few inches of flight and then plop down on his hands, her still developing wings, not capable enough to fly just yet. He could swear that he saw an amused glint in Fawkes's eyes at Hedwig's attempts.

"Yes, I have informed him of the place that has the entrance to the Chamber. I think we should proceed there now; he will no doubt be waiting for us over there. We have a little less than an hour before Miss Granger's parents will be arriving at the Leaky Cauldron to pick up the two of you." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other at the Headmaster's statement. They knew that it would be hard to explain the physical changes that the two teens had undergone, but they had planned for it, and while Hermione didn't like lying to her parents, it wouldn't be the first time that she had done so.

Harry glanced at the silent form of Perenelle and could swear that he had spied the tiniest of nods accompanied by a smile on her face, so fast that it had gone in the blink of an eye. He saw as she made her way to Dumbledore's desk and unceremoniously opened one of the drawers and took out a few stones and pocketed them. He blinked at the petulant look that Dumbledore shot her, which she ignored completely.

The quartet along with a baby Phoenix made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and were surprised to hear Myrtle giggling girlishly, and Ollivander waving his hands, gesturing wildly to accentuate his tale.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to bring attention to their group, and in short order, Harry was standing in front of the sink that had the snake engraved on its tap.

~Open~ Harry hissed at it. Dumbledore was a bit surprised at that, he had suspected that Harry's Parseltongue ability was connected to the curse scar that Voldemort had left him with. He assumed that Harry would lose this ability with the disappearance of his scar, and had prepared himself to blast apart the entrance to the Chamber. He was thankful that he didn't need to resort to that, however, it raised some questions that Dumbledore didn't have answers to.

The sink, and the surrounding plumbing, sunk into the flooring and a large hole was left in its place. Harry looked at the pipe that led to the Chamber and thought about what to do next. Last time, he was intent on saving Ginny, and didn't think twice before jumping into it, but now that there were no such pressing circumstances; he didn't want to slide down the slimy pipe. He turned towards Dumbledore with an expectant look on his face.

Perenelle cast a distasteful expression at the pipe and moved forward and waved her wand, in a long sweeping motion twirling it in a complicated wave. Stones that lined the pipe flew off the edges and hovered in a descending pattern, making a stairway down the pipe, and proceeded to walk down them. Dumbledore chuckled inwardly at the amazed expression on the two teen's faces. This was what he was hoping to provide Harry with, a childhood full of surprises and happiness. A combination of the Summoning Charm, the Stasis Charm and the Hover Charm, all woven together perfectly, was how Perenelle had accomplished the feat that had left the teens amazed. With Perenelle's training, they would soon be capable of that, and the novelty and amazement of this piece of Magic that was on the teens faces would not be present anymore. He still wasn't sure if he should have put up more of a fight concerning Harry's Apprenticeship.

Dumbledore joined Perenelle in making the path towards the Chamber more smooth, banishing fallen rocks and strengthening columns that were on the verge of collapsing. Harry hissed the open phrase twice more before they entered the actual Chamber. Hermione was casting wary glances at the shadows and unconsciously inched closer towards Harry. When they entered the Chamber she gasped loudly at the Basilisk carcass that lay dead on the stone floor. She just couldn't imagine a 12 year old Harry facing up to the Basilisk and surviving.

"Sweet Merlin!" exclaimed Ollivander as he saw the Basilisk. His mind was assaulted with all the things that he could use from such a large Basilisk for making Harry's wand, and perhaps keep some things for himself, to experiment on later.

Dumbledore wasn't as surprised at seeing the size of the Basilisk as Fawkes had shared his memory of the event with him. But it still amazed him when he thought of Harry facing the fearsome beast in his Second Year.

Perenelle glanced at the largest specimen of the King Of Serpents that she had seen. This was the third Basilisk that she had come across and her previous two encounters hadn't exactly been easy on her. Maybe being a Parselmouth had worked in his favour, it was well known that the feared Basilisk stare had no effect on them. "I have to say Harry, you must be very brave, not to mention skilled, to walk away from an encounter with this Basilisk." Perenelle praised appreciatively, a hint of pride in her tone.

Hermione just stared open-mouthed at the Basilisk and then at Harry, repeating it several times, as if confirming Harry was actually present before her.

Harry smiled bashfully at the praise that was given to him. "It needed to be done." Was all he said.

"Ollie, begin your work. I am not inclined to spend any more time than is necessary in this sewer." Perenelle said.

Ollivander nodded. "Albus, if you could help me in retrieving the Venom Sack from the Basilisk." He said and brought out several sharp tools from his bag, which he had slung across his hips.

Harry stared in morbid fascination as Ollivander with help from Dumbledore carved out the two Venom Sacks that were present in the Basilisk's neck. Blood sprayed from the gaping wound that had been inflicted, and Dumbledore levitated the two huge fleshy globs that were full of Venom. Hermione had turned away as soon as she had seen what Ollivander intended to do with the sharp knives, not willing to lose her lunch.

After they were done, Ollivander left, with the Headmaster providing him with a Portkey, stating that he would need to begin working on the Venom soon, an excited gleam in his eyes. Perenelle then started placing the various stones that she had taken from Dumbledore's desk. When Harry asked what she was doing she told him that she was transporting the Basilisk, and would be converting it into useful parts, such as Armoured Cloaks and would be storing the parts for later use. She also told him that since Harry as the one to defeat the Basilisk he was the sole owner of the Basilisk. Perenelle offered to take them to the Grangers, but Harry declined seeing as she was intending to use a Portkey, and he had enough of them this day. Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore then made their way back to the Headmaster's Office and Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for Hermione's parents to show up. Harry had hidden the sleeping for of Hedwig with his robes, not wanting to draw attention towards her.

Harry spotted them first and indicated the same to Hermione. She got up and made her way across the bar to her parents, biting her lip nervously. Harry followed behind her silently.

"Mom, Dad." She called out, gaining her parent's attention.

"Hermione?" asked Emma, a shocked look on her face. Dan simply stared, wondering who the young woman who resembled his daughter was.

"Yes. It's me; I'll explain what happened in the car." Hermione said evasively, and grabbed her parent's hands and steered them out of the bar.

When the quartet reached the car, Hermione asked Harry to sit in the front seat, while she sat in the back with her mother.

"Hermione what happened? Your hair?" Emma asked, she was holding her daughter's chin and was gently turning it this way and that.

"As I told you in the letter mum, when I reached Harry's place, I noticed that he was not well, and contacted the Headmaster immediately. He arrived and escorted us to the Hogwarts. Madam Pomphrey, the Healer at Hogwarts, said that Harry was suffering a case of malnutrition. She gave him some Potions, they are what we use instead of medicines, for it and asked me if I would like some. After I was hospitalized in my Second Year, I was running a little low on it, and I accepted her offer. This is the result of us taking the Potions." Hermione explained.

"But why didn't you tell us? The blood tests that we conducted after you got back home last summer didn't show any lowered levels of nourishment." Emma asked.

"There are various other things that affect a Witches' body that do not show up on Muggle tests." Hermione replied, inwardly hoping that her mother would buy her ruse.

Emma was silent for a long time, she glanced at Dan in the front seat, and then sighed. "I am not sure about this Hermione, but I will accept your explanation. And for what it's worth, you look like a princess." She said smiling.

Hermione smiled tremulously, and looking out the window released a relieved breath.

Emma didn't ask why Harry needed the Potions; she had seen enough of his family to know the reason for it. The rest of the journey home was covered in silence, each person lost in their own thoughts.

(Break)

As Dan pulled the car into the driveway, he noticed a figure that was hunched up in front of the door to their house. He was the first one to get out of the car, intent on asking, who he thought, was another homeless person to step off their property. As he walked up, he was surprised to see a girl, that had long blonde hair, and startlingly red eyes, appearing to be Hermione's age. As he got closer, he saw that his initial assumption was wrong, and the girl was wearing a cloak similar to what Hermione had to wear for her school. She had her head up, and he could see that she was scared of something. Before he could placate her and ask who she was, the rest of his family having caught up, Hermione exclaimed.

"Daphne?"

(End Chapter)

A/N:- Short Chapter, I know. I don't have any excuses other than I had some matters to take care of in life.

Regarding the concerns of the slow progress, this will only be till Harry begins his training and then I will only focus on the Plot rather than the training. Only his progress, and any new training will be described thereafter. So I ask you to be a little patient with me for a few more chapters.

On another note.

Should I bash Dumbledore? Weasleys? (Only Ron, Percy and maybe Charlie and Molly. The rest are cool)

Yes

No