Of Unexpected Deliveries and Doorsteps

by molliehhhh

Stunned, Severus just stood there looking at the baby in the basket on his doorstep. What the ****! Why was there a child on his stoop? Befuddled he saw the letter stuffed into the side of the carrier and opened it. My take on what would happen if Petunia gave Harry to Severus. Warnings Inside! So please read them. The pairing is Lucius/Severus and eventually Theo/Harry.

11. Chapter 11

Author: HatefulRodeo

Story: Of Unexpected Deliveries and Doorsteps

Notes: Hola Lovelies! So Harry's POV for the entirety of the chapter. Dumbledore gets put in his place a little bit and Harry meets a new friend. Thank you to all who fav'd, followed, and reviewed; and a bug hug to those who did all three. Enjoy dear readers!

Parseltongue looks like "This"!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this story.

Previously:

The two eleven year olds entered the kitchen and went to stand next to their chosen parent; Harry with Severus and Draco with Lucius. Dumbledore's head was still in the hearth and when the two boys were next to the older wizards he spoke; "I'll leave the connection open, you know the words to speak Severus." The Potions Master merely nodded curtly and waved his hand for Dumbledore to get out of the way so they could floo through.

The old man moved out of the green flames so Harry and Severus could enter the hearth. Severus spoke clearly so Lucius could hear the correct words to get them to Hogwarts; "The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, Mike and Ike's!," those words made Harry wonder why the old coot would select a password like Mike and Ike's before he was swept away in the bright green flames, holding onto his father's arm with one hand and Ebony's body with the other as they were swept off to Hogwarts.

~*~*~*Chapter 11*~*~*~

Harry stepped out of the floo in the Headmaster's office; his father separated from him and walked over to Dumbledore where they two men began to have a quiet though no less intense conversation. The younger raven couldn't hear what they were saying but it was plain to see that his dad wasn't happy about the situation and Harry couldn't blame him for his anger.

When Lucius and Draco stepped through the floo the older blonde separated from his heir and joined the older wizards' conversation. The younger blonde glanced over at Harry and gave him a small reassuring smile before he began to explore the circular office. The room was packed with several odd contraptions that were either squeaking, whirling, or puffing out tufts of smoke.

Until that moment Harry hadn't even cared to look around the office to closely. His green eyes were now stared blankly at the wall of portraits showcasing past Headmasters and Headmistresses. While his eyes were fixed on the portraits his mind was whirling with information.

He couldn't help but remember his thoughts from a few weeks ago; he remembered thinking that Dumbledore was mad for keeping something like the Sorcerer's Stone inside a school full of children when he knew the Dark Lord could possibly come for it, and in the end the man known as Lord Voldemort had come and stolen the precious item; right from under Dumbledore's crooked nose.

He truly didn't want to believe that the aged Headmaster could be so careless and reckless with his responsibilities to the school but alas Harry couldn't deny it any further. Dumbledore put people at risk by taking in the Stone; it was just lucky that the Dark Lord chose to steal the thing during Yule break, and late in the night, when the school would be empty of people walking around. The emerald eyed wizard shuddered when he thought about what could have happened had a duel occurred between his parents' murderer and another competent wizard.

The damage could have been monumental and Merlin only knows if someone could have been killed in the ensuing battle. He would be grateful that no one was hurt in process of Voldemort's plan; it could have been so much worse. Yes, the Dark Lord now had a means of bringing himself back but at this point Harry would be grateful that nothing else besides the Stone was taken; no loss of life or damage to the castle he now considered his second home.

However, Dumbledore had a lot to answer for; why had he chosen to keep the Stone here? From what Harry knew of the object it belonged to Nicholas Flamel, surely the aged Alchemist could have adequately protected his own property, seeing as he'd done it for over five hundred years. So why had the Stone been moved to Hogwarts for safekeeping?

Something didn't seem right with the whole scenario when he laid it out in front of him. He would have to talk to his dad and papa Luc later about this; Dumbledore was up to something and Harry did not like it. The young Potter-Snape was feeling uneasy; Harry felt like the old man was trying to suck him into some sort of plot; he didn't know why he felt that way but he did and if it was one thing Harry despised it was being blatantly manipulated and kept in the dark.

His dad always tried to keep his son up to date on information and the only time he kept anything from Harry was when it wasn't Severus' secret to tell. He had a feeling this was one of those situations where his dad was unable to tell the younger raven what was going on inside Hogwarts.

But now that the cat was out of the bag his dad could answer his questions without fear of reprisal from Dumbledore; Harry had a feeling it was the old man who was forcing his dad's silence. If that was true then he was even more angry with the old man; the emerald eyed wizard did not like that his dad was being forced to keep important things from him, his son.

And if he knew his dad well enough his father was probably annoyed with the forced silence as well. But soon he would have his answers and then he would know exactly what was going on here, well he would know as much as his dad knew and that was probably a hell of a lot more than he knew now.

Any information at this point was better than none; and at this point all Harry had was a handful of facts and sparce tidbits of information collected by Ebony and his own sources. He wondered if he was ready to absorb anymore information...tonight had already put his mind into overload but he would not turn away from this. The problem situation wouldn't go away just because he didn't want to, or feel like, dealing with it. Taking a deep breath he pushed down his thoughts and slowed his breathing, thinking about the gifts he'd receive tomorrow for Yule.

Unfortunately, his shields could only do so much and soon his mind was swimming in past thoughts and observations; all of it writhing to the forefront of his mind to be examined and mulled over. Taking another deep breath he ruthlessly forced it all down with his Occlumency shields. When his mind was blessedly blank Harry opened his eyes and looked around the room; his dad, papa Luc, and Dumbledore were still conversing in low voices while Draco was speaking to one of the past Headmasters; a well dressed man who somewhat resembled Draco.

Ebony chose that moment to make an appearance, pulling Harry's attention away from his sibling and onto his serpent when she poked her scaly nose out of his robes. She flicked her tongue out so it tickled Harry's cheek before she began to hiss at him; "Master, are you well? Can I grow now?"

Harry looked down at his familiar and smiled grimly at her; "I'm fine, Eb. Go ahead and re-size yourself." The black snake nodded and without another sibilant word slithered totally out of Harry's robes and down to the floor where she began to grow to an impressive twelve feet in lengths.

Harry looked on in curiosity since this was the first time Ebony had regrown herself in front of him and it was a decidedly odd thing to see. He couldn't help but notice that his familiar had grown another few feet and gotten decidedly thicker around the middle, probably from their bonding and the abundance of rats scurrying around the castle. At this rate she'd be absolutely massive by the time he graduated; this pleased him greatly.

Ebony did the snake equivalent of shaking her body and slithered back to settle in front of the warm fire, completely ignoring the looks she was getting from the adults and Draco. Harry knew she was an intimidating sight in her true form but all her added size did was make him feel safer; he knew that Ebony would never let anything happen to him if she could help it.

A musical cry was heard, bringing Harry's attention to the newly arrived Phoenix that was sitting upon a wooden perch near the Headmaster's messy desk. The Firebird watched Harry and his snake closely before it gave another lyrical cry and launched itself into the air and onto the young raven's shoulder. The emerald eyed wizard watched this all in detached interest, wondering why the red and gold bird decided he'd make a good perch.

While he observed the Phoenix his hand rose absently and began to stroke the bird's chest, observing that the feathers were incredibly soft and warm under his fingers. Dumbledore's voice brought Harry out of his thoughts; "Ah, young Harry, it seems Fawkes has taken a liking to you."

So Fawkes was the bird's name. This little fact was good to know since Harry didn't want to refer to Fawkes as The Phoenix or The Firebird. Harry nodded and murmured a greeting to the bird on his shoulder before rolling his shoulder to dislodge the bird from his person; they had things to accomplish tonight and while it was nice to meet Fawkes he had bigger things to deal with.

When the bird was off his shoulder and back on his allotted perch Harry turned to face the three older wizards; "I think we should get going; who knows what the Dark Lord is doing down in the Chamber, the faster we get there the better of we'll all be."

His dad nodded and rejoined his side, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder, giving him silent support and strength. Papa Luc was right behind him along with Draco; together the four of them faced Dumbledore and waited for the old man to move or speak. The Headmaster sighed; "We should be going then. I do not believe that Voldemort will still be down there but I have to make sure; if there is any chance of stopping him I must take it."

"Now, Harry you will use your Parseltongue to open the Chamber and then you and Draco will stand back so the adults can ascertain wait is going on down there. Is that clear?" The two underage wizards nodded, both didn't feel the need to speak their obvious agreement to the Headmaster's plan. After that little conversation the four of them waited for the old man to do something.

Severus snapped in a voice filled with impatience and a bit of exasperation; "Let's get on with this, Headmaster." The old man didn't respond verbally to his dad's sharp words he just exited his office and strode down the spiral stairs. The four men and one snake followed behind the white haired wizard quietly; Harry was absorbing the comfort of having his family by his side and his familiar covering his back.

Harry was confused as to where they were headed and when they turned down the corridor he saw his Transfiguration and Charms Professors standing guard outside of the bathroom Moaning Myrtle had taken as her own. Did Salazar Slytherin really put the entrance to the Chamber of Sevrets in a bathroom? He would have thought the serpent tongued man would have constructed the entrance somewhere more grand but he guessed if you wanted to hide the entrance point a bathroom was the last place you'd look for it.

As they came closer the two Professors turned and when they saw Dumbledore and his contingent behind him they visibly relaxed and stepped forward to greet the Headmaster; "There's been no activity since Quirrell went into Chamber, Albus. Filius and I will stand guard while your group goes inside to check things out."

"That will be fine, Minerva. Please, keep your eyes and ears open to anything odd and if you require assistance please send a Patronus to me in the Chamber. If we are in need of assistance I will send a Patronus to you and Filius. Agreed?" Harry's Professors nodded their heads in agreement to Dumbledore's plan and stepped back to their sentry positions next to the bathroom door.

Dumbledore turned towards the little family, a benign smile on his face that wasn't fooling Harry for one second; he knew the old man was afraid of what they'd find inside and the emerald eyed boy didn't blame the man for his fear. If he was honest he was afraid of what they'd find too but he wouldn't let his fear rule him; they needed to do what they could to find out what was going on and if the Dark Lord was still in residence inside the castle.

"Severus, Lucius, Harry, and Draco we will enter into the bathroom and I want all of us to take up positions around the sink. Harry, you will approach the sink and find the one that has a small snake engraved into the tap; that is the guardian to the Chamber. I'm not sure what the command is to open the room but it will need to be spoken in Parseltongue. Understand?"

"I understand, Headmaster. What happens after I open the sinks up?" Dumbledore continued explaining his strategy; "After the sinks open you and young Draco will stand back so Severus, Lucius, and I can explore the entrance to make sure there aren't any traps or wards to prohibit our entrance. Once the way has been cleared for us to pass one of us will enter and check for additional spells or jinxes."

"You boys will wait until we have made sure it's safe, once we're sure it's safe the one who enters will send for the rest us. This will be the system we will continue to use; neither of you boys will go on ahead or off by yourselves. This is dangerous and I don't want anyone to be hurt."

Harry nodded at the old man, waiting for him to enter the bathroom. When Dumbledore realized Harry wasn't going to say anything he moved to open the door to the bathroom. The door opened slowly; Dumbledore had his wand out and at the ready just in case something was waiting for them.

When the door opened completely the assembled people held their breath in anticipation but nothing happened. After a few moments Dumbledore entered the room and waved the four of them in; "It appears that nothing has been done in the room in my absence. Now, Harry please approach the sink while the rest of us watch your back."

The younger raven glanced at his fathers and brother; he received small reassuring smiles from all of them and a squeeze to his shoulder from his dad. Feeling braver he moved to stand in front of the bank of sinks, looking at the faucets until he found the little snake engraving. When he found it he thought about what he should say to it; what would Salazar Slytherin have used as a password?

Ebony slithered to his side and rose up to look at the faucet in question but remained quiet, letting her Master figure this out on his own. The young boy squinted his eyes and thought logically about what the password would be; it was probably something simple since Salazar Slytherin was the only known Parselmouth of his time aside from his children. Harry believed Slytherin wouldn't have had to worry about someone outside of his bloodline getting into his personal space since no one but him and his could speak the serpent tongue.

So something simple to start then, taking a deep breath he began to hiss; "Descend." But nothing happened; not feeling discourages yet Harry continued hissing at the little snake on the faucet, ignoring everyone and everything in the room with him. It wasn't until he hissed the command of "Open" that something happened; the sink with the snake engraved on it began to sink into the floor, revealing a pipe like structure that went downward.

With a triumphant smile on his face he turned and stepped away from the now opened entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. As soon as he clear the three adults stepped forward and began to wave their wands in complicated patterns and speaking murmured words in Latin. When nothing happened Harry assumed it meant that the way was clear of anything that could harm them.

Dumbledore hmm'd and began to speak; "It seems that there is nothing obstructing our way. Now we must send someone down the pipe to make sure the way continues to be free of obstacles." Harry his lower lip, knowing the Headmaster was indirectly telling one of his fathers to go down the pipe and quite possibly their death.

He didn't like this not one bit and stepped forward; "Dad, if you or papa Luc are going to down there take Ebony with you. She can protect you and warn you if someone or something is coming toward you. And I can see through her eyes so I'll know you're safe. And if something tries to hurt you I'll be able to tell whoever stays here and we can get to you quickly."

His fathers looked at each other and once again communicated through their eyes and facial features; after a minute Lucius glared harshly at his dad and stepped toward Harry and Draco; "It seems Severus will be the one to go while I stay here and protect our sons."

Harry could tell how much his papa liked this idea and he wasn't exactly a big fan of it either but trying to talk his dad out of it would be like trying to convince a Niffler to not go after gold; pointless and exhausting. Knowing there was nothing for it at this point Harry stepped forward until he was in front of his dad and hugged him around the middle; "Be safe, dad. Ebony will be with you so she'll make sure you know if something is coming."

Severus wrapped his arms around Harry's back and gave him a squeeze; "I'll be fine, Harry, but I want you to promise me something. No matter what you see through Ebony's eyes you will not come to my aid. You won't rush in to save me; you will stay here where it's safe and let the adults take care of it, no matter how much you want to." The younger raven pulled away and looked into his dad's beseeching dark eyes and nodded in lieu of answering verbally.

His dad smiled and with one more squeeze let Harry go and moved to speak quietly to Lucius and give Draco a one armed hug before stepping up to the opening in the sinks. While Severus observed the opening Ebony slithered over to him and ascended his body in a circular motion until she was wrapped around his dad's body, her large head on his shoulder. Harry called to his familiar and spoke when she turned towards him; "Keep him safe down there, Eb. If you see any snakes please speak to them and let them know dad isn't a threat to them."

Ebony nodded regally, taking her job of protecting her Master's father seriously and turned back around and nudged Severus with her nose, lending him some support. His dad smiled down at the large snake and took a deep breath before he sat down on the tiled floor and slid into the pipe.

The rest of them waited to see what would happen and when they didn't hear any screams after a minute Harry accessed the bond he had with his familiar and looked around through her sharp eyes. The raven looked around the room Severus and Ebony were standing in; it was lit with torches, circular and dirty, filled with skeletons of rats and other small animals. It set Harry on edge when he thought about what could have brought those animals into the Chamber.

Through their bond he related his fears to Ebony and felt his familiar mentally agree that something that smelled snakelike lived down there at some point but it wasn't close to them at the time; if the unknown snake was still there at all. Harry reiterated his words about keeping his dad safe and remained silent while he watched Severus cast several spells to figure out if this place was actively warded against intruders; it was not.

His dad's dark eyes turned to look into the serpentine orbs of Ebony; "Is Harry watching us right now?" His snake nodded and Severus seeing this spoke again; "Harry, please let the Headmaster know that this place is clear of aggressive wards and you all may come down but be careful as the pipe just dumps you onto the ground."

Harry's familiar nodded once more to show his dad that Harry had listened and understood. Once the younger raven heard all his dad had to say he pulled away from Ebony's mind and blinked a few times before turning to Dumbledore; "Dad says to tell you it's safe to enter and there are no aggressive wards stopping us. Also, be careful when we slide down the pipe since it drops you onto the floor."

"There's something else I picked up when I entered Ebony's mind and looked around the room dad's in; I saw a lot of skeletons on the floor and Ebony explained she could sense some sort of serpent lived down in the Chamber but she couldn't sense it close to them. So, we should be careful; I'm not sure if the snake is still there but judging by the size of the bones we won't be encountering a simple Garter snake."

The old man nodded and walked to the open pipe, pointing his wand at the stone entranceway Dumbledore swiftly sliced the air three times and when he was done he lowered his wand and turned back toward them; "I have cleaned and placed a mild Sticking Charm on the pipe so we may descend slowly and not be dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. Lastly, I placed a ward on the pipe to prevent any animals from leaving and getting into the school."

Before he could move to enter the pipe Lucius stepped forward, stopping Harry's progress in coming closer to the pipe's opening; "I think one of us should go first then the boys and then the one adult who remains." The old man said nothing and simply ducked down and began to walk downward into the tunnel, slowly Harry lost sight of Hogwarts' Headmaster.

When they could no longer see the wizard's white hair Lucius turned back to his sons; "Now that we are alone I want to repeat what was said earlier; you are not to go off on your own no matter how interesting the situation may appear to be. Also, you both are not to interfere in anything, no matter what you see or hear."

"If either of you feel you can't agree to these requirements I will leave you with McGonagall and Flitwick. Can you both still agree to these requirements?" Draco huffed and rolled his eyes; "I can, father. I'm no fool and I don't have a death wish. If anything goes wrong down there I'm grabbing Harry and running like the hounds of hell are after us."

Harry looked at his brother and smiled, trust his blonde sibling's sense of self-preservation to trump all; he was just happy his brother would remember to grab him in his strategic retreat from the Chamber and the dangers within it. His thoughts stopped when he realized his papa was waiting for his verbal answer, apparently a mere nod would not suffice; "Papa Luc, I'll do as you ask because as much as I would like to help I know I'll only get in the way."

"But if there is a massive deadly snake down there I'm not leaving anyone to be killed or maimed if I can stop it. If I can't talk it out of hurting anyone we will all get the hell out of there. Is that alright?" Lucius just rolled his eyes and agreed to his surrogate son's compromise, knowing full well that Harry's Gryffindor tendencies to help were rearing their stubborn head and would not settle until he felt all was well.

Harry beamed in regards to his victory over his papa but didn't savor it for too long; they had things to do at the moment. Conversation over with Harry moved to enter the downward sloping stone tunnel, without a look back he walked inside the cyclinder of stone and began the tortuously slow descent into the room that held his dad and Dumbledore.

After about three minutes he reached the skeleton filled room and quickly went to stand by his parent and familiar; Ebony moved off Severus and coiled herself around Harry's feat, obviously realizing that in her twelve foot form Harry couldn't support her massive bulk. For this consideration Harry was thankful, he had no desire to face plant into the dirty floor under his serpent's heavy weight.

No one spoke again until Lucius and Draco strode into the stone chamber; when they finished brushing themselves off the older blonde surveyed the room and gestured toward the off shooting corridor; "What's down there?" Severus looked behind him and squinted his onyx eyes; "I didn't go down there to check but I did scan it with every Detection Charm I know and it came back clear so no wards or living creatures are down there."

Lucius moved toward the corridor Severus joining the blonde when he moved past him and together they advanced into the hallway, drawing their wands to the ready. All five of them twitched when more torches sprang to life, this time illuminating the dank corridor for all to see. The sight that greeted them was more disturbing than the myriad of dead animal bones; the hall was playing host to several large shed snake skins.

The skins were massive and quite beautiful, even if they were a faded representation of what the snake's true colors would look like. The coloration sparked some remembrance in Harry's memory, causing him to fervently try and remember why that color skin should make him feel uneasy.

It was when Ebony reared up in fright and hissed a sound of distress when she encountered the shed skin that the puzzle pieces fell into place; "Dad, Papa, there's a Basilisk in here somewhere! Let Ebony go in front of you since she can sense it coming closer and try and speak to it. I'll enter her mind so I can warn you if it comes close and you can get the hell out of there."

Draco stepped close to him and grasped his arm in fear, those grey eyes were blown wide in terror but even he had to laugh when Severus grumbled back; "Fine, we shall let Ebony go first and watch you language Harry James Potter-Snape or I will wash your mouth out with soap!"

Harry snorted; trust his dad to reprimand him for one little swear word in a situation like this! Really he loved the man but sometimes the older raven needed to calm down a little bit. Apparently, Lucius felt the same; "Severus, really now is not the time to correct the boy on his language besides I find his choice of words oddly appropriate for the situation."

A muffled smack was heard along with a yelp from Lucius; "Really, Lucius, we are parents and parenting doesn't stop just because the situation is dangerous. Now can we please focus on what we are supposed to be doing?" Harry heard Lucius huff but the blonde man said nothing; this made Harry smile. He loved how his parents acted when they were together, how well they worked together, and how they played off each other so well.

In his parents relationship there was no fight for dominance or argument on who would lead. Both men knew there strengths and weaknesses and saw no shame in admitting them to the other. One day Harry wanted that with someone but he had time to figure it out when he was older and more mature.

His dad's voice calling his name alerted Harry to the fact that he was needed down the hallway, quickly he made his way to his parents; "What's the...dad what are you doing with that snakeskin?"

Lucius rolled his silver eyes but remained silent; well at least the blonde wasn't going to dig the hole he was in with Severus any deeper. Severus on the other hand was grinning triumphantly while he rolled up a rather long piece of Basilisk skin; obviously feeling very pleased with himself.

Once the skin was wrapped up and slipped it into his cloak Severus looked at his confused son; "Harry, do you know how rare Basilisks are? How much any part of them goes for on the market or how useful their shed skin can be in Potions?" Harry shook his head in exasperation at his dad's sometimes one track mind; of course the skin would be used for Potions!

How could Harry be so dense as not to know that?! Forgive him for forgetting that brilliant piece of information since he thought the threat of a fully grown Basilisk should have taken the forefront of his mind not the collection of its leavings for Potions ingredients!

Exhaling a deep breath he spoke; "Dad, now that you're done collecting your prize can you tell me what you needed me for. Oh and we should call Draco and Dumbledore down here so they can hear what you have to say too."

Lucius grumbled something that sounded like insane Potions Master and their ill-timed inappropriate behavior but the blonde shut up when Severus glared murder at him. Harry eyes were probably going to get stuck inside his head with how far they rolled back; truly sometimes they acted like they were still Harry's age.

Thankfully, Severus turned to Harry, his face and eyes blank once more; "We believe this is the door that leads into the Chamber of Secrets and as such we need you to open it." Harry nibbled his lip in thought; should he open it? The Basilisk may be in there, waiting to make a meal out of them.

That was a very real possibility after all; Voldemort had passed through in his Quirrell suit and Merlin knew what the maniac told the massive snake to do to anyone who intruded. Taking another deep breath he walked forward until he was face to stone with the circular door; "Dad, if I open this I want you to let Ebony go first; I'll close the door and let her check around for the Basilisk."

"If she doesn't sense it anywhere near you can go in but if she does I won't let anyone go in. I don't want anyone to get hurt." Harry saw his dad's black eyes soften a bit and he stepped close enough to place a hand on the younger raven's shoulder; "I promise neither myself nor Lucius will go in if the Basilisk is indeed around. I cannot speak for Dumbledore but if he chooses to it is on his own head as he knows the danger of entering."

Harry nodded in understanding; Dumbledore was a grown, competent wizard if he decided not to heed Harry's warning then anything that happened was his own fault. Lucius broke into their little moment just then; "Can we please send for Draco and Dumbledore now? I want to get this over with and go home so I can take a bath, this place is disgusting."

Both ravens just sighed and looked at the grimacing blonde, each wondering why they put up with either snobbish blonde. Severus spoke, his voice loud so it would carry to where Draco and the Headmaster were standing; "The way is clear if you both would like to come down here so we may proceed." Within a minute they heard the sound of footsteps and saw the remaining two members of their group approach them.

Draco looked at the large circular door in awe of it; Harry couldn't fault him for his reverence. So far the Chamber hadn't struck any of them as grand but this door was beautiful in an eerie sort of way. The circular door was made of stone with several snakes etched in its face; some of the snakes had emeralds in their eyes and seemed to be more alive than most of their stony serpent brethren.

Harry wondered how long it would have taken someone to create something so large and detailed; this truly showed how gifted the Slytherin Founder was with magic. To create something like that door with such precision was amazing and he wondered if he should experiment with stone working as an outlet for his excess energy? Hmm it was something to think about along with taking on animagus training.

After Severus was done explaining the plan to Dumbledore and Draco he nudged Harry's shoulder, breaking him out of his wandering thoughts; "Harry, please open the door and send in Ebony." The emerald eyes wizard nodded and hissed to his familiar; "Ebony, did you understand what I want you to do?" The large black snake slithered forward and stopped next to him; "I did and I will be careful Master. I know about Basilisks and what their eyes can do but hopefully the King of Serpents will not be within the Chamber."

"And if he is I hope to be able to speak with him so we may know if that bad man has come through here and if he is still within the Chamber." Harry crouched down and stroked his familiar's scaly head while channeling his warm affection he felt for her and thankfulness that she was willing to risk herself for him through their bond. In turn she hissed and nuzzled his hand before pulling away and waiting for Harry to open the door.

All set the green eyed boy stood and hissed at the door, using the same password as before; "Open." A moment later two of the snakes with emerald eyes began to move around the door in a circular direction, each going the opposite way until they met on the left side, nose to nose, and the door made grinding sound as it opened just enough for one person to enter.

Ebony took this as her cue to enter and did so with little preamble; the minute her scaly tail slipped into the Chamber Harry closed the door with the hissed word "Close" and entered his familiar's mind to see what was happening inside. In the back of his mind he heard his dad speaking to Dumbledore but he ignored it and sank completely into his familiar's mind.

Looking through Ebony's eyes Harry noted that the Chamber was a massive, rectangular room with large pillars showcasing snakes wrapped around them on the left and right. Shallow pools of murky, iridescent water were interspersed between the stone pillars; it was quite intimidating from Ebony's low vantage point.

Harry watched as his familiar made it to the end of the pillars and looked up at a twenty foot tall statue of what must be Salazar Slytherin; the man sported a long beard to his waist like Dumbledore and even in stone his robes looked rich and well-made. The stone monolith stood in a large pool of water, it's mouth was open for a reason that Harry did not know.

Seeing nothing of note the raven urged his familiar to hiss out a greeting and see what happened. The response was quick and terrifying; a monstrous fifty foot Basilisk emerged from Slytherin's open mouth and began to descend to the stone floor of the Chamber. He felt Ebony's fear and urged her to go but his brave serpent disregarded his order, not wanting leave yet until she tried her best.

The Basilisk settled it immense bulk onto the floor and shifted until it was coiled up and looking at Ebony with interest. Harry and Ebony looked away from the snake's gaze, not wanting to be petrified, and flinched when the King of Serpents gave a hissed chuckle; "Little snake you may look at me; I will not hurt you as my Master has asked me to deliver a message to your Master Harry Potter-Snape."

Ebony hearing her Master's name turned her head back so she could look at the snake in front of her. Instead of seeing bright yellow eyes she saw bright orange, meaning the large deadly snake had closed it second eyelid to shield Ebony from its leathal gaze. Regaining her composure quickly Harry's familiar hissed; "What message does you Master have for mine? And who is your Master? If I may ask."

Harry just sat back inside his familiar's head and let her do her thing; she was a snake after all and understood the ways of serpents better than Harry ever would. The monstrous snake answered; "My Master is Tom Riddle; the Heir of Slytherin but for reason he enjoys using the name of Lord Voldemort. My poor Tom has become lost but today he seemed almost sane even if he was attached to the back of that man's head."

"But I digress; he asked me to extend his apologies in regards to your Master's parents' death. He wished for me to tell Harry Potter that he holds no ill will towards him for a prophecy made by a half-witted sherry guzzling mad woman."

"He says he wishes not to fight with Harry Potter-Snape any longer and will stay away from him and those he considers his loved ones from now on." Harry just sat there in shock; the Dark Lord wanted nothing to do with him and would leave him be.

The man even apologized for killing his parents; not that Harry would forgive him but it was something and a hell of a lit more than Harry ever hoped to attain from the reputed cold-hearted and murderous Dark Lord Voldemort. Well this was an unexpected development and one he needed to speak to his fathers about but for now he would do what he came to do.

Harry murmured internally to Ebony that she may accept the serpent's apology on behalf of her Master and reminded her to find out if the Dark Lord was still there. His scaly friend mentally nodded and began hissing to the large snake before her; "My Master accepts your apology. Is your Master Tom still within the Chamber or has he left? By the way King of Serpents; what is your name?"

Another hissing chuckle was released from the fifty foot behemoth; "My name is Astaroth and what may your name be little snake?" Harry swore Ebony blushed or did the equivalent of a blush when the massive snake asked for her name and leaned forward to nudge her much smaller head in a surprisingly gentle way with his massive block of a skull.

That was an odd action for the massive snake to make towards Ebony and Harry decided to inquire what it was about later when they were safely back home in France. Ebony shifted so he was facing the large snake and looking directly into its reflective orange eyes; "My name is Ebony and would you please answer my earlier question; is you Master still here or has he gone?"

Astaroth hissed back his reply and explained that his Master was gone and had been for quite some time. Harry felt relieved but disappointed; relieved since it meant his parents wouldn't be hurt in confronting the Dark Lord but disappointed that they didn't stop the Dark Lord from escaping with the Stone.

The Basilisk's next words snapped Harry's attention back onto the hissed conversation. "Ebony, do you think you would be willing to visit with me down here in the Chamber? It has been a long time since I've had a companion to speak to and I've become lonely. Would you consent to visiting me here? Your Master may come as well since it is always nice to talk to a Speaker like him."

Ebony demurred; "I will ask him when I leave this place and when we return to the castle after the Yule holiday I will give you my answer. But now I must return to my Master and relay to the others what you have told me. Be well King of Serpents and I will return when school begins again."

The massive snake merely nodded its massive head and moved to re-enter the statue of Salazar Slytherin but before he disappeared he explained how Ebony could get into the Chamber without using the bathroom entrance; it seemed there were several pipes that led into the Chamber that were not accessible to the students and Harry had no plan on telling anyone about the alternate entrances.

He knew with every fiber of his being that someone would try to get into the Chamber and would end up killing themselves or killing the Basilisk; that was something that would not be allowed to happen. Once Astaroth was done explaining the way to Ebony he disappeared and that was the signal for his snake to leave and rejoin the others.

Harry pulled away from his familiar's mind and settled back into his own so he could open the Chamber door and retrieve his brave serpent. His dad stepped up to his side; "What's happened, Harry? Is everything alright in there?" The emerald eyed boy looked at his dad while he hissed for the door to open and replied when the door swung inward, letting Ebony emerge; "Yes, everything is fine. Ebony spoke to the Basilisk and found out that the Dark Lord is gone, has been gone for a long while now."

Dumbledore deflated before he examined what Harry said; "Wait, Harry, you mean to tell me that the Basilisk is still alive? We must go in there and destroy it before it hurts someone." The Potter-Snape glared at Dumbledore while he hissed an indignant "Closed." Once he heard the satisfying clack that signaled the door had sealed itself once again he spoke to the Headmaster; "I will not be doing anything of the sort. That snake has been residing in that Chamber since Salazar's time and no one has been hurt to my knowledge."

Dumbledore looked at him with those twinkling eyes and spoke to Harry as one would a petulant child; "But the Basilisk has harmed someone, over fifty years ago it murdered a student names Myrtle Caverask or as you know her Moaning Myrtle. I cannot allow that animal to remain alive; it is a threat to the safety of the people inside this school."

Harry snorted rudely; "Really, Headmaster, where was your concern for the safety of this school, and its students, when you agreed to harbor the Stone within its walls? Astaroth will not be harmed; he was placed here by Slytherin himself and I believe a Founder's desires far surpass yours. So, I will not opening the Chamber and I will not allow you to harm him."

The Headmaster looked like he wanted to say something to force Harry to do what he wanted but was unceremoniously silenced when his dad stepped forward; "Headmaster, we've found out that the Dark Lord is no longer here and as such my son and my family are no longer required or needed. I believe it is time to leave this place seeing as Harry has made his mind up and will not be letting you into the Chamber to destroy the thousand year old serpent."

With that Severus Snape stalked away from their group and down the torch lit corridor, Lucius made to follow but stopped and glared at Dumbledore, a sneer plastered on his aristocratic face; "And Dumbledore don't think I won't be bringing this debacle up with the Board of Governors; I think you've let your position go to your head. You are the Headmaster not some omnipotent being who has the right to use this school as their own personal playground."

"Come along Harry, Draco, we're leaving. I want to be getting home soon so we may rest before we greet the day as a family." Harry smirked smugly at the Headmaster, cherishing his victory over the old man; he didn't know why he felt so strongly about protecting Astaroth but he did and until he saw concrete proof that the Basilisk had in fact murdered a student of its own free will then he would continue to keep the ancient serpent safe.

Draco strutted, proud as a peacock out of the chamber and down the hallway; no doubt the younger blonde was enjoying Dumbledore's dressing down at the hands of their parents. Harry looked away from the old man and joined his papa; together the two of them made their way to where Draco and Severus were waiting for them. Dumbledore followed at a more sedate pace, a brooding look upon his wrinkled face.

Together the five of them began the trek back up the pipe and Harry was silently grateful for the Sticking Charm, otherwise they wouldn't have made it three feet up the stone tube. After ten minutes of schlepping they re-entered the bathroom. When they were all out of the pipe Harry hissed a quiet; "Closed." Once the sink was back in its rightful place the little family, Ebony included, exited the bathroom and made their way out of the castle and out of the castle gates, ignoring Dumbledore's calls for them to stop. Harry had no interest in listening to the old man and it seemed his sentiments were shared by the rest of his family.

Once they passed through the wards Ebony shrunk herself back to her previous length of two-feet and slithered up and into Harry's robes, settling herself tightly around his shoulders in preparation for the uncomfortable process of apparition. After Harry nodded that his familiar was secure Severus grabbed Harry into his arms and apparated them back to their home.

When the four of them landed in the house they moved to sit down in the living room; each of them lost in their own thoughts about what happened tonight. Harry, for his part, was trying to figure out how to convey the Dark Lord's message to his family and decided the best way was to just say it. He cleared his throat and looked at his fathers, when their attention was on him he spoke; "The Dark Lord, or should I say Tom Riddle, gave a message to the Basilisk to give to me."

HIs parents and Draco room froze in fear and trepidation until Lucius grasped Severus' hand and gestured for Draco to join them on the large sofa. When the three of them were settled on the couch and looking at Harry the older blonde nodded for Harry to continue with what he had to say.

The emerald eyed wizard began to explain the message in his own words; "Riddle told the Basilisk that he has no issue with me and will leave my loved ones and me alone. He said he didn't believe in the prophecy anymore and had no issue with me. He also apologized for killing my parents. I don't know what to make of it, really. I'm not sure if the man is being sincere or trying to lay a trap for me to fall into. I'm very very confused."

Severus waved his hand at Harry in a gesture that Harry understood as an invitation to join the rest of his family on the couch. Without a second thought Harry moved to sit at his dad's side and happily allowed himself to be pulled into the older raven's embrace. The emerald eyed boy allowed himself a moment of comfort and nuzzled into his dad's side, cataloguing the scents that always seemed to hover around his dad; sage, anise, and something wild like the way the forest smelled after it rained.

He felt calmer and less confused now that he was leaning against the man he considered to be his true father. Yes, their DNA was different but while Severus may not be the father of his blood he was the father of his heart and Harry loved him more than the world.

Severus tightened his arm around Harry's shoulder before he pulled away until he could look into Harry's green eyes and spoke; "I cannot say what the Dark Lord plans to accomplish by this message but for right now we can only wait and see what happens. We will be prepared for anything. This message could either be a portent of good things to come or unspeakable horrors but I'm inclined to think it's more likely to be the former than the latter."

"Before the Dark Lord fell he was mad, a raving, paranoid lunatic with a wand. This message goes against everything I have come to believe and expect from the Dark Lord. If he was still insane he would have commanded the Basilisk to murder anyone who tried to follow him into the Chamber but he didn't; he asked the snake to deliver a message to you, Harry."

"Somehow he knew Dumbledore would call for you to open the Chamber and made sure he got his message to you in a way that Dumbledore could not interfere with it. That is a level of planning and thought I believed the Dark Lord no longer capable of. What are your thoughts, Lucius?"

The older Malfoy looked thoughtful for a moment; "I would have to agree with Severus; this message is unexpected and we don't know enough about the Dark Lord's aims and goals to make a proper guess. At this point we take his offer of a truce at face value but remain aware that his amnesty could be revoked in an instant; if that were to happen we must be prepared to do what we must to survive."

Draco shivered and sunk deeper into Lucius' side but remained quiet; Harry could sympathize with him. So much had happened tonight and it was almost too much to take in at once. The Dark Lord had the Sorcerer's Stone and was going to resurrect himself. The man he thought to be his greatest enemy had offered him and his family a tentative truce, disregarded the prophecy that until tonight had ruled both their lives since Harry's birth, and had not made a move to harm anyone in his successful attempt to steal the Stone.

It was overwhelming and that wasn't taking into account that there was a thousand year old Basilisk under the school by the name of Astaroth and if Dumbledore was to be believed the snake had killed a student over fifty years ago; was that even true? Maybe papa Luc could look into Dumbledore's claim?

Surely there would be records of such an event and he knew the girl's name so that should narrow down Lucius' search. He didn't trust anything the Headmaster said anymore, not that he ever really did. The old coot was too slippery for his own good and something about the way he looked at Harry set him on edge. Dumbledore looked at Harry like he was shiny prize that he just had to have.

But Harry was no prize, not at all, and he would not be owned or manipulated by the old man. He would attend Hogwarts and help out if he was needed, much like he did tonight, but he wouldn't be Dumbledore's do-boy. And now that his family, including himself, had a somewhat truce with the Dark Lord Harry would not interfere with the man's plans unless they hurt anyone.

Harry was still young and untrained and picking a fight with the Dark Lord was stupid, bordering on insane, and Harry may be many things but stupid isn't one of them. The raven also couldn't forget that the Dark Lord; you know what Harry was going to call him Riddle it was his true name after all, Harry couldn't just forget that Riddle was attached to Quirrell's head all term and never once had the man tried to hurt him, if anything the stuttering teacher always tried to help him in classes.

Those weren't the actions of a murder driven psychopath hell-bent on Harry's early demise. Those were the acts of a man trying to show, even if Harry was unaware of it, that he had no further quarrel with the Potter-Snape. Judging by Riddle's actions Harry had to concede that the man probably had no ill will toward him at this time but like his fathers said they would be vigilant and keep an eye out.

However, as long as Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, didn't attack anyone or begin his next reign of terror Harry would stay out of his way. His parents joined the man for a reason and he was curious as to what that reason was; his dad always glossed over it since he felt it unimportant as the Dark Lord was not the same man he was when Severus and Lucius joined the Death Eaters.

Now, though, it seemed important to know what a sane Tom Riddle stood for but right now he was too tired and wrung out to think about it. Right now he wanted to slip back into bed and sleep until they had to rise in a few hours to greet the sun.

It was their Yule tradition after all and it was these steadying events that were keeping him calm, this normalcy and routine would keep his mind grounded in the here and now, stopping him from falling into the should haves, could haves, and would have's that tended to plague him when he was unsure or confused about things.

The day after Yule he would ask Lucius to investigate Dumbledore's claim of Astaroth killing a student; then he would ask his dad why he decided to follow the Dark Lord Tom Riddle. He would also question his fathers on why Dumbledore decided to keep the Stone at Hogwarts in the first place.

Then when Harry had all his answers he would really focus on how he felt about this truce with his parents murderer; sure it was a relief to not worry about being hunted down like a dog but was it best for him to stay out of the Riddle's way and not stand up to him?

He shook his head and leaned into his dad, releasing a jaw shattering yawn; "I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Will you wake me when it's time to greet the sun, please?" His dad pressed a kiss to the crown of his head; "Of course, now to bed with you. Oh and Harry I'm proud of you; you did something incredibly brave tonight and you showed great maturity and intelligence. I'm proud to call you my son."

Harry leaned back and beamed up at his dad before wrapping his arms around the older man's middle and squeezing until Severus spluttered; "Harry, child, I can't breathe!" With his smile still in place the emerald eyed wizard backed off his dad and stood, giving his papa a hug as well before he left the room to go back to sleep.

Lucius murmured his sentiments of pride in Harry's ear when they hugged, making Harry feel even better than he did before. His parents were proud of him and that meant the world to him; that's why he did what he did to make himself and his family proud and they were. Yeah, the night was shit but this moment made it worth it.

Draco just smiled and stood to leave the room with Harry so they could ascend the stairs together. When they reached the second floor landing and went to go their separate ways to their bedrooms the blonde snagged Harry's forearm in a tight grip; "I'm proud of you too, Harry. I'm proud that you didn't run off once to almost get yourself killed like a moronic Gryffindor." The raven just rolled his green eyes and pushed his brother's shoulder playfully; "Oh, well I have your sterling examples to follow, dear brother."

"For as long as I follow the examples of the all mighty Draco Malfoy I shall be fine." They both stared at each other before breaking down in a fit of giggles. Yes, this night may have brought many trials and possible tribulations to them but it was moments like this that made it all worth it.

Harry parted from his brother with a hug and made his way to his bedroom to strip down to his pajamas; his bed was calling him, hell the mattress was screaming at him to get his bottom back under the soft, warm covers. Harry didn't even have the energy to unwind Ebony from where she was still perched around his shoulders under his newly re-donned pajamas before he fell into bed and succumbed to his exhaustion.

Alright, this chapter really got away from me. I'm not 199% satisfied with it but it's as good as it's gonna get at the moment. I could have glazed over their excursion to the chamber but that felt wrong. I like to be as detailed as possible in my writing since I think it sets a better stage and gives the reader a change to actually imagine the scene I'm writing in their head.

Anywho, next chapter Harry has some fun with Theo; basically he gets to act like an eleven year old. And some conversation between Harry and his family about what is to come. And maybe a look into what our dear sane Dark Lord is up to.

Below is some information about Astaroth I found on Wikipedia; I found the use of the name Astaroth for the Basilisk to be very appropriate. And no Ebony and the Basilisk will not be involved sexually; I have no desire to write a snake sex scene; thank you very much! : ) They'll be friends and at some point Harry will meet Astaroth face to face.

All Mistakes Are My Own!

Astaroth

Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth), in demonology, is a Crowned Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.

Background

The name Astaroth was ultimately derived from that of 2nd millennium BCPhoenician goddess Astarte,[1] an equivalent of the Babylonian Ishtar, and the earlier Sumerian Inanna. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the forms Ashtoreth (singular) and Ashtaroth (plural, in reference to multiple statues of him). This latter form was directly transliterated in the early Greek and Latin versions of the Bible, where it was less apparent that it had been a plural feminine in Hebrew.

The pseudepigraphal work Testament of Solomon, attributed to King Solomon of Israel, but thought to date to the early centuries AD, mentions "Asteraoth" (in Greek) as an angel, who is opposed to the demon of power. (cf. 1 Kings 11:4-5)

The name "Astaroth" as a male demon is first known from The Book of Abramelin, written in Hebrew ca. 1458, and recurred in most occultgrimoires of the following centuries. Astaroth also features as an arch-demon associated with the qliphoth (adverse forces) according to later Kabbalistic texts.

He is referred to in The Lesser Key of Solomon as a very powerful demon. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with feathered wings, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a beast with dragon-like wings and a serpent-like tail. According to Sebastien Michaelis, he is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness, vanity, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents.

According to Francis Barrett, Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against man are stronger.

According to Ars Goetia, "The Twenty-ninth Spirit is Astaroth. He is a Mighty, Strong Duke, and appeareth in the Form of an hurtful Angel riding on an Infernal Beast like a Dragon, and carrying in his right hand a Viper. Thou must in no wise let him approach too near unto thee, lest he do thee damage by his Noisome Breath. Wherefore the Magician must hold the Magical Ring near his face, and that will defend him. He giveth true answers of things Past, Present, and to Come, and can discover all Secrets. He will declare wittingly how the Spirits fell, if desired, and the reason of his own fall. He can make men wonderfully knowing in all Liberal Sciences. He ruleth 40 Legions of Spirits.".