*laughes* Hehe, it's awesome, if you think about it. I mentioned lemons, and everyone assumed I would be having a sex scene with underage 12 year olds.
But I'm not.
Your reviews and PM's have left me laughing my ass off, bringing a good deal of joy into my week. When I mentioned lemons, it was partially to piss off admins. At the end of the chapter, an omake shall feature the gang eating lemons using words commonly used when describing explicit situations. Just to make the admins mad. Now, without further adiu,
On with the Story
Harry stood dumbly, slightly dizzy from the effects of apparition, staring at the massive building. It was symmetrical, four stories high with grey stone as the base material. Instead of subduing the spirit of the house, it added, with trees, greenery, fountains and grass. Much like the name, the grass was very green and fresh, with small bits of dew scattered on the blades.
"Wow," mumbled Tonks, staring at the massive structure. Tracy, who had been a friend of Daphne before Harry and Tonks joined the group, was still amazed at the sheer size of the building.
"Yup," replied Daphne smugly. "My house. Home of the Greengrass family for over 600 years. On a slightly darker note, 50 percent of the Muggle world's medicinal Marijuana is produced in our greenhouses!" Tonks and Harry nodded, having some knowledge of medicinal goods.
Daphne led the group in, her mother already having left the amazed 12 year olds near the edge of the wards. When they arrived in the entrance hall, the two Muggle raised children gasped, seeing the high vaulted ceiling, huge glass chandeliers, impressive tapestries and portraits, displaying people long since dead, or battles long since fought.
"Beat's the Dursly's any day of the week," stated Harry.
LINE BREAK
On the corner of an average London street, hiding an invisible pub, the worst kind of pub, was a large whale. Closer inspection would reveal it to be a man, but at a distance, anyone could make that mistake.
He was standing next to his car, awaiting the freak of a nephew to show up so he could go home. Looking at his watch, he grimced when he realized it was far past the time he should have been home. The boy had said he would be a few hours, not the entire bloody day and most of the evening.
Looking at his watch, he realized he was probably missing dinner, or whatever was going to pass for it. Seeing no sign of the boy, he hopped in his car, heading for the closest fast food restaurant.
LINE BREAK
Harry woke, the sun momentarily blinding his eyes. Glancing around, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, but a familiar position.
The walls were a light brown stone, with some pictures of moving landscapes. Alone one wall was a floor to ceiling window, overlooking a small lake, a dock below. The bed was large, large enough that he couldn't feel either edge, even with his arms spread out. Speaking of arms...
Holding his left arm was Tracy, using it as a pillow, the light build of muscles cushioning her head. Holding his right arm was Daphne, instead wrapping her arms around it, her back curled into his ribs. And finally, Tonks was lying on top, arms beneath his shoulder blades, effectively hugging him in her sleep. He noticed her hair was colored a deep green color, probably having happened when she slept.
He let himself settle further into the soft folds of the bed, a smile gracing his face. Up until just over a year ago, he hadn't known what friends were. He didn't know what it was like for people to appreciate his presence, or what it was like to be loved, in any sense. And now he had these three girls who were his only and closest friends. They had helped him find the philosopher's stone, and stuck by him even when he downed the potions and jumped through the flames.
Wait a minute.
Gently moving, slowly shifting his weight, he managed to gently roll Tonks next to Daphne. He absently noticed the two of them to hug each other in their sleep, something that amused him. It took only a few more seconds to remove his arm from Tracy, noticing with a bit of a laugh that she curled up to the two girls.
Scratching his head, he wandered over to his trunk, having been magically transported here by the house elves. Unlocking the clasps, he opened the lid, rooting around in the far corner, his arm disappearing inside the expanded depths of the trunk. He groped for a minute, trying to find what he was searching for. A victory cry later and he was holding the red stone.
A source of immortality, the ability to heal almost any ailment. He gazed into the ruby depths, wondering just how much power it actually had. He had initially been shocked to learn that Dumbledore hadn't stolen it back from him, instead deciding to not search his pockets. It was some help that the school nurse had been the one to go with Dumbledore, preventing him from searching Harry's clothes.
He looked at it again, seeing how the light refracted through the edges and bumps. This had to be stored somewhere safe. Somewhere, secure.
LINE BREAK
3 WEEKS LATER
Harry sat in the train car, awaiting the arrival of his friends. While they were saying goodbye to family members, Harry had no family of that sort, so he went on ahead to find an empty car. He found one near the back, with, oddly, nicer seats than last year. He was reading a book on blood magic when he was interrupted.
"Harry! There you are!" exclaimed a brunette Ravenclaw girl. Harry looked up to see Hermione standing in the door.
"Yes, here I am. Care to join me? I'm waiting for Daphne, Tracy and Tonks to show up." She nodded, taking a seat near the window. She looked at the title of his book, a gasp escaping her mouth.
"Harry, isn't blood magic of any variety illegal?" she asked, casting her eyes around, as if the ministry would show up any second.
Harry snickered. "In a way it is." At her questioning look, he continued. "Blood magic is the act of using your blood to draw energy from other means than your magical core. The most common use of this, in recorded history, was dark rituals requiring sacrifices of blood, death, virgins, the whole shebang. Blood Magic, without the sacrifice and ritual part, is in fact just using blood to draw on the energies of the earth into you're magic, through a ritual type fiasco." She nodded unsurely, hoping he would continue.
"The act is symbolic of giving up part of your strength to the earth, letting her lend you a proportional amount. A drop of blood for you would be the same as a volcano on a bad day for the earth." She nodded, finally understanding. Magic was like that, filled with symbolism, double meaning, and idiocracy.
"Regardless, I don't think I'll pursue this branch of magic. It'll arouse too many suspicions, especially with me being in Slytherin. I'm already on an unofficial trail from the rest of the school." She laughed at that statement.
Just as Harry finished explaining, the door slid open, revealing the three girls. They sat down, Tracy next to Hermione, while Tonks and Daphne took up positions next to Harry, Tonks clinging off of his arm.
The train travelled through the countryside, shrouded in anti – Muggle charms, carving a magical path through northern Britain and into Scotland. The occupants of the train car talked about idle things. Mostly about what new adventure the year would bring, classes, and of course the idiocy of a certain red haired student.
They were in the middle of the train ride when the oddest thing happened.
With a crack, a small, grey skinned... thing... apperated into their compartment. Harry, having very little experience with magical creatures, wasn't sure what it was. Daphne, Tracy and Tonks however, growing up in a magical environment, knew exactly what it was.
"A house elf? What are you doing here?" asked Daphne. The elf turned around, facing Harry.
"Oh Mister Harry Potter sirs! Dobby has found you!" he cried. He bowed at Harry's feet, almost kissing the carpet.
"Why are you here?" asked Harry nervously. The house elf righted itself.
"Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter not to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Harry looked around. Off in the distance he could see Hogsmeed village. A little beyond that and Hogwarts would be in sight.
"Umm, you're sort of late... We're almost there..." trailed off Harry. Dobby looked out the window, seeing the station in the distance.
With a crack, the elf vanished, leaving the occupants to wonder just what the hell just happened.
LINE BREAK
It was several weeks later that the monotonous days of school began to get interesting. Harry was on his way back from the Gryffindor Tower Ghost's annual death party, when he heard the oddest of things.
"let me rip let me tear let me kill let me rip let me kill" Harry spun around, hearing the voice. It seemed to come from everywhere yet nowhere. He noticed as he got closer to the wall, he could hear it better. Walking quickly, he got to the other end of the hallway. Next thing he knew he was running, following the noise to where it was going.
He followed the sound of the voice up and out of the dungeons, heading towards the second floor. He listened, running next to the wall, almost losing the voice several times. One of these instances was when he saw what the voice might have been talking about.
Bolting around a corner, he gasped.
Hanging from a brazier, the wall beside it covered in bloody writing, was Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat. He stepped back, noticing idly his feet sinking into the water covered floor. Glancing at the wall, he stared.
In blood was written large, foot tall letters, arching across the wall beside the cat.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware."
"Chamber of what now?" mumbled Harry.
"let me rip let me tear let me kill..." echoed the voice, urging Harry onwards. Another minute of running down halls and up and down stairs led him to the second floor girl's washroom.
"The girls loo?" he wondered, speaking aloud. Cautiously, he pulled out his wand, slowing down to a walk. He opened the door quietly, looking inside.
The room was circular in nature, with stalls surrounding the center sink. The mirrors were dusty and old, and the windows were yellowed and covered in dust. He guessed when it was sunny outside; they cast a warm golden light around.
"Oh look, another boy," drawled a very high pitched feminine voice. Harry jumped as a ghost in the form of a young girl flew out of the farthest stall, shooting for the ceiling.
"Come to laugh at poor, helpless Moaning Myrtil?" she pouted, floating aimlessly through the bathroom. Harry frowned. She was loud, and it might attract people.
"Impedementia!" he whispered. A faint blue distortion flew to the ghost, impacting. She froze, both physically and momentum wise, hovering in the air like a statue. Satisfied, he entered the washroom.
"letmeripletmetearletmekill," whispered the voice, this time echoing from the center of the room. Harry edged his way over, taking a look.
For all intents and purposes, the sink was as it should be. Rounded, with twelve mirrors and matching sinks. The hissing though was coming from the faucets though. Slowly making his way around, he was only able to notice one difference.
One sink had a snake engraved on the pipe. He could hear the voice directly below him, steadily growing quieter and quieter, yet it acquired an echoing quality.
"Maybe there is some secret passage," he guessed.
"Of course, that implies a secret password. Watch, it's something stupid and has a Muggle reference." He chuckled, thinking of a funny password.
"Open Sesame!" he whispered humorously. He almost tripped when the whole sink area split apart into 8 pieces. It sunk into the floor a half foot before sliding back again, repeating until it was flush with a massive pipe leading strait down.
"Oh hell no," he murmured. He took several steps back, pacing. First the funny voice, then Filche's cat, then the girls bathroom, now this.
"No no no... no weird adventure, god knows what's down there." He idly sniffed, recoiling at the smell.
"Yup," he gasped, attempting to find fresh air. "Something nasty down there." He pondered at his odd choice of words. Tonks was wearing off on him.
He glanced down the hole, the hissing growing fainter and fainter. If he didn't now, he might not have another chance.
"Well I'm not going to go and jump down like a Gryffindor." With that, he cast a levitation charm on his shoes, letting him fall gently over a period of five minutes. Far better than jumping, especially when he considered that there was a large pile of bones of varying animals at the bottom.
"God this is disguisting," he groaned, quickly leaving the small 'landing chamber' as he called it. He travelled several hundred meters until he found the first object that set his adrenaline surging.
A large scaled husk, only held together by what looked like a hardened polish between the obvious scales. Looking closer he saw it was a large snake skin. It had a faint green tinge, but for the most part, it was an ivory white. It had to be several dozen feet long. Certainly longer than 50 feet.
His left hand flew to his right, trying to prevent the shaking. Storing his wand, he pulled it to his side, taking several deep breaths.
"Why does that happen?" he hissed to himself, the reverberations of his question bouncing off the walls. The shaking stopped after a minute. Several more deep breaths and he had calmed down, pulling his wand out again. Casting a cheering charm on himself, he immediately felt better.
"Meh, can't be that bad, can it?" laughed Harry, striding forward. Perhaps he needed to tone down his cheering charm.
Turning a corner in the labyrinth beneath the school, he came upon a door. It was circular, with the largest hinge he had ever seen. The door was made of a strange green tinted metal, forged into the very rock around it. 9 snakes were spaced around the door, aimed outwards from a center point on the door. A small tunnel by the hinge was open, flush with the snake locks.
"Why can't the common room door be like that? That's awesome!" he cried excitedly, still under the effects of the cheering charm.
"Open sesame!" he cried, figuring it might work like it did with the sink. He was pleasantly surprised when a tenth snake slid out from the small tunnel, pushing the other nine away from their slots, unlocking the door. It swung open soundlessly, revealing a dark interior.
"Creepy!" smiled Harry, stepping through the door. Still under the effects of an overpowered cheering charm, he took in the surroundings.
Instead of seeing a dank, damp, dark and somewhat depressing stone chamber with stone snakes rising out of black water, he saw a perfect example of magical masonry, mixed in with excellent humidity control and anti mold charms.
"This is nice!" he stated, not caring that a murderous thousand year old magical killing machine was somewhere nearby. His attention was turned to the middle of the room, seeing something quite odd.
"Oh, hello! Are you by chance that first year Weasly Griff?" shouted Harry, running towards the red haired figure.
Said figure was staring at him with confused blood red eyes, looking at him with both shock and anger.
"Potter!" screamed the figure. The voice was warbled, coming out disjointed, as if there was a wall of water between them.
"Yes, that's me, and you are?" asked a cheerful Harry. Deep down, his conscious recognized that this was a very odd situation and he shouldn't be nearly this damn happy.
"Kill him!" screamed the red haired figure. Harry, not knowing her name, only that she was of the Weasly clan, decided to call her 'Bitch.'
"Who you talking to?" asked Harry, faltering. The charm was wearing off, if only slightly.
To the left, the water seemed to explode, a huge figure emerging.
Wrapped in glittering emerald scales, it was 60 feet long, its tail tapering out at the end. Yellow eyes dotted its head, glaring balefully at anything and everything. Pearl white teeth shone inside it's jaw, many inches long. A thin red forked tongue flicked out, determining the location of Harry.
Harry gazed at the creature, something telling him not to look it in the eyes. He marveled at the form, not noticing the first attack.
The tail swept out, slamming into the youth, sending him sliding across the chamber, dipping into the water.
He broke the water, gasping for air. The magical reducing capabilities of Basilisk hide removed the overpowered cheering charm, leaving him with the cold hard facts of the situation. There was a Basilisk. It was mad. It didn't like him. He needed to kill the controller.
Lifting his watch arm, he snapped his fingers, a blue black bolt of electricity shot out, striking the Weasly girl, flinging her backwards. The Basilisk hissed, rearing up. It opened its maw, gathering something. Harry dodged to the left as it launched something from the back of its throat. Thick black venom flew forth, striking the ground where he stood. It splattered against the water, sending a spray of water and venom in a few directions.
"AHHH!" Harry clutched his face, the diluted venom splashed against it.
"W-w-what's the m-m-matter P-P-Potter?" yelled the Weasly girl, slowly getting to her feet. Her limbs were having a hard time responding. Regardless, she got to her feet, madness dancing in her red eyes.
"Consume him my slave!" she screamed. "Make him suffer!"
Only recognizing the pain on the left side of his face, he cast a numbing charm. Despite the anti magical properties of the venom, he successfully numbed his face, if temporarily. He snapped his fingers, striking Weasly again, sending her crashing to the ground, smelling somewhat of excrement. He grinned, only for a split second. Turning his attention to the giant snake, he cursed.
Diving to the left, he avoided a strike from its massive head.
"If I asked nicely, would you bloody well stop that?!" screamed Harry, not expecting much. To his shock, the snake stopped.
"You are a speaker too?" it asked curiously, as if it did not just mortally wound Harry.
"I don't know, you're speaking English!" shouted Harry, the pain starting to return. He could only see out of his right eye. He was not looking forward to meeting with the girls later.
"No, you are speaking my language. To you, it sounds like English." Harry nodded, if briefly.
"If you would be so kind, that... bitch... over there is just going to cause problems. Could you deal with it?" asked Harry. The Basilisk nodded, sliding over.
"Do you want it dead?" it asked. Harry frowned, thinking. Weasly bitch sicked a massive ass snake on his ass, tried to kill members of the school... Killed the cat... to be fair, he didn't have any special attatchment to her. He rather disliked her brothers...
"Go ahead. And then don't come until I call for you," hissed Harry, stumbling towards the exit. He distantly heard the sounds of bones snapping and flesh tearing, right before the massive door closed, snakes sliding into locking position.
[A.N.] There we go! For the most part, book two is over, rushed, done! Sorry I haven't updated in a very VERY VERY VERY long time, but Life has been busy. Summer school, reunion, football, school, grad year... you know, shit like that. Anywho, hope you enjoyed. Dunno when the next chapter will be up. Once Football season is over I'll be updating stuff a bit more frequently. Have a good Halloween!