Chapter 8

"And since you lot have been working so wonderfully together, you get a reward." Harry told the 5th year Slytherins and Ravenclaws who had him for Defense this period. Murmurs started flying across the room, mainly speculations of what kind of rewards they would get. Harry chuckled at one of the students' comments. "No Ms. Roper, your rewards is not lack of class." The students snickered lightly and she was, yet again, amazed at how Professor Potter could hear her over the hubbub when she was sure to be so quiet. "Instead we'll be going on a sort of field trip to an area within the school shrouded in secrets. Yes Mr. Dodderidge?"

"If it's within the school, wouldn't we have already been there?"

"Absolutely not. Yes Ms. Potts?"

"Where is it?"

"You're just going to have to wait and see. Now, everybody gather your things, and cast those charms you've learned from Professor Flitwick to keep your robes clean. We're going to a rather dusty place." Harry ordered. Minutes later they were walking down the halls, neither class aware that they were about to get both their house's dreams come true. "Now, I've had a bit of a hard time setting this up with Headmistress McGonagall, in fact it's taken all week, hence why the trip is today instead of Monday like I had wanted it to be. The Slytherins will appreciate this as a link to their founder's mystery, and the Ravenclaws as a chance to study something so few people have ever had the luck to see." He chatted on with them about various school trivia, until they finally reached the second floor.

"Uhh, why are we headed towards the girl's bathroom?" Craig Kneen, a Slytherin asked.

"It's not one we actually use." Susanna Mirfield, a Ravenclaw, informed him. "It's haunted by Moaning Myrtle."

"That is correct, but it is also home to something much more grand." Harry supplied opening the doors and ushering the children inside.

"Ah there you are Mr. Potter." Minerva's voice came out from beside the sinks. "Are you sure you wish to go through with this?"

"Yes Ma'am." Whispers started flying.

"And the... you-know-what, it has been taken care of?"

"Cleaned up thanks in part to the house-elves, but most Professor Snape's hunger to get hold of such potion ingredients."

"Right then." The woman turned to the confused looking class and with a small shake of her head began her speech. "You will be careful in this place, while it has been cleaned a great deal it is still rather unsanitary, hence why you will all be expected to cast the purification charms around your heads. Do that now if you please." Scattered whispers of 'Purgaera' could be heard and everyone had an area of clean breathing air around their heads. "Now, do be careful, no splitting from the group, if we catch someone who has split from the group the entire thing shall be called off, and no stray spells. Do you understand?"

The class chorused, 'Yes Headmistress McGonagall', and Harry gave a slight nod. He ushered them back and felt a nervousness rising in his chest as he located the engraved sink fixture. With one last glance back to the children and a small prayer to any deities that might be listening to keep them in line, he hissed in parseltongue and the sinks started their dance-like movements, opening up as requested.

The students gasped and gazed in awe, many of them finally figuring out just where they were going. They were surprisingly silent as the last sink fell into place and they peered in to the gaping hole. "Torches have been placed along the walls to help with your ability to see, rubble from an old cave-in has been removed to help you walk, passages that lead into the school have been sealed off to keep you from wandering off, and with the help of the best transfigurations professor to ever grace Hogwarts halls, a thin staircase has been added to assist in your ability to get from here to there without having to slide down a mucky dirty pipe as I've had to do. For those of you who have absolutely no idea where we are, or are simply seeking confirmation for such an outlandish idea, we are standing in front of the opening to the Chamber of Secrets crafted by none-other than our own Salazar Slytherin."

Various noises of differing intensities thanks to a range of emotions from elation to astonishment, and even a bit of fear, echoed throughout the bathroom. Minerva interrupted them. "Much like many of the forbidden corridors within Hogwarts walls, if you stay on the path appointed to you and with your guide, nothing harmful will happen, but if you go off on your own, you may find your very own Fluffy."

Of course the students had no idea what she meant by this so Harry had to explain the three-headed dog that the trio had wandered across during their first year. That tale, accompanied by the the one of the 60 foot basilisk that he told as they made their way into the chamber itself, was well enough to keep them on their toes.

Harry took up the lead showing them various bits of the chamber and explaining their purposes. That he mostly knew thanks to Salazar's notes in the diary he'd found in the private office type room within the chamber. Minerva took up the rear keeping an eye on the children so as to ensure they would not try to split from the group.

The Ravenclaws asked lots of questions which both adults tried their best to answer, though some of the questions simply couldn't be answered. The Slytherins wanted a more in depth story about what had happened with the basilisk.

Round about the middle of Harry's tale, the Mirfield girl spoke up again. "Professor Potter, what's that?" She asked, pointing towards a strange silver circle thing sitting in one of the nooks in the beard of Slytherin's statue.

Harry stopped his story and looked towards the object with a slight confusion. How could he have missed that when they were cleaning the place up over the last week? Not only himself but the house-elves too? Well, it was almost perfectly hidden thanks to the lack of light and Ms. Mirfield was known for her surprising ability to solve puzzles, find hidden clues, and search out things that no one else took the time to notice before. "I don't know." He stated simply, walking towards the thing. He slowly reached out his hand to touch it and when his skin made contact with the surprisingly smooth surface of whatever it was, a blast of silver light shot from the object then seemingly fell back into it. "Minerva, get the children out now."

"What about you?" She asked already ushering the boys and girls to the stairs.

"I need to see what this might do." He said levitating the thing with his wand a bit. A few of the children glanced back to see what was happening and gasped when they came to the same conclusion he had. It was an egg of some sort.

(¯`·. Hp/Ss .·´¯)

"You don't think the basilisk I killed could have laid an egg down there, do you?" Harry asked looking over the object that was currently suspended in the air encased in a lavender mist that they had shot at it when it started glowing silver. While the mist didn't stop the glow, it contained it.

"I can think of three reasons why that is improbable." Severus commented.

"Oh really? Do tell."

"One, the basilisk was over 60 feet long and wider than you are tall. Had it lain an egg, said egg would be at the very least three times larger than this based on its relative size and normal egg-to-snake ratio. Two, the basilisk died 8 years ago, and while the chamber had enough of a preservation charm on it to keep the remains usable after that long, it would not have enough to keep an egg lain by said basilisk alive that long without it already hatching. Three, and perhaps most importantly, the basilisk was a male and thus could not lay eggs."

"Well when you put it that way I guess it kinda makes sense." Harry grumbled keeping the mist refreshed with his hand lazily pointed towards its general direction.

"What about the glowing thing?" Alden asked curiously. He was a bit jealous that Harry had taken his house-mates to see the chamber and not him, but he didn't want to say anything about it.

"You mean that it started this whole silver glowing deal specifically after I'd touched it?" Harry asked, receiving a nod. "Yeah, I think I might have set off some sort of spell on it that might make me sick, or worse."

"So that's why you're closed up in there?" The boy asked.

Harry glanced to the almost transparent cube that contained him and the egg. "Yup."

"And you don't want us to get sick or worse in case you are." The boy said almost sadly.

"Precisely." Harry said with an almost apologetic look. Suddenly the egg began to shake slightly. All eyes turned to watch it as a tiny hole was formed from the inside out. A kind of scaly beak poked out from the egg, followed by a forked tongue. A small screech sounded, a very birdlike screech. The group stared at the creature as it's scaled and feathered head popped out, the feathers matted down in a most unpleasant looking way.

"What in the world?" Alden asked.

"Is that what I think it is?" Severus wondered aloud.

"Holy Merlin, that's an occamy." Harry said with wide eyes.

"How did it get to Scotland?" Severus demanded.

"I've no idea!" Harry said in a flustered state while the creature eyed him half sitting in it's egg, which was still floating in the air.

"Where's it supposed to come from?" Alden asked.

"India." Harry supplied.

"The Far East in general. They aren't supposed to be in the UK." Severus supplied. "In fact, it's a class 4 magical creature that's very aggressive and protective over its family. "

The occamy peered around at the people surrounding it, not really noticing the nearly transparent barrier between the one person and the others. What a strange looking bunch of creatures, and what was this weird... stuff that was surrounding it? It let out a sound that was similar to a sneeze then another bird-sounding call.

"Did you hear that pitiful little sound?" Harry asked with eyes not moving from the thing.

"Oh Merlin." Severus knew where this was going to head. Harry would want to keep it and not give it up to someone who could properly care for it, and thus would wind up spending extra time learning about how to do so, and there would ultimately be yet another addition to the family. The immediate family. A (possibly) werewolf metamorphmagus, a rather large cobra that had been born into magic, and whatever you would call Harry now that he had that whole... fracture in his being thing thanks to siphoning the Dark Lord's power. And now, a snake-bird... "We're going to run a foster home for magical creatures of all sorts before this is all over with."

Harry's eyes widened and he looked to his husband while the occamy mimicked his movement. "Can we?" He asked seriously.

"Only if you quit teaching." Snape stated caustically.

"Oh." Harry commented with a sad look. He gave the creature a serious once-over and sighed. "Well it looks like we'll have to give it to someone who can take care of it."

Snape blinked in surprise. That wasn't what he was expecting the young man to say in the least. Alden looked on curiously. "What about Hagrid?"

"Hagrid's not allowed to have any creatures above class 2 any longer. Long story." Harry supplied, reaching out his hand and petting the the feathers and scales, earning a rather strange sound from the creature that might be described as purring... by a drunk wizard with hearing problems.

"What about whoever put it there?" Alden wondered.

Harry's eyes lit up again as he had an idea of who might know just who had brought the thing into Hogwarts to begin with. "Dobby!" He called out awaiting the excitable elf's entrance.

When he popped in, Harry was about to ask if he knew where the egg came from, but Dobby beat him to the punch. "Oh Master Harry Potter Sir has found Kiffy's occamy egg!"

"Kiffy's?" Harry and Severus asked at the same time.

The house-elf hopped around from one foot to the other most happily. "Yes Sirs, Kiffy has been transporting eggs of magical creatures for Kiffy's master and sometimes leaves them eggs in the kitchens or the chambers if Kiffy is called away."

Harry hmm'd thoughtfully. "Well that explains how it got into the Chamber of Secrets. Kiffy! Ah there you are. Here, I think this belongs to you."

The small elf squealed in delight. "Ohhh Master Potter Sir found Kiffy's occamy egg and even hatched it for Kiffy! Master Potter Sir is so thoughtful!" She squeaked out while cradling the creature who was studying her. "What can Kiffy do to repay Master Potter?"

"Well, you could tell me if the silver light the egg emitted when I touched it is going to kill me or not." Harry requested.

"Oh no Sir! Master Harry will not die, the egg light was just Master's protection charm to scare predators away from eating poor little eggy."

"Right... I suppose then that I can come out of here." Harry said with a grin. Just as Kiffy was about to pop off, he tried to hand her the shell pieces, but she refused saying that they were useless, then went on her way followed by Dobby. Useless? These were pure silver, actual silver. These shell pieces would make a very substantial bit of money being sold to a jeweler. Was Kiffy and her master not aware of this?

Just then, Draco's head popped in to their floo. "We found Bill."

"That's great!" Harry said. "Where was he?"

Draco simply shook his head. "You're not gonna like this, you'd better come over here. Bring Severus, leave Teddy and Alden." He ordered, then popped his head back out of the fire.

What happened to Bill?