Chapter 68 – Hogwarts without Dumbledore

The Daily Prophet that was delivered to almost everyone the next morning was full of the stories about the mysterious monster that had petrified a limited number of students at Hogwarts, including the third oldest son of a Ministry of Magic employee – Percival Ignatius Weasley. The other stories went into great detail about the removal of Headmaster Dumbledore and the arrest of a person of interest involved with the activity of the Chamber of Secret's monster. The Minister of Magic proudly proclaimed that he was personally in charge of the investigation that would result in the capture of the unknown beast. Harry had to be restrained from ripping the paper in half and setting in on fire.

"What a lot of shite" Harry said. He balled up the paper he had borrowed from Neville and threw it back casually to his friend. Ron was walking by but stopped and talked to Harry and Hermione. "Dumbledore and Hagrid will probably be back by the weekend. You just wait and see Harry."

"Thanks Ron but I think Minister Fudge seems to be in charge of this mess now. How are your mum and dad doing?"

"You know Dad; he's just keeping his opinions to himself. Mum on the other hand is probably going to be splitting her time away from the Burrow between the infirmary and the greenhouses. The infirmary to make sure that Percy gets dusted at least once a day and the greenhouses to make sure all the mandrakes get watered and fed enough so they can be harvested sooner."

"That sounds like your Mum alright" Hermione said. "Is there anything Harry and I can do for you though?"

"I just have to be patient and get through the next couple of weeks until Percy gets back to normal. I never thought I'd miss the idiot until he wasn't here anymore. Maybe McGonagall will cancel all the end of year tests because of the abnormal stress everyone is under?"

Harry heard his girlfriend mentally yell out a 'No!' but he patted her hand under the table. "Maybe Ron but I wouldn't count on it. You're still going to have to pay attention in class."

Ron's face fell but he just nodded glumly. "And just when I thought the DA was helping my grades. No more of those meetings now." Ron left and went to sit with Fred and George.

A new round of owls descended out of the rafters and Harry got a little worried about how many descended with letters for Prof… Headmaster McGonagall. "She's got to answer every worried parent about whether they should or can withdraw their children early."

"I'm kind of glad my parents don't get the Prophet on a regular basis" Hermione said. "Harry, here comes an owl for you."

Harry took the letter from the barn owl and fed it a piece of bacon before it took wing and disappeared back into the rafters and through the owl ports. Harry saw the letter was in an envelope from Zemdelza's Fine Jewelry and dreaded opening it because he knew it was from Cafzod. A little prodding from Hermione convinced him to get to the news he was expecting. Harry opened the letter and read it rapidly.

"Well, there's no bad news I guess. I'm on my own schedule to come and work until school gets out but Cafzod did request that I brief him on my attempt after I reported in to Wrotkill. I guess I'll just have to ask the headmaster if I can go to Diagon Alley sometime in the next week or so."

'I just thought of another piece of good news Harry.'

'What's that Hermione?'

"At least Draco Malfoy and the rest of those pureblood idiots aren't here to gloat about the current situation. They would be all over the fact that Malfoy senior was one of the ones who had Dumbledore removed.'

'That's true but the rest of the Slytherins aren't quite as scared as everyone else as the monster is supposedly guarding their house. That and no Slytherin has been petrified yet.'

Harry and Hermione fell silent as they contemplated all the changes that were going to happen in the next couple of weeks. Things were not going to be the same with Dumbledore gone.

That proved to be the truth as all the students were herded from one place to the next as professors provided escort duty from one class to the next. Everyone came down to meals in the morning as a group and a number of aurors also were pressed into service to provide an adequate guard for the various classes of students. Even the house elves were pressed in service as they shuttled students instantly from their dorms to the library and back.

Hermione and the more studious individuals found out that it was more convenient to go from their last class directly to the library and then to their common rooms at the earlier curfew at six. A sort of buffet was set up in each of the common rooms to accommodate these people and it quickly became apparent to the people who chose to eat instead of going to the library that the food was not to be shared with others. Ron Weasley, for example, was held upside down for over an hour before he promised he wouldn't touch the buffet unless he had spent time in the library.

Classes were strained to say the least. Everyone was distracted both the changed in safety measures and the fact that the monster was still on the loose in the castle. The fact that every day that went by was another day that no one was attacked didn't seem to make a difference for most of the students. They were edgy, nervous and prone to jump at the least unexpected sounds. It was no surprise that a number of families came to Hogwarts to remove their sons and daughters from the school. Some were talked out of the withdrawal by McGonagall and some more were dissuaded by the presence of Aurors patrolling the corridors. But it was disheartening to see that every breakfast seemed to be eaten with one or more empty chairs than the previous day.

Harry was having a time dealing with a couple other issues. When he inquired of Headmistress McGonagall privately about the location and status of her husband, she would not answer other that he was conducting some investigations in his own time about the Board of Governor's decision.

Harry and Hermione were still trying to figure out who the Heir of Slytherin was. With Malfoy and the other malcontents gone, the person responsible for opening the Chamber seemed to have hidden himself really well. Hermione pointed out that it might actually be a female but Harry countered that with the Slytherin attitude firmly entrenched in the Middle Ages, only a male could safely claim a title. Hermione reluctantly agreed with that assessment and cast a look at the remaining wizards at the Slytherin table. No one there looked old enough or evil enough to have created such chaos.

There were a few professors that had deemed the whole Chamber of Secrets closed with the incarceration of Hagrid. Professor Binns in one of his lectures made the comment that "History often tends to repeat itself as we can see by the end of the recent troubles here at Hogwarts. The guilty side is punished and the world returns to normal." The only thing that stopped Harry from throwing his bookbag at the teacher was the fact that it would just pass through him. Well, that and the hand Hermione placed on his arm to calm him down.

Professor Snape was his usual surly self in the lessons they had in his classrooms. While he tentatively agreed that Dumbledore was the best wizard to be the Headmaster, he also let it be known that 'one or more' of the Board of Governors was lobbying him to apply for the position. Harry and Hermione guessed that Mr. Malfoy senior was the one leading that contingent.

The absolute worse of the professors in this whole period was Lockhart. He went to great lengths in class praising the Ministry of Magic and Minister Fudge personally for doing what was right in "protecting the children of the school". He even went so far to send a letter of congratulations to Minister Fudge praising his actions and for securing the safety of the school. Somehow, that letter found its way to the Daily Prophet and was printed along with a headline and another "marvelous" picture of Lockhart that was soon hung up in his classroom.

The letters of withdrawal decreased with that article but even more after the next day's paper delivery. Lord Gryffindor had written a rebuttal letter to Luna's father and he published it in The Quibbler the next morning. The letter from the Founder Lord's heir complained about the Ministers and Board of Governors' overzealousness in removing the one person that even 'You-Know-Who' (changed by Xenophilius Lovegood) feared. Robb Loxley pointed out that the school was still safe while being patrolled by the Aurors and under the current safety precautions but the monster had still not been discovered. Lord Gryffindor also appealed to the Minister of Magic for the release of Rubeus Hagrid into his personal custody if there were questions about his involvement.

Neville Longbottom looked around at the huge number of owls that delivered a copy of The Quibbler to every single student, professor and Auror at Hogwarts. "Who paid for all this?" he asked.

Harry looked over the copy of the paper he was reading to answer him. "I really don't know Neville. Maybe somebody that was really convinced that Dumbledore and Hagrid were unjustly treated. Hopefully a copy was also delivered to every member of the Wizengamot so they can ask their own questions about the whole matter."

Harry raised the paper he was sharing with Hermione and caught her wink and squeeze to his knee. They had both been outraged by Lockhart's actions (even Hermione was refusing to call him professor anymore except in class) and had thought of a perfectly logical response. Harry had hoped that the use of Lord Gryffindor's title and name would influence the minister and hasten the return of the two adults that he really counted on for friendship and guidance.

That plan didn't see any results that they had hoped for however. The Minister of Magic did not respond to the letter and Gilderoy Lockhart somehow overlooked the word 'rebuttal' and thought that Lord Gryffindor had written some sort of letter of personal recommendation about him. Harry groaned when he heard that in class but bent back to revising the seven books that Lockhart stated were the basis for the final exam in DADA. Ron had been less than pleased when it was announced that all the final exams were going to be held as scheduled. Harry and Hermione sympathized with him and tried including him in all their revising sessions.

Xxxx xxxx

There finally came a morning when a bit of good news was announced. Standing at the beginning of breakfast on Friday, May 28th, McGonagall announced that the mandrakes were deemed mature and could be harvested by Professor Sprout. The cheering from three tables in the Great Hall continued as the Headmistress said that the mandrake draught would be ready in a few more days and everyone that was petrified would be restored.

Harry looked at the lack of reaction from the Slytherin table and wondered why only those few students who had joined the DA seemed to be relieved and happy at the news. Ron was too busy celebrating with the twins to notice what Harry was looking at but Hermione did.

"They just don't know what to do Harry. Nobody from their house got petrified and I think they are just as confused about the whole Heir business as the rest of us are. Without Malfoy and the like there's not a real good leader in the bunch and they are getting their cues from Professor Snape."

Harry shook his head but then he was tapped on the shoulder a little hesitantly. Both he and Hermione turned a little to find an anxious looking Ginny Weasley. She looked like she hadn't got any sleep the previous night as hers features were drawn and her color was definitely off. Hermione thought she might have been crying as her eyes were red-rimmed and a little moist still.

"Hi Ginny. Are you feeling ok? You look like you could use a good night's sleep. Isn't it fantastic news about the mandrake draught?"

A flat voice spoke back to both Harry and Hermione. "Yes, it'll be nice having Percy back with the rest of us. I've had really bad nightmares the last few evenings. I can't even remember what they were but there's been this horrid voice. I was wondering if I could talk to the both of you about something important before supper tonight?"

"Of course, Ginny" Hermione replied. "We've wanted to talk to you for a long time but you've been so sick and quiet lately. What's bothering you?"

Ginny looked like she was about to answer when one of the Grey Ravens from Gringotts landed on the table in front of Harry. Harry took the message from the bird before it took off again. When he looked back however, Ginny had walked away and was sitting by herself at one of the benches and waiting for their escort to class. Harry was upset that Ginny had seemed to want to open up to them but Hermione just reassured him that they would catch up with her later. Harry nodded sadly but then turned back to the letter he had just received. He opened it and then drew in a quick breath of surprise.

"This is from Wrotkill and is seems more than just a courtesy request. He wants to see me this afternoon at 4 o'clock for an 'Official' report of my staff trial."

Hermione frowned. "You better show that to the Headmistress. I don't think she'll turn down your request if she sees that letter. It's not like we have Astronomy tonight – only a short revision in the library."

"But I don't know how long this will take Hermione and I don't want to miss what Ginny wants to tell us."

"It'll be ok. Maybe she'll talk to us sooner or will wait until you get back. I can always meet her myself and tell you later."

"Okay. I'll just go and talk to McGonagall before we head out to class." Hermione watched Harry approach the head table and politely interrupt a conversion between the headmistress and Professor Trelawney. The Divination teacher visibly started when she saw Harry and almost ran away from the table. Hermione wondered what was going on with that but she saw Harry show the letter he had received to McGonagall and saw her head nod in agreement.

Harry returned and picked up the bookbag that Hermione had been holding for him and they both headed off for Charms class. "I have permission to leave as long as I use the portkey that takes me directly to Gringotts and back. She gave me the password to her old office and told me I could come and go from there."

"Do you think she would mind if I waited for you in her office and just read and did my revising while you were gone?"

"I don't think she'd mind since you wouldn't be out in the corridors by yourself but I'd try and catch her and ask to make sure. Maybe Vika could relay the request for you."

"That's great idea Harry. She's been really busy watching all the aurors and corridors but maybe she'll answer a call from me." Hermione and Harry joined the end of the line of students that were headed for the Charms classroom behind Professor Flitwick. The class was a long revision of the spells they had been studying all year and Harry had felt pretty confident about the upcoming final. Hermione was her fretful self as she over-worried about the material she knew so well. Harry had gotten used to her concern about her grades and only tried to calm her down when she became too stressed out.

Ginny seemed to disappear immediately after Charms class so neither of them had a chance to tell her about Harry's absence. Hermione did receive permission to wait in McGonagall's old office. She and Harry studied a bit with an occasional quick snog break for two hours before Harry used his portkey to go to Gringotts for his four o'clock appointment.

Xxxx xxx

The report to Wrotkill wasn't as bad as Harry feared. He just made a total recounting of what happened from the time he left Hogwarts until the time he arrived back. Harry found out that the grove of Everwood trees was in a remote corner of Syria in the Bishri Mountains. When he commented that he was looking forward to returning there in the future, Wrotkill immediately corrected him.

"You will not be returning to that location young wizard. Every trial is different with different circumstances and different locations. Even I don't know yet what your next trial will entail. It is a combination of timing, fate and the stars."

Harry acknowledged the uncertainness of the undertaking but promised the goblin sorcerer that he would be better prepared for the next trial. "I had no idea that I wouldn't be able to outfit myself. I have taken precautions to keep myself better prepared for any eventuality that comes along."

"That would be a better course for you, even when you aren't expecting anything Baltek. You seem to be the center of a lot of unusual occurrences even in what you call your everyday life. It is wiser to be prepared."

Harry thought he been prepared but the facts certainly disputed that assumption. He and Wrotkill ended up talking for a long time about the other staff trials he had personally supervised and other staff trials he had known. It was with some relief that Harry learned that the only human wizard who had succeeded in his first attempt had been name Myrddin. Harry certainly felt relieved as he had no aspirations of being as knowledgeable or powerful as Merlin. It gave him some hope for the next year's attempt.

Somehow the time passed quickly for the time Harry spent in Wrotkill's office. It was with some regret that Harry noted the time and realized that he needed to hurry to get back to Hogwarts before the new curfew. He thanked Master Wrotkill for his time and left the office and Gringotts after transforming himself into Jamie Evans. Jamie passed by Lucius Malfoy as he exited the bank but he refrained from giving in to the urge to trip over him again.

There actually wasn't time to give a full report to Cafzod but Harry decided to drop in quickly and explain he would have to talk to him another day. Jamie had just turned the knob to enter into the back of the jewelry store when a wave of pain and then absence flew through him. Harry fell through the door and looked up to see Galltak. He felt weak and felt an uncontrollable sadness hit him. He hadn't felt so bad since Ginny had disappe- Hermione!

Harry tried reaching out and contacting her and was met with nothing. No answer, no mental voice – nothing remained of his bond and link with her! Harry staggered to his feet and told the goblin apprentice that he had to return to Hogwarts. Harry activated the portkey and was whisked away to leave the befuddled goblin in his wake.

Reappearing in McGonagall's old office, Harry didn't see Hermione or anyone immediately. He was rushing toward the door when Vika suddenly appeared and stopped his movement. "Your cloak Harry. Immediately!"

Harry covered up in his cloak and then Vika grabbed his hand. There was a swirl of magic and then Harry was in the professor's staff room. Most of the staff was there but Harry didn't see Vika anywhere. There was obviously something important going on. Harry had been mentally calling out for Hermione since he had reappeared but there was no answer. Professor Snape came into the room and was followed closely by the headmistress. She looked at the people around her before she began speaking. "It has struck again. The monster has taken two students and left another note just below the first one. Their skeletons will lie in the Chamber forever!

"Which two students?" was the question asked by Madame Pomfrey.

Harry held his breath. He already knew part of the answer. "We've taken roll twice to make sure but its Miss Granger and Miss Weasley."

Only the shock of the announcement kept Harry from screaming or falling to the floor crying. How? Why? Nobody had been taken before. What was going on?

Harry was stunned and barely heard the ongoing conversation in the room. "How did Mr. Potter take the news Minerva?" came from Professor Flitwick.

"Unfortunately Filius, Mr. Potter is temporarily away from the school on some personal business for me and Albus. I've asked Vika to bring him to see me when he returns. I don't relish breaking this type of news to him."

Those words grabbed Harry's attention. Vika had done exactly what the headmistress has asked of her; she had brought Harry to see her. Why she wanted him to wear the invisibility cloak might have been an unintended blessing as it kept Harry's reaction hidden from the others. Harry was prepared to slip out the door to go someplace else to think but a couple of people stood in his way.

"Well Lockhart, this is your chance." Gilderoy Lockhart turned from talking to Professor Sinistra to look at Snape.

"What are you talking about my dear professor?" Harry saw that Lockhart suddenly looked a little nervous.

Snape walked up to the DADA teacher. "Weren't you telling us two days ago that you knew where the Chamber of Secrets were and how to get to its entrance?"

McGonagall turned as she heard this. "Is this true, Gilderoy?"

"I'm not sure. I might have mentioned something of that nature to Professor Sprout in passing?"

"I remember you said you knew exactly what the monster was and how to handle it." That statement from the Herbology teacher almost made Lockhart flinch. Harry was suddenly interested in what Lockhart knew and what he was going to do about it. It was Hermione and Ginny that were in danger or worse now.

"Then it's settled then. You must go into the Chamber and try rescuing the girls. You are the one most suited for this task. If you know what the monster is then you can defeat it like all the other menaces you have met." McGonagall was most emphatic about directing Lockhart's next course of action.

"Well… okay. I must return to my office for some special tools and to prepare myself for the endeavor. I'll make the attempt within the hour." Professor Lockhart bowed to the headmistress and slipped out of the room. No one knew or saw that Harry Potter followed the wizard under his invisibility cloak. Harry trailed the wizard as he made his way to his office. Harry waited outside. He intended to wait and watch where Lockhart went after he emerged.

Twenty minutes later Harry grew tired and impatient and he slipped through the door. What he saw infuriated him. Lockhart was not getting ready by reading a book or finding some magical potions or other things. No, Gilderoy Lockhart was packing! His pictures, his texts, his clothes were all being magically packed into trunks and briefcases. He was gathering up the many pictures of himself when Harry removed his cloak and pulled his wand but held it behind him.

"Professor Lockhart?"

The professor turned suddenly and flashed his smile when he saw who it was. "Ah Harry. You're here. You'll be in trouble if anybody else catches you out after curfew, but maybe since you're here you can help me pack."

"What professor? Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm afraid I have to leave suddenly … immediately in fact. The Rajah of Majinapoor has requested my person assistant in ridding his holdings of some rare shape-shifters who take the appearance of giant tigers. A most distasteful sort of creature as one can imagine." Lockhart turned back to his gathering and didn't notice the flash of distain and fury that lit up Harry's face.

"You're not going to the Chamber of Secrets? You aren't going after the girls?"

"You've been listening to tales Harry. I'm sorry about your friends but I don't know anything about the Chamber or a monster."

"But you are famous for defeating everything you come up against. You are the ultimate monster killer."

Lockhart stared at Harry for a second. "You, better than anyone else, should understand that you don't necessarily have to believe everything you read in books."

Harry screamed back at the 'professor'. "You liar! A fraud; you're no better than a thief for taking other people's money. Aren't any of those stories true?"

Lockhart turned to harry with a smile. "Most of those stories are true. The fact that other wizards may have helped me or done the actual work is a …literary license if you will."

"How dare you! How have you gotten away with this … hoax for all these years?"

Harry suddenly had a wand pointed at him by Lockhart. "It's too bad you found out the truth Harry but you will never get the chance to tell anybody. My secret is very simple; I happen to be an excellent wizard with memory charms. No one, including you, has any reason to doubt my word. You, I think, will be found out on the grounds. OBLIVIATE!"

Lockhart's spell raced at Harry with little warning. The professor expected Harry to be hit and fall down unconscious. But he hadn't dealt with anyone quite like Harry Potter. Harry need to no magical bond with anyone to feed his response this evening. His anger and indignation prompted a surge of power to immediately guard himself. The reflective shield that Harry threw up turned Lockhart's spell right back against him. The lying wizard was hit and flew across his office and fell unconscious on the floor.

Harry stepped up and was going to kick the fraud but he had better things to attend to. Harry decided to just leave and go search for the Chamber himself; he had an idea where it was. But first he had to take care of some unfinished business.

"Petrificus Totalus"

"Incarcerous!"

"Levicorpus"

"Furnunculus!"

In the space of thirty seconds Harry had put a full body bind and ropes on Lockhart. He hung him upside down and just because he couldn't force himself to do any permanent damage to the idiot, he gave him a case of severe boils.

A clapping of hands came from behind Harry and he turned to see Vika applauding him. "Good job Harry. I don't think I'm actually allowed to cast a spell against a professor here at Hogwarts."

"He's a fraud and needed to be held accountable. But I have to go find Ginny and Hermione. Can you help me?"

Vika frowned. "I'm sorry Harry but I've used too much magic to go with you to save them. I have to go rest up. But I think I know where the entrance is – everything started around Myrtle's bathroom. The entrance has to be there somewhere."

"I thought as much Vika. If I can't find it by stealth maybe I can trace the girls presence somehow." Harry started leaving but suddenly turned back. "Vika, if I don't come back up … if I don't make it, could you give a message to Remus Lupin?"

"Of course Harry but don't jump to conclusions just yet. You are a great wizard. You'll find the girls."

"Just tell him thaks for everythiong and that it's time for "Operation Walrus" and that I just tried to save the ones I love."

Vika nodded silently and watch as Harry ran from the room as he put on his cloak. She turned back to the hanging figure of Lockhart. "I've never liked you at all. You know Gilderoy, you pompous ass, I need to test if I can cast a spell against a professor."

"Confundus!" The hanging figure of Lockhart swayed as the spell hit it him. There was a female laugh in the DADA office that seemed to fade into thin air.

Xxxx xxx

Five minutes later, a breathless Harry Potter rushed into Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor. Harry took off his cloak and held it in one hand as he tried to catch his breath.

"Myrtle?" No response came and Harry called for the ghost again. "Myrtle, please I need help."

"H..arry?" A shaky scared voice sounded close by and Myrtle's head came out from a nearby wall.

"Myrtle, it's taken Hermione and Ginny. I've got to go help them before… I've got to get to them!"

"What do you need Harry?" The ghost still looked scared but she made an effort to not flee with her fear.

"Keep your eyes closed if you want Myrtle but please think. Do you remember anything else from the day the snake got you? Anything at all?"

"I'm thinking Harry; I really am. I don't want anything to happen to Ginny and Hermione either."

"Okay Myrtle, I didn't mean to yell at you. Let's try something else - what way were you facing when you came in here that day?"

"I went to the mirrors over the sink to see how horrible my face actually was. I was just so ashamed and hurt that the other girls were making fun of me."

"Nobody is laughing at you now Myrtle. If I was dead I would definitely want to date a pretty ghost like you."

Myrtle smiled and opened her eyes and looked at Harry. "And if I were alive Harry, you'd have more company than just Hermione. Or Ginny."

Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement of the compliment but continued on with his questions. "So what did you do next after looking in the mirror?"

Myrtle came out of the wall and went to the sinks and mirror to try and retrace her steps. She turned and went back to the door. "I closed the door and pushed against it to keep that horrid Olive Hornby out. And then I heard a voice from one of the stalls."

"There was somebody else in here that day?"

"Yes, yes, it was a boy. In one of the stalls. I walked over to it and tell him to get out but he kept talking."

"Good Myrtle – you are doing very well. What was he saying? Do you remember?"

Harry saw Myrtle close her eyes as she stood before one of the stall doors. "I'm not sure Harry; I didn't understand. It wasn't quite words in English."

Thinking for a second Harry got an idea. "Myrtle don't panic at this but I'm going to try something. You don't have to look at me." Harry imagined a snake in front of him and tried greeting it in Parseltongue:

{ Greetings, small serpent.}

Harry saw Myrtle jump in panic and she whirled around. "That's it Harry. That's kind of the sound I heard."

Harry realized another Parselmouth had been here in the room and had been talking to or calling the Basilisk. Harry whirled his index finger and Myrtle turned back to face the stall door again. "What happened next Myrtle? Did you open the door and see who was inside?"

Myrtle was silent for a long time. "NO. I was about to but I heard this sound behind me. Oh Harry, that's when I turned and saw those awful eyes. I was right HERE when I died!"

Myrtle's shoulders started shaking and Harry heard her crying. He couldn't touch her but he went around to face her. "Myrtle, it's okay. You are here and nothing is going to hurt you again. At least I hope not. You've helped me a great deal Myrtle but I need to find the opening. Why don't you go talk to Godric or Helga for a bit? I'm pretty sure that the snake can't get to the other Founder's chambers. I wish I could stay and talk to you but I have to go find the Hermione and Ginny."

The ghost seemed to hear Harry as she finally quit crying and raised her head. "How did you get so brave Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not brave; I'm scared to death right now but I've just got to do something or I'll be ashamed of myself for the rest of my life. You better go Myrtle."

"I'm so sorry I can't give you a kiss for luck Harry Potter. Be careful." Myrtle took another look at Harry and floated out through the nearest wall. Harry hoped whoever the ghost was going to see would let someone else know where he was going.

Harry turned to look at the sinks. That had to be where the serpent had come from on the day Myrtle was killed. Harry reached into a pant pocket and brought out the Eye of Horus. He gripped it hard and took a good look at the wall where the mirror and the stone sinks were mounted. Harry saw nothing unusual and stepped closer for a better view.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to feel if there was any magic in the room. There was a little pull of 'something' from his right and Harry moved sideways until he felt he was centered on it. When he opened his eyes Harry found himself directly in front of one of the stone sinks and saw a little green glow from the tap. Harry carefully felt around it and felt the image of a snake. It was here- this had to be it!

Stepping back a couple of paces Harry called for the Founder's Key he had. It appeared in his right hand and Harry held it up as he stepped back toward the sink. There was a glow about the size of a door frame but no keyhole appeared. Harry stepped back to think again. 'No key. What had Myrtle said before?'

"Parseltongue! Could it be that simple? I have to try."

Harry braced himself and stared at the sink He opened his mouth and hissed at the sink. {Open!}

There was a distant click and then the portion of the wall containing the sink sank into the floor. A black hole led to a wide tube that disappeared into the darkness below. Harry pulled out his wand and lit it and slid down the tube.

It was a giant long slide. Other tubes led off in a number of different directions and angles but Harry kept himself to the biggest one as he continued to slide downward. Stone walls, rough and smooth, went by rapidly in the light from Harry's 'Lumos' spell. Just when Harry was thinking that he might be just delivering himself to an underground pool that was part of the lake, the tube ended and Harry went sprawling across a smooth floor. Harry tumbled a number of times and found himself caught up in a thin papery substance that smelled. It took a minute for the dizziness from the rolling action to pass and let Harry take a good look at what he had come up against.

Harry yelled and rolled away rapidly. It was the husk of a very green snake skin and it was huge. It must have been about twenty five feet long. Harry hoped it was a recent shedding as he couldn't imagine any type of snake getting any bigger, even a basilisk. Looking around, Harry found a number of snake tracks that waveringly led the way down the passageway. Harry followed and his boots crunched occasionally on small piles of dead animal bones. Harry tried not to think of what had eaten and cleaned those bones up as he went down the tunnel. The girls had been down here for hours and he tried not to think of that either.

It was a few minutes' walk until Harry came to another obstacle. A blank wall with two stone snakes crossing over a small vertical crack. Harry tried calming his nerves as he felt as he had arrived at his ultimate destination. Hissing out the command again, Harry spoke to the door.

{ OPEN! }

The snakes move aside and the walls parted to reveal the huge room beyond. Harry took a deep breath and threw the invisibility cloak over himself. A very nervous but determined Harry Potter stepped cautiously into the last of the Founder's Chambers. The Chamber of Secrets.

((Author's note : I've used the very basic framework from the original Chamber of Secrets book to write this and the next chapter. I am certainly not Miss Rowling but I hope you like my version of the events – CC))