Chapter thirteen

'You want to tell us what is so funny?' Sirius asked but he sounded amused.

Harry kept chuckling, 'Every single class we have with Trelawney she predicts Harry's death,' Susan explained, 'Last year Harry had a grim, but none of us take her seriously.'

Harry pulled himself together, 'just for homework she had us fill in a dream diary, mine was full of different ways to die, it was the only time she gave me good marks. If I said I dreamt of nothing or saw nothing she would always say, well, you tried dearie and she was really disappointed. Ron and I used to make up the most gruesome ways to die just to satisfy her and get her to concentrate on others and not me. Okay. She made the prophecy that told that Pettigrew would escape and join Voldemort. She was in a trance, well, it seemed like she was. When I tried to tell her about it she thought I must have fallen asleep or something. At first I thought that prophecy if it was real was about Sirius. So if there is a prophecy orb how does it get there when she doesn't remember making a prophecy?'

'The magic around the room creates the orbs once one is spoken, so she did make a prophecy, we're just not sure the first one is real. You see Harry, when she went into her trance she was in the company of Albus Dumbledore. I also found out that a death eater heard the first half before he was discovered listening,' Amelia said.

'The death eater was Snape.'

'That bastard,' Harry growled, Susan took Harry's hand as he turned to Amelia, 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be, you have every right to be angry with the situation. Not only did he relay the prophecy or what he heard of the prophecy to Voldemort which sent him to your home that night. But Albus allowed Severus to become a teacher who would teach you, the son of Voldemort's victims. He was partly to blame for their deaths, allowing him into that school should never have been allowed. I planned to speak with the governors along with someone I hope to be the new head of Hogwarts. They are discussing who may get the job, they have a list of names. If we can get enough evidence that shows Snape is not doing his job then he will be sacked. Now I know that many students have gone to their head of house with complaints and I do know those complaints were taking to Albus, who ignored them. From what Susan told me about his treatment of you he should have been sent packing straight away.'

'We have no idea why Albus wanted him there or why he allowed Snape to harass the children, apart from the Slytherin's. Now Amelia does know of the animosity between Snape, me and James so we know he is taking that out on you. He owes your dad a life debt but since he is not here that is passed onto you. It's the same with Peter, you stopped Remus and me killing him which technically saved his life. You may not like it Harry but having those two owe you could come in handy one day,' Sirius said.

'I would just like Snape gone so we could learn. I got on the quidditch team and I decided since I found out about dad playing quidditch that I would make him proud, sort of to honour him, in a way. I wanted to do the same for mum, she loved potions, he made it impossible.'

'He won't be there long Harry, hopefully only a few weeks after the holidays. Now Susan mentioned your feelings about Mad-eye Moody, tell me about him?'

'Well, he always watches me, I know he's following me and he seems to pop up wherever I am. But it's the looks he gives me, it's creepy and not just his normal creepy look with that eye. Something is telling me to be cautious. I spoke with Professor Sprout, she had all the Hufflepuff's go anywhere with me in case I wasn't with Susan, Hannah or Neville.'

'If he is up to something we thought the ring might just help Harry. We even thought he might be involved with Harry's name being entered in the tournament,' Susan said.

'We'll go to Gringotts first thing tomorrow, we will need to sort out a few things while we're there. After that we can do some shopping, I'm sure both of you want to get a few things for Christmas. By the way Harry, that ring on Susan's finger is very beautiful, is it a promise ring?'

'Um, no, a friendship ring, I figured we were a bit young for a promise ring. We have talked about it, we want a future together, we just figured we should be a bit older before we get into anything serious.'

'Yes, I believe the same, but it doesn't mean you cannot talk about what you both want in the near future. Now over the holidays I wish for both of you to tell me everything that has happened at Hogwarts. Right now Albus is free even if he lost his jobs, I believe he should have been given some time in Azkaban.'

'Like the basilisk roaming the school or a Cerberus being kept behind a locked door that a first year could open.'

'A basilisk, are you telling me there was a dangerous giant snake inside Hogwarts?'

'Um, yeah, I killed it. I figured Dumbledore let the Minister know since he arrested Hagrid and sent him to Azkaban.'

'No, he did not inform the ministry or I would have known, he may have told the Minister who did not bother to inform me. So that will definitely get him some time in Azkaban. I want you three to finish dinner, I need to speak with the Minister and organise a search of Hogwarts. Any student still at the castle will need to be sent home until we get the all clear. It may disrupt the tournament but that can't be helped.'

Harry and Susan watched Amelia hurry from the room before they turned to Sirius to get an explanation.

'A basilisk can kill as you know, imagine if it got into the great hall during dinner or as the students were going from class to class. What you have to understand is that the future of the magical would in England is inside Hogwarts. We lost so many during the war with Voldemort and the one with Grindelwald. Even though it would be a tragedy, a sad tragedy, our world would be devastated if even quarter of the students died. Our shops would close due to loss of income, many would go overseas as they would not be able to get work. There would not be enough students to keep Hogwarts opened. St Mungo's would close so there would only be a small clinic that may only keep a few healers to see patients. Also, what if there is a more, what if another basilisk is inside Hogwarts right now, growing until it will eventually escape to the main part of the school.'

'Okay, that's all bad, but it was known the chamber of secrets was open, why wasn't anything done then?'

'I would say Albus kept everything about it quiet, all we did hear was it was the problem was taken care of. I didn't even know you were involved. So tell me how you came to kill a basilisk?'

'Um, well, I heard voices, Ron, Hermione and I worked out I was hearing a snake. We didn't tell anyone as we believed everyone would think I was insane or something. There is a lot to go into but Hermione figured it out, it was a basilisk, it was to do with the roosters being killed and seeing spiders leaving the castle. Well, Hermione ended up petrified, while Ron and I were visiting I found a piece of paper in her hand, it was about the basilisk but it had pipes written in Hermione's handwriting. Ron and I decided to go see Lockhart since he was the defence teacher, on the way we heard that Ginny had been taken. When we got to Lockhart's office he was packing, running away. I disarmed him, his wand flew out the window, then we basically forced him to join us. We went into moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I asked her how she died, she explained about seeing a big yellow eye right before she died. She told me she heard a boy's voice, that's what made her curious, it was girls bathroom but a boy was in there. I looked at the sink, noticed a serpent on the side. Ron told me to try speaking to it, at first it was English, then I spoke parseltongue. The sinks dropped away revealing a large pipe, we slid down until we were miles under the school. Lockhart pretended to faint, he took Ron's broken wand and was going to obliviate us, but the spell backfired, it brought down some of the roof.'

Susan threw her arms around Harry, 'That's why you were all bruised the next day.'

'Yeah, that and the fight with the basilisk.'

'Keep going Harry,' Sirius said with a sigh.

'Well, I was on the side which could go on, Ron was going to try to move some of the rocks in the hope he could get through. I found Ginny, she was almost dead, but I dropped my wand when I ran to her. Tom Riddle was there, his memory came out of the diary and he was becoming more solid as he drained the life out of Ginny. He was young, a student, he had my wand in his hand but he also had Ginny's wand. After a lot of talking he called the basilisk. Fawkes flew down there and pecked out its eyes. Tom kept telling it to sniff me, so I ran, it chased me. Fawkes dropped the sorting hat at me when I went back to Ginny, I pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat. The basilisk was back, I ran, I ended up running the sword up through its mouth into its head, but it bit me,' Harry pulled up his sleeve to show the round scar, 'I stabbed the diary that had been possessing Ginny with the basilisk fang. Tom's memory vanished and Ginny woke up. Fawkes flew us out of there, Ron and Lockhart as well.'

Sirius sat on the other side of Harry, his arm went around him as Susan kept hold of his hand. Harry was so close to dying and it seemed Dumbledore didn't think to tell the ministry just what had taken place. Harry and Ginny could have died, but so could have half if not all the students. Sirius realised just how useless the old Albus Dumbledore was, he was glad that the old man was finally gone from Hogwarts. Now the students might not be placed in danger.