A.N
I've been busy, but I finished this, once again at an ungodly hour.
However, this one is finished and the next will come soon.
I should be concluding Chamber of Secrets in the next chapter, though things may change of course.
Well, hope you all enjoy this new chapter.
-O
(I don't own Harry Potter, Death Note, or anything you recognize)
With a flick of a wand, and the dulling of two eyes, a single curse was spoken.
"Imperio."
And thus, a series of events were set in place.
Dice cast, the game carried on.
Its players set, and the mid-game in reach.
Hogwarts
(November 20th, 2022)
"Myrtle Elizabeth Warren, just the spirit I wanted to see." A greeting, if that, was given by the raven-haired boy as he strolled into the often abandoned bathroom, its only inhabitant being a transparent girl seated on a crooked toilet.
The spirit girl near jumped, almost as if she hadn't been fully addressed in some time. Harry thought that just might be the truth.
"T-this is the girl's bathroom you know!" The girl called out, something akin to fear or hesitation in her voice as she eyed him wearily, a feeling he wasn't unfamiliar with.
"Was the girl's bathroom, it was warded off fifty years ago, and the charm was broken only five years ago… Bill Weasley really likes wardbreaking." Harry explained, his back coming to rest against a pillar of the room, his gaze set clear on the girl though it did wander.
Myrtle only looked at him in befuddlement, her transparent eyes not blinking, though he suspected that she didn't really need to.
"What… what do you want?"
"I want to know how you died. A friend of mine said you know who's been causing chaos… a person that has really made me angry… very much so." Harry told her slowly, his voice painfully even. The last thing he needed was to scare a ghost.
"Ooooh, it was dreadful!" Myrtle started up suddenly, her eyes shining as if she'd never told this story before, though Harry assumed that she hadn't besides one other time. Padma had to of heard it.
Oddly enough, his newfound vision which had previously shown a glowing skull above her head started to flicker. Perhaps the line between life and death isn't quite so clear...
"It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. That girl was so horrible! One day she'd mock me, then she'd charm my robes wet, then-" She rambled on, stopping only when he coughed loudly.
"Oh right… Anyway, one day a BOY walked in while I was hiding in here. He seemed to ignore me, and walked over there," She stopped then and pointed out a sink over by the edge of the room, a sink seemingly no different from the others. "Then he… he hissed something; I looked out of the stall at him, and then… I died."
He thought over that, but his attention wasn't firmly there, as something else seemed to tickle his nerves.
Two spots on the floor tiles seemed to be covered in ink, two footsteps that seemed to shake fiercely…
Someone tainted stood here… long ago, yet the trace of them still remains… What the hell happened here?
"How?" Harry asked, his back turned to her as he crouched next to the phantom footsteps, fingers tracing the outline of them. It was cold as ice, and caused a shiver to trail along his spine, much like the feeling Ryuk gave him often.
"No idea," Myrtle whispered in a hushed tone, her eyes losing focus. "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was lost… then I came back as… this." Her eyes drifted down to her transparent palms, the fact they held no heat obviously bothering the spirit; he knew he would hate such a lack of sensation.
She remained like this, that is until he coughed once more.
"Where exactly did you see the... eyes?" Harry asked her, though he had a good idea of what cast such a dangerous gaze.
"Somewhere over there," Myrtle said simply, pointing vaguely toward the aforementioned sink, the overly ordinary sink.
He knew looks were always deceiving.
He did notice something though, as he walked closer to inspect the basin, the one flaw in it.
Scratched on one of the copper handles, was a tiny silver snake. He inspected it closer, wondering faintly whether it was merely a design choice… until the cheeky little snake winked at him… despite the fact snakes didn't have eyelids.
"That tap's never worked," Myrtle added cheerfully as he tried to turn it, though the lack of response from the sink discouraged him, until he had a sudden thought.
A faint memory of a zoo and a sly python came to mind, as he thought back to what Myrtle had said.
The boy hissed… Wait, I'm a parselmouth aren't I?
In order to test it, Harry hissed out a simple greeting only to see the snake carving's eyes widen, which confirmed his suspicions.
I've found the Chamber of Secrets… Hell yeah.
Giving a nod to the ghost girl, Harry left the sink as it was, and began a quick pace out of the room.
He had a plan to forge.
I've found what many had searched decades for.
The Chamber of Secrets, the secluded sanctuary from criticism and conflict that Salazar had hand crafted in his desperation for privacy.
A home within knowledge that Salazar alone knew of, all that was important to him sealed within, all to be discovered only by those worthy of his blood.
Someone unsealed it years ago, a prince of Slytherin blood, and unleashed Salazar's prized monster on the innocent students…. And the lunatic was never discovered, only a scapegoat to take the blame.
It's happening all over again, a daughter rather than a son, except this time, I'm here to intervene in the middle of her plan.
As I couldn't find any fresh evidence of entrance in the bathroom, that implies whoever's guilty isn't home.
I've got to wait until they strike again, and I'll be waiting in the bitch's chamber for her.
Then I'll take her eye.
(December 23rd, 2022)
Winter hit the castle like a freight train, as frost consumed the land and chilled the bones of all within it.
Snow covered the land, as Harry trudged down one of the many halls of the school, a constant sneer on his face.
Most of the students had chosen their own homes for the holidays, leaving Harry and a select few to remain behind.
He'd already sent along word to his aunt that he wouldn't be heading back, and remained behind as he had a bad feeling in the previous weeks.
That feeling had been proven true, as yet another girl had disappeared, though this one was much closer to him, yet he really didn't want to play the knight in shining armor here… Not from anger or dislike, but from the attention he'd get following it.
One of his few 'friends', had been snatched away from him.
Not a smart move on the mystery girl's part, but he wasn't to judge her... he was to punish her.
Luna Lovegood was missing, and only a string of words had been given in explanation.
Her Skeleton Will Lie in The Chamber Forever…
Not if I have anything to do with it...
All pre-formed plans thrown into the garbage, Harry marched into Myrtle's Bathroom, a quickly hissed command causing the 'normal' sink to slide out of place as a downward slide appeared in it's place, the intention clear.
The hole clear and wide as a grown man, he neglected to think on how far the chute must travel, more of didn't want to think on it.
Taking a quick breath and ensuring his wand was safe in hand, Harry jumped onto and down into the tube, sludge rubbing off on him as he flattened himself against the side of the passage.
Seconds passed as he fell through the darkness, his eyes only opening after he landed roughly on a pile of filth and raw bones, his eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light of the faint torches lining the chamber.
Turning his head swiftly, he looked down the stone-worked tunnel and focused on a detailed door that blocked his path.
Elaborate carvings layered the twin doors, as his eyes drifted to the image of two silver snakes that joined in the center of the stone mass, the two heads forming a creative lock shape.
Deducing the obvious, he hissed out the opening phrase once more, and took a breath as the doors quickly pulled apart and the chamber shook.
Surprise was not an element in this case.
His pulse slowed, Harry stepped through the doorway and looked on what had been concealed.
A wide chamber rested before him, a cesspool of filth lied in the center of the room, ancient pillars and frames surrounded it and gave off what was obviously intended to be an elegant appearance.
The bones and carcasses of small animals, along with the shed skin of a giant serpent killed whatever class the chamber once held, a pity as the architecture was quite nice overall.
Moving onward, Harry traveled down a trailing tunnel, what appeared to be pipes drifting off into many different directions, all distractions as far as he was concerned.
The straight and narrow was the path he would follow.
After following the filth and dim torches of the path, Harry finally reached what appeared to be the main point of the Chamber, a giant statue of Salazar Slytherin in his later years resting on the edge of the chamber, the man's piercing eyes peering down at him.
Harry didn't belong here, and a mere statue knew as much.
His attention wasn't on Salazar however, but on the lithe blonde girl that rested at the base of the giant head.
Luna Lovegood lied unconscious on the rough floor, almost as if she was waiting for him to rescue her.
Yep… trap, no doubt about it.
Stepping up to the girl, her face almost peaceful as she rested there, his own face the polar opposite.
He knew that other girl, the one that had stolen his eye had to be lying in wait, and he wasn't left wanting.
"She won't wake." A distorted, but definitely female voice spoke out in the silence, the echo slamming against the walls of the chamber.
Turning slowly, Harry laid eyes on his attacker, the kidnapper of Sally-Anne Perks, some Hufflepuff girl, and Luna, the girl that would soon be shedding scarlet blood if he had anything to say about it.
She didn't seem overly hostile however, as she seemed to circle him, her wand was within her hand though it wasn't pointed directly at him.
Harry observed her carefully, before he began to speak in turn.
"You never could get the basilisk to obey you, could you?" He asked her swiftly and coldly. By her sudden rigidness, he assumed she wasn't expecting the question.
"What gives you that idea?" The girl asked him, obviously attempting to keep any feeling out of her voice, yet he still heard as much even though the distortion.
"Basilisks kill on sight and petrify people, neither of those things have happened. You're kidnapping people, that didn't happen last time." Harry pointed out with narrowed eyes, his form bending as he palmed his wand, words forming as he readied himself for battle.
The girl didn't respond, yet he knew from her silence that he was correct, the pathetic girl hadn't even gotten a beast to obey her.
Harry looked at her closer then, the way she held herself, the way she walked… the cut of her robes, the shape of the black mask hiding her features, and the dark eyes that saw through it.
"I know you, I know who you are beneath that mask…" Harry hissed out with a razor-edged chill as he aimed his wand at her skull, his eyes beginning to glow scarlet with rage.
"Oh do you?" The girl asked darkly, a smugness in her tone as she raised her own wand, amusement clear as she smirked, that much he could tell by the sound of her voice, distorted as it may be.
Harry near snarled, as a burning rippled through his chest as he knew true anger in it's purest form.
Betrayal, it sliced it's way through him, leaving no soft tissue behind.
"Quit the games… it's over." He barked out, his wand's tip shaking with the force of a fierce emerald light, a sizzling noise emitting from the restrained spell.
The girl on the other hand, let out a rough, snarky laugh as her wand began to match his own.
"Say. My. Name."
He took a breath, as something within him began to wither, as he let loose a word, a name.
"Padma."
(?)
Hidden behind a cover of bed curtains, a sole boy sat on a four quarter bed, a black book held with his right hand, a sharp quill in the other.
Smiling a smirk that didn't reach his eyes, the boy began to scratch words within the book's pages, a correspondence of sorts beginning.
Hello Tom.
Almost as quick as he wrote it, the inked words disappeared, as other formed in their place, panic clear in the jagged handwriting of the being within the pages.
How do you know my name? Who are you?
Smiling once more, the boy responded with a quick wit.
I know many things, many of which you will never know. My name is one such thing.
The book, 'Tom', replied with quick haste, almost as if the living object was afraid of the boy with the dangerous gleam in his eyes.
How did you get my diary?
Letting out a laugh, the boy continued toying with the soul anchor, a sense of sadistic enjoyment rising within him.
I stole it from your pawn, how else?
After that answer, 'Tom' seemed to be thinking, as the ink left on the page simply swirled in a circle for several moments, almost as if it was trying to determine how to handle the boy.
Whatever it is you want… we can make a deal.
"Oh you have no idea who I even am… You little fool." The boy muttered with a dark malice and a grimace of a smile, as he returned his quill to the page to finish the conversation between boy and soul.
I already have a deal, and it isn't with you.
With that, the boy slammed the diary shut, a quick sealing charm preventing sticky hands from getting to it.
Tom Riddle had no say in his story, only one other had a say, and said 'hero' had no idea of his own role.
Soon enough, the boy would set the stage for his equal, and a new world would form from the ashes of the old, and soar to new heights.
So as it was, he swore to uphold his promise, if in mind only.
The world must bleed to heal anew.
Did you enjoy?
I hope you all did, though it's yet another short chapter.
Hopefully the next will be longer, as I've got to finish Chamber, though I may include an omake of Valentine's Day, or something similar. Who knows really?
Anyway, hope you all have a nice day or night, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
As well, all will be revealed in time. (All except the mystery of L, remember him? I'll never reveal his true origin though, only assumptions and guesses.)
I need sleep, goodbye.
-Oscar