A.N
Well, this is the end of book two, and I'll be giving some threads for the direction book three will be taking.
I'm also trying to make my writing style a bit clearer for those that may get confused, check the disclaimer.
Hope you enjoyed the little twist with this, along with the other bits I have here.
Have a good weekend everyone, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
-O
(I don't own Harry Potter, Death Note, or anything you recognize)
Bold text=Emphasis or scene cut
Italics= Thoughts
= separation of scene
The Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts
(December 23rd, 2022)
"You can't even tell the difference, can you?" 'Padma' spoke, as the girl's wicked grin grew ever wider, as did his disappointment with himself. Almost as if he needed her to say that, he began to see the subtle differences in her.
The rounder hips, the darker eyes, the straighter hair, and the curve to her nose all mocked him, as his deductions were proven awkwardly false. Childish, he'd been to assume he was right without measure, but he'd come very close…
"Parvati Patil… the evil twin." Harry patronized as he kept his wand trained on the girl, his eyes as narrowed as his thin patience. "How original."
The girl simply took his hits in stride, as she laughed lightly at his expense, striking a chord inside him.
However, he just tried to ignore her as an idea came to him suddenly; he needed to stall her.
"I can see why she likes you… you're clever and refuse to be anything else. A paragon of knowledge, how arrogant."
He laughed then, as he always found it funny when the pot called the kettle black, hypocrisy at it's finest.
"So says you, yet you're the one sneaking around like Slytherin himself, turning on your fellow students in a heartbeat without a care. Who are you to judge me?" He asked her darkly, his tone the most serious he'd ever voiced as he began to ponder whether he truly was turning into something he hated, her words may have held some truth to them; that was his greatest worry. To become like the men he killed.
Only enemies speak the truth, after all...
"I'm someone that sees you for more than you pretend to be… That fool Dumbledore can't see it, but I know you Potter, and I know where your destiny lies… Either my lord will destroy all before him, or you will." She growled at him, yet another hint being thrown into Harry's hands.
Lord?
"Who is this 'lord' of yours? Why would he or I destroy everything?" Harry questioned, a headache of the worst kind beginning to form in his skull.
"Because he won't give up… and neither will you. He'll take all that is given, take that which isn't, and burn all the rest. You'll try and stop him, and either he'll kill you, burn you to cinder… or you'll destroy each other along with the rest of us." She spoke out into the chamber, her voice echoing out dramatically as she grinned a smile of that of a cultist.
Thinking on her words, Harry withdrew himself for a second.
She isn't fully here, insanity could be a reason.
Her senses are dulled, she is obviously indoctrinated into whatever state she is in, and appears to be fully involved in whatever hateful nonsense this lord is speaking of.
She's a fanatic, thus dangerous to herself, others, and most likely myself as well. I need to proceed carefully, and if possible, take her alive.
I can not allow this situation to escalate any further, she must be put down.
"A name, who is he?" Harry snarled, as he figured she'd let her guard down if he seemed irrationally angry, as she wouldn't be expecting him to simply incapacitate her and would likely expect violent or widespread casting.
"Burn in hell Potter, and take my sister with you!" She shot back with just as much venom, as she slash her wand in a zigzag motion, two words screaming out from her lips.
"Avada Kedavra!"
This is either a trap, or a warning… Albus Dumbledore thought to himself as he held the written letter in hand, and debated whether he could trust it.
Chamber's Open, Potter went in.
It didn't take a genius to decipher the simple meaning, and it didn't help his nerves much. At almost every turn, it seemed he failed over and over again, as the boy seemed determined to get himself killed and for Albus to blame himself.
Regardless, he racked his long memory in an attempt to remember places he'd always expected to be the chamber entrance, and trying to get a feel of the wards to determine where the boy could be.
However, no matter how much he tried to scan the castle, no signs of the lad showed up whatsoever. It was like the boy had vanished completely, which no traces left behind.
Perhaps…
Looking to his left, Albus noticed a animated portrait of a balding man with a sharp beard, the portrait almost constantly asleep, not having awoken in hundreds of years.
"Grand Headmaster Symon, a word or two if you please?" Albus said politely, as he woke the painting from a deep slumber.
Since the thirteenth century, the portrait had apparently aged to a point where the animate paint aged so much that the animation had to be slowed to prevent decay, thus the first Headmaster, the Grand Headmaster of Hogwarts slept.
The painted man shook his head slightly, before opening a single eye to gaze upon Albus.
"Ah, Albus my boy, how can I help you?"
Accepting the fact he was basically a child compared to the ancient man, even if he was just an imitation of the once great man, the older man did hold a wealth of knowledge and nobility.
"Yes, I was wondering over a mystery of mine. You knew Salazar Slytherin correct?" Albus asked, honestly wondering if the first headmaster had payed much attention to the most solitary of the founders.
"The founder? Of course I did, the man was the one who offered me the position of headmaster after all, what's your mystery?" Symon asked him curiously, a rough burr to his voice as he straightened himself in his frame.
How to put it…
"I've a missing student that I can't find using the wards, and I have a suspicion that the student may have been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. Do you know if Slytherin tampered with the wards during his time in the castle?" Albus asked him, though he had a feeling that his guess was right on mark.
"Oh definitely, Salazar didn't like the thought of Rowena tracking him through the castle, as she always wanted to know and be a part of whatever he was researching, so he made the chamber an isolated zone within the chamber. It's a hole in the wards, the only defense from the mad woman… yet he loved her nonetheless." Symon explained, a gleam coming into the animated man's eyes, showing a unique humanity Albus didn't see often in magical portraits, along with a rare feeling of compassion.
It was… enlightening, to say the very least.
With that thought, he assumed that Apparition wards would be in place as well, preventing direct transportation; the fact he didn't really know where the chamber was didn't factor in that much, as the location didn't matter if he couldn't get there.
"Thank you Symon, that'll be all." Albus muttered as he turned in his seat to look out of the window of his office, the sight he normally prized doing nothing to improve his mood, as he came to a common conclusion that he found all too true.
Well Mister Potter, I guess you are on your own… Stay safe, please…
Too late of course.
Son of a bitch… Harry thought to himself, as he suddenly found himself able to think. He couldn't breathe, his body wouldn't respond, and there was a burning pain on his neck, much like a red-hot brand.
He thought he was dead to be honest for a time, the killing curse kind of does that to a person granted, but he'd broken rules before.
Why stop now?
He knew he was still in the chamber, as the floor beneath him was cold and wet, but he also heard a hissing sound.
Parvati was hissing Parseltongue for some reason, but he oddly couldn't understand her… but it didn't take a mad leap of logic to explain her being a Parselmouth, as many ancient Indian lines had Parselmouths within them, and the Patils were reasonably ancient.
Cracking his eyelids open, and putting his questions about his survival to the back burner, he focused his eyes on the chamber ceiling as his vision straightened itself.
The ceiling is really dirty…
With that thought, he pulled himself slowly to his feet as he searched for the girl responsible for all that had gone wrong for the entire year; he was still pissed about losing his eye.
Looking to his right, he saw her standing before the statue of Salazar, seemingly praying to the arrogant portrayal of the man, hissing all the while.
I have an idea…
"It still won't listen to you Parvati? Have you considered the fact you're unworthy of the Basilisk's attention?" He mocked her, walking on staggering legs towards her, a hand wrapped around the burning wound on his neck.
She apparently hadn't seen fit to take the wand from a 'dead' boy, so he still had his own on hand, a wand that was raised towards her back now.
She turned almost instantly at the sound of his voice, her eyes shot wide open with fear or shock, perhaps horror. He didn't care, she'd earned this.
"How… how are you even a-alive…?" She muttered out like a whimper, her face blank as her eyes were wild, though that shock soon turned into a snarling look of anger.
"It isn't the first time I've used that parlor trick, you shouldn't be surprised." Harry said with a sardonic smirk, as he raised his wand to rest at eye level with her left pupil. "Try this trick on for try."
"Exoculo Maxima!" A simple spell he'd learned and overpowered to the extreme, a permanent blinding hex with the accuracy of a bullet. One of the best and few useful hexes he'd learned.
The girl was obviously confused by the spell, but had no time to process it before he'd permanently ruined her eye, granting her at least an hazy eyeball rather than a depressing socket like she'd left him.
Little mercies is what he'd leave as a legacy, only outshadowed by the destruction of all that threatened to ruin the future of the world, and of his people.
Parvati flew back from the impact, clawing at her eye as he assumed she felt a burning or freezing sensation from the hex.
With a smirk and a Stupefy, Harry turned from the girl and looked at the other girl in the chamber, the one that hadn't earned his scorn.
His… friend.
Luna Lovegood still sat in the same spot as before, though she had visibly paled and her face had blanked from her previous peaceful demeanor.
Walking to her, he pulled her up to a sitting position against Salazar's statue, and looked once more to Parvati, rushing over to her.
He patted her down for her wand, pocketed it, and then searched her for the black book she'd held before. It wasn't on her…
If it had been what he thought, another Death Note, then he had to find it.
However, that was a concern for another day, as he noticed something… interesting.
He assumed that people that had committed grievous acts, or used dark magic would have a taint to them, yet Parvati had only a slight tinge of darkness on her… As well, there had been an odd magical trace on her… someone had altered her, forced her in a way… though her words earlier had made it seem as if she truly believed in this lord of hers.
Complexing…
Putting it aside, he couldn't focus on that right now.
He walked to Luna, lifted her from the ground in both arms, and set off for the chamber entrance with her in his arms.
He would send someone else for Parvati, she wasn't an issue right now.
He had to find her sister.
Ravenclaw Tower, Hogwarts
(Afternoon of December 24th, 2022)
"Did you know your sister opened the chamber…?" Harry whispered to the girl, as the two sat next to each in the tower's common room, both attempting not to look at the other in what had been complete silence.
He had to break it, and he had.
She'd known too much about the mystery, had led him right to her sister, and basically helped him catch her. She wasn't an idiot, he knew that much about her.
She gave out an honest sigh of frustration, though she did answer after a minute or two.
"I… suspected she did… but she wouldn't listen to me. I tried confronting her about it, about how she'd changed, but she just accused me of doing the same… She wasn't my sister anymore, the fashion-crazed sister of mine had disappeared at some point, and only the secretive, aggressive doppelgänger of her remained…"
Even though he'd never had to deal with such a circumstance before, he did feel for her. To lose someone in such a way, and having to be around the twisted shell of them each and every day… it must be terrible.
"Sorry about blinding her… I was, kind of angry." Harry offered, as he did find that a bit childish with some afterthought, though she just waved him off.
"If she had actually been thinking straight, she wouldn't have done any of this… I don't know what happened to her… I just… don't know." She muttered in a lost way, as she leaned against him then, him lost as well as he didn't really know how to handle physical contact besides violently.
They both just sat in silence for a little bit, he thinking about his life a little, and all he had really lost eleven years ago, her all she was losing and what she would or could lose.
The touch of another had always been a mystery to Harry however.
It unnerved him, but he could get used to it.
(Noel, December 25th, 2022)
Harry woke to Noel, or Christmas, cold as ice.
He'd still been groggy when Michael had hit him with a tickling hex, and had somehow returned the favor with startlingly aim. He'd take his blessings as them come though.
At the end of his bed he'd discovered a small pile of gifts and well wishing cards, yet he hadn't expected much. He wasn't exactly a social butterfly after all, yet no one in Ravenclaw was… except for Ken-doll Michael.
Harry had a customary pile of sweets, which was appreciated as his sweet tooth had ached him something fierce, along with what appeared to be a some sort of serum. A small note attached to it read as such:
Mister Potter, this is for the new mark on your neck. Imagine the frustration all the novelists will have when they find you have a new scar.
-Madame Pomfrey
Thinking on it, Harry transfigured an extra pillow into a slab of reflective glass and peered into it. He wasn't exactly happy, as the Madame hadn't told him what happened to his neck the morning before, just that he'd suffered an injury and how to treat it.
Damn it… Another lightning bolt… He raged internally, as he observed the near duplicate of his famous scar, now marred into the side of his throat, though he could have worse scars to be honest. His entire arm could have been ripped apart, or something terrible like that.
I can only imagine what could have happened if the Basilisk had listened to Parvati… The thing's probably got fangs bigger than my arms…
Placing the dastardly vial aside for later, Harry reached into the pile once more, and to his surprise and happiness noticed Dumbledore had gifted him an Auror Wand Holster.
Perhaps he's truly noticed how dangerous this place is… How thoughtful.
Putting it by the potion, he dug his hand into the pile of gifts, and found an oddly shaped and heavy gift wrapped in what appeared to be green leather…
Wait…
Unfolding the leather, he found a familiar black book with a envelope attached, and a giant fang tipped in a green venom-like substance covered with white wax over said venom.
Ripping the letter free, and carefully placing the fang aside, he unfolded the envelope to reveal a carefully scripted letter.
Hello Mister Potter, I hope this letter finds you on good timings.
As I've not had the chance to say as much before, I sincerely apologize for rendering you immobile in the dungeons, you were simply in the way. As you likely have questions, I'll try and remedy that, hmm?
I did, in fact, know the younger Patil had opened the chamber, but I had to interfere for your benefit.
If she had kept in possession of the diary before you, she would have likely destroyed the soul of your friend, have summoned Slytherin's Basilisk, brought her master back to life, and have killed you.
The book that should be before you, is the diary of a boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle. It is a evil magical artifact referenced to as a Horcrux, a soul anchor.
Tom Riddle is significant, because you're met him before.
He became the man you know as Voldemort.
Without destroying his Horcruxes, the man can never die.
In other news, I assume you could tell that Parvati was… dazed, and yes, I did cast the Imperius on her, but not to make her do anything against her will. All she's done against you and others is of her own choice.
Have no doubt, you've done a great service stopping her, as I do know that she will be visiting a mind healer for regular visits. Perhaps she'll make progress, but try not to worry.
As for the Imperius, it was merely a backup measure to ensure she didn't question the false memory I implanted to prevent her from wondering where the diary was.
I stole it from her, and… disposed of the basilisk. No need to worry.
I urge you to destroy the diary, use the Basilisk fang (Be careful, it's extremely poisonous) and I will later ensure you do.
I will send word to you soon.
Have a happy Christmas.
-G. Gryffindor
After folding the parchment back into a neat square, Harry had a burning question in his mind.
What the hell?
Headmaster's Office
(June 3rd, 2022)
"Albus, I wanted to know who you selected as next year's DADA professor, I need it for the records." Minerva McGonagall asked sternly, as she walked into her mentor's office, her stress regarding the NEXT term clear from her lack of breath.
Albus simply nodded at her and tried to give a slight smile, though he found it difficult. The year and terms had been terrible thus far, but he felt the next might be a bit easier to handle.
"You will be the first to know Minerva, but I wouldn't want to say anything until I get a response of course. Know that I will send a letter to them immediately." Albus told her, as she hesitantly nodded as she rightfully determined she'd get no more from him. As she left the room in a huff, he turned to the letter he'd just started to pen.
Picking up his feather quill, he began to write:
-Dear Remus
Did you enjoy this?
I hope you all did, as this is where I leave book two off. I may do an omake chapter, most likely covering from the events of book one, perhaps book two, or even before book one. It'd likely be a series of snapshots or little moments that I haven't covered so far.
Valentine's day will probably be included, though be wary, I hate Valentine's Day and haven't been a part of any celebrations of it or anything like that since Kindergarten.
I'll try though!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you'd like to see as an omake perhaps I'll use the idea or something similar.
Have a good morning everyone.
-Oscar