Here we go with another chapter, which due to a clever suggestion made by iLuvTwiBoyz shall be a series of incidents throughout the two books, that appear in cannon but altered because of Leila's presence. Any recognizable content is from the books, but I'm not copying directly from the text, so it's not 100% perfect. Thanks for reading, and keep letting me know what you think!

Dobby's Polka-Dotted Sock

Chapter Seven:

1st and 2nd

1. Overview of Classes

Classes at Hogwarts went from interesting to strange to downright boring. She liked the wanded subjects such as Transfiguration and Charms, though Quirrell kind of sucked the life out of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology was fun in that you just got to mess around in the dirt, but History of Magic was hands down the slowest class of the day. The minutes until she dropped off into blissful unconsciousness were almost painful. Sure, their teacher was a ghost, but he had to be the dullest one in existence. Hermione Granger, easily the smartest student of their year, didn't seem to find that a sufficient excuse, and as Leila sat next to her, Harry pairing off with Ron, she often got poked in the side with a quill in order to wake up again. She realized the other girl meant well, but she was on the verge of poking her back in retaliation, childish as it sounded.

It wasn't as bad as Potions however, since Binns didn't mind if you were paying attention or not. Snape's personality was as greasy and foul as his hair. The Gryffindors couldn't tell who he hated more, Leila or Harry. On the first day he grilled them both on different questions that they were apparently supposed to know the answers to, but when the twins checked the book they realized that the information he had requested didn't show up until more than halfway through. That hadn't stopped the Potions Master from docking them each five points and deciding that they had let fame go to their heads. He really wasn't supporting the Sorting Hat's claim that not all Slytherins were evil.

2. The Flying Lesson

Another git from Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, had apparently decided that it was his mission to make their lives miserable now that they had been sorted into opposing houses. Nothing much came from this until the flying lesson with the Slytherins. She was really beginning to wonder why Gryffindor and Slytherin had so many classes together when the house rivalries were so well known. Poor Neville Longbottom became too nervous and hurt his wrist from a high fall. He was escorted to the Hospital Wing by Madam Hooch, and then Draco decided to be a moron.

The blond boy dashed forward and snatched up a familiar looking shiny object in the shape of a sphere.

"Looks like Longbottom dropped his Remembrall!" he and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, laughed. No one else did.

"Give it here, Malfoy!" Harry said at her side. She was a little surprised; usually he didn't like that much attention, but perhaps Malfoy's bullying demeanor reminded him a little too much of Dudley.

The other pretended to think for a moment. "No, I don't think I will. I think I'll leave it somewhere a little harder to find. How about, up a tree?" And with a particularly awful smirk, he mounted the school broom he was holding and launched up into the air. The boy could fly, but seriously, was this supposed to be cunning at its best from Slytherin house? What if Madam Hooch came back outside, it wasn't like the infirmary was that far away.

"Oh please," she snorted, missing the fierce but quick argument behind her between Harry and Hermione. "Like anyone of us is going to be dumb enough to follow you. I don't fancy breaking my ne—" It was then that her twin shot off from beside her on his own broom. 'I stand corrected,' she thought irritably to herself.

She noticed the other students- mainly those from her own house –staring almost expectantly at her. "What?" She finally asked.

"Um, well, aren't you going to, that is," Seamus Finnegan began to stutter out, gesturing up towards the two in the air.

"Of course not. Maybe my idiot of a twin fancies spending the night next to Neville in the Hospital Wing, but I don't. I'm brave, not suicidal." Hermione nodded approvingly at her. She glanced back up to see Harry nearly plough into Malfoy, which would have hurt if the other hadn't dodged. "Oi! Idiot twin, you're getting the Remembrall back, not killing him!"

He grinned sheepishly down at her, and then turned his focus back to Malfoy. Leila, though originally worried about her twin being way up in the air, realized that for whatever reason, Harry would be fine. She supposed that one could be a natural at flying just like anything else. This thought allowed her to relax a little. That is, until Malfoy lobbed the Remembrall in a random direction and her brother went into a 50-foot dive for it.

Ron let out a surprised yell, a lot of girls gasped while Hermione had a vice-like grip on her arm. Leila herself was clutching at her face, eyes wide as saucers.

But somehow, Harry pulled out of it, not a scratch to be found on him. And what was more; the Remembrall was clutched safely in his right hand. The cheers of excitement were drowned out, however, as Professor McGonagall quickly escorted her twin inside, most assuredly to receive his punishment.

"She put you on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" As Harry nodded later, Leila stuck a finger in each ear and made sure they were cleaned out. How in the world had her brother softened stone-cold Professor McGonagall?

3. The Duel

Draco Malfoy had obviously not been pleased by Harry's lack of punishment, because he confronted the twins and Ron at the Gryffindor table a few mornings after.

"Oh brilliant," Ron groaned as the blond boy made his approach, "now my breakfast is ruined."

"You've had seconds already, Ron, I'm sure you'll survive," Leila said with a grin at his eating habits.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry had been nominated spokesman of the group, seeing as it obviously was him that Malfoy wished to speak to.

"I don't appreciate being made a fool in front of others, Potter," Malfoy began in a low voice. "But if you're really so brave, then maybe you'll accept a Wizard's Duel against me at midnight in the Trophy Room." The boy looked rather impressed with the idea, until Leila spoke before Ron could stop her.

"Wizard's Duel?" Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"We duel. With wands. Spells. You know, since we're wizards." He seemed to think her rather stupid, and then looked shocked when the girl burst into laughter.

"Er, you alright there, Leila?" Ron questioned, a little alarmed.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. She tried to speak in between her laughter, but was interrupted by someone else.

"That's what I'd like to know, Potter," Professor McGonagall had arrived on the scene, clearly annoyed by the disturbance, and Malfoy paled. Before he could make his escape, Leila managed some words.

"Sorry, Professor- it's just- ha!- so funny really, Ma-Malfoy here- ha ha ha!—" she couldn't look at him without laughing harder, "He, well he- hilarious- he challenged my brother to a Wizard's Duel- haha! –and, I mean, honestly Professor, wha-what's he gonna do? Turn Harry's wand into a—" here she snorted, "a knitting needle? Haha! It'd probably do him good, least Harry'd have an actual- ha! –weapon he could use! Honestly, a Wizard's Duel- hahaha!" She couldn't say anymore, but it was enough for the Deputy Headmistress.

"Honestly, indeed. Mr. Malfoy, you, Professor Snape, and I will be having a long talk now. Come with me." And as Malfoy followed, shooting a murderous glare over his shoulder, Harry and Ron also began laughing as quiet as they could so as not to attract any more teacher's ire.

4. The Troll

"Come on, Hermione," Leila said, sitting with her back against the bathroom wall, "You can't hide in there forever. And we're missing the feast!"

"Y-you can go down if you w-want. I'm n-not hungry." The other spoke in between sniffles.

"Oh, you know I can't do that, you'll starve! And besides, crying isn't doing any good. To be fair, you were sort of making Ron feel pretty stupid in class, even if what he said was out of line."

"Y-you're just si-siding with him 'cos he's your f-friend!" The sobs became louder now. Not good.

"Hey, I thought I was your friend, too!" She said indignantly

"H-how can you be my f-friend when Harry and R-ron said those per-perfectly horrible things to me that night with the," here the girl gulped nervously, "tr-trap door?"

Harry, Ron, and Leila, having been egged on by Fred and George, had decided to go exploring the castle after curfew, but were forced to bring along a reproachful Hermione and a fresh from the Hospital Wing Neville when the Fat Lady left her portrait. They made a little too much noise and were almost caught by Filch, but found what they had thought was an empty room to hide in. The five soon realized, however, that the room was on the forbidden third floor corridor, and contained a giant three-headed dog. Hermione had noticed that it was standing on a trap door, and Harry believed it was hiding whatever had nearly been stolen from Gringotts.

"Right, well, you were sort of nagging them. Maybe if you tried to boss them around less they would be less rude back. And I am your friend; why else would I sit with you in every class, or do homework and study with you at the library."

"Pr-probably so you can c-copy my History of Magic n-notes," she was still crying a little, but quieter now, and Leila thought that maybe the other girl was joking with her now.

"As if, I pay attention to Binns," she declared untruthfully, "and stop stuttering so much, you sound like Quirrell." For that she earned a watery chuckle. She started to stand, thinking that maybe they could finally go eat when she realized something. A rather foul odor was clogging her nose; the smell had been building for awhile but slowly, and had gone unnoticed until it was unbearable. "Ugh, what is that smell!"

"I don't know," Hermione said, opening the stall door and peering out; her face a little red and puffy, but no worse for wear. "Do you hear something?"

She did: rhythmic thuds, like the sound of giant footsteps, making there slow way down the corridor. Hermione hid back inside the stall, having seen something out there Leila couldn't yet, and so she shrank against the wall, trying not to make noise.

But the large creature- 'Mountain Troll', she thought, remembering a picture in the DADA textbook –came into the small bathroom anyway. It looked, smelled, and was simply awful. Then she heard the pitter-patter of running footsteps, saw the door slam, complete with turning lock, and two familiar voices saying "Yes!"

In horror, she dashed past the monster and to the door, pulling on the knob for all she was worth "You stupid gits, you locked us in with the bloody troll! Oh, hell," The last part was quiet as she slapped a hand over her mouth too late, and the troll turned in the direction of her voice.

She and Hermione were sent fleeing all around the bathroom, trying to find some piece of cover. Dimly, she noticed the return of the two boys who had locked them into this nightmare, and Harry foolishly flinging himself at the troll. She managed to half lead, half drag Hermione across to Ron who pulled her up and followed Hermione's advice from Charms.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Hermione covered for all of them, and they managed to even win 15 House Points. But more importantly, they had gained a friend.

5. The Mirror of Erised

Harry had continued to sneak off the last three nights with the twin's new cloak to gaze into that magic mirror; both she and Ron knew it. And they didn't like it much either. It couldn't be helped, for Harry longed to see his parents, perhaps more strongly than Leila because he had always known they were his.

Enough was enough, however, and she had to stop him, it couldn't go on like this. So she wandered, starting as near the library as she dared, and hoped that she would somehow find her invisible twin before someone else found the very visible her. Miraculously, or perhaps magically, she stumbled upon the room and Harry, who was sitting contentedly in front of the mirror.

"Harry?"

The boy jumped, then turned toward her, glasses glinting in the sparse moonlight. He seemed relieved, as if suddenly realizing how easy it would be for someone to find him.

"Oh Leila, it's just you. What is it?" He smiled, and then patted the floor next to him, expecting her to sit. She didn't move and his smile faded a little.

"Harry, please come back to the common room. Ron and I, and Hermione if she were here, we worry about you. This mirror, we don't know where it's from, or how it's doing this, or anything!"

Harry frowned. "You don't get it Leila. I can see them. They're so real. You didn't look in the mirror the last time, you haven't seen mum and dad yet, so I don't expect you to understand." He began to turn away, to resume his stare, before Leila blurted,

"But what if I don't see them in the mirror?" He spun around again, clearly surprised and looked about to say something before she continued, in a quieter voice, "Please, Harry. Please stop coming here. It's not healthy, it can't be."

Wrinkled, yet gentle hands rested themselves on her shoulders, and a voice said, "Your sister is right, Harry. I do believe you've seen quite enough of the Mirror of Erised. After all, one should not waste their thoughts upon dashed dreams, but look towards what dreams they can make for themselves from their surroundings."

Professor Dumbledore explained to them the purpose of the Mirror, and that it would be moved. And afterward Harry was fine, just as always. And Leila tried to quash the uneasiness that plagued her about who would find their heart's desire reflected back at them next.

6. The Man With Two Faces

"Ron!" Hermione and Leila screamed as the white queen attacked. Harry checkmated the king, and the three friends ran to their fallen hero.

"Will he be ok?" Harry questioned anxiously.

"I-I think so, but one of us should probably stay with him and get him to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione replied. There was a pause.

"Hermione, you stay with Ron, you'll be able to get him past all the traps," Harry decided.

"Yeah, you'll be brilliant. Get a professor too if you can, thanks," She tried to smile but Ron's still form seemed to sap all the humor out of her.

"Right, a-and be careful, both of you!" She hugged them both, and them they continued through the next door only to find-

"You?" Harry exclaimed, shocked as Leila was to see Professor Quirrell standing before- yes, it was the Mirror of Erised.

A brief scuffle later and the twins were stood in front of the mirror, and Harry gave a rather bad lie of being given the House Cup.

"He lies." A disembodied voice spoke, and Quirrell decided to give them another chance, shoving Leila forward. She bumped against her brother, and she suddenly realized why he had had to come up with such a quick lie; somehow, looking into the mirror had somehow placed the Stone in his pocket.

"What do you see?" Quirrell demanded.

And so she described, "I'm sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry and our friends, and we're eating and talking and—no one's staring." For she realized why the mirror would show this to her: It was all she really wanted.

At the instructions of his 'master' Quirrell slapped the 'silly girl' aside and turned his attention to Harry. There was nowhere for her brother to turn, the exit being blocked by fire conjured by the evil professor. But suddenly Quirrell gave a shout of pain; a red, angry boil had appeared on the palm of his hand which he had used to hit Leila. The twins locked eyes with each other for a moment, and then acted.

Harry sprang off the stairs toward Quirrell while Leila quickly regained her footing and joined him in the attack on Voldemort's host. Neither of them knew why, but it seemed that Quirrell would feel pain every time one of them touched him, and so they grabbed onto whatever piece of skin they could, while their screams mixed with his and Voldemort.

For whatever pain they inflicted on him, it came right back to them, and soon Leila could barely see straight. But it was worth it; the professor crumbled, Voldemort fled, and the stone was safe.

She felt more than saw Harry lean against her just as she did so to him. Each wrapped an arm around the other, and together they started their struggle up the stairs.

"He's…he's really dead, isn't he?" She finally said, not being able to keep it quiet in her head anymore.

"Yeah…was, well, do you think that was wrong of us?" He was as nervous as she, then.

"I dunno."

"I dunno either."

It was with much relief that they collapsed into the arms of Professor Dumbledore when he appeared at the top of the stairs.

7. Dobby

"Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts!" The strange creature- House Elf, she reminded herself- insisted.

Folding her arms across her chest, Leila stared down at Dobby and asked one word. "Why?"

"There is a great danger! But Harry Potter will be safe here, at his home."

Harry gave a rather bitter laugh, and Leila fully agreed with the sentiment. "This is home? Not really, not here with the Dursley's and no letters from our so-called friends." Dobby seemed to look away nervously, and the twins quickly realized his guilt. Neither was very happy or willing to forgive.

"Well, i-if Harry Potter refuses to listen," Dobby seemed very scared to be defying the Great Harry Potter, "then Dobby must force his hand!" He made a run for the door, but Leila had snuck around behind him while Harry was purposefully holding his attention and she held on tight.

"Oh no you don't, we'll go to the wizarding authorities," It was out of her mouth before she could really think about it, and she glanced to Harry over the elf for help.

"Right, I mean, er…well we'll tell them about you coming here! Not everyone can have a House Elf named Dobby, can they?" She nodded appreciatively at his quick thinking.

Meanwhile, Dobby seemed to practically go white. "But, you can't! Harry Potter mustn't! If Harry Potter tells, then Dobby's master will know that Harry Potter knows! Miss Leila, please!" This House Elf really needed to stop referring to her brother by his full name in the third person all the time, it was becoming quite difficult to understand. Though he didn't seem to have much trouble shortening her name, Leila noted wryly.

She was able to get an agreement from Dobby to stop stealing their mail and stop watching them at Privet Drive. Leila had to do most of this, for when Harry tried to threaten the creature, he burst into tears. Once he was gone they immediately called Hermione and asked her to also send a message to Ron, apologizing for the problem. Of course, an anxious Ron and the twins showed up in a flying car before the letter reached him, but they were glad to be leaving the Dursley's at any rate.

"Happy Birthday, you two," Ron said and Leila, squished between the two boys and with Hedwig's cage crowding her lap, smiled back at him.

8. Polyjuice

"Do we really have to drink this?" Leila asked. Harry and Ron's faces clearly agreed with the sentiment.

"Yes," Hermione said, obviously having expected this, "If we really want to know if Malfoy's the Heir of Slytherin." So all four downed the horrid tasting drinks and the effects were instant. Both she and Harry grew- him more so than her -while Ron shrank. She felt her hair shorten and saw it turn to a dark brown. Her nose turned up of its own accord. Looking up she saw Pansy Parkinson staring back in the bathroom mirror. Beside her were Crabbe and Goyle. But where had Hermione gone?

"Hermione?" The three of them stood outside the stall she had hid in.

"Go! Just go, you're wasting time!" The newly transformed Slytherins shared a worried look, but headed off toward, hopefully, the Slytherin Common Room.

"Well that was bloody awful," Ron said after, as they ran into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and quickly began to change.

"Yeah, we got nothing Hermione," Leila called to the other girl who appeared to still be hiding in the stall. Pulling off a too-small shoe, she hopped on one foot while fumbling for her own shoe on the ground. Ron threw an amused glance at her awkward dance to avoid touching the grimy bathroom with her bare foot while Harry made for the stall door and wrenched it open as he said,

"You can't keep hiding in there, Hermione, what- oh!"

Their friend was now a cat-girl.

9. Dueling Club

"Get away from him!" Harry tried to order the snake, and Leila could only hope it would work. And miraculously, the snake did turn away and look at Harry, until Snape managed to get around to vanishing it finally. She only noticed then that everyone, including the professors, was looking at Harry oddly.

"What are you playing at?" Justin said, with something like anger- or fear –in his eyes.

"What are you playing at? He just saved you, you git!" She returned. Now the suspicious stares were directed at both of them. "What? He did, I heard him!" Harry seemed as confused as she, and Leila got on the platform and stood between Harry and the Hufflepuff who was still glaring at her twin. How dare he!

"That is quite enough," Snape's quiet yet commanding tone cut through the murmurs. "Regardless of Mr. Potter's intentions—"

She spun to face the detestable potions master. "Regardless! Harry would never attack Justin, he barely knows him! And what about your intentions, sir?" She sarcastically added the title.

"Leila, stop," Harry muttered in her ear, but she took no heed.

"I saw you, anyone did! You told Malfoy to set that snake on Harry, you wanted to hurt him—"

"Detention, Ms. Potter! And 20 points from Gryffindor!" Snape's black eyes flashed and she doubted anyone had ever seen him this angry. Furious, she still allowed Harry to lead her out of the Hall and away from the crowds.

'So Harry and I can talk to snakes, big deal,' Leila thought angrily as she left her detention, overhearing the rumors that seemed to be flying up and down the corridors. Apparently if Pavarti's sister's roommate's acquaintance's best friend's crush Ernie Macmillan was to be believed, the Potter twins were Slytherin's Heirs, but only Leila knew and was using Harry as a mind slave. Her vehement defense of him at the Dueling Club was meant to throw off suspicion. And You-Know-Who had attacked their family to get rid of competition from her, but Harry had magically defended her and that was why they both lived.

Even though the Fred and George's attempts at levity cheered her up a bit, a few days later found her stomping grumpily through the portrait hole, regardless of what it probably looked like to others, and throwing herself on a sofa that a terrified first-year had just vacated.

Working on a Potion's Essay late into the night didn't help matters, and so Harry and Ron were met with a rather terse Leila Potter when they came rushing white-faced down to the common room.

"Leila, we- we know who opened the Chamber of Secrets!"

"Oh come off it, Ron, I'm not in the mood!"

"No, Leila," Harry interjected, "It was Hagrid. Hagrid did it."

"No!" She found herself saying. "What- how—why?" The boys sent her to get Hermione from the dormitory and they quickly explained what Harry had found out from the diary. Though it didn't sit right with any of them, they didn't know what else to think.

10. The Chamber

"Ron…" neither she nor Harry knew what to say to the distraught Weasley boy. Poor, poor Ginny. All of them felt they had failed the little girl. Leila felt even worse than the boys; she knew that Ron's sister looked up to her in a way that allowed her to actually be able to talk to the older girl, unlike her crush on Harry. But now…

"We should go talk to Lockhart. Tell him what we know," Harry decided quietly.

"But, how's that going to help? We all know he's an idiot."

"We've got to try, Leila. Come on, Ron, for Ginny." The Potters stood and Leila offered her hand to the redhead while Harry ran for his dorm to get the cloak. He took it, and soon all three were leaving through the portrait hole, no one really feeling up to trying to stop them.

"We should've known it would come down to this," Leila muttered to Ron, both pointing their wands threateningly at Lockhart as Harry led them toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

After listening to Myrtle's- rather morbid –retelling of her death, they now knew that they had spent a month sitting right next to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Together, Harry and Leila took a few tries opening it, Ron helpfully pointing out when they weren't actually using parseltongue. It was soon open, and down they went, Lockhart first. They hadn't anticipated his fake-fainting trick though, and stood, unsure of how to stop the fraud.

Ron's wand did it for them though, backfiring as usual, but causing a cave-in, trapping Harry and Leila on the side closest to the Chamber.

"Ron!" Harry called as they both coughed while the dust settled around them. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," they heard his muffled response. "What do we do?"

"Start moving the rocks, it'll take a little while though," Leila suggested.

"Then you two go on, Ginny can't wait," Ron instructed firmly.

"Alright," Harry agreed.

"We'll save her," Leila said. They had to.

On they went, until reaching yet another doorway. This time, Harry spoke the password and dashed in as soon as the door opened. Both were anxious to find Ginny and get her out of this place. She found herself staring at the giant carved face of what had to be Salazar Slytherin. By this time Harry had spotted Ginny and rushed to her side, trying in vain to wake her.

Somehow- and she stopped to rub her eyes just to make sure –an older boy in Slytherin robes who seemed to be there and yet not there appeared and walked toward Harry, Leila unnoticed. "She won't wake," He informed.

"Tom? Tom Riddle?" Harry asked, believing his eyes as much as Leila had.

'Tom from the diary? But how?' None of it made sense. Tom went on to explain he was sort of a memory kept alive by someone writing in the diary, and that Ginny had poured some her soul into him. He was going to use her life force to bring himself back to life. And he had already used her to open and use the Chamber of Secrets.

It was then that Leila realized the wand Tom was toying with in his hands was familiar, because it was Harry's.

"Give my brother back his wand," She commanded, the echo of her voice sounding small in the huge Chamber. Still, it startled Tom slightly, and he backed away a few paces, looking around for the voice's owner. Seeing her walk slowly down the length of the Chamber toward them, wand pointed at Tom, the boy smirked.

"You must be Leila Potter, the sister of Harry Potter. You know, for months now I have been curious as to how you two escaped the clutches of the greatest wizard alive—"

"The greatest wizard alive is Albus Dumbledore," Harry cut across, not trusting the older boy anymore than his sister, and obviously angry about his stolen wand.

Tom's eyes seemed to flash red for a moment as he said, "Dumbledore has been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me! No, Harry Potter, the greatest wizard alive is Lord Voldemort," This was accompanied by a rather triumphant look.

"What do you care about Voldemort? He was after your time," Leila said, still not lowering her wand.

Tom actually chuckled. "Voldemort is my past, present, and future." Writing his full name in flames, Tom Marvolo Riddle, he rearranged the letters and Harry and Leila saw the terrible truth that had been staring right back at them in the face.

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"I think I'd like to see how you two do without your precious Dumbledore hear to save you, now that he's gone."

"He'll never be gone!" Harry said, and he sounded braver than Leila felt either of them had a right to be. "Not as long as there are those here that are still loyal to him!"

A burst of flame announced the arrival of Fawkes the Phoenix, carrying something in his talons, which he dropped in Harry's hands. It was the Sorting Hat.

This only served to amuse Tom- Voldemort –more. "This is what Dumbledore sends to his little heroes? A songbird, and an old hat." He turned to the statue of the former Hogwarts founder. "Speak to me Slytherin; Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!" The mouth opened and out came the Basilisk. Leila closed her eyes, though it made her feel more powerless, and reached out for Harry, meeting his hand halfway. "Don't get any ideas; the Basilisk only listens to me!" Tom told them gleefully. "Kill the boy and girl!" Harry and Leila ran blindly down the Chamber, but the Basilisk was quickly gaining. And then one or maybe both slipped on a puddle and down they went. Before they could get up however, they heard the Basilisk shrieking in what was undeniably pain, Tom yelling, "Get away! Get away you stupid bird!" and large droplets of hot liquid rained down.

Chancing a look both opened their eyes to see that they had been drenched in blood; Fawkes had blinded the Basilisk! But there wasn't the time for celebration, as Tom called the Basilisk back to its cause: "Kill them! You can still smell them!"

"We should split up!" Harry panted.

"Alright, you draw it off some ways and I'll get Ginny! Then we make a run for it out of this crazy Chamber and get some help!"

"We already got help!" Harry reminded her, waving the Sorting Hat around.

"Sure, but my odds are in favor of the Basilisk against a singing hat!" She veered off right and Harry made a left, the Basilisk choosing to follow him as they had hoped. Doubling back, she bent to lift Ginny, but only managed to drag her a few centimeters when a jet of sickly green light zoomed over her head.

"Not so fast!" Tom seemed to be trying to decide whether to be amused or angry about how this battle was turning out. "So you chose to confuse my Basilisk, and leave him with only one target. But you forget; Lord Voldemort is just as, no, more deadly of an enemy. Avada Kedavra!" Leila dropped Ginny and dived, rolling and flinging the first spell to come to mind.

"Rictumsempra!" It flew right over his shoulder. Tom laughed.

"Pitiful, second year spells won't get you anywhere with me!" He sent another curse, and she dodged behind a statue. So they continued, she jumping and dodging, not quite trusting her shield spells, and trying any spell she could think of. He seemed to be playing with her, which was even worse in Leila's opinion, but she felt as though he was holding back for another reason.

It was as he lazily waved away another Jelly-Legs Jinx that she realized it. 'He's not at full strength yet! Keeping up the energy to fire all these curses at me must be tiring him out!'

"There's one thing I would like to know before you both die down hear with Ginny," He said almost conversationally, but the look on his face seemed to say it was of utmost importance.

"What?" She panted, not really sure why she bothered, because it didn't seem he was waiting for an answer. The snake statue she'd been hiding behind shattered at the impact of his next spell and a gash seared across her shoulder. She sent a Leg-Locker back.

"You both are Parselmouths and you both have the same scar, so why is it that Ginny only wrote of Harry as The-Boy-Who-Lived? Are you not both survivors? That must be quite annoying for you, to have your fame hogged by your own twin."

"I don't care! No one knows what happened that night, and all I want is to get out of here alive with my brother and our friend!"

"So you don't think it was anything special that either of you did to defeat me? Well, I thought so. That settles everything quite nicely; Harry and Leila Potter are not special at all. Just two half-blooded, foolish children who think they can stand up to the might of Slytherin! Good-bye, Leila." But a flash of ruby on top of the statue of Slytherin's head caught both of their attentions as Harry unsheathed a sword from the Sorting Hat and stabbed it through the roof of the Basilisk's mouth.

"NO!" Both screamed for different reasons; Tom Riddle who watched his Basilisk collapse dead on the floor of the chamber, and Leila Potter who watched her twin slide down the statue in obvious pain with a Basilisk fang stuck in his arm.

"Harry!" She cried running forward to catch him, completely forgetting the duel. Riddle hadn't, though.

"Expelliarmus!" Her wand was torn from her hand and caught by Tom.

"So you defeated my Basilisk, only to slowly die from its poison while your beloved sister and I watch. I suppose I'll kill you after your brother dies tragically in your arms. How does it feel to know that there's nothing for you to do to help him?" Leila wished Harry would just lie down or something and not push himself, but he seemed intent on moving forward, so she guided him to Ginny where he finally sat.

"She's almost dead now," Tom said. "To think what damage can be caused by a simple diary, especially in the hands of a silly little girl. Farewell, Harry Potter. You'll be with your mudblood mother soon." Harry pressed something quietly into her hands; the Basilisk fang. Meanwhile he reached forward and slid the diary out from Ginny's cold arms.

"What are you doing?" Tom seemed almost fearful now, and with a tug on her arm from Harry, Leila suddenly realized what it was he wanted. Together they brought the fang down on the diary, dark ink instantly flowing from it like blood and Tom screamed in agony. He glowed brighter and brighter and then exploded and was gone.

"Wh-where am I?" Ginny's quiet voice asked as her eyes opened. She was fine then, but Leila couldn't focus on the younger girl yet.

"Harry- Harry, look at me. Don't do this, please!" She heard Ginny gasp in horror at the two of them.

"You're hurt!"

"No- no, just Harry," She shook her head, only serving to make herself dizzy for some reason.

"I know, but Leila, your shoulder!" It was then she noticed the throb in her shoulder and the warm blood still seeping from the wound. They were both dying.

"Oh," was all she could say, and then Harry spoke up.

"Ginny, get out of the Chamber, Ron's waiting for you and you can go get help. Don't…well, don't worry about us." He tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"But, Harry—!"

Before Ginny could continue, Fawkes descended at their feet and looked sadly at them.

"You were brilliant Fawkes," Harry said appreciatively, "We just weren't fast enough."

"But thanks anyway," Leila also smiled at the beautiful bird, but it still began to cry on Harry anyway. The strange thing was, the stab wound from the Basilisk fang began to disappear, and knew skin formed over, completely healed.

"Of course!" Harry said, sitting up straighter. "Phoenix's tears have healing powers! Thanks, Fawkes. Here, Leila," He helped his twin move forward and Fawkes cried on her shoulder. With a strange warming sensation that spread from her shoulder through the rest of her body, this wound also healed.

"I'm so sorry!" Ginny cried. "It was my fault this happened, I opened the Chamber, it was me!"

Harry and Leila shared a glance. "No it wasn't. Tom Riddle opened the Chamber," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Ginny," Harry added. "It's over. It's only…a memory." The three children smiled at each other, then stood and left the Chamber of Secrets.

To say Mr. and Mrs. Weasley- not to mention the staff of Hogwarts –were relieved would have been a gross understatement. Hysterical, Mrs. Weasley crushed Ginny, and then Harry, Ron, and Leila, in an enormous hug. Though stifling, it was nice. After explaining their story and being awarded an obnoxiously high amount of House Points that guaranteed Gryffindor first place, Dumbledore asked to speak with the Potter twins.

"Something bothering you, Harry?" the headmaster asked.

"It's just- well, he said we were alike. Tom Riddle and I," this thought seemed to have been preying on her brother's mind.

"And do you believe that, Harry?"

"Well, we're both orphans and parselmouths- we even look alike!"

"Tom Riddle was in Slytherin and you were in Gryffindor—"

"But the Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin!" Harry blurted, and Leila turned a surprised look at him. He looked away, ashamed.

"It wanted to put me in Slytherin, too," She admitted quietly. Now it was Harry's turn to be the surprised one. Dumbledore chuckled.

"You see, Harry? Leila here is an orphan, a parselmouth, looks nearly identical to you, and was almost sorted into Slytherin House. Does that make her like Tom Riddle?"

"No, of course not!" Harry said, defending his sister and believing it. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled over his glasses and Leila raised an eyebrow at the boy. Harry had the decency to blush. "I guess that means I'm not like him, either."

"Exactly. It is our choices Harry, and not our abilities, that define us. Anything on your mind, Leila?" She hadn't expected the question, and so thought about anything that Tom Riddle had said to her in the Chamber.

"Er…well, he asked why I wasn't as famous as Harry, since I did the same thing?" It became more of a question at the end, and Harry also looked at the Headmaster questioningly.

"Well, I'm afraid that is more my error than anything else," the older man admitted. "Not much about your family was known before the attack, and when you weren't found, many assumed you dead or not even real. Forgive me for not having searched for you harder."

"No, no, it's not a problem or anything…I just remembered him saying it, that's all." It wasn't a problem. 'It's not.'

"Of course," though something shone in Dumbledore's eyes all the same.

So it took me a looong time to write this. It is also obnoxiously long in length so that might be why. After this, expect a more detailed account of Leila's life starting with the summer before 3rd year. Thanks for reading!