Prologue
Harry Potter was, in all ways, a massive loser. He liked to think of himself as that cool mysterious character whom girls would swoon over. But who was he trying to fool, he already knew exactly what he was—an outcast. A social pariah. Someone who managed to end being rejected by every house in Hogwarts by the end of his second year, a fact he was strangely proud of.
It had all begun the day he was sorted into Slytherin. The hat's song had mentioned something about making "real friends" and it had told Harry that he could achieve greatness in the house. So, of course, naïve little young Harry would readily ask to be put into the house of serpents. The moment the hat had bellowed, much too loudly, "SLYTHERIN"
He had earned the ire of the entire house of Gryffindor. Pick a random person from the Gryffindor common room and there was eighty-percent chance that they loathed Harry Potter. The other twenty percent were terrified of him. So, why exactly was he was risking his own skin to save the Gryffindor sister of the Gryffindor boy who treated Harry with the most vitriol?
Well, he sort of jumped into the Chamber of Secrets without really thinking it through. Not very Slytherin of him, but that's just the kind of person Harry was. There was a reason Malfoy called him the Gryffindor-wannabe. Harry knew in his heart—instinctively—that he would've been in Gryffindor; If the darned Sorting Hat hadn't scammed Harry.
"Real friends"? What a joke, Harry didn't have a single friend in Slytherin (or in any other house, as a matter of fact). The only person whom he called a friend turned out to be the biggest racist at the school.
And Slytherin "would help me on the way to greatness"? Well, that was a fucking lie. Harry had been practically a dog on a leash to the said "friend" for two years. He willfully ignored his treatment as a lackey in fear of losing his only "friend". And now that he was about to die, he realized that Slytherin had helped Harry tremendously on the way to being pathetic—not greatness.
As he cursed the patchy hat, almost on cue, the talking hat appeared above the vast space of the Chamber of Secrets. Being carried by what looked like a shooting ball of flame, it headed towards him at lightning speed. Harry didn't know why it was here, but he wasn't about to die without putting up a fight when he had an audience.
Harry jabbed his wand towards the enormous encroaching head of the basilisk and poured all his magic into the most powerful freezing charm he could muster. Even if its scales were resistant to magic, the water around and on it would freeze. He knew it wouldn't slow the king of serpents by much, but he only needed to buy a few more seconds.
He hoped those few seconds would be enough for the darned Sorting Hat to explain why it was here. Hopefully it's reason had something to do with saving Harry's life.
The freezing charm flew from the tip of Harry's wand and landed on the wet floor in front of Harry. In the blink of an eye, a loud crack resounded and the entire floor of the Chamber, previously filled with ankle depth water, had become frozen solid ice.
The gooey slime-like substance coating the basilisk's scales also froze, making its slithering rigid and rough. The water on the beast's belly also froze it to the ground, causing the great snake to slow. Harry's feet were also incased in ice, meaning he wouldn't be able to dodge this one. Not to mention that he couldn't look up from the floor, owing to the pair fatal eyes the basilisk possessed. So, Harry wouldn't even know when it would attack, making him double screwed. Harry could only hope that the Sorting Hat was actually Dumbledore in disguise.
"Potter, boy! Grab the Sword of Gryffindor!" the gritty deep voice of the enchanted hat bellowed from right above. Harry looked up at see a long glimmering sword fall out of the insides of the hat and stab itself into the ice beside him. Harry simply obeyed the hat, not putting much thought into the words of the hat, running on purely on adrenaline and a desperation to survive.
He lifted the long, heavy sword, almost twice the length of his torso, with much difficulty. He shoved his wand in his pocket so he could hold the sword with both hands. The sword filled Harry with a fierce determination. As it were reassuring him that it would help him survive.
A loud shrill squawk echoed through the chamber and Harry realized that the fireball had been Dumbledore's pet Phoenix. Its blazing wings beat in front of the mythical monster of Slytherin. It was a picturesque scene ripped straight out of a fantastical picture book for children. Fawkes cried out a terrible shriek before diving in and clawing out the basilisks precious eyes.
The basilisk thrashed in rage and pain before rushing straight forward, directly towards Harry. Harry's blood pumped fierily until it felt like it were boiling inside of him and he finally faced the monster properly. He readied the sword and dropped to a slightly crouching position. His heart's thumps overtook all other noise as he faced the eminent death that bulleted towards him.
The basilisk's face grew closer. Closer. And closer. And then it became the only thing in Harry's vision, stretching from right to left and top to bottom: all he saw was it's pink wide-open maw and it's long sharp fangs.
Harry felt the air get knocked out his lungs. He gasped for air, every part of body burning—especially his shoulder. He couldn't even move his right hand, for some reason. He realized that the warm liquid gushing on top of him was blood. Not his, but the basilisk's. His hand was glued tightly to the sword which was embedded in through the roof the serpent's mount and sticking out through its skull.
He pulled the sword out with great effort. Causing gallons of blood to be spurted from the opened slit caused by the bloodied sword. His feet had been freed from the chilling hold of the frozen water, so he staggered up with the help of the bejewelled sword.
Harry limped over to Riddle's book on reflex. He couldn't hear anything, as his ears were painfully ringing but he could see Riddle's young apparition scream bloody murder. He plunged the sword right into the book, causing Riddle to dissipate into white light.
Harry felt all strength leave him as he lowered himself to his knees. He looked down to realize that there was a huge hole where his right shoulder should have been, and it was dripping with a green substance he could tell was basilisk venom. He realized that he was about to die. He really didn't want to die, he also realized. He wanted to go back to his house. He still wanted to prove himself a true Slytherin. Make everyone there acknowledge him, with his own strength. "I wanted to become great," he thought bitterly.
He fell down to his ass and rolled on to his back, staring at the ceiling of the chamber. He saw Fawkes and the hat enter the corner of his vision. He felt his life slip out of him, but he couldn't help feel bad for poor Fawkes. It didn't have to die for his sake. He prayed that if even he were to die, god would let the heroic Phoenix live on.
And—then Harry Potter died. And Fawkes returned! The end. Right? No, Harry bitterly thought, his rotten luck wouldn't allow him to pass away on his own terms. Fawkes had shed his tears for Harry, miraculously healing Harry—gaping hole, basilisk venom, frost bite, and all—from the verge of death. Fawkes died instead. Harry genuinely broke into tears at the birds sacrifice, only for it to rebirth from the ashes. Harry had forgotten Phoenixes could do that.
Some Slytherin Harry was, though. He had slayed both Slytherin's prized monster and the apparition of his heir. With the bloody Sword of Gryffindor to boot, the weapon of his long-standing arch nemesis. Harry erupted into a fit of laughter in the middle of Chamber. He couldn't help but feel giddy.
He might not be the most conventional Slytherin but he would show 'em. Harry would achieve the greatness he was promised. He would reach heights that no one's ever dreamt of, he swore it. He would prove it to the world. In his own Slytherin way.
A/N: First fic! It's kinda shitty lol. Don't know if anyone will read this but wtvr. I had fun writing, hope someone else will enjoy :))