AN: Still don't own Harry Potter and no, this is not a cross-over. (Although I did have a funny idea of a Weres Harry/ Avengers cross. LOL) Special thanks to David for his editorial comments on my Yahoo site.
Harry shot out of the pipe to land in a heap on the stone floor. He lay there for a second and tried to verify that he was a) still alive, b) none of his bones were broken, and c) no monster was waiting to attack him at any moment. The pain coming from his back told Harry he wasn't dead and some subtle movements seemed to confirm nothing major was broken. Carefully, he glanced around. The monster's scent was stronger but was a couple hours old.
Harry stood up and looked around. The pipe opened up into a natural looking cave with a sandy floor. The sand was actually warm to the touch. Magical torches burned in sconces a regular intervals lighting the way further down the cave. Some kind of material that looked like canvas was lumped in several places in the cave. Further down Harry could just make out a pair of doors.
He glanced back towards the pipe he had just slid down. If he had known that he wasn't going to be killed on the way down the ride would have been fun. The pipe had branched off several times on the way down. Harry assumed the pipe had other openings in the school or its grounds. He hoped there was another way out because he sure couldn't climb out.
The 'canvas' turned out to be some kind of snake-skin. His medusa comparison was coming back to haunt him.
The doors were adorned with snakes and the Slytherin crest. The snakes were whispering to each other.
'Guess I'm in the right place,' Harry thought. "Open" he commanded. The two snakes glanced at him before the doors silently swung open. The air that hit him was warm and humid. That matched with what he'd read about snakes. They might hibernate in cool, dark caves in winter, but needed external heat if they were going to be very active.
More of the skins littered the floor as Harry moved down the hall silently. He was careful to look for traps or signs of an ambush. He held his wand at the ready just in case.
The hallway opened up into a vast cavern. Against one side of the cavern was a large pool of water with a huge statue of a really ugly man looming over it. Then he noticed the small lump of black cloth near the edge of the pool. Luna.
Harry moved quickly over to her and rolled the girl over carefully. The blonde Ravenclaw was breathing shallowly but her heartbeat was steady.
"She won't wake up you know," a voice announced. "Thank Salazar. Always writing about mythical creatures no one's ever heard of. Stupid little twit."
Harry stood up quickly to face the newcomer. He hadn't heard anything approaching and even now he couldn't pick up a scent.
The newcomer was an older boy roughly Sixth year in Slytherin robes. He was meticulously groomed and stood with a confident, almost arrogant, posture.
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"Harry Potter. And you would be the Heir?"
The boy smiled widely at that. "You are a clever one. I have so wanted to meet you. The great Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Defeater of Voldemort! What an honour!"
"Wonderful, a fanboy," Harry mocked. The older boy's eyes flared briefly. Then it was gone and the boy smiled charmingly.
"Where are my manners? I am Tom Marvolo Riddle. And as you guessed, I am the Heir to the great Salazar Slytherin!
"But I am curious, Harry," the newly named Tom continued, "do you know how you managed to defeat the greatest wizard in history?"
"Do you mean Merlin?" Harry asked in mock earnestness. "or Dumbledore? Oh, wait you could also mean Gandalf or Miracle Max!"
"Voldemort, you insolent twit!" Tom roared out. "You are as annoying as this stupid little girl always writing about mythical creatures. Her mind was so twisted it made it impossible to fully possess her. But soon she will be dead and I will have enough power to move about on my own!"
Harry resisted turning back to look at the unconscious witch. He glanced down to see a small book sitting on the floor near Tom's feet. He could read the writing on the front.
T.M. Riddle
'Writing about mythical creatures,' Harry thought.
"What are you?" he asked aloud.
"Me?" Tom responded with an evil smile. "I am a gift, an insurance policy if you will. So long as I exist Lord Voldemort shall never die. Soon our little witch's bones will be left to rot in this place along with yours. And then I shall seek out my elder part and see Lord Voldemort returned to his true place of power!"
"Don't you get it yet, my little wizard?" Tom mocked as he started to spell out his name in flames. Then he seemed to tap it and the letters rearranged themselves. As the words appeared Tom read it out.
"I AM LORD VOLDEMORT!"
"You were bored in History of Magic too, weren't you?"
Tom Riddle continued speaking as though Harry never spoke. "The crazy little bint was never supposed to get my diary. Lucius shall pay for that error. The Weasley brat is the seventh child and first daughter born in seven generations. Sacrificing her soul while absorbing her magic would have been enough to give me life of my own. Now I must re-join my elder for life."
"Was I supposed to understand any of that?" Harry asked. "You're monologueing. That is what the bad guy does just before everything usually goes to shite."
"Silence, fool! Enough of your foolish arrogance - I tire of this place and you. Now you shall meet your death!" Tom turned and faced the statue. "Speak to me, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
Harry didn't wait to see what happened. He pointed his wand at Tom and yelled out, "Expelliarmus!"
The pulse of magical energy passed cleanly through Tom's body. He turned to Harry with a grin. "Sorry, I don't have a body yet. And once I do it will be far too late for both of you, hero."
Harry was shocked. How was he supposed to fight this?
A slight movement caught Harry's eye and almost caused him to go into shock again. A gigantic snake was emerging from the statue's mouth. This wasn't good.
"As the Heir of your Master, I order you to kill this intruder!" Tom demanded with an odd hiss to his voice.
"Yes, master," the snake responded.
"Stop!" Harry yelled back at the snake.
The snake paused a moment and it seemed … unsure. "Two masters?"
"How do you speak the Tongue of the Serpents?" Tom demanded. "You are not of the line of Slytherin!"
Harry hadn't even realized he had been speaking Paseltongue. After the way everyone freaked out in the Great Hall, it hadn't been something he'd experimented with- it just sounded like English to him after all. Although he knew now how stupid he was not to realize after the snakes in the bathroom and the doors responded to him.
Harry ignored Tom's question to focus on the snake. "Don't bite me," he commanded. "Go back to your nest."
The snake's tongue flickered in the air a couple times as it seemed to consider. "You are not of the True Master's line. I must follow the commands of the True Master's line." The snake turned its head to stare at Harry. He felt some force pass by him and shivered.
"Of course, a Paselmouth is immune to a basilisk's gaze," Tom commented aloud. "Bite him!"
"Master."
The snake continued out of the statue's mouth as Harry tried not to panic. He'd read about basilisks but their gaze was supposed to kill, not petrify. Only seeing its reflection was supposed to reduce the effect but they had ten students and a cat petrified. Chance might have allowed one to be petrified instead of killed but all of them? Something to think about later.
"You haven't a chance, boy," Tom taunted. "Your schoolboy spells can do nothing against the magnificence of the basilisk!"
Harry ignored him as he dropped his school robe. In an instant he went from a small wizard standing still to a large black werewolf moving flat out.
"What the Hell?" Tom yelped in shock.
The coiled basilisk shot forward in an attempt to catch its prey but the werewolf dodged. The snake smacked into one of the pillars with a jarring crash. Harry used the moment to start running through the pillars, weaving in and out.
The basilisk chased its prey but was not able to launch a strike stretched out like it was.
After five pillars, Harry suddenly doubled back. The basilisk tried to turn with him but the turn was too tight. In an instant Harry was on the monster's back his nails digging into the tough hide.
Harry tried to slash the basilisk with his claws but his strikes just scratched the surface. The basilisk started to twitch and roll in attempt to get the attacker off of it. Harry held on but was bucked off and smashed against the chamber wall. He'd felt at least one rib crack from the force of the hit. He could feel the healing start but didn't know if he'd have time.
The basilisk now turned to face Harry. It was poised to strike. In the background he could hear Tom's shouts of encouragement and mockery but ignored them. When the snake struck it would be …
The basilisk struck with only a milliseconds warning. Harry managed to grab one of the long fangs but his injured side kept him from grabbing the other one. The fang sank deep into Harry's shoulder causing the werewolf to howl in pain. The snake tried to draw back but Harry kept his grip on the fang. With a sudden wrench he tore the fang out.
The basilisk recoiled in shocked pain as Harry sank to the ground. With the fang gone from his shoulder, it was now bleeding freely. He could feel the poison starting to take effect. His right arm was going numb.
"Stop playing with him and kill him!" Tom was demanding.
Harry forced himself to his feet. With the fang in hand he stumbled over to where Luna lay at Tom's feet.
"Come here to die, creature?" Tom mocked. "The Boy-Who-Lived – nothing more than a common werewolf; a diseased creature! That will crush the sheep!"
Ignoring him, Harry forced himself to focus. There. He plunged the fang into the little black book.
"NO!" Tom screamed in shock and sudden agony. Harry slumped to the ground and watched as the shade seemed to waiver and then blinked out of existence.
Harry felt the basilisk suddenly slide up next to him.
"Intruder has defeated the true Master's Heir? Intruder has faced me in combat and wounded me like no other. That is to be respected. Why did you do this?"
Harry was in too much agony to speak. He reached over and pointed a claw at Luna.
"To defend a youngling? True Master placed Sasha here with the charge to defend his school and its younglings. Master's Heir said some of the younglings were a threat, yet you fight to defend another youngling. One thinks the true Master and his friends would approve. Go with my blessing."
The basilisk slithered away back towards the statue. Harry could do nothing as he felt the paralysis spreading throughout his body. It was only the werewolf's strength that kept him alive this long.
Harry exhaled a little yelp in his pain. Help? And then again.
There was a sudden flash of fire overhead and a bird appeared. It was brightly coloured and sang a song that brought joy to Harry's heart even as the weakness settled in further. Fawkes? He had seen the phoenix in the Headmaster's office on his one visit and heard the student gossip but never interacted with the magical bird.
The bird landed on Harry's furry chest and looked him right in the eye. The bird's expression seemed to say, "What took you so long?" Then it bent its head over his wound as Harry at last passed out.
-I-
Awareness started to return to Harry. There was some pain, but not as much as he'd expected (assuming he lived). He forced his eyes open only to see an upside-down Luna staring down at him.
"Are you feeling better, Furry Potter?" Harry tried to answer but settled on simply nodding instead. He also noticed he'd returned to human form.
"The phoenix was still healing you when I woke up. He seemed very sad. He cried all over you. You need to be careful. Nargles are attracted to phoenix tears."
"You okay?" Harry managed to get out.
Luna nodded vigorously sending her hair flying about. "It was jolly painful but I am fine now. I don't think Tom liked it in my head. I don't know why. I have a lovely time in here."
Harry started to laugh but it hurt too much. He was sure that inside Luna's head was … an interesting place. He forced himself to sit up. He realized now he'd been using Luna's lap as a pillow.
As he sat up his eyes fell on the remains of the diary lying nearby. He particularly noticed the black, tar-like substance that had oozed out of it. It was just like the stuff that had come out of his scar after he'd been bitten. Coincidence or could the magic of the diary be related to what happened to him?
A trill of sound pulled Harry's attention away from the diary. He saw Fawkes perched high up on the statue's prominent nose. The statue's mouth was closed again with no sign of the basilisk in sight. Fawkes let out another trill of song that seemed to be encouragement.
"I think he wants to leave," Luna commented absently as she looked curiously around the chamber. "I doubt a creature of Fire and Air likes being stuck in Earth." Fawkes's answering trill sounded like laughter. Luna helped Harry to his feet. Harry could feel his wounds healing. The poison seemed to be gone. Luna left Harry and went over to pick up his discarded robes. She handed them to Harry.
"Thank you for coming for me, Harry Potter." Harry tried to smile through his weakness; the fight and the poison had taken a lot out of him.
"I'm just glad I could help. Ron's sister came and told me you'd been taken. She was very worried for you." Harry frowned as another thought came to him. "Also, Hermione and Padma were petrified tonight. I don't like people attacking my friends."
Luna smiled softly. "Ginevra is remarkably free of scrabbling dilwillys. I am sure your friends will be fine. Padma has always been polite to me." Harry felt there was something unsaid in Luna's words but didn't have the strength to pursue it right now.
The pair of students made their way slowly towards the entrance to the Chamber but Fawkes had other ideas. The phoenix landed on Harry's shoulder with a trill. Fire suddenly seemed to consume the students but an instant later it cleared and they were in the Hospital Wing.
"Oh my, that was nice," Luna giggled happily. Harry's response was cut off by Madam Pomfrey.
"What is going on here? Miss Lovegood? I thought you were missing?"
Luna focused her grey eyes on the school Healer. "I've been with me the whole time. I wasn't always in control of me but I was always with me so how could I be missing?"
Madam Pomfrey looked confused by that answer but threw it off a moment later. "Are either of you hurt?"
"Harry was," Luna answered. "A big snake took a half a bite out of him but Fawkes dripped phoenix-juice all over him and he seems better."
Harry couldn't help commenting, "A half a bite?"
Luna turned her guileless eyes on him. "Well, Furry, it was only one fang so it wouldn't be right to call it a whole bite."
Harry snorted, "Fair enough."
Madam Pomfrey ignored their byplay to cast a diagnostic charm on Harry. The response confused her.
"I see the signs of the wound and the poison damage. While some poison remains it seems to have been neutralized by the tears. It must have been only a small amount of poison for the tears to have cleared it so fast. Odd. The wound to your shoulder seems to have healed nicely as well. A small scar will be all that is left. Next time, come in sooner and I can heal it so there is no scar left."
"Don't plan on trying it again," Harry retorted in a tired voice.
Pomfrey continued, ignoring Harry's response. "The tiredness is from the depletion of your magical core. Have you been casting spells above your year, Mr Potter? I warn you that doing so before your core has stabilized can have long-term negative consequences to your magical abilities. You only get one core, Mr Potter. Do not abuse it."
"Yes, madam," Harry answered. Harry hadn't really cast many spells down in the Chamber or felt tired after changing into the Beast. He guessed it was from the fight or fighting the effects of the poison but how was he to explain that without revealing his secret?
Madam Pomfrey made a doubtful noise before handing Harry a small potion vial. "This is Pepper-Up. It will hurry the restoration of your core and remove the tired feeling you have right now." Harry quickly downed the smelly potion and instantly felt his energy levels returning to normal.
"The potion only masks the symptoms, Mr Potter," the Healer warned. "You need a good night's rest to allow your core to recover naturally. Then you are to refrain from all spell casting outside of class for the next week. I shall send a note to your Head of House about your casting above year spells.
'Great,' Harry thought. 'Now McGonagall is going to be watching me or have the Prefects do it for her. Note to self: if you are going to act the idiot hero, don't get caught doing it.'
Madam Pomfrey cast a similar diagnostic charm on Luna and grimaced at the results. "Ms Lovegood, what have you been doing? Your core seems like it was almost … removed but is re-establishing itself rapidly. I don't know of any normal way for this to happen. I've never even seen a case even remotely like this since I was in the healer academy and that was a Dark sacrifice that the Aurors stopped." The Healer seemed to be in some shock.
"I think Professor Dumbldore needs to be aware of this. Mr Potter, please take Ms Lovegood to the Headmaster's office. I shall Floo ahead and let him know you are on your way. Neither of you should Floo in your current condition. I believe he already notified Ms Lovegood's father of her disappearance and should be there with him."
Anxious to get away, Harry readily agreed.
-II-
Harry wouldn't have agreed so readily if he'd realized what he was walking into in the Headmaster's office. First Luna and her father had leapt into each other's arms and cried about almost losing each other. Harry was fine with that until they both grabbed Harry and pulled him in too. All that touching and crying really made him uncomfortable.
It wasn't until they released him that he realized the Headmaster had several people in the office already. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were there. An older witch with a monocle was introduced as Madam Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. With her was a wizard with hair as wild as Hermione's. He was introduced as the Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour. A pair of his Aurors stood unobtrusively against the wall next to the Floo but never spoke.
Also in the office was a blond haired man with a snake handled cane he instantly knew to be Draco's father. While the little ponce never attempted to attack Harry or his friends again, he'd remained a constant low-level annoyance all year. His favourite topic being his father and how powerful he was. Professor Dumbledore introduced Mr Malfoy as being a representative of the school's Board of Governors.
'Looks like the little rat wasn't lying about that,' Harry thought.
The biggest surprise was the presence of Professor Lockhart sitting on a plain wooden stool with his hands clasped in front of him in a pair of odd looking handcuffs. The usually well groomed and dressed man looked rather dishevelled and miserable starring glumly at the floor.
"Professor?" Harry asked questioningly towards Dumbledore.
"Ah, yes Mr Potter! Thank you for resolving the case of Miss Lovegood's disappearance. Obviously, the addition to the wall writing was someone's example of a tasteless prank." The professor peered over his half-moon glasses and seemed to try to pass Harry a message.
"Um, I guess so, professor." The Headmaster didn't seem to want to hear the whole story in front of these people. Since the group included Draco's father, Harry was willing to play along.
"Well boy, who was it?" Lucius Malfoy demanded. "Who did this 'prank'?"
"He's gone now, sir," Harry replied in a very polite tone. "It was some old man that claimed he'd been a student here once. He said he was trying to make the school look bad."
"And who was this man?" Madam Bones asked.
"Riddle," Harry answered. "Tom Riddle" Harry noticed Mr Malfoy's slight flinch when Voldemort's true name was mentioned. Dumbledore merely nodded as though confirming something he already knew.
Madam Bones turned to her Head Auror, saying, "Rufus, get an alert out for one Tom Riddle and have the school archives searched for any background on him."
Scrimgeour nodded. "We should pass it on to the continent too. He could easily be out of Britain by now." Bones nodded her agreement and the Head Auror left followed by his two Aurors and the still manacled Lockhart.
"Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked with a glance towards the Floo. His Head of House understood the glance.
"Professor Lockhart was found engaging in a … injudicious and illegal activity when we were locking down the school. He will no longer be your Defence instructor." Harry realized that was all she was going to tell him. Later he would hear about the two Sixth year girls drugged on Lust potions found in his personal quarters. These particular potions left the victim with complete memories of the event but thinking they were a particularly vivid dream.
"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore," Mr Lovegood interrupted, "but I would like to take Luna home for a few days."
"Of course," Dumbledore agreed. "I am sure Professor Flitwick would be happy to take you both to Ravenclaw Tower so your daughter may collect her things."
Mr Lovegood acknowledged this with a smile. He then turned to Harry. "Mr Potter, I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. After losing her mother, the thought of losing my Luna as well …" The man's voice trailed off as if the thought was too much to complete.
"I understand," Harry said. "I wouldn't want anyone else to lose all of their family."
The Lovegoods left with Professor Flitwick. Then Mr Malfoy stood to leave.
"I shall take my leave, Albus. I expect a complete report of tonight's events to be provided to the Board within the week."
"Of course, Lucius."
The elder Malfoy gave a short, almost mocking, bow before turning and leaving the room.
"Professor," Harry asked, "may I be excused? It's been a long night."
"Of course my dear boy," Dumbledore allowed with a wave. "We shall talk in the morning when you have recovered your strength."
"Do you need assistance getting back to our tower?" McGonagall asked.
Harry declined, "No, professor. I should be fine."
As soon as Harry cleared the office door, he started running through the dark, empty Hogwarts hallways. He managed to catch up to Mr Malfoy in the Entrance Hall.
"Mr Malfoy, I found something you left here," Harry said causing Malfoy to whirl about.
"Something of mine, boy?" Malfoy hissed. "Well, give it to me and be quick about it!"
"Actually, it isn't really yours. You just gave it to someone to bring here. Actually it was Tom's."
"I had nothing to do with that!" Malfoy denied. "And I will take you for all the Potters are worth if you ever try to say otherwise!"
Harry smiled wolfishly. "Oh I don't need to take you to court, Mr Malfoy. See Tom was a bit angry with you and went off a bit on how you gave his diary to the wrong witch. He was really unhappy with you.
"I've heard Voldemort was never very forgiving of the servants that failed him. What would he say over the loss of this?" Harry held up the unblemished backside of the diary.
"Give that here, boy!" Malfoy demanded as he lunged for the diary. Harry was relatively weak but he still had something to give. The backhanded blow knocked the larger wizard to the ground and left four teeth scattered on the floor.
"Wow, that is two more than your son lost," Harry commented.
"I will see in you prison for this!" Malfoy threatened as he rose up.
Harry smirked. "You are going to testify that a twelve year-old beat you down with one hit? My think how the press will handle that." Malfoy glared impotently as Harry smiled.
"I have a deal to offer," Harry said. "The diary for something of yours. Dobby the house-elf."
"Dobby?" Malfoy spat. "That worthless cringing nothing? He was my mother's and always incompetent. Deal, Potter! Now give me the diary!"
"Dobby first."
"Dobby!"
A small pop and then "Master calls Dobby?"
"Here take it!" A small handkerchief was thrust out. "I free you. Never return to the Malfoy Manor!"
Dobby took the small cloth with a trembling hand. "Master free Dobby?" he asked in a wondering voice. Dobby turned to see Harry standing there. "Great Harry Potter! Harry Potter makes bad old master free Dobby!"
Malfoy sneered. "Now, the diary! Give it here, boy!"
Harry tossed the diary over to the elder wizard. The blonde wizard caught it but something felt off. He turned it over and saw the hole left from the basilisk's fang.
"You tricked me, Potter!" he roared while drawing his wand from the cane.
"You shall not harm Harry Potter!" Dobby proclaimed. The little elf threw his hands forward and a magical force pulsed out. It smashed into the surprised wizard and sent him flying out the front doors of the school. The doors then swung shut with a solid thud.
Dobby turned to look up at Harry with an adoring gaze. "Great Harry Potter has freed Dobby. Dobby hasn't even kept his promise to Harry Potter yet! Truly Harry Potter is as wise and kind as the stories tell!"
Harry had to smile at that. Dobby was always good for his ego. "What promise?" Harry asked.
"Why to get Harry Potter a new family so Harry Potter sir doesn't have to stay at Hogwarts all the time! But Dobby will soon! Soon the Dogfather will be back! And Dobby will take care of great Harry Potter and his Dogfather! I can't wait!"
Before Harry could speak, Dobby was gone with a pop.
Harry could only look at the place Dobby had just been with an odd mixture of fear and anticipation. Dobby meant well but Harry was sure Dobby's good intentions often had wildly unanticipated side-effects.
"Maybe the basilisk will let me stay with her," Harry mused as he made his way back to his dorm. "It might be safer."
-III-
The next morning the recovery of Luna Lovegood was completely overshadowed by the arrest of Professor Lockhart. The gossips were running wild as three more students had supposedly come forward with reports of similar 'dreams'. The gossips were taking note of who missed breakfast as other possible victims.
It was not until just before the students were to leave for their classes that Dumbledore stood up to speak.
"As you have no doubt heard, Professor Lockhart is no longer with us. Your Defence classes for now shall be taught by a rotation of professors based on their normal class schedules. While I have no doubt the Daily Prophet will carry full details of Professor Lockhart's difficulties, please allow the investigation to continue and refrain from asking your remaining professors about it."
This caused a significant amount of murmuring to occur amongst the students. In the lack of real information, the students would make up their own.
"Finally, I would like to acknowledge Mr Harry Potter with 50 points for Gryffindor for his recovery of Miss Lovegood. Mr Potter also identified the person responsible for the petrifications the school has seen recently. It seems a former student was attempting to destroy Hogwarts using the old legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is now hunting this individual. For those of you concerned with our petrified students, please relax as Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout assure me the required Mandrakes will be mature enough for harvesting in eight weeks so all of our students will be restored to us before final exams.
"Now, off to class with you."
Dumbledore's public announcement of Harry's role was met with mixed reactions. While a few members of the Boy-Who-Lived fan club cheered, most of the older students and all the Slytherins gave Harry looks that the mildest could be called distasteful and the worst outright hatred.
With long experience from Privet Drive, Harry ignored the looks in his direction as he joined Ron, Ernie and the other Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Second years making their way to Herbology.
"Well we better enjoy the next two months," Ron commented as they made their way outside.
The comment shocked Harry out of his thoughts. "How can you say that, Ron?" Harry demanded.
Ron looked at Harry with an incredulous look but his lips fought a slight grin. "Do you know what Hermione's going to be like when she wakes up with two months passed and exams just around the corner? She going to go spare! And Padma is going to be right there with her!"
Ernie snickered at the image. "Ron's right. It doesn't happen too often…"
"Oi!"
"…but he is. The girls are going to demand to see every note or assignment we do for the next two months. Then they are going to force us to revise with them every spare moment. And then they will still beat all of us in the exams," Ernie concluded.
"Exactly!" Ron said. "And still, oi!" Ron's protests got a laugh form Harry and Ernie.
The group of relieved students continued down to the greenhouses continuing to discuss the girls' reactions when they finally woke and to mock Ron.
-IV-
5 June 1993
The students filled the Great Hall for one last breakfast before boarding the Hogwarts Express for the journey home.
All of the students that were petrified had been returned to normal. And exactly as predicted, Hermione and Padma were almost hysterical in their worry over making up the last two months of work and lost revision time. The girls were happy to receive Harry and Ernie's notes. Mostly Ernie's notes because half of Harry's and all of Ron's were illegible or incomplete. The girls were better off than some that would have to repeat the year as they had simply missed too much of the year to catch up in the little time they had remaining.
"Hello, Furry Potter."
Harry smiled and turned to face Luna. "Hi Luna. How are you today?"
"Better. All of my things came back much earlier than before the Winter Holidays," the grey-eyed blonde confided. "Some of the things that came back this morning stayed away the whole term! It is nice they wanted to come home for the summer."
Harry simply nodded as though he understood. "That is good."
They had managed to keep Luna's name out of the reports. So no one blamed her for the attacks in any way. Harry had told Dumbledore most of what happened in the Chamber of Secrets except for using his werewolf form and the similarity of the black ichor from the diary to what happened to his own scar.
Harry's reluctance to tell Dumbledore about his quasi-werewolf nature stemmed from Dumbledore's other positions. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the powerful wizard oversaw the creation and judgement of laws in magical Britain- including the ones related to lycanthropes. Harry had no doubt the magical world would turn their backs on the Boy-Who-Lived in a moment to call him the Beast-That-Howled or some other stupid hyphenated title. Harry liked the old wizard but this was his life and he wasn't sure he could trust Dumbledore with it.
"Thank you for having your friends look out for me Furry Potter," Luna continued unaware of Harry's thoughts. "It has almost been like having friends of my own."
Harry opened his mouth to protest he was her friend but the spacey girl started skipping (literally skipping) down the aisle towards the main doors.
As she reached the doors, Luna called back, "Good luck with your adventures this summer, Furry! I'm sure you'll be fine!"
He could feel the Luna-ache coming on and wondered if Madam Pomfrey had any Pain Relief potions left. He loved the girl but all too often talking to Luna gave Harry a special kind of headache all her own.
"Harry!" Hermione called as she entered the Great Hall with Padma and Ron trailing in her wake. "Have you seen this?" she asked as she dropped a packet of papers onto the table.
Harry picked up the copy of the Daily Prophet Hermione had dropped. He read the headline placed in big bold letters across the top:
Sirius Black Escapes from Azkaban!
You-Know-Who's Right Hand Man and Betrayer of the Potters Disappears from Cell without a Trace!
Well, that was just perfect.
AN: So there was the Chamber of Secrets. The basilisk is still alive. Is it free from Voldemort's influence? Maybe. Because of canon changes the timeline was moved up so Dumbledore hadn't been forced out of the school yet. Also Harry and Dumbledore don't have the same relationship as in canon so no displays of loyalty to make the Sorting Hat show up with the sword. Harry's claws were not enough to penetrate the snake's scales.
To respond to several reviewer questions:
Luna is NOT a seer. Just an intelligent, observant girl with an odd view of things that give her perceptions that others miss. By the same token, she misses things most would see as obvious.
Harry told Padma and Ernie over the Winter Holidays which was after the scene in the classroom but before Harry's encounter with Luna.
Ron. A lot of people in fandom hate Ron. I get that. However, the Ron in this story is hot as isolated as in canon, just as Harry is not. I have Ronnie-kins. I just ask you try to have an open mind. Or don't. Just don't complain that he is still part of Harry's circle of friends.