Here's the newest chapter for the "Harry Potter: the Serpent Lord", enjoy!

* Review response:
Naginator, Penny is wise, jafr86, god of all, Taboo22, Hanzo of the Salamander 2.0, Awsomeness7, Armacryss, ElementalMaster16, thanks for your reviews, folks!
Highvalour, we've discussed this via PM.
raw666, not all of that is going to happen.
Knatz, depends on what you mean by 'soon'. As for the rest - it is as I write it. =)
Impstar, more or less - he still would need to go to Gringotts for that. As for pet basilisk...
Goldrune09, sexy Slytherin chick will be in hospital *damn, Spoiler =(*
obsessivegirl73, hehehe.
Still Not Dead Yet, yes, the story deviates from canon much more after the Chamber.
halmir, read and see (though this will not be discussed as soon as you'd like).

* Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" and its characters in any shape or form.

"human speech"
"wraith speech"
'human thoughts'
"spells / parseltongue"

This chapter was beta-read by NARUHAREM FOREVA. Special thanks to him for that.

chapter 23: Trapped

When professor Flitwick hurried into the Great hall and towards the professors' table with a terrified face, Harry knew that things had just turned from bad to worst. And even though the staff was trying not to cause any unnecessary panic, their hushed whispers about a student being abducted and Hogwarts being closed could still be heard by those who were close enough to their table...

The final proof that something bad had happened was Dumbledore announcing that the classes were canceled and everyone was to return to the dormitories and wait for further instructions there... Harry, though, decided that it was the best time to reveal that he (and his friends) had at least an idea of where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets may be. So he waited for the rest of the students, led by prefects, to head towards the exit from the Great hall, and walked up to the professors' table.

"Is there something you need, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonnagal asked, as the entire Hogwarts staff that was currently there was looking at him.

"Not need per se, but I do have something that might help you avert the worst of the current crisis." While this did sound a bit arrogant, no one, not even Snape, dared to comment about that right now.

"And what that would be, Harry, my boy?" Dumbledore asked, turning the twinkling of his eyes to the maximum... The scion of the house Potter sent a glare at him for the familiarity of addressing, but otherwise ignored it, concentrating on answering the question instead.

"I myself and my friends were researching into the mysteries of the Chamber as well, as you all might know by now." Several professors, including the headmaster himself nodded. "While we have no proof, we believe that we found the most likely location of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets." The green-eyed boy made a short pause. "Unfortunately, we also believe that the Chamber has some protections that would not let those 'unworthy' enter."

"Please share your thoughts with us, Mr. Potter." Professor Sprout said, moving closer to him, like she hoped to hear more because of that.

"It seems that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is located somewhere in the girls' bathroom on the second floor. That particular toilet is haunted by so-called moaning Myrtle, whom, we believe was that one student killed by the basilisk when the Chamber was opened fifty years ago." Dumbledore let out a chuckle.

"What could have been expected form the most cunning wizard that Salazar Slytherin was: to hide his Chamber in the place where no one would think of looking for it." Then the elderly wizard shook his head. "But I'm afraid, you are right, and there must be some protections on the Chamber so that only the one of his blood can enter. So, unless there is some way to obtain the needed blood, all we can do is sealing the entrance." He said in a gravely tone. Madam Pomfrey, who was eating in the Great hall today instead of her office, snorted.

"I doubt that. Salazar might have been a bastard, according to the history books, but he undoubtedly was a genius when it came to potions, and he should have known that installing blood-based locks in the toilet of all places isn't... well... good. I think that he used another method for choosing whether someone can enter his Chamber or not: his bloodline was that of parselmouths." The medi-witch said.

"That is of little help to us, as the last known parselmouth was the Dark Lord himself." The Hogwarts potions master said... Harry steeled himself, preparing to reveal his secret.

"No, that is of some help, as I know one other parselmouth." The young Potter said. "But I need you to swear on your magic not to disclose the following information to the world without my expressed permission." He made a small pause, barely a moment, before adding: "Meanwhile I will swear an unbreakable vow that I'm not the 'heir of Slytherin' that is attacking Hogwarts population." Of course, there were a couple of very subtle calls to arrest him for his ability, bit those were quickly silenced by the headmaster... After the vows were sworn and the basic plans for entering the Chambers were created, Dumbledore sent the heads of the houses to inform the other students to stay in the dormitories for the time being, while the rest of the Hogwarts staff plus Harry headed towards the moaning Myrtle's toilet...

Fifteen minutes later the group that was going down to the Chamber, minus professor McGonnagal, who was yet to return from the Gryffindor tower, assembled next to moaning Myrtle's toilet (and right under the last message from the 'heir'). Harry wasn't surprised that the headmaster, professor Flitwick and professor Snape were there – they all were known for their dueling skills and powerful magic. Presence of Lockhart was a bit surprising as the young Potter thought that the man would run away at the first sign of a real danger to his narcissistic self.

Whom Harry was surprised to see was Bathsheda Babbling, Study of Ancient Runes professor. She was a thin middle-aged woman (who might have been really pretty when she was a couple of decades younger), wearing a bit stylish glasses and robes ill-suited for anything beyond sitting, standing or walking. Though, if she was that good with runes, her defenses would be second only to Dumbledore's... Alas there were no runic shields that could stop the gaze of a basilisk...

Finally professor McGonnagal arrived, with Ronald Weasley following her closely behind. Harry was half-expecting the redhead to do something like this – after all it was his sister that the 'heir' had abducted – but still hoped that their head of the house would be able to keep him away from going with them to the Chamber.

"Minerva, are you sure it's wise bringing young Mr. Weasley here?" The Hogwarts headmaster asked as he looked at the transfiguration professor.

"No, I'd rather he stayed in the dormitory, but he was quite adamant about going down there to save Ms. Weasley." McGonnagal replied. "But, anyway, now that we're all here, shouldn't we start?" Professor Bubbling shook her head.

"While we all want the school o be safe, I think I should remind you that we're up against a thousand years old basilisk, with a hide that can withstand even really powerful magics. And let's not forget about its deathly gaze." Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed, going down there unprepared would be an utter suicide..." Harry raised his hand, causing Snape to look him like he did something wrong during his potions lesson.

"If I may? While basilisk hide is really resistant to magic, it shouldn't be that good against physical attacks." This raised a couple of eyebrows.

"And what are you suggesting, Potter, that someone will have to approach the damn basilisk and stab it with a sword?" The potions master sneered. "You are even more arrogant than your father if you think that this gonna work." Dumbledore raised his hand.

"Severus." He said with a reproach. Then the ancient headmaster turned to the scion of the house Potter. "So, what was your idea, Harry?"

"While I myself chose different interests, because of my career choice, my cousin is quite interested when it comes to the firearms. So I know that 0.5" round from sniper rifle like Barret M82 can pierce up to thirty millimeters of steel... I doubt that the hide of the basilisk is more resistant to damage than this." The green-eyed Gryffindor said.

"Interesting..." Dumbledore muttered. "But to kill the beast with a rifle you'll have to aim. And while you're aiming, you are very vulnerable to the gaze."

"Yeah, but as the basilisk is living in some hidden chamber, I have little doubt that it adapted to darkness. A powerful flash of light, like lumos solaris or, maybe, maxima lumos, should be enough to force it to shut its eyes for several seconds." The headmaster pondered about for a couple of second, before nodding.

"That should work... Take fifteen points to Gryffindor for your idea." Harry nodded, before adding:

"But since the rifle is pretty heavy and has great recoil it would be a good idea to make it – not the bullet, though – featherlight, and add a powerful cushioning charm to its butt." Dumbledore nodded: he had thought about doing something similar himself.

"Now, Harry, if you would be so kind to provide me with a copy of your memories about the rifle in question..." The Hogwarts headmaster said as he drew his wand and gently pressed it to Harry's temple. "Just concentrate your thoughts on it." The young Potter did what he was asked, but almost lost his concentration, when he felt a sensation of something cool being pulled out of his head... Looking at headmaster's wand, he saw that it now had a silver-ish strand attached to its tip. "This is a copy of your thoughts about the rifle." Dumbledore said, before pressing the tip of his wand to his own right temple, making the thought absorb into his head. "I see..." He said after a couple of seconds, before waving his wand in a complicated manner... A rifle was conjured a couple of seconds later. Its colors and some proportions were a bit off, but the most important part – the one that was supposed to shoot – was all right. Once the ancient wizard was sure that he didn't make any mistakes with the conjuration, he added the featherlight and cushioning charms. "Geminio!" Dumbledore whispered, once again pointing his wand at the rifle. Slowly four copies of it appeared. "Well, these should last only for a couple of hours, but that should be long enough for us to complete the task..." Quickly checking the copies with his magic – from his day on the battlefields of the Second World War Dumbledore knew how important it was for weapons to be in perfect condition – he gave the copied rifles to everyone but Lockhart and Ron.

"Now that we're ready, let's go deal with the beast." Professor Bubbling said. The rest of the group nodded and, led by Dumbledore, entered moaning Myrtle's toilet... Once there, the ancient wizard did some complex scanning charms, which, in the end, revealed that there was a concentration of magic far above normal on one of the sinks that together formed the column in the center of the bathroom.

"The entrance must be there." Dumbledore said. Nodding, Harry approached the sink and, casting the muffliato charm so that those not under the oath of non-disclosure would not hear him talking in parseltongue, started inspecting the sink. Finally, after a couple of minutes he found a small snake engraved on the surface of the tap. Forcing himself to think of it as a real serpent, the young Potter decided to command it to open the way to the Chamber.

"Open." He hissed. Much to his surprise, this worked and the sinks started sinking into the floor, revealing a huge hole that was an end of a giant pipe. Canceling the muffling charm, he addressed to the professors. "I think, I should go first, in case there are more similar locks on the way." There were reluctant nods as no professor (aside from Snape, possibly) wanted a student to risk his life before them, but Harry did have a point.

"Very well." Dumbledore said. Taking a deep breath, Harry entered the pipe...

~/ *** \~

'So they are here... A bit too soon for my likes, but what can I do about that?' Not completely corporeal yet Tom thought as he felt someone enter his Chamber of Secrets. 'And to think that they found a parselmouth to open the way... Who can it be?' He used what little powers he had at the moment to get a better reading from the wards that protected the Chamber. 'Potter? How dare he possess the noble gift of my ancestors?' Previously he planned to ask, whether the boy would join his cause or not, but now... but now that Potter bastard was going to die for his crimes against the Ancient and Noble house Slytherin!

Forcing more power that he took from that naïve little girl that wrote in his diary in the wards, Tom forced the entrance to close. He wanted to deal with Potter one on one, without that annoying old man interfering... Unfortunately for him, the secret gate in the pipe through which undesirables were entering his Chamber took some time to close, so two more managed to slip in.

'Oh well...' Tom reasoned. 'One of them is a useless buffoon that taught DADA this year, and the other is a blood-traitorous scum. They won't be a problem for me.' ...Now he just had to wait for Potter brat to arrive to the inner Chamber, where he would kill him. Via basilisk most likely, as he still had about two hours before he will become completely corporeal – downsides of starting the ritual before the required level of bonding with the sacrifice was reached...

~/ *** \~

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sighed as he felt something shift inside the pipe Ron Weasley had just entered... It appeared that the 'heir' had some control over this part of the castle while he did not as the Chamber's wards were not the part of Hogwarts grid.

"It appears that our opponent had trapped them in his Chamber. And I'm afraid, we will not be able to break into it in time to save them from a certain death." The faces of all professors, including Snape's, darkened. "But we all should do our best to bring these wards down and help our wards and colleague." With those words the ancient headmaster motioned professor Bubbling to follow him, before entering the pipe...

~/ *** \~

On the other end of the pipe, things were even worse... Just as Lockhart was standing up from his landing, Ron Weasley crashed into him, sending them both back onto the dirty ground with enough force to break blond man's wand and send Ron's – still held together by generous amount of spellotape by the way – out of boy's hands... And at the same time magic around them finished sealing the only exit from the Chamber they knew..

"It seems that the adventure ends here." Lockhart said as he threw Ron off himself while simultaneously picking boy's wand. "I really should thank the 'heir' for sealing the entrance: no one will know what happened here!" The blond buffoon proclaimed. "I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl..." Feeling that something bad was about to happen, Harry trained his wand (the rifle had only one round, and it was reserved for the basilisk) on Lockhart, who continued his 'villain's speech'...And that you two tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body... Say good-bye to your memories!" The fraud DADA professor raised Ron's wand, pointing it at the boys. "Obliviate!"

This plan of Lockhart's might have worked, had the man not forgotten the condition Ron's wand was in. So, instead of wiping boy's memories, he ended up with the wand exploding in his hand – with enough force to disfigure it, most likely, permanently – while several beams of magic were sent in all directions. One of these beams hit Lockhart on his shoulder, evaporating the flesh there and causing the blond buffoon to pass out from pain... Another beam hit the ceiling, causing collapse.

On his instincts, Harry dove away from the danger, to the left. Unfortunately for him, this meant that the collapsing ceiling blocked the exit from the Chamber from him... Sighing, Harry adjusted the rifle on his back and, creating a small light on the tip of his wand, started walking towards the heart of the Chamber of Secrets, hoping that there he would find another exit from this place, even though his self-preservation instincts were screaming to run away from this foul place... But he continued walking...

Soon the dark and dirty corridor ended with a wall that looked to be made from big granite blocks. In the center of the wall, there was a circular door made from some kind of metal. This door lacked a knob or any visible locks, but there were two iron snakes opposite to the hinges of the door. And since he was yet to see any routes coming this way, aside from the one he used himself, Harry reasoned that if there were other exits from the Chamber, they were beyond this door.

"Open." He hissed at the snakes. And he was surprised when they started slithering 'round the edge of the door, while the sounds of bolts moving were heard. Once the snakes returned to their original positions, the great door slowly opened, revealing a corridor, lit by greenish torches. Readying himself for whatever he may face there, the young Potter stepped into the corridor...

It was shorter than the previous one, barely thirty meters, and it ended with an archway, leading into a great Chamber (lit by the same cold greenish light), easily four times the Great hall, with multiple other archways along the walls and a great face of Salazar Slytherin on the wall opposite the one where 'his' archway was. There also thick stone pillars, entwined with carved serpents, supporting the ceiling that was barely seen in the shadows of the Chamber... Far away from him and just several meters in front of Salazar's face, Harry saw body of Ginerva Weasley. He ran to her and checked the girl: she was pale and her skin felt cold, like she was almost dead... Suddenly sound from the nearest pillar got his attention. Looking there, Harry saw a handsome but slightly transparent teen in Slytherin Hogwarts robes.

"So you are the 'heir'?" Harry asked, pointing his wand at the unknown boy...

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