I Don't Want to be a Hero - Second Year

Chapter 18

The Chamber of Secrets - Part I

Harry hit the bottom after travelling down a long tunnel that took a few harrowing twists and turns. He landed with a horrible crunch and was sure he had broken something but then he realised that the sound was coming from under his feet, and not from himself.

"Lumos!" he incanted to light up the end of his wand and to give him a bit of light.

He was surrounded by thousands of skeletons of rodents, rabbits, moles, voles, and other small animals. Hearing his father, Draco, and Mr. Malfoy's voices high above him he yelled back to let them know he was fine. Of course, he had to add his reaction to the skeletons crunching beneath his step. He turned, moving away from the end of the tunnel, and saw a familiar red and gold House scarf; it was Hermione's. Harry picked it up, folded it, and tucked it into his robe.

At that moment there was a loud crunch as his father joined him. He turned, and intended to hug the wizard but Severus stopped him, and chanted a cleaning spell at him.

"I do not even wish to guess what might be making that tunnel slippery," Severus mused dryly.

A scream that became a laugh echoed above them, and Severus turned just in time to catch his godson.

"Wow!" exclaimed Draco. "I want to do that again!"

"Another time," said Severus as he carefully looked around himself. "We have a basilisk to worry about."

"The giant snake?" inquired Harry.

"It is called a basilisk, Harry. And this one must be very old judging from the projection Myrtle showed us," lectured Severus.

Lucius joined them, and smoothly added, "Their looks literally kill but Myrtle informs me this basilisk - Hephaestus - is… kind. She has asked us not to hurt it."

Severus snorted. "If it is between my son's life and the basilisk I am afraid it will lose, Lucius."

"Granted," agreed Lucius. He pointed at a wide hole in a series of rather man-made placed rocks. "I believe our only choice is to go that way." With his wand in hand Lucius ducked through the egress. Draco followed his father.

Severus was about to follow when he heard a crunch of one of the thousands of skeletons underfoot. "Dad? What is this place?"

The Potions Master glanced over his shoulder, and replied, "Most certainly it is a rubbish tip for the basilisk. Come along now, son. We do not want to get left behind."

Harry and Severus went through the entrance to find themselves upon a long, rail-less balcony of worn-smooth stone. The stone above was serrated in a series of well worn but still sharp stalactites. Lucius and Draco were examining what appeared to be the skin of a snake that had recently molted.

"That's huge!" marvelled Harry.

"Ninety-eight feet long," replied Lucius. "Excuse my avarice, Severus, but just a quarter of this skin would allow you to retire, and to open your own apothecary."

Severus carefully touched the skin; it was soft like the whisper of Acromantula Spider silk not dry and crinkly like a standard snake skin would be. "This skin was molted very recently." He glanced up at the craggy stalactites. "The basilisk used the stalactites as it shed the skin by scraping the skin against them."

"How do you know, dad?" asked Harry as he touched the skin carefully.

"By the feel of the skin, Harry," replied Severus. "It is still supple. It has also not crumbled to a silvery ash which it would do within a 48 hour period unless preserved." With his wand, which was in his hand in preparation for defence, he waved the wand in a gentle circle and incanted, "Conservare. I will come back for this."

"Are you going to retire, dad?" Harry's eyes seemed to brighten, and Severus smirked.

"Perhaps, Harry. Island life seemed to agree with us both this past summer."

Lucius had already turned his attention away from the skin, knowing that the Potions Master could not turn away from the treasure they had found. It left him with muddling over how they were to descend from the shelf which was very high above the ground beneath them. He was about to suggest the brooms he had in his pocket when Draco laughed over a find.

"A slide! This must be how the basilisk gets up here," he pointed at the far end of the shelf to where it connected to a short but serviceable spiral slide obviously made over the centuries by the movement of the giant basilisk.

Lucius caught his daredevil son under the arms, and yanked his back just as he was about to jump onto the 'slide'. "Adults first, Dragon. If it is safe, then you may go down it."

"The brooms, Lucius," Severus frowned in disapproval as he held out his free hand for one of the brooms. A spate of coughing interrupted him, and he glowered warningly at all the worried glances. Ignoring his cough, he continued, "Until we know where the basilisk is that slide has too many hidden areas for us to view the area properly."

Draco pouted as if he were a child who had his favourite sweet taken from him. Lucius glared briefly. "Severus is correct, Dragon. Our safety comes first." He enlarged the brooms and handed them out. With Severus in the lead they were soon flying cautiously down to the floor of the cavern. Once each had alit upon the floor the brooms were given back to Lucius who shrank them, and tucked them back into his pocket. They then looked all around them.

All was curiously smooth, and undulating in this cavern. Severus noted that in many places there were odd, concentric whorls burrowed into the floor. He wondered if the basilisk had spent many more centuries just in this cavern. If it had it would have been in a kind of prison as it grew to the size that the ghost had shown them. Of course, Severus wondered, why was the basilisk no longer in this cavern as a prisoner?

"Severus, these… runnels in the floor…" Lucius pointed.

"The basilisk was imprisoned here," intoned Severus.

"It was," agreed Lucius, "but observe…" projecting a pale glow of blue from the end of his wand Lucius traced one of the deepest grooves that led down towards the centre of the cavern and to a large, bronze door. They all walked down the length of the groove to the door and shone the light from their wands upon it.

The door was round and impressed into the rock surrounding it as if at the time of installation it had been extremely hot enough to melt the surrounding stone. On the surface of the door were concentric rings that circled a snake's head. One of the ring's held the body of a serpent.

"I have not a clue as to how to open this door," remarked a frustrated Lucius.

Draco spoke up, "Maybe it opens the same way the bathroom sinks did. Harry, speak to the snake like you did before."

Harry leaned forward, and said, "Open." Nothing happened. "Um… that wasn't it," he muttered. "Let me try again." Harry eyed the snake in the centre of the door, breathed slowly, and then he uttered, "Nah neh sthahhh yehhh." The little snake slithered around the central snake and then the head of the snake depressed itself inward. With a great, grinding noise the bronze door opened into the depths of the stone.

Lucius and Severus were able to walk side-by-side and did so. Their sons were behind them.

The door let into an even larger cavern than the one before but this was man-made. Down the centre of the room was a stone path of ancient tile in the pattern of a mosaic that depicted a great snake chasing silhouettes of villagers running in front of it. Water washed thinly over this path from streams that flowed on either side of the path. Flanking these streams were the sinuous bodies of tall snakes in the shape of an 'S'. The crowns of their heads supported the roof, and clamped in their fanged jaws were large torches that illuminated the chamber. At the end of this path was a great stone head of the wizard that had built this Chamber of Secrets; Salazar Slytherin. The streams that burbled along the path did not end with the path but edged a large area of floor decorated in an abstract pattern of green and white mosaic. The streams then vanished beneath the huge face of the Slytherin founder.

Severus caught Harry by the upper arm before he could step onto the wetted path. "Sticking Charms, I should think, or we shall all slip." He indicated the thin layer of water that rippled back and forth, rather snake-like, over the path and alternated back into each stream as part of its natural flow.

The two adults taught the Sticking Charm to each of their sons and then watched diligently (as a teacher would) as Harry and then Draco applied the charm to their feet.

All four stepped onto the path just as Hermione came out of the mouth of the head of Salazar Slytherin, and shouted, "Don't move, and close your eyes! Hurry!"

"Hermione!" Harry wanted to run for his friend but Severus caught his son by the waist and pulled him up, and against him.

"Shut your eyes, Harry," he hissed into the boy's ear. "Now!"

"Reggie!" called Hermione to someone beyond her. "Help them, please? They don't know the spell."

Strong footsteps hit the path and splattered the thin layer of water as the owner approached. "It's all right," the wizard's soft voice soothed. "This is a spell I found in Salazar's journal…" his voice became a hiss of Parseltongue and Harry felt a soothing balm slither across his eyelids, and therefore his eyes. Severus soon felt the same sensation, yet he frowned and did not immediately open his eyes. He listened, very carefully, as the unknown wizard performed the spell on the eyes of Draco then Lucius.

"Severus, open your eyes!" ordered Lucius. There was astonishment in his voice.

Severus let go of his son, then slowly opened his eyes. He blinked in wonder as he saw the wizard that stood before them; Regulus Black.

Regulus was shorter than both Lucius and Severus as he stood five feet solid in length. He was slim but his build was of wired muscle. His onyx black hair, shoulder length when he was a boy, was now down to just above his elbow. His hair, which had once been a curly mess, now bloused around him like a scraggly wave of India ink. He bowed to Lucius but he smiled, slightly worriedly, at Severus.

Severus was absolutely paralysed at the sight of the wizard before him. Long had he assumed that Regulus, the bringer of the Prophecy to their Dark Lord, had vanished. Many of the Death Eaters, including Severus, had thought Regulus had been killed by Voldemort for bringing to him a prophecy that foretold his death.

"Severus?" Regulus' smile vanished. "Please… don't be angry with…" Regulus found himself tightly embraced by the taller man in black. His arms wrapped around Severus' back and he returned the hug his hands awkwardly patting the wizard's back.

The Potions Master pulled away abruptly, then caught the wizard's shoulders tight in his hands, "I should hex you a thousand times for the grief you put me through," he growled. He then drew the smaller man close once more. "...brother…" he gasped, his voice just barely a whisper of relieved anguish.

Harry patted his father's back consolingly. "Dad?" he asked softly. "Who is he?"

Severus pulled away, and smiled at his son. "Someone I thought forever lost," his voice was soft, slightly pained, as he eyed the shorter man before him. "Harry, this is Regulus Black, my… best… friend." Regulus bowed slightly to shake Harry's hand, but then the Potions Master continued his introduction, "Regulus, this is my son Harry Potter… Snape."

Regulus finished his gesture, and shook the small boy's hand. "Harry Potter. So, you're the son of James Potter?"

"He was my biological father," Harry asserted as he slipped his hand possessively into Severus' hand. "Professor Snape is my real father now. I'm Harry Potter Snape."

Regulus straightened to give Severus a curious look. "You're Harry's father, Severus?"

Severus stiffened, "The boy needed a parent, and I was a willing to provide what he needed." Harry glowered at his father.

Lucius chuckled, "Allow me to interpret, Regulus. They needed each other."

Regulus smirked, and his blue eyes twinkled knowingly. "Aye. You're a lucky boy, Harry."

Hermione stepped between them all, "Uhm… I don't mean to interrupt but I'm pretty sure I can hear Hephaestus coming. Are they all safe, Reggie?"

Regulus turned to face the little witch, "All safe, little miss. Come on you lot. Let me introduce you to Hephaestus."

They all faced the huge face of Salazar Slytherin just in time to witness the arrival of a huge basilisk as wide as the mosaic path that was flanked by the two flowing streams. The beast slithered towards them ignoring the fact that four wizards held their wands upon him.

Regulus glanced over his shoulder, and glared, "Put your wands away! Hephaestus is perfectly gentle!"

Slowly Severus and Lucius lowered their wands but they did not put them away. Draco and Harry looked to their fathers for guidance, and did the same with their wands. The beast slithered up beside Hermione and nudged her ever so carefully with its nose. Hermione pet the crown which was of the softest feathers.

Hermione waved to her two friends. "Harry, Draco, come meet Hephaestus."

Watched by their fathers the two boys walked slowly towards the huge basilisk that was rubbing the ridge of his nose against Hermione's arm. Harry stretched out his hand, and ran it lightly down the finely scaled nose.

"He's not slimy," marvelled Harry.

"Course he's not, silly," giggled Hermione.

Draco, taking courage from Harry patted the nearby side of the basilisk. The beast breathed in slowly, then out. "Is he… purring?" His question was met by a deep rumble within the basilisk as it lay down its head between Harry and Draco.

Severus cautiously walked closer to the beast. It WAS purring. Lazily one eyelid opened to reveal the most beautiful jewel of an eye. It was a rainbow that shimmered in the torches held by each of the stone serpents. "A rainbow of… fire," Severus realised. "Hence, Hephaestus." The basilisk let out a gentle huff of breath just as Harry knelt down to scratch its formidable chin.

"Why are we… not… dead?" asked Severus as he watched the eyelid close over the precious jewel of an eye.

Regulus walked over, crouched down by Harry, smiled at him, and began to scratch behind one of Hephaestus's tapered ears that was adorned by a silken tuft of feathery fur.

"Two spells, really, Severus," Regulus began to explain. "One settles a protective shield extending from the eye of the witch or wizard right into every cell of the body. The other spell is for Hephaestus as additional protection over his eyes; like a pair of spectacles I suppose."

"And, if you had not ensorcelled us?" asked Severus pointedly.

Regulus grimaced and gripped his belly with his free hand. Just as he was to answer it was Hermione who replied, "Worst nausea ever, professor." She pouted. "I saw Hephaestus before Reggie got to me. I don't ever want to be sick like that again! Thank goodness he had just the right potion to knock it out."

Lucius finally joined the group gathered around the head of the basilisk. He was near Draco so he placed his hand against the beast's side. "You tamed a basilisk, Regulus. Is that what you have been doing the entire time you were gone?"

Regulus stood. "I think some explanation is in order. Come, have some tea."

The Death Eater once lost walked down the path, and through the mouth of Salazar Slytherin. Hermione clapped her hands. "Oh! Wait until you see this!" She then turned, and ran after Regulus, her feet happily tap-sloshing on the wet mosaic path.