Author's note: I needed to put the scene in about 50 years ago to add to Harry's resolve to stop Tom, but the quick possession of Ginny may confuse some of you. I thought that since Tom was obviously very intelligent, he would've guessed what was happening and struck while Ginny wouldn't have expected it, so he did a simple, uninterrupted possession.

Talking key:

"Normal speech"

"Bond speech"

~Parseltongue~

And now, on with the story...

Chapter 18: 50 Years Ago

When the quartet got to the Gryffindor common room, Ginny went upstairs to retrieve the diary with Hermione, while Harry and Hallie stayed downstairs and waited for their return. After a few minutes passed, Ginny came down with the diary, except Hermione wasn't with her. Harry immediately conjured his bō, but kept it hidden behind him, as he felt that something wasn't right.

"Ginny? Where's Hermione?" Harry asked bluntly.

It was when Harry looked into Ginny's eyes that he pretty much got his answer. Her eyes were blank and cloudy and almost looked like they were staring through him. The spirit of Tom Riddle had possessed her again. She didn't answer him and continued to try and walk past him.

"Answer me, Ginny! Or should I say...Tom..." Harry demanded with a grin as Ginny's facial expression changed to one of shock and recognition.

"Ah, so you must be the famous Harry Potter. As to your friend, she's unconscious in her dorm. Now let me past, boy," Tom's voice said, coming from Ginny's mouth.

"No. You're going to leave my friend's body. Then you're going to go back into your diary while I destroy it and you," Harry ordered as he brought his bō from behind him and took on an offensive stance.

"You can't stop me, Harry Potter! I am Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard of all! Now get out of my way! I have a mission to do! Reducto!" Ginny/Tom growled as she/he began to fire spells at Harry and Hallie.

Harry pushed Hallie out of the way of the spell fire as he began to block the spells with his bō. After minutes of nothing but a stalemate, Ginny/Tom opened the diary and a light grew from the middle of the pages and engulfed Harry, taking him into Tom's memories of 50 years ago when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened.

When Harry woke up after his trip through time, he found himself in a greyscale version of Hogwarts' entrance hall. He then saw a senior student, around the age of 16-17 looking ahead. The staring gaze was almost identical to the one that Ginny/Tom gave to him, which could only mean one thing...he was looking at a younger version of Tom Riddle. He then looked in the direction that Tom was facing and saw two Healers carrying a stretcher with a covered body on it. It seemed as though the poor student was dead as the exposed arm merely swayed with the momentum of being carried away. Then, a younger Dumbledore appeared from behind the Healers and walked towards Tom.

"That young girl was unfortunate. Died in the girls' bathroom instantly from seeing something, but no-one is too sure. This has gone on long enough, Tom..." Dumbledore stated.

"You mean...no! They wouldn't close the school, would they, professor?" Tom asked in mock fear, though only Harry could tell that the tone was a mock.

"I'm afraid that the headmaster will have no choice after that girl has died. We can't afford the risk of another following her," Dumbledore replied.

"But if the man behind all of this was caught, surely the school would stay open, yes?" Tom asked.

"Is there something that you wish to tell me, Tom?" Dumbledore questioned.

"No, sir...Nothing at all..." Tom replied.

"Very well...Off you go," Dumbledore said.

Tom then walked away down some empty corridors as Harry followed after him, wondering what he was planning. Soon, he came up to the end of a corridor where there was a locked door. Harry watched as Tom unlocked the door and blasted it off of its hinges, revealing a tall, muscular man hiding in the corner with a big box.

"Stand down, Hagrid! The parents of the girl who died deserve to see the monster that killed her pay!" Tom ordered.

"No! Aragog never killed no-one! Never!" the young Hagrid replied, standing his ground.

"Step aside, Hagrid!" Tom growled.

"No!" Hagrid growled back.

Tom then blasted the box open, allowing 'Aragog' to escape. Harry watched as a large spider, who he assumed was Aragog, scurry away as Tom fired spells off to try and kill it.

"Aragog! Aragog!" Hagrid cried out fearfully.

"Keep back, Hagrid...They'll have your wand for this..." Tom said in mock regret.

Harry watched as Hagrid looked down in defeat and Tom soon led Hagrid to the professors where he framed the half-giant for the crime that he himself had committed, saying that it was Hagrid who had kept the monster and set it off against the school. Harry was enraged by this as he watched his friend get framed for Tom's crime. It was here that Harry saw the same light from the diary engulf him again and felt himself get thrown out of the diary. He was thrown straight into Hallie and they both hit the opposite wall. Hallie was knocked unconscious by the impact, but Harry tried to get back up. Unfortunately, this distraction had given Ginny/Tom enough time to exit the common room and probably head off to open the Chamber of Secrets again.

Calling for his familiar, Shade, Harry then placed a notice-me-not charm on Hallie so that only he or Hermione could see her and take her to the Hospital Wing, which would then break the charm. After this, Harry and Shade ran off to try and find Ginny/Tom before it was too late. Unfortunately, the possessed girl was nowhere to be found, so Harry had to stop and think about the facts to try and piece together where the Chamber could be. 50 years ago, I young girl had died in the girls' bathroom and was killed by a mere stare. Only one person, or rather ghost, fit this description; Moaning Myrtle. He needed to talk to her if he wanted to find out anything more.

After running down corridors and up a few floors, Harry and Shade managed to find the girls' bathroom where Myrtle haunted. When it became clear that she wasn't just going to show herself randomly, Harry realised that he would need to call her.

"Myrtle? Myrtle?! I need to speak with you about something!" Harry called.

"Go away!" came the annoyed voice of Myrtle.

"Not until you answer my questions!" Harry replied.

Myrtle then shot out of a toilet and stopped directly in front of Harry, glaring angrily at him.

"I said...Go away!" Myrtle growled.

"And I said...Not until you answer my questions! Your attempts to scare me won't work! I've seen worse things than an angry ghost!" Harry replied firmly.

"Fine! What do you want?!" Myrtle asked, caving in.

"I need to know how you died and if you saw a red-haired girl come past here. So, will you answer those questions for me?" Harry asked bluntly.

"A girl with red hair did come through here. She said some words in some made-up language and went through a hole in the sinks. As to how I died; I came in here to cry after a boy teased me about my glasses. I heard someone walk in and speak in the same language as that girl spoke. I opened the door to tell him to go away...then I died..." Myrtle answered.

'Well, that answers where the Chamber of Secrets is and where Ginny is, but Myrtle still didn't say what killed her...' Harry thought, needing to ask one last question to piece the puzzle together.

"One last question; what did you see before you died?" Harry asked.

"All I saw were these big, yellow, snake-like eyes by the sinks..." Myrtle replied sadly as she floated away sobbing.

Thinking back to one of the books that he read in the library on magical creatures, only one could fit the description.

'So the monster is a snake that can kill with its gaze...Of course! It's a basilisk! What creature would be better fit to serve the Heir of Slytherin than a giant killer snake!' Harry thought, finally piecing everything together.

"Harry, the language that Myrtle mentioned may be Parseltongue; snake language. It's the only thing that would fit to be the language to open the Chamber of Secrets and control the basilisk within," Shade spoke.

Over the last few months as Shade grew larger, the familiar bond that he and Harry shared also became stronger, allowing them to communicate with their minds.

"And how am I supposed to open the Chamber then?" Harry asked.

"I can sense your ability to speak the language. Try it," Shade replied.

Harry then walked up to the sink and took a deep breath before seeing the snakes on the taps. Trying to picture them as real-live snakes and talking to them, he began to speak in Parseltongue.

~Open!~ Harry demanded.

Shade then came up to Harry's side as the sinks parted to reveal a hole leading to the bowels of Hogwarts where the Chamber of Secrets was contained.

"You ready?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Let's get your mate back," Shade replied.

Raising an eyebrow at Shade's comment, Harry then rolled his eyes when he heard Shade chuckle through their bond. Picking up his familiar, he then jumped down the hole, ready to face the trials that were ahead.