7/29/15 dianemalfoy's Edit for this chapter. The lateness of these edits is in no way dianemalfoy's fault. RL has been kicking my butt and I haven't had any free time. But I finally have a day off with no obligations so I'm posting these updates and hopefully getting a few more chapters written for this and other fics.
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AN: It's kinda sad when you have a dream about Harry Potter and they're all Lego. LOL. Guess I have been playing Lego HP yr 5-7 to much. They make fun of all the characters and make light of all the deaths. Unless I spazed out they don't even show Fred's death in that game. Bella and Fenrir amuse me in the Lego games.
Ok let us try this again
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Dumbledore and McGonagall were waiting on the group at the doors to the castle.
"Harry my boy what is all this about collection of personal effects?" He asked in his grandfatherly voice.
"I'm here to collect what I left in the Chamber of Secrets Professor. I have been assured it's mine to take." Harry replied. It was obvious he was unhappy with one or both adults.
"The Chamber is very dangerous my boy. I insist Minerva and I accompany you."
"No."
"No Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked.
"Yes Professor, I said you may not come with me."
"Why ever not my boy." Dumbledore said, sounding wounded by the thought.
"To be frank I don't trust either of you."
"Why? What have we done to deserve such mistrust?" Dumbledore seemed confused, but there was something off in his look. You don't live 10 years with the Dursley's and not learn to read people.
"Well sir, you are head of the Wizengamont but don't use your position to insure EVERYONE gets a fair trial. Like my godfather, who was sent to prison without so much as being accused, as far as I can tell. And Hagrid who was shipped off to Azkaban without a trial. And you have failed as headmaster by not informing me, an orphan, of my future status as Lord Potter. Additionally there has been lots of suspicious things going on that I believe you have had at least knowledge of. But I will keep those to myself until I have the proper proof.
"You Professor McGonagall, are a brilliant teacher. But you are a shit head of house. You ignored my concerns about the stone. You ignored us when Hermione and I asked for your help proving Hagrid's innocence. You turned me away when I tried to talk to you about the voices I was hearing, turns out that was a Basilisk slithering through the pipes. I even tried to take you to the Chamber but you couldn't be bothered to listen. Also, if you paid any attention to your house, and made us feel we could trust you then Ginny likely would have come to you the moment her diary asked her to kill a bunch of rosters. So no, I will not take either of you with us. Oh and McGonagall, I would rather you be like Snape and call me a lying, attention seeker to my face than to treat me like a one behind my back." Harry informed them. He felt much better after he was able to get those grievances off his chest.
Minerva McGonagall flushed red with shame. 'Seems I have truly failed this Bram. And maybe all the others in my care.' She thought, knowing everything he had said was true. She was just as bad as Severus in judging him by his father. That final thought made her wince. Being rightly compared to that man near made her sick.
"Now my boy I must insist you tell me what you know of your godfather and where you came up with all these ideas." Dumbledore said eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
"I learned of Sirius Black from my inheritance. I am his heir and he was unjustly imprisoned. Which I intend to rectify." Minerva gasped.
"Did you know he escaped from prison and is coming after you?"
"As he should. I'm his godson, finding me should be his number one priority, followed by proving his innocence of the crime he was accused of, if he was ever accused."
"Sir if you continue to impede us, I will be forced to remove you." Bellok said before things could get farther out of hand.
"I am the headmaster and I say who comes and goes on these grounds. And I will not allow you entry without us accompanying you." He told them with more than a hint of superiority.
Harry just shrugged and turned away. "There is more than one way to skin a cat." The goblins followed him as Harry walked toward Hogsmead. He then turned and took them into the forest. Several of the goblins noticed the smirk on Minerva's face at Harry's comment but she schooled her features before Dumbledore turned to her.
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Harry led them to a seemingly plain stone not far into the woods. There he pulled out the map Serpens gave him. He looked it over before saying the corresponding Parsletongue phrase. The rock shifted, lifting into the air revealing a spiral staircase down into the ground.
The stairs ended after only about 2 flights, but they were much farther than 24 feet into the ground. They ended in a dark tunnel. This was not the chamber Harry had been in before. He cast a lumos and looked at the map. It took him a while to figure it out. The map was magical and outside, it had only showed the various entrances and a large open space in the center which he had assumed was the chamber. But now that he was underground, there were innumerable passages all over and under one another. It looked kind of like a bowl of cooked spaghetti.
"I wonder what that is." Harry said aloud touching a small dot on the map. As soon as he did the map zoomed in now showing the passage they were in, the names of everyone there and the stairs to the outside. "It's a magic map." Harry told them.
The goblins looked at it. One waved his hand over it. "It's heavily enchanted. I've never seen such complex human magicks before."
Harry nodded. After a bit of experimenting, he figured out how to manually zoom. Then they were off. Many times on the way to the main chamber, Harry was glad for the map. It was very detailed. Without it they would have not only been horribly lost, but would have been killed by the numerous traps and pit falls.
When they finally came to the Chamber Harry remembered, the map seemed to change again. It showed the large chamber, but there were things on the map that weren't in the chamber. Such as stairs, doors, archways and antechambers. While Harry was distracted trying to figure out the puzzle of the map, the others were shocked into silence at the sight of the basilisk. It was massive. It was close to 80 feet in length and when the goblin's got closer and began measuring, they found the diameter was about 6 feet and the circumference to be around 19 feet. This was the largest basilisk ever found by nearly 30 feet in length.
While the Goblins were seeing galleons, Neville and Theo had forgotten how to breathe. Neville was the first to recover. "You killed THAT?!" He said motioning to the monster. There was really no other way to describe the thing.
"Hum?" Harry said looking up and back toward them from the map. "Oh... a... yeah. It looked smaller at the time." He said going back to the map as though killing such a thing wasn't anything. The opinion of him just jumped again in the eyes of all those present.
Neville nearly fell over. He didn't know what to make of Harry. He near hero worshiped the other boy. But this... this was amazing. Neville was one of the very few that knew part of Harry's life. He was under no illusion that he knew everything and he, unlike a bossy brunette he could mention, would never try to know until Harry wished to tell him. Neville had also learned that Harry always plays down his part. Last year when he gave Neville an over view of what happened with the dragon and with the stone, Harry had made it seem like Hermione, Ron and luck are what saved the day. It had sounded like Harry was naught but a bystander. But he knew different. There was just an air around his friend, one that spoke of power, command and honor. Neville had no doubt that without Harry, both of the other two would have died. And that Ginny and Ron would have died again last year. Hell, looking at this thing the whole school should be kneeling at his feet for saving them.
"I think I have this figured out. You want to come and explore with me?" Harry asked jerking Neville out of his thoughts and Theo out of staring at the beast.
Neville nodded and Theo walked over closer to them. Most of the goblins stayed to work on the basilisk but Trilok, Griphook and Azrig joined them. Harry looked at the chamber and at the map. The hall was 150 feet long with doors and other secret exits spaced sporadically down each side. The only 2 openings that were not hidden behind various kinds of enchantments were the door Harry entered through and the mouth of Salazar. According to notations on the map, you could bypass most of the traps enchantments and passwords by to be wearing the Slytherin Lord's ring. The map showed how to open each room but not where the rooms and passages led.
So they decided to work their way down one side and up the other. The first 3 passages Harry opened lead to the tangled mass of tunnels that they were in before. Harry followed the tunnels with his finger on the map and found that all 3 were red herrings. They led either nowhere, to a pit fall, a dead end, or looped back around to another opening.
The first 'real' opening they came on was an office, or study. There was a large desk made of stone and a leather and iron chair behind it. Across from the desk were 2 loveseats. The 2 walls on either side of the desk were covered in bookshelves. The wall behind the couches had 3 paintings on it. The one behind the desk had a calendar and 2 tall shelves filled with cubbyholes. It was hard to tell what the colors of the room were or what kind of shape the furniture was in due to the thick layers of dust.
Azrig stepped forward. "Allow me. I work in the records department and know how to handle delicate things." Harry nodded. The goblin, who looked older than Griphook but was shorter than him as well, waved his hands around the room and spoke in goblin. Once he was done, the dust in the room was cleared as though it had never been.
"That was amazing!" Harry said looking around. He could now see that the paintings over the couch were of 2 women and a man. All 3 looked to be asleep. The sofas they were over was a deep purple velvet. The desk was now a shiny brown stone and the calendar turned out to be a class schedule.
"Everything in here is protected by preservation charms so it was easy to vanish the dust." Azrig told them with a bit of a blush on his face.
Harry smiled at him anyways. He headed over to the schedule. "Look at this." Harry said calling the others over.
There were several classes offered back then that were no longer available. These were; art, choir, warding, rituals, healing, Lady and Lord's studies, and magical introduction. Also in place of Defense Against the Dark Arts was offensive magic, defensive magic, and battle magics.
They looked at all the teachers. "It seems like the founders were the main teachers with a few lords teaching as needed." Theo said.
"Yeah." Neville agreed. "I thought Slytherin would have taught potions for sure." He looked it over and the picture painted by this schedule didn't seem to fit the muggle hating vicious man he was portrayed as.
It showed that Salazar Slytherin taught; Care of Magical Creatures, choir, Healing (with Lord Prince), and Herbology (with Lord Perciville). Godric Gryffindor taught; Transfiguration, Defensive Magic, Craftsmanship, and warding (with Lord Hogwarts). Helga Hufflepuff taught; Potions, art, Magical Introduction, and Charms (with Lord Flint). Rowena Ravenclaw taught; Arithmacy, Lord's and Lady's studies and Rituals (with Lady Black). Lady Black also taught History. Lord Hogwarts taught Runes and Astronomy. Lord Potter and Mr. Potter taught Battle Magics and Offensive Magic.
"I wonder who Mr. Potter was." Theo asked after looking at the schedule.
"I would guess he was one of Lord Potter's sons or brothers." Trilok replied.
"But not the heir." Neville said. "It would say Heir Potter if he was."
Harry was just smiling broadly at it. He had always thought of Hogwarts as a home. To know his family had once worked here made it feel just a bit more special.
In the meantime, the 3 goblins were looking over the books on the shelves. This was a treasure trove worth more than the entire basilisk. Books not only from before the founding of the school, but some written by the founders themselves.
Harry finally spoke. "Trilok. Can we get the books moved to Gringotts then copies made to put back here? I think the Chamber of Secrets will make a smashing place to study once it's cleaned up." Harry paused a thought in his brain but he would need to do more research before he could go anywhere with it.
Trilok nodded. "Since the request has been made by both Lord Potter and Lord Perciville we can place these in vault 18 and make copies using the Potter charms to do with as you please."
"Ok let's do that first. I don't want any of us accidentally harming these books or papers. We should see what else is down here." the others nodded and left the room.
The next 'real' room they came to was 4 doors down. It contained a small(ish) personal library. Again, the dust had to be inches thick but once Azrig removed it you could see all the tomes. They looked around a bit and Harry noticed that some of the books looked to be fiction as well as non-fiction. There was one whole self that was damaged due to a bit of ceiling collapsing and breaking the charms. "Trilok can you get a team to check out the whole chamber and make sure it's safe too?" The goblin just nodded and jotted down a note to do so. After that, they all left the room be so that none of the other tomes were damaged.
They also found a bedroom on that side of the main hall. The things in the bedroom were not covered by preservation charms and at some point, there had obviously been a leak because nothing was salvageable.
On the other side of the chamber they found a large dome like room made entirely out of stone. Harry looked around it. He had never seen such a room and had no clue what it was or what it was for. There were thousands, if not millions of runes carved on the floor and around the walls. Near the door there was a stone altar and a rack of ceremonial knives. Harry, out of curiosity picked up one. He nearly dropped it when he felt the power in the blade. It was even stronger than the power he felt when he pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat last May. He didn't know what it was for, but there was something about it that made Harry respect the simple knife.
"What is this?" He asked the others with him.
"That would be an athame. A knife used in rituals." Trilok told him. "What kinds of rituals it was used for, I wouldn't know. Not many wizards use magical rituals anymore."
"Most rituals are dark magic and forbidden now." Theo said. "Mother still puts out food for the dead on all souls day and says prayers on the solstices but more than that and the ministry could fine you." Theo said nothing of the one ritual he saw his father preforming. It scared him to the core and he never wanted to look into that subject again.
Harry nodded. He was now curious about rituals and planned to add them to the list of things to look up in the library. When he thought about it, looking them up in his vaults and in the books found here in the chamber may be more effective. If there was ever one thing he and Hermione could agree on, it was that you could never have too much information.
Realizing the boy was curious, Trilok gave him a bit more information. "These stones are also used in the rituals. These are lode stones and these rune stones." He purposely didn't say what they were for. Curiosity and a passion for learning were things that should be cultivated.
Soon after leaving the ritual chamber, they found a green house. There was little that could be saved there either. A few seeds looked like they might still be viable, according to Neville the resident expert. Harry told him to have at it and take anything he thought he could use. Next to the greenhouse was a potions lab and ingredient room. The types of ingredients added credence to the schedule, almost all were used exclusively in healing potions. Though there were lots of snake parts and a few other odds and ends as well. About a third of the ingredients were still good. Most had rotted long ago.
"Azrig. Why did the preservation charms fail here but not on the books?" Harry asked curious.
The goblin smiled at him. "You are observant. Good. The charms didn't hold as long due to the magical nature of these items. Their magic interfered with and broke down the charms. Whereas paper and most inks have little or no magic." All 3 boys nodded in understanding.
They found that there were 4 other exits into the school itself, not including the one in the bathroom. One opened near the library, one inside the kitchens, another in a now unused hall on the 5th floor and the final one opened just to the left of an odd tapestry with dancing trolls on the 7th floor. After exploring all the rooms and opening the other passages just to check them out, they went back to help prepare the carcass.
Theo was in awe of this place and his mate... husband... Harry. But he was also frightened. He was glad the man he was bonded to for life was strong but if Harry ever turned out like his father there would be no running. No escape. He shivered.
Neville was also in awe. He had always known Harry was great and more powerful than he let on but near Neville's equal in shyness. Seeing him laughing and joking while dissecting the beast was a private side of Harry that few ever saw. He was glad his friend was happy. He hoped this little Slytherin, whatever his story, was good for Harry. Because Neville may be a lion but he was also as loyal as a Hufflepuff and dangerous as any badger when his friends are threatened.
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