Next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed Gabriel's distressed anger scene. It was mildly painful to write but you know you love it. It may have come out a little different in terms of angst than I intended, but anyhow.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter.

An invisible figure drifted across the lawn several nights later, the grass flattening under its feet. Under the invisibility cloak, Gabriel held his wand tightly by his side, drawing closer to the Forbidden Forest. As he made it inside the first layer of trees, he drew the cloak off - no one would see him in the darkness, as even Hagrid wasn't around anymore.

It had come as a shock. Not only had, apparently, Hagrid been blamed for opening the chamber of secrets [and Gabriel seriously wondered who had made that decision] but Dumbledore had been removed from his position as Headmaster, both seemingly overnight. It had thrown the school into even bigger chaos, people wondering how they were safe now that someone regarded as the greatest wizard of their time had been removed from Hogwarts.

Gabriel still thought that if Dumbledore was really the greatest wizard, he should be figuring these things out sooner. Admittedly, Gabriel was a celestial being with millenia of experience, but if he had actually been twelve it would have been sort of pathetic.

Gabriel bent almost double, trying to make out whether there were any spiders on the ground. By chance, one crawled by just then, and Gabriel quickly spelled it to glow so that he could make it out more easily.

The luminescent spider was fast, and Gabriel hurriedly stuffed the cloak in his pocket as he followed it. It was going ever deeper into the forest, and several times he almost lost the thing among the thicket of trees and all sorts of undergrowth. Twice Gabriel was sure something moved in the blackness around him, but he didn't dare look behind him for fear of loosing the spider.

It was because of this that the bigger one took him unawares.

Something seized Gabriel around the middle and lifted him swiftly into the air, his head facing downwards towards the floor. Struggling to get out of its grip, he saw the forest falling away on either side of him as the creature carried him in deeper.

Head hanging, Gabriel saw that whatever it was, it had six immensely hairy legs, and another pair was obviously what was holding him. Directly above the front two legs were a pair of sharp black pincers that gleamed in the scarce moonlight, and Gabriel had never been more glad that he couldn't get poisoned.

He was in its clutches for what seemed like ages, and as it carried him deeper Gabriel could see that the ground beneath him was swarming with something, most likely more of the monsters. He craned his neck and saw that they were now in a vast hollow, and with no trees to speak of he saw what had to be the creepiest scene ever.

Spiders. Absolutely everywhere. And not ordinary spiders either, but ones the size of draft horses and cars. Gabriel realized with a thrill of horror that the thing carrying him must have been a spider as well, and it was at least as tall as one of the smaller oak trees surrounding them. It towered over the other spiders, and as it scuttled towards a huge domed web in the middle of the hollow it dropped him.

Gabriel landed on all fours and rolled with his momentum, coming out on his feet, and whipping out his wand threateningly at any spider who looked like it was getting too closer for comfort. They left a space around him, milling around in a circle and more still were coming, blanketing the trees on the edge.

The spider who had carried him here was saying something, but it was hard to make out as its pincers clicked with every syllable. "Aragog," it called, and Gabriel thought it was a nonsense word until another spider emerged, this time from the web in the center.

It was even bigger, the size of a small elephant at least. Its eyes were milky and clouded, and Gabriel realized with some relief that it must be blind.

"What is it?"

"Men," said the first spider, its pincers clicking rapidly.

"Hagrid?" Aragog asked, and Gabriel was definitely going to ask the gamekeeper about this because he was pretty sure that raising humungous spiders in the woods near a school full of children was not okay at all.

"Strangers," replied the first.

"Kill them," said Aragog, almost fretfully. "I was sleeping."

"I wouldn't do that!" Gabriel shouted, trying to keep a lid on his panic. With his Grace the way it was and his magic almost entirely untrained, there was no way he could take on so many of them and come out with his vessel intact. He'd be shredded.

"Why not?" hissed Aragog. "When you come so willingly into out nest..."

"Technically, I was carried," Gabriel snarked. "And I'm a bit important back up at the school...they might miss me, you know! And I don't suppose you'd want wizards swarming over your hollow!" He had to shout to make the words reach the giant spider.

There was a pause of silence and Gabriel decided to continue. "And besides!" He yelled. "I've got questions for you! Why have you been running from the school all year? Is it because of the Chamber of Secrets?"

That set off a wave of clicking around the hollow. "But that was many years ago," said Aragog fretfully. "They believed I was the monster, that dwells in what they call the Chamber. That's why they made him leave."

"You mean Hagrid?"

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah," Gabriel lied through his teeth, hoping that maybe it would gain him some lenience. "So you never attacked anyone?"

"Never," said the giant spider. "Out of respect to Hagrid, I never harmed a human...The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom, and I never saw any part of the castle save the cupboard in which I grew up."

"Then what's in the Chamber?" Gabriel mentally cursed that the thing couldn't tell him where it was.

There was another loud outbreak of clicking, accompanied by a rustling sound, as if the spiders were shifting around. They sounded almost angry.

"The thing that lives in the castle," said Aragog, "Is an old creature we spiders fear above all others. When I sensed it in the castle I begged Hagrid to let me go, but he would not hear of it..."

"What is it?"

"We do not speak its name!" Aragog's statement was louder than the others.

Gabriel mentally considered his options. He'd spent enough time here already. "I suppose I'll go, then."

"Go?" Aragog turned away. "No, you will not go."

"I was afraid of that," Gabriel muttered.

"I will not refuse my sons and daughters," the giant spider said, descending into his nest, "Not when fresh meat wanders so willingly into our nest..."

The spiders surged towards him.

Gabriel drew something almost unconsciously and his magic reacted to his needs. He threw his arms out, silver weapon glittering and wand in the other hand, and his inherited magic burst out, knocking back the spiders. Gabriel was on his way out of the hollow before they could react, using one particularly large specimen to make his way to the edge and breaking into a dead sprint.

He heard them rushing after him and shouted out a spell he'd seen in one of the books in the common room. Luckily it worked, and as something shrieked behind him a tree groaned and came crashing down on the path. Gabriel did it again, toppling trees to block the spiders and aiming for the spiders themselves but it didn't seem to work, and the horde was relentless.

Gabriel didn't get tired or need a break in his vessel but that didn't matter. The spiders were larger and could cover more ground, and his core was being depleted with all of these high-powered curses. He'd taken out at least ten of the big ones but there were three more to replace every one that fell behind and Gabriel was wondering if he shouldn't just climb a tree and wait it out when a hunting horn resounded in the night.

He was picked up for the second time that night but this time whoever was carrying him had human arms, gripping him tightly around the chest as people leaped into the fray, and Gabriel was sure he heard the twang of arrows being fired. The spiders were shrieking and from what Gabriel could hear they were turning back. He was put down and as Gabriel looked up he realized two things.

One, he was surrounded by centaurs.

Two, he had somehow unconsciously drawn his angel blade when running from the spiders.

"What are you doing in the forest?" One of the centaurs asked roughly.

"I was looking for answers," Gabriel replied. "Thanks for stepping in with the spiders."

"It was not for your sake," a different centaur responded. He was tall and stocky, a dark brown color. "The spiders overstepped their bounds."

"Thanks anyway." Gabriel glanced backwards, towards where he thought the school was. "Any chance I get to walk free back to the school?"

"What were you seeking answers to?" A blonde centaur asked.

"Lots of things. Mostly the answer to the monster that's in the school."

There were several ahs at that. "You care so much that you would come into the forest on your own?" asked one of them in astonishment.

"It attacked my friend," Gabriel said coolly. "Besides, I can take care of myself." He raised the angel blade slightly, the silver glinting in the scant moonlight.

The centaurs seemed to concentrate on it, one or two of them glancing up at what parts of the sky were visible. They obviously realized that it wasn't made of anything found on Earth.

"You," said one of them slowly, "Are not really Harry Potter, are you."

Gabriel grinned impishly, which was nearly invisible in the dark. "What gave it away?"

The centaurs began whispering among themselves, while those at the front regarded Gabriel with thoughtful looks. "Firenze will accompany you to the edge of the forest," one of them said, the palomino edging forward.

"Thanks," said Gabriel again, and he gave them a two-fingered salute as he followed the pale centaur. He practically glowed, light fur reflecting what little light there was, and thus was easier to follow then, say, the black one might have been.

When they were near enough to the edge of the forest that Gabriel could see out of the trees, he dug his invisibility cloak out, 'Firenze' watching in bemusement. He put a finger over his lips and thanked the centaur once more before draping it over himself and moving quickly towards the school - if he was found out then this whole night would have gone to waste.

Something occurred to Gabriel as he was edging past the doors. Aragog had said that a girl's body had been found in a bathroom when the Chamber was last opened.

What if she'd never left it?

Trying to sneak into a disused girl's bathroom, much less one right next to the scene of the first attack, proved to be nearly impossible. It had been hard enough trying to think of a way he could corner the redhead who had probably stolen the diary, but now Gabriel found himself well and truly stumped. If only he could use his Grace...but no matter how long he left it to build up, hardly any of his Grace had returned since he'd last checked it.

In his first lesson on Monday, McGonagall informed them all that they would still be having exams, one week from then.

"Exams?" Someone asked disbelievingly.

"The whole point of keeping this school open at this time is for you to receive your education," McGonagall said sharply. "The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all revising hard."

It hadn't occurred to anyone, much less Gabriel, to think about exams at a time like this. There was a lot of frantic rushing about in Ravenclaw tower as upper years tried hastily to get their usual study groups together.

Gabriel, of course, could care less. It didn't matter if he flunked out of the year, since as long as the monster was still around there would most likely not be a Hogwarts to come back to next year. If he did manage to get rid of it, he could always try and fudge the results with his Grace.

Three days before exams, McGonagall announced at breakfast that the Mandrakes were finally ready to be made into the de-Petrification potion. This was greeted by a storm of cheering, and Gabriel felt his heart leap. Even Draco had joined in, to the surprise of the people sitting around him, although Gabriel could see a vaguely pained look on his face.

Gabriel knew that, by tomorrow the whole mystery might solve itself when the Petified students woke up, but even so he wasn't going to pass up a chance to speak to Myrtle and figure out what was going on anyways. And to his delight the chance came that day, mid-morning when they were being led to their next class by Lockhart.

Lockhart, who had so often falsely reassured them that the danger had passed, seemed convinced that it was thoroughly unnecessary to lead them to their next class. He looked a little more untidy than usual, and Gabriel guessed that he had been up all night patrolling the corridors.

It was ridiculously easy to convince him to let the Ravenclaws go off on their own while he slipped away to do who knows what, and it took Gabriel only seconds to 'accidentally' turn the wrong corner and be on his way to Myrtle's bathroom when...

"Potter! What are you doing?"

McGonagall was marching towards him, mouth pressed into a thin white line. Gabriel hurried to think of a good lie.

"I was-" he actually stuttered and damn it why was this woman so intimidating. It might have been the fact that she was at least a foot and a half taller than he was at the moment. "I was going to see Hermione."

McGonagall looked at him sharply and Gabriel hurried to continue. "It's just - I haven't seen her in ages, and I thought, er-"

McGonagall was still staring at him and Gabriel wondered whether she was about to yell. But when she spoke, it was with a strangely rough voice.

"Of course," she said tightly, and Gabriel was surprised that it had actually worked. "Of course, I realize that this has been very hard on...I quite understand. Yes, Potter, of course you may visit Miss Granger. I will inform Professor Binns- tell Madam Pomfrey that I have given my permission."

Slightly stunned, Gabriel watched her walk out of sight. Of course, now he actually had to go to the hospital wing, so that sort of failed, but it wasn't a huge loss.

Madam Pomfrey let him in very reluctantly.

"There's just no point talking to a Petrified person," she muttered, and Gabriel got the feeling he hadn't been meant to overhear. Of course, she was right, and it only made Gabriel depressed to see Hermione perfectly still.

He took a seat next to her with a sigh. "That went well," he muttered. "I suppose you'd have thought of something more clever."

Hermione, of course, did not respond.

"Fat lot of good this is doing," Gabriel spoke again, if only to break the silence which permeated the hospital wing. He looked away from Hermione's face and noticed that her hand was curled around something.

Curious, he looked closer. There was a scrunched-up bit of paper in her hand.

"What's this?"

Glancing around for Madam Pomfrey, Gabriel struggled to get it out without tearing the paper - Hermione's hand, obviously, couldn't move out of the way for him. Eventually, he managed to pull out the last bit and smooth it out. It looked like it had been torn from a very old library book.

Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters which roam our lands, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as King of the Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.

Beneath this passage, in a single scrawl, Hermione had written Pipes.

"Oh," Gabriel breathed. "Oh, this is brilliant!" The monster in the Chamber was a Basilisk! And it had been getting around in the pipes - that was why he had kept hearing it from inside the walls! "You brilliant girl!"

Gabriel's gaze darted around. None of the people in here were dead - because none of them had looked straight at it! The Gryffindor kid must have seen it through his camera, and the Hufflepuff through the ghost...and of course Nick couldn't die again. Hermione and the Ravenclaw prefect had been found near the library with a mirror...Hermione must have seen the girl and warned her to check around corners with one first. But what about the cat?

Of course, Myrtle's bathroom. The hall had been flooded on Halloween as well! The cat must have seen the reflection!

"Hermione, I could kiss you right now."

But where was the entrance? Gabriel stood up and almost started pacing when something occurred to him. Where was one place the plumbing was close to the surface? Where was one place he knew someone had died in a room like that?

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," he whispered.

Gabriel ran out of the hospital wing. He was heading straight for the bathroom, but before he could get there, a magically magnified voice echoed through the corridor.

"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please."

What had happened now? Another attack?

Curiosity overpowering him, Gabriel redirected his steps to the staff room, not bothering with the cloak and instead using his Grace to cloak himself. He arrived just before the other teachers did, and his out of the way in a wardrobe full of musty robes. It wouldn't do for anyone to bump into him.

As the teachers filed in, some looked puzzled, while others looked downright scared. McGonagall arrived last.

"It has happened," she told the silent staff room. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the chamber itself."

There were various reactions of shock and horror. Gabriel leaned closer to hear. Who had been taken?

"How can you be sure?" Someone asked.

"The heir of Slytherin," said McGonagall heavily, "Left another note. Right underneath the first. Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever."

Someone burst into tears.

"Who is it?"

"Ginny Weasley."

Weasley?

Wasn't that the name of the girl who had stolen the diary?

Gabriel was seized by horror. If the diary had been leeching off of her...there was only too large a possibility that it could have taken control for any period of time.

Someone had been speaking when the door of the staff room burst open.

"So sorry - " said the voice of Lockhart. "-Dozed off - what have I missed?"

"Just the man," said a sneering voice that must have been Snape. "The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken in to the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your time has come at last."

"That's right, Gilderoy," someone else chipped in after Lockhart remained silent. "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the Chamber of secrets is?"

"I - well, I-" Lockhart sputtered.

"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" Flitwick piped up.

"Did I? I-I don't quite recall..."

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," Snape said. "Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?"

Lockhart was silent for some time, then began stuttering out excuses.

"We'll leave it to you then, Gilderoy," said McGonagall, speaking over him. "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last."

"V-very well," said Lockhart after a long silence. "I'll - I'll be in my office, getting - getting ready."

And he left.

So did Gabriel, who was honestly itching for some decent Trickster action.

"Oi!" he called, and Lockhart turned around in the middle of the hallway. "Where are you going in such a hurry, Professor?" Lockhart didn't seem to notice the sarcasm Gabriel injected into the last word.

"Oh, hello, Harry," said the man quickly. "Urgent call, really...got to go..."

"And what about the Chamber? You know," Gabriel looked up at him innocently. "Saving Ginny Weasley and all."

Lockhart was staring at him incredulously. "How-"

"Never mind that." Gabriel was smiling again. "It seems to be your lucky day, Professor. I know exactly where to go."

Lockhart, as it turned out, had to be guided at wandpoint to Myrtle's bathroom. He looked weak-chinned and not at all like he usually did, even dressed in eye-watering green robes.

"What are you doing here?" Myrtle asked warily as Gabriel poked Lockhart in.

"To ask how you died," Gabriel said bluntly. "It was a giant snake, wasn't it?"

"I don't know about a snake," Myrtle said. She was looking as though she had never been asked a more interesting question. "All I know is that Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses again, and I-"

"Can you skip to the bit where you actually died?"

Myrtle looked put out. "I just remember a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away...I came back though."

"I can see that." Gabriel glanced around. "Where were the eyes?"

"Over there," answered Myrtle, pointing to the sink nearest Gabriel.

He shuffled over, keeping his wand trained on Lockhart, and eyed the sink carefully. One one of the taps, there was a scratched design that looked vaguely like a snake, but maybe Gabriel was just at the wrong angle.

"That tap's never worked," said Myrtle cheerfully as Gabriel reached out to twist it. He examined the snake carefully.

Hmm...maybe I should use the same method as I did on the snake in front of the common room?

"Open up," Gabriel said. Both Lockhart and the ghost looked at him, puzzled.

"This never works the first time," Gabriel muttered, then cleared his throat and concentrated hard on the snake.

"Open up."

Lockhart jumped violently and even Myrtle gave a little start. The sink began to drop out of view into the ground, revealing the entrance to a huge, filthy pipe.

"Well!" Lockhart cleared his throat. "I don't think you really need me now you've figured it out-"

"Actually, I think you're going before me." Gabriel aimed his wand at Lockhart. "Ladies first, Professor."

Lockhart swallowed nervously and peered over the edge of the pipe. Gabriel pushed him in and listened as the man's screams faded away.

"Fairly deep then," he mused. "Oh, hell." And he jumped in himself.

The bottom was just as dirty as the slide, but Gabriel had no time to wrinkle his nose at the tiny skeletons [mostly mice and rats] littering the ground. Lockhart was white as a ghost, standing a few feet away from the pipe.

The tunnel was black as night, which meant they were probably far underground by now.

"Lumos!" The tip of Gabriel's wand lit and sent their shadows arcing up the walls like huge beasts. Gabriel was too engaged in going forwards to make sure Lockhart was somewhere he could see him.

There was something huge and curved lying across the tunnel in front of him. Gabriel paused, hoping that perhaps it was asleep, but the wandlight that was accidentally sent skittering across it revealed that it wasn't a snake, but a snakeskin.

"Ho-ly shit."

It was enormous, a venomous green color and at least sixty feet long. The top if it, where the skin hadn't been flattened, was well above Gabriel's head. There was a sudden movement behind Gabriel; Lockhart, upon following him and seeing it, had collapsed to his knees.

"Get up," Gabriel said sharply. Lockhart didn't move. Gabriel moved closer, intending to maybe use a Stinging Hex when Lockhart surged upwards and launched himself at Gabriel.

Gabriel fell over backwards and felt his wand being wrestled out of his hand. Lockhart stood up panting with the stolen wand and Gabriel brought himself to his feet irritably.

Lockhart was grinning brightly again. "The adventure ends here, Harry!" he said. "I shall take a bit of the skin up to the school and tell them that I was too late to save the girl...and you, of course, tried to follow me and tragically lost your mind at the sight of her mangled body. Say goodbye to your memories! Obliviate!"

The white light arced towards Gabriel off of his own wand. Gabriel swatted it away and the rebound hit an astonished Lockhart, throwing him to the ground. Gabriel stomped over.

"Give me that," he snapped, snatching his wand back. Lockhart blinked and looked around. Gabriel hit him sharply on the forehead and Lockhart slumped over again, out cold.

"That's him taken care of," Gabriel muttered, turning around and relighting his wand. "If he was willing to do that and take the credit from me I wonder about all of his other adventures."

He made his way past the empty snakeskin, alert for any sort of movement in the darkness. The tunnel twisted and turned and finally around one bend Gabriel came across a solid wall, upon which was carved two serpents winding around each other. They looked eerily alive, emerald eyes glinting in the darkness.

"Open," Gabriel told them again, and it actually work the first time. The two snakes parted as the wall cracked open and Gabriel strode through the doorway.

The hall he entered was huge, stone pillars carved with yet more snakes and reaching up to support a roof cloaked in darkness. In the odd, green-tinted gloom which filled the chamber, they cast long black shadows.

There was a statue of a man at one end, but everything but his face was underwater. Two more man-made rivers ran on either side of the path in front of Gabriel, and the statue combined with the fact that it was nearly black made him think that it was much deeper than it looked.

A small, black, red-haired figure was lying on the stone ground in front of the pool which surrounded the statue.

"Shit. Shitshitshit." Gabriel lengthened his pace until he was running, skidding slightly on the wet ground and dropping down next to the figure. It was undoubtedly Ginny Weasley, and Gabriel had to resort to putting his ear to her chest after both her wrist and her neck failed to yield a pulse. There was one, but it was faint and thready, and as Gabriel sat back up he tried to ignore the fact that she was absolutely freezing cold. He refused to look at her soul - it would only depress him, and if it had gone so far that she was unconscious-

"She won't wake."

Gabriel spun around from where he was crouched, raising into a half-standing position. A black haired boy was leaning against one of the pillars closest to Gabriel, and he was strangely misty around the edges, as if Gabriel were looking at him through a load of fog.

"I assume you're Tom Riddle, then," Gabriel said calmly. He had already noticed the diary thrown to one side near where Ginny was lying.

The boy's eyes narrowed as he stood up straight. "Funny," he said. "You know my name, but I don't recall learning yours."

"I didn't say," replied Gabriel. "Now how about we take this somewhere you can't have your Basilisk do the dirty work for you, eh?" He nodded towards Ginny. "Or her, for that matter. What's the matter, got to possess kids to get anything done?"

"It was necessary," Riddle said coolly. "She should have been more wary...little Ginny poured her heart and soul into writing to me...how she'd had to come to Hogwarts with second-hand robes, how she thought-"

"Shut up," said Gabriel sharply, standing up fully. "Now you might have been bad enough on your own, but bringing kids into it? She's eleven, dipshit. Leave her alone."

"You speak as though you weren't a child."

"I'm not." Gabriel gave Riddle a sharklike grin. "Not human, remember me now?"

Riddle's eyes widened. "You."

"Me," Gabriel agreed. "Now I'm not here to see your evil plot or anything, Tom. In fact, I'm mostly here to stop this soul crap you've got going on."

"And how will you do that when you are too busy fighting to save little Ginny?" Riddle's eyes flicked up to the statue, and he began to speak, but something interrupted him.

Both soul and Gabriel turned to see where the strange call had come from.

Something golden was flying down the tunnel, and as it drew closer Gabriel saw that it was some sort of strange bird, one with long feathers and scarlet plumage that was tipped with a yellow so bright it looked golden. As it flew overhead it dropped something at Gabriel's feet, which unrolled to reveal the Sorting Hat.

What the fuck.

"This is what the headmaster sends his champion?" Riddle asked mockingly. "A songbird and an old hat? What good will that do you?"

"I figure a phoenix would be pretty handy," Gabriel muttered, his eyes on the bird as it circled.

Riddle glanced up, seemingly realizing the same thing. "Ah," he muttered. "But I doubt it will be much use against the Basilisk." He turned again to the statue and spoke, this time with a hissing sibilance that told Gabriel he was using Parseltongue. "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four."

A flick of Gabriel's fingers sent Ginny to the side and out of the way as he turned around. The mouth of the statue was opening, and as Gabriel took a few steps backward something moved within it.

The Basilisk piled itself onto the stone floor, parts of its body going underwater as it snaked out of the pool. Its eyes were closed, and it was turning its head from side to side as if looking - or rather smelling - for someone.

Gabriel looked over at Ginny to make sure she was out of the way and saw something silver glittering inside the Hat. Without wondering why he was doing so Gabriel grabbed for whatever it was and drew a long, silver broadsword from the Hat. It was shining as though ti had been freshly polished, and looked as sharp as anything. Gripping the long hilt tightly, Gabriel faced the giant snake again and found it about three inches from his face.

"Kill him," Riddle hissed, and the Basilisk's eyes snapped open. They were indeed a bright, lamplike yellow like Myrtle had said, with large slitted pupils.

"You'll have to do better than that," he told the snake, shaking off the temporary stiffness in his vessel, and leaped up, shoving the broadsword into one of its eyes and using it as a springboard to get onto the snake's head. The Basilisk shrieked, a strange sound coming from the mouth of a snake. The phoenix came swooping down and attacked the other eye and the Basilisk thrashed around, making Gabriel told on to the embedded sword to keep himself in one place.

Blinded, the Basilisk sniffed around for him while Gabriel held himself onto its head, looking for a weak spot. The best place to go would be the head, and he was preparing to strike when a blast came and knocked him back onto the ground.

Swearing, Gabriel righted himself. He'd left the broadsword in the Basilisk's eye on accident, and a few feet away a murderous-looking Riddle was holding his wand, aiming it straight at Gabriel.

"What is it with people stealing my wand today?" Gabriel complained as he jumped out of the way of the Basilisk. It overshot and nearly plummeted into the pool, whipping around and splashing water everywhere as it tried to get back to Gabriel. Gabriel, in a feat that would have gotten him killed had he actually been human, ran straight at it and grabbed the sword again, pulling it out of the now thoroughly-ruined eye.

The Basilisk screamed again, and Riddle yelled in rage. The snake opened its mouth as though intending to eat Gabriel whole but Gabriel saw a chance and took it, shoving the sword up through the roof of its mouth. The snake thrashed around and then slumped to the ground, half of its body still in the pool and the rest of it haphazardly lying around the chamber.

Absentmindedly, Gabriel yanked out the fang that had gotten stuck in his arm and winced at the sensation of poison. It wasn't deadly, but it felt like being filled with pins and needles.

Riddle was watching in horror, Gabriel's wand long forgotten by his side. Gabriel practically strolled over to where the diary was and was already holding it before Riddle reacted.

"Stop!" He shouted as Gabriel held the fang over the diary. Hopefully Basilisk venom would be enough to get rid of the thing.

"What do you want?"

"I don't want anything from you!"

"Really?" said Gabriel idly. "Because I do think you have some information I want."

He saw how Riddle paused, calculating, a Slytherin in full. "What?" He asked warily.

"Nothing important," replied Gabriel. "Just...the location of Ravenclaw's diadem."

''And why would I know where that is?"

"I spoke to the grey lady, you know." Gabriel lowered the fang until it was almost touching the diary. "Any last words, then?"

"Wait, no!" Gabriel ignored the spirit. He knew that he'd get nothing out of it and so plunged the fang into the diary.

Ink went everywhere. It dripped down Gabriel's now even dirtier robes and pooled on the floor. Riddle gave a curdling scream and vanished, as if he'd been torn into tiny pieces.

There was silence in the chamber.

Gabriel put the ruined diary in his pocket and walked over to where Ginny was now propped up against one of the pillars. She was much warmer and her pulse was better, and she appeared to be waking up. Gabriel put two fingers to her forehead to keep her asleep - no need for her to wake up and panic at the sight of a filthy rescuer, a really creepy chamber, and a huge-ass dead snake.

The sword was tucked into his belt, since no sheath had been provided. Gabriel fetched his wand from where Riddle had dropped it, then picked up the Sorting Hat and placed it on Ginny's head for convenience, since he certainly wasn't going to wear it, and then hoisted her up. She was light enough to carry fairly easily, and as Gabriel made his way past the Basilisk's corpse Ginny shifted in her sleep, putting her arms around his neck. He rolled his eyes and kept going.

The phoenix followed him out as he walked through the tunnel again, providing a strangely comforting light. Lockhart was still where Gabriel had left him, and Gabriel kicked him in the shins to wake the man up since his hands were full. He woke up with a sputter, and looked up at Gabriel curiously.

"Hello," he said. "Who are you?"

"Bloody hell," Gabriel muttered. "You've forgotten everything."

The phoenix warbled and landed in front of Gabriel, seemingly offering one of its tail feathers. Gabriel regarded it carefully.

"You want me to grab your tail?" Something similar to a yes came out. "Alright. You-" He directed the last word to Lockhart. "Grab the bird's tail." As Lockhart did so Gabriel shifted Ginny around so he could free one of his hands and grasped the feathers.

The phoenix took off and lifted all of them seemingly effortlessly, flying back up the winding pipe and they were back in the bathroom. Gabriel glanced down at himself and Ginny and decided that cleaning himself off would have to wait, as it would be suspicious if his robes weren't dirty.

"Oh, you're back." said Myrtle. "And you survived." She sounded almost disappointed.

"Yeah," Gabriel muttered as the phoenix disappeared in a flash of flames. "That's me. The survivor." He sighed mentally and wondered how he was going to explain all of this.

"Might as well go up to McGonagall's office."

Luckily everyone was still in their dorms, or it would have taken even longer to get up to McGonagall's office. Lockhart trailed behind him, apparently unsure of where he was actually going.

When he got to the door, Gabriel kicked it to get the attention of anyone who might be inside.

After a moment, it swung open.

Gabriel got a brief look at the people inside [since when had Dumbledore come back?] before there was a shriek and a redheaded woman threw herself on Gabriel, prying Ginny from his hold and shaking her awake. Ginny startled awake and looked like she was about to cry as someone who must have been her mother hugged her tightly. Dumbledore, who was sitting behind the desk, was gazing at Gabriel in astonishment while McGonagall, who appeared to be supporting herself on the fireplace, was taking large, steadying breaths. The phoenix was sitting on the edge of the desk, and Lockhart had edged into the office behind Gabriel, as if slightly unsure whether he should be there.

Gabriel suddenly found himself being trapped in a tight hug as well. Ginny's mother was talking rapidly in his ear.

"You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?"

"I think that's a question we should all like answered," said Dumbledore, recovering his 'friendly grandfather look. "Would you like a chair, Harry?"

"Sure," said Gabriel, who had yet to recover from the uncomfortable pins and needles feeling in his limbs. He sat down, looked around and all the expectant faces, and began talking.

It took several hours and a lot of creative bullshitting for the entire story to get out and sound like something that could have been reasonably accomplished by someone who was not an archangel. Maybe reasonable wasn't the right word. 'Within the realm of very lucky possibility' would have been better.

"Well," Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling by the time Gabriel had finished. "I should think that you have been incredibly brave and perhaps more than a bit lucky, mister Potter. I am surprised, though, at the sword which you have with you."

"What about it?" Gabriel asked, looking down.

"Perhaps you should take a closer look at the blade," Dumbledore suggested.

Gabriel did so, pulling it out carefully and examining the blade. He almost hit something.

You've got to be joking.

The name 'GRYFFINDOR' had been engraved along the length of the blade.

"Only those who are worthy can pull the sword from the Hat," said Dumbledore cheerfully. "But now is not the time for discussing legends! I believe Miss Weasley would benefit from a trip to the Hospital wing, and perhaps a cup of hot cocoa. You were not injured, were you Harry?"

"I'm fine." Gabriel replied. "A cleaning spell wouldn't go wrong though."

McGonagall looked torn between lecturing Gabriel and congratulating him, but she raised her wand and cleaned off his robes anyway. Gabriel glanced down at the now much drier material. "Thanks."

"For you, Mister Potter," Dumbledore said, "I think, perhaps, two hundred points to Ravenclaw-" Gabriel looked at him in shock. "-And an award for special services to the school. You did, of course, splinter many school rules into pieces, but I think on this occasion it can be excused."

"Thanks," Gabriel said again. "Oh, and before I forget-" He dug into his pocket and tossed the diary onto the table. "You might want to take care of that. I've no idea what it is-" A blatant lie. "-But it seems dangerous. Could I go back up to my dorm?"

"Of course," said McGonagall. "I think that would be best...are you sure you don't need to go to the Hospital wing?"

"I'm sure," said Gabriel as he closed the door behind him. He faintly heard Lockhart ask something, and wondered what they were going to do with the man now that he remembered nothing.

SUPER SUPER LONG CHAPTER TODAY

I hope you enjoyed the Chamber of Secrets. Details were unashamedly copied from the book. Also, you can look forward to a guest appearance in the next chapter! I don't know whether he'll stick around but he'll be there and possibly show up again later in the series.

Read and review!