Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Puppet of Time
Chapter 10
Draco could feel his heart pounding wildly while he held a shaking Ginny close. They had almost died. The basilisk suddenly showing up had been completely unexpected. They had come this close to ending up as snake food if Ginny hadn't been able to somehow command the basilisk to go back into the chamber. This was Draco's first encounter with direct, personal, life-threatening danger. It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat anytime soon. None of the memories his other self had given him had really prepared him for something like this. Sure, he remembered being in life-threatening situations, but living through them was entirely different.
It seemed now that the danger was over the situation hit really home for Ginny. She had kept a cool head until the danger was over, but now she clutched him as if her life depended on it. Despite everything that had happened to her she still was an eleven year old girl, after all. Not that it was that much different for him in spite of all his extra knowledge and more mature mind. In some respects he really was a twelve year old boy. He probably gained as much comfort and reassurance from the embrace as Ginny.
After a minute his heartbeat slowed and his gaze wandered to the still, petrified form of the girl in front of them. He couldn't see her face, but he was pretty sure she was the Sixth Year Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater. She had been one of the two prefects responsible for the new Ravenclaw students when he started Hogwarts. The mirror and the small powder puff in her hands answered the question what she was doing in this normally abandoned section of the castle: She probably had been preparing herself for a meeting with her secret boyfriend Percy Weasley, although Draco didn't know why they tried to keep their relationship under wraps. A few weeks ago Draco had the misfortune of walking in on them when he searched for an empty room to practice some spells. Apparently they had thought of placing silencing charms, but forgotten to lock the door. Fortunately the couple had been so engaged in certain activities of a carnal nature that they had completely missed him. After a few moments of staring dumbly he had hurriedly left. Extracting himself from the embrace, he walked over and knelt down.
'She's petrified just like the other victims. The basilisk probably knocked her over after his reflected gaze took effect.'
"Is she alright? What do we do now?" Ginny asked, a slight trembling in her voice.
That was a difficult question. There wasn't anything they could do for Penelope, but they had bigger problems now. They couldn't risk exploring the chamber after what just happened. As soon as someone discovered the girl the corridor would be under surveillance, meaning they possibly wouldn't be able to exit the chamber without being discovered. If they used Myrtle's bathroom the wards Dumbledore had most assuredly placed would detect them leaving.
Draco sighed. Their plans would have to be postponed. "She's alive, but we can't help her. Our trip is cancelled; we can't risk entering the chamber now. Go back to your common room and make sure you're seen by people. I'll head to the library."
Ginny looked ready to burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I should have remembered that the basilisk was still running free."
He put a hand on Ginny's shoulder, looking directly into her eyes. "It isn't your fault, Ginny. I know this is difficult for you. Just continue doing the exercises Grandfather and I taught you. We'll find another way."
Nodding in acceptance, the girl turned around and disappeared in a direction that would take her to her usual reading spot. Draco made sure the entrance to the chamber was closed before he too left this area of the castle. This had certainly thrown in wrench in his plans.
Hopefully Ginny would remember another entrance; it was unlikely they would be able to use this one in light of Penelope's petrification. From what Draco knew Salazar Slytherin had been a paranoid man (with good reason; there had been a lot of people who wanted him dead). There would be at least half a dozen ways to reach the chamber. The question was how many of them Ginny had visited while she was under the influence of the diary. Well, he had to work with the situation as it was.
'Life is not a chessboard. People are not pawns. They have a mind of their own and sometimes move unexpectedly. You can't control everything. The battlefield is neither a simple flat board nor can you view it in full or see all pieces. You are a piece as well as a player. So is everyone else.'
It was a lesson Grandfather had repeated to him and his sister as long as he could remember. The memories of the other Draco agreed. Manipulating people and events correctly was very difficult and the exact outcome often unpredictable. The ideal was if all possible outcomes would be of benefit, but of course that was a rare situation. Having back-up plans (and back-ups to the back-ups) was an acceptable second-best course of action. In that vein Draco had begun scrying for other exits of the Chamber of Secrets as soon as he determined its location when he saw Ginny entering it. Unfortunately until now he had been unsuccessful; it was a veritable maze down there and between all the other tasks demanding his attention he hadn't found much time.
'I guess I have to give it a higher priority.'
That wasn't immediately important for the current situation, though. Draco would have to wait and see how things played out when the attack on Penelope was discovered.
Draco began to ponder another issue that had really come to his attention only in the last few days: Ginny wasn't well-integrated with her year-mates in Gryffindor or other houses. Due to the diary's influence she had become known as a loner. The cliques had already formed. If his grandfather succeeded in getting them out of the country it would leave Ginny completely alone. That could pose problems for Ginny's mental recovery and stability in the long run.
Aquila would only be too happy to spend more time with Ginny, but due to the traditional Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry and their family feud that wasn't possible; at least not without some Gryffindor friends backing her up. Unfortunately at least three of Ginny's four brothers currently at Hogwarts were rather violently anti-Slytherin (and especially anti-Malfoy). Besides, the leaving-the-country problem applied to his little sister, too.
Of course, he had already come up with a potential solution, but since he wasn't sure how it would pan out he hadn't done anything yet to implement it. Nosy friends could potentially hamper Ginny's ability to move around unhindered. On the other hand, delaying it wouldn't make things better. Since the exploration of the Chamber of Secrets was postponed for now he might as well speak with the person in question. He was already heading into the right direction anyway.
Hermione Granger pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Didn't you listen to anything Professor Sinistra said, Ron? She wanted a detailed description of the motions of the inner planets as well as their satellites. This isn't even a quarter of the length required, not to mention you didn't even mention Mercury. It's due tomorrow afternoon. I already turned in mine."
"You can fix it, right?"
"Sure, but…"
"Just give it to me on the evening, okay?"
"Wait, I…"
Unfortunately it was already too late; the redhead had left the library. Hermione closed her eyes and counted to ten. When that wasn't sufficient she simply continued counting. It took her until forty-three before she felt sufficiently calm to open her eyes. The offending piece of parchment was still lying on the table before her. She glared at it intensely for a minute, but it made no move to spontaneously combust. That had actually happened some time ago. It was the reason she counted until she was calm enough. Finally Hermione let out a deep, deep sigh.
'I guess it can't be helped.'
Hermione took the parchment into her hand to see if she could salvage anything from Ron's ramblings, not that her hopes were especially high. Originally she had stopped helping Ron with his assignments after the Charms Incident in their first year. The boy hadn't taken it well, but for a while their contact had been as minimal as she could make it considering they were in the same house and year. Unfortunately that had changed after the term ended. Ron's marks had taken a dive and several howlers from his mother arrived. Honestly, had the woman no sense of decorum? Humiliating Ron before the entire school wasn't a thing any parents who loved their children should do.
It had led to him seeking her out and asking for help in his unmatchable rude and thoughtless manner, but of course she had rebuffed him. Unfortunately it didn't end there. His brothers had gotten involved and the twins had a talk with her. They had been very friendly when they pointed out that it would be very appreciated if she helped their brother like a good, loyal housemate would do. She had immediately acquiesced. You wanted to stay friends with George and Fred Weasley.
No one in their right mind went against the Terrible Twins, not in Gryffindor. People who did that had things happen to them. Of course, it was only harmless pranks with no indication who the perpetrators were… but everyone knew. Their academic record didn't show it, but Fred and George were positively brilliant in their chosen field. Some people might call it humor and pranks, but Hermione saw it for what it was: Bullying at its finest. Combined with their position and performance on the Gryffindor Quidditch team it made the twins untouchable by their peers. Even the upper years went in fear of them, not that they would ever admit it. Granted, they received more than their share of detentions, but that did nothing to dissuade them. Apparently Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall as well as some other teachers found them funny. In the end everyone laughed with them regardless of personal opinion and tried to stay on their good side.
Which was why Hermione found herself effectively doing Ron's homework at the latest possible moment… again. Honestly, if the lazy prat would just pay attention in class and invest a bit of effort he would be able to do just fine, but no, all that interested him was food, chess and Quidditch. He only studied up immediately before the end of term tests.
'Well, he can afford to do that. After all, he has me to do his assignments.' Hermione thought acerbically while she put away the book she had been reading and retrieved the ones she needed for her new task.
The sun had moved a considerable distance when she finally finished the assignment. Ron would be able to copy that on his own.
'And another morning gone.'
Hermione returned to her own work, namely looking up some advanced material about transfiguration. Neville had trouble with some of the spells and she tried to find some alternate ways to make them work better for him. Ever since the Charms Incident they had been inseparable. Despite her somewhat… mercenary reasons for befriending him he was her first true friend. More importantly, she truly respected him. He had problems in several classes (not for lack of trying), but he truly shone in Herbology. Unfortunately she had unable to determine what the root of his problem was. Well, beside Snape being more a detriment to learning Potions than a help.
So immersed was she in her work that she didn't notice the presence of another person until a finger poked her in the shoulder. Hermione let out an undignified squeak, her hand knocking a book from the table. Turning around, she saw Draco standing besides the table, a smirk threatening to appear on his features.
"Please don't surprise me like that, Draco." she said, shaking her head in irritation.
Draco shrugged. "A good day to you, too. You didn't react when I called your name." He picked up the discarded book and looked at the title. "Interesting book, not many read it. Are you looking for something specific?"
Hermione hesitated a moment. She didn't especially want to talk about Neville's spell-casting problems with other people. On the other hand the blond boy seemed to be informed about most things going on in the castle and was a wellspring of knowledge. If anyone at their age knew something that could help Neville it would be Draco; or at least he would know whom to ask or what book to read.
Draco wasn't exactly a friend, more a friendly acquaintance. He studied with them a few times per month and behaved civilly towards her, but they weren't close. Hermione had no illusions that she and Neville were anything more than the Gryffindor department of Draco's informal network of acquaintances. That wasn't to say she was unhappy about that fact, far from it. Draco would be important in a few years thanks to his family and his own not inconsiderable skills as a wizard. Hermione knew she would need friends in high places if she ever wanted to amount to anything in magical society; even more so if she wanted to change that very society for the better. In comparison to keeping her bossy nature, tendency to be an annoying know-it-all and academic overachiever in check maintaining and grooming a working relationship with Draco Malfoy was a piece of cake, especially because the boy could actually hold an intelligent conversation.
"Neville has some difficulties with spell-casting, especially in transfiguration. I'm looking for hints to help him. He knows the theory just fine, but has problems when it comes to the actual casting. There has to be some common factor." she finally answered.
Draco looked thoughtful for a moment. "I noticed that, too. I'm not sure what causes it, but I have an idea. It's a very delicate matter and I didn't want to bring it up. Did you notice anything unusual about Neville's wand?"
"Well, it looks a bit old, but Neville keeps it in very good shape. I noticed some other people using older wands, too." Her eyes widened slightly. "Do you think the wand is the problem? Mr. Ollivander did say the wand chooses the wizard."
"Maybe, but you can't just say that to him directly. A wand is the most personal item a wizard has. There is a lot of mysticism and superstition surrounding wand lore." Draco cautioned. "Most families keep the wands of deceased family members. Some people use old wands because they don't have the money for a new one, but I know the Longbottoms are wealthy enough. Whoever the wand belonged to must be important for Neville. Suggesting that he has to buy a new one would be incredibly rude."
Hermione could accept that reasoning. Over the last summer she had visited Neville and knew his parents were permanent residents of St. Mungo's. It was very likely the wand originally belonged to one of them. "What would you suggest?"
"I assume you will visit Neville's home over the summer?"
She nodded. They had already made some plans to meet up. Hermione didn't exactly look forward to meeting Neville's grandmother again. The old witch was very intimidating and Hermione had the impression she could look right through her and into her head. It was very disconcerting. During the last summer she had sent her several glances that almost directly said 'I know what you are doing and only allow it because it helps Neville.'
"The Longbottoms should have stored the wands of their ancestors somewhere. I suggest you talk with Neville about wands at some point and get him to try out others. If his problem doesn't disappear we'll have to try something different. I'm sure you can handle the details." Draco explained.
Once again Hermione nodded. "Thank you for the suggestion."
"Don't mention it. Now, I originally came here to ask you a favor."
"A favor?" Hermione asked curiously. What could Draco want from her?
"Yes, a favor. I would regard it as a personal favor if you would take Ginny Weasley under your wing. She doesn't have any close friends in your house if I'm informed right."
Hermione simply stared at him. Her experiences with Ron had pretty much soured her against any Weasleys. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "She has all her brothers. I'm sure you know about my… difficulties with Ron."
Draco scoffed. "Of course I know. The Weasel isn't exactly subtle. This is mainly for my sister. She's very worried about Ginny being isolated in her house. Believe it or not, but Aquila and Ginny have been pen pals for more than a year. Both of them have kept it secret from our families. I doubt either my parents or Ginny's family would react well."
That was probably an understatement. All of the Weasley boys were extremely hostile towards Slytherin in general and the Malfoy family in particular.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Hermione asked.
"Just be her friend. Ginny will sometimes disappear to meet with me or my sister or maybe just to be alone for a time. I guess that's the main reason she hasn't befriended anyone."
Hermione nodded slowly. "I can do that. I don't promise anything, but I'll try. I don't suppose you can do anything about Ron?"
The blond boy looked contrite. "I'm truly sorry, but there is nothing I can do. Being friends with Ginny might help, though."
In the end Hermione agreed. A favor owned could come in useful and she wasn't really disinclined to help the girl. It wasn't until Hermione was sitting in the Great Hall for dinner that the news of the attack on the Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater reached her.
Abraxas listened in silence to his son's boasting about how he had driven Dumbledore from Hogwarts in wake of the latest attack. He could only mentally shake his head about how Lucius had gotten the governors to sign off an order of suspension; Intimidation and blackmail. Once again his son had acted far too rashly and with unsettling shortsightedness. Abraxas was absolutely sure the suspension wouldn't stick, but when he had learned of the matter it had already been too late. Originally the seat on the board of Hogwarts' governors had been Abraxas', but the old Malfoy hadn't reclaimed all his positions from his son despite his improving health. He figured with his plans of leaving the country with Harry and his grandchildren in little more than two months there wasn't much point to it.
It was only then Abraxas noticed that Lucius had fallen silent. Apparently he expected some sort of comment. "You did well Lucius. I'm proud of you." Empty praise came cheap and there was no need to antagonize his son. "Now, if you will excuse me; these old bones need some more rest."
The old man grimaced in annoyance as soon as he had left the room. The new basilisk attack meant that something had gone wrong with the planned exploration of the chamber. Fortunately he had already received a letter from Draco; meaning that his grandson was fine. The recent development wouldn't play out to their advantage, unfortunately. The security at Hogwarts would increase, hindering his grandson's efforts. At least he had already received the package for dealing with the basilisk and the phantasmagoricon. Dumbledore might have been suspended, but there was no guarantee he would actually leave the castle. The old fool had been headmaster of Hogwarts for nearly forty years and been a teacher there even longer. He was sure to know the wards and secret passages inside and out.
'If only it had been me instead of Lucius. I could have turned this into something far more damaging in the long-term than the meaningless fleeting victory Lucius managed.' Unfortunately he just couldn't pay attention to everything even without taking his weakness into consideration. There were so many things to be done and so little time in the day.
Dumbledore was a case in point. The man was a master manipulator, but he couldn't do everything at the same time. Currently he apparently concentrated almost the entirety of his attention and political capital on forming Harry into the weapon he wanted. Controlling the situation around the philosopher's stone last year must have been difficult. Keeping the school open this year despite the attacks was costing him and his influence over Fudge and the Ministry was slowly slipping. Last year Fudge would have done anything Dumbledore suggested at the drop of a hat. This year… not necessarily. Of course, it would be a long time until Dumbledore used up all the goodwill and political capital he possessed. Even now he could easily regain much of the influence he had lost.
'Fudge should be receptive enough for a transfer of guardianship of Harry during the summer. Most likely Dumbledore will be able to reverse it in two or three months, but by then we will be beyond his reach.'
It reminded him that he still had to negotiate their exile. Even for him it wasn't easy to speak to the right people. In the overall scheme of thing magical Britain was a rather unimportant country to the African Confederation and the Malfoys were only one family among many.
'The best opportunity will come shortly before Easter. Elder Solomon from the Confederation's High Council will be in Britain incognito and visit one of the muggle horse races as he does every year. I will approach him there. After we come to an agreement I can finalize the preparations.'
Yes, that would be best. Abraxas was known to frequent horse races; no one would grow suspicious. Until then he would have to keep everything to himself. His bailiffs and stewards were generally trustworthy, but they might let something slip to the wrong person. Only after he had Solomon's agreement would he involve the Ministry.
'Hopefully Draco will manage to deal with the basilisk. I fear what the senile old fool's plans will do to Harry otherwise.'
Harry's lungs and legs were burning. Branches and twigs hit him in the face, but he didn't stop running through the dark forest at the best speed he could manage. The clicking noises behind him served as motivation just fine.
'Follow the spiders… Hagrid really should have his head examined.'
After witnessing Hagrid being taken away to Azkaban and Dumbledore dismissed Harry hadn't known what to make out of the half-giant's cryptic remark. None of them really believed Hagrid to be responsible for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets despite what the diary claimed. It was only several days later that he and Justin had spied a column of spiders heading into the Forbidden Forest. During the night they had snuck out to follow them… and promptly stumbled into an Acromantula lair. Aragog, the spider Hagrid had kept as a pet in the 40's and father of the spider colony, had been about to let his brood eat them. He hadn't even told them anything important.
Even now Harry wasn't sure what had happened next. One moment he had held tightly onto Justin and Hagrid's dog Fang amidst the horde of spiders; in the next moment they had found themselves some distance away in the forest. It was the same thing that had happened to him when he tried to escape Dudley and found himself on the school's roof. They had immediately started running. Somewhere along the way Harry had lost sight of Justin and Fang. He just hoped they would make it out of this damned forest.
Suddenly his foot caught on a root, causing him to stumble. He tried to get up, but found he was far too exhausted. His trembling legs just wouldn't obey his brain. A clicking noise immediately behind him sent shivers down his spine. When he turned around he saw the glowing eyes of at least four spiders approaching him. The moonlight was weak, but it was enough to see the beasts with far too many legs scuttling closer in the still largely leafless forest.
In a gesture of defiance Harry raised his wand. He didn't really know any spells that would be effective in this situation, but that wasn't a reason not to try.
"Tarantallegra!"
The nearest spider began to dance frantically. Unfortunately for Harry its flailing legs knocked the wand out of his hand. The other spiders froze for a moment, but when the first spider stopped dancing they advanced once again.
Harry could only stare in terror as one of spiders jumped at him, claws gleaming. It was almost touching Harry when it was suddenly thrown to side accompanied by a meaty thunking sound.
The bespectacled boy blinked, confused about what had just happened. In the next moment a second spider was hit by something that violently threw it backwards. The two remaining spiders hesitated, searching for the unknown attacker. It was the last mistake they made. Once again something came flying out of the darkness and hit the second-to-last spider, causing its body's contents to spatter on the forest floor. The last spider turned to flee, but before it could disappear into the undergrowth it too was killed.
For a few moments everything was silent. Harry looked frantically around, but he couldn't see anyone. A cloud obscured the moon and the forest went completely dark.
"Are you injured?"
"AHHH!" Harry screamed while frantically scrambling backwards until he hit a tree trunk. The voice had sounded almost directly by his ear. A moment later the cloud obscuring the moon moved on, giving him some vision back. Before him stood a small person clad in dark, form-fitting clothing, arms akimbo. Several unidentifiable objects were hanging from some sort of belt and a crossbow was strapped onto the figure's back. The figure's head was covered by fabric and some sort of goggles.
The figure sighed before it removed its headdress. Long, platinum-blond hair spilled over her shoulders, glowing softly in the moonlight. It obviously had become undone from some sort of braid. Harry vaguely recognized her features as belonging to one of the first year Slytherins, but he had never talked with the girl. "I'm not here to hurt you. Do you have any injuries?"
Only now it registered that the person had a female voice. It had been muffled into unrecognizability before. "I… I'm okay."
He heard a sniff as if the girl didn't quite believe him. "If you say so. Just stay put for a moment."
Harry couldn't quite make out what the girl was doing, but after a short time she approached him. The boy felt a familiar hard wooden stick pressed into his still shaking hand. "Here is your wand. Don't make any light; we don't want to draw anymore spiders to us. Can you stand?"
His legs were still shaking, but he managed to get up on his own. He immediately leant against the tree behind him, though. His breathing and heartbeat still hadn't returned to normal.
"Good enough I suppose. You have a minute to catch your breath while I retrieve my bolts."
The girl went over to one of the Acromantula corpses. In the next moment she put her arm directly into the corpse and pulled. Something came free with a sick squelching sound. Harry felt his stomach roiling and he closed his eyes. The disgusting sound repeated itself three times.
"Okay, I'm finished. We can leave." sounded the girl's voice directly besides him. This time Harry managed to suppress a scream.
"How do you do that?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Moving silently; I never heard you approach me."
The girl scoffed. "Please, moving without making a noise was one of the first things I learned. You can't hunt very well if the prey hears you coming from miles away. Now come along, I don't want any more spiders to turn up."
Harry had several more questions, but the girl simply pulled him along after putting her goggles back on. He had no idea where exactly they were. His rescuer seemed to know her way around, though. Several times he started to ask her something, but each time she immediately shushed him. At one occasion several Acromantula passed nearby and they had to take refuge in a grove of small pine trees. His heart pounding like mad, he held tightly onto the girl's hand. Fortunately the spiders didn't notice them and they soon resumed their journey. Harry wasn't sure how long it took them in the end, but he finally saw the lights of Hogwarts in the distance. He was about to run towards Hagrid's hut when the girl stopped them.
"Here is where we part. There are tracks of a dog and a boy heading towards the hut. You didn't see me and I didn't see you. Do we have a deal?"
He wasn't about to let the girl get away without asking at least a few questions. "Who are you?"
In answer to his question the girl once again removed her headdress and looked directly at him. In the forest he didn't get a really good look at her face, but now it was different.
"You're Draco's little sister." Harry blurted out. His contact with Draco had grown somewhat distant in second year, but they still occasionally flew together or talked a bit.
The girl nodded. "Yes, I'm Aquila Malfoy. I know who you are, Harry Potter."
"And what exactly were you doing in the Forbidden Forest?"
Suddenly Aquila seemed flustered. "That's none of your business; I could ask the same of you." After a moment of silence she continued speaking. "If you must know, I wanted to go hunting. I planned on doing that since before I came to Hogwarts. With the gamekeeper and the headmaster gone no one watches the forest. I snuck out of the castle a few hours ago."
"Hunting?" Harry asked incredulously.
Aquila shrugged. "It's my favorite pastime."
"But you're a first year!"
The girl's eyes narrowed. "And? At least I prepared properly for a journey into the forest." She poked him into the chest. Hard. "Not like some other people I could name. What were you thinking, traipsing around in your robes? That's just asking for trouble. Not to mention stirring up the spiders. Didn't you have any plans on how to deal with wild animals?"
He had to admit that the girl was right. His robes were dirty and torn in several places. He and Justin hadn't really thought this through.
"Now excuse me, I have to get back to my dorm. You can thank me later for saving your life."
Harry blushed. In the excitement he had completely forgotten about that. He was about to do it now, but Aquila had already donned her headdress and disappeared into the darkness. There was no trace of the girl.
'She's good at this.' Harry sighed. 'I guess I should head to the hut and see if Justin and Fang are really there.'
That was indeed the case. Fang was trembling under a blanket in his basket and Justin was sitting at the table, deathly pale. He jumped to his feet when he saw Harry entering the cabin.
"Harry, you're okay! I was so worried. You weren't there anymore all of a sudden! I almost went and got a teacher." he shouted. "Follow the spiders! I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive."
Harry had to agree. Hagrid probably thought Aragog wouldn't harm friends of his. At least they had clearly established his innocence. After calming down sufficiently the two boys grabbed the invisibility cloak and headed back to the castle. Harry didn't notice until much later that he had lost Riddle's diary somewhere in the forest.
Ginny stared at the diary in her hands. She really hadn't expected to see it again.
"It's yours, isn't it? I saw you several times writing in it." Aquila said.
The redhead managed to overcome her stupor in time for an answer. "Yes, thank you; that's really mine. I lost it a while ago." A horrible idea blossomed in her mind. "You didn't look into it, did you?"
Aquila laughed lightly. "No, I didn't, not that I wasn't tempted, mind you. Normally I would have used the opportunity to learn all your juicy secrets, but since you're my friend I give you a free pass this time. I found it a few days ago in a seldom visited place."
Their conversation soon turned to other subjects before they had to part. Meeting with Aquila was rather difficult with none of their houses learning of that fact. It was made even worse with the increased security in the wake of Penelope's petrification. Thankfully the teachers were already loosening their tight oversight.
March was coming to an end and she had been very worried about the diary. There was no telling what it might have done to Harry. Unfortunately neither she nor Draco had found any way of stealing it from Harry, but that point was now fortunately moot.
Taking a turn that would take her deeper into the castle, Ginny headed to her next meeting with Draco. The blond boy was already waiting for her. "I've finally located another entrance to the Chamber, but I haven't tried to open it yet. I think it best if we do that together."
"That's good." Ginny replied before she showed him the diary. "I got the diary back. Your sister of all people had it. She recognized it as mine and returned it earlier."
"Aquila?" Draco shook his head in wonderment. "How in the world did she get her hands on it?" Suddenly he looked very worried. "She didn't write in it, did she?"
"Apparently not; she wanted to respect my privacy."
Draco let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Merlin."
A few minutes later Draco led her through a door in an out-of-the-way corner of the basement. By now she knew how to get around the castle, but she would have never found that door on her own. Hogwarts was a really big castle and only a relatively small part was actively used. Away from the main areas lurked an enormous number of possible discoveries. The corridors Draco was leading her through seemed to have been completely abandoned a long time ago. There weren't even any portraits here.
Finally they arrived in a large, empty room. The room was illuminated by several light shafts disappearing into the ceiling. Perhaps the most remarkable features were the walls; they were covered in intricate murals depicting animals and plants both magic and mundane native to Britain.
"We're under the North Tower. The entrance should be here somewhere." Draco remarked. He made a complete round around the room until he came to a halt at a specific spot. "The snakes are concentrated here. I'll go first." Draco hissed at the wall. This time nothing happened. "Okay, it seems this is either one of the original entryways or a bust. Ginny, your turn."
Ginny nodded and approached the wall. Somehow she just knew how to use parseltongue. She wasn't entirely comfortable with the question how she had retained that ability, but it was unquestioningly useful. "Open."
The wall slid open obediently, revealing a staircase descending into the darkness. Lighting up their wands, both children entered. Soon enough the stairway opened into a tangle of corridors. Ginny knew them, though, and she took the lead. The diary had compelled her to wander around here several times, but it had her only use the exit in Myrtle's bathroom and the other one where Penelope had been petrified. By now Ginny had a pretty good overview of her actions under the diary's influence. Perhaps Riddle hadn't known about the other exits.
"Is there anything here?" Draco asked curiously.
"No, only empty rooms and corridors. I think all the contents were removed long before Riddle found the Chamber."
By now she had subscribed to Draco's theory that the Chamber had been opened several times in the past without releasing the basilisk. It was certainly logical. Why would anyone sane want to unleash that monster at the school? The basilisk was an instrument solely for killing; it was in its nature. All the rooms aside from the basilisk's chamber had been emptied of anything valuable.
It took them several minutes, but finally they arrived in the main chamber through a concealed door. Draco looked around curiously, but strangely he seemed to know the general layout of the chamber.
"I guess it's time for dealing with the basilisk for good. We can't risk delaying any longer." he said when they stood before the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
"How? You didn't bring any roosters with you, did you?"
Draco laughed. "No, I didn't. Besides, from what Grandfather told me roosters aren't actually harmful to a basilisk. It would be thoroughly useless as a weapon if that would be true; almost every settlement had chicken in the past."
That information incensed Ginny. "You mean to tell me that Riddle forced me to slaughter Hagrid's roosters for nothing?"
"Correct. Riddle probably never knew the truth; there's a lot of disinformation out there." Her companion removed an object from his robes and put it onto the floor before tapping it with his wand. It immediately turned into a real, living pig, but to Ginny it seemed as if it was a transfigured animal judging from the lifeless look in its eyes.
"Oink?"
"What is the pig for?" Ginny asked curiously.
Draco smirked maliciously. "Oh, that's Grandfather's idea for dealing with the basilisk. He hired a transfiguration master to prepare that thing. If the snake eats it there will be a very unwelcome surprise. Please call the basilisk; we better take shelter."
Ginny did as Draco asked. As soon as the statue opened its mouth she ran back to the concealed entrance, closing it behind her and Daco. For a few moments nothing seemed to happen. Then the pig screamed in pain. A few moments later another scream filled the air, this one more reptilian in nature. The walls shook as something clashed against them.
"What did you do?" Ginny asked Draco while the walls continued to shake and sand came down from the ceiling.
"I? Nothing." the boy replied smugly. "The basilisk did everything himself. I imagine a mouth full of sharp-edged steel scrap is extremely painful."
"Steel scrap?"
Draco nodded. "My grandfather got it from a muggle scrap yard and had it transfigured by a specialist into the form of a pig with a release trigger of being eaten. A basilisk is almost immune against magic, but that doesn't help it against a mouthful of sharp steel."
The trashing continued for two minutes until it grew deathly still. They waited an additional five minutes just to be sure. Then Draco pulled out a small silver bowl, filled it with water from a flask and stared into it intently.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking if it's safe for us to enter. Sorry, can't talk about how I do it. Family secret." Draco answered apologetically. "I think the basilisk is safely dead. The eyes have already lost their glow."
The main chamber had been heavily damaged. Slabs of stone had come down from the ceiling and columns and statues had parts broken off. The basilisk rested in the midst of the destruction as a contorted heap, blood dribbling from its open mouth. The monster that had terrorized the school was dead. It was almost anticlimactic.
When Ginny stepped closer she saw that the pig had transformed into a construct of rusty but sharp steel with spikes emerging in all directions. It was far larger than the pig, too. One particular spike had been driven into the basilisk's brain through the roof of its mouth.
Draco approached the corpse and tapped the steel construct with his wand. Once again it transformed; this time back into a small statue of a pig it had originally. Then he began shooting cutting curses at both eyes until they splattered. "The eyes are some of the most valuable parts. I'm pretty certain Dumbledore will try to sell parts of the corpse after everything is over and I don't want to give him any more funds if I can help it." he offered in way of explanation. "We should take care of the diary, too, before it causes more problems."
Ginny nodded and set the diary on the floor. Draco meanwhile did something inside the basilisk's mouth. He grunted with effort and something broke off. When she turned towards him she saw a broken fang in his hands. He offered it to her. "If you want to do the honors? Just stab the diary; the basilisk venom should do the rest."
A very unpleasant smile appeared on Ginny's lips. "It will be my pleasure." She carefully took the fang into her hands, positioned it correctly and drove it straight into the heart of the book. There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Ginny's hands, flooding the floor. Then there was only silence and an enormous feeling of satisfied revenge in her heart.
Draco nodded in satisfaction and cast a cleaning spell on Ginny's hands, vanishing the ink. "And that takes care of that. Now we only have to stage a proper heroic confrontation to satisfy Dumbledore. Tomorrow we'll bring the phantasmagoricon here; I'll need a few hours to properly set it up. In two or three days everything will be ready. What do you think should we do to lure Harry here?"
"I think Riddle would put some sort of message on the wall near the toilet. He's a drama queen like that." Ginny answered after a moment of thought. "I remember the spell Riddle had me use to create the bloody writing. I do that and head here through Myrtle's lavatory. Then I just wait and play the damsel in distress."
In the end they pulled it off without problems. Three days after they killed the basilisk Ginny left a new message on the wall, entered the Chamber and settled down to wait for her rescuers. The chamber was damp and uncomfortable, but there wasn't anything she could do. For a long time nothing happened.
'By now I could have easily died if that was real.' Ginny mused. Suddenly she heard a rumble in the distance. It appeared things were finally moving forward.
"Set stage. Let the show begin." she commanded to activate the phantasmagoricon. The strange magical amphora had been hidden in a dark corner of the room. A moment later the entire room wavered, turning back into an intact state. The corpse of the basilisk disappeared. She felt herself being drawn into the illusionary play, becoming the helpless victim lying paralyzed on the floor. Draco's grandfather had given them a lot of information how the diary would likely have proceeded in its task to revive Tom Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort. Combined with her own knowledge it had been relatively easy to come up with a convincing display that played to Dumbledore's desire for Harry to become a hero.
Several minutes passed until the main doors swung open, revealing Harry. Just a moment before he could get a good look of the hall an image of Riddle materialized from thin air. A part of Ginny watched the confrontation with idle curiosity while it looked for the world that she was lying unconscious on the floor. Illusion-Riddle acted completely natural. It still disturbed Ginny greatly that she had been under the control of a younger form of You-know-who.
Suddenly music began playing and a flash of fire on top of one pillar caught Ginny's attention. A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle. A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder.
Anger mixed with panic coursed through Ginny. 'That is Dumbledore's phoenix. He could have entered and retrieved me the entire time. Mighty convenient for it to turn up now.'
For a moment Ginny feared their game was up, but the bird didn't act as if it could see the real status of the chamber. Apparently the illusion had ensnared it, too. Draco had said the artifact would affect everyone who entered its range, but she doubted a phoenix fell into its normal parameters. They certainly didn't expect the bird to turn up. Apparently they got lucky.
After a bit of banter Illusion-Riddle called the Illusion-basilisk and the fight was on. Harry closed his eyes and tried to evade the basilisk while the phoenix attacked its eyes. It went on for a while until Harry suddenly pulled a sword out of the ragged thing the phoenix had dropped earlier. For just a moment Ginny could feel the illusion waver as it dealt with the new development; then it regained its strength.
Blinded, the Illusion-basilisk lunged wildly, destroying large parts of the chamber. Its mouth full of sharp stones from a missed lunge, the basilisk suddenly sank to the floor. Harry saw the opening and drove his sword into the basilisk's mouth. The great snake seemed to die almost immediately. A fang broke off and came to rest a small distance away. The phoenix scooped up the seemingly intact diary and dropped it off at Harry's side. Harry destroyed it with the fang. Illusion-Riddle faded away. If Ginny hadn't known she had destroyed the diary at the very same spot several days ago she would have been completely convinced this was genuine.
Ginny felt the illusion fade when she stirred, but there weren't any changes to the room. Somehow the artifact had controlled all actions to end up with just the right image. 'Okay, time for a bit of good, old-fashioned acting.'
She drew a great, shuddering gasp and forced some tears from her eyes. "Harry… oh, Harry… I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of the others… it was me, Harry… but I… I s-swear I d-didn't mean to… R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over… and… how did you kill that… that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary…"
" It's all right." said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole. "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here…"
Both children left the chamber through the main entrance. The door closed behind them with a soft hiss. There had been a cave-in in the tunnel, but luckily they could squeeze through a hole. To her surprise Justin and Ron awaited her on the other side. She didn't say much, continuing to play the shocked eleven-year-old. 'Why exactly is Ron here? He was perfectly content to ignore me throughout the year. This is completely out-of-character for him.'
When they reached the mouth of the pipe (apparently the boys had never discovered how to activate the stairs) a placidly humming Lockhart was sitting on the ground. From what the boys said he had tried to memory charm them, but the spell backfired because he used Ron's wand that had broken on the way down. After a short discussion the phoenix carried them up the pipe. Myrtle seemed actually disappointed that they were still alive.
"Harry! I think Myrtle has grown fond of you! You've got competition, Ginny!" her brother said in his usual insensitive manner. It made Ginny want to hex him.
The phoenix led them to McGonagalls's office. Ginny found herself engulfed in a big hug by her parents. When she managed to extricate herself enough to look around she spotted a beaming Professor Dumbledore standing by the mantelpiece. She felt an intrusion in her fake mind and immediately shoved the illusionary memories to the forefront. Seemingly satisfied, the intrusion ended and Dumbledore turned to Harry.
Ginny would have expected for all of them to be immediately sent to the infirmary, but no, apparently Harry had to tell the story first. She listened attentively while keeping up her distraught façade. Harry's tale was highly suspicious. Draco was completely right; there was no way Dumbledore wouldn't have figured that out on his own. Well, aside from the fact that Ginny knew from her own experience that Dumbledore had engineered Harry finding the diary. For Morgana's sake, the boys found a book about basilisks in just the right moment and not months before? The attacks started before Myrtle's bathroom (who Dumbledore knew had died the last time the chamber was opened) and no one thought to question her? The most interesting information from her perspective was that Ron had approached Harry and Justin just when they got to Lockhart's office. She had to think later what exactly that meant.
Finally she was sent to the infirmary, her deeply shaken parents accompanying her. Ginny didn't like worrying them; she hadn't been in any real danger, but after that display in McGonagall's office she felt justified in her course of action. Dumbledore had not caused the basilisk crisis, but he had prolonged and abetted it; all in the name of turning Harry into a hero.
It was almost an hour later when her parents finally left her alone, ushered out by a tired Madam Pomfrey. There were only the petrified students here, giving her time to think.
Lying in bed, her thoughts turned to Harry. Coming to rescue her had been incredibly brave and loyal… and incredibly stupid at the same time. Under normal circumstances there should have been no way for Harry to win. What had he been thinking, bringing only two other boys and Lockhart along? By now everyone knew the man was a dangerous fraud. He was the worst teacher he could have asked. It was made worse by the fact that he knew he would be up against a basilisk. All he would have achieved if the confrontation had been real was getting himself and others killed.
Oh, Ginny was grateful and flattered someone would do that for her. She had another problem. Rushing headlong into dangerous situations was just so mind-numbingly reckless and stupid that she found it hard to truly appreciate it. It just wasn't behavior she could respect; Stupid-Ginny would have found it incredibly noble and romantic if she had been still around in her head.
'The heroes in the stories Mum and Dad told me acted the same.'
In that moment she realized something very important: Harry might be a hero, but a hero wasn't what she wanted or needed. Draco had recognized there was a problem, quietly investigated and come up with a solution that minimized the risks for everyone involved. Then he implemented that solution with proper preparation. If he hadn't done anything and if Harry had succeeded regardless in playing the hero Dumbledore wanted the direct destruction of the diary would have caused her untold, permanent mental damage. It was a chilling realization. In its wake her already diminished crush on the Boy-who-lived died a silent, unlamented death.
That done, her thoughts turned to Ron. It was just too convenient for him to show up just when Harry was visiting Lockhart and completely out-of-character for him. Oh, he would be worried about her disappearance, no doubt, but going into the basilisk's lair himself? Unlikely.
'Think like Draco. Who has the ability to manipulate things this way? What could be the goals?'
The who was pretty obvious. Dumbledore was the most likely culprit. Now, what could he expect to get out of this? Ron was hopeless as a spy or manipulator. If she was honest with herself Ron wasn't really good at anything, mainly because his laziness always got the better of him. All in all he was a normal if very lazy and immature boy.
Then it hit her. It wasn't so much Ron himself but his (and her) entire family. Harry was an orphan. Both her parents were ardent supporters of Dumbledore and took his opinions and suggestions as gospel. Getting Harry into closer contact with them would influence him in the same direction. It probably wouldn't work considering Harry didn't like Ron, but Dumbledore didn't lose anything in the attempt. In the same vein, if she ever breathed even the slightest hint of the real events to her parents Dumbledore would learn of it immediately. Dumbledore was evil, but her parents simply wouldn't believe that and seek his help and counsel.
Ginny came to a devastating conclusion: She couldn't trust her own family anymore in important matters.
Lucius Malfoy was incensed. Not only had Dumbledore resumed his position as headmaster, no, he himself had been removed from the board of governors. His scheme with the diary had come to nothing. An obviously dark artifact had been first under Arthur Weasley's and then Dumbledore's nose for months, but there would be no consequences. For now he had lost that game.
'I will have my revenge on Potter and the old fool.' he thought while looking over the grounds surrounding Malfoy Manor. His face contorted into a smirk when he saw Abraxas leaving via apparition. He would never return; at least that plan was still on track.
His father was predictable; he always visited that specific horse race. Lucius didn't know how his father gained any enjoyment surrounded by unwashed muggles, but that no longer mattered. Greyback had been informed and was already waiting at the destination. Soon there would be a new Lord Malfoy.
Author's notes: Thanks for all the reviews. It's been a while since the last update, but has resulted in this extra-long chapter. I wanted to finally wrap up the basilisk. Abraxas' fate will be decided in the next chapter.