[A/N: WOW 72 favorites and 112 subscribers~! I'm glad that so many of you like it! To those who just subscribed to my story or 'favorite' my story, thank you all at the bottom of my heart! I'm glad that so many of you are still following me even though things in the story are progressing slowly. I have taken direct quotes from the movie and books, so credits to JK Rowling. As usual, the foreign languages in this story are translated from Google Translate so, please let me know if something seems off. If any of you have a fanfiction request, hit me up on PM! As always, please, comment, subscribe and favorite my story and stay tuned for the next chapter~! I also edited something in Chapter 9 because I stupidly used Diana rather then Natalya.]
Chapter 11
February 15th, Monday
"Don't be daft, Theo. If my father's soul is actually walking around Hogwarts as a living human, Dumbledore would be freaking out right about now and it will be absolute pandemonium around here." Diana huffed in annoyance as the gang walked towards the Great Hall for lunch. There is a lot of activity in the corridors as the other students were released from class. "Diana, look at the Ravenclaw girl. She looks like the stuff that has been happening since the beginning of the school year hasn't even happened" Ginny asked as she looked around the scurrying students. Diana shook her head as they arrived in the Great Hall and sat down at the Slytherin house table.
Diana looked over at the Ravenclaw table to see the girl who still looked pale but she was smiling to her friends and acting normal as far as they knew. She wasn't getting a good feeling from this. Usually, someone how had been possessed by a soul, wouldn't be that normal the days following after. "Ginny." She said, catching the red-head to her. "Try talking to her whenever you have the same class with her. Get as much information as you can." Ginny nodded immediately as the freshly made lunch was served to all of the tables.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Alright class, we are going to continue with the War of 1112." Professor Binns droned in an almost wispy voice as his transparent body floated over to the blackboard and began writing on the black surface with a piece of chalk. With how the ghost professor had set up his classroom, there was one Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor at each desk. Coincidentally, Binns wanted to change the sitting arrangement and he ended up putting Ginny in the same desk with Cynthia. With Binns deeply distracted with droning over and over about the War of 1112, Ginny began talking to the Ravenclaw in a low whisper. "Hey, I heard you have been sick for a while." Cynthia smiled and nods. "Yeah, I've been sick since the start of the term. I'm just glad I am finally better."
Ginny smiled and was about to turn her attention back to Professor Binns when she noticed the Ravenclaw writing a name over and over on an empty page of her notebook. Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom Marvolo Riddle. "Who's Tom?" Ginny inquired after a little bit, to make sure that the Ravenclaw wasn't too curious about the inquiry. Cynthia didn't even look up as Ginny saw a smile on her face. "Tom is my new friend."
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"Damn it, my soul is very persistent." Tom cursed in frustration, his face floating in the green flames of the fireplace. Diana sighed as she was sitting in the carpet, the journal lying next to her with the rest of the gang sitting behind her on the couches. What should next move me, father?" She asked him. Tom sighed before answering. "There isn't much we can do now. What energy the soul had saved up to transfer from the journal into the girl's body has been completely used up. It's weak now and will start draining the girl of her energy until it is dangerously low. This will unfortunately take time. We will have to sit and wait until the soul gets enough energy for it to walk amongst the living."
May 8th, Saturday
The gang only decided to go to the Quidditch match because they wanted to see the Gryffindor team fail miserably and mostly to see Weasley make a fool of himself. The Quidditch stadium quickly filled with eager students and parents as the gang walked towards the field. Just as they were about to step into the spectator's stand, they were stopped by Severus. "The game has been canceled. There has been another attack." He said coolly. Diana cursed softly before turning her attention back to the potions master. "Who is it this time?" She asked as they were guided back towards the castle just as the spectators had caught word of the cancellation.
"A sixth year Ravenclaw prefect, Ms. Penelope Clearwater and the Gryffindor second year, Mr. Seamus Finnigan." Diana frowned a little at this. The game was the perfect distraction for another attack. All the students were herded into the Great Hall for an emergency gathering. Everyone was visibly shaken, not even the hot chocolate laced with calming draught were even drunk. "Students of Hogwarts, may I have your attention, please." Dumbledore's voice rang over the low hums of conversation, making it stop immediately as everyone's attention turned to him. The old coot had a solemn look on his face, the age lines on his face were more defined.
"Today should have been filled with joy and excitement upon the winner of the Quidditch match, but alas, it was not meant to be." Diana rolled her eyes. "It pains me to say this but there has been another attack on two of our students. Ms. Penelope Clearwater and Mr. Seamus Finnigan." There were a few sobs from those who knew the victims. "Professor McGonagall and I will be available for those who would like counseling." Dumbledore made a polite nod towards Clearwater's and Finnigan's parents before continuing just as the doors to the Great Hall swung open and a group of people dressed in official black cloaks came in and stood back in the corner.
"Until the problem has been resolved, all students must not be out in the corridors after 6 pm. Each house will be escorted to and from each class by their Head of House. All after-school activities will be canceled until further notice. Rest assured, your professors and I with the help of the aurors will get to the bottom of this. Now, off you go." Dumbledore said with a wide flourish of his arms. Each house left the Great Hall one by one, a lot of the students sticking to each other like glue, as if the moment one of them gets lost or left behind, the same thing as the petrified victims will happen to them. "Dinner will be served to you in here," Severus said when they were all situated in the Slytherin common room.
"I suggest you all start on your homework or try to occupy yourself accordingly. You won't be able to leave for the rest of the night." The students nodded and split off to do their homework or something of that nature. "Prometheus," Diana called out in Parseltongue. She patiently waited for a bit until she saw a familiar black snake slither out from a hole in the stone wall. "Yes, mistress?" It asked as it slithered across the floor, many of the students were unfazed about the snake. Diana dipped her hand down to the floor and Prometheus slithered up her arm to settle on her shoulder, lounging there like a leopard relaxing on a tree branch.
"I need you to keep an eye out on our Ravenclaw target. Come to me if there is anymore changes with her." The snakes let out a hiss and a silent nod of its diamond-shaped blackhead before giving her an affectionate poke of his snout against her cheek. Prometheus slithered back down her arm and disappeared into the hole once again. "Are you sure it's a good idea to let him roam of like that? What if one of the professors catch him and take him to Dumbledore?" Draco asked, feeling uneasy that the snake was able to go around the castle so early, the others nodding with agreement. Diana sniffed slightly. "Don't worry too much about it. Prometheus knows all of the rat holes in this castle. All of the rat holes are connected somehow. No one will notice him at all."
May 9th, Sunday
The flashing words of the story on the front page of the morning edition of The Daily Prophet caught Diana's eyes as the school owl dropped off her newspaper. Diana smirked as she carefully read the story as her friends looked on with curiosity at her reaction. "Interesting development." She said as she showed them the front page story. They all sported identical smirks as they turned their attention to the teacher's table. Dumbledore's seat and Hagrid's seat was empty which caused the Great Hall to be filled with conversations from the start of breakfast. Dumbledore was removed from the headmaster position and Hagrid was sent to Azkaban. No one knows why, but there certainly is a lot of speculations going around.
May 24th, Monday
"I'm not lying Kate, I really did see a trail of spiders leading from the castle towards the Forbidden Forest." Diana heard a Gryffindor first-year say to her friend who looked like she was about to pass out from the mention of spiders in the open corridor between classes. "Will you cut it out? You know bloody well I can't stand spiders and now you're telling me a bunch of spiders is roaming around?" The other girl said which caused the previous girl to have a sympathetic apologetic look as the two girls left to go somewhere. "What's so special about these spiders? They're just common house spiders, aren't they?" Draco asked indifferently once the girl was out of hearing range.
Diana shook her head as she slowly walked over to one of the many open corridor windows, displaying a clear view of the Black Lake and the gloomy Forbidden Forest, resting against her crossed arms on the stone ledge. "The spiders are being drawn to something in the forest." She stated simply as she watched a group of older looking students standing at the edge of the water, daring each other to throw something in the lake, most likely betting on who could make the Giant Squid emerge from the murky depths. "But what creature in the forest would draw so many spiders to them?" Hermione asked curiously as she moved to stand next to Diana at the window.
"Acromantulas..." The girls heard Draco said. "How on earth did an Acromantula get into the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione asked with a deep frown on her face, looking across the field to the shadowed forest. Diana snorted unamusingly as she kept her eyes toward the forest. "Who else? That oaf of a giant is the only one who likes dangerous creatures and Dumbledore is the only one he listens to."
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"Mistress." Diana looked up from the parchment she was writing her essay on when she heard that familiar voice. "What is it, Prometheus? Did something happen?" She asked as she placed her quill down on the table as Prometheus appeared into view and stopped next to the chair she was sitting in. "The target has been restless for the last couple of days. She has been mumbling to herself whenever she is alone. Also, she has been making very frequent trips to the bathroom on the second floor, mistress." The little black snake hissed out, its tiny pink forked tongue flicked out occasionally. Diana let out a small sigh. "Very well. Good work, Prometheus. Go back to our target and continue keeping an eye on her."
May 29th, Saturday
"All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All professors to the second-floor corridor immediately." Professor McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the entire school, catching Diana and the gang's attention when they heard the announcement in the library. Diana gave her friends a pointed look as Madam Pince ushered everyone out of the library, the books that were being used were left on the tables. "Draco, Hermione et moi allons observer la situation. Nous vous enverrons un code et vous poursuivrez le plan dont nous avons discuté." (F) (Draco, Hermione, and I will observe the situation. We will send a code and you will proceed with the plan we discussed.) Diana asked her friends as they come to a stop at a junction of the corridor.
They silently nodded and the rest of the gang separated from the three and headed towards the Slytherin's dorm. The trio silently dashed through the empty corridor and come to a stop when they arrived a few meters from the second-floor corridor. They heard the professors talked to each other in panicked voices as they hid behind a corner. They peeked around to see all the professors standing in front of a wall, their faces filled with concern. "As you can see, the heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster into the chamber itself." Professor McGonagall said shakenly, her face filled with worry and she sighed as the situation didn't give her much choice.
"Students must be sent home. I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts." She sounded like she was on the verge of tearing up. The moment was interrupted when Lockhart comes strolling into the scene with a goofy look on his face. "So sorry. Dozed off. What did I miss?" Both Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape had a sour look on their faces. "A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Your moment has come at last." Severus said silkily. Lockhart was taken aback by this, his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "My m-moment?" Severus raised an eyebrow. " Weren't you saying just last night that you knew all along where the entrance of the chamber of secrets is." Lockhart stood there with his mouth hanging slightly open, unsure of what to say to the potions master.
"That's settled. We'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legendary." McGonagall said, her voice bargained no arguments. Lockhart quickly put on a smug smile. "Very well. Um, I'll just be in my office, getting ready." The bungling fool said before turning around and briskly walked back towards the direction of his office. "Who is it the monster has taken, Minerva?" Madame Pomphrey asked Professor McGonagall. The worried look reappeared on the Transfiguration professor's face. "Cindy Milson." With that, Professor McGonagall lead the other professors away to somewhere else, finally letting the trio see what the red message on the wall said, looking suspiciously of blood.
"Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever." Diana read out loud. "We should get going before the professors come back and sees us," Hermione said in a hushed voice. "Let's go," Diana said sand she started making her ways towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the other two following after her. The bathroom was in the same condition the last time they were there. "Who goes there? Oh, it's you guys again." Moaning Myrtle said as her body appeared out of thin air, a pout on her face as she folded her arms across her chest. "What do you want anyway?" She asked. "Myrtle have seen anybody enter this bathroom at all today?" Diana asked, knowing that no one else but Cindy would come here since everyone else was too scared to face the weeping ghost.
"Yeah, that girl I told you about last time you were here. She just walked over to those sinks over there." Moaning Myrtle stated as she pointed over to a group of sinks that was situated in a circle. "She started speaking in tongues and a passageway formed under the sinks. She stepped down there and she hasn't come back up yet." Diana eyes the group of sinks carefully as the ghost finished speaking. "Speaking in tongues...it has to be Parseltongue," Hermione said as she tapped a finger against her chin, something she did when she was thinking. Diana didn't respond as she came to a stop in front of the sinks. A smirk played with her lips when she recognized a familiar symbol on the faucet. "Open." She hissed out.
Suddenly there was a low rumble, making her two companions think there was an earthquake. To their amazement, the sinks start moving on their own, splitting from each other to reveal a chute. Low clunks could be heard as the sinks finally came to a stop, the mirrors stopped shaking from the rumbling. "Merlin..." Draco managed to say as he and Hermione moved to stand next to Diana. The trio peered down the dark chute, unable to see the end. "I'll go first," Draco said, volunteering himself. He drew out his wand from his robe as he stepped upon the ledge. "Be careful," Diana said a little worried since he was going to be the first one down there.
Draco flashed her a reassuring smile before dropping down the chute. The girls barely had time to see him before he was swallowed by the blackness. The only thing they could hear was the water dripping from the faucet as they waited to hear Draco's voice once reaching the bottom. "All clear." Draco's voice drifted up to them, causing the girls to sigh in relief. "Merlin, it smells like several things have died in here." The girls laughed at this. "Alright, I'm coming down next," Diana said as she stepped onto the ledge. She licked her lower lip. She wasn't going to lie, she was a tiny bit nervous. She took a deep breath before dropping down to the depths below. Her heart raced wildly in her chest when she realized she couldn't see where the chute was taking her as her body slides down in full speed.
She could see an opening charging towards her and she barely had time to react as she was spat out of the chute straight into Draco, who was standing there in an attempt to catch her. "Sorry," Diana said apologetically as she quickly got off of him and helped him off the floor. "I'm alright." Draco started as they dusted themselves off of the dust and he grabbed his lit wand. "Alright, Hermione, come on down!" She yelled up the chute. "See anything interesting?" She asked Draco as she drew out her wand from her robe. "Lumos." She said and the tip of her wand lit up, matching Draco's wand. "I see nothing but bones of animals and dust." The blonde said with a look of disgust on his face. Diana took a couple of steps forward, shinning the light towards the darker areas, seeing that there were many bones cluttered on the floor.
A frightened squeal could be heard as Hermione shot out of the chute right into Draco but this time the blonde didn't fall on his bum this time. "Thanks." The brunette said, a little out of breath as she took a step back from Draco and drew out her wand to bring more light. "You two stay close to me," Diana said as she looked over her shoulder at the two before walking forward. The sounds of water dripping from the ceiling sounded so loud as they walked through the darkness, the sound bouncing off of the stone ceilings and columns masking the sound of their footsteps. "Merlin, this Basilisk must be enormous..." Hermione said with awe in her voice, the light from their wands showing how high up the ceiling was.
They stepped into the huge chamber, enormous snakeheads lined both walls with a long walkway in the middle. Long stalactites formed from the ceiling, dripping with water. "Diana, look over there," Hermione said in a whisper as she pointed down the walkway to a tiny figure laying on the ground in front of a giant carving of a bearded man's face. "That must be the girl," Diana said and the three jogged down the walkway to the still figure. They came to a stop next to the still body and noticed was indeed the Ravenclaw girl. She looked so pale, people would mistake her to be dead. Diana knelt down and touch the girl's cheek with the back of her finger, noticing how icy cold it is. "Her skin is ice cold. That means my father's soul is getting ready to leave her body."
"Kids! What are you guys doing here!"The trio turned around to see Lockhart standing at the entrance into the chamber with his wand out. The buffon ran over to them, his cloak flapping wildly behind him. "So, this is the Chamber of Secrets, huh?" Lockhart said, looking at the walls interestingly. Diana frowned at his timing, the other two noticed her expression and stepped closer to her side. "Why are you down here?" She said, gripping her wand tightly in her hand, not bothering to sugar coat her voice. "Why, I'm here to save you three. You're lucky it's me that down here. If it was the other professors, they would be skinning you three alive. Come on, let's get going." He said.
The trio hesitantly started moving, gathering the Ravenclaw girl in their arms. Diana felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she and Draco started lugging the unconscious girl with them, Hermione walking next to them and Lockhart walking behind them. Diana kept looking at her peripheral vision, her body tense as a bowstring. A sudden movement caught her peripheral vision and with a lightning reflex, she let go of the girl's arm and managed to whip up a shield just in time to reflect an Obliviate spell. Diana's eyes narrowed as the other two placed the girl back on the floor and got into position next to Diana, their wands pointing at Lockhart.
"It's about time you showed your true self, Lockhart." Diana sneered. Lockhart looked frustrated at how things turned out. They were supposed to be obliviated right now. "Be good little kids and let me do what I need to do!" He hissed as he shot a stunning spell at Diana. She simply waved her wand and the spell was reflected once again. "You think a fraud like you can hurt me? I don't think so." With another flick of her wand, long strands of rope shot out and coiled tightly around Lockhart, causing the idiot to fall to the floor with an 'oomph' when his legs buckled together. "Now be a good boy and stay still," Diana said in a mocking tone. Draco and Hermione snickered as they stood next to Lockhart as guards to make sure he doesn't run off, who immediately stopped struggling.
Diana then turned her attention back to that giant carving of a man's face. "Open." She hissed loudly. "Open and come out to meet you, master." She hissed out again. Suddenly, the mouth of the carving started opening, looking very much like the mouth of a nutcracker, and revealing a very large gaping hole. Something heavy could be heard sliding towards them from within the gaping hole, causing Lockhart to scoot back a little. "Don't look into its eyes until I tell you to," Diana said towards Draco and Hermione, uncaring if Lockhart decided to follow along or not. She watched in amazement as a giant snakehead emerged from the blackness, followed by a seemingly endless length of the body.
"Master? Where are you, Master?" The basilisk hissed, its great head turning side to side to look for that familiar face. "I'm right here." Diana hissed in response. The basilisk quickly whipped its head over to the direction of her voice, its red eyes boring down at her as he adverted her eyes to the ground."You are not my master. Who are you, youngling?" It hissed out, an air of curiosity behind that voice. "Your master is my father, who isn't here at the moment. However, before we can continue our conversation, can you shield your eyes? I can not look at your glorious self without getting petrified." Diana said smoothly, her eyes still looking down at the floor.
There was a brief silence before she heard the basilisk talk again. "It is done." It said. Diana looked up to see that the basilisk's once red eyes were now a shade darker, looking almost brown, which was normal for snakes when they cover their eyes with the membrane in their eyelid."Ok, you guys can look now." She said as she looked at her companions. "Now, speak. Why am I summoned out here? My master has asked me to purify the school." Diana had to spend the next couple of minutes to explain what has happened up until now and why the orders of the Dark Lord's soul is invalid. "I see. Then I must go back into hiding and wait for my master's next orders." It hissed in agreement, turning its head to turn back around to go back into the dark opening.
"Before you go, can I acquire some of your venom? I, unfortunately, have to deal with an unexpected guest." Diana said in a matter-of-fact tone. The basilisk blinked for a second before tilting its head in a silent agreement. Diana swirled her wand in a circle in the air and a silver goblet appeared on the floor in front of her. She bent down to pick it up and lifted up towards the basilisk. "Place your venom into this goblet." She said and watched as the basilisk lowered its head just a little so one of its large fangs was just right above the silver goblet. Within minutes, a neon-green liquid started dripping from its fangs into the silver cup. Diana started to worry if the venom was going to melt through the silver when she felt the goblet started to heat up in her hands.
It didn't take too long for the goblet be almost filled to the brim. "Thank you," Diana said with a polite bow towards the beast as it silently turned around and slithered back into the mouth of the face carving. "Now what are you planning to do with that now?" Draco asked as he walked over to Diana while Hermione remained by Lockhart's side with her wand still pointing at him just as the mouth of the face carving rumbled to a close. Diana smirked as she turned around to face Lockhart. "You've been a thorn in my side since the start of the school year. It's time I do something about you." She sighed dramatically as she wrapped an arm around her own midriff, holding a look of contemplation on her face.
"What should I do? What should I do?" She said with a mocking tone. "Ah, I know!" She said in a dramatic fashion, showing Lockhart the goblet in her hand. "Do you know what happens when you drink basilisk venom?" She asked with an evil smirk on her face as Lockhart's face turn pale once he realized what she was going to do. Draco and Hermione snickered a little at the side. "The venom is so potent, drinking it will cause you to go crazy. Sucks that you gathered all this information for nothing since you won't be able to remember anything after tonight. Besides, who is going to believe a crazy person?" Diana then looked over at the two and they immediately walked over to Lockhart and forced him up off the floor and kicked him onto his knees.
"N-Now, let's think about this, kids. You don't want to hurt me now, do you?" Lockhart stuttered as he tried to persuade the trio while watching Diana walk over to him with the goblet in her hand. "Hold him still," Diana said as Lockhart desperately tried to get away. Draco and Hermione each grabbed an arm while Draco grabbed Lockhart by the hair and forced his back, causing the guy to yelp in pain. Diana took the opportunity to grab his face during the brief distraction, squeezing his cheeks. She was about to pour the liquid into his mouth when a loud pop could be heard echoing through the chamber. The trio quickly looked over, thinking that it was one of the other professors, but only saw the cloaked form of the Dark Lord.
"My Lord." Draco and Hermione said in unison with a polite bow of their head while Diana placed the goblet on the floor and ran over to greet her father with a hug. None of them noticed the aghast look on Lockhart's face at the revelation. "What brings you here, father?" Diana asked once she pulled away from the hug and looked up at Tom. He smiled softly as he gently caressed the top of her head. "I didn't want to miss the show so I came here. With the help of Severus, of course." Severus had long ago figured out a spell to counteract with the one that surrounds Hogwarts, which allows Tom to enter the school without being detected.
Diana grinned evilly. "Then sit back and enjoy the show, father. We are just beginning." Tom chuckled as Diana went back to the prisoner and immediately grabbed his face again. Lockhart started shaking with fear as she starts pouring the venom into his mouth. The poor guy made a garbled noise as the venom quickly went down his throat, his eyes widened with fear and pain as the venom left an acidic effect in its path. "Hermione, pinch his nose before he coughs any of it up," Diana said quickly as she kept pouring the venom in Lockhart's mouth till the last drop. Hermione pinched his nose to force him to swallow the venom before she and Draco let go of Lockhart. The man immediately hunched over, making dry heaving noises and weak coughs before flopping to the floor on his side. Diana quickly stupified the man to let the venom do its work.
"Come, father lets put your soul back into your journal." Diana inquired. "Is my soul still in the girl's body?" Tom asked as he moved to stand next to the Ravenclaw's still body. "I believe so. Her body is deathly cold so I'm assuming it won't be in there for much longer." Tom was silent for a bit before nodding. "Alright. Grab the journal for me, Draco?" He drew out his wand and pointed it at the Ravenclaw as the blonde male picked up the journal. He started mumbling something while moving his wand in a complicated pattern in the direction of the journal. The Ravenclaw's entire body lit up in a soft white glow as something in a similiar color shot out of her body and plunged into the journal.
The Ravenclaw was suddenly overcome with violent coughs, her color looking a little better but still looking pale. Her eyes slowly opened once her cough had subsided. "W-Where am I?" She asked in a weak small voice once her eyes saw there were people around her. "We are here to help you," Diana said as she knelt down while pulling out a glass vial from her school robe and passing it to the girl. "Drink this. Professor Snape made this." The Ravenclaw took the glass vial gingerly, looking at the contents cautiously. "Don't worry, the professors know your down here. Professor Snape made this specifically for you." The Ravenclaw did know that the concoction was a mix of dreamless potion and a new potion Severus had invented. A potion that would make the drinker forget what has occurred in the last few hours.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Have you gone crazy?! Absolutely no way am I going to do that to my own daughter!" Tom looked appalled once the trio told him what he needed to do next after receiving Lockhart's wand. With the addition of Lockhart to take care of, they had to deviate from the original with something drastic. Diana simply rolled her eyes, seeing nothing wrong with what she was asking her father to do. "Father, we really don't have much choice here. Besides, we have to make it look real in order for our story to sell. Please, father?" Tom looked determined not to be swayed by that pleading look in his daughter's eyes but his fatherly instincts kicked in at the last minute. "Fine. I'll the bloody thing." He said with an exasperated sigh.
Diana grinned and the trio spread out into a line in front of him, ready for him to make the first move. Tom refrained from chuckling and raised an eyebrow, his face emotionless. "Come, on. I have to be provoked in order to torture you three." The trio gave him a 'seriously?' look before crossing their arms across their chest. "Old man," Diana said with a bored look on her face. "Geezer," Hermione said with a nonchalant look on her face. "Old timer," Draco said with a deadpan look on his face. Tom raised an eyebrow at this. "Seriously? You three think jabbing at my age is going to work? Try something different." He said, this time folding his arms across his chest.
The trio was silent for a few minutes, thinking about what would trigger the Dark Lord. Diana's face lit up when an idea popped into her head. "Oh, father, I heard some of the professors saying that mother used to be the Gryffindor slag long before she met you." She blurted out. Ok, that did it. She gasped when a sharp pain erupted through her body from the Crucio slamming into her body, causing her to crumble to the floor. She didn't scream as she felt like her blood was boiling in her veins before the curse suddenly ended. Diana stayed on the floor, panting as she heard Draco and Hermione gasping in pain.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
The rest of the gang were sitting in the couches in the Slytherin dorm, reading a chapter in the Transfiguration Year 2 textbook to complete the essay due on Monday when they felt their rings warm up and light tapping against their finger. "- ... . / .-. .-.. .- -. / ... - .- .-. - ... / -. - .- .-.-.-" (The plan starts now.) They silently glanced at each other before Pansy rushed to the dorm she was sharing with Hermione and Daphne and grabbed a small porcelain container that was filled with Floo powder. She walked back to the common area and passed it to Blaise who immediately grabbed a pinch of the green powder and threw it in the blazing fire. Being that several members of his family work in the British Auror and in the Italian Auror Department of the Ministry, they decided to let him do the talking.
The other students in the dorm didn't even react at this, being that they knew something was happening and didn't question the gang since they were their Lady's confidants."Ministry of Magic Auror Department," Blaise said clearly as the flames flared into green flames and a female's head immediately appeared into the flames. "This is the Auror Department, how may I help you?" She said in a drawl. Blaise put on a panicked look on his face. "Get Auror Shecklebolt for me. Please hurry, its an emergency." The woman's face had a sour look before disappearing. A dark-faced man's head appeared in the flames after a few minutes. "Ah, Mr. Zabini, what is the problem?" The man asked, his deep voice echoed in the Slytherin common room.
"You have to come to the castle, sir! Something bad has happened to my friends!" Blaise started yelling in a panicked toned. "Woah, woah, woah, slow down son and tell me exactly what has happened," Shacklebolt said in a calming voice. Blaise took a deep breath to calm down before speaking again. "Something is wrong with Professor Lockhart. He-He just came into the Slytherin dorm somehow and forced Draco, Hermione, and Natalya out of the dorm at wand point." Shacklebolt's eyes widened a little. "What?! Are you sure about this, son? Do you know where he has taken them?" Blaise quickly nodded, looking a little pale. "I-I think he is taking them to the girl's bathroom on the second floor. He says that he is going to open the Chamber of Secrets."
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"What in the world is going on, Shacklebolt?" McGonagall said, frazzled as she stepped up to the headmaster outside of his office, clutching her dress robe closely to her body. All the professors had gathered in the corridor in request of Shacklebolt. "My apologies for calling you out here, Minerva, but I have received a troubling message from someone in this castle about one of your professors, Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart. He has taken three of your students into the Chamber of Secrets." The professors' eyes widened at this. "What are you trying to say, Kingsley? Who gave you this message?" McGonagall asked heatedly. Shacklebolt raised an eyebrow as the aurors he had rounded up arrived into the castle and stood in attention behind him. "You know I can't tell you that, Minerva. Informant confidentiality. This is an on-going investigation."
"What do you want us to do, sir?" One of the aurors asked Shacklebolt. The man turned to look at McGonagall, his expression serious. "Take me to the girl's bathroom. The informant told me that Lockhart may have taken the kids there." The professors looked at each other cautiously before agreeing to take the aurors to the said destination.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Tom carefully moved the trio around to make the scene more believable, making sure to leave trails of blood after him. He grimaced when he looked at his daughter's face, her skin littered with specks of blood and small nicks. He had gone further than the Cruciatus curse, throwing in a few cutting curses here and there. The old fool will be here any moment with the aurors and it won't do to be caught here. He placed a final kiss on Diana's forehead before making his way over to the still unconscious Lockhart. "Renervate." He said, pointing his wand at the figure and Lockhart groaned awake. Before the man could even say anything else, Tom shot an Obliviate at him, causing him to have a blank expression on his face.
He placed a false memory into his mind and a pretty strong one at that. He had always been good at Obliviation and has managed to put false memories into people without it being detected by others, even better than Lockhart. Once he made sure that the false memory was perfect, he ended the spell. Lockhart looked dazed for a minute. "Where am I?" He mumbled just as Tom apparated out of the chamber, taking the journal with him. Lockhart looked over at the unconscious trio laying the floor, the false memory shot through his mind and he started laughing maniacally as he stumbled to his feet. His laugh echoed around the chamber and was so loud, it traveled to the area the chute was at just as some of the aurors appeared from inside.
Shacklebolt silently motioned for the four aurors behind him to be prepared and made hand motions to signal for a tactical approach. The aurors split off, one group against one wall while the other went against the opposite with their wands drawn. They slowly edged to the corner and was careful to keep their heads down as they peeked a look. One of the aurors sent another silent hand motion to Shacklebolt and with a silent confirmation, the group quickly came out from their hiding spot, their wands pointed at the crazed Lockhart who was standing above the trio. "Stop right there, Lockhart!" Shacklebolt yelled over the laughter. "Put your wand down and step away from the kids, now!"
Lockhart didn't seem to hear this and was about to raise his wand to do Merlin knows what when a stunning charm hit him and fell to the floor in a crumpled mess. "Restrain him. The rest of you go see those three over there." Shacklebolt said, sounding winded as he ordered his aurors to take care of things before walking over one of the aurors who was looking over Diana while the remaining two went to Draco and Hermione. "Sir, she has been tortured the most. She has a laceration on her stomach. I have managed to heal the wound somewhat but she still needs to be taken to the infirmary. If this is what she has gone through, the other two is in no better shape then she is."
The auror said. Without even asking another question, he lifted Diana's limp body in his arms bridal style and turned to look at the two aurors. "We need to get these four to the infirmary immediately."
May 30th, Sunday
"He has admitted to everything, Albus," Shacklebolt said, his answer unwavering. Albus let out a frustrated sigh as he and the Head Auror walked together through the corridor towards the infirmary, students dodging out of their way as they headed towards their next class. It was the next day after the incident and all of the students have heard that someone else has been petrified but haven't gotten any more information than that. The Board of Governors had an emergency meeting and they all agreed to reinstate Dumbledore to the Hogwart's Headmaster position."He has admitted that he has taken those students down to the chamber. Even yourself has stated that Lockhart has been repeatedly saying that he knows the location of the chamber the day before this incident." Shacklebolt said in a low voice so that the students couldn't hear him.
Albus couldn't deny that. Practically all the professors have heard him say that at least two separate times. "But that doesn't explain how he opened it. Legend says that Salazar Slytherin has made the chamber and can only be opened with his direct descendant." Albus then asked. Shacklebolt didn't seem surprised by this question and had an answer right away. "He says that Ms. Ivanov can imitate how a snake talks. He must have thought using her to open the chamber would work and his guess was right." Albus shook his head at that answer. "That may explain this current event but what about the events that have happened since the start of the school year? Lockhart wouldn't have known Ms. Ivanov would be capable of mimicking Parseltongue."
"That may be true but if it was that easy for Ms. Ivanov to learn how to speak Parseltongue, whose to say someone else could have learned it as well?" Shacklebolt simply stated. "Well, what about Ms. Milson? What did she say about the events?" Dumbledore implored. Shacklebolt shook his head. "She says she doesn't remember. All she remembers is being in the girl's bathroom on the second floor then waking up in the infirmary." He said as they arrived at the doors of the infirmary. He pushed the doors opened and stepped inside with Dumbledore.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Do you have more questions, Auror Shacklebolt? You already asked her this morning" Tom asked Shacklebolt when he arrived at Diana's bed after visiting Draco's and Hermione's and their parents. The man shook his head with a warm smile as he looked briefly at Diana's sleeping face. "No, I'm just checking to see how the kids are doing before I head back to the headquarters to finish up the paperwork." He gave a final bow towards Tom and then to Dumbledore before leaving the infirmary. "I have a question for you. Why is it the uncle is here rather than the father?" Tom didn't have to turn around to see who Dumbledore was talking to.
Tom clenched his teeth a little as he slowly got up and turned around to face the old man. "I'm here because the father would rather be at home so he doesn't have the urge to punch someone." He said coldly, his eyes staring down at Dumbledore. The old man didn't relent though, staring back at Tom. Madame Pomphrey came out of her office when she noticed the two grown men glaring daggers into each other. "Gentlemen, is there something wrong?" She asked as she walked over, hoping that these two don't fight in the infirmary filled with students. "May I take my niece home now, Madame Pomphrey?" Tom immediately asked the woman without skipping a beat, catching Madame Pomphrey off guard.
"Sir, I still haven't given her a full bill of health. I recommend she stay here a few more nights." She said, albeit a little cautiously when his intense eyes flickered over to her. "I appreciated what you have done for my niece, but I must say," Tom said, his eyes glared coldly at Dumbledore. "Her parents and I feel much better with her at home while she is resting." Rather than letting the situation escalate, Madame Pomphrey relented. "Very well then. I'll need you to sign her discharge form." She bustled away back into her office to grab said form as Tom pulled the covers off of Diana and with a flick of his wand, her clothes had changed into her favorite black track shorts and a graphic t-shirt.
Madame Pomphrey came back with a parchment paper and a quill. "Sign there at the bottom, sir." She said as she passes Tom the quill. He took the offered quill and signed on the bottom. "Will that be all, Madame Pomphrey?" The elderly woman nodded as she rolled the parchment in her hand. Without even glancing over at Dumbledore, he picked up Diana into his arms, making sure that she was secured around his waist before moving towards the door to leave. Before he passed through the doors, he turned around to look at Dumbledore with stone cold eyes. "I suggest you tread lightly, Dumbledore. You have made many enemies, especially from my country." He was about to start walking again when another thing popped up into his mind and turning around to face him again.
"Oh and also, Dumbledore. I'm not as cautious of the Ministry as my dear brother-in-law. Make another wrong move and you'll have me to answer to." His eyes filled with raw intent before turning one last time and left the infirmary.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Diana groaned softly as her eyes flickered open, her eyelids felt so heavy as her eyes tried to adjust to the bright lights coming from the afternoon sunlight beaming through the open windows. Her hands moved from under the covers and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, noticing that she was in her room. The door to her room opened and Tom strolled in, smiling softly when he realized she was up. "How long have I been asleep?" Diana asked as she slowly sat up, her body feeling a little sore. "About 6 hours," Tom said as he sat in the chair that was positioned next to the bed. Her eyes widened at how long she had slept for, her stomach growling in protest as well. Tom chuckled when he heard that sound. "Come, I'll have Scab make you dinner." He said.
Dinner did sound really good right now. "Wait here." She said to her father as she hopped off her bed and walked over to her personal bathroom. She freshened up a little before exiting the bathroom and raised her arms toward her father. A silent order for him to carry her down to the dining room. Tom chuckled at this and gladly picked his daughter up. It certainly felt good to carry her in his arms, something he couldn't do in many years.