Getting back into the rythem of school was tension filled. People walked in groups around the school as everyone so far that had been petrified had been alone.

When Valentine's day came, he used his cloak to get to each class. Lockhart had dwarfs for hire to send poems and such. It was a nightmare. One tracked him all day in an attempt to give him a stackful but he wasn't having it. He had been able to call on Bibsy to charm the common room ro block them from entering. He still hid in his room when he could but at least they weren't barging on his door.

He later found Ron consoling his sister that she was liking the wrong guy and wasn't worth it. His glare at harry proved who he was talking about. harry was fine with it. She was as bad as Colin with the stalking and staring sometimes.

With march came the next Quidditch match. atleast that is until they were called down by Professor McGonagall who announced that the match was canceled and everyone was to go to their dorms. Harry made sure he could see Hermione in his view before he followed everyone. To his relief, Hermione and Neville came down from the stands to walk with him.

"Bloody hell, I was going to go to Madam Pomfrey for a new exam after the game to see how much longer I needed my potions. Today was my last one of the week.." Harry realizes as he enters the common room. They sit while Professor McGonnagall announces the new rules and the possibility of the school closing if the culprit wasn't found and stopped.

"Who was it this time?" he listened to the whispers. Penelope Clearwater and Tracy Davis. He watched as Hermione got up to ask questions. He worried with all her searching, she could be a victim as well if she wasn't careful.

The next day, she was no where to be found during breakfast. When she appeared he had to calm himself with making sure she wasn't injured. She giggled as she spun around but didn't argue. Once they were sitting again, she explained she figured out what the monster is and how it may be getting around. They still didn't know the who but it was a start.

"So what is it?" Harry and Neville look at her expectedly.

"A Basilisk."

--

That night everyone was ordered to sleep in the great hall as the professors discussed how to catch this creator. As they still had time before bed, the headmaster changed the 4 long dinner tables into a bunch of smaller round ones. The games from Susan and Hermione's club were brought out. Harry used that time to walk around, not really ready to sit down quite yet.

At a corner table, a ravenclaw girl with turnip earrings was sitting writing in a journal. She had no shoes on.

"Hello...is there a reason you have no shoes on?" He couldn't help asking.

"Oh hello, they run away sometimes. They will be back before the year ends," she had a dreamy far away look to her. It took him a minute to understand that someone in her house had taken them. It upset him so he decides to sit with her.

"What are you writing about?" he looked curiously.

"I'm writing to my new pen pal. Found it in the bathroom recently," she says. He was confused. The 2 sentences did not match.

"I don't understand..."

"See?" she pushes the journal towards him and shows him. She writes a sentence with the quill. It disappears and then to his amazement it answers back.

He could feel an energy coming from the journal that was making his head ache badly, especially where the scar lay on his forehead.

"Um...don't move okay? I will be write back," he tells her. She goes back to writing. He looks around. Mostly it was just the Head boy and girl and the prefects patrolling the large room. But then he saw him. Professor Snape. He follows him to outside the hall doors.

"Potter, you are supposed to tstay inside where it is safe," the blacked haired man frowns at him.

"Yes sir. I just...I have a concern. You see...a first year has a journal that is talking back to her when she writes in. She confirmed she found it in a girls bathroom recently. It feels...bad. It makes my head hurt just being near it..." Snape stares at him a moment before followig him back inside. He shoos Harry away while he sits and talks to the girl. She didn't seem to mind. Moments later, Snape was walking away with it.

As he lay down later that night, he realized he had not gotten her name.

Despite keeping it quiet, the whole school learned that the professors had found the entrance to the Chamber in moaning myrtles restroom. Problem was they couldn't open it.

Harry didn't want to get involved but he worried about the school being closed. So he went up to them in the bathroom with Madam Bones and 2 other aurors with them. After Tracy Davis was petrified, Slytherins had been quick to notify their parents.

"Um...I may be able to open it for you..." he inturrupts them awkwardly. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"And how is that, Mr. Potter?" Snape ask before Dumbledore could.

"Well...I...I can talk to snakes. It's called a Parselmouth right? Well...I think because Slytherin was too, thats how you open it. I can at least try, if you want..." Everyone just stared at him in shock. He looks away embarrassed which seemed to get people moving.

"That makes sense Harry, your father's line comes from the peverells before the name became Potter. Your mother being a muggleborn meant fresh blood into the family line. Much like Ms Tonks in Hufflepuff who graduated last year. Her father is a muggleborn and the new blood brought back an old Black trait in her. She's a metamorphagus." Professor Flitwick walks up to Harry and exxplains a but to him to help him focus on not being embarrassed. It worked as he obviously knew Black meant this Tonks girl was related to Sirius.

"Thank you Mr. Potter for your assistance. If you would please come forward, the entrance is the sink where you'll see a carved snake on the faucet," The head of the Aurors Madam Bones smiles at him in reassurance.

He walks forward, avoided Dumbledore's stare. He could feel it at the back of his head as he bent over the sink.

Open...he hisses out. He immediately jumps back as the sink drops into the ground. He steps to the side when they all go down. He wasn't sure if they wanted him to stay or leave so he waited for a few minutes just in case.

He was called down. He jumps in wanting to get this over with.

They all stood around a giant round door Wyeth snake carvings on it. He opens it for them. A he didn't know how to get back up, he stood back and waited. At first.

He ended peaking in. He couldn't believe his eyes as they took down the Basilisk as well a stabbed the journal with one of the snake's teeth. The smoke that came of it was screaming into eventually it went away.

He was ready glad on his decision last summer to not play hero. That thing definitely would have succeeded at killing him.

--

The rest of the school year went smoothly after that. The mandrakes had finally matured which had the petrified students and cat revived.

Harry had written Sirius about the whole thing. And then exams took over. He was sure he had did well.

The staff never found out who was the one being controlled by the journal. A note was given to all students to give their parents that they should consider an exam at St Mungos just in case. They didn't say what the journal was though, just that it a dark object.

Hermione, Harry, and Luna Lovegood (the girl who never got the name of) each gained extra points at the End of Year feast for their assistance in solving the situation. No one learned he was a parselmouth which he much appreciated.

Before he knew it, they were back on the train to head home. He didn't know what his plans were yet but he couldn't wait to find out.