Chapter 4

Walking the corridors of this large castle of a school, the two would switch from passage to passage. Potter leading Su to a place she could not figure out and he would not speak of.

Something she tried to do many times on their little venture.

A few different timess she thought that she got a hint of where they were headed only to be shocked as they passed a secret passage that she knew of.

Thinking of it. this boy knew this school well as he would stop at certain intersections and had amazing timing when it came to where to stop and let certain teachers pass or even skirt by a pesky little poltergeist.

He even seemed to know when they were about to run into Miss Norris as they made their way through the halls.

Did he have some sort of foresight or something? Cause he was pulling this off every bit as well as Trelawney with her ominous predictions. The only ones that ever seemed to work.

Come to think of it, why were they even being so secretive? She had to ask.

"Sorry..." Potter laughed. "The last time I came down here it was after lights out and the place itself is a bit...secretive."

"So I just got caught up in the moment."

Truth was, they still had plenty of time before it got dark and even more before they had to start heading off to their dorms being mid November.

Finally, when they had gotten down by the dungeons, in the lower levels of the school, Potter stopped…in front of the girl's loo. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to be precise.

Staring at him Su quirked aneyebrow.

"Yes, I know," he stated, giving her an awkward expression. "It is a bit of an odd area to go; but this is an area that houses one of the biggest secrets in this school. and there are very few that know about it."

This had grabbed her attention, because very few come down here, and she knew that very few wanted to deal with Moaning Myrtle. As her wails were legendary amongst the students of the school.

But what could be hidden here? It did not seem as if Potter was about to tell.

As he opened the door and entered, she took a deep breath, inched her hand towards her wand; but followed.

"Hi Harry…" slowly drawled a high pitched, girlish voice, that was filled with a deathly weight.

"So your not with that bushy haired girl and freckles today? But that's fine, as I thought you had abandoned me," were the first words she had heard, as he stepped through the door.

It was odd, seeing Moaning Myrtle, as she seemed to be gushing over Potter, fiddling with her transparent hands, while giving him a shy yet grim smile. Half her body sitting behind a stall door, her giving off a ghostly ethereal light.

"Hi Myrtle," Potter replied, making it obvious that the two truly knew each-other. "Sorry; but after the last time I came down…I just couldn't bring myself to."

"Oh, I get it; but the second you get a living girlfriend, you have to come down and gloat," she pouted.

"Look Myrtle, I am still alive, oh, and looky here, I've brought me down a girlfriend too."

"No Myrtle," Harry sighed, blushing furiously. "We are not dating. I just was going to show her what we found hidden down here."

"I see, use the place that got Myrtle killed for a randezvous. Yes I get it," she wailed. As she puuled herself back through her stall door.

After all of this, Su had just one question on her mind.

Just how did an incorporeal entity such as a ghost…splash toilet water over a stall door? It was kind of illogical.

"Sorry,' Potter said, giving her a chagrined shrug. "She gets like that, when anything lively comes up."

"That's fine," Su replied, her eyes telling a different story, as water dripped down her arm.

Sighing, she took out her wand, giving herself a much needed scourigify.

"But what I want to know is, why do you plan on taking me to the place that got Myrtle killed?"

"No," Potter replied. "I think you got the wrong idea. And I am sorry about that, but it was, what was down there, that got her killed. And that thing died, so you don't have to worry about that."

Su gave Potter a penetrating stare. Trying to figure out what it was, before she asked, "What was it that killed her?"

"That I kind of want to leave a surprise. Mainly because you wouldn't believe me if I told you, and the carcass is still down there, so…I figured, seeing is better for believing.

That was actually a bit understandable. She hoped he never brought dates to places like this.

But she did have a bit of an adventurous side to her and things had been a bit boring as of late.

True, there were other schools here now; but she hadn't been interacting with them.

And as for everybody that was in an uproar, about this boy here entering the tournament…?

She just didn't care.

There had been plenty of people in the school to do far worse, just not as openly.

"So, where to?"

HPatW-TS

It was dark down here, Su thought, as she stood up, fumbling for her wand. But only getting to it after a bright luminescent beam lit up the area.

It was actually so dark, that such a dim beam that had blinded her.

It was bad enough that it took a bit before she was able to see again.

When her eyes came to, it was a scene that came straight out of one of Gilderoy Lockhart's books.

Not that she believed that utter rubbish.

That man was a hack if she'd ever saw one.

But this area…it was filled with small animal bones everywhere.

She then wondered what had happened to the guy, before throwing the thought away and incanting a scourigify, she again cleaned herself off.

That pipe they came down was utterly disgusting…but it made a fun slide.

After she was somewhat clean, Potter nodded thoughtfully, doing the same.

It was intriguing that he was able to use both a cleaning spell and a lumos at the same time, holding a spell while casting another required great concentration.

It wasn't unheard of, plenty could do it. It was just odd that someone her age could do it.

"So Potter-" Su began to ask.

"Harry."

"Huh?"

"I prefer to be called Harry."

"Every time I get called Potter, I feel like Malfoy is calling for me."

"Oh, sorry," she laughed.

Nobody liked dealing with that spoiled brat.

"But you do know that it is proper wizarding etiquette to not call somebody by their first name without permission?"

With a slight raise of his eye, Harry nodded. Letting her know that he understood.

"And I feel the same way, when somebody I don't know calls me Su, so familiarly."

It wasn't that she hated it, she was raised to understand that she would be going to school with people from a different part of their world.

"But Harry…" she said, meeting his eyes, feeling awkward. Why was it always so weird to call somebody by their given name the first few times?

"You can call me Su."

It felt weird to her, the two had first met a few years ago; but were just now, after being in each-others presence for over an hour, just introducing themselves. Here, with all these bones and dead creatures lying about.

"Okay," Harry smiled, beginning to look around. "This way."

Oddly enough, he began walking towards a bunch of rubble. And pulling out his wand said "Wingardium Leviosa." And one by one, two by two, and three by three, piles of rocks began to float.

If she had any idea of what was going, Su may have helped. But in turn, she stood there baffled. Watching as Harry removed what seemed to be a cave-in.

It really didn't take long, since magic was involved, and he did not seem to be piling it up, in any sort of fashion. Just scattering rocks about.

But in a long open tunnel like this, it made perfect sense. As long as more debris didn't fall on their heads.

Picking up her wand, she then began to casting.

HPatW-TS

All-in-all, it was about twenty minutes, before the two had a big enough hole to get through.

They started off with one big enough for probably her to fit through; but Harry? Well, it was good that he didn't try.

"You know," Harry said, as the two made their way through. "This was probably the worst idea I had ever had. And there are quite a few of them that I regret."

Su couldn't figure out exactly what he was talking about, so she waited for a moment before he continued.

"That night," he said, seeming lost in thought. "I wonder how it would have played out, if I hadn't brought Lockhart down here? But maybe even that was for the best?"

"Harry?" Su asked, curious. "What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" Harry replied. "Oh, sorry. I was just a bit lost in thought."

"Thought about what?" she asked, completely not understanding what it was, he was talking about.

"Don't worry," he shrugged, "I just don't know how to explain things before you see what lies behind those doors."

She then noticed where his wand was pointing. Standing before her, maybe a hundred or two feet away, were the most grandiose doors she had ever seen.

And she had been to parties at Malfoy manor, and they were the most ostentatious Wizards in all of Britain.

But even they had nothing on this. Wooden double doors, maybe twenty-foot in height. Brown and dusty, with what seemed to be gold trimmed around it. But standing out most of all, was the Slytherin crest, emblazoned right in the center of the doors.

Was this the Chamber of Secrets!?

"What, but, how?" she stuttered.

"I mean, I heard you use Parseltongue in the bathroom. Maybe it should have clicked then. But how?"

"Rumors. I have heard those; but I really didn't believe them," she muttered to herself. But then who actually believes half of them that float around the school.

Well, they were Witches and Wizards, so a good few of the people obviously.

This was getting a bit crazy and Su just could not figure out what was going on.

"Well," Harry replied. "The chamber was opened two years ago. So…somebody had to have found it. Right?"

He did have a point. But all of those rumors were too fantastical. And she just could not believe the Weasley boy's claims at it being a basilisk. That was just plain crazy. Too many people would have died, if that were the case.

Then why had-

"Come on, a few more minutes, then you will get the entire," Harry paused for a moment, thoughts muddled in his eyes; but none were transparent. "story."

Walking up to the door took a relatively short amount of time. But when they got there, Harry looked at it. Almost as if he were examining it for the first time.

It was not long, before he muttered something incomprehensible, in what she guessed was Parseltongue.

But the strangest thing was, who knew that such a large door could move so soundlessly?

Seriously, a door that stood high enough to let in a giant. Magic or no, it had no right to be so quiet. There should have been at least a little squeak.

'Well…at least the dirt fell off of the door,' Su thought, as she began to cough; before pulling her shirt over her face. Harry did likewise.

As they walked in, she felt like she was in the maw of a beast, as the lights slowly ignited themselves.

They must be in an area that was spelled to let the schools magic sustain it.

With the amount of time that this area had been here, out of use, she thought not much had been done to it.

"This," Harry said, encompassing the entire room in his gesture (and it was a large antechamber) "is The Chamber of Secrets."

"What secrets it hides. I never got the chance to discover. except for a few things," he said, his eyes, gazing across the room.

The area was what one would expect from a cavern. As there were stalactite and stalagmite all over the place.

But for some odd reason (she could not say what) there seemed to be an order to them. And this was what gave the room the feeling, as if you were in a giant serpents mouth.

There was a greenish tint, to the limestone cavern. As the flames glowed that of the same color as the Goblet of Fire.

And in some areas, water dripped from the ceiling. Creating pools in the stone. Probably created from ages of erosion.

And in the center of it all, sprawled at the foot of a giant statue of Salazaar Slytherin. One that was only large enough, if you were egotistical.

And at its feet was a dead snake. A large dead snake…?

No…a humungous, maybe sixty-foot long corpse of a basilisk.

The most humungous one she had ever seen. And with her parents business, she had seen quite a few.

"Um, Harry," she said. Jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, looking at the thing with just as much awe and wonder as her.

"Man, I forgot how big this thing was."

Su stared. She really could not comprehend anything at the moment. And while her family may dabble in making antivenoms for a basilisk (which needs to be taken almost immediately) the only thing she really knew about them, was that they grew in size as they aged.

And if that were the truth, how old was this thing?

"Strange, even though it tried killing me. And seeing how its eyes were pecked out. It really seemed to be a beautiful creature."

This really caught Su by surprise. How did one survive such a beast attacking them. And why were the eyes pecked out?

"Harry," Su said, staring at the massive carcass. "How?"

"In second year, you remember the attacks?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"This was the beast that caused them."

"But how?" she asked. "Such a creature should only be able to kill upon sight. Unless its dead."

"No." he replied. "If you look back, and actually knew what was happening. Each and every individual that saw it, only saw a reflection of the eyes. Well…except for Nearly-Headless Nick."

"So?"

"Well, if you actually read up on these things, they can instantly kill you; but if one only sees a reflection of the eyes, then they end up petrified."

Nodding, Su could only agree. This was something that she had at least once heard; but had forgotten. Until now.

"And how did it end up dead?" she asked.

"Because I killed it."

Su rolled her eyes.

"No," Harry said, pulling up the sleeve to his arm. There was a scar, and a nastily brutal one at that. "Its not a joke or bravado."

"You could say that I was prepared to die. Even thought I was dead there for a bit; but Fawkes cried over my wound."

"Fawkes is-" Su put up a hand to stop him. She knew who Fawkes was. No Witch who was raised up in an apothecary would not have heard of Fawkes, the Headmaster's phoenix.

He often came around with a drop, every once in a while; but made sure that the owners could never sell it. Only use it on the first desperate situation that arose in their offices.

True it did not net an apothecary money. But if a person was about to die and was saved at their office. They ended up famous for a while and it netted them cash from people hoping for a sample.

"You could say that as its tooth pierced me, I stabbed it with a sword."

This was starting to get crazy again. Where did one get a sword from in this school? It was not something a second year could conjure up.

But before she could ask, he answered.

"The sword of Gryffindor," and with a sigh he continued. "Fawkes had brought me the sorting hat with it in it, which I used to guide me around without looking at the thing. But it was going to kill Ginny. It was going to kill Ron's sister."

"And I couldn't let it do that. That was when I stabbed it. Right when the hat told me to strike."

"Fawkes then lay crying on my arm as he-" Harry then shut up.

She could see there was something there that he didn't want her to know.

"But if that's the case," she asked, staring him right in the eyes, as she said it, "who was the one controlling it? Who set it up to attack the school?"

"Someone did control the snake right? They always say that somebody opened the Chamber of Secrets; but they never say who?"

There it was again, he winced.

And it was done in a way that would tell anybody that he knew exactly what had happened.

"Did you accidentally-"

"No!" Harry shouted.

"I'm sorry but no," he said in a much quieter voice.

"I will tell you this much. The person who did it, it was the same person who did it 50 years ago. But I won't say any more."

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss. And this is one of those times," as he said it, Harry panicked. She didn't know why; but he really didn't want her to know the truth.

"I know who did it, Ron and Hermione found out after I did, and actually…I regret telling them. And both Professor Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy know."

"Since that man wasn't entirely innocent in it. But it wasn't him either."

Su just stared. She didn't know what to make of these revelations. Could she believe Lucius Malfoy to be implicit in this?

Yes. No doubt in her mind. But who else? And why not be afraid to mention Lucius; but not speak of the other person?

It was almost as if….but no, that man was long dead. Dead at the hands of this boy right here, and that was just when he was a babe, an infant unable to do more than cry…?

This was starting to make her head spin.

To clear her mind, Su began to walk the room. She was a bit scared, not wanting to approach such a beast. Dead or not. But in the end, her curiosity won her over.

Harry was right, it was a beautiful specimen. Even in its current state, it shown through. A beautiful silver trim, ran a body of black and green.

'So maybe,' she thought, 'this was once Salazaar Slytherin's pet? If one were to get bigger as they aged, it would probably look like this after a thousand years…?'

As she made her way towards the front of the beast, that was where it got grotesque. From inside an open mouth was a hole, maybe big enough for a sword. She was no expert. And not to mention, a missing tooth.

Dried blood caked the eyes, as there were talon scratches and other little marks. But for some odd reason, she felt a small ache in the back of her head; until she removed her gaze from it.

"That was where Fawkes maimed its eyes, making it so I could see again. It was hard to move, covering my eyes with a hat, and it especially hurt after the Sword of Gryffindor somehow got summoned out."

"Courage," she replied, unthinkingly. Entranced by both the beast and the story. "They say that the Sword of Gryffindor can only be summoned by one who shows unyielding courage in the face of danger."

"Unyielding courage," Harry laughed. "Merlin's beard, I damn near pissed myself, and Fawkes destroyed both its greatest assets and kept me alive. I was most certainly going to die that night, along with Ginny. That's not courage."

Su looked at him, shaking her head.

"My uncle, he is a bit crazy. A Wizard obsessed by martial arts and loves Bruce Lee movies. But do you want to know what he once told me?"

And before he could reply, she answered anyway, "He told me that courage isn't about not being afraid; but about facing your fears. So, if someone is to face a giant snake for glory. Which is how people describe you," and from that she saw him wince.

She saw it, he knew what people said about him and didn't like it.

"But," she said, emphasizing the word really hard. She didn't want to offend him.

"But if one were to put their life on the line, for a helpless individual, and just wanted to protect his best friends little sister. Then that is courageous."

He sighed at that. She wondered which it was. He didn't seem the type to seek glory, and she never heard him make mention about any of his adventures in class. This was the first time she had heard anything.

Well, other than the story's Weasley would tell people when Harry wasn't around. Though the oddly surprising part was, that Weasley never made himself out to be the hero.

He seemed the type…?

"But also," she asked, curious about something from earlier, "what did Lockhart have to do with any of this?

And at that, Harry laughed. It seemed good on him, she didn't think she had seen him happy, ever since the start of this tournament.

Before his name came out of the Goblet of Fire..

"Lockhart," he continued laughing. "What did you think of him?"

"A fraud," there was no hesitation in her words.

And there was a genuine consensus about this among apothecary owners. He was never well versed in school at almost anything; and never came to an apothecary for potions. One did not need to put one and one together to get two with this.

And some of her parent's friends had mentioned that he had a knack for stuff like memory charms in school. There had been a few suspected unsavory incidents, with them.

Never proven.

That and she just plain never learned a thing from him.

"Yes," Harry laughed; before a look formed on his face that did not suit this boy. A look that described a loathing of the man. One that she could not fathom.

"That man after they locked the school down."

"When Ginny was taken. He was supposed to come down and rescue her. At least that was what the teachers decided after hearing him boast of knowing where this place was."

"He then proceeded to pack his things as Ron and I came in. He was leaving and threatened us."

"So I disarmed him, idiotically thinking I would bring him to help us get Ginny back."

"Bad idea…" he said, shaking his head.

"I brought him down here after that, he managed to wrestle Ron's wand out of his hand. Then the idiot placed an obliviation charm on Ron."

Su winced. She never liked the idea of people playing inside her head.

"The problem was that during our second year, Ron was literally using a broken wand. So the man cast an obliviation charm; only to obliviate himself."

"I don't know if the man was cured after that; but I hope not."

"He was rather prideful in bragging about how he had successfully stole his stories from Witches and Wizards; before proceeding to obliviate all of them."

"He is scum."

This was a messed up scenario. But sadly...this was the type of thing her parents, who went to school with him and their friends had thought had happened.

But that did not make the situation any less messed up.

"What I meant about it being a good thing. Was because he had blown up the cavern with that spell, and that separated the two of them from me. If they had come, with more people, we probably all would have died. It was only luck that I survived."

Su did not know what to make of this boy; but she felt like he was getting more and more intriguing. What were the truths? Were there any lies? She kind of wanted to know.