Chapter 4

Once When I Was Twelve

12 Years Old

"I will kill you just like my father did twelve years ago." Harry snarled at the ghost of Tom Riddle.

Harry wouldn't have involved himself in this dangerous situation if it wasn't for Luna Lovegood, his best friend. Since she came into his life, it had been full of weirdness and joy.

He loved it.

He absolutely loved it.

So when he heard that she was taken into the Chamber of Secrets, with a heavy heart he broke his promise to his mum of not getting involved in this nasty mess. With cold rage burning inside him, he joined the scattered clues and found the chamber.

Luna was dragged here in Salazar's chamber by her friend Ginny who was possessed by Voldemort, whose real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. He chanced a look at the two girls lying motionless with their hands on the diary. They both looked deathly pale and cold, like a corpse.

His attention was abruptly taken by the giant basilisk that fell from above. He resisted the urge to look at the creature and ran off in another direction, followed by the large reptile, and Tom's mocking laughter.

He wasn't running out of cowardice, no, Harry already had a plan. He couldn't face both, the basilisk and the ghost, at the same time. He needed to deal with them separately.

He stopped running when he was deep inside a huge cylindrical pipe. He spun around and without another thought summoned the fire from hell. His mum had hesitantly taught him after he came across the spell in one of the books from the Potter vaults. He had nagged her for days before she caved in.

"Fiendfyre!" He yelled, pointing his wand in front of him and not looking up into the monster's eyes.

The animalistic screech went on for a minute before the giant body of the serpent was reduced to a large mound of ash.

Harry sighed in relief as the task was done. He ran back to the chamber, and in a short time stood in front of Tom Riddle, who was looking both incensed and confused, not knowing where his dear basilisk was.

"Let's end this." Harry yelled tiredly and the duel started without much fanfare. Just a few minutes into the fight, Harry realised that something was wrong, that his spells weren't affecting the pseudo-ghost. They harmlessly passed through his translucent body, not hurting him in the least. Tom Riddle's laughter echoed in the vast chamber.

"You can't beat me."

Harry frowned as he continued dodging and shielding, grateful for all his training. No other twelve-year-old would have survived in his place. He decided to give his mum the biggest hug and the loudest kiss as thanks when he returned.

He was pretty sure that there must be a way to defeat this spectre, if not directly then indirectly. There was always a solution, his mother had said. His gaze went to the diary which was lying innocently between the girls.

He summoned the diary and caught it in the other hand. Seeing the horrified look of Tom was all the confirmation he needed. Throwing the diary on the floor, he shot a few destructive spells at it, but nothing happened, not even a scratch.

"Haha! You can't do anything Harry. Your death is near." Tom cackled madly.

Harry ducked under a spell and conjured a series of giant walls in front of him, caging himself in and keeping Tom away for a time being. He turned his gaze back to the diary and again summoned the hellfire. He laughed in relief as the diary finally turned to dust, accompanied by the spectre's pained scream.

That was the end of the trouble with the chamber.

The two girls slowly awoke after the diary was destroyed.

Harry was enclosed in a bone-crushing hug when his mother saw him coming into the Headmaster's office with the two girls.

He saw her red-rimmed eyes as she pulled back and felt guilt clawing at his soul. But he was taken aback when her hand connected with his cheek in a loud slap. The sharp sound rang in his ears.

The stinging pain of the slap was nothing compared to the look in her eyes.

The others were surprised by this but couldn't do anything as she continued.

"How could you? I thought you were going to die. We are leaving right now. Hogwarts isn't safe anymore for you. Say your goodbyes and come to my room." She yelled angrily and promptly stomped out of the office.

"I'm going after her. I'll tell you what happened in detail afterwards, but in short, a diary that was Voldemort's possessed Ginny and made her do all these bad things. She wasn't at fault, of course. Remember that. I'll see you later." He said to the headmaster, then softly smiled at the two girls and hurried after his mother.

He saw her pacing back and forth when he stepped into her room. She stopped and looked up at him miserably. He noticed the guilt in her eyes for raising her hand against him.

"Mum!" He said softly and ran up to her, throwing his arms around her body. That was the cue for her, as she started sobbing loudly and pressed her face on his shoulder. He gently squeezed her in his embrace and rubbed his palm along her spine, trying to comfort her.

"I'm fine. I'm alright. I'm here. I'm not leaving you. Everything is fine, mum." He whispered slowly as her loud sobs became soft sniffles.

"I'm sorry for slapping you. I really am, Harry. But I was so relieved and angry at seeing you. I wouldn't know what I'd have done if you were seriously hurt. It just hurt so much thinking about all the various ways you could have already died. That I couldn't see you anymore. It pained me so much thinking that I failed you." She said, her voice trembling with fear.

Harry felt so guilty for putting her through this. Pulling back a little, he kissed her hard on the cheek and then stared into her beautiful emerald eyes.

"I'll never take unnecessary risks. I'm powerful. Very powerful, all thanks to you. And yet, I promise you that I'll never do something like this again. Okay?" He asked tenderly, caressing her soft cheeks.

She nodded slowly.

"I hope you'll let me come to this school next year." Harry said after a moment in a fearful tone. His mother sighed but squeezed his shoulders.

"Of course. You know I can never say no to you." She grumbled half-heartedly, unable to hide her smile.

Harry laughed aloud and grabbed her in a tight embrace, squeezing her with all his might.

"That's why you're the best mum."

In the end, everything was fine. The petrified students were cured. Harry was hailed as a hero throughout the school and the story of the Chamber of Secrets was known by everyone.