Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? Here is the penultimate chapter of this story! I was hoping to get it out sooner but there was a lot of lore changing and adding about the chamber of secrets that I wanted to do and then there was the battle of the chamber itself that I had to sit on for a while because I was trying to figure out how I wanted it to go and only got that sorted out only a few days ago. Anyways, I won't hold you guys here too long so go ahead and jump right into it. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter!
Like always, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate any positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities.
Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like Stingbulbs.
Chapter 14: The Chamber Under the Girl's Bathroom
XXXXXX
Harry, Ron, and Draco rushed downstairs to the staff room, bursting in without a warning only to find that nobody was in yet. They anxiously waited for the bell signaling break but it never came. Instead, they heard McGonagall's voice, echoing throughout the school.
"All students are to return to their dormitories immediately. All professors to the staff room at once."
The three boys shared concerned and fearful looks with each other.
"Something must've happened, maybe another attack?" Draco speculated.
Harry shook his head in denial. "There can't have been another attack. Not now."
"What do we do?" Ron anxiously asked.
Before anyone could answer him, McGonagall burst into the room and was surprised to see them there. "Mister Potter, Mister Weasley, Mister Malfoy, what are you all doing here? Didn't you hear the announcement? Head to your dormitories at once!"
"Professor, we have something important to tell you," Harry said.
McGonagall frowned severely at him. "Unfortunately it will have to wait until later, Mister Potter."
"But it's about-"
Harry was interrupted by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout storming in.
"Minerva, what is going on?" Flitwick fearfully demanded.
"Has something happened?" Sprout worriedly asked.
"Filius, Pomona, I will tell you everything once the others arrive. I'd rather not repeat myself," McGonagall calmly responded.
Flitwick and Sprout reluctantly backed off and McGonagall turned to the boys.
"You three will stay here off to the side and not interrupt," she sternly ordered, "Professor Snape and I will escort you to your respective dormitories after the meeting. Am I clear?"
The three boys nodded and shuffled off to the side as the rest of the professors filtered in. Some of them looked puzzled while others were greatly concerned.
Once everyone was settled inside, McGonagall cleared her throat and spoke with a solemn tone. "It has finally happened," she told the silent staff room, "A student has been taken by the monster right into the chamber itself."
Many of the professors gasped in horror. Harry, Ron, and Draco gaped in wide-eyed shock.
"How can you be sure?" Snape asked through gritted teeth.
"The heir of Slytherin left another message, right underneath the first one," McGonagall grimly stated, "His skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."
The professors all went white and the boys had a sinking feeling of dread in their stomachs.
"Who is it? Which student?" Flitwick asked as if afraid of the answer.
"Seth Sorenson," McGonagall responded.
The few remaining professors who were still standing sank into chairs, suddenly weak kneed. Flitwick and Sprout looked rather faint while Snape looked as if someone had just force fed him poison.
"It was because he knew something!" Harry suddenly blurted out.
All the professors looked at Harry in response and he shrunk under their sudden attention.
"What do you mean by that, Mister Potter?" McGonagall asked with a serious expression.
"Seth, he was trying to tell me and Ron something this morning, about the chamber," Harry explained in a rush, "But he ran away before he could and we spent the whole morning looking for him but we couldn't find him."
Before any of the professors could say anything in response to that surprising confession, there was a knock on the staff room door. Trelawney, the only professor who still somehow had her wits about her, shuffled over to open the door revealing a dreamy eyed Luna and a young woman with auburn hair held back by a glittering iris hairpiece whom nobody had ever seen before.
However, Harry noticed how her features looked rather familiar but he couldn't quite figure out why that was. Then he noticed the silver sword in her right hand.
"Miss Lovegood! What are you doing here?" Flitwick remarked in surprise, "And who is this young woman you've brought with you?"
Luna nodded airily at her head of house. "Hello professor. I found her after she stormed into the school waving a sword around, which was rather unsafe considering this is a school, and asking where her brother was. So I thought it would be a good idea to bring her here."
Then she noticed Harry, Ron, and Draco off to the side and smiled at them in greeting. "Oh hello there."
The boys just blinked and gaped at her, taken aback by the surreal situation they suddenly found themselves in.
"Who are you and how did you get here?" Snape irritably snapped at the young woman.
The young woman frowned. "I'm Kendra Sorenson and it doesn't matter how I got here. All I want to know is where the hell my brother is!"
Everyone fell silent at her introduction, too stunned to speak.
Ron looked at Harry with wide eyes and whispered, "That's Seth's sister?"
"Apparently?" Harry whispered back with a helpless shrug.
"Wicked," Draco murmured in awe, eyes fixated on the impressive blade in Kendra's hand.
Ron and Harry looked at him judgmentally and he shrugged. "She's got a sword. What do you want me to say?"
To which Ron and Harry nodded understandingly and in complete agreement because swords were cool.
McGonagall cleared her throat to regain her composure. "Miss Sorenson, I apologize for being the bearer of unfortunate news but your brother has been kidnapped by a terrible monster and we have no way of knowing if he is alive or not."
Kendra's frown deepened, clearly not liking the answer she'd been given. "Well do you have any leads as to where he could be?"
"All we know is that he was taken to the Chamber of Secrets which has only been rumor and hearsay for as long as this school has been standing," McGonagall responded with a regretful expression.
Kendra clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Are you going to search for him? Cause if so, I want in and I want in now."
"Miss Sorenson," McGonagall began to object.
But Kendra cut her off before she could continue. "And don't even think about saying I can't. I'm 24 years old, a legal adult, and I have an enchanted sword. Do you want to try me?"
McGonagall sighed heavily, knowing a lost battle when she saw one. "Very well Miss Sorenson. Now-"
The staffroom door banged open and in came Lockhart, casually strolling in, bright eyed and beaming. "So sorry, dozed off. What have I missed?"
Kendra gaped at him in disbelief along with everyone else in the staff room. "Is he for real? Who is this schmuck?"
"Ah, just the man, the very man we've been waiting for," Snape drawled, the first to snap out of his dumbfounded daze, "A boy has been snatched by the monster Professor Lockhart, taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."
Lockhart blanched.
"That's right, Gilderoy," Sprout said, jumping onto the verbal dog piling Snape began, "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"
"I, well, I-" Lockhart sputtered.
Flitwick nodded, half serious and half condescending. "Yes. Didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?"
Lockhart laughed nervously. "D-Did I? I don't recall…"
"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," Sinistra added with a thoughtful expression and disapproving air, "Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled and that you should've been given free reign from the start?"
Lockhart stared around the room at his frowning and stony-faced colleagues. "I-I really never, you may have misunderstood-"
"We'll leave it to you then Gilderoy," McGonagall interjected sharply, looking almost gleeful as Lockhart shrank under everyone's scrutinizing glares, "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself, free reign at last."
Lockhart gazed desperately around him, looking dearly as if he wanted to run and hide in a hole somewhere but everyone refused to come to his rescue. He now looked meek and feeble as he gave a tentative nod. "V-V-Very well. I'll, I'll be in my office, getting ready."
Then he left the room with a shameful shuffle.
McGonagall let out a harsh breath once the door closed behind him. "Right, now that he's out from under our feet, the head of houses shall go and inform their students as to what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. The rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories and then begin the search for the chamber as soon as possible. I want no nook, cranny, corridor, or even shelf left unchecked." She then turned to Kendra. "Miss Sorenson, you have my permission to freely roam the castle in search of your brother. Let us know if you need any help."
Kendra nodded sharply and turned on her heel, leaving immediately.
"Come along Miss Lovegood," Flitwick said.
"You as well Mister Malfoy," Snape drawled in disapproval.
Luna nodded and followed Flitwick's gentle guidance out of the room. Draco was marched reluctantly out of the room by Snape. The rest of the professors soon followed, one by one, until only McGonagall, Harry, and Ron remained.
McGonagall sighed wearily, looking as if she'd aged an entire decade in the span of a single second. She waved at Harry and Ron to follow her and they did so silently.
XXXXXX
Back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry and Ron huddled together in a corner as the other students rushed about in preparation for their departure the next morning.
"What do we do now, Harry?" Ron asked, hands fidgeting about restlessly.
"I don't know," Harry said helplessly.
"Should we go find his sister and tell her what we know?" Ron suggested uncertainly, "She seems like she knows what she's doing and I guess we can go to Lockhart too just in case."
Harry couldn't think of anything to do but he was still eager to do something so he nodded and the two slipped out of the common room as soon as they had the chance.
It was only partway through their roaming of the castle that they realized they had no clue where Kendra was or even how to find her. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they ran into Draco who seemed like a Slytherin on a mission and nothing was going to stop him from completing it.
"What are you doing out and about, Malfoy?" Ron asked, both curiously and accusatorily.
"No doubt the same as you," Draco responded dryly, "You're looking for Sorenson's sister right?"
"How'd you know?" Ron said, surprised.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh please Weasley. It's the only logical course of action considering the professors are going to be too busy securing the students and Lockhart's supposedly going to be preparing to storm the chamber himself so that only leaves Sorenson's sister."
"Well then do you know where she is?" Harry asked.
Draco nodded. "I overheard Professor Snape telling Professor Sprout that Sorenson's sister was going to speak to Lockhart."
And with that, the boys went off to Lockhart's office in the hopes that they would run into Kendra along the way. When they arrived, they could hear a flurry of activity going on inside. Harry knocked and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and they saw one of Lockhart's eyes peering through it.
"Oh! Mister Potter, Mister Weasley, Mister Malfoy," Lockhart said in surprise, "I'm rather busy at the moment if you would be quick."
"Is Kendra Sorenson here, sir? We have some important information that could be useful for her and for you too," Harry said.
"Er, well…" Lockhart muttered, looking rather uncomfortable.
"Please sir, it's very important," Harry said insistently.
Lockhart sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Oh alright. Come on in."
He opened the door and the boys entered. They looked around his office which had been completely stripped - everything was being crammed into trunks and boxes.
"Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked, looking around in confusion.
"Er, well, yes," Lockhart said as he ripped a life size poster of himself off the wall and rolled it up, "Urgent call, unavoidable, got to go."
Draco snorted derisively. "I knew it. You're a coward. You're running away!" He spat out in accusation.
"What? But what about all the stuff you did in your books?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Well, um, books can be a tiny bit misleading," Lockhart delicately said.
"You wrote them so you must've done it! That's how it works!" Harry shouted.
Lockhart frowned at him in disapproval. "My dear boy, do use your common sense. That is, in fact, not how it works. Why, my books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly Armenian warlock even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover, no dress sense at all. And don't even get me started on the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee. She had a harelip!"
"Oh, well, that's good to know," Draco sarcastically drawled, "You're a coward and a fraud. Just wait until my father hears about this. You'll lose whatever fame and reputation you've built up faster than you can blink!"
Lockhart banged the lids of his trunks shut at that and he turned to face them with a pleasant smile that set the boys on edge. "My apologies Mister Malfoy, but I'm afraid I can't have you doing that."
He pulled out his wand and the boys tensed. "I'll have to put a memory charm on you all now. Can't have you babbling my secrets. I'd never sell another book!"
However, Harry and Draco pulled out their wands just before Lockhart could raise his and both bellowed, "Expelliarmus!" "Flipendo!"
Lockhart was blasted backward, falling over his trunk as his wand flew high into the air where Ron caught it and threw it across the room into one of the boxes.
"Shouldn't have let Professor Snape teach us that one," Harry said furiously.
Lockhart looked up at them meekly as Harry and Draco pointed their wands at him in clear threat.
"What do you want me to do?" Lockhart whimpered fearfully, "I don't know where Miss Sorenson has gone and I know nothing about the Chamber of Secrets."
"You're in luck. We do," Harry growled as he forced Lockhart up to his feet at wand point, "Now let's go."
XXXXXX
The boys marched Lockhart out of his office and all the way over to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, passing by the messages that shone an ominous red on the wall. When they entered, they were surprised to see Kendra and Luna in the middle of a rather cordial conversation with Myrtle.
"Luna? What are you doing here?" Ron asked.
Luna and Kendra turned around in surprise when they saw the boys and Lockhart standing by the bathroom entrance.
"Oh, hello there Ron," Luna nonchalantly greeted.
Kendra squinted at them. "Aren't you three the boys who were at the staff room earlier today?" Then she glared harshly at Lockhart. "And aren't you that useless piece of crap I just spoke too?"
Lockhart shrank under her scrutiny, sending waves of satisfaction through the boys.
"Yes, they are," Luna answered. "That's Harry, Ron, Draco, and Professor Lockhart," she said as she pointed to each person to help Kendra identify them.
"Charmed," Kendra dryly said, still glaring at Lockhart.
"Ms. Sorenson," Draco began.
"Call me Kendra. I'm not that old yet," Kendra interrupted.
"Luna, Kendra, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Looking for my brother, obviously," Kendra said as if it weren't clear enough.
"But how?" Ron asked, highly confused as to how the two arrived at the conclusion of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom being the place to go to.
"I know about the diary," Luna answered, shocking the boys.
"You do?" Harry couldn't help but ask in surprise.
Luna nodded. "And I know what was going with Seth as well."
"That still doesn't explain how you knew to come here," Draco pointed out.
Luna shrugged. "It wasn't too hard. The first incident occurred nearby and there was water flooding from this bathroom specifically. If you add in the rumor of how this bathroom had long been unused centuries before Myrtle ever settled inside then it was only logical to assume the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was within here."
"Speaking of Myrtle," Harry turned his attention to the sulking ghost, "How did you die?"
Immediately, Myrtle's attitude did a complete 180 and she gleefully told them the completely unnecessarily detailed story of how she passed away and the resulting aftermath. While the story made everyone uncomfortable, the one detail that stuck out was the pair of yellow eyes which was the last thing Myrtle saw before she died.
"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" Harry urgently asked.
"Somewhere over there," Myrtle said, pointing towards the wide column in the middle of the bathroom with sinks ringed around its surface.
Everyone rushed over to examine every inch they could see and feel while Lockhart hung back with a look of utter terror on his face. At first, the column seemed to be an ordinary column, the sinks were just sinks, and the pipes were just pipes.
But then Harry felt a strange indentation in the wall and leaned in close enough to make out a small carving of a snake in a spot just underneath a sink and above a pipe. He quickly stood up and gestured for the others to come over and started testing the sink.
"The tap's never worked on those sinks for some reason," Myrtle helpfully added.
"Harry, say something in parseltongue," Ron eagerly suggested.
"I'm sorry, parseltongue?" Kendra asked, confused.
"It's the language of snakes. Potter here can speak and understand it," Draco explained.
Kendra nodded slowly, still not understanding why that was important. "And this will help us how?"
"The heir of Slytherin is said to be able to speak parseltongue just as Salazar Slytherin did," Luna elaborated.
"Alright then, so what? Harry here just says 'open sesame' in snake language and a secret entrance will open or something?" Kendra asked with just a smidge of sarcasm.
"It's worth a shot," Harry said, not knowing what else to do. His expression twisted as he made the concentrated effort to speak in snake. He closed his eyes and did his best to imagine he was speaking to an actual snake. "Open."
A strange hissing escaped him and the column began to shake. One by one, the sinks retracted into the wall before the entire column sank down and the top opened to reveal a hidden entrance with a winding staircase that went down, down, down into a dark pit below.
"I was being sarcastic," Kendra deadpanned as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "You know what, whatever. I don't care how it happened, just that it did." Then she drew her sword and marched to the entrance.
"Hold on a moment! What are you doing?" Draco asked in a panic.
"My brother called out to me for help and that's exactly what I'm going to do," Kendra responded.
"But what if he's-" Draco said before his voice died in his throat as he didn't want to say what the rest of them feared.
"He's not dead," Kendra firmly said.
"But how would you know?" Draco asked.
She smiled wryly. "He and I share a…unique bond. Now if you'll excuse me, time's a wasting."
But before she could take another step, Luna spoke up. "Pardon me Kendra, but I will be going with you."
Kendra looked as if she wanted to protest but Luna interjected before she could. "And no, you can't tell me to stay back for my safety as I will follow you regardless in order to help ensure Seth's safety."
Harry and Ron stepped forward in a show of solidarity. "Us too. Seth's our friend and we're not going to give up on him when there's still a chance," Harry said before cheekily adding, "And you might need someone who can speak parseltongue down there too."
Kendra looked at them in surprise before shaking her head with an exasperated huff. "Geez, it's like looking in a mirror of our past selves. Alright fine," she conceded, "You can come but stick close and be vigilant. We don't know everything that's waiting for us down there."
The three students nodded before turning to Draco and Lockhart.
Draco sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll go down too. But we're not leaving Professor Lockhart here by himself."
"And why not?" Lockhart sputtered in protest, "You hardly seem to need me."
Both Harry and Draco pointed their wands at him in response.
"Don't even think about running for it," Harry threatened.
Draco sneered cruelly at the cowering fraud. "You tried to erase our memories so you get the honor of going first."
Lockhart sputtered more but quieted down when Kendra raised her blade in clear threat. He meekly shuffled over to the entrance before looking back at them.
"Come now," he said in one last attempt to protest, "What good will it do if-"
Kendra prodded the business end of her sword at his back in warning. "Less talking, more walking. If you delay us any further, you're not gonna like what I'll do."
Lockhart whimpered and began the climb down the staircase with Kendra following closely behind and the students scrambling after her.
XXXXXX
The staircase ended at the bottom of a damp floor of a dark stone tunnel as large as the corridors that led to the Great Hall.
Harry couldn't help but look up the staircase, the entrance long gone from view. "We must be miles under the school."
Draco grimaced as he took in the wet and slimy walls. "We're most likely under the lake."
Kendra held her sword in front of her as it began to give off an ephemeral glow that gave more illumination to their surroundings than any lumos spell the students could conjure. "Less talking, more walking. Every second counts."
Without another word, the group trudged forward. Kendra took the lead, Harry and Luna were at the flanks, Ron and Lockhart were in the middle, and Draco took the rear with his wand trained on Lockhart. As the group slowly made their way through the tunnel, Harry, Ron, and Draco shared everything they knew about the chamber and the beast within to Kendra.
After they were done, Kendra, instead of being scared as they'd expected, merely sighed in exasperation. "This would've been great to know before I even got here. I still have those mirrored shades from when I had to fight a pack of gorgons that'd be really useful right now."
"Um, Kendra," Harry tentatively said, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here? Weren't you in America?"
"Magic. How else?" Kendra deadpanned.
Harry shrank from the harsh way she spoke. "Oh, er, right. Sorry…"
Kendra sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. If it were any other situation, I'd be happy to explain but-" She waved a hand about and Harry nodded in understanding.
The group continued to walk until they reached a large stone door with the emblem of Slytherin House on it. Harry stepped forward and hissed for the door to open and the stone shuddered before slowly sliding apart with a grinding sound that echoed loudly around them.
They cautiously stepped past the threshold only for their caution to become confusion when they took in their surroundings.
They were standing in a large spacious hall with multiple stone arches lining the walls. In between each arch, on both sides, were entryways with doors either still intact or rotting and falling apart. They began to walk through the hall, peeking through the open doorways to see what was inside. One of the rooms held broken chairs and desks with a chalkboard hanging in pieces on the wall. Another room held what looked to be potion brewing equipment that was covered in thick layers of dust. Another held long tables that were shorter versions of the tables in the Great Hall.
"What is this place?" Ron asked, "It can't really be the Chamber of Secrets can it?"
"It can't be," Draco said, shaking his head in denial, "This place seems to be more of a large common room than the deadly chamber of rumors."
Kendra hummed thoughtfully. "This place actually looks like some kind of miniature version of your school."
"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked.
"Well some of these rooms look like classrooms and there's even a lounge and a dining area," she pointed out as she peeked into a nearby room, "This one looks like a library."
"Oh!" Luna exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight, "Perhaps we can find some clues as to the nature of this place within."
The group agreed with her suggestion, eagerly entering the room though Lockhart hung back as he eyed the old, dilapidated infrastructure with fear.
The library was just as rundown as the rest of the hall with wooden bookcases in various stages of decay and piles of dust of what used to be scrolls and texts lined around with only the metal fixings and hardcover shells to indicate what they once were. Ron cautiously poked at one of the books that still held pages only for the pages to instantly crumble upon contact. Despite the state of the room, however, there were still a few well preserved texts and scrolls strewn about, most likely having been charmed to stand the test of time.
"Look up there," Harry said, pointing at a plaque that'd been worn with time but its engravings could still be barely made out.
"Sanctuarium Iniuste Persecutum Est," Luna carefully pronounced.
"What language is that?" Ron asked, bewildered.
Draco rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Latin, Weasley. You know, the language that is the entire basis of our spell work?"
Ron scowled at him.
"What does it mean?" Harry hastily asked before the two could start fighting though he was genuinely curious.
"Sanctuary for the unjustly persecuted," Draco responded.
"Sanctuary for the unjustly persecuted? Does this mean this place was some kind of a safe room or something?" Kendra asked curiously.
Luna tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hogwarts was built with the purpose of teaching young witches and wizards in addition to protecting them from muggle persecution. I wouldn't be surprised if this was used for the latter purpose."
"But if that's true, why is it called the Chamber of Secrets and why is it remembered as a bad thing?" Harry asked.
"We don't even know if this is the Chamber of Secrets," Draco rebuked, still in denial.
Ron deadpanned. "We had to use a secret password that can only be spoken in parseltongue to get in here."
"And don't forget that the rumors of the Chamber of Secrets are firmly associated with Salazar Slytherin who is a famous and known parseltongue," Luna helpfully added.
Draco frowned, looking ready to argue but Kendra interjected. "Look, we don't have time to stand around here debating this. Let's just grab the books that don't look like they'll fall apart and see if they'll tell us anything later."
"With what bag?" Ron asked.
In answer, Kendra pulled over a sling bag that the students only now just noticed she was wearing. "It's enchanted to hold a lot of things," she explained, "Now hurry up and start shoving."
The students rushed to help Kendra put the twenty or so books that didn't fall apart upon touch into her bag. Once they were done, they exited the room only for Lockhart to immediately tackle the last person out, which was unfortunately Ron.
The two landed hard onto the ground and the students startled at the sudden attack. Kendra went to charge at Lockhart but it was too late as he straightened up, pointing Ron's wand at them with a gleaming smile back on his face. Draco and Harry moved to pull out their wand but Luna stopped them. They looked at her in confusion only for her pointed look at Ron's wand, particularly the poor state it was in, made them back down in understanding. Lockhart's smile grew wider, believing he now had the upper hand.
"The adventure ends here, ladies and gentlemen," Lockhart delightfully crowed.
Kendra pointed her sword at him in clear threat. "I don't think so. Now drop the wand."
Lockhart faltered before smiling confidently at her. "Apologies but given the distance between us and our respective weapons of choice, I'll be able to strike first before you ever finish your swing."
"Care to put that to the test?" She asked, not backing down for a second.
He hesitated for a moment but remained firm. "I would love to actually. If there's one thing that I'm proud of, it's my memory charms."
Then he raised Ron's cheaply repaired wand high over his head and yelled, "Obliviate!"
The wand exploded with such force that it struck the rundown ceiling above and made it cave in. Luna dragged Ron and Draco back as the two boys ducked and covered. Harry flung his arms over his head as Kendra threw herself over him for protection.
The chaos was over in a moment.
Harry coughed as he waved the dust out of his face as Kendra got off of him. He graciously accepted her hand to pull him up and he turned to see the damage.
The ceiling had completely broken down, dividing the hall in two with Ron, Draco, Luna, and Lockhart on one side and Harry and Kendra on the other.
"Ron! Luna! Are you alright?" Harry called out.
"We're here! Everyone's fine!" Ron's muffled voice answered back a moment later, "Lockhart's not though. He got blasted by the wand."
There was a dull thud and a loud 'ow!' It sounded as though someone had just kicked Lockhart in the shins. Kendra snorted and tried to muffle her laughter.
"What now?" Ron asked, "It'll take us ages to get through this!"
"Harry!" Luna called out, "You and Kendra should go on ahead. Don't wait for us. Ron and Draco can try to clear what they can and I'll go back to the surface to get the professors!"
Harry looked at Kendra who nodded. "It's a sound plan and we can't waste anymore time," she said.
"Right," Harry nodded. Then he shouted back to the others, "Okay! We'll go on ahead then!"
"Be careful Harry!" Ron shouted.
"Don't die, Potter!" Draco tactfully added on.
Another muffled 'ow' could be heard that was most likely someone hitting Draco for his cheek.
"Shall we then?" Kendra asked Harry.
He gave a shaky nod and the two walked over to the other end of the hall where another large stone door awaited. He hissed for it to open and they were greeted with the sight of a large dark tunnel that went on and on for ages.
The two marched forward, unfettered, until they came across poisonous green snake skin sheddings. Harry grew more fearful and unnerved when he saw how each skin progressively grew larger and larger until they happened upon what must've been the most recent shedding as the skin was easily half the size of the tunnel they were in and at least twenty feet long.
"Don't worry, Harry. I've got your back," Kendra told him with firm determination, "We're going to kill the monster and save my brother."
Harry nodded, feeling a bit more assured by the utter confidence and bravery Kendra was displaying. Soon enough, the pair came across another set of stone doors, this time with two entwined serpents carved upon it with glinting emeralds for eyes.
Kendra whistled, impressed. "Well, I've definitely seen more tacky evil lair decorations before. I give it a 5 out of 10." Then she turned to Harry who nodded and tentatively stepped forward.
He hissed for the door to open. They watched as the serpents parted and the stone doors slid smoothly open.
She placed a supporting hand on Harry's back. "Whenever you're ready."
He jerked his head in a nod and shakily stepped inside.
XXXXXX
Kendra and Harry entered a long dimly lit chamber that seemed to be more like the actual rumored Chamber of Secrets than the hall they were just in given the large carving of what must be Salazar Slytherin's face at the end. They slowly and carefully walked past carved serpents that acted as support pillars that cast dark shadows across the chamber There were also pipes large enough to fit even a half giant like Hagrid with ease that most likely lead to other areas in and around Hogwarts.
At the end of the chamber, the pair spotted a familiar black robed figure laying on the floor.
"Seth!" Kendra cried out. She ran over and dropped down to her knees, carefully picking him up and turning him over.
Seth was deathly pale and he felt cold to the touch as she checked his pulse. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she felt it, just barely, and could now see the much too slow rise and fall of his chest.
"Is he alright?" Harry asked, wringing his hands anxiously.
"For now," Kendra said, frowning as she sensed something odd, "But there's something draining the life out of him. We have to find it and destroy it."
"What is it? Where should we even look?" Harry asked, "It could be anywhere or anything."
She looked around helplessly. "I'm not sure what it is but I am sure that it's in this chamber somewhere. In fact, it's-"
"Looking for something?"
Harry and Kendra startled at the sudden voice. They looked over to the source to see a tall black haired boy leaning against a nearby pillar, watching them with a charming smirk. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as if they were seeing him through a misty window.
"Tom? Tom Riddle?" Harry asked incredulously.
"You know him?" Kendra asked sharply.
"Well, um, sort of?" Harry flailed around for a proper answer. He turned to Tom, confused. "How are you here? Are you a ghost?"
Tom shook his head. "No, I am a memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years." He pointed over to Slytherin's face where a familiar black diary laid at the foot of the carving.
"How did that get there?" Harry asked, baffled. He shook his head to focus. "Never mind that. Tom, you have to help us get Seth out of here."
Tom pushed himself off the pillar and slowly started to walk over to them. Kendra immediately pushed Seth into Harry's arms and pushed them behind her while holding her sword out in front of her.
"Kendra?" Harry looked at her in confusion.
"Stay back Harry. There's something not right about him," she warned, glaring at Tom and daring him to come closer.
"Of course there's something not right about him. He just said he was a memory preserved in a diary!" Harry exclaimed, wondering if she'd completely lost her marbles.
"No, it's not just that," Kendra said, narrowing her eyes at Tom as if searching for something, "There's more to it. I can sense something dark at play here."
"Well, well, you're rather perceptive aren't you?" Tom said, smirking in amusement. "You must be Kendra Sorenson."
"And you're the one who's done something to my brother," she bit back in accusation, "What did you do?"
"You know, when I first heard about you, I was rather eager to meet you. You who was the source of Seth's rather turbulent inner turmoil. You who became the reason he sought my company in the first place," Tom said in lieu of answering.
Kendra was taken aback. "Wha-"
"The diary, my diary," Tom said with a sinister smile that slowly stretched across his face, "Seth's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all about his worries and woes. How his family treated him without any of the respect he was due despite proving his worth many times over. How he struggled to shake off the stigma that was attached to the abilities he wielded." His eyes glinted sharply. "How his dear sister betrayed his trust in her and broke any sense of self confidence that he managed to build for himself."
Kendra wavered as he spoke. Harry watched in confused horror as her confident demeanor shrank with the guilt of what she'd done to Seth.
"It was so fascinating, listening to everything he had to say," Tom continued, "And I was patient, so very patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic. I was kind. Seth became so reliant on me. I've always been able to charm people to get what I needed. Seth poured out his soul to me and his soul was exactly what I wanted. I grew stronger and stronger, feeding on his deepest fears and darkest secrets, until I was powerful enough to start pouring a little of my soul into him."
"You," Kendra growled, wavering forgotten as anger took over, "You're the one leeching off my brother. You're the one who's draining him of his life!"
Tom laughed a high, cold laugh that made the hairs stand up on the back of Kendra and Harry's neck. "I am! And oh, I have never felt so powerful before! I never knew there was a whole other world for magic. The preserves contain a magic completely different and more powerful than that of the weak and senile wizarding world."
"But what does this have to do with the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry couldn't help but ask, his curiosity briefly overcoming his fear.
"Oh? Haven't you guessed yet, Harry?" Tom lightly said with a smirk, "Seth Sorenson was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets. He strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. He set the serpent of Slytherin on four mudbloods and the squib's cat."
"No," Harry breathed out in dawning horror.
Tom laughed, amused by his reaction. "Yes! Of course, he didn't know what he was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen his reaction once he realized what was happening."
"Then you're the heir of Slytherin?" Harry asked in disbelief. "But, what about the memory you showed me? What about Hagrid?"
"Memory is a fickle thing, Harry. So easy to play with, so easy to change," Tom remarked coyly, "But you would know, wouldn't you? After all, Gilderoy Lockhart made his entire career from the usage of memory charms. And considering these were my own memories I was tampering with, well, it was easy to show you what I wanted to show you. As for that half giant oaf-"
"His name is Hagrid and he's my friend!" Harry angrily shouted. "You framed him, didn't you?"
Tom scoffed. "Of course I did. It was rather easy, you know. He was the perfect scapegoat, always getting into trouble every other week trying to raise wolf cubs under his bed or sneak off to the forbidden forest to wrestle with trolls. And there I was, poor but brilliant Tom Riddle, the brave school prefect and model student who only wanted to do good and was unfortunate enough to get a fellow student expelled through well intentioned actions," he said in a 'woe is me' manner.
Then he scowled bitterly. "And the act was going perfect too if it weren't for the fact that Dumbledore cottoned on even if he couldn't prove it. He kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled. I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the chamber while I was at school so I decided to leave behind a diary preserving my sixteen year old self in its pages so that one day, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work of purging the wizarding world of its filth!"
"Geez, I've met plenty of nutjobs in my life, especially magical nutjobs. But I've never met racist magical nutjobs before," Kendra dryly remarked.
"Silence mudblood!" Tom roared like a tyrant demanding the beheading of rebels who dared to question his words, "You have no right to speak of what you do not know!"
"You don't know anything either," Harry retorted, "Purging the wizarding world of muggleborns isn't what Slytherin wanted. We found proof of that."
Tom's expression twisted into something ugly. "You found nothing. I found this chamber. I found the work left behind by my predecessors. I found the creed of pureblood protection that Salazar Slytherin preached!"
Then suddenly, he calmed, setting Kendra and Harry on edge. "But that no longer matters. Because for many months now, my new target…has been you," he said, pointing at Harry.
Harry pointed at himself in surprised confusion. "Me?"
"Yes, you. For I have many questions I would like to ask you, Harry Potter."
"Like what?"
"For starters," Tom sneered, "How is it that you, a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
"Why do you care?" Harry spat back at him, "Voldemort was after your time."
"Voldemort…" Tom spread his arms out like a prophet addressing his followers, "Is my past, my present, and my future, Harry Potter." He pulled Seth's wand from his pocket and used it to trace three shimmering words into the air.
Tom Marvolo Riddle
He waved the wand once and the letters of his name rearranged themselves.
I am Lord Voldemort
Harry was stunned silent, his brain completely jammed, and could only stare numbly at Riddle, at the orphan boy who grew up to murder Harry's own parents along with many others. He was horrified and stupefied by what was just revealed.
He could vaguely hear Kendra petulantly mutter, "If I had a nickel for every time a handsome boy turned out to be an evil psychopath, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it's happened twice."
That snapped him out of his shock enough to hear that Riddle was still monologuing.
"I refused to keep the name of a foul common muggle who abandoned me before I was born just because he found out his wife was a witch. So I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak when I had become the greatest wizard in the world!"
"But you're not," Harry said.
Tom looked at him dumbfounded by the interruption. "Not what?"
"Not the greatest wizard in the world," Harry said, "Dumbledore is."
Tom snarled. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!"
"No, he wasn't!" Harry viciously rebuked, "The school board removed him against his own will because a stupid git thought he wasn't doing his job right. He didn't leave because of you!"
"And because I really want to add insult to injury, if you take the preserves into account, you, or Voldemort I guess, don't matter," Kendra added matter of fact with a smug undertone, "We were so busy dealing with our own shit in other countries that you barely registered as a blip on our radar, the lowest priority issue on our list. You're just another evil egomaniac, a dime a dozen. The only thing that stands out about you is the fact that you got beaten by a baby."
Tom turned red with rage. "How dare you, you filthy, ugly mudblood!"
"The only one who's filthy and ugly here is you!" Harry deftly countered, "I saw the real you last year. You're barely alive! That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding! You're a wreck! You're foul!"
Tom's face contorted and then forced itself into an awful smile that widened. "I'm going to teach you two a lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter and his filthy mudblood sidekick!"
He turned around and marched over to the stone carving of Slytherin. He opened his mouth and hissed, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
Harry and Kendra looked to see the stone face moving, its mouth was opening wider and wider to reveal a huge black hole. Something stirred inside the statue's mouth, slowly slithering up from its depths.
"Turn around and close your eyes now!" Kendra barked out in order.
Harry immediately did so without question. She grabbed hold of his hand and they ran just as the basilisk emerged from the statue's mouth. The two heard something heavy hit the stone floor of the chamber but refused to turn around and look. Harry shuddered as he sensed the giant serpent uncoiling itself with a hiss.
He felt Kendra squeeze his hand in reassurance just as he heard Tom hiss a cold command, "Kill them."
The basilisk began moving towards them, slithering heavily across the stone floor. Kendra refused to look behind her, only urging Harry to run faster and faster to find suitable cover. However, their sprint was cut short when Harry tripped over a crack in the floor. He landed hard on the ground and took Kendra down with him as a result. She quickly shut her eyes as the basilisk caught up. A large force slammed into them, sweeping them off their feet, and soon their backs met the harsh surface of a stone pillar.
Harry cried out from the pain of being struck while Kendra grunted at the hard impact. Both refused to open their eyes, squeezing them as tight as they could. They could hear the basilisk slither over and raise itself to strike. Kendra clutched Harry protectively in her grasp, covering him with her body as they waited for the attack to make contact.
Before the basilisk struck however, a faint sound could be heard. It was loud enough to make the basilisk pause, looking to its master in confusion as he too looked around for the source.
"What's that sound? Where is it coming from?"
The sound grew louder and louder until it could be clearly heard as some sort of eerie, unearthly music that seemed to reverberate within their souls, sending their hearts racing as it reached its highest pitch. Immediately after, there was a ferocious shriek followed by the sound of something cutting through flesh. The basilisk released an agonized roar as it began thrashing about wildly off the pillars.
Harry couldn't help but tentatively open his eyes to see what was going on.
A poisonous green-scaled serpent of enormous size was weaving its blunt head drunkenly about. Its great bulbous yellow eyes had been slashed through and punctured by claws, rendering its deadly gaze completely useless. Circling above the basilisk was a crimson bird the size of a swan with a glittering tail of gold and crimson and gleaming golden talons that were dripping with blood. It let out a shriek of triumph at the damage it had done.
Tom shouted in outrage and shot a spell at the bird but it nimbly dodged around it.
By this point, Kendra had also opened her eyes and she gaped at the bird in surprised awe. "Is that…a phoenix?"
"It's Fawkes!" Harry cried out in realization.
Fawkes swooped down, brushing his feathers over their heads as he dropped something in front of Harry before landing beside them.
Harry carefully picked the item up and unfolded it to reveal a ratty witch's hat. "Is this…the sorting hat?"
"What the hell is that for? Are we supposed to sort the giant snake?" Kendra sarcastically asked in confusion.
Tom started laughing uncontrollably. "This is what Dumbledore sends his defenders? A songbird and an old hat!" He grinned tauntingly at them. "Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now? Even with its eyes gone, the basilisk will still kill you."
Kendra stood up, now confidently wielding her sword before the basilisk and Tom. "Not on my watch it won't."
"And what will you do with that sword, mudblood?" Tom jeered, not believing her to be a threat, "Poke me with it? Please. You're a girl."
"I'll show you what this girl can do," Kendra growled. She looked to Fawkes and he took to the air, circling around the basilisk and singing his eerie song as he jabbed at the basilisk's face here and there.
The basilisk shrieked, swaying its enormous head about trying to strike the phoenix down.
"No! Leave the bird! Leave the bird! Focus on killing the boy!" Tom yelled at the basilisk, "He's right in front of you! Smell him! Kill him!"
Kendra charged at the basilisk as it finally shook away Fawkes and poised to strike at Harry. But she bat away its head with the flat of her sword with a strong swing and used the momentum to circle around and slash at its body, cutting through its thick scales with ease.
"Avada Kedavra!" Tom shouted.
Kendra ducked away from the deadly green streak of magic. It made contact with a nearby pillar and the stone exploded. Tom started casting curses left and right at her as she nimbly dodged.
"Run Harry!" Kendra shouted in a brief pause between spells.
"Not without you!" Harry shouted back.
Kendra looked like she wanted to argue but was cut off by another spell that she ducked under quickly followed by a jump over the basilisk's tail as it swept around.
Harry ducked under its tail and grabbed hold of the sorting hat. He jammed it onto his head and started chanting, "Help us, help us, help us!"
No voice answered but something very hard and heavy smacked the top of his head, almost knocking him out. He quickly pulled the hat off as he blinked the spots out of his eyes and placed his hand in the hat, feeling something inside. He grabbed hold of it and pulled out a gleaming silver sword with a golden handle and a giant ruby fixed onto the pommel.
"Kill the boy already! Kill him! He's right in front of you!" Tom shouted in frustration.
Harry was on his feet in a flash. He faced the basilisk as it coiled around the pillars, twisting to face him with bloody eyes and a mouth stretched wide enough to swallow him whole. Its fangs gleamed with deadly venom.
But Harry stood firm with sword at the ready as the basilisk lunged blindly at him. He barely flinched when it hit the chamber wall to his left and reared back to lunge again only to hit the chamber wall to his right. Kenra dodged another jinx and jumped onto the basilisk. She began running across the length of its body, dodging spells sent her way by Tom. The basilisk ignored her in favor of rearing back a third time and lunging.
However, before it could strike true, Kendra jumped towards its head and drove her blade through its skull with an enraged roar. The basilisk reared back with an ear-piercing shriek, giving Harry the chance to charge forward and strike his own sword straight through its chest and into its heart.
The basilisk swayed back and forth, its shriek quieting to a dying hiss. Kendra jumped off before its movements could throw her off. Then the basilisk collapsed onto the ground with a force strong enough to shake the walls and snap a few of its fangs off.
A moment passed.
There was no movement and no sound besides Kendra and Harry's harsh breathing.
The basilisk was dead.
Tom screeched with blood boiling anger and he pointed Seth's wand at Kendra. A harsh streak of red fired out and slammed straight into her, sending her flying across the chamber right into the statue of Slytherin with enough force to crack the stone. She dropped to the ground after with a pained groan.
Tom smirked in satisfaction as he watched her lay on the floor, weak and in pain. "I'll deal with you after, mudblood," he spat venomously. He then turned his attention to Harry and slowly advanced upon him.
Harry raised his sword but Tom cast another spell that jerked it out of his hands and flung it far out of his reach. Fawkes swooped in with a shriek, trying to scratch at Tom and grab the wand away but Tom swatted at him.
"Get back you wretched bird!" He pointed Seth's wand at Fawkes and there was a loud bang.
Fawkes flew away and Tom returned his focus to Harry, unaware of the fact that Kendra was now slowly pushing herself up off the floor as quietly as she could to not alert him.
"The basilisk may be dead, but it makes no difference," Tom said with a calmness that sent shivers down Harry's spine, "In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter. You and me." He raised the wand.
"Hey!" Kendra shouted.
Tom whirled around to face her with a vicious scowl. "What?!"
She smirked smugly at him. "You forgot something."
It was then that Tom realized where she landed - right by the diary that she now held her sword over. His face paled in horror and he shouted, "NO!" He raised the wand at her but it was too late.
Kendra plunged her sword into the diary with a shout.
As soon as the metal pierced through the leather and paper, Tom shrieked in pain, clutching at his chest as he dropped Seth's wand. A torrent of black ink gushed out from where the diary had been pierced.
Harry scrambled away and over to where Kendra was, grabbing hold of a broken fang along the way and using it to stab the diary as well. The fang's poison quickly burned a hole into the cursed book.
Kendra and Harry watched as Tom continued to shriek in pain and outrage. He writhed, twisted, and flailed on the ground until finally, he faded away into nothingness.
Silence filled the chamber except for the dripping of ink now slowly oozing from the diary.
With a harsh exhale, Kendra pulled her sword out of the diary. She flicked the ink off its surface before sheathing it. She crouched down next to Harry and helped him up slowly. The two walked over to the basilisk corpse where Harry retrieved the silver sword from its chest and scooped the Sorting Hat up from the floor. They made their way over to Seth who was regaining his color.
A moment later, he let out a faint groan as he slowly stirred. Seth sat up, putting a hand to his head as it throbbed painfully. "Anyone get the license plate of that truck?"
Kendra laughed at the absurdity of it all and Seth opened his eyes, startled by her appearance.
"Kendra? What are you-" Then he looked around and saw where they were, the dead basilisk nearby, and how battle weary Kendra and Harry looked. He paled. "Oh. Oh no. The diary-"
"We destroyed it, Seth," Kendra said before he could spiral further.
"You…you destroyed it?" He repeated as if he didn't quite hear her right.
She pointed over to the diary nearby that had two different holes in it and sat in a puddle of black ink. "See. We destroyed it."
"Ah," Seth said, at a loss for words. His expression became one of sheepish guilt. "Um, is it too late to swear that I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay, Seth. We know," Harry interjected, patting him sympathetically on the shoulder, "Tom Riddle made you do all that evil stuff. It wasn't your fault. He even tricked me into believing the lies he told about what happened in 1943."
"But," Seth continued with a frown, unwilling to just accept that that was it, "I let him control me."
Kendra scowled and smacked him upside the head.
"Ow!" He shouted, grabbing his head in surprise. "What was that for? You know I'm-"
"No, you're not right because you didn't let anyone do anything," Kendra stated firmly, without room for argument and he snapped his mouth shut with a click. "Tom Riddle manipulated you. He preyed on your fears and insecurities. If anything, I'm the one who's in the wrong because of the role I played in letting you get to the point where that leech could get its hands on you."
"Oh," he softly said, surprised.
She pulled him in for a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright. Don't you ever do that to me again! And next time you're in over your head, and don't even deny it because I know there'll be a next time, you know you can come to me straight away for help."
"I-I know. I was just scared," Seth admitted, "Even though we reconciled over the break, I didn't want you guys to think I was turning evil and only doing that to cover my tracks."
Kendra pushed herself back to place her hands firmly on his shoulders. "Seth Andrew Michael Sorenson, you may be a little shit with a terrible habit for scheming but you are not evil and you won't ever be evil, no matter what anyone says whether they meant it or not."
"But, how do you know? Like really know?" He couldn't help but ask, still struggling with insecurity.
"Because you're my brother and that's enough," she said with such conviction that he couldn't help but believe her.
He teared up and nodded, pulling her back in for a hug. "Thanks, Kendra."
She squeezed him back in comfort. "Anytime, Seth."
Fawkes hopped over with a musical chirp as the two siblings broke their hug, reminding everyone that the phoenix was still there. He leaned over and rubbed his head against a surprised Seth who reached over to pet Fawkes' feathered head. A small spark appeared at the contact, startling Seth who retracted his hand but Fawkes chased after his touch so Seth slowly put his hand back on Fawkes' head. When there were no sparks, Seth pet him lightly, making Fawkes trill in delight.
Harry watched the whole exchange in fascination while Kendra watched in amusement and a knowing grin.
"What?" Seth asked upon seeing her smile.
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
That only made him frown. "Seriously, what?"
"I'll tell you when you're older," she only said with a smirk.
He scowled, a biting retort on his lips that immediately died upon hearing multiple footsteps entering the chamber.
"Bloody hell! What happened here?" Ron cried out.
The trio looked over to the entrance of the chamber to see Ron, Draco, and Luna appearing with Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick close behind them. The newcomers were understandably gaping at the entirety of the chamber as well as the basilisk's corpse.
"Well," Flitwick faintly remarked, "It seems you just might get those potion ingredients you've been wanting after all, Severus."
Harry snapped his head over to Flitwick in surprise before turning to Snape who was opening and closing his mouth like some sort of greasy fish, too shocked to respond. Harry shook his head, deciding to come back to that unexpected reveal later.
"Seth! Harry! Are you two alright?" Luna called out as she rushed over to them.
"I'm okay, I promise," Seth assured her.
"Same here," Harry said.
"Uh, yeah, no you aren't," Kendra deadpanned. To Seth, "You just got your life force drained from your body." To Harry, "And you got smacked around by and fought an oversized snake."
That seemed to snap the others out of their daze. Ron and Draco also ran over.
"What happened?" Ron eagerly asked, "Why's this bird here?"
"That's a phoenix, Weasley," Draco sneered at him, "Have a little more respect for it."
Ron rolled his eyes and Harry snickered before responding, "That's Fawkes. He's Dumbledore's."
Then Ron noticed the sword in Harry's hand. "Where did you get a sword?"
"I'll explain after we get out of here," Harry wearily said, "A lot's happened."
"Oh, I'm quite sure you'll have plenty to explain, Mister Potter," McGonagall said.
Everyone turned to see her making her over to them. Flitwick and Snape were now closely and carefully examining the basilisk.
"Professor McGonagall!" Harry cried out like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar.
"I'm relieved to see you're relatively unharmed, Mister Potter, Mister Sorenson," McGonagall said in relief.
"Thanks professor," Seth said.
Harry looked around once he realized a certain someone hadn't been with the newcomers. "Professor, where's Professor Lockhart?"
"Ah, Professor Lockhart? He is currently being guided to the hospital wing. Apparently he's lost his memories," McGonagall answered airily, as if it was none of her concern.
Harry looked at her in wide-eyed surprise. "Really?"
Ron nodded eagerly. "Really. And good riddance I say." Then he looked sheepishly at McGonagall. "Er, sorry professor."
"None taken, Mister Weasley," McGonagall said with a smirk, "It is as you say, good riddance."
Ron grinned.
"And now I believe it's time for all of you to also make your way to the hospital wing so you may be checked over by Madame Pomfrey," McGonagall ordered, "We need you all in excellent health before we go to the headmaster's office."
This made all the students perk up.
"Does that mean?" Harry began to ask with a hopeful expression.
McGonagall smiled and nodded. "Dumbledore has returned. And not a moment too late it seems."
And scene! Gosh did this chapter covered a lot. As you can tell, I made many changes mainly in regards to the lore of the Chamber of Secrets. You cannot tell me that no one, not even the Founders, knew about this chamber like Slytherin may have been cunning and smart but the other Founders definitely weren't dumb, especially not Ravenclaw. So instead of a rumored secret chamber with a giant evil snake in it, I give you safe room to be used in case of an emergency but ended up getting used by the students, though mainly Slytherin house, as a place of chilling and experimentation.
The battle with the basilisk took me a hot minute to figure out because I wanted Kendra to be more involved but I also didn't want to take away Harry's moment of stabbing the snake himself. So I eventually ended up with what I did in this chapter and I'm pretty satisfied with it and hope y'all were too. Also, sorry if you guys were expecting Luna and Draco to take a more active role here, I decided that if they were going to be there then it might as well be to help sort through the cave in and get the professors since now instead of a pipe slide of all things (which what? How the hell was anyone supposed to go back up if the only way in was a freaking pipe slide?), there are magic stairs to get to the chamber.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll be pushing to get the last chapter out before the end of the year and then taking a break from writing for a little bit before the third installment comes out. Until then!