Hello, all you sinners I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Because we are going to the middle and fun parts of this arc. I'm not gonna do a Q&A this chapter, but I need to let everyone know that I'm not allowing any more girls (Hellborn, human, or Sinner) to be with Harry. I want to focus on the story and adding more girls is just gonna make it into a fuckfest. This is not Harry's Hellish Harem (If anyone wants to, I just gave you a title) There will be some that can still flirt with him and such, but that's all. Now let us continue where we left off.
Chapter 20: The Diary
"Wait, you know what's attacking the school!? What is it," Harry asked somewhat excited that he got some answers.
"Very well. But once I tell you, be very cautious. Don't go looking for it," Lucifer told his son on the other end of the line. "The monster that attacked is a giant snake called a Basilisk. The King of serpents. It's probably one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth. One look into its eyes is certain death."
"Certain death?"
"You'll die instantly if you look at its eyes. It's one reason why spiders are afraid of it and run whenever possible. Not only that, but its fangs are just as deadly and the venom they create can kill even after it dies," Lucifer informed Harry. "And if you're thinking of fighting it, don't. Spells do nothing to it as its skin is as tough as dragon scales. I suggest that you tell Albus or the teachers you can trust the most."
"I will, but is there any way of killing it," Harry asked his father.
"Well… I mean, you could always try stabbing it. It's still mortal despite having a lifespan of hundreds of years. Any mortal will die if you make it bleed enough. But an instant kill would be a crow from a rooster. Then there's the smell of a weasel, but I don't think that will work too well." the Devil said. "That's all the information I can give you. Be safe now."
"Thanks, Dad. I'll tell them right away. Take care, bye," Harry said as he hung up his Hellphone and looked at his friends. "We got one mystery solved. The monster is a basilisk."
"A Basilisk!? Are you sure," Hermione asked the Prince of Hell, shocked to hear that one of the deadliest beasts in the wizarding world is out roaming the schools.
"All the signs are there. You did say Salzar Slytherin was a Parselmouth and the symbol of Slytherin is a snake. That's why I can hear voices, it's the Basilisk talking," Harry said, pointing out all the facts.
"You're not wrong Harry, but there is one problem. The Basilisk's stare kills anyone that looks at it. Why is no one dead? Do you have an answer for that," Hermione asked as she pointed out this fact to her raven-haired friend.
Hermione's question did make Harry think hard about it. If it was something that deadly, why wasn't anyone truly dead yet? His answer came suddenly as he looked at the window and saw a little of his reflection. "Because no one looked it in the eye. At least, not directly," Harry told her as both she and Ron were looking where Harry was and saw their reflections. "Colin had his camera and tried to take a picture of the Basilisk. Luckily, it saved his life and only the film was destroyed. Justin… Justin saw the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick. Nick saw it directly but since he's a ghost, he can't die again, so he's petrified instead. He's in a death-like state."
"And Mrs. Norris? Last I check she didn't have a camera or a ghost by her," Ron asked as he remembered the first attack.
"Water. There was water on the floor that night. She saw the Basilisk through its reflection," Harry answered his red-haired friend. "It's why Hagrid's roosters are dying. Because the Basilisk will die when it hears the rooster's crow. And the Heir wrote on the walls with rooster blood. And each attack had spiders leaving Hogwarts soon after."
"But how is the Basilisk been getting around? Not like a dirty great snake can go around in public," Ron pointed out until Sam hissed at Ron for that comment.
"We better go tell Dumbledore about this," Harry told Ron before facing Hermione. "You rest up until you're better."
"Okay. I'll see you later," Hermione said as she watched the boys head off.
After leaving the Hospital Wing, Harry and Ron soon walked up to the second floor and saw something strange. Just before they got to the top of the flight of stairs, they saw water covering the floor and went to go check what happened. "Ugh, yuck," Ron commented as the duo investigated what was going on.
"Looks like Moaning Myrtle flooded the bathroom," Harry commented, guessing why there was so much water in the corridor. Trekking through the ankle-deep water, they entered the bathroom and saw that all of the sinks were turned on, overflowing in the basins and leaking out into the hall. As the boys passed the sinks, Harry pointed out Myrtle at the upper window as she was sobbing. "What's wrong, Myrtle?"
The gloomy ghost turned towards the boys as she quivered. "A-are you here to throw something else at me?"
"Why would I throw something at you," Harry questioned, never intending to bother the ghost.
"Don't ask me. Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me," Myrtle explains after she stopped crying.
"But it can't hurt if something is thrown at you. I mean, it will just go right through you," Ron said as Harry mentally facepalmed himself and felt like hitting the red-haired wizard in the back of the head.
However, the ghost descended toward them with such speed that it made Ron jump back. "Sure, let's all throw books at Myrtle because she can't feel it," Myrtle snapped as she got in Ron's face. "10 points if you get it through her stomach! 50 points if it goes through her head," she shouted as she threw her fist into Ron's chest and head as she went off, proving her point of why she didn't like being used as target practice.
"But, who threw it at you," Harry asked the ghost as he couldn't think of anyone who could do such a thing and why. Only he, Ron, and Hermione were using this bathroom recently and he couldn't think of anyone else who would go in here.
"I don't know, I didn't see them," the ghost said in a calmer voice. "I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it flew right on the top of my head," Myrtle told the raven-haired boy before she started sobbing again. "If you're that curious, it's over there," she said, pointing at the small black book that was under the sink.
As Myrtle left to cry again, Harry went up to the sink and bent down to pick up the book, but Ron held his arm to stop Harry from grabbing it. "Careful it might be dangerous."
"Dangerous? From a book," Harry asked his best friend.
"You'd be surprised," Ron told him as he looked at the book apprehensively. "Some of the books the Ministry confiscated can burn your eyes out. There were also some that are jinxed that made you speak in limerick for the rest of their lives. And there was even one that made you read it so much, you had to do things one-handed."
"Sound like something Hermione would do, even without the jinx," Harry said as he lightened the mood. "But I see what you mean, I'll be careful," he told his friend as he picked up the leather-bound book. Seeing it was soaked, he only decided to open the cover and saw that it was a diary. On the first page, Harry saw that the name 'T.M. Riddle' was written inside it.
"Hang on, I recognized that name," Ron said as he looked over Harry's shoulder. "Riddle got an award for some special service to the school 70 years ago."
"How do you know that," Harry asked in amazement.
"I saw it when I was cleaning up the trophy room with Filch for detention. Kept puking up slugs on his award and I spent an hour wiping off all the slime. If you kept cleaning the nameplate, you would remember it too," Ron told the Prince of Hell.
"That I would," Harry said as he carefully turned the pages and saw that aside from the name, it was blank. Not a single page was written on. No appointments, no thoughts on pages, nothing. "Well, this is a letdown. It's completely blank."
"Then why would someone want to get rid of it," Ron asked as he had no clue who or why would get rid of an old, unused diary.
"Not sure. But maybe there's something important if they tried to hide it here. Anyways, let's head to Dumbledore's office and tell him about the Basilisk," Harry said as he pocketed the book in his robes.
After exiting Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the boys made their way to the headmaster's office from the way Harry remembered from before. "I think Dumbeldore's office is this way," Harry pointed in the direction of where he remembered the Gargoyle Corridor.
"And where are you two going at this time," a woman's voice said behind them. Both of the boys stopped and turned to see the Head of Gryffindor House behind them.
"Professor McGonagall! Boy, are we glad to see you," Harry told the Transfiguration teacher as she raised a confused brow at them both. "Can you lead us to Professor Dumbledore's office? It's an emergency."
"Emergency? Mister Magne, what are you talking about? What can be so important that you have to see Professor Dumbledore immediately," McGonagall asked the Prince of Hell.
"We know what's attacking the school," Harry told the elder witch as Ron nodded in agreement. Hearing those words the Head of Griffindor made a face that was shocking and relieved at the same time.
"Follow me," was the only thing she said to them both as the Transfiguration teacher lead them to the corridor where Harry was before close to Christmas break. McGonagall walked towards the griffon statue as it asked for the password. "Butterscotch," the elder witch said as the griffon roared and spun around as it made the staircase to the headmaster's office. The three of them ascended the stairs as the Transfigured teacher knocked first before entering.
"You may enter," Dumbledore said on the other side of the door before Professor McGonagall entered the room with Harry behind her followed by Ron. "Ah, Minerva. What do I owe the honor of seeing you?"
"Forgive me, Albus. I ran into Pot-I mean Magne and Weasley on the second floor, wanting to see you with some news," Professor McGonagall told the headmaster as she stepped back to let the boys come forth and tell the old wizard the news they just received.
"Professor, I know what's attacking the school," Harry told Dumbledore as he looked into the headmaster's blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles. "The monster is a Basilisk." Hearing those words, the Transfiguration teacher let out a loud gasp in shock as the headmaster kept his composure but did feel unnerved at the name of the creature. With a wordless spell, a book floated into Dumbledore's hands and he opened to the page that described the Basilisk, complete with a classification of XXXXX by the Ministry of Magic, which was unofficially called 'Wizard Killer Class'.
"Are you sure the monster is a Basilisk, Magne," Professor McGonagall asked the raven-haired boy.
"Very positive. I told my father about these attacks and he's been doing research," Harry answered her, then turned his head towards Dumbledore. "Sir, if you know the signs, you would agree with me. The reason that the victims are petrified, the writing on the wall being made with rooster blood, the fact that whoever the Heir is can control it."
"I see you have been looking into this, Harry," Dumbledore said to the Prince of Hell. "Do you have anything else to share?"
"None. We don't know how it's getting around or where the Chamber of Secrets is."
"Very well. At the very least, we know what we are up against," Dumbledore said as he turned to Professor McGonagall. "Tell the other staff this news right away, Minerva. It would be best to be more cautious."
"Right away, Albus," the elder witch commented before leaving the room immediately to tell discuss with the staff what needs to be done.
After she left, Dumbledore approached slowly approached the boys as he descended the steps. "I assume that you can hear the serpent, Harry?"
"I can, Sir. I didn't want to bring it up because I didn't know if it was the right time to since I didn't know entire about my abilities at the time. But whoever the Heir of Slytherin is, he or she is likely Parselmouth as well."
"Well then, I'm glad you found something out. Off you go now. And be safe," Dumbledore told them as both of the boys said goodnight to the headmaster.
"Should we have asked him about 70 years ago," Ron asked his best friend as they walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
"It would be too sudden and he would wonder where we got that information," Harry told him. "But we did what we could and I'm expecting some changes to happen, even if temporary."
Just as he predicted, changes were happening. Students were to return to their common rooms at 6 pm every evening and students were to be escorted by a teacher in every lesson. Not only that, but Hagrid made sure that a rooster was placed in the common rooms, and in case of an emergency, they must take the rooster with them at all times. Also, Quidditch was canceled, and Oliver Wood was peeved at this news since next year was going to be his last at Hogwarts.
"I can't believe they want us to carry a damn chicken around," Ron whined.
"It's for the best. That way no other Muggleborns are attacked," Hermione told the red-haired wizard as she watched the rooster clucking by her feet in the Gryffindor Common Room. A little bit before the new rules were put in, Hermione was finally let out of the Hospital Wing and back to her classes. "Have you found anything in that diary? It looks like it's 70 years old."
"Can't find out anything if the pages are blank," Ron told her.
"Maybe it's invisible ink. Anybody got a blacklight," Harry guessed before giving a sarcastic question.
"I have something that works just as well," Hermione said before getting her wand. "Aparecium!" Tapping her wand on the dried pages of the diary in Harry's hands, a small bluish-purple flash came from her spell in an attempt to reveal anything written. However, the spell failed to reveal anything. "Well, might as well use something else," she said, undaunted by the spell's failure, and pulled out what looked like a bright red eraser. "If this Revealer doesn't show a single letter, I'll let that rooster sleep in my bed."
"So you'll sleep with a cock next to you," Harry asked her as he received a slap on the head with the book. "Okay, I deserved that."
Hermione rubbed the eraser onto the pages but still saw nothing on the page. "What? How can this be!?"
"Looks like you're going to be sleeping with a cock next to you," Harry teased as the bushy-haired witch's face was a deep shade of red as she this time punched him in the arm. "Okay, I really deserved that one."
"Maybe we should throw it away? It's not like there is anything important in it," Ron suggested. "He probably didn't have time to write anything in it."
"Who knows," Harry stated as he looked through the diary at the empty pages. He kept doing so as if it was a story he liked to read in his childhood back in Hell. The Prince of Hell couldn't shake off the feeling that the name 'Riddle' was important. Sighing, he put the book away until he could get more answers.
Everything was looking hopeful as weeks passed and no attacks were heard of since Justin's attack. Best of all, the Mandrakes were almost ready and would make an antidote for all those that were petrified, but brewing that would still take time. The Heir of Slytherin must have lost his or her nerve now that the school was more alert. However, some people thought that Harry was still the Heir just because he was the only Parselmouth in Hogwarts.
Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to think that he was the one that made the attacks stop. Harry heard him tell Professor McGonagall when they were lined up for Transfiguration. "I don't think there will be any more trouble, Minerva," he said tapping his nose and winking. "I think the Chamber has been locked for good this time. The culprit must have known it was a matter of time before I caught them. Rather stop now before I came down hard on them. But I think what the school needs now is a morale booster to wash away the memories of the last term. I don't want to say anymore, but I do know just the thing," he said before walking off. McGonagall rolled her eyes at Lockhart's whole speech, then continued with her class.
Soon enough, it was Valentine's Day and Harry hardly slept due to trying to find more information on T. M. Riddle along with keeping up with his assignments at school. As he entered the Great Hall, his tired mood was replaced with one of dread. Lockhart's morale booster became clearer as the walls were decorated with pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti falling down from the pale-blue ceiling. 'What the fuck did I walk into,' he asked himself as he went over to the Gryffindor table. Once there, Ron was looking sickened while Hermione was giggly. "Do I even need to ask why it looks like Cherubs threw up around the place," Harry said to his two best friends as he brushed off some confetti that fell on his bacon. Ron pointed to the teacher's table where the Prince of Hell saw Lockhart in pink robes to match the decorations. The teachers from the table looked stone-faced and he could have sworn he saw Professor McGonagall's cheek get forced back into a deadpan look. As for Snape, he looked as if he drank a gallon of Skele-Gro and needed all of the absinthe he could get.
"Happy Valentine's Day, everyone," Lockhart said to all the students in the Great Hall. "I also want to thank the forty-six people who sent me cards. I have arranged this little surprise for you all and it doesn't end here," he said as he clapped his hands and soon a dozen dwarves with golden wings attached to them and carrying golden harps marched through the Great Hall. "My friendly card-carrying cupids! They will be roaming around the school today to deliver your Valentine."
"Oh, this is just too cringy," Harry said as his right eye was twitching as he looked at the dwarves who wished somebody would put them out of their misery from this job they were given. 'Someone kill me so I can go back home,' he thought before something helped distract him. Suddenly, the cries of owls were heard as several of them, including Hedwig and Owlphonse, were seen carrying a large bag. Seeing their target, the owls got into position and dropped their payload onto their target, which happened to be the Prince of Hell himself. Gulping as he watched the sack fall on him, he felt like he got hit with a ton of boulders from a Looney Toons skit. "Get this off me," Harry pleaded with a muffled voice as his friends and housemates tried lifting the giant bag off of Harry. Seeing Harry in trouble, Hagrid came by and hoisted what the others couldn't so that the bag was next to Harry. "Gaugh! Ha… Ha… Thanks," Harry said as he caught his breath, then looked at the bag.
As he opened the large sack, everyone saw a giant stack of cards and plenty of chocolates that were the size of dragon eggs were what crushed Harry. "Bloody Hell! How many people do you know, Harry," Ron asked in exclamation.
"Not many," Harry replied as he looked through the cards and it was signed by only four people; Charlie, Octavia, Verosika, and Loona. Three out of the four demons wrote more than one card to the Prince of Hell and gave him a message about how their chocolates were better than the others and told him which chocolate was theirs and the different fillings they put in.
"Seems like you got a lot of admirers, Harry," Seamus said as he looked at the mixed piles of chocolate and cards.
"Are some from your lady friends," Dean asked.
"They all are, except one is from Charlie," Harry answered them as the boys gave glances toward one another. "What?"
"They're getting very competitive with your affection," Fred told the second-year Gryffindor.
"They want to see who you like the best," George added to what his twin said. "And who do you like?"
"What are you talking about? I like all three," Harry told the twins.
"You don't seem to understand, mate. Who would you go out with," Fred asked.
"Well… um…" Harry stuttered as he didn't see the girls as more than friends at the moment. Which makes sense because he was only 12 right now. Luckily, Harry's dilemma of answering was solved when a dwarf arrived with a Valentine for Harry. "Oh, thank you," Harry muttered in reply before checking the card. "Hmm… no name."
"Guess you have another on the list," Seamus said.
"Oh shut it," Harry said as he took one of the chocolates and shoved it in his mouth as it tasted a little weird. He shrugged it off to himself as he ate his food fast and quickly went to classes with his large bag of sweets and cards.
Later that night, Harry was sitting next to the fireplace flipping through Riddles' diary for what felt like the 100th time. The second-year Gryffindor was a little woozy from eating so much chocolate."You know… those ladies do know how…how to make sweets… *hiccup* they'll make wonderful wives."
"Can we not talk about them like that," Harry told his pet as he didn't want to hear another thing about his friends in Hell. Curiosity filled his brain as he wondered why would anyone leave a diary blank all those years ago. Thinking that maybe the paper was special in a different way, he picked up the pen Stolas gave him on his 11th birthday to see if he could leave something on a page or two. But as the ink from his pen dropped on the page, it vanished after a second. Harry flipped over the page to see if the ink went through the next page. To his amazement, the page was clean like it was before. An idea took over his mind again as he started to write on the page. "My name is Harry Magne."
The ink vanished and then a message showed on the paper. "Hello, Harry Magne. My name is Tom Riddle."
Harry was amazed at what was on the page. It was like a book version of a Hellphone or instant pen pal message. Seeing as the book was somehow communicating with him, the Prince of Hell wrote on it again. "Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"
Once more the message faded into the book as an answer appeared on it. "Yes"
Quickly, Harry wrote on it again. "Can you tell me?"
"No," the book replied, disappointing Harry until he saw the next words. "But I can show you. Let me take you back 70 years ago," it wrote as the pages of the diary flipped through themselves, stopping at the date of June 13th, 1943. Suddenly, a crack of light spread from the center of the pages until the book shined brightly and the Prince of Hell was dragged into the pages.
With a burst of light, Harry saw he was in the hall of Hogwarts, but it looked a lot more faded in color while he stood out in his unchanged red sweater. The second-year Gryffindor was looking around before he saw a Slytherin boy that looked about 15 in the middle of the stairwell. "Excuse me… can you tell me what's going on," Harry asked the boy, but he seem to ignore him. "Are you Tom Riddle," he asked, but the boy ignored him again. 'Right. I'm in a memory. Of course, he can't hear me,' he realized before he looked where the boy was facing. Coming down the stairs were four wizards carrying a stretcher with a covered body. Seeing the limp hand hanging off the side, Harry realized this must have been the student that was killed by the Basilisk the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened.
"Riddle," a middle-aged teacher called out to the boy who was confirmed to be Tom Riddle.
"Professor Dumbledore," Riddle said as he walked up to the professor.
"Dumbledore," Harry asked himself as he looked at the middle-aged-looking man, not immediately recognizing him because he wasn't wearing his signature half-moon spectacles. His hair and beard were shorter than what Harry knew and looked to be turning silver. Despite the younger looks, the Prince of Hell could tell that this was his headmaster in a younger time.
"It is not wise to be wandering around at this late hour, Tom. Even if you are a school Prefect," Dumbledore told the Slytherin boy.
"Yes, Professor. I-I suppose… I just needed to see for myself if the rumors were true," Riddle told the future headmaster of the school.
"I'm afraid they are, Tom. They are true," Dumbledore said calmly.
"And the school as well," Riddle asked. "I don't have a home to go to. They wouldn't really close Hogwarts. Would they, Professor?"
'So he's an orphan,' Harry thought to himself as he had to make a mental note out of that.
"I understand, Tom. But I'm afraid Headmaster Dippit may have no other choice," Dumbledore told the boy.
"So if it all stopped? If the person responsible was caught," Riddle said to the older man, making Harry realize Riddle knew more than he let on.
Dumbledore looked at the Prefect with a raised brow. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"
"No, sir. Nothing," Riddle replied.
After a moment, Dumbledore looked at the boy for a few seconds before speaking once more. "Very well then. Off you go."
"Goodnight, sir," Riddle told the future headmaster as he walked up the stairs. Harry followed where he passed the Great Hall and down a spiral staircase that lead to part of the dungeon. Riddle went down to a hallway and pulled out his wand when his hand was on a closed door. Without hesitation, Riddle opened the door and aimed his wand at a very tall student, who closed the lid quickly.
"Hagrid," Harry said aloud as it was indeed Hagrid just from his sheer size alone. Behind the half-giant was a large box that could fit a small dog.
"Evening, Hagrid. I'm going to have to turn you in. I don't think you meant it to kill anyone," Riddle said as he pointed his wand at the half-giant.
"But you can't. You don't understand," Hagrid told the Slytherin.
"The dead girl's parents will be here tomorrow. The least Hogwarts can do is to make sure the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered," Riddle stated, keeping his wand hand steady.
"It wasn't him. Aragog never killed no one. Never," Hagrid exclaimed.
"Aragog? Who's that," Harry asked himself as he was curious to see what was inside the box. "No, it can't be the Basilisk in that box. It lived for hundreds of years."
"Monsters don't make good pets, Hagrid," Riddle said. "Now, move aside."
"No!"
"I said move aside, Hagrid!"
"No!"
"Cistem Aperio," Riddle chanted as the lid of the box exploded. Out from it, a spider the size of a dog came crawling out and hurried towards the door. "Arania Exumai," he shouted as the spider jumped to avoid the spell.
"Aragog," Hagrid cried out as he wanted to come after the spider but Riddle's wand was pointed at the half-giant.
"I can't let you go. They will have your wand for this, Hagrid. You'll be expelled," Riddle said as the half-giant looked defeated.
'No, he made a mistake. It's not Hagrid. It was a Basilisk that killed the girl, not a spider,' Harry thought to himself. He soon started to feel something pulling him back and realized that he was going back to the present. The light behind him shined brighter as he was pulled back. Harry felt himself get shot back into the chair he was sitting in earlier. Feeling a bit sick from the sudden return trip from the past, Harry took a deep breath to calm down. "Hagrid got blamed for the attacks. I doubt he opened the Chamber. But why did he have a large spider with him? There's only one way to find out," Harry told himself. Seeing how late it was, he decided to question Hagrid as soon as he could tomorrow. 'I'll prove you're innocent, Hagrid. Mark my words as the Prince of Hell.'
This is where I'm going to stop the chapter for now. Thanks again to WaterDragonMavrick for editing and suggestions. Since the school now knows ahead of time that a basilisk is attacking the school, they are more prepared. Not to mention Harry believes Hagrid is innocent. The Chamber of Secrets Arc will be coming to its close soon and Harry will be home in Hell doing stuff before we get to most people's favorite, the Prisoner of Azkaban Arc. That will be a lot of fun to write and that part will be a lot of changes from Canon. I hope you guys enjoyed it, next chapter is called "Follow the Spiders".
Until then, I will see all of you, in Hell!