I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
Sadly, I am now running low on pre-written chapters. Therefore, after year two is concluded in the next chapter, the story will go on hiatus until I again have enough chapters written in advance. Put the story on alert if you don't want to miss when it continues.
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Chapter 26: The Heir of Slytherin, Part II - Deep Under the Castle
"But... how?!" Ron gasped while holding his wand firm, never letting his eyes stray from the apparition that was claiming to be a teenage Voldemort. He certainly got down the menacing aura.
"You can't be Voldemort. We've seen him in his current state, which is nothing like you are," Harry said, holding his wand pointed at whatever that was.
The apparition clearly didn't care that wands were pointed at him. "Voldemort is my past, present and future, Harry Potter. However, you will excuse that I won't go into too many details how exactly I accomplished this feat. There are things you have no need to know about."
Riddle then pulled something out of his pocket and took a look at it. "A typical girl's wand. Nothing like the one I was using."
That simple action stunned them yet again. It was impossible for Riddle to be a ghost or be immaterial, since he did seem to have a certain amount of influence on the world surrounding him. It was enough for him to pick up and pocket a wand, though they doubted he could use it, since he couldn't be truly alive.
Dudley recognized the wand. "That's Millicent's wand! Hand it over right away!"
"Hmmmm no. You can't give me orders and you most certainly can't hurt me," Riddle said, looking actually amused at the mere idea while again pocketing the wand. "Also don't even attempt to try and open the gate. I locked it and only I know the correct unlock command. There is no escape."
"Voldemort or not, it was you who was behind all of this, weren't you? You were the one who terrorized the school with the basilisk. Admit it!" Ron accused Riddle, finding surprising courage considering the situation.
Riddle actually laughed, as if all of this was just a game to him. "Oh, I freely admit to doing so, although things did not exactly go according to plan. That stupid girl is way too stubborn for her own good."
Crap, him looking so good makes him almost more scary than when we saw him last year, Ginny thought, being unnerved by Riddle.
All of them were getting nervous at Riddle's continued indifference to the fact that he was outnumbered and most likely couldn't use a wand. It was like he knew he was holding all the cards and thus didn't have to fear them at all. It only now dawned on them that perhaps they should be less confrontative, or Riddle could decide he was done with talking and do whatever he was planning to do.
"How... how are you even standing here? We know it has something to do with that book," Ginny asked, unable to hide her fear.
"Oh, it has everything to do with it - a memory preserved in the diary for fifty years. One of my finest accomplishments and of course I won't tell you how this feat was done," Riddle said as if talking about the weather. "Fortune certainly was smiling on me that I got this opportunity."
We have to keep him talking until the teachers can get through the gate. God knows what he'll do to us if he tires of talking, Harry thought.
"What did you do to Millicent? Why is she like this?" Dudley asked, looking in worry at how pale the girl was.
"Oh, she has played her role, though she had become rebellious and now will do the ultimate service to Lord Voldemort," Riddle said, showing no sign of empathy.
"But what exactly happened? We are still only guessing about the events," Harry asked, hoping to stall Riddle for the time being.
Riddle did seem pleased about the question. "Yes. Gladly I'll tell you. After all, the things you do for people who don't have much longer to live..."
The casual way Riddle spoke about their impending demise sent shivers down their spines.
Riddle then continued. "I was very surprised when a girl started to write into my diary after all these years. Oh, her infantile joy at having a book that writes back to you became boring really fast, yet I played my role carefully and never made her think it's more than just a mildly enchanted book. She's been writing into it for months, naively entrusting me with all her secrets. Stupid girl..."
Dudley held back a curse, knowing that they shouldn't provoke Riddle.
Riddle clearly noticed Dudley's look of anger and smirked coldly. "Most of her personal worries of course were complete drivel, like her confession that she developed quite a crush on the boy she befriended on the train, or her fears that she'll become unfeminine with her size and strength, or that she has so few friends, but she poured her heart out to me, telling me things not even her few friends know. Again, stupid girl, since she allowed me to creep into her heart."
Despite the situation, Dudley gave Millicent an astonished look. He had always thought of Millicent as a friend and thus was surprised she thought so much of him. Was he really that important to her? But for the time being that had to wait, since they were in deep trouble.
"But how did that help you? I mean... she was just writing to you," Ron asked, actually dreading the answer.
Riddle laughed in a high and cold laugh that was very much Voldemort. "I've always been able to charm the people I need. You can say it's my specialty. Little Millicent also poured out her soul to me, and her soul was what I wanted. With each secret she told me, I gained more influence over her and covertly fed her some secrets of my own. Of course I had to be careful, least she suspect what would come next."
"You used her. You used her body like a puppet to open the chamber and command the basilisk," Ginny realized.
It seemed that Riddle relished in them realizing the depth of his depraved acts. "I had to be careful to always make sure Millicent would not notice what I'm up to, make her become tired so she would lie down and think she had just slept."
"The Halloween feast... Millicent had excused herself to go to the bathroom. That was you so you could paint the message? But she was not sleeping," Dudley asked.
"Yes. A little childish of me, I admit, but it brought the point across. It was really easy to make her think she needed to pee and then implant a false memory while I did my thing. The actually complicated part was two days prior to take away a cow and make it bleed out for writing material," Riddle admitted. "And while I admit that the terror which I sparked was amusing, that never had been my main goal."
"Well, obviously she did catch up on that you don't have her best interests in mind, otherwise she wouldn't have discarded the book into a muddy puddle," Ron reminded Riddle.
This was the first time Riddle looked a bit displeased. "Yes, quite annoying at that. I honestly had not been careful enough and she realized I was doing something with her. Her move came too sudden for me... my error. That girl however felt she could never tell anyone about this, scared that they would punish her for it, so when she heard you had my book, she panicked and tried to get rid of the book for sure by dumping it into the lake tied to a stone."
"So she stole the book from my trunk," Dudley said, though it was pretty obvious.
"Yes. Stupid girl... As soon as she touched it, I decided enough is enough and it would be time for the big finale. I took hold of her and this time I decided to use bait to finally get what I want. It was quite delicious how she impotently panicked in her head when I laid out the facts to her," Riddle said, showing no emotion for Millicent.
To Harry this all was disturbing, but Riddle's words now registered correctly. "Wait... if attacking students never had been your goal...? Wait, Ginny as bait?"
Riddle looked at Harry was almost a greedy look. "Yes, attacking mudbloods never was my main goal. My main goal was you, Harry Potter. I knew by taking her you would come to her rescue like the disgusting knight in shining armor you are."
"How would you even know I could find the chamber? You couldn't have known I could speak snake to open the entrance," Harry asked, being honestly confused by that plan of Voldemort's plan.
"Harry, give me some credit," Riddle scolded Harry. "I was close enough to notice that you suddenly made a run for the basilisk when I commanded it last year. You would have never done so, if not for hearing it actually speak. I could therefore conclude that you for some reason can use Parseltongue. Another mystery surrounding you."
Harry had to admit it was a pretty good conclusion on so little evidence.
"I don't get it. All of this just to get Harry where you can talk with him?"Ron wondered.
Riddle snorted, looking at Ron as if seeing a drooling idiot. "Of course you didn't; your lack of awareness of greater issues beyond your pitiful scope is very obvious."
"Why?!" Harry asked, realizing that all of the attacks now made a disturbing amount of sense in that Riddle had tried to direct the basilisk towards him.
"Because you are utterly fascinating. Millicent mentioned you and your history and I slowly managed to get her to reveal more. To think that you, an utterly unimportant boy with no extraordinary talent in magic managed to defeat Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard of all times! You managed to get away only with a scar while my future self got destroyed. There are some answers I need," Riddle finally revealed his motivations.
"What have you done to her?!" Dudley demanded, his concern for Millicent growing.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot. The connection with me she foolishly made now allows me to suck out her life force. She will soon expire and her 'sacrifice' will allow my future self to live again - a life for a life. She will give away hers for a great cause," Riddle said, laughing at something only he found funny.
"Bastard!" Surprisingly it was not Dudley throwing a jinx at Riddle, but Ginny. It seemed she felt she had to be angry on Millicent's behalf.
However, the spell simply went through Riddle like he was made of thin air. Riddle laughed a bit more at the attempt. "A futile attempt. Do you finally understand that you can't hurt me? All of you on the other hand are fully at my mercy."
"You can't attack us either. Whatever you are, you can't use a wand," Ron reminded Riddle.
"Perhaps not, but I do have something at my disposal that can do the job most effectively," Riddle reminded them and they knew what he was talking about.
-chhhhrrrrtttssss-
That sound came from the gate. Looking towards it they saw sparks flying from it, as if people were using chop saws from the other end to slowly cut through the gate. Looking at it, it indeed was a very slow process, but it did give the children hope that their situation was not as hopeless.
"Ha, you see that? The teachers are beginning to cut through the gate. Soon enough they will be in here and you can bet they got a rooster ready for your monster," Harry told Riddle, feeling the fortunes were shifting.
If anything, Riddle kept his cool. "They will still need way too long for you. Dumbledore will lose, like he did all those years ago. He was unable to prevent me from doing as I pleased and unable to save the big oaf."
"You didn't win anything. Dumbledore in the end proved Hagrid's innocence and I doubt hastily re-locking the chamber was your plan. Soon enough Dumbledore will confront you and I'm very confident he will find a way to hurt you," Harry said with confidence.
Riddle wanted to rebuke Harry, but froze when he heard a strange song echo through the chamber. It actually was a beautiful song. Then suddenly a ball of fire flared up and to their surprise Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, appeared. He made a beeline for Harry and dropped something at his feet, before flying way up and settling down on one of the pillars.
Harry picked up the object and to his surprise saw the Sorting Hat. He looked up to Fawkes for a moment. "What is that supposed to accomplish?" he asked the bird but go no answer.
"Oh, I'm so scared now..." Riddle mocked the whole situation. "Well, to business, Harry. Can't allow myself to get distracted. Twice - in your past, in my future - we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Try for a long answer, that way you'll live a little longer"
Harry felt the eyes of the others on himself. He knew that Riddle would try to murder them anyway, but should he risk to provoke him nonetheless? Feeling that Riddle would try something anyway, Harry decided to confront the whole issue head-on and see what would happen next.
"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," Harry said. "I don't know myself, but I do know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common muggleborn mother," he added, clearly rubbing it under Riddle's nose. "She stopped you killing me and I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you."
I hope it was worth it, Harry thought and judging by the expression of the others, they hoped so as well.
Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful counter-charm. I can see now ... there is nothing special about you, after all. I saw a possible likeness between the two of us, but clearly outside appearances can be deceiving. That's all I wanted to know."
The finality of this statement put them on alert and they backed off to the wall besides the gate, now fearing for the worst.
"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against your pitiful friends and the hat you are holding," Riddle said, his face morphing into an expression of sheer sadism.
Riddle turned towards the big statue and started to hiss. Harry understood what was going on. "Crap! He's calling the basilisk!"
"That thing is gonna kill us! No place to run to," Dudley panicked, grasping at straws. "You don't think that thing looking into a mirror helps? We had an ancient story in school how the medusa was defeated that way."
"Are you joking? That thing must have looked into hundreds of reflective surfaces and didn't get hurt by it," Ginny shot back, looking in horror how the mouth of the statue slowly opened.
"No... that won't work..." Ron mumbled while standing protectively in front of Ginny, regardless how futile this would prove to be. "It won't work... it won't..." Ron's mind for some reason worked really well in life-or-death situations like this one and wandered back to their confrontation with Lockhart. Remembering Hermione's lessons about that shield, Ron realized something. "Guys, what if that monster's stare is technically a spell?"
"Ron, we don't have time for that!" Ginny gasped.
"No, really, what if normal reflections didn't work because its stare is a spell and mirrors just don't reflect those? But... we have something that can!" Ron explained himself.
Harry realized that there was something to it. "If that works, we give Hermione so much chocolate she'll get a sugar shock from just looking at it. Guys, give me all your strength!" He then held up his wand. "Protego Maxima!"
They all held their wands to Harry's and the reflective shield bubble surrounded them once more. They also looked away from the direction the monster would be coming from, closing their eyes while praying that this would work, or they would be dead meat in mere moments.
"Hiding away, Harry?" Riddle mocked, then clearly turned to the basilisk when they heard something big splash into the water. "They are hiding in there. Kill them."
The massive basilisk did as its master was commanding and quickly slid towards the shield bubble. It was unconcerned about its reflective nature, since reflections had never before bothered it at all. However, when putting its sight directly onto the reflective surface so that it was staring into its own eyes, something happened and the basilisk let out a pained hiss.
"What is going on?" Riddle wondered, realizing things were not going according to plan. He then realized what was wrong. "No, look away! Stop staring at it!"
However, it was futile, as even though the basilisk wanted to look away, it couldn't. Entrapped by its own stare, its death spell, which didn't work on itself, was caught in a feedback loop. That loop was starting to cause painful pressure in its eyes, which also were heating up quickly, all the energy wanting to be released. More hisses of pain followed, the eyes starting to bleed.
"NO, LOOK AWAY!" Riddle shouted again.
Suddenly flames shot out of those bleeding eyes, before all the pent-up energy released itself violently. -slploooosh!- Both the basilisk's eyes exploded violently in a shower of blood and gore, causing the basilisk to hiss in pain and retreat to the far end of the chamber for the moment.
Daring to look when hearing this, the children saw the gore on the floor and the basilisk trying to recover from this strike, it now being completely blind from losing its eyes. Dropping the shield, they saw the basilisk for the first time. It was way bigger than the twenty feet they guessed from the shed skin, its scales being a deep poisonous green. Besides its destroyed eyes, the mouth full of sharp teeth was the most striking feature.
They were also confronted with a livid Riddle, who now no longer was calm. "If you think you have won, you are sorely mistaken!" Riddle growled, no longer looking amused. "SEARCH FOR THEM! SMELL THEM! KILL THEM FOR WHAT THEY DID TO YOU!"
"Guys, that thing can still smell us!" Harry gasped and saw the monster slowly recover from the violent loss of its eyes.
Clearly the basilisk, besides the pain, had some trouble to actually locate them due to the foul stench in the chamber coming from the water, but there was no doubt it could do so sooner or later. Thankfully they gained some moments when Fawkes decided now was a good moment to harass the basilisk, causing it to trash around to find the annoyance while Riddle berated it to concentrate on its task.
"Shit, as soon as it concentrates on us, we are dead," Dudley gasped while they took shelter behind one of the thick columns. "Have you seen those teeth?"
"Yes, no way the teachers get here in time," Ginny said, realizing this could very well spell their deaths. She felt cold at the thought.
"I doubt any spell we can do can faze that thing," Harry said, feeling utterly helpless. He would accept any help, regardless from who it came from, if they could get out of this alive. "We don't have anything that could harm-" -clang-
Harry stopped when realizing that something had fallen out of the Sorting Hat, which he was still holding in his other hand. Looking to the floor they saw that it was a sword - way longer than the hat but with magic it of course could have fit. The sword was silver in color and rubies were embedded in its handle. Putting away his wand, Harry picked it up and looked at it for a moment, before...
"Watch out!" Ron shouted.
They barely managed to run before the basilisk smashed against the column, cracking it and seemingly become dazed by the impact. There was no doubt however that the monster would soon enough try again, now actively ignoring Fawkes who had retreated back to the upper levels of the chamber.
"I must be insane..." Harry said more to himself while passing the Sorting Hat to Ron. "Guys, as soon as it attacks again, confuse it! You do know spells that produce bad smell, right?"
"But Harry...!" Ginny realized what Harry was about to do.
"Trust me. If we do nothing we would die for sure..." He then saw the basilisk prepare for another attack. "Now!"
Just as the basilisk lunged forward for another attack, Harry's friends blasted it with spells that produced a most horrific smell. Totally useless normally, but against a now blind snake that could only track by smell it was quite effective. The basilisk stopped mere meters away from Harry, utterly confused by its sudden loss of sense of smell.
Running forward, Harry took the one target that was not protected by the tough scales - the inside of the monster's mouth. Thrusting the sword upward, it went through flesh and bone like butter, lodging itself into the monster's brain. Still, Harry almost got hit by one of the sharp teeth - probably highly poisonous - in the basilisk's death throes if not for Ron quickly pulling him back. The tooth missed by mere centimeters.
They looked at the dying basilisk for an agonizing minute while trying to register they were still alive, its movements slowing down with each moment, in horrified fascination. Finally, the monster went still - it was dead. Then they saw how utterly angry Riddle was, though he was controlling himself. "Inconceivable. Slytherin's basilisk defeated by a mere student. Well, no matter, you only bought yourself some time."
"You can't admit that you lost, do you?" Harry said while trembling, the adrenaline still pulsing through his body.
"Who said that I have lost? You might have killed the basilisk, but I still get what I need," Riddle said, slowly regaining his cool.
-CLONG!- That was the gate. The teachers had finally cut through it and Hagrid had used force to break through. Strange timing, since without the sword they most likely would have been dead by this point. The other teachers quickly followed, one of them having a rooster in a cage, who then crowed loudly. Of course that was a bit too late.
The teachers looked in astonishment at the dead basilisk. They had expected the worst, not the basilisk actually being killed by second-year students. However, seeing that the beast was dead, they wanted to turn their attention to the students but stopped in their tracks when seeing Riddle. Slughorn actually gasped, recognizing Riddle, while Dumbledore gave the appartition a calculating look.
"Impossible..." was Slughorn's gasp when being confronted with a shameful part of his past.
"Ah yes, Professor Slughorn. I should use the opportunity to thank you. Your advice had been most useful," Riddle mocked his old teacher, enjoying the short look of horror on the man's face.
Dumbledore did notice it, then addressed the apparition . "You are defeated, Tom. All of your schemes have fallen apart."
"Defeated? Far from it. You still can't do anything against me. Soon enough the girl's life expires and Lord Voldemort then will rise again."
How the hell do we get rid of that guy? Harry thought, not wanting Millicent to die. He then looked at the book that Millicent was still holding. "Dudley, the book!"
"That damn thing... Hagrid, hold her for me!" Hagrid held Millicent while Dudley got the diary out from Millicent's fingers. "You told us yourself that this damn thing is the source of your power."
"But what do you want to do about it, mudblood? It is indestructible, just like its creator," Riddle mocked him, clearly feeling safe.
"No, there is something." Ron did remember the lesson Hermione had given them about basilisks after they learned about the nature of the monster. Most of it, like how these things were created, had been quite freaky. Ron did remember something Hermione had mentioned and pointed at the sharp teeth in the dead basilisk's mouth. "You stupidly gave it to us."
"Don't you dare..." However, it lost its impact when Riddle looked quite nervous.
"Watch me!" Making a beeline for the basilisk, Dudley slammed the book onto one of the teeth. It went right through and Dudley stepped back when all of a sudden a horrifying shriek came from the book while ink spurted out of it like a torrent. Riddle himself also screamed and spamsed before he faded away, Millicent's wand falling to the floor.
Thankfully, color started to return to Millicent's face right after Riddle was gone and she coughed while slowly waking up.
Now that it finally was over, the children felt like they were crashing. Harry, Ron and Dudley felt like they couldn't stand on their feet any longer and had to sit down on the floor while Ginny outright stress-vomited.
...half an hour later, hospital wing...
The hospital wing felt quite crowded. It was not only the patients on the beds, but also their parents and guardians that were crowding it. Apart from the Dursleys - for understandable reasons - the parents and guardians of all of them were present.
Of course that resulted in certain... friction due to the Parkinsons, a highly bigoted and snobby pure-blood couple, also being at at the bed of their daughter. The mere fact that they were in the same room as people without magic seemed to offend them. Madam Pomfrey had been forced to install a curtain that separated the area around Pansy's bed from the rest of the room to keep the peace.
Hermione was the last of those petrified to be revived. Madam Pomfrey had carefully poured the potion into he mouth and Hermione slowly started to regain her mobility. Her return to normal was signaled by... -booaaarrp- her suddenly letting out a loud belch. "Wah... how?" She felt a bit disoriented. "Oh no, the basilisk...!"
"Easy, darling. You are safe."
Her eyes finally clearing, she realized she was lying in a bed, still in her uniform, and her parents were at her bedside, looking down to her in relief. "Mum? Dad? Why are you here...?"
It was only then that she looked around and realized she was in the hospital wing. Most of the beds were occupied - by her friends. She did see Harry, Ron, Ginny and Luna, while Neville stood there somewhat awkwardly while answering questions from his parents. She spotted Dudley in another bed, as well as... Millicent? Hermione honestly wondered what was going on.
"What have I missed?" she wondered.
"We ourselves don't know much," her mother admitted. "We know the monster got to you, but when we arrived it was utter chaos."
"We did get that the monster is dead and that your friends were somehow involved in the whole thing. Beside being here for you, we also want answers to all of this," her father added.
"Don't we all do?!" Molly Weasley said forcefully from where she stood between Ron and Ginny's beds.
She was still feeling the terror of what happened when she'd seen by chance that the arms for Ron and Ginny on the special clock had turned to 'mortal peril'. She had desperately tried to reach the school but got no reply and had been about to call her husband in the Ministry when she finally saw the arms turning away from that position. No, her heart probably wouldn't survive another such scare.
"We still have no answers. Imagine how scared we were when we got the call our daughter got petrified," Pandora Lovegood said, still hugging her daughter Luna. "I want answers."
"Yes, we certainly do." That was Dumbledore entering the hospital wing, together with McGonagall and Slughorn - whose presence could be explained by two from his House being entangled in this mess.
"Headmaster, better explain fast what happened that our daughter is in such a state!" Mrs. Bulstrode, a tall and strong woman, who many had likened to the Amazons of myth, demanded. Her husband, who by no means was much behind his wife in the height and muscle department, agreed with her.
"I hope the explanation is good. I also want to know how Harry and his friends ended up in a life-or-death struggle," Thomas added, part of him noting how much alike all the parents in the room were thinking.
"Please have some patience, since I myself need to reconstruct the chain of events that lead to all of this. However, I can say for sure that the root cause which caused all of these events is this." Dumbledore then held of the destroyed diary, still wet with ink and a hole burned through its middle.
"What is that?" Mr. Bulstrode asked, before taking a closer look and recognizing it. "It's that diary we saw Millicent often write in."
"Yes, it is, though we had no knowledge about that fact until today." Dumbledore looked to Millicent, who looked miserable. "Miss Bulstrode, where did you get this?"
"I... I found it in my Transfiguration book after returning home from school supply shopping. I realized it was not mine... but kept it anyway once I discovered what it can do," Millicent answered, then saw the questioning look the Headmaster gave her. "There was some chaos in the bookstore and I was in a hurry and collided with another girl. Our books spilled out and were were so busy packing them back into our bags, I didn't take a closer look at her. The Transfiguration book I unpacked at home was not the one I pulled out of the shelf, as that one had a black spot in one corner."
"So you got the book by accident..." Dumbledore concluded, the puzzle starting to make sense.
Suddenly Ginny gasped loudly. "Wait, that was you?" Seeing the attention was on her, Ginny continued "I did collide with a girl in the bookstore and our books spilled out. I didn't get a closer look at her... My Transfiguration book does have a black spot in a corner. Does that mean I was the actual target?"
"Molly, deep breaths..." Arthur told his wife when seeing that whatever was going on originally had been aimed at their daughter. "How did it end up in Ginny's book before the books got switched?"
Ginny shook her head. "I have no idea. I pulled it out of the shelf and I didn't let my shopping bag out of sight, except... well, when Ron and Malfoy were brawling. It was such a chaos around me."
Hearing all this, Mrs. Bulstrode looked to her daughter. "Millicent, what did that book do?"
Millicent looked incredibly guilty. "When I wrote into it, it actually responded. I found it great, thought it's one of these enchanted things they sell to girls. You know, like these mirrors that tell you how good you look or how you can improve you looks. I didn't question why it was in there."
Millicent's parents looked concerned at how careless their daughter had been, but then again they got a suspicion. "And that book never claimed to be anything else?"
"Nothing else. It acted like a regular enchanted diary and listened patiently to all I wrote and gave me what I imagined to be advice. I had no idea what that thing really was!"
Seeing Millicent being upset, Mr. Bulstrode looked to the Headmaster. "Well, enlighten us."
Dumbledore knew he better should get to the point. "This diary..." and he held up the ruined book, "forced Millicent do do its bidding. What I gathered from those who had been down there, by writing into it so often, Ms. Bulstrode unwittingly allowed the mind behind this book to take advantage of her and use her body like a tool to cause the very things that have been troubling the school for months."
"Wait... you mean the Heir of Slytherin? But wasn't...?" Mrs. Bulstrode clearly knew her history.
"Yes. Back in his school days, Lord Voldemort somehow managed to imprint this book with his memories." There were several gasps - surprisingly also from behind the curtain and despite looking very formidable, Mrs. Bulstrode looked close to fainting. "Your daughter was unaware and thus is innocent of any wrongdoing. And from what I heard, she even tried to get rid of the book."
"Yes... with time I did get memory flashes of things I didn't remember having done... It was like I had been a passenger in my own body. When I realized the book was influencing me, I dumped into into a puddle at the edge of the forest," Millicent admitted.
"That didn't destroy it," Dudley reminded her. "When I found it, it still was in mint condition. The water didn't damage it at all. I put it into my trunk since I though it had been stolen from someone."
"If I may ask, Ms. Bulstrode, why didn't you say anything to the school? No one would have blamed you for any of it," Slughorn asked, wondering about the girl's actions.
"I know that now... But can you honestly blame me for expecting the worst?" There was some silence and the adults realized that a twelve-year old girl of course would have expected the worst. "When I overheard that Dudley got the book, I panicked... Uh... sorry for breaking into your trunk."
"To be honest, I'm not angry with you. Not after hearing all of this," Dudley told her, not wanting to upset her more than she already was.
Millicent's parents gave Dudley interested looks, but said nothing and instead waited for their daughter to continue. The girl needed a few moments before she did so. "I wanted to tie a stone to the diary and dump it into the lake... I didn't get that far. As soon as I touched it..."
Seeing how Millicent truly couldn't talk about what happened next, McGonagall asked those who had been in the chamber to explain what happened after that. And they did do so. Starting with Ginny's kidnapping and the message that was found, over them coming to the idea where the chamber could be, their confrontation with Lockhart, finding the chamber, and what happened inside it. The parents were horrified that mere children had to endure such horrors.
There was some silence before Neville spoke up. "Please don't take that personally, but now I'm actually glad you sent me to get the teachers. I don't think I would have managed to get through that without becoming a wreck."
"You don't need to apologize for that," Ginny said. "Having experienced all of it, I can't blame you for thinking so."
Sirius then stated the obvious. "I understand why you did it, though it still was really stupid to go down there without waiting for the teachers. I knew you wanted to save the girls, but that was almost suicidal."
"Normally we would give you a severe punishment for almost throwing your lives away, but..." Veronica did take in the expression of those who had been in the chamber. "Considering the horrible things you saw, additional punshminet feels like kicking you when you are already down."
Molly agreed. "Yes, but expect something once the school year is over."
"However, I wonder why Fawkes did what he did?" Sirius wondered.
Dumbledore had expected the question. "Phoenix by nature are mysterious creatures. Since Fawkes is bonded to me, Harry in some way must have made his allegiance to me clear to Riddle. That would attract his attention and convince him to help you."
Harry tried to remember. "I think I told him I was very confident you would come and find a way to hurt him... Eh, Sir, I'm rather confused why a sword fell out of the hat."
"Now, this is some speculation on my part. I took a closer look at the sword and found an engraving on it. The sword originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the school's founders. The most logical explanation is, that Gryffindor looked for a safe space to store his special sword - yes, it does have special powers - and thus decided to entrust it to the Sorting Hat. It did appear to you because not only did you show the qualities Gryffindor admired, but also you were it real need of a weapon to defeat the basilisk," Dumbledore explained.
They however were interrupted, when suddenly...
"Sir you can't go it there!"
"Do you have any idea who I am?! Now out of my way!"
These voices came from the other side of the door. Most of them did recognize the second voice, even though they wished they didn't, being unpleasantly surprised by his arrival at the school. Moments later the door was thrown open and Lucius Malfoy walked in. Apparently the man had left in a great hurry, since his shoes were only half-polished. There also were looks of surprise when seeing who was coming in after Malfoy.
It was Dobby, who was holding a shining rag and tried desperately to finish the half-done job. That finally answered the question to which family Dobby belonged to. Judging by how many bandages the elf was sporting, the Malfoys had been especially cruel to him recently. Malfoy was utterly ignoring the elf, as if he was beneath his notice. Maybe he hadn't even noticed Dobby desperately trying to finish the job by following him.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Your brat was not involved with this," Sirius said coldly.
"I don't have the time right now to continue our feud, Black." Malfoy then looked to Dumbledore. "So there you are, Dumbledore. Enjoying your little victory, aren't you? That incident still was one too many," Malfoy said, not bothering with niceties.
"Well, you right away show your superior pure-blood manners," Remus commented with biting sarcasm, the wolf deep inside seeing Malfoy as an enemy.
"Remus Lupin..." Malfoy growled, clearly not appreciating the audience. "Do not think me of ignorant of what you are doing. That school of yours - wherever it is - is an affront and it will be removed - better believe it."
That moment the curtain was pulled back.
The Parkinsons, who clearly had listened in to all of this, looked at Mr. Malfoy as if seeing a massive celebrity. Malfoy on the other hand didn't seem too thrilled to see them, though he was masking that quite well. Those in the know remembered how Draco's parents weren't too thrilled that he was hanging out with Pansy, since the Malfoys thought of the Parkinsons as nouveau riche.
"Mr. Malfoy, what a great honor to meet you," Mrs. Parkinson said, clearly wanting to suck up to him.
"You do have our support in removing such an ineffective headmaster," Mr. Parkinson added, forgetting all of his pride at this chance.
"Suck-ups," Veronica snorted.
Malfoy clearly wasn't too impressed, either, but no way he would agree with a Muggle. While the Parkinsons were a long-standing pure-blood house, they only recently had come to wealth and were trying to imitate the old families a bit too much. Sometimes imitation was not the best kind of flattery and such a case showed there also was a hierarchy between pure-blood families.
"Ah yes, thanks, but that won't be necessary," Malfoy dismissed the offered help with confidence.
"Mr. Malfoy, could it be that you are playing at the fact you feel very confident that you can force a majority decision in the Board of Governors to remove me as headmaster?" Dumbledore asked as if it was something trivial, directing the attention to himself.
"The basilisk being dead won't save you. You have proven you can't run a school effectively," Malfoy said. He looked secure of himself, but part of him was nervous why Dumbledore was so calm.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy, then it will interest you to hear that I did find the means to make sure that any threats against the families of many Board members, regarless how subtle and seemingly trivial, are neutralized. After all, we really don't want them to make a decision under pressure, are we?"
That clearly came as a nasty surprise to Malfoy and he shouted at Sirius when hearing the man's laughter. "However, we are still stuck with the mystery how this book, which was enchanted by Lord Voldemort himself," Dumbledore held up the ruined diary and did glimpse a reaction for a second, "did manage to end up in the hands of Miss Bulstrode, though it was clearly originally meant for Miss Weasley."
"Why would anyone give our little girl such a horrible thing?" Mrs. Weasley wondered aloud and judging by Ginny's expression, she was wondering as well.
"Oh, very easy," Sirius snorted, already having made the connection. "Despite all jokes about the Weasleys, Arthur is one of the most outspoken people against the casual mistreatment of people with no magic that some circles of our society indulge in. That was about hurting him by proxy."
"That was politically motivated?!" It was a bit scary how Arthur Weasley, who normally was one of the calmest men imaginable, could transform into such a picture of fury.
Dobby meanwhile was utterly silent, but it didn't mean he was inactive.
The little elf looked like he was in constant pain when he first pointed at the book in Dumbledore's hand and then at Mr. Malfoy, before all of a sudden he hit himself against the head with his own first. He clearly was under a compulsion to not reveal secrets and forced to punish himself if he did so. However, that simple action had already been answer enough.
Harry noticed Dobby giving him a pleading look. Harry then remembered some of the things he knew about house-elves, took hold of his shirt, pointed then first at the shirt and then to Dobby. Dobby nodded, clearly still suffering from the compulsion punishing him with pain for going against his masters.
Harry knew he had to act now. "Hey, Mr. Malfoy, don't you want to know how Ginny got hold of the diary in the first place before an accident caused it to land in Millicent's hands?"
Lucius Malfoy rounded on him. "How should I know how the stupid little girl got hold of it?" he said.
"Because you gave it to her," Harry said. "In Flourish and Blotts when that fight broke out between Ron and Draco, Ginny left her bag unattended and you used the opportunity. That was the only moment the diary could have ended up in Ginny's Transfiguration book. Too bad for you that she collided with Millicent and they unknowingly swapped Transfiguration books."
Malfoy's hands clenched and unclenched, a clear sign that he felt he was caught. The very unfriendly looks he got from almost everyone also didn't help. "Prove it," he then hissed.
"Oh, no one will be able to do that," Dumbledore said, he expression unreadable. "Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, not to go giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley, for one, will make sure they are traced back to you..."
Harry then went for what he was aiming for. "Wouldn't it interest you how the Headmaster learned of your little opportunistic attempt to get him out of office?" Seeing that he got Mr. Malfoy's attention, Harry now hoped it would work. "Because Dobby told us. Oh yes, that plan of yours went down the toilet because after years of being treated like crap by you and your family, he decided to hit you where it hurts the most."
It was not exactly the truth, but close enough.
As if only noticing Dobby now, Malfoy stared at the elf as if ready to murder him, but then realized that murder in front of witnesses, even if it was a house-elf, wouldn't look good. "You turned on me, Dobby. You know that means clothes!"
"Yes, Dobby did do so and would gladly do so again," Dobby said, not being too afraid of getting clothes.
"What insolence," Malfoy hissed while taking off one of his gloves. "First to make sure... As it is my right before we part, my final orders are that you never reveal the secrets of the Malfoys, regardless how minor, in any way and you also will never raise your hand against one of the Malfoys, and you know how I meant that." Seeing Dobby gulp but nod to show he would comply, Malfoy then slapped the glove into Dobby's hand. "Your services are no longer needed!"
Malfoy then left in a hurry, looking ready to explode. The Parkinsons also retreated behind the curtain, feeling out of place.
"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" said the elf shrilly, trying to hug Harry. "Harry Potter set Dobby free!"
"Least I could do, Dobby," Harry said while gently stopping Dobby from hugging him. "Uh, but maybe you should lie down a bit for now. You don't look so hot right now."
The elf only now seemed to realize how hurt he truly was and sat down on the bed. "I've just got one question, Dobby," said Harry as Dobby pulled on Harry's sock with shaking hands. "You told me all this had nothing to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, remember? Well..."
"It was a clue, Sir," Dobby said while trying to get comfortable, his eyes widening as though this was obvious. "Was giving you a clue. The Dark Lord, before he changed his name, could be freely named, you see?"
"Somewhat cryptic, but also a way to get around orders," Remus mused. "So, what does a free house-elf do? What are your plans once you do feel better?"
"So much to see for Dobby first... Then Dobby will look for employment."
Looking at how Dobby was making himself comfortable, Harry hoped the elf could get a bed of his own to recover from his injuries. As nice as Dobby now was, Harry didn't exactly want him to have in his bed.
"What a noble thing to do," Xenophilius commented, feeling he probably should write an article about house-elves for the next Quibbler. "Confronting such a horrible man to make him release someone he has mistreated for years."
"Harry, you know it very well could have also resulted in Malfoy murdering Dobby," Veronica reminded Harry.
"I know, but Dobby was willing to take the risk in order to get clothes. I wouldn't have done it without his consent," Harry said. "Eh, Uncle Sirius, perhaps you can tell Kreacher that Dobby no longer is a danger? He reacted very poorly to him and I doubt his opinion has changed."
"Oh yes, better safe than sorry." Sirius quickly went outside to call Kreacher.
Some of the parents had retreated a bit to talk among themselves.
"That slimy rat Malfoy..." Alice fumed, looking really angry. "To imagine he would do something like this. And worse, he gets away with it!"
"He won't really get away with it as long as we know he's as guilty as sin," Arthur reminded her, then looked thoughtful. "Still, all of this just to hurt my goals..."
"Don't blame yourself, Arthur," Frank reminded his friend. "The only one to blame is Malfoy. Still... if he's willing to go this far... I know my mother is handling the political stance of the Longbottoms, but it looks like I can no longer duck away from my responsibility. Things are starting to get progressively worse."
That was the unfortunate truth: things were getting worse and everyone had to do their part to stand tall against it.
...some time later, down in the chamber...
After being silent for a thousand years, the Chamber of Secrets was now host to lots of activity. Aurors were being busy with setting up bright magical ball lamps that illuminated the chamber and thus took a lot of the gloominess from it, in order to properly secure the area. It would be impossible to keep the whole thing secret and a press release was already in the works to make sure they could move the narrative in the correct direction.
Many details of the chamber, hidden by the darkness, now came to light, like the metal doors in the side walls, clearly leading to more rooms, or the snake-themed chandeliers handing from the ceiling. It also showed the decay the chamber had went through and that it would take effort to restore it and the corridor leading to it. The macabre center piece for the time being was the massive corpse of the basilisk.
Four men were standing in front of the dead basilisk, looking at the huge corpse.
"So that's the monster that caused all the trouble. And you say it was killed by children? Too bad that Slytherin has been dead for centuries, or we could have rubbed that under his nose," Alastor Moody said while looking around with his magical eye, clearly checking the side rooms while his men were securing the area.
The whole affair was so big that involving the Auror Department pretty much had been a must, and thus the school this time was swarmed by them. The whole thing was such a high-profile case that they had sent their best man to lead the force, which was Moody. Despite the political enemies conspiring to send him into retirement, he did enjoy the highest reputation inside the Auror Corps.
"Found anything of interest?" Dumbledore asked, Sirius and Remus having accompanied him and Moody down into the chamber.
"Quite a lot of stuff preserved by magic, some heaps of gold and some stuff that rotted away after the preserving magic failed. As far as I see it, all of it belongs to the school but my men won't touch it. Let's leave that to the Unspeakables," Moody said, his eye returning to a position that allowed him depth vision.
"Good thing then that Voldemort screwed up fifty years ago, or he probably would have pilfered all of it," Remus remarked, feeling the Unspeakables would discover some interesting things.
Sirius said nothing, still looking at the dead basilisk, slightly trembling in anger. "So if I understand correctly from the exchange in the hospital wing, that arse Malfoy arranged for that monster to be set free just because he felt offended by Arthur's initiative? And he got away with it..."
"I don't like it either, but the wanker made sure that it can't be connected to him," Moody growled, obviously being displeased. He clearly hated a scumbag like Malfoy escaping his just punishment. "That's already the second time he managed to weasel out of consequences. Oh, how would I love to drag that scum off to Azkaban... To imagine that bastard got the ear of the Minister..."
"Ah yes, how is your situation?" Remus asked.
"Lousy. Scrimgeour fought tooth and nail, but now it's set. Summer next year, as soon as my apprentice becomes a full member of the corps, the Ministry sends me into retirement. Honorable discharge they say... Pah! I know why they are really doing it," Moody spat, looking highly disappointed.
"That's not the only damage. Recently the Ministry has been pushing questionable laws," Remus then said, remembering some of these laws all too well.
"Impacts you personally, doesn't it?" Moody asked, having learned of Remus' nature. "While the glut of it has Malfoy's handwriting all over it, the nasty ones clearly have their origin in that Umbridge woman that always is around Fudge. She's just as much scum as Malfoy is."
"Wouldn't I know it?" Remus growled, remembering the newest brainchild in the works that got Umbridge's fingerprints all over it. That one would be bound to radicalize the werewolf population.
"Sadly, politics can do a lot of damage," Dumbledore sighed. "What is the decision about Lockhart?"
"After what the lads told me and the fact that he attacked students - that all would have landed him in Azkaban. However, St. Mungos confirmed his mind is now as blank as an empty sheet of paper. I doubt even the dementors would now show any interest in him," Moody remarked. "Will we reveal the truth to the public anyway?"
"Yes, otherwise we would risk Lockhart become a martyr or role-model of the wrong kind. As soon as everyone knows what he really did, his name will be shamed forever as a warning example of what lengths some go to attain fame," Dumbledore said.
"All of that crap because of stupid politics..." Sirius looked like he was wrestling with himself. "Albus, can you be honest to me? Have I neglected being more proactive? Did I become too comfortable with my life?"
Dumbledore saw the irony that in a mirror of what happened eleven years ago, the roles were now reversed. "I will not criticize how you live your life and protect your family, Sirius. However, I repeat that you are the only one who can act in that political weight class."
Sirius looked very thoughtful. "I felt like everything was going so well. I tried to keep my involvement with the magical world minimally. But today the children almost died and it was like a nasty wake-up call. I'm still thinking about what Frank Longbottom said... that he can no longer avoid his responsibilities. There is so much more I could do, without giving up my current life, but I shied back from doing so."
"Lad, let me give you some good advice. While I'm mainly known for constant vigilance, I also always take the initiative if I get that option. And second, once I do something, I don't hesitate and show utmost determination," Moody told Sirius, looking almost fatherly.
"It's is your choice, Padfoot," Remus said when seeing Sirius give him a questioning look.
"I need to talk with Diane about this first; it's not an easily made decision after all," Sirius said, then fell silent while they made their way back upstairs.
While Sirius was in thoughts about the whole issue of his political involvement, the other three men continued to talk among themselves.
"You know that the whole thing will end up gaining the Ministry nothing?" Moody asked, then saw that Dumbledore was not surprised. "Everything that's found in the chamber will go directly to the school, the Ministry won't see a single Knut from it. As for the fame... better make sure the press vultures stay out of Hogwarts or they'll hound Potter, regardless how many strings his godfather has pulled."
"I will make sure they won't bother any of my students," Dumbledore said, knowing he would have to be rather direct, since some reporters, like that annoying Skeeter woman, thought he wasn't being serious about such things.
"The Ministry surely will be embarrassed that a twelve-year old boy solved the crisis and not them..." Remus felt the price for doing so had been too high, considering it would haunt the children for a long time. "You think Fudge could become jealous of Harry being in the spotlight?"
"Better believe it will happen in time. That spineless wimp can be petty enough to be jealous of a kid," Moody warned them. He then looked to Dumbledore. "As for you, Albus, I can already see that what happened is bothering you."
"It does. It's about the book. Such a perfectly preserved memory... I have a very good idea what really was behind this," Dumbledore said cryptically.
"And of course you won't tell me," Moody snorted.
"Patience, Alastor. Once the time arrives, these secrets will be revealed to you," Dumbledore told him while noticing how worried Remus looked, as he did know about Dumbledore's research.
...the next day, down in the chamber...
"It's truly dead. The monster is no more," Myrtle said while looking at the massive corpse of the basilisk.
"I felt you deserved to see for yourself that the monster that took your life is no more," Dumbledore told the ghost girl, having escorted her down to the chamber. "Closure to something that traumatic... to allow you to move forward."
Myrtle clearly was very moved by how the Headmaster cared for her feelings. "I now know it can never hurt anyone again. I... actually feel much better now. You have no idea how much I want to thank all of them for this."
"A healing heart is a great boon for everyone, regardless if being alive or dead," Dumbledore remarked. "I need to visit them anyway, so if you come along, you can express your gratitude to them."
"You better believe I will!" Myrtle said, twirling in the air like a ballerina.
Myrtle then looked around and saw the hive of activity the chamber had become. Unspeakables were carefully exploring every singe bit of the chamber and all the discovered items were carefully examined and cataloged. All of that was done under the vigilant eyes of Aurors who were there to make sure that the Unspeakables would not get the idea to take some souvenirs for the Department of Mysteries.
"Please tell me my bathroom won't turn into a busy corridor," Myrtle asked, feeling disturbed by the idea.
"Dear goodness, no!" Dumbledore reassured her. "We will soon start tearing down some walls to connect the stairs with the corridor and then rebuild the bathroom wall and the sink. Just have a little patience and your bathroom will be back in fully working condition."
"I think I can wait a bit," Myrtle remarked.
"Sorry, Headmaster, but we would like to start."
That was Horace Slughorn. He and Snape had gathered all the needed containers and tools in order to completely take the basilisk apart and store the various pieces - made possible by shrinking spells. Next to every part of the basilisk, even the bones, could be used for something useful after all. While some of it would stay in the school, most of it would be sold - Slughorn had assured them he would get the best prices for all of it.
All of that was legal of course, since the beast had died on the property of the school and they had gotten the needed permit in record time, before the corpse could start to decompose. Of course basilisk parts were restricted items, but there were enough legally certified reagent vendors in Europe who would spend a lot of money on these.
It however was highly dangerous work to take the corpse apart due to the nature of basilisks, so only the two potions masters were allowed to do so.
"Don't worry, we will be on our way, Horace. After all, the students in question also need to decide what to do with their share of the profits," Dumbledore told Slughorn.
That was another of these facts. All the students that had ended up in the chamber - Harry, Ron, Ginny, Dudley and Millicent - had by the law about dangerous creatures as the directly impacted parties a right to a certain percentage of the profits coming out of the basilisk. The children would have to decide how to act on it.
"Generous he certainly is," Slughorn remarked when watching Dumbledore and Myrtle leave.
"Whatever. Let's start, as this will be really time-consuming... but worth it." Snape also knew he would get some otherwise really expensive potions ingredients for his experiments.
"Ah yes..." Slughorn had caught himself again looking at the statue of Salazar Slytherin. "I can't wait once this place it properly restored. This will be a very educational experience for both of us, Severus. I'm sure of that."
While they started to carefully harvest the basilisk corpse, Snape made sure to accommodate the Headmaster's request. Dumbledore had told him to make sure that some of the teeth and a liter of the basilisk's venom to be delivered to him. Snape was speculating about this oddly specific request and then realized that Dumbledore would tell him soon enough. Considering the secrets both of them held, it would only be a matter of time.
Still a strange request, Snape thought while using his patented severing charm to prepare the scaly skin for removal. The shed skin from the corridor they already got - it alone already was worth an ungodly sum.
Up in the hospital wing meanwhile, its temporary inhabitants tried to make the time go by.
In their opinion Madam Pomfrey was a bit overprotective in making them stay for two whole days, but after the massive scare with the chamber they couldn't blame her. At least with the restrictions now being lifted with the death of the basilisk, their friends could visit them all day. After all, with all the activity surrounding the chamber there was no way any lessons could be done. Everyone had moved back into the regular dorms and with them unable to do so, the faculty had been moving their stuff back to the dorms.
At least they were spared Parkinson's presence. She'd been declared healthy yesterday and wasted no time to get out of the hospital wing. After how snobby she and her parents had acted yesterday and how they had sucked up to Lucius Malfoy when he was present, it was kind of a relief that she had left at the first possible moment.
Dobby also had left by this point, having healed quite quickly - the quick rate of healing only making all his injuries even more horrifying. The elf had burst into tears when saying goodbye to Harry, promising he would never forget the great deeds of Harry Potter, who had given him his freedom.
"I bet our parents have something to do with this. No way this is just Madam Pomfrey's idea," Harry said while playing chess against Daphne, who was surprisingly good at the game, since Ron didn't want to humiliate her by playing against her.
"Can you blame them? I kind of understand them after what happened," Hermione remarked while Ron was busy with teaching her blackjack - no questions asked where he'd learned the game from - and she was scratching Crookshanks behind the ears. Said cat meanwhile was watching Millicent's cat carefully.
"I know we are gonna get it for running knowingly into danger once the school year is over. They were not too pleased with us about that," Harry remarked, knowing the start of summer break wouldn't be fun.
Watching this seemingly normal scene, Dudley knew nothing was normal within them. Harry, Ron, Ginny and himself were suffering from nightmares of what they had experienced in the chamber - Ginny even more so, since she had been kidnapped by Riddle on top of everything. Millicent of course had it even worse due to what Riddle had done to her and the feelings of guilt that didn't go away. Their friends were better off, but still suffered in their own way.
Neville for example actually got nightmares about Lockhart trying to wash his brain empty with a spell, as the whole thing had left quite an impression on him. Hermione was kept awake by the idea she had been completely helpless while her friends had endangered themselves. Luna tried to hide it, but the basilisk petrifying her was causing her nightmares as well.
They were all trying to not let Riddle win this one, but it was proving to be difficult.
"I don't understand it. They all knew it was me in my stupidity, yet they don't treat me any different," Millicent said while petting her cat Archimedes, who was sitting in her lap and was watching Crookshanks attentively.
"Millie, we all told you we are not blaming you because that monster did its best to hide it from you and you tried to get rid of the book when you realized what's going on," Daphne told her friend after looking up from the chess board, clearly having said that more than once.
"I know, but I can't help it..." Millicent then blushed a little when looking to Dudley. "Sorry that I'm awkward with you..."
"You can't help with who you like. It was cruel of Riddle to spill it to everyone like that," Dudley told her, though he himself had no idea what to make of it, being too young to truly understand. "You know I'm not good with this, so perhaps for now we should try to continue being friends?"
Watching the exchange, Harry was a bit surprised. "Honestly, some time ago I would have never thought Dudley could have such a gentle side. Guess I really missed how he changed."
"Everyone dislikes questioning their own opinion of others," Luna said while playing a card game - Uno of all things, creating the question where the deck came from - together with Ginny and Neville. "I am not arrogant enough to think I'm exempt from that rule."
"Wow." Neville honestly hadn't thought Luna could be so critical of herself. "Oh, before I forget." He put down a Wild Draw Four card, causing Ginny to curse.
Right then the door opened and everyone looked up, seeing Dumbledore walk in together with Myrtle.
Myrtle wasted no time to greet them enthusiastically. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! You killed the monster that caused my death! How can I ever repay you for this?"
Everyone looked to Harry, since it had been him who had killed the basilisk. Feeling a bit betrayed by his friends, Harry answered Myrtle "No need to repay us. Seeing how much happier this makes you is enough."
"Oh, you are too modest!" Myrtle said, looking quite flattered at these words. "If you ever need my help with something, just call if I'm not in my bathroom! I'm forever in your debt!"
Laughing happily, Myrtle then vanished through the wall and out of sight.
"Uhm, how can we help you, Sir?" Neville then asked Dumbledore, wondering what this visit could be about.
"I'm here after I visited the chamber to watch the proceedings in examining it. There are some things I need to discuss with you," Dumbledore told them.
"What exactly will happen with the chamber now? After all, it would be quite a waste to close it up again," Luna asked. Everyone looked to her, not having expected the question.
The Headmaster chuckled however. "Nothing is getting past you, Ms. Lovegood, does it? Well, first extensive repair and renovation work needs to be done, but the chamber is part of Hogwarts history and should be used for benign purposes. Let yourselves be surprised. However, I'm here because Professors Slughorn and Snape have started to harvest the basilisk corpse."
"While I'm glad that that thing will soon be gone, how is that important for us, Sir?" Ginny asked.
Dumbledore knew the topic had to be breached. "I know it might not feel like the best time to talk about financial matters, but the sale of the basilisk parts will net a fortune. While most of it will go to the school, by law those involved in the slaying of it and the wounded parties have a certain percentage claim of the profits. That means you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Weasley, Mr. Dursley and Ms. Bulstrode. Though of course I will confirm your decision with your parents and guardians."
That came out of nowhere for them, as they honestly had not known a basilisk's body parts could be worth anything. Most of them had not been much in contact with finances as well.
Millicent however quickly shook her head. "No, my family is already rich enough. I can gladly leave my part to the school." Unsaid was, that she wanted nothing to do with anything connected to Riddle. The disgust simply was too great.
Harry also shook his head after hearing this. "I'm rich as well, I've seen my vault, so I have little use for it. The school can have my share as well."
Ron was about to say something about not wanting it, but a gentle kick from Ginny silenced him. Seeing the look she was giving him, he understood. Money had always been a sore topic in the family due the lack of it. Ginny however was more pragmatic about this and did not want to miss such a fortunate financial windfall and was thinking of her brother as well. If Dumbledore approached their parents, they would have no reason to deny this to them.
"Ginny and me, we are both accepting it, though you need to talk with our parents about it," Ron then said, still finding the whole thing surreal. Even after already having money on the bank, it was something he had difficulties to fully grasp.
Good save, brother, Ginny thought, though she herself also wondered what to do with money of her own.
That left Dudley, who tried to imagine how much money that could be. Money had never been an issue in his childhood, but money of his own? However, he also suddenly got a bad feeling when thinking about this further."Eh, Sir, that's probably quite a sum and I really want to accept it... But I can hardly tell my parents about it."
Dumbledore understood too well what Dudley meant. Telling the Dursleys meant also revealing what had been going on at school. Vernon and Petunia would take it very badly and probably pull Dudley out of school right away. However, there also was Dudley's unspoken fear that his parents holding the money until he was an adult could mean possibly never seeing it again.
"Don't worry. I can discreetly arrange for a trust vault at Gringotts in your name. You would have access to it, but no one else has and also no one will learn about the matter," Dumbledore promised.
"You can do that?" Dudley asked. "Eh, how can we do this? Perhaps we can ask for Mr. Lupin's help? He's really good at these things."
Dumbledore gave the boy a gentle smile, liking to see that he was starting to make his own decisions. He also was a bit surprised at the high opinion and trust Dudley had in Remus. He surely would ask that man about that later on.
...at the same time...
While the basilisk was being taken apart, one certain man experienced a bad day.
Angry at not only his humiliation but also at how the plan had fallen apart so spectacularly, Lucius Malfoy stormed out of the building of the Board of Governors. They had just told him that for pressuring them like he did for quite some time, they decided to fire him on the spot. He was already glad enough that this wouldn't have legal repucussions, thanks to knowing the right people. Even his normal allies went with it to cover their own asses - there was after all no honor among thieves after all. He had not expected that it would end like this.
Spineless... all of them! Now they play being powerful when knowing they are backed up by Dumbledore. And my so-called allies just proved they only think about themselves, he fumed, not seeing the irony in the latter statement.
Imagine his surprise that it had not been Ginny Weasley at all who had written in the book, but instead it had been Millicent Bulstrode. Granted, that family also was in low regards, but it meant that it had made his plan to shoot down Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection Act go nowhere right from the start. Not to speak that the second part of the plan had been a bust as well, as he had just experienced. Instead of Dumbledore being fired as headmaster, he himself got removed from the Board.
Worse yet, Dumbledore already was hailed as having done the right things, having kept a cool head and thus managing to get all students through the crisis without serious injury. He himself on the other hand most likely would make the newspapers tomorrow for humiliation he'd just endured.
Then there was Dobby's betrayal as revealed by Potter. Of course he had given that elf clothes to get rid of him, but he had a feeling that Dobby seemed to actually enjoy it. It seemed his plans had been doomed right from the start due to that little traitor, who had admitted he would do it again.
As soon as he'd realized Dobby's betrayal, he had started to get rid of everything inside the chamber beneath the drawing room. He had a suspicion that the little traitor could have clued them in about that as well. He'd vanished the things he could easily replace, and the irreplacable items were being moved to a safe location where the Ministry wouldn't find them.
The best that Arthur Weasley would find was an empty room, but the loss of a number of items due to that traitor of an elf stung quite a bit.
Going home, he knew the worst part was yet to come: explain all of that to Narcissa.
No way he could tell her about his direct involvement in the whole crisis - she would skin him alive for putting their son in direct danger. As the petrification of that Parkinson girl that liked to hang out with Draco - much to their dislike - had proven, the Heir had not been discriminating between targets. No, he would tell her it had all been opportunism and Dobby had ruined it all by betraying him, thus leading to his dismissal.
I should have held it like the Blacks and cut off his head once he started to become problematic, he thought.
That meant Narcissa and him would have to go house-elf shopping real soon, since after even one day the effects of Dobby's dismissal were obvious. A good elf was expensive to buy, but no way he would try to be cheap again, as Dobby's treachery had shown him. He thanked all goodness that his wife had been away for a few days, but she had been set to return about an hour ago. He already dreaded that conversation.
It was a joke. He, Lucius Malfoy, was afraid of confessing to his wife he had screwed up. On the other hand, women from the Black family could be quite vicious.
At least it's Narcissa... I better not imagine having to confess to the Dark Lord that my actions got his book destroyed. Thank all goodness he's been dead for years and unable to mind anymore, Malfoy thought.
Entering his home, he saw his wife already waiting for him and the looks she was giving him made it clear that she wanted answers - most likely why Dobby didn't come when she called him and about what she had read in the news this morning.
It was time to face the music.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Life Goes On"
Notes:
Here the notes.
As I said at the start. due to running low on pre-written chapters, the story will go on a hiatus for some time after the next chapter so that I can again write chapters in advance. That's also because year three is almost entirely original.
I tried my very hardest to make the confrontation in the chamber as original as possible without losing the spirit of the original. I hope you like the many small things I added (like Slughorn being confronted with a young Riddle, which will be important later on).
I know the aftermath in the hospital wing was a bit exposition-heavy, but after all it's also the characters who now want to know what happened. The confrontation with Malfoy also goes quite different as I wanted to be original about it.
Now, in many stories I read that all the money for the basilisk would go to Harry. However, more realistically it would go to the school and those who had been in the chamber gained the right of a certain percentage. The money going to the school will be important later on.
Sirius' stance on staying out of politics is finally broken. This will be highly important later on.
Well, considering what I said so far, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter that will be important later on...