Majo Kon-ki The Marriage of Tanya the Witch
(The marriage chronicles of a witch)
Arc 2 - Chamber of Secrets – part 7
February, AD1993, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"Heck! You should have shown me the diary the moment you found it!" Tanya's frustration was evident.
Along with Ron and Hermione she was helping Harry get his belongings off the floor. Unfortunately, the diary, an important 'witness' from fifty years ago, was stolen.
"I tried! You spend the last two months too busy torturing Myrtle! I found it in her bathroom!"
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah! I even asked if it wasn't yours!"
"Ah! I think I remember now that you mentioned."
"I can get the appeal of torturing Moaning Myrtle. But what if you are so distracted that someone sees you?" Tanya wished Ron had warned her before.
"Someone already saw me, Penelope Clearwater. She reported me to McGonagall and earned me detention with Lockhart."
"My advice is to practice your writing, he is gonna make you answer his fan mail."
As soon as they finished picking up the last of Harry's possessions, Tanya asked for him to recount the events the diary showed.
"… like you told us, a prefect turned in Hagrid for hiding the creature that was attacking muggle-borns."
"And what was the name of this prefect?"
"Didn't I tell you? His name was-"
"No. More importantly, did you get a glimpse of the monster?"
"It was a big spider. An acromantula."
Ron immediately flinched.
"An acromantula? But they don't last even a hundred years. And they can't turn people into stone." Hermione reminded.
"What do you think Tanya?"
"…"
"Tanya?"
"Give me some time to think…" Like this, she spent a few minutes in deep thought.
"This is all just conjecture…" Tanya began with a serious tone.
"… Voldemort opened the chamber fifty years ago, and also this time."
"What? It can't be! He left almost a year ago!" Harry sounded scared by this idea.
"Did he? How do you know?"
"There weren't any unicorns dying anymore."
"Maybe he found another way to sustain himself. I think he is hiding in the chamber with the beast."
"He is a ghost now! He can't touch anything."
"ALMOST like a ghost. And even they can interact with their environment. Did you forget how Myrtle floods her bathroom all the time?"
"You think he also stole the diary?"
"Hermione, you said that the thief had to be a Gryffindor, but a ghost can enter any place they want just by passing through the walls."
"I will repeat myself, acromantulas can't live a thousand years!"
"Perhaps it's a new sort. Or Slytherin actually had a nest under the school."
"T-t-there are more spiders in the school?" Ron started to look to all sides, afraid that at any moment, one of these could jump on him.
"Hmm… I don't remember any magizoology book mentioning that acromantulas can use spells, let alone one that petrifies."
"How many books about acromantulas have you read?" Harry asked.
"All of them? I had to make sure there wasn't one sleeping next to me- E-err, I-I mean…" Hermione turned away embarrassed.
The implication was obvious. Someone still believed that hit wizard's delusion! Tanya felt like she lost a little of respect for the girl.
"Maybe she would be a better match for Ron instead of Harry after all!"
"Anyway, if there is absolutely no way an acromantula can turn people into stone, then someone else is doing it…" Tanya made a complicated face.
"… and I think it's Hagrid."
"That is impossible Hagrid, would never hurt anybody!" Harry immediately defended his giant friend.
"Exactly! Hagrid is doing this to protect people."
The three were confused by this conflicting statement.
"Hagrid can't turn over his 'friend' and he also won't let it hurt people. Acromantulas have high poisonous venom, but they can't bite through stone. He is petrifying the students before they are killed."
"It's a fair explanation, only it still doesn't explain why Harry hears voices." Hermione pondered.
"It could be another protection his mother left him. A way to predict danger." Despite suggesting this theory herself, Tanya was having a hard time accepting it.
"All the pieces fit together but, I don't know. My guess was a different monster. Hagrid is the only one who can clear this up-"
"We can't ask him! He was sent to Azkaban!" Ron reminded them of the reason they never asked Hagrid until now.
"Dad said that just the memories of these days is enough to drive people mad with grief!"
"Is really that bad?"
"Harry, Azkaban is infamous for using Dementors as guards. It is reported that their presence alone is capable of leading the inmates to insanity and even death." Hermione explained.
"It's possible that someone as gentle as Hagrid would need to completely shut out the memories to be capable of having a normal life."
Tanya chooses to not press the matter. She knew better than anyone what it was like to have a past you wished to never recall.
"If a new attack happens, we will talk to him."
"Now Harry, I want you to cut off her legs." Tanya pointed at Myrtle, who in turn was lifting her dress for a better target.
"Oh! Harry… please be gentle with the poor me!"
To think he was very excited when Tanya asked him to spend the Easter holidays with her!
"Well, at least nobody can see us together here."
Despite his initial eagerness, Harry never told anyone about his present relationship with Tanya. Not even Ron and Hermione knew, as he was afraid of being pressured into doing the 'things' couples are supposed to do.
"Tanya said we could go at my own pace, but how long before she demands more than just holding hands?"
From what the boy saw of other couples, their idea of spending time together was to either go on dates to Hogsmeade or go into broom closets to SNOG!
And since both Harry and Tanya were too young to leave the castle, the broom closet was becoming the only obvious choice!
With those thoughts in mind, Harry steeled his resolve to be ready to start k-kissing! Only it turned out Tanya had a different sort of date in mind!
"No! I already told you! You must really wish to hurt her!" Tanya said for the umpteenth time that day.
She had finally perfected her technique to attack ghosts and decided to teach it to him. The invitation was actually a trap to train!
"But I don't want to hurt her!" Harry said, feeling sorry for Myrtle.
Actually, there was a reason why Harry always made excuses to not be trained by Tanya. Regardless of her constant help in school subjects, he knew deep that he would end up with another SNAPE!
"This is boring me to death! How can I present my sorrowful self to people if no one is hurting me?!" Moaning Myrtle was unsympathetic to Harry's troubles. On the contrary, she seemed very offended.
"How will other ghosts feel sorry for me today?! Don't you know that I am famous? The first ghost to ever be wounded in the long history of Hogwarts! But now, sob! This inconsiderate boy won't even cut off one of my fingers! Sob! Sob!"
"Eh?!"
"She is right Harry, you are being annoyingly inconsiderate!"
"Huh?"
"Let's take a break. Myrtle, you are free to roam now."
"I hope someone will try to dismember me when I come back!" The ghost mentioned before literally going down the toilet.
"Harry, you know what it means if my theory is proven right…"
Tanya's serious look made Harry sigh.
"The beast may come after me." And he would need to fight both Slytherin's acromantula and Voldemort.
"And when that happens, you will need a better spell than the leg locking curse."
"Ugh! You don't have to rub it in my face!"
"Why do we need to train during the holidays?! Can't we do the things other couples do-" Harry was reminded of broom closets and snogging.
"NO, NEVER MIND!" Suddenly, training wasn't such a bad idea!
"Okay, okay- Eh? Ginny?"
At the entrance of the bathroom was Ginny Weasley.
"Hello Ginny. What can we do for you today?"
"…" Without answering Tanya's question, she just turned back and left.
This was getting odd. For days the Weasley girl would come to Myrtle's bathroom, take a look around and walk away without saying a single word.
"What could she be after- Ah!" Harry recalled a small detail.
"I never answered her back about, you know, the poem!"
"And…? Were you going to declare your love for her too? To have a 'backup girlfriend'? Or start a harem?"
"NO! I told you! I l-love only the sender of the second message…"
Harry felt bad for Ginny. However, Tanya is the one he loves the most. And even if she wasn't in his life, he would never go after some 'fan girl'.
"Good! I won't accept you two-timing, you hear?"
She didn't need to tell him. If there was anything Harry wasn't looking forward to, was to discover how Tanya demonstrated JEALOUSY! By just thinking he felt goosebumps.
"The way Ginny keeps popping out of nowhere reminds me of when she saw me kissing Tanya!" Harry blushed at the memory. He only meant to kiss Tanya in the forehead, but Ginny and Luna thought he did it in her l-lips.
Nonetheless, considering all the time Harry spent making up his mind, it was kind of a waste to not kiss.
"I-it's not as if I want to kiss her but what if she asks in a day I am not ready?"
"Tanya…"
"What?"
"B-better to strike while the iron is hot!"
"Do you mind if I k-kiss you?"
She blinked at him. Confusion lasting a moment on her face.
"W-w-what?!"
"She didn't forget we are dating, right?"
"W-we- Uhhhh… Okay." Finally, she seemed to recall.
Getting closer, Harry slowly raised her chin with the intention of kissing her in the lips.
"Come on! Just do it!" Tanya stood in front of him, just waiting. With her beautiful blue-eyes looking directly at him.
"Are you alright?"
"I-I am fine!" Aside from the fact that his heart was beating too fast!
"Then, get it over already!"
Very slowly, he was getting closer to her rosy lips!
"Ahem! What are you two doing?!" Asked Moaning Myrtle.
"You are already back-" Tanya turned her head to talk to Myrtle and Harry ended kissing her left cheek.
"GAHHH! W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Tanya shouted, holding the part of her face where he pressed his lips.
"S-sorry! You moved suddenly! I missed my target!"
"Is she angry because she was looking forward to it?"
"D-don't worry! I will do it right this time!"
"You still want to try?!"
"C-can't I?"
"Aff! Fine! Just hurry it up!"
Harry again approached the little girl, his fingers in her chin-
"Hey! This is my bathroom! If you are going to kiss someone, it should be me!" Only this time, they had a spectator!
"Argh! I can't!"
In the end he kissed her forehead like when they first talked about becoming a family.
"What? That is your kiss?! Boo-hoo! You are no fun!"
Deep in his mind, Harry agreed with Myrtle.
"Sob! I hate being such a wimp!"
"Satisfied?" Tanya asked with an annoyed look that he'd bet was a sign of frustration.
Harry blushed and nodded his head.
"Then, BACK TO WORK!"
Hermione was petrified, Hagrid was arrested and Dumbledore sacked. With a heavy heart, Harry realized he lost three friends on the same day.
Summer was nearing, and Harry had no chance to look for spiders because the students were all flocking together to avoid new attacks. Not to say Tanya forbade him from doing anything anyway.
But a surprise came one morning at herbology.
"Harry, me- WE want to say how sorry we are, for ever thinking you were responsible." He was ecstatic hearing the Hufflepuffs of his year apologizing! Finally some good news!
"… you would never attack Hermione Granger…"
At the mention of his friend's name, Harry felt saddened. The poor girl had to become stone for people to finally believe in him.
"We should have known it was Degurechaff all along!"
"Right! Tanya is-"
"What did you just say?" Harry asked, not fully believing what he just heard.
"It was Degutrechaff! I remembered seeing her looking at Grindelwald's symbol sometimes at the library! She must have both his and Slytherin blood in her veins! To think she would even pass as a muggle-born to wait for the right moment!" Exactly like he did with Harry a few months ago, Ernie Macmillan was badmouthing Tanya!
"What are you-"
"She attacked the cat to test the monster's power, then Colin because he found out about her true identity. And poor Justin! A muggle-born dared to hit on her!" Even Hanna Abbott was adding more fuel to the fire.
"Wait-"
"But why Sir Nick?"
"Everyone knows she hates ghosts! And Penelope Clearwater once caught her out at night and reported her. She was trying to attack someone again, I bet!" Even the shy Susan Bones was saying whatever she wished.
"Just a moment-"
"And Granger? Aren't they friends?"
"They were rivals last year. Remember her face when Degurechaff was praised by the teachers? Since then, Granger became better in classes. She just took out the competition!" Wayne Hopkins gave this explanation.
"And somehow, she made you a parselmouth!" Megan Jones concluded this sick show.
Harry was furious, he wanted more than anything to hex those babbling fools but…
He looked in Tanya's direction. She heard everything, and shook her head as a signal for him to do nothing.
This made Harry very depressed. People were finally believing him again, only for her to end receiving all the blame!
He finally noticed that Tanya was isolated, people were trying their best to be far from her. Now Harry and Ron were her only friends-
"… this kinda makes sense."
"RON!"
"S-sorry! But you have to agree it's a pretty convincing story."
"This is so unfair- Huh?" He felt hope returning. A few feet away, large spiders were running off.
"No! You are not going into the forbidden forest! Did you forget what happened last time?"
"We have to! Hagrid said to follow the spiders!"
Ron alongside Hagrid's dog, Fang, watched as his two friends bickered like a married couple.
"What if the monster of Slytherin- No! Voldemort himself could be there! You still didn't learn the spell!"
To tell the truth, Ron was relieved that Tanya stopped them. He was not looking forward to going into that forest! Especially to follow spiders! What if they found Slytherin's acromantula?! That was a scary thought.
"This is going nowhere! Ron! Let's go!"
"Shit!"
"No! Ron, stay where you are!"
"Okay."
"Phew!"
"Tanya! We need to follow the spiders to find out the truth! So me and Ron are going into that forest!"
"But why? Oh, why do I need to go too?"
"The hell you are going! It's too dangerous, especially to a troublemaker like yourself!"
"I agree!"
"And I do nothing?! Hagrid wouldn't leave this last message if it wasn't important!"
Tanya was silent. She stared at him with a thoughtful look.
"Uh-oh! She is not changing her mind… is she?!"
"Maybe you are right. However, it would be for the best if I replaced you and went…"
"Oh! I am starting to like this girl-"
"… with Ron."
"Eh?"
"What?! Definitively no! I won't let a girl go there! I am the one going with Ron!"
"Huh?!"
"Don't you forget that I am stronger than you! I have been wanting to train you for almost two years and you never agreed!"
"I-I have been training-"
"Playing dueling is not practicing! Go back to the castle, I'll take your place and go with Ron!"
"THE BLOODY HELL?! Why does it have to be either 'Harry and Ron' or 'Tanya and Ron'?! Why can't Harry and Tanya go while Ron stays in safety?!"
"No! You won't!"
"Know what? This is counterproductive and I grew tired of this discussion!" Too fast, Tanya launched a very familiar spell at Harry.
"GAH!" His friend had no escape. He ended up covered in a web-like substance.
"Y-YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" He could only scream, as his mouth was the last part of his body he could move.
"I know how you feel."
"If you are worried about your hair, don't be. After Hermione complained, I made a few modifications. This substance will start dissolving after an hour. Fang here will stay with you until then."
"But…! But…!"
"Give it up, mate! It was over the moment she found out about-"
"Ron! Come!"
"O-OH, BLIMEY!"
"Ron! Please! Don't let anything bad happen to her! Protect her with your life!"
"… Fine!"
"And who protects ME?!"
Ron walked a few steps behind Tanya, already resigned to his fate.
Some time later, they were deep in the forest. With so many trees, not even the light of the moon could reach them.
"I can't see anything. Are we still in the trail of the spiders?"
"Yes. I can see them."
"… your eyes?" Ron noticed that they shone.
"I can enhance parts of my body at will by controlling the flow of mana within me."
"Wow, cool!" Ron was genuinely impressed but doesn't this mean that this strong girl would handle this business all by herself?
For the first time, Ron wished he was the one tied up in the web.
"Just a curiosity, why do you use spider-webs?"
"Normal webs are already a solid and sticking substance. An enhanced version is perfect for restraining wizards since it can't be nullified like a paralyzing spell. And no one gets hurt, you could say it's the natural solution of a pacifist."
Ron blinked.
"Is she saying that spiders are PACIFISTS?!"
"I see- ARGH!"
"Wha- What is wrong?"
"Something grabbed my foot!"
"Huh?" Tanya's shining eyes looked at him.
"It's just a root sticking out."
"R-really?"
"Aff! Want me to hold your hand?"
Ron couldn't tell if she was serious or just mocking him.
"N-no! Thank you. I still have my dignity!"
A couple of minutes later, they were in a hollow, surrounded by spiders the size of dogs and their king, the biggest arachnid of the world.
Needless to say, Ron threw any thought about dignity out the window clutching to Tanya's waist for dear life.
Too busy shuddering, he heard only snippets of Tanya and Aragog's conversation. To sum it all, the spider was innocent, there was a monster even worse, one even the acromantulas feared.
"It's a basilisk." At the mention of the word, the spiders all flinched.
"It makes sense now. I thought it was strange when Harry said it was an acromantula. I created a good theory upon it, but it didn't explain why he could hear voices. It's because it's a basilisk, a snake. A parselmouth can understand its language."
"S-s-so, w-we didn't n-need to come a-all the w-way HERE?" Just like with the polyjuice! This was becoming a nasty habit!
"Shit! Basilisks can kill with sight alone! Ron, we are returning!"
"Oh! Thank you!" However, as they turned to leave, there was a wall of spiders blocking the exit.
"I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst- Then again, look how tiny you are! It wouldn't be worth the exercise to get you." Aragog said, using all eight of his eyes to size Tanya up.
"'Tiny'?!" She didn't seem to take this commentary very lightly.
"If your friend surrenders his body without a struggle, we will let you go. So that, maybe in a few years, you can return a little fatter. How is that?"
"W-WHAT?!" Ron was terrified but he also promised his friend that Tanya would return unharmed. Summoning what was left of his courage, he decided to do what was best for her.
"I-if you let her go-"
"Ron… Do you really think I am leaving you behind? Harry would never forgive me."
"T-they are going to eat me anyway! Go and live! Tell Harry what I did. And from time to time, step on some spiders to avenge me!"
"Don't be resentful of all spiders. It is their instinct to feed on prey. Furthermore, this situation has an easy solution. We only need to show why WE are at the top of the food chain."
"Huh?"
"Get down on the floor, cover your head and don't look up until I say it's okay." Tanya took out her two wands and her face…
"Bloody hell!" Ron threw himself in the ground. Her face had that same creepy smirk she had on the day the pixies were killed!
Ron shut his eyes. With only his hearing, he could make out almost nothing of what was happening.
He could hear the sound of the spiders moving, the sound of blasts, the hissing of the acromantulas and… the sound of a girl's mad laughter!
It took about five minutes. Then, everything was quiet.
"You can get up now." Ron slowly raised his head.
What he saw left him mouth-agape. Hundreds of spiders lay dead everywhere. The ones who were alive were either cowering in fear or captured on the web.
"Now, that's what I call an irony."
Ron realized that even Aragog was trapped in the web-like thing Tanya created. The boy even felt a little sympathy for the beast as he knew what that felt like.
'… as long as they don't get in the way of their love there will be no danger.' Ron was reminded of Hermione's comment. Once again, she was right. Ron reckoned Tanya was so brutal because the spiders stood in her way back to Harry.
"RELEASE ME! OR I PROMISE ALL MY CHILDREN AND THEIR OWN CHILDREN WILL RAGE WAR UPON YOU!"
Somehow, Ron didn't think Aragog could keep such a promise. His children, or at least the half that survived, were deeply afraid of Tanya. Like promised, she showed why the humans, or rather SHE was at the top of the food chain.
"Hooo… you dare declare war against ME?!" Ron felt a shiver at the back of his neck.
"We may need to have further talks."
Slowly she walked towards the king of spiders, each step making Aragog's trembling worse.
"W-W-WAIT! W-WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
"We are going to sign a peace treaty."
"Can't believe I ended up having detention with this clown!" Tanya thought as she replied to what felt like the thousandth letter from a fan of Lockhart.
The girl was sentenced to detention with the DADA teacher a few months ago, but professor McGnagall had so many troubles of her own that she completely forgot. This changed when Tanya arrived with the unconscious Ron Weasley.
'YOU TWO WERE IN AN ACROMANTULA'S NEST?!'
'Yes, and here is the peace treaty their king signed. Please, send this to the relevant authorities to be made official.' Tanya handed a piece of parchment to the acting headmistress.
'And what happened to Mr Weasley?!' Professor McGonagall pointed to the unconscious Ron.
'W-well… The acromantulas suggested for him to stay with them until we turn the agreement official. That proved to be too much for him.' Tanya had to admit she was surprised the arachnophobic Ron lasted that much.
'… is there something else I need to know?'
'Y-you wouldn't happen to have a fresh dead body, would you? I kind of promised one as a token of goodwill.'
Tanya doubted she would ever see the acting headmistress so furious again!
"I hope she delivers the treaty to the ministry! And I have no idea where I will find the corpse I promised the acromantulas!"
At least now she knew the monster was a basilisk. And Harry finally made himself useful, he concluded that the girl who died fifty years ago was probably Moaning Myrtle. This prompted him and Ron to seek the ghost out. Sadly, Tanya had made her unavailable that same morning.
Tanya already mastered the spell to use against Voldemort, but she still didn't know much about 'ghost anatomy'. Particularly, if they had any organ which could be proven fatal if destroyed. On Peeves, she had used a reductor and exploded his entire body all at once. With Myrtle, she wanted to see if attacking parts, like the place where the heart is supposed to be, would make any difference. So, she tested to see what would happen when cutting off the head of a ghost…
To be fair, by the time Tanya returned to her bathroom with Harry and Ron, half her head was restored. Unfortunately, this means the boys had to see the grotesque figure of a ghost with only her lower jaw and nothing else up! You would think it was good that they were so close to toilets, but the boys still puked on the floor.
"Well, her head should be completely restored now." Tanya sighed, this night she would go back to the bathroom and get the information.
"However, even if she points us to the chamber, Harry is not ready to take Voldemort on."
Harry didn't learn the spell yet! The problem was that he was just too 'good boy'! He won't blow up even a tiresome being like Myrtle!
"… andwhat is going on with him lately? He keeps asking to kiss my forehead!" This was something hard getting used to for someone who was raised in 'shy' Japan: to receive kisses as a gesture of fraternal affection!
"I should be happy, this means he accepts me as the sister figure I worked so hard to become but it's so embarrassing! If I didn't know any better, I would think he is flirting with me!" Not to say that this was making Tanya paranoid. She could swear that sometimes, he was actually aiming for her lips!
"Maybe it's his way to reassure me that he still cares about me, even after he fell for Hermione." Tanya only wished he would do something less shameful!
"Hey!Did he ever confess to Hermione? I never asked-" Tanya looked at the clock and noticed she spent one hour longer in her detention.
"Professor, please. I need you to accompany me back to the- professor?"
Lockhart was silently staring at her. In truth, he was behaving oddly since the moment she entered his office. He wasn't boasting like always, instead he had this frown and a thoughtful look like he was thinking a deep philosophical question.
"Miss Degurechaff, mind if we talk? I would like to make a proposal for you."
"I can't believe it!What does he want? Of course I will hear! I can't go out at this time without an escort. I would get more detention!"
"Please sit here." He pointed to a chair a little too close for her comfort.
"Well, where do I start?"
"Hurry up! I have things to do!"
As if to compensate for the time he wasn't boasting, Lockhart spent the next half an hour retelling his great accomplishments and how his eventual death would turn the world into a dark place.
"… one day I too will grow… old…" The last word came out with a shiver.
"… and the world will have only a few pictures of me to remember how handsome I was." He motioned to the dozens of pictures of himself hanging on the wall.
"Err, sir, does this have a point?"
"Straight to the business as always, huh? Very well, the point is: I need offspring."
"Oh? And you want to adopt me-" Tanya felt as if a thunder struck her. Her mind took her to a time long ago when she thought someone wanted to adopt her.
She was supposed to be delivered to a prison, imagine her surprise when she was dropped into a luxurious house with a delicious dinner waiting for her.
'Lieutenant colonel Degurechaff! I am your greatest fan!' A Russy officer by the name of LORIA was her host.
'Maybe I resemble a dead daughter he lost! He may even wish to adopt me!' Tanya had thought, hiding her smirk. Unknown to her, that would be the last time she would smile for a long period.
"I-I really need to go!" Back to the present, Tanya knew instinctively it was time to leave!
She rushed to the door. She had to control her quivering hands to try it open-
"Wait! I am not finished!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the door.
"L-let go of my arm!" She began to panic.
"After I finish. Where was I? Oh, yes. I would adopt you but only until…"
"Let go!" Tanya grabbed the hand holding her, squeezing with the intention of breaking it-
"Huh? W-what?!" There was no changing, mana wasn't flowing into her body!
"… you turned seventeen."
"M-my magic! I can't feel my magic!" Tanya could only remember one time when she lost her magic so completely!
"N-NO! Without magic, I am just a defenseless little girl!"
"After you are a fully grown witch then I want you to be…"
'… I want you to be my wife…'
"… my wi-"
"NOOOOO! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" Tanya completely lost her mind. She was struggling as hard as she could to break free of his grasp. Only she was so weak that Lockhart didn't seem to be having any difficulties holding her.
"Oh, don't be so cold! I know you can see how great of an honor this is! It was fate who mistakenly gave that ward for you, to make me take notice."
'I feel so cold…' More memories of those awful days were emerging. She was no longer in Hogwarts, she was back at that house in the Russy Federation with Loria.
"For days now, I keep having this same dream. You gave me children and they are so beautiful! People were saying: that pretty youngster is Gilderoy Lockhart's child!"
"LET ME GO- Ah!" As Tanya tried to free herself, the professor accidentally ripped off one of her sleeves.
"Ah, look what you made me do! But don't worry, I will fix it."
"S-stop, you will vanish my clothes!"
He pointed his wand and chanted a few words. When the spell was done, she almost wished he had made her clothes fade away.
Because instead of her school robes, he accidentally summoned a dress. Or more specifically, a pink gown almost exactly like the one HE made her wear!
"S-sorry about that. But this dress fits you! You look like a doll."
'… either you become my obedient wife or I will turn you into a doll…' Fear was all she could feel now.
She backed away from him until she hit a wall and slowly crouched down.
"Brigadier general Rerugen… where are you…?"
'… someday I will bring you back home…' Tanya was reminded of the promise an old friend made to her.
"And what about my men…?! Why won't they come for me…?! Weiss, Koenig, Neumann, Visha-" No, Visha couldn't help her anymore, she was dead.
"No…! Could it be… that they all died before rescuing me…?"
"Hmm? Something wrong?" Lockhart asked and raised his hand towards her.
"NOOOO! D-DON'T TOUCH ME! GO AWAY!"
"What?! Miss Degurechaff, please calm down-"
"I-I WILL DO ANYTHING JUST- D-DON'T!"
"Stop screaming! You are being too spoiled! If you are to become my wife someday, you must act as a proper and obedient lady!"
"Yeah… obedience… I just need to obey…" The weak must obey. It's a fundamental rule.
Lockhart couldn't see, but her eyes lost all life.
"W-what… you… want… me… to… do…?"
"Oh! That's much better!"
"No one… is coming to save me… no one… cares…"
"You are going to tell the acting headmistress your wish for me to adopt you."
"… anything… you… say…" Tanya was completely apathetic. So much fear seemed to have broken her will.
"We should do it now and leave this dangerous place- Oh! As much as this dress looks good on you, you will need to change back to your robes."
Lockhart again pointed his wand at her.
"What are you doing to her?!"
"Eh?" The sound of a boy's voice immediately cleared her fogged mind.
Tanya saw Harry Potter at the door, confusion written over his face.
Lockhart seemed surprised as well. Tanya saw the opportunity and ran to safety.
"H-HARRY!" She yelled and grabbed his arm.
"Tanya?! What is wrong-"
"Let's go! I don't want to be here!"
"Wait! We were going to-" Tanya didn't let the professor finish. She pulled Harry with her until they were down the corridor.
They were silently walking together. Tanya was dragging Harry by the hand quickly in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. As they stood in front of the portrait of the fat lady, the girl seemed to pull herself together.
Letting go of Harry's hand, Tanya concentrated all the mana she could muster in her fist and hit the ground. Relief washed over her looking at the big crater, you could even see the floor below, so deep it was.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! Why my magic- why couldn't I control the flow of mana? It was like THAT time but I didn't ingest the drug!"
"Tanya? You okay?" Tanya ignored Harry. She had to understand what happened and what could be done to prevent it from happening again! As she pointed before, a scrawny and weak little girl would be defenseless without magic.
"Could this be psychosomatic? When I was with Lockhart and understood what he wanted with me, something similar to what HE wanted, it brought back sensations from a time I had my magic blocked!"
Tanya clutched her head, feeling the full blow of the devastating reality.
"If I pass through a situation similar toTHAT, I will remember how it felt. My fears will dominate me, my own terrified mindwill convince me that I have no magic?!"
The little girl was shivering again. It sunk in that she could lose her main weapon at a crucial time!
"W-what should I do-"
"TANYA! Please speak to me!"
"Ah! Harry?" Tanya finally realized that Harry Potter was with her.
"This boy cares about me… he will protect me!"
"Why are you wearing a dress and-"
"Harry!" In a very unusual act for her, she threw herself at him.
"I-I was so s-scared!" For the first time since they met, Tanya let herself be sincere.
"Please! Will you protect me?"
"What- O-of course- !"
Harry stopped talking as he saw that she was crying in his arms. Without knowing what else to do, he just wrapped his arms around the weeping girl.
"And now, I am a hikikomori." To think that she held contempt towards shut-ins in the past. Only for her to get a taste at what they called 'utterly helplessly'!
Tanya was afraid of so many things! Of Lockhart! Of the memories coming back! Of losing her magic again!
And she was embarrassed of Harry! In her moment of weakness she let her guard down in front of him! That was dangerous, Tanya felt that in trade for his protection, she would have done ANYTHING he asked!
"What if he somehow discovers what happened to me?!" This was what frightened her the most. People figuring out her horrendous trauma.
"As long as there are no witnesses, I can bury the memories and pretend it never happened in the first place! Fuck! I never thought of living this hell all over again! This fear of being WEAK!"
It's been days since Tanya last left her dormitory and the only reason she would ever get out of bed was to eat or use the toilet.
Even her dorm mates were getting worried. Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and that other girl whose name she always forgets. They even apologize for believing the recent rumors.
"We should have known better. You and Hermione are such good friends!"
Tanya could care less what they thought, but took this opportunity to ask for them to bring a book from the library for her, something about basilisks.
She never was a very lucky person, however, these days, she wondered if Being X wasn't after her again. The book was missing just one page: the one that had information about billywigs and BASILISKS!
"What more could go wrong-"
McGonagall's voice, magically magnified, was heard throughout the school. She asked the students to return to their houses and the teachers to reunite in the staff room.
Anyone could tell something bad was going on. Yet, Tanya spent the next hours under her covers. It was night when Lavender informed her they would probably need to leave the next day.
"Why? What is going on?"
"There was another attack but no one was petrified. I heard some gossips that someone is already dead!"
"Who- WAS IT HARRY?!"
"No. He is in the common room with Ron. Ginny Weasley is missing!"
"WHAT?! OH, CRAP!" She understood they were bound to go after her. Tanya finally had a good motivation to get out of bed.
"Professor McGonagall!"
"Miss Degurechaff? I told all students to return-"
"Harry and Ron! They are not in the dormitories!"
"What?! Goodness!"
"I think they are going after Ginny! We need to look for them!"
"You don't need to concern yourself. One of the teachers is going after miss Weasley."
"R-really?" Now, that was a pleasant surprise. An adult is finally doing something in this school!
"Is it professor Snape?"
"Professor Lockhart mentioned knowing where the chamber is."
"WHAT? That fucking clown will be the death of them!"
"Language Miss Degurechaff!"
"'Language'?! Who cares about language?! Harry, Ron and Ginny are going to die because of that buffoon!"
"Now listen here young miss! You are going back to your dormitory! By now professor Lockhart should-"
"That self-absorbed moron thinks he is Being X's- god's heavenly gift for mankind! He is so full of himself he doesn't see anything wrong in laying hands on his own student-" Tanya covered her mouth.
"Shit! Did she get what I meant?" Not that Tanya wished to protect Lockhart. She merely doesn't want to give any clues about what happened to her.
"Miss Degurechaff…" Professor McGnagall looked straight at her eyes.
"… are you intending to tarnish the reputation of your teacher with such a despicable lie?! Have you no shame?!"
Anyone could see how distressed the old teacher was. Most probably, the pressure of being the acting headmistress during a crisis and the possibility of a child of her house being in danger of dying somewhere must be driving her to a breaking point.
Unfortunately for her, Tanya was also under a lot of stress and finally, something just snapped in her mind. Very fast, she fired her web spell against McGonagall.
"AHHHH! W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The professor found herself stuck in the wall.
"You will be free in about an hour from now. Don't worry, by then, I will have found Harry and maybe even Ginny!" Tanya couldn't help the tone of mock in her own voice.
"Did I really think the staff of this school would help me? I can find him fast by searching his mana signal. But first I need to get-"
"This is- THIS IS THE LAST DROP!"
"Huh?"
"After all the troubles you caused this year, by my authority as acting headmistress I formally expel you from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
Tanya blinked at the acting headmistress. Was she serious?
"Err, have I just been kicked out?"
"YES, YOU HAVE! Now, surrender your wands-"
"Well, it doesn't matter. Maybe it's for the best, actually." Tanya sighed.
"E-excuse me?"
"You see, this school is just too crazy! Even for a complicated and twisted person like me."
"N-now, wait a moment!"
"Okay, I still have one last business to finish…" Tanya turned and ran out of the room.
"WAIT! MISS DEGURECHAFF!"
"Y-you two! Put down your wands! Don't force me to hurt her!"
As Tanya entered Myrtle's bathroom, she saw Harry, Ron and Lockhart in front of a large pipe. Unfortunately, her presence distracted the boys, allowing the professor to hold her hostage.
"Let me go!" This time won't be like last time, she still could feel her magic. She had to just throw him off before-
"Don't worry…" His whisper on her ear made her tense.
"… I would never hurt my future wife."
"NOOOO!" Like before, she completely lost her mind. She struggled but could not free herself. Again, she could not control the flow of mana into her body.
"W-what is wrong?! Why is she not kicking his arse like she did with the spiders- !" Ron gasped, Harry was livid with anger!
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER, YOU BASTARD?!"
"Me?! I-"
"PLEASE! NOT AGAIN! I'D RATHER DIE!"
"LET HER GO OR I SWEAR TO GOD I AM GOING TO HEX YOUR HANDS INTO JELLY!"
"S-stay where you are! I am- Ah! WHAT IS THAT?!" Lockhart suddenly yelled.
"GAH! THEY CAME FOR ME!" And Ron screamed even louder than the professor.
Tanya looked up and saw one of Aragog's children coming down in a web thread.
"G-give what you promised father! Hurry!" There was apprehension in its voice. Probably fear of being so close to the basilisk.
Lockhart amidst all his fear released Tanya and backed away.
"… a promise?" Tanya has been so distraught over the recent events that the deal with Aragog had totally slipped her mind!
"Ah!" However, she realized how both her problems could be solved the same way.
"HE! YOU CAN HAVE HIM!" Tanya pointed to the professor.
The reaction was instantaneous, the spider jumped at its target.
Tanya couldn't see anything, she was cowering in a corner with her arms wrapped around herself and closed eyes, trying desperately to block her traumatic memories. After a few seconds, Lockhart screams started to get distant until they could not be heard anymore.
She winced when a hand touched her shoulder.
"NO-"
"TANYA! It's me!"
The girl looked up. Confirming it was indeed Harry, she buried her tear stained face in his chest.
"Y-you didn't do anything! You lied to me!"
"I… I am sorry…"
"Do a better job next time! Sob!"
They spend a few minutes like that. Harry held her while she cried.
"What happened to him?" Tanya finally recomposed herself.
"That spider took him away."
"And where is Ron? Wasn't he also here?"
"W-well…" Following Harry's gaze, she saw in another corner, sprawled on the floor, an unconscious Ron Weasley.
"Seeing the spider attack Lockhart was a tad too much for him."
Tanya freed herself from Harry's embrace and stood up. At the same time picking up a bag she had dropped when Lockhart grabbed her.
"So, this is the entrance." In front of her was a large and rusted pipe.
"Harry, Take Ron to the hospital wing, I am-"
"No! I am not letting you do this alone!"
"You can't help me if you didn't learn the spell!"
"I am not staying behind this time! I want to help my g-g-girlfriend!"
"Is Hermione the only person he thinks of now? Look at me, dammit! What was that talk about me being your mother and sister? So typical! Once they find themselves a girlfriend, they forget about family!"
"Oh! Aren't you two a cute couple? But from what I heard and saw, someone may have gotten 'there' first, Harry!" Myrtle said in a mocking tone.
'… Am I the first man to ever see you naked…?' The memories flashed, making Tanya cringe.
"No! She is bluffing! She doesn't know! NOBODY KNOWS!"
"See what I said? Harry, you don't need a tramp-"
"ARANIA EXUMAI!" After hearing this strange incantation, Tanya saw Moaning Myrtle's head break in a thousand pieces and vanish. It was almost funny to see the ghost girl struggling in a frenzied manner just like a chicken with its head cut off!
"See? I learned the spell!" Tanya looked at Harry and smiled.
"'Arania Exumai'?"
"Told you I needed a chant."
"Alright. Let's kill Voldemort once and for all!"
AN: I made Ginny steal the diary sooner in this version. This happened because Ginny thought that Harry would present the diary to Tanya, and she couldn't stand the idea of Tanya taking another 'important someone' from her life.
Unknowingly, Tanya and Harry were protecting the school by training in Myrtle's bathroom. Ginny, possessed by the diary's will was trying to reach the basilisk, but couldn't open the entrance to the chamber in front of the two kids. This is why Hermione and Penelope Clearwater weren't prettified sooner.
I made some modifications in the three prologues. I changed the name of the first prologue to 'teaser chapter', the second prologue became the first, and the third became the second. Its not too much of a change, but I thought it would be better like this.
My dear readers, I ask something of you! I was reading the summary of this story and thought it was lacking, it was too vague. So I would like for you to put together a new one. I need something that explains what this story is about. Can someone help me on this?
Next chapter, the conclusion of the second arc. Tanya will met someone she thought to never see again…
Reviews:
RedOuroboros: Let's see just how deep she will get…
Tanya von Degurechaff: Sorry, you will need to wait until arc 4 to see what I have planned to the gobblet of fire.
Lubber: Thank you.
Setokayba2n: I don't think that the word 'poor' fits Tanya.
Pudy: Thank you.
EricFreak: Thank you, I really appreciate people taking their time to write a review. I don't know the other authors, but it makes my day to see even a small comment about my story.
Duked: Thank you.
SixPathsOfKyuubi: Thank you.
Rairi Valelira: This may be a very hard thing to do… Specially since the death of god could mean the end of the universe as we know…