The news that Colin Creevy had been petrified by Slytherin's monster rapidly buzzed around the school the next day. At lunch, Harry caught the headmaster's eye and got a slight shake of his head. They were no closer to determining the location of the Chamber, and none of the students or teachers that Harry had checked were being possessed by Voldemort. He felt a bit helpless and frustrated, but tried not to be too grumpy as he went about his normal classes. Colin had been annoying anyway, and he would be fine once the mandrakes finished maturing.
He did think to ask Hermione why they didn't just get mature mandrakes from somewhere else instead of waiting, but apparently mandrakes took several years to mature, and the potion required fresh mandrake root harvested soon after they finished growing. There just weren't any other crops that would be ready sooner than the one already growing in greenhouse three.
Harry continued to let his magic roam and slide over the sparks of everyone around, looking for traces of glowing red eyes.
…
Harry, Hermione, Luna and Neville walked into the Great Hall with the rest of the crowd chattering excitedly about the new Dueling Club. Even though Harry and Hermione didn't exactly need standard dueling lessons, they had all agreed that it might be useful and even fun. Harry let himself get carried along with the throng of students as he glanced up at the raised stage now assembled in the middle of the hall. He looked around at the number of students milling around and wondered if they were going to take turns or what.
"I wonder who they got to run the club?" Hermione was saying beside him. "I know Flitwick was a dueling champion, or maybe McGonagall? I know Snape has also been after the DADA position for years, maybe he'll take over?"
"As long as it's not-" Harry started before Lockhart appeared onstage with a dramatic flair of his decorative plum robes.
Harry stopped and stared at the famous professor.
"Nope." He said, and despite Hermione's recusing glare he strode out of the hall.
…
"It really wasn't that bad."
"Sure it wasn't. Did he teach you how to defeat your enemies by smiling at them?"
"No! He taught us… well Snape showed us a few really useful dueling spells."
"Even better. You know that I can't get enough quality time with Snape."
"It wouldn't kill you to be slightly less prickly all the time, Harry."
"You never know, it just might."
…
The next afternoon, Harry and Hermione were enjoying the warmth of the crackling fire in the common room after Herbology was canceled due to the blizzard raging outside. They both allowed a bit of their magic free to mingle within their personal little bubble around the plush armchairs. Harry stared pensively into the flames, thinking about ways that he could search for the Chamber of Secrets that didn't involve just randomly speaking Parseltongue to every stretch of wall in the castle. Hermione was leafing through a heavy tome about ancient magical artifacts, looking for references to the Hallows and other potential fragments of divinity. She also searched for the Eye of Fjolnir that Luna mentioned and refused to elaborate on. Harry was very much enjoying the relaxed atmosphere contentedly when-
"...bite…kill…feast…"
Harry and Hermione both leapt from their chairs as they felt the aberration in the castle's magic. It was far away and moving farther, in the general direction of the library.
Both of them sprinted as fast as they could without fully calling on their power. They weren't exactly opposed to allowing the other students to discover their abilities, but they had agreed to at least try and keep it a secret if it wasn't extremely inconvenient.
They made it to the corridor above the library within minutes, but they were still too late. Justin Finch-Fletchley's petrified body lay on the floor, his blank eyes staring up at them glassily, and in front of him was the ghostly form of Nearly Headless Nick.
"Huh. I guess that's what a Basilisk's stare does to ghosts. Weird."
Hermione shot him a disapproving look as Peeves the Poltergeist suddenly popped through the wall in front of them, bouncing around the corridor like a rubber ball.
"Why, it's Potty and the Grange! Where's the rest of your little posse? Did you get-"
The annoying poltergeist spotted Justin and Nick.
"ATTACK! ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAAAAACK!"
Harry slapped his hand over his face with exasperation while Hermione just shook her head. There were several minutes of pandemonium before McGonagall and Dumbledore showed up, quickly restoring order. Dumbledore met Harry's eyes over the crowd and this time it was Harry's turn to shake his head slightly.
They had missed the Heir and the Basilisk once again.
…
Harry woke up on Christmas morning to an unholy racket. Luckily it was only Ron and himself left in the dorm room over the winter holidays. Hermione had also stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas, and he was excited to spend the holidays with his best friend. They had already very much enjoyed having the snowy days to themselves, running through the frozen forest and practicing their magic in abandoned classrooms far from the remaining student population.
Harry jumped out of bed and looked for the source of the ear-piercing cacophony. His eyes swept the room and-
Is that a chicken?
Sure enough, in a cage at the end of his bed with his other presents, with a bright green bow on top, was a chicken. Or maybe a rooster, from the size of it. And from the noise it was currently making.
Harry quickly wrapped the cage in his magic and hardened it to muffle the noise and Ron rolled over and grumbled at him, also sitting up and staring in confusion at the rooster.
"Harry, mate… who the hell got you a chicken? And… why?"
That was an excellent question.
Harry walked over to the cage and looked for a card. Sure enough, it had a gift tag on it just like the rest of his Christmas gifts.
His name is Rocky. With Love, From Luna.
Harry groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course it was from Luna. He racked his brain for any possible reason that the erratic blonde may have for inflicting this upon him, until he remembered the Basilisk's supposed weakness. Apparently, all of Hagrid's roosters had been killed, but Luna had somehow gotten a hold of this one. And now it was his. Lovely.
Harry looked up at Ron. "I don't… it was Luna… and I guess she thought I would like a chicken? Apparently, his name is Rocky…"
Ron stared back at him, looking unsure whether to be horrified or laugh. "You've got some… interesting… friends, mate."
"No argument here."
Harry started sorting through his other presents. He unwrapped a wand holster from Neville, which made him laugh because he had also gotten his friend a wand holster too. They made good practical gifts for anyone who didn't already have one. Neville had also gotten him a book on the Sacred 28 and the Noble Houses of the Wizengamot, which Harry appreciated. Hagrid had gotten him some toffee and Harry felt bad for not spending more time with the kindly groundskeeper this year. He would need to resume those weekly teatime chats.
He had sent Hedwig out to deliver Neville's wand holster, as well as a book on the proper care and raising of Thestrals for Luna. He had also gotten the unusual girl a box of chocolates and an especially interesting rock he had found while running around the lake.
He was more excited to exchange gifts with Hermione in person though.
He made his way down to the common room, levitating the silenced cage with the rooster along behind him, and smiled when he saw Hermione sitting in the common room in her pajamas. Her hair was bushier than normal, and she had her eyes closed as she leaned back in an armchair by the fire. There were several wrapped packages sitting at her feet.
She opened her eyes as Harry came downstairs, smiling widely at him and looking like she was about to speak before she caught sight of the rooster and apparently forgot about whatever she was originally planning to say.
"Luna got me a rooster for Christmas."
Hermione's mouth opened and closed several times as he saw her brilliant mind do the same mental gymnastics that his had been forced through upstairs.
"That's… great, Harry. Just great. We can carry it with us everywhere in case of monster attacks. Fantastic. Um. Happy Christmas!" She said, looking a bit unsure about whether she was being sarcastic or not.
"Happy Christmas! His name is Rocky, apparently."
Hermione just shook her head and handed Harry one of the boxes at her feet.
Harry opened the present to find some kind of black exercise outfit made of a fabric he hadn't seen before. It felt nice under his hands.
"It's a mundane training outfit, I know how much you like our morning runs but I thought you might appreciate something official to wear, instead of just your normal casual clothes."
Harry did appreciate it. It may have been a bit juvenile, but he thought that he would look cool running in the black outfit with green magic spiraling around him.
"It's brilliant, Hermione. I'll definitely give it a try."
She smiled and handed over a second package. This one held a very nice-looking half cloak, which made Harry raise his eyebrows at her.
She blushed a little bit. "I know that you don't like the flowing robes since they're too restrictive, but I thought that you might like to have something to wear that doesn't get in the way as much.
Harry swept it on over his pajamas and struck a pose that wouldn't be out of place on Lockhart, grinning crookedly at his best friend. "So, how do I look?"
She laughed and threw a wad of crumpled up wrapping paper at him. "Very dashing, Death Scooter."
He laughed with her and pulled the cloak off, handing her the first of his gifts. She unwrapped it and looked at the round white orb in confusion.
"It's a reading light, or any other kind of light too I guess. If you lift it up like this and let go, it will hang in the air and give off whatever kind of light that you want. I thought it might be convenient, and I remembered the light above the bean bag chair in your room and candles or Lumos are kind of a pain…"
She smiled widely at him. "You don't have to justify it, Harry. I love it!" She lifted the little sphere up and let it hang between them, giving off a soft white light.
"I got you one more present too, I just have to run and grab it."
Harry left Rocky in Hermione's tender care and ran back upstairs, grabbing her other present from under his bed.
He came back downstairs, and Hermione's eyes widened at the size and shape of the package.
"Ok, I know what you're going to say, but it will be fun, I promise!"
Hermione opened the long box to reveal a Nimbus 2000. She ran her hands lightly down the glossy wood and looked unsure of what to say.
"Look, I know that flying isn't really your thing. And you never have to use it if you don't want to. But I thought it might be fun for us to be able to fly together without you having to use one of the old school brooms. And you haven't tried flying since you awakened your magic, you might find that it agrees with you more now that you can really connect with your broom, and you don't really have any risk of falling or serious injury and-"
"Shush." She actually reached over and covered his mouth with her hand.
Harry stopped rambling and let her process for a moment.
She uncovered his mouth and set the box down before slowly wrapping him in a gentle hug. It felt different from the way that she usually threw her arms around him, and Harry slowly hugged her back with equal gentleness as their magic swirled and glowed around them.
…
"Alright, when you brush against the broom's enchantments with your magic, can you feel it trying to connect?"
Harry and Hermione stood in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch on the last day of the winter holidays.
"I think so. It kinda feels like when I let it mingle with the soul of the castle?"
"Exactly. The broom's purpose is to fly, and its soul wants to do so. If you let it in, you can form a connection with it built on that desire, and it will be able to bond with you similarly to your wand. Mind you, you do actually have to want to fly for this to work properly."
She stuck her tongue out at him. He had been doing his best not to pressure her into trying it out, but he really wanted to go flying with her.
"Ok, yes, I can feel that. Alright. I can do this. It's just a stupid stick."
Harry laughed as she stared intently at the broom on the ground beside her until she raised her hand and the broom jumped into it with a spark of blue magic.
"It worked!"
"Of course it worked, Ice Queen. Now it may be a good idea to try it again from farther away, just so that you know that you'll be able to call it back to you if you slip off or something."
They worked through a few more exercises and soon they were doing lazy laps of the Quidditch pitch.
Harry couldn't help but grin widely at his best friend as they flew. She smiled back a bit shakily, but she was quickly getting more confident on the broom, and he knew it.
"Alright, whenever you're ready, try to infuse your power into the broom like you do your body when you run. The feeling of speed is pretty similar, and I know how much you like running so-"
"You talk too much, Harry. Give me a moment."
Harry watched as she slowed to a stop midair and closed her eyes, her head falling back and her face pointing towards the sky as she called on her magic and focused. The air cooled as her power swirled around her, gaining speed and strength as he felt her direct it towards the broom.
Her eyes snapped open, and he wasn't surprised to see them flooded with white-blue light. She lifted her head back up and looked at him with a grin.
"Oh. I like this," she said.
And then she rocketed towards the sky with a deafening THUD of displaced air and a rippling shockwave of brilliant power.
Harry couldn't help but let out a wild, whooping laugh as he channeled his own magic into the broom beneath him, shooting towards the heavens after her.
…
The next several weeks passed quickly. Classes restarted and everyone began to relax a bit with the lack of follow-up to the last attacks. Harry and Hermione continued their morning runs, and Harry was right that the exercise outfit and half cloak looked cool. They also started flying together regularly, and while Harry seemed to be more passionate about it, Hermione had taken to it quickly and agreed that the feeling of freedom and power was unbeatable. She mentioned that she understood his goal of flying without a broom a bit more now that she had tasted the joy of flying like he did.
Harry enlarged Rocky's cage and left him in an abandoned classroom, swinging by at least once a day to feed him and vanish any debris. He had thanked Luna for the present but did remind her that it was rude to give pets as gifts. She had just looked at him solemnly and said that Rocky wasn't a pet, he was a comrade in arms against the forces of evil. Harry stopped bringing it up after that.
Harry also started to relax and let his guard down as the day-to-day monotony of school life fell into an easy routine. He definitely should have known better.
…
"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" Lockhart shouted from the podium at the front of the Great Hall.
"Do you think that Death will be able to find me if I off myself?"
"Don't even joke about that, Harry."
"May I present to you my friendly card-carrying cupids!" Lockhart exclaimed as a dozen angry looking dwarves with golden wings strapped to their backs filed into the hall. Harry wondered how much Lockhart was paying them.
"These fine gentlemen will be roaming around the school today delivering your valentines!"
Harry's smile slowly widened until it was a truly terrifying expression.
"Harry, no. Whatever you're thinking, just no."
"Harry, yes." He said seriously.
…
They were halfway through Charms with the Slytherins when it finally happened.
A dwarf barged in, and Professor Flitwick covered his face with his hand. This type of interruption had been happening all day.
"I've got here a musical message to deliver to Draco Malfoy in person," the dwarf said, strumming his harp.
Hermione's glare would have frozen fiendfyre.
"Ahem.
His blonde hair looks like something you'd do for a dare,
His face looks like a ferret,
He thinks he's so cool but we know he's a tool,
For he lives on Daddy's credit!"
The rest of the class was split between laughing and staring in stunned horror as Malfoy's face went purple.
"You really shouldn't go out of your way to provoke him like that, Harry."
"C'mon, it's just Malfoy. I'm sure that he's done something to deserve it."
"That still doesn't make it very nice. How long did you spend coming up with that anyway?"
"Not…toooo long."
…
Harry floated above the Quidditch pitch as they prepared to start their final match of the season against Hufflepuff. He was already starting to get bored as the teams both got into position. Maybe he wouldn't wait for Wood's signal and just catch the Snitch so that they would win the cup and be done with-
His pulse skyrocketed as he felt the emergency ping from his bracelet in his magic. He never took the silver band off, but he had almost forgotten that it was there at this point. And now it was screaming at him which meant-
Hermione.
He immediately spun midair and forced as much magic into his broom as he could manage. He could already feel her power thundering in the distance, a great storm within the school as she brought her magic to bear against whatever was threatening her. Something dangerous enough that she had called for help. Enough of a threat that she was using the full scale of her power in the middle of the school.
It had to be either the Basilisk or Voldemort. And either one could be fatal in a matter of seconds.
Harry exploded towards the school faster than he had ever flown before. Multiple sonic booms echoed through the grounds as he warped the air around his body and broom to allow him to move faster, pulling the individual particles and molecules of gas around him into a slipstream as he shot towards the school in a blurred bubble of twisting power.
He could feel the raging, freezing hurricane of Hermione's power as he closed the distance to the school in seconds. He entered the Dark and phased through the outer wall, beelining straight for her vibrant, dancing spark and-
He saw the moment that it froze, her magic dying as her soul became perfectly still.
He flew through the final wall just in time to feel the presence of the Basilisk retreat. The corridor looked like a warzone. The walls of multiple adjoining classrooms were destroyed, the rooms covered in a thick layer of ice. The ceiling and floor were both caved in from the explosion of power and magic and spikes of brutally sharp ice littered the hallway. In the center of it all was…
Hermione.
She stood with her arms thrown out in front of her, hands splayed as she wielded her power. She had formed a thick sheet of ice as a shield in front of her.
She was as frozen as her beautiful ice.
