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Chapter 2

Being stuck in the dragon's body, under London's busy streets, removed from all the sunlight, was almost as bad as being in the cave with the inferi. He hated it. A dragon like the Ukrainian Ironbelly, should be a powerful dragon! Not afraid of anything, and yet, here he was, cowering from the Clankers, trying to appear as small as possible. Regulus didn't know what time or even what year it was, but if he could guess, it would be near time to go to Hogwarts. He had lost count of the number of times that the goblins had shown up with students and their parents, just here to retrieve some galleons or odd trinkets from their vaults, and then leaving them again. It was dark down here, how he longed to be in the light again. To be at hogwarts. Regulus couldn't wait until the students would go back to Hogwarts, then surely, he would return to guard the blasted Diadem. Regulus had to give it to the dark lord, using things that belonged to the founders as his horcruxes. Regulus had been curious one time at Hogwarts, he had gone to the come and go room, seeking out the horcrux, just to see what it was. He was a Slytherin after all.

Regulus sighed, trying to turn a bit so he could relax, but everytime he did, the chains around his neck tightened, not leaving him any room to turn around.

He almost wished, just almost, that he was back in the cave. At least he wasn't chained to anything there.

He couldn't wait to be able to be back at Hogwarts when the terms would start again. Even if he had to be a rat there, it sure would be better than being here underground, and unable to move.

He suddenly felt the pull and yet again, he was pulled through time as his body shifted and warped, bones breaking and skin tearing as he assumed a new form. When he landed, he fell on the ground and into a bush. He looked up and saw a huge oddly designed house, it looked like it would fall down any minute. It looked as though someone had stacked houses on top of one another, and it leaned to one side. How on earth the building was still standing was a mystery to him. At least he knew he was in a magical environment, surely no muggle establishment would look like this.

What is the meaning of this? Regulus thought looking at the house, did the dark lord hide a horcrux in this place? Not likely. He scrambled a bit towards the house, hoping for the love of Salazar Slytherin that the owners didn't have a cat or a garden full of gnomes.

He climbed up on the overgrown bushes beside a window, and looked in. As soon as he saw the bunch of redheads, he knew where he was. Weasleys, just great. What ever did the dark lord put here? He sat looking inside wanting to know just what horcrux might be here.

He didn't have to wait long as the youngest of the family, the red haired girl, went to go outside. Carrying the diary! Regulus almost fell down from the window, how in the name of Merlin had she gotten her hands on that! Wait, did Lucius give that to her? Did he even know what it was? Regulus wondered what on earth had happened. There was no way Lucius would have handed over a piece of his Lords soul to someone like this little girl, it was preposterous!

Well, he might as well try and sneak inside the house, see if he could get a hold of something to eat, he couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten. Regulus made sure to hide and sneak alongside the wall, but to his big surprise, one of the twin boys saw him.

"Mom! There's a rat there!"

"Perhaps it's Scabbers! Get him!"

"That's not Scabbers."

"Out, get out of my kitchen you filthy little thing! Shoo!"

Regulus soon found himself running for his life, with the mad witch on his heels waving a broom and her wand while screaming. Well, I might as well come back later for a snack. He thought as he ran behind some boxes.

"Where did it go?"

"Don't worry darling, I am sure it won't come back again! No need to worry!"

Just wonderful, living like a rat again, but at least he could go out in the sun this time. And he could move and stretch, he had spent so much time chained in place as the dragon, his limbs were stiff and sore.

Later that evening, Regulus had managed to sneak back into the burrow to grab a biscuit, all without being spotted. He dragged it over towards the fire, where he had found a small, safe spot to lay down and enjoy his meal. He was out of sight here, at least he hoped he would be. Regulus was actually happy, he would have been happier in his human form, instead of a rat. Unfortunately he didn't have that choice, but staying somewhere warm and safe like this, he would love to spend the rest of his life here, guarding the diary. As he started to eat the biscuit (when has a biscuit ever tasted so great?) his thoughts began to wander. More than once, he had thought about the young Gryffindor witch he had seen last year at hogwarts. More than once, her beautiful brown eyes had haunted his dreams. She had been the first human to show him kindness for more than a dozen years, and those eyes and her kind smile, and her smell, drove him nuts. He longed to find her in the castle again and curl up beside her in the library once again.

"Scabbers? Where are you?" came a voice from the stairs.

Regulus looked up, seeing a grey rat stumbling towards the stairs. That was something off about that rat, he was sure he had seen it before, but where? He was almost positive that it was not a rat. He made a mental note, to keep away from that creature and stay hidden as long as the diary was there.

Regulus had been at the burrow, he learned this place was called, a week now. He had learned a great deal of things. The blackhaired boy that stayed here was the boy that had vanquished the Dark Lord. Regulus would have been grateful had he had been a human and not a rat. The girl with the diary was supposed to start her first year at Hogwarts, and spent all of her time writing in the diary and asking questions about the school. Just this morning they had received a letter from the witch that occupied Regulus' mind. He had learned that the young witch, Hermione, was a muggleborn. Of all the witches and wizards at the school, the first one to h show him kindness was muggleborn! He had never met a muggleborn before, this certainly made things interesting.

He was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, it had been almost peaceful being able to relax here. He had access to food, dozens of places to hide and rest. And he had a certain muggleborn witch to find!

This afternoon Regulus was sitting in a sunny patch of grass, it felt amazing on his aching bones and sore body. Regulus would be quite happy to spend his days here, even though he knew something was off with the youngest girl, Ginny. He had seen her write in the diary more than once, and had noticed that she was in a trance when she wrote in it. He could feel the dark magic in the air every time she wrote in it. Regulus wasn't sure what it was, but it was evil.

They were bound to go to Hogwarts tomorrow, and he had already prepared. He would hide in the girl's trunk, no one would look for him there.

The first day at Hogwarts had been amazing, he didn't realize how much he would miss hearing the students talk. Regulus hadn't come out of the trunk yet, currently he was lying on top of the diary, quite happy and tired. As he drifted off to sleep he began dreaming that he was back in the cave with the inferi, they were trying to get to him. He could feel them pull at him and push him around, so his first thought was to bite. He bit down, and heard a high pitched scream. The next thing he knew he was jostled awake as he felt himself being tossed through the air, being caught by the tail and held dangling by a small hand. Ginny was glaring at him, and then suddenly hurling him towards the wall. His body slammed into the wall and all he felt was searing pain. He could feel blood dripping from his ear, Regulus looked up in time to see a huge book coming his way, he wasn't fast enough and it hit him, knocking him unconscious.

"Is it dead?"

"I don't think so, get rid of it! It's disgusting!"

He barely heard the girls speaking, but he felt them kick him out of the dormitory, closing the door after his departure. Regulus was not feeling well. He was dizzy, very dizzy. Regulus was sure he had a concussion, and his lag felt strange. He was sure it was broken, he didn't know what came over him, but he started to pull himself towards the second year dormitory. He needed to see her eyes again, just one more look, that was all. Just one look. He wanted to see kindness before he died, at least one more time.

Regulus managed to make it to the door, and could just barely slip under it.

He could feel his life slowly draining as the world started to go black, and then she was there. With a simple touch, he was picked up by a small set of hands, she smelt like honey like she always did.

"Oh, you poor thing, whatever happened to you?" Hermione said as she took the rat in her hands, gently holding it.

"I am not sure what to use on a rat, but I have been practicing some small healing charms, maybe one of them will work on you?" she asked, almost like she wanted him to answer, and oh how he would love to. Regulus wanted nothing more than to talk with the little witch, tell her everything. But, of course he couldn't. Instead he could feel her magic wrap around him like a warm blanket. Oh how he enjoyed this. She was waving her wand and whispering to herself, and Regulus recognized the spell. Episkey! Clever witch. He felt his back bone mend itself, and he sighed. It felt wonderful to get rid of that pain.

"Are you hungry? I'm going down to get something to eat in the great hall, I'll bring you something. Just stay here and don't go anywhere!" Hermione said and smiled. Regulus had no intention of leaving, he would happily stay here, waiting on the young witch. As the girl ran from her dorm, he crawled up on her pillow, at least he hoped it was her bed she had put him on. He didn't fancy getting another book tossed at him. Regulus curled around, letting the healing magic around him soothe him into sleep. It had been a very long time since he last had felt like this. Content, happy? Regulus didn't know. He just knew that if this was what heaven felt like, he would happily do whatever it took to get there.

Regulus must have fallen asleep, suddenly she was there again, petting him, while he slept. Oh how it felt wonderful. He really wanted to talk with her, but knew that he would never be rid of the curse. She was petting his head, and it felt wonderful. Regulus could almost imagine how it would feel if she was pulling at his hair, just like that! He knew he should be ashamed of himself, feeling the way he felt around her, but he couldn't seem to bother. It wasn't like this curse would ever be lifted anyway. If there was one thing the Dark Lord did well, it was curses.

"Are you hungry? You look better! My spells must have helped." Hermione said as she took out a small plate, filled with pieces of bread and sliced fruit. Regulus stretched himself before he walked over to her, sniffing and giving her hand a small lick with his tongue, before he went to eat. Oh strawberries! Regulus loved strawberries! Oh and was that? No, it couldn't be a cauldron cake? Regulus nearly fainted; he wanted to eat one of those so bad. He hadn't had one in many years. Regulus started to eat, feeling content that she chose to feed him and he didn't have to go around looking for food himself. It was nice, just staying at her side eating. He loved to hear her giggle when he managed to get cake all over his fur.

"It looked like you were very hungry, don't worry, you won't be starving now! I am going to look after you when I'm here, if you want me to?" Hermione smiled at him. Regulus went over to her, and licked her small hand, before he curled himself together in a small ball.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Hermione grinned, before she went to the loo. Regulus looked away as she took out her school uniform. He wouldn't look, even though he wanted to, he couldn't. If the girl only knew that there was currently a death eater in her bed, she would surely curse him. It was not like he couldn't handle the curses, but he didn't want her to curse him. Was he sentimental? Maybe, but all he wanted was her love and caring. Even if Regulus knew it would never happen, one could dream.

As she curled up in the bed, he went under the blanket, trying to turn around so he could snuggle with her, but it was difficult. The blanket was very heavy. The witch laughed at him, but took pity and lifted the blanket a bit, so he could curl up beside her.

"Sleep well little friend," she said as she kissed him between his ears.

Regulus was feeling warm again, that fluffy feeling inside him, just because of her lips on his skin. When was the last time anyone had kissed him? He honestly couldn't remember. The only thing he could remember was the inferi, clawing and biting, or the curses they threw at him when he was the dragon. The small pressure from her lips, sent a whole new feeling through him. He snuggled closer to her, falling asleep with her breath on his head. Yes, Regulus could die happily now.

"You know, you have such amazing eyes! I have never seen eyes that color on a rat, and I've been researching. You are quite rare." Hermione said as she walked through the corridors, with Regulus perched on her shoulder. As soon as he was healed, she started to take him everywhere she went. He kind of liked it. For once, the cats couldn't get to him. It was almost like being a human again, it was a nice change, being up in the air like this. When she was in class, she would always pet him during the lectures while she took her notes. He was currently sitting in the classroom, learning about transfiguration , when Hermione stopped petting him, and raised her and to ask a question.

"Professor, I was wondering, if you could tell us about the chamber of secrets?" his witch said, wait, did he just call her his witch? Oh well, maybe one day, if he were lucky she would be his witch.

"Very well. Well you all know of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin." McGonagall said, which got Regulus attention. Surely the chamber of secrets couldn't be open. If it was, then the small witch, which he had taken a liking to, would end up being in grave danger.

"Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not."

Regulus snorted, of course everyone knew that.

"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all magical families. In other words, Purebloods,"

Now Regulus felt slightly disgusted. He knew his family was of that belief. His mother and father especially. His older brother had somehow managed to escape from their home, and had formed his own opinions on the matter. If Regulus had been braver, he would have run too. But he wasn't. Instead he was sucked into the war, to become one of the Dark Lords followers. Why did he not run, when he had gotten the chance?

"Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now according to legend, Slyhtherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though, shortly before departing he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber and unleash the horror within and by so, doing purge the school of all those who in Slytherin's view, we're unworthy to study magic."

Damn, he hated the Dark Lord even more now. Who in this school could possibly be the heir? It didn't make sense. The Dark Lord was gone, he didn't have any children. Though his cousin Bellatrix surely would have loved it if she could have given the evil man an heir or two. Regulus shuddered at the thought. He tried not to think about it, but he didn't like what the professor was saying.

"Muggleborns," Hermione quietly said. Regulus pushed his head into her hands, wanting to comfort her, to show her that he didn't think that way anymore. He had changed, he didn't believe in that nonsense any longer.

"Well, naturally the school had been searched many times. No such Chamber was found," McGonagall said a bit harshly.

"Professor, what exactly does legend tell us lies within the chamber?" Hermione asked.

"Well the chamber is said to be home to something only the heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home of a monster." McGonagall explained.

Regulus could hear all the students whispering, he knew that someone had claimed to have opened the chamber, he just didn't know who. His first thought was the boy, Harry Potter, he had some similarities to the Dark Lord. Regulus could feel that there was something sinister to the boy. But the boy told everyone around him that he wasn't the one who had done it. He was so lost in thoughts he didn't notice that he was being stuffed inside Hermione's pocket.

Regulus wanted to get to the bottom of this, even though he didn't know how that would be possible.

Regulus was looking at the witch, he knew she had figured out what creature there hunted the school. She was walking with a mirror, and Regulus was stuffed in her pocket.

"If anything happens to me, you run! Just run!" Hermione kept on saying, as she looked around the corners with the mirror. Regulus knew why she was scared, and he had to admit that he was scared too. He saw the page she had torn from the library book. There was a Basilisk in the school. It all made sense now. Regulus knew that the dark lord had unleashed his "pet" when he had been at the school, he even blamed it on the half giant Hagrid. Now, the heir was here, letting the monster snake loose. Regulus was scared, one look at its eyes, and you would end up killed. Hermione had been clever, if the creature came after her she would only see it through a mirror, and then end up like all the other students; petrified.

Regulus could hear the snake before the girl saw it in her mirror. He wished that he could have warned her somehow. He curled around inside her pocket as the girl fell on the ground, petrified. He could hear the snake come near, and saw its huge shadow on the wall. Regulus knew he had to do something, or the snake would eat his witch. He made up his mind, and ran out of the pocket. Regulus closed his eyes, he could sniff and he knew where the walls were. He ran towards the basilisk, and as soon as he got near it, he bit it! The snake hissed, but it worked. Regulus ran down the corridor, with the snake hot on his heels.

Great, what now? He thought as he ran. He could hear the snake behind him, and opened his eyes. He needed to get away or he would end up as the snake's dinner. But better him than his witch. If Regulus hadn't run for his life, he would question himself, when he had decided to call Hermione his witch.

He soon found a hole in the wall, and ran inside, scrambling up inside the wall to safety. The snake tried to punch a hole in the wall, but all of a sudden it stopped. Regulus could hear a girl hissing outside, a girl? Was the slytherin heir a girl? He put his ear up towards the wall, and he could hear them disappear. He quickly ran from the wall, and after them, wanting to know just where the snake came from. Suddenly he was outside the girl's toilet on the second floor. That was odd! He climbed under the door, and went inside. There was water all over the place. But no one was inside the toilet, except for a ghost, oh Moaning Myrtle, he never talked with her when he was at school, everyone knew she was a ghost who spent all her time crying in the toilets.

After he had looked all over and no one was to be found, he sighed. He didn't know what had possessed him, he couldn't have done anything anyway. Regulus wished more than ever that he was a human again, so he could have protected Hermione.

Hermione! He had to go to her. Regulus quickly ran from the toilet as fast as he could towards where he knew Hermione was. As he came around the corner, he already saw the teachers levitating the girl. It killed him inside, much more than the inferi or when he was a dragon. He felt so useless. There was nothing that he could do, absolutely nothing. He ran after the teachers, and soon found himself at the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey took charge, and put Hermione on an empty bed. It was not long before her "friends" came rushing in. He almost wanted to bite the red haired boy when he held onto her hand, no one could touch her, only him! But he knew it was a useless attempt, Hermione would choose them over him, if she knew what he was. Regulus wouldn't dare to try and crawl up towards her, not when the two boys were here. The last thing he needed was for them to try and curse him. So instead, he crawled under the bed, waiting and hoping that all the students would soon wake up again.

A short time later…

Why was he running after those boys again? And then that stupid idiot who dared to call himself a teacher? But apparantly those idiotic boys knew where the chamber was, and the red headeds sister had apparently been taken by the snake. Regulus felt sorry for the girl, he actually did. No one deserved to be kept prisoner in a chamber with a huge snake. They were back again in the girls toilet and suddenly the blackhaired boy, Harry, his name was Harry, Regulus knew that, he just forgot it. The boy was hissing like a snake, and then an entrance appeared right in the middle of the toilet. Fascinating, Regulus thought.

He laughed a bit as he saw the teacher, being scared of two students. They didn't look that frightening for him, the red haired boy's wand was also broken. How could the teacher be scared of that? But then again, the teacher was Gilderoy Lockhart. Not the bravest or wisest of wizards, bloody fool he was. Regulus made sure to follow down the entrance, he felt the pull towards the horcrux down there, and even though he hadn't wanted to leave Hermione's bedside, he had to. The pull was to strong for him to resist. He ran from the boys as soon as he landed, he didn't want to see all the skeletons of small animals under his paws. He liked to live, and he didn't have any plans on being eaten by a snake today. He came to a round door, covered with engravings of snakes, knowing he couldn't go that way, he scrambled alongside the wall, and quickly found a small hole. He crept inside, hoping that he wouldn't see the huge snake.

Regulus stopped, as he suddenly could feel the dark magic again. The same dark magic that had trapped him for all those years ago. It couldn't be! The Dark Lord couldn't be back. Regulus didn't want to believe it, but he could feel the magic around him. He almost didn't dare to look around the corner, when he saw him. Well a younger version of the Dark Lord, but it was him. He was looking down at the girl, smiling wickedly. Regulus kept himself hidden at the wall, not wanting the dark wizard to notice him. He would die, he was sure of it. Regulus was so lost, the dark magic around him scared the shit out of him, he didn't see the boy Harry arrive, he didn't see or hear the boys talk. He was scared, his whole body was trembling, wanting to make himself as small as possible. If Regulus was to stand before a boggart, he would bet all his money in his vault that it would take the form of Voldemort. He heard the snake before he saw it, and when it came out of the mouth of an old figure, was that Salazar Slytherin? he ran. The snake was soon blinded by a phoenix, at least that gave Regulus some comfort. He had trouble finding his way around, staying out of sight, because of the magic in the air. That dark magic was freaking him out.

The boy ran inside a pipe in the wall, and Regulus sighed, he didn't hope the boy would end up dead, he actually hoped he would live. The snake soon came back, as it could smell him. Regulus ran for his life again as the snake dove after him, trying to eat him. It had attacked him, but he was small and quick. He found a hiding place, and made sure to stay out of sight. Regulus felt he had been there forever, the magic was freaking him more and more. Then suddenly a high pitched scream echoed throughout the cave. He didn't know what had happened, or how he could help, but he slowly crept from his hiding place. The snake was dead! The boy had actually killed it. Regulus was impressed, he actually thought that the snake would get the boy.

Suddenly the boy took a fang out of the snake's mouth, and plunged it into the diary. As soon as the fang hit the diary, Regulus felt stabbing pain in his stomach. He groaned and cried, he could feel the dark magic inside him, trying to lash out. The boy stabbed the book again, and Regulus nearly blacked out. Everytime the boy stabbed the diary, the image of the young Dark Lord began to shatter. The boy was actually killing the soul! How was that even possible? As soon as the Dark Lord screamed and disappeared, the young girl woke up. Regulus felt tired as he lay at the wall, even breathing felt like it took too much energy. He had felt the dark magic leaving his body everytime the boy had stabbed the diary. How was that even possible? Could it really be possible that some of the magic the dark lord had inflicted on him was dead alongside the horcrux? Maybe, just maybe, Regulus could one day be free. When all the horcruxes were gone, perhaps all the magic inside of Regulus, that awful magic that trapped him, would actually go away? More than anything, Regulus hoped that he one day could hold his witch in his arms, use magic and read a book. After all those years trapped, Regulus suddenly began to hope that one day he could be a man again.