AN: Welcome back peeps, to the second chapter of my newest story. As I said before I don't know how long this story will be but there will be time skips, I won't be writing out every day of the story just to make it longer, though I do acknowledge that this chapter take place the day after the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story so far, now on with the next chapter.
Chapter 2, Into the Chamber once more
The next morning, Harry was sitting having breakfast in the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione.
"I'm sorry you couldn't come to Hogsmeade with us yesterday Harry." Hermione said as she was pouring herself some pumpkin juice to go with her food.
"It's fine Hermione, I had a really good day yesterday." Harry waved away her apology after swallowing his bite of bacon, from the corner of his eye, he could see Neville smirking into his breakfast.
"What did you do?" Ron asked for once swallowing his food before speaking.
"Oh, I walked around for a bit before finishing my Charms homework for tomorrow." Technically he wasn't lying, he did walk around yesterday and he did finish his Charms homework, neither of his friends needed to know he had finished his homework after he climbed into bed.
"That's good Harry." Hermione smiled at him before turning to look at Ron. "Which reminds me, have you finished your homework Ronald?"
"I'm gunna do it after breakfast." Ron replied with a roll of his eyes even as he continued eating everything within reach, it would be a brave man who got between Ronald Weasley and his food.
"Good, you can join me in the library, I have my Runes homework to do." Hermione said as she continued her food.
"It's like going to school with my bloody mother." Ron grumbled causing Harry to snort a laugh.
"What was that Ronald, I didn't catch that" Hermione asked the ginger boy with narrowed eyes.
"Nothing." Replied Ron quickly with a smirk at Harry who grinned back whilst Hermione rolled her eyes at the pair.
Just then Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and caught Astoria's eye. She gave him a sly smile and a wink causing him to raise an eyebrow in question which was answered seconds latter.
"POTTER." Came the unmistakable shout of none other than Draco Malfoy who had just stormed in the Great Hall doors and was now storming over to the Gryffindor table.
"Nice hair Malfoy." Harry smirked at the now neon golden haired Malfoy.
"YOU DID THIS POTTER." Malfoy shouted at him, his pale face flushing in his anger as he glared at Harry.
"No Malfoy, I did not." Harry grinned. "If I was going to mess with your hair, you would be bald."
"Jeez Malfoy, when was the last time you showered?" Ron asked the blonde as he leaned away from him, holding his nose.
"I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW I SHOWERED THIS MORNING YOU FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR." Malfoy shouted at Ron, his face flushing more.
"MR MALFOY." Came the loud voice of Professor McGonagall who had made her way down from the head table. "What are you shouting about, you are disturbing breakfast."
"Look at what Potter has done." Malfoy exclaimed as he glared at the Gryffindor head of house.
"It wasn't me Professor." Harry replied when McGonagall turned to look at him. "I don't even know where the Slytherin common room is, never mind what the password is to get in."
"LIES." Screamed Malfoy.
"That is enough Mr Malfoy." McGonagall said tersely. "Now I suggest you go over to your own table, before you lose points and end up with a detention."
"Wait until my father hears about this." Malfoy hissed causing everyone who heard him to roll their eyes, he had been threatening that for two years now and nothing had happened.
"Are you ever not going to hide behind your father's skirt." Harry asked the blonde with a smirk. "I almost feel sorry for the man, having a whiny little bitch like you for a son."
"Language, Mr Potter." McGonagall admonished Harry lightly, she couldn't bring herself to take points as she actually agreed with Harry.
"I apologise professor." Harry said to McGonagall who he could swear was smirking ever so slightly.
"I know you did this Potter." Malfoy glared at him. "You won't get away with this."
"In your father's own words Draco." Harry sneered at the blonde. " Why. Don't. You. Prove. It." He said hissed in his best Snape drawl, raising his eyebrow in challenge.
"Can you prove it Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall questioned the blonde.
"No." Malfoy admitted with a glare at Harry. "But it's obvious that Potter bought a prank item in Hogsmeade yesterday."
"Ah no, the Professor here can vouch for me that I wasn't in Hogsmeade yesterday." Harry grinned at the boy, once again he caught Neville smirking out of the corner of his eye.
"That's true." McGonagall agreed with a nod at Harry. "Now, I suggest you go to your table."
Malfoy glared one last time at the Professor and Harry before spinning around and storming over towards the Slytherin table.
"Who's the Golden-Boy now Malfoy." Harry called to the retreating boys back, causing Malfoy to stiffen in anger at the sound of laughing students before he continued to his house table.
Catching Astoria's eye once again, he gave the girl a slight bow of his head and a smirk of appreciation, causing the girl to smile at him before she turned to look at her sister who had just spoken to her.
"Who would have thought it, Malfoy a Golden-Boy." Guffawed Ron causing the Gryffindor students who had heard him to laugh loudly.
"Did you do it Harry?" Hermione asked him even though she was smiling at him.
"I can honestly say that I did not." Harry replied as he looked the girl in the eyes. Of course he wasn't about to tell her that he did buy the products.
"Good enough for me." Hermione nodded at him. "Come on Ronald, time to go to the library." She said as she stood up, picking up her ever present book bag.
"Coming mother." Grumbled Ron quietly as he stood up causing Harry to snort. "See ya later mate." He then followed Hermione out of the Great Hall, leaving Harry on his own.
After finishing his drink Harry stood from the table ready to go meet Astoria on the 3rd floor so that they could find some place to practise their magic and duelling.
"See you in a bit Neville." Harry nodded at the boy who was leisurely easting his own breakfast.
"See ya Harry." Neville grinned, his eyes briefly flashing towards Astoria who was watching Harry out of the corner of her eye. "Mums the word." He muttered so only Harry heard him.
"Cheers Nev." Harry said before he strolled out of the Great Hall, giving the glaring Malfoy a cheery wave as he did so.
Five minutes later, Harry was on the 3rd floor waiting for his newly minted girlfriend Astoria. He didn't have to wait too long as minutes later, the girl herself rounded the corner into corridor.
"Hello Harry." Astoria smiled as she walked up to him and gave him a soft kiss.
"Hello yourself." Harry grinned before leading her into the same classroom that Fred and George had given him The Marauder's Map.
"So, how did you like this morning's entertainment?" Astoria asked him with a grin after closing the door and taking a seat at one of the tables next to Harry.
"Oh, it was brilliant." Harry smiled at her. "Golden-Boy Malfoy." They laughed together at the former blondes misfortune.
"And the best thing is, his hair will stay golden until he realises that its in his hair gel and not in his shampoo like most hair pranks." Astoria laughed as Harry snorted in agreement.
"So anyway, not that I'm judging or anything, but can you explain the two Dark Arts books." Astoria asked after they had finished laughing.
"Well I told you that Voldemort is not dead." Astoria nodded at him to continue. "Well, this year I've worked out that he came for me that Halloween night, not my parents."
"What do you mean he came for you?" Astoria asked quietly as she took his hand in hers.
"When the Dementor's searched the train on the way to school, I heard my mother's last words." Harry began in a soft voice.
"You heard your mother." Astoria squeezed his hand in support even as her eyes widened in shock.
"Yeah, He told her to stand aside, but she wouldn't." Harry began as he squeezed her hand back. "Everyone always assumes that He went to kill my parents that night he fell, but if that's true, why would he tell my mum to move, why would he give her that chance if they were his targets."
"But that makes no sense, why would the Dark Lord, who for all intents and purposes was on the verge of winning the war, target a baby?" Astoria asked after thinking over Harry's words.
"That's the million dollar question isn't it." Harry sighed as he scrubbed his face with his free hand.
"Everyone thinks that He went after your parents because they had fought him to a standstill three times and tried to kill you to make it a clean job or to stop you growing up wanting revenge, but if you were the real target, why." Astoria spoke softly as she began to rub the back of his hand in comfort.
They sat in silence as they were lost in their own thoughts, trying to work out why a Dark Lord would target an 18 month old baby. The silence was a comfortable one as Astoria continued rubbing circles on the back of Harry's hand.
Harry's eyes widened as he watched one of his Professor's walk past the classroom door without looking into the room.
"Oh surely not." Harry said softy as he watched Professor Trelawney amble past the door.
"Harry?" Astoria questioned after looking up to find him staring at the door.
"What if there was a reason he came after me, what if He had heard a reason that I was a threat to him." Harry asked as he turned to look at Astoria.
"You mean like a Prophecy?" She asked as her eyes widened in surprise.
"It makes sense, He was on the verge of victory but then suddenly on Halloween he came after me and fell." Harry explained his theory and the more he thought and spoke about it, the more it seemed to make sense.
"Yes it does now that I think about it." Astoria agreed after a few moments of thinking about his words.
"From what I have learned, He was a Prefect in his 5th year and finished his OWLS with straight O's and then He was Headboy his 7th year, finishing his NEWTS also with straight O's, but if He didn't study Divination, He might not have understood the subject and in his haste to stop a Prophecy and his possible downfall, He could have acted rashly." Harry explained his thought process getting a nod of agreement from Astoria as he finished.
"That does make sense." Astoria agreed. "And if the Prophecy says that you would beat him or you could beat him, then He would want to eliminate you as a threat long before you could become one."
"And here I thought He wanted me dead because He fell, that I represented his failure but if there is a Prophecy, I'm going to guess that it will come down to me and him in the end." Harry and Astoria didn't know how close to the truth his guess was.
"Well its a good job we bought all those books yesterday to begin preparing for Black, now it looks like that we have to prepare for when the Dark Lord returns as well." Astoria said with determination as she squeezed his hand tightly.
"You still want to be with me even though I will be Voldemort's number one target when he returns." Harry asked her in surprise, he wouldn't have blamed her if she had raced from the room without looking back.
"I told you, I'm not letting some jumped up little Dark Lord come between us." Astoria replied fiercely, Harry grinned at her description of Voldemort once again.
"You do realise that I could end up fighting your father if he is a Death Eater and returns to Voldemort's side." Harry asked after a moment.
"Well if you do, you do me and Daphne a favour and put that bastard down." Astoria said in a harsh voice. "Or I will put him down myself."
"Oh?" Harry asked in shock at Astoria's words. She sighed before she began explaining.
"A year after I was born, my parents learned that my mum couldn't have anymore children, therefore she could not bear him a son and heir to carry on the family name." Astoria began in a soft voice, now drawing her own comfort from Harry's hand. "My father killed my mother in a drunken rage and has been in Azkaban ever since. He couldn't claim Imperious that time"
"I'm so sorry Astoria." Harry whispered as he wrapped his arms around her in comfort, she wrapped her arms around him in return.
"It's ok, me and Daphne never knew our mother but the thought that our father murdered our mother hurts." Astoria said as she took a deep breath, breathing in his sent of cedarwood and apple.
"Where did you both grow up?" Harry asked as he gave her a small squeeze before sitting back.
"Tracey is our cousin, her mum and mine were sisters, so she has raised us ever since mum was killed." Astoria explained with a small smile as she thought about her Aunt, Uncle and cousin.
"So, you, Daphne and Tracey grew up as sisters." Harry asked with a small smile, he wondered what it would have been like to grow up with two older sisters.
"Yes, and they both know about us but we can trust them not to say anything to anyone." Astoria explained earnestly hoping he would understand that they were her sisters.
"It's fine, I didn't expect you to keep this from Daphne anyways, and since Tracey is basically your sister as well its all good." Harry smiled at her to show he understood.
"Have you told Weasley and Granger." She asked after smiling back at his understanding.
"No, Ron would just moan about how you are a Slytherin and not to be trusted." Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. "And I didn't think it fair to tell Hermione and not Ron, so I haven't told either."
"That's fine with me." Astoria smiled him, once again glad that he didn't care about her house.
"Though Neville Longbottom worked it out." Harry said shocking Astoria slightly. He then went on to explain that mornings breakfast and his observation of Neville smirking at certain points and also his eyes flashing in Astoria's direction.
"More perspective than people give him credit for." Astoria grinned at Harry. "So any ideas where we can practise our magic and duelling." She asked to get back onto the main topic of why they had met that morning other than to see each other of course.
"Well I figured this might help us find someplace." Harry answered as he removed the blank map from his pocket.
"An old piece of parchment?" Astoria asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That's what I said at first too." Harry smirked before touching his wand to the map. " I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Astoria watched in astonishment as the lines began to spread out from the tip of Harry's wand until the parchment was filled with crisscrossing lines and tiny moving dots with the bold heading claiming.
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map .
"This is a map of Hogwarts." Whispered an astonished Astoria as she quickly scanned the map and found her sister and Tracey in the Library not to far away from Weasley and Granger. "This is brilliant, where did you get it?"
"The Weasley twins gave me it yesterday, its how I knew how to get into Hogsmeade." Harry explained with a grin as he watched her finger following Dumbledore as the Headmaster seemed to once again pace his office.
"They created this?" She looked up at him in shock.
"Nah they nicked it from Filch's office their first year." Harry replied with a grin. "Though I don't know how they managed to get it to work." He frowned as he had not thought to ask the twins just how they had managed to work out the passwords to the map.
"Ok, so where do you think we should practice." She asked once more pursuing the map for a suitable place.
"Hmm, I was thinking the Chamber of Secrets as only Voldemort and I can even open the entrance but it doesn't seem to be on the map." Harry said as he pointed out the second floor girls bathroom where the entrance was located.
"I'm guessing that only a Parselmouth can open the entrance." Astoria asked, getting a nod of agreement. "Then it makes sense that the Chamber isn't on the map as its doubtful that any of these Marauders were Parselmouth's."
"Didn't think of that." Harry laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Typical Gryffindor." Astoria teased with a grin, Harry grinned back in what he thought was a roguish way, causing Astoria to roll her eyes with a smirk.
"So, shall we go check out the Chamber?" Harry asked as he wiped the map and pocketed it.
"How are we going to get there without been seen together? Astoria asked as she stood up from her seat.
"By way of this brilliant piece of magic." Harry grinned as he removed his invisibility cloak from another pocket and swung it round his shoulders.
"You have an Invisibility cloak." Astoria yelped in shocked.
"It was my dads, someone sent me it back at Christmas my first year here." Harry explained with a smile.
"Consider me very impressed Mr. Potter." Astoria grinned as she joined Harry under the cloak.
In no time at all they had managed to make it down to the second floor girls bathroom, only having to dodge around a trio of Ravenclaw students on the stairs. Fortunately Myrtle was absent from her usual haunt.
"This is the entrance." Harry said after removing the cloak and leading Astoria over to the sink with the tiny snake motif.
" Open ." He hissed causing the sink to reveal the hidden entrance to the chamber.
"Please tell me there are stairs." Astoria said with a grimace as she took in the filthy, grimy stone slide.
"You know I never thought about stairs the last time I entered." Harry answered with a thoughtful frown.
" Stairs ." At once the stone slide transformed into a set of stairs leading down into the pitch dark.
"After you Harry." Astoria grinned at him causing Harry to chuckle as he began leading the way down the stairs.
"Lights ." At once the tunnel was bathed in light and they could now see where they were walking even if they could not see the bottom yet.
" Close ." With that the entrance closed behind them and they continued on down the stairs with Harry explaining just what had happened last year with the students been petrified and what was behind it.
"Wait, you fought and killed a thousand year old Basilisk by yourself with a sword." Astoria was in shock, the thought of coming face to face with that monster was a terrifying thought.
"Yep, stabbed it through the roof of its mouth and right into its brain, though one of its fangs got me and pumped me with venom." Harry explained to the wide eyed girl.
"How are you not dead?" Asked Astoria in absolute shock as she stared at the back of Harry's head as they continued down the stairs.
"Phoenix tears directly into the wound, healed me right up." Harry grinned back at her causing her eyes to widen further.
"You have a Phoenix as well." Would the shocks never end with this boy?
"No, Fawkes Is Dumbledore's Phoenix companion." Harry then continued to explain the fight in the chamber, how Fawkes had blinded the Basilisk and the sorting hat had presented him with the sword of Gryffindor.
They finally made to the bottom of the stairs, the floor was still covered in small animal bones.
"Lovely." Astoria said dryly as she looked around the floor.
" Evanesco." Harry waved his wand and vanished all of the bones and a lot of the grime on the floor.
"That's better." Astoria commented as she fell into step beside Harry as he led the way. All too soon they came across the shed skins of the Basilisk.
"Don't do that." Astoria forced Harry' wand arm down preventing him from vanishing the skins. "Basilisk hide is more protective than Dragon hide." She explained.
"Really." Harry asked in shock, and to think he was about to vanish it into nothing.
"Yes, you can pay an armourer to make it or if you have a House-elf do it, they can normally make it into everyday clothes, like pants and a vest to wear under robes so it just looks like you are wearing leather clothes." Astoria explained patiently, knowing that he didn't grow up in the magical world, so therefore wouldn't have known.
"I don't think I would suit leather pants." Harry grinned at her getting an eye roll in return.
"Maybe not, but if you wear basilisk hide clothes under your school robes, it will offer you protection from sneak attacks from Malfoy and his ilk." Astoria explained getting a nod of agreement from Harry.
"Well in that case, you can do the same." Harry said as he looked at all the skin. They would be getting lots of clothes from this and that didn't even include the skin still on the Basilisk in the main chamber.
"That's fine with me." Astoria said with a grin. "Plus in a couple of years, I think I will look really good in Basilisk pants." She grinned at the stupefied look on Harry's face.
"No comment." Harry said after shaking his head with he grin, he was a teenage boy after all.
"So, do you have a House-elf or will you pay someone to make the clothes." Astoria asked him after snorting at his comment.
"I know a House-elf, lets see if he will respond." Harry said after a moments thinking. "Dobby." He called.
Short of height with a long, thin nose, bat-like ears and large green eyes, Dobby the House-elf stood before Harry once more with a soft pop. He was wearing a clean pillowcase now with mismatched socks, one of which Harry noticed was the one he had used to trick Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby last school year.
"The Great Harry Potter sir, has called Dobby, how can Dobby be of service to Harry Potter sir?" Dobby asked him with a low bow before looking back up at Harry.
"Hello Dobby, I was wondering if you know how to make clothes out of animal hide?" Harry asked as he gestured to the shed skin.
"Dobby can do it no problem Harry Potter sir." Dobby replied as he followed Harry over to the skin. "Oh, hello Miss." Dobby greeted Astoria with a bow seemingly only just noticing her as he followed Harry.
"Hello Dobby." Astoria smiled at the House-elf, pleased at how gentle and kind Harry spoke to the creature, most wizards, especially Pure-bloods, abused their elves.
"Harry Potter sir, this be Basilisk skin." Dobby said as he examined the skin.
"Yes Dobby, this is the monster of the Chamber of Secrets that you tried to warn me about last year." Harry explained as he gestured around.
"We's be in the Chamber of Secrets." Dobby asked in awe as he looked around.
"We are." Harry confirmed with a nod.
"Would Harry Potter sir like Dobby to fix that?" The elf asked as he pointed towards the cave-in caused by Lockhart using Ron's broken wand.
"Yes please Dobby." And with a snap of the House-elf's fingers, the rocks flew back up to the ceiling and back into place as though there had never been a cave in.
"Dobby will get to work right away making clothes for Harry Potter sir and his Miss." Dobby said as he began snapping his fingers at the Basilisk.
"Thanks Dobby." Harry said before turning to Astoria with a smirk. "Come on Harry Potter's Miss, let's go explore the Chamber of Secrets." He laughed as she slapped his shoulder.
"Watch it boyo." Astoria grinned at his snort. She couldn't believe how easy she and Harry were getting along but she wasn't complaining that they were either.
" Open ." He hissed at the round door that led into the main chamber. Once the door was opened fully, he led Astoria into the room beyond.
"Mother of Merlin." Exclaimed the shocked Astoria as she caught sight of the Basilisk. "You fought that monstrosity?"
"I told you that it was big." Harry said somewhat sheepishly.
"Been told something is fifty foot, is completely different to been in front of the fifty foot monster." Astoria replied in a higher than normal voice, Harry was her age when he faced off with the beast armed with a sword.
"I suppose your right." Harry agreed as he looked at the Basilisk. "I thought that it would have begun to decay by now." He frowned.
"No, the amount of magic in a creature this old and big will be ridiculous, it would probably take a hundred years or more for the magic to disburse before the body begins breaking down." Astoria explained once her shock had worn off and she began to walk around the snake.
"So, can the other parts of the snake be used for anything?" Harry asked as he followed behind her.
"Well the meat is considered a delicacy among the Goblins so they would pay you handsomely for the meat, I imagine Vampire's would also pay a hefty fee for the blood." Astoria began explaining. "I know that the brain, heart, liver, lungs and other organs can be used in different rituals or potions but I'm not sure which ones, so it would be best to store them for now."
"And the venom can kill within a minute." Harry nodded at her explanation, he knew they would have to look up what rituals or potions the organs could be used in and decide if it was worth it or not.
"Dobby." Harry called the House-elf. "Can you render this down." He gestured to the Basilisk after the elf had popped in front of him.
"Oh yes Harry Potter sir, it be no problem for Dobby to do." Dobby said as he looked at the huge snake with large bulging eyes.
"Brilliant Dobby, also, could you see if you can sell the meat to the Goblins and the blood to the Vampires." He asked the elf with a massive grin.
"No problem Harry Potter sir, Dobby get right on it when he finishes the first task for Harry Potter sir." And with that the elf popped back out.
"So shall we see if we can find a secret library or office or something." Harry asked Astoria with a grin of excitement.
"It might be easier to just call out things in Parseltongue." Astoria said excited to hopefully find some long lost books of ancient magic.
So that's what Harry did.
" Library ." Nothing. " Office ." Nothing. " Bedroom . Nothing. " Kitchen ." Nothing. " Bathroom ." Yet again there was nothing to be found disappointing them both.
"Either I'm saying the wrong things or this really is it." Harry sighed in disappointment, he had been hoping for more, some books or just anything.
"I must admit that I'm surprised with my houses founder." Astoria agreed with him. "Chamber of Secrets my foot, he basically built a large fancy cellar for his bloody pet."
"Oh well, I suppose it would have been too easy to find a library full of obscure forgotten magic." Harry snorted as he took out the bag of shrunken books that he had bought in Hogsmeade the day before. He selected The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts book and they began pursuing it.
" The Stunning Spell (Stupefy) also known as the Stupefying Charm or Stunner for short is a charm that stuns the target, rendering them unconscious. This charm is exceptionally useful in duelling, as it can quickly end a duel without causing lasting damage."
"This seems like a good spell to start with." Harry commented, getting a quick nod of agreement from Astoria.
"Agreed." Astoria murmured as she took out her wand and followed Harry over to a blank stretch of wall, ready to begin practising.
For the next three hours, Harry and Astoria learned how to cast the Stunning spell; The Shield Charm ( Protego) they shot stunners at each others Shield to see how long they would last, Harry needed three stunners to bring down Astoria's shield while she had needed four to bring his down. They also learned the full Body-Bind Curse ( Petrificus Totalus) the same spell Hermione had used against Neville in first year. While they had only learned the three spells that day, they were both very pleased with their progress, it was a great start.
Hours later, Harry was sat on his bed behind his closed curtains pursuing The Marauder's Map, looking for an alternative place that he and Astoria could practise their magic and duelling, because whilst they wouldn't be discovered whilst down in the Chamber, as Astoria had pointed out, it wasn't very practical, as only he could open the entrance they would have to wait for each other so Astoria could enter the Chamber, potentially drawing attention to themselves as they waited in the bathroom and the last thing Harry wanted was to be caught lurking in a girls bathroom.
As he looked over the map his eyes were drawn to the Gryffindor 3rd year boys dorm and he froze as he read the names.
Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan but at the bottom of Ron's bed were two extra names Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black .
AN : I think this is a good place for the 1st cliff-hanger of the story. I debated over what they would find in the Chamber but ultimately, I decided that lots of authors go the hidden library, Potions lab route so I decided against going that way myself.