Term had picked up again on the 6th of January and things were going as they always did. Harry and Severus maintained their images of teacher and student, and it seemed that aside from Draco, no one knew any better of them being normal with one another. Things might have been different if Harry was still in Severus's Potions class, but with Defense Against the Dark Arts; Harry was very good at that, and Severus made it a point to often have Harry demonstrating spell work with him. Of course, right when Harry returned to school; Albus had pulled him into the office to ask where he was for days and Harry reported that he went to Godric's Hollow with Sirius and Remus for an early visit to Lily and James Potter's grave for their birthdays, since school would be in session when both of those dates hit.
Albus bought it, but Harry had told the Headmaster that it really wasn't any of the man's business where he went with his godfather and uncle because Sirius had custody over Harry. The teenager, of course, said it respectfully, and Harry was on his way afterward. Harry had stopped by Severus's office to let him know Albus had asked and what was said. The two relaxed for a little bit and then Harry went back to the common room before curfew hit. Today was the 10th of January, yesterday was Severus's birthday. Harry did visit him after dinner, bringing him a green cupcake with silver frosting and a candle. Severus thought it was sweet of Harry to do so, even though Severus never celebrated his birthday. The potions master didn't have the heart to turn Harry away since the teen went through so much trouble to make a custom treat to celebrate.
The two spent the night until curfew sitting in front of Severus's fireplace, cuddling up a bit and making out. Right before Harry went back to his dorm; he had given Severus a blowjob. It had been ages since they did anything sexual and Harry felt like there had been nothing wrong with it. Severus certainly didn't mind, and told Harry that he didn't have to do it but Harry had wanted to and only made sure Severus had the doors and his fireplace locked from unexpected guests.
Harry, though, did tell Severus he had a gift for him he'd see the next day, which was today and to be ready at 10:15 pm. Severus wasn't sure what the gift was, but if Harry was coming after curfew; he sort of assumed it was going to be sex and that was fine. Severus promised Harry he wouldn't deny him anymore. So right now, it was 10:15 pm as Severus made sure all his work for the night was done and now waiting for Harry to show up. Just moments later, the door to his room opened and then closed.
"Harry?" Severus asked.
The teenager came out from under his cloak. "Hi." Harry greeted before walking towards his husband and giving him a light kiss. "Ready for your birthday gift?"
"Bursting with anticipation." Severus replied.
Harry giggled a little as he moved behind Severus and set his hands on the man's shoulders to rub them. "You know…I've always loved that sarcasm of yours, Sev. Even before we were married." Harry kissed the side of his neck and Severus let a pleasured moan escape his lips.
"If we're doing this, we should be in my quarters, not my office…" Severus informed.
Harry blinked a few times, a little confused and then it hit him. "Severus, are you under the impression we are about to have sex?"
"I-I kind of assumed so when you told me to be ready and no less, after curfew…" Severus admitted.
"Well, I can see why you'd think that…But no. It's not in my plans tonight, though…If it's what you want, I can rearrange a few things." Harry whispered in his ear. Severus shuddered a bit.
"I would…Not be against the notion of repeating our wedding night." The older man confessed.
"Noted." Harry smiled. "Do you trust me?"
"I trust you, Harry," Severus said as he saw something come up over his eyes and he realized he'd been blindfolded.
"It's a surprise." Harry then tossed something over him, and took his hand. "Come on…" Harry pulled the man along and opened the door. "No one will see us, we're under the cloak." He assured. Severus wasn't quite sure where Harry was taking him, but he said he trusted Harry, so he would do that fully. They walked a little bit, and Severus had felt stairs were involved, but finally, they stopped. The cloak was removed. "Are you ready?" Harry asked.
"Immensely with all this build up." Severus nodded. Harry finally removed the blindfold and Severus blinked to readjust and looked around. "Harry…Why are we in the bathroom?"
"Second floor girl's lavatory, actually." Harry specified. "You'll understand in a minute…" He added before approaching one of the sinks. "Open." He hissed out in Parseltongue, which sent an odd jolt of pleasure through the potions master. Yes, Severus had heard Parseltongue from the Dark Lord many times over, but from Harry…That was new and it was kind of arousing.
However, Severus didn't focus on it too much because he soon saw the top of the grouped sinks floated upwards, then the sinks slightly came apart, then the one Harry had stood in front of sank down under the floor grate leaving an opening to a large hole. "This is the entrance, within the school, to the Chamber of Secrets. And don't worry about this being a girl's bathroom. It's been out of order since Myrtle was killed, no one uses it."
"So the chamber is…Down this hole?" Severus asked.
"Down this and then walk forward. There is another door that can't be opened without Parseltongue. We do have to jump to get down, though. This entrance up here will close up once we go in." Harry informed as he offered his hand. "Still want to explore? We have all night because it's Friday, no class tomorrow." Severus took Harry's hand. "Don't worry about the jump, it turns into a slide, but there will likely be a bunch of bones at the bottom…" He warned.
"Let's go." Severus nodded. Harry walked to the edge and jumped down with Severus in tow.
As they slid down and landed, Severus had made sure to cushion their fall from the bones and then use a charm to clean them up. "We will hit a cave-in down here somewhere. It's from when Lockhart tried to Obliviate Ron and I." Harry said.
"I'm sure I can fix that." Severus nodded.
The two walked until the cave in and Severus repaired the fallen rocks and debris and they went on forward to the snake door. Harry used Parseltongue again and Severus watched with amusement as it opened. "Come on, just down this ladder." Harry turned to get down it, then Severus did the same and soon he was looking ahead at the marvelous room. "Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets, Severus."
"Oh, Harry…It's incredible." Severus looked around. "Is that…The Basilisk?" He motioned to the dead creature down the way a bit.
"Yeah. Somehow down here, it stayed perfectly preserved. I think Salazar Slytherin had some kind of spells down here for that, or the Basilisk wouldn't have survived all those years until Tom Riddle came down to take control of it." Harry theorized. "Come on, we can get closer. I promise it's not gonna come back to life to kill us." He pulled Severus along, as the man took in everything he saw.
"I wonder where these tunnels lead…" Severus asked.
"Mostly all back to this main room. I'm sure one of them leads to the actual plumbing of Hogwarts, how it got around to petrify students. I haven't wandered them, obviously. The only reason I know they connect here is because I was traveling through them to get away from the Basilisk chasing me." Harry stated.
Severus was looking over the Basilisk admiring how intact the corpse was. "Whatever spell is on this, it is fading. There's some decay…" Severus mentioned after inspection.
"Well, harvest what you want before it fades completely. I don't want it to go to waste." Harry told him.
"A-Are you sure?" Severus asked. "Are you allowed to make decisions regarding the corpse?"
"I defeated it, rights by conquest. It belongs to me." Harry informed. "Take what you want, Sev. Seriously. Whatever is left, I'm just selling off. Or stashing it to make a deal with someone desperate." He shrugged. "I don't know, but like I said…It might as well not go to waste and you're my husband, so you get rights to it too." He smiled.
Severus kissed the man gently. "Oh, Harry…Thank you."
"You're welcome, Now, do you want to harvest or go exploring? The one part of this place I don't know is inside the statue, it's where the Basilisk came out of four years ago. Riddle opened it by speaking. The mouth opened so I wondered what else might be in there…" Harry shrugged.
"I am both your teacher and husband…I can't let you explore alone…" Severus moved next to his young husband. "Go ahead, open it up. Let's see what other secrets the chamber has. Wait, you do know how to open it, don't you?"
Harry faced the statue now. "Ssspeak to me Ssslytherin, Greatessst of the Hogwartsss Four." Harry hissed out. Slowly the mouth of the status began to lower.
"What did you say?" Severus wondered.
"Speak to me Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four." Harry informed. Once the mouth was open, Severus transfigured a bridge for them to cross the water and entered the statue and then he lit his wand to send a ball of light towards the ceiling, which then lit up the room.
"Seems like one big open area…Perhaps for just the Basilisk to reside in. But there's an exit tunnel over there…That's probably how it was getting out of here and around the school." Harry stated as he looked around. "Oh, there's a portrait over here. I think it's Salazar Slytherin…" Harry walked over, holding Severus's hand as the light showed more brightly.
"I would say your deduction is spot on." Severus agreed. "What are you thinking?"
"Well, throughout the castle, there's portraits on the walls that lead to other places…So what if this one is actually a doorway into another part of the chamber?" Harry shrugged.
"I suppose it's a willing theory, but most of those passageways are password protected so if you are correct…You would need the password to open it." Severus mentioned. "We'd be down here for decades trying to figure it out."
"Maybe not…" Harry considered. "Salazar was not only a school founder, but obviously creator of Slytherin house and a Parselmouth on top of it. The only way into the chamber itself is by saying open at the sinks and also the snake door…" He thought for a few moments. "Parselmouths are rare on their own, not a common gift if I recall what Hermione told me in second year. As it stands right now, I think Voldemort and I are the only ones…"
"Inclined to believe you, Harry, but again…I'm sure that if this is a passageway, it wouldn't be easy to figure out." Severus reminded.
"Who are you?" Came a hiss as Harry glanced around and saw a green and yellow snake come by his feet. "I've been watching you since you entered this chamber. You speak the ancient tongue, your friend does not."
"Hello there. I'm Harry Potter-Snape…This here is Severus Snape. No, he does not speak your tongue." Harry replied.
"Who are you talking to?" Severus asked.
"This snake who started talking to me first…Said it's been watching me since I entered this part of the chamber." Harry responded.
"This male is your mate, you share the same name and scent…" The snake remarked.
"Yes, he is my…Mate, I guess you could say." Harry nodded. "Why have you been watching me?"
"The last one to enter the chamber was cruel and silenced my master," The snake informed.
"You mean Salazar Slytherin? The photo?" The snake nodded to him. "What's your name?"
"This one's name is Ivy." The snake, now known as Ivy, answered.
"What are you two talking about?" Severus inquired.
"She knows you're my husband, and informed me that whoever was here last silenced her master. Also, her name is Ivy." Harry mentioned. "Sorry, darling, not trying to leave you out of the conversation. She understands us when we speak like this, but her responses to me are snake." Harry put a hand on his husband's arm.
"Well, the last person here was Voldemort, wasn't he? In the diary?" Severus mentioned.
"It was Voldemort possessing Ginny, trying to drain her to return to life." Harry corrected.
"Can you free my master?" Ivy asked.
"I can try, little one." Harry said. "Here, why don't you come up to me? I'd hate to step on you." He offered his arm as the snake slithered up into place and held on around his neck, but not tightly.
"What is she asking of you?" Severus wondered.
"To free Salazar's photo." Harry stated calmly. "Ivy…How did the other one seal your master silent?"
"I do not know. I know he spoke in the same tongue we do…" Ivy said.
"Then this should work…" Harry faced the portrait and lifted his wand. "Finite Incantatem!" The teenager hissed out.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Severus questioned.
"The spell to end all spell effects in Parseltongue. I figured Riddle must have used such to make unsealing the picture impossible." Harry said.
The picture flashed as Salazar shifted a bit and relaxed. "You there, boy…You have released me? Yes?" Salazar asked.
"Yes, sir." Harry bowed his head.
"I owe you my thanks." Salazar bowed his head.
"No thanks needed. I was just helping out Ivy, I didn't know you were an interactive painting until she asked me to unseal you." Harry replied calmly.
"Ivy? My little friend, come closer so I can see you." Salazar stated.
"Master!" Ivy slithered out to Harry's now outstretched hand to balance on it and booped her nose to the photo.
"I am here, my friend. It's so good to see you again." Salazar informed. "I trust you've guarded me all these years?"
"I've done my best, Master. It has been quiet the last four years since people have ventured in. I recall this boy as one, as well as a young girl who spoke the ancient tongue. This boy speaks it as well, but his mate does not." Ivy informed.
"I have been sealed for much longer than four years." Salazar mentioned. "Another boy, about your age had done it…I refused him access to my chambers beyond the portrait. Only my true heir can pass through."
"Voldemort is your heir, Mr. Slytherin." Harry informed.
"I do not know of this Voldemort…" Salazar stated.
"Forgive me, that is the name he created for himself. His true name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, when you rearrange the letters, it is an anagram for I am Lord Voldemort." Harry explained. "He's obsessed with power and wants to rid the world of muggles, muggle born, and it may not be so far off to say he wants to rid of half-bloods as well despite the fact he is one himself. Hypocritical fool." The teenager rolled his eyes.
"The name rings familiar. Marvolo, you say, was his middle name. Is he any relation to Marvolo Gaunt?" Salazar asked.
"Yes, through his mother's side. Marvolo Gaunt was father to Morfin and Merope Gaunt, and Merope is Tom's mother." Severus offered.
"I see," The Slytherin founder nodded. "This…Tom fellow descended down from my line and my sources show that all other members of my line have passed on. However, he is not listed as my heir any longer. It seems to have shifted to another branch of the family…A Harry Potter." Salazar remarked.
Harry blinked a few times. "Master, this boy introduced himself as Harry Potter-Snape to me. Is he your heir?" Ivy said quickly.
"You boy, you are Harry Potter?" Salazar inquired.
"I-I am, sir." Harry nodded.
"Why do you have so many extra names then?" Salazar asked.
"Snape is my married name, Mr. Slytherin. But I was born Harry James Potter," Harry explained.
"Then you are my heir, Harry Potter." Salazar said firmly.
"How…Is it that I am considered your heir, sir? I have no ties to the Gaunt family, or your own." Harry mentioned.
"I shall reveal such inside, Mr. Potter-Snape." Salazar said.
"Just Harry, please? Can my husband come too?" Harry wondered.
"He may." Salazar nodded before the portrait swung open slowly. Harry held Severus's hand as the two made their way inside the now lit room. The portrait closed behind them and Salazar appeared in another picture on the wall. "This, Harry, is my family tree. I realize it's much to take in, but to make matters understandable and short; you and this Tom Riddle descend down from the Peverell Brothers. They were Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus. Antioch's line ended with him."
"However, you will find my connection is through a marriage between one of my ancestors and Cadmus Peverell. This combined our lines through children eventually leading down to Gaunt. I see that there are no further offspring branched from Tom Riddle. You, young Harry descend down Ignotus, Cadmus's young brother." Salazar explained. "Ignotus's granddaughter, Iolanthe married your ancestor Hardwin Potter. Eventually, that line leads down to you."
"This is your descriptive way of telling me I am inadvertently related to you and Voldemort?" Harry inquired.
"In not so many words, yes." Salazar replied.
"Fantastic…" Harry sighed.
"This news displeases you?" Salazar questioned.
"I, unfortunately, already share a…Troublesome link with Voldemort. Learning we're actually related only increases the connection." Harry muttered.
"My apologies for being the bearer of bad news." Salazar said.
"I still do not understand why this makes Harry your heir. Tom is a direct descendant of you, then how is it Harry has become your new one?" Severus asked.
"While heirship is normally passed to the next immediate descendant, the rules are quite clear in my family that heirship can go to another member of the family…Doesn't matter how distant as long as there is a link, if that person defeats the current heir. Call it survival of the fittest, I only allow my heir as the one who is strong enough to uphold the title." Salazar informed. "My sources, Harry, say you have defeated Tom on more than one occasion."
"You did defeat him, Harry, many times over. Perhaps you have not killed him…But you have bested him in battles. You defeated him your first and second year, definitely in fourth, and in fifth." Severus reminded. "I do not know if your defeat of him as a baby counts…Considering it was your mother's sacrifice."
"It may, depending on the parameters of the defeat…" Salazar said.
"What happened?"
"When I was a baby, a little over a year old, Voldemort came to my parent's home and killed my father. He turned on my mother, and she threw herself between me and the killing curse. After she had died, Voldemort tried again to kill me and his spell rebounded, destroying his body. The…Current headmaster of the school has stated that it is due to her sacrificial love that I was protected. It destroyed Tom's body, but he did not die. He was a wraith attached to someone's head when I was a first year. And a memory preserved in a diary during my second. His body was restored in fourth." Harry told him.
"Rebounded because of your mother's sacrifice counts, he was still defeated after she had passed." Salazar nodded. "Regardless, Harry, you…Are my heir by both familial connection and rights of conquest." He added. "You have proven yourself worthy of lordship."
"L-Lordship?" Severus asked.
"I can no longer hold it as I am dead and nothing more than a photograph, and your husband is not only descended via another branch of the family, but also defeated my direct descendant many times over. I name you, Harry Potter-Snape, my official heir and entitled to all I've left behind in this chamber. In addition, you are the new Lord Slytherin." Salazar said as Harry's eyes widened.
