Harry potter and the Time of Retirement
Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Chapter 36 – Year 2
'Done' thought Harry, taking a step back and admiring the result of his work. Standing almost proudly on the table in front of him, the old Cleansweep he borrowed from the school had just received a long-deserved tune-up: trimming of the fibers, a careful smoothing of the main scratches, and finally a generous application of polish. It seemed… better, but still pretty bad, he admitted with genuine disappointment.
Still, it went some way into soothing Harry's guilty conscience: he would give back all he took from the school, or pay restitution for what he would consume. All of it. If 'liberating' the school from that trashy broom did not faze him excessively, stealing potions from madam Pomfrey was really gnawing at his conscience: a feeling he most certainly did not like.
'Almost all', he corrected himself while smirking, turning around and looking at the three cauldrons inside which, slowly simmering, were the potions he had been preparing lately. There was only so much he could take, or was willing to take, from the infirmary and while there was no known antidote against a basilisk's bite a potion capable of slowing down magical poisons might just make the difference between instant death and a painful run to Dumbledore's office to beg for his phoenix's help.
'Maybe they'll take the prices out of his salary' considered Harry, while getting closer to his cauldrons and the remaining ingredients to add: ingredients that, as those already consumed, had been 'recovered' from the potion classroom's shelves. Luckily for him the ingredients necessary for healing brews were easily available, and less restricted, than those used for other purposes. Not that he would have recoiled at a raid over Snape's personal supplies, if needed.
With some uncertainty he considered if three doses were not enough: in his own youth he ended up in the chamber together with three other people, after all, although Ron and Lockhart managed to avoid the confrontation with that infernal snake. 'No, I might be worrying too much' finally decided Harry: he had no plan to have anyone involved, this time around. Even three doses might be excessive.
Setting aside his low key but permanent disdain for professor Snape, Harry felt that he was doing some good progress overall. If he remembered correctly Halloween had been the time, in his youth, when Riddle's diary decided to reveal himself and Halloween was getting close. He still had the time to plant all he needed in the chamber…. barely.
'I'll set the chamber up, just in case, but….' he stopped, nervous. His whole plan revolved around Ginny being the target of Malfoy Sr. just like before, with the existence of the 'heir' being confirmed beyond doubt. Once he was sure that things were progressing as they did in his past he would approach Ginny, calmly explain how dangerous her Diary was, aquire it with or without her cooperation and burn it down to ashes. No risks involved, no trauma for her, few doubts she would not cooperate – it would be too soon for her to be completely possessed, but not to be scared already by her holes in her memory. She would even learn a valuable lesson on not trusting suspicious artifacts.
'I can't believe I am wishing Ginny is involved' admitted sadly Harry, and yet he was still too shaken by his previous failure to desire otherwise: not finding the diary among Ginny's school books had been an unpleasant surprise. It was not among his and Ron's supplies either, he checked those too. In fact, with how hands off the 'meeting' between the Malfoys and the Weasleys had been this time around, it seemed possible that no object could have been added to the items of any of the Weasley kids, twins and Percy included.
The risk of the diary being in someone else's hands was real. And if that happened…. 'Well, technically then it's not my business anymore' thought Harry, grimly. He shook his head: he kept considering unloading informations on Dumbledore and let him do his job for once, but he never actually did it the last year. If the Diary's carrier was truly unknown, maybe he could finally step aside with a clean enough conscience and let those responsible do their job.
'Or, maybe, Malfoy kept it' thought Harry. That seemed unlikely, but not impossible. One more reason to wait, to be sure before acting.
Temporarily satisfied, he walked out of the room of requirements; the hallway where its door appeared, empty as usual. Lazily, he started walking away towards the library: his memory was still good but a review over the next steps needed for his potions would not hurt.
The walk there was uneventful, with most students either waiting for dinner inside their common rooms or by playing outside with their friends. The library itself was half-empty and the few students remaining, alone or in groups, seemed busy completing their homework. It was one of these groups that caught Harry's eyes, after he received his target book from madam Pince.
"Harry, here!" said one of the girls at the table waving her hand at him, only to show a chastised expression from the librarian's glare and her matching "Shhhh!". Smiling, Harry approached the group: that was a sight he had not expected to see, ever, and yet it pleased him greatly. At the table, its surface covered with books and parchments, he could see all 2nd year Gryffindor girls.
"Lavender, hi" he said in a low tone, almost a murmur, to the still embarrassed girl. "Parvati, Hermione" he greeted the other two, while sitting down. Parvati smiled at him, while Hermione simply nodded, emotionless.
"Save me, Harry" begged Lavender "We have been doing homeworks for hours now!"
At this, Hermione sent her a glare while Parvati giggled. "Have you, now?" joked Harry. "Well done, you should be proud of yourself."
"Ah. Ha." said Hermione, moving her glare to him. "How many times have you been scolded for not doing yours, Potter?"
"You are quite lazy, Harry" said Parvati, smiling. Lavender herself seemed happy even just to get a break from studying.
"I don't have someone pushing me to study" shrugged Harry, before looking at a newly riled Hermione "and this was not a critique. I am sure their grades are improving thanks to you, am I right?" he finally asked, looking at the other two girls, while sitting down next to them.
"Well, yes, but..." admitted Lavender "Hermione, you are great, really! Just… too great?" she finally said, with some hesitation.
"I am a bit tired myself, to be honest" said Parvati, letting herself go on the back of her chair and fixing her hair. Hermione, after taking a long breath with eyes closed, answered with calm and what seemed previous practice.
"I told you, we are here to study. It's the whole point of Hogwarts. I am not the bad guy here!" she concluded with a bit too high tone that earned them all another "Silence!" from the ever-vigilant librarian.
"We are here also to make friends and have fun" countered Harry, only to notice the skeptical look from the girl in front of him. "Don't dismiss me so quickly, every teacher would tell you the same. Except Snape."
"I agree!" said happily Lavender "To be good students, we must meet other witches."
"Spending time together would be our homework, then" added Parvati, a small smile on her lips. "Like when we read Witch Weekly, or try new hairstyles."
"Witch Weekly?" said Harry to Hermione, an half grin clearly expressing his amusement. It was probably not the right reaction, though, as she blushed and then countered bitterly with "How many friends do you even have, Potter?"
At this, Lavender and Parvati showed an embarrassed expression, and started finding very interesting the books in front of them. Harry himself narrowed his eyes but, before an acid comeback could escape his mouth, he managed to restrain himself. 'Not again' he thought, before composing himself.
"As you pointed out, I am not the best student" he finally said, with a sigh. "Do what you want. Just… don't push away those around you."
An awkward silence followed, broken again by Harry. "We always bicker. But I swear, I don't dislike you Granger. Mostly."
"You two are not that bad, Harry" said Parvati. "Not when I think of Ron and Malfoy."
"Oooh, right" added Lavender, smiling again. "Those two are so ridiculous whenever they start their tantrums."
"I am not like them!" said Hermione, hotly, before turning to Harry with a regretful face. "I…. it seems like you always look down on me, Harry. I don't like that."
"Come on, Hermione" said affectionately Lavender, hugging her arm. "You expect too much. He is a boy, you know."
This managed to steal a smile even from the upset Hermione while Parvati straight up laughed – earning them the third reproach in a row from madam Pince. Harry was not particularly amused but, with the girls being again in a good mood, decided to let it slide.
"I feel like I have just been insulted" said Harry, nodding gravely "and to prove how unfair it was, I will chivalrously forgive it."
"How gracious of you, noble knight" teased Parvati, while Lavender giggled and Hermione kept her own smile.
"Anyway" said Harry, standing up "it's almost dinner time, I am going. And I suggest you stop here, too."
Hermione seemed about to protest, but Lavender and Parvati immediately nodded and stood up, so she eventually shrugged and remained silent.
"See you at dinner, Harry" said Parvati, gathering her books.
" And thank you for saving me " almost sang Lavender, earning her another glare from Hermione. One that she quickly suppressed, her expression unreadable once again.
"Oh, my pleasure. Later" said Harry, walking away. Behind him, he could hear whispers start almost immediately between the three girls.
The following weeks were not much different for Harry. Classes, check-ups on his potions, watching the first quidditch games of the year. Hufflepuff had a disastrous start of the championship, being defeated by both Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the house's hopes were now hanging on the upcoming match with Ravenclaw. As Ravenclaw this year had actually won over Gryffindor, due to a sudden absence of the twins, and managed to perform admirably against Slytherin Harry was skeptical Hufflepuff would have better results but he made sure to keep this opinion to himself.
Things were progressing slowly, on all sides, but they were progressing. Harry's potions, in particular, were almost done and – sacrificing even more time out of homeworks and joint study sessions with his class mates – he was going to the room of requirements every day now. That evening too and, while walking, he started reminiscing about all the people that talked with him lately.
A new visit to Hagrid's hut had reassured Harry that all roosters were still alive and well, although for the life of him he could not remember if their deaths started before or after Halloween. Still, he got some rock cakes out of the visit and a desire to ask professor McGonagall if he could simply transfigure one animal into a rock and have it healthy and alive once returned to normal, even if months later.
'That would be great' thought Harry at the time, while chatting aimlessly with Hagrid. The half-giant's most important news was that professor Kettleburn dedicated more and more time to him lately, and even let him assist during some of his classes for the express goal of practicing being a teacher.
"All approved by the headmaster 'mself, Harry" had said Hagrid with pride, at one point. Not that he had been shy before, or ever, but one could tell Hagrid was keeping his head higher lately. Metaporically, at least. There were also some textbooks on his table, and several parchments covered in notes. When he left, Harry himself felt happy at the obvious joy of his old friend.
From Ginny Harry received worrying updates about the worsening relationship between her brothers. The pranks aimed at Percy had stopped, sure, but not out of some desire fromt his brothers to make peace with him. In fact, after one particularly embarrassing accident involving Percy, the twins found themselves stunned and hidden into a broom closet right before the long awaited first match of the season against Ravenclaw.
Once freed they found an enraged rest of their team, everyone furious at what thought had been either a bad prank or some revenge on the twins that ended up damaging the whole house; the other Gryffindors, too, had been quite cold towards their misfortune. When, alone and miserable, they were sitting in the common room at night Percy approached them bluntly stating that "what comes around comes around, and could come around every game until I graduate", shrugging at the threats that the twins aimed at him while he walked back to his own dorm room.
"It was better when they ignored each other" whined Ginny, unhappily "now they are allways angry, all the time. And me and Ron are stuck in the middle!"
"Ron, too? I thought he would side with Fred and George. Especially if Percy was the reason of Gryffindor losing the game."
"He was angry at him, yes" continued Ginny "but when he tried to talk to Percy…. I don't know. He refused to tell me anything about it, only that he wants to stay out of it now. Harry, what can I do?"
A question for which, unfortunately, Harry had no answers to give. Shaking his head he could offer only bland encouragements to the little girl, to not give up on any of her brothers. Sadly, Harry remembered even too well how this blowout happened in his past too, even if they were older. 'It's like he is adopted' he admitted, sadly, as Percy's personality truly didn't mix well with the rest of his family. The obnoxious behavior of his younger male siblings didn't help.
A surprisingly positive meeting came from Draco. Harry had met the boy only during mixed classes with Slytherin, lately, as the young Malfoy disappeared to his house's quidditch practice almost every evening. Only when he met him during a rainy day Harry managed to extract some news out of him.
Barely hidden between his boasts of flying talent, and contempt for those that lacked it (mostly Gryffindors), Draco had been unrepentant in how he exploited his father's wealth to buy the position of seeker into the team. Completely bypassing the problem, he kept claiming that Slytherin's victories against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw more than proved he was the real deal.
"Once we defeat Gryffindor, even them won't be able to badmouth me anymore" he had finally concluded, pride written all over his face "and if we win the cup, too, then my reputation will be undeniable. Who cares how I got my spot in the team anyway?"
At this, Harry had been seriously tempted to make some sarcastic remarks but in the end decided against it. For all his flaws Malfoy had remained consistently polite towards him and, for what Harry saw at the school stadium, he was also playing with some competence. Swallowing his desire to defend his old house, he congratulated the boy and moved on with his own business.
"Be sure to come and watch my triumph, Potter" had boasted Draco, before walking away.
While walking in front of the painting of Barnaby the mad for the 3rd time, 4 more to go, Harry thought back to his own classmates. Half of the class had kept up their new quidditch obsession, at least so far, while the other half was starting to get annoyed and to spend less time in the pitch and more in the common room, studying or chatting.
'Eh' thought simply Harry, thinking back also to Hannah, that took charge of a couple of first year's Hufflepuffs that were apparently having problems with their classes, and was tutoring them every couple of days. That was not something he could remember happening in Gryffindor, was unthinkable in Slytherin, and was unlikely in Ravenclaw, not with how he remembered Luna Lovegood being mistreated at the time.
'Maybe there is something of value in being a puff. Maybe' he concluded, smiling and opening the newly revealed door to the Room of Requirements. Looking at his cauldrons, he had one final thought for Sally-Anne. The little girl was particularly nervous lately, and when asked by Harry, confessed that she had written to her parents. Not telling them the truth, not yet…. just asking their opinion about Hogwarts, and magic.
'Like anyone would be fooled' considered Harry, shrugging. The matter was far from settled, but there was very little he could do now, or wanted to do anyway. At least starting a dialogue with her parents was an improvement over waiting for everything to blow up in her face.
"Everyone is full of problems" mumbled Harry, stirring one of his potions. "Everyone".
'And I am no exception' he concluded mentally. Only a couple days, and everything would be ready. Going down, alone, in the chamber, made him quite nervous but it couldn't be helped.
'Time to go' decided Harry, picking up the broom and a big satchet full of all the potions he had brewed until then. On the ground, inside what was probably an uncomfortably small cage, was also a stunned out rooster. Finally, he would be also carrying other selected items, everything carefully wrapped inside his Cloak of Invisibility of course. It took some attempts shuffling things around before the cloak did his job well, and he still was awkwardly carrying all the material and the broom under his arm, but there was little more he could do. 'It shouldn't matter, hopefully'.
Shrugging, he walked out of the room of requirements. He had chosen the lunch hour of a normal Sunday for his trip down to the Chamber of Secrets and, indeed, no students were in sight anywhere. Sure, his classmates would notice his absence at Hufflepuff's table, but as he made a point of eating an excessive breakfast that morning he was sure he could lie his way out of any question. Beside, his classmates were more than used to him disappearing once in a while.
Hurriedly, but wary of any possible encounter, he walked all the way down to the second floor, stepping inside the local girl's bathroom. Looking around himself, and relaxing after being sure that no one was present and that Myrtle, if she even was there, must have been inside one of the stalls Harry snorted. 'A girl's bathroom. It might be a cunning disguise, but I doubt Salazar would approve' he joked with inner mirth.
Placing his items on the floor, he pulled out his wand and started casting spells all over, almost murmuring the incantations. Notice-me-not on the entrance of the bathroom, the Bedazzling hex on himself to hide his own figure, and the Quietus charm on the sink to muffle its noise. Satisfied with his work Harry gave a final glance at Myrtle's stall: no movements could be seen there, but that could change any second.
'Nothing I can do but risk it' sighed Harry. It was way too late to turn back, anyway. Focusing on the sink, with its engraved snake on the tap, he hissed with as much conviction as he could: 'OPEN!'
Slowly, and thankfully silently too, the sink moved away revealing the entrance to the long pipe that connected the bathroom with the chamber. After more glances to the stall behind him, and to the entrance of the bathroom, Harry pulled the Cloak of Invisibility away from his supplies, before folding it and hiding it inside his robes.
Sitting on the broom, his satchet tied around his torso, wand in hand Harry started his descent. The pipe was large, but not so large he could move freely around it; plus, while it was not pitch dark, his visibility was quite low. "Lumos" he murmured, and his wand immediately started providing some light.
Slowly going down the pipes, old memories came back to him from his lone adventure down here. Occasionally various side branches could be seen separating from the main pipe but it didn't seem like he could fit into them, not on his broom anyway.
'How big was the basilisk, anyway?' wondered Harry, stopping his descent for a moment. He could remember a terrible fear of the monster back then, a snake as tall as a tree and certainly as thick. That... didn't sound so impressive to him, not anymore. Size meant very little, after all, if the deciding factor was magic. Of course, the magical gaze alone could kill any unprepared wizard, and its poison was no joke either; but that was a danger mostly for unprepared wizards.
With a bitter smile Harry recalled the old half-drunk boasts he made once with Ron and other men back during their end-of-shift evenings at the Three Broomsticks, when they competed on imagining the most ridiculous, unnecessarily showy way to kill it if they ever met one. Ron claimed he would animate all his chess pieces, engorgio them and have them stab the basilisk with him riding atop the King piece.
Harry had laughed, and then insisted that transfiguring something into a giant mangoose, dressed in Gryffindor robes, was the way to go: how could you beat a duel between giant animals? Some of their coworkers had joined in and made their own propositions, one more ridiculous than the other. It was only when one of them suggested to send their wives during their "time of the month", a proposition met with roaring alcohol-fueled approval and laughter by everyone, that madame Rosmerta summarily kicked them out declaring how she wouldn't trust them – 'us', admitted Harry – even to degnome a garden properly.
Shaking his head, feeling some longing for that memorable evening, Harry restarted his descent. Jokes aside, the best way to kill a basilisk was using a crowning rooster, period. 'If only I could keep one down there permanently, for safety' sighed Harry: professor McGonagall had been clear in warning him that living beings didn't last long when transfigurated into something inert. 'And you better not be targeting some of your classmates' pets, Potter, not even for a prank. Have I been clear?' she had also added, for good measure. 'Nevermind' thought Harry; conjuring a rooster was always an option but it might just not work the same so backup plans were needed, should he ever had to rush to the chamber once again; as for this time around, he was as prepared as he could be.
While he was musing about his random thoughts the pipe finally seemed to be over as he saw the end of it which opened up on a long, cold hallway. Leaving all most of his items, broom included, on the floor Harry reennervate the rooster, wrapped himself in his Cloak and, cage in his left hand and wand in the right one, walked on. Hard to say how much his setup could be useful in surprising the basilisk, since he still had his wand casting Lumos outside of the cloak, but if it could give him even half a second before it fixed his stare on him, it would be worthy.
Harry progressed onward, old memories back in his mind. Looking upward, he noticed several thin cracks into the ceiling: just as he remembered from his old confrontation with Lockhart, any explosion could cause the ceiling to break dropping rocks on everything under it. 'Interesting', considered Harry, mentally filing the information. The lack of light was worrying…. but conjuring torches on the wall now was risky, it could be noticed by the Diary if it arrived here before Harry identified its carrier. Maybe he should search for charms capable to make him see in the dark… 'or I could leave puddles of oil here and there, ready to ignite' thought Harry – hard to notice, and they would double as a fire barrier.
As far as he could remember the tunnel wasn't excessively long and, turn after turn, the true doors to the Chamber appeared eventually in front of him. A thick, solid panel of carved stone with two engraved snakes on it, four large and shining emeralds taking the place of the eyes. 'Nice' smiled Harry - maybe, if he had the option, a bit of looting could be done in the future. 'Or maybe not' he immediately corrected himself, shaking his head 'I took enough from the school already'.
Focusing on the eyes, visualizing opening doors, Harry tried once again to copy the hiss that, supposedly, meant "open" in parseltongue. And, once again, the command worked: the panel split apart, each side sliding inside its respective wall. Raising his wand, Harry stepped inside the Chamber.