Hello everyone, and happy holidays! I'll take a break for the Christmas holidays since I'll be with my family. I'll post it next week after the break.

It will be another chapter of Harriet Potter, so stay tuned.

Also, let me wish you all a happy vacation and a good Christmas eve! Don't eat too much, like me, because I will eat a bunch of tamales, pork, pozole and candy, and a lot of Mexican stuff.

See you all next week!

Also, I can't express my thanks to everyone who donated to me in the past. It makes a difference and really makes me feel as if people truly love what I am doing. And really push me to write more for all of you! Thank you!

If anyone wishes to support me, please donate to my page. It will allow me to focus more on these works.

(paulydppal (at sing) hotmail . com)

Chapter 27

The group sat uncomfortably in the headmaster's room, all waiting for Dumbledore to arrive, which was quite annoying. However, Harriet was thinking about what had occurred a few moments ago. The heir of Slytherin, the Horcrux, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and the Basilisk. Harriet couldn't grasp Voldemort's obsession with his blood and immortality. His relentless pursuit of living forever and the bigotry he started to plant on everyone's minds have led to only pain and chaos. Harriet was starting to see Voldemort as a truly resented individual. She wondered how many people were killed because they looked at him wrong or didn't have pure blood? How many families were destroyed just because his ego desired it? A true waste of human lives.

It was one of the reasons Harriet told the rest to search for information about him. She truly hoped to find more of who Tom Marvolo Riddle was before he became Voldemort. Since all the things he did, all the woes he caused. They must have been for something great. Right? The so-called most powerful dark wizard alive must have a greater goal than she thought, a master plan. Or so she hoped.

Maybe, Voldemort was only thinking of himself and nothing else. Caring little for what he causes and how he dragged the Wizarding World down with him. Because if that were the case. If the last war was only because of the ego of one man.

Then, Harriet truly found him disgusting.

"Harriet, are you alright?" James asked his daughter, who simply sighed deeply.

"I am, just thinking, that's all," Harriet smiled.

James patted her shoulder, "Good, I don't like seeing you upset." He said, giving her an encouraging look.

She nodded back with a smile. "I'm not upset. Just quite mystified by Voldemort's actions."

"He is a madman, not really hard to understand," Sirius added. "A very powerful madman."

"Yeah, but I mean. Some noble families truly believe in him. If he were just another madman, I doubt many of those families would dare to let him speak to them in such a way. Let alone being controlled by him."

Some of the adults just stood there, hearing those words from Harriet.

"He must have been quite the charmer," Harriet muttered. "To be able to manipulate these nobles into doing anything..."

"You're right, Miss Potter. Tom was a silver tongue," Albus stated as everyone looked at him. He had just arrived and seemed quite pleased with something. It seemed that he never truly left the school at all. Not surprising whatsoever. "Even when he was just a student. Tom was good at reading people. Playing their game. Understanding his surrounding."

Some felt disgusted by such a notion, but none could deny such reality.

"So, it's true; he is Tom Marvolo Riddle," Amelia whispered, disgusted. "He was a Hogwarts student, just like the rest of us." She shivered, not truly wanting to think about such a thing.

"Indeed he was," Dumbledore stated, albeit quietly. "A bright student. But dark."

"But why did you keep quiet about this, Dumbledore?" James then asked. "If you told people about who Voldemort truly was, back during the war. They may have to think twice before joining him. I doubt some of the Pureblood houses would have joined him then."

Dumbledore nodded slowly but sighed again. "For many reasons which you must understand. Not many people would have believed it. And those who did know it kept quiet. Because he was just that powerful. Tom's true identity would also prove that he was truly the Heir of Slytherin. And while a half-blood. He was still an heir to a powerful noble house. And many would look past it because of such a fact. Yeah, some noble families may have to think twice about their alliance. But, at the end of the day, Voldemort's power would silence anyone who dared to challenge him."

"I can see it," James muttered. "I can definitely see them ignoring it."

"I've been thinking about this, James. If we reveal Tom's identity and past, there could be good or bad things. But, for now, I do not wish to reveal it. Not until we can find more about... those trinkets."

James muttered internally. He hated admitting that Dumbledore was right, and so was Harriet. But for different reasons. Father and daughter realized that it wouldn't change a thing. Or at least not that much in the great scale of things. Dumbledore was right that power made people ignore certain things. And the allies of Voldemort would certainly forget their master's true self. Since, after all, he was still heir of Slytherin and the most powerful Dard Lord in history and whatever.

Also, the less Voldemort knows what they know. The better. If they reveal what they know about his past and his real name. The more Voldemort would try to hide it away or do something to stop their search. Which could also translate to their search for the rest of the Horcrux.

Which they don't want.

This is a battle of information. We can't let our enemy knows what we know or can do. And if we do reveal Tom's origin. We must do it right when it's convenient for us and when it hurts Voldemort the most. Harriet thought deeply.

"Wait... some knew he was half-blood?" Sirius asked, bewildered.

"Yes, Tom, oldest allies. The ones who were with him during his Hogwarts years. They knew all about his heritage but didn't care that much. He proved to be a true heir of Slytherin and was strong. So, they overlook his blood status to look at the bigger picture."

"How convenient, truly," Amelia muttered.

"Yes, however, there is more," Dumbledore looked at one of the portraits and saw one of the previous headmasters. One of Sirius and Harriet's ancestors. The man in the portrait scoffed and turned away before Dumbledore sighed.

"You see, the old members of Tom's inner circle weren't as radical. In fact, not even Tom was truly all that lost in the lust for power. He wanted to gather followers, but he wanted to achieve his goals politically. He truly wanted to bring the Wizarding World back to its original roots. He wanted to ensure all magical folk was treated properly and allowed to flourish."

Dumbledore looked depressed thinking of the past, of the old Tom.

"Some of his ideas weren't even that... controversial or bad. If you were there, you would even agree with some of his views."

Harriet raised an eyebrow, hearing such a thing. So, Voldemort wasn't always that crazy, eh? Interesting. "So, he wasn't still thinking on the whole muggle-born extermination thing?" She asked.

"No... really, he wanted to make sure all muggle-born were brought to Noble families to assimilate them to the true magical heritage. Tom wanted to shut down the Wizarding World's interaction with the Muggle World completely. All of it. But the procedure was slow, and the political games made him furious. So, one day he left and disappeared for more than a decade. I truly thought that he simply decided to leave everything behind and forgot about him... until I saw him again after many years had gone by," Dumbledore stated with a deep sigh. "He came to Hogwarts, asking to be a teacher."

"What?" Everyone practically stated, weird and confused. "Voldemort wanted to be a teacher?"

"I don't believe it," Amelia exclaimed, startled to hear that the evilest dark lord in history wanted to teach at Hogwarts.

"That would have made for a very weird class," Sirius added somberly.

"He is a good teacher."

Everyone then saw Snape arriving at the headmaster's office. "I have delivered some potions to help Madam Pomfrey deal with Miss Weasley while the mind healers arrive."

"Wait... what do you mean Voldemort is a good teacher?" Sirius exclaimed angrily and was really startled.

Snape rolled his eyes but couldn't fault Sirius for thinking like that.

"His knowledge is vast, and his expertise in explaining them is outstanding. However, he has no patience for fools, but if you are smart enough and he sees you as worthy of it. The Dark Lord would guide you."

Snape added, but such information needed to be more well received.

"So, he did teach you, eh?" James hissed. "You must have to prove yourself to be worthy then. A good little death eater."

Snape growled at him, holding his wand tightly. "I did learn the arts of potion making by a man whose knowledge couldn't be rivaled. I was a young and foolish kid. Yet, I would not deny how much he taught me and how talented he was at it."

"Of course, you won't," James snapped. "You'll do anything to learn the Dark Arts. Won't you, Snape?"

"You seem to forget that Lily's knowledge of the Dark Arts surpasses my own, Potter," Snape hissed dangerously.

"Don't you dare," James growled back.

"Enough," Amelia exclaimed angrily. "Both of you, enough. Stop behaving like children."

Snape sneered, and so did James, but said nothing more.

"I understand what it sounds like, but that wasn't truly why I didn't give him a job. At that point, I haven't seen him in a decade. So, when I saw him again, I noticed something was off with him. Strange," Dumbledore said. "He didn't look like he used to be."

Harriet then frowned, letting her think of what that could mean. "He had created another Horcrux by then, right?" She asked, and Dumbledore nodded painfully.

"Yes, I strongly believed he crafted one while in Hogwarts, but he was still whole. But after he crafted more than just one..."

"Then he snapped," Harriet added. "He went completely off rails."

"Yes, Tom's appearance reflected that. He smelled of dark magic. And his behavior was sometimes erratic and incredibly unsettling."

Dumbledore wondered how much of Tom's mind was broken when he crafted his second Horcrux. The thought of it made him shiver.

"This," Dumbledore said as he looked at the half-burned diary. "It's proof of Tom's relentless pursuit of immortality."

"The diary was connected to him and that ring," Dumbledore then saw the ring on Harriet's hand, and the girl frowned, always forgetting she had it on her. "Belonged to his mother."

Everyone then looked at the ring, and even James looked shocked.

"Harriet, where did you get it?"

"It... it came to me. It just appeared, and I have been wearing it since the beginning of the year. I... honestly forget it's even there."

Harriet answered truly. But almost didn't want to tell them what it was, since she truly liked the ring.

However, James didn't like that the ring had a will of its own.

"It could be dangerous," James tried to say, but Dumbledore raised his hand slowly.

"How did you get it, James?" He asked.

"During Harriet's birthday... it came in a box with a note saying that it is cleaned and no Horcrux is longer there, and," James stopped slowly, wondering if he should speak. "There was a locket... and the note only said it was a fake one. That the real Horcrux was missing."

Dumbledore started to walk around, passing, thinking hard about what it could mean. "Who sent you the letter?"

"We don't know. It was only signed as P. That's all."

"Someone else knows about Voldemort's Horcrux?" Snape muttered slowly.

"Yeah, and somehow it is helping us," James replied.

Dumbledore then looked at the ring, and for a few seconds, he thought hard about what it could be. A new layer has been added to the mystery surrounding Voldemort's trinkets. However, there was yet another question that he was worried about asking. Now, Harriet possesses two of the Deathly Hollows. And somehow, he truly believes that the ring has chosen her.

The three powers... and now the Deathly Hollows. Dumbledore thought deeply as he stared at the young girl, who seemed rather upset to be inspected by him in such a way.

"The ring now belongs to her," Dumbledore only stated. "And I doubt it would be dangerous for her to have it."

Harriet happily nodded while slowly stroking the ring on her finger.

"In anycase, there are now two Horcrux destroyed and another missing."

Dumbledore nodded as he leaned forward at the bowl, where memories of his past swam before him. "Three... how many did you make, Tom?" Albus muttered lowly.

"We will need to research more for this and have a deep conversation about what you know, Dumbledore. But first, we must deal with the fact that a Basilisks is living under Hogwarts," Amelia stepped forward, snapping Dumbledore out of his thoughts.

"Of course," Dumbledore replied. "We will need a rooster."

"We will get one, no problem," Amelia added.

"I can help," Harriet quickly spoke, and James breathed deeply. He was about to say something, but Harriet beat him to it.

"You need me to open the chamber," Harriet pointed out. "Unless you can speak parseltongue."

James groaned slightly. But knew she was right. Everyone shared James' feelings but realized they must bring the girl with them if they wanted to deal with the Basilisk. Yet, it wouldn't be without precaution.

"Amelia?" James stared at the red-haired woman with pleading eyes. Amelia pinched her nose and took a deep breath.

"She will stay behind us at all times," Amelia stated. "You will listen to us, understood, Miss Potter?" She said, warning as Harriet smiled at her.

"Of course, aunty Amelia."

Severus rolled his eyes, and Sirius looked troubled at the idea of his goddaughter following them to a dangerous site.

"Fawkes," Dumbledore called, and soon everyone saw a phoenix suddenly arriving. It looked rather young, and soon enough. The Phoenix landed on Harriet's shoulder. Fawkes then sang shortly and for a brief moment. The Phoenix stared at Harriet directly into her eyes, and suddenly a sensation Harriet couldn't describe with words waved upon her. Fawkes could sense darkness in her, but at the same time. He could feel such sorrow, pain, and love. A strange mix that made Harriet the person she was. Nevertheless, Fawkes never felt as if she was dangerous to others. Not as that boy Fawkes met such a long time ago.

The Phoenix chirped sorrowfully, leaning his head onto Harriet and gently nudging her. Harriet caressed it back, still wondering what was up with the Phoenix and the sensation it made her feel.

"It seems as if Fawkes has taken a liking to you," Dumbledore chuckled; however, no one could see that internally. He was incredibly relieved by Fawkes' reaction.

"Fawkes will help keep miss Potter safe," Dumbledore stated happily, and Harriet raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Alright, the sooner we end this, the better," James muttered.

However, soon enough, another person entered the room.

"Albus... after some consideration... I-" Gilderoy then just stood still, watching everyone watching him.

"Lockhart," Snape drawled. "What a convenient surprise."

"Uh, yeah... well, um," Lockhart fidget nervously. "Why convenient?"

"We are just about to go to the Chamber of Secrets to deal with the deadly Basilisk. It's good that you came. We will need a man of your expertise," Severus stated, and soon enough, the rest stared at him with big smiles.

"Ah... I think..." Lockhart started to mumble nervously but not missing a beat. Sirius chuckled.

"Please, Lockhart. Wouldn't you take this chance to use those amazing spells you used against the Banshee?" Sirius drawled, making Lockhart gulp nervously.

"Ah, they-"

"We need the help of powerful wizards just like yourself. You're the Defence against the Dark arts teacher, after all," Amelia joined up, and soon Gildery was pushed to the stairs. At the same time, everyone walked towards the girl's bathroom.

Harriet couldn't help but feel strange near Lockhart. The smiling teacher looked nervously and chatted about how they didn't need him since Albus was with them. But that wasn't what made Harriet sense something odd. She couldn't quite put in words the bizarre feeling of... fakeness. The Girl Who Lived has never felt something like that. Yet, she thought only Lockhart's panic state made her feel a bit weary of him. Perhaps, she felt bad for him. However, she doubted it.

Soon enough, the group arrived at the girl's lavatory. And Harriet approached the sink and hissed the words that opened the chamber entrance. She did notice Snape's flinching when she spoke the tongue of the serpents. And while she would have normally laughed at such a reaction. Harriet wondered if there was something Severus didn't like about her ability. Maybe, he had some internal trauma that shouldn't be mocked.

"Well, this is quite the ugly entrance," Sirius muttered, looking down at what looked like a big pipeline going down.

"Indeed," Dumbledore hummed.

Lockhart then chuckled nervously. "So, here is the entrance, ha! Just as I expected it!" He stated proudly while sweating profusely. While everyone just stood there, watching him with simply cold faces.

"Now, professor Dumbledore, I think this is a good opportunity to...!"

Before he could say no more, Sirius pushed him with the tip of his wand, and Lockhart soon fell into the pipe hole. Everyone just glanced at him, not shocked but amused.

Sirius just shrugged off their stares. Soon, they heard Lockhart moaning down there.

"It's... so disgusting," they heard him say and nodded to each other.

"So, who's next?" Sirius asked happily.

Snape quickly took this opportunity to push Sirius down as Sirius did to Lockhart.

"Bloody cunt...!" Sirius tried to yell, but soon only the sound of his scream and soon landing was heard. "This bloody stinks..." Sirius' voice made its way all the way up, where the rest stared at each other.

Everyone then glanced at Snape, who simply raised his hands. "I... slipped."

"Ah, mister Black, happy to see you here!"

"Quiet, you cunt!"

They heard Sirius bickering down there and realized it was safe.

Harriet would tell her mother about this. James even snorted slightly before coughing.

"I guess it's my turn," James muttered before glaring at Snape, who raised his eyebrows at him.

"Go on then," Snape drawled with an amused smile, but James wasn't going to do it his way. No, James hissed at Snape before forcefully grabbing and forcing him to jump down with him.

"POTTER!"

In Harriet's opinion, Snape's screams were loud and hilarious, especially how Sirius started cackling like a maniac once both James and Severus landed together to face down.

"Sometimes I wonder how old they are," Amelia groaned.

"They seem to get along better now than before," Dumbledore grinned. "But I guess it is our turn."

Harriet hummed deeply. Before stopping them. "Wait, there is something I want to try first."

Dumbledore and Amelia saw how Harriet was inspecting the edge of the entrance, and some words were written there; she frowned but started to hiss some words. Then, like a mechanism, it suddenly started to be heard, and the small steps appeared, like a small staircase enough for one person.

"Mmhm, where look at this," Harriet pointed out happily.

Amelia and Dumbledore raised their eyebrows and had to admit that the entire thing was highly amusing.

"You could have done it sooner," Amelia pointed out, and while she wanted to try to sound serious. A large smirk was lingering on her face.

"Opps," Harriet shrugged.

"Patience is a virtue," Dumbledore added. But his eyes conceal an amusement of itself.

The three walked down only to be met by a couple of truly stunned and dirty men staring at them.

"There were some stairs," Harriet said without much thought. Amelia coughed, hiding a chuckle. Albus simply smirked at them, not hiding his delight.

"Great," James groaned.

Soon the group started to walk around and noticed the strange pipes and cave intersection. The place was bigger than they thought.

"These pipes must travel not only the castle but all around the premise," Amelia pointed out. "How far would they go?"

"That's a wonderful question," Dumbledore stated.

"The smell," Sirius gagged. "It almost smells like you, Snivellus!"

"Mutt," Snape sneered at him.

Before Sirius replied, he stumbled upon something horrible and awful. Before the group, a large snake's skin lay on the ground.

"Merlin's balls," Sirius exclaimed, and he wasn't the only one who thought the same.

"By Morgana... it must be at least 25 meters long," Amelia stared at it and was starting to have a problem imagining such a creature roaming around Hogwarts. And I wasn't the only one thinking about a such thing either.

"Harriet, stay close," James' voice sounded tight, and Harriet just nodded, but she would like to take some basilisk skin with her home.

Gilderoy started to freak out but slowly walked behind them. Tightening his wand.

Soon enough, they reached what looked like a large metal door. A vaulted entry.

"Harriet?" James whispered as Harriet approached the door, and just like before, she hissed, and the large metal vault door opened slowly. Soon they entered a large chamber with many statues of snakes and tunnels leading out. They realized that this was the perfect place for a large snake to live under. It could move all over without much problem. However, as the group walked forward, they saw a large statue of what could be Salazar Slytherin. It was the face of one of the founders. Sculptured on the chamber wall, looking down on them or any other intruder who dared to enter such a location.

"Mmhm, this certainly is the Chamber of Secrets," Sirius muttered, earning a scoff from Snape.

"Don't you say? Did the giant statues of giant basilisks give it away?"

"Shut up."

"Enough," Dumbledore said. "We must be careful; magical traps could be lying around."

Harriet hummed as she saw the large sculpture of Salazar Slytherin. She noticed a strange thing written on the wall. "Dad, did you see what's written there? Around the mouth of the statue?"

"Writing?" James asked, confused, as he leaned forward but saw nothing written there, just the cold stone. "There is nothing there, Harriet."

Harriet was now confused. "There is something written there!"

Everyone just stared up at where Salazar's statue was, looking down at them, and saw nothing. Dumbledore then wondered if there was something that only Harriet could see, and if that was the case, then what could it mean?

"What can you see?" James asked, intrigued. "How does it look like?"

"It's... like shining words...? Fluorescent letters... but I haven't seen letters like that before."

"Does it say something?" Dumbledore asked.

Harriet's thoughts went overdrive as she tried to understand why she saw something no one else was. However, she tilted forward and tried to make sense of what she was watching. And read those strange fluorescent words carefully.

"Uhm... it's like... old English...? Heir of own mine blood, cometh f'rward to eft mine own shall, f'r the path is longeth and dark. The snake high-lone can't liveth without a stag, a lion, and a raven."

Harriet tried to translate it, but truth be told. The sentences written on the wall weren't like that, not truly. The best way to explain it was as if the words written were just strange symbols, but she could read them as if they were written in old English. A rare sensation, no doubt, and hard to explain and comprehend, yet those words made Harriet wonder. Also, more was written, and she soon noticed many more sentences. Still, a part of her decision was to keep that information to herself. She didn't trust Dumbledore with that knowledge.

"What a strange sentence," James added, concerned.

Dumbledore just kept quiet, saying nothing more.

"This is starting to feel worse than before. It's quite creepy," Sirius sighed deeply.

Severus' face was stoic and calculative. Harriet then shook her head, focusing on what was more important. "Dad, I think... the Basilisk is inside the mouth of the sculpture."

That brought the attention of everyone back to the task at hand, but Harriet could feel Dumbledore's eyes. But she doubted it was because of what was about to happen and more about what else was there written that they couldn't see.

"We are ready."

"Gilderoy, do not faint," Severus drawled, the poor professor looking more on edge.

"O-of course!"

Harriet frowned at him but decided to forget it. She tilted her head and read the sentence near the eyes of the sculpted and hissed the words, and soon enough, the mouth of Salazar opened, and everyone got ready for what would come. And soon enough, a large basilisk appeared, hissing widely.

And soon enough. Harriet could hear an angry yet old voice.

Who called me out again?! Who dared to disrupt my slumber?! Father... where are you?! I shall not be used to harm Hogwarts again!

Harriet was now confused. The voice didn't sound like she had heard during the attacks. This one felt more composed, less wild, and she even dared to see, more human-like.

"That's..." Gilderoy then fainted, much to Snape and Sirius's enjoyment.

Dumbledore was ready to transfigure a rock into a rooster before Harriet stopped it. "Wait! Professor!" Harriet yelled. "Let me speak with it!"

Dumbledore looked alarmed, just like the rest.

"Harriet, are you mad?!" James exclaimed.

"Dad, please trust me!"

"Harriet...! Wait!"

Harriet ignoring her father's screams, approached the giant and hissed Basilisk. "My name is Harriet Potter. Do you know where you are?"

The Basilisk sniffed the air and seemingly closed those large eyes before leaning forward.

"You... you smell familiar. But at the same time, different. Not like that boy at all, and like that girl who speaks the tongue. You smell like the father."

Harriet was now confused and yet intrigued about what it could mean.

The rest stared, scared, anxious, and worriedly at the fact that the giant Basilisk and the small girl seemed to be hissing at each other.

Harriet wanted to know who the father was, but she wanted to know about the boy and girl, who she now believes was Ginny.

"Who is the boy you're referring to?"

The giant snake sniffed the air one more time before turning to her. "The boy woke me up decades ago, telling me he was the father's heir. But he didn't smell like him. You smell like father and not him."

"You're the creature left by Salazar Slytherin to hunt down muggle-borns?" Harriet asked, and soon, the giant snake let a huge hiss, and soon everyone pointed their wands at it.

"Harriet, what is happening?" James asked worriedly.

"Shh, let me find out," Harriet replied, annoyed.

"Did you attack the children?"

"I... never wanted it! They force me! They whispered the words... the chain! The chain!"

"The chain?" Harriet muttered, bewildered.

"What do you mean the chain? What words?"

The snake let a soft whimper, slowly tilting the large head to her. "Salazar's words of command. A spell only he knew. He crafted it to keep me bound to the school's boundaries. But the evil boy used it to force me to attack children of magic."

"Wait... you're not here to kill muggle-borns?"

"NEVER! I was tasked to protect the school! The last line of defense! The father, Salazar, and the mother of the raven raised me. Since I was but a small serpent, I grew up in the castle. I would have never hurt the children of magic!"

Harriet just stood there, wondering what she should do with such information. Well, this is interesting.

"Harriet...?"

Harriet turned around to meet her father's worried eyes.

"It seems the basilisk was tasked to protect the school and not to attack muggle-borns."

"What?" They exclaimed together, a truly understandable question for them to ask. But one that truly made them wonder if it was a dream.

"Salazar crafted it... created her, with the help... of what I believe to be Rowena Ravenclaw, to protect the school. The last line of defense."

"If that was true, then why he... she? Attacked the students?" Amelia questioned while staring at the large giant snake before her.

"Voldemort," Harriet hissed. "Somehow, dear old Tom knew a spell crafted by Salazar to control the Basilisk. And ordered her to run amok. It explains why he didn't use it but once."

"That's... wait, does that mean Slytherin didn't hate muggle-borns?" Sirius asked, baffled.

"I don't think the term muggle-born even existed back then," Harriet replied. "The basilisk called them children of magic."

"Whoa, this could change what we know of Salazar Slytherin," Amelia added, amazed.

"It does change a lot," Dumbledore added as he stared at the giant Basilisk.

"Still, doesn't change what happened," James muttered. "But... what do we do know?"

Harriet hummed. "What's your name?"

The Basilisk tilted her head and sniffed Harriet gently. "Aine... I was named after the father's youngest daughter."

"Aine, beautiful name. I must tell you that you have petrified students."

Aine, the Basilisk, let out what she would consider a wail of sorrow. Harriet quickly patted the poor Basilisk's head, which looked rather amusing and heartbreaking at the same time.

To be forced to do something without having control over it. Harriet felt horrible for Aine. No one deserved to be a slave.

"We can't kill her," Harriet stated strongly.

"Harriet, I don't know..."

"Voldemort controlled her. She's a victim too," Harriet glared at them.

Amelia glanced at Dumbledore, who seemed deep in thought. Soon enough, Fawkes, standing on Harriet's shoulder all this time, hummed a soft song calming the poor Basilisk.

"Harriet, could you keep the Basilisk inside here?"

"Dumbledore?" Amelia questioned the headmaster, who simply raised his hand.

"Would you kill a victim of abuse?" Albus asked them, and silence was the answer.

"That's..." Amelia groaned, sighing deeply. She needed to be more relaxed about the whole thing. "I don't even know anymore."

"I know this is a very unusual situation. But we must make sure to do what's right."

Harriet finally agreed with Dumbledore about something. However, she wanted to ensure that Voldemort couldn't control Aine in the future.

"Aine, is there a way for me to protect you in the future? So, no one could control you and force you to hurt children?"

Aine looked at Harriet, and it seemed she was thinking hard about it. Again, the Basilisk sniffed the air and Harriet herself. "Yes, there is, but you must ask father himself." Aine then tilted her head towards a far wall, where Harriet noticed the same fluorescent words written there. It was a secret entrance, no doubt, but one she would keep quiet about for now. If there was some secret there, left by Salazar himself. She didn't want Dumbledore to know it.

"Have you told anyone about it?" Harriet asked.

"No. Not even the boy who pretended to be father's blood. I don't think he could read father's words either."

Harriet nodded. "Could you go back to your shelter until I come later? Would you be fine there?"

"Of course, young lady, of course. It's a spot crafted for me, where I hibernate."

"Good. I'll see you later, Aine."

The Basilisk hissed away and moved back to her lair.

"Aine will go back to hibernate."

Harriet told them; however, her words didn't truly bring peace to them.

James looked the most troubled of them all, as he didn't truly know what to make out of what took place. However, Dumbledore put his hand on James' shoulder.

"Let's trust, young miss Potter," Dumbledore said.

Sirius looked around, trying to hide his anxiousness, and Snape looked troubled.

"What are we going to say?" James asked Amelia, who started to feel a headache coming in.

"The attacks stopped, that was what we wanted, and we know the culprit... sort of. We will say it's all over, and the one responsible for it has been... taken care of," Amelia muttered.

"This is going to be for a long report," Sirius whined as he got closer to the apparently passed-out Gilderoy. "What a brave man, isn't he?" He joked disgusted.

Harriet truly couldn't understand what to make of Gilderoy Lockhart. Maybe he was just a pathetic little man and nothing else. A shame, truly. He did write funny books.

"So, who is going to carry him?" Harriet muttered, however, soon enough. Lockhart's hand moved at such an incredible speed that even Harriet didn't see it. But a spell hit Sirius right in the chest, sending him off into the air before crashing to the ground. Then, he moved behind Harriet and put his wand on Harriet's neck before sneering at everyone around him.

Alright, what it's going on? Harriet thought, stunned and secretly confused about what Lockhart was trying to achieve.

"Ah! What a shame this has come to pass," Lockhart whispered. "To see, my lord's plan to be... utterly stopped by you."

"Put the wand down, Lockhart, or so Merlin help me!" James's growled while aiming his wand at him. He wasn't the only everyone was carefully moving around him.

"Gilderoy, what are you trying to achieve?" Dumbledore questioned carefully, glaring deeply into the teacher's eyes. And was surprised he couldn't use Legilimency. "Whatever it is, it would be wise to put the wand down. Otherwise, I cannot assure your life to be saved."

Gilderoy laughed maniacally. "You're threatening me, Dumbledore? A bit too late for that... you know how much I had to suffer by pretending to be this... pathetic little coward?"

Harriet was now staring at him, wondering what Lockhart was on about. Her summon was ready to kill him; it was just waiting for her signal. But, first, Harriet wanted to know more.

"Our plan was to ensure our master achieved his goal! Do you honestly think that that little blood traitor ended up with that book all by herself?!"

"You know something about it?" Snape growled as he moved to the left slowly. Lockhart kept a firm grasp on Harriet, which was starting to annoy her.

"Please, Snape, don't insult yourself!" Then, Lockhart surprised everyone by showing them a tattoo on his forehand. It was the Dark Mark. And now, everyone was stunned to see it, even Harriet. Since, of all people who could have been a Death Eather, Gilderoy Lockhart wasn't one of them.

Yet, he proudly showed his mark to everyone before pointing his wand at Harriet's neck again.

"Our plan was going smoothly until you all stopped it! Damn you all!"

Harriet then frowned. Something odd was in his voice, but she couldn't quite grasp it.

"Who is we?!" Amelia questioned harshly.

Then, Lockhart grinned. "My dear good friend, Lucius Malfoy, of course," Lockhart admitted with elegance and arrogance.

"Malfoy?!" All gasped. "How?!"

"Well, you see, Malfoy was given a special item from our lord to take care of and used it once the time was right. And he did have a great many things hidden in his house as well. Many dark items."

Lockhart exclaimed proudly.

"And one of those items was the diary?" Dumbledore asked coldly.

"Yes! Malfoy and I decided to put it to good use. Just as our master and lord Voldemort instructed us. He slipped the dairy into a student, and that poor student would have been drawn to write on it and unleash the monster to start cleansing the school out of filthy mudbloods!"

Lockhart laughed maniacally and also quite dramatically.

"Why, Miss Weasley?" Harriet asked then. She was paying attention to Lockhart's voice and demeanor. Everything was so outlandish and hard to comprehend, and it wasn't the Death Eater part. No, it was something else. And for some reason, while she had a wand pointed to her neck. Harriet didn't feel in danger at all. Something was telling her that Lockhart would never hurt her.

It was incredibly weird.

"Well, now that you asked, Miss Potter. Lucius hated the new law that blood traitor, Weasley wanted to put thought," Lockhart hissed.

"The Muggle Protection act?" James muttered, perplexed.

"Exactly!" Gilderoy replied happily. "And what a way to stop it by making sure his daughter ended up being the culprit in the death of filthy mudbloods?! Think of the scandal!"

Now even Dumbledore was utterly furious, as the old headmaster's aura was darkening.

"A good thing that the plot didn't work," Dumbledore said with a very cold tone.

"No matter, Malfoy would surely clean his hands one way or another and hide all those dark artifacts and his cloak and mask in a secret room hidden in his library, and which mechanism to open said secret door is behind a ancient brown book with the symbol of a star. As well a large black box with many specific sets of letters written to the ministry of magic about the France cottage he bought for him to get him clean of any wrongdoing after the war and other briberies to other Ministry Officials. Sly, Lucius, one of the reasons he is such a good friend of mine!"

Harriet raised an eyebrow, wondering why Lockhart was practically snitchin' on Lucius in that epic way. Surely, Lockhart realized he couldn't win against Dumbledore, Amelia, James, Snape, and her. Something doesn't make sense. And all he said would be used against him.

"Now, while this is regrettable, I'll have to take Miss Potter with me! Do not move, or I shall end her life!" Lockhart yelled dramatically.

However, before he could do anything, Dumbledore just flipped his wand in such a quick way that Lockhart's wand left his hand.

"Ah..." Lockhart could only say before James approached him and punched him in the face like a professional boxer. And it looked like it was a direct him because James hissed in pain.

Lockhart fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Bloody cunt," James whined, annoyed. "His face was hard as stone!"

Harriet just stared at the unconscious man and tilted her head.

This was something else.

Harriet thought, wondering what to make of him and everything.

Well, I have a Basilisk now. So, that's nice.