And here's the thirty first chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
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magitech, Lockhart will be dealt with soon enough. As for Dumbledore, well, that's how he is. And I doubt that can change this easily.
Gabriel Herrol, Harry doesn't really have the resources to pull it off at this point. And he's too much of a Slytherin here to sneak into a Professor's room to use their private floo or do something similarly crazy.
The Shadows Mistress, Harry is going to 'free' himself come next summer, so don't worry too much here. But, yeah, Augusta isn't going to be very happy.
Wulfkin17, there probably will be no snake summoning - in canon Draco used that spell against Harry because Snape suggested it. Here there is no reason for such an event to occur, so...
Vampireking40, thanks to the Hogwarts rumor mill, everyone knew Harry is a parselmouth since the previous year. And Harry was questioned by the Aurors as one who could do this, but isn't yet believed to be a suspect. Ron and Hermione aren't friends here, so the former can only do whatever enters his head, and the latter doesn't really have any significant drive to do anything beyond reading books to try to guess what the monster from the Chamber is.
* AN: As always, great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter XXXI: Discoveries and Preparations
Peter Pettigrew, disguised as Scabbers the rat, pattered from one shadow to another as he made his way back to the safety of the Gryffindor common room. He rarely ever left the boys' dormitories, spending most days sleeping on his 'owner's' bed, but today his desire of a proper meal got the better of him and so he snuck into the kitchens, where he stole some pork roast with mashed potatoes the elves were making for the students.
Soon after he passed by Moaning Myrtle's toilet, he unexpectedly ran across his 'owner's' little sister. He wouldn't have paid this much mind if not for the fact that there was something rather off about the girl - even someone as ill-versed in Arcane Magics as him could see that she wasn't her normal self. Indeed, there was a strange aura surrounding the girl that, to his animalistic senses, made her feel like someone more powerful, darker and crueler than Ginny Weasley had any right to be. And it looked like that old leather-bound diary she had in her hands was the source of it.
Curious, Peter decided to follow her against his better judgment. And soon he found himself in Moaning Myrtle's abode, watching with great shock as Ginny hissed at the sinks, causing them to sink into the floor, revealing a large hole leading to… somewhere. And while this secret passage he had never found as a student was interesting, he was more shocked by the girl speaking Parseltongue. No Weasley in the recorded history had this gift - it belonged to the Slytherin bloodline.
What was going on here?
Now, Peter knew he wasn't the brightest wizard out there, but he wasn't exactly stupid either. And putting together the old diary, the strange aura he felt around the youngest Weasley and her sudden and unexplained ability to speak the Magical language of snakes, he came to a conclusion that she was being possessed. And the one possessing her was the Heir of Slytherin - the Dark Lord himself - who was using the girl to further his noble quest to purge the world from those unworthy of Magic.
The Dark Lord wasn't dead and gone, like everyone believed!
This realization left Peter stunned for a good couple of minutes, and by the time he finally came back to his senses, the possessed girl had already vanished into the secret passage, which was once again hidden behind the enchanted sinks.
Damn it, there went his chance to confirm that his Master was still among the living, Peter thought, angry at himself for missing this opportunity. And, to make things even worse, the next thing that comes out of that secret passage - was this the entrance to the fabled Chamber of Secrets? - would likely be the Monster of Slytherin. And he really doubted that this monster will not attack him, be he a rat or a human. No, waiting for 'Ginny's' return here was too dangerous.
But what were his other options? He would be in just as much danger from the beast in the nearby corridors, and further away there were portraits that would raise alarm as soon as they say a man they couldn't recognize - and he'd have to transform back into human to speak with whom he believed to be the spirit of his Master. The Gryffindor common room was right out and he couldn't follow 'Ginny' to the girls' dormitories. Even as a rat. The wards to keep the boys away weren't fooled by the animagus transformation. He had learned that the hard way back in his fifth year.
After much thinking, he decided that he should just wait for the next time the Dark Lord took possession of the girl and contact him before he can disappear into the Chamber of Secrets. Having made his decision, Peter continued on his way back to the Gryffindor common room.
~/ *** \~
"There has been another attack by the 'Heir of Slytherin'." Professor Snape announced in a grave voice as he opened the abrupt house meeting. "The castle is currently under lockdown and students are to remain within their common rooms until further notice. Your meals will be served there by the house elves. All classes have, of course, been canceled." There was a round of quiet murmurs among the Slytherin students as everyone wanted to know more about what was going on. Ignoring them for the moment, the Potions Master continued: "The DMLE Aurors will be arriving soon. Please do what you can to help them in their investigation of this horrible attack."
"Sir, who has been attacked this time?" Someone asked from the crowd.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff and Nearly-headless Nick." Professor Snape replied.
"Nearly-headless Nick? Would that be Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower?" Salazar's portrait asked quietly. Harry nodded in response. There was an uneasy pause, before the Founder spoke again: "This is not good, not good at all..."
"Sir?" Harry asked.
"There are very few things in the world that can hurt ghosts." The portrait explained. "And if Sir Nicolas has indeed been damaged by an attack today, I'm afraid, I know what the false heir is using to attack the students."
"Does Lord Slytherin have any information that can help us capture the 'Heir' and stop the attacks?" Professor Snape asked he approached the Parseltongue speakers. He then waved his wand, casting a spell that muffled the chatter of students around them and ensured the privacy of their conversation
"Yes, he believes he knows how the attacks have been carried out." The young Potter replied.
"Back when I've created The Chambers, I put a guardian in them. A basilisk I personally raised to be the protector of Hogwarts. I've also laid a powerful enchantment on her that made it impossible for her gaze to harm those welcomed at Hogwarts, be they Professors, students or simple guests." Salazar said. There was a short pause before he continued: "If my guess is right, the false heir, or, perhaps, someone before them, had removed the enchantment and forced the basilisk into their servitude."
"Lord Slytherin says that the attacks were most likely carried out using a basilisk." Harry told his Potions Professor.
"Isn't basilisk gaze instantly lethal to anyone who meets it? We've only had petrifications thus far, no deaths." The man asked back. Then an idea popped into his head. "Will the gaze lose some of its power if it is not met directly? Will seeing its reflection petrify instead of killing?" Salazar's portrait nodded.
"So… Mr. Finch-Fletchley saw the basilisk through Nearly-headless Nick?" Harry asked. "What about Colin Creevy then? Wasn't he the only victim of that attack?"
"Mr. Creevy was found looking through the range-finder of his, now destroyed, camera. It must have absorbed the brunt of basilisk's gaze." Professor Snape replied. "I'm not sure about Mr. Filch's cat, but there was a lot of water on the floor near where it was found. It is not unlikely that the cat was petrified from seeing the reflection on the floor."
"A thousand year old basilisk, even one that spends most of its time in stasis, has to be rather huge." Salazar's portrait mused. "And even with space-altering Charms, there is only so much Magic can do to allow a creature of such size to enter the castle proper unnoticed. Wherever the current entrance to The Chambers is, it must be located close to the places where the attacks happened."
"Lord Slytherin says that the basilisk must be very big and that the entrance to The Chambers it is using must be somewhere near where the students have been petrified." Harry translated what the Founder said to his Professor.
"...And all attacks happened within maybe a hundred yards from the girls' toilet on the second floor." The Potions Master said. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets - at least, the one that the 'Heir' is using must be located nearby… I shall tell the Aurors to inspect that area most thoroughly."
"Something tells me, they will not have any luck accessing the Chamber even if they do find it there." Harry remarked. "If someone had gone through the trouble of removing Lord Slytherin's enchantments from the basilisk, they likely also updated the warding on the Chamber itself. I'm not sure if even a random Parselmouth like me would be able to enter it."
"Nevertheless, if we can confirm that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is indeed there, our job of bringing down the 'Heir' will become much easier, even if we are unable to access the Chamber itself." Professor Snape replied. "And we should probably contact the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as well. We might need their help soon."
"I would like it if you tried to reason with The Chamber's guardian first." Salazar spoke up. "It would be a great shame to kill an old and majestic beast like her. But should she prove to be an actual danger to Hogwarts and people within it, please do not hesitate to do what is necessary. The safety of the school should be your greatest priority." Harry nodded, before relaying the message to his head of House.
"I'll bring this up with the Headmaster." Professor Snape said after a thoughtful silence. "But basilisks are some of the most dangerous creatures that are known to Wizardkind. It would be extremely irresponsible of us, adults and teachers, to risk your life like this, even if you are the only one who can actually talk to the beast." And with that he turned around and headed out of the Slytherin common room.
As it turns out, there indeed was something hidden within Moaning Myrtle's toilet - there was a set of very subtle and arcane wards on the sinks. They couldn't find out what these wards were hiding, but one of the water taps did have a small snake etched onto it.
When asked, Salazar's portrait denied the very thought of hiding an entrance to The Chambers within a girls' lavatory. At the same time, he couldn't discard the possibility of someone, a descendant of his, perhaps, moving an entrance there during one of the castle's renovations. That would also explain why The Chambers now were so well hidden from everyone, the school's staff included, when their original purpose - according to Lord Slytherin - was a shelter to hide Professors and students should the castle itself fall under an attack.
"What's going to happen now?" Harry asked.
"For now, a team of Curse-Breakers has been summoned to study the wards. With any luck, they will be able to deactivate them and open the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets." The Potions Master replied after ensuring that their conversation would be private. "And if that fails, we will place wards of our own around the sinks, to stun and capture anyone who tries to access the Chamber. Now that we know where it is, we can't allow the 'Heir' to carry out their attacks against the students anymore."
"I see…" The younger wizard said. "And has the Headmaster made his decision about the basilisk?"
"The Headmaster believes the basilisk to be too much of a danger for the school, even if it is following 'Heir's' orders against its will." Professor Snape replied. "And the thought of sending a student to talk to a class XXXXX beast is definitely not something he enjoys. At the same time, a creature that remembers the Founders and can tell us about them is an opportunity we simply can't miss. Assuming there is a way to ensure your safety down there, the Headmaster is willing to honor Lord Slytherin's request and let you speak to the beast." Harry nodded.
"I'm to inform Lord Slytherin, then?" He asked then.
"That would be wise, Mr. Potter." Was the Potions Master's reply.
~/ *** \~
The Curse-Breakers spent the next two days studying the wards that were hiding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. And while they did make quite a bit of progress, they still were nowhere close to finding a way to break through them. At least, without seriously compromising Hogwarts's own wards, thus endangering everyone in the castle… Whoever had created these wards was a right bastard.
And even if that wasn't the case, breaking the wards with brute force would achieve little more than permanently sealing this entrance to the Chamber. There likely were other ways in, but it might take years if not decades to locate even a single one of those. No, if they wanted to keep this passage to the Chamber of Secrets open, the wards had to be carefully dismantled, and that might take months of hard work - hardly something that they could afford right now, while the 'Heir' was still at large.
Of course, there was another way in, the same way the 'Heir' used to get into the Chamber: the correct passphrase. Only no one had any idea what this passphrase was. Or whether it was the only thing needed to safely open the passage. About the only thing the team agreed on was that the passphrase had to in Parseltongue. But with all of the potential dangers, involving the only known Parselmouth in the castle - a student - was completely out of the question.
It seemed as though they would have to wait until the summer to unravel these wards and start exploring the mysteries of the Chamber of Secrets.
~/ *** \~
"Mr. Potter." Professor Snape said as he approached him in the Slytherin common room. "The Headmaster would like to have a word with you."
"Sir?" Harry asked, looking up from the Ancient Runes textbook he was reading.
"I wasn't told the exact details, but this is about setting a trap for the 'Heir'." His head of the House replied. The younger wizard nodded.
"Alright." He closed the book and set it onto the table next to his armchair. "Let's go."
The walk to the Headmaster's office wasn't a short one, but it was spent in complete silence. And once they arrived there, Harry saw that the Headmaster wasn't the only one waiting for him. Standing next to the office's window was an Auror, while another wizard - possibly a Curse-Breaker - was engaged in a staring contest with Fawkes the phoenix. The latter was winning.
"Thank you for coming H-... Mr. Potter." Albus Dumbledore said as he rose from his armchair. "Allow me to introduce Auror Rivers and Master Curse-Breaker Bogworth."
"A pleasure." Harry said politely.
"It was decided that breaking through the wards hiding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is not reasonable at this time." Mr. Bogworth said, looking away from the phoenix. "We will return for that task in the future, probably during the summer, but for the time being, my team is leaving."
"And so do the Aurors." Auror Rivers added. "But before we depart, we are going to set up a trap for the 'Heir'. Even if we still can't identify them, there is no way we're going to let them continue attacking the students. And to create this trap, we need your help."
"Of course." Harry replied. "Though I'm not sure what I can help you with."
"Our team has a strong suspicion that the passphrase the 'Heir' is using to access the Chamber is in Parseltongue. We also suspect that Parseltongue, even when not used to invoke spells, has some Magic in it." Professor Dumbledore agrees with this supposition." The Headmaster nodded in confirmation. "Thus, to ensure that the trap our team will set up targets only the 'Heir', it was decided that it should be triggered when Parseltongue is spoken. There is no recorded method to Magically detect spoken Parseltongue, so we need to experiment. And for that we need you, Mr. Potter."
"I see…" Harry said. It actually made sense that to capture one Parselmouth they needed the help of another. Even if his role here would be just that of a test subject. "Alright. Do what you can."
Over the next two hours, the Curse-Breaker with the help of Professor Dumbledore observed Harry speaking Parseltongue. They got their proof that the language of serpents, at least when spoken by a wizard, had some Magic to it almost immediately. On the other hand, coming up with a method to pick out that barely-distinguishable Magic proved to be rather challenging.
Still, Mr. Bogworth managed to show that he was as good at creating wards as he was at dismantling them and by the end of the second hour he managed to create a simple ward that produced a ball of greenish light whenever Parseltongue was spoken within its boundary.
"Thank you very much for your help, Ha-... Mr. Potter." The Headmaster said once the Curse-Breaker got his ward to trigger reliably. "I trust you will not tell anyone about what we were doing here."
"Of course." Harry replied with a nod. He could understand that the trap Mr. Bogworth and the Aurors were trying to create would be able to catch the false 'Heir' only if they had no idea about it. And, hopefully, they never will until the trap was sprung upon them.
"Good." Professor Dumbledore said. There was a brief pause, before he continued: "Professor Snape will escort you back to the Slytherin common room." The Potions Master gave a curt nod.
"Follow me, Mr. Potter." He said then.
Later that day, once Mr. Bogworth and Auror Rivers left his office to set up their trap for the 'Heir', Albus Dumbledore had a meeting with Amelia Bones.
"I'm still not convinced that letting the 'Heir of Slytherin' roam the castle with nothing more than a single trap in place to stop them from attacking more students is the best course of action." The Director of the DMLE said. "While thus far all of their attacks were carried out using beast from the Chamber, what is stopping them from attacking students directly with their wand? And speaking of the beast… It's a thousand years old basilisk, for Merlin's sake. Do I even need to tell you how dangerous that creature is? Is it really wise to do nothing about it for months?"
"Yes, the basilisk presents a great danger, but, unfortunately, there isn't anything we can do about it for now." The aged warlock replied. "It is sleeping in the Chamber of Secrets, which we can't access. We will need the Curse-Breakers to dismantle the wards before we deal with it - and that is going to take several weeks or even months. If we start right now, the 'Heir' will know we're after him and will go into hiding. We can't afford that." As much as Amelia hated the idea of having a class XXXXX creature anywhere near children, especially her niece, she had to agree with Dumbledore's reasoning. After all, as dangerous the basilisk was, it's master was even more so. Plus, the evidence they had led to a conclusion that the beast couldn't leave the Chamber of Secrets without the 'Heir's' command.
"And what about the trap?" The witch asked. "Do you really think that it alone will be enough? We still don't have any idea who this 'Heir of Slytherin' is. They might be more than capable of detecting this trap and disabling it."
"Don't think we haven't taken that possibility into account. If the trap-ward is disabled by anyone other than myself or Mr. Bogworth, I will be immediately notified, as will your department. I've prepared special portkeys that will go through the castle's wards and bring Aurors straight to the bathroom where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is located. We should be able to neutralize the 'Heir' before he or she can summon the basilisk."
"Then why not just ambush the 'Heir' as soon as they try to open the Chamber?" The Director of the DMLE asked.
"Something tells me that a fight against the 'Heir of Slytherin' will end up putting innocent students in danger. I'd rather we avoid that if at all possible." Dumbledore replied.
"Very well…" Amelia said after a long pause. "Let us hope that this trap works and the 'Heir' will be caught the next time they try to open the Chamber…"
~/ *** \~
The following afternoon, the Aurors withdrew from Hogwarts, and the Curse-Breaker team left along with them. And once they were gone, the lockdown was lifted from the castle and the students were once again allowed to leave their common rooms.
Later that day, just before dinner was served, the Headmaster made an announcement. He said that the school was deemed once again safe by the Aurors. He then added that with only two days left till the end of the semester, the classes won't resume. That made a lot of students happy, even if they weren't allowed to return home early and had to stay at Hogwarts until the semester was officially over.
"Do you think that they've really caught the 'Heir'?" Flora asked. "I don't see anyone missing." Indeed, as far as she could tell, all of Hogwarts staff and all students - baring those who had been petrified, of course - were present in the Great Hall right now.
"Maybe?" Harry replied evasively. He didn't like lying to his friends - his best friends - but he had promised the Headmaster and the Aurors to keep what they were doing to catch the 'Heir' for good a secret. And he'd rather not betray their trust.
"Who do you think it was?" The more outspoken of the twins asked then.
"Perhaps it was someone from outside, and they were sneaking into the castle to do their dirty deed? It is said that there are a lot of secret passages there." Harry replied with a shrug.
"That sounds rather outrageous." Flora said. "But since it doesn't look like any of the students or Hogwarts staff were arrested, I guess you're right." There was a long period of silence, before she spoke again: "So, you're really stuck here for the holidays? If the Headmaster doesn't let you attend the Yule Party, perhaps he'll let you meet with us some other time? In Hogsmeade or, maybe, in Diagon."
"Alas." The young Potter replied. "And." He continued after a short pause. "I've never heard of staying students being allowed to visit Hogsmeade during the holidays. I'll, of course, talk to the Headmaster, but I doubt he's going to make an exception for me."
"What a pity." Flora said with a small sigh, before leaning over to her sister and whispering something to her ear. Whatever that was, it made Hestia blush quite noticeably. Still, she seemed to be in agreement with what her sister was proposing.
"Mhm?" Harry 'asked', curious about what the twins were scheming.
"It's nothing, Harry." Flora said, waving her hand dismissively. "Just a thing we should do before the holidays start." She then went back to whispering her ideas to Hestia - something that caused her blush to deepen. Deciding to let the girls have their secrets, Harry shifted his attention away from them. Still, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was in the middle of whatever they were planning…
Having not had a chance to talk to the Headmaster that evening, Harry tried to approach him the next morning. At first, Dumbledore tried to avoid the conversation, but gave in rather quickly once the younger wizard pointed out that if he was using his in loco parentis Magical guardian's rights to make him stay at Hogwarts during the holidays, he must not forget about the responsibilities that came along with that status - and those included listening to his problems and wishes. Alas, Dumbledore's busy schedule meant he didn't have time to hear Harry out until after the dinner…
"How did it go?" Flora asked as he collapsed into his armchair after his meeting with the Headmaster.
"He said that students aren't allowed to leave Hogwarts' premises during the holidays, unless they are accompanied by their parent or legal guardian, and he will not be making an exception here." Harry replied with a sigh. "In other words, no Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley for me."
"That's too bad..." Hestia said sympathetically.
"But, don't worry, there is a thing or two we can do to make you forget a little about this injustice." Flora continued for her sister. Harry was about to ask what she had in mind when she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips. After a few seconds she pulled away and let Hestia give him a kiss of her own. "Feeling better?" Flora asked then. Harry could only nod dumbly in response - a reaction that made the twins giggle.
"I think he needs some more 'treatment', dear sister..." Hestia said with a sly smile.
"That he does." Her sister agreed, before leaning in to give Harry another kiss.
...
Omake by Jostanos (to chapter XXX)
"And now.. Ah! Malfoy and Potter.. Umm.. Where's Mr. Potter?" The fraud asked and everybody, including a non-oblivious-to-the-obvious Professor Snape, shrugs and shakes their heads as if to say that they didn't know where he went. Lockheart sighs then suggests "Alrighty then. The Carrow Twins versus the Patil Twins!" after a brief search through the assembled student the inept DADA professor asks "Where are the Carrow twins?"
A lone, unidentifiable, student chimes "Perhaps they left with Potter, Sir."
That's all, folks!
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