Things after the carriage ride with the two young lady Hufflepuffs had settled fairly well. Harry was well aware of certain things and was grateful that they had been far less forward than any of his other girls had been. Still he was aware that when they were ready that they planned to have their first time with Harry even if their first explorations had been with each other. As it was, Harry was relaxing or more accurately lounging along with Nym and Hermione as they went over their latest batch of books. Kiki was wandering somewhere in her own explorations as was Shadow. As they were interested in finding where the most likely numerous caches of Slytherin's were, they were suspecting that Shadow would find something before Kiki as they were certain that Salazar had used his more often familial gift of Serpent Speech to be the key.

'Not that I don't think Kiki will find anything useful given her previous success,' Harry thought as he continued to engrave the at least OWL level transfiguration book into his mind, 'but that Salazar and his descendants were known for their use of that language as much as any familial line is known for something. Kiki will likely find something in the forgotten parts of the castle though. As it is, one has to wonder what things have been forgotten as well as why so much of the castle is unused. Something to look into would be the changes in the population at some points in time, well that and some different views for history as Binns and his Goblin nattering is almost a waste of time. Still biased yet useful information, but I prefer other ghosts to learning about what things were like in the past as they have some emotion present to their speech.'

"Anything interesting in that book," Dora asked as she sighed as she read her Arithmancy book. "I could use something more interesting, than all... of... this... math!"

"Well it is a transfiguration book," Harry said with a wave. "Not as overloaded with theory as Arithmancy, but some of it can be frustrating. At least it makes up for the mental strain with practical applications. Still I have to admit that Transfiguration is a very useful skill, but there is the fact that if one lacks creativity it can be rather a waste; however, if one does have creativity or a decent enough imagination there are several beneficial uses. If you need something just transfigure it and why use animation charms when you can grant a partial animation transfiguration with a decent enough intelligence of its own. I do wonder why no one seems to grasp the simplest of transfigurations to practical uses. I would think that transfiguring some trash into animated soldiers would be one of the most... simplest applications."

"Wizards do seem to be lazy," Hermione said with a shrug. "Has anyone else seen the older years summoning things instead of walking across the room? If that does not make them lazy, I don't know what would. As it is, I do think that part of the attention you have been receiving is that you keep yourself in better shape than most of the Quidditch players, although how they work out when all they do is sit on a broom is something I don't know..."

"I guess it is a bit like horse riding," Dora said with a whimper of exasperation at the complexity of the equations. "They need a good amount of strength to hold to the brooms and some arm strength for the balls or bats. Some of the professionals do work a bit more towards a gymnast for the ability to contort and twist while riding, but I still see your point. I suspect that as well as the attitude for a number of witches having at least summer romances with muggle boys. So mister hero, what are you going to do about the two wide eyed innocent little Hufflepuffs gazing dreamingly at you?"

"They did talk to us on the way back," Harry said with a dismissive wave. "I think that they both have at least a crush, but that could always change..."

"You mean that they will fixate on you like all the girls back home," Hermione said with a bit of a smirk. "I think they have decided on whom they wish to explore their first romantic or at least hormonal affections... well with boys at least. Did you notice they look at each other almost as much as they do Harry?"

"Yes indeed," Dora said with a sudden tension-lifting laugh. "I am guessing that Susan has been talking praises of her personal hero and wants Hannah for moral support and assistance. So are you going after them now or later?"

"You act like they will be inevitably with me," Harry said with a shake of his head and roll of his eyes. "I think that you ladies are enough to keep me occupied without taking into account the pack at home. I will concede that at least with those two there is more than the groupie vibe that I felt at the sorting. They think that I was going to be their perfect little hero and would likely paint us all as villains for what we have done already."

"I don't think so," Hermione said with a frown as her multitasking thoughts cross-referenced a few things. "Considering that it was muggles and that muggle baiting as well as hunting was legal relatively recently they might ignore that. You could always play up the vanquishing hero or knight at least if it came to that and that is without the lovely legal loopholes already available. Still the public is sheep at times, and I can see some of the more... sensational reporters agitating them."

"Mother may have not wanted to tell me about it," Dora said with a soft smile as she recalled when her mother had been loose lipped, "but it was quite common for dear grandfather to play with some muggles and even had a room set aside just for that at the ancestral home. Well there is the fact that most of them were sorted into Slytherin with the odd Ravenclaw until Sirius came around..."

"Only Black to end up in Gryffindor and he currently sits in Azkaban without trial for a crime he didn't commit," Harry said with a growl, "and further proof that the so called light led by that absentminded Dumbledore is as bad as the so called Dark Wizards. They didn't even give one of their own a trial and just let him be swept away as a dirty little secret."

"No different than anywhere else," Hermione said with a verbal rumbling of her own. "The powerful feel they are above the law and willingly hide anything that would ruin their power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, it is said and from the records those dabbling in the Imperious Curse seem to prove that out."

"And yet we have a master that we willingly serve," Dora commented with a thankful distraction from her study even as she watched them multitasking far easier than her. "So how does that concur with the previous evidence? Our master has total control of us thus absolute power over us and yet he does not seem corrupted by it. He could readily send us out to do acts for money and yet the only ones that do so are those that wish to do so."

"Willing to serve is the difference," Harry said as he also pondered over the uses from his own self-study. "There is also that they use fear or force to coerce obedience. Despite what early classical tyrants seemed to think one did not need fear to rule, and the bonds of loyalty more difficult to sever; therefore, it is better to be loved than respected than to be feared for the benevolent adulation is more sure a bond than terror and even more so the awe of the fanatic to their leader. That I take no pleasure in the suffering of those who don't deserve it or the petty cruelties that would precipitate one on the path to megalomania is also telling. Still both the Light and Dark Lord have their cults and far more willing are they to act to what they believe is good either for the populous or their own ends respectively."

"Thus the difference between a master and a Master is made apparent," Hermione said with certainty. "For us, responsibility is a two-way street regardless of what others may think. Perhaps it is best explained that one is best judged not on how they treat their superiors but in their subordinates. Speaking of subordinates..."

The pair smoothly turns towards the sudden arrival of a slithering serpent. The black snake smoothly slides along the way from the shadow to the bed where it eagerly moves to slide along them. Both Harry and Hermione let a hand run along their companion's scales as they listen to the hisses with interest. For a moment Dora ponders on it before recalling that they both had talked to the entire menagerie of familiars when she had been at their house. Still she was grateful that they had tended to reply to them in English than the chirps, barks, hisses and meows of the companions. It would draw attention for one and the Slytherins would revolt at a muggleborn speaking snake.

"It seems something has been found," Harry said with a raised head as he broke contact with his book and snatched a bookmark to his place. "To think that Slytherin would have his secrets secured to his more famous gift seems to be fact and not supposition any longer."

"Considering that it was extremely rare in his time and more so after the ensuing issues, he turned out to be quite clever in that matter," Hermione said as she mirrored Harry's actions that Dora eagerly followed. "That most of them are for the most part command and not password driven is rather fortuitous..."

"He didn't know if verbally passing down the phrases would occur," Harry said with a thought. "Killings were more common then and it was possibly that a descendent would be orphaned and he wouldn't wish his legacy to be lost. He was quite proud from the records... well they all were, and it was not as if they didn't earn it."

"And for those of us that don't speak snake?" Dora asked as the two smoothly moved to dress. "Some of us would like to know what is so important that you would go exploring after so much attention had been brought to bear..."

"Oh!" Hermione said as she wiggled her skirt on. "We kind of forgot since you and Sarah are the only ones close to who doesn't."

"True enough," Harry said as he buttoned his pants with a nod. "It seems we have the location of the Salazar's private chambers. I believe the general historical consensus is that would be the legendary Chamber of Secrets."

"Isn't that supposed to have some horrible monster inside?" Dora asked as she tried to catch up with their rapid preparation. "I don't recall much about it even in history, but I did see something in a book I secretly read at home. It was interesting and not something I think mother wanted me to know yet if ever..."

"Monster, I guess some might call it that," Hermione said with a shrug as she looked over her appearance to note that her skirt was long enough and blouse sufficient in case a prefect or teacher caught them coming or going. "So you have no idea what it could be, Dora? It really isn't that difficult to have deduced let alone having Shadow describe it."

"Salazar was a Parseltongue and thus his favored magical creature was a snake or serpent I suppose," Harry said as he smoothly finished buttoning his shirt even as the quick and dexterous fingers movements caused Dora to lick her lips in delayed anticipation. "Still considering there are so many kinds of magical serpents and yet what could be so quickly called a monster..."

While Dora had a confused look on her face as she tried to switch her mental processing to figure it out, Hermione beat her to the punch as she said after a sigh. "It is a basilisk, Dora. Considering it is the King of Serpents although queen might be more accurate in this case. Shadow said her scent is female so we should use the correct pronouns and such I suppose."

Sadly their calm demeanor was not entirely able to calm Dora down, and she sputtered out, "A basilisk! Are you both insane?"

The glare they gave their pet caused her to shift in demeanor and body language rapidly. Dora shifted back and forth similar to when her parents had caught her doing something either wrong or improper.

Hermione walked over and lifted Dora's face so she met her mistress's eyes as she told her, "Really pet, you need to trust us more; although, you would not have the same protections that we would. We don't have to worry about either her gaze or her venom; however, we do have ways around that for you. The simplest would be not to meet her gaze until we tell you to. It is not as if one cannot become immune to one's gaze after all."

"We do care for you in our own way as you should well know by now," Harry said as he seemed to move to suddenly have her melt into his embrace while Hermione continued to stroke her face gently. "We would not place you into danger unless we had it in control or there was no other choice. While we know that most would consider us sinister at best and villainous at worse, we are far more protective of those that are either allied or serve us. Where the long string of Dark Lords fail, is that they so carelessly waste their own servants, allies and possible allies. Now while to some it may seem cruel, you should know by now that we are somewhat overprotective, myself in particular with the rest of my girls."

"Yes, sir," Dora said with a tear filled smile. "It is just some things still seem too fantastic to handle, yet."

"Good," Hermione said before giving Dora a long drawn out kiss while Harry teased her from behind. "It would be a shame if after all the effort we already put in that you would balk so easily."

"Now to the chamber," Harry said after playfully nipping his way from her neck to her ear. "We can always continue later or perhaps christen the chamber with some... games."

Dora's moan and shiver drew a smile or was it a smirk to their lips. Despite all they had done, there were still some ways in which they were still quite childlike and one of those was that they truly liked to play still. Therefore, it could be of no real surprise that they played their way to their destination even as they managed to dodge any witness of their passing. Walking there was so boring, when they could be having fun getting there. Therefore, while they weren't skipping and otherwise cavorting their way there as Alice and more so Anne would, that did not mean that they were dull even if they were silent in their goings.

Dora was quite flustered by the time the almost tag like game ended. Her playmates had been teasing and tantalizing her especially in the wake of their previous flirting. Oh they had been quite quiet; although, they had whispered, fondled and otherwise wound their pet up. It was just more fun that way. Oddly Dora was kept so distracted that she never pondered morphing to the form of a prefect or such to avoid trouble.

Dora blinked as they entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She had thought that they were going to some secret chamber though part of her contemplated the ways she could be taken in just this room alone. A momentary thought of having Myrtle ogling her longingly and with envy sent a sudden wave of arousal through her. She quickly squished that in the same mental box as having her master and mistress pop into her house and take her while her mother watched in mortification. Dora ignored the nagging thoughts to do both when she could truly get away with it.

"Not what I expected," Dora managed to say with her head full of distracting images. "So where is the entrance or are we harassing a moping ghost?"

"Here to pick on poor Myrt... hurk," Myrtle managed to say before being cut off. "Hrk!"

"What is it with ghosts here being so talkative?" Harry asked as he dispassionately strangled the whiny girl ghost. "Now Miss ghost, allow me to be perfectly clear; you are not to tell anyone that we were here now or in the future or the results will be unpleasant."

"Really, Harry," Hermione said with a sigh and a bored expression at the struggling specter. "Do you have to torment the poor thing? You should just send her on or something..."

"Tempting," Harry said as he contemplated it. "So why do you stick around, girl?"

"I don't think she can answer when you are doing that," Dora said with a disbelieving stare at the absurdity of affecting a ghost like that. "Maybe ease up just a tad so that she can answer you..."

"I suppose," Harry said with a bit of obvious indifference. "So answer my question..."

Myrtle was very aware of the unneeded and unspoken "or else" ending to his statement. Now considering that there was practically no magic around anymore that affected ghosts they had tended to become indifferent to being affected by the living. So it should come as no surprise that even with her personality and seeming to be highly emotionally unstable at the time of her death that Myrtle answered as quickly as possible.

"I don't know who or what killed me!" Myrtle blurted out in a panic. "On top of that I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind when I died! Are you happy now?"

"That will do," Harry said as he looked around the girl's bathroom. "So what is the last thing you saw before you died, it may help for someone to answer your question..."

While he had a fairly good idea what had been behind her death, there were still a few things he wanted to double check. Who knows he might always discover something more on his future victim slash supposed nemesis. He suspected that there was more to things than he had already discovered and all the inconsistencies in his life as well as the pure illogical coincident at Hogwarts.

"Yellow eyes," Myrtle said before shivering in fear. "I looked towards those sinks and then I died!"

"We get that, we really do," Hermione said as she could tell Harry was resisting silencing the sobbing ghost. "So is there anything else happen around the time of your death?"

"Mmmmh," Myrtle said with a far off look as she thought back. "Hagrid was expelled, but from what I recalled it was over a spider. I don't think that would have eyes like that..."

"Well we know what killed you," Harry said as he locked eyes on the symbol Shadow had described. "It was a basilisk even if we don't know who was controlling it. Considering that whoever it was that did so was a parselmouth there is the fact that the only known one recently was the self proclaimed Lord Voldemort. Now considering that one is still around that leaves us with two options. One there was an unknown speaker, two the person who killed you was that man as Rubeus Hagrid has shown no signs of that ability."

"So Hagrid was likely framed," Hermione said with some interest. "I find it odd that wizards would have such a thing with all the methods to assure it."

"Considering that there is someone sent to Azkaban without a trial," Dora said with some trepidation at her master's casual display of power, "what reason would there be that a student could not have been railroaded I believe the muggle saying is? Still considering the rumors from his student years, I can see where they would think he would have a dangerous creature as he seems to think they are all relatively harmless."

"Considering that Hagrid is rather tall and I suspect resistant to physical as well as magical damage, there is a reason he would think some things that most would consider dangerous to be harmless," Harry said absently as he watched Shadow slithering near the sink with the serpent mark. "If he also has a proportional physical strength, I suspect that the dangerous creatures are also ones that he feels less likely to accidentally harm. Ah I almost forgot, Myrtle, I expect you to be silent about our being here."

"Of course," she said before blanching at what happened next.

"Open," Harry hissed at the sink causing it to move before saying, "Come along, and be quite Myrtle..."

"Yes, sir," Myrtle said before fleeing to cower as far as she could away from that boy. "I saw nothing, heard nothing and will say nothing."

Ignoring the cowering ghost, Harry and the girls approached and peered into the darkness of the hole. Shadow flicked his tongue out to taste the air. The two necromancers in training looked into the darkness and saw things clearer than their metamorphmagus friend could see. Still sliding down a dust, dirt and cobweb covered slide was not something he wished to do. As much fun as they could have when washing each other, Harry knew the girls preferred to share showers when there really wasn't a need to clean off besides sweat and sexual fluids with maybe a bit of playfully drawn blood.

"Why do I think that there is no way someone like Slytherin would slide down into his secret chambers?" Harry asked as he looked at the repulsively filthy chute. "It just doesn't fit with the man, right Hermione?"

"Right," Hermione agreed while wondering why the appearance couldn't have been an illusion to sort out the weak willed. "Nothing about the man strikes me as childlike so a slide seems quite odd. If it was to allow his serpent to more easily move, I could see it, but a moving stairs seems more likely."

"Think it is a command driven system?" Harry asked in interest at what his fellow intellectual would discern. "I suppose there is only one way to be sure..."

He looked to see if anyone had come close to snooping about, and when he was sure that there was none, he hissed, "Stairs."

Hermione smirked as she said, "Well it looks like it is. I wonder what else has simple verbal commands that we can use."

"I don't know, but I think we will find out," Harry said as he stepped onto stairs before smirking to hiss, "Down."

"Nice," Dora said as they joined their master on the escalator like stairs. "Shame that the house elves haven't found this. I think they would be practically orgasmic at the idea of something needing this much cleaning."

"Quite," Hermione said with a twitching smile. "It would be as if master had a project for us which truly utilized our skills."

"Oh... yeah," Dora said with a throaty groan and shiver. "Shame that my talents would be more useful to an evil master than a neutral or good one, but what can you do..."

"Yeah if he was like that," Hermione said as she kept her eyes scanning as they descended, "He wouldn't be master. Still, he would make that so called Dark Lord look like an amateur."

"Sheep," Dora said with a firm nod. "The Wizarding World is mostly made up of them and they are loath to do any more than they have to. I suppose they are beyond apathetic and are more... content."

"Could there be a more horrible fate?" Hermione asked with a shiver of revulsion. "To settle to be merely content when one could be so much more; it disgusts me to see people wasting their ability."

"I am amazed that you didn't hex the Weasley dimwits," Dora said as she moved closer to Hermione as she tried to focus her gift to improve her eyesight to see in the dark passage. "The twins at least try to get a laugh out of you and are not specifically malicious even if they are not as well thought out as they could be..."

"Almost there," Harry said as he stepped off the stair as it sunk into the floor. "Hermione help Dora, as I do not think she can see as well as us. Something for you to try to improve, pet."

"Yes, sir," Dora said with a sigh as Hermione steadied her from pitching forward as they stepped onto the chamber floor. "I guess I should work on the less used aspects of my gift."

"You should, but it is something that we neglected to consider practicing," Hermione said as she looked around the entrance of the chamber. "Is that a decoration or a door?"

"It looks like a door with snakes going around the hatch," Harry said as he frowned and thought of something. "Shield your eyes," before hissing, "Lights!"

"Well that is better," Dora said after blinking around the suddenly torch lit room. "Still, I will practice enhancing my eyes to see in the dark and other things..."

"That could always come in handy," Hermione said as she scrutinized the enormous circular barrier. "I suppose that you have been receiving more encouragement for the pleasurable uses than the purely protective, so it is no surprise that the more exotic yet enjoyable applications are the ones you have more practice in. Unfortunately, some might consider certain enhancements to be unfair and thus would prevent us from being involved in certain things."

"Madam Hooch would be beyond furious if Harry was prevented from playing," Dora said with a frown as she imagined the somewhat passionate woman going harpy for ruining her plans. ""Still what they don't know won't hurt us, and I don't plan on telling them anything anyways. So are we going forward?"

"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't do to dwell here after searching for this place," Harry said as he ignored the Quidditch concerns as while he seemed quite relaxed when flying, he was unsure if he wanted to be involved in such affairs. "Still you had best put a blindfold or the like on as while a Basilisk can control their gaze that does not mean that this one will not be doing so when it comes out. It is best to err in the side of caution than have you drop dead on us. We just broke you in after all..."

Dora didn't look offended at what he said and his sense of humor was a bit strange so it was understandable. Still the place was filthy and they would likely be spending several hours scourgifying the place clean. It was a shame that the place seemed to have house elf repelling charms or otherwise it would be as clean as the rest of the castle. Still she tugged the blindfold on and part of her shivered at the loss of control.

"Stop teasing her, please?" Hermione asked as they drew closer to the door. "I suppose I should see if the thing discriminates against girls."

"You might as well," Harry said as he wondered if Slytherin would have cast off his female descendants like that. "It wouldn't do to be solely dependent on me to enter here. Something could occur that you would need entrance when I was occupied..."

"So true," Hermione agreed before focusing on the serpent image and hissing, "Open."

"Well that answers that," Dora said as she fought the shiver of Hermione hissing. "The door is opening. I suppose I can get used to this."

"Better to be flustered and frustrated than froze to death as a statue," Hermione said with a bit of humor. "I wonder why there was no password and simply the command."

"Simpler and easier to use," Harry said with a look around the chamber and specifically the light glinting off the skeletons of rats. "Long phrases do take time to say and something could happen before you were done. It was most likely done for convenience instead of security."

The group entered the next chamber. The two non-blindfolded students looked around while the blindfolded Dora tried not to contemplate the sudden excitement she was experiencing and that it would not be indulged at present.

"Well this is not what I expected," Hermione almost lazily drawled in disappointment. "I was expecting something more than another chamber with a hideously done sculpture of the man himself."

Harry shifted his head to the side while Kiki scurried up the wall like a mad monkey. His friend, companion slash minion was odd at times and was very good at being unnoticed. He supposed that she somehow had a talent for stealth magics, as she seemed to be able to become as invisible as a Demiguise. He knew that Dora had yet to learn the odd chattering and gestures that his first follower used, but he knew that it would come with time. He worried that Susan would need a good deal of ensnarement before they let her or Hannah into any of their real secrets.

"Hmm... I think Kiki is right," Harry said with his own look to the statue. "The artist just scaled things up or Slytherin had a smaller work done and then enlarged it. It actually doesn't look that bad from face view instead of our eye level."

"I really am wishing I spent time modifying my eyes," Dora said with a frown. "There has to be a way to protect someone from a Basilisk's glare besides being a Parseltongue. I almost feel like I am a waste of space being here. I cannot even look about and you both can gaze into these long hidden secrets..."

While Dora stood near the door, the others went out and about exploring. Kiki defied gravity in crawling up the ceiling and along the roof of the chamber. Harry and Hermione were darting about at near supersonic speeds. Shadow was silent as he slithered protectively near Dora. The snake may not be a basilisk, but he was heavily altered already. The most important one was that he seemed to have started to develop something in addition to the multiple eyelids.

"Well there are some rooms off this side," Harry said when they congregated back near the statue. "I barely took a survey of them, but there is a full suite with a private library. There wasn't any relatively recent use as if whoever had looked through the area was too self absorbed to go into depth. There were a few books out from whoever was here last, but they were mostly on the more corruptive magics. Whoever it was definitely had an overblown ego, but it had to be within fifty years give or take a few."

"Why was that?" Hermione asked in interest. "There is a potions lab, but whoever it was had no sense of things and nearly ruined a good portion of the ingredients and they were rare when this place was built!"

"They left a notebook with a date in the forties although it was a type that went out of use and most were scavenged during the war or a little after," Harry said while almost growling at the fool wasting ingredients like that. "So we found things, but little signs of the Basilisk. I don't think it could last long on rats without going into hibernation."

"We really should see about acquiring a magical creature expert at some point," Hermione said with irritation coloring her interest. "Any leads on who it could be?"

"There were no records for a Gaunt here in that time frame and they were the last known descendants of Slytherin," Harry said with a snicker. "Not that it did them much good as they had almost died out and were barely stronger than squibs. The last ones were mentioned in the thirties and there was something of a scandal."

"Is there anywhere that you could conceal a giant snake?" Dora asked as she wondered what the place looked like. "Maybe a hidden chamber concealed in plain sight?"

"Not bad," Hermione said as she gave the place a look over. "I doubt it would be down one of the side tunnels, so where does that..."

"The statue," Harry said as he realized what Hermione had noticed. "It could be, but I doubt that it is simply on an open close order."

The pair contemplated how to open it. They even tried a number of possible passwords, but so far they had no luck. For a moment, it seemed that they would only have a partial success.

"Could you try to wake the basilisk and ask it for help?" Dora asked as she contemplated squeezing her thighs together for some release. "I mean it would have heard the password, right?"

"Brilliant!" the two necromancers shouted in joy inadvertently cranking Dora up more. "Now how to do that?"

"Simple is likely best," Harry said before turning and hissing towards the statue, "Hello is there anyone there? Please, wake up?"

"Huh," a slow sleepy voice hissed. "Who is there?"

"Is it not rude to ask who someone is without saying who you are?" Hermione hissed her query. "We are but two speakers seeking information?"

"Ah," she hissed after they heard her shaking her head to wake up. "That tells me nothing, but since manners are quite important, I am known as Silver."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Silver," Harry hissed with a measure of respect. "I am called many things but Harry will do. This is my mate, Hermione."

"How interesting to meet two young speaking mates," Silver said with a measure of sleepy humor. "So what do you wish to interrupt my slumber for?"

"We have come to seek what the honored speaker left here, Lady Silver," Hermione hissed truthfully. "We have found much here, but still we wondered of tales of his greatest treasure, you."

"You flatter me, speakers," she hissed in pleasure at their compliments. "It is nice to be remembered for why the honored speaker chose me to guard this place. He was a kind and thoughtful master; I have missed him. A shame that not all who speak are as well behaved as you."

"Since the honored speaker chose you to guard this place," Harry said as an idea formed in his mind. "I take it he meant more than just his personal places. It would seem that a serpent of your reputation would be more ideal to defending this entire place and the young here..."

"Truth," Silver hissed in pride at her duty. "He chose me to safeguard this nesting place and protect the hatchlings here as they learn. For the most part I was to keep the place safe from outsiders and such threats."

"But if he was away," Hermione hissed with some curiosity apparent. "Who would communicate with you? How were you to know who was to be here and who was a threat?"

"Before, when my honored master was here," Silver hissed to explain with some reminisced sorrow clear to them, "It was different. He presented the nest mates to me so I could recognize their scents. Unfortunately, this did not continue, and eventually no one called for me. In the time after that, I hunted those prey that would harm the nest. I had learned the human speech to understand them even if my master had not completed a way for those to understand me."

"Thank you, Lady Silver for telling of this," Harry hissed with reverence at the knowledge they had been entrusted with. "Unfortunately, not all records remain and we would prefer to see you while speaking with you. Do you know how to open the door to your sleeping place?"

"Yes," She hissed in response with some uncertainty in her tone. "I wonder why it has been so long since one has come here. The last one was quite different from any before. How am I to know that you are like the master and not that one?"

"What proof do you require, Queen Silver?" Hermione hissed with irritation about the disrespect to her master. "We are both speakers and have no ill intentions on this nest; however, I will admit that we wouldn't mind removing those that would destroy it from within or without!"

"An excellent answer," Silver hissed with approval. "Some wish to keep even those dangerous to one's nest, while others overly cull their nest mates. Some seek to devour more than they can eat while others allow others to hunt their territory bare. None of these are appropriate things as you both seem to know."

"Thank you for your approval," Harry hissed with real respect apparent in his tone and manner. "Any chance you would be willing to tell us now so that we could speak face to face? We can hear you and wish to gaze with awe on such an enlightened and wise sage, you the Queen of Serpents, guardian of the nest and most precious repository of understanding."

"You truly speak with a tongue befitting Salazar himself," Silver hissed in amusement. "So solve this simple challenge for me, what would be both unexpected and expected to do?"

"Ask him to speak to us," Hermione hissed with her eyes wide in shock at the brilliance of it. "He wasn't arrogant and yet most would think he should be..."

"It is so simple that it is brilliant," Harry said slipping to English in shock before smirking and hissing, "Speak to me Salazar Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"

The sudden sound of stone moving on stone was heard. The pair felt a sudden rush of pride at what they had done. With Silver's help, they had managed to get the statue to open.

"Here I come, speakers," Silver hissed almost causing them to laugh or at least giggle at the tone reminiscent of a celebrity. "Behold the most elegant and ephemeral Queen of Serpents..."

Their breath caught as they saw her slither out of the opening. They both had a momentary pang of regret that Dora could not see her yet.

"Magnificent," Harry said as he drew close to her head. "I can see why you are named that. You truly are a sight to behold."

"That she is," Hermione agreed while pushing down the urge to squeal in glee and start cuddling the gorgeous creature before them. "Your scales are fabulous and the way the light shines off them is dazzling..."

"Thank you," Silver hissed in appreciation before almost shuddering in gratitude when they touched her scales just right. "It is nice to be awake and about again. Any chance you can open the passage to the forest? I wonder how out of control some preys have become."

"Do you have something in particular you like?" Hermione asked as she moved to scratch that hard to reach spot. "It wouldn't do to starve a gorgeous girl like you..."

"Deer, goats and such size game are good," Silver hissed her reply with a serpentine grin. "I do prefer spiders though, but there was only one giant one before..."

"Well that is a good thing than," Harry said with a smirk of satisfaction. "In the past while, those spiders have blossomed into a highly voracious number. There are more than enough to feed you for a while."

"Oh, goody," Silver hissed with what they understood as cackling. "Spiders are so crunchy!"

"Well that is nice," Hermione said with a smile. "You get food and the forest become safer."

"You know only hearing one side of the conversation is weird," Dora said with a sigh. "It is only slightly better than hearing you lot hissing to each other. Don't mind me; I will just wait here until you settle things."

"Who is this?" Silver hissed in question. "Oh, she smells of you. Is she your mate?"

"Of sorts," Harry said with a sigh. "Human habits are a bit less straight forward."

"So true," Shadow hissed in amusement. "The humans find great pleasure in the act of mating without thought to quickening their eggs. They are strange, but interesting to talk with. These two do provide good hunting grounds. I hope I am not intruding in your territory?"

"That can be a worry," Silver hissed in mock contemplation. "Still I have no problem with other's hunting these places or I would have to compete with the hatchling's nest mates. Humans are strange keeping mixed nests with their companions. Still it must be nice to have companions to talk with, but it has been so lonely here since the last speaker was here. He was quite demanding and pompous. He was nothing like the first. Now he was respectful without all that demanding..."

"You never said who your last master was?" Hermione asked in interest. "We have heard of one who claimed to be the Heir of your first master, but his actions were quite contrary."

"I thought it was more that the humans had a few addled eggs who were also speakers," Shadow hissed in irritation. "The other humans then decided that all speakers had their habits."

"Fool he was," Silver hissed in annoyance. "Why he tried to order me to harm the hatchlings? The nerve of that man to tarnish the great one's name is inexcusable!"

"Uh, what got her irritated for those of us poor souls who are not able to understand?" Dora asked as she felt shudders of fear at the anger present in the great serpents tone. "Any chance you can do something about that... oh and the being killed if I see her eyes!"

"Any chance you could lessen your gaze?" Harry asked in interest. "It just wouldn't do for one of my mates to just drop dead even if she got to experience the privilege of gazing your beauty."

"I can lower the guard for that," Silver hissed in agreement. "A shame he who raised me didn't get to complete those enhancements. He would be quite upset at what his supposed heir did."

"He hurt you," Hermione said with sorrow present as she tried to comfort the enormous serpent. "He tried to do such horrible things to and with you. I am amazed that you didn't try to escape..."

"You can take your blind fold off, Dora," Harry said as he watched Hermione try to cheer the hidden protector up. "We can work on the understanding thing. I mean Silver can understand us, but it might take a bit of charms to translate."

"Thanks," Dora said before blinking to see and turning her gaze to Silver. "Oh wow, you weren't kidding she is gorgeous. Powerful, elegant and deadly; what more could you ask for?"

"He what!" Hermione suddenly screamed in rage. "Why that no good bastard! Sir, he tried to have Silver attack students. How the hell did he get around the safeguards Silver just told me about?"

"We knew that someone died," Harry said with a sigh. "Her ghost is still haunting the entrance, but it is puzzling how that happened. Could Myrtle have been so upset, as to have contemplated withdrawing, and thus she was for a moment not been considered a student, staff or guest?"

"That seems likely," Hermione said with a frown. "I mean Silver could still petrify, but it sounds like that asshole was plotting something."

"He locked me up soon after," Silver hissed with rage. "He did something abominable when that girl died! I felt him forsake one of the master's gifts."

"What did this scum call himself?" Harry asked feeling dread at who he suspected it was. "There has only been one publically known speaker and he mysteriously appeared less than three decades ago..."

"He introduced himself saying, 'I am Lord Voldemort, the Heir of Slytherin'," Silver hissed with a hateful sneer. "He may have inherited Master Salazar's gift as a speaker, but he spat in the face of his duties!"

"So since there is no record of a student by that name," Hermione said as her mind brilliantly realized something. "It means that it was not his birth name. No wonder we couldn't find more on him nor could anyone else!"

"At least we have an idea of who he might be," Harry said with a sigh of irritation. "Still I suspect he had as little of his real information available. He had to be something else to drink forcefully taken unicorn's blood!"

"He did what!" Silver roared as her hiss boomed and echoed across the chamber. "Why that no good egg eater! What next will that egg addled fool do strike hatchlings in nests?"

"He did already," Hermione said in a detached voice before pulling Harry into a hug. "He purposefully struck hatchlings and egg swollen mothers. The worst of all was entering my master's nest and slaying his parents before trying to kill him as well!"

Silver looked at Harry in shock. She was practically vibrating with rage at the situation and her own impotence to resolve it. That hatchling would burn all the nests in the world and think nothing of it. He had ordered her like a tool and she still wished she could have struck the impudent brat.

"Yes, he came into my home and sought to end me," Harry said before snapping back as his form was soon highlighted with necromantic flames dancing about. "I will not forgive his actions or the results. He took from me everything and I will take from him the same. I will also get back what he has stolen from me! My ambition and goal is to remove the block his foul magic cast to prevent me from seeking my mother. I will speak to her again and I will bring her back!"

"Necromancer," Silver hissed in respect. "You have much to do still to reach such a goal. He used that curse to seal her soul from being reached, did he not? You may be strong, but to overcome that curse you need something else. That boy ignored most of the master's records. He was upset that my master did not wish to cull some of the hatchlings and nestlings here. For what reason, he never could properly explain..."

"Those who were not of solely magical parentage," Hermione said in barely more than a whisper. "He claims that Salazar Slytherin stated that only those born to long lines of magic were deserving of it and that all others stole or tarnished that power. For some reason, people now believe this and that they claim they are following his noble legacy to strike them down. They even claim that they are lesser creatures and little more than trained animals aping being people..."

"Where could such madness come from?" Silver hissed questioningly as she felt a rumble in her belly. "He only complained that those hatchlings born to nests that might seek to destroy our nests. It would be best that their nests not know of ours and thus the hatchlings raised in ours."

"That is what we expected," Harry said with a yawn. "It is getting late and you are hungry and we are tired. Just let me open the barrier so you can hunt and we can go to sleep."

"A shame that we can't spend the night here," Hermione said with her own sleepy voice. "I wouldn't mind just kipping in the bed, but I think that we would be unlikely to remember to go about things if we stayed here."

"True," Harry said as he walked back after Silver darted out the passage. "We can deal with it tomorrow or later today actually. Why is it that emotional activity is more tiring than either mental or physical?"

"It just is," Dora said as she almost staggered along. "Damn it! I think we are all too tired to even play. Being blindfolded and helpless just works me up too much."

"While we are too likely to just doze off at this point," Hermione said as she snapped her sleepy head up to try to stay awake. "We might be able to squeeze something when we wake up, but since you are likely to sleep restlessly given how worked up you are..."

"We can still see about easing you enough to sleep deeply," Harry finished as he wrapped his arm around Dora and under her skirt. "It won't be our usual unwinding, but I think a bit of stimulation will help."

"That would be great," Dora said happily, as she shifted her steps to allow Harry to plug her with his fingers. "I was constantly on edge thinking one of you would use me while I was helpless if the search had been too disappointing..."

"It would have been fun," Hermione conceded as they exited into Myrtle's bathroom. "Now let's take the fast way back to our rooms so master can finish things."

"Don't expect more than a half asleep stuffing," Harry said before they bolted down the corridors like flickering shadows. "Likely we will do a sleeping slow screw before we drift off, but since Dora seems so wired I have something planned for her."

"Ooh, what is it?" Dora asked with a moan from the jostling. "Have I earned a reward for being a good sex pet?"

Hermione quickly answered the guardian's question and they snuck in. Thankfully, no one was there to see them enter the common room before blurring towards his room.

"Oh yes," Harry said as he lifted Dora by her dripping sex as he proceeded to move from the door to the bed. "I think you earned, in place of the hard fucking you want, a good fisting..."

Dora squealed and shook even as she watched Hermione snuggle back against him and slide herself full. She was grateful that she wouldn't be permanently stretched from it, but sometimes feeling almost as if she was stretched to bursting was a good thing.

Dora eventually fell asleep after whimpering and struggling to pull herself off his fist. She had wriggled down and snuggled his cum soaked arm into her breasts.

It would take a bit more than normal to wake her, but she thought it was worth it as she passed out with a sigh. Their bed would once more require excessive house elf action to clean when they left for class or possibly when they were in the shower. The elves were like that and they long since just ignored it.

"So what should we do now?" Hermione asked when they woke the following morning. "You think there is more that we should look for in the chamber?"

"Possibly," Harry said with a sigh as he felt his two lovers cuddling against him. "There are plenty of areas that we didn't have time to get to. I just can't help but feeling there is something we have been missing, a nagging sensation that there is someone plotting. Oh, I know that both Dumbledore and Voldemort are plotting, but this feels more or less similar to someone trying to decide where they will stand in regards to us."

"You sure it isn't just those two and there uncertainties?" Hermione asked as she watched Dora snoozing still. "It could always be whomever Dora is helping having issues, or something as simple as Snape trying to catch you up in potions."

"I find that last to be very unlikely," Harry said with a chuckle at the thought. "He may despise me with every fiber of his being for being the son of his hated enemy with the woman he was obsessed with, but I do believe he is even more cowed by our encounter than he is by either of his masters. We will need to deal with him and his associates eventually."

"Pureblood supremacists deserve what they get," Hermione said with a huff. "I still think that one volume of his journal was quite humorous."

"The man credited with being the greatest hero of Purity was willing to do what it took to safeguard both the children and the world," Harry said as his hand found itself stroking the sleeping Dora. "I suppose it is a good example of no one thinking they are the villains of the show. Even the Death Eaters give lip service to a cause, so the Light doing the same is barely worth the shock. Only more slippery a slope is those using the Greater Good. It does allow for lesser good and lesser evil both could be done to further the Greater Good."

"At least we are honest with ourselves and those we work with," Hermione said with a sigh as his other hand worked her over. "I have heard that Dumbledore seems to use that reasoning though. He is respected enough that mostly the only opposition are the Death Eaters and their sympathizers."

"Robbing them of the Black funds, cornering the markets on certain goods and services, and making them dependent on their own skills will help cripple them in the future," Harry said with a groan as the girl's hands returned the favor. "I think that Voldemort will be quite frustrated that we commandeered both the basilisk and Slytherin's resources. It is a shame that we can't claim the vaults and anything else we could."

"You can't claim them through trial by combat or compensation do to the circumstances," Hermione said with a moan as her legs moved to facilitate his attentions. "It wasn't a formal battle nor were you technically innocent since your parents were actively fighting him. It would make things easier, but what can you do."

"I can still target his more affluent supporters and crush them economically, magically and politically," Harry admitted as he tried to resist cackling madly at the thought of seeing his enemies broken physically, mentally, and financially before ending them. "Malfoy is as vocal a supporter of Voldemort as the younger Weasley is of Dumbledore."

"You are thinking of using the twins to spread dissent among his future pool of sympathizers and followers," Hermione said with a shudder. "That is brilliant and if you can completely sway Susan there will be an ear into the DMLE and possibly subtly shift her into a pliable and progressive state."

"Susan who?" Dora asked after she woke up with a vocal cry. "I suppose it doesn't matter since my friend needs some TLC for a while. I so want to castrate the idiot that so far has proven he is no where good enough for her..."

"Your friend should just tie him up and explain things to her crush," Harry said as he focused on driving Hermione to distraction. "If he hasn't notice that he keeps leaving his potential lover frustrated, he probably isn't that into her. Still tying him to the bed and making sure he doesn't go off prematurely before she gets her goodies is probably the easiest way to get over the situation short of telling him to go fuck himself since that is all he seems to be able to do with her."

"Cruel," Dora said. "So very cruel, but I can't complain since he keeps leaving her wound up and ready. It is sort of hard to say no to that."

"Oh... fuck! That is true," Hermione said as Harry's nimble fingers brought her off. "Damn you are good to us! Hey Dora any chance your lover is willing to play yet?"

""No, although she seems to like the idea when she is horny as hell," Dora said as she pondered untangling enough to beat Hermione to doing more than a morning hand job. "She really seems to like the guy, but he just does not seem to get that a girl needs more than a few minutes of fingering to get off. Well present company excluded of course. The asshole still hasn't reciprocated her numerous blowjobs by doing more than petting her. He just doesn't get that what is good for the gander is good for the goose!"

"Eh, that is close enough, I suppose," Harry replied, as he felt the passion rising in both of his girls. "Still, I don't think that your girl is going to put up with that behavior over the summer. Speaking of behavior, we got what about an hour at least before we need to shower and be down for breakfast?"

"Something like that," Hermione said looking at the clock on the wall showing both the time and the usual Wizarding ideas. "Oh! We could always have a very short breakfast..."

"I am all for it," Dora said with a very fond touch to her lovers arousal. "Think there is any chance you can squeeze a somewhat quick fuck before I help my lover. I think tasting you in me will help her decide to drop the quick shot..."

"We will see what we can do," Harry said as the girls twisted their selves around his arms while scooting closer to get his fingers more room to play. "In the mean time, I think we will see how many times we can drive each other out of our minds since there are no other pressing concerns..."

"Definitely," the two chirped with identical smirks. "Now lie back and get ready to blow your balls..."

The three proceeded to do just that before engaging in their version of a quick romp. Dora had her wish and Hermione was similarly distracted even before he added their normal toys. They ended up snagging a quick snack for breakfast. It had been worth it and compensated for the night before and practically dropping to bed when they had returned from the chamber. They hadn't even had the time to christen it properly.

Still, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone other than the regulars who were watching them. As he made his way to his morning class, he didn't notice the petite shy girl that seemed to disappear into the background. If she had the intent to harm him, he would have likely noticed her. Her scent would have stood out, but it blended into the usual mix of uncertainty and false confidence that his housemates seemed to be saturated with. He had the somewhat apathetic attitude to those around him. He could recognize most of them by sight, sound or scent; however, some seemed to be proverbial wallflowers or as memorable as a single grain of sand at the beach.