AOTHORS NOTES: No real warning in this one BUT it doesn't mean it's not good! There is a new character that appears in this chapter. Oh and in this chapter there is parseltongue spoken it will look like this ~Hello~ Well then happy reading!

Chapter#6

"They're mad, you know that?" Cedric demanded, pacing about in the room of requirement "off their rockers, nothing left in their bloody noggins, you know that?" the four champions had found this place when looking for a room to safely meet up and discuss the tournament without being overheard by any Briti- unscrupulous, beings. Unsurprisingly, Harry had been the one to find it; after suggesting they ask the house-elves for a location, because who would know the castle better than the ones who cleaned every nook and cranny of it? Fleur had been a little leery of trusting the tiny creatures, but after actually seeing the room, she'd been a fast convert. The first task was in a week, and Madame Maxime had leaked them the challenges in hope that they would be able to help their youngest through it. Dumbledore, of course, had tried to use that as an inroad into a private interview with Harry, but his burly Bulgarian bodyguard wouldn't be budged on that account. The old man had tried to get Harry alone in a myriad of ways, each attempt sneakier than the last, but Fleur had finally had enough and snapped. Not ten minutes ago she had sent Dumbledore scuttling down the corridor from her Veela form, with the loud screeches and fireballs her ancestors were renowned for. Now that the champions had managed to steal away, all they had to do was find a way for a fourteen-year-old boy to get past a mature dragon who was also a recent nesting mother "how the hell are they expecting a fourteen-year-old to battle a bloody dragon? Bloody hell, how the hell are they expecting us to battle a bloody dragon!"

Ever since the champions had made their first showing together, Cedric had taken up the unofficial role of worrywart. Fleur continued to mother everyone, as she was grateful that these three males, at least, would look at her face when speaking to her rather than her chest. She was currently preening Harry's unruly hair with her delicate fingers. Harry drowsily rolled over onto his back in Fleur's lap, and mused to himself almost inaudibly

"Can't be that much worse than facing a basilisk now, could it?" Harry said

At his words, the other three froze and turned as one to stare at their youngest

"A basilisk?" Cedric asked weakly. Fleur wore a look of dread

"Am I sure I want to know why you suddenly brought zat up? Am I going to get an 'eart attack when I find out? Ough, mon dieu" Fleur said. Harry sat up; face flushed

"It was nothing, really. Forget that I said anything" Harry said

"Merlin" Cedric whispered in awe "that was in my fourth-year and your second, wasn't it? That was what was creeping around the school petrifying people?" Viktor goggled at him

"Students vere petrified in corridors and no vone did anyting?" Viktor said

"They were all hiding it" Harry said as he just realized it suddenly "I thought Dumbledore would have explained everything after Ginny was kidnapped"

"He didn't say a damn thing!" Cedric exploded "he just said you'd managed to save her and that was the end of it!" Fleur gulped

"Zere was a basilisk in zis school?" Fleur asked,

Her large silvery eyes turned to him for an answer. Harry's face bloomed Gryffindor red

"Past tense would be correct" Harry admitted quietly

To say the other three were stunned would be an understatement

"'Ow?" Fleur breathed.

Harry shrugged uncomfortably, not looking any of them in the eye and trying as hard as he could to turn the attention away from his person

"It wasn't anything. It was just something that had to be done. And I had a lot of help. Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, and the Sorting Hat. And Gryffindor's sword" Harry said

"You killed a basilisk with a bloody sword?!" Cedric whooped "damn, they should just give you the trophy already and screw everything else!"

Even Fleur was looking positively green

"Vat happened to de basilisk?" Viktor asked quietly

Harry tentatively opened his mouth to answer, and then stopped

"I don't know, actually" Harry confessed.

A knock on the door made them all freeze. When it swung open, all four wands were out, pointed in its direction. A thin, pretty blonde in torn Ravenclaw robes poked her head in Radishes dangled from her ears

"Is this a safe place to hide? The Rumpleskilts are after me again" she said

And without waiting for an answer, she slipped into the room, ignoring the unwavering wands pointed at her. Cedric stared at her in surprise

"Luna?" Cedric said

The girl looked up. She had huge baby-blue eyes that seemed to look right at him and through him at the same time

"Cedric" Luna greeted the older boy calmly "how are your Glittering Snufflegruffs doing?"

"Just fine" Cedric absently replied before shaking his head testily, much to the other champions amusement "that isn't the point. What are you doing here, Luna?" Luna looked up at him unblinkingly

"I already said, I was hiding from the Rumpleskilts" Luna said and Cedric faltered

"Uh- ah, okay" Cedric said. It didn't seem he quite knew what to say to that. Then he turned to the other champions "this is Luna Lovegood. She's a third-year Ravenclaw… she's harmless, really" Luna nodded sagely

"It's the Orange Gob-Gobblers that are dangerous" Luna said "us Nargles mean well, and generally don't hurt anybody unless provoked" once again, no one quite knew what to say to her. Then Harry slowly lowered his wand, smiled, and held out his hand to her. The others in the room all looked at him in surprise. True to the political document, he had stopped attending classes in Hogwarts, had not stepped a foot back into the castle unless it was for meetings like these or meals. In place of his fourth-year classes he'd been alternating lessons between Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, learning both languages with the help of a rudimentary charm that would fade off once he naturally grasped a decent command of both languages. But when he did enter these stone walls, Harry proved uncannily good at avoiding being cornered as he moved about the castle with barely a whisper to document his passage, accompanied only by Viktor's hulking shadow at his side. He seemed to blend into the tapestries and various suits of amour that adorned the walls, slipping easily behind the Bulgarian's larger mass when confronted by gaggles of English students. Still, he hadn't spoken to a single other Hogwarts student besides Cedric. Although Ron had tried to jeer at him from across the corridor. Luckily for him, Viktor made an unsurprisingly good silent intimidator. Hermione had also tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't even look at her, his lips never parting, before brushing past her like she hadn't been there at all. Hermione had sided with the boy she fancied, no matter how much her heart told her other best friend had needed the support more. She had made her choice. Harry simply no longer had any words for her, or any other Hogwarts student save Cedric. He had made that abundantly clear in the month or so since the drawing of the names, which was why it was such a shock that he was deigning to acknowledge odd little Luna Lovegood. Luna cocked her head to the side, strangely birdlike "you want…me…to join you?" she asked "you wouldn't mind Loony Lovegood?"

Harry blinked in astonishment and turned to the others

"Who's that?" Harry asked

Cedric answered for her, huffing in annoyance

"Those bloody Ravenclaws. They haven't taken too kindly to Luna's…. er…. interests" Cedric said

"It's okay, Cedric" Luna said breezily "they're quite aware of their status as an endangered species"

"Er… as I said, Luna's interests. They think she's mad" Cedric concluded testily "she's just eccentric and imaginative! There's nothing wrong with that. Or there is, according to the Ravenclaws"

He made a face that said very clearly what he thought of that. Harry bit his lip. Viktor could practically see the cogs turning in the boy's head, and hid a sigh. Just two days ago he had gazed tearfully up into the half-giant gamekeeper's eye his lip bitten to shreds as he tried to express himself wordlessly to his first wizarding friend. The half-giant – Hagrid, Viktor recalled – had just swept the boy into a bone-crushing hug, gruffly telling him that it was alright, and that he understood, while discreetly wiping tears from his own beetle-black eyes. It just seemed that no matter where he went, Harry picked up strays like a frond of catnip with kneazles. First the house elf Dobby, then the dogfather, and then the half-giant, and now this radish girl. So, he just smiled indulgently and ruffled the mop of already tousled hair. Fleur scowled at him for destroying her handiwork. Harry glanced at Viktor for reassurance, and at the older boy's nod, he smiled again at Luna, and spoke to his first Hogwarts student (Cedric didn't count) in over a month

"You're Luna, right? I'm Harry. Why don't you join us?" Harry suggested.

The slip of a girl blinked carefully, a couple of times, and then began to smile beatifically. She really was quite pretty, if one overlooked her necklace of butterbeer caps and radish earrings

"I'd love to" Luna said simply, and sat herself next to Fleur. Where Viktor was internally amused to note their physical similarities. They were both extraordinarily pale with long, white-blond hair and slim, girlish figures, although Fleur was obviously the more buxom of the two. Judging by Cedric's awkward cough, Viktor would say the younger boy had spotted the similarities as well. He caught his eye, and they both turned away to hide a smile "what were you talking about?" Luna asked, sweeping out her robes over her thighs as she settled into a lotus position

"The first task" Harry said

"The basilisk from my fourth year" Cedric threw in glumly.

Luna's eyes brightened at the mention of that

"Yes, but the Sparkling Stick-Nargle saved us from it, right?" Luna asked

Harry goggled at her and pointed at himself in shock

"I'm a Sparkling Stick-Nargle?" Harry asked.

At Luna's emphatic nod, the three older champions each threw their heads back and roared with laughter

"Why don't we go on an excursion and see what's happened to it?" Luna asked.

Cedric tried to choke off his giggles

"Bu-but we don't know where it is" Cedric said. Then he caught sight of Harry's suddenly white face "Harry?"

"It's in the chamber of secrets" Harry whispered. Fleur marveled

"It was said to be just a myth!" Fleur said

"Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?" Viktor confirmed. The boy hesitated, and then nodded "vat did you see down dere?" Harry shook his head

"Nothing" Harry said "just chambers and caves"

"Slytherin was said to have hidden avay de pride and joy of Rowena Ravenclaw's library collection in his Chamber" Viktor revealed

All five children stared at each other, not quite willing to think about what that would mean for them

"Alright" Harry resolved, swallowing hard "excursion it is"

TIME SKIP/PAGE BRAKE

"Who's there?" Myrtle asked

"Myrtle?" Harry said as he poked his head into her cubicle. The moping ghost immediately lit up

"Ooh, Harry! Have you come to visit me? It's been very lonely here in my toilet since you left" Myrtle confessed shyly,

A silvery blush spreading on her cheeks. Harry felt his own cheeks heat up when he heard the sniggers behind him turn into hastily covered coughs. He whirled around and glared at the other four teenagers, but was met with expressions of utmost innocence

"Myrtle, I need to go down to the chamber again and find something. But if I do manage to find it, I'll be coming here a lot more frequently" Harry tried to compromise. The teenaged ghost beamed at him

"Thank you, Harry!" Myrtle said

Then she zipped up into the air and plunged into the toilet bowl in her excitement. Harry waited for a couple of moments before deciding that she really had left, and sagged in relief. Cedric's sniggers picked up again

"Will the boy-who-lived get the girl-who-died?" Cedric teased.

The other three erupted in gales of laughter while Harry just glared flatly at him, his cheeks still pink, more embarrassed than angry

"Are you done yet?" Harry asked flatly

But his words just sparked off another round, and Harry sighed, before walking to the cistern at the end of the bend. Viktor, trying unsuccessfully to stifle his chuckles, followed him

"Vat are you looking for?" Viktor asked. Harry pointed at the tooled snakes on the taps

"I saw these the last time I was here. Now that I'm not trying to save someone on the brink of death, I can see they've got snakes carved all over the bathroom" Harry said

He pointed at the balustrade. Even the door handles, the cisterns, and the plungers, were all skillfully wrought stone snakes

"Did you ever find out vhy Slytherin vould vant to put de entrance to his chamber in a girl's bathroom?" Viktor asked curiously. Harry laughed and shook his head

"Maybe he wasn't as manly as everyone thought he was" Harry said as he bent down to put his head level with the snake on the tap, and stared long and hard into its agate eyes. Then, he could have sworn it winked ~Open~ he hissed. A soft, slithering reply slurred through the bathroom, so quiet that he wasn't surprised he'd missed it the last time. With Ron and Lockhart having provided the soundtrack

~As the master wishes~ the snake hissed back

Then the basin moved aside, the millennia-old stone gears groaning in protest. The tension in the bathroom was palpable. Gulping audibly, Harry waved his hand at the slide and bowed in a theatrical manner

"Ladies and gentlemen" Harry rasped "I give you the chamber of secrets"

Cedric was the first one to step forward. He tapped the slide once and cast a lighting charm

"They use those to light Quidditch pitches at night" Cedric explained.

Now they could see their way down the slimy tube. Harry peered all the way through. It didn't look like anything had changed in the past two years. After a hastily cast 'Scourgify' they were ready to head down

"I'll go down first" Harry said calmly. Over the wave of protests, he explained "it's better that I do, in case there're any snakes left. I'm the only one that can speak to them"

Reluctantly they let him down the slide first. He was a lot more prepared this time round. Plus, he could see where he was going, so he was able to land on his feet. Harry glance about him in the huge cavern. It was still pretty dark- getting an idea, he walked over to the wall and cast a 'Lumos' on it. The dome-shaped cavern immediately lit up, and he was confronted by that same blockade of stones that had once prevented Ron from following him to face the basilisk. A quick swish-and-flick and 'evanesco' later, the entire cavern was here, and his 'Lumos' spread out throughout the entire wall, fully illuminating the entire sixty-foot carcass of the basilisk. Harry shuddered at its ruined eyes. Surprisingly enough, its carcass hadn't begun to rot over the past couple of years where it had lain untouched in the dank sewer. Thankfully, it didn't smell either. He walked over to the middle of the great cave and stared down at the pool of ink and blood on the floor. It would never come out now. He hadn't thought he'd be leaving his mark on Hogwarts this way. He'd always thought initials and hearts carved into a window sill, a plaque in the trophy room, marks scratched into the astronomy tower

"Harry?" he heard Viktor call, distracting him from his thoughts

"It's safe!" Harry called back up

He heard the first of the others clamber into the tube and slide down. It was Viktor, looking resplendent in his official robes. He brushed some dirt off the sleeves, looked up at the basilisk and then immediately stilled. Fleur was the next one down, and because Viktor hadn't moved, she landed right on top of him. For a moment the cavern rang with her indignant shouts, but then she caught sight of the enormous carcass, and quieted immediately. Luna was the next one down, and she landed neatly on her bum on top of Fleur. The Veela didn't even notice; she was still too horrified by the sight before her. Luna hopped to her feet and linked arms with Harry

"Do you think Veela allure works on basilisks too?" Luna whispered conspiratorially.

The horrified look Fleur immediately sent Luna's way had the two younger ones doubled over in laughter. She and Viktor stared at them in shock, and then slowly, they, too, began to laugh, clambering off each other and to their feet

"Hey, guys?" Cedric called, the only one left upstairs "is everything okay?"

"Just peachy!" Luna called back breezily, causing them all to laugh again.

Cedric slid down and landed easily on his feet, an easy smile on his lips

"Okay, what's so funny-…" Cedric started but like the two champions before him, he froze at the sight. When he managed to find his voice again, it was quiet and hushed "you fought and killed this" it wasn't a question. Harry nodded, unsure of where Cedric was going with this "when you were twelve?" again, Harry nodded, looking uncertain. Cedric turned to Viktor "get him out of here" he rasped, voice tight. He had spent the entire day before meeting them in the room fending of unsubtle queries from Dumbledore and his professors about Harry, not to mention his own schoolmates' expectations of his role as their gossip-in. He'd never been this harassed in his life, even when he'd come of age and received his prefect's badge, and, rather guiltily now, had wondered if this were truly worth all the trouble, if Harry was truly worth all this trouble. But this sight, in this moment, absolutely sealed it "he never signed up for this; none of us did. You have to get him out of his damn country as fast as you can!"

For a moment all they could do was just to stop and stare in shock at Cedric. Then Viktor nodded firmly, his dark eyes filled with new resolve

"You haff my vord on dis" Viktor said