Chapter 206
"I'm…cautious about him." Sirius admitted. "He's been a good friend to Harrythese past few years, I know that, but…"
"But?" prompted Remus quietly. Sirius shifted restlessly in his chair. "Some of his behaviour reminds me…" hehesitated and plunged on, "…reminds me of Peter." Remus frowned but he didn't jump all over Sirius for making the observation;
instead he seemed to consider the idea. He sighed heavily. "If I compare Peter – the Peter we knew at school – with Ron as a student fromwhat I sawlast
year at Hogwarts, I agree there are similarities. He's bright but he's a lazy
student. I'm certain Minerva's end of year notes will have 'could do better' written all over them just like Peter's did. He's attached himself to Harry inmuch the same way Peter attached himself to James and you."
"And you." Sirius said.
"Oh no," Remus shook his head and the brilliantly red colour caught the
sunlight like a corona, "Peter wanted to be seen with the most powerful andpopular. He considered me an equal – a fellow follower."
"Ron has flashes of jealousy and I remember seeing themon Peter's facewhen James got cheered for a Quidditch win, or brought a new broomtoschool, or one of us did something in class quicker and faster than anyoneelse." Sirius said. "I didn't think anything of it back then."
"Nobody did." Remus said quietly. "But then it wasn't all Peter was back then. Sometimes I think back and I remember how he used to sneak me chocolatethe day after the full moons while I was in the infirmary, and I remember howhe confided in me that he knew a rat wasn't a great form but he still wantedtobecome an animagus to help me, and I remember how he crushed on KirstySapworthy so badly that he begged me for advice." He sighed heavily. "I havea hard time reconciling that Peter with the crawling, cowardly cheat whobetrayed us and killed James and Lily."
"Me too." Sirius agreed. "I loved Peter same as you and James…I trustedhimabsolutely and…" he folded his arms tightly as his jaw clenched in renewedanger and pain. Peter had betrayed his trust so comprehensively and it hadcost Sirius so much more than years in Azkaban. He would never forgive him.
"Ron isn't Peter though." Remus continued. "Yes, there are some superficial
similarities in their current nature but that's all. Is it possible you're projectingyour anger and distrust at Peter onto Ron?"
Sirius tried to consider Remus's comment without simply snapping a denial. He could be right. The similarities were superficial and hadn't Ron startedtocome round? He'd actually made some good contributions in the political
lesson that week and Andy had commented that he'd obviously been taught
good manners; they just needed to be used and polished. He sighed. He knew he'd fallen into casting Harry's friends into roles that were
associated with his own: Hermione as Remus – intelligent and sensible, Ronas Peter – lazy and sycophantic, and possibly with some wishful thinkingNeville as James – loyal and brotherly…but he shouldn't. The kids were
themselves, their own characters with their own foibles, and comparingthemto his friends was daft. If he asked, Sirius thought wryly, Harry would probablycast Ron as James.
"You have a point," conceded Sirius, "I will endeavour to be more objective."
"One thing you might keep in mind is that Peter was an only child with only hismother, who let's face it, was sweet but a complete hypochondriac, andRonhas a very supportive family very rooted in the Light." Remus said. "Fromthesound of it, I think Bill's taken Ron in hand and pointed out a fewthings tohim– he's got him into the etiquette and politics lessons, and I overheard Ronasking Harry about his Charms essay on Monday. Since both Hermione andHarry teased him about not doing his homework at the last minute like
always…"
"He's trying to change." Sirius nodded slowly, remembering a conversationwith Bill about Ron's place in Harry's new life. Bill would help his brother and
maybe that would make all the difference and steer Ron away fromwhat
temptations had seduced Peter to Voldemort's side. "I get it." Remus stood up, stretched and rolled his neck to ease out the cricks. "I'll gocheck on Harry." Sirius nodded absently. He had some correspondence to get to that Penelopehad handed to him that morning and decisions needed to be made on a fewbusiness issues Remus had highlighted earlier in the week. He set off for hisstudy and was half-way through a letter when he heard a shriek resoundingthrough the house…
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY HAIR IS GREEN!?" Sirius snickered. At least Harry would be smiling again.
.....
"Time's up!" Harry set his quill down and massaged his cramping right hand with his left. He breathed in deeply the way Healer Fay had instructed; his magic respondedto his call and healed the strained muscles. He instantly felt better and tookanother breath as the Runes teacher, Professor Bathsheda Babbling, took hiscompleted parchments with a bright sunny smile. She reminded hima littleof
Hermione; wild chestnut hair, kind brown eyes and an intelligent face.
"Ah, excellent, Mister Potter." Professor Babbling said happily. "I'll have theseback to you by the end of the day."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 207
Harry nodded nervously. It was the first test he had sat since Sirius hadassumed guardianship of him, and beyond the goal of getting into fourthyear
Runes, he also wanted desperately to have done well. The test had beenreallylong though and the questions towards the end included deciphering runesinstrange combinations that he and Sirius hadn't covered in their tutoring. Maybe the syllabus had changed since Sirius had been a student, Harry
thought ruefully. But hopefully, hopefully, he had done enough. Professor Babbling dismissed him briskly and Harry gathered up his thingsand exited the classroom. Padfoot waited for him in the corridor and Harry
made for the dog, giving him a hug before stepping back so Sirius couldtransform back into a man.
"Well, don't keep me in suspenders!" Sirius said urgently. "How did it go?" Harry smiled at Sirius's obvious interest. "I think I did OK. There were a lot of
questions for an end of year exam and some of the combinations at the endwe hadn't covered."
Sirius frowned. "Did you break down the combination and work themout
though like..."
"Like you taught me." Harry nodded. "I think I got tangled up on one andI'mpretty sure I said the Norse rune for healing was for blessing in another but…" he heaved a sigh, "I think I did enough to get in the class?"
"Good. Excellent work." Sirius said, slinging an arm around his shoulder andprompting Harry to walk toward the Great Hall. "Everyone else should be
gathered for lunch. We'll have a quick bite to eat and then it's off to the
Chamber of Horrors." Harry smiled. The quiet return to the Chamber to search for another one of theobjects Voldemort had left behind like the diary had turned into a huge
undertaking to maintain the cover story. Some of it, Harry admitted to himself, was his fault as he had asked for Ron to come along. Bill had agreed but inconvincing his mother, somehow the condition had been set that the Weasleymatriarch and Ginny should attend too. According to Ron, Ginny had "gonemental" demanding that if anyone should be allowed to return it should beher
and, after some discussion with Madame Pomfrey, it had been decided it
would be beneficial for Ginny to face her demons.
In addition to the Weasleys, Sirius had gained agreement fromthe Grangerstoallow Hermione to attend and the Headmaster in announcing that they wererecovering the basilisk had found himself with an influx of volunteers fromtheexcited Hogwarts staff, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the infamous
Chamber. Minerva, Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, Professor
Sprout and the new DADA Professor Alastor Moody were all coming along. Acontingent of Gringotts Creature Specialists had also been hired for the
basilisk removal and rendering. With the treasure team, Bertie, Sirius andRemus, Harry felt they had enough people that even the massive Chamber he
remembered was going to feel cramped. The Hall was bustling with people when Sirius and Harry entered. A longtablehad been laid out in the centre and everybody was milling about with
beverages. The house elves were popping in and out with canapés, lookingimmensely thrilled to be busy.
"Harry!" Hermione came rushing up with Ron trailing behind her. "Howdidyoudo? Did you manage all of the questions? Were they hard? Did you answer theessay question on Norse or Celtic runes? I did Norse but after the examI
thought I should have done Celtic and…"
"Blimey, Hermione!" Ron interrupted as both Sirius and Harry started chortlingat the stream of questions. "Give the bloke a chance!" Hermione blushed but crossed her arms and pinned Ron with a glare. "You'renot even interested!"
"It's an exam!" Ron retorted. "One I didn't have to do! Of course, I'mnot
interested!" He suddenly seemed to realise that his words could be offensiveto Harry and winced visibly. "Sorry, mate!" Harry shrugged. He doubted he would be that interested in an examRondidthat he didn't have to sit for. "It was OK," he said in reply to Hermione, "yes, I
managed all the questions but only just in the time, some of themwere really
hard and I did the first essay question on Norse runes and the second oneonCeltic." Hermione frowned. "My exam only had one essay question."
"Maybe she added some questions to test me more since she didn't teachmeit and this is to prove I have the knowledge to get into fourth year." Harry
theorised. There had been a lot of questions. His stomach growled.
"Lunch time." Sirius said firmly, leading him to the table.
"You should try these little sausages on sticks," Ron said enthusiastically, "they're brilliant!" Hermione sniffed. "You'll ruin your appetite eating all those before lunch."
"Your appetite, maybe," Ron shot back, "mine no way!"
"Well, that's because you're a growing boy." Molly said, walking up to jointhem. She gave Harry a light hug. "Glad to hear it went well, dear. Sit down andhaveyour lunch."
It appeared that with Sirius and Harry both seated at the table, everyone elsebegan to wander over and in no time at all, the table was filled.
Sirius sat one side of Harry with Hermione on the other. Ron sat across fromHarry in between his Mum and Ginny. Remus ended up next to Sirius, Bill next
to Ginny. The Professors grouped together at the head of the table wheretheHeadmaster sat presiding over everyone. The rest of the treasure team, Bertieand the Gringotts' Creature Specialist team (two Goblins named Footlock andBrimbold, an old wizard named Casper that Bill had greeted happily andayoung wizard called Aontius who was Bulgarian and a Gringotts' intern)
gathered together at the bottom. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 208
A lively debate broke out about the imminent Quidditch World cup with
Aontius defending Bulgaria and Bill taking the side of Ireland. Ron chippedinon Aontius's side surprising his brother. Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker, according to Ron, was the best seeker in the entire world. Harry took part enough to contribute his own point of view that Ireland hadthebetter Chaser formation before turning and engaging Hermione in a
conversation about why she'd wanted to do the essay on Celtic runes rather
than the Norse as she had done. Remus and Sirius were happy to debatetherelative merits with both of them and since it had the added benefit of
preventing Sirius from glaring at Snape every few minutes it was all to thegood. The initial meeting between the two hadn't gone well… Harry smiled as he stepped out of the floo without stumbling and into theHeadmaster's office. Remus was already there and waved his wand to clear himof soot. "You'regetting better at floo travel, Harry."
"He couldn't get much worse." Snape sneered, drawing Harry's attentiontohispresence. Snape was lurking at the back of the office by a bookcase. Dumbledore smiled widely. "Now, Severus, it does take everyone some timetoget used to travelling by floo." Harry exchanged a look with Remus but thankfully Sirius arrived, steppingout
of the floo with a poised grace and elegance that Andy had promised Harry hewould one day achieve for himself. Sirius smiled at Harry before his eyes caught on Snape and his expressionlost all semblance of good humour. "Snape."
"Black."
"What's he doing here?" Sirius asked sharply.
"As our Potions Master, Severus is helping with the basilisk." Dumbledoresaidmildly but Harry could hear the rebuke in Dumbledore's tone at Sirius's
question. "He, of course, is also aware of the real reason for our descent into
the Chamber today."
"I still don't know why I have to suffer the presence of the man who triedtofeed me to a Dementor!" Sirius snapped. Snape bristled and took a step forward, hands clenching into fists at his side. "You tried to feed me to a werewolf!"
"You tried to feed yourself to a werewolf!" Sirius retorted.
"The werewolf in question would like to point out that he prefers a nice steak." Remus inserted, subtly placing himself beside Harry protectively. Harry couldn't help but chuckle. Snape glared at him. "I suppose you think that's funny, Potter?"
"Everyone except you thinks it's funny including the phoenix!" Sirius said, andhe was right; Fawkes was amused. Sirius put a protective hand on Harry'sshoulder.
"I don't have to stand here and be insulted by you!" Snape snarled, his wandappearing in his hand.
Sirius moved in a blink and his wand was out and pointed at Snape. "Bringit
on, Snape. We might as well duel now and get it over with because I don't seeyou having the self-control to actually treat Harry with decency and civility andI won't stand for you bullying him!"
"You and your little group bullied me for years and you know it!" Snape
sneered.
"I don't deny it." Sirius said, taking the wind out of Snape's sails in a major wayif the blank look of shock on Snape's face was anything to go by. "Oh yes, Snape. I've been honest with Harry about the mistakes I've made and I'veadmitted to him that I'm not proud of how we behaved with you. But whenwebullied you, Snape, we were all the same age and perhaps it wasn't fair, four
on one, but it was a damn sight fairer than a grown man picking on a childwho can't even remember the man you hate him for looking like!" Snape glowered angrily. "I have a role to play, something you would knownothing about."
"Don't try to justify your atrocious behaviour as a teacher because you're aspy!" Sirius snapped. "And I know exactly what it means to play a role withDeath Eaters! I was undercover for almost six months with a pack of themonthe continent. So don't give me that!"
"Gentlemen!" Dumbledore said loudly, finally rising from his chair to intervene. "Sirius, please; we are all on the same side."
"I'm not too sure about that." Sirius growled, anger turning his grey eyes
stormy.
"Severus has my complete trust…" Dumbledore began. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 209
"And no-one else's." But Sirius lowered his wand and Snape put his away witha haughty sniff. Remus gave a small sigh and Harry looked at him surprised, realising howtense Remus had been about the confrontation. Sirius gave Snape a glare. "I'm only going to say this once, Professor Snape; I
hear of one incident that involves you being less than professional in regardsto Harry and I will ruin you. Don't think you can hide behind Albus's robes; not
even he will be able to protect you." Snape's nostrils flared in anger. "You think just because you're Lord Black nowyou can get away with threatening me?"
"It's not a threat, Professor," Sirius smiled humourlessly, "it's a promise. That, and the fact that I'll be assuming my place on the Board of Governors andwill
be keeping a close watch on the teaching standards here at Hogwarts."
Snape gave an incoherent snarl of fury and stormed out of the room, his robesbillowing behind him.
"I had so hoped a private meeting would have given you an opportunity toput
aside your differences and agree to work together." Dumbledore remonstrated.
"Firstly, if that was your intent, you should have forewarned me of a meetingand it certainly didn't look like Snape got the memo on your agenda," Siriussnapped, "and secondly, I'll put aside my differences when he apologises toHarry for being a complete bastard and…" he stopped himself abruptly, "andother things." He held up a hand when Dumbledore went to speak. "Keepyour
pet spy on a leash or I will do exactly what I promised, Headmaster."
"Well, I never," Phineas Nigellus said from his portrait, "speaking to the
Headmaster in such a disrespectful tone and…"
"Your Lord Black commands you to silence!" Sirius turned around and
snapped at the portrait which immediately shut up, bound by the Black familymagic to follow the order. Harry shifted uncertainly by Sirius's side, knowing that something in the
confrontation with Snape had upset Sirius hugely as had Dumbledore's
defence of the Potions Professor. He placed a hand on Sirius's armcomfortingly. "Headmaster, is Professor Babbling waiting in her office for
me?"
"The Runes classroom, Harry." Dumbledore smiled at him, evidently
appreciative of Harry's attempt to change the subject.
"We'd best be making a move then." Sirius agreed, taking Harry's cue andrunning with it.
"I'll stay and go over the details of when everyone else is arriving with Albus." Remus promised with a fond smile for Harry. "Good luck!" All in all Harry was relieved that Snape was down at the other end of the tablefrom Sirius. He appreciated Sirius sticking up for him but he truly didn't thinkit
was going to make any difference to Snape's behaviour. But it felt goodtoknow there was someone who would stand up for him. If he'd told his aunt or
uncle about Snape's behaviour they would have just told himhe deservedit. Harry set his spoon down as he finished his dessert and caught sight of
Ginny's pale face. He wondered if it really was the best thing for her to facethe Chamber. He had to admit his own nerves had started up with his examout of the way.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Dumbledore stood up and smiled benevolently downthe length of the table, "thank you all for coming today. This is a special
occasion. We all have the honour of descending into Slytherin's Chamber of
Secrets. Our primary objective today is to recover the basilisk which Harry
killed in self-defence when rescuing Miss Weasley. We have the help of our
esteemed visitors from Gringotts led by Goblin Master Brimbold. Half of therevenue will be donated to a new trust for the maintenance of Hogwarts
including purchase of new teaching equipment, books and supplies; it will beknown as the Phoenix Trust and will be administered by the Potter steward. The rest of the revenue will be split in various amounts between all those
affected by the basilisk and her master including: the family of Myrtle Bootle, Rubeus Hagrid, Argus Filch, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, PenelopeClearwater, Hermione Granger, Ronald and Ginevra Weasley. Oh, and therewill
be a new perch for Fawkes in recognition of his bravery and assistance indefeating the basilisk along with a small donation to St Mungo's for the
on-going care and treatment of Gilderoy Lockhart. On behalf of the school, I
would like to thank Harry for his generosity." There was a small round of applause which had Harry blushing. His
discussion with Sirius about how to divide the basilisk revenue had beenaninteresting one. He had debated endlessly about Fawkes and Lockhart: theformer because Harry placed a lot of emphasis on the role the phoenix hadplayed in helping him, and the latter because as much as Lockhart was anobliviating fraud, Lockhart had only been down in the tunnel because Harry
and Ron had forced him into it. In essence the trust to the school was
recognition of the phoenix's major contribution since Harry couldn't exactly
gift the money to Fawkes personally. He'd also debated about the Weasleyssince they hadn't been harmed by the basilisk so much as its master; Ginnyhad been rather silly writing in the diary but then hadn't Harry done the same?And Ron...well, Harry firmly believed that Ron deserved something for bravinghis demons and going into the forest; for his want to rescue Ginny even if he'dended up on the wrong side of the cave-in. Still the Weasleys' share was verysmall compared to those that had been petrified and Harry was content he'dmade the right decision to give them something.
"Now, while I'm sure we're all excited about visiting the Chamber," Dumbledorecontinued, "I must remind everyone that although there is no longer a basiliskprotecting it, there may be other dangers. Salazar Slytherin was a very cunningand powerful wizard and it is unlikely that the basilisk was the only protection. We may also come across artefacts from Slytherin and these may alsobedangerous. Therefore, our underage students today must remain with anadult
at all times, and I would encourage the adults to allow our specialist
curse-breakers to lead the way."
Harry glanced at Sirius who gave him an encouraging wink. They had alreadydiscussed Harry remaining with Sirius and following the same rules as theexpedition to get the ring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 210
"Well, if we're all done with lunch, may I suggest we make final preparationsand gather in ten minutes for Harry to lead us to the Chamber." Dumbledorefinished. There was an immediate scramble for the loo. Before too long Harry foundhimself in another familiar bathroom.
"You came back!" Myrtle appeared with a splash from a toilet and Harry shot
Sirius a 'don't you dare tease me in front of everybody' look.
"I did, Myrtle," Harry said, politely, "we're all going to see the Chamber, doyouwant to come with us?"
"Oh no!" Myrtle shook her head. "We ghosts can't go down there!"
"Fascinating." Dumbledore murmured behind him.
"A ghost ward of some kind?" Bertie offered as an explanation.
Harry crouched down and set his eyes on the small squiggle that representeda snake. "Open." He hissed. The sink moved aside just as he remembered and the long steep slide
revealed itself.
"Try asking for stairs." Bertie said quickly before Harry could move. "I doubt
Slytherin would slide down; far below his dignity." Harry nodded, closed his eyes to conjure up a picture of a snake in his headand whispered the word 'stairs' in parseltongue. The whole tunnel shimmered for a second before the top of the pipe was
raised and steps appeared, roughly hewn and very steep but there.
"Oh, well done, Harry!" Dumbledore said.
"Right then!" Bill wriggled his way to the front. "Caro and I will go ahead."
"Be careful, William!" Molly called out.
Bill rolled his eyes at Harry as Caro smirked at him. Harry grinned and movedaway from the opening. The Treasure Team, Bertie, the Creature Specialist
team and most of the Professors all headed down before he and Sirius
followed, the lumos spells lighting their way, Remus behind themwith
Hermione and Molly with Ginny and Ron. Walking down took a lot longer than sliding and Harry was slightly out of
breath by the time they reached the cave-in where Lockhart had tried toobliviate them. Someone had created balls of light that lit up the area, relieving the dark. Most of the group was working to clear the tunnel andshore it up to make it safe. Harry stayed back to let them work but shivered suddenly as his mind startedto churn with the memories of terror and horror and…
Sirius moved closer, wrapping an arm around him. "You OK?" He whispered. Harry nodded, unable to speak and his eyes sought out Ron and Ginny. Theylooked as pale and frightened as he felt. Ginny was clinging to her mother;
Ron looked milk white under his freckles.
"If you want out at any time, Harry, just say and we'll leave." Remus saidquietly.
"It doesn't matter if we have to come back so no worries, alright?" Sirius
added, supportively.
"Yeah," Harry managed with a small smile, "sorry, it's just…coming downhere…I didn't realise it would bring it all back so much." Remus nodded and catching Harry glance towards the Weasleys again, hesmiled. "I'll go check on them." Hermione's hand gently took hold of Harry's and he shifted his grip to holdhers in case she was feeling scared.
"I wish I'd been with you." She whispered.
"Me too." Harry replied, remembering how she'd helped himwith all the trapswith the Philosopher's stone. But at least she hadn't been hurt beyond thepetrification. If she'd come with him and Ron, would she have ended up besidehim fighting the basilisk or dead or…
"Wonderful!" Bertie's shout dragged Harry's attention to where everyone elsewas gathered. Where there had once been a heap of rocks and stone stood a brand newarchway built out of the rubble.
"That's a nice bit of transfiguration, Albus!" Bertie said.
Minerva nodded. "It'll hold for a good year or more."