18 March 1993, Hogwarts
Neville woke up disoriented slightly. He didn't remember how he had gotten to this place, which he realized in a few moments was the hospital wing in Hogwarts. It took a good minute for him to even remember the events that happened prior to him getting knocked out.
Potter, the Basilisk, Riddle, and Hermione. Oh, Merlin what happened to her? He sat up suddenly and exclaimed, "Hermione!"
"Calm down, Mr. Longbottom, your friend still lives," he heard the familiar voice of Madam Pomphrey say.
And just like that, with that confirmation, his thrashing stopped. The woman started to fuss over him and kept waving her arm, "Everything seems to be in order. You came up here with broken ribs and a concussion, which isn't really a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that there was some kind of sleeping curse that kept you asleep for two days straight."
"Two days? What happened to Hermione? Did her plan work?"
"We'd all appreciate some insight into what you're talking about, Longbottom," McGonagall's voice interrupted, "the events of what happened to you raised many concerns. We would all like to know how you ended up unconscious, with a legendary sword that was lost for centuries, a cursed book, and Basilisk blood of all things on your clothes. That's not mentioning the comatose body of Ms. Granger. It took hours to find the two of you. I didn't even know that the hidden room we found you in even existed. So, start talking."
However, Neville didn't. He just stared at the form of Albus Dumbledore with awe, "Headmaster, you're back!"
The elderly man let out a small chuckle, "Yes, the board seemed to immediately stop my suspension when you were attacked. Apparently, they thought that the students would be safe with Hagrid out of the way. They were wrong, obviously, and since some of them have family members in the school, they kindly asked me to come back. Now, with that out of the way, why don't you tell us what happened, Neville?"
Honestly, the Longbottom scion didn't know where to start, until he took a deep breath and spoke up, "Hagrid's hut. Everything started at Hagrid's hut. I was visiting him when Fudge and Malfoy came. I heard them take Hagrid away and suspend you, headmaster. Hagrid said that I needed to follow the spiders if I wanted answers. I planned on going there, but I was stopped."
McGonagall groaned, "Thank Merlin. That man would have sent you to speak with an Acromantula colony on its own! Albus, you need to teach him a little moderation."
"And I will. This was unacceptable behaviour from him. I think that sometimes, Rubeus simply forgets that we are not as strong nor as resilient as he is."
He motioned to Neville to continue, "More specifically, I was stopped by Potter of all people."
Everyone straightened out, "Harry Potter had disarmed me, and told me that it would be too troublesome to let me go into the Forbidden Forest and get some answers, and instead, he just told me that he figured out where the Chamber of Secrets was, and that he needed a Parselmouth to open it for him. I would have refused, of course, but he had me at wand point, and I saw no harm in this."
Dumbledore's eyes flashed slightly, "Harry Potter was involved?"
Neville nodded and McGonagall frowned, "That's odd. He didn't say anything about it, and according to Severus, no Slytherin student was out of bed when you were attacked. They were all accounted for…"
"I don't understand…"
"Don't worry about it, young Neville, just continue your story," the headmaster urged with a gentle tone.
Still disturbed by the revelation, he spoke up, "So, apparently, the location of each attack made a Pentagram, which Potter deduced was for a ritual of some sort, and that its castor had to be in the middle of it. We found this room; I think Potter called it the Undercroft or something. We kept looking around for a snake, for some reason. I found it, and when I told it to open, the wall turned into a room with a huge tunnel in it. Potter told me that I was free to go, now, and that from now on, I could join him and defeat the heir of Slytherin together, but you wouldn't make me do anything. I decided to join in…"
The headmaster looked proud of his bravery, while McGonagall didn't look impressed, "Very well. So, you found out where the entrance was – breaking around a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add – but why on earth did you decide to jump in a mysterious tunnel instead of coming to get one of us."
"Well, Potter was going to jump anyway. And I guess I wanted revenge. It was pretty obvious that whoever was pulling the strings was framing me for it. I just didn't want to end up like Hagrid so decided to fight for my freedom. Of course, all of that courage practically disappeared, when Potter told me that the monster was most likely a Basilisk that was restraining itself from petrifying the victims instead of killing them. Apparently, the voice I have been hearing when every attack occurred wasn't some weird premonition or clairvoyance, but the Basilisk's voice echoing in the pipes. Of course, Potter had prepared for that fight for months or something, since he already knew what the monster was back the December. He had some things that he enchanted himself to help in the fight. Goggles that would nullify the Basilisk's glare. A few flashbangs, sonic grenades, and even cold bombs."
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