"So this is where the infamous Chamber of Secrets is located." Harry said to himself as he stood outside the girl's bathroom on the second floor, even though it was nearly midnight on Halloween.
Of course, this wasn't just any old bathroom either. This was the bathroom haunted by the ghost of a student who died during her term at Hogwarts, Moaning Myrtle.
Thankfully, Myrtle wasn't here at the moment, probably having been invited to participate in Nick's Deathday party along with all of the other castle ghosts. So Harry was able to investigate the bathroom unmolested. Or so he thought.
"But Penelope, what if someone sees us?" A male voice asked anxiously as Harry cautiously opened the door.
"Don't worry Percy. No comes here because of Moaning Myrtle, and tonight she's outside with the other ghosts. There's no one here but us." A femine voice answered, followed by the faint sound of rustling robes.
"Way to go Percy." Harry murmured to himself, so quietly that neither of them could hear him from the stall they were in. He then placed numerous Muffle spells around the bathrom so that he could do what he needed without disturbing the two lovebirds.
Gods only knew how badly PERCY needed to get laid. Harry just hoped it would help mellow the kid out after seeing how tense and uptight he was over the summer.
His preparations finished, Harry then began to examine the sinks carefully, specifically their handles. And sure enough, one of the taps had a small snake scratched into it. Small enough that no one who wasn't looking would even notice it, and even if they did it would just look like regular graffiti that was carved into it by a Slytherin.
Harry fought back a smile as his heart thundered in anticipation for the coming battle. Not only were Basilisks very dangerous and deadly opponents, but just about every part of their bodies held value of some kind. Potions, elixirs, armor, weapons, or even just monetary. Harry couldn't wait to harvest everything from such a large and old specimen.
Thinking of the materials he could acquire though also added the challenge of trying to kill the basilisk without damaging it too much. It was a challenge that Harry happily accepted.
And just in case things went wrong, Harry had already sent Hedwig to Albus with a letter stating that he had discovered the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, where the entrance was, and what was lurking within. And for further insurance he had added a spell to the letter of his voice commanding the chamber to open with Parseltongue.
With everytning ready, Harry opened his mouth and produced the infamous hiss that earned him the name Wyrm Tongue.
"Open."
The entire sink adhered to his command, sliding open to produce a doorway large enough for even the basilisk to slither through, through which Harry could see a large pipe angled downwards into the darkness below the castle.
It truly was an awe-inspiring sight, nearly ruined by the sounds Percy and Penelope were making in the stall. Apparently, the Prefect was finally putting his tongue to better use than just barking at the younger students.
Pushing aside the image of what would happen to them once Albus arrived with the other professors, Harry readily stepped out into the pipe and started sliding down into the darkness.
On and on the pipe seemed to go down, further down than any other point in the castle by Harry's estimation, while several smaller pipes branched out from the one he was in. Possibly leading to other points in the school for the basilisk to get to.
Finally, after what felt like several minutes, the pipe began to level out before it deposited Harry into a large passageway deep underground.
The tunnel was tall enough for Harry to stand in, with several feet of room left, and wide enough for several people to walk astride. But everywhere Harry looked there were bones from what looked like hundreds, if not thousands, of animals covering the floor.
Immediately after getting his bearings Harry used a Detect Life spell, putting enough power into it that it would pick up any signs of life in every direction for hundreds of feet. And sure enough, Harry got responses from hundreds of tiny life signatures, more than likely rats and other subterranean creatures, along with a singular massive creature at the end of the tunnel. The basilisk.
Harry immediately set off in the direction of the basilisk, which was the only way he could go regardless, while making sure to keep the Detect Life spell going so it wouldn't be able to catch him off guard.
On the way, Harry came across a massive snakeskin that was at least forty to fifty feet long. Obviously from the basilisk.
Tempted as he was to collect the shed skin, Harry ignored it for the moment while promising to collect it on his way out. After all, he was sure that even that had some use like the rest of the body.
Leaving the shed skin behind, Harry continued until he reached a section of solid wall with two snakes carved into it. Once more he commanded it to open in Parseltongue, and the snakes parted to reveal a doorway leading to the chamber from Tom's memory.
Before even taking another step, Harry closed his tightly as he whispered a Shout.
"Laas Yah Nir."
Immediately, Harry could 'see' the aura of any and all life forms around him, differently and far more clearly than the Detect Life spell had shown. Unfortunately though, this Shout couldn't let him 'see' anything else, so Harry was forced to just barely crack his eyes open and keep his gaze downwards as he slowly made his way into the chamber.
As if sensing his arrival, the massive lifeform began to move in front of him, within the statue if Harry had to guess.
"Who is there?" A voice hissed in the darkness, accompanied by the scrapping of scales against stone before something large and heavy hit the floor in front of Harry. "Master?"
"I am not your master." Harry replied back in Parseltongue, 'watching' the basalisk's aura as it directed it's attention towards him.
"You can speak? Yet you do not smell of my master." The basilisk hissed as it reared up, towering over Harry menacingly.
"I am not Salazar Slytherin, nor am I one of his desendants." Harry hissed in reply while moving one of his hands behind his back, channeling magic into it.
"Intruder! Defiler and outsider!" The basilisk hissed angrily at him, obviously pissed that Harry had intruded upon it's home. "I shall tear the flesh from your bones! Your meat shall satisfy my hunger! Your blood my thirst! And your bones shall join my collection!"
Harry 'saw' the basilisk lunge at him suddenly, and he could see it clearly in his mind. Teeth bared, venom and saliva dripping, and eyes filled with rage. It was a hopeless situation for nealry anybody. But Harry was not just 'anybody'.
Harry immediately brought his hand out from behind his back the second the basilisk started to move. And with it's speed it was right in front of him as he unleashed his magic. The most powerful Magelight spell he had ever used.
"SCORYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The basilisk roared, not hissed, ROARED as light the likes of which it had never seen before flared right in it's face. Blinding it completely and forcing it to rear back.
"It burns! BURNS!" It hissed angrily while thrashing its head back and forth, unable to take the blindingly bright light.
Harry meanwhile did not hesitate.
Magic gathered in his hands as it took the shape of a bow and arrow, which he readily drew back and aimed at the head of the snake thrashing about above him. And for the first time, Harry opened his eyes so he could properly take aim.
"TIID KLO UL!" Harry Shouted, and time itself really did slow. Only for a matter of seconds, but that was more than enough for Harry to take aim at the basilisks open mouth, and release the arrow.
Harry as the arrow flew through the air in slow motion, literally, towards the open mouth of the thrashing basilisk. He watched the arrow hit the roof of the basilisk's mouth, and sink completely into it's head.
"SCREEEEEYAAAAAAAAAA!"
The screech of the creature was deafening as it thrashed even more, colliding into several of the pillars in the chamber before finally collapsing to the ground. And the aura that Harry was watching through his closed eyes flickered out entirely.
Only then did Harry open his eyes, allowing him to safely gaze upon the body of the king of serpents right as it soul started to leave its body to fill one of his grand soul gems.
"You were a powerful adversary. Unfortunately for you, your opponent was just too strong." Harry said with respect as he approached the creature, looking over it's body as he took in it's size and power. He tried to treat all creatures that he hunted with respect, thank to Aela's influence during their years together. And this time was no different.
It might have been able to speak to him.
It might have lived for a thousand years.
And it might have been one of the most powerful and dangerous creatures on the planet.
But the truth was that Harry had 'hunted' it. And now it was time to get to work.
The first thing Harry did was carefully remove the eyes and store them in the jars he had prepared beforehand. The eyes were easily the most valuable part of the basilsik, so he needed to properly preserve them for later use. Thankfully their deadly effect was lost with the death of the creature itself, so there was no risk towards Harry as he did so.
Then he began to truly gruesome work.
Firstly was draining the blood and the removal of the internal organs. Not only did this include the usual organs that all creatures had, lungs, stomach, heart, liver and so on, but also the venom sacs themselves. These were perhaps the most dangerous part of the processing, as basilisk venom was nigh untreatable, except with pheonix tears.
Of course, Harry made sure to store every single drop of venom he could in several empty vials that he had on hand, each one easily being worth hundreds of Galleons, minimum.
Once all the organs were harvested and stored away for later, as each one had it's own value and usage, Harry began skinning the creature.
Basilisk skin was not only extremely tough, but also highly restistant to magic, which was part of why they were so dangerous. Like dragons, any normal spell would simply bounce off of their skin and leave them completely unharmed. Only certain specialized spells would even work against them.
With the basilisk being close to sixty feet long, Harry had PLENTY of skin to work with for future projects, like armor or possible accessories that he could sell at Potter's Place.
After the skin was the fangs, which Harry also had to be careful with due to any lingering venom left within them, but could also be fashioned into weapons like short sword or daggers. Or Harry could also carve them into priceless pieces of art as well. there were plenty of fangs to work with after all.
That left only the meat and bones, the former of which was actually edible while the latter could also be crafted into different items like the fangs.
It was as Harry was working on this part that he suddenly had company, as Albus barged into the chamber along with every single teacher at Hogwarts. Even Madam Pompfrey.
"Bout time you got here." Harry called to them as he continued processing the meat, ignoring their stunned expressions as they took in the remains of the creature before them.
"Wha-? Ho-? Who-?"
Minerva was seemingly struck completely speechless, as she tried repeatedly to get at least one word out, and failed. Which was marginally better than the other teachers, as they collectively turned pale at the sight of the basilisk remains, even if it was just the meat and bones left.
The only exception was Albus, who was looking upon it with an expression of awe.
"So after all this time, the creature has finally been slain..." He muttered while slowly approaching it, followed closely by Snape. He was perhaps the second most collected amongst the group, but Harry also noticed the greed in his eyes as he eyed the corpse and his bag.
"Don't even think about it." Harry said sternly, catching them by surprise before realizing he was looking right at Snape.
"Potter. You don't even realize the value of such rare materials, do you?" Snape sneered back at him,
"It doesn't matter if I do or not. The loot is mine by right of conquest, and if you want any then you can wait to see if I decide to put any on the market. Until then, back off." Harry said sternly while looking right at the greasy-haired man. And Snape looked right back at him with dangerously narrowed eyes.
It might have been the fact that he just killed a basilisk. Or maybe that he was currently covered in gore from it. Or it might have been the knife in his hand.
More than likely all three, but Snape eventually took a step back in acknowledgement. Though the desire in his eyes never faded.
"So how did you do it?" Albus asked as the tension from before faded, approaching Harry as he continued processing the meat.
"I blinded it with a light spell, and then shot an arrow into it's mouth through to it's brain." Harry explained.
"Amazing. Though I doubt any Aurors would be able to replicate the feat." Albus said wryly.
"Probably not. But I'll mention it to Amelia the next time I see her. Maybe I can even spend the summer training them." Harry suggested, making Albus chuckle at the idea of a twelve year old putting all of the Aurors of the Ministry through intensive training. But then he turned serious.
"How exactly did you figure all of this out Harry? Did Tom tell you?" He asked as quietly as possible, as not everyone present was aware of the Horcruxes. Only the Heads of Houses.
"I'll explain later." Harry said, not wanting to say everything right now for the same reason. So he just focused on what he was doing.
Soon enough Harry was finished, leaving him with a large pile of wrapped meat since he didn't store all of it in his bag like he had the rest of the basilisk.
"Go ahead and take this for the school. Maybe we can have it for dinner tomorrow night?" Harry suggested, and Albus's eyes lit up at the idea.
"Indeed. I must admit, part of me is quite curious to find out how basilisk meat tastes." He said, before calling a House Elf to take the meat to the kitchens, also giving it orders that it was to be the main dish for dinner tomorrow night.
Once that was done the teachers all began to shuffle awkwardly in place as they seemingly just realized where they were.
"So this is the legendary Chamber of Secrets..." Professor Bathsheda Babbling uttered as she looked around in awe. Harry meanwhile waved his wand to clean away the mess made by his processing the basilisks body, as well as to repair the damage done to the pillars when it was thrashing around. "Is there more to explore?" She asked as soon as he finished.
"Not that I know of." Harry told the Ancient Runes professor, and he was telling the truth. "I was planning to explore a little bit once I was done with the basilisk. You're all welcome to help if you want."
"I think its less of a question of if we 'want' to, and more of the fact that we 'NEED'." Professor Vector of Arithmacy stated firmly. "Knowing the chamber is real, and what was in it, makes us obligated to ensure there's nothing else down here that could endanger or attack our students."
The rest of the professors nodded firmly as they split up, seemingly to explore the chamber and discover any remaining secrets it had.
"If you find anything, and I mean ANYTHING that seems out of the ordinary, let me know." Harry told them firmly. "Both the doors you passed through to get here required Parseltongue to open, so the same might be of anything else we find."
Though the rest of the gathered professors gave Harry strange looks for giving them orders, the Heads of Houses all nodded in affirmation as they spread out to begin exploring. Except for Snape, of course. He just glared at Harry before turning on his heel dramatically to begin looking around the chamber.
This left Harry alone with Albus, who quickly recounted everything that happened after once the others were out of earshot.
"I see... So Tom intended to use you for his own revival... That is most concerning." Albus murmured quietly.
"You should have seen the look on his face when I told him he lost to a baby." Harry replied with a smirk.
"Oh, I am sure that was quite entertaining to see." Albus said with a small smile.
"If he were alive, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had an aneurysm."
The two of them chuckled with amusement at the image of Lord Voldemort dying from an aneuyrsm, before professor Babbling called them over.
"I think I found something." She stated happily, pointing to a section of stone near the foot of Slytherin's stature that she had just cleared the grime from. There, carved into the stone, was a snake carved into a small S.
"Think this might be something?" She asked excitedly.
"Only one way to find out." Harry replied, before hissing at the symbol to open.
The effect was immediate as the snake began to wiggle and slither across the wall, growing longer and wider as it did so until it outlined an entire doorway large enough for even someone as tall as Albus to walk through. And through it they could see a set of spiraling stairs leading upwards.
"My my Harry, things certainly aren't boring when you're around." Albus commented as they all looked into the darkness above them.
"Very true, but it can also very dangerous." Harry said in agreement, before taking a step onto the stairway.
"Wait a second, you're just going to go up them?!" Babbling exclaimed worriedly.
"There's no way of knowing where they go otherwise." Harry replied with a shrug.
"I am afraid I must concur with Harry, Bathsheda." Albus stated as he made to follow.
"This just seems pointlessly reckless..." The professor muttered, but made to follow them. After all, she WAS the expert on ancient runes in the group.
Leaving the rest of the professors behind to continue exploring the chamber for any other possible secrets, Harry, Albus and Bathsheda started making their way up the stairs to see where they led, wands all lit and at the ready for any possible surprises.
Up, up, and further up they went. To the point that Bathsheda began to breathe heavily, though Albus and Harry continued on just fine.
Just when Harry was considering using Healing Hands on her, which would also restore some of her stamina, they finally seemed to reach the top. And what greeted them was an ancient wooden door, left slightly ajar to reveal a study.
"Oh my..." Bathsheda breathed out as they beheld numerous shelves of books and ancient instruments, all surrounding an elevated writing desk not too disimilar to the one in the Headmaster's office. Except this study was decorated entirely in accents of dark green, with the most catching being the two banners that flanked a portrait of Salazar himself behind the desk.
"It looks, undisturbed." Albus murmured as they entered the room proper, each one treading as softly as possible to disturb the room as little as possible.
Bathsheda immediately began to peruse the books on the shelves, putting her expertise in Ancient Runes to use as she gingerly read the anient text on the pages. Albus meanwhile was eagerly examining the various magical devices and instruments that dotted the study, each one still functioning even after nearly a thousand years.
Harry however picked through the room with a discerning eye. Years of diving into old Nordic tombs and raiding vaults having long taught him to identify the most valuable items with a single glance.
Harry immediately eyed a decanter one of the shelves with a mysterious liquid inside that slowly bubbled and churned on its own. Then there was a small serpent statue made of pure silver with emeralds for eyes. And finally Harry noticed a thick book sitting in the middle of the desk, one bound in black leather with glowing runes swirling around on top, and a single strap keeping it closed.
"What do we have here?" Harry muttered as he examined the book, analyzing it while not touching it. Harry may not be knowledgeable when it came to Ancient Runes, but he could also tell when something was cursed to hell and back. And given enough time, he was sure he could still crack it.
"Quite a find you got there." Bathsheda said as she appeared beside Harry, also looking at the book with obvious interest.
"I think's it's Salazar's personal journal." Harry said as he continued examining it curiously. He was starting to notice the pattern that the runes were moving in, but he didn't know what they meant...
"Bathsheda, I need you to translate the runes for me." Harry told the professor without taking his eyes off of the book.
"Ok! This one here..."
For several minutes Harry worked slowly and carefully, using the tip of his wand to 'grab' the runes one by one, and dragging them into their respective place on the cover. It was like a puzzle, putting the exact rune into the exact location on the cover in the exact order based on what each one meant. But it was also a puzzle Harry did NOT want to get wrong, as there was no telling what would happen if he did.
Finally, after several tense minutes of careful maneuvering, Harry put the final rune into it's place. And when he did the magic powering the runes died as the strap released.
"Oh..." Bathsheda uttered as they released the magic binding the book.
"Oh indeed." Harry said with a triumphant smile, before gesturing to the professor. "Would you like to do the honors professor?"
"Truly?!" She asked, excitment oozing from her every pore.
"Of course. Not like I can read anything in anyways." Harry said, his tone somewhat bitter.
After spending many, MANY, years delving into ancient Nordic tombs and similar ruins, Harry had eventually picked up on the runes the ancient Nords used compared to modern day Nords. Additionally, Harry had also taken the time to study the written language of the ancient Falmer, thanks to needing to decode the journal of Gallus, the previous leader of the Thieve's Guild. Harry had even learned plenty of elven runes due to his constant battle against the Thalmor, allowing him to read their missives and any plans he had intercepted or acquired.
But all of that was useless here in Britain, which tempted Harry to apply for the Study of Ancient Runes class as one of his elective from third year on. For now though, he would have to be content with having Bathsheda do the reading for him.
"Very well then! Let us see what one of the founders left behind for us! Even if it is Slytherin..." She declared, with Albus also coming to listen as she gently opened the book, and began reading the first page.
"We finally did it. Godric, Helga, Rowena and I. We finally finished the castle.
"So many years of work have gone into this moment. Acquiring the lands from the squabbling muggle 'lords' and 'kings', securing the aid we needed to build the castle, and sending word out to all of the known magical families across the British isles. No more will our people have to hide away like rats from the Muggles. No more will we be hunted out of fear and ignorance. The first batch of apprentices will arrive soon, and we will raise the first generation of properly train witches and wizards the world has ever seen!"
"The next couple pages are about every day things..." Bathsheda said as she flipped through them.
"Perhaps we can focus on the more important events for the time being. After all, we can study these writings as much as we want now." Albus suggested, and she nodded in agreement.
"Agreed. Let's see here... This entry is about the classes themselves, which were all taught by the four founders instead of being separated by subject like today... This one is about a new batch of students arriving at the castle from the mainland, since none of the other schools had been established yet. Oh, here's something."
"Those fools! Godric and Helga! Once again, we had our usual argument. They want to bring children here from nonmagical familes to learn as well! Children born and raised from muggles!
"As usual, I tried to shut them down. We can not trust them! They were raised by those we sought to escape from! Those who would see us all tortured, burned and executed just for the sin of existing! What if they betray us? What if they take what we teach them, and use it against us?
"How many times must we endure this? How many children of ours were killed by them before they could learn to defend themselves? That was the entire point of building the castle and fortifying it to repel any invading muggle army!
"Normally this would be enough to deter them, especially with Rowena backing me up. But not this time. The woman is distraught over the loss of her daughter, and is losing sight of reason. She is siding with them now!
"I can not allow this. Will not allow this! I'll make them see reason. They have to see reason!"
"Interesting... So Salazar's pure blood doctrine had nothing to do with superiority, but the desire to protect witches and wizards from any threats posed by muggles..." Albus muttered quietly as Bathsheda paused briefly.
"It is shocking..." The professor said as she looked through some of the other pages, before arriving to what looked to be the last one. She then continued,
"This is it. I will be leaving the castle.
"It is obvious that we can not see eye to eye on this issue, and I refuse to stay here and await the inevitable. So I shall be leaving, though not before preparing one last line of defense.
"I will be leaving my pet behind to guard the castle in my absence. She will be here long after my flesh perishes, hopefully for centuries at the very least, and I will bind her to follow the commands of any who bear my blood.
"She'll have to be locked away of course, can't risk the possibility of our apprentices being caught in her gaze. But when the day arrives that those born of muggles inevitably betray us, she will be the last line of defense for this castle, and our kind. And the first to feel her wrath will be those who betrayed us, those who should never have been allowed to learn the secrets of magic to begin with!"
The room was silent as Bathsheda finished reading out loud, leaving them all to ponder on what Salazar Slytherin had written.
"I suppose, this journal both confirms and denies the image of Salazar Slytherin being a pure blood supremacist." Bathsheda eventually said.
"I'd say it denies it more." Harry replied.
"Oh? Do explain." Albus urged, seemingly enjoying the exchange.
"Well, his discrimination was brought about more by survival. After all, how many records are there of muggles killing witches and wizards, or at least trying to, just for the crime of existing? On the other hand, being a pure blood supremacist would mean that he would consider muggles and muggleborns to be inherently inferior, which he never said. Even if the way he went about it was all wrong, the thing Salazar was most concerned about was the safety of his people." Harry explained.
"I suppose that may be true. But the fact remains that he still discriminated against them so badly that he even prepared a basilisk to kill them." She argued.
"From a place of concern, not one of malice. He could have easily made it so that the basilisk could regularly attack muggleborns without anyone being the wiser for the last thousand years, but he didn't. Instead he left it for his descendants to use as a last resort."
"Are you really trying to defend someone who left a BASILISK in a school full of children?!"
"I never said he was right for what he did, only that the motives behind his actions were not as sinister as we previously thought."
Albus smiled warmly as he watched Harry and Bathsheda debate the motives behind Salazar Slytherin's actions a thousand years ago. It was a bit refreshing for him to see.
However, Albus's smile faded when he noticed Harry wince just ever so slightly, followed by one of his hands absentmindedly rubbing his scar.
***
Peter Pettigrew was in awe as space itself distorted before him, before a demonic being appeared from another dimension entirely.
Pitch black skin with red markings, and a pair of horns that curled up on either side of it's head. But parts of it's features were familiar as well, such as the red eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness, and the slitted, serpentine nose in the middle of their face.
It was Lord Voldemort himself, risen from the dead and given a new body by the Daedric Prince, Mehrunes Dagon.
"My Lord." Pettigrew greeted him as the distortion faded, leaving Voldemort once more in the land of the living.
"Wormtail." Voldemort said, his voice barely above that of a whisper, though Pettigrew had no problem hearing it as he frowned from the old nickname his friends had given him.
"Your wand, my Lord." Pettigrew said as he handed over Voldemort's wand, the same wand he had received as a child so long ago when he first attended Hogwarts, and with which he used to perform a multitude of deeds, all of which were great and terrible.
"Finally..." Voldemort whispered as he accepted the wand, which resonated with him in join of their reunion, changed as he was physically.
The wand handed over to its proper master, Pettigrew turned to show Voldemort what it was he was needed for.
"Crucio." Voldemort hissed, immediately followed by a terrible shriek as Pettigrew squirmed upon the ground.
"Eleven years Wormtail, and it appears that you have forgotten your place." Voldemort hissed as he kept the curse going for several seconds, before finally ending it. At this point Pettigrew was laying on the ground, his body twitching occassionally from the pain he had just endured, while Voldemort continued without issue, "I must confess myself, to be disappointed."
"I-it won't happen again, my Lord..." Pettigrew sputtered while cowering slightly in the face of his former master, his newfound confidence from serving Mephala forgotten.
"See to it that it does not. Now then, show me what progress you have made." Voldemort commanded, and Pettigrew hurriedly scrambled to his feet as he led the way out of the room he had performed the summoning in. And the duo found themselves in a ravine, where dozens of muggles were currently working on building what looked like a massive stone arch.