Love Enough for Both by Manwe Valarian



Summary: Harry heard a goblin speaking and he came out of temporary stupor. He was surrounded by witches and wizards all staring at him. The most shocking thing was he had his arms around someone. Who was she and how did they get here?
Rating: PG-13 starstarstarstarhalf-star
Categories: Alternate Universe
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2012.10.25
Updated: 2018.05.01


Love Enough for Both by Manwe Valarian
Chapter 4: Into the Chamber
Author's Notes:

Bill Apparated in front of Hogwarts’ main gate with four other people. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black stood nearest the gate. Bill was the furthest away. Between them were the other two, Harry and Ginny Potter, hidden under an Invisibility Cloak.

“You would think they would be waiting for us,” grumbled Sirius. “We receive a letter saying they wanted to see us as soon as possible. We come here and no one is waiting for us.”

“They probably never imagined we’d arrive this soon. They actually sent it only four hours ago,” stated Remus. “They probably thought an owl would arrive first.

“I’m sending a Patronus to the Headmaster,” replied Sirius. “I am not waiting here, when there might be someone dying in the castle.”

With a flick of his wand, he sent a silver streak up to the castle.

“Sirius, I wish you would choose your words more carefully,” said a male disembodied voice. “Ron may not be dying.”

“The letter said that Ron had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets,” said Ginny softly her voice quavered with fear. “If we don’t know where it is, then how can we find him in time?”

“We will, love. We will,” reassured Harry.

“I wish you two wouldn’t talk while you are under the cloak,” grumbled Sirius. “People are going to wonder where the voices are coming from.”

“There is no one within listening distance, Padfoot,” countered Harry.

“How do you know that?” retorted Sirius.

“We can feel if they are that close,” said Harry. “No one between us and the castle and us and a house four hundred yards away.”

“Insufferable know-it-all, you are just like your mother and father,” grumbled Sirius.

“Thank you!” Harry said happily.

“I see someone walking from the castle,” said Bill interrupting the squabbling. “It looks like Professor McGonagall. “I don’t want you two to reveal too much about yourselves. Everyone will know you are bonded, but that is all they need to know. It is important that no one knows about all the other powers you have developed.”

“What about the prophecy?” asked Ginny.

“Don’t reveal that unless you are sure of the person’s loyalties, and don’t tell Mum unless you want her to have kittens.”

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Arthur Weasley stood in Minerva’s McGonagall’s office rubbing his wife’s shoulders. Her heart broke when she heard that their son, Ron, had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. He remembered hearing about it when he was in school. It was just a legend at least that was what he thought at that time. Now his youngest son was captured inside of it and the message on the wall stated his bones will lie in there forever. Now he was waiting here with Molly, Percy, Fred, George, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. An Owl was sent to Charlie in Romania. Another was sent to Bill and Ginny, he didn’t know where they had been staying, but it must have been close.

He had just heard Bill and Ginny were at the main gate, and he was nervous about seeing them. He had not seen either one for nearly two years, ever since she had soul bonded to Harry Potter.

“I wonder how they got here so quickly?” asked Percy. “It would take at least two days to set up an international Portkey.”

“Maybe they were in the country,” stated Professor Dumbledore.

“They were in England and didn’t stop to see us,” snapped an angry Molly Weasley. “Why that is most ungrateful and inconsiderate. What are we going to do about Ron?”

“The only thing that we can do, we are already doing. We are looking for the Chamber of Secrets at this very moment. I have all the Professors and Prefects looking for any indication of Ron.”

“It has been at this castle for one thousand years, and no one has found it. What makes you think that you can find it before my son is dead,” shouted Molly.

“There, there, Molly everyone is trying as hard as they can to find Ron,” consoled Arthur as he rubbed her shoulders trying to get her to accept that their son was as good as dead.

The door opened and Professor McGonagall stepped in followed by two wizards. They had their wands drawn and looked around the room, before stepping in further. Behind them Arthur could see Bill. The first two walked into the room making it impossible for anyone to get close to Bill. They were all dressed strangely for wizards.

They didn’t wear typical robes, but a brownish-green hooded cloak with a high collar. It looked to be leather, but it seemed a bit off for leather. Their clothes could have been Muggle, but they also seemed a bit off for even that. The fabric was heavy and they all wore dark brown leather gloves with high cuffs protecting their forearms. The long sleeved shirts were a russet color and the trousers a deep brown. The trousers were tucked into their leather boot. It was the same type of leather the cloak was made from.

Bill finally stepped through the door and closed it. He looked around the room, also. “It’s safe,” he said to no one in particular

The first two wizards put their wands away and relaxed. As soon as they did, Molly stood up to run to Bill, but she didn’t make it. A beautiful young woman appeared out of the air in front of her. Beside her was a handsome man. They both appeared to be the same age as Bill.

The woman grabbed Molly in a hug and said. “Oh, Mum, I have missed you so.”

The entire room seemed to freeze. Molly was so shocked that she stood there as this woman, Ginny, hugged her.

Her face was similar to Bill’s. So there was a family resemblance, but Ginny should have only been eleven at this time. Arthur remembered Ginny growing up the night after soul bonding with Harry Potter, but he didn’t remember her looking like this aristocratic woman in front of him. She was dressed similar to the others, but her clothes were cut to fit her shape, and her gloves were folded and tucked neatly into her leather belt.

Molly was now hugging her back. He was pleased that she hadn’t rejected Ginny. While he was looking at the two most important women in his life, he saw something on Ginny’s hand; a wedding ring and an engagement ring.

He was heartbroken. Ginny had been the first girl born in a family named Weasley for seven generations. He was going to enjoy escorting her down the aisle. Now it was too late.

Ginny pulled away from Molly and ran into his arms. It felt strange hugging this young woman. He had hugged Ginny many times in the past, but she had been a little girl. Now she was a woman who came up to his shoulder.

“I missed you too, Daddy,” she whispered into his chest. Even though the voice was slightly different, it was still his little girl. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He looked up to see the man that must be Harry smiling at them.

“You, you took our daughter away from us,” shouted Molly at Harry. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that ring on her finger. No one ever mentioned a wedding in any letters,” she said glaring at Bill.

“Mum, we were married when we first met in Diagon Alley,” said Ginny pulling away from Arthur.

Arthur had a sad feeling come over him. He missed holding his little girl.

“We didn’t have any ceremony. Harry gave them to me, because he knew it would make me happy.”

“I still don’t like it. It isn’t proper. You may look all grown up, but you are still only eleven,” shouted Molly.

Arthur watched as his daughter balled up her fists in fury. He was waiting for her to put them on her hips and start shouting back at Molly. It was exactly what Molly would have done when she was this angry. Ginny quickly released her fists and relaxed as Harry came over and placed a hand on her back. He could tell Harry had somehow calmed Ginny down.

“I didn’t come here to fight with you, Mum. I came here to try to save Ron,” said Ginny sadly.

“How can you save him, if Albus Dumbledore can’t,” shouted Molly back at her.

Bill looked at Molly with anger in his eyes, but didn’t address her. “Fred, George, you two said that Ron used to hide out in a woman’s bathroom?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the twins. They looked at each other. Arthur could tell they were hiding something.

“He used to go to the one on the second floor…”

“but then he would disappear.”

“We had no…”

“idea where he went.”

The twins were finishing each other’s sentences. It was something that all the Weasleys’ had become accustomed to over the years. Arthur tried not to laugh at Harry’s expression as he stared gobsmacked at the twins. Evidently, Ginny hadn’t told him about Fred and George’s antics.

“I suggest we start our search there,” said Bill.

“First, I want an article of Ron’s clothes. Something that hasn’t been laundered yet,” said one of the men who had accompanied Bill and Ginny.

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Harry was holding Ginny’s hand, as they walked through the ancient halls of the castle. Sirius, Remus, and Bill kept looking around at the stone walls wistfully. He could tell they were remembering their days at the school. Even with all these memories, they still kept their minds on the job at hand; finding Ron Weasley.

Harry though was feeling something else from the majestic stone walls of Hogwarts. Magic, very old magic was present here. There was a mix of dark and light magic, but other magic to keep the castle protected and secure was present.

“Why did you start following your brother?” Harry asked the twins.

They had accompanied them to Ron’s dorm to retrieve a shirt that Ron had laying about. Now Fred, George, and Professor McGonagall accompanied them as they walked towards the bathroom. The twins were looking at the Professor nervously.

“Well, we noticed he was acting rather odd this year,” said Fred.

“He was writing in a diary all the time,” said George.

“Ron writing in a diary!” exclaimed Ginny and Bill at the same time.

Harry had to keep from snorting at their shock to Ron keeping a diary. “I take it he isn’t the type to spend hours writing down his thoughts and feelings.” Harry thought about how lame doing that sort of thing seemed. The idea of keeping a diary never occurred to him, though Ginny kept one.

“We didn’t even know he could write,” stated George.

“Or have feelings, except hunger,” said Fred.

“Or thoughts, except ‘is there anymore’,” said George.

“We figured it was his new girlfriend, Hermione Granger. She is quite the bookworm,” the twins said at the same time.

“Miss Granger is the top student of her year,” sniffed Professor McGonagall. “She is also a Gryffindor.”

“She is also in the hospital…,”started Fred

“ as we speak…,”

“paralyzed from an attack,” finished Fred.

They had reached the bathroom. Professor McGonagall went in the bathroom first to check if anyone was in there. She came back out very quickly.

“It is empty as I suspected,” she said stiffly. “This particular bathroom isn’t used much because it is haunted by the ghost of Moaning Myrtle.”

“Did she die in there?” asked Ginny.

“I don’t know,” replied Professor McGonagall.

Harry could sense why Ginny asked the question. In one of the letters, the twins mentioned the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before and someone had died. As they walked into the bathroom, a cold chill ran up Harry’s spine. There definitely were remnants of dark magic in here.

Sirius took off his cloak and handed it to Remus. He then threw Ron’s shirt down on the floor.

“Time for Padfoot mode,” stated Sirius. He changed into his Animagus form, a large black dog. As he transformed he stepped out of his boots. They were made of dragon hide like his cloak and wouldn’t transform with him into his Animagus form.

“Is he registered?” Professor McGonagall asked Remus.

“Yes,” answered Remus. “But, not in this country.”

Padfoot sniffed at the shirt for several seconds before running his nose along the floor. He made several circles then walked towards the door and back across to a sink against the furthest wall in the bathroom. He quickly changed back to Sirius Black.

“His trail ends here,” He said indicating a sink.

“That was the one we saw him at, before he disappeared,” added the twins.

“How did you do that?” asked Professor McGonagall. “You can only see that sink from inside of the bathroom. You would have seen where he went.”

The twins looked nervously at each other. “We were hiding so he didn’t see us.”

The Professor’s mouth twitched as her lips became tighter and smaller. “Indeed,” she said without further comment.

Harry noticed Remus and Sirius smiling at each other. They seemed to know something, but didn’t say anything else. He could also feel Ginny laughing about the twins trying to lie.

“Harry, would you try Parseltongue. If this is the monster of Salazar Slytherin, I am guessing he made it so only Parseltongue’s could get in,” asked Bill.

“How would Ron get in?” asked Professor McGonagall.

“I guess we will first have to find him then ask him,” said Bill.

Harry stepped up to the sink. A cold chill ran through him again. It was his senses warning him that something dangerous was behind that sink. He looked over at Ginny. She sensed what he did too. This ability started to emerge after they became soul bonded. At times they can actually see and hear each other’s thoughts, most of the time they just understood each other’s emotions.

He closed his eyes and thought of the king cobra he spoke to at a bazaar in Turkey. With that memory firmly implanted in his mind, he hissed out the word “open” in Parseltongue. He opened his eyes when he heard the grating of porcelain over stone.

The sink moved aside revealing large round opening behind it. A rush of fetid air hit Harry as another chill of danger and death washed over him. He tried reaching out with his senses to see how close it was. He could feel it down there, but he couldn’t sense how far away the danger was.

Bill stepped up and waved his wand in several intricate motions, while softly speaking revealing spells. He pointed his wand at the opening. A bright blue blob formed from the end of his wand. It moved forward and disappeared down the opening.

“There is something down there, but it is far away,” Harry whispered to Bill.

“I just want to be cautious. It isn’t like I don’t trust your senses, Harry,” replied Bill quietly.

They all stood there watching and waiting for the blue ball to come back out. After about a minute, it hadn’t reappeared.

“It must be safe,” said Sirius, as he strode forward after replacing his cloak and pulling on his boots. “I go first, then Remus, and Bill….”

“Hold on, I and Ginny should be the next to go after Remus,” argued Harry. It had been an arrangement that they had practiced all the time. Sirius and Remus would always lead and Bill would be behind them to act as shields for him and Ginny. Neither one liked their friends doing this, but they would never be able to convince them to stop the practice.

“If Remus’ hunches are correct about what is down there, you need to stay up here and not come down at all,” stated Sirius.

“What do you think is down there?” asked Professor McGonagall.

“A basilisk, Professor,” said Remus softly. “It is the only thing that makes sense. People getting petrified now and the one that died years ago. The stare of a Basilisk can do both of those things. It is also considered to be the King of Snakes, which would be appropriate for Slytherin to use as his monster. Seeing that opening, I would say I am correct.”

“Ah Remus, our expert on dark creatures,” teased Sirius. He was now sitting in the opening to the Chamber of Secrets. “If you are done teaching, I will be going down this dank hole. Please come down before starting another lecture.”

“I’ll be down right after you, Sirius,” said Remus.

“All right, ‘long live the Marauders’,” shouted Sirius as he slid down the opening to the depths of the Chamber.

Remus quickly climbed in and slid down the opening. He also shouted, “long live the Marauders.”

“Did they just call out ‘long live the Marauders’?” asked one of the twins.

“They called themselves that when they were in school,” answered Professor McGonagall. “Harry’s father was also one along with another, I will not mention.” Professor McGonagall finished icily.

Harry smiled at her. He was grateful she hadn’t mentioned Peter Pettigrew. He had learned about his father and the Marauders from Remus and Sirius. To have Peter betray them like he did made Harry’s blood boil with revenge.

“I’m going down,” stated Bill. “Wait for my Patronus before you two come down. We need to be sure it is safe before you two come down.” Bill finished and slid down the opening.

Harry walked over to the entrance and the entire way he could feel Ginny’s eyes on him. He looked at her to reassure her that everything will be all right. She stood there also silently boosting his confidence with a reassuring smile as he stood there at the entrance to a chamber filled with death. Her smile made him completely forget about everything else but her lips and soft brown eyes. He wanted to reach out and pull her towards him.

“Oi, stop staring at my sister,” said George. “Bill just called for you.”

Harry turned to see Bill’s fox Patronus dissolve into vapor. He felt stupid for missing the message.

“You are to go,” said Ginny with a smile.

Harry felt embarrassed as he could both sense her laughing at him and also enjoying the look he had given her. Climbing into the small tunnel, he glanced at his wife before allowing himself to slide down the hole. His dragon hide cloak protected him from any sharp rocks or snags on the smooth hewed stone while sliding down the tunnel. He slid and turned several different directions. It started to feel as if he had been sliding for miles, when he was deposited on his backside in a puddle of muck.

The heavy moist stench of death and decay filled his nose, and the feeling of dread increased tenfold. He stood up to step aside for Ginny. Small bones crunched under his feet. He looked around and saw evidence of animals’ skeletons scattered across the floor of this large round chamber.

It was only about eight feet high, but it was at least thirty feet across. There were also four tunnels leading away or to the chamber, depending on your perspective. The entire room seemed to have been chipped from one solid piece of stone.

He sensed Ginny about to appear out of the tunnel from the bathroom and reached out to grab her hand and keep her from falling in the same muddy puddle that he had fallen into. He easily pulled her up without her getting dirty.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

“All right you two,” stated Sirius. He stepped up to the two on them in the light of his illuminated wand. Even though he had been out of Azkaban for almost two years, his face was drawn and his eyes had that hollowed look to them. It was an intimidating look, particularly in a dark and dangerous place such as this.

“If things get sticky down here, you are to leave and leave us to our fates. Everyone needs you two to survive.”

“We are all coming out of this hole, and we are bringing Ron with us,” snapped Ginny.

“Look, I failed Harry’s parents once. I won’t do it again. You will leave. I am serious!” he nearly shouted at Ginny.

“I know you are,” replied Harry cheekily. “That is Remus and that is Bill, we are Harry and Ginny. You told us that when we first met.”

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] two years earlier[ ][ ][ ][ ]

Harry opened his eyes and was surprised to see the room he was in. It was warm, spacious, and elegant. The bed was the softest and warmest he had ever felt. He shifted his weight and felt another person beside him.

The memories of yesterday washed over him. He woke in the extra bedroom at Number Four Privet Drive. He went from there to the house his parents died in where he met with Ginny and Bill, to Gringotts, to this spacious estate that he now owned with his wife.

Harry turned to see her brown eyes looking at him warily. She was holding her left hand in her right. She seemed to be nervous about something. He started to wonder if she was regretting getting bonded to him.

“Good morning,” he said weakly to the beauty that was in his bed. The sight of her made him nervous and choke up.

“Good morning,” she said as much as a question as a response.

He stared at her wanting to ask something but he was afraid of hearing the answer. He almost wanted her to tell him that this all a mistake, but she laid there looking at him with that strange questioning look on her face. He needed to find out if she wanted out of this arrangement. He would understand, but he didn’t think they could have it annulled or whatever one did to break off a soul bond.

He had to ask. “Are you sorry we are bonded, and — and married?”

“No! Are you?” she squeaked out.

“No, no I am not, but I …,” he stopped talking as she kissed him. His mind went to mush with the sudden touch of her lips on his. When it was finished, he still couldn’t form words.

“I was afraid that you regretted being with me,” said Ginny.

“Why would I feel that?” he replied. “You could do so much better than me. You wouldn’t have to worry about that stupid prophecy.”

Her laughter stopped him. She seemed to find his comment amusing. She turned to look at him. “You are a dream come true to me, so don’t ever worry about my intentions. I want to be the best wife ever for you.”

He leaned in and kissed her gently. He smiled as he pulled away and saw the look of happiness on her face.

“What do we do now?” he asked her.

“I vote for breakfast,” she said.

“That sounds brilliant,” he said as he felt his stomach rumble with hunger.

Twenty minutes later, they had showered, dressed, and were walking into the eat-in kitchen. It was empty except for the Head House Elf, Gadget. He was preparing a large silver tray for tea and coffee.

“Good morning Master and Mistress,” the House Elf said without looking at them. “I hope your sleeping arrangements were to your liking?”

Harry felt himself blushing as he thought about sharing a bed with Ginny. He was pleased to see that she also was embarrassed by the question.

“If you do not like the bed, I will change it first thing this morning,” apologized the old House Elf. He looked ashamed that they hadn’t complimented him on the bed.

“The bed is fine, Gadget,” said Ginny. “Do not change anything until we tell you.”

“Yes, Mistress, I didn’t know what you wanted for breakfast so I prepared tea along with the coffee for your guests. What is you having for breakfast?”

“Where are our guests?” asked Harry anxiously. He was eager to see this Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. He was curious what they looked like, and he wanted to ask them questions about his parents.

“Your guests are downstairs planning your education. They have been down there all night. We’s been taking coffee to them all night.”

“Gadget, we will join them downstairs,” said Ginny. “Can you bring us down toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon with our tea?”

“Yes, Mistress, as you wish,” said the old House Elf. His gray hair fell forward over his face hiding his ping pong ball sized gray-eyes.

They went to walk down the service steps to the lower levels of the house. “How many house elves does your family have Ginny?”

She looked at him and laughed. “None, mum uses us to do all her work.”

“I thought all magical families employed House Elves?”

“No, not all magical families own House Elves, and the ones that do don’t employ them they own them.”

Harry stopped and looked at her. “Gadget is my slave?” he asked with horror showing on his face.

“Yes, he is,” she said hesitantly. “Only wealthy wizards can afford to buy them, and then they own them for life.”

“People accept that? No one questions owning another person?”

Ginny reached up and stroked his cheek. “Look, it is only a part of our culture, but you must remember that they are not humans.”

“That is wrong,” he said forcefully.

“Harry, please I am not very good at debating issues like this with you. I am only nine.”

Harry looked at her. She didn’t look nine, maybe nineteen, but never nine. He started to laugh at her comment. “Sorry, I don’t like hearing about people having their freedoms taken away. Let’s find your brother and my parents’ friends.”

Ginny smiled a warm loving smile at him. “I am glad you care about others the way you do.”

They continued to walk down to the next lower level. It was empty, or devoid of people. It was filled with a couple of desks and rows upon rows of shelves filled with food and supplies for the estate. Without even speaking they continued across this room and went to the lowest level of the house. It was where the link to Gringotts bank was located.

Harry could hear Bill talking to two other men. His heart rate sped up in anticipation of what these two men would look like. Would they recognize him as being Harry Potter? He didn’t have long to think about as they descended the steps to the vault area. Bill was sitting at a desk facing the stairwell. He saw Ginny and him descending the stairs and leaned out to look at them.

The two other men had their backs to them so they didn’t notice Harry and Ginny entering the room until Bill waved them over. Harry wanted to stand here. He wasn’t sure what the people would think of him. Ginny kept walking and pulling him with her.

The other two men looked much older than Bill. He wasn’t even sure how old they were, but their hair seemed to be tinged with gray. Both looked nearly sixty year old. He didn’t think his parents looked that old. Had they prematurely aged due to being a werewolf and imprisoned in Azkaban? He was nervous about them blaming him for their misfortunes, but Ginny reassured him that he was not the cause of their problems. It was Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew.

The two men turned to look at them. They were standing up from the chairs they were seated in. The taller one took one look at him and Ginny and nearly fainted.

“James, Lily,” he said weakly as he seemed to fall back down in his chair. He was off balance and it took his friend grabbing his shoulders to keep him from falling.

“Sirius, it is Harry. Look at his eyes, he has Lily’s green eyes,” said the other man.

Harry now knew that the taller of the two was Sirius Black, so the older one with torn and repaired clothes would be Remus Lupin.

“Harry,” Sirius Black started talking slowly as he seemed to regain his composure. “I am sorry, if I mistook you for your father. You look so much like him. So very much like him, except you have your mother’s eyes. James was so happy that you were developing green eyes like your mother.

“Let me introduce myself, I am Sirius Black of the most Ancient and vile House of Black. James befriended me, Remus, and another we won’t mention on our first train ride to Hogwarts. James became my best friend all throughout school. He even made me your godfather.”

“I know, Mr. Black,” said Harry. He was slightly nervous about the way this man was staring at him. Even though he had a drawn face and hollow eyes, his gaze was extremely intense and unnerved Harry. “I viewed a memory from my father. He said that I could trust the two of you. I asked for you two to help me.

“Will you help Bill teach and protect me?”

Sirius dove for him. He moved so quick that Harry clenched his fist to defend Ginny and him. Harry allowed himself to be engulfed in two very strong arms.

“I swore to protect you and your parents,” he whispered in Harry’s ear. “I will die this time before anyone harms you.”

Harry stood there in shock. He didn’t want this man to die for him, but he was afraid to refuse his offer.

“Harry, I am Remus Lupin, and I also will protect you with my life. Your father was the best friend anyone could ever have. I owe him a huge debt. I may not be as dramatic as Sirius is, but I am no less sincere.”

Sirius let go of Harry when Remus stated he was dramatic.

“Dramatic am I,” snapped Sirius.

“Yes, you are definitely over the top, mate,” countered Remus with a smile. “But, you have always been that way.”

Sirius smiled at his friend. The smile made him look so different. Gone was the haunted look that seemed to emanate from him. He now looked happy. He was not hugging Harry anymore, but he still had his hand on Harry’s shoulder. He turned back and stared in Harry’s eyes.

“I may be a bit dramatic, but I will not let any harm come to you as long as I am alive. I couldn’t be there to protect your father and mother. I will be there for you.”

“But…” Harry started to protest, but Sirius cut him off.

“Do not argue with me. This is important to me. You have no idea how much I owe your father. Protecting you will be the only thing that will make my life worthwhile.”

“Why? What did my father do for you?”

Remus and Sirius both smiled with moist eyes.

“Let me tell you about your father, Prongslet,” laughed Sirius.

“Prongslet?” questioned Harry.

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Sirius leaned back away from Harry. “You are just as cheeky as your father, you know that, Prongslet.”

“You know I hate that name. It makes me sound like a girl,” protested Harry.

“Yeah, I know,” said Sirius with a smirk.

“Which way do we go?” asked Bill trying to get everyone back on task.

Harry looked at all of the openings. He could feel the icy chill of dark magic from one of the openings more than the others. It would make sense that that was the place where Ron was.

“This way,” Harry said pointing at the one opening.

“All right Remus…,” Sirius started to say.

“We all know the drill Sirius,” snapped Ginny. “Let’s get moving.”

Harry looked at his wife. He could feel her concern for her brother rolling off her like smoke from a fire. One didn’t even need to have a connection through a soul bond to understand that. Remus and Sirius smiled at Harry, as though to say good luck with this one, before walking through the tunnel opening.

The tunnel was short only about ten feet long, and it opened into a massive cavern. Casting his Lumos into the shadows he saw that all the tunnels opened out into this cavern. They walked for a few minutes, when he noticed Ginny was staring at the smooth floor.

“What is wrong?” he asked her.

“What made this path?”

Harry looked more carefully at the path they were walking on. It was worn smooth compared to the rough stones on each side of it. It wasn’t only smooth, but it was slightly depressed, as if whatever made this was round. He suddenly started to wonder how big this basilisk was.

“Merlin’s y-pants,” muttered Remus, as he and Sirius stopped walking. They were shining their wand light at something off to the left side.

Harry looked around them, and didn’t notice anything unusual at first. Then he noticed it. It was a snake skin that looked to be nearly six feet across at least sixty feet long, if not eighty.

“Is that a basilisk skin?” he asked shocked at the sheer size of the beast. Everyone turned and looked at him. “I know it was a stupid question.”

“It doesn’t matter what type of beast. Anything that big can be lethal,” said Bill.

“It had better be a basilisk or our plan won’t work,” stated Remus soberly. “I guess we need to move along and find out what we will be facing.”

They fell into line again with Sirius Black leading the front of the column. Even though the present formation was a routine and used so often before today, they still all moved with a sense of purpose and caution.

This cave seemed to go on forever. Maybe it was the urgency that they all moved, or it was the fact that Harry had expected to be in and out of the cave within minutes. It could take hours to search this cave, if they weren’t on the correct path.

“Harry, we have another door,” said Sirius from up front.

Harry took Ginny’s hand. Holding her hand had always comforted him. Right now he needed it, and it felt like she needed it also. He didn’t know what was bothering her, but it had her afraid.

“What is wrong? Don’t you feel Ron on the other side of the door?”

Ginny looked at him. “I feel two presences on the other side of the door, but one is getting stronger as the other weakens. It is like one is drawing the life from the other.”

“Could it be a Dementor?” asked Bill.

“There is only one way to find out,” stated Sirius. “Harry, open it please.”

Harry stepped up and stared at the door decorated in snakes. The words quickly hissed from his mouth. The ancient door unlocked and swung open with little effort. Sirius flung himself at Harry knocking him to the ground and covering Harry with his body. The entire tunnel was in panic. Harry could hear shouting from around him. Finally, Sirius stated that Harry was going to be fine and stood up.

“Sorry to scare everyone,” said Sirius meekly. “I thought it would have been on the other side of the door.”

“You could have told me to close my eyes,” protested Harry. He had been driven into a dirty spot to the side of the worn path.

“I said I was sorry,” stated Sirius again clearly agitated that everyone was glaring at him. “I am going through the door. Do you girls want to join me?”

“Lead on, mate,” ordered an irritated Remus.

The five of them went through the opening in the proper order: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, then Harry and Ginny followed by Bill. They entered a large chamber. There was a strange pale green glow at the far end of the chamber. The sides had some type of construction. At the distance Harry couldn’t tell what it was. The place was easily larger than any hall Harry had ever been in. It appeared to be almost the size of a Quidditch Pitch. The only sounds were the constant dripping of water from somewhere in Chamber.

Ginny seemed to stiffen. Harry turned to her and saw her staring wide-eyed at the far end of the chamber.

“Ron is down there, and he is still alive,” she whispered hopefully.

“Let’s go then,” said Harry.

“There is someone else down there. Off to the left side in the shadows,” she whispered to Harry and everyone else.

“Let’s walk slowly down there and find out what is going on,” said Bill.

The group of five walked slowly towards the other side of the chamber. As they walked, Harry became aware that the huge things on each side of the chamber were actually sculptures of huge snakes. He started to worry that they would become animated with a spell. He doubted that anyone in the group would survive an attack by these huge snakes.

As they approached the far end of the chamber, Ron’s prone figure became clearer. He was lying prostrate by a reflecting pool. That was reflecting the statue of Salazar Slytherin. The statue reached from the reflecting pool to roof of the cave some thirty feet above them. The closer they got to Ron, the harder Ginny pulled on Harry’s left hand to get to her brother. When they had finally reached Ron, Ginny dropped on her knees beside him and lifted his head up in an embrace.

“Release whatever spell you have over him,” she ordered the person hiding. “Or I will break it.”

“I am afraid I can’t do that,” said person with a high pitched voice.

Everyone looked and saw a handsome young man stepping out of the shadows of Slytherin’s statue.

“You will find that you cannot break the spell either. You see this boy is the one that initiated the spell, and only he can break it. He won’t do that, because he can’t.” The young man looked at each person with a puzzled expression. “I am at a loss; this chamber was only accessible to the heir of Salazar Slytherin. How were you able to find it?”

“If this chamber was only accessible to the heir of Slytherin, then how did Ron find it? He is a Gryffindor,” asked Sirius.

“Why I told him. I am the true heir of Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Hogwarts four,” the young man announced with great pride.

“I thought Voldemort was the only true heir of Slytherin,” countered Sirius.

The young man stared at Sirius with a stare of cold fury. “Who are you to speak the Great Lord Voldemort’s name?”

“I am Sirius Black, and you are not a Lord or great. You are just evil, Tom Riddle.” hissed Sirius.

“I grow tired of your disrespect. It is time to die.” He started to hiss in Parseltongue. Harry could understand the snake language. “Come my pet and feed. Kill the five, but leave the young one for me.”

The hissing echoed throughout the chamber sounding like it was coming from all around. Harry listened as the basilisk answered Tom Riddle. “I come master. I have not killed for so long.”

“It is coming,” shouted Harry.

“Where is it coming from?” asked Bill.

Harry couldn’t tell because of the echo in the chamber. However, when the Slytherin’s statue’s mouth slid open, Harry pointed at it. “There!”

“You three keep the basilisk busy,” ordered Remus. “Whatever you do don’t stare at its eyes. I need to prepare the trap.”

Tom Riddle started to laugh. “You fools cannot stop my pet. It shall kill you and eat you while I watch.”

“You are too cocksure of yourself,” snapped Sirius with a grin.

Harry stood there casting Sensory Charms so he could tell where the Basilisk was. He knew he would not be able to hold off the monster for long. Ginny was still kneeling over Ron cradling his head. He needed to touch her to access her magic. Standing over her he laid his hand on her shoulder. He felt a surge of magical energy course through him. Bill smiled at him, while Tom Riddle stared at him confused.

Remus pulled a sack from his magical pocket in his trousers. It was lumpy and was moving. He had brought some type of an animal to fight the great beast of a basilisk. The ground in the chamber shook as the basilisk flopped into the reflecting pool. Harry could feel it moving at him and Ginny at incredible speed. With a flick of his wrist he sent a Blasting Charm at it, and hoped his aim was good.

An explosion and loud a hiss followed by the sounds of the monster colliding with stone indicated that he was accurate.

“Good shot Harry,” shouted Bill. “Are you two ready to kill that thing?”

Remus reached into the sack and pulled out a chicken with a blindfold covering its head. “We are now.”

“A chicken!” exclaimed Bill. “You are going to kill that thing with a chicken?”

Bill fired a blasting curse at the basilisk. It was now weary of being cursed and avoided the curse. Harry started firing off curses as fast as he could to keep the giant snake from clamping its massive jaws on them. They wore dragon hide cloaks so that the basilisk couldn’t bite through them, but this beast is so large the power of its jaws would crush them regardless if the fangs penetrated their flesh.

“It isn’t a chicken mate,” said Sirius. “It is a rooster and time to say good morning.”

With a flourish, he pulled the blindfold off the rooster and flashed a beam of bright light from his wand. The bird fluffed its feathers for a second before it let out a loud cackling crow that echoed off the walls of the chamber.

At the exact same time, the giant snake let out a sound that was a mix of a hiss and a scream. It then flopped down dead with a loud crash that shook the entire chamber.

“You may have killed my pet. Once I have completely regenerated, I will kill you all,” Voldemort shouted.

“You may actually be that powerful,” said Bill casually. He walked over and picked up the diary lying on the stone floor. Bill waved his wand at the diary as it glowed green. He nodded to the other members of the group, indicating his suspicions were correct. He pointed his wand back behind him towards the dead basilisk. With a flick of his wand, a large cloth shot out of his wand and floated down over the head of the giant snake.

“I am not sure if their eyes will still kill after they are dead, but I didn’t want to take the chance,” said Bill calmly, as he walked towards the snake. Bill walked up to the mouth of the snake. The snake was so large that its jaws were almost as high as Bill’s shoulder. The mouth was slightly opened and was partially exposed near the tip of the snout. Bill’s accuracy with the cloth was amazing without looking in the direction of his spell. He placed the book in the mouth of the basilisk.

“No don’t do that,” screamed Voldemort as he ran towards Bill.

“Good bye Tom,” said Bill.

He waved his wand and a large stone appeared above the basilisk’s jaw. It fell down onto the jaw and slammed the mouth shut. The seven inch fangs of the snake pierced the diary through in two places. The venom from the teeth seemed to burn the book as a black fluid that resembled ink flowed out of it.

Voldemort’s piercing scream echoed off the chambers walls and ceiling. His body seemed to be burning as it turned to red hot ash and floated away. Soon all was silent and the young Voldemort was gone.

Ginny had been holding onto Ron trying to keep Voldemort from consuming his soul too quickly. Ron suddenly woke up and looked up at her with a shocked expression on her face. “What, where, who are you” he shouted.

Ginny released her hold on him and leaned back. “Hi, Ron, I am glad you are all right,” her voice wavered with emotion. “I am Ginny, your sister.”

Ron stared at her. He looked at her up and down. “No way are you Ginny,” he protested. “She is only eleven.”

Bill stepped forward now. “Hey little brother, you remember me…,”

“Bill,” Ron nearly shouted. “If you are here,” he looked at Ginny again. “Are you actually Ginny?”

“Yes, Ron, I am. I have changed since you last saw me.”

Ron sat up a little and stared at Harry, then Sirius and Remus. His eyes shifted to something behind Harry. “Is that- that..,”

“Yes, Ron that is my husband, Harry Potter,” said Ginny.

“What,” said Ron? “Yeah that is him isn’t it but where did that ruddy chicken come from?”

Harry turned to see the rooster standing on top of the huge snake. It pecked at its tough scales before letting out a loud crow, as if it was celebrating its defeat of this huge monster.

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