Classes started again as well as all the tutoring and the extra lessons Harry had to take, and then finally Quidditch practise. Harry, who had not been allowed to fly after the near-fatal Quidditch game against Slytherin a month ago and had only been secretly flying as Icicle during this time, enjoyed the ride on this broom a lot. It was just different from flying as a bird. The first game of the New Year against Ravenclaw was planned for the beginning of May, so they had lots of time to practise, but James was determined to win the Quidditch cup this year.

“I don’t mind if it’s dark and cold, I want to take the Quidditch cup at the end of the year, so go on you lazybones! Or don’t you want to win?” James shouted at them one evening, after it had continually snowed for hours and the team had the impression their limbs were going to freeze.

“Um… James…” Harry tried. As much as he loved flying, he didn’t want to catch a cold again just of playing Quidditch in the snow, especially as he seemed to be prone to colds recently. “Um… you know, um… the game against Ravenclaw will be in May, so I don’t think we really need so much practise in the snow.”

The rest of the team nodded their thanks gratefully. “Yes, prongs,” Sirius agreed. “Let’s get inside and warm up!”

“Thanks Harry,” Frank whispered to him in the changing rooms.

“No problem,” Harry replied mischievously, “I had to leave anyway because I have lessons with Dumbledore in 15 minutes.”

-----

On Sunday afternoons, Harry and Severus were researching the Potion to send Harry back. Harry had spoken to his Great Grandparents and received the promise that he wouldn’t be forced to go back to the future as soon as the Potion was ready but would be allowed to stay in the past until the end of the year. When the others would leave for summer holidays, he would go to the future for another 6th year – provided they had found a way to go.

So far, they hadn’t come even a little closer to their aim. Harry managed to stay quiet relaxed, knowing that they still had several months and that the best Potions Master of this AND his own time was working on it. And in the worst case he would just be stuck here as friends of this parents and future teacher’s – things could be worse.

One Sunday Severus seemed to be radiant. “Harry, I have thought about something!” Harry watched him amusedly. His friend, whom normally nothing could unsettle, seemed to be quite excited.

“So far I have only thought about fluid Potions. But maybe we could try to make a powder like floo powder to be used in the fireplace.”

“Wow, that’s a great idea! Do you think it will work?”

Severus snorted. “Of course it will work. The only tiny problem is that we still have to invent the powder – please think about that before you get too excited!”

“Oh, yes. Do you have any idea how floo powder is made at all?”

Severus nodded. “Of course I have researched it. Floo powder is made of fairy dust and essence of whirlwind, both of them being ingredients which are provided for at any apothecary.”

Harry eyed his friend with deep respect.

“I have already sent an owl to the apothecary at Hogsmeade, and the ingredients should arrive any time now,” Severus continued, peering into the cauldron he was working at.

“Will an owl be able to find you here in the dungeons?” Harry asked curiously.

Severus laughed and pointed to a small flap at the very upper part of the wall.

“Do you know what this flap is for?”

“No.” Harry shook his head negating.

“Behind this flap is a channel in the wall which leads directly to the owlery. Actually, there is a whole system of channels behind the walls. Each room in the dungeon is connected to it in order to be able to receive mail in the dungeons.”

“Wow, what a cool system.” Harry was impressed. He had never even thought about how people were able to get their mail down here. “So what are we going to do now?”

“I’m not sure how to proceed. Of course we have to do a few tests about the interactions of floo powder and other ingredients, but we must also do a lot of research in the library.”

“And I would probably be more efficient in the library than here,” Harry added.

“Yes,” Severus admitted. “However, I have to do some research as well, and I will also need your help with the Potions, because we will have to run lots of tests.”

“How will we be able to test if it works?”

“Very easily. We can use rats and use the Potions classroom’s fireplace to send them from today to tomorrow. No problem with that.”

Harry eyed his friend in awe. He was just incredible.

“Close your mouth Harry. You need to be creative; otherwise you won’t be able to invent anything.”

Harry laughed. “I’m not planning on inventing anything. That’s what I have you for…”

During the next weeks, they spent every free minute in the library. They were so engaged in their research that Harry had started to miss meals again, much to the annoyance of this grandmother, who dragged him to the Hospital Wing each night for his nutrient Potions. Harry was very annoyed.

“Couldn’t I just get them with my breakfast? I hate going up there to the dragon, and it’s such a waste of time; I need the time for my homework and my studies. You know I need a lot of time for my research with Severus.”

“No.” Professor McGonagall said sternly. “You know exactly when the meal times are, and you are supposed to observe them. I would prefer having you here for another year than sending you back even thinner and unhealthier than you were before. I expect you to improve your attitude.”

Harry sighed watching his shoes. He knew he wouldn’t be able to promise anything.

-----

One day Lily asked him, “What is it that you are researching all the time? You hardly spend any time in the common room anymore.”

“Oh, Severus and I are doing a special project for Potions, and for that we are researching the interactions of floo powder with other possible Potions ingredients.”

The Marauders’ eyes grew larger. “And why, please, should that be more interesting than playing pranks with us on the Slytherins?”

Harry laughed. Such a question could only come from Sirius. But he resolved to spend more time with the Gryffindors during the next months. Maybe he could get them to do some research as well… As far as he knew, the Marauders’ Map had been made in the Marauders’ sixth year, but so far, he hadn’t seen or heard anything about it, and as Peter wasn’t there any more, maybe they would need help this time.

“If you want to do some research as well, how about producing a map of Hogwarts that shows every person in the castle? It would be great for playing pranks, if you could see exactly where people were and who was nearby.”

“HARRY!!!” James embraced him. “That’s the best idea you’ve ever had, Cool!”

“But unfortunately your help will be requested as well,” Remus said mischievously.

“Yes, I know. We will probably have to make use of my abilities to flash anywhere, as well as of Lily’s abilities to fly.”

“How about we ask Severus for help as well? As a snake he will be able to reach places we would never have access to,” Lily suggested.

“Oh, I don’t think he’ll have time for it, because he seems to be even busier than me with the Potions research,” Harry countered, weakly trying to keep Lily closer to James than to Severus.

“You could ask him anyway. But when and where could we meet with him?” James inquired. “We don’t want the whole castle to know about it.”

“We could meet every Wednesday after Quidditch practise and every Saturday night after dinner in the Room of Requirement. I will speak to Severus about it tomorrow.”

As Harry could have imagined, Severus was all for helping with the map, and so the six students started working on examining the castle’s passages two nights a week. Fortunately, his grandmother had finally deemed him able to control his magic, so that he didn’t need their private lessons anymore. Otherwise, he really would have problems to find time for his normal homework.

-----

One day several weeks later, Severus seemed very disappointed.

“What’s wrong,” Harry asked, when he sat next to him for their charms lesson.

“During the last few weeks I have made a lot of tests concerning the interaction of floo powder and several plants and herbs, and I came to the conclusion that it’s not possible to mix them. All Potions I tried with a combination of the essence of whirlwind and some kind of plant or herb exploded.”

“Ooops,” was all Harry could add in his disappointment.

“So the only possibility to get it to work as we hope will be to mix it with certain ingredients of animals, but the problem is that we probably won’t be able to use non-magical animals, because the fairy dust only can be combined with magical plants or animals.”

“And what is wrong with that?” Harry interrupted.

Severus glared at him. “How do you think you will get ingredients of magical animals? The only magical animal we have access to is a phoenix, but as far as I know phoenix feathers or even phoenix tears are only useful in Healing Potions! We have to do a lot more research to come up with something.”

In the middle of the night, Harry was suddenly wide-awake. ‘the Basilisk, that’s it’ he thought. He changed into Icicle, imagined Severus sleeping in his bed in the Slytherin dungeons, and flashed over to his friend. He changed into his human form and put a strong silencing and notice-me-not spell around Severus’ bed, before he woke his friend.

“Harry! What’s wrong? What are you doing here? Are you ill or something?”

“No, Severus, listen. I’ve remembered something. Have you ever heard about the Chamber of secrets? There is a Basilisk in the chamber, and we have access to it!”

Severus listened stunned. “Is it still alive?”

“Yes, of course. I killed it in my 2nd year, so it must still be alive now.”

“You killed it? How? Do you know dangerous that was? You could have easily been killed!”

“Yes I know, but I couldn’t help it. Voldemort let it loose on me and a friend of mine. Fawkes even helped me and saved my life.”

“All right, but first I don’t know yet if we have use for basilisk’s ingredients, and secondly we have to talk to your grandfather about the chamber. He will know what we can do. Let’s go back to sleep, we’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

-----

Harry flashed back to his own bed and kept dreaming about basilisks with big yellow eyes. Soon he was awake again and decided to visit Fawkes. He flashed over to the Headmaster’s Office and saw that Fawkes was asleep but his grandfather was already sitting behind his desk reading the Daily Prophet.

As his grandfather greeted him, “Good morning Harry, you’re early today,” he quickly changed back into his human form. He told his grandfather about their research and the problem they encountered, as well as his memory about the chamber of secrets and the events, which occurred in his second year at Hogwarts. Dumbledore became very pensive.

“Do you know that the chamber has been opened before, a girl has been killed and Hagrid has been accused of it, wrongly as I have always presumed?”

“Yes, Granddad. It was Tom Riddle, who opened the chamber at that time. Hagrid couldn’t even have done it, because you need to be able to speak Parseltongue to open it!”

“Is that so Harry? Can you prove it and would you be willing to do so? I mean… in order to prove Hagrid’s innocence? I don’t know if he would want to continue his studies again, but at least he would be allowed to have a wand again.”

Harry sighed. “I hate people knowing that I’m a Parselmouth, but I would do anything for Hagrid. He was the first friend I had; he was the first one who gave me a birthday present and even made a birthday cake for me, the first one I had ever received. For whom should I want to do something if not for him?”

“All right. I am very proud of you Harry. I will speak to Moody about this. Maybe we have to tell him about your coming from the future, because how else can we ask for help with killing a Basilisk that nobody is supposed to know of. And we should vanquish the Basilisk before anyone else has the idea to open the chamber.”

“No, Grandfather, wait. I have an idea. We won’t need help with the Basilisk, not only because I managed on my own, only with the help of Fawkes and the sword of Gryffindor, but because I’m a phoenix now. The Basilisk cannot kill me when I’m in the phoenix form, so I’ll be able to look into those big yellow eyes without danger. I will pick the eyes out first, then change back and kill him as I did the last time. You and Severus and whoever you deem fit to join us will even be able to help me after I have picked his eyes out.” He jumped out of his chair with excitement.

“That sounds quite good Harry. Would you mind if I pulled Professor Flitwick into the circle of people who know about you? I will put him under a charm so that he won’t be able to talk about your origin, as I did with Severus. And later we will obliviate him as well.”

“I don’t mind Grandfather. You may speak to whom you deem trustworthy and necessary to help. Just don’t forget to obliviate them afterwards. And after we have killed the Basilisk and collected all the Potions ingredients Severus can use, you can talk to the Aurors or whoever about Hagrid.”

“I would propose not to speak about it to your grandmother for the moment, because she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore with worry about you.”

Harry couldn’t help laughing. “Speaking of Granny… I have to run for breakfast. Thanks Granddad, bye.”

Although he was already late in the Great Hall he took his time to walk by the Slytherin table to exchange a few words with Severus before sitting at the Gryffindor table, very well aware of the stern eyes watching him from the Head Table.

A few days later McGonagall came to Harry during breakfast. “Mr. Pane, Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak to you and Mr. Snape tonight after dinner.”

“But Professor, we have Quidditch practise,” Sirius protested immediately.

“Then I’m afraid you will have to practise without your Seeker today,” was the sharp reply.