“This is just stupid,” Harry Potter said under his breath.

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Severus Snape, the 'batty professor of the dungeons', had not heard his complaint. The faint rumble of thunder could be heard throughout the Chamber of Secrets, echoing and repeating against the rock walls and snake statues.

Harry shuddered and wrapped his robe closer around himself. He was serving detention with the potions master and it was not going well. At first, he had been left to scrub cauldrons and chop up ingredients for the next day's lesson, but then he had opened his mouth and then everything had went wrong.

He wanted nothing more than to turn and run out of the chamber. He expected to see young Tom Riddle jumping out of every shadow. The Basilisk was dead – it was the reason they were there – but he still thought he heard slithering sounds. It was nerves, he told himself.

“Hurry up, Potter, we haven't got all night. Do you know where the Basilisk's body is or not?” Professor Snape asked, his tone biting.

Harry frowned. “It's just up here, sir. Through this door.”

One last password in Parseltongue and then they were in the main Chamber. The one where Ginny Weasely had almost died... the one where Harry had almost died. The boy felt his heart thud harder against his chest.

“Right there,” the boy pointed to the large, coiled shadow at the other end of the long room. He stopped, not wanting to get any closer. “I'll just wait here, sir.”

“Fine,” Snape said, pulling an empty vial out of his robe pocket. “It should not take long for me to retrieve some remaining parts.”

Harry watched as his teacher walked over to the dead, decaying creature. Snape poked and prodded, grasping and
breaking until he had all the pieces that he desired for his potions stores. In less than ten minutes they were retreating back through the door.

“I believe that will be all for tonight, Potter,” Snape said, feeling gracious. “Once we get out of here, you can return to your tower.”

Harry nodded, but remained silent. While he was glad to be out of detention early, he knew that nightmares would be waiting for him in the Gryffindor tower. Nightmares that always ended with Ginny dying.

Swallowing hard, Harry pushed aside his fears and followed Severus Snape from the chamber.