On the stone floor of the chamber, there was a dark red stain covering an area about half the size of a person. A patch of sticky, dried blood. When Harry knelt down to look at it closely, he could make out two different colours and there was an even larger stain of ink next to it.
“Probably about half of it,” he estimated, missing the look shared between McGonagall and Flitwick. “It’s okay though, I was only hurt for a couple of minutes before Fawkes healed me up.”
“Bloody bird didn’t replace any of that blood though, did it?” Snape muttered, Harry thought he was having a bad effect on the man.
“That thing is bloody massive!” That was a seventh year Slytherin. He was waving his arms to try to get them to take in the form of the basilisk. “Like seriously, is nobody else seeing this?”
The boy looked around at the rest of them wildly, “I mean sure, that’s quite a lot of blood, I understand. But what I’m saying is, in a fight between this and the Knight Bus, the bus would crumple. Look at the size of those fangs!”
Everybody did, out of convention.
“One of those went through Potter! That kid is scrawny now, do you remember what he was like four years ago? Are we sure he killed it?”
“The boy has a point,” McGonagall said to Snape. “I remember having Potter and the Weasley’s in my office after the event. Now I have seen the monster, I am amazed they were not crushed.”
“You have said it before, Minerva. ‘Sheer, dumb luck’.”
Harry frowned, “Why do all Slytherins think I’m scrawny?”
“Well you are a little thin, Harry.” Hermione said.
Snape clapped his hands loudly and stepped forward.
“Right, now we are here, let us get down to work. You will all have plenty of time to look at the creature. Mr Creevey, you may take photographs as you will but do not go more than 10 metres away from a Professor, or your camera will be confiscated. Hufflepuffs, Professor McGonagall will be escorting you along the passage with what we harvest.”
They all nodded, Colin looked worried but said ‘Yes, Sir’ along with the others.
“Good, the rest of you will be helping me. Potter, you and your newfound skill had better be prepared to help Professor Flitwick with any charms he needs casting. If any one of you needs medical assistance in any form, do not hesitate to look for help. It would be unfortunate to have to explain to the headmaster why we had to return some of you in a bucket.”
As Snape began to explain to Hermione and the Slytherins how to begin removing the basilisk’s scales, Harry followed Flitwick who was casting spells to examine the wards on the room. Occasionally the professor would have Harry repeat a charm in parseltongue, and Harry had to retrieve the tiny corn snake from Draco in order to keep up with the pronunciation challenges. Colin decided to tag along with them since they were wandering around the huge chamber rather than staying in one place.
What Harry hadn’t noticed last time was that the huge statue of Slytherin, while enormous, was not confined to only the head and shoulders. When Professor Flitwick sent a beam of light from his wand deep into the depths of the flooded water next to the statue, they could see, just, the front of a robe which descended far down past the end where the light ended.
“This thing’s huge!” Colin exclaimed.
Flitwick looked dazed, “How much effort would this have taken to build? Do you think he did this by himself? He must have had help! It would have taken months otherwise.”
“He did build like a quarter of Hogwarts.” Harry said, “So he can’t have been too bad at building stuff.”
There was a loud rushing noise behind them and the three of them turned in time to see a burst of fire leap out from the side of the corpse to collide with Blaise Zabini. The next second Harry and the Charms professor were sprinting back towards the others.
Professor Snape was on full alert and was close enough to be able to catch the Slytherin as he fell. Draco Malfoy of all people was the one to smother the fire at its source, conjuring a thick blanket out of nothing. Flitwick had the first aid kit open within seconds and was pulling potions and bandages out. Seeing that the boy was going to be fine, Snape ordered the rest of the students to get back to work.
Harry was about to ask Snape if there was anything he could do to help when they were both distracted by a strange noise from the other end of the chamber. They both looked up just in time to see Colin Creevey drop his camera on the stone floor. A moment later, he slid over the edge into the deep water and disappeared from sight.
Harry was there almost instantly with his wand out. The first spell he cast was a lumos charm and as they both peered into the dark, even Snape gasped.
About ten metres down, and diving fast, was the largest Kelpie Harry had ever seen. The giant, horselike creature was a beautiful, scaly blue. Its mane was made of bulrushes and from what they could see, Colin was tangled up in them, fighting to get away. The boy had his wand out but obviously wasn’t managing to cast any spells. Colin was one of those who had opted to not use a bubblehead charm and now he was struggling from the lack of oxygen.
Harry barely thought before diving in.
The water was freezing. Harry had forgotten quite how difficult it was to swim outside of the prefects’ bathroom. It was definitely more demanding without the fins that Gillyweed gave you and the air in his bubble tasted stale and heavy with moisture too.
As he got closer to the animal, he realised that he hadn’t actually thought of a plan. He knew that putting some sort of bridle on the Kelpie would calm it down, but he didn’t have anything to fix on. Instead, he went straight for where Colin was struggling with the rushes. Harry began to cast cutting hexes as fast as he could, he pulled Colin close to him so that the boy was able to take deep breaths from Harry’s air bubble. Unfortunately, to cast the cutting spells, he had to cancel the lumos and they were plunged into darkness.
Harry was able to clear away the rushes, but new ones kept appearing. It felt like Devil’s Snare and in the pitch black, it was terrifying. He was scared that Colin was going to move and get cut by accident.
He was still fighting hard when the Kelpie stopped sinking, and started to rise up again. Its great head leading the way back up. Peering through the murky water, Harry could just make out a light above them.
He made a last-ditch effort to clear the two of them and when they were about 5 metres away, used ascendio; the same spell he had used in the second task to propel them out of the water.
They flew out and crashed down into the ground. Colin started throwing up water, and his coughing sounded awful. Harry just rolled over onto his back, looking up at the ceiling and breathing hard. He heard people shouting spells, but couldn’t find the energy to pay attention. After a few minutes, it quieted down and Harry became aware of Professor McGonagall trying to help Colin breathe.
Snape appeared, kneeling down next to Harry. The man was panting as well.
“Everything okay, Sir?” Harry asked weakly.
Snape sent him a withering look, but the effect was ruined slightly because the professor was swaying with exhaustion.
“One day,” he said. “You will stop to plan, or at least think, before running off. And everyone will be better off for it.”
“Has it gone?”
Snape looked over his shoulder, although there was no way he would be sitting here if anyone was not safe.
“Quite gone Potter. And it has not taken anyone with it this time either.”
Harry pushed himself up so he could look around. His eyes lit on Colin first, the boy seemed to be breathing properly, and was able to talk to McGonagall. Although he did keep having to stop so that he could cough.
Zabini was standing with Malfoy and Nott next to the basilisk and he seemed to be good as new. Flitwick was rushing around with Hermione by his side, casting charms over the water, probably to stop the Kelpie from resurfacing.
“Are we going to leave, sir?” Harry was slightly disappointed, it would be annoying to have to leave now. Even now he was getting his strength back. Although he was still soaked and freezing cold.
Snape looked like he was going to agree, but was interrupted by McGonagall.
“Certainly not, Potter. Where is your sense of adventure? I shall escort Mr Creevey back up to Madame Pomfrey, and we shall finish up here as quickly as possible.”
“Minerva?” Snape looked shocked, “Surely after this, it would be prudent for us to leave? There is no point in senselessly staying here when there is too much danger.”
“Severus, we are almost done. To stop now would mean that we would have to abandon these ingredients or arrange a second expedition. As Professor Flitwick has just erected such strong temporary wards, now really is the safest time to do this.” McGonagall cast a drying charm on Harry which warmed him up again and he felt mostly rejuvenated. “And you have yet to check for the specialised enchantments. You know that will be a weight on all of our minds until you have had a look.”
Snape nodded reluctantly, “We will be no longer than an hour then, and much less should Potter begin to look any worse.”
Professor McGonagall looked relieved and hurried to take away Colin and the Hufflepuffs with their next load of ingredients. Snape conjured a seat and forced Harry to take it, and then gave the Slytherins final instructions about what to focus on removing from the basilisk.
Snape was finally free to cast his own spells. He spent a lot of time muttering to himself and tapping his wand against the walls, floor and statues. Harry was amused to see that he had Colin’s camera slung over his shoulder.
Once, as he passed, Harry plucked up the courage to ask a question.
“Where do you think the Kelpie came from, Sir?”
Snape looked at him, irritated. “What do you mean, Potter? It’s a Kelpie, a water spirit. You should have covered them in your third year with Lupin.”
“Yes, sir. And one of the things Remus told us was that Kelpies can only live for about two hundred years.”
“And? You are babbling and I am in a hurry.”
“That means that the kelpie has to have got in here recently, doesn’t it? It’s huge, but even if it is three hundred, it hasn’t been here since Slytherin was. So there is probably a connection somewhere with the lake. That would explain how this place got flooded. Could there be a breach in the wards there?”
The professor considered for a moment. “Magical wards historically did not always extend over physical barriers, like walls. If Slytherin thought a wall would hold, then he would not have expended the energy in reinforcing it magically. That is possible.”
“And it would be fortunate for us as well,” Snape continued. “Because the lake lies entirely within Hogwarts grounds, so long as the wards around the school are intact, this cannot be a weak point.”
Flitwick came up to them, “Indeed Mr Potter, in fact, a breach down here might be best for us. We would not need to rely on the integrity of ancient spells. As far as I can see, the anti-apparition wards are functioning here and they are a more modern invention. In fact there may well be a double protection as some very antiquated spells are functioning too. ”
Snape agreed, “I have attempted a few detection spells as well, I do not believe the Dark Lord would risk trying to enter Hogwarts through here. And that was one of our main objectives today.”
Collecting everything up did not take long after that. When they had all packed everything into their bags and transfigured wheelbarrows, Snape herded all of the students out into the passage and Professor Flitwick set the remains on fire. McGonagall was back with the Hufflepuffs for this return journey, she looked tired out and gave Harry a grateful look when he offered to carry her bag in his wheelbarrow.
After the professors had made sure that the fire was put out- Snape remarked that it would be right at the end that they managed to burn the whole school down- they all set off back down the tunnel.
It was hard going and they didn’t envy the Hufflepuffs for making the journey so many times. Harry had to stop at the doors to the chamber to shut them properly. The teachers were on edge with so many of them moving volatile materials but they did eventually make it back safely.
McGonagall made Harry go up the pipe first. She told him that Madame Pomfrey was waiting for him at the top and that she would probably make him go to the hospital wing. Harry groaned.
“Merlin, Potter” Harry looked around, it was Draco that had spoken. “Do you actually have a death wish? You were almost drowned by a kelpie, why would you not want a healer?”
“I’m fine, Malfoy!” Harry said annoyed, “I had the bubblehead charm on the whole time, I only got a bit wet. I suppose you think I ought to have let my friend drown.”
Draco scoffed, “Potter, everyone knows you have a saving people thing. And you wouldn’t have made it back up here if Professor Snape hadn’t saved your skin. Do you ever actually fight anything smaller than a dragon?”
“Amen to that.” Hermione said under her breath. Only three people heard her though. Malfoy looked shocked, Harry was offended and Snape smug.
Harry wanted to retort, but was met by stern looks from the teachers. McGonagall told him to stand on the box and hold onto the rope and said it would be levitated up by the students in the bathroom above.
After the wandlit cavern downstairs, Harry was almost blinded by the light in the bathroom. The first thing that struck him was the delighted look on Professor Slughorn’s face, the man looked like it was Christmas again. The second thing was Madam Pomfrey grabbing him by the arm to pull him out of the pipe.
There wasn’t much that he could do as she bundled him into a waiting wheelchair and set off to the hospital wing. Pomfrey left strict instructions with Slughorn to send Zabini along as soon as he surfaced.
Harry tried to tell her that he was feeling fine but now that he was lying down, he found that all he really wanted to do was fall asleep.
He did manage to stay awake just long enough to see that Colin Creevey was fast asleep in his own bed.
“Are you happy now, you stubborn child?” Pomfrey asked him.
Harry nodded lazily, “He is alright, isn’t he?”
“Nothing wrong that a couple of days’ rest and some potions won’t fix up.”
“Good, I think he breathed in quite a lot of water.”
Pomfrey moved Harry off his chair and onto the bed he usually used in the hospital wing. He really hated this bed, altogether he had probably spent almost a whole term in it by now. Exhausted by the morning, he fell asleep.
A few hours later, Harry was woken up by the smell of food. Somebody had left a deep bowl of piping hot vegetable soup on a tray next to his bed. He was sitting up almost instantly and dug in. It seemed Madam Pomfrey wasn’t as cross with him as she had been before.
Sitting on the bed opposite was Blaize Zabini. The boy was making his way through a plate of sandwiches and looked as fed up as ever. Another Slytherin, Nott, was sitting in a chair next to him. Zabini’s little brother was there too, sitting cross legged at the end of the bed. The smaller boy seemed to be chatting with Nott and kept stealing sandwiches.
Blaise caught his eye.
“Welcome back to the world of the living, Potter.”
It wasn’t said unkindly and Harry nodded back, “It was only a nap. I’ve had worse.”
“You made Slughorn happy today. If you aren’t careful he might have you back in the Slug Club.”
“Ugh, I hope not. It took long enough to get myself thrown out!”
The brother, Etienne, Harry thought his name was, looked more enthusiastic than Harry had ever seen him.
“How was the quiddich match then?” Harry asked. Apparently this was the right question as the boy started explaining every detail of the match.
“We had two games and in the first one we got to try everything. Madam Hooch just split us up randomly so I was playing with Ravenclaws and Gryffindors and everything. I spent loads of time as a chaser and I scored six times, even though the other team had two keepers. It took ages to find the snitch, because everyone kept switching around and forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. So the score got up to 340 to 230, which was totally unfair because we were winning.”
“That’s great, well done! Did everyone have fun? Goodwin didn’t hurt herself, did she?”
Zabini laughed, “Most folk liked it. Everyone who didn’t want to play twice sat in the stands and watched the rest of us play more of a real match. There was about ten of us on each team though, so it was a bit crowded. Goodwin was alright, she only fell off her broom a couple of times. I was a beater that time and I managed to hit Riley in the head!”
Harry frowned, “I thought they weren’t going to have any beaters?”
“They didn’t let us use bludgers or anything. That Weasley girl told Hooch we should use these rubber ball things. They were a bit of a pain since they don’t fly, but if you throw them hard enough you can make someone drop the quaffle.”
Ginny was a genius, Harry thought to himself. That was a great way to make the game safer, a bit more like dodgeball, so it was safe enough for a pitch full of kids. Though maybe that was a bit unfair- he had been okay when he was eleven.
“So what was your secret mission?” The second year asked, “Are you allowed to tell us yet?”
The sixth years shared a look and shrugged at each other.
“It wasn’t much, Etienne.” Blaise said, “We went down to the Chamber of Secrets, I set myself on fire and Potter saved some muggleborn kid from drowning.”
Etienne- Harry was proud that he had the name right- looked completely gobsmacked. He kept looking between his brother, Harry and Colin. Nott was howling with laughter at the two brothers.
Harry felt particularly odd. Before today, he had never seen Nott excited and he had been like a little kid all day. He had never seen either of the Zabini’s show so much emotion before either. He had been almost convinced they didn’t feel anything much. Maybe they knew some Occlumency, Snape was a bit like that sometimes.
Slytherins were odd once you got to know them a bit.
Blaise nodded to him, “Potter, I saw you run over when I got burnt. Thanks for that.”
Harry shrugged, “It’s alright- like Malfoy said, I’ve got a thing about saving people. Besides, I didn’t have a clue what to do. I’m better when people are drowning.”
Nott grinned, “We used to laugh about that in fourth year. Dumbledore said you had ‘moral fibre’. We thought it made you sound like a breakfast cereal for old hags.”
Etienne had stolen another sandwich and jumped down onto the floor. He was scrutinising Colin from a distance. He glanced back at Harry.
“Isn’t he that Gryffindor who’s always taking photographs of everyone?”
Harry nodded. “He was taking photos of the chamber. Then this huge kelpie appeared and got hold of him somehow. He was probably trying to get it on film. I wonder if he did, Snape was looking after the camera the last time I saw.”
“Professor Snape had a camera before, when he was down in the Entrance Hall.” Etienne said. “He said he was going to brew that potion which makes the people in them move.”
“I hope they came out okay.” Nott said, “It’d be annoying if they didn’t.”
“They’ll be fine.” An annoyed voice said from the other end of the room. “I wouldn’t drop my camera, and even if I did, it’s full of protective spells! There’s so many waterproof, fireproof, shockproof and spellproof spells on it, I’ll be surprised if it ever breaks.”
“Colin!” Harry called, “How are you feeling?”
The Gryffindor went a little red. “I’m fine. Thanks Harry. I was taking photos of the statue and then the Kelpie appeared and I just felt like I had to climb onto it, you know?”
Harry nodded, “They’re like that. If you got a good picture of it, can I use it in my classes this week?” He shot a look at Etienne, “And don’t you tell anyone about that, it’ll put you ahead on the competition for prizes if you don’t.”
“What prizes?” Nott asked. Harry ignored him, that plan wasn’t concrete yet.
“Did you say Snape has my camera?” Colin asked, looking like he was about to march off to get it straight away.
Nott answered first, “Yep. He dragged Blaise along to see Madam Pomfrey as soon as we got up here. He hung around for a bit, got us all some food, then vanished off. Etienne appeared after that, so we figured he went back to the dungeons to brew the potion.”
Colin settled back into his pillows. Out of everyone, Snape was probably the only person he would trust to make a developing solution for his photographs.
Harry looked down at his empty soup bowl. So Snape had got him his food, how strange. Maybe the man was just making sure Harry wasn’t going to collapse later on.
Harry wondered how hard it was going to be to escape the hospital wing. Sometimes the matron insisted he stay for days longer than he needed and at other times, he was only there for minutes. He hoped he was allowed out sooner rather than later. He had lessons to plan and homework to do. He couldn’t afford to miss the whole weekend.
Almost as if she had heard these thoughts, Madame Pomfrey appeared out of her office. She stopped at Colin’s bed first, passing him a fizzing, yellow potion and making sure he drank it all. The boy fell asleep before he could give her the bottle back and she summoned it before it was able to shatter on the floor.
She made her way up the room to Zabini. She had a quick look at his side, declaring him fit and telling him he was free to go. He packed up his things, gave his brother an armful of food from his plate and then the three Slytherins left.
The matron tidied away the mess they had left before finally coming over to Harry. He tried to look as well as possible.
“How are you feeling?”
Harry gave her a small, hopeful smile, “I feel great!”
She merely raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I’m a bit tired, but I really do feel okay.”
Pomfrey looked a little disbelieving but relented. “If you are certain. Professor Snape told me that he and Professor McGonagall would like a word with you before dinner. I suggested you head to the staff room for five o’clock.”
Harry glanced up at the clock. It was quarter to three then at least there was a couple of hours to get some work done.
Harry entered the staff room at five to five and was surprised by how many teachers were in there on their day off. He made his way over to where McGonagall and Snape were sitting with a few other teachers. They were all relaxing back and listening to Madam Hooch’s enthusiastic retelling of the quiddich matches.
McGonagall was the first to notice him and she nudged Snape to get his attention. Harry became nervous when they both became suddenly more serious looking. He had assumed they just wanted some sort of debrief after the expedition.
Madame Hooch was the first to speak to him, stopping in the middle of her story.
“Ah, Potter! It is good to see you. Minerva said you managed to land yourself in the hospital wing again. Usually it’s quiddich that sends you there.”
Harry smiled at her, “Yes, I just got a bit worn out after collecting those ingredients. Madam Pomfrey made me stay there for a while.”
McGonagall snorted, “What he means by that Rolanda, is that he attempted to singlehandedly save a fifth year from the largest Kelpie I have ever seen.”
“Did he really?” Sprout asked. “I overheard Miss Granger telling Hagrid about Kelpies earlier but I imagined she was referencing some book. The story seemed too incredible. Which fifth year was it? Not one of mine, I hope?”
“Colin Creevey,” McGonagall answered, “That boy has the worst luck.”
Sprout gave her a kindly smile, “Maybe the boy was just curious. A couple of my badgers are like that. They find themselves in all sorts of trouble.”
Harry and McGonagall shared a look, they were dead certain Hufflepuffs made a particular effort to get into less trouble than Gryffindors did.
Snape stood up and beckoned to Harry, leading him across to the nearest of the tables at the side of the room.
“Mr Potter, I may not have any cauldrons left for you to clean, but we do have this.”
The man dragged over the staffroom teapot and emptied it with a flick of his wand.
Harry’s face fell, he should have guessed that this was going to happen.
“It was an incredibly stupid thing for you to do to jump into that tunnel without warning us first. I think you should take some time to think about why that was not the correct course of action. Additionally, diving into that water after Creevey, although brave, was undoubtedly idiotic.” He looked stern.
“You mentioned before the deplorable state of this teapot, and I agree that it is time to do something about it. Do not use any magic.”
Snape conjured up a bucket of hot water and a scouring brush.
Harry rolled his eyes and got to work. He should have known that Snape wouldn’t let him get away with anything.
“Detention again, Potter?” Harry glanced to the side to see Madam Hooch perch on the back of one of the sofas.
“I always seem to have one or two lined up.” Harry grinned, “I was talking to a second year earlier, they really seemed to enjoy the match!”
“Yes, a couple of them were fairly raving about it.”
“It was Zabini actually, he actually looked like a kid for once.”
“Yes, that boy has a mean arm. He would make a good beater or chaser but he gets a little bored with the quaffle. It was his friend Granville who caught the snitch in that second game though. That lad would make a good reserve seeker now that Malfoy is off the team. He even impressed Miss Weasley.”
Hooch took him through some of the finer points of the match which had gone over Zabini’s head. She seemed to be really enthusiastic about the whole thing and it sounded like she was planning to start a club for anybody who was interested in quiddich but didn’t make it into their house team.
Harry thought it was a great idea. He knew he was really lucky to have joined the team in first year. Most people didn’t manage it and they didn’t get much of a chance to play.
Cleaning the pot was surprisingly fast and Snape grudgingly let him go after another lecture where he had McGonagall as backup.
Dinner was a fairly comfortable affair. The house tables were buzzing with chatter and about half of the students looked excited about the day they had had. Even Dumbledore looked less fierce and he seemed to be having a fairly civil conversation with Professor Sprout and McGonagall.
Mrs Norris hissed at him again though – he supposed he couldn’t get on with everyone.
After dinner, Harry followed Snape up to a room near the library where there was a group of Slytherin and Ravenclaw first and second years studying.
Snape addressed them all. “Mr Potter will be supervising your study on Saturday evenings, behave while he is here. Potter has his own coursework to be getting on with. Your usual rules apply – if you get stuck then you may ask the person next to you for help, if neither of you can manage then you may ask for help. Do not abuse this, any chatting will earn you a detention.” Snape left the room.
Harry sank into the seat on the dais and unpacked his things. This study class seemed a lot more relaxed than the Gryffindor ones he had had up to his OWLs. Those had to be held in silence, and there was a low level voices here which was more comfortable.
He was able to finish his DADA essay before the first question came. Surprisingly it was from a Slytherin student about his own homework.
“Mr Potter,” Vaisey said, “For this question, is it supposed to be my home house or my school house?”
“Your own home.” Harry said. “There’s another question that’s supposed to be for Hogwarts.
“I thought it would be,” she said. “Which one do you want it for, our town house or country house?”
Harry blinked at her for a moment, then glanced at her question prompt. “Well, your question is asking about Vampires. Where do you think you’re more likely to come across one?”
“The country house?”
“Why?”
She frowned, “I don’t know, because it’s less likely to be found out?”
Harry shook his head, “Think about it, you are more likely to notice a new person wandering about and acting suspiciously outside of a city. And there are far fewer potential victims. Back in a city, a vampire would never have to stay in the same place for more than one night. And even if they did, they aren’t as likely to be recognised. Also, in cities they can meet with the Temperance League or other vampires. You’re far more likely to find them there.”
Vaisey nodded, fairly happy with the answer. Harry was glad that she had asked and a little relieved that she didn’t seem to be embarrassed about being wrong. After that first question, the ice seemed to be broken and quite a few second years came up to ask him questions about their other subjects. The first years still seemed to be a little wary of him and they didn’t come up as much. He was a little bit relieved that they didn’t have more questions for him. Although they were interesting to answer, he did have enough to be getting on with.
When the bell rang, Harry followed the Ravenclaw students as far as the staircase before heading up to his bedroom.
He told the snake in the portrait that Draco Malfoy was talented at transfiguration and it let him in, grumbling a little that he could have noticed that years ago. He practically fell into his bed, without even noticing that his rooms had expanded to include a chest of drawers and a full sized bath.