Weeks passed with two attacks happening, Percy's girlfriend Penelope Clearwater was petrified and Dean Thomas was petrified outside the library clutching a piece of paper. At the same time Harry was hearing voices in the walls, he thought he was going mad and very nearly did not tell anyone. That is until Lily threatened to follow him through the school via the portraits and James gave him a stern look that got him to go to Severus first. He wrapped himself in his invisibility cloak and headed down to Severus's office, he really did not want questions at this time. He knocked softly and Severus answered and ushered him in where Harry took off the cloak when he shut the door.
"Something bothering you Harry?" Severus asked.
"Yes sir, I er think I am going mad sir." Harry said hearing a faint voice in the room, "I er am hearing voices sir."
"Indeed, where?" Severus asked looking concerned.
"Um the walls, they say rip, tear, kill sir, no-one else hears them." Harry said, "um in fact someone is saying they are hungry in here."
"Ah, well could that something be this?" Severus said walking to a tank Harry had not seen and pointing to a cobra inside the tank. "Could it be a snake? You are a Parseltongue yes?"
"Er yes sir, I am." Harry said walking up to the snake, hello I am Harry, who are you?
Eh a leggy who can speak, so boring, will you tell black two-legs I like rats best?
Sure, I can do that, just don't bite him, he needs your venom.
As long as he brings me juicy rats.
"That was strange but awesome." James said grinning," my son the Parseltongue!"
"That does not bother you?" Severus asked him raising an eyebrow.
"You kidding, one of my best friends is a werewolf!" James said, "Harry try to teach Severus this, more than what he knows?"
"How do you know secrets of Slytherin?" Severus asked.
"We are special portraits, we are part of Hogwarts and we keep her secrets." Lily said, "so you hear a snake in the walls?"
"Yes, like it's really hungry." Harry said.
"Hmm fifty years ago, the chamber was opened." James said, "there was a girl who died then, some monster killed her, maybe she knows what it is."
"Moaning Myrtle." Lily said. "So that is who died, makes since."
"As if she will help, Dumbledore has tried to get her to talk but she just cries and refuses to speak." Severus said.
"Maybe she only speaks to students?" Harry said. "I could go and talk to her."
"That is my boy!" James said then added "ow Lily!"
"She is in a girl's toilet on the second floor." Lily said, "though hardly any use it as she does flood it so."
"I will take him." Severus said, "just to speak to her, then we can go to the headmaster."
They headed to the second floor, Harry was now in cat form trotting by Severus and no-one paid him any attention as the students scattered out of the way of the potions master and the little cat that was Harry trotted by him. They came up to the second floor and to the corridor where the girl's toilet was at. They went in and Harry turned human shaking off his feet as the floor was soaking wet. He saw a book on the floor and walked up to pick it up and saw it was a diary, but as he flipped through it he saw it was black. He felt someone looking at him and he looked up to see the ghost of a girl with large round glasses, pigtails and clad in Hogwarts robes.
"I am sorry, er I am Harry, Harry Potter." Harry said trying to be nice.
"You're nicer than the other boy." The ghost said, "threw the book at me he did."
"Well that is not nice, just because you are a ghost does not mean you don't feel." Harry said.
"Oh you are nice, nobody nice ever comes to see me." Myrtle said.
"I well, I came to ask, well how did you die?" Harry asked. "If you do not mind my asking."
"Oh I don't, I will tell you, but not to professor, come close and I will whisper it to you." Myrtle said, Harry came close and she did indeed whisper it to him, "I was in here crying when I hear a boy's voice, near the sinks and when I opened the door I saw yellow eyes and I died! Everyone was so said they had made fun of Myrtle then!"
"I know how it is to be made fun of, I would not do that to you." Harry said. "Thank you for your help."
"You can come visit anytime!" Myrtle said cheerfully.
Harry was sure that was the last thing he was going to do but he nodded before he left the bathroom. He was about to speak to Severus and tell him what happened when he was knocked over and the diary was wrenched from his hands. He got up and saw the blond haired figure of Draco running back into the bathroom. He saw Severus was down and he went over to him and found he was not badly hurt. In anger he ran after Draco and saw a tunnel where a sink had been and without thinking he dove in and found himself sliding down a pipe. He seemed to go down for a very long time and landed with a thump on something soft and crunchy. He lit up his wand and looked around seeing lots of bones but no sign of Draco. A hand came down on his shoulder and he yelled and turned to see Severus glaring at him.
"Potter just what do you think you are doing?" Severus snapped.
"Seeing where the rabbit hole goes to sir?" Harry said then at Severus's furious look, "er not thinking sir? Please we have to see what Draco is up to!"
"Very well, but you will do exactly as I say or Merlin help you I will have your parents' permission to take you over my knee!"
"But sir I am almost twelve!" Harry said appalled that he would say that.
"Indeed, glad you can count, but you will obey me here you reckless Gryffindor!"
"Yes sir, I promise." Harry said.
He followed Severus to a set of doors, Severus found he could not read them but Harry could and he did. The doors opened and they stepped into a large chamber and both looked across the room and saw a large statue of what had to be Salazar Slytherin. At the foot of the statue was Draco looking extremely pale and barely alive, by him was a young man, nearly solid but not quite who was twirling Draco's wand in his fingers. He scowled as he saw Severus and before Harry could do a thing the young man sent a spell at Severus that took him down and caused him to scream in agony. Harry sent a stunner at the teen but it went through the older boy who turned to look at Harry in amusement while Severus remained on the floor gasping in pain.
"Ah, so you came, and so quickly too." The older boy said, he was tall, with short black hair and blue eyes and if not for a flash of red in those eyes and the coldness on his face he would have been a handsome youth. "Harry Potter, the one who defeated Lord Voldemort when you were just a babe."
"I will again if he ever comes back." Harry snarled, "you know my name but you have not told me your name."
"Tom Marvolo Riddle, such a common name." Tom said, "how did you defeat me the greatest wizard of all time?"
"You are not the greatest wizard ever, Merlin was let me guess you are Lord Voldemort." Harry said, he liked anagrams and as such he had figured out the name, "I am sorry but if I came up with a cool dark lord name it would not be that."
"Oh?"
"Yea I would choose Lord Darth Skull the terrible or Lord Sauron the great." Harry said.
"Such insolence, but no matter, you will die soon." Riddle said, come to me most noble of all creations!
It clicked then just what was the monster in the chamber and Harry did not dare look up at the large snake that dropped from where it was hid in from the mouth of the statue of Salazar. He heard a thrill and looked up to see Fawkes flying to him, it dropped something before him and he saw it was the sorting hat. He put it on and while he was talking with the hat Fawkes took the eyes out of the basilisk. Harry felt something hit his head and he took the hat off and pulled out a sword. Riddle was foaming at the mouth by now and he screamed at the snake to get Harry while Severus, watching in horror as a game of blind man's bluff was played across the chamber.
Harry ran across the room skidded to a stop and willed himself to transform, he hoped and prayed this worked and that the rumors were true that the basilisk would die if a rooster crowed. He managed the transformation and he crowed once, twice and three times and the great snake fell to the floor dead. Harry turned human and jumped high onto the back of the great snake as it slid across the floor, he plunged the sword into the snake's head to anchor himself and managed to stay on until the snake stopped. He then used his wand to summon the diary and took the sword and plunged it through the diary getting Riddle to scream and fade while the diary bled ink. At once Severus was up and next to Draco.
"Come on Draco, please pull through." Severus said, "come on boy."
"Will he be alright?" Harry asked kneeling by Severus just as Draco moaned and came awake, "Draco?"
"What happened?" Draco asked.
"You wrote in a dark diary and it nearly killed you." Severus replied. "Come now let's get out of here."
"Here, have some chocolate, it will help." Harry said handing a piece to Draco who took it and ate it.
"Thank you." Draco said.
"Draco where did you get that diary?" Severus asked, "you are not in trouble I just need to know."
"Library at home sir." Draco said.
"Ah, I see." Severus said, he turned to see Fawkes eyeing them, "well my dear sir do you feel like taking us up to the headmaster's office?"
Fawkes gave a thrill of notes and Severus took that as a yes and had the children grab onto the tail with him and in a flash they were in the headmaster's office. Dumbledore looked up in surprise and listened intently as Harry told him what happened. Severus felt a bit of pride as Harry told how he had killed the basilisk with a rooster, (leaving out the fact he was the rooster as Draco was there) and how he destroyed the diary. When he finished Dumbledore was about to speak when the door to his office opened and Lucius Malfoy strode in with a house elf at his heels. Severus saw red and at once had his wand out and had Lucius slammed to the wall his cane far away from him.
"Severus!" Dumbledore said getting up his own wand out.
"Do not interfere headmaster." Severus said holding up the diary and showing it to Lucius, "is this yours Lucius?"
"Where did you find that?" Lucius asked.
"Your son was nearly killed by this thing!" Severus snarled, "I knew you could be foul but this? How could you nearly kill Draco!"
"I did not know, please I would never harm my son!" Lucius said, "Severus please I swear…."
"Do not lie to me." Severus said choking the very life from Lucius.
"Severus enough." Dumbledore said releasing Lucius who gasped for air. "Lucius was this in your possession? You would do well not to lie to me."
Harry looked up at the headmaster with awe and terror, gone was the happy twinkling eyed headmaster who gave out sweets. In his place was a fearsome warlock who was staring down at Lucius who was on his knees before him. Draco edge closer to Harry as he was sure Dumbledore needed more room in the office. Severus backed away and lowered his wand and gaze to the floor though he was still glaring at Lucius who was trembling in fear.
"It was given to me sir." Lucius said, "I did not know how dark it was I swear!"
"Your son nearly died." Harry said, "my godfather will hear about this!"
"That would be for the best, do as you will to me, I swear my son is my life and I could not harm him." Lucius said. "Name your price."
"My price is high, are you willing to pay it?" Dumbledore said, "Severus has already."
"Yes, anything, I swear it!" Lucius said. "Lord Potter my family is in your debt, anything you wish."
"Fine, your elf there, I want him." Harry said knowing enough now that taking the personal elf of someone would wound them very much. "His name?"
"Dobby, he is…"
"I want Dobby, give him to me or I run you through!" Harry said acting more like the head of a pureblood family than he had ever before.
"Very well, Dobby you are no longer part of the Malfoy family, you belong to Harry Potter so mot it be." Lucius said.
"I Harry James Potter take you Dobby into my house and offer you work and a family so mot it be." Harry said.
Defeated, humbled and in debt Lucius was allowed to leave, but Draco was taken to the hospital wing and when Narcissa found out what happened she turned Draco over to Sirius for the time being. She could not trust her son to her husband and she herself left him in the manor alone going to stay at Black castle with Sirius who allowed her there. Lucius world was crashing down around him and hopefully this would be the wakeup call he needed to change to a better man.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Harry sat at the leaving feast deep in thought. So much had happened this school year and even before. He had a family and friends who cared about him now and he had found he had really cool powers. There had been two attacks by Voldemort this year, one directly the last through Draco. Yet Harry did not blame Draco, it was that diary that he had found. Harry was still so surprised at how quickly he had stopped the threat and he believed it was pure luck really. He had just been talking to Severus then went to speak to Moaning Myrtle when things happened so fast, he ended up in the chamber of secrets and he had shifted to kill the basilisk.
Even two weeks later he was still wrapping his mind around how he had got so lucky to run across Draco at that time. Dumbledore had been very kind in how he had dealt with the basilisk, he had stated that a seventh year student had been trapped by the diary and had drug Draco to the chamber and Harry saved both. This way all suspicion was off Draco and he was able to heal from his horrible ordeal without the school turning against him, in fact he was back at Black manor now where Sirius and Hestia could watch over him.
Despite this, Slytherin was in high spirits, they had, for the eighth year won the inner house cup and the hall was once more decorated in green and silver. Dumbledore wisely was not adding additional points at this time, no he was going to let Slytherin have their win as they needed it. He was seeing how his unintended bias had hurt that house and he was not going to do that this time. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup even without Harry on the team, next year Wood had his eye on Harry as he knew he could fly and would get him on the team, he swore that he would. Harry could not hide his talent from him, Wood had seen him in a few pickup games. With the year ended Harry was looking forward to his summer as he was going to stay with his godfather at Black castle! Life certainly was more fun now he was back in the magical world.