The Master of Death

Chapter 8: Battle in The Chamber of Secrets.

Summary: In the previous chapter, Harry announced that Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Tracey Davis, the Carrow Twins and Millicent Bulstrode were under the protection of House Potter. He then assigned missions for Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham to do while he began thinking of what he could do as his plans progressed.

In DADA, he embarrassed Professor Lockhart through the use of wandless and non-verbal magic, causing the mirror he was looking into to explode. But after a few months, Harry hears something in the walls of Hogwarts speaking Parseltongue. Each time it proclaimed the desire to kill something. They follow the voice to find a message written on the wall and Mrs Norris petrified. Dumbledore, in act of manipulation, implies that he believes that Harry is the culprit.

When Harry confronts him on this, Dumbledore plays innocent and acts like nothing happened.

The next day, Draco recruits Ron in his plan to humiliate Harry in the duelling club. But three weeks later Harry and his friends corner Draco and create a deal. If he loses the Quidditch match he loses his position as leader and his position on the team, if he wins, Harry loses his position as leader and creates an alliance with House Malfoy.

In the Quidditch match Harry and his friends are assaulted by a bludger that is dead set on killing him. Harry manages to destroy it, while Slytherin lose the match, much to the joy of Harry and those that knew about the deal.

When the Duelling club finally opened, it was revealed that Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus Snape were the teachers and after a disastrous and one-sided duel, Snape wins. Then Harry and Ron duel, in which Harry easily wins, but for some reason feels the need use Parseltongue to destroy the snake Ron summoned.

It was later revealed that Dumbledore was the culprit of such desire.

A/N: I'd like to thank Lyz135, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, Guest, Magnuss, hellfire45, Charles Ceaser, Minase 2928, Duellist, jrayeni, jc and Guest for your reviews. I'd also like to thank JadeKitty for beta-reading this chapter and all my other chapters; if you go back you should notice that the grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. has greatly improved.

Magnuss: No, Peter isn't a representation of Pettigrew, he is an actual character that we see in Prisoner of Azkaban. As for the power play, you're right that Draco is all talk, but they fear what Lucius will do if they didn't vote for him. That's how Draco is still a competitor.

Guest: In the films Dumbledore was remorseful for his actions however, there is a reason why he is acting the way he is in my story. One I doubt you will realise straight away until later on, around the time of the Sixth year. Hopefully you will stay around until that time.

"Normal speech."

'Normal thought.'

"Spells."

§Parseltongue§

Mysterious Figure Speech.

-X- Line Break -X-

The following weeks had been tense, to say the least. Frightened students of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had rallied behind Gryffindor House as they tried their hardest to alienate and sometimes attack Harry. It hadn't worked as Slytherin House had rallied behind Harry; his use of Parseltongue making him the new Ruler of Slytherin House.

A simple act of displaying an ancient ability had elevated him to new heights of power.

Though it had come with a few downsides. He had been constantly followed by five or more Sixth Years. It had made getting alone with his friends difficult, but he had managed to do it.

Like always though, Draco had been a thorn in his side and constantly tried to undermine his rule. However, the rest of Slytherin seemed to realise who they should really fear. The Malfoy's, in total, had only two votes, though they could get around twenty-one other votes as a result of their allies and those that feared them or bribed by them. House Potter however, already had ten votes available to them, plus an additional twenty-eight votes from his alliances with the Longbottom's, the Zabini's, the Nott's, the Montague's, the Pike's, the Bones' and the Abbott's.

Overall, when Harry came of age he would be one of the main dominating forces in the political arena.

Then there was the fact that Harry was also much more powerful and skilled in magic than most Third Years and a few Fourth Years, with a much more impressive track record. The fear they once felt for Draco was outweighed by their fear of Harry. Harry's rule was indisputable, and no one dared question his authority.

The teachers were also getting tense at the situation. It got to the point where Dumbledore was even threatening to expel students if they continued to act in such a way. Harry however, wasn't convinced by the man's act. Dumbledore was up to something and Harry was generally terrified of what the results of said plan would mean for him and those that he cared for.

Currently, Harry and his friends were sat at quite a large table in the far corner of the library. It was perfect for them as they were practically surrounded by bookcases with only a single gap acting as an entrance and exit. This meant that if anyone was fool enough to try and attack Harry in the library their advantage in numbers and surprise would become obsolete. This was made even more so by the two groups of three Sixth Year Slytherin's sat on two tables just outside of the entrance/exit. Anyone that tried to get in would have to get through them first.

Not that Harry would let them face the Gryffindor's, Ravenclaw's or Hufflepuff's alone if such an attack came. It was one of the reasons why his rule was now undisputed in Slytherin House. He didn't hide behind anyone. Harry faced those that were foolish to attack him head on, even assisting his fellow Slytherin's no matter what year they were in if they were attacked. Every other Slytherin Ruler before him had hidden behind his followers and never got his hands dirty. Harry did the opposite.

That didn't mean Harry was completely respected and loved in his House. Overall, around a quarter did not follow him out of respect or love, but out of fear. Harry had showcased a ruthless streak to go along with his kind side.

Anyone that threatened his friends or his fellow Slytherin's were found in humiliating positions around the school and would then be taken to the Medical Wing with numerous dislocations and broken limbs.

In the short amount of time in which he had become Ruler of Slytherin, Harry had consolidated his rule and gained the love and respect of most of his house. Those that feared him kept their heads down, unwilling to incur the wrath of the monster that was Harry Potter.

"What you thinking of?" Blaise asked as he looked up from his book on Advanced Charms. Harry tore his eyes away from the Potter Family Grimoire and looked at Blaise.

"My book." That was all Harry said before he went back to reading his book.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Blaise pressed, and the others looked up from their respective self-assigned tasks. "You haven't turned a single page ever since you opened the book and you've been sat there staring off into space for a good hour."

"What makes you think I'm not practising my Occlumency?" That reminded Harry, he should probably do another check of his defences and see how the others are doing on their own. This gave him the added benefit of practising Legilimency.

"Because when you practise Occlumency you go completely still. You were anything but still." It was Theodore that answered, and Neville nodded his head. Sighing, Harry closed his book and faced them all. Blaise was directly across from him with Peter and Graham on either side of him. Meanwhile, on Harry's left-hand side was Neville and on his right was Susan. Then in the centre of the table was Theodore and Hannah, with Hannah next to Susan and Theodore next to Neville.

"I've been thinking…" He glared at Peter when he heard him mumble, "No shit." Upon seeing this, Peter whistled innocently gaining a few laughs. "I've been thinking about what happened with Mrs Norris and the message." Instantly the group leaned in to hear what he had to say.

"So, what have you come up with?" Neville inquired.

"Well, I did my research on the Chamber of Secrets and found out that it opened fifty years ago but was closed after a student was killed. No sign of death, it was as if she was alive one minute –

- And dead the next." Graham finished. Harry nodded his head as Hannah and Susan shared a terrified glance.

"One student, Tom Marvolo Riddle, found the beast and was given an award for shutting the Chamber of Secrets." There was silence around the table as they all digested the information. "Now, I did my research and I can't find the mention of any Magical Creature that makes a perfectly healthy student just drop dead. So, I've sent Hedwig to collect a list of potential suspects from Ripclaw."

"Was that all you've been thinking of?" Susan flushed when Harry's gaze turned to her. While it wasn't as pronounced as it had been when the year started, it took just a single look from Harry to make her embarrassed.

"No. I've been thinking of what I'll be doing this summer." His tone voice made it clear he didn't want to speak any further. His patience for the little things had been growing thin as of late. With the increased workload given by teachers, constantly trying and sometimes failing to avoid confrontations with the other Houses, being Ruler of Slytherin, training to improve his skills along with teaching them, had made him stressed out. That and the fact they all knew that Dumbledore's constant way of making Harry the bad guy to the rest of school, even though it was blatantly obvious that he was the real victim, was getting to him.

They would admit to being scared of when he would finally snap. Not for themselves as they knew Harry valued friendship and loyalty above everything. To attack those people, he viewed as his friends and those loyal to him would go against everything he stood for.

They were scared for those that finally snapped the leash that was holding Harry's monster at bay.

"I'm sorry." He apologised to them all. "I haven't been the easiest of people to hang around with recently."

"It's fine." Peter and Graham said. It was quite frightening at how in sync they were with one another. Then again, they had been friends ever since they were young.

"Yea, no need to worry, Harry." Hannah waved him off and Susan gave him a reassuring smile.

"You've had a lot to deal with." Blaise stated firmly, making sure that Harry couldn't blame himself anymore. It was habit they realised was one of the flaws he had. When he made a mistake, he tended to blame himself too much.

"If you keep acting like an emo next year that's when we'll have a problem." Harry and few others shared a laugh at Neville's threat. Then he turned to the final member of their group. Theodore said nothing, but simply gave him a firm nod and Harry instantly got the message.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go to bed." After saying his goodbyes, Harry got up and left, one group of the Slytherin's following after him, while the other stayed behind to protect his friends.

That had been another thing that the Slytherin's had made sure of. Theodore, Blaise, Neville, Peter and Graham represented the digits of his right-hand man, or men in this case. They were all equal in his eyes, but if he had to choose one of them to be his right-hand man, it would be Theodore. Not because he was the most powerful, the most skilled or anything like that. No, it was because Theodore was a true Slytherin that also understood the importance of loyalty.

He had the mind to think of elaborate political schemes that shocked even him. He researched his opposition extensively, to the point it was borderline obsession and would wait for just the right moments before revealing every last secret and exploit every weakness you have.

It was the same with his duelling style. He was a tactical duellist. A duellist that was always on defence and then, after figuring out your weaknesses would go on the offensive and overwhelmed their opponent. However, as Theodore had found out the hard way, if his offensive manoeuvre didn't succeed then it put him in a precarious position that could result in his defeat. In fact, if his offence failed there was seventy-five percent chance that he would lose. That percentage was in the nineties when he was facing Harry.

"Well, well, well." Groaning, Harry turned around to see Ron Weasley stood there flanked by Dean and Seamus. Though neither looked happy to be there as they warily glanced from him to the Slytherin's and back again. "If it isn't the Dark Lord himself." Ron spat. In retaliation to the insulting tone used, the Slytherin Sixth Years presented their wands, but didn't point it at them. This made it so that they couldn't be blamed for starting the one sided massacre that could very well happen.

"Ronald." Harry pronounced his full name with all the Pureblood arrogance he could muster. He got the desired reaction he wanted as Ron flushed an ugly shade of purple as the hand that was gripping his wand shook. "Must we do this constantly? I'm beginning to worry about you, you're practically obsessing over me." Harry gasped in faux shock. "Could it be that you have feelings for me? Is that it?" Seamus and Dean coughed into their hands trying to quell their laughter, while the Slytherin's smirked. "Well, I have to tell you that I just don't see you that way. I know it's hard to understand, but I'm just not the right guy for you. I'm sure he's out there somewhere, waiting for you." That was the final straw as Seamus and Dean burst out laughing and the Slytherin's chuckled.

"Potter." Ron growled.

"That is my name, yes? Is there something you wanted?" Harry flashed an arrogant smirk that made Ron's already impressive shade of purple grow deeper in colour. However, he became deadly serious when Ron pointed his wand at him. Something in Harry clicked and with it everything went still in his mind. He could feel everything, and he found himself once again back in the cupboard under the stairs at his relative's house.

The Slytherin's tensed but did nothing as Harry raised one hand to stop them. Seamus and Dean on the other hand slowly began inching away. Neither wanted to be privy to Harry's wrath. They were terrified of him and in their opinion, he was an alright guy, just a little distant.

"Now think very carefully about what you're doing, Weasel." Ron's wand arm trembled, but his shade of purple never left his face and Harry found the image of Ron being replaced with his uncle; in his hand was a pan that he was pointing at him threateningly.

"Petrificus…" He was unable to finish the incantation as Harry shot forwards and knocked Ron's aim off course. Afterwards he buried his fist in the Weasley's stomach causing him to hunch over and spittle to come flying out of his mouth.

Stepping backwards, Harry watched impassively as Ron collapsed to his knees dry heaving. "You think, after all the years I suffered underneath you, that I would let you beat me once more!" Harry took a single step and then kicked Ron in the face. There was a sickening crack as something broke and then Ron collapsed screaming while holding his nose, blood spilling out from between his fingers. "I spent years of my life suffering abuse," another kick, this time to Ron's stomach followed by another crack. "I will not suffer," another kick, another crack, another scream. "Anymore!" Then Harry released kick after kick on the downed Ron.

Seamus and Dean watched as Harry beat Ron black and blue, their eyes wide as they could do nothing but watch in fear that he might do something to them. The Slytherin's meanwhile, shared a glance with one another. Each conveying a single thought.

Harry had finally snapped, and now the monster was unleashed, and he was here to get revenge.

"My own family! Beat me! Starved me! Treated me like a slave!" Each sentence was followed by a strike that broke something else. Blood was splattered along the walls and the floor. But that wasn't the terrifying part.

No.

It was Harry himself. His school clothes were splattered in Ron's blood, his mouth pulled back into a snarl and his eyes glowing so bright that they feared he would release a Killing Curse with pure eyesight alone. Gone was the cunning, ambitious, loyal, kind, intelligent, brave and friendly boy that ruled Slytherin House. In his place was a beast with the sole desire to release the pain he suffered as a child onto others.

Ron happened to be on the receiving end of it all. Every punch, every kick contained years of bottled up sadness, pain, anguish and rage.

"Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall's voice froze those in the corridor. It seemed however, that it snapped Harry from his stupor as he blinked slowly. He looked at his hands, they were covered in blood. He looked at his clothes, they were covered in blood. Then he looked at Ron, he was practically unrecognisable. His face was covered in bruises, his jaw completely out of place much like most of his other bones. Yet, Harry couldn't find it within him to care.

There was a voice in his mind telling him that Ron deserved it and the more he listened to it, the more he agreed with the voice. It was Ron who started this whole thing. It was Ron who attacked first. He simply put down a threat and made sure that he stayed down. There was nothing wrong with that, was there?

"What have you done?! Explain yourself?!" As Professor McGonagall stared at the form of the child of James and Lily Potter, she would forever deny that she was terrified. He looked eerily calm, his eyes still, but they lacked regret or remorse as he stood over the broken body of Ronald Weasley. His body was covered in blood and yet he stood completely still as if it didn't bother him.

"Me?" He tilted his head to the side. "He attacked me first Professor, I simply acted in self-defence."

"Self-defence is not defined as you nearly killing those that attack you, Mr Potter." Her voice was sharp and cold as she tried to intimidate the boy who intimidated her. Harry looked down at Ron once more, he looked as if he was truly seeing what he had done to Ron and Professor McGonagall hoped he would realise the error of his ways.

He did not.

"I was being incredibly…thorough." Once again, his voice was eerily calm and the way he said the last word made a shiver of fear run up her spine. Yet, she couldn't find it within herself to blame Harry.

Out of everyone he was the true victim here. Something happened before she arrived that triggered the reaction of this magnitude. She cursed Dumbledore for placing the child of James and Lily with those 'creatures', because the abuse he suffered created something that may be even worse than Voldemort himself.

"That will be a hundred points from Slytherin and you have detention with me until the Yule Holiday." It was the only punishment she could give him for nearly killing someone in self-defence. Legally he wasn't in the wrong as he had protected himself – as he put it – thoroughly. Not only that, but there were witnesses and from what she could tell, they would tell the truth out of fear.

"Of course, Professor." He bowed. "May I return to my dorm, it is getting late?" Professor McGonagall nodded her head and Harry strode past her. The Slytherin Sixth Years following after him, smug looks on their faces, no doubt because the Blood-Traitor was shown his place.

'Dumbledore was wrong in placing him with those Muggles.' She thought as Minerva levitated the unconscious Ron. 'They turned him into the very thing that we tried to avoid.' It was saddening as she remembered what he used to be like. Innocent and pure. Now, she didn't know what he was.

-X- Line Break -X-

Harry gasped as he shot upright and looked around. In the background was an erupting volcano, smoke and ash billowing out from the top, magma spilling out from the top and oozing out across the landscape.

"You're finally awake." An educated and cultured voice made Harry spin around in shock. There stood a figure of around 6''5', covered from head to toe in a black cloak, the bottom trailing across the ground and much like with Bear, its face was shrouded in shadows.

Harry took a few cautious steps backwards but stopped when he felt a wave of blistering heat hit his back. Turning around he found himself standing at the edge of a cliff, and down at the bottom was a large river of molten lava. His eyes trailed over the distance and saw the occasional patch of land that was untouched, but they were very rare.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Harry's head snapped to the left as he found the mysterious figure stood beside him. Its shadowed face staring out over across the landscape, or what remained of it. "The mind is truly the most marvellous thing about humans. It is their most dangerous weapon, though to most it sits collecting rust like a blade. If they cultivated it, trained it, sharpened it, then they would be capable of so much greatness, so much destruction, so much power." The figure's tone was envious.

"W-who are you?" Harry felt himself freeze in shock as the figure's eyes looked onto his own. Well, that's what he assumed was happening, as he really couldn't tell.

"You do not know?" It tilted its head to the side in confusion. "How interesting." It turned back to face the burning landscape.

"You haven't answered my question." Harry said abruptly.

The figure continued to stare out across the land. "No, I didn't. Why should I tell you who I am? You have great intelligence, use that intelligence to figure out who I am." The figure ordered. "I will tell you one thing." Harry raised an eyebrow in question, though he doubted the figure could see it. "I am, but part of a whole. Forever locked in combat to stop the very thing you humans cherish, yet do not use to its full potential from being lost. Do you know of what I speak?"

"The mind." The figure nodded its head. "That still doesn't help me at all. In fact, it only fills my head with even more questions." His statement drew a laugh from the figure. It was a strange sound, like it lacked the very thing it needed to be counted as a proper laugh.

"I suppose it does, doesn't it?"

"Your habit of answering my questions with questions of your own is starting to piss me off." Harry growled. This time the figure's laugh was real. Insane would be the word to describe the figure's laugh. Like it had lost everything and had been swallowed by darkness, drowning itself in the darkness of this world. That wasn't what terrified Harry. No, what terrified him was the sickly yellow eyes that glowed ominously from underneath its hood as it turned to face him. The bloodlust that shined within them terrified Harry more than anything.

"And what will you do to stop me from continuing such a habit, hmm?" Harry took a fearful step back as it took one step forwards.

"I…I…I…" He hated how weak his voice sounded as he stared up at the figure before him. Harry couldn't sense any magic in the figure at all, nor could he see anything. Whatever the cloak was made of was blocking him from seeing the figure's magical core.

"Oh, seems you have lost all you nerve." The figure taunted. "What happened to the young child who constantly provoked his Uncle and cousin to beat him within an inch of his life? What happened to the boy who threatened the Flamel's? Where is the boy that fought and killed a Troll? Or has that boy gone, replaced with the weak coward who let his relatives walk all over? How disappointing." While he couldn't see the figure's sneer, he could feel it and it drove him mad with anger.

"You…you dare!" He growled while clenching his fists tightly. His magic swirled around him dangerously as the yellow eyes of the figure glowed even brighter in anticipation.

"Oh, I dare, but you won't do anything about it, will you?" The figure pushed. "You've become weak, powerless and pathetic. No better than a House Elf." Then it spun round and began walking away from the seething Harry. "James and Lily would never be able to love such a weak and pathetic child like you."

That was the final straw for Harry as he released an animalistic roar before thrusting both arms forward and from them, a powerful blast of magic shot forwards and slammed into the back of the figure. So powerful was the blast that a large trench was left in its wake as the figure was flung all the way into the far distance, only stopping due to it colliding with the volcano.

Harry panted heavily as he dropped his limp arms and collapsed to his knees. "Very good." Shock coursed through him once more as he saw the figure stood behind him.

"H-how?"

"This is my mind, my dimension. Here, I am God and anything I want becomes reality." The figure stalked forwards. "Do you want to know something about me, Hadrian James Potter?" It didn't wait for a reply and continued on. "I am the polar opposite of you. While you can project your magic externally, I can't. I can only project it internally." The figure chuckled madly. "Though there is one good thing to come from that; all my physical aspects are greatly enhanced to the point it shouldn't be possible.

Harry groaned as he pushed himself to his feet and then lashed out with a punch, only for it to hit nothing but air. "I'm faster." Then a fist collided with his back and Harry gasped in pain as he was flung forwards. "Stronger." Just before he flew off the edge, a hand gripped his face and slammed him back-first into the ground. "And better than you in every way."

"B-bastard!" Harry spat out, only for a foot to be placed against his Adam's apple, then it slowly applied pressure till it cut off his airway.

"Now, now. We can't have you using such language." It waggled its finger in a scolding manner. "It seems our time is being cut short." The figure sighed as the area slowly began dripping to the ground like ink. "We will meet again, Hadrian. Hopefully by that point, you will know who I am."

Then darkness claimed Harry.

With a gasp, Harry shot into an upright position and looked around. Only, instead of the apocalyptic world he was once in, now he was back in his dorm room. In his bed to be precise. Then he looked down to see a hand slowly moving away from him. His green eyes followed the arm and saw him looking up at Theodore.

"You alright?" Theodore asked, and Harry nodded his head as he pushed himself out of his bed. With a wave of his hand, his clothes came out of his trunks and placed themselves onto his respective body parts. "What happened last night? The Sixth Years that followed you said that you just went completely mental and nearly killed Weasley."

"I did?" He closed his eyes and held his head in confusion as he tried to remember what happened last night.

"Yep. Said that you were shouting about how you refused to be beaten once more and treated as a slave. Stuff like that." Then Harry remembered everything as he gripped his head tighter.

"My aunt and uncle didn't exactly like magic. They used to beat me whenever I used magic in the hope of beating the 'freakishness' out of me." The anger in his tone as he said 'freakishness' made Theodore flinch. "When Weasley started getting angry he looked exactly like my uncle and well…

"You snapped." Theodore finished, and Harry nodded his head. The two walked out of the dorm and made their way down towards the Common Room. As soon as they did the reaction was so sudden that the two were shocked. Those that were still in the room froze and turned to face Harry with fear in their eyes. When Harry took a step forwards they all tried to hide their flinch, but it was plainly obvious.

Seeing this, Harry regarded them all, his emerald green eyes panning over the room as the Slytherin's tried their best to seem as small as possible. Shrugging his shoulders, Harry walked out of the Common Room, followed closely by Theodore.

"I had no idea the reaction would be that bad." Harry's voice was filled with wonder. Theodore copied his earlier action and shrugged his shoulder.

"I don't know either. I heard some of the whispers and stuff, but I didn't realise that they would react like that when you turned up." Humming, Harry and Theodore entered the Great Hall, and both ignored the way the students quietened and watched his every move. As soon as he sat down they all began whispering, but in Harry's opinion they might have well as been shouting as he heard all of them loud and clear.

"I heard he killed someone." (A/N: Just to let you all know, Ron is not dead and is very much alive)

"Look at him. He's not even bothered by what he did."

"What'd you expect, he's a Dark Wizard?" This was but a single conversation out of the many he could hear. Harry ignored them and looked at Blaise, Peter and Graham. None of them seemed bothered by what he had done, something he was grateful for. If they had begun to hate and fear him he would become disheartened. They had been the four people who had been with him since near enough the beginning of his journey in Hogwarts. To lose them would have been a deep blow to him mentally.

"You don't care, do you?" Harry asked curiously towards the four of them.

"A little, but I understand why you did it." Theodore answered. "Your muggle relatives abused you and Weasley reminded you of him, so you lashed out." The last part was mainly said for Blaise, Peter and Graham's benefit. However, it did make those that had been eavesdropping whisper even more. Pretty soon it had spread across the entire Great Hall.

"So that's why you did it." Graham voice was but a whisper. Peter meanwhile was about to give Harry a pitying gaze, but he knew from Harry's personality that he would be angered by it.

"That sucks man." Blaise groaned as he realised how little he knew of his friend's past life before Hogwarts. "Well, I can guarantee you this, you ain't getting rid of us that easily." The others nodded in agreement and Harry gave a small smile. Then the group of five began eating until their stomachs were full.

However, throughout the meal Harry could feel multiple gazes on him and it angered him. Thankfully, the Slytherin's had gotten over what had happened or at least were hiding it and were now treating him like they used to do. Every other student on the other hand, was staring at him like he was about to turn and attack them.

"If they keep on staring at me like that then I think I might just turn around and do exactly what they think I might do." Harry spoke loud enough for those nearby to listen and their reactions must have been pretty funny as Blaise, Peter and Graham began laughing. Smirking, Harry stood up and indicated for the others to stay where they were before walking towards Professor Snape.

"Mr Potter. What can I do for you?" One thing Harry instantly noticed about the Potions Professor was the lack of hatred and annoyance in his eyes whenever he (Harry) was present. Now there was only curiousness and sadness. It confused him greatly on the sudden change, but he tried not to think too much on it.

"I would like to speak to you privately." Professor Snape nodded and got up from his seat and walked out of the Great Hall. Harry followed, but when he passed his friends he told them that they could, "go on ahead."

Entering Professor Snape's office, the man in question took a seat and with a motion of his hand indicated for Harry to do the same. "What required you to speak to me privately, Mr Potter?"

"Two things, Professor. First I was wondering if you could change the detentions I have assigned to me by Professor McGonagall to be done under yourself." Professor Snape mulled over the idea for a few moments before slowly nodding his head. Snape would admit to wanting to get to know Harry Potter himself now that he knew that the boy had suffered a similar childhood to himself.

"And the second?" Harry took a deep breath.

"I need you to perform Legilimency on me." Silence reigned as Snape's eyes stared in Harry's.

"Forgive me Mr Potter, but I think I must have misheard you. Did you just ask me to perform Legilimency on you?" Snape repeated Harry's question to make sure that he had heard correctly.

"Yes." Harry confirmed. "Last night, I believe I had a dream of meeting someone in a destroyed landscape. He was talking about the human mind and about how great it was." Harry took a deep breath and his face adopted a look of confusion. "It felt so real, like it was a memory and not a dream. And ever since I have learnt Occlumency I haven't had a dream, so I'm really confused."

Once again there was silence as Snape tried to wrap his head around what Harry had said. 'That should be impossible. Occlumency stops people from having dreams as a result of their minds being so organised. So, through the process of elimination that means that Harry had a memory.' Snape studied Harry's facial features with more scrutiny. 'He genuinely looks confused, as if he never remembers that happening at any point in his life.'

"Professor?" Harry inquired as to why the Potions Professor was being so quiet, however, the man simply gave a wave of his hand indicating he wanted silence.

'It can't be a dream and it's impossible for anyone except incredibly skilled users of the Mind Arts to lock the memories of other Mind Art users away.' With that line of thought he turned to Harry. "Have you ever come across anyone matching the description at all in a similar land such as that ever?"

"No." Humming in thought. Snape allowed his magic to flow out and surround the room. Instantly his eyes locked onto Harry's magical core. More so the way in which it seemed to curve inwards allowing only a small slither of magic to enter. To anyone not knowledgeable on how to bound people's magical cores then they would just think that this is how Harry's core looks. To him however, he knew that Harry had his core bound and that it was weakening.

'Dumbledore, you old fool!' Snape raged internally. His mind instantly locked onto a single reasoning for what the figure was, and it made his rage grow. 'How could you do that to Lily's child, or any child for that matter?' For the first time in a long while he was beginning to question Dumbledore's morals and sanity.

"If that is what you wish, Mr Potter. Then I shall perform Legilimency." Harry nodded his head and Snape locked eyes with Harry once more. "Legilimency."

Instantly Snape found himself looking at a shelf with seven bottles on them. Each bottle was filled with black smoke and Snape instantly realised the purpose of this defence.

"Hello Professor." Snape turned to see Harry stood by a doorway that hadn't been there a few moments ago.

"Mr Potter, this is very good." He then indicated towards the bottles. "I'm guessing inside each of them is a fake world, except for one." Harry nodded his head and Snape found himself very impressed by the simplistic yet ingenious defence. Not even he had thought of such a defence and he planned to fix that. "I imagine that if anyone plans to enter your mind forcefully that they will have a bit of trouble guessing the correct one."

"Thank you, Professor. Now, if you would follow me, this will take us straight towards where I have the memory of the dream stored." Following Harry like he asked, Snape soon found himself looking at a dark, perfectly smooth ball made of an unknown material. "Just place your hand on it."

Doing so, Snape soon found himself stood watching as Harry and the figure spoke before engaging in a quick, one-sided fight. Once he was done watching, he pulled his hand away and stared at the ball before the two people were once again sat in his office.

"I'm not exactly sure on what that was. However, I will do my research on it. You can rest assured that I will let you know if I find anything." Nodding his head, Harry got up.

"Thank you, Professor." Then Harry turned and left.

Just as he reached the door, Snape stopped him. "Don't forget that you have detention with me tonight, Mr Potter." Bowing, Harry left leaving Snape alone in the office. Once he was sure Harry had left, Snape released his magic sending his desk flying to the other side of the room, before with a swish of his cloak he stalked towards the door. Just as he was about to leave he gave a flourish of his wand that fixed his room.

-X- Line Break -X-

Sighing, Harry sat down on the floor of the Quidditch Pitch, beside him lay his Nimbus 2001. He had just finished try outs for the Seeker Position on the Quidditch Team. Adrian had wanted to give it to him anyway, mainly out of fear due to his actions. Harry refused the offer and declared that he wanted to earn his position through skill and no other reason.

This simple action had gone a long way in earning him the respect of the Slytherin's who knew of this.

"Well, I think we can all agree that Potter deserves the position." Miles Bletchley said in amused tone as the rest of the Quidditch team and those that tried out laughed in agreement.

"Yea, don't have to say that again." A random Fifth Year said as he gasped for breath. The strain of being Seeker being a lot more than he had expected.

"Where the hell did you learn to fly like that Potter?" One of the Beaters on the Slytherin team inquired. "I swear you nearly gave me a heart attack when you did the Wronski Feint."

"I don't know. It just felt natural to me." There were more than a few incredulous gazes directed at him.

"You're telling me, that you have never flown a broom before except for the flying lessons that you had in First Year. What the actual fuck!" Bletchley raised his hands into the air in exasperation. "I give up, kid's fucking mental and it's too much hassle trying to figure out what he can't do well." There were more than a few laughs at his declaration.

"Potter." Adrian coldly pronounced his last name. Turning around Harry looked at the Quidditch Captain, he hadn't been happy when Draco had withdrawn from the run for leadership and now the fact that Harry had greater power than him in Slytherin politics. "You're on the team, I expect you at training every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, understood?"

"Crystal." Adrian glared at him and stalked off in a poor attempt at copying Snape. Smirking, Harry got to his feet and got changed into his school outfit for the detention with Professor Snape.

-X- Line Break -X-

Harry would be the first to admit that the following few months had been incredibly difficult. He would spend the morning training alongside his friends like usual and would then go to class. After that, Harry would spend his free time reading in the library, teaching his friends and finishing any homework he had. An hour before curfew would end, Harry would then go to Snape's office and learn from him under the disguise of it being detention.

One thing Harry had really noticed about the Potions Professor was that underneath the cold exterior he put on, that they shared quite a few similarities. Both had suffered abuse at the hands of their families, Snape at the hand of his father and Harry at the hands of his Aunt and Uncle. As a result of this, both had the desire to grow strong so that they could never be abused once more.

Both also had problems trusting other people and found it difficult to find friends. Also, they shared the desire for companionship, a desire to have people stand beside you and help you no matter what.

The main similarity between the two is their inability to believe that magic should be restricted based simply on the opinions of others and the acts the magic had been used to do before. So, what if one wizard used Necromancy to resurrect an army of hundreds of thousands of dead souls to serve him? Before that, Necromancy had simply been seen as another branch of magic. If one person had such a control over the Levitation charm and used it to kill people, would the Magical World label it as Dark Magic?

Probably.

Harry and Snape both believed that magic was simply that; magic. There was no light and there was no dark. There was simply the intent behind which you use certain branches of magic. Everything can be used to kill someone and yet, only those mad enough to do so, do that. Just because one person does something wrong doesn't mean the other practitioners of that art are going to do the same.

Because of that, the two had bonded and formed a student/master relationship. Despite his inability to teach in lessons, Snape was in fact a good teacher. He was a literal treasure trove of knowledge on at least all magical arts with the basics of every branch memorised, the only thing that limited him was his lack of magical control to use some of the more powerful spells.

So, during those detentions and the ones that Harry constantly got throughout the year, he learned numerous things. He widened his horizon of knowledge on Charms, Transfiguration, Light Magic and even Dark Magic. Sometimes they would spend the full hour simply working on Harry's skills in the Mind Arts. The two switching between breaking through each other's defences or trying to Harry's case. Other times Snape would tell Harry about his mother, something which he would be eternally grateful for.

That didn't mean he trusted Snape fully. In fact, both were content to keep each other at arm's length, only ever revealing their secrets when it was absolutely necessary.

During the weekends, Harry would spend the time during the late morning training with the Slytherin Quidditch team in preparation for the final game of the year against Gryffindor. Both teams were set to face each other once more as they were tied for first place and the final match would decide the winner.

The Gryffindor's weren't very happy about this as Harry and the Slytherin's had shown a massive increase in skill and ability. That added with the very good ability to play just inside the rules and even outright cheating without been caught made them a very formidable team.

The Chaser's were by the far weakest on the Slytherin team. Individually they were good but there was just a wall that prevented them from working together. It was only through the use of Harry's skilful interventions that disrupted the oppositions Chasers and the Slytherin's Beaters that allowed them to score as many points as they had. The Beaters were much like the Chasers, individually good but with bare minimum teamwork. Thankfully their position didn't require much in the ways of teamwork. Their Keeper, Bletchley was very good and seemed to have the skill of almost knowing exactly where the enemy were going to throw, though his ability to stop the quaffle depended on if he managed to manoeuvre himself in time.

As the Seeker, Harry had cemented himself on the team due to his amazing skill on the broom. His keen eyesight allowed him to keep track of the entire Quidditch Pitch for any sign of the Snitch, while also being able to disrupt the oppositions Chasers.

Moving on, after training with the Quidditch team, Harry would then train with Professor Flitwick in preparation for the upcoming U16's Duelling Championship. Despite bribing his way into the tournament due to his young age, Harry was dead set on winning the Duelling tournament and then retiring from the Duelling circuit so as to spend more time travelling. One thing Harry had decided was to learn the things needed as to gain the teachings of the Flamel's students and then go to them individually.

This routine hadn't been Harry's full routine as Harry had to also spent anywhere from a few hours to a few days in the Hospital Wing as a result of either overworking or injuring himself. During one of his times Harry had been visited by Dobby once more and it had been revealed to him that the House Elf had been the reason for the rogue bludger that tried to kill him.

Despite being incredibly angry, Harry had restrained himself from killing the Elf as it seemed to be the only one that got near him. This allowed him to study the creature's core in more detail; more specifically the rune inscribed upon it.

To Harry it was incredibly complex and had a mixture of practically every known runic language in it. The rune design also seemed to have multiple runic languages he didn't recognise. The thought infuriated him as it meant returning the True Elves to the world could take a lot longer than he had hoped or planned for.

Thankfully, he had the forethought to write the runic design down and send a copy to Ripclaw and the Flamel's to see if they could help in deciphering it. Only Ripclaw had been made aware of its true purpose as he knew that Ripclaw not only respected him but was also beginning to trust him, and he in turn. Plus, a Goblin's silence could be ensured with money and the possibility of further business.

Then there had been the revealing of his less than savoury home life with his muggle relatives. He had received numerous offers for adoption from prominent families. Each he had declined in a polite fashion so as to not insult them and thankfully they had accepted this. Though a few had been quite insistent, but they too got the message that he wanted to be left alone.

Currently, Harry was walking along the path followed by Neville. The others were currently spending the time doing their own thing. Theodore, Blaise, Peter and Graham were with Daphne and her group.

Speaking of Daphne, he had begun noticing the way she was torn between smiling at him, blushing slightly whenever he returned said smile and glaring at him whenever he was with Susan. It had been incredibly amusing to watch as he had never thought the young Ice Queen of Slytherin would be jealous of Susan Bones over him.

As for Susan, she and Hannah were with the rest of Hufflepuff House, apparently, they were doing the near end of year House party that they did. He was confused by the whole thing as no other house did anything of the sort.

Neville had chosen not to go as he couldn't stand listening to the rest of the Second Year Hufflepuff's badmouthing Harry who was innocent. So now the two were walking down the corridors of Hogwarts, no destination in mind. They both came to a stop as they heard whispering coming from the corner.

Turning towards Neville, he raised one finger to his mouth in a shushing motion and Neville nodded his head in agreement. After this the two moved to the edge of the wall and looked around the corner to see that most of the staff were staring at the wall. They had obviously been there for a while as they could tell they were reaching the end of their conversation.

"This is your time to shine, Gilderoy." Snape drawled sarcastically and while he didn't know the nature of the conversation, he was already finding it hilarious. "You've been claiming since the beginning that you knew where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is, so we shall leave it in your hands."

"I…I…" Harry had to restrain his rising amusement at the dumfounded and terrified face of Lockhart.

"Very well then." Professor McGonagall said in her authoritative tone, a tone that left no room for argument. "Professor Lockhart, I hope that you can rescue the student currently in the Chamber of Secrets?!" A rhetorical question that was made even more clear by Professor McGonagall and the rest of the Professors leaving without waiting for him to answer.

"There's a student in the Chamber of Secrets?!" Neville whispered harshly. "And they're trusting Lockhart to save whoever it is." The incredulous tone Neville used was very amusing in Harry's opinion.

"It seems that way." Harry shrugged his shoulders and then began walking away. Well, he would have done if Neville hadn't of gripped his shoulder. Turning around Harry gave the Hufflepuff a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You're not going to do anything?!" Neville's voice had risen in volume as he stared at Harry in shock.

Shrugging Neville's hand off his shoulder, Harry glared at the Longbottom Heir. "I'm not going to risk my life for someone I don't even know! Practically everyone in the entire school turned their back on me so why should I help whoever it is?!"

"Because what happens if was Theodore, or Blaise, or Peter, or Graham, or Hannah, or Susan! Hell, it could even be someone innocent like a First Year and we all know that they didn't choose any side! They simply remained neutral in everything! They always do!" Harry and Neville glared at one another heatedly before Harry sighed and looked away.

"Alright fine." Holding the bridge of his nose in frustration, Harry turned to look at the now pacing Neville. "What?"

"I just realised we don't even know where the Chamber of Secrets is!" Harry raised a brow in amusement at the lack of thought Neville put into his plan. "Don't look at me like that! We can't follow Lockhart as he's too much of a bloody fool to know where it is, and it could take us years to find the entrance!" Neville gripped his hair in frustration as he came to a stop. "Seriously, stop looking at me like that! It's not like you know where the entrance is. Do you?" He asked when he saw the 'I know something you don't know' look on Harry's face. "You do! You bloody bastard!"

"Actually, my parents were married when they had me so technically, I'm not a bastard." Harry smartly responded and chuckled when he saw Neville's glare directed at him. He stopped though when he took note of Neville's eyes beginning to glow much like his own did and the way his magic began to cause the Hogwarts building to crack in the surrounding area.

Raising his arms to placate Neville, he waited until the boy had calmed down before Harry began leading him in the direction of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Ehm, Harry?" Said boy hummed as if to say that Neville should continue. "How did you figure it out?"

"Where the Chamber of Secrets was hidden?" Neville nodded his head. "That was pretty easy actually. First, I figured out that Salazar's favourite sort of animal was a snake, so I realised that Salazar Slytherin's beast must be snake related. Thankfully, my account manager provided me with a list of powerful snake-like creatures. Then I narrowed it down to those that petrify their victims."

"A Basilisk?!" Neville's voice was but a whisper, however, it was breathless and filled with shocked awe as he realised what beast had been roaming around the school.

"Yep." Harry nodded his head to further cement this fact. "It got me thinking for a while on how the creature was getting around the school and what was near each area of the victims. The pipes." Harry paused for a few moments. "And as we all know, the centre of the plumbing system in Hogwarts is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom as no one goes there anymore, so that's where it was moved. Therefore, the entrance must be at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"Wait, why would it be here?" Neville questioned as they reached their destination. "Like you said, it was moved here so why wouldn't the entrance be where it was originally?"

"Because Neville, the plumbing system is spread out all over the school. However, the main area is here and not underneath the school like it was originally. Don't know why they moved it, but who am I to question their decision." Harry mumbled as they looked towards the sinks. "Anyway, the student that died when the Chamber of Secrets was opened first, was killed here, which leads me to the logical conclusion that this is the entrance."

"So, you're back?" Myrtle asked in her usual depressing tone of voice. Harry paid her no mind and hissed at the sink, and with multiple clinks the sink slowly sunk until it revealed a large hole in the floor.

"We're going down there?" Shaking his head in amusement, Harry switched to Parseltongue once more.

§Stairs. § Harry hissed, and then a large spiralling staircase formed, and Harry instantly began walking down the steps, Neville following closely behind him.

-X- Line Break -X-

"So, this is just lovely." Harry snarked as he looked around at the surrounding area. Neville stood beside him and was torn between looking amazed or terrified with the amount of bones decorating the floor. Despite becoming a lot more confident with time, Neville was still scared of things like any normal child his age. Harry on the other hand wasn't an ordinary child, he was abnormal, and loved to prove that the impossible was in fact, very possible.

"H-how can you just stand there and act like seeing the b-bones don't scare you?!" Neville was near hysterics, and he even gave a very girlish scream when he saw the carcass of a very, very, very, very large snake. "T-t-that thing is in the school?!"

"It seems so." Harry walked forwards and brushed his fingers against the length of the shed skin. "Amazing. This has to be at least sixty metres in length, if not more." Smirking, Harry turned towards Neville and saw that the boy didn't look as confident as before. "Still want to go through with this?"

That seemed to remind Neville of why they were here in the first place. "Yes." Gone was his stutter as he looked at the shed skin, even so fear still shined in his eyes. "How could I face my parents or any of my ancestors again if I ran away when someone is in need of help? My ancestors were once Vikings and they welcomed death with open arms, never fearing it and because of that they were feared throughout the world. I would be dishonouring them if I did the opposite of them."

Harry studied Neville for a few minutes and nodded his head, internally glad that he had Neville as a friend. The Longbottom was the main reason he was still able to walk the line between dark and light. He kept him from forgetting that inside the darkness of this world, that there is light as well. Something he would forever be grateful for.

"Well then, if you're dead set on saving this unknown student then as my friend it is my duty to make sure that your ass gets out of their alive. Just to let you know, you will tell your grandmother that this was your idea and not mine, as she would skin me alive." Neville gave a nervous laugh as he nodded his head. Then the two walked forwards and came across a small circular door. On it, was a head with multiple snakes surrounding the outside.

§Open. § A single stone snake slithered around the edges and the snakes surrounding the head moved inwards. "Well then, this is it." Neville and Harry walked inside the room and just like one would expect from a horror movie, the door shut behind them. "You know what I just realised?"

"What?" Neville turned to Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"I probably should have told Balthazar or Hedwig to inform the others." Neville smacked his hand against his face and dragged it down revealing the glare he was directing at Harry. "What? You didn't think of it either."

"Yea! You and Theodore are the ones that come up with these things, me, Blaise, Peter and Graham are the ones that simply go about and do it in our own fashion." Neville argued. "How would they even tell the others?! They can't even speak!"

"They're smart, both would have figured out a way to tell them." The Potter heir nonchalantly replied, causing Neville's glare to deepen.

"Wow, your ability to plan ahead is astounding." Neville sarcastically drawled. Shrugging his shoulder, Harry turned to look around as they came upon the main area of the Chamber of Secrets. It was beautiful but could do with being a little less damp in his opinion. "Look! There's the student!" Before Harry could stop Neville, the Longbottom heir rushed forwards and dropped to his knees by the student.

Sighing, Harry jogged towards the two and saw that it was Ginny Weasley, the younger sister of Ronald Weasley. 'Well this is just great. If I save her, then the hero-worship problem she has for me will become even greater. Though, the Weasley's would owe me a debt which I can use later on in life. Especially if Ron proves to be even more bothersome than he already is.' Weighing the pros and cons for a few more moments, Harry decided that the pros of saving the youngest Weasley far outweighed the cons.

"She's breathing but I don't know why she won't wake up." Neville sounded a little panicked as he shook the unconscious Ginny.

"She won't wake up." Harry and Neville both looked towards the owner of the voice to see a handsome young man walking towards them. In his hand was a wand that he held so that it was pointing towards the ground.

"That's nice and all, but who are you?" Harry questioned while gripping his customised wand, the wand that was much more responsive and more powerful than the one he got from Ollivander's. It was the same wand he always used when duelling or fighting as it worked with him perfectly.

"Harry, now really isn't the time, the Basilisk might come at any point, so help me get Ginny out of here." Neville pressed urgently. Harry and the unknown young man stared at one another before Harry turned to help Neville.

"I wouldn't worry about the Basilisk." The young man said in his cultured and educated voice. "It won't come until it's called." Neville and Harry both had different reactions to what he said. Harry tensed as he narrowed his eyes at the young man, while Neville looked confused but had tensed when Harry did the same.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry stood up and pointed his wand at the black haired individual.

"He means Neville, that the Basilisk won't come until he calls it." Neville gasped in shock as he also stood up in shock, his wand in hand and poised at the black-haired man. However, even when faced with two wands he didn't show any signs of being worried.

Huffing in frustration, Neville sheathed his wand in its holster and turned to Harry. "We don't have time for this, we have to go."

"I can't allow you to do that." Neville turned back to face the young man. "For you see, as young Ginny gets weaker, I get stronger." Once again Neville drew his wand.

"And who the hell are you exactly?!" The young man smirked.

"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"That's a nice name and all, but I want to know what you mean. Why does Ginny getting weaker mean you get stronger? And how did you even open the Chamber of Secrets because I haven't seen you around school at all?" Harry inquired.

"Why, that's simple. It was Ginny Weasley that opened the Chamber of Secrets." There was a mad glint in his eye and he looked a lot like a megalomaniac unveiling his master plan. "It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods, Filch's cat and Ginny who wrote the threatening messages on the walls."

"Why?" Harry pried.

"Because I told her to." His voice was mocking. "You'll find I can be very persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing, she was…shall we say, in a trance?" His voice was questioning as he tried to find the correct way to describe Ginny's mental state when she did the things she did. "Still, she was terrified of the diary through which I communicated with her and she tried to dispose of it. However, she found it once more."

Neville looked between Harry and the young man as the two entered a staring contest. The atmosphere was tense, and Neville felt his eyes flicker between the two nervously.

"I must admit, I'm glad you came to save her. You are the person I have been most anxious to meet." The three began walking in a circle.

"Oh, and why's that?" It was Harry this time that had his voice filled with mocking.

"I knew I had to talk to you, meet you if I could. How is it, that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent, was able to defeat the Greatest Wizard of all time?!" Tom's dramatic speech was cut short by Harry beginning to laugh uproariously. Neville spared him a bewildered glance before he too found himself struggling to contain his laughter. Then he lost it and began laughing just as much as Harry. "What is so funny?!" Tom demanded with anger being heard clearly in his voice.

"Y-y-you th-think Voldemort is the greatest, greatest wiz-wizard of all ti-time." Harry gasped out between fits of laughter. For a few moments Neville and Harry continued to laugh before they finally managed to calm down. "Wooh, I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"Me neither." Neville wiped a stray tear from his left eye.

"What was so funny?!" Tom demanded once more.

"Ickle Voldy-kins is the greatest wizard of all time." Harry looked away as his shoulders shook in mirth as he tried to quell his rising amusement at just muttering the phrase. "Cuddlemort doesn't even enter the top twenty strongest wizards of all time. In fact, it has been stated that he was ranked thirty-three in position for strongest, which is still impressive. However, the difference between the top ten and the rest is said to be like comparing a puppy to a full-grown wolf."

Tom flushed in anger and humiliation as Harry continued to mock Lord Voldemort.

"ENOUGH!" He roared as his magic swirled around him dangerously. Harry and Neville looked unperturbed by this as it wasn't much different to either of them when they got angry. "I did become the strongest wizard of all time!"

"Ohhh, now that is interesting. Tell me, Tom Marvolo Riddle, what are you trying to say?" Harry asked. Smirking, Tom raised his wand and began spelling out his name in the air, the flaming letters forming the words:

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Then Tom swished his wand and the letters began rearranging before their very eyes until they spelled out the words:

I am Lord Voldemort.

Harry and Neville blinked and blinked again as they read the letters before Harry began laughing again. Neville however, only gave a nervous chuckle, not truly understanding what was so funny.

Calming down, Harry faced Tom. "Now this just keeps getting better and better. "Lord Voldums is actually a mudblood. Wait till I pronounce this to the world." Tom ground his teeth in anger and glared at Harry hatefully.

"I am no mudblood, I am a half-blood. Son of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Merope Gaunt." Harry's eyes widened in shock before being replaced with a look of interest and calculation.

"So, you truly are the descendant of Salazar Slytherin?" Neville whispered in awe and Tom nodded his head smugly.

"I am." Then Tom turned to face Harry, who was continuing to study him closely.

"Tell me Tom. How are you here looking barely a day over sixteen when you should easily be over fifty years old now?" Harry inquired, his curiousness getting the better of him. Tom smirked as he recounted his tale of how he opened the Chamber of Secrets years ago. Neville and Harry listened attentively until he finished. "Thank you." Harry said sincerely before his magic swirled to life. "Bombarda!"

Tom's eyes widened in shock as he raised a hasty shield that not only collided but destroyed the shield and flung Tom back till he collided against the mouth of Salazar Slytherin.

Neville turned to face Harry and flinched away in shock at the sight. He hadn't seen Harry lose control, but he had been there when the Sixth Year Slytherin's recounted the tale. His eyes were glowing so brightly that they would occasionally flicker between glowing green to a sickly yellow. His wand arm trembled as he stared coldly at the prone form of Tom.

"Come now, Tom Marvolo Riddle. That can't have been enough to kill you can it or is this all the great Lord Voldemort was capable of? My you truly are weak, I guess you had to go through a lot of rituals to make yourself a proper wizard." Tom released a groan and raised his hand towards the statue.

Before he could do anything, Harry fired a Disembowelling Curse, Entrail Expelling Curse, Blood Boiling curse, Blood Freezing curse, Severing Curse and multiple other dark curses towards the form of Tom. Only one managed to hit and that had been the Severing Curse and all it did was leave a small little line on his arm, one that also appeared on Ginny.

"Harry wait, you will kill Ginny." This seemed to snap Harry out of his temporary rage induced moment at the sound of Neville's voice. He turned to see the two before turning back to the murderer of his parents and his rage rose once more.

However, before he could do anything, Tom raised his hand once more. §Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four! § Then there was a clicking sound as the mouth slowly opened and from it nothing appeared.

Neville and Harry shared a glance before turning to face the confident Tom. Then they heard the sound of something rushing towards them. Together they looked and saw the shadows shifting.

"Neville, close your eyes!" Neville did so, and Harry copied the action.

§Kill them. § Tom ordered and then Harry knew that he would not be able to fight both Tom and the Basilisk. His mind instantly began deducing which was the greater threat.

The Basilisk. With Harry's greater knowledge of magic, repertoire of spells, physical capabilities, magical control and overall amount of magic that meant he would be best suited to deal with the King of Serpents.

Tom on the other hand was nowhere near as powerful as he had expected from the person that would soon become Lord Voldemort, who despite being a bit arrogant in believing he was the strongest wizard of all time, was still very powerful. That meant he had used rituals and other things to increase his magical reserves, something which was both intriguing and worrying. Nevertheless, Neville could easily hold off the young Voldemort in time for him to figure out a way to dispose of him without killing Ginny.

"Neville!" Harry let his magic flow into the ground and instantly jumped to the side, avoiding the jaws of the Basilisk by a mere inch. "Move Ginny away from here and deal with Tom. I will hold off the Basilisk."

Neville nodded his head and due to the magical vibrations in the ground, Neville knew that Harry had the Basilisk's full and undivided attention. This left Tom for him and he was surprised by the amount of magic it held. It was barely bigger than Harry's. With renewed confidence, Neville rose to his feet and stared at Tom.

"You may not have turned my parents into what they are now, but those that did, did it on your orders. For that, I'm gonna make sure that you don't escape this chamber alive." With a roar Neville fired off an Entrail Expelling Curse followed up by a Severing Curse and then a Reductor Curse.

Tom was prepared this time and parried the first curse, though he was surprised by the amount of power behind it. Awkwardly, he moved to one side avoiding the second spell and then raised a powerful shield to absorb the final spell.

In retaliation, Tom fired off multiple dark curses that Neville dodged or used a shield to absorb those he could not. With a grunt of effort, Neville flicked his wand upwards and with it two small streams of water shot from the pond and shot towards Tom's back. A Water-Making Spell from Tom counteracted this attack however, it had been a distraction.

"Incendio!" Tom jumped backwards into the puddle and avoided the flames before he went to move but found he couldn't. Looking down he saw multiple pieces of seaweed growing up the length of his leg slowly inhibiting his movement. With a roar of anger, he fired his own spells at the Longbottom Heir. Despite his young age, Neville had both stamina, greater physical capabilities and surprise on his side. Tom on the other hand had a much larger magical core, greater control and more experience.

These things cancelled each other out and now the two were locked in a duel of attrition.

Neville was thoroughly grateful that this was a young Voldemort, before he entered his prime because he had no doubt this fight would have ended the instant it had begun. Hopefully, Harry could find a way to get rid of the apparition of Tom without killing Ginny soon because his life might just depend on it.

-X- Line Break -X-

As soon as Harry told Neville to go after Tom, Harry blocked everything out. He allowed his instincts to take over, while he thought of a way to remove Tom from play. None were working as it involved killing Ginny.

Firing a few spells, mainly cutting and wide area damage spells at the hide of the Basilisk to see if he could find any weak spots in it. He knew that nothing was indestructible, there was just no known way to destroy it. Besides, he was a fan of making the impossible, possible. It was a hobby of his.

Pushing off one hand in a back-hand spring, Harry flicked his wand and from both pools multiple large streams of water shot up and collided with the Basilisk. The force behind them all halting it in place. Harry was glad to know that he had improved his ability with controlling water as he could now create more than ten large streams of water and hold them for a minute and still counting without any feeling of strain.

Knowing this was only a temporary solution, Harry flicked his wand and instantly the air around the streams cooled the streams. It was a slow process as Harry purposely made it this way. This was because shards of ice would collide with the hide of the Basilisk and test its thickness and like now, when it was fully turned to ice, the streams held it in place.

With this temporary breather, Harry began thinking of a way he could get rid of Tom. 'He said that as Ginny grows weaker he grows stronger. The obvious way would be to then kill Ginny, but that's out of the question.' Damn him and his morals sometimes, this would have been far easier if he didn't have any and just killed the young girl. 'And I don't know how to reverse the process so I'm drawing a blank.'

Before he could think any further, the Basilisk came free and rushed towards him at great speeds. Harry barely had any time to jump to safety before the Basilisk's jaws snapped shut in the position he once stood.

With a gasp of air, Harry shut up for air and instantly he realised his mistake as he stared into the eyes of the Basilisk. The two stared for a few moments before it tilted its head in confusion. Harry meanwhile was also confused. Why hadn't he died yet? Death was definitely confirmed when someone stared into the eyes of a Basilisk.

Then he clutched his head in pain as he heard someone releasing a bloodcurdling scream. Instantly he found himself in the room of his first defence and watched as the five bottles that contained the separate entity cracked before the black smoke inside them pooled to form a face on the floor. Its mouth was open in a scream before it collapsed in on itself.

Collapsing to his knees, Harry began heaving as he tried to get air into his lungs. Once he had done, he shakily got to his feet and turned to face the Basilisk. Already he felt a huge difference now that the entity was all gone. His body felt cleaner and fitter, his mind a lot clearer and his magic was all but raring to be released. It shocked him at how eager it was to be released.

None-the-less, he gave in to the desire of his magic and let it be released. Plants shot up from the bottom of the pool and wrapped around the body of the Basilisk. Then water shot up and collided with the side of it, forcing it into the pool on the other side of the walkway.

As soon as its scaly body collided with the bottom of it, more plants wrapped around its width and further constricted its movement.

Do not allow this advantage to go.

Harry didn't know where the voice came from, but he followed its order and flicked his wand once more. Moisture from the air formed into a spear and with a flick of his wand, it froze forming a spear of ice. Thrusting his wand forwards, the shot down and pierced the hide of the Basilisk. To his disappointment it didn't go very deep and shattered upon impact.

-X- Line Break -X-

With a gasp of pain, Neville jumped to the ground narrowly avoiding the curse sent his way before rolling along the ground to avoid a few more spells aimed for bodily harm. It was by pure luck that his eyes caught sight of the diary and instantly everything clicked into place

'Tom said that he sealed all his memories inside that thing. If we destroy it, then we can destroy him.' Giddy with this thought, Neville fired a multitude of destructive and damaging spells as he could at the diary, only for them to do nothing but fling it around. Growling in frustration, Neville went back to trying to avoid the spells, his movements however, were much sloppier than they previously were as a result of his stamina getting lower.

"So, you figured it out." Tom condescendingly said. "It won't matter, nothing you do will destroy my diary."

"We'll see." Neville responded, however, just like his movements, his spells were lacking in speed and power. Tom on the other hand was as good as new. He had more magic and greater control meant that he was using less magic in multiple spells than Neville was in a single one. "Harry! The diary! We have to destroy the diary!" Neville shouted and with that returned his full concentration to his own battle.

-X- Line Break -X-

Groaning, Harry stumbled backwards as the adrenaline began leaving his system, making all his systems come crashing down as tiredness began claiming him. Shaking his head, Harry slipped off the edge of the pathway and into the pool once more.

'How am I meant to destroy the diary? From what I saw Neville tried every spell I would have done to destroy it, so how are we meant to do that?' Normally, Harry wasn't a quitter, but right now his entire body was screaming to rest. Whatever was killed inside of his mind was obviously playing a serious part in his current condition as he still had enough magic to create multiple streams and then turn them into ice like he did at the start. So why? Why was he so tired?

Pathetic. To think you would give up so easily. What would your parents think if you died on your knees instead of on your feet? Especially when one of your friends is counting on you.

It was but a short and simple sentence, yet it had so much truth to it. How could he face his parents if he didn't do everything he could to rescue one of his friends? The answer is, he couldn't. They may forgive him in time, but he would still forever feel like he didn't deserve such forgiveness if he was the reason Neville or any of his friends died.

Neville. He, Theodore and Blaise were by far his four greatest friends. His best, and the ones that held his absolute trust. If he let Neville die because he gave up, then he would never be able to face any of them again. Not only that, but what if there was a chance in the future when Neville's parents return to sanity and Neville isn't there to see them? No, he would not fail here, he would not die, and he would protect his friends no matter the cost.

Something cold and solid brushed against his fingers and Harry grasped it. As soon as he stood to his feet he looked down and saw that he was holding the blade of Godric Gryffindor in his hand, and it was just as beautiful as it was described to be. No wonder thousands of wizards and witches from all over the globe searched for it.

Giving it a few swings, he realised how right it felt in his hands. Though in his opinion, it was bit too long and bit too thin for his tastes. That didn't bother him, he just preferred shorter blades that were a bit thicker, so as to be used for a multitude of purposes.

Still, he made do with what he had and after climbing onto the pathway once more, he rushed towards the Basilisk and with a roar he jumped. Time seemed to slow down in his opinion as he drove the blade through the small gap he had made in the Basilisk's hide. The scream he got from the creature as a result was saddening. Made even more so by the creatures dying whisper.

§Thank you, human. § He didn't know why it was thanking him, but it didn't matter as he quickly rushed towards Neville.

"Neville! Catch!" Throwing the sword in the air, Harry kicked the diary across the floor, so it landed at the Longbottom Heir's feet. Neville meanwhile, caught the blade and swung it down, unminding of the scream of outrage from Tom. As soon as the blade struck the diary Tom's screams of outrage became screams of pain as his entire body began to glow before exploding.

Neville and Harry collapsed to their knees before turning to face one another. Chuckling the two collapsed onto their backs and began laughing even more so. No one knew why, neither did they, but they continued to laugh anyway.

A/N: So, I hope you enjoyed the story, especially the fight scene between Harry and Neville vs Tom and the Basilisk. Now I know like always, there will be those of you who don't read the author's notes, but if you are and you're still confused on how Neville managed to hold Tom off, let me explain. In my fic, Tom was above average in terms of the size of his magical core and the amount of magical control he had. It was greater than even Harry's, but it was nowhere near the strength he displayed in the First Blood War or even before that.

PLEASE READ THIS, I'M BEING SERIOUS. BLOODY READ IT.

Tom in this story only gained that sort of strength through a multitude of rituals he did AFTER he left Hogwarts. Bear in mind, Tom made the diary while still in Hogwarts and this allowed Neville to keep up. However, the main reason Neville lasted as long as he did was because of his superior physical capabilities. He was a lot more agile, allowing him to avoid Tom's spells and very rarely used a shield which meant he mainly focused on offense. Then there was the fact that Tom could only use a shield to block Neville's spells as Neville had immobilised Tom near enough at the start of the fight. This gave Neville the ability to last as long as he did and no other reason. There's no godlike Neville, just a wizard using common sense, unlike the rest of his brethren.

Anyway, if you have any more questions please let me know, and I will answer them as best as I can without spoiling the rest of the story too much. So, until next time.