Word spread quickly about a giant snake slithering through the halls, sending the whole school into a flurried frenzy. Teams made up of all the teachers and a few Auror's were brought in to help with the search and, surprisingly due to the rumored size of the snake, have come up with nothing. Classes were canceled while the students were forced to stay in their respective house dorms till a teacher came to escort them all to dinner that night. The trio sat silently as the whole table around them buzzed with meaningless gossip and speculation. Tired of all the trivial talk, Dumbledore finally rose from his seat and approached the podium, effectively silencing the whole hall.

"I'm sure you have all heard by now about a monster roaming these halls." The whole hall started to hum with whispers once again. The headmaster lifted his hand once to silence everyone. "Due to a recent discovery, each house is to be escorted back to their dormitory by their heads of house. You are to remain there, with the exception of meals, until further notice."

There was muffle of grumbling from students and even a few fearful mummers between friends. There were even a handful of louder exclamations, especially from one fiery redhead. "Ginny! Has anyone seen my sister!?"

Dumbledore, hearing Ron from where he stood, directed a sympathetic look toward the boy. "This is what I was afraid of." He muttered, "It appears that a young student of ours has disappeared. As soon as you all are safe and tucked away in bed the search for young Ginevra shall commence."

"Ginny?" Harry whispered to his friends, "Is that the little redheaded girl in Gryffindor?"

Hermione nodded, "The little girl with a crush on you. I can't believe she went missing at a time like this." She muttered worriedly.

Draco scowled from behind his folded hands. "I think it's time we paid a little visit to Myrtle…"

"But you heard what that old coot said," Blaise said while leaning across the table. "We have to be escorted back by Snape."

"If we stay at the back of the group we can slip into one of the broom closets." Harry said while playing with the food on his plate.

"This is no time to play Gryffindor!" Blaise hissed, "You three are going to get yourselves killed. Haven't you heard any of the rumors?"

Draco snorted with an eye roll, "Don't you care to compare me to those sniveling Gryffindor's. Truly Blaise, you wound me."

"Well count me out," Blaise muttered indignantly. "There is no way I want to risk being caught in a situation like that."

Shortly after everyone was finished each house was lead through the halls back to their dorms. The trio walked silently at the back, Blaise-the-chicken a little farther up. Once they were sure that Snape wasn't paying attention Hermione gestured for them to break off and into behind the nearest door. After a few moments the group exited and made their way into the opposite direction. Silently the three made their way up the stairs and into the lavatory.

"I knew you would be back!" Myrtle screeched, floating just before their noses as soon as they had fully entered.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, Myrtle!" Hermione whispered harshly in attempt to halt the ghost's incessant shrieks.

"Now, now, what is this?" The three whipped their heads around to spot Professor Lockhart standing in the doorway, twiddling his wand absently. The group's face paled, figuring they were done for. "What are three little snakes doing out of bed when dear old Dumbles specifically said to be in their dorms?"

"Well….we just…I mean-" Harry, every the eloquent Slytherin he was, suddenly stopped his spluttering as something caught his attention. Lockhart's eyes seemed rather vacant and devoid of human presence. The next thing that caught the group's attention was the way he was speaking. This obviously wasn't the same numptie of an educator that was just in class today. No, this must be an impostor of some sort.

"Professor," Draco cut in slowly. They had all seemingly noticed the small changes in the man before them. "We're awfully sorry for disobeying the headmaster, it was just that Hermione was feeling awfully ill and, with the dangers lurking in the castle, we only deemed it appropriate to escort her to the nearest loo."

Lockhart smirked, a rather out of place expression for the normally egotistical man, as he lowered his wand and took a step further into the bathroom. "It appears that the young girl is just fine now. Not to mention there are lavatories closer to the Slytherin dorms than this one."

"Yes well I-" Hermione knew they had been caught; it was a feeble attempt at escape anyway. There was no use in denying it as the three shifted on their feet, waiting for the man to speak their punishment.

The next few moments completely caught them off-guard.

"Stupefy!" The man yelled with a quick swish of his wand followed by a startled shriek from Myrtle. The three swiftly ducked, the poorly aimed stunner flying passed their heads and rebounding off of a sink.

"Diffindo!" The man shot off another spell as the three dived in separated directions. The spell once again rebounded before crashing into a toilet, the severing charm causing the porcelain to shatter and water to spout, flooding the area.

Harry quickly patted through his robes before clumsily gripping his wand from his position behind the wooden wall of the nearest stall. Adrenaline seemed to take over and their ponce of a teacher didn't seem to have any intention of stopping his attack.

Peeking from around the wall the boy barely managed to duck his head back behind as a flash of white light streaked passed his face. Harry waited for another second before sticking his head back out and surveying the room before a flash of blonde caught his attention. On the other side Draco seemed to catch the unruly haired boy's gaze. After a few minutes of silence the two nodded their heads in an unspoken agreement.

Hermione, oblivious to the two boys on either side of her, continued to dodge hexes. "Everte Statum!" The girl tried to throw her body left but wasn't fast enough, the spell hit her square in the chest and threw her into the back wall with a dull thud; she crashed back down to the floor motionless.

"Hermione!" The boys called out simultaneously. Both wished to run to her aid but neither moved for fear of getting hit as well.

"Just come on out boys," Lockhart sneered, "I won't hurt you." Harry gritted his teeth in annoyance at the man's tone. With a cry of protest from Draco the boy moved from his hidden position and raised his wand. This seemed to be exactly what the teacher wanted as he raised his wand level at the boy. There was a brief silence as they both stared the other down.

"Cru-" There was the sound of a dull thud before Lockhart froze mid-spell, his body leaning forward slowly before gravity caused it to crash to the ground. Behind the man stood the heaving body of Draco, his arm raised with a large broken piece of porcelain broken off from the shattered toilet in his hands.

Harry blinked dumbly for a moment before letting out a few stunned chuckles that evolved into full relieved laughter. Draco just grunted and dropped the porcelain to the ground with a clang. They would have continued to just stand there if it weren't for a small groan catching their attention.

Swiveling their heads around, the two quickly ran over to their fallen comrade, their feet making light splashes on the quickly flooding floor. Hermione groaned again, a hand placed on her forehead as the two tried to help her stand.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked quietly while gripping her right arm to hold her steady.

"I feel like I've been hit by a train…" She grumbled. Draco grinned wryly, "She'll be fine alright." After finally gathering their wits the three moved closer to the sinks and their unconscious teacher.

"Who do you think would try and go after this berk?" The youngest Malfoy grumbled while toeing the man's shoulder with his boot.

"Draco!" Hermione hissed, appalled at his behavior. The blonde just shrugged and turned back to the rest of his friends.

"I'm more worried about how to even get down into the Chamber." Harry sighed, "You don't suppose that's where Ginny is at, do you?"

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but just shut it once more; Draco shrugged again. "Why don't you try 'Open Sesame'? It seemed to work just fine in a story I read once." The blonde replied unhelpfully. The dark haired boy just scowled, Draco obviously wasn't taking this very seriously.

"As utterly stupid as that sounds," Hermione grumbled, "It just might work." At Harry's deepened frown she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "It's the only real option we have."

Sighing the boy turned towards the faucets in the bathroom. They knew the general vicinity of the Chamber but not it's exact whereabouts. Scanning his emerald eyes over each of the sinks one seemed to catch his eye. This faucet was different from the others as it had a small snake engraved on the tap.

"Here goes nothing," Harry grumbled to himself before taking a deep breath. A thought occurred to him then and before he could really ponder it the boy opened his mouth. "Open." Instead of words falling out as expected, a soft hissing followed. Hermione and Draco shared a small surprised look but it didn't last long as the whole sink sunk down, revealing a pipe large enough to slide down.

"I can't believe that worked…" Harry said slightly amazed.

"You're a Parselmouth?" Hermione asked curiously. The boy seemed to forget his friends were even there and turned his head slightly ashamed.

"Ur- yeah. Found out when I helped a snake outside the castle." He said sheepishly. "Sable is her name and that I could call on her if I needed any help."

Nothing more was mentioned as a groan from behind alerted them to the awakening Professor. "We need to get going now before he wakes up." Hermione said before leaning to look over the edge of the pipe.

"How do you expect us to get down there?" Harry asked as he leaned near his bushy haired friend.

"Simple, you just jump." Draco drawled from behind the two.

"Jump? Are you crazy-" Harry didn't even get to finish his sentence before the blonde boy had pushed him over the edge and down the chute like pipe.

"Draco!" Hermione hissed. "What were you thinking!"

"I was thinking of not being such a pansy and getting the heck out of here." Draco shrugged as he put his legs over the edge of the pipe. "Well are you coming or not?" The blonde smirked while raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Hermione huffed before placing her legs over the edge as well. "You truly are a barmy git you know that?" The last thing heard was a rather shrill scream and raucous laughter.

"Zabini!"

The Italian boy rolled his eyes at the near shriek. Blaise lifting his eyes from the potions book in front of him to see the pug face of Pansy Parkinson, with both hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"What do you want Parkinson?" The boy frowned while trying to go back to the solitude of his book.

"Where are Draco and those two mangy friends of his?" The girl huffed before her voice took on a distressed, and rather overdone, tone of worry. "I bet they forced him out into the halls all alone so that snake can eat him!"

Blaise had to resist the urge to roll his eyes once more and the girl's theatrics. Even the portrait of Merlin on the wall had a sense to silently snort before leaving his frame and traveling to another portrait of his somewhere in the castle.

"Why should I tell you anything Pansy?" The boy questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You have been nothing but rude to Hermione and Harry when they have done nothing to you."

"They took away my Draco that's what they did!" Pansy looked just like an insolent little child as she stomped her foot on the ground in aggravation.

"Listen to me Parkinson," The dark skinned boy sighed while closing his book with a snap and placing it on the table, giving the girl his full attention. "Draco did not and will not ever belong to you."

"Ugh!" She huffed while stomping her foot. Just as Blaise thought she would finally walk away and leave him alone, she suddenly took a rather disturbing smirk. "It was that oaf wasn't it?"

"What?"

"That oaf Hagrid," She elaborated as if it were the most obvious thing ever. "I bet he corrupted my poor Drake. He was expelled you know." She said smugly.

Blaise had to clench his teeth to keep his mouth shut. He had never been on the adventures to Hagrid's Hut but from his friends description the half-giant couldn't be that bad. Yet there was one thing that she said that bugged him. "Expelled?"

This seemed to be just what Pansy expected to hear as her smirk grew. "That's right, expelled. Apparently he was involved with the Chamber when it was last opened. His beast was the one who killed that Mudblood."

The boy's eyes widened just a fraction but otherwise didn't give any reaction to the pug-faced girl's words. "What are you talking about?"

Pansy just turned her back while smirking over her shoulder. "All I'm trying to say is that this Chamber thing may not be as open and shut as some thought."

Blaise scowled while picking his book back up. There was no way Hagrid was involved with anything. He was once a bloody Gryffindor for Merlin's sake; a third year no less! He just hoped that his friends made it out alright.

Neither of the children noticed bright eyes watching them from beneath the coffee table, or when that same long black body slipped out of the common room from a mouse hole hidden behind a bookshelf.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Hermione shrieked furiously as she brushed dirt and cobwebs from her robes. The bushy haired girl looked red-faced and murderous at her blonde haired friend.

Draco sneered in disgust as he pried a cobweb from his shoulder before rolling his eyes at the girl. "Well it was obvious neither of you were going to jump so I merely took the matter into my own hands."

The girl glared and was about to open her mouth when she noticed Harry wasn't near them. Turning her head she spotted the stone pillars lined against the wall, bathed in a green hue. Dust and rat bones seemed to cover every surface of the corridor; skin that appeared to have been shed from a forty-foot monster sat undisturbed in the corner.

"Potter?" Draco questioned. The boy ignored him as he walked closer to a large door with two snakes intertwined. Without waiting for anything further, Harry opened his mouth and hissed in a similar manner as he had with the washing station.

The snakes twisted and slowly the door cracked open. Entering through the door they came across a long expanse of concrete that was damp and slick. Lining the walls were snake statues posed to strike; at the very end an older looking man (one Hermione identified as Salazar Slytherin) sat. Just below that you could see a small fleck of fiery red hair attached to a small body.

"Ginny?" Harry asked unnecessarily as he took a quick step forward, followed by another. "Harry, no!" Hermione hissed, but the boy ignored her as he ran full scale at the fallen girl his friends running just behind him.

"Ginny, wake up!" The dark haired boy said while nudging her shoulder.

"Do you suppose she's dead?" Draco asked unconcernedly as he peered over the dark haired boy's shoulder.

There was a distant chuckle then; in a distinctly lower tone of voice then any of them possessed. "She won't wake." Out from the shadows emerged a handsome man with dark hair; one all three of them identified as Tom Riddle from the diary.

"Don't worry, she's alive." The young man cast a fleeting look at the girl on the floor before looking back at the rest of the group. "But only just."

"You must be a ghost." Draco sneered; he was really starting to get sick of ghosts.

Tom smirked, "No just a memory preserved in a diary."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. There was something not right here. She didn't know much about this Tom Riddle but something about him felt…slimy. "What about the Basilisk terrorizing the students? Even if you are a memory it could possibly paralyze you just a it had with Nearly Headless Nick."

The young Slytherin's eyes flicked towards the girl, lingering a little longer than what would normally be socially acceptable before smirking. "It won't come until it is called." He stated casually. The man leaned down to hover over the girl and closer to Harry who was still kneeling. Hermione and Draco tensed.

Tom leaned closer and fiddled with the sleeve of Ginny's robe. Draco narrowed his eyes, noticing a small flash of wood. "Potter watch ou-!" With a flick the boy was flung back, skidding on the slick floor.

"Draco!" The two friends cried out quickly before finding themselves at wand point.

"Don't move." Tom spoke calmly. The two second years froze with pursed lips. "I recognize your efforts to save the girl but I'm afraid as she grows weaker, I grow stronger."

Harry raised his chin defiantly. "Oh, and what do you hope to gain by killing an innocent first year?" His tone of voice was something Hermione had never heard before, filled with confidence and strength.

"To live." The young man started to pace in a slow circle around the two children. "You see, why should a guilty person live when I, an innocent, am only doomed to repeat moments of my life?"

"Ginny isn't guilty of anything." Hermione stated through clenched teeth. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted movement and with a small, almost detectable nod, she attempted to stall. "Its you who is foul."

"Oh really?" Tom raised an eyebrow as he stared down the girl. "Who opened the Chamber? Petrified all those Mudbloods? Wrote those messages? Ginny that's who!"

Harry shared a quick glance with the girl, her eyes portraying an urgent message. "But why?" He spoke, turning his head back towards Riddle.

"Because I told her to. I can be very persuasive." The man chuckled.

"Expelliarmus!" Tom turned with a quick flick and countered the spell taking the barely standing blonde by surprise. He was completely unprepared as another beam of light shot from the enemy's wand. "Diffindo!"

"Protego!"

Suddenly, the light from Tom's borrowed wand turned back around. With a grunt Tom grabbed his now bleeding arm, dropping Ginny's wand. Stunned Draco crossed his eyes, spotting a thin opaque film in front of him as a sort of shield.

"I should have known you would show up eventually." Tom spat through the pain. All eyes turned to a dark corner of the Chamber where footsteps were now heard along with a light tinkling giggle. Out from the darkness emerged a woman with a very familiar face.

"Of course I would, Thomas, did you think any less of me?" The woman's expression was haughty with a light smirk but only for mocking purposes. In her sparkling eyes you could sense the pure fire. She appeared older than her portrait and Tom, about early twenties, and was dressed in normal Muggle clothing opposed to Riddle's Slytherin robes.

"Nydia…" whispered Hermione. She couldn't believe it, seeing her doppelganger in the flesh was truly a strange experience. Hearing the soft whisper the woman turned her head and smiled at the girl. "Why hello little child."

"You have vexed me one to many times insolent wench!" Tom hissed syllabantly, as if nearly speaking another language in his anger. "I should have disposed of you when I had the chance!"

"Having trouble facing your past failures eh, Voldemort?" The serious expression on the seemingly kind woman's face was definitely foreign. The name that passed through her lips caused a gasp as the three children whipped their heads back towards the young Riddle.

Tom didn't seem phased and merely smirked. "You always knew what I was up to. Went even as far as to attach your own soul to mine in this diary to keep a watch on me after death. Tell me Nydia, are you sure you never loved me?"

The woman growled and waved her hand, a brilliant ball of light shooting forth. Tom dodged just in time as Harry and Hermione quickly ducked to run to their blonde friend's side. "I would never love such a filthy man such as yourself!"

The man scowled before letting out a few velvety hissing sounds that only Harry could understand. "Lay aid to your Master!" The statue at the head of the Chamber rumbled as the mouth of Salazar began to open. A hissing so menacing started to fill the halls as a large snake glided smoothly from the depths.

Nydia scoffed, seemingly unimpressed with the large snake before scowling. "You always were a coward weren't you Tom?

"Don't call me that!" The normally calm man yelled followed by a few more hisses. The snake opened its mouth and coiled, preparing to strike.

"Children move!" The young woman yelled as she dived out of the way. The trio was a bit slower to react but eventually dived to the right. The head of the snake struck as quick as lightning with fangs bared, blindly colliding with a pillar.

"You fools! You may have blinded my beautiful pet but that doesn't mean you've won." The Basilisk shifted, stone dislodging as the pillar it was attached to started to become loose. With another mighty tug the snake was free and the stone began to teeter perilously before falling over.

Harry leaped out of the way, his other companion about to follow when he noticed someone was missing. "Hermione move!" Draco yelled, pushing the frozen girl out of the way. Stumbling back and finally coming out of her stupor she watched in horror as a large chunk of the falling stone broke off, knocking into the blonde and burying it under its immense weight.

"Draco!" She shrieked for the second time that night. Harry, on the other side of the tall pillar and unable to see what happened was filled with a sense of dread. He wasn't able to dwell on it long as suddenly he was airborne with the wind knocked out of him, the tail of the snake acting like a bat and hitting the small boy back over the pillar and into the wall.

"Harry!" The girl gasped in surprise before it turned into distress. She knew that this was going to be dangerous but she didn't expect it to be her worst nightmare come true. She cursed herself for not being a voice of reason and stopping the two boys. Blaise was right, they were just children and this was a suicide mission. She was all alone with a forty-foot snake and the teenage version of one of the most powerful wizards to ever live.

"Hello dearest," She heard whispered from her side. Whipping her head around Hermione couldn't help the whine of relief that left her lips. She normally wasn't much for crying, being best friends with two boys definitely helped to quell that habit, but she could feel the waterfall flowing down her cheeks coupled with the loud sobs and snot. She never had been an attractive crier.

"Nydia you have to help them!" She sobbed while throwing herself into the older woman's arms, still crouched behind the pillar. "It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

"Shh, Shh, calm down dearest its alright." The woman cooed while combing her fingers through the tangled mess of hair, the picture of a mother calming her crying daughter. "They'll be just fine."

"They're going to die!" The girl sniffled before crying harder. "You have to do something! Please!" She begged.

"Why dearest," Nydia stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "All you have to do is heal them!" She chirped happily.

"B-but how?" She said with a large sniff as she pulled out of the woman's arms a bit. "I don't know any healing spells!" She cried with desperation.

"Why it's simple, just use your wand." Nydia smiled warmly. Hermione pulled all the way out of the woman's arms with a frown on her face. She was starting to loose all faith in her doppelganger. She may nearly be as barmy as Luna.

From above there was another hiss followed by a crash as the tail tried to swing over the pillar, reminding the on what was happening on the other side. The woman quickly shoved Hermione's head lower as bits of rock began to rain down upon them.

"Don't think, just feel." She whispered before slipping back around the other side of the pillar to face the Basilisk once more. Hermione bit her lip as she looked down at her two unconscious and pale friends. She deftly moved a blood soaked blonde lock from Draco's forehead before taking a deep breath. What did she have to loose? She would never know if she didn't try.

She reached into her wand pouch, gripping the small piece of wood so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She took another breath before closing her eyes and just feel. It took a moment to block out all her surroundings and the loud crashing. All that she could sense was the wood in her hand and the shallowness of her breathing. She was just about to give up and call Nydia bonkers when she felt it. A spark. It was warm and inviting, a small speck of light flashing just behind the lids of her eyes.

She opened her eyes, holding onto the warmth she felt and looked down towards her wand hand and was shocked at what she found. Surrounding her body like a security blanket was a soft white light. Not wasting this chance she set her thoughts aside and moved towards Harry, assuming he would be the easiest to heal.

She placed her wand over the boy's body, his shallow breath just a whisper of the life he had left in his body. Closing her eyes she looked deep into herself and followed her instincts. Slowly she waved her wand over his body in a smooth motion. After a moment her gaze widened as she watched in amazement as every scratch, cut, and bruise disappeared before her very eyes. As soon as her wand reached the tip of his head Harry's eyes snapped open followed by a deep gasp of breath. The boy coughed valiantly for a moment before blinking away the dampness in his eyes.

"Hermione?" He croaked out, clearly alive. He was dirty and his glasses cracked but alive. The girl let out a sob of relief before flinging her arms around him. Both confused and stunned the boy held his crying friend for a moment before another crash sounded, this one shaking the whole Chamber.

"Nydia," the girl gasped and pushed the boy away suddenly remembering the imminent danger they were all in. "You have to go out and help her she's out they're fighting that monster alone."

"Where's Draco?" He asked while looking around for his fallen wand. A flash of blonde caught his attention and he gasped as he saw his friend beneath the rubble. Hermione snapped her hands in front of his face, bringing Harry's attention back to her.

"I have it under control, you go out and help Nydia." She said seriously and leaving no room for argument. The girl shoved the boy's wand back into his hands and pushed him towards the end of the pillar. With one last look back towards his friends Harry steeled his expression and leapt to the other side.

"It seems you never lost that spark." Tom panted as he whipped the dirt and sweat form his brow. "You always were a feisty one."

"Shut up!" The woman hissed as she threw another spell. She was feeling the fatigue and she had exhausted every spell she had in her wandless arsenal seeing as Hermione was now in possession of it. The Basilisk sat unmoving but poised to strike as soon as its master commanded.

Tom dodged but just barely as he too was fighting exhaustion. That didn't seem to stop the smart comments though. "Tell me, did Kreios ever fork up the gall to ask you to marry him despite his parent's disapproval? Probably not, he always was Daddy's little pet."

"I said shut up!" She knew she had to calm down but it was useless. She was normally so calm and in control but Tom knew every button she had and fully intended to exploit them all.

"What about that father of yours?" Tom smirked, "I bet he died in that little cell in Azkaban like the filth he is!" Nydia clenched her teeth and swallowed her tears while saying nothing. She didn't want to give the man the satisfaction.

"Hey Riddle!" Both the older students whipped their head around at the sound of the voice. Nydia had to fight down the proud smile she wanted so badly to display. She knew the girl could do it.

"I have one question for you Tom," Harry began slowly. "What are you hoping to achieve here? Killing innocent students, now that doesn't sound very menacing does it?" Tom clenched his teeth and Harry smirked. He had definitely been spending way too much time with Draco. "In fact, it sounds kind of like a hallow reach for power don't you think?"

The man was nearly growling in anger before the expression suddenly melted, replaced by a cool smirk. "My goal is not to kill worthless Mudbloods anymore. My target has shifted."

Harry's confident smirk morphed into a stoic expression as the half-crazed teenager continued. "How could you, a mere baby defeat me with nothing to show for it but a scar?" When the boy didn't answer Tom's anger grew. "Get him!"

The snake pounced, a quick flash of teeth and forked tongue. With a yelp the boy rolled out of the way and into a wall, collecting a few scratches. The snake didn't seem discouraged though as it stuck its large forked tongue out, sensing the air around it. Turning his head, Harry spotted a fang not far from where he was. Crawling closer to it he picked up the large tooth that must have fallen out when the snake hit the wall.

He didn't notice the snake turning his head towards his direction once more; nor did he notice as it released it's coiled momentum to strike.

"No!"

"Please be okay, please be okay," Hermione chanted like a mantra as she moved another heavy rock from around the prone body. She was afraid she had waited to long, that there was no hope to save him. She clenched her eyes shut, "please be okay," she muttered once more as she rolled the last rock away.

It took everything in her not to cry at the sight. His arm and leg were twisted in odd angles, blood pooling out from beneath him, and his breath so soft that it would barely move a hair. She had never been more grateful to see that small rise of his chest. There was still hope.

Reaching into that place she had found earlier she centered herself. Soon enough she was once again engulfed in that warm aura from before. She somehow knew she wasn't powerful enough to heal him completely without completely exhausting her magical core but she could get pretty darn close.

It was tough, like moving through molasses, but she couldn't give up. She whipped the sweat from her brow and kept her wand movement slow and steady. She didn't know how long she sat there and her knees were starting to ache but she didn't dare move. If anything she concentrated harder.

After what felt like hours, but what was really only a few minutes, she reached the top of his head and dropped her wand. He didn't awake immediately like Harry did but she patiently waited. One minute, two minutes, three…

Finally there was a fluttering of eyelashes, so small you could barely notice it. After a while the fluttering grew stronger followed by a gasp as the boy opened his eyes. Hermione chocked out another sob and for the second time she launched herself at a friend, nearly hugging the newly regained life out of him. He was bewildered at first but softly hugged back, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with her citrus shampoo.

"Harry's out there by himself." She said as she pulled back from the warm embrace while whipping a final tear from her eye. "We have to go out and help him."

Draco quickly nodded and tried to leap to his feet. As soon as he stood he let out a yelp and collapsed, falling neatly into Hermione's waiting arms. "I'm sorry, I wasn't able to heal you completely. You must not have regained the use of your legs yet."

The blonde groaned. "I'm no use fighting like this!"

Hermione bit her lip before placing him on a nearby rock closes to the edge of the pillar. "Sit here, I'll go out and fight. You can keep watch and cast spells from this position."

Draco grunted but didn't make any further protest. Just as Hermione turned the corner he looked out among the battlefield just in time to witness the snake make a strike for Harry.

"No!"

Harry looked up and blinked, at the approaching snake. He couldn't do anything, there wasn't enough time. He clenched his eyes shut waiting for the impending pain but none came. Cracking one eye open and then the other Harry saw the snake, thrashing against what seemed to be an invisible shield. Looking around he spotted Nydia not far away but she just met his eye and shook her head, a knowing twinkle in her eye that was reminiscent of Dumbledore.

He kept looking before there, he spotted it. It was a flash of blonde from behind the fallen pillar. He caught his now awake friend's eye and blinked in surprise. They seemed bluer than normal, similar to that time Ron insulted Hermione. His wand was clenched tightly in his fist, never breaking eye contact with the thrashing snake.

It took two more strikes before the shield started to crack and Harry noticed the sweat on Draco's brow starting to drip down his neck from the shear concentration. It was moments away from cracking now. He had no way to escape as the shield was like a protective dome, nothing could get in and nothing could get out. He had bought a few more minutes of life but that was it.

Suddenly he felt something tickling his hand. Looking down he spotted a spider crawling over his fingers, followed by another one. One by one spiders seemed to spill out from the cracks of the walls. Harry found this strange as Hermione had once told him spiders ran from Basilisks.

There was a noise then, a mixture between a roar and a screech before a large shape crashed into the Basilisk the same time the shield fell with a shatter. Harry shielded his eyes though there was no use as the falling glass like shield glittered to magic dust and disappeared. There was another growl followed by a hiss as Harry looked over to find something large wrestling with the Basilisk on the ground.

"Is that a giant spider!?" Hermione stated in surprise.

"Well, this is certainly new." Nydia mumbled under her breath. Harry took this distraction as a chance to run back towards Ginny's prone body with the Basilisk fang still clutched in his hand. The whole Chamber seemed to rumble as the two giant beasts battled across the wet ground.

"I shall. Not. Lose!" Tom growled as he began to blindly shoot hexes. His rage had reached its peak causing him to only see red. Draco ducked back behind the pillar as once beam of light narrowly missed his head.

"Get the diary!" Hermione yelled over the noise. Nydia shot a rather powerful stunner, knocking the dark wizard back a few feet.

At Ginny's body Harry started to frantically took for the medium sized black book, instantly panicking when he didn't see it immediately. He began to move and shift the girl's robes, wondering if it may have slipped underneath. "Where is it, where is it?"

"Master!" Harry whipped his head around, looking for a few seconds before his eyes finally landed on a rather small snake next to his side.

"Sable!" Harry exclaimed as the small snake slithered up his arm. He softly patted her head before he notices that clamped in her jaws was the very book he was looking for. Gently taking it from her he set it down. "How did you get here? Why is there a giant spider?"

"I asked an old friend to help after overhearing you friend and the pug girl." Sable hissed, "Now stop talking and stab the book!"

Sable's angry hiss left no room for argument as he swiftly brought the fang down onto the book. In the distance he could hear blood curdling screams but he tried to block it out, focusing all his energy on the book as it started to ooze pitch black ink. A faraway gurgling screech was heard and finally one of the beasts gave its final breath; whichever one it was Harry wouldn't be able to tell you do to his utter concentration.

Finally, several torturous minutes the powerful blast from the book diminished and the ink ceased to flow. A final burst of energy sent Harry back for a moment before all going quiet again. Slowly he rose to his feet and turned back around, catching Hermione's eye as she sent a victorious grin while supporting a newly collected Draco.

"Nydia, we did it!" Hermione stated jubilantly as she turned around to face the young woman, only to frown at what she saw.

"That we did dearest," she said with a sad smile. The past Slytherin was ghostly in appearance, nearly transparent. Small flashes of light seemed to surround her as her feet began to fade.

"Why are you vanishing? What's happening?" Harry asked while jogging up to the group. Nydia opened her mouth to speak but ended up smiling fondly as Hermione interrupted her.

"She's only a memory Harry," the girl started sadly. "Its only a part of her, not the real thing. She is going to vanish just like Tom did."

"But we finally have answers!" Draco grumbled next to Hermione. "She can't go yet, just a few more minutes."

"I'm afraid I have no choice," she said fondly. Her eyes looked a little sadder as she rested them on the injured blonde.

"What about your portrait?" Harry interjected as he watched her waist disappear. It seemed as if she was starting to fade even faster now. "How do we get the silencing spell off so it can talk to us?"

Nydia just grinned, the most genuine yet. "Tom isn't the only one with a diary."

"Diary?" Hermione perked up at this news. "You mean your diary will tell us what we need to know?" The woman didn't answer and just kept the smile on her face. By this point her shoulders were starting to go.

"Can't you tell us where to start looking?" Draco said exasperatedly with a hint of annoyance.

"Afraid not dearest," she sighed before turning to look at Hermione. "Kreios was right, gems really are only as beautiful as the flowers who wear them."

With that, she was gone.

"Giant spider?"

"That's right," Harry mumbled towards Blaise from around a mouthful of eggs the next morning. He quickly swallowed with a sheepish grin as soon as he saw the look Hermione shot his way. "Aragog, he used to belong to Hagrid."

"And how did the spider know where to find you? Or even want to help you?" Blaise asked incredulously. He hasn't even touched his breakfast, his friends' story to compelling and unbelievable to even think about eating.

Harry opened his mouth to answer but a soft hissing interrupted him followed by a little black snake head popping out from underneath his robe. Harry gave a soft smile before looking back up. "Sable here apparently overheard you talking to Parkinson, assuming we were in trouble she called in a favor."

"She truly is a brilliant creature," Luna piped in from the other side of Harry. The blonde girl reached over and stroked the dark snake's head receiving a disgruntled hiss before Sable gave in and purred in a way only a snake could.

"I don't see how it's fair," Draco huffed from the other side of the table. "How come Harry gets to keep a snake but I don't get to keep a Dragon?" Hermione rolled her eyes with a grin and lightly smacked Draco's chest receiving a heart-stopping grin for her efforts. The girl blushed a second before averting her eyes.

It was then that the daily post decided to drop by, owls swooping in and dropping mail onto student's plates; a small little pink envelope found its way in front of Harry. The boy raised and eyebrow, looking at it for a moment before opening the letter. After quickly scanning the contents a faint blush spread across his cheeks.

"Aw, looks like Harry has a little admirer." Blaise said cheekily, receiving a biscuit thrown in his direction for his efforts.

"Who is it from?" Hermione asked curiously with a little smirk.

"Probably from the female Weasley," Draco cut in. "When your life is saved by the boy you admire a letter declaring love is bound to follow." Harry huffed and just sunk further into his seat, the blush on his face a blaring crimson now.

"You should just ignore it." Luna's statement caused the teasing to stop and the others to look at her curiously. The girl didn't seem to notice as she continued to lick some pudding off of her spoon.

"Well you don't like her, do you?" The clarity in her words were so different from the dreamy Luna they were used to. "Beside's I don't think red is really your color. Green suits your eyes much better."

Harry's face flushed once again for perhaps the fourth time that morning and the rest burst out into laughter at his expense.

He could tell it was going to be a long summer.

A/N: Whew, I'm back! and with a pretty long chapter to. :) Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will be the beginning of year three with a overview of the summer since I wanna get moving as fast as possible. This next year will probably be the shortest, one or two chapters at most before we move on to the Triwizard Tournament where the real fun begins. Hope this chapter was to your satisfaction and that you leave a review to let me know what you think!

Happy Reading!