1,378Chapter Twenty: The Tragedy of Monsters
On the day they were to finally lure out the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets, Harry found himself in Dumbledore's office shortly after breakfast, awaiting the arrival of the team that would confront the beast.
Dumbledore had made an announcement at dinner the night before, telling all the students they would have that Friday off from classes for what he called, "a mental health day" to de-stress and let their minds recharge. Certainly, no one was complaining about the unexpected time off from classwork.
Of course, Harry had work of his own to get done.
"Nervous?" Newt was sitting in a chair beside him, his worn suitcase as ever by his side. Harry nodded.
"Terrified," he admitted quietly.
"Good," replied the Magizoologist. Selena shot him a Basilisk's equivalent of a dry glare and he pursed his lips. "Well, it's not good that you're terrified, but it's good to be scared when you're about to do something dangerous. The fear keeps your wits sharp, so long as it doesn't consume you."
Aurelion made a hiss of agreement from his place above Harry's head, hovering in lazy circles.
"Tell you what," Newt decided. "Assuming we're all still alive come teatime, I could show you one or two of my more exotic creatures in the suitcase?"
Harry instantly felt his curiosity rise, albeit briefly, over his fear. "What kind?"
"Now that would be telling."
He felt the corner of his lip rise in a slight smile. "I'd like that."
"Then we have something to look forward to afterwards."
They heard the griffin statue twist and stood up. Footsteps soon followed, and then Dumbledore was leading a group of wizards and witches into the office. Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick, as well as Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Charlie Weasley, and then—
Harry tried not to stare as a man limped in, supported by a large staff. He was missing several body parts; a piece of his nose and an eye were the most obvious, but he also had a false leg. The artificial eye swung round independently, taking in everything before it settled on him.
"Finished staring, boy?" The gruff voice made him jump.
"I'm sorry. I—"
"—Don't need to apologize. You're just a child. Wet behind the ears. You shouldn't know what war looks like on a man."
"Alastor," Minerva admonished, but the man paid her no heed.
"I am sorry for staring," Harry said honestly. "You just surprised me."
Again, Mad-Eye Moody said nothing, but he made a low grunt. Harry mentally threw off his brief shock at the man's injuries and focused. The group had been gathered.
It was time.
Dumbledore brought forth the large table in his office to the center of the room with a flick of his wand, then cast a brief spell on the structural map of Hogwarts laid out upon it. The layout of the castle filled the room, a miniature model comprised of blue light.
"You all know why we're here. We believe there to be a Basilisk in the school. A remnant of Salazar Slytherin's time in these halls. Someone—the self-proclaimed 'Heir of Slytherin'—has awakened it from within the Chamber of Secrets, and now the creature is on the move."
"The Chamber is not visible in these plans," Kingsley stated.
"No, it is not, but the plumbing system is. And that is how we believe the creature is moving around."
"On what basis?" Moody queried.
"Harry can both hear and speak Parseltongue," Dumbledore replied. "He heard the creature moving on the other side of a wall not far from the Great Hall. It must have been in one of the pipes at the time."
"You're certain it wasn't Peeves messing about again?"
"Ghosts can't speak Parseltongue," Harry told him. Moody glanced at him and the boy steeled himself despite his nerves to explain further. "Even if Peeves were trying to imitate a snake, it would just sound like rubbish. Parseltongue is more than just snake hisses, you have to use magic for it to make any sort of sense."
Moody nodded, satisfied, and looked away. Dumbledore continued.
"Our goal today is to draw the creature out from hiding. To capture it is the ideal outcome."
"And when the plan goes to shite as it always does?" Moody asked.
"Alastor!" Minerva admonished him again.
"If the creature proves itself to be unwilling to obey anyone but the Heir of Slytherin, it must be put down," Dumbledore decided. "It is too dangerous to keep loose in the school."
"We're facing an animal that we cannot look in the eyes," Flitwick spoke up. "For that, I've devised some defensive Charms that should circumvent the effects should the worst happen. At least with these, you are less likely to perish from meeting its gaze."
"And what is Harry doing here?" Kingsley asked, frowning.
"I'm going to try to lure it out with Parseltongue and talk it down," Harry said. "If I can convince it to get into the suitcase, we can get it out of the school without a fight. Selena might be able to help, too."
"If things sour, I'll be moving Harry away from the scene," Newt added.
Remus threw in his own question next. "Where exactly are we planning to bring it out into the open?"
Dumbledore walked over to an area on the lowest floor of the castle. "Here. One of the Prefect's bathrooms. It's large, rarely used, and the pipes are large enough for the Basilisk to come through. We'll lure it out there and trap it in the room once it emerges. Just for safety, I've ordered Filch to block it off from any wandering students and asked the ghosts to patrol about as an added security measure."
"How do we kill it should the situation go south?" That was Kingsley.
"It's scales will be heavily resistant to magic," Newt informed him. "Even Dumbledore might not be able to pierce them. So if worst comes to worst, we freeze it. Glacius would be best, I believe. Blinding it will also be a necessity. If it can't see us, there's less chance for it to lock eyes with one of us."
"What else?" Moody's gruff voice reached Harry's ears.
"There are few weak spots on the bodies of my race," Selena hissed, for whom Harry translated. "The eyes. The mouth when it parts. The nostrils, if you can hit so small a target. They are the only places where our armor cannot protect us."
Moody's finger rapped his cane. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "We might as well be fighting a dragon."
"At least it can't fly or breathe fire," Charlie pointed out.
"No, it can just look you in the eyes and kill you instantly," the Auror retorted. "And let's not forget that its venom has no cure."
"Enough," Dumbledore admonished quietly. "None of us are under any illusions that this will be easy to do. This creature is responsible for the death of a student decades ago, not to mention several Petrifications. It will be dangerous. Exceedingly so. But it can be done. Are we all prepared?"
Nods around the room, despite the tension. Harry swallowed and did the same.
"Good. Then let us begin."
They moved swiftly through the halls, avoiding the areas most active with students until they reached the Precept's bathroom Dumbledore had spoken of. Upon reaching it, the collection of wizards got to work.
Wards were placed by Flitwick, Kingsley, and Lupin outside of the bathroom. More were placed inside by Dumbledore and the others. Filtering Charms to try and block the serpent's deadly gaze were set up in multiple layers; not necessarily fool-proof, but it was better than nothing. They had no way of knowing for sure how powerful the magic of a fully grown Basilisk would be, but Harry guessed by the sheer number of spells being cast that they were assuming the worst.
The room was altered by McGonagall and Snape; stalls were pushed into the floor or shrunk down, giving the collection of wizards more room to maneuver. Aurelion and Selena coiled close to Harry while Newt stood beside him, waiting patiently.
Preparations took almost twenty minutes to complete, even with so many powerful wizards working on it. They were very thorough.
Finally, Dumbledore waved his wand and a section of the wall opened up wide, like a gaping mouth, and exposed a huge section of pipe. A cover was promptly removed and a foul stench filled the air, but a swift incantation from Flitwick pushed the stink back into the pipe and kept it there.
The Headmaster looked back at Harry. "If you're ready to try, Mr. Potter."
Harry took a breath and slowly approached the pipe. He placed the tip of his wand against his throat to make himself louder, and began to hiss. Selena and Aurelion joined him.
"Come to me! Come to us! We are like you! Come! Come!"
They called for some time, pausing to take breaths and listen for any sort of response. At one point, Newt extracted the carcass of a wildebeest from his briefcase—the bait he'd spoken of to help lure the Basilisk. The thick smell of blood made Harry wrinkle his nose.
"We have prey! There is food for you! Come! Find us!" Selena goaded, her voice echoing into the pipe. From how tense she felt, coiled around Harry's waist and with her head resting on his shoulder, he knew she really didn't want it to find them at all. Even Aurelion, now floating near Harry's head, never took his eyes away from the pipe, and his head was cocked like he was ready to bite anything that moved.
He didn't want to admit that he felt the same, sort of. The silence only made things more intense. He had no idea if the snake was coming to them, just around the corner, or if it had deemed to ignore the calls entirely.
For thirty minutes, they called. It seemed as if nothing was coming. They were quite literally talking to a brick wall.
And then the wall talked back.
"Where are you?"
Harry froze. Selena and Aurelion puffed up, bodies swelling with air until they were almost twice their original size. He felt their fear as keenly as his own.
It was close. Much closer than he'd thought. He took a hesitant step back, gulped, and steeled himself. He removed his wand from his throat. Maybe it had gotten confused by the loud echoes running through the pipes?
"Here! We are here!"
From within the pipes came a hiss, a rumble, a noise that had no translation into Parseltongue. It put every wizard in the room on edge. Harry took another step back.
"I smell you," the Basilisk hissed, and the voice—it was a male, Harry realized. "I smell your fear. I smell many others. I smell…blood."
"There is food for you here," Harry hissed back. "We mean you no harm."
And
it
laughed.
Harry felt his skin crawl. There was nothing amusing about it. If the serpent found his reassurance funny, it was only in the most sadistic of ways. Someone grasped his shoulder—Dumbledore, he realized after a quick glance—but he didn't move.
"You think you could harm me?" Salazar's Basilisk rumbled and Harry could still see nothing but darkness in the void of the pipes. "I was birthed by the most noble of wizards, for the most noble of purposes…I was birthed to ensure only the worthy would practice magic, as my Master wished. I have killed in these halls before, and I shall kill again, and again, and again until my task is complete! I am old, and I am mighty! I am the Serpent of Slytherin!"
It—he, Harry corrected himself—spoke more than he was expecting. The fragmented speech they'd heard in the halls was nothing compared to the fervor in the Basilisk's voice now.
And the snake was—he was either mad, or practically worshipped the Master who had created him to such an extent that even after a thousand years, his obedience had not abated. He was nigh-religious in his desire to fulfill his Master's wishes.
How was he supposed to salvage this?
"There is more than this life you have," Harry tried slowly. "You'll die in these tunnels, alone and hungry, if you remain here. I can give you a new home, where there is warmth and food and—"
"You would deny me my purpose?"
He scowled, frowning in thought. "Your purpose is to murder hundreds of innocent people. Salazar Slytherin's time is behind us. I can—"
"Then you can give me nothing I want."
Harry's frustration grew. "You want to die?"
"All things die, Harry Potter," Harry felt his breath catch somewhere tight in his chest. The Serpent knew him. "And my Master's Heir deeply wishes for your death."
He thought he saw something flicker in the pipe, from around the corner. It looked like a forked tongue, but—it was huge. Harry slowly lifted his wand. Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder tightened. "Who is your Master's Heir?"
"You know him as Lord Voldemort. And I shall deliver your corpse to his feet."
There was a rush of movement in the shadows of the pipe and Harry yelped as Dumbledore Apparated, pulling him away from the entrance. Selena was still attached to him and when they appeared well-behind the other wizards, he caught sight of Aurelion launching himself upwards away from the snapping teeth that emerged from the pipe. The Horned Serpent fled towards them immediately.
Harry's blood went cold as the beast emerged—just the head—and finally got a look at the Serpent. It was thin, he could tell—bones stood out starkly from beneath its hide, the scales were a toxic green, yet they were flecked with gray spots and decay. He saw bare quills, some of which seemed to have rotted or broken off, atop its head. It could have been mistaken for a female Basilisk, there was so little left.
When it sneered at them, its fangs were as thick around as Harry's wrist. He did not look into its eyes, unwilling to test the defensive Charms layered so heavily around the room.
Harry tried something else out of desperation. "OBEY! OBEY AND STAND DOWN!"
He enforced the Parseltongue command with as much strength as he could, but the Serpent of Slytherin only laughed, emerging further from the pipes, but only a few feet. Every wizard in the room had their wands pointed at it.
"You cannot command ME, child! My Master's blood does not run through your veins!"
"I'm trying to help you!"
"What use have I for you save a meal?"
"Enough! He is beyond reason, Harry," Selena hissed, sneering back at the larger Basilisk. "It is not what you wished, but he will kill and kill until his Master's bloodlust is sated, and we both know that day will never come! We must put him out of his misery!"
Harry hesitated a moment more, reluctant to resort to killing it. The Serpent shifted slightly, trying to meet his eyes, but he had long-since learned how to avoid the deadly gaze. It didn't so much as glance at the meal Newt had left as an offering, despite the fact that it was obviously starving. The Serpent had not emerged further; it must've realized this was an attempt to trap him.
Finally, the boy scowled. He couldn't think of anything to convince it. The creature was too devoted to Salazar Slytherin and his Heir.
"Glacius!" Harry shouted, and the room exploded into action.
Every wizard mirrored him within half a second. In an instant, the temperature dropped and white bursts of energy flew towards the Serpent. Salazar's monster ducked back into the pipes and disappeared in the blink of an eye, even as the space it had occupied was frozen over.
For a moment, Harry felt his stomach drop and believed it had gotten away.
And then the wall shifted and rippled as Dumbledore cast another spell, refusing to give it a chance to escape. The bricks were pulled open and the pipes broke apart—Harry saw green coils rapidly shifting between them—and with a low rumble, a section of the castle as large as a house quite simply rolled and dumped the Basilisk onto the bathroom floor.
It hissed in surprise, but quickly regained itself. Though it shot for the pipes again, Dumbledore's hand flowed through the air and the wall was repaired immediately, leaving the snake to crash into the bricks.
Slytherin's monster roared, a primeval sound that made every instinct he had scream to flee. Newt hurried over and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the fight as the wizards blasted Slytherin's monster. Charlie Weasley got between them and the battle at Dumbledore's sharp command.
He had a proper look at it now. The Serpent was fifty feet long, easily, and even skinnier than he'd thought. Its ribs stood out starkly from beneath the armored hide, but it was still a massive reptile made of muscle and bone, and it lashed out with the speed of a desperate, cornered animal.
Harry had no idea how they'd go about this. On his own, he couldn't even begin to imagine how he'd bring down a creature so ferocious and huge, so single-mindedly determined to kill them.
But Dumbledore and the rest of the wizards—Aurors and teachers alike—knew exactly what they were doing. With a flourish, Dumbledore's wand seized the floor beneath the Basilisk and stone binders grasped the Serpent's body, pinning it in place. It snarled and tried to wriggle free to no avail.
Kingsley hit it with a spell that didn't do any damage, but it slammed the Basilisk's skull against the wall. Moody took a shot. Something black and tar-like flew from his wand and snapped over the snake's head, covering its eyes. The beast roared again in fury.
"Eyes neutralized," Moody declared matter-of-factly, as if he'd done this a million times.
"Freeze," Dumbledore commanded.
Ice poured from their wands and impacted the Basilisk all over its body. Now it screamed, a piercing shriek that made Harry yelp and cover his ears.
The rage was still present, but it knew fear now.
It snapped at them, but there was already too much ice and the wizards weren't stupid enough to get close while it still had any range of motion. McGonagall did take a step back, though she never stopped casting her magic. Remus flanked it with Kingsley to completely immobilize the thrashing tail, Flitwick managed to get a collar of ice around its throat and dragged the head to the floor.
The Serpent screamed again. "RELEASE ME! MY DUTY IS NOT DONE! I SHALL—"
Moody froze its skull over with a final cast, leaving the Basilisk trapped in a thick layer of ice that took up almost half of the Prefect's bathroom. Its deadly eyes were still blocked, leaving it thoroughly neutered.
Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He was stunned, blood thundering through his veins. Everything had happened so fast—from the moment Dumbledore pulled the snake from the guts of the castle, not even a minute had passed before it was completely frozen over.
Wands were still at the ready. It was trapped and starved to near-death, but it was still dangerous. Newt gently pushed Harry behind him, keeping a firm hand on the boy's arm.
Dumbledore moved to the front of the group, but still remained at a distance. He cast a number of spells without an incantation, eyes narrowed behind his spectacles. Only when he seemed satisfied did he lower his wand, and the others did the same.
"Is it dead?" Snape asked, eyeing the frozen beast warily.
"Not yet," Albus admitted. "Mr. Potter, what did it say to you? What are your thoughts?"
Harry felt Selena rub her head against his jaw. The scales comforted him. "It's—it's completely loyal to Salazar Slytherin and his Heir. I don't know if it's gone mad or if it's just…I think it's beyond help."
That last bit was hard to say. For all that the Serpent wanted him dead, Harry didn't want to kill the creature; it had no say in its creation and had been bound to a Master who was cruel, even if it didn't know better. It wasn't fair.
But it wasn't fair to let the creature suffer and waste away so it could keep tormenting the school, either.
"I see," the Headmaster didn't seem surprised, but he glanced back at Harry and the boy saw genuine regret on his face. "I am sorry, my boy. You know what must be done."
"Yes, sir."
"Who was the Heir?" McGonagall asked. "The student responsible? Did it say?"
"Lord Voldemort."
Everyone in the room save Dumbledore and the snakes flinched at the name. Again, the Headmaster was not surprised. "So he has some influence here, after all."
"How?" Moody scowled. "You mentioned the wraith last year—"
"The wraith can't get in," Flitwick told him with certainty. "We've added to the wards to prevent such a thing from happening again."
"Then how?"
Dumbledore frowned. "We will discuss it once Slytherin's Serpent has been dealt with. Mr. Scamander, perhaps you wouldn't mind taking Harry to see Hagrid?"
"Of course, sir," Newt nodded. With a flick of his wand, he cleaned up the untouched wildebeest carcass, which was swept back into his own briefcase. Harry thought he heard a pleased roar from within and figured an animal was getting a meal out of it, after all.
Dumbledore looked to Harry again. "You don't need to see this, Harry. I will speak with you later."
"Yes, sir."
The Headmaster smiled, sympathetic, but also proud. "You did very well, my boy. It was not what we wished for, but a terrible threat has been removed from the school. The students are safe because you were able to lure the Basilisk out. Very well done, indeed."
Harry reddened and lowered his eyes. He was happy the school was safe again—mostly, he couldn't forget Voldemort's apparently continued presence—even though he wished the Basilisk could have been rescued, as well.
Newt guided him out of the bathroom. Harry cast one last glance at the frozen body of Slytherin's Serpent and did not look back.
Harry couldn't help but smile as a Kneazle kitten leapt onto his lap and began to knead, purring loudly as he stroked its soft fur. Its mother watched them closely, but she seemed content; a slow blink was the only action she directed towards him.
"They like you," Newt commented, and he seemed thoroughly unsurprised. "Uncanny judges of character, Kneazles."
"I've read a bit about them," Harry admitted. "They're very smart, aren't they?"
"Quite."
The Kneazle kitten twisted its head and teasingly chewed on one of his fingers, though it was done without any sort of actual pressure. Harry watched, amused, as the little claws flexed playfully.
Selena and Aurelion had been given meals from Newt, and were currently digesting on some sun-warmed rocks not far away. Both of them had settled down since the Serpent of Slytherin was incapacitated.
Hagrid pushed a wheelbarrow over—which Harry was fairly sure was full of food a few minutes ago—and set it down, beaming at Harry and the entourage of magical cats. "Aren't they great?"
"Mmhm," he hummed, scratching the kitten behind its ear. "What were you feeding?"
"Aethonan Pegasus," Newt answered for him. "Six were confiscated from a wizard in Belgium who kept forgetting to cast Disillusionment Charms on them. Almost had a bad situation with the muggles. I offered to house three of them until another home could be found."
"Beautiful animals, the Pegasus," Hagrid sighed, grinning widely. Harry smiled. Hagrid could find the beauty in any animal, bless him.
Newt looked over at Harry again. "I thought you might like an update on the trip to Africa, if you're still interested?"
"Of course!" Harry exclaimed. "To see the Nundu, right?"
"Yes. My colleagues at the reserve have said they'd be happy for us to to visit. A new litter of cubs was recently born, so by the time we get over there, they'll be a bit bigger and the adults won't be so defensive. We'll still be at a distance, of course, but it will be perfectly safe."
"I can't wait," he grinned. And he really couldn't; he was eager to see more Magical Creatures.
"Newt?" Hagrid asked suddenly. "Don't s'pose you could tell me how little Norberta's doing, could ya?"
"I do not know, but—"
"Norberta is doing just fine."
Harry looked over towards the entrance to the briefcase as Charlie Weasley climbed down the ladder, followed by Dumbledore. The young man grinned at Hagrid. "Getting bigger and greedier every day. A right menace, she is."
Hagrid seemed relieved. "Oh, good. Was afraid the other dragons wouldn't like her."
"Wouldn't matter if they didn't; she's made her place at the Sanctuary. None of the other hatchlings are stupid enough to mess with her."
Newt looked at Dumbledore with a grave expression. "It's done, then?"
"It is done," the Headmaster confirmed with no joy. "As painless an end as we could give it."
Harry nodded in quiet acceptance. There was nothing more to say about the matter. The Basilisk's suffering was at an end.
"What will happen to it now?"
"That remains to be seen," Dumbledore admitted. "It may be best to hand the remains over to the Unspeakables for study. I did, however, take the liberty of removing a few objects of interest."
He held out a small bag to Newt, which the man took with a raised eyebrow. "Small samples. Scales, a sliver of the horn, a tooth—little else. Severus has also taken samples of the venom for his research into an anti-toxin."
"Any study might help our understanding of them," Newt agreed. "Until recent times, they've been thought extinct for centuries."
"Didn't Salazar Slytherin make a wand out of Basilisk Horn?" Harry asked curiously. "I thought I read that in a history book."
"He may have," Dumbledore admitted. "Though we can hardly confirm it now. In any case, I do not believe it would be wise to test such a theory. No need for Basilisk Horn to suddenly grow in demand amongst less-scrupulous individuals."
On that, they all agreed.
Newt sent the little bag of samples to his desk with a flick of his wand. "I'll take a look at them later. What of the eyes? Will you leave their study to the Unspeakables?"
"Most likely. I do not dare test if their potency lasts after death," Dumbledore said. "Alastor and Kingsley are arranging for the transportation of the creature now."
"I suppose the Daily Prophet will have quite the front page," Charlie remarked. "'Salazar Slytherin's Monster: Found and Frozen!' Sounds like their kind of title, doesn't it?"
"I'd prefer to keep this situation quiet, but I confess, I won't be shocked if it gets out," the Headmaster sighed. "The Ministry might capitalize on it simply to add to their own political support. Ministry Aurors were involved in its subjugation, after all."
Charlie winced. "Sorry, Professor."
"Nothing to be done about it. In any case, the most immediate of threats has been removed. Harry, might I speak with you in private for a moment?"
Harry nodded and gently removed the Kneazle kitten from his hand, watching as it scurried back to its mother. He stood up and followed the Headmaster to Newt's work desk, a distance away from the other three wizards as they discussed something else—dragons, he was mostly sure.
"How are you doing?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm…" Harry hesitated. He felt scales rub against his ankle and glanced down to see that Selena had left her warm rocks to be with him. Unsurprisingly, Aurelion had also flown over. "I'm alright, sir."
"I am sorry it turned out the way it did, Harry."
"I know. It was…I tried to tell it—tell him—we could give it a new home. That it could be happy, but he just…he was too loyal to his Master. I don't understand—"
"Do you not?" Selena interrupted him and he glanced down at her. She was curling part of her tail around his foot. "Do you not think I would do anything for you?"
"But I would never order you to sleep in the sewers for a thousand years!"
"And yet if you did, I would obey."
Harry gaped at her. Selena's tongue flickered out. "You are better than Salazar Slytherin, and I know you shall never command such a thing of me. But he created his Basilisk without kindness and it reflected his worst desires. That is the difference between us."
Dumbledore was waiting patiently for them to finish their discussion. Harry still couldn't quite wrap his head around that—that insane kind of loyalty, but…
He sighed. "Slytherin's Serpent would never have accepted a new home. It was kinder that we…we ended its suffering."
"Kindness can be cruel at times, Harry," Dumbledore murmured, and he looked truly old for a moment. "It may seem harsh to say, but what we did today—I believe it was the best we could have done for it."
He paused and was silent for a moment. "Many decades ago, I dueled Gellert Grindelwald in Austria and defeated him. But…I could not bring myself to kill him. So I imprisoned him there forever. To this day, he remains in the castle. There have been many days when I wondered if I would have been a kinder man to simply end his suffering then and there, but then could I live with what I had done? Perhaps it is cowardly of me to say it, but I am relieved I did not kill him, even if the fate he survives is cruel."
Dumbledore shook his head briefly and looked back to Harry. "The point of my ramblings is that the right choices are not always the easy choices. We are all of us human. We will have to do things in our lives that will not be easy, and we will experience regret. There is no shame in it. Do not let it drown you, Harry."
Harry wasn't sure what to say to all of that. He reached up and stroked Aurelion's chin absently.
Dumbledore looked at the pair of serpents guarding Harry and a smile returned to his face. "Your friends are once again welcome to wander with you at all times, naturally. I quite think Ms. Selena was beginning to feel a little cooped-up with all of this madness."
"I was, indeed," she hissed.
Dumbledore chuckled as Harry translated and said his goodbyes. Before he left, Harry caught his attention again. "Professor? About Voldemort..."
The Headmaster paused and pursed his lips in thought. "I have a few ideas, but I need to do some searching before I can provide anything concrete. In the meantime—leave the hunt to me. Focus on your studies, Harry. If you do find anything which you believe may be tied to him, of course, reach out to me. My door is always open for you."
A little weight left his shoulders and Harry nodded. Dumbledore left. The boy turned back to Newt, Hagrid, and Charlie, and made his way over to them.
He wasn't quite ready to leave just yet.
A/N: I live!
Yes, I'm still continuing all of my stories including this one. Just, life guys. I'm doing the best I can, but I've got multiple projects and not a lot of personal time these days, even if I do have a ton of the story planned out for all of my works.
Anyways! Obviously, this chapter changes up events surrounding the Chamber of Secrets quite a bit! Whatever problems will Harry run into next?
As ever, please review and thanks for reading!