Hogwarts: Neville's Insert Chapter 77
Harry shrugged. "It's not like we've got anything better to do. Might as well help."
Neville smirked. "Right then—let's get going." He paused for a moment before calling out, "Lumina!"
With a burst of blue flame, Lumina erupted into the air in front of him, letting out a bright cry as she flapped her wings, hovering before them.
Hermione jumped back at the sudden burst of flames, hand clutching her chest. "Merlin's sake, Neville—give me some warning next time! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Neville scratched the back of his head, sheepish. "Yeah… my bad." Lumina fluttered up and settled neatly on his shoulder.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "We taking Lumina with us?"
Neville gave him a grin. "Yeah. More like… Lumina's taking us."
Hermione blinked. "How?"
Neville stepped closer. "Just grab hold of her leg—and don't let go."
Lumina stretched out her leg, already knowing what to do.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look before both reached out and grabbed on.
Neville caught hold too. "Alright, girl. Whenever you're ready."
Lumina let out a loud cry before she burst into brilliant blue flames, the fire curling around all three of them before they vanished in a flash.
…
Tuesday, 16th February 1993 – Beneath Hogwarts, Chamber Entrance
With a sharp burst of cool blue flames, Lumina flashed them straight into the damp, dark tunnel where the massive pipe ended.
The cold hit them all at once. The air was thick and clammy, the walls slick with moisture. The only light came from the faint glow of Lumina's soft blue feathers as she flapped her wings once before settling herself neatly on Neville's shoulder.
Hermione stumbled the moment they landed, her foot sliding on the wet floor. "Oh!" She gave a little gasp, swaying dangerously—Neville shot out a hand, catching her by the elbow before she could hit the ground.
"Careful there, Hermione," Neville said quietly, keeping his grip firm until she steadied herself.
Hermione let out a shaky breath, offering him a grateful glance. "Thanks, Neville… That definitely beats Floo travel," she muttered, still catching her breath.
Beside them, Harry gave a soft snort. "Yeah… that was way better than Floo. Or Apparating."
Hermione took a cautious step forward—only for her foot to crunch down on something brittle. She froze in place. "Er… okay. What was that?"
Harry, already pulling out his wand, flicked it gently. "Lumos," he said, and a soft glow lit up from the tip of his wand, pushing back the gloom around them. He glanced down at the ground and frowned. "Probably bones."
"Bones?" Hermione echoed, her voice dropping. She followed his lead, lighting her own wand. As the twin lights pushed back the shadows, the sight that greeted her made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. The ground was littered with bones—small ones, large ones—scattered across the damp floor. She stepped gingerly over a crumpled rat skeleton.
"This is vile," she muttered under her breath. "Where are we exactly? Is this the Chamber?"
Harry shook his head, his voice low. "No. The Chamber's further in. Down that way." He nodded toward a narrow tunnel up ahead.
Neville gave the tunnel walls a slow glance before speaking. "My guess—we're under the Black Lake. Would explain why it's so damp down here." He pulled out his wand, casting a silent Lumos that added another soft glow to the dark space. "Though… I'm not sure why Lumina brought us here of all places."
With a curious glance at the phoenix on his shoulder, Neville tilted his head. "Why didn't you just take us into the Chamber, girl?"
Lumina tilted her head right back at him, letting out a soft trill that almost sounded cheeky—like she was saying, Huh? You said take us down. You didn't say into the Chamber.
Neville gave a small shrug. "Fair point." He looked ahead. "Guess we're walking from here, then." He started forward, stepping ahead of the others without much fuss.
Hermione followed right behind him, glancing nervously at the bones crunching underfoot. "You know… a bit of warning would've been nice," she muttered. "I wouldn't have worn a skirt if I'd known we'd be crawling around in some ancient sewer."
Neville glanced back over his shoulder, giving her a sheepish grin. "Yeah… probably should've mentioned that."
They moved slowly through the tunnel, their wand lights stretching long shadows across the slick, mossy walls. The soft drip of water echoed around them, mixing with the faint crunch of bones underfoot.
A few steps later, they came across it—a massive, half-shed basilisk skin, pale and coiled against the wall like some ghostly, twisted husk.
Hermione stopped dead, her eyes going wide. "Merlin's beard… is that the basilisk?"
Harry shook his head, voice dropping low. "That's just the skin."
Neville stepped up beside them, giving the shed skin a glance. "Yeah. Probably been here a few hundred years… and the real basilisk's a lot bigger than this."
Hermione's grip tightened on her wand. "Lovely," she muttered, quickly stepping up to follow them again.
They pressed on, the tunnel stretching further until it opened into a wider stone corridor. Ahead of them, tall and imposing, stood the serpent-carved door to the Chamber
Neville gave Harry a look. "Well… open it, mate."
Harry stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Open," he said firmly.
Hermione blinked at him. "Er… Harry? That was English."
Neville raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, mate. You're speaking English."
Harry gave them both a helpless look. "I'm… not really sure how to speak Parseltongue, to be honest."
Neville shook his head, rubbing his chin. "We'll need to work on that. Might come in handy someday." He frowned slightly, thinking aloud. "I wonder… if casting spells in Parseltongue would make them stronger."
Hermione ignored him, her eyes on Harry. "Well… how did you do it before?"
Harry gave a small shrug. "It just sort of… happened, I guess. Let me try again."
He turned to the carved serpents on the door, narrowed his eyes, and hissed.
At once, the snakes on the door began to slither apart, stone grinding loudly as the door unlocked.
Hermione stared. "What did you do differently this time?"
Harry shrugged again. "I just… focused on the snake. Tried to think like I was talking to it."
Neville nodded slowly. "So… you have to picture yourself talking to a snake to speak Parseltongue."
"I guess so," Harry said with a sheepish look.
Neville clapped him on the back just as the Chamber door finished opening. "Well, don't worry—we'll work on that later." With that, he stepped forward into the Chamber.
Hermione swallowed hard. "This… had better be worth it." She followed right after Neville.
Harry sighed and followed after Neville and Hermione, stepping carefully into the Chamber.
Neville was the first to enter, his shoes splashing the water that pooled on some of the stone floor tiles. The place looked just like when they had left it yesterday—towering snake statues lined both sides of the long stone walkway, all leading toward a massive stone head carved in the likeness of Salazar Slytherin himself. The whole chamber was dimly lit by a soft glow filtering down from the ceiling.
Hermione slowed as she stepped inside, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and nervous curiosity. "Is… is this really the Chamber of Secrets?" She glanced around quickly before edging a little closer to Neville's side.
Neville gave a small nod. "Yeah. Doesn't look like much, does it? Just some old statues and a lot of dirty water." He started making his way down the walkway toward the far end.
Hermione hummed thoughtfully, her eyes lingering on the massive snake carvings. "Do you think these statues had some sort of purpose? Maybe a magical function? Or were they just for show?"
Harry stopped beside her, eyeing one of the snakes carved along the wall. "Dunno… probably just decorations. But I guess we could poke around—see if they do anything."
Neville called back over his shoulder with a grin, "Yeah, well… if they start shooting curses, I'm blaming you two."
In the middle of the pathway, stretched out with half its massive body submerged in the dark pool of water, lay the dead basilisk.
Hermione came to a slow stop, staring up at the massive serpent with wide eyes. "You two… fought that?"
Neville nodded. "Yep. Though I wouldn't exactly call it a fair fight… we had Lumina on our side. She had that thing on the ropes." as they walked closer.
At that, Lumina gave a proud trill from Neville's shoulder, puffing out her chest as if soaking in the praise.
Neville crouched by the basilisk's mouth, slipped his sling bag off his shoulder, and dug around inside. After a moment, he pulled out a pair of dragon-hide gloves and tugged them on.
Hermione stepped closer, frowning. "What are you doing?"
Neville shot her a quick grin. "Getting some venom. Forgot to grab it yesterday. It's rare stuff—and deadly. Might come in handy later."
He pulled a glass vial from his bag, carefully positioning it under one of the massive, curved fangs, catching the slow, steady drip of venom as it oozed out.
Harry wandered over, eyeing the fang then to neville. "Why… I mean… it's not like we can poison Voldemort with it, can we?"
Neville looked up at him, his expression serious. "Harry… remember the diary? The one Tom used to possess Astoria?"
Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah… what about it?"
Neville met his eyes. "I think that diary… was what's been keeping Voldemort from really dying."
Hermione's eyes snapped to Neville. "You mean… like an anchor? Something tying him to the living world?"
Neville gave a sharp nod. "Yeah. Tom said yesterday he was about to come back using that diary. I think it had a bit of his soul inside it. That's why he's a wraith—like you saw him last year. His body's gone, but his soul's still tied here."
Harry frowned. "But if that's the case… wouldn't that mean Voldemort's dead now? We destroyed the diary."
Hermione shook her head slightly. "Unless… he made more than one."
Neville nodded. "Yep. That's what I'm thinking. Voldemort's exactly the kind of bloke who'd make more than one—just to satisfy his ego." He gave the vial of basilisk venom a quick glance before corking it and standing up.
Harry frowned. "So… we'd have to find the others—and destroy them? If we want to get rid of him for good?"
Neville gave a small nod. "Yeah. And we don't even know if normal ways can destroy his anchors. But this…" He held up the vial of freshly collected venom. "This worked on the diary yesterday. Might work on the others—if there are others."
Hermione folded her arms, brows furrowed. "But if you're right… how are we supposed to find them?"
Neville gave a little shrug, flashing a wry grin. "No idea. We don't even know if I am right. Like I said…" He gave a small pause before smirking. "It's just a theory. A soul theory."
Hermione groaned softly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, Neville…"
Neville chuckled, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "Let's just hope I'm wrong. Because if I'm right… we've got a lot of work ahead of us."
That seemed to make both Harry and Hermione fall quiet—clearly lost in thought.
Neville stepped back and waved them aside. "Right—get back, you two."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick look but stepped back without argument.
Neville pointed his wand at the basilisk's massive corpse. "Levioso!"
The spell hit… and nothing happened. The basilisk didn't even twitch.
Neville frowned and tried again. "Mobilicorpus!"
Still nothing. The huge body lay there, completely unmoved.
Hermione sighed loudly, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. "It's spell-resistant… remember?" She gave him a look. "Honestly, Neville."
Hermione let out a sigh, shaking her head as she pressed one hand to her temple, the other folded across her chest. "It's spell-resistant… remember? Honestly, Neville."
Neville blinked at her. "Huh…" He stared at the basilisk, he let out a quiet groan. "Right… forgot about that."
Harry, still walking around the basilisk's massive head, called out, "So… now what? I doubt the three of us can lift this thing."
Neville scratched the side of his head with his wand. "I've got no idea." Then, suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Tinkle! Clinky!"
They all waited, glancing around the empty chamber.
Neville frowned and tried again, raising his voice a little. "Tinkle! Clinky!"
This time… nothing.
Hermione gave him a look. "Maybe… they can't hear you?"
Neville shook his head. "No… I think the Chamber's warded against house-elves." He gave a low hum. "I'm actually surprised Slytherin thought of that. You'd think someone like him—an arrogant narcissist who believed pure-bloods were superior—wouldn't even bother worrying about house-elves."
Actually… that makes sense, Neville thought, glancing around the chamber. If house-elves could get in, someone like Helga Hufflepuff or some old headmaster would've found this place ages ago.
Hermione gave him a pointed look. "So… now what?"
Harry leaned over the basilisk's massive head from the other side. "Yeah… and half its body's still in the water."
Neville frowned, rubbing his chin. "We can't pull it by the teeth—they'll just snap off." He started walking slowly around the basilisk's head, eyes narrowed.
When he reached the top of its skull, his eyes caught on the old wound—the deep gash where he'd stabbed and twisted his sword. A ragged hole carved right into the creature's head.
Neville rummaged through his bag, pulled out a needle, and set it on the ground. Without a word, he flicked his wand and silently cast Engorgio.
The needle grew rapidly, soon reaching the length of a small spear.
Hermione, who had walked over to him, gave him a puzzled look. "What are you going to do with that?"
Neville didn't answer. Instead, he gave the enlarged needle a firm tap of his wand. "Duro," he muttered, casting the hardening charm.
Once the spell settled, Neville glanced up at Hermione. "Hermione—mind lifting it up to the wound for me?"
Hermione gave him a small nod and raised her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa."
The large, hardened needle floated up gently. With Neville guiding it carefully, they eased it into the gash on top of the basilisk's skull. The tip slid in with a squelch.
Harry walked over, eyeing the scene. "Er… what exactly are you doing?"
Neville kept his focus on the needle. "I'm going to push this through and then transfigure it into a hook." He gave the needle a gentle tap with his wand and cast a light Depulso, just enough to drive the needle forward—but not so much it would shoot straight through.
He stepped around to the mouth of the basilisk and peered inside. Sure enough, the tip of the needle was now poking down into the roof of its mouth. With a flick of his wand, Neville cast a transfiguration spell, reshaping the needle's tip into a sturdy hook, complete with a handle.
Hermione gave him a sceptical look. "And now what? I doubt a hook like that can hold the basilisk's weight… even with the hardening charm."
Before Neville could answer, Lumina gave a soft cry and fluttered off his shoulder. She glided down onto the hook's handle, perched herself on it, and gave a strong flap of her wings.
Neville smirked. "Not for a phoenix. They can make whatever they're carrying almost weightless."
He gently nudged Harry and Hermione back a few steps. "Give her some room, yeah?"
Lumina gave a sharp, ringing cry before flapping her wings harder. Slowly, the basilisk's massive head lifted clean off the ground.
With another beat of her wings, Lumina pulled the rest of the basilisk's body out of the water, hauling it clear before letting it drop onto the stone floor with a dull, heavy thud.
Harry let out a low whistle. "Well… that works."
Hermione stared, eyes wide. "That's… honestly, that's ridiculous."
Lumina gave a soft trill and flew back over, landing neatly on Neville's shoulder.
Neville gave her a fond rub on the head. "Guess that's one of the perks of having a phoenix," he said with a small grin. "Thanks, girl. After we're done here, I'll go find Hagrid—see if he's got a few dead mice for you."
Lumina fluffed her feathers and let out a proud little trill.
Hermione shook her head, glancing over at the massive basilisk now lying fully out of the water. "Alright… as impressive as that was… how exactly are you planning to move it out of here?"
Lumina gave another soft trill, glancing at Neville.
Neville gave her a small shake of his head. "No, we can't do that, girl. You'll give the whole school a heart attack. And we're trying to keep this quiet, remember?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did… did she just suggest carrying it out through Myrtle's bathroom?"
Neville nodded. "Yeah."
He straightened up and gave the dead serpent a thoughtful look. "We'll need a suitcase. One with extension charms. Should be able to fit it in." He frowned slightly, wondering if the Room of Requirement might have something like Newt Scamander's case.
Hermione huffed, folding her arms. "Right. Brilliant plan. But can we please get out of this place now?"
Neville gave her a look. "Uh… we're not done here, remember? We're supposed to be looking for anything Slytherin might've left for his heir."
Hermione sighed, shoulders slumping. "Right… I know. I just… this place gives me the creeps."
Neville nodded, then pointed his wand at the basilisk. With a sharp flick, he cast the preservation charm over it. A faint shimmer passed along its body. "Right. That's sorted. Let's start poking around."
They stepped past the massive corpse, making their way toward the looming stone head of Salazar Slytherin.
Neville stopped at the base of the statue and gave it a once-over. "Well… might as well start here."
Hermione frowned. "Here? Really?"
Harry stepped up beside them. "You mean… where the basilisk came out of?"
Neville nodded. "Yeah. Mind saying whatever Tom said to open it?"
"I can try." Harry gave a small shrug. He looked up at the stone face and said, "Speak to me, Salazar Slytherin… greatest of the Hogwarts Four."
Neville smirked. "Mate… you're still speaking English."
Harry blinked. "Huh—right." He gave them a sheepish look.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Harry…"
Neville chuckled. "Focus on the snake. Picture yourself talking to it."
Harry let out a long breath. "Alright." He closed his eyes for a second, opened them again, and started hissing.
This time, the ground gave a faint rumble. The water around the base of the massive stone head drained away, revealing a set of stone steps that wound up toward the statue. And then… Slytherin's carved hair shifted slightly as his mouth opened wide, revealing a hidden door.
Neville raised an eyebrow. "Well… that's new."
Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah… that definitely didn't happen last time."
Neville gave a small grin. "Well… let's see what's inside."
They stepped forward together. Neville, still wearing his dragon-hide gloves, reached out with his left hand and eased the door open, his wand in his right—just in case.
As the door swung open fully, Neville pointed his wand inside and whispered, "Lumos." The soft glow lit up a chamber beyond.
It wasn't massive, but it was bigger than he expected—a hidden study. Desks and shelves lined the stone walls, packed with old books and scrolls. A bed sat tucked away in the far corner.
Neville stepped inside cautiously, Harry and Hermione following right behind him.
Hermione's eyes swept across the room. "This… this must have been his personal study."
Harry nodded, his voice low. "Yeah… this is probably where Voldemort learned half the dark stuff he knows."
They moved further into the chamber, toward the nearest desk.
But as he got closer, Neville felt it—an odd, sharp tug at the edge of his mind. He frowned, blinking as a sudden, vivid image flashed through his head…
Dumbledore… in a dark room… opening a small box… and inside…
A ring.
Neville watched—frozen—as Dumbledore reached out, touched the ring… and the second his fingers brushed it, his hand began to blacken and wither, skin curling as if something was eating away at him… slowly killing him.
Neville blinked, the vision vanishing as fast as it had come. He muttered under his breath, "The Withering Curse…"
Lumina let out a sharp, warning cry. Neville's head snapped around—
Hermione.
She was reaching toward a book on the shelf, her eyes distant, like she wasn't really there. She moved like she was in a trance, her hand inches away from the spine.
"Hermione—NO!" Neville shouted.
He lunged forward, grabbing her wrist just before her fingers touched the book. He yanked her back hard.
Hermione stumbled, blinking rapidly. "Huh? What… what just happened?"
Neville didn't stop to explain. "We're leaving. Now."
He tugged her along and grabbed Harry by the sleeve before either of them could get a word out.
They hurried out of the study, stumbling back into the open corridor. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind them with a heavy bang. Neville stood there, breathing hard, his mind still racing.
Hermione turned to him, her face pale. "Neville… what happened?"
Harry frowned. "Yeah—what was that? I thought you wanted to check the books?"
Neville shook his head, voice low but sharp. "There were cursed items in there. Hermione—you were under some sort of compulsion charm. If you'd touched that book… I think it would've killed you."
Harry let out a low whistle. "Blimey."
Hermione's face went paper white. "I… I didn't even realise I was reaching for it."
Neville gave her a grim nod. "Yeah. Good thing Lumina warned me."
He glanced back at the closed door, a dark twist settling in his gut. "I think… we leave whatever's in there alone. For now, at least."
He exhaled, still staring at the door. "Yeah… sometimes, curiosity really does kill."
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