Chapter 290: Plans and Intentions
Harry suddenly remembered his godfather was still in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He asked urgently,
"Is he all right? Is it serious?"
Phineas replied grimly,
"All we can say is that he's alive. His injuries were severe, and he's been in a coma. But based on how he's recovering, he should be nearly healed by Christmas. He should have woken by now, though."
Harry's face grew pale. It was one thing not knowing, but now that he did, the news weighed heavily on him. He couldn't even think about playing anymore.
"What can I do?"
Harry looked up at Phineas, eyes filled with desperate resolve.
Phineas thought for a moment before answering,
"Then study. Train. Voldemort is not our only enemy. Sirius's attacker wasn't just acting under Voldemort's orders. There are others involved. If you want to help, Harry, make yourself stronger."
With that, Phineas turned and walked out of the Room of Requirement.
The Room of Requirement had a peculiar trait—each time its internal configuration changed, one had to exit and re-enter to access the new room. If someone was already using it, others could only enter that person's version.
Phineas had essentially claimed the Room of Requirement as his personal quarters, so most of the time, no one else could use it.
After bidding farewell to the others outside, Phineas returned to his private dormitory.
Astoria followed him in.
"What's the matter, Leah? Something you haven't said?"
She looked hesitant. After a moment of thought, she said quietly,
"Phineas, have you ever heard of the Chamber of Secrets?"
Phineas frowned. He'd nearly forgotten about the Chamber. It hadn't seemed important—after all, only a Parselmouth could enter, and aside from himself, only Dumbledore and Harry possessed the ability. The Horcrux diary, another way in, had been destroyed by him during the holidays.
But still—how had Astoria heard about it?
"Where did you hear that?" he asked seriously.
"It's been spreading around the common room," she said, eyes downcast.
Phineas's expression darkened. Slytherins didn't pass on such legends lightly. Someone must believe the Chamber truly existed—or worse, was trying to get in.
"Do you know who started the rumor?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know. But the boys are saying that whoever opens the Chamber becomes Slytherin's heir… gains control of Hogwarts… and can 'cleanse' the school of Muggle-borns."
Phineas's frown deepened. He said firmly,
"Leah, you need to understand something. First, the Chamber does exist—deep beneath the castle. I can't tell you where exactly, not because I don't trust you, but because it's far too dangerous. Second, opening the Chamber does not grant control over Hogwarts. It only contains a weapon Slytherin left behind. And that weapon endangers all wizards, not just Muggle-borns."
Astoria looked startled.
"What's inside?"
"A basilisk," Phineas replied.
She went pale.
"The basilisk… the King of Serpents. It grows enormous, lives for centuries, and is born from an egg hatched by a toad. It can kill with a stare or venom. Spiders flee from it, and it dies from the crow of a rooster."
Phineas nodded.
"Correct. They can grow up to fifty feet long, with dark green scales and yellow eyes. Their skin repels spells. They shed regularly, and the shed skin is valuable in potion-making. Their venom and blood are rare and potent. Male basilisks have horns; females have feathers on their heads. Slytherin's wand core is said to be a basilisk horn."
Astoria was silent for a while. Then she asked,
"But how do you know so much? You know the Chamber's location, its contents… more than even Mr. Scamander?"
Phineas hesitated, then answered,
"You're right. I found the Chamber, opened it, and went in. That's how I know."
Her eyes widened.
"So, you're a Parselmouth? But the Black family doesn't have that talent, right?"
"No," Phineas replied. "But Slytherin's descendants do. The Black family once allied with the Gaunt family, Slytherin's line. I'm descended from that union. It's no surprise I inherited the ability."
She finally seemed to understand. Phineas continued,
"I don't believe anyone can currently open the Chamber. But the rumors can't be coincidental. I don't spend much time in Slytherin, so I need you to find out who's spreading this. If it's just someone bragging, fine. But if there's another motive, I need to know."
"I'll look into it," Astoria promised.
Phineas smiled.
"Be careful. Other houses might doubt Voldemort's return, but Slytherin won't. That makes it more dangerous."
She nodded again, then left.
Phineas watched her go, lost in thought.
Only now did he remember—Bask was still in the Chamber. He'd meant to move the basilisk out of Hogwarts, but had forgotten with Voldemort's return, the Ministry's interference, Sirius's attack, and Lisa's death.
But it wasn't safe to retrieve Bask now. He didn't have the proper tools, and someone at Hogwarts was clearly watching the Chamber.
If he acted too soon, it might be exactly what that person wanted. Worse—what if that person learned the location and gained access?
Still, he had to remove Bask eventually.
"Puff!"
With a pop, the house-elf appeared beside him.
"Master, what do you need?"
"Tell lisa to prepare a trunk—enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, large enough for a dragon."
Phineas stopped. He'd called Damon by Lisa's name again.
He shook his head sadly.
"It's Damon. I misspoke."
Puff bowed.
"Puff knows."
And with another pop, he vanished.
Phineas sat back, deep in thought.
The Chamber had to be dealt with. The basilisk moved. The time-turner—that was the greater risk.
Phineas had two plans for obtaining the Time-Turner. The first was to lead a team in infiltrating the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic and retrieve it directly.
But the consequences of such an action were extremely serious.
He had already orchestrated a large-scale operation not long ago—one that nearly exposed the magical world to Muggles. Thankfully, with the Ministry's quick intervention, catastrophe had been averted. But another attack on that scale, especially on the Ministry itself, would almost certainly shatter the Statute of Secrecy.
Having lived a previous life as an ordinary Muggle, Phineas knew all too well what the non-magical world might do if they discovered magic's existence. War was inevitable.
And at this point in time, wizards were no match for Muggles. Ever since the invention of the so-called "mushroom bomb" in 1945—meant to bring about peace through overwhelming power—the magical world had lost any chance of resisting the Muggle one in open conflict.
The second option was to wait.
Phineas was certain that, come next year, Hogwarts would allow Hermione and her classmates to choose their electives. Hermione would undoubtedly attempt to study every subject, and in doing so, the school would apply for a Time-Turner to help her manage the schedule.
At that point, Phineas's plan would be simple. He could borrow Hermione's Time-Turner to return to the day of the Parkinson Manor incident. With the chaos surrounding the Ministry's efforts to conceal the truth from Muggles, he would have an opportunity to slip into the Department of Mysteries unnoticed and claim a Time-Turner of his own.
Then, he could pass the newly acquired Time-Turner to his present self—allowing that version of him to return to the time before Lisa's death and change the past. Once the task was done, Hermione's Time-Turner could be returned without anyone being the wiser.
After resolving to follow this safer plan, something caught his eye on the bookshelf.
A book was slightly out of place. He pulled it—The Complete Book of Toadstools. Inside was a folded note, marked with strange wave-like symbols.
To most, it would look like random patterns. But to Phineas, it was a message.
A message from himself.
From the future.