Chapter 11: Dramatic DuelingSummary:Hazel learns how to duel, supposedly, and an ongoing crisis of identity rears its head later on.
Notes:Beta read by Halexis and harby
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextTime passed, as it was wont to do, days and weeks running together. Hazel and Hermione continued trying to outshine each other while Ron and Draco played chess. Slytherin's next Quidditch match was in December, right before the holidays. The attack on Mrs Norris and the drama around the Chamber of Secrets meant more students than usual would be heading home, but Hazel was determined to stay. It would mean ample opportunity to research the Chamber and Slytherin's monster, and to try to live up to her boast of saving everyone in time.
In the middle of December, after weeks of studying she finally felt like Draco had made enough progress to go to Snape, and one evening he came along to their Occlumency lesson. "Sir, Draco has made some progress on Occlumency."
"Indeed?" He merely arched an eyebrow, but stood up from his desk. "Very well. Prepare your defenses then, Mr Malfoy, and let me know when you are ready."
Draco nodded and stepped to the center of the room. Hazel stood back and watched as Draco closed his eyes to look for that feeling of calm and emptiness they had worked on. "Okay, sir…" he muttered, clutching his wand.
Snape waved his wand and muttered "Legillimens,"under his breath. Draco gasped as the spell took effect, and Hazel wondered what scenes from his life were flickering before his eyes right then.
Snape retreated after a few moments, and Draco opened his eyes, swaying slightly on his feet. "What… that…?" he panted, having lost his breath.
"That was Legillimency." Snape lowered his wand and looked down at him. "You have made progress, Draco, but not enough to rely on. Continue with your efforts, both of you."
"Yes sir… I didn't like that feeling at all, sir, all weird and invasive…"
"Naturally." He nodded in agreement, then beckoned Hazel forward and did the same to her; by now she was proficient in keeping her thoughts out of his reach, and after a few moments he withdrew. "Next time I shall stop going easy on you, Potter. You won't improve otherwise…"
"You think so, sir?" That was both unnerving and reassuring all at once; reassuring that he thought she could handle more pressure, unnerving that there was more pressure he could assert on her.
"I'll keep coming too," Draco insisted. "I hate losing control, or having my mind invaded, and if this can help me close it off then I need to learn it!"
"Very well. Monday night as usual." Snape was businesslike as ever despite his students' passion for the subject. "A few moments to recover, and we shall try again…"
Eventually, Draco was groaning and clutching his head, and Snape lowered his wand. "Adequate, for now. You are both dismissed, Miss Farley will be along shortly." He reached into a pocket, and a few moments later there was a knock at the door. "There she is now. Good night…"
"Yes sir, good night sir." She bowed and turned to leave, happy with her progress but anxious about how much further she had yet to go. Now that she knew she had a chance, she didn't want to give up without seeing how much further she could go. "Hi, Gemma…"
"Potter." The older girl had a grin on her face, as always. "Brought a friend this time, eh? You two've been thick as thieves every night in the common room lately…"
"Snape thinks Occlumency will help us," Draco explained as she led them back to the common room. "Especially after… well, you heard about what happened…"
"Yeah, I sure did." Farley seemed sympathetic though. "I'm surprised you two have time for extra stuff, with Quidditch and all those things." A familiar shuffling and wheezing reached their ears, and the prefect rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Filch, they're with me!" she snapped as the crotchety caretaker shambled into sight from behind a suit of armor. "Just like every Monday and Thursday night!"
"Students out late," he muttered sourly, and Hazel could tell he was thinking of Mrs Norris. Thankfully he shuffled out of sight after a few moments, and the rest of the walk to the Slytherin dungeons was uneventful. Hazel nodded to them both and went to her dorm, where she did her nightly routine before climbing gratefully into bed.
The next morning, after getting ready for the day, she went to the common room and saw a cluster of her fellow snakes gathered around the notice board. Feeling curious she went to see what the fuss was about. "It's a Dueling Club!" Theo Nott said happily, stepping aside so she could see the sign. "First meeting's tonight!"
"Reckon that monster's gonna sit around for a duel, though?" Pansy Parkinson replied, though she seemed eager enough about the idea.
"Hmm." The handwriting on the sign looked sickeningly familiar to Hazel, but she kept her thoughts to herself and went on to breakfast. Her fellow second-years were all agog about the new Club, and she found herself agreeing to go just to avoid standing out.
Her fears were confirmed when she showed up at the Great Hall after classes, alongside Draco, Ron, Hermione and Millicent; the four tables had been pushed aside and an elaborate golden stage was set up instead, with thousands of golden candles floating about above everyone's heads.
Lockhart was up on the stage looking quite pleased with himself in his deep plum robes. To her surprise, Snape was up there too with his usual expression and black robes. At least some things wouldn't change. Most of the students were gathered there, and she felt better about their chances of avoiding mayhem.
"Gather round, gather round!" Lockhart was saying, waving everyone in closer. There was a great deal of giggling and sighing, and the crowd pressed in. "Simmer down please! You all can hear me? Excellent!"
He started pacing back and forth, more excited about having so many eyes on him than about what they were about to do. "So! I asked Professor Dumbledore for permission to start this little adventure, of course! You might ask why? To train you all up, in case you ever need to defend yourselves just like I have, as detailed in my various books!" More giggling and sighing, and Lockhart preened.
"Professor Snape agreed to assist after he let slip about knowing a wee bit about dueling and self defense against the forces of darkness," and he acknowledged the Potions Master with an elaborate bow; Snape responded with a sneer and a slight wave, and the Slytherins all clapped. "But don't fret! I shan't harm the man too badly, you'll get him back hale and hearty afterward!" Snape's sneer only deepened, and Hazel imagined what he was thinking.
The two men faced each other and bowed, Snape in a perfunctory fashion, then they raised their wands like swords. "These are just two acceptable dueling stances," Lockhart explained, the crowd below them still and silent. "Now, on the count of three, we shall cast our spells! Only to stun or disarm, of course, no killing at school! So, one, and two! And… THREE!"
Snape struck first, flicking his wand and shouting "Expelliarmus!" while Lockhart was still twirling his own wand. A jet of red light shot out, impacting Lockhart in the chest; his wand flew from his grasp and he was knocked to the stage, winded but otherwise unhurt. There were gasps from the crowd, and Hermione looked horrified as she danced on her toes trying to see over the rest of them.
"Oof- well, that was a well-played Disarming Charm, well-played indeed… ah, my wand… thank you, Mister Goyle… While it was a good idea starting with that, it was rather obvious what you were about to do and I could have countered it quite easily-"
"Then let us go again, Professor Lockhart," Snape replied, and now his sneer had teeth, "and you can show the students this counter of yours…"
"Ah… well, I mean… oh, alright then!" Lockhart blustered. "Back to our starting positions, then! We bow! And on three! One, two-!"
He didn't finish, instead he waved his wand and shouted "Vermillious!" Green sparks shot forth, though they fell short of their intended target. Snape rolled his eyes and twirled his wand, not saying anything, and Lockhart was hit with a Leg Locker Curse that knocked him over, once again. "Oh, I say! Non-verbal magic kind of defeats the purpose here, doesn't it?"
"Professor Lockhart! Are you okay?" Hermione cried, shoving her way through the crowd so she could use the counter-curse.
"Ah, yes, Miss Granger," and Lockhart got to his feet. "Well, enough demonstration! Everyone pair off and try what you've learned just now! If you'd lend a hand, Professor Snape?" The two professors moved off, dividing the crowd and spreading everyone out; Hazel found herself facing a Hufflepuff boy she didn't recognize right away.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley," the boy said, giving her an unfriendly look. "I've heard all about you, Potter…"
"Well I've never heard about you at all," she replied drolly, waiting for the signal. That Disarming Charm, the incantation was easy enough but what about the wand movement…? She tried to recall what Snape had done…
Lockhart called for everyone to bow, and Hazel barely nodded her head, not taking her eyes off Justin. "Wands at the ready!" Lockhart called. "Let's start with disarming this time, only disarming!"
Hazel panicked slightly; they hadn't been shown the wand movements properly! She lost her head and cast the first spell that came to mind the second Lockhart finished counting, which was the Tickling Charm. "Rictusempra!" Her wand thrummed in her hand, and something in her chest responded to that thrum; a bright bolt of silver light shot forth, slammed into the Hufflepuff boy and threw him to the ground, where he rolled back and forth, laughing helplessly.
Figuring it might be unsporting to press the attack she hung back, but somehow Justin got enough breath to counter attack with the Dancing Feet Spell: "Tarantallegra!" he choked out; purple light swooped over Hazel before she could get her wand back up, and her legs began jerking uncontrollably in some sort of jig. All around her the club descended into chaos as spells flew everywhere, no one really knowing the Disarming Charm just yet and launching whatever spell came to mind.
Lockhart was shouting again, trying to bring back order, and it fell to Snape once more to bring back order. "Finite Incantatem!" he shouted, and the chaos died away. "All students stop dueling immediately!" Hazel's legs stopped dancing, and she looked out over the Great Hall.
Greenish smoke hovered over the scene, making everything smell like old socks. Seamus Finnigan was nearly insensate with Ron standing over him trying to apologize for whatever his broken wand had done. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to have ganged up on Neville and still had him in a headlock, though Millicent was beating Crabbe about the head and trying to pry him off. Lockhart went through trying to restore order, and Snape waved his wand again, banishing the green smoke. Draco and Terry Boot were both prone on the floor, gasping for breath; Hermione was one of the few who still stood, though she looked quite ill as she hovered over one of the Patil sisters.
"Well, that was a fine first try for all of you!" Lockhart preened once everyone was back on their feet. "I think I'll show you how to block hostile spells next, yes?" Snape's eyes glittered unpleasantly, and Lockhart cleared his throat. "Ah, a couple volunteers, then! Yes, you there, Mr Malfoy, and Mr Fletchley too, very brave…"
"It's Finch -Fletchley, sir," Justin insisted, stepping up onto the stage alongside Draco. The two of them glared at each other, wands at the ready, and Hazel wondered what Draco had up his sleeve. Lockhart was showing them some kind of wiggling with his wand; Snape bent down and whispered in Draco's ear.
"Did you catch that then, Fletchley? Good, on my signal! One, two, and go!" Lockhart called.
Justin raised his wand to try and do the wiggling motion, but Draco was already moving, drawing his wand back like he was cracking a whip and then flicking it forward. "Serpensortia!" he bellowed; the tip of his wand seemed to explode, and a long black snake erupted forward, hissing angrily and advancing on Justin. The Muggle-born student backed away in horror, clearly out of his depth.
Acting on instinct, Hazel shoved Lockhart to one side and climbed onto the stage in his place. "Calm down,"she told the snake, consciously using Parseltongue, "just calm down, you'll be fine…"
"Speaker?" the snake hissed back, confused and irritated; Hazel decided the snake was female, but wasn't sure what made her think that. "Why am I here? What is the meaning of this?"
"Nothing, just a teaching moment." She was unaware of the utter silence of the hall around her; all her focus was on the snake. "Easy now, just come here," and she held out her hand, still hissing at the snake. Eventually the snake quieted, approached and nuzzled her fingers. "I wish I had some food for you…"
With the snake now docile, she looked up at Draco. "What are you on about?" she demanded, glaring at him. "Just what are you playing at?!"
"Easy, Potter." Snape had approached, put his hand on her shoulder. "Let me banish that snake before you lose control of it…"
"What do you mean, banish?" and she turned her glare up to him; the snake also looked up, hissing softly and flaring her hood. "This is Malfoy's fault, not hers! Don't blame her!"
"Banish, Potter, not vaporize," he repeated. "Return it to where it came from. Nothing more will happen.
Hazel glared still, but as she looked back to the snake her expression softened, and she stroked her hood gently. "Professor Snape is going to send you back home now, okay? Just relax…"
Above her, Snape moved his wand. "Vipera evanesca,"he murmured, and the snake vanished in a puff of smoke.
"It's her!" someone shouted, "she's the Heir of Slytherin! She's responsible for this Chamber madness!"
"Come off it, she just saved me from that snake!" Justin shot back, and she jumped slightly; she'd forgotten he was even there. "Besides, everyone knew she was a Parselmouth already!"
Everyone started talking all at once, and Snape raised his wand to create a loud bang. "It is getting late, everyone shall return to their dormitories immediately," he said loudly. "You have one minute! Whoever is still here will have detention with me for a month!" Everyone scrambled to clear out, but Snape prevented Draco from leaving. "You will explain yourself, Malfoy, I told you to use Levicorpus! Now everyone will be talking about Potter for weeks all over again!"
"Sir, they talk about me anyway," Hazel tried to insist, but Snape cut her off.
"That is not the point." His dark gaze was still boring into Draco's stricken face. "Forty points from Slytherin, and detention on the last day of term!" He looked around, saw Lockhart chuckling to himself while Hazel, Blaise and Millicent waited for Draco. Everyone else had ran off. "Now back to your dormitories, and I mean it this time!"
"Yes sir." Hazel and her friends took off, and she didn't say a word to Draco until they were back in the Slytherin common room. Then she shoved him to the wall and pinned him there with her hand on his shoulder. "What the hell was that all about, Malfoy?"
"I- I was just… showing off…" he mumbled, face now flushed. "I didn't think it would-"
"Yeah, it's obvious you didn't think," she cut him off. "You're in the doghouse again for a while, pal." She turned her back on him and strode off to her dorm, quite ready to shower the day away and sleep it all off until the next morning's disaster. But she stuck to her routine despite her impatience, changing into Muggle workout clothes and using her broom for a pullup bar.
"Damn, Hazel, I'm glad you don't go out in that outfit," came a familiar voice, and she turned her head to see Millicent and the others in her dorm walking in. Pansy sniffed and turned away to get ready for bed, but Tracey and Daphne lingered.
"We're just a bunch of dykes in here, aren't we?" Tracey giggled. "Just standing here ogling our hot dormmate…"
"I'm not hot!" Hazel shot back, lowering herself and turning to flip her off. That made them all laugh, and after a second she joined in too, giggling hesitantly. "I mean, how d'you figure you're a dyke anyway? Not that I mind you staring, but…"
"Well what if it was a boy who came in and stared?" Millicent shot back with a grin.
"...obviously I'd have to kick his ass," and they laughed some more. "Boys can't come in here anyway, can't they?"
"Nope. If one even steps into the corridor there's an alarm, and the snake reliefs lunge out to capture him," Tracey explained. "That's what my sister said anyway."
"I wonder if teachers are included as well," Hazel said thoughtfully, and she could tell they were thinking of the same person. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna finish up for the night and head to bed." She went back to her routine, and one by one everyone got ready at their own pace. Soon the dorm was quiet, and the lights went out as Hazel went through her Occlumency ritual before drifting off to sleep.
Notes:Sorry for the delay in updating, this last weekend wasn't much fun. Hopefully things will ease up going forward, though!
Chapter 12: Blight of the BludgerSummary:Hazel continues her introspection, and has a bad time on the Quidditch pitch. Even worse because of a certain Professor, natch.
Notes:Beta read by Halexis and harby.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextWhen Hazel wasn't doing other things, like classes or homework or studying or Quidditch or trying to hang out with her friends, she was worrying over a rather personal question. It seemed obvious that she was attracted to girls, as her reaction to Luna seemed to indicate without fail. But was she actually a lesbian, or bisexual, or what?
She thought of Cedric Diggory, the supposedly handsome Hufflepuff Seeker she'd played against a few times. He was an excellent flier, fair and open-minded, and the few times they interacted he always had a smile and a polite word for her. But he didn't make her feel the same way Luna did, or the Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang. Just thinking about Luna or Cho made her feel warm and fuzzy down below her guts.
But why didn't other girls make her feel the same way? Did she have a Type? Luna and Cho were pretty different despite being in the same House; Luna was insular, preoccupied and thoughtful, and Hazel always felt like she needed protecting. Cho, on the other hand, was outgoing and athletic, and being a year above made her wonder what kind of experience the girl might have.
And what about the girls in her dorm? Millicent was like a stepsister to her, a funny and flirty stepsister to be sure, but still. Pansy she dismissed out of hand, they didn't get along very well; Tracey and Daphne were pretty enough, and she figured they might feel the same, but… But how did you approach that sort of thing?
"Oi, Potter," came a voice and a prod from behind, and she turned to see Gemma Farley. "What's got your head in the clouds? You're gonna be late for class."
"Huh? Oh, it's just History of Magic, I can get Hermione's notes if I miss anything." Gemma was pretty. And in sixth year, if anyone would know this stuff it was her. "Hey Gemma, can I talk to you at lunch? I've got some, uh, questions…"
The older girl smirked slightly, and it made her heart race a little. "Sure, Potter, sure. See you at lunch," and she swept along to whatever her next class was. After a moment, Hazel shook her head and kept going herself.
Lunch was awkward and furtive, punctuated by bites of food and constant glances over her shoulder as she unloaded her immature feelings onto Gemma. She was grateful that Gemma took her seriously, or seemed to. "So you think you're into girls, hm?" she finally said, reaching up and grazing a knuckle against Hazel's cheek as if brushing something off her face. Hazel went bright red and nearly lost her breath at the contact, and the older girl laughed quietly.
"Yeah, you're at least part dyke, alright," and she took her hand back. "You're probably too young to be experimenting, honestly, maybe in a couple years?" Hazel was still red in the face, and Gemma tried not to laugh again. "Hey, it's alright, eh? Everyone goes through this, just be glad you got yours sorted out early!"
"Okay… thanks, Gemma…" Glad that was over she went back to eating, even more ravenous than usual for the delay. The rest of the day went by in a rush, and that night before bed she smiled at herself in the mirror and flexed. She couldn't wait for the holidays.
Unfortunately it all came crashing down during the match against Hufflepuff. The day was dark and unsettled, and as the captains shook hands a crash of thunder and lightning lit up the sky as sheets of icy rain dumped down all at once. Not only that but one of the Bludgers had apparently been bewitched, because it followed Hazel exclusively while ignoring everyone else. "Alright there, Potter?!" Lucian Bole yelled, bashing the thing away from her. It lumbered around and came right back though, and he beat it away again.
"Never mind me, focus on the others!" she yelled back, and he darted away reluctantly. She could see Cedric flying nearby, looking concerned. "Worry about your own team, Diggory!" she called out, pelting across the pitch in search of that pesky little Snitch, rain bouncing off her glasses thanks to the permanent charms in place.
Eventually a timeout was called, and both teams came in as the rain turned to sleet. "We can't play like this!" Diggory was saying, trying to raise his voice over the ice and thunder. "This rain is awful! And that Bludger, there's something wrong with it!"
Flint looked at Hazel and shrugged. "S' your call, Potter, you're the one that thing's got it out for!"
She couldn't stop shivering in the freezing rain, and only hesitated a moment. "Let's keep playing, guys! The sooner we catch that Snitch the sooner we can pack it in!" Diggory looked troubled, but Flint shrugged again and waved at Hooch. The game resumed, and as expected, that Bludger came pelting out of the frozen darkness to keep up its antics. She snarled at it and flew off, desperate to get the Snitch; Slytherin had enough of a lead that one loss wouldn't hurt them toomuch, so long as the Chasers did their job and got enough points on the board, but a loss was a loss and her pride wouldn't accept it, no matter how cold and nasty the weather!
Finally she saw it, hovering right above Diggory's head as he looked out over the rest of his team. She ducked against the broom and pelted towards him, and the Snitch zoomed off; he barely caught on in time and she buzzed him by accident, but she had the Snitch in sight and couldn't take time for him. Closer, closer… she could feel Bludger and Diggory both in her wake, until Millicent came by and smashed the Bludger away for a few moments, giving her enough time to focus, focus… stretch her hand out…
"YES!" Her fingers finally snagged it! She darted to the center of the pitch, waving it over her head. "I've got it! I've got it!" Then something came out of the storm and crashed into her; that Bludger hadn't stopped! She felt her forearm snap and cried out, nearly falling off her broom until Millicent and Bole flew up to keep it off of her.
Despite the pain she wouldn't land or relax until the Bludger was contained once more, Madam Hooch barely summoning it back down to her where she and Hagrid wrestled it back into the reinforced box. By then she was about to pass out, still clutching the Snitch even as the crowd converged.
"Make way, make way!" came a pompous voice over the storm, and she fought not to give into the pain. "Not to worry, not to worry, just a broken arm!"
"Get him away from me," she tried to say, but it didn't come out right and all she did was moan incoherently.
"Ah ha, Hazel, everything's gonna be just fine!" She gasped at the fingers groping at her arm, then heard a click and a flash; was that Creevey? "Yes, that's it, Colin! Get this moment on film, the moment when I, Gilderoy Lockhart, bring a fallen student back to full health!"
"Oh please, Professor, please fix her arm!" someone else said, and they sounded suspiciously like Hermione.
"Of course, of course!" She saw him twirl his wand, tried to growl a warning... "Brackium emendo!"
The pain went out of her arm, but so did all other feeling from her shoulder on down. She struggled to stand up, and her arm just flopped at her side. "What did you do?" she demanded as the lack of pain finally let her breathe. She groped for her wand with her other hand and felt quite foolish, especially with Colin's camera clicking and flashing away.
"Ah, well, that happens sometimes!" Lockhart blustered on, though she thought she saw something in his eyes that made her feel ill all over again. The same sort of glint that had been there at the end of her detention. "But the point is, the bones are no longer broken!"
"Because they're no longer there, you bastard!" she snarled, beyond caring now. "Get the hell away from me!"
"Easy, Potter." The other teachers were finally arriving, and Snape was trying to calm her down, as usual. "A night under Madam Pomfrey's care will see you to rights…"
"What about Lockhart?!" she demanded, as Ron and Draco stood to either side to help her stay upright. But the ponce had disappeared, and she was feeling dizzy again. "Professor… don't…"
She wasn't sure how she made it to the hospital wing, since she was barely conscious for most of the trip. But she was awake when they laid her on a bed, at least. Madam Pomfrey was quite beside herself. "Why didn't you lot bring her straight up here?" she demanded of her friends as she inspected the limp fleshy sleeve that had been her arm not twenty minutes ago. "Mending bones is easy! Regrowing them, not so much!"
"You can do it though, can't you?" Hazel moaned, closing her eyes and leaning back on the bed.
"Of course I can! But it'll take all night and it will hurt! Honestly…" She tossed some pajamas at Hazel and bustled off, muttering sourly about incompetent teachers.
"Are you still gonna stick up for him after this?" Hazel asked Hermione as she helped her out of her Quidditch things and into the pajamas, while Ron and Draco waited outside. "I feel like a deboned fish…"
"Anyone can make a mistake under pressure," Hermione replied lamely, not meeting her eyes. "I mean, it… it doesn't hurt… does it?"
"No." She awkwardly pushed herself back into bed, cursing her stupid left arm and Lockhart in the same thought. "But it's pretty useless all the same." It flopped helplessly about as she shifted to get comfortable. "I'm decent," she called to the boys.
"How much longer are we going to put up with that cad?" Ron groused as they came back in. "Honestly! He creeps on the girls, he does stupid shit like this…"
"He doesn't creep!" Hermione gasped, looking scandalized. "He, he just…"
"Come off it, Hermione, you saw how he had his hands all over that Lavender Brown in class the other day, while they were 'reenacting a scene'." Draco made air quotes and looked disgusted.
"And he's always looking at me with this funny expression in his eyes, too," Hazel muttered, going red with shame. "Like I'm a piece of meat to be bought and sold…"
"Y-You're wrong," Hermione muttered, but wisely she didn't say another word. That was when the Slytherin team came in, followed by Cedric, oddly enough. "D-Diggory? Shouldn't you be with your team?"
"I was worried about Potter, of course, after that mad Bludger," he replied quietly. "Madam Hooch and Professor Dumbledore are inspecting it now… Potter, are you alright?"
"Stuck in here for the night," she replied, doing her best to smile bravely for Diggory and her teammates, "but yeah, I'll be okay. Madam Pomfrey's never done wrong by us."
The hospital matron came back into view then, with a goblet in one hand and a large bottle of something labeled Skele-Gro. "Make room, make room," she groused, and the other snakes cleared a path so she could attend to Hazel. "You won't think so highly of me by the end of the night, Potter, not after this stuff's had its way with you." She poured out a steaming goblet full of the hissing green stuff and pressed it into her hand. "Regrowing bones is nasty work, indeed."
So was drinking Skele-Gro. It burned Hazel's mouth and throat as it went down, and it was thick and hard to swallow. She gasped and coughed, and someone tried handing her water, but Madam Pomfrey glared them off and refilled the goblet. "Come on, one more dose…"
"At least we won," Hazel muttered sourly. "Pinch my nose for me, Hermione." That didn't help very much, but she forced the stuff down anyway.
Madam Pomfrey took the goblet back afterward, and let her take some water. "Five minutes!" she told Flint and the others sternly. "Then all of you out! She's got a whole arm's worth of bones to regrow and it won't be pretty!"
"Good luck, Potter. Hope to fly against you again soon," Diggory said, offering his hand with a smile. "It's always an honor to compete against a skilled opponent."
"Thanks, Diggory, same to you." She smiled back and awkwardly shook with her off hand, and he nodded to the others and then left the hospital wing. The rest of the team hung about discussing the game, until their five minutes were up, but they left a decent stack of chocolates and treats and juice for her to keep her spirits up with overnight. "Hey, Flint," she called before the captain left. "Hey, can you ask Farley to patrol near the hospital wing tonight? I'm not sure who jinxed that Bludger but I'd feel better if she was nearby…"
"Yeah sure, I'll let her know." He patted her shoulder and then left, and she winced as pain shot through the limp appendage again.
Minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came through again, dousing the lamps, dressed in a nightgown. "Madam Pomfrey?" Hazel called. "Will this stuff mess with the potion?"
"Hmm…" She bustled over and peered at the stack of goodies. "No, I doubt it, but don't overindulge or you won't sleep well. Not that you'll be sleeping much anyway…"
"Thanks." Abruptly she remembered something else. "Oh, hey, I had another question. Our prefect gave us pills at the start of the year, said you sourced them…?"
"Ah, yes." The subject was an awkward one for the older matron, it seemed, but she went on regardless. "It's just birth control, Potter, and we're lucky to have that much. Those old fogies on the board of governors…" She shook her head. "All I'll say is it was a good day when Dumbledore became Headmaster. He agreed with my views, saw the foolishness in keeping boys and girls cooped up in a huge old castle without any precautions. It's madness that we can't be official about it, have to rely on the prefects to pass it on as an afterthought…"
"I'm not worried about getting pregnant, ma'am, boys don't interest me," Hazel replied with an awkward half shrug. "As long as it's safe, then…"
"Of course, I'm glad you understand." Glad she didn't have to go into the full explanation, Hazel guessed. "Well, do try to rest, dear, and good night…" She finished dousing the lamps and bustled out of view, and Hazel put her glasses aside and laid down again.
"Hazel." A whisper roused her, and she sat up, peering into the darkness. "Easy, it's me, Gemma. Flint said you were uneasy alone?"
"Uh, yeah… Lockhart…"
"Say no more." A familiar shape pressed itself into her left hand. "Anything comes up, you know what to do, yeah?" She slid away again, and Hazel reached for a chocolate frog, tearing the wrapper off with her teeth and chomping it down before relaxing again. Eventually she dozed off.
Hours later a stabbing pain in her arm awakened her quite suddenly, and she gasped and clutched at it. It was still flabby and useless, and now felt as if full of large, burning splinters. "Pomfrey wasn't lying," she muttered, reaching for the water jug. Without her glasses, in the dark, she had to go slowly, but she snagged it eventually, and brought it to her lips to quaff her thirst down. "Damn him!" Her left arm was useless by itself! Surely she could fix that, given time…
A noise brought her attention around again, and it sounded like footsteps. She put the jug back down again and flopped back to bed, and just in time; Professor Dumbledore was backing into the hospital wing. He had one end of what seemed to be a small statue, and at the other end was Professor McGonagall. "Get Madam Pomfrey," he whispered as they heaved the statue onto the bed next to hers.
McGonagall hurried past, and Hazel peered over. "Professor?" she said quietly.
"Hazel." The blurry form of the Headmaster came closer, reached across and put her glasses in her hand, and she slid them onto her face after a few moments. "We didn't wake you?"
"No sir… pain in my arm…" With her glasses on she could see he had a long woolen nightgown and a matching floppy cap on; he must have been preparing for bed, she figured.
"Naturally. Skele-Gro is most unpleasant." McGonagall returned with Madam Pomfrey in tow, and she saw they both had nightgowns on as well. "Madam Pomfrey. There has been another attack. Minerva found him on the stairs, petrified like Mrs Norris."
"There was a bunch of grapes and some pictures next to him. We think he was coming to see Miss Potter." Hazel groaned, and McGonagall looked around. "Oh! Miss Potter, I'm sorry…"
"I was already awake, Professor. Hard to sleep with my- ugh…" A jolt of pain shot up her arm again, and she clutched it with another groan.
"I warned you several times, Potter." Madam Pomfrey was distracted by her examination of the boy. "This is the Creevey lad, isn't he? What's that in his hands?"
"A Muggle camera, I believe," Dumbledore said quietly, reaching for the device. "Perhaps he managed to get a picture of his attacker…" He pried the device from Colin's frozen fingers and studied the back. "Hmm… Hazel, do you know how to open this?"
"Let me see." She sat up, wincing from her right arm, and Dumbledore put the device in her lap and lit the tip of his wand. "Um, I think this tab…" With her left hand she struggled with the latch, then it popped open; she coughed as a jet of steam puffed upward, bringing the acrid stench of burnt plastic with it. "It's melted!"
"Unfortunate." Dumbledore took the device back, and a wave of his wand banished the stench. "Perhaps Professor Burbage can make sense of this… I will take it to her in the morning…"
"What does it all mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked, sounding urgent and confused.
Dumbledore regarded Hazel silently for some moments. "It means that regardless of Cuthbert's protests, the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened yet again."
Madam Pomfrey gasped in shock, Professor McGonagall just stared. "But who…?"
"What do you mean, again, sir?" Hazel asked, just as alarmed as the others.
"Naturally it was opened before," he said quietly, "and a student died most horrifically. No one has died yet this time, of course, but we cannot count ourselves so lucky for long…"
"Sir, are you sure I've got nothing to do with this?" Hazel asked, trying to keep her voice down. "It's just… being a Parselmouth… and the Gaunts…"
"Quite sure, Hazel." He did not seem surprised at that name, and she assumed Snape had spoken of her concerns. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Professor McGonagall seemed as confused as she felt. "Besides, we should not be asking who. Instead, we must ask how…"
"Well, we can worry over it in the morning," Madam Pomfrey insisted, trying for her usual brisk manner. "A piece of chocolate for each of us then, your friends won't mind now, will they?" Hazel shook her head, and she reached into the pile and pulled out a large bar of chocolate, efficiently snapping it into four pieces. "You too, Potter, go on."
She put the chocolate into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Nothing more we can do for now, clear off," and the hospital matron waved the two professors out. The room was soon clear again, and Hazel laid back down, grimacing as her arm continued reboning itself. Eventually she drifted off again…
Notes:Summers are rough around here, my update schedule might be permanently thrown off. Oh well, we shall persevere!
Chapter 13: The Chamber of What, Again?Summary:Hazel finishes her recovery, does a little more studying, and finally has the big Epiphany Moment we've all been waiting for! But...
Notes:Beta read by Halexis and harby.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextSomehow she slept through the night, and when she woke up the hospital wing was awash in cold winter sunlight. It was very different from the Slytherin dormitories, and she was torn on which she preferred more. Her arm was stiff and sore, and didn't want to do what she wanted; Colin's bed was wrapped in curtains and she couldn't see his petrified form.
"Ah, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey was approaching, a tray loaded with breakfast in her hands. She set it down and took her arm, bending it this way and that, working every joint and muscle. "Seems to be in order." She released it and put the tray before her. "When you've eaten, you may go. There's clean robes here too."
It was good to have her smart hand back, but the memory of being without it lingered. She hated being helpless, and determined on the spot to bring her left hand up to snuff. So she put her right hand beneath the blanket and began eating left handed, awkwardly cutting eggs and toast and spearing it on her fork like a thug with a knife. It sucked and it was slow but she persevered, stewing over all the crap from yesterday. The game, the Bludger, Lockhart… Colin. She felt bad for being short with him now, and hoped she'd get a chance to make it up to him.
Someone walked in, and to her surprise it was Gemma Farley. "Lockhart came around last night, but I cut him off for you," she said, sitting down on the bed. "Now I won't be around over break, but Snape'll be here, so rely on him, alright?"
"Thanks, Gemma." She frowned as her hand worked slowly, and Gemma saw the stilted movements.
"Other hand still out of it?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, no, I… well, I hated being stuck with my stupid hand so I wanna make it smart," she explained, gritting her teeth against her left-handed fumbling. She hadn't spilled anything so far.
Gemma just shrugged. "Make sure you can use your wand left-handed, at least."
She nodded and put more food in her mouth. "What was Lockhart's excuse?"
"Tsh, didn't even make one up, flat out said he was just coming to check on you." She rolled her eyes. "We prefects are keeping an eye out, don't worry. This year's Head Girl is going into magical law, she's got a case building to have him sacked before she leaves. She says if it's the last thing she does before leaving Hogwarts, she'll be a happy witch!"
Head Girl. That was something to shoot for, for sure. "Thanks again, Gemma." She was never gonna leave the hospital wing at this rate; she sighed in defeat and brought her right hand up again. "Enjoy your holidays."
"You too, Potter. Good luck with the ladies." She laughed as Hazel choked and flushed, then got up and left, still chuckling. Hazel fought back a scowl, finished breakfast and got dressed again, picking out a bottle of juice from the remaining goodies and chugging it back. Then she gathered up the wrappers from last night and brought them up front with the tray.
"I'm all done, Madam Pomfrey, and I cleaned up after myself too." She put the tray down. "There's still some sweets left, give them to the next person who comes through, alright?"
"Of course, dear." Madam Pomfrey gave her a smile. "Take care out there."
With the holidays so close, no one really wanted to pay attention in classes. Even for Hazel it was a quiet struggle to pay attention, but she managed somehow. Study group was easier, as Justin Finch-Fletchley made a production out of forgiving her for the thing with the snake at the abortive Dueling Club, and insisting he believed she was innocent and would soon have it all sorted out. She smiled at that, formally accepted his forgiveness and spent most of the time making eyes at Luna, who sadly had to return home over break.
After Charms that week she approached Professor Flitwick. "Professor? I had a question or two…"
"Of course, Hazel!" He stood on his desk and beamed at her, as if nothing could make him happier. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, you heard about what happened with my arm at the match," she began, waving her right hand briefly.
"I surely did, dear." The smile faded slightly. "But Madam Pomfrey set you back to rights, so what's the problem?"
"The problem is I didn't have my good hand for a whole night," she went on. "If something like that happens again, and I don't have the opportunity to lay about all night in the hospital wing, I'd have to use my off hand to cast spells."
"Indeed, indeed." He reached up and stroked his mustache. "You've figured out by now that your off hand is useless for precise movement without a lot of time and effort, yes?" She nodded briefly, and he went on: "If you're determined to teach yourself offhand spell work, I recommend spells with simpler movements at first, like the Stunning and Reviving spells." He demonstrated each spell, and sure enough, the gestures were simple indeed; an upward flick for the first, and mere pointing for the second.
"I see." She drew her wand with her left hand and tried the movements, and it was clumsy, but doable. "Thanks, Professor, I appreciate it. I should get going…"
"Any time, Hazel!" He went back to his papers, and Hazel left for her next class.
The very last day was marred by a third attack, this time on two individuals; Justin himself, and the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick. Hazel of course was nowhere near the area when they were discovered, had in fact been eating and had plenty of witnesses willing to vouch for her time, but she didn't like the renewed mutterings all the same.
She stepped in to check on them later anyway, and caught herself staring at the petrified ghost. Normally a ghost was silvery-white and nearly transparent, but Nick hovered there above the sheets, a shocked expression on his face, head frozen halfway off his ruff; he was black and smoky and even colder than usual to the touch, and she grimaced as she pulled her hand back.
That evening Draco came in very late, teeth chattering as he rubbed his wrists. "Snape had me up at the Ast-tronomy T-Tower, polishing t-telesc-copes," he stammered through the chill as he threw himself into the chair closest to the roaring fire. "Never gonna summon a snake ag-gain!"
"Oh, don't say that," Hazel said serenely, finishing up a last bit of Potions work. "Maybe in a real duel a snake might be useful? Just… try not to do it when your best friend is under suspicion for whatever bullshit is going on around here, got it?"
He chuckled at that, and held his hands closer to the fire. "Just friends, Hazel?"
"Yes, Draco. Just friends," she replied firmly, giving him a hard look. "I'm into girls, in case you haven't noticed."
"Oh." He seemed taken aback by that, but shrugged it off eventually. "That explains what Mother was on about, then. I don't c-care who you're into." Which was a lie, as he proved with his next words. "So, um… got your eye on anyone I know…?"
"I've been looking at Luna Lovegood, as you already know," and she rolled her eyes when he chuckled slightly. "Speaking of your mum, is she still making you leave for the holidays?"
"Yeah…" He sighed irritably. "You'd think Slytherin's monster would leave us well enough alone, eh? But she's not so sure, wants me nearby… I can't blame her, really."
"Me neither." She finished her assignment and put her stuff away. "I've got plans for the holidays anyway, gonna spend time in the library looking up this monster. I'm so close… a snake who can petrify others, associated with Salazar Slytherin…"
"I'll check my family's library while I'm there, we've got records of that sort of Dark stuff," Draco offered, and she nodded her appreciation. "Well, we should get to bed, then… 'Night, Hazel…"
"Yep, g'night." She stood up, yawned and stretched, and went for her dorm. She went through her routine as usual, though she spent more time than usual staring at herself in the mirror after showering, wondering what she would see soon. For a twelve-year old she was quite toned and strong, she hoped, tall and with long, tangled black hair that by now was down to below her shoulders. Her chest was still a far cry from the adult Hazel she'd seen, and her mother's. Would it be enough?
She deigned to use some of Lockhart's beauty advice and tried poking at the zits and body hair, which she'd done sporadically; she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was actually using some of his advice, but she also still didn't want to end up like Eloise Midgen either.
Whatever. It was better to be hated for what she was than loved for what she wasn't. She wasn't sure who said that, but she agreed with it. She returned to her bed and slipped away into a dreamless sleep, thanks to Occlumency.
Next morning she woke up bright and early, did her morning things and got dressed to see the others off. Then after breakfast she came back to the dorm, and turned to look at Tracey. "Stuck here too, huh?"
"Yeah… kind of a shame." The other girl shrugged and flopped onto her bed. "Got any big plans?"
"Yeah, catch up on assignments and do some research on all this shit happening, with the petrified students and such." She got her stuff together and walked out, waving to Tracey, who waved back and appeared to go back to sleep.
Her first stop, of course, was the library. "Madam Pince, I'm looking for information on monsters," she said to the pinch-faced librarian. "Because of all this Chamber business, you know? I want to help."
"Slytherin's monster, eh. Well, come along." Madam Pince turned and went into the stacks, and Hazel followed. Naturally they went to the magizoology section, and the librarian stood before them, humming thoughtfully. "I can't let you check these out, Potter, but you can certainly pick a few and read them in here." She reached up and pulled one in particular down. "I'd start here, Most Macabre Monstrosities."
"Thank you." It was very old and very brittle, and Hazel staggered slightly as she carried it to a table. Gingerly she opened it to the table of contents, scanning for anything snake-like. Acromantula… no, probably a spider… Ashwinder? No, too common…
Basilisk…
Holding her breath she turned to page 724…
Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.
"It's a basilisk," she said to herself, overcome by awe. "Salazar Slytherin bred and hid away a basilisk in Hogwarts!" Everyone so far had only been petrified, though… but wait, Mrs Norris probably saw it in the puddle of water from Myrtle's loo. Colin saw it through his camera, and Justin saw it through Nearly Headless Nick. And Nick was already dead, of course.
She put the book back in its place, thanked Madam Pince and left the library behind. She'd have time to check out Myrtle's loo before lunch, and wouldn't even have to hurry about it, either.
"Myrtle?" she called out as she went in. The bathroom was in even worse repair than before, she noticed with a frown. "Myrtle, are you here?"
"Oh, it's you again." The petulant ghost hovered out from her stall and pouted. "Come here to swear at me some more, or set that monster on me like Nick?"
"What? No, don't be dense, I came to ask how you died," Hazel replied impatiently. That wasn't quite what she was here for, but if it kept the peace…
"Ooh, funny you should ask!" Myrtle cheered up in an instant, and her transparent eyes sparkled in the dim light. "It all happened right here, in this very stall! I was sitting in here having a cry because of that dreadful Olive Hornby, she'd never leave my glasses alone." It was strange to hear a story like this told with such relish, but Hazel kept that thought to herself for now. "The door was locked, of course. But then someone came in! Said something in a strange language I'd never heard before! But it sounded like a boy so I got up to kick him out, and then I DIED! "
"Wh- just like that?" Hazel couldn't believe her ears.
"Just like that!" and Myrtle seemed happier than ever.
"Okay… well, did you see anything before you died?"
"Not much, just a huge pair of yellow eyes." The ghost girl was getting bored again, floating back and forth. "My whole body seized up and I was kind of floating away… but I came back of course, couldn't let that nasty bitch Olive Hornby get the last word! Ooh, I made her sorry in the end!"
"Hmm…" Her theory was being proven out at every step, and she told herself to be cautious. "Can you tell me where you saw the eyes?"
"Somewhere by that sink," and Myrtle waved vaguely at the sink nearest her stall. "It's never worked, you know."
"Thanks." Hazel approached it, tried turning the taps. Neither of them would turn. She knelt down and examined every inch of the sink, the taps and the pipes, finally spying a tiny snake scratched into the copper beneath the cold water tap. "There's a snake here!"
"Ooh, a snake!" Myrtle sounded bored again. "Well, you're the girl who can talk to snakes, aren't you? Say something in snake language." It was meant as a jeer, probably, but Hazel knew she was onto something.
She leaned close to the little carving, cleared her throat and tried to tap into that part of her mind Parseltongue came from. "Open up," she ordered, but nothing happened. She turned her head to the side, tried to imagine the snake moving in the flickering candlelight of the bathroom. "Open up!"
This time it worked; the tap glowed white, and the whole sink rattled slightly before sinking out of view, revealing the mouth of a pipe large enough for a full grown man. "This has to be it. The Chamber of Secrets!"
"The what now?" Myrtle hadn't been paying attention, obviously. "Oh wait, I know what that is. Everyone was all excited about that being opened up before! When I was alive, I mean."
"The entrance has been here the whole time, Myrtle. It was a basilisk that killed you, the King of Serpents." She couldn't believe it was this easy, and wondered if Dumbledore was playing his games again. No, no, he wouldn't use a basilisk. If there was a basilisk down there, it was probably hungry; she'd have to grab food from lunch and come back after. "You were a great help, Myrtle, but I need you to stay out of sight for a while, alright? It might be dangerous."
She left the loo and went to get her invisibility cloak, and dumped out most of her school stuff into her trunk to make room for food in her bag. Then she worked out until lunch, and went upstairs to the great hall. There weren't enough people to hide behind, but no one seemed to question why she was shoveling a lot of meat into her bag before eating like she usually did.
No one except Snape, that is. "Planning an all-day party, Miss Potter?" he inquired drolly as she left the hall.
"Um. Y-Yeah, exactly. Sir." Shit, she hadn't thought to plan an excuse…
"Mm. Mind you don't leave crumbs everywhere." He went back to his own meal, and she kept going with a relieved sigh. As an afterthought she dashed back to her dorm and grabbed her broom, in case she'd have to fly out of that huge pipe. Luckily her bag had room.
Back in the bathroom, Myrtle was nowhere to be seen. She opened the pipe again and sat down, tying her hair back before pushing herself off. She fell straight down for several meters before the edge of another pipe caught her, and then it was like a very long, very dark and slimy slide. Smaller pipes branched off in every direction, though as she went lower the pipes got fewer and fewer, and she knew she was beneath the lake, beneath the Slytherin dungeons, beneath the entire castle by this point.
Right as she was worrying about how to stop the pipe finally leveled out, and she slowed down slightly before the pipe ended and she landed in a heap, covered in slime and shaking from the rush. "Definitely taking the broom next time," she told herself as she stood up and brushed herself off. Bag intact, food and broom still whole… wand. All good. She lit the tip and looked around; she was standing at one end of a long tunnel, wet and slimy, and she couldn't make out the far end no matter how she squinted through her glasses. Nothing to do but go forward, so that was what she did, marching steadily ahead through the gloom.
It was quiet as a grave apart from her footsteps, and she jumped slightly when there was a crunch from beneath her feet. She looked down to see countless skeletons of small animals, rats and ferrets and dogs and other things. "Poor critters," she murmured, suppressing a shudder as she kept going. The tunnel seemed to bend around…
She gasped and ducked back behind the curve when she saw what was ahead. An outline of something huge and round, blocking the tunnel ahead. With shaking hands she got her cloak out and threw it over her, extinguishing her wand and feeling on ahead by touch. Her fumbling hands felt rough, scaly skin, but it was oddly dry and dead… Heart racing she lit her wand again, and saw that it was just a shed skin, though twenty feet long and half as wide as she was tall. "Gods, how big is it now?" she murmured, stroking the bright green scales. How valuable was basilisk skin, anyway?
She went around and kept going, deeper into the tunnels. It turned over and over, and she felt more than saw it getting wider as she went on. Finally she came up to a solid wall, with elaborate carvings of two entwined serpents with bright green emeralds. No need to squint here, those glinting eyes danced in her wand light with a curious liveliness. Hazel cleared her throat. "Open," she hissed, and on command the serpents parted as the wall slid to the side and out of view; a gust of warm air billowed outward. She took a deep breath and kept going, wonder and fear arguing within her chest.
The chamber beyond the doors was vast, moreso even than the Great Hall. She could barely see towering pillars to either side, of course wrapped with more stone serpents all the way to a ceiling her wand could not illuminate. It was also quite warm, which would make sense if a giant snake lived down here. "This is old Slytherin's place, alright," she decided as she kept on trudging. The gloom outside her wand's light was strange and greenish, and she was alert for any sign of movement, ready to snap her eyes closed and flick her wand off. Even though she wore her cloak, the hollow eyes of the stone snakes seemed to follow her, and she jumped slightly whenever one seemed to move in the corner of her vision.
Finally she reached the end of the chamber, and beheld a strange, ancient statue, as tall as the chamber itself. She got her broom out and climbed onto it, hovering slowly into the air so she could see the head up close; the face was foreign-looking and primitive, with a long stone beard that fell almost to its toes. The mouth was shut, but she was sure, somehow, that it would open if she did the right thing here.
She returned to ground level, finally hearing water; there seemed to be a pool off to one side, fed by the trickles coming down the walls. She went over to the pool and shone her wand down through it, but it wasn't very deep; a crack in the wall could be seen, and she guessed that was where it drained out of. "Venenum revelium," she murmured, waving her wand, but the water didn't react. "Hmm…" She knelt down, stuck a finger in; nothing happened. She brought her finger up and sniffed; it smelled like water. The spell didn't show anything, so she dipped her hand in and took a drink. It was cold and clear, and it slaked her thirst perfectly.
"So where's this basilisk?" she asked herself as she turned and regarded the rest of the chamber again. "Gotta be that statue…" Now how would an old pureblood maniac like Salazar Slytherin secure his gigantic fuck-off snake? She giggled at the answer her mind served up. "Oh terrible Lord Slytherin! Your servant awaits your command!" she cried out in Parseltongue, before doubling up laughing at her own wit.
A grinding of stone on stone cut her off immediately, and she cast her eyes to the floor. A rustle and a rasp was heard, followed by a heavy thump as something enormous landed on the floor. "Who calls…" a deep voice rumbled, as the something enormous slithered over to her. "You are not my current Master…"
"Um! No!" Hazel cried, closing her eyes and covering them too. "I'm here to STOP them! Please listen to me!" Far too late it occurred to her that coming down here, all by herself, to confront one of the deadliest creatures known to wizardkind was an exceptionally imbecilic move. Gryffindorish in its stupidity!
"You sound like an Heir…" By now she was quite surrounded, the rustle of scales and the heat of an enormous serpentine body all around her. She dared a peek down, and saw bright green scales slithering in a tight circle around her. "Open your eyes, Heir… if you truly are such, my gaze will not harm you…"
"What? That's rubbish, nothing I've read-"
"OPEN YOUR EYES!" the snake roared, and one heavy coil knocked her into another. "Open them or I shall feast on your quivering flesh!" She felt it shifting again, imagined it raising itself to strike.
She was dead either way, she realized with a shudder. Struck down by its gaze, or torn asunder by its fangs. "Fuck you! Be that way!" she shouted back, dropping her hands and staring upward, both green eyes wide open and ready to die.
Bright green met bright yellow, slitted and murderous. They stared at each other for several silent seconds, and Hazel failed to die. "Holy shit…"
Notes:Fun fact, I thought about writing the end of this chapter to make it seem like Hazel died, and tagging the story accordingly. Then I figured that'd be too dark for the tone I wanted, and probably a shitty joke anyway, so here we are!
Chapter 14: Living HistorySummary:In which Hazel comes face to face with why one should pay attention in every class.
Notes:Beta read by harby
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text"So, you truly are an Heir of Slytherin," the basilisk said thoughtfully. "You do not smell like the other one, though…"
"Other one? Who is it?" Hazel replied, getting over her amazement. How many Heirs could there be in one year? She blinked and looked at the basilisk properly, taking in its bright green scales, its huge mouth of fangs dripping poison. She doubted she was immune to that stuff. "I didn't realize basilisks were so impressive…"
"I have lived long, Speaker. Too long. Years were spent in sleep, rousing only to shed my skin, to feed on vermin. My first Lord, Salazar Slytherin, hatched me to protect the school of learning above us…"
"Yes… oh! Here, I brought food for you!" She dug into her bag and brought it all out, roast beef and steaks and bread and vegetables. Everything she'd gotten her hands on earlier. It was a bit stale and squashed, of course, but there was nothing she could do about that. "It's not much, I'm afraid…"
"Not at all, Speaker, not at all." The basilisk made quick work of it all, almost as soon as she brought it out and set it on the floor. The circle of scales around her loosened. "You are much more polite than the other one…"
"Yes, who are they, anyway?"
"A girl, much like yourself, with red hair like my Master's mortal enemy… young, inexperienced… my first Master bade me shield the school from lesser beings, but his words were… difficult…"
"Muggle-borns? Mudbloods?" Hazel guessed.
"Yes… but they all smell the same, they all smelled of magic… Why was my first Master afraid of these others?"
Hazel was incredibly glad she had paid attention in History of Magic now. "Salazar Slytherin grew up in a time of war and persecution, where those who lacked magic hated and feared those who had it," she explained. "Those without magic were called Muggles, and sometimes they would have children who did have magic. They were called Muggle-borns, or mudbloods if you wanted to be cruel."
"Yes, my Master certainly was cruel," the snake agreed. "But he is here no longer, there is only you and the other. She always has a small book with her, she does not Speak of her own free will…"
Small book? And red hair, too? She thought of Ginny and the old diary she had dropped. Did the snake mean Ginny? "Listen, there's no reason to fear the Muggles anymore. Hundreds of years ago, wizardkind separated our world from theirs, and now we're just stories and fairy tales to them. We have spells to wipe their memories when they accidentally see beyond, and we're safe."
The snake considered those words. "You speak truth. Are there still… Muggle-borns, though?"
"Yes! Without them there would be no more magic, without Muggles we would have all died off. We need them, you see? There's no reason to hunt them or the witches and wizards who come of them, not anymore."Hazel was glad the snake seemed to understand this.
"I am glad of this, Speaker. It sounds like yours is a world that does not need me any longer… I would love to go back to sleep, but I cannot. The other Speaker still commands me, uses harsh words to force me against my will…"
"I see." She had to get the diary from Ginny, then. The only question was how? And should she get the teachers involved? "What's your name, anyway? I'm Hazel."
"Name?" That seemed to confuse the great serpent. "My first Master never saw fit to name me, and the last Heir was too busy using me and corrupting me. If you would name me, Heir Hazel, I would be honored."
Hmm. What to name the fuck-off huge monster below the castle? "How about Rex? It means King in an ancient language, and basilisks are the King of Serpents."
A hissing laugh from that huge, swaying head. "That would work, except I am a Queen, little Speaker…"
"Regina, then." How had she gotten that wrong? She reached up and patted the side of her head. "I must go for now, Regina, but I'll try to return with more food, okay?" The snake nodded and slithered back to the statue, and Hazel got her broom out of her pack to fly back to the school. It was much faster on her broom.
"Myrtle, I'm back and still alive," she called as she popped up from the mouth of the pipe. "Covered in slime, though… ew."
"Aw, that's too bad." Myrtle looked genuinely disappointed. "If you'd died, we could have haunted this place together!"
"Er. Sure. I've gotta go." Checking her things one more time, she threw the cloak over herself and ducked out, eager to get back without running into anyone else. Once back in her dorm she got out of her dirty robes and showered, putting clean clothes on and checking the time; almost dinner, good.
She ate with her usual gusto, and went over to the lions table. "Hey, where's Ginny?" she asked of one of the twins.
"Gone back home for the break," he replied with an exaggerated sigh. "Percy forced her."
"Wrote to Mum and everything! Poor Ginevra's been out of sorts all year, no one knows why…"
"Huh." Hermione was gone too, she noticed. "That sucks, I needed her help with something." If she was gone, she very likely still had that diary, so there was no danger of any further attacks. The danger to Ginny herself, though… Well, there was nothing she could do about it now.
Christmas morning was dark and cold, yet there was a pile of presents at the foot of her bed anyway. The first and smallest was a toothpick from the Dursleys, and a note asking her to find out if she could stay at Hogwarts over the summer break too. "Gits," she muttered, tossing both note and toothpick. Ron had sent her some books on Quidditch, Hagrid a large box of treacle fudge which she decided to soften by the fire before eating, and Hermione had gotten her a new eagle-feather quill.
Mrs Weasley sent another sweater and a large plum cake, the scent of which had her drooling almost instantly. There was the usual assortment of candies and jewelry from her fellow snakes, too. "Another pair of earrings?" she groaned, holding up the ornate little runic symbols. "I still haven't got my ears pierced!"
"Cheers, Hazel," Tracey called, holding up the box of chocolates she had bought for her. "I totally forgot to get you anything, though…"
"Aw man, I guess we can't be best friends anymore," Hazel teased back, and they both laughed. She spent the day in snowball fights as usual, heading back for a light lunch and to get cleaned up for dinner.
On the way back to her dorm afterward, though, she was intercepted by Lockhart. "Hazel, my dear!" he called, that too-wide smile on his face as usual. "Don't think I forgot you for Christmas! Here you go, here you go!" and he pushed a package into her hands, then stood there waiting for her to open it. The other students either giggled or glared, but didn't interrupt.
"Uh… thanks, Professor…" She peeled off the gaudy wrapping paper, which seemed to be his name in some kitschy pattern, and was left with a framed photograph; it was the one Colin had taken, of Lockhart, Draco and herself.
"You're a bit camera shy, aren't you, Hazel?" the real Lockhart went on grandly, and sure enough, the Hazel in the picture still refused to show her face, while the picture Lockhart held her to his side and the picture Draco tried to pry her loose while still smiling for the camera. Though to her it looked more like a grimace. "Real shame about the boy, though, but take heart! I'll have those Mandrakes matured and ready before you know it!"
"I'm sure you will, sir. Now if you'll excuse me…" She knew he wouldn't try anything sleazy with witnesses around, and she walked away from him, the photo dangling carelessly from one hand. As soon as they rounded a corner, she snarled to herself. "What a creep, I swear!"
"At least he didn't sign it," a Weasley twin chuckled. "Bet that hurt him more than any insults you could ever come up with, Hazel!"
"Why don't you give me a few and we'll see how deep they cut?" she shot back, forgetting the picture and grinning. "We'll ambush him back next time!"
Dinner that night was a true spectacle, the tables groaning under the immense pile of food. Hazel crammed more into her bag for Regina, then stuffed her face until she could barely breathe, washing it down with milk and butterbeer. Twelve massive trees ringed the hall, and enchanted snow drifted down from the darkened ceiling; Dumbledore led everyone in carols, and she laughed as the professors sang off-key by how much wine they'd had.
Lockhart, she noticed, had drank himself to sleep, and she and Tracey waltzed back to the common room arm in arm, singing the last bars of the final carol together. The next day she took her bag of food down to Regina, and listened as the basilisk told her about Salazar Slytherin from a first-hand perspective. Quite enlightening, but not at all flattering, and she could see why it wasn't considered polite to brag about being one of his Heirs; she determined then and there to redeem the name and make Slytherin something to be proud of going forward, and added it to her ever growing list of ambitions.
The break was almost over before they knew it, but Hazel found she wouldn't mind the school being full of students again. It would make it harder for Lockhart to corner her, after all. She welcomed everyone back with a smile and a hug or handshake, and as she went through her nightly routine she had to get back into the school mindset yet again. Kind of a drag, but she knew it'd all be worthwhile in the end.
With the press of assignments, she didn't have time to look for Ginny and get that diary from her, but she did mention it to Hermione. "Hermione, I'm worried about Ginny," she said in a low voice at breakfast one day in January.
"Everyone's worried about Ginny, Hazel," the bushy-haired girl replied anxiously. "Do you know something new?"
"Well… I think it's that diary she's had." Hazel was reluctant to tell the whole story, especially in the Great Hall; if people found out she'd been to the Chamber of Secrets, had been talking to Slytherin's monster… "If you get a chance, can you get it from her and bring it to me?"
"If it's dangerous, we should take it to the professors," Hermione argued.
"We should, right, but… but I wanna see it for myself before we admit to stealing from another student, you know? It might just be a diary for all we know…" Hermione agreed after a moment, and Hazel went to her own table.
Later in the week she literally ran into Hagrid, not far from Dumbledore's office. "Oh hi, Hagrid, what's brought you in here?" she blurted, leaning back to take in the enormous man.
"Alrigh', Hazel?" he replied, pushing his balaclava out of the way. She saw he had a dead rooster in one hand, which seemed to have had its neck wrung out. "Third one yet, poor buggers. Headin' up ter get Dumbledore ter charm th' coop."
It occurred to Hazel that maybe Hagrid knew about the Chamber of Secrets, but as with anything to do with his past, she felt he wouldn't be so open to discussing it. "Hey Hagrid, before you go…" She looked around and stepped closer. "What do you know about basilisks?"
"Basilisks?" he repeated, eyes going wide. "Blimey, Hazel, what yeh askin' that fer?"
"Lockhart was bragging about taking one down the other day," she lied, only feeling bad for a moment about lying to her friend.
"Rubbish," he replied immediately. "Ain't no takin' a basilisk down, Hazel, they're bloody impossible. Jus' lookin' in their eyes'll kill ya dead! An' their venom! Kill ya deader 'n hell, it will, even if ya avoid its eyes!"
"Really? There's nothing you can do to stop one?"
"Well… rooster crowin'll do 'em in, 'r so th' stories say," he went on with a shrug. "Spiders're scared of 'em too, won't even stick aroun' fer 'em."
"Weird." She faked a shudder. "Oh well, I guess Lockhart was full of shit again, like usual. Thanks, Hagrid." She reached up and patted his elbow, and went off to her next class again.
Notes:The end is in sight, weirdly enough. And of course I'm falling behind on Year 3, lol, but what else is new?