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"I don't know. We don't have time to take him back up and try to find another teacher. Susan's in trouble now." Harry said, glancing down the long corridor.
"Uh… I hate this, but I'll go back up and take Forgetful over here with me. I'll try to find Flitwick or McGonagall and send them down too, hopefully the door will stay open since you didn't tell it to close. I know it's no good to tell you not to go and fight the Basilisk, but… be careful. I don't know if I'm in love with you yet, but I damn well intend to find out. Same goes for Hermione, Daphne, Luna, and Susan. You better come out of this Troll-Slayer." Padma pulled him in for a kiss, before pushing him off. "Take Lockhart's wand. Won't be as good as yours, but if you drop yours it'll at least be a suitable replacement."
"Alright. I'll be back. It'll take more than some overgrown snake to take me down." Harry said, trying to fill his voice with as much confidence as he could muster. He was truly terrified, but was willing to do anything to make sure that Padma didn't hear that.
"It better." Padma said, before escorting Lockhart up the ramp they came down. It was likely to be a slow process, so Harry was all alone.
Carefully making his way down the hallway, Harry kept his ears open for any sounds of slithering. He didn't bother with the mirror, because being paralyzed down here would be a death sentence regardless. Harry could feel his heart start to race as he wandered deeper into the underground catacombs, before he came to a large central area, large tunnels heading off from it in multiple directions, and a large statue of a bald bearded man looming large over the floor. In front of the statue was a boy that seemed strangely familiar to Harry. He had dark hair, and stood perhaps a head and a half taller than Harry. In his hands was a book, and he looked over at something on the ground. The red hair gave away the identity of the figure on the ground nearly instantly.
It was Susan, breathing, but seemingly being drained by some magic. White whisps flowed from her body and into the boy who stood there.
"Harry Potter. You've finally arrived." The boy said, shutting the book before turning to face him. "Our encounter has been a long time coming it seems."
"Who are you?" Harry asked. The boy seemed familiar in a way Harry simply couldn't place.
"I'm Tom Marvolo Riddle, although you perhaps know me by a different name." Tom said, before waving the wand he was holding and spelling out his name in burning letters, with a swish, they rearranged themselves to spell out a phrase that sent chills down Harry's spine, as suddenly everything made sense.
I Am Lord Voldemort
"Voldemort…" Harry said, in disbelief.
"It was very convenient that such a name could exist. An anagram of my own name, yet sounds as though it could strike the fear that was needed into the masses." Tom said. Harry refused to call him Voldemort in his mind. Tom as a name was less frightening, less sinister, and less likely to cause Harry to quake in fear. Harry had to be brave. For Susan, for Padma, for Hermione. For all the students who were being terrorized by a giant snake.
"Why? Why are you doing all of this?" Harry asked.
"As revenge. I was ostracized for my power, my cunning in my youth. Now I intend to show the world what true power is. Unfortunately, you supposedly destroyed me in your time, so I must create a new body. That is where your dear Susan comes in. I was guiding her through my book, unknowingly on her part, to open this Chamber for me, so that I may use the knowledge inside to truly spread my influence. Now though, I have little use for her as anything more than a battery. I shall use her spirit to charge myself, and then begin my conquest anew." Riddle said.
"I'll stop you. I've done it before." Harry said, preparing himself.
"Perhaps, let us see how the Boy-Who-Lived fares against the might of Salazar Slytherin!" Riddle shouted, before saying a few words in Parseltongue. Harry's heart stopped for a moment as he heard a familiar voice.
"Kill" came the word from the Basilisk, as it began slithering into the room. Harry quickly closed his eyes and darted down a side passage, trying to buy some time to think of a plan.
He couldn't engage the creature head on, without being able to see, aiming his spells would be near impossible, and opening his eyes was sure to get him killed by its gaze. He could theoretically outrun it, but for how long he was unsure. He didn't know the Chamber's layout like this creature almost certainly did. Maybe he could try talking to it? Riddle obviously could. Maybe he could give it a shot.
"Stop please!" Harry spoke in parseltongue, surprised at the ease of which he managed to summon the ability to speak it.
"Master says KILL!" The basilisk spoke back. Harry was disappointed, but not altogether unsurprised at this outcome. It had been a longshot to begin with.
Harry fired an overpowered Red Sparks spell behind him, hoping to temporarily blind the creature as he had Ivan Krum, as he opened his eyes away from the beast long enough to recognize he needed to turn in order to not run into a wall.
Continuing his sprinting, Harry was excessively glad for Flitwick's insistence on physical fitness, he would otherwise never be able to keep up this speed for this long without it. Ducking into a small corridor, Harry took a moment to try and remember everything he could about Basilisks.