Harry rounded one of the massive snake statues that lined the chamber walls and sat down in frustration, pressing his back up against a stone wall. The four of them had been down in the chamber for over six hours, and his confidence in finding a Horcrux was starting to waver. He could tell that Ron and Hermione were just as frustrated, but both said nothing as they combed the dank cavern scrutinizing every corner and rock. The search didn’t take long, as there wasn’t a whole lot of ground to cover. They had just finished scouring the chamber for the fourth time when Harry decided to take a break.
He sighed heavily as he pulled his knees to his chest and shifted his weight on the hard floor. This was a waste of time. There isn’t anything down here. Why did I even suggest coming here again? Harry shuddered as he fought the overwhelming urge to get up and walk out of the place. He hated it there, but as much as he disliked it he knew it was even worse for Ginny. He let his gaze wander to the red-haired girl as she carefully studied a wall not far away.
She had been doing that for over an hour. He, Ron, and Hermione had given up trying to ask her what she found so fascinating about the blank wall. Harry had examined it himself from over her shoulder and found it to be rather unremarkable. Nothing seemed special about it whatsoever. Harry was starting to wonder if he’d made a mistake by bringing her down here at all. He rested his head against cold stone and closed his eyes, as he recalled the circumstances that had led him to yet another visit to the Chamber of Secrets.
It had all started two days ago, while Harry was still in the hospital wing. He had just woken from a nap when he heard someone yelling his name.
“Harry! Harry!”
He recognized Hermione’s voice, but was only able to see a blurry outline of a person coming around the cloth partition to stand above him. He raised his hand to his night table and felt for his glasses. Grasping the plastic frames, he slid them across his nose. The world around him came into focus, as did the excited bushy haired girl jumping up and down in front of him.
“What’s up?” Harry asked a bit concerned.
“You won’t believe what I just found! It was right there underneath our noses the whole time, and we never saw it!” She dropped a huge book into Harry’s lap causing him to wince in pain.
Ron’s head poked around Harry’s partition. He was breathing heavily, “Sorry, Mate. I tried to tell her to wait until you were feeling better, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“What’s going on?” Harry grimaced as he repositioned the massive tome on his lap.
Ron shrugged. “I’m not sure. She won’t stop jumping up and down long enough to make any sense.”
Hermione ignored Ron and pointed at the book in Harry’s lap. “Look! Look at the page I marked. You’ll see!”
Harry looked down, for the first time noticing the title, ‘Hogwarts: A History’ embossed across the hard cover. It was the book he had brought from the old woman at the antique store months before. Curious to see the reason behind the interruption of his peaceful afternoon, he opened the massive book. It took him a moment, but he managed to flip to the page Hermione had marked with a folded piece of parchment. Harry skimmed the page and began to read aloud. “Rowena Ravenclaw was always eager to share her knowledge with others…”
Hermione huffed impatiently. “No, no, no,” she leaned over and pointed halfway down the page to another section. “There! Read that!”
Harry squinted to read the faint text on the page. It was obvious that this book was very old. A lot of the ink had worn away in places. “The opening of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a great occasion for the magical world. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before and in celebration of this the Four Founders were presented with gifts from a thankful community.
The charming Helga Hufflepuff, in reverence to her great ability to draw others from different walks of life together, was given a golden cup to symbolize unity and camaraderie. In turn, Rowena Ravenclaw was presented with a great shield bearing her crest as a token for her intelligence and creativity that she brought to the people. Godric Gryffindor, revered as the protector of all that was good and innocent, received a suit of armour made to be indestructible and to stand strong against the darkest hearts. The esteemed Salazar Slytherin was lavished with a priceless golden locket made from some of the world’s rarest metals and gold in appreciation of his cunning and wit…”
“We found them!” Hermione shrieked hysterically.
Harry looked up at his excited friend. “Found what, Hermione?”
“The…” she stopped herself and then whispered so that no one beyond the partition could overhear. “The Horcruxes, we found them. We know what they are now.”
“Okay, so Helga was given a cup and Salazar a locket, but that doesn’t mean that the other two Horcruxes are a suit of armour and a shield…” Harry trailed off as a memory resurfaced.
“What is it?” Ron asked.
Suddenly, Harry was excited as Hermione, “You’re a genius!” he shouted.
“I told you!” Hermione began and then she got a confused look on her face. “Wait, what? I thought you were disagreeing with me…”
“I saw something while I was searching Voldemort’s headquarters. I didn’t think much of it at the time but…”
“But what? What did you see?” Hermione asked anxiously.
“There was a large shield on one of the walls there, and guess what was etched on the front?”
Her mouth dropped open in shock, “No way! Really?”
Harry nodded his head and smiled.
“What? What was on the front?” Ron asked, looking from Hermione and then back to Harry.
“A bird; a raven to be more exact,” Hermione said glancing at Harry, a knowing look on her face. “What better way to hide something than in plain sight?”
Harry shook his head disgusted with himself. “I was so close and never even knew it.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You had no way of knowing what it really was. Let’s just hope we can find it again,” Hermione soothed.
“Wherever it is, I’m sure we will find Voldemort as well,” Harry sighed.
“It would make sense. He would want to keep at least one Horcrux close to him. If anyone did find out what he was doing, he would know if they tried to destroy the shield. He then could make more Horcruxes if need be.”
“So if you’re right and Voldemort is following the book, then the other Horcrux is the…”
“Suit of armour,” Hermione finished. “At least I think it is. It would make sense.”
“Yeah, but where are we going to find that?” Ron asked.
Harry grimaced. “Actually, I have an idea about that.”
Hermione had a questioning look on her face. “What did you have in mind?”
“The Chamber of Secrets.”
“But we already checked there, and we came up empty handed,” Ron replied.
“I know, but I get the feeling we missed something, something important.”
“Like what?” Ron asked.
“I don’t know, but this time we are going there with Ginny.”
“Ginny?” Ron sounded troubled, “Why do we have to drag her into this? She doesn’t know about the Horcruxes.”
“Actually, she does,” Harry said quietly. “I told her everything earlier today.”
“Everything?” Hermione raised an eyebrow.
“Everything, even stuff I haven’t told you guys yet,” Harry looked down to avoid his friend’s hurt expressions. “Look, I know I haven’t been completely honest with you both and I’m sorry for that. I really am. I plan to change that, but right now finding the Horcruxes should be our top priority. We need to make plans to go back down to the chamber, and we’re taking Ginny. I think she may be able to remember something from when she was possessed by Tom Riddle. No one knows the chamber better than him.”
“No! You’re not using my sister like that,” Ron spat angrily. “She’s already been through enough and shouldn’t have to relive that again!”
“It wasn’t my idea, Ron,” Harry replied. “Ginny was the one to insist that we go back down and that she come along. I told her I thought we missed something on the first trip down there and then… well you know your sister and how hard-headed she can be.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to do that to her!”
“Ron, Harry said it was her idea,” Hermione rested a hand on his shoulder. “If she can help us find a Horcrux, I think it’s worth a little unpleasantness. I’m sure she feels that way too. Why else volunteer in the first place? She’s a big girl. Let her make her own decisions.”
“Harry? Are you all right?” a soft voice jolted Harry back to reality.
He looked up to see Ginny standing above him and smiled. He stood up and placed a light kiss on her lips. “Never better, darling.”
“Would you two stop it already? Honestly!” Ron groaned from across the room.
“I found it,” Ginny said quietly, her brown eyes held a silent resolve as Harry gazed into them.
“Found what?” he asked.
“The door,” Ginny replied as she took him by the hand, and led him over to the wall she had been staring at. “It’s here. I couldn’t find it at first because I’d forgotten. But I forced myself to go back and remember. I knew there was something special about this particular wall.”
“What’s behind it?”
“I’m not sure. I can’t remember that much, but I think it’s important.”
“I don’t see anything. Can’t we just go back? I’m starving,” Ron said impatiently as he came up behind them.
“Shhh…” Hermione scolded.
“How do you open it?” Harry asked, ignoring them.
“I can’t, but you can,” she then bent down and pressed her palm against a spot near the bottom that was slightly worn than the rest of the wall.
Suddenly, the barrier in front of them started to split apart, revealing a large plain door. The only marking on it was that of a snake. Harry stepped forward knowing what he had to do.
“Open,” he hissed in Parselmouth.
A loud grinding sounded as the door opened, revealing a dark opening beyond. No one said a word as a dank cold breeze blew across their faces. The air from the opening smelled damp and stale. Harry went for his wand and lit it before stepping forward with Ginny, Hermione, and Ron following closely after.
The passage was dark, narrow, and long. Harry found himself walking through cobwebs and thick dust. He could hear Ron shriek every now and then, but Harry pressed on. After nearly ten minutes in the tunnel, the floor dropped significantly and he found himself standing in front of another blank wall. He stopped and looked at it carefully, but saw no markings or designs to indicate it might be a door.
“Great; a dead end,” Ron complained from behind.
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would there be a passage that leads to nowhere? Maybe a door is hidden like before?”
“I don’t think so, Hermione,” Ginny said.
Harry turned to the girl. “What do you think?”
Ginny shook her head. “Sorry I can’t help you. I don’t think I ever went this far even when I was possessed. I just had a feeling that there was something here.”
Harry looked back to the wall and shrugged. “What do we have to lose?” He then hissed at the wall for it to open, but nothing happened.
“I don’t think that will work. All the other times that Parselmouth worked there was some sort of snake adorning the entrance,” Hermione said.
Harry stood staring at the blank wall, angry that they had come this far only to be stumped by this. There had to be more. This couldn’t be the end. There was something behind that wall. Harry could feel it. Suddenly, he got an idea and turned to the others.
“Anyone got a knife?”
“Err… no,” Ron said.
“What do you need a knife for?” Hermione asked.
Harry ignored her as he began to search the passageway’s dirty floor. It took several moments but he finally found what he was looking for. He picked up a small rock with a sharp edge and cleaned it off on his jeans. He went back to the wall pulling up his sleeve and ran the rock’s sharp edge across his forearm.
“Harry! What are you doing?” Ginny asked alarmed.
A thin line of his blood began to drip onto the ground. He raised his arm and rubbed it against the wall. Harry stepped back as a thin crack of silver light worked its way around the walls edge, revealing the outlines of an archway. Solid wall disappeared as the archway opened into a black abyss beyond.
“Blimey,” Ron said in awe.
“Do you think Voldemort could have hidden a Horcrux in there?” Ginny asked from his side.
Harry gazed into the blackness in front of him with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. “I don’t know, but we have to watch ourselves. Voldemort is no fool and he wouldn’t leave it for just anyone to find.”
“But, Harry, not just anyone could find it. You have to speak Parseltongue just to get into the chamber and the chance of anyone finding this passage is well… very unlikely.”
“We found it,” Harry turned to look at Ginny. “If there is even a slight chance that Voldemort thinks someone will discover his prize, he won’t hesitate to protect it.”
Ginny gently took his hand. “Then I guess we will have to be careful.”
Harry squeezed her hand and stepped forward leading her through the archway. Once one the other side of the door, a bright light flashed and he turned to see fire run along the walls in a narrow trench. The dark walls turned golden as the light struck each of them until the entire room was lit up. Harry stood in amazement at the sight before him. Whatever he had expected, this was not it.
An enormous room stretched as far as he could see, and it was full of glittering objects. From floor to ceiling it was packed with every imaginable treasure and trinket. Countless numbers of massive chests overflowed with gold and jewelry onto the barely visible floor, as bejeweled statues stood guard over the room. Harry also couldn’t help but notice the presence of the snake statues lining the walls much like those that were in the main chamber.
“Merlin’s Beard,” Ginny breathed.
Ron whistled. The sound bounced off the walls and echoed back to them making Harry turn and give his friend a look of annoyance, “Careful. We don’t know what will trigger a trap.”
“Sorry,” Ron grumbled.
“Can you believe this? There must be more here than in all of Gringotts,” Ginny said in awe.
Hermione shook her head. “I don’t know. Gringotts is really large and…”
“Ah, guys? You better take a look at this,” Ron interrupted.
The other three turned to see what he was referring to. They watched as the archway behind them sealed itself, trapping them in the room.
“It’s all right,” Harry reassured the others, “If you can bleed, you can reopen the door. Let’s look around and see if we can find anything useful. Be careful though. This place is more than likely full of traps.”
Ron snorted. “It will take us years to search this place.”
Hermione grabbed a hold of Ron’s sleeve and led him forward. “Come on, this place won’t search itself.”
They had been searching the treasure room for over an hour with no signs of either a Horcrux or any traps. The lack of either was making Harry nervous. Voldemort wouldn’t be so careless to leave such a place unguarded even if he didn’t hide a Horcrux here. The thought did occur to him that maybe Voldemort didn’t know anything about this place, but it seemed very unlikely. And even if he didn’t know about it, the previous owner would have not been so careless either. The uneasiness was rapidly turning into alarm.
“I’m hungry and tired,” Ron grumbled as he flopped down on a chest of gold close to where Harry and Ginny were searching. “Can’t we finish this tomorrow? This place has been here for hundreds of years. It will still be here tomorrow.”
Harry shook his head. “I can’t leave, not now. But maybe you and the girls should leave.”
Ginny was quick to respond. “No, I’m not leaving without you.”
“Ginny,” he attempted, but stopped when he saw anger flash in her eyes.
“No! We do this together. Remember, you promised.”
“I remember,” he smiled, trying to push his anxiety back.
“I found it!” Hermione’s voice echoed in the large room.
“What?” Ron asked jumping up, as he followed Harry and Ginny to where they heard Hermione’s voice coming from.
They rounded a large statue of what looked like a man perched on a great lion to see Hermione waving them forward. “I think I found the Gryffindor Horcrux.”
As Harry approached, he noticed a silver plume attached to a metal helmet, but a large pile of pottery and gold plated dishes was obstructing his view. Hermione had found a small opening between two of the treasure piles and had slipped through. Harry followed after. The other side opened to yet more treasure, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. There was a suit of armour standing erect against a stone pillar. Harry moved closer to get a better look and was temporarily blinded by the shiny silver.
He put up a hand to deflect the piercing light and looked over to Hermione. “What makes you so sure that this is it? It could literally be any suit of armour.”
“Look at the engraved breast plate.”
Harry moved closer, as he did so the reflected light became less intense. He stretched out a hand and caressed an etching of a great golden lion on the suit’s torso. A glint of red caught his attention and noticed ruby settings along the helmet and metal gauntlets that eerily resembled those on the sword of Gryffindor.
Elation filled him as he smiled and turned to his friends. “We found it,” Harry breathed, but his grin disappeared as he saw a look of horror on their faces. “What-” he began, but was cut off by an ear splitting noise that made him and the others double over.
The noise grated on his ears until he thought he couldn’t take it any more and then, as suddenly as it began, the noise stopped. Both relieved and terrified of the total silence he looked up just as he saw a broadsword come crashing down toward his head. Quick to respond, he rolled to his left out of the path of the metal object. He scrambled to his feet only to be knocked off of them again by the floor suddenly coming to life.
“Bloody hell!” he yelled as he managed to roll away just in time to hear the sword hit the floor behind him.
He frantically looked around to see what was attacking him and saw the glint of silver. It was the Gryffindor suit of armour. He desperately searched for something to fight back with, but only sparkling gems and golden treasures were to be found. Harry grabbed a handful and threw the glittering jewels at his attacker. This did little to phase the suit, but it gave Harry the time he needed to duck behind a nearby pillar. Seconds later, stone shards rained down upon his head as metal hit the pillar.
Harry breathed heavily as he searched his surroundings for anything he could use against the suit. He heard Ginny scream, looked to his left and watched in horror as he saw her sinking into a mass of snakes. Harry looked down at the floor and noticed for the first time the reason for the floor’s suddenly movement. The slithering bodies were starting to work their way up both of his legs, but he ignored it as he looked back to Ginny, only to see her red hair disappear into a sea of scaly skin.
“GINNY!” Harry screamed.
He started for her, but was stopped by the singing of metal flying through the air and a hard sharp object found his left shoulder. Harry dropped to his knees in pain and fought back the urge to blackout. He could hear someone call his name in the distance. Harry looked up in time to see the suit of armour preparing to decapitate him.
“Harry, catch!” someone yelled.
He heard something clatter near him and looked down to see a sword at his knees. Harry wasted no time in grasping the hilt of the sword and swinging it upwards to meet the impending death from above.
Ron’s stomach growled loudly as he rested on the small mountain of treasure. He shifted to one side to find a more comfortable spot. His head nodded to his chest as his eyelids began to close.
“I found it!” someone yelled.
Ron jumped up and looked around. “What?”
He recognized the voice of Hermione and followed Harry and Ginny as they searched for her. He lagged behind and was the last one to step through the gap. He was struck by the statue’s brilliance as he climbed through the opening.
“I think I found the Gryffindor Horcrux,” he heard Hermione reply.
“What makes you so sure that this is it? It could literally be any suit of armour,” Harry asked as Ron watched him step closer to the suit.
“Look at the engraved breast plate.”
Harry touched the suit, “We found it,” he said softly.
Ron smiled, but his expression turned to horror as he watched the suit of armour’s arm move upward, a large sword in its grasp.
“What…” he heard Harry ask, but Ron didn’t get a chance to warn his friend as a terrible high pitched noise made him double over and grab his ears.
Once the deafening noise had subsided, Ron pulled himself from the floor, but was shocked to see it wasn’t the stone dusty floor from moments earlier. Instead it was full of writhing scaly bodies. Ron jumped onto a treasure chest and glanced around frantically. He noticed that Ginny and Hermione had done the same thing. They both were occupying the same pile of gold and were currently poking at the fast rising mass of bodies. Where were they all coming from?
Ron felt something drop onto his shoulder and shrieked when saw it was a long black snake. He quickly threw it to the floor and looked up. All along the ceiling were small holes. Cylindrical bodies were sliding through them and dropping to the floor by the dozens, possibly even hundreds. Ron ducked as another two fell towards him.
“Bloody hell, its raining snakes!” he continued dodging the storm of bodies, but soon he began to realize that the torment wasn’t letting up, in fact it was getting worse.
Ron heard his sister scream and looked up to see she had fallen from her perch and landed into the writhing mass. No longer concerned with his own predicament he leaped to the next pile and found his way to Hermione’s side. He watched in terror as his sister began to disappear beneath the snakes.
“Ginny!” he yelled in panic.
“I got her Ron, go help Harry!” Hermione yelled in his ear as she pointed her wand at the snakes surrounding Ginny.
“Harry?” Ron questioned.
Hermione gestured off to the right and he noticed for the first time that the Gryffindor suit of armour had Harry pinned behind a large stone pillar. Harry was looking towards them and began to move from the safety of the pillar. The suit took advantage of this and the sword came crashing onto Harry’s shoulder.
“Harry!” Ron yelled.
He quickly left Hermione and jumped from one treasure chest to the next in an effort to reach his friend, but Ron knew he wouldn’t make it in time. Harry was too far away and the suit was starting to swing his sword once again. Ron leaped desperately to another pile and fell to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He groaned and tried to pick himself back up. Ron stopped as he saw a sword inches away from his face. He grabbed for his wand and waved it, sending the sword flying towards the feet of his friend.
“Harry catch!” he yelled out.
Ron breathed in relief as he watched Harry pick up the sword and heard metal crashing onto metal. His relief was short lived, however, as he felt himself falling into the pit of snakes.
Harry was beginning to tire. He had lost track of how many times he had blocked, parried, and attacked his assailant. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up and it seemed like the suit of armour was only getting stronger. It didn’t help that he had lost all feeling in his left shoulder where the suit had left a gaping bleeding wound.
Crash!
Again the sound of metal against metal sounded in the chamber. It was starting to be a familiar and terrifying sound, along with the now deafening sound of hissing snakes. Harry found that if he kept moving he could keep himself on the backs of the reptiles without sinking into them. Occasionally, Harry sought ground that hadn’t already been covered by the scaly creatures, but their rising mass was making this difficult.
Harry wondered how his friends were faring, but didn’t want to take his attention away from his current task. He didn’t want to take the chance of sinking into the snakes, or becoming impaled by the suit of armor. Again he blocked as the suit pressed him against the wall. Harry gritted his teeth and grasped the sword with both hands, trying to keep the suit’s sword from cutting into his torso. He felt pain rack his body from the exertion and began to feel cold bodies wind their way up his legs. He was soon knee deep in the mass and the suit’s sword was no further away from his body. He had to do something and fast. Taking a chance, Harry let go of his sword, dropped to his knees, and ducked as the suit’s sword met the wall were he once was.
Harry struggled against the snakes as they tried to overpower him. He attempted to speak in Parselmouth, but Harry knew there were too many for him to control. He went for his pocket in search of his wand and found it, but had difficulty pulling it out. Suddenly, the grip around him was lessened as he saw a sword miss his head by mere inches and snake body parts fly in all directions. Taking the opportunity, he was able to pull his wand out. He shot at the remaining snakes around him, and was able to break free from their deathly grip.
Harry turned to see the suit of armour advance on him again. He raised his wand to the suit, but the spell harmlessly bounced off the breast plating. Harry began to panic. This thing was unstoppable and it was going to kill him. He couldn’t help but seen the irony of dying by the hand of a Gryffindor artifact.
A Gryffindor artifact that was it! It occurred to Harry that he could defeat the suit of armour and he knew exactly what had to be done. He was a Gryffindor after all.
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on an image in his mind. “Accio, sword of Gryffindor!” he yelled.
He then leaped onto the back of a wooden elephant and searched for his friends. He saw Ginny and Hermione pulling Ron from the floor of snakes and to the safety of higher ground.
“I need the sword!” he yelled to them.
Ginny looked up, “What?”
“The sword, it’s at the entrance. I need it now!” he then jumped from the statue just before the suit cut through the wooden back of the elephant.
Harry spent the next several minutes leaping from one statue or treasure pile to the next. The suit was undaunted as it followed him closely, destroying everything in its path to get to Harry. After what seemed like hours of playing cat and mouse with the hunk of metal, he heard someone call his name.
“Harry, the sword!”
He turned just in time to see silver and red flash towards him and drop several feet away. Harry vaulted to the sword, but was stopped as the suit pushed a statue towards him. Harry did several back flips to avoid being crushed. Landing on his feet he bent down and picked up the ruby crested hilt of the Gryffindor sword.
Harry stood firm as the suit of armour bore down on him. Both swords met with a loud clang. What happened next was a blur to him as he continued to meet blow after blow. The Gryffindor sword was a perfect fit for Harry and he was able to wield it much better than the previous one. The sword practically sang as he swung it into action.
Eventually, he was able to back the suit up against a wall. The cornered foe fought with vigor as it tried to edge its way around Harry, but Harry was quick to cut it off. Time after time Harry stopped the suit’s attempt at escape. Finally he had enough and saw an opening for the final blow.
The suit had dropped its guard slightly as it moved to slip through a small opening in Harry’s defense. Harry pivoted on the balls of his feet and swung with all his strength at the suit’s breast plating were the heart would have normally been, and slid his sword in until the hilt touched metal. He was surprised as the Gryffindor sword cut through the armor like butter. The suit of armour quivered for a few seconds and then stopped its advance, dropping its sword. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and wiped a trembling hand across his sweaty forehead.
“Harry!”
He stood up and followed the voice to where he had first found the suit of armour. He started to run when he noticed Ginny in Hermione’s arms.
“What happened?” he asked as he knelt beside Ginny, but he already knew the answer when he saw the dozens of puncture wounds along her arms.
“Snake bites. I didn’t notice them at first because there was so much going on. I’m afraid the venom will go straight to her heart if we don’t get her some help very soon.”
Suddenly, Ginny began to convulse violently. Ron and Hermione fought to hold her down and to keep her from slipping back into the snake pit below.
“Ginny, Ginny, what have I done? I should have never brought you down here.” Harry moaned.
“Harry, we’ll take care of her. Just secure the suit of armour in the Room of Requirement. We’ll meet you in the hospital wing.”
Reluctantly, Harry stepped back as Hermione flicked her wand and conjured a stretcher. He watched helplessly as Ron and Hermione carried her out of sight, leaving Harry all alone with a deafening hissing that echoed off the endless chamber walls.