Chapter Twenty

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“ You can't be serious!”

“ I'm sorry, Gin, but I'm afraid I am. Simbi and Nirah told me that the meetings would be held in `the Chamber', and that's the only secret chamber I can think of. I mean, think about it. If you were going to spy on one of the other founders, and you didn't want anyone to find you, then you would go somewhere they couldn't reach. The Chamber of Secrets is the only part of Hogwarts I know of that the others would be unable to access.”

“ Wait a minute,” Christabel spoke up, “ Could you please tell us what you mean? I'm a little confused, and I think Ardwick and `Tea are as well.”

The other two nodded in agreement. They had never heard of the Chamber of Secrets before. The time travellers looked at each other briefly before Harry launched into the tale of his second year at Hogwarts, Ginny adding details he was unsure of. Once they were finished, the three Anglo-Saxons were staring at them in awe.

“ Amazing! You killed a basilisk when you were twelve!” Ardwick loudly exclaimed. Hermione looked at him disapprovingly, then sighed in defeat. In her book, boys would never learn to behave in a civilised manner in a library.

“ That's by the by, Ard. We need a course of action. After being best friends with Harry for four and a half years, I like to know what's going on around the school. The best way to find out what Slytherin is up to would be to follow him around for a while.”

“ Ron, I appreciate your logic, but I think we should take this to my mother. We shouldn't go spying on one of the professors, it's dishonest. My mother might know what's going on…”

“ I don't think so, `Tea. If Slytherin is having snakes spy on Gryffindor, and is meeting them in the Chamber of Secrets, he obviously doesn't want anybody else to know about it. If we follow him down there at the next meeting, we can see for ourselves what's going on and report back to Lady Ravenclaw when we have some hard evidence.”

“ But Harry, you're the only one that will be able to understand him. Anyway, I thought you said you were sending your snakes to the meeting. Why would we need to go as well?”

“ I see your point, `Mione, but what if they get caught? I mean, Slytherin might have a specific group of snakes he is using, and Simbi and Nirah might seem suspicious. I know he doesn't know about me being a parselmouth, but he might not want to take the risk. He could hurt them, and I couldn't let that happen. I think I should be the only one to go.”

“ What! You can't!”

“ Harry, that's dangerous!”

“ What if he sees you…”

“ STOP IT! I've made up my mind. I'm going to the next meeting, and that's final. I think we need to know what's going on and I'm the best person to do it. In the meantime, we should all take turns watching him for any suspicious behaviour. Agreed?”

The rest of the group reluctantly nodded their heads. They could see Harry's logic, but they weren't happy with the situation. They were afraid he might get hurt, but trusted him to be careful and do the right thing.

Three weeks after the Hallow'een feast finally came, and with it the quidditch tryouts. Harry and Ron were on the pitch early, getting out school brooms and transfiguring temporary quidditch balls. It had been decided by the founders that the pair of them would be the best people to lead the tryouts, as they were more familiar with the game, and so would be able to make good suggestions for players. For that day they were instructed to treat all of the Houses equally, so as to make the selections fair. They were not to favour their own House teams.

Gallatea had been practically bouncing off the walls since breakfast. She had been eagerly awaiting the tryouts since she had first seen the quidditch pitch, and was doubly excited now that the day had finally arrived. She had spent the previous evening cleaning and tidying her broom, Harry's broomstick servicing kit open in front of her. Harry had lent it to her so she could get her broom into the best shape possible. He knew she wouldn't have to worry about the tryouts, as she was a fantastic flyer, but he knew she would feel better if her broom was in good condition. He really admired Gallatea's broom. It had been handmade by her mother as a birthday present two years ago, and the craftsmanship was exquisite. Harry loved his Firebolt dearly, but would kill for such a personalised broom. It was made specifically for the girl to fly, and responded poorly to anyone else who tried to fly it. It was just as fast as his Firebolt, which he found strange considering the fact that it was a thousand before his broom was made, and technology shouldn't have advanced that far.

Harry came out of his thoughts when Ron flew by close to his head. Looking around he saw the students had started to gather on the pitch. Most of them were sat up in the stands, but a large number were also gathering on the pitch, separated into different Houses. The four founders could be seen positioned in the teachers' box, along with Lolide and the other teachers. Once they were sure everyone was gathered, Harry and Ron made their way up to the students on the pitch. Harry gestured for Ron to go ahead, and stepped back to let his friend work. The redhead grinned at him before turning to address the students.

“ Come over here, all of you. Right, I want you all to get into groups over there. Beaters I want on the right, chasers on the left, keepers in the middle. Anyone wanting to try out for seeker can go over to Harry. We'll start by putting together mock teams for each House, and then you'll play together. We're looking for people who can work together as a team, especially for chasers and beaters. We'll be playing the games without seekers, as we'll be testing them later. Now, for the first Slytherin team I want…”

They had a total of eight games of quidditch. By the end of it the whole school had gotten a feel for the game, and most of them thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was an instant hit. The team members had unanimously been chosen by the four founders, the teachers, Ron and Harry. Much to her delight, Gallatea had been chosen as one of the Ravenclaw chasers. Ginny was a Hufflepuff chaser, much to Ron's surprise. Ron himself was Gryffindor keeper. The only position they still had to fill was seeker. Harry led all of the hopefuls out on to the pitch. He was trying out himself, and wanted to make it as fair as possible. Turning to the group, he pulled out four winged balls.

“ Right everyone; here is what we are going to do. As you have no doubt read in your books, these are snitches. Normally they are gold, but for the tryouts we are using coloured ones. We have one of each colour, red, green, yellow and blue. I will release them all and we will fly into the air. When I blow my whistle I want you all to find the snitch that corresponds to your House colour. The first person from each house to catch your snitch will be the team seeker. Once we have done this, you will join your new teams to choose a captain. Now, off we go!”

Harry released the four snitches and rose into the air, quickly followed by the other students. After a few moments he blew his whistle and the chase was on.

Needless to say, Harry was the first to catch a snitch. This automatically made him the new Ravenclaw seeker. He couldn't help but feel guilty, though. He had a lot more experience than the others. However, he also wanted Ravenclaw to win the House Cup, and knew he was their best hope. Despite having spent his first four years in Gryffindor, it was surprising how loyal he was to his new House. He went over to the rest of the new team, beaming at Gallatea when he got there. She ran over to him and gave him a hug.

“ I did it, Harry! I made the team!”

“ I told you you would, and you got the place on pure talent, not just because of who you are. You earned your place, and you deserve it. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.”

She grinned back at the boy and gave him another hug. Turning to the rest of the team, Harry felt he should say something to them too.

“ Congratulations to all of you, you make a great team, and I have high hopes for the quidditch cup. Now, all we have left to do is choose a captain. Any suggestions?”

“ I nominate you, Harry.”

“ Any objections?”

“ It's decided then.”

Harry stood in stunned silence. The team had unanimously chosen him for quidditch captain. He couldn't help but wonder why.

“ Because you have the most experience, Harry. You've played it before, and you know all about it. You're the best flyer, and you're a good leader,” Gallatea explained.

Harry grinned back at the team and shook all of their hands. He couldn't believe it. He was captain. He couldn't wait for the first match to take place on the first of December. All of the parents, as well as the Minister for Magic, had been invited. It would be an historic moment, and he would be a part of it. The first ever Hogwarts quidditch match.

A couple of days later Harry was startled when Simbi gently bit him in the ankle to get his attention. He was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room at the time, with Gallatea next to him, her nose buried in a book. As soon as he noticed the small snake he put his wrist to the floor to let the serpent wrap around it. Lifting up his arm, her poked Gallatea to get her attention before turning back to his familiar.

*Young master, you asked to be informed when Slytherin's next meeting was to be*

*It will be tonight in the Chamber*

*Thank you, Simbi, I really appreciate this*

Turning back to his human friend, Harry told her what Simbi had told him. A frown wrinkled her forehead.

“ Are you sure you want to go through with this, Harry? I mean, Lord Slytherin is dangerous…”

“ Of course I am, `Tea. I can take care of myself, and I know everything he knows, and more. Remember the knowledge transference? I also know spells from my time that he doesn't. I'll be fine.”

“ If you're sure, Harry, then I'll trust you. I'll just let the others know. When are you going?”

“ Tonight. I'll leave after dinner and follow Slytherin until he goes to the Chamber. I've learned invisibility from your mother, so he shouldn't notice me.”

“ Alright Harry, but try to keep out of sight. I'll just telepathically tell the others what is going on, I think they ought to know.”

Dinner that night was a rather silent affair. Harry was preparing himself for another trip into the Chamber of Secrets, a place that held only bad memories for him. He really didn't want to go back to the place he had fought a basilisk for not only his life, but Ginny's as well. The more he thought about it, though, the more determined he was to go. Harry knew from his experiences with Dementors that the thing he feared the most was fear itself. Harry knew he was afraid of the memories the visit would bring up, but was determined to face his fear.

Sooner than he would have hoped, Gallatea was elbowing him in the ribs and nodding towards the head table. Slytherin had just stood up and was making his way to the main doors. Harry gave his friend one final look before standing and following the founder. Once he got out of the doors, the anxiety hit him full force. Looking around, and making sure there was nobody about, he quickly turned himself invisible and headed after Slytherin in the direction of what would become Moaning Myrtle's toilet. Quickening his pace, he caught up to the striding man and fell into step right behind him, having placed a silencing charm on himself. It wouldn't do him any good if Slytherin could hear his footsteps or his breathing.

The pair eventually reached the entrance to the Chamber, where Slytherin hissed the customary *Open up*, before positioning himself at the opening and sliding down the hole. Harry quickly followed suit, not eager to be left at the entrance. He came out the bottom of the chute to see the older man's form retreating down the long, damp corridor. This sure brings back memories, he thought.

Eventually the pair reached the main Chamber, where the basilisk was hidden. Slytherin moved over to a huge throne set up against the back wall, rather reminiscent of the throne Harry had seen Voldemort using in some of his visions. After a few minutes, Harry could make out the ribbon-like forms of several dozen snakes emerging from the shadows in several directions. The founder seemed to sit up straighter at their approach, as if anticipating their reports. Harry took his preoccupation with the serpents as an opportunity to move over to one of the large statues. Sitting on one of the giant feet, he got himself in a good position to hear all that was being said. He was just in time, as all of the snakes seemed to have appeared. At the back, Harry could just make out the brightly coloured bodies of Simbi and Nirah. He was a little worried for them, but knew he would be able to get them out of there should the need arise. Just as he was contemplating possible escape routes, Slytherin started to address the snakes gathered before him.

*What have you got to report, my spies?*

A large snake, about the size of Nagini, came forward. It was obviously the spokes-snake.

*I am afraid we have little to report, my Lord. The one named Gryffindor has done little of interest this month. The only thing we have to report is that he has had another visit from the healer. The elf seems to visit him at least once every month. As we are unfamiliar with most forms of magic, we have been unable to determine the reason for this. We are sorry, my Lord*

*ENOUGH! This is not acceptable. You have told me the same news for the last three months. Surely you have more to report than that*

*We are sorry, Lord. He has had no more meetings with your Minister for Magic. We would have noticed if he had. However, the only other thing that may be of use to you, Lord, is that after his sword fighting and duelling lessons with the younglings, he seems unusually exhausted*

*If that is all you have to tell me, then be gone. Next month you will have better news, or the consequences will not be favourable to you*

As soon as Harry reached the Gryffindor room later that night he was bombarded with questions from his friends. After a few minutes he held up his hands and yelled, “ENOUGH!”

Everyone shut up immediately. They could see that his nerves were a little frazzled after his trip, and really didn't want to anger him. After all, he had been studying the Dark Arts rather extensively. Waiting until he had seated himself, Hermione started the questioning, as she was the one who planned out what she wanted to know.

“ So, what happened?”

“ Slytherin has snakes spying on Gryffindor, and it seems as if they have been doing so for quite some time. Apparently, Gryffindor has been having a lot of meetings with the Minister for Magic, but I didn't find out why. He has also been having regular checkups by Lolide, and seems to be more exhausted than he should be after our lessons. The snakes, not being very familiar with magic, weren't sure what Lolide was checking for, though. That was all I could find out. I don't know why Slytherin wants to know all this, though.”

“ How many snakes were there?” the bushy-haired girl questioned.

“ About three dozen. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind Simbi and Nirah, so I think it will be safe to just send them to the next meeting, to save having to go myself.”

“ Sounds good Harry. The question is, what's wrong with Gryffindor?”