Chapter 18
Chapter 18
The prime minister sat up as the woman appeared in his office. She brushed her blond hair off her face and smiled at him. “Prime Minister,” she greeted.
“Who…what…” he paused. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? What if I had a visitor? Don’t wizards know how to knock?”
“Not a wizard,” Niamh said nodding at the chair on the other side of the prime minister’s desk. “I watched until you didn’t have any meetings. May I sit?”
“May you… how did you get in here?”
“I’m fae,” Niamh said.
“Fae?” the prime minister frowned. “The queen said you’d left.”
“The queen?” Niamh blinked. “I forgot the higher ups used to have contact with the British Monarchy.”
“So, enough small talk. What do you want?”
“I hope to avoid a war between wizards and Muggles.”
The prime minister’s eyes widened. “War? What sort of war?”
“This will be faster.” Niamh leaned forward and touched the prime minister’s forehead. The prime minister’s eyes glazed over. A few moments later, his eyes cleared, and a horrified look appeared on his face.
“What happened? How did this happen?”
Niamh shook her head. “We’re working on that. What I need is your help to conceal magic.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing since I took office. Every time that blasted portrait speaks up, there is a magical mess to authorize or clean up.”
“Portrait?”
The prime minister pointed to a portrait of a frog-like man on the wall. Niamh walked over and pulled the portrait off the wall.
“Hey,” the man said.
“Quiet,” Niamh said waving a hand at the portrait. The frog-like froze in place. Niamh placed it back on the wall. “Now you can choose to see the magical visitors or not.”
“Thank you,” the prime minister said. “What are your plans?”
“I’m hoping to create a pocket dimension separate from the Muggle world. I hope that wizards will be able to trade with Muggles in future, but that their lives will not intersect. Are you interested in helping me?”
The prime minister nodded slowly. “How can I help?”
**ROE**
“And why are we doing this?” Daphne asked as they walked down the hall. It was after midnight the day after Harry had spoken to Dumbledore.
The old man had argued with Harry about talking to Myrtle. He’d been addiment that Myrtle had been through enough and should be allowed to have what peace she could in her current existence, but Harry pointed out that they needed information on the chamber. Myrtle may know something they didn’t. Dumbledore had reluctantly agreed and warned Harry to be gentle with the teenage ghost.
“Because we have someone to talk to.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. As they descended a staircase to the second floor and stopped outside a girl’s bathroom. She scowled when she saw a puddle of water on the floor.
“Great, she’s in one of her moods.” She sighed dramatically. “Moaning Myrtle? Why would we need to talk to her?”
“Be nice,” Luna said. “She’s sensitive.”
“Yeah, sensitive, doesn’t stop her from spying on the boys in the shower from what I’ve heard.”
“She was a teenager,” Harry pointed out.
“We’re teenagers,” Daphne snarked.
“So, you wouldn’t spy on someone in the shower if there was no chance of getting caught?”
Daphne paused. “Let’s just go talk to Myrtle.”
Harry smirked. “That’s what I thought.”
Daphne punched him in the arm.
“Ow.”
“You deserve that one,” Luna said serenely.
Harry massaged his arm. “Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
“Maybe you’ll learn not to insult a lady’s honor,” Daphne said primly.
“Ladies don’t hit people.”
“Are you sure?”
Harry scowled. “Let’s just go see Myrtle.”
Harry looked around as they entered the bathroom. Despite the ankle-deep water on the floor, everything looked clean. A row of sinks lined one wall and a line of stalls lined the other.
“Not what I was expecting,” Harry said.
“What were you expecting?” Daphne asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe some dust everywhere, cracks in the sinks, stall doors hanging off the hinges.”
Daphne snorted. “You’ve been reading too many Muggle horror novels. This bathroom may be haunted, but it’s still in use. It’d be too hard to run up to the next floor every time you needed to use the Loo.”
“So, where is Myrtle?” Harry asked.
There was a splash from one of the stalls. The ghost of a squat girl with lank brown hair and large glasses floated through the door.
“Did someone call my name?”
Harry noticed her voice held no emotion. Her slumped shoulders and downcast eyes told him all he needed to know about how she’d been treated in life.
“Hello,” he said extending a hand. “I’m Harry Potter. You must be Myrtle. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Myrtle reflexively reached out to shake Harry’s hand. Their eyes widened as their hands touched.
Myrtle’s hand was cold, but reassuringly solid in his grip. Myrtle’s hand tightened around his. If it wasn’t for the fact that Harry could see the door of the stall through her, he’d have sworn she was alive.
“You can touch me,” Myrtle whispered. “Who…what are you?”
“That’s a long story and not why I’m here,” Harry said as gently as possible. “I’m here to talk to you.”
“Me?” Myrtle’s eyes widened in surprise. “Hardly anyone comes to talk to me.”
“We have,” Daphne said softly. “We need your help. Only you may know what could save the school.”
Myrtle’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?” Her bottom lip began to quiver. “What are you gonna do to humiliate me? Are you gonna throw things through me?”
“No,” Harry said hurriedly. “We just…”
It was too late. Myrtle had already spun away and dove back through the stall door. There was a splash, and she was gone. The three of them looked at each other.
“That could’ve gone better,” Harry said walking over to the sink to wash his hands.
“What are we gonna do now?” Luna asked.
“We’ll have to come back later. Myrtle is the only one that might know where the chamber is. Come on, let’s get back to the dorms. We have potions in the morning.”
**ROE**
“That’s not surprising,” Dumbledore said as Harry finished telling him about his conversation with Myrtle. “Myrtle had a… difficult time at Hogwarts.”
“Why didn’t the staff do something about it?”
“Myrtle never came to the professors. Other students went through similar ordeals and turned out fine.”
Harry stared at him.
“We were afraid if we interfered without her asking, it would cause even more problems for her.”
Harry decided not to point out all the things wrong with that statement. That was a rabbit hole he didn’t need or want to travel. “Right,” Harry said slowly. “So, how do I help her?”
“Help her?” Dumbledore asked arching an eyebrow.
“She’s living in a bathroom. I can’t just leave her there.”
“A lot of people have tried to help her over the decades. She doesn’t want their help. She just wants to be left alone.”
“So, all the staff just leaves her in a bathroom?”
“What else are we supposed to do?” Dumbledore said reasonably. “She is a ghost. Even if we do give her the confidence, she needs to leave the bathroom, all that will do is remind her of what she’s lost. It doesn’t help that some very insensitive students have been throwing objects through her as a game. Do you really think she’s gonna feel comfortable being around people who have made a game out of her condition.”
“So, we just leave her there?”
“Perhaps your people can help her.”
“Well, I can touch her.”
Dumbledore arched an eyebrow. “We don’t have laws against that in the wizarding world, but it is still frowned upon.”
Harry felt his face grow warm. “No, not like that. I just touched her hand.”
“Did you ask if you could first because consent is very important and if you just grabbed her hand that’d be a little inappropriate.”
Harry opened his mouth to respond and saw Dumbledore’s eyes twinkling. “You’re taking the piss aren’t you.”
Dumbledore’s beard twitched. “I assure you I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Anyway,” Harry said firmly. “It turns out that I can touch Myrtle. I don’t know why that is, but I can.”
“Perhaps that’s your way to get close to her,” Dumbledore mused.
Harry shifted in his seat. “I’m not trying to judge…”
“People who start a sentence with those words usually are,” Dumbledore said quietly.
Harry ignored him. “She spends her time in a toilet. Toilet water may not affect her, but I’m not inclined to touch someone that has been sitting in people’s pee for fifty years.”
“If it helps, not many people use that bathroom for obvious reasons. Besides, she’s a ghost. It’s not like she can get wet.”
Harry glared at him. “You’re enjoying this far too much. Just for you to know, no It doesn’t help.”
Dumbledore’s smile faded and he studied Harry thoughtfully. “Perhaps your father can do something to help Myrtle. If they can create lifelike constructs that can mimic human life, perhaps they can give Myrtle a body.”
Harry shook his head. “Those constructs aren’t alive though. They are just faking life. The fae can’t create life; We can only exchange it.”
“Hmm,” Dumbledore mused. “I don’t know if Myrtle would trust your father right now anyway. Try to befriend her. Maybe human contact can bring her out of her shell.”
Harry stood. “I’ll give it a shot, but I don’t know what to talk to her about.”
“She was a Ravenclaw. Perhaps you could talk to her about your schoolwork.”
Harry nodded before leaving Dumbledore’s office. As the door closed, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.
Myrtle Warren had always been one of his biggest regrets. He wished he’d done more for the poor girl. He should’ve reached out to her. True, it may not have made a difference, but it could’ve given her some pleasant memories and perhaps she would have been able to move on.
**ROE**
“You are supposed to befriend Moaning Myrtle?” Daphne asked.
The three were walking to potions class and Harry had just told them about his meeting with Dumbledore.
“Yeah, I really don’t know how I’m gonna do that.”
“I’ll help?” Luna said. “Maybe we can persuade her to come out of the bathroom.”
“I’ll help to,” Daphne said. “I’m not letting another girl live in a toilet even if she is dead.”
“When do we start?” Luna asked.
“This is the last class before Christmas break,” Harry said. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk to Myrtle after today.”
“How does Harry get in a girl’s bathroom?” Daphne asked.
“No one uses that bathroom much. So long as no one sees Harry go in there, we should be fine.”
They entered the classroom and took their seats. As Snape swept into the room, he glared at Harry before storming to the front of the class.
“Instructions are on the board,” he said flicking his wand.
The three set to work brewing a growth solution.
“What would be the point of this?” Harry murmured.
“Maybe to reverse a shrinking solution?” Luna whispered back.
“But what’s the point of a shrinking solution?”
“Potter,” Snape hissed. “Five points from Ravenclaw for talking.”
Harry looked up at Snape and saw the man glaring right into his eyes. He felt a pain building in his forehead and hurriedly looked away.
“Harry?” Luna said as Harry rubbed his forehead. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” Harry said slowly. “Just a headache. Come on, let’s get this done.”
At the end of the lesson, the three carried their flasks of potion up to the front of the room. Harry sat his flask on Snape’s desk and turned away. The sound of shattering glass made him spin around.
“Well,” Snape said silkily. “You don’t have a potion to turn in Potter. I suppose that is a Troll for the day, isn’t it?”
Harry ground his teeth. Snape smirked. “No more Mummy to protect you Potter,” he whispered.
Luna touched his arm. “Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s get out of here. He’s not worth it.”
“What did you say girl?” Snape hissed.
“Nothing sir,” Luna said quietly. Gripping Harry’s arm tighter, she ushered him out of the classroom.
**ROE**
“Why does he hate you so much?” Daphne asked as they walked away from Snape’s classroom.
“He is in love with Niamh,” Luna said.
“What?” Harry blinked at her. “Snape loves my Mum?”
“Well, maybe love is too strong a word. Maybe obsessed would be better.”
“And you know this how?”
“My Mum told me that Niamh and Snape had a friendship when they were at Hogwarts. It ended in their fifth year when Snape called Niamh a Mudblood.”
“Yeah, that would do it,” Daphne said.
“But if they were friends, why would Snape call her a Mudblood?”
“According to Mum, Snape was hanging around with people that were future Death Eaters. He was probably influenced by them even if he didn’t realize it.”
Daphne scowled. “So, Snape has been pining for the woman he chased away for nearly twenty years? Has anyone told him that obsession is not a good thing?”
Luna glanced at Harry. “Your Mum didn’t tell you any of this?”
“She really doesn’t talk about her time at Hogwarts that much especially now that she’s got her memories back, I think it’s hard for her to think of her time as Lily Evans.”
“Maybe you should ask her about Snape next time you see her.”
“And then she’ll ask why I’m asking, and I’ll have to tell her that Snape is a bully. What do you think she’d do then?”
“You wouldn’t have to tell her,” Daphne said. “Besides, would it be a bad thing if Snape was taken down a few pegs?”
“I couldn’t avoid telling her. She would know I was hiding something. She’d probably follow me to the classroom, see how Snape treats everyone, and do something to him.”
“I’d think he wouldn’t be so keen on her anymore now that he knows that she’s fae,” Daphne said thoughtfully.
“He’s probably mad at himself for letting her slip through his fingers.,” Luna said. “I mean what if they were married and Harry was Snape’s child.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” Harry said with a shudder. “That’s like the plot from a bad novel.”
“You know,” Daphne said smiling slightly. “If the multi-verse theory is real, there’s probably a universe where Snape is your father.”
“Or Voldemort,” Luna said.
Both Harry and Daphne turned to stare at her.
“What? It’s possible.”
“Yeah, And Snape is only being an arsehole to maintain his cover as a Death Eater,” Daphne said drily.
“Come on, now that you two have given me nightmare fuel for the next few weeks, let’s get to History of magic.”
“Oo,” Luna said. “What if Snape and Voldemort were your parents. That means one of them would be your Mum.”
Harry glared at her over his shoulder. “Luna, shut up.”
**ROE**
“And that is how the statute of secrecy was signed into law,” Remus said. “Any questions?”
When no one said anything, he smiled. “Since this is the last class before the Holidays, I won’t be giving you any homework. I hope you all have a happy Yule and I’ll see you when class resumes.”
As everyone stood to leave, Remus called out. “Harry, can you wait a moment?”
Harry stopped beside the professor’s desk and waited for the rest of the students to leave.
“We’ll meet you outside,” Daphne said.
Remus waited until the girls were out of earshot before speaking. “I haven’t seen you since you were a baby.”
“Whose faults that?” Harry said stiffly.
Remus winced. “Your Mum didn’t reach out to me. She reached out to Sirius, but not to me.”
“True,” Harry said, “but why didn’t you check on me. Sirius at least tried to find me.”
“Dumbledore assured me that you were safe.”
“And you took his word for it.”
“He’s Dumbledore,” Remus said. “I owe him a lot.”
“Why? Is it because you’re a werewolf.”
Remus froze. “How…”
“I can smell it on you,” Harry said tapping his nose. “I can also sense the presence of the curse. I don’t care that you’re a werewolf and Mum didn’t either. She reached out to Sirius because she needed a place to go, and no one knew where you were.”
Remus sighed. “I guess we both dropped the ball on this one. Do you know where your Mum is?”
Harry hesitated.
Remus held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell me, just tell her I’m sorry I didn’t reach out.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll do that.”
“Good,” Remus said. “Listen, I know I haven’t been there for you before now, but I’d like to try and make up for that. If you need me for anything, all you must do is ask.”
“Thanks,” Harry said quietly. An idea suddenly occurred to him.
“Professor, what do you know about the Chamber of secrets?”
Remus stopped packing his briefcase. “Why do you ask?”
“Mum wanted me to try and find out more information about it. Dumbledore told me it was opened before, and I know that Slytherin created it, but I really don’t know anything else about it.”
“I only know what everyone knows about the Chamber.”
“Which is?”
Remus sat down behind his desk. “Do you have any classes soon?”
“I have Defense.”
“Right then, come to my office after dinner and I’ll tell you all I know.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll see you then.”
**ROE**
Harry frowned as Daphne fell to her knees, laughing hysterically. With a flick of his fingers, he ended the tickling charm.
“What’s up?” Luna said quietly.
“Just thinking?” Harry said absently.
Luna cast the charm, but Harry instinctively blocked the spell with a shield of air.
“Now Harry,” Dumbledore said walking over. “You can’t block the spell. We need to see how well Ms. Lovegood can perform it.”
Sighing, Harry dispersed his shield and waited. The silver light of the charm struck him in the stomach, and he doubled over with laughter.
A few seconds later, Luna canceled the spell.
Harry straightened, panting, and wiping sweat from his forehead.
“Very well done,” Dumbledore said. He turned to Daphne. “Ms. Greengrass?”
Harry doubled over again, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
“Payback,” Daphne said grinning widely.
A minute later, she canceled the spell. “How was that professor?” she asked smiling demurely.
Dumbledore chuckled. “Excellent, Ms. Greengrass. Fifteen points to Ravenclaw for all of you.”
As the trio went to sit down, Harry turned to the girls.
“A tickling charm is good, but why invent that sort of spell. I mean yeah, it’s funny, but it serves no practical purpose.”
“It does stop the person from fighting back?”
“And if left on long enough, it could cause the person to suffocate,” Daphne pointed out.
“Still, it leaves the person alive and conscious. That’s not smart.”
“Are you saying you should kill your opponent?”
“Only if they try and kill you first? You can’t afford to leave someone trying to kill you alive. My father taught me that.”
Luna frowned. “I don’t think killing your opponent is the answer.”
“I’m not saying you should kill anyone who fires a spell at you, but if they’re trying to kill you, a tickling charm isn’t going to stop them for long is it?”
“Gives you a chance to get away though,” Daphne said reasonably.
“And what if the person who tried to kill you goes after someone else?”
Dumbledore cleared his throat drawing their attention.
“As interesting as this debate is, might I suggest you continue this discussion outside of class?”
“Sorry professor,” the three said in unison.
Dumbledore nodded as he turned back to the rest of the class. “Now that Mr. Potter, Ms. Greengrass, and Ms. Lovegood are paying attention. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy Yule. I look forward to teaching you after we get back from winter break.”
As they packed up and began to leave, Harry approached Dumbledore’s desk.
“Sir, I have a meeting with Professor Lupin after dinner tonight.”
“About?” Dumbledore asked.
“He is going to tell me the legend of the Chamber of secrets.”
Dumbledore nodded. “Let’s plan to meet tomorrow night then. Perhaps we can come up with a plan once you know the full story.”
Harry nodded. “Good idea. I’ll see you then.”
**ROE**
That night, Harry made his way to the History of magic classroom. As he approached, he heard voices from inside. He slowly pushed open the door and seeing who was there, hurriedly stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
“Mum?” he hissed. “What are you doing here?”
Niamh smiled and walked over to give him a hug. “Sit down son, we have a lot to discuss.”
“But what if they find you?”
“I was here when this school was created and the old ways have been lost. It’ll take some time before the ministry develops wards that can detect the fae, let alone keep us out of an area. Now sit.”
Harry slowly sat down. He stared at his mother.
“You look well,” he said.
Niamh smiled. “Do you think I’ve been sitting on my butt eating chocolate ice cream? I’ve been busy trying to remember what happened back in the tenth century?”
“And?”
“First, let Remus explain the story to you.”
“Right,” Remus said speaking for the first time. “The legend goes like this. Salazar Slytherin didn’t believe that muggle-born should learn magic. He argued with Gryffindor, they fought, and Slytherin was defeated. He left the school, but not before leaving a monster behind that supposedly would purge the school of all those he deemed as unworthy. This monster was contained in the Chamber of Secrets.”
“That’s it?” Harry asked.
“That’s it,” Remus confirmed.
“Seems a little too black and white to be accurate.”
“The story Remus told you left a few things out,” Niamh said leaning back in her chair.
“Such as?”
“Slytherin didn’t have a problem with Muggle-born exactly, but he did believe they posed a threat to the students. Remember, magic was being heavily persecuted at the time and wizarding children would have no way of defending themselves. Slytherin was afraid that the Muggle-born would betray their fellows and lead the muggles to the school.”
“But there were wards up,” Harry said.
“Yes, but they just made the school look like a ruin. They didn’t change its location. Also remember that Hogwarts wards have been built upon for almost a thousand years. Back then, the wards barely hid the castle.”
“Okay, but wouldn’t leaving the Muggle-born untrained be a greater threat?”
“That’s where the real argument came in.”
“What do you mean?” Remus asked leaning forward.
“Slytherin wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t going to harm children, but neither was he going to allow the presence of the Muggle-born to endanger the other students. He proposed the idea that the Muggle-born should be taken from their parents and given to the fae.”
“Harsh,” Remus said.
Niamh nodded. “It was a different time. Slytherin made the initial deal, but when the other heads found out what he’d done they were… unhappy. They didn’t think any child should be taken from their parents unless that child was in danger by being with those parents.”
“So, Gryffindor and Slytherin fought.”
“Yes, Slytherin left and left his monster to protect the school in case of invasion by the muggles.”
“And what was this monster?” Remus asked carefully.
Niamh winced. “That’s what I was trying to remember. Turns out it was a basilisk.”
Remus paled. “Crap,” he said softly.
“A basilisk?” Harry asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.”
Niamh chuckled humorlessly. “I should hope not. A basilisk is the largest and most venomous snake in the world. They can also kill just by looking at you.”
“Oh,” Harry said quietly. “Well, that’s going to be a problem.”
“Yeah,” Niamh said. “To make matters worse, we don’t know who is controlling it. If we don’t find them soon, someone is going to die.”
“And you are going to need more training,” a small soft voice said.
Harry turned to see a young girl standing there. As he watched, her form shifted into an old woman with glowing white eyes.
“Who are you?” Harry asked.
“Someone that thinks your training is going far too slowly,” the woman rasped. A circle of darkness opened in the air.
Harry made to take a step back, but the woman was too quick for him. Grabbing him by the front of his robes, she leapt into the circle of darkness. The last thing Harry heard was his mother’s scream of loss and rage.