Chapter Five
13 October 1995
Hogwarts
They had barely been dismissed from Defence before Aria was filled with incandescent rage, rage which – when combined with her sheer magical prowess and her affinities – made shadows gather around her in a solid cloud of shadow. She was also swearing in Parseltongue, cussing Umbridge out. “That utter toady bitch shouldn’t be allowed within five miles of a child! Why, the pink-clad toad-faced daughter of a whore shouldn’t be in the position of power she currently occupies, or any position of power at all.”
“Morgana, Aria, if you’re going to wrap yourself in shadows and rant in Parseltongue, provide popcorn, please,” Daphne drawled from beside Aria.
“Sorry, Daphne. I’m just so incensed that English just doesn’t convey my rage,” Aria muttered, stalking in the direction of Myrtle’s bathroom.
“Whoa, Aria, Greengrass, Nott, wait up!” Hermione called from behind them.
“Yes, Granger?” Daphne drawled, feigning boredom.
“Judging by the direction in which Aria is stalking, she’s headed to the Chamber,” Hermione said quietly. “And I want to see it.”
“Good enough, Mione,” Aria called from up ahead. “Come on, I don’t have all day, dinner is in two hours, and curfew in six.”
That made the two Slytherins and the lone Gryffindor do their best to catch up. Aria slipped into Myrtle’s bathroom, warding the door behind her friends, before approaching the sinks. “Open!”
“By Dagda, that’s unnerving,” Theo muttered, looking at the opening.
“Unnerving would be the basilisk carcass that’s doubtlessly down there,” Aria snarked. “Stairs!”
The spiral staircase that appeared was a welcome relief, and Aria started making her way down, lighting up her wand. “The entrance is set to close behind you,” she warned her friends.
“Is there a faster way down?” Hermione groused fifteen minutes later.
“A bloody slide, but it’s really slimy and tosses you across the room when you exit,” Aria responded, still annoyed with Umbridge.
“I’ll pass,” Theo muttered, and Daphne agreed fervently.
Eventually, they reached the bottom, and Aria looked around analytically. “Hmm… Repair yourself!” The cave-in repaired itself, and soon enough, the long tunnel was back to a pristine state. Aria chuckled when Daphne finally noticed the shed skin and yelped. “That’s an old shed skin. Three times as valuable as dragonhide per square inch.”
“How big is the bloody thing then?” Hermione said fearfully.
“She’s a thousand years old, and I wasn’t down here last time,” Aria said with a shrug. “Guess we’ll find out together.” She put her wand away and snapped her fingers three times, in quick succession. The rubble cleared, the bones vanished, and the walls and floors were much cleaner. Hermione let out a small yelp of surprise when wall sconces lit up with vivid green flames, illuminating the still-present shed skin.
“By Dagda, Aria, wandless magic?” Theo shook his head in disbelief.
“Parselmagic is easier to do wandless,” Aria said with a shrug, walking onwards to the massive door. “Remember, friends, I have only the vaguest idea what’s beyond this door. Open!”
The mechanism unlocked, and the door swung open. Aria gathered the remnants of her Gryffindor courage, and entered, freezing ten steps into the Chamber. “Merlin, Morgana, Circe, and all the Gods! Harry sure neglected to tell me she was nearly gargantuan!”
“Potter fought this at twelve and came out alive?” Theo shook his head in disbelief.
“Don’t touch the fangs. Basilisk venom never loses its potency,” Aria warned.
“Never mind that,” Hermione said from behind Aria. “How come it’s impeccably preserved after over two years?”
“Very good question,” Aria responded. “And, well, the answer is not very good.”
“What?” Three sets of eyes snapped to Aria, who was looking at the basilisk in mild fear.
“Theo, Daphne, you might want to get back here,” Aria’s tone forbade arguing, and they made their way back to her.
“What’s going on?” Hermione was nearly frantic.
“She isn’t dead.” Those three words froze the three non-Parselmouths on the spot.
“Not dead?” Hermione slapped a hand over her eyes.
“The older a basilisk gets, the harder they become to kill. After the 950-year mark, it’s virtually impossible,” Aria said in an undertone. “And she was, what, a thousand or more. At that point, the only way is decapitation, and that isn’t going to be easy.”
The previously dead basilisk started moving, and Aria positioned herself between the gargantuan serpent and her friends.
“Who dares intrude upon my master’s sanctuary?” The basilisk’s hissing nearly reverberated around the confines of the chamber.
“My name is Aria Peverell, and these are my friends, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, and Theodore Nott.” Aria spoke slowly, trying to stay calm. “We just wished to explore, not to intrude.”
The basilisk calmed down somewhat. “A Speaker! There hasn’t been one here in a while. My name is Clymene, Speaker.”
Aria frowned. “Who is the last Speaker you remember talking to?”
Clymene seemed to frown. “His name was Tom. It was before he was set to leave the school. He was acting strange, and there was a man with a long red beard with him.”
“Strange how, Clymene?” Aria kept her tone gentle.
“Like he was being controlled by the bearded one. He was erratic, and his eyes looked as if there were glass in front of them. He raised his wand and hissed something – I don’t remember what – and a spell hit me. That’s the last thing I remember before waking up and seeing you,” Clymene recounted to Aria.
“The doddering old bearded pisspot!” Aria swore violently.
“Aria? What’s going on?” Hermione spoke hesitantly.
“Clymene doesn’t remember anything after June 1945. Athanasius was down here with Dumbledore – and Dumbles had him under the Imperius from the sound of things – and hit Clymene with a spell. Apparently, her temporary death snapped her out of it altogether.” Aria’s hair turned a vivid blood red. “I can guess it was to induce murderous rage.”Â
Aria’s three human companions looked most displeased, and Aria turned back to Clymene. “Tom is still alive, and I could ask him to visit, if you wish?”
“I’d enjoy that, Aria.” Clymene coiled up. “Feel free to explore.”
“We have permission to explore,” Aria relayed to her friends. “Thank you, Clymene.”
The trio explored the Chamber, before making their way up a hidden staircase in the statue to its mouth. They went deeper inside, entering an office-type room. They’d just tentatively started exploring, when they froze at the sound of Parseltongue. “Who dares enter my office?”
The teens spun around, coming face-to-face with a portrait of Salazar Slytherin.
Aria almost instantly dipped into a curtsy. “Greetings, Master Slytherin. We don’t mean to intrude, we were merely exploring your sanctuary – as Clymene called it.” She straightened up, and gestured to each of them as she spoke. “I am Aria Peverell, and these are my friends, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, and Theodore Nott. I am unfortunately the only Parselmouth in the group.”
Salazar’s lips curled up into a smirk, before the portrait changed, and he suddenly looked much younger. “Welcome to my study, Misses Peverell, Granger and Greengrass, and Mr Nott. It’s been some time since my last visitor,” he spoke in accented English. “May I ask what the date is?”
“It’s Friday, the 13th of October 1995,” Hermione responded after she shook off her awestruck look from meeting a Founder.
“And what year are you all in? Which houses?” Salazar’s smirk softened into a smile.
“We’re in our fifth year,” Daphne answered. “Theo and I are Slytherins, Hermione is a Gryffindor, and Aria used to be a Gryffindor before resorting Slytherin.”
“That would’ve given Godric a heart attack, no doubt,” Salazar said with a laugh. “Is this your entire friend circle?”
Aria shook her head. “On the Gryffindor side of things, I also have Ronald and Ginevra Weasley and Neville Longbottom. On the Slytherin side, Draco Malfoy, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, and Blaise Zabini. In Hufflepuff, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, and in Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood. Apparently undetectable nightmare curses anonymously sent to bullies are a good way to make friends.”
Hermione looked scandalised, but the Slytherins just laughed – Salazar included. And, so, a pouting Hermione was the one to ask Salazar, “Does Parseltongue only work on the entrance to the Slytherin common room and the Chamber, or does it work on other doors and passages in Hogwarts?”
Salazar laughed. “It works on all other entrances. Even the library’s lower levels. And there are Parseltongue passages all over the castle. Look for a snake engraving in the stone.”
Aria laughed. “The last time I used a password for anything was back in 1991. Caput Draconis, in fact. The first Gryffindor password in our first year. Then I accidentally hissed Open at the portrait from exhaustion a minute to curfew, and promptly never bothered with the password since.”
That sent everyone into laughter, even though the other three teens shot Aria jealous pouts, and Theo said, “Must be convenient, needing just one word to open any door in the entire castle. Meanwhile, we need to remember or guess passwords like the inferior worms we are.”
“Inferior worms, Theodore?” Aria raised a hand to her chest. “You and Daphne are perfectly magnificent serpents, and Hermione is every bit the proud griffin!”
Salazar just shook his head, smiling. “Apparently my fondness for dramatics – as Godric put it – is hereditary.”
“Apparently, Salazar?” Aria scoffed. “Between Athanasius – or Tom, as you probably know him – and myself, we’re probably using most of the British Wizengamot’s quotient for dramatics. Add in Sirius, and there’s no space for anyone else to be as dramatic – or flamboyant, because flamboyant is a word that surely describes Sirius Black.” Aria shook her head. “And since Sirius is my sire, and Athanasius my bearer, the proclivity for dramatics has not skipped a generation.”
“Hear, hear!” Theo snickered. “Father conveying the Wizengamot meetings to me has become the highlight of my weeks. I had no idea Lord Peverell was capable of being a shameless flirt.”
“You’ve clearly never met him, then,” Aria sassed, to much laughter.
While Hermione, Theo and Daphne poked around the bookshelves, Aria spent more time talking to Salazar, before she had a niggling feeling.
“…but of course, the field has advanced since. Pardon me for a moment, Salazar.” Aria pulled out her wand. “Tempus!”
Bright red numbers formed the time. 6:05 PM.
“Shit…” Aria jumped up from her seat. “Salazar, as much as I enjoy our conversation, we have to go. We are unfortunately late for dinner.”
“It is no issue.” Salazar smiled at the students. “Do come by again. It’s refreshing to have company.”
“We will!”
The group had to pretty much run to make it back into the castle proper, hurriedly casting cleaning spells over themselves before they entered the Great Hall and casually sat down at their usual spots as if they weren’t 15 minutes late to dinner. Sneakily traded grins between the three Slytherins as they tucked in were the only indicator of any mischief happening.