HARRY POTTER WLoF REWRITE PART 4 CHAP 7

Nysa Malfoy wasn't expecting much. Why would she expect anything for Christmas? It wasn't like her uncle and his family would send her anything. The only reason why Lucius Malfoy had even agreed to take her as his charge was because her father had threatened him. How he had threatened her uncle, she didn't know, but truthfully she didn't care.

And it wasn't like her parents or most of her siblings were going to send anything either, though her younger siblings had at least sent her a small box with what was likely a piece of jewelry for her. No, her parents had made it clear that after it had been discovered there was a reason she had been so attracted to her grandmother's jewels; an heirloom of the once prominent Cuffe family, she was no longer welcome except for short visits.

Truly, she didn't know why they blamed her.

It wasn't like she had wanted to become a jewel witch.

Sighing she lay in her bed, staring at the glittering reflections of the Black Lake on the ceiling. The claustrophobic feeling coinciding with the fear of suddenly drowning should the glass fail with the girls that were her suite makes had long since subsided, but the silence wasn't something she had ever gotten used to. They were all gone for the holidays save for a few girls in other sections. The bag of jewels and the glove her grandmother had given her as her mother shrieked and bemoaned that she was wrong, that her eldest daughter couldn't have been born a jewel witch rested on the night stand next to her.

Other than Dumbledore and likely Snape, no one knew why she had come here. She didn't particularly care; it would be just another reason for everyone to avoid her. Besides, her grandmother had told that only one of two things could happen to her now.

Either she would fade into anonymity…or she would go insane.

She didn't know which she would prefer. At least with insanity she wouldn't know how alone she was. But as she closed her eyes, trying to fall back asleep, the sound of familiar laughter filled her head and she opened her eyes again.

That…wasn't true as much anymore now…was it?

She had forgotten what it was like to have friends. Max, Charlotte, and Luna were certainly friends, as strange as they were. Her ancestors were likely rolling in their graves, but she certainly didn't care.

Since when did she care?

Sighing she sat up, deciding that it didn't matter, she wasn't going to go to sleep. She could always see how Christmas breakfast was doing so far, and wait till everyone showed up for that.

Pulling on her clothes she pocketed the jewels and exited the room, immediately having to adjust her eyes to the darkened hall. She entered the Common Room and found that most of her fellow Slytherin's were entranced by their elaborate pile of gifts, covered in silver and green ribbon. She rolled her eyes and began to walk towards the entrance. She'd open her sibling's gift later.

"Hey Nysa!" A snooty voice called out, and the pureblood turned to see half-blood Priscilla Clark gesturing to a small pile with a smirk. The wrappings weren't that pretty on one and the other three were different house ribbon.

"Look, even the reject got some gifts." Priscilla squeaked and while some laughed, Nysa had to work hard on keeping her face neutral. She was silent as she strode over and collected each item, all left alone as apparently they must have thought she was cursed. Not even Draco, with his incessant curiosity had touched them, granted that may have had more to do with the risk of gaining a black eye.

She then turned back around and went down the stairs to the dorms. She vaguely heard Priscilla make a nasty comment, but she entered her dorm alone and sat back down on her bed, spreading the five presents on her bed, blinking rather slowly at them.

Hesitantly she grabbed the Ravenclaw wrapped box, flipping it over and over again. Though she had suspected it, she found the tag of it being from Luna. She eased the box open and inside was a pendant and a note. She opened it and there were the light writings of Luna.

"Merry Christmas Nysa,
I had this necklace and it has brought me some lovely insight. My father said that the Prasiolite in the bead will offer you great inner vision, and will show the nargles to protect you. I'll give you a butterbeer cork to keep them back when I get back to school."

She blinked several times, her fingers gliding over the bead and the corners of her lips twitched up a bit, and she put the necklace over her neck, before she closed the lid, placing the present down on her bed gingerly. She then lifted the present of the Hufflepuff covered box. This one only had Charlotte's name on it, and a letter was found as well

"Nysa,
May this stone protect you."

It was short and simple but the gift was a stone with a slowly carved out rune of protection. She moved it around in her hand. It must have taken Charlotte weeks to carve it into the stone, Max and Luna likely helping her. She placed the stone into her pocket before repeating what she had done earlier. She opened the box from her siblings. This time there was no letter or note and inside was what she had expected. A simple brooch.

Well…at least they had given her a gift.

Sighing she placed that box down and then opened the next one; the Gryffindor colored one. It was from Max and inside was a intricately designed image with colors that was moving around in hypnotic motions.

"Nysa,
Merry Christmas! I hope you like this. I thought you should have something to lighten up the Slytherin Dorm Room. Enjoy!

Nysa smiled and placed the picture on her nightstand. Then she looked at the last package, the heaviest of the group. She picked it up, and felt it give a bit. She blinked in surprise at the name scrawled on the letter.

Molly…Weasley?

She hadn't expected that.

Vaguely and a bit hesitantly she began to open it. She knew that Malfoy's and Weasley's weren't on good terms, so she wondered what she could have been given and why-

The paper fell away and there was a handmade sweater.

She stared at it, her fingers running against the sweater. She had heard Max comment about it, and she had complimented the one that she had worn for the past few months, but she hadn't expected one herself.

She didn't think she had earned something handmade.

She kept staring at the sweater, as though it would vanish if she looked away and vaguely wondered if this was what it was like to actually be loved and not feared.

And maybe, just maybe she thought she could enjoy it.

---

"Mum? Why'd you give me a mirror?" Harry asked Christmas morning. Moria smirked.

"Well, considering how much your father liked to preen, I figured it was high time-"

"Mmmmmmuuummmm!" Harry whined and Moria finally chuckled, ruffling his hair. Several of the other Gryffindor's all snorted at the pair but Max barely noticed, too busy playing with the new toy she had gotten Merlin. The kitten was having the time of his life.

"I'm joking Harry. It's called a two-way mirror." Moria explained, still chortling and held up her own mirror that she retrieved from her pocket. "If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours and vice versa. I managed to find both your father's and Sirius's a few months ago, thank the heavens."

"Dad and Sirius used these?" Harry asked, perking up.

"Mhm. Granted, for your father and Sirius it was mainly a way they could communicate when McGonagall placed them in separate detentions. Drove your mother crazy once they got together because Sirius always enjoyed cock-blocking them."

"Did Dad do it to you and Sirius?" Harry asked and Moria laughed.

"You kidding? Your father and Sirius made it a contest of who could cock-block the most. It got so bad, your father gave me the other mirror to make sure Sirius wouldn't cock-block on certain dates."

Harry snorted loudly.

"Thanks." He added with a grin.

"Now promise me you will contact me if necessary, using this. Alright? I don't want you running off and going somewhere and getting hurt because you didn't want to get into trouble from me and decided not to use it."

"Promise."

Moria smiled. Maybe the rest of the school year would be perfectly fine and no trouble.

Of course she couldn't be more wrong.

---

It had been quiet for the first few months of the school year, though everyone could have lived without Valentine's Day. It had to say something when even Severus Snape looked at Moria with pity when several dwarves wearing golden wings and carrying harps to make them look like cupids followed her around all from Lockhart. They had gotten the hint and left her alone after she sent Lockhart a reply that resulted in him having a swollen face that she didn't deny may or may have not been a hex. Lockhart had left her alone after that as well, though it was likely because of McGonagall warning him of his behavior.

Then May came.

Max sighed as she walked down the hall.

Hermione had been petrified in early May, and the expression on Harry and Ron's expression was horrible to look at much less remember. It was strange to see just the two of them, as she was far to used to seeing those three. And then Dumbledore was removed as Headmaster, and Hagrid being sent to Azkaban…it was awful, absolutely awful! She grunted as someone bumped into her. She looked up to glare, thinking it was Draco who seemed to like waltzing around the school as though he owned the place.

Instead it was Ginny.

"Gin?"

The redhead ignored her as she hurried up, and Max watched, her brow furrowing in confusion. Ginny was just staring straight ahead as though she hadn't even heard her. Even stranger was that one of Ginny's hands was stained in what looked like red paint. And of course, AS USUAL that stupid diary was in the hand.

"Ginny? Are you okay?"

Still silence.

At first she just thought that Ginny was being rude, because, well…they still hadn't talked.

But something seemed off. Her movements were jarred and her walking seemed strange. Max hesitated, wondering what to do…logic dictated that she should get a teacher…but then Ginny would likely vanish to wherever she was going.

Oh what would her parents do?

Well…that answer came soon enough, and with a determined look on her face, she strode forward after Ginny.

"Ginny, okay…Ginny look, I don't know if you're angry at me, but McGonagall told us we aren't supposed to go anywhere without one of the teachers…and this is clearly against the rules. Not to sound like Hermione, but-"

Max paused as Ginny entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Strange…Ginny had said all her brother's sans Ron had told her to avoid that bathroom. Myrtle was a bit…strong…when it came to emotions.

"Gin? Are you okay?" She asked again, but once again the redhead girl didn't answer. Max hesitated before following her.

"Ginny, I really don't think we should be in here." Max said, but Ginny began to laugh. It didn't sound like her.

It didn't sound like her at all.

"Gin-"

The girl turned around and Max's retort died in her throat as she stared into Ginny's eyes, which were cloaked and seemed to be glowing in a color of red. A dark aura seemed to wrap around the girl.

"So ends the bloodline of the 'Noble and Ancient House of Black'."</i> A voice, layered over Ginny's hissed out. Max stared, frozen.

"G-Ginny? Wh-"

She didn't even get her wand out.

She didn't hear the spell.

All she felt was her feet leave the floor and her flying before she smashed into the wall. There was a sickening crack and her vision flashed white and she crumpled to the ground.
Her vision slowly faded, the last thing she saw being Ginny standing above her before turning and she heard a hissing sound as though a door was sliding open.

Then darkness.

---

"So…the monster in the Chamber is a basilisk! That's why I've been hearing that voice all over the place, and nobody else has heard it. It's because I understand Parseltongue." Harry breathed looking at the piece of the book that Hermione had torn out just before she had been petrified. It made perfect sense.

"The basilisk kills people by looking at them. But no one's died - because no one looked it straight in the eye. I mean think about it. Colin saw it through his camera…Justin and Geoffrey, they must have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick."

"And Nick?" Ron asked, frowning.

"Well he can't die again. And Hermione and the Ravenclaw prefect, were found with the mirror because Hermione had just realized that the monster was a basilisk. She must have warned her about the danger and they looked around the corners with the mirror first!"

"But what about Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked. "She can't exactly hold a mirror, camera, and there weren't any ghosts nearby. They were at Nearly Headless Nick's DeadDay Party."
Harry frowned, thinking of the scene.

"The water…remember that Moaning Myrtle had flooded the bathroom and the floors around it? I bet you Mrs. Norris only saw the reflection. And remember Hagrid's roosters?"

"The ones that died?"

"Yeah! The crowing of the rooster, it's fatal to a Basilisk. The Heir of Slytherin didn't want one anywhere near the castle once the Chamber was opened!" He tapped the page on one spot. "Even spiders flee before it.! It all fits!"

"But how is it getting around the place? I mean it's a giant snake. Someone would have seen it."

"Hermione answered that too. Pipes. It's been going through the pipe system. That's why I've been hearing the voice inside the walls."

Ron suddenly grabbed Harry's arm. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!" he exclaimed hoarsely. "What if it's a bathroom? Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?"

They sat there, excitement coursing through them, hardly able to believe it. "This means," Harry said, "I can't be the only Parselmouth in the school. The Heir of Slytherin's one, too. That's how he's been controlling the basilisk."

"What're we going to do?" said Ron, whose eyes were flashing. "Should we go straight to McGonagall or your Mum?"

"Let's go to the staff room," said Harry, jumping up. "Either one of them will be there in ten minutes. It's nearly break time." They ran downstairs. Not wanting to be discovered hanging around in another corridor, they went straight into the deserted staff room. It was a large, paneled room full of dark, wooden chairs. Harry and Ron paced around it, too excited to sit down. But the bell to signal break never came. Instead, echoing through the corridors came Professor McGonagall's voice, magically magnified.

"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staffroom. Immediately, please. "

Harry wheeled around to stare at Ron. "Not another attack. Not now?"

"What'll we do?" said Ron, aghast. "Go back to the dormitory?"

"No," said Harry, glancing around. There was an ugly sort of wardrobe to his left, full of the teachers' cloaks. "In here. Let's hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them what we've found out."

They hid themselves inside it, listening to the rumbling of hundreds of people moving overhead, and the staff room door banging open. From between the musty folds of the cloaks, they watched the teachers filtering into the room. Harry spotted Moria come in, glancing at the other professors in confusion.

McGonagall came in and judging by the expression that crawled onto her face, that it wasn't good.

"It has happened," she told the silent staff room. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself. The Heir of Slytherin left another message. Right underneath the first one. `Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever. "'

"…who?" Moria managed, and this was the first time Harry had ever heard his godmother sound like that/

"Who is it? Who was taken?"

"Ginny Weasley," said Professor McGonagall. Moria cursed, and no professor dared to scold her as she slumped against the wall.
Harry felt Ron slide silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside him.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," said Professor McGonagall. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said-"
The staffroom door banged open again.

"So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?" Lockhart's ever go lucky voice echoed in the room, and from the crack of the door, Harry could see Moria's hands turn into fists. Snape, however stepped forward.

"Just the man," he said lightly. " A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last." Lockhart blanched and Moria looked at the Potions Master in disagreement.

McGonagall smiled tightly. "After all your skills are legendary."

Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to the rescue.

"V-very well," he said. "I'll-I'll be in my office, getting-getting ready."

And he left the room.

---

"Minerva, have you seen Max?"

"No…sadly I haven't. But with all the chaos right now…she likely wants to be left alone. I can't blame her." McGonagall remarked, glancing at where the group of Weasley brothers were. "She was Ginny's friend, I can't blame her wanting to be left alone."
Moria sighed, nodding.

"Do you really think Lockhart is going to help?"

"No. But it gets him out of hair for a little bit. Moria, I need you to go and retrieve Albus."

"Dumbledore?" Moria remarked. "But the school council…"

"We have a little girl missing…I think priority will change."

"Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can. If you see my daughter. Tell her I'll be back soon."

"Of course."

---

"Lockhart may be useless, but he's going to try to get into the chamber!" Harry said hurriedly as he and Ron raced into the DADA classroom. "At least we can tell him what we know!" "Professor, we've got some information for you," said Harry as he entered the room without knocking. "We think it'll help-"

He paused when he saw that the office had been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor. Robes, jade-green, lilac, midnight blue, had been hastily folded into one of them; books were jumbled untidily into the other.

"Are you going somewhere?" said Harry.

"Er, well, yes," said Lockhart, smiling that smile that had won the hearts of women all over the continent. "Urgent call - unavoidable - got to go -"

"What about my sister?" said Ron jerkily.

"Well, as to that - most unfortunate -" said Lockhart, avoiding their eyes as he wrenched open a drawer and started emptying the contents into a bag. "No one regrets more than I -"

"You mean you're running away?" Harry asked in disbelief. "After all that stuff you did in your books -"

"Books can be misleading," Lockhart delicately replied, looking red in the face.

"You wrote them!" Harry shouted.

"My dear boy," said Lockhart, straightening up and frowning at Harry. "Do you use your common sense? My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things.

"You're a fraud! You've just been taking credit for what a load of other people have done!" Harry accused.

"Is there anything you can do?" Ron asked and Lockhart's chest puffed up.

"Yes." Lockhart replied angrily. "Now that you mention it.

He banged the lids of his trunks shut and locked them. I'm rather gifted with Memory Charms. Otherwise you see all those wizards would have gone blabbing. I'd have never sold another book." He explained sidestepping them.

"In fact, uh, I'm-uh- going to have to do the same to you." He said turning as he pulled his wand. However instead of being victorious, both boys had their wands out already, Ron's bent and covered in tape after the mishap earlier with the Whomping Willow.

"Expelliarmus! Harry yelled and Lockhart was blasted backwards, falling over his trunk, his wand soaring and falling out the open window. "Shouldn't have even thought about it. You don't think my Mum wouldn't have taught us some actual defense after the duel club?" Harry said. Ron gave a jeering grin and Lockhart quailed under their looks.

"What d'you want me to do?" said Lockhart weakly. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do."

"You're in luck," said Harry, forcing Lockhart to his feet at wandpoint. "We think we know where it is. And what's inside it. Let's go."

---

"Tom…Tom I want to go home."

Something or rather, someone was protesting. Max was sure of that. But her head felt sluggish, and her body ached, feeling as though a weight or some sort of pressure was pressing her down to the ground, making thoughts in her head slow and not that all-forthcoming. It took her even a few moments to realize that it was Ginny's voice. And even THAT sounded weak, as though a mouse caught in a trap of glue for too long, as though the struggling had worn it out.

"Tom…"

Then there was silence and something fell near her with a loud 'THUMP'.

She forced her eyes open a sliver and saw red hair next to her and Ginny's form crumpled next to hers. There were footsteps fading away, but she couldn't be sure for how long.

So slowly she gripped Ginny's outstretched hand, at least the fingertips. As though it would be proof to the redhead that she wasn't alone.

Before she lost consciousness again…she felt a faint squeeze back.

Then darkness became her companion again.

---

Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet when they entered. Harry noted that for some reason, one of the stall doors had a sizeable dent and there was a small stain on the ground that looked like it had dried.

"Oh…who are you? Bry?"

"No..." Harry remarked, wondering who Bry was, but decided that was a question for another time.

"Oh, it's you," she exclaimed when she saw Harry. "What do you want this time?" She said giggling

"To ask you how you died," said Harry.

Myrtle's whole aspect changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question.

"Ooooh, it was dreadful," she said with relish. "It happened right in here, in this very cubicle. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in."

"Who was it Myrtle?"

"I don't know!" Myrtle cried. "I was distraught! But they said something funny. A kind of made up language, I think it must have been. Anyway, I realized that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then-" Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining. "I died."

"Just like that?" Harry questioned, his brow furrowing in a similar way that Moria would do whenever she would be working on a puzzle, or when she had worked on cases in Italy. "How?" said Harry.

"I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes." Myrtle explained. "Over there by that sink."

Harry and Ron hurried over to it. Lockhart was standing well back, a look of utter terror on his face. He made a move to go, but stopped when Ron pointed his wand at him again.
It was strange…it looked like an ordinary sink. They examined every inch of it, inside and out, including the pipes below. And then Harry saw it: Scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

"This is it."

"Harry," said Ron. "Say something. Something in Parseltongue."

Harry hesitated, before thinking as though the snake on the faucet was moving. And he spoke.
Except that the words weren't what he heard; a strange hissing had escaped him, and at once the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move; the sink, in fact, sank, right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed, a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into. Lockhart exhaled loudly, giving a grimacing smile.

"Excellent Harry. Ha! Good work!" He complimented. Both boys glanced at one another. "Well then I'll just be…uh…well…there's no need for me to st-AY!" He exclaimed trying to run past them, but both boys grabbed his arms and pulled him back to the entrance of the chamber.

"Oh yes there is." Harry remarked easily.

"You can go first," Ron snarled.

White-faced and wandless, Lockhart looked over his shoulder at the opening.

"Boys," he said, his voice feeble. "What good will it do?"

"Better you than us." Ron replied smoothly and Lockhart swallowed stuttering to himself as he slowly turned around to face the entrance, his knuckles white from his grip on the sides of the other sinks.

"Sure we don't want to test it f-" He began to whine but Ron gave him a push, and he slid out of sight. The boys listened to his screams until there was a thud and a moment of silence.

"It's really quite filthy down here." Lockhart called up. Harry looked at Ron who nodded and he lowered himself slowly into the pipe, then let go and plunged into darkness.