24-25

Chapter 24 Summer Meetings and the New School Year

August 3, 1992

On the night of his birthday, Harry had gotten a strange visit from a house elf named Dobby. The excitable elf had warned him not to return to Hogwarts. He said bad things were going to happen and that Harry was in danger. Tilly and Tippy had chased the elf off before they could be more information, but it worried them enough to let the school. That was a difficult conversation. McGonagall wanted to know why the house elf came to Harry, but they couldn't answer that. Still she said she would take the warning to Dumbledore.

The Potters called a special meeting of all the Mutineers and their parents, only those that were against telling Dumbledore. They thought about telling the others, but that would be too risky, even with a vow. Sally said to keep to those in the know, because breaking simple vows was more common than one would believe. However, most people thought the breakers dropped dead from heart attacks. Since the boys and their guardians didn't want to take the chance, they followed that advice.

They decided to have the talk outside, to keep it less business like. It was a nice summer's day, though cooling charms were still used. Everyone sat at a large conjured round table with tea services scattered about every third person or so. The kids sat with their parents and a lot of them were catching up on what they'd been doing over the summer with those they hadn't seen.

When James stood and called out, "Can I have everyone's attention, please?" The crowd went silent and all heads turned to him. "Thank you, and thanks for coming on such short notice. Harry has something to say." And he indicated his son, who stood and shuffled his feet a little as everyone turned his way.

"I was going to bed the night of my birthday. When I got to my room, there was a house elf bouncing on my bed. I don't know who he belongs to, but his name is Dobby," he said with questioning eyebrow. There were lots of pure-bloods at the meeting, so maybe they would know who Dobby belonged to. And he was right.

Natalie Greengrass stood to be heard. "That's the Malfoy elf. Why would he be here? Your family is not affiliated with them?" she asked, while Daphne's eye went wide with worry.

"Well, Draco and I have a sorta an acquaintance thing going on, but that's not what this is about," Harry hedged, nodding his head in thanks for that important piece of information.

"Tell them what the elf said," Lily encouraged her son.

"He said that he came to warn me that something was going to happen at Hogwarts this year. Something bad and dangerous. He didn't want me to go back, he kept saying that it was too dangerous for me, but he did indicate that the whole school was in trouble, which is why we are having this meeting," the messy-haired boy said with a gesture stating that that was all he knew.

"We have to tell the school," quite a few voices said, loudly.

James raised his right hand and they stopped yelling. "It was the first thing we did," he said a bit harshly, all the while keeping his left hand on Lily's shoulder in case she was affronted by the accusation that they would endanger children.

"At least," Harry all but yelled, bringing the ashamed looks to him, "now we know to look out for anything Malfoy Sr. does. I don't want to blame a kid for anything, but Mr. Malfoy might give or say something to his son, so watch him as well," the messy-haired young man suggested reluctantly. He regained his seat and let the adults take over.

Everyone got a thoughtful look on their face. That family had been playing the good card lately. The adult Malfoys had been standing up for the Potters, and making charitable contributions. Though, with this warning everyone felt they were blowing hot air. Lucius was a conniving man and it would do well to keep an eye on him.

"Why did he come to you, and not Gary?" Mr. Davis asked. Like the rest of the world they had been told that no one knew who survived the Killing Curse that night. This information confirmed a lot of the group's belief that it was Harry.

"Actually, he was going to warn Gary as well, but our house elves chased him off," Harry lied, not wanting them to think that he was the savior, though he really didn't want Gary to keep the title either. They both just wished the whole thing would go away.

"We," James said to take the attention off his son, "wanted to offer more training for the group. Mostly stuff they can teach others. We're not talking combat training, just better shields, some wandless stuff and some more powerful defensive ones than what we have been. I know they had not practiced most to the stuff we taught them when they were younger, so a refresher on those might be a bonus."

A lot of the kids dropped their heads, they really didn't keep up their lessons, but it was their first year at Hogwarts.

"We just don't want anyone to be unprepared. So if you have friends you feel would benefit, then feel free to tell them to be on the lookout for something dangerous this year. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell them where you heard it, but if needs must," Lily said as she lifted her chin, still miffed that they would think badly of her family.

"I think that's a lovely idea," Amelia stated, looking around at all the parents. "I have a few things I can teach them as well. I'll also make sure to keep some men handy for the first sign of danger."

"That's great, Amelia," the Head Potter approved. "We, the adults, can set up the timetable. The kids need to go off and have a private meeting."

And with that the children stood, and hugged and kissed their parents. Harry and Gary picked up a large stack of small books and carried them along. The group was silent as they walked to the tree line and settled into a rough circle.

When they all sat, the twins started handing out the books. They were tiny and only had about twenty pages.

"We need you to read this. It's very important to what we have to tell you," Harry said, fidgeting with his sleeves as if he was very nervous.

The kids looked at each other, some with worried expressions. It was rare that anything would make one of the Potter twins jumpy.

When they read the first page, some were confused, while other understood. The book was Lily's research on parselmouths. Soon the small books were read, and then were put to the side. All the kids held their breaths to hear what the twins had to say.

"I can see some of you understand why we wanted you to read this. For those of you that don't get it… well… ummm, you see… I am a parselmouth," Harry boldly, with his chin high and shoulders back.

And talking started all at once. Some were excited and started throwing questions. Others were scared, even with what they just read. Still, others nodded their heads like they already knew.

Gary was sitting by his brother and getting angrier by the minute. Finally he snapped.

"Quiet," he yelled as he stood and pulled Harry up with him, looking menacing at his group of friends. "I am ashamed of you," he spat at the ones who were berating his brother. "You've known us for how long? Do you really think that Harry would be evil? After all he has done for you and everyone in he has ever come across."

Many looked ashamed, while their supporters went to the twins' side. Daphne took Harry's other hand and glared at the group. "That is just as bad as saying all Slytherins are evil," she defended her friend.

Luna looked at the group and dreamily said, "Did the nargles get you? I can give you something to make them go away?" causing a few snickers.

"Why do you think we gave you these books? Did you even read them? We don't know how Harry became a parselmouth, but I will stand by his side and fight anyone who calls him evil," the younger twin stated, his face and stance showed that every word he said was true. The whole time he was sending supportive vibes through the link.

Harry released his arm from Gary's grasp and put his hand on his twin's shoulder. "It's okay," he sent, hoping to calm him down.

"No, it bloody well is not," came the reply.

"No, really, look at them, they're thinking."

So Gary looked and sure enough, most of the more studious readers had thoughtful looks. They all stood and went to Harry's side.

"What about Slytherin and Voldemort? They were evil and parselmouths," one of the seated girls said.

Gary didn't catch which one, but answered anyway. "There is good and bad in everything. We've been trying to teach you this since we started this group. You know the man who was caught in my dorm?" he said waited for the ones still in front them to nod. "He was a Gryffindor, and one of my dad's best friends. He was also a Death Eater and the one to betray us to Voldemort. That is an evil man, coming from a House everyone says no evil could come from."

"These men and women in this book are all good people. Most of them are healers or potion gatherers. They never harmed anyone, the one thing they have in common is they are all parselmouths," Harry said firmly, glancing at all their faces.

"Harry?" Daphne asked, bringing his attention to her. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? I was not upset that you are a parselmouth. I was upset you kept secrets." Many nodded with that statement.

"I was worried," Harry said simply, rubbing his thumb over the back of the hand he still held. He had no idea why he was doing that, but it just felt right.

"And judging from the reaction of some of you, he had every right to be concerned," his twin snapped, still glaring in defiance at the ones not standing by their side.

Harry looked at them, put his feet apart, his back straight, his head up, and said, "This will get out one day. There is no stopping that. When it does, will you stand by me?"

"We have always stood by each other in this group. When the bullies picked on Luna for being different, we stood by her. When they tried to separate us, we stood together. Why would this be any different?" Gary asked, pulling Luna from behind him and hugging her to his side. Neville gave the younger girl a one-armed hug. She just smiled that vacant smile of hers.

More kids stood and went to Harry's side. They apologized and patted him in the back in support.

"We can't let the others know, bar the Weasley twins. I know for a fact that Faye and Leanne wouldn't be able to handle it. And don't even get me started on Ron," Neville said as he retook his seat.

"Yeah, they actually have a hard enough time being witches. This would put them over the top, so to speak," Parvati said, hoping that her best friend, Lavender, would be brought in soon.

"Well, we can at least teach them how to protect their selves," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Now that the heavy stuff is out of the way," Gary said, changing the subject as he waved his hand to retrieve the books. They flew in to a pile by his side. There was no point in leaving them laying around, not yet anyway. "We need to talk about what Dobby told Harry."

"Did he tell you what the danger was?" Neville asked, looking at the older twin.

"No, he just said great danger was going to be at Hogwarts," Harry answered.

"Well, that's extremely unhelpful," Wayne huffed. "How are we supposed to be on the lookout if we don't know what we're looking for?"

"Well, we do have one secret weapon," Harry said with a small secretive smile. "You know the Halloween Ghosts?" Nods were seen around the group. "They're spies." His grin widened and more smiles broke out among the children.

"That's bloody awesome," Terry said. He had made friends with some of those spirits. They were helpful in History studies. Professor Watts was the one to suggest it.

"So, if something were to happen that we can't explain then we tell one of them and they will go looking after hours to see what they can find? Do we tell a professor?" Daphne asked, pondering on the resourcefulness of the apparitions.

"Yes, of course we tell one," Harry said, looking straight at her. "Anything that protects the students should be shared immediately with one of the staff."

"We would never hide something like that," Gary said a little more firmly.

She nodded in agreement and the group went about making plans. The maps were discussed and so were the mirrors, and each was incorporated. They reminded everyone of the mirrors in the classrooms, and stated that if they saw anything unusual then they should use them to inform the staff right away. This group would be used as a sort of neighborhood watch. Not getting involved in a fight unless they had to, just staying alert and sounding an alarm if they see something.

All and all the meetings went well, and after the Mutineers and their parents left the Potters and the Marauders gathered in one of the sitting rooms.

"So, how did it go?" Lily asked Harry, after they all settled in one big family cuddle on the largest couch. The uncles sat on the couch opposite.

"As well as could be expected, I guess," Harry said, getting comfort from his dad's hug. "There were a few uncomfortable moments, but we got it settled."

"Will we be telling the adults?" Sirius asked, knowing what the kids talked about.

Lily thought for a moment, they had had this discussion in the past and decided to tell the kids first as they were more easily convinced. "I think we should only tell some of them at first. Like the Patils and Amelia," she finally answered.

"I disagree," Remus said as he shook his head. "We tried that when we outed me as a werewolf. If we had told everyone at once, then the group mentality would have swayed more easily. As it was, there were a lot of arguments that never would've happened to get everyone on our side. It took months to get everyone to understand that I'm not a Dark creature. Some of them still look weirdly at me. Plus, I am pretty sure that I am one of the reasons Molly is pulling back."

"No, Remus, I've talked to Arthur and she's miffed that Gary isn't friends with Ron. Something about The Prophet being right, and the Boy-Who-Lived being stuck up," James disagreed. "She's making noises that the twins and Ginny shouldn't talk to the boys."

"However, Remus is correct in telling a large group," Sirius said, supporting his friend. He too remembered all the quarrelling. "But, let's keep it to the pro-security gang. I don't want to deal with her or Mrs. Dunbar. Those two would tell Dumbledore in a minute."

They talked about it some more and it was agreed that when the kids went back to school the Potters would call some of parents together and let them know.

The rest of the summer went by in a flurry of training and playing. The twins made sure not to alienate the rest of the Mutineers and invited them to come the manor. They did tell the Weasley twins what was up, on the sly, and the two redheads just nodded their heads, like they already knew.

Molly finally put her foot down and her kids couldn't come over anymore. They all missed having the Weasleys with them. Luna was especially upset that their mum had pulled Ginny away from the group. James continued to talk to Arthur at work, but other than the twins the rest of the family kept their distance. They had no idea why Mrs. Weasley, and with her Mrs. Finnigan, decided that the Potters were no longer good enough for her family, but they mostly shrugged it off and went about their business.

August 22, 1992

It was time to go to Diagon Alley and get school supplies. Everyone decided to meet up at the Leaky Cauldron, instead of the Potter home. They did warn the shop owners, and Tom the bartender, that they would be descending on them once again. Since only four of the Mutineers needed wands, which were Luna, Astoria, Spencer and Ellie, they split so the first years would go and get their focuses, while the rest of the gang ate breakfast.

After the first years got their wands, they divided into groups of five or six. The Greengrass girls, Luna, Harry and Dean were in one group, and Astoria kept teasing Harry and Daphne about being girlfriend and boyfriend. This caused the small group to laugh and the young not-couple to blush. It didn't make them stand further apart though.

Lily just laughed along with the rest. "Don't worry, sweetie, it's what little sisters do. I used to do it all the time to Petunia," she said, patting Harry on the shoulder. A wistful look crossed her green eyes as she remembered the good times she had with her sister before they found out she was a witch. Everything changed that day in the park when she met Severus. Oh, how her sister hated her after that and nothing Lily said changed that. She shuddered at the thought that Dumbledore had wanted to put this young man with her spiteful sister.

This group was getting robes at the moment. They were sharing the shop with the Malfoys. Draco had been surprisingly polite. At school, he still picked on non-purebloods and got into plenty of fights with Ron about Seamus, but never around the Potters. So right now he was the epitome of pure-blood politeness, who simply nodded at the gang and continued to stand still while being fitted.

"Ah, Lily Potter, how are you this fine day?" Lucius asked, tipping into a small bow.

"Lucius," Lily replied neutrally, her head bobbed and her face went blank. "We're fine. Yourself?"

The rest of the group stood back and watched, trying not to draw the man's attention. They surrounded Dean and his mum, so they were somewhat protected. None of them trust the senior Malfoy, especially after Dobby. The Thomas' had no clue, since they weren't privy to that information, but stayed put nonetheless.

The senior Malfoy looked over the assembled people and though his nose wrinkled, he kept his opinion to himself. "We are well. Doing a bit of remodeling of the Manor, but nothing drastic," he said airily, waving his hand, indicating it was nothing important.

"I'm sure. Say, Lucius, I hear you have a house elf named Dobby. From what I've heard, he gives you a bit of a bother. Do you want to sell him to us? It would be a late birthday present to our boy hero," she asked with a sudden inspiration.

"Dobby, you say. Yes, well he is a bit high-strung. How did you hear about him?" the blond man asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh, one of our elves was talking about the differences between house elf personalities to one of the Muggleborns and Dobby's name came up. They think he is a bad elf, so we wanted to see if we could, you know… tame him," she said, pulling the first thing she thought of that would let the man think Dobby wouldn't be going into an ideal situation.

"Tell you what, as a token of my appreciation to the Boy-Who-Lived, I will gift him to your twins," Lucius stated as if he was giving away the Crown Jewels.

Lily forced a look of excitement on to her face. "Would you really? That would be wonderful and very generous of you. I know house elves are hard to train properly. It will give the boys a sense of responsibility. Can you do so now?" she asked as the rest of her group looked at her like she had lost her mind. Only Harry was laughing inside.

"Of course," Malfoy Sr. said through his teeth, not really wanting to do it publicly. Then again, it might help his image. His son looked on with an air of confusion. "Dobby."

"Master calls for Dobby?" the little elf appeared in a worn raggedy pillowcase. He bowed quickly to his horrid master.

"I am releasing your bond from me to the Potter twins. You are now theirs." A blue light surrounded Lucius and Dobby, and then the light moved from the adult blond to Harry, whose eyes got wide and a smile broke out on his face.

Gary sent a mental probe, "What was that?"

"Don't worry, nothing bad," Harry answered. "I'll tell you more when we get home."

"Fine," came the reluctant response.

Dobby bounced in place, his whole demeanor changed from subservient to joyful confidence. "Dobby is belonging to the Great…"

"Dobby!" Harry yelled, hopefully fast enough, though he did see a devious glint in Mr. Malfoy's eyes, along with a bit of confusion. "Go to the Manor and talk to Tilly about your duties," he commanded firmly, wanting to keep up the ruse of training the excitable house elf.

"Yes sir, Master Harry Potter, sir." And with that the elf popped away.

"That was well done, Mr. Potter, though you should have added a bit of self-punishment," Lucius drawled. "Come, Draco, we are finished here. Mrs. Potter, until we meet again." And with a nodding of heads they left.

The whole group relaxed until, "How could you do that?" came a shrill voice of a bushy-headed second year they all knew well. No one had seen the Grangers enter with the Weasleys.

"How could we do what? Rescue an abused house elf? Rather easy, I'd say," Harry answered back, rubbing the back of his head, not really sure what had upset this girl.

"That is slavery," Hermione yelled, stamping her foot.

Her parents were standing behind her in shock. All the while Arthur whispered the real reason why house elves needed to be bonded to wizards hurriedly in their ears.

"No it's not. Where did you get that idea from?" Daphne defended Lily's actions. She knew this was one of the reasons Muggleborns were looked down on. They always jumped to conclusions.

"How can it not be?" Hermione asked venomously, turning her anger to Daphne.

The blonde Slytherin just tightened her jaw and stood her ground.

"Hermione," Harry said, trying to stop the argument before it escalated even more, "you're a smart girl. Have you even read about house elves? They are not human, you know. For all you know you're accusing someone of doing something evil, when they are actually saving a life. I, for one, think you'd better do a bit more studying on it before you make wild assumptions," he said overly polite with a firm nod of his head. He grabbed Daphne's hand, making Astoria snicker, and moved away her from the irate girl.

"Hermione Jean Granger, you stop this instant. I am ashamed of you, fighting in public," the woman who could only be her mother snapped. She had just mulled over what Mr. Weasley was trying to explain and decided to get books on all magical beings so something like this wouldn't happen again.

Hermione hung her head, but you could tell this argument was not over, by the steel glint in her eyes.

"I think, we should go to the books store, since this shop appears to be full right now," Mr. Granger said as he guided his family out the door. The Weasleys followed, Arthur mouthing apologies behind Molly's back. Lily winked at him, she felt sorry for that henpecked man.

Madam Malkin, seeing the excitement was over, herded the children to the stools to get their measurements. She was happy, because she now had gossip.

"What was that all about?" Dean asked. He never doubted for a minute that the Potters were doing something well-intentioned, they always did.

"I'll explain everything later," Harry offered as he stepped up onto a stool, the tape measure zooming around his body.

"Don't worry, Dean, it was all for a good reason," Daphne said in support as she waited her turn.

"That poor, poor girl, her head is surrounded by nargles," Luna added her two Knuts worth. She had no idea who Hermione was.

"You might be right about that," Astoria said, patting Luna's arm in agreement. The blonde girl was hardly ever wrong when it came to people.

Gary's group at the book store

"Oh my, would you look at this crowd," Frank said, leading his gang of kids in to Flourish and Blott's. Where they saw a long line of middle-aged women standing outside the store, it stretched down the street almost to the ice cream parlor. "I wonder what's going on here."

"It looks like that ponce, Lockhart, is signing books today," James said, pointing at a sign with said ponce's picture in all his life-size glory.

A collective groan was heard. "Come on, let's just get our books and leave," Neville suggested, going around the overly perfumed women.

"Yeah," Gary agreed. The less time they spent here, the better off they'd be. "We'll get everyone's so they don't have to come here. They can pay us back later." He looked to his father for confirmation and received a nod in return.

So Gary, Neville, Susan, Spencer and Tracey separated and gathered books for everyone, each decided they would collect the subject they were best at, except Spencer who would get all the first year books, sans Defense. James went with Spencer to help the boy out.

Gary had to get the DADA books, and there were seven of this idiot man's books on his list. Thank, Merlin, for bottomless baskets. He was making his way to the counter to pay, when he was grabbed from behind. He held on to his basket by sheer luck.

"Merlin's beard, it's Gary Potter," came an overly cheerful voice.

When Gary turned, he saw Gilderoy Lockhart holding him with his stupid over-styled blonde hair and way to shiny white teeth. "Get off me, you git," he said, stamping on the man's foot, causing him to jump up and down, which the younger boy used to make his escape. He subtly cast a wandless flatulent spell and giggled when a loud 'pfffffttttt' filled the air. He paid for his books while the overstuffed peacock stuttered out apologies.

"Gary, are you alright?" James said, having come in just in time to see his son defend himself. His eyes were sparkling with mirth at the fart that had rendered from the ponce's arse.

"Yeah, Dad. I got all the Defense books, can we leave now?" Gary said as he lifted the very large, feather weight bag to show he was done.

"Best wait for everyone else. Spencer and I still have quite a few to get, so why don't you stand by the door and we'll meet you there? That way you can stay away from the commotion at the front and that git won't see you again," his dad suggested, ruffling his hair.

Gary nodded and went to the front of the store. He leaned against the wall between the door and the display window, chuckling at all the nonsense the women were spouting. Really, these people believed this self-glorified man did all these things. He shook his head and waited. He would have thought that Pandora's crystals would have put a stop to this nonsense, but then he listened harder and chuckled. They just thought the man was handsome and not really some hero. There was even a comment that the person didn't care if the moron had a thought in his head, as long as he stayed good looking.

'Women. Who can understand them?' the pre-teen thought as he quit listening.

He had been standing there for five minutes when an argument broke out between Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy. That quarrel turned into a fight, and Gary was tempted to go and show his support. He had just lifted a shoulder off the wall, when Hagrid broke it up and ushered Mr. Weasley and his group out the door.

"I wonder what that was all about," Neville said as he joined his friend by the door. He had had to gather all the Herbology books. It was surprising that Gary was done earliest, but then again all his books were in one place, since every year had been assigned the same books.

"Don't know," the dark haired boy said with a shrug, "but I hope Mr. Weasley popped him a good one."

"Yeah."

The two friends talked about their summers and the new school year. One by one the rest united with them, and Frank took them outside to wait until James and Spencer were finished. When all was said and done, they went to join the rest of their gang to let them know they got all the books. Soon a lunch of fish and chips was eaten, much to the pleasure of Tom the barman, and everyone went home happy.

Hphphp

As soon as Harry exited the Floo, he was accosted by a very happy house elf, who was now dressed in a clean pillowcase.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby is most excited to be bonded to the Great Harry Potter," said the being attached to Harry's leg. "And of course, Master Gary," he added quickly, though he didn't let go of the older twin.

"Something you want to tell me, Harry?" James asked with an accusing tone, though you could see the mischief in his eyes.

"It wasn't me, it was Mum," Harry said in defense, trying to unwrap Dobby from his leg.

The oldest Potter looked at Lily, who was giggling so hard she was bent in half. She raised her hand and tried to get herself under control. A few minutes, and many deep breaths, later she finally had enough air to answer.

"It was a spur of the moment thing," she said, still wiping the mirthful tears from her eyes. "Lucius was in the robe shop, and it just hit me that we could question Dobby about his warning if we owned him. So I tricked him into giving him to us… well the twins."

"That was very sneaky, my beautiful, intelligent wife," James said and then he planted a kiss on said wife lips, which of course went further than a peck.

"Ewww, stop that," came twin voices as they deepened the kiss into a snog.

"Shut it," James said, breaking away and turning to his blushing sons.

"Let's go into the sitting room," Lily suggested, grabbing her husband's hand and leading the way. "Dobby, join us."

"Yes, Mistress Potter, ma'am."

After they settled on to a couch, the whole family faced the still standing house elf, who looked very nervous.

"Dobby, sit on that chair there," James ordered, pointing to a chair at the side of the couch. He had been raised that house elves were indentured servants, and you treated them as such. Lily had calmed his attitude down a lot, but he was still very firm in his orders.

"Yous is asking Dobby to sit as an equal?" the little elf squeaked, pulling his ear in confusion. "No one has ever asked Dobby to sit." Tears started to form in those huge bulbous eyes.

"Well, I want to ask you a few questions, and I would rather you sit while I ask," the older man explained in a firm voice.

"Yes, sir, Master Potter, sir," Dobby said as he tentatively sat on the chair indicated, expecting to be punished for following the order.

"Listen," Harry said kindly, "we don't punish our elves, but we do know that you need to be kept busy, and that you need direct orders to do something. So if Dad comes off a bit harsh it's because he wants to make sure you understand. Okay?"

"Yes, sir, Master Harry Potter sir."

"Okay, Dobby, what can you tell us about the danger that will be coming to Hogwarts this year? We're assuming that it has something to do with Lucius," Lily asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

"Ah, ma'am, Dobby is not knowing much. Dobby is hearing the bad Master saying that he is going to bes doing something to get rid of the Mudbloods. He is saying that there will be great danger. That is all Dobby knows, Mistress Lily Potter, ma'am," the elf answered, tensing up at first then relaxed when no order for punishment came.

"Why did you come and tell Harry? He is not a Muggleborn," James inquired, leaning forward just a little to grab the elf's attention.

"Harry Potter is the greatest wizard of all times to the house elves. We is remembering the bad times when the Dark Lord ruled. He did bad things to us and Harry Potter destroyed the bad Master's Master. Dobby will always protect Harry Potter. So when Dobby is hearing that bad things were going to happen at Hogwarts, I is doing what I could to warn him," Dobby explained, pulling his ears at his past transgressions.

"Dobby, stop pulling your ears. You're not in trouble," Harry ordered gently.

"Dobby, do you remember seeing anything that might be helpful?" Lily asked, "Any Dark object that Lucius would pay attention to when he was planning?"

The newly acquired elf thought for a minute and then his large eyes lit up. "Dobby is remembering a Dark book. The Dark Lord is giving this book to the bad Master. The bad Master is taking this book off the shelves when he is planning. Dobby remembers that the bad Master is bringing this book to the Alley today," Dobby said, bouncing with exhilaration that he could help the Great Harry Potter and his family. Then he deflated. "Dobby cannot tell yous what the book looks like, only that it is being dark leather and about this big," he said, making motions with his hands to show that the book would be smallish sized.

The Potters exchanged looks, it wasn't much, but it was something. "Thank you Dobby, you've been very helpful. Go see Tilly, and she'll tell you what the twins need," James ordered, not knowing Harry had already given that order.

"Dobby is being knowing. Tilly is telling Dobby just what the Great Potter Twins is being needing," the excitable house elf said, jumping down from the chair and with a bow to the family he popped away.

"I wonder how long it is going to take for his excitement to calm down," Gary said, smirking at his frustrated brother.

"Merlin I hope it's soon. I never wanted a fan in the Manor, it's always been a safe haven for us," Harry groaned, leaning back on the couch, his eyes closed. "You're just glad it's not you, prat." He blindly swiped at his twin, who ducked and punched his arm in retaliation. The two boys tussled on the couch until their parents stopped them.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'll speak with him," James said, patting the poor boy on the head as they got up to put the shopping away.

"Thanks, Dad," was the rejoinder.

The Potters spent the rest of the day, laughing at the antics of their newest member, or just hiding in Harry's case. Lily sent what they knew to the Headmaster, and the boys mirror called all the Mutineers, and the redheaded twins, to be on the lookout for strange books. They told Sally, and she in turn warned the ghosts at Hogwarts.

The days until school started were spent studying and training. The boys promised that they wouldn't skive off on it this year. So mirror calls were made, and encouragement was given to those who were not with the pro-security group. They just told them that they would be doubling practical practices this year so they might want to be in shape.

Time skip with a short narration

The train ride was uneventful, but many more students joined the Mutineers in their carriage. A lot of the neutral wizard-raised that had visited the Potter manor over the summer decided that it would be okay to hang out with this group. They and their parents had learned a lot about non-magicals, and the computers went a long way in helping with that. The trip to the park/zoo had been an eye-opener. They never really understood just how outnumbered they were.

The Welcoming Feast went off without a hitch, except the many groans of the gang when Lockhart was introduced as the DADA professor. A lot of them felt that Dumbledore had lost his marbles. That aside it was a good feast.

The Potter adults held a meeting with the pro-security parents, and told the about Harry's ability to talk to snakes. They actually took it rather well. Some of them already expected it. His giggling around any snake was kind of a giveaway. Lily's research went a long way in helping others get over their innate fears. They decided as a whole that if this ever got out then the book should be sold at Pandora's Box.

The Mutineers were on the lookout for the book Dobby had warned about. No one had seen it yet, since Ginny was not part of the pro-security group. She was still undecided about going against her mum. The Weasley twins were keeping an eye on her, because she was acting different and they couldn't tell why. The redheaded girl looked like she wasn't getting any sleep at night, but when asked she said she was 'fine'. According to the twins' map, she wasn't going out of her dorm at night, so they were confused. Ron, on the other hand, didn't see anything wrong with his sister and blew off their concerns. Percy was concerned, but he too could find nothing wrong.

Luna was picked on her first day in Ravenclaw. Those bullies soon found out that this atypical little girl was not friendless. When Padma, Harry and the other Mutineers stood firm at her side and informed them, quite painfully, that they would retaliate. The bullies quickly backed off.

Even with all the watching going on, classes and life at Hogwarts was uneventful, except Lockhart making a fool of himself on a daily basis. It was a good thing the Mutineers set aside an hour each morning for the extra lessons. They would start to teach the non-Mutineers second year defense, at the very least. The upper-years would have to fend for themselves, unfortunately.

At the beginning of October both Potters tried out for their teams and were both taken on as Seekers, much to the relief of the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor team captains.

October 31, 1992 Hogwarts

Gary, Neville and Dean were invited to Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day party. He had been declined to join the headless hunt once again, so they offered to show support to him. Being forewarned by the other partygoers as to what a Death Day party entailed, they made sure to visit the kitchens before they went. They also got permission from their Head of House. She was more than happy to give it and awarded the second years points for standing up for the Gryffindor House Ghost.

The party was held in one of the deeper dungeons, all of the specters of the castle were invited. The room was made of the same stone as the rest Hogwarts. It was dark down there, and the walls were wet, though not dripping. It was also very cold, since ghosts didn't need to be warmed. The boys did their best not to complain about the party, and endured the cold and dark for their friend. The rotten food at the tables on the wall almost made the boys lose their dinners, though they were glad they ate before coming.

Even Professor Watts was there and she regaled the boys with stories of her own death day, and a few historical people. They met Moaning Myrtle and tried to keep her from, well… moaning. Gary even offered to dance with her, but Peeves came along and started teasing the poor girl until she wailed and flew away.

Sally was there, though only Gary and the ghosts could see her. She was watching the party, to make sure the kids were safe. She scared Peeves off after what he did to Myrtle. She was upset at the uppity specters that disrupted Nick's speech. And in one slicing movement of her hand, she removed the string of dead flesh that held the Gryffindor Ghost's head to his body. Everyone rejoiced and Nick, in a fit of happiness, declined the pretentious phantoms' invitation to join the hunt that year.

It was getting on 10 p.m., which was when the party in the Great Hall would end and the boys were making their way to the dorms. Many of the castle ghosts joined them, wanting to make sure they got where they needed to be. When they got to the second floor, near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, they could hear the rest of the student body down the hall, and turned to make their way towards them.

Gary stopped suddenly, and the other two bumped into him. "What did you stop for?" Dean asked, rubbing his slightly injured nose.

The youngest Potter just pointed at the writing on the wall and the cat that hung from the light fixture. In red ink, well they hoped it was ink, were the words:

'The Chamber of Secrets has been open. Enemies of the heir, beware.'

"Oh," said Neville as he looked warily down the hall to where he could hear the rest of the school headed towards them, "that's not good. Do you think it has something to do with the book?" he asked in a shaky voice.

The boys started backing up from the scene, making sure they didn't touch anything.

"Yeah, it might," Gary said. He turned to one the ghost that had followed them. "You need to tell a professor or the Headmaster," he said as they inched further away from puddle on the floor.

Professor Watts joined the boys and looked thoughtful, this was something she had learned about last year and was going to discuss it in future classes, but she decided the next class might be more pertinent. She whispered that the boys shouldn't worry too much, since the ghosts would vouch for their whereabouts.

The rest of the student body came across the three boys, and stopped to stare at the words on the wall.

"I hope that's ink," someone said from the back. Heads nodded in agreement.

Filch came from behind the students and barked, "Why are you all standing in the middle of the hall?" Then he saw Mrs. Norris hanging from the lamp and gave a strangled cry. "Who did this? Who did this to my cat?" he yelled as he turned and saw Gary standing there and went to grab him. The younger twin ducked and moved to his brother's side. "You, you did this to Mrs. Norris!" he shouted, and then he saw the other twin. "Or was it you? You did it together, didn't you? Why did you do this to my cat?" the grieving man asked, trying to get through the crowd to get to the Potter twins.

"Don't be stupid, you foolish old man," snapped Professor Watts as she floated in his face, making him back off. "Gary was with me and all the ghosts in the castle the entire night," she defended her student. "Well, except Myrtle, she left early."

"And Harry was in the Great Hall," chimed in Professor Flitwick. Many students nodded at these words.

"Argus," Dumbledore said as he came on to the scene, "take Mrs. Norris down and we will adjourn elsewhere to see if we can understand what happened to her. Gary, Mr. Potter," he said, deliberately showing favoritism, "you two will join us."

"I think not," the diminutive Charms Professor said. "Both these boys have firm alibies. You are not going to make scapegoats out of students by singling them out." He stood firmly by the boys' sides.

"That was not my intention at all," the Headmaster said serenely. "I merely wanted to know what their thoughts were."

"They are children, their thoughts are unimportant. We as adults should be handling this. Someone needs to call the Aurors. Remember Albus, you are still on probation." Filius stood firm, and the other professors, bar Snape, nodded their heads in agreement.

It was too late; rumors had already been started among the students. It was a good thing that the Mutineers had the best gossip mongers on their side. Parvati and Lavender were the best at squelching unwanted chatter. Already you could hear them defending the Potter twins. Other voices soon joined them.

The professors herded the students away to their dorms; mirrors were used well that night.

Hphphp

Sally joined Harry when he was talking with his twin mentally. "Call Gary on the mirror, I have news and it will be quicker this way."

So Harry pulled out his mirror, activated the security and called his brother.

"What's up, Sally?" Gary asked.

"Myrtle told me that she saw Ginny Weasley go into her bathroom tonight. She said she seemed possessed, and was carrying a book. She was the one to put the writing on the wall. I don't want to tell a professor yet, and asked Myrtle to keep it to herself for now. She is just going to tell them it was a student, but she doesn't know which one. I want you guys to see if you can get that book away from the poor girl. It is probably a horcrux," she explained.

"If I see her in the morning, I'll do what I can," Gary offered. "This explains her actions so far. If she is being possessed then she isn't in her right mind. We have to help."

"If I see her first, I'll summon it out of her bag. It might come to me, because of my own horcrux," Harry said and then thought a moment. "If not, I'll just bump into her and take it. I'm pretty good at pick-pocketing, Sirius taught us well," he added with a grin, remembering how mad his mum had been when she found out.

"If you can't get it, let me know. She still likes me better than you and she might give me the book if I ask," Gary said thoughtfully. While Ginny wasn't crushing like she was before, she still preferred him over Harry.

The three continued to make plans until the boys grew too tired to think. Sally held off lessons that night and let them sleep. After a quick mirror call to the parents, they signed off with warnings of being careful, and slept.

Gary missed Ginny the next morning, but Harry didn't. He found he couldn't summon the diary, so he sidled up to her on the pretense of asking if she was okay, which he really wanted to know, but used it to palm the book out of her bag. He slipped it into his own and left the Gryffindor table with words of encouragement to the younger girl. He ate his breakfast and slipped away to put it in his trunk. He then left for class, secure in the knowledge that is was safe for now.

Chapter 25 How do You Stop a Tidal Wave?

November 1, 1992 Hogwarts

That night, Harry was sitting in his common room looking at the innocent seeming leather bound book. Tom Riddle's name was on the front of it, and he knew who that was, so he knew not to use it, but he was curious. He opened it and noted it was blank; however, there was an overwhelming urge to write in it. So he took out a quill and ink and wrote, "Harry Potter, November 3 1992," as if it was his own diary.

The ink disappeared and the words formed, "Hello, Harry Potter, my name in Tom Riddle."

'Well that's weird,' the twin thought. He thought he was fighting the compulsion charm, but he also wondered about the man who tried to kill him, and what drove him to do so. He was about to write some more when the book was ripped from his hands and thrown into the fireplace.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Terry hissed furiously at the dark haired boy. "That book belongs to Riddle. He was an evil man, so it is probably cursed. Are you trying to die?" he glared at his friend for being stupid.

"You're right," Harry said and then looked at the fire and noted the book was not burning. "Thanks, Terry. I have no idea what came over me. You saved mine life, or at the very least my soul. Who knows if I could have fought that diary off? Thanks again." He clapped his friend on the shoulder, and then got up and started towards the stairs. "I'm going to have to wait until the fire dies to get that. Keep an eye on it for a minute, I need to call my mum," he asked his still pissed off dorm mate.

"Yeah, mate, but hurry. I don't want to be alone with that thing," Terry said, nodding his head and sat right in front of the fireplace, blocking the view of the book. It was around eleven in the evening, so thankfully there were only a few students awake.

Harry ran upstairs, grabbed his mirror, activated the security and said, "Lily Potter."

Lily's face came on and she said in an almost frantic voice, "Harry, what's wrong now? I swear we never should have let you guys go to Hogwarts." She seemed tired. Her hair was in a sloppy bun and there were dark rings under her eyes, like she slept in days.

"Mum, I need you to send me something to put that book in. There's a compulsion charm on it and the horcrux interacts with anyone who writes in it," Harry explained, ignoring his mum's griping, though he was worried about her health.

"Oh, sweetie, don't tell me you wrote in it. You know who it belonged to. Nothing good can come of that," she said, looking over her child as best she could through the mirror. She nodded, relieved that he didn't seem possessed. "I'll send a box right now. Dobby will be there in a few minutes. Put the book in the box and give it to him. We'll take it from there. Try and make sure no one sees him," came the short orders.

"Mum, Dobby… really? Can't you send Tilly or one of the others?" he all but begged. While he liked the little guy, the elf was loud and bouncy.

"Don't worry, I'll stress the importance of not being seen," she said with a smirk. "Think of it as punishment opening a cursed object."

"Fine," he huffed, and then his face softened. "Mum, I am sorry that I worried you. I just wanted to know Riddle, and why he turned bad. But, you're right, it was stupid, and I won't do it again. I am really, really sorry," Harry apologized profusely. What he said was true, it was dumb to think he could control something as Dark as a horcrux.

Lily sighed and ran a weary hand over her face. She didn't know how much more trouble she could take. "I'm not really angry, but, Harry, you could have been hurt," she said and then looked away to give Dobby orders to get the box to Harry. She made sure to tell him not to make any noise. "He'll be there in a second. Just put the book in the box and give it back to him. I love you, sweetie, try not to defy any Dark Lords for at least a week. I don't think my heart can handle it," she said with a smile to let him know that he wasn't in trouble.

Dobby popped into the room, ran and hugged Harry's legs, making him fall onto the bed. "Okay, Mum. Dobby is here, but it might be a minute. Terry threw the book in the fire so I have to wait until it burns down some. But, the second it does, I'll get it to you," Harry said, glad his mum wasn't too mad at him.

"Harry, are you a wizard or not? You've been floating things since you could crawl. Just levitate it into the box," Lily said, exasperated.

Harry blushed, and smiled sheepishly. "Well, you're the one who always made us try and do without magic. You said we'd get lazy," he said in mock accusation, then sobered up seeing as his mum wasn't smiling. He did wonder what was going on at home to make his mum so short tempered.

"Just get the book. Done." And the mirror went blank.

The dark-haired boy stared at the mirror in confusion. His mum was rarely that sharp with them. He looked at Dobby and wondered if he should ask him. Then figured he wouldn't know, so he held out his hand for the box, smiling at the little house elf.

The excitable elf gave his master the box and the young man went downstairs. Terry was still blocking the fireplace and the non-burning book.

"Terry," Harry whispered, bringing the other boys attention to him, "make sure the coast is clear. Mum sent me a container to put that in, but I don't want anyone seeing." He crept as close to the fireplace as he could get, placed the box on the floor and opened it.

Terry looked around and noted that the five people left in the room were focused on their homework. "You're clear, but hurry."

Harry floated the book into the box with a simple wave of his hand. He could feel the heat on the diary, but not even a page was singed. He quickly closed the box, thanked Terry and ran up the stairs. He gave it to Dobby and thanked him, earning another hug on the legs. He got his mirror out and called his mum. He told her it was on the way and disconnected. It was getting late and he wanted to see if he could take a nap before Sally came and tortured… trained him.

November 3, 1992 Hogwarts

Today's History class was the main topic of conversation once again, and Gary was looking forward to the lesson. He went into the classroom and sat at his assigned seat, which was still next to Hermione. She had read about the house elves, and offered an apology the first day of school. So Gary was quite comfortable around her, though Harry was not. The older twin didn't like her bossiness and overbearing ways, but the younger was used to them and he remained friends with the bushy-haired witch. The rest of the Mutineers were equally divided, and that would keep her from being part of the gang.

The Professor came in and called for quiet. When the class calmed down, she started her lesson. "As a ghost I am privy to a lot of information that you are not. There is little written history of the Chamber of Secrets, but here is what I know from those who have passed on."

Everyone stopped talking the minute she started. They had heard that this was what was going to be taught and didn't want to miss a word.

"Salazar Slytherin disagreed with the other Founders about the importance and the acceptance of Muggleborns at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At that time, while there wasn't an active witch hunt, people still persecuted them. He was concerned that the Muggleborn would bring their families or hunters to the castle. As the other Founders were against him in this matter, they fought. It was during one of those arguments that he left the school. He was later killed by religious fanatics."

A few of the pure-bloods shared a look, so did some of the Muggleborn, though for different reasons.

"According to legend, before Salazar left, he created a secret chamber deep underground— known as the Chamber of Secrets. This Chamber is home to a monster — we're not telling you what it is, just that we know and will handle it," she said, getting groans from the class.

She had already told Dumbledore and Amelia what it was and that it was contained within the Chamber. There were massive talks about closing the school, but the Board shot them down. They stated that no one was hurt, and that the mangy cat would be fine. If they closed the school they would have to pay back tuition, and they simply could not afford to do that.

Hands shot up in the air as many students had questions. "Why did he put it there?" Hermione asked, after she was called on.

"The monster was allegedly supposed to purge the school of all Muggleborn students. Slytherin's spirit denies this, and according to him it was merely a pet, but legend tells different. This myth also stated that only his heirs could open his room, through the use of parseltongue. Over the centuries after Slytherin's death, many headmasters conducted searches of the school to find the Chamber. None, however, were successful, and the Chamber was dismissed as a mere legend by many. When it was opened in 1943, it was revealed to be real, yet still never found."

The sound of quills meeting parchment was heard throughout the room as most students wrote down the lecture. Professor Watts was notorious for give homework on her lectures, and not just what was in the History books.

"There is clear evidence that the Chamber has been opened more than once between its creation and the twentieth century. When first created, it was accessed through a concealed trapdoor, which only a parselmouth could open. When Hogwarts' plumbing became more elaborate in the eighteenth century, the entrance to the Chamber was threatened. The heir in school at the time was a student called Corvinus Gaunt. He was a direct descendant of Slytherin. He explained to me how the trapdoor was protected. Back then it was he that told future heirs so that those who knew how to access the entrance to the Chamber, even with the 'newfangled plumbing' on top of it." She stopped for a moment to see if they were paying attention, and noted that every student there was hanging on to her every word. So she continued, tapping her ever present ruler on her leg.

"The Chamber was last opened by a young boy by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle," she glared at the students that started whispering. "He, as you know, was later known as Lord Voldemort. Through his mother, he was the last remaining direct descendant of Slytherin. In his fifth year, Riddle located the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and was able to control the monster. He turned the beast loose on the school, injuring many, and killing one."

"Why wasn't he caught?" came the question for Susan, after she raised her hand and the professor pointed to her.

"That is a good question, one I will be answering in just a moment," the ghost teacher said with a nod. "Now, the last victim of the monster was a student named Myrtle Warren, who you know as Moaning Myrtle, she was killed in the bathroom that she haunts. Because of her death, Hogwarts was due to be closed, which upset Riddle, who did not want to return to the Muggle orphanage where he was raised. He framed fellow student Rubeus Hagrid, who had concealed a pet Acromantula named Aragog."

"Wait, Hagrid it that old? And he had a giant spider?" Ron asked with a full body shudder, and then sunk in his seat when Professor Watts glared at him.

She continued on as if the boy hadn't talked. "Riddle convinced the Headmaster at the time, Armando Dippet, who is the one that relayed this story to me, that Aragog was the monster that had terrorized the school. Mr. Hagrid was expelled, and Riddle received an engraved trophy for Special Services to the School. Now that the Aurors know this, they are doing what they can to get Mr. Hagrid a trial. Hopefully he will be cleared and can use a wand again." Again she stopped taking a look at many hopeful faces, glad to see so many would stand up for justice.

"What happened to the Acromantula?" Ron asked, though this time he raised his hand.

"He still resides within the Forbidden Forest with his children," the teacher answered, then raised her ghostly hands to get silence. "They are being relocated, and Hagrid has been told not to have such… exotic pets."

"Whew," the redheaded second years said, wiping his forehead.

"To continue, this is what I've been told by the spirits that passed on from this school," Watts said as she started to conclude her lecture. "One of the school's ghosts informed us last night that the Chamber had been opened and though they told us how, we will not be telling you. Leave it to the adults to handle this. I am only informing you about the Chamber so you will not go through the trouble of looking for it. We, the teachers, know where it is, the Aurors have been called, and a watch has been posted to keep you kids out of there. They are still trying to find a way to open the Chamber and rid us of the monster."

There were sly glances Gary's way; he just minutely raised a shoulder to show he didn't know.

"Your homework," Professor Watts said, causing the inevitable groans, "is to write a one foot parchment on the difference between legend and fact. What I have told you is both, but I want you to separate my lecture, factual and myth, and explain how you know. You need to learn to tell the difference." She turned and motioned to the lesson written on the chalkboard by one of the upper-years. "Write this down and turn it in on Wednesday."

Quills flew as the students followed the instructions. Many were excited about the lesson and couldn't wait to do the homework. The bell rang and the pupils gathered up their books and left the class none too quietly.

Gary let Harry know what had been said and got back the mental message "Dumbledore's not going to like this," causing both boys to chuckle.

They were right Dumbledore didn't like the lesson, but he learned last year there was little he could do about Professor Isobel Watts. She told it like it was and if he didn't like it, tough. The Headmaster also didn't like that there were Aurors in the school. There was round the clock surveillance around Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Myrtle liked it though; there was always someone around to complain to.

The few days later, at the Manor

The Hunters gathered once again to make their reports. After greetings were made and the meeting called to order they started. Once again Augusta was the first to report.

"Well, from the history lessons going on at Hogwarts, there is a lot of gossip. Tom seems to be the main topic, which is good for us. More and more people are remembering things about him from when he was in school and right after," the eldest woman said, and then she took a sip of her tea.

"Right," Wayne said, "and we already have the ring, the diary and the necklace. Professor Watts gave us information on the orphanage, so we have another area to look. From what Augusta has heard we might be looking for the Hufflepuff cup and the Ravenclaw diadem. There is also talk about the Gryffindor sword, but no one has seen the diadem or the sword since the time of the Founders, so we don't know if Tom found them or not. He just asked many questions about them during his time working at the store."

"Has anyone asked the Hogwarts Ghosts," Kenton wanted to know.

"Most of them are after the Founders' time, and they say they had little action with Riddle, but we have someone working on them," Lily answered, sharing a look with her husband.

"Well, that's something," James said as the group mulled it over. They had come to a standstill in their search. It was keeping them up at night, that and having something more happen at Hogwarts. "Amelia, how goes it with the goblins?" he asked, turning to the formidable DMLE Head.

"Slowly, the committee they formed said 'no'," she sighed. She had been in talks with them for months, but was getting nowhere. "They don't like us poking around. I tried to tell them what might be in their vaults, but they said without evidence they can do nothing."

"We have the diary, with Riddle's name on it. Do you think it might help? We haven't cleansed it yet. Oh, and you can tell them we know how to rid the horcruxes of the soul pieces without damaging the container. That might help," Lily said excitedly. She was very proud of her group's accomplishment.

"Yes, that might be just what I need," Amelia said thoughtfully. Though she was loathed to even touch the box the book was in.

"I don't know how susceptible goblins are to compulsion charms, but you might warn them anyway," James warned, he didn't want them to get on the bad side of that nation.

"Another good idea," the woman with the monocle stated.

"Wonderful, was there anything else?" the male Potter asked, clapping and rubbing his hands together. He loved it when things worked out, maybe they could get some much needed sleep.

"I am concerned that Harry's ability to talk to snakes might get out," Albert said as he read from his notes.

"What brought that up?" Lily asked, not wanting the headache that would bring.

"Rita's latest article," he answered with a shrug. "Somehow she got into a secret meeting, and published some dirt on Fudge. He denies it all, but I was talking to some of the fellows at work and they confirmed it. So she has a small Animagus form, which we might not catch.

"Shite, that would be bad," James said, running a hand through his hair. "Suggestions?"

"We could use Harry to open the Chamber," Amelia said with a great deal of frustration lacing her voice. So far they hadn't been able to get in there. They blasted the sink apart and tried cutting around it but the wards were too strong. They even called in curse breakers, but still nothing.

"Let's hold off on that," the boy's father said, not wanting his child anywhere near a Basilisk. "Unless we really have to, I don't want him involved. That and the Headmaster would know and use it against us."

"We could start selling the book," Sirius said, he mind running over solutions. If Skeeter got ahold of this, it would be very, very bad.

"That might draw her attention faster," Kenton Brocklehurst said as he too went over the problem.

"We could go to the press first, or do both. Go to the press about the book and why we want it sold," Remus said. He looked at James and Lily, "Remember what I said about crowd mentality. If you tell everyone at once then you are likely to control what they think. If you hide it and it gets out then you've lost that control. I say get your lawyer on it as well."

"But, the Headmaster…" Lily started only to be interrupted.

"Will know no matter what you do. You can't hide this, you can control it," the werewolf argued gently.

"Still, I don't want Harry's name attached to anything," James said, rapping his knuckles on the table.

"I understand," Remus conceded, "So how can we do this without Harry?"

"We could get one of the more reputable reporters and Xeno, of course, tell them we know a parselmouth who wants to open the Chamber and sell our little book? Hmmm, we're going to have to think on that," Lily said worry now etched in her face, her finger tapping away on the table in thought, until James grabbed her hand to make her stop. So much for a good night's sleep.

"Let's call another meeting and we can decide as a group, just like we always do," James suggested and the meeting broke up from there.

The next day at the castle

Parvati approached Gary the next day with a gleam in her eyes, meaning she had good gossip. There was also a hint of worry.

"What's up, Parvati?" he asked when she got close enough.

"So me and Lavender have been busy," she started, taking Gary's sleeve and pulling him away from the other students. "It all started when the Headmaster tried to take you and Harry away on Halloween. There are rumors that both of you are the heirs of Slytherin. We're doing our best to crush them, since I can say I know your family tree. It is a good thing it is well known you keep that at the Manor and anyone can see it."

"I don't see the problem," the younger twin said as he leaned against the wall out of the way of the student body traffic. He had been going to the Great Hall for study hour and the halls were busy.

"That's not all I've heard," she whispered, getting close enough not to be overheard. "We don't know how, but there's rumor that there is a parselmouth at Hogwarts. Because Professor Watts said that only a parselmouth could open the Chamber of Secrets, then there must be one here. And with the rumor about you two being the heirs of Slytherin… well, you can see where this is going," she explained, worrying her robe sleeve.

"Shite," Gary said and relayed the message on to Harry via their link. He heard his brother cuss back in the same way. "Thanks for telling me, Parvati," he said and gave her an absentminded kiss on the cheek and wandered away.

She giggled and said to herself, "I better not tell Susan." And she followed the dazed boy to the Hall.

November 6, 1992 Potter Manor

The parents were worried; they'd been getting mirror calls for the last few days about the gossip. An emergency meeting was called, and at least one guardian for each Mutineer was there, barring the Dumbledore supporters. Whispers and ideas were flying about the room. Everyone claimed their usual seats and tea services were once again spaced around the table.

"Okay, everyone, quiet down," James said in a loud voice, standing at the head of the table. As usual, he was taking control of the meeting. "I know you're all worried, so we're here to see how we can maintain control. So… ideas? One at a time, please. Let's start with Amelia and work our way around. Everyone got a pencil and paper?" Nods were seen and Madam Bones stood.

"Thank you, James, I won't take long. My idea is simple, have Harry open the Chamber of Secrets to let the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures in to slay the beast," she said, looking around the room. It was a good idea, one that if used correctly could help a lot. "It will show that he wants to help."

"I like it," said Wayne Sr., slapping his hand on the table in approval. "But, I don't think we should put Harry in the spotlight like that. I think maybe we should use the mirrors. That way he can open it from the safety of an empty classroom or his bed. Then you can keep his name out of the report and only call him 'a student'."

"No, 'a person'," Lily argued. "Calling them a student will spark the rumors more."

"That's a great idea," said Hannah's mum as she clapped in approval. "If you use the media when you open this… Chamber, then it would go even better. Is your department going to kill or just capture the beast? I'm afraid I don't know much about Basilisks." She was still learning about the Wizarding World her daughter was in. She knew a lot thanks to the Potters and the other Mutineer parents, but there was still so much she didn't know.

"They will try to capture it first, if that doesn't work then they will have to put it down," was Amelia's reply. "Which media do you think we should use? I can get the Wizard Wireless Network to the castle for such a historical event as opening the Chamber of Secrets." She knew the owner and he owed her a favor, being the Head of the Department of Law Enforcement came in handy once in a while.

"I can also be there," offered Xeno, marking something on the pad in front of him. He had come far since the death of his wife, and it was all thanks to the friends he had in this group. "Such an event would sell lots of papers. I can even call it a collector's edition."

"These are all good suggestions," James stated with huge sigh, thankful that they could keep Harry's name out of the press.

"I think we should start selling the book," Lily put her two Knuts worth in. "If we say there are…" she paused to think of a good number, "four authors then that would also keep the limelight off us. Who wants to claim ownership of the book?"

Many raised their hands and a vote was cast, it was decided that no one with political clout would be an author of such a controversial book. So in the end Aric Davis, Wayne Hopkins, Sarita Patil, and Gifford Abbott decided to make the claim. They'd sell the book once the Chamber was open and use the press to push their point. The rest of the night was used to make plans to open the Chamber. They had to act fast, before they could be stopped.

November 8, 1992

It was dinner time at Hogwarts, dessert had just been served, when the door opened and Amelia Bones, Xeno, three goblins, five burly looking men, and twenty Aurors walked in.

Dumbledore rose from his chair and went to greet the group. "Amelia, what a wonderful surprise. What brings you to the castle, my dear?" Albus asked in his ever so kind grandfather voice, the one that put said woman's teeth on edge.

"Didn't you get the memo? We're here to capture the beast in the Chamber of Secrets," she said, lifting an eyebrow.

The students nearby started excited whispers, and soon the whole Hall knew why they were there.

"Yes, I did receive such a memo. However, I sent a missive back stating we had everything under control," the Headmaster stated firmly. He didn't want anyone to take that glory away from Hogwarts.

"Oh, you know how to get into the Chamber without a snake speaker?" Amelia asked in a condescending voice that just dripped with sarcasm.

"Alas, not as of yet," the old man sighed. "Nevertheless, my staff is working on the problem and we expect it to be solved quickly," he offered in a placating tone.

"We have a parselmouth that is willing to help," she said, maybe a little louder than necessary, since her tone carrying across the Hall.

Once again setting the children into an almost frenzy. Though, their voices never carried above a whisper, because they wanted to hear what was being said.

"A parselmouth you say? Amelia, my dear, wherever did you come across someone with such a talent? And one that is willing to help your Department? Such a person would be a treasure to behold, indeed," the Headmaster asked with a lifting of his bushy eyebrows. He was shocked, he knew of no such person, and as such one should not exist, unless they were not from the United Kingdom.

Amelia smirked, Dumbledore played directly into that, there was no way he could back out of his praise now that the whole school heard. Not to mention one of the men behind her was a reporter for WWN. Xeno also stood by, his quill flying across the parchment by his side.

"This person does not wish to be known; therefore I will not be giving his or her name," the Head of the DMLE informed him. She turned to the student body and cast the Sonorus and said, "I need everyone to go to their dorms. We are going to rid the school of the Slytherin monster, but we don't want to take the chance of anyone getting hurt. These Aurors behind me are here to make sure you stay in your dorms. I am sure your headmaster will send your desserts to the common rooms for you to enjoy." She cast the Quietus and then turned back to Albus and raised her eyebrow.

"Prefects take the students to your dormitories. The house elves will bring your desserts," he complied, not seeing any other choice.

The students got up and loudly left the Great Hall and quite a few of the red-robed men and women followed them. The kids were happy that this was going to be taken care of, though they were a little let down that no name was given.

When the Hall was clear of students, Amelia's group and the professors went to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to tend to the monster. There were still a few of her men left. They would be there to prevent the giant snake from getting into the castle.

One of the burly men startled the staff of Hogwarts by saying, "This is it folks, live at Hogwarts, as you heard earlier Madam Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and members of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures are going to open the fabled Chamber, with the help of an unnamed parselmouth. This is history in the making, stay tuned to find out how this momentous occasion unfolds." He spoke into a mic that was pinned to his robe, they hadn't even noticed it.

Dumbledore was about to tell the man he needed to leave, until he realized it was a live broadcast.

Amelia ignored the reporter and pulled out her mirror, set the security and called Harry. When his face, behind a cloth, appeared she warned him not to talk English as she was taking off the security.

Myrtle pointed to the sink that she had seen Ginny disappear down, the same one that had the eyes that killed her. She then dived into her favorite toilet bowl and hid at the u-bend.

Madam Bones shook her head at the ghost's antics and took the mirror to the entrance, undid the security, and pointed it to the snake carved in the sink.

"Open, says me?" came the hiss from the mirror, you could actually hear the question in the phrase.

The sink started to slide apart, it seemed to expand and then fold back away from a deep, dark tunnel. The smell from the slime in the pipe that was exposed was nauseating. Amelia, the goblins, and the four men that weren't reporters, simultaneously cast a cleansing charm down the tunnel. The staff and the remaining Aurors stayed to the back and let the team do all the work. Harry hissed again, and iron stairs appeared.

"Person," she said to the cloth covered face, "I want you to stay at the mirror in case you are needed later." Inside she was smirking at the disgruntled face of Dumbledore. She knew he was upset that he didn't know who was on the other side of the mirror.

"I feel that Severus and I should accompany you down," the Headmaster suggested with a big grin, like he was doing them a favor. "Severus is the Head of Slytherin after all," he said at the other teachers' protest that they should join.

"As long as you stay behind us," one of the burly men said, "I don't get a damn what you do."

"Remain here in case the beast escapes," the Headmaster told his staff, but motioned for the Potions Master to follow.

So Amelia, Dumbledore, Snape, the reporters, and the magical creature men went down the stairs. There were various degrees of awe on their faces. Snape was overjoyed to be in Slytherin's Chamber, though you could only see it in his eyes.

The reporter was giving step by step description, things like 'We are going down a dark and creepy staircase, no light is here, but for our own Lumos' or 'We've come to the bottom of the stairs and there are thousands of skeletons of small animals. No doubt food for the monster we are about to face.' All of this theatrically spoken in a harsh whisper, to make the listeners feel the foreboding atmosphere.

They came upon a set of double doors that wouldn't open, so Amelia held up the mirror to the snakes that lined the door. The people at her back had their wands ready to capture or kill the beast that might be hidden behind these doors. The reporter made sure to state that they would not have made it this far, was it not for the helpful parselmouth. He also promoted the new book release that was scheduled for the next day at 'Pandora's Box' in Diagon Alley.

"Open, says me," came from the mirror.

This hiss caused the snakes to move around the door with hissing of their own. Soon the doors opened with an ominous screech. The adults all slowly crept into the large cavern.

Statues of snakes were everywhere. Water was dripping off the walls, the sound of it echoed throughout the room.

The party spread out and hid behind the statues and pillars that lined the room. It was up to Harry to see if he could control the Basilisk. The goblins and the hunters were ready to slay at a moment's notice. The only noise that could be heard above the dripping water was the reporter's furiously whispering of the events into his mic.

Now this password Harry knew from Sally, who got it from Salazar. The Founder didn't know the passcode of the sink, since it was set after his time. So when Amelia showed him the ugly statue, he hissed, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." The Potter twins had made sure that Sally gave Salazar a hard time over that.

The large snake slithered out and smelled all the prey in its tunnels. It was about to strike when a loud hiss commanded it stop. "Who dares to try and control me?" it said to the unseen voice.

"Sasha, listen to me," Harry hissed using the Basilisk's name. "Salazar spoke to me from the grave. He wants you to go with these men and they will take you somewhere where there is prey. You will no longer have to haunt these tunnels."

"You know my name? Let me see you, so that I may look upon one that was chosen as my Master's voice."

"I cannot, for I am not there. I am only here in voice. I do speak for Salazar; he gave me your name so that you may know this. 'Sasha will listen,' he told me. 'Call her name and tell her that her Master commands she go with this group of slayers.' He does not want to see you dead. Please, close your eyes and coil up so they may transport you. Do this and they will know you comply. Do not and you will be killed." Harry begged the King… err… Queen of Serpents.

The large snake slithered around herself in thought and confusion. She knew well the voice spoke the truth about Salazar. But many of his heirs had also spoken to her, commanding that she killed the impure of the school. She was old and tired, maybe it was time to die. She continued to hiss and argue with herself, causing the team to get agitated.

They readied themselves to cast the charm to call the roosters. The goblins prepared their swords and reflective shields.

Finally the snake coiled upon itself, stilled and closed its eyes. She hid her head within the coils.

One of the wizards peeked around the statue that hid him, and when he saw she complied he took a shrunken metal box out of his robes and placed it on the floor. He cast the spell to enlarge it, keeping an eye on the snake the entire time. When the box was the size of Sasha, he nodded to Amelia and hid back behind the statue. When he was completely hidden she told the person to ask the snake to enter it. He did and the snake obeyed. The box was hauled away.

The rest was anticlimactic.

The reporter for the WWN went around the room and described it to his listeners, once again praising the 'person' who saved the lives of the team sent to capture the basilisk. Reminding them to purchase the new book, 'They're Not All Evil —The True History of Parselmouths'.

Snape looked on in wonder at that marvel of a chamber of one of the Founders. Already thinking of ways it could remain open.

Harry and the Ravenclaw gang, who were with him so that no one could say it was only Harry that was missing, went and joined the rest of the kids for dessert. The Mutineers of every House had hidden away until they got the word to join their House.

In the common rooms of all four Houses, the WWN was playing a blow by blow description of what was happening in the Chamber. Everyone was so enthralled with the reporter's words that they never noticed the group of second and first years that only now just joined them.

Hphphp

The book went on sale the next day, and because of the happenings the previous day at Hogwarts, it was sold out by the end of the day. Xeno spent the night making more.

Older parselmouths, who had remained hidden due to Riddle, came out and praised the book that freed them of the bad history of their talent. They gave interviews about what they did for a living. Most, like those in the book, were potion gatherers or village healers. There were only a few, but it still lent credence to the book and took the pressure off the 'person'.

The curly-haired reporter with the Quick Quote Quill tried to vilify the book as a cover up, but she had lost most of her following because of the lawsuits. She was furious. She had had an article already drawn up to take down the Potters on the hearsay of the students of Hogwarts. Now, because of the Chamber's opening being live, she couldn't use it. She would get them sooner or later, or her name wasn't Rita Skeeter.

Professor Watts had a house elf go and purchase the new book and used it in her class for every year. Once again, going against the Headmasters orders that she not do so.

There were of course those that still held Slytherin as the evil pure-blood that they were raised to believe. Those such as Ron Weasley, Faye Dunbar, and Leanne Jameson would not be swayed that parselmouths were not evil. Faye and Leanne were vocal enough that they were taken from the Mutineers, and they too stopped remembering what the group was about. They teamed up with Ron, Seamus and formed their own small group. No one really paid them any mind.

Hermione was torn. Her group of friends was becoming very divided, and she didn't want to lose any of them. She was going to have to sit back and see how this played out.

Those such as the Malfoys and other Death Eater families would not believe that Slytherin was misunderstood. However, sheep will be sheep and these protesters were the minority.

The Potters once again dodged a bullet and this time their name was nowhere near the ruckus.