Author's notes: This chapter is a little graphic and not to mention shorter than most of the others. It's bloodier than anything I know for sure I've ever written before. It's not something I typically write because I'm really not a fighter. I'd prefer not to have confrontation at all, but that doesn't make a good story. So, consider this a moment to stretch my quill and do something to grow as a writer. Also, see if you can find my reference to the musical Newsies.
-S'Eleene Paris
Chapter Eight
Blood Spilt
Once Harry stepped down onto the chamber floor for the second time in his life, he realized how much it was almost a joke that this room was indeed called the Chamber of Secrets. It wasn't much of a secret anymore, even though the room required you to be a parseltounge in order to enter or at least know someone who was.
As he helped the rest of his entourage into the chamber, he took in the musty air and the surroundings. It had not changed much since he had defeated Lord Voldermort in his second year. Granted, this time around the chamber contained a corpse of a giant snake instead of a live one. Harry was relieved this time he didn't have to kill another basilisk and almost killing himself in the process.
"So this is the Chamber of Secrets." Heather began as she glanced around the room taking in the sights. When she caught sight of the snake carcass, she gagged. "I take it that is the basilisk."
Harry turned around once Hermione stepped down off the last rung off the ladder and on to the chamber floor. "Yes. That's the snake."
"Bloody hell, Harry, the snake is huge!" Ron expressed as he went over to it and began examining the creature in detail. Heather galloped over to join him, but before she could make it over to him Ron was hit with a spell. The spell flung him against the giant reptile and was knocked unconscious.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Harry ran over to him. Heather quickly unsheathed her wand and flung a disarming spell in the direction the spell came from, hoping to disarm whoever took the cheep shot as Hermione examined him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Harry asked once he too unsheathed his wand.
"I'm not sure." Hermione began as she took in his graying features.
This angered Harry and Hermione could see the fire beginning to fill in his eyes. He dropped his cane to one side as he joined his sister taking a defensive stance with the intruders. "Come out and show yourselves. Malfoy and MacNeal, I know it's you. Come on out so we can finish this."
Applauding came from behind the statues of the Slytherin house mascots. From behind them, Danielle MacNeal appeared clapping her hands and Draco Malfoy followed behind her, looking rather annoyed with her. "Bravo, Scar head. Bravo! It took you a shorter amount of time than we thought to figure out what we were up to. I applaud you." Danielle teased. "Now if only you could figure out what happened to the tooth you were looking for? It's not as if we didn't know why you were coming down here. Don't think we were going to allow you to get the only thing to destroy the books we have in our possession."
"Oh, good, you're going to make this interesting." Heather voiced while pointing her wand at MacNeal. "I had hoped you would."
"Are you ready to die, Heather?" Danielle smiled at the thought.
"Are you ready to go to hell?" Heather volleyed back, "Because I'm ready to send you there."
"Now, now, Heather, that's not a very nice thing to say coming from a nun." Danielle's eyes twinkled mischievously as she tossed her wand on the ground and pulled out her wakizashi. "I called you out on your honor, Heather. You'd better put down your wand; etiquette after all."
Heather hesitated for only a second before putting down her wand. Her hand dropped to the sheath of her sword and pulled it from where it hung around her waist. The steal hummed with glee as it was pulled out from the darkness and into the light and Heather was determined to allow the sword to be placed back into the darkness properly.
"Let's do this. I'm tired of playing around."
"With pleasure," Danielle bowed slightly as Heather did the same; neither one of them actually wanting to go down all the way in fear of strike from the other. When they ascended, Danielle skimmed the surface of Heather's out stretched blade teasingly.
Heather rolled her eyes at her opponent's opening mock. Having used it often, Danielle was predictable. This would be Heather's advantage. Heather took evasive action as Danielle stepped back and raised her weapon straight above her head. As she came down, she swung a curve and hit Danielle on the side with the sharp edge of the blade. Blood sprayed out and the younger girl squinted in pain. Heather was surprised the girl was still standing and pushed her onto the ground with a swift kick.
Danielle landed on the ground with a thud and Heather calmly walked over to her and stepped on her chest and pointed her sword at the Western House alumni's throat. "You give?"
"Bite me, Heather." Danielle spat.
Heather moved her sword to the girl's small of the neck, "how about now?"
This time Danielle actually spat up at Heather. "I take it that would be a no."
"Go on, Heather, kill me. I know you want to." Danielle taunted as Heather's blade tip grazed her neck. "My death has been on your mind since the moment we met."
"No, it wasn't. You were my friend, remember? How could you betray me?"
"Betray you? How could I betray you?" Danielle squinted. "You betrayed me becoming best friends with a mud blood and a half-breed. That is everything that is wrong with the wizarding world, you know. Magic belongs to those who were born into magical families. Not their bastard children. You know horses, breeding is everything."
"There is one small thing wrong with that theory. I'm not a horse." Heather said as she pressed down hard on the grip of the sword. Blood squirted up and covered Heather's clothes as it hit her carotid artery. Once all the way through her neck, Heather pulled the sword out of the neck of her dead nemesis. Guilt immediately flooded her as she sank to her knees. She shook, filled with grief for what she had done.
Harry had watched up the scene until a spell flashed next to his face. Draco, enraged with the loss of his lover, sent a spell toward Harry in hopes it would have hit the wizard. When it just grazed the air next to his shoulder, he grew irritated. "Come on, Potter! Why don't you just let me kill you?"
"Because I'd rather irritate the shit out of you, really," Harry offered as he pulled out his wand. "Let's get this over with. I'm tired of you ruining my life."
"And how are you going to do that, Crutchy?" Draco offered as he kicked Harry's cane away. As Harry fell to the ground with the sword of Gryffindor landing on his stomach, he continued "It would hardly be an even match, really. I'd kick your arse."
"Well, that would be an accomplishment." Harry offered as he tried to stand up, but his attempts were abolished by Draco having his wand pointed at his throat. "Beating up someone who had a disability is a real honor, Malfoy. What's next? Screaming at a deaf person? Or perhaps showing a blind person a photograph?"
"Shut it you."
"Can I say one last thing before you kill me?"
"What?" the Death Eater grew irritated.
Harry smiled as placed the tip of his blade on Draco's chest, "Expelliarmus!"
Draco flew across the room in one direction and his wand in another. He hit the statue of Salazar Slytherin. As he hit the floor of the chamber, the Basilisk tooth fell out of Draco's robes. Harry slowly hobbled toward him after he picked up his cane, picked the tooth up, and checked to see if his nemesis was still alive. Once he found a pulse, he went to check on Ron. "Is he going to be alright?" He asked Hermione as he crouched down beside her.
"He's going to be fine, but I'm not so sure about Heather." Hermione gestured with her head to where Heather still was on her knees, looking at the body of Danielle MacNeal. Harry cautiously walked over to her to see if she was alright.
Her breath was still heaving when he lay on his hand on her shoulder. She jumped and swung around in defense, allowing the blood to fly off her sword tip. "Whoa, Heather, it's me Harry."
"Harry," She breathed, coming back to her senses. "Oh Merlin, Harry I almost attacked you."
"It's okay." Harry put his hands on his sister's arms. He brought her into his embrace. "It's going to be okay, Heather. It's going to be okay."
Sobbing, Heather melted into his embrace and cried for a few moments until Hermione came over. "Did you check them for the spell books?"
"I haven't checked Danielle yet, but Malfoy is clean." Harry said as he tried to let go of his sister's grip on him, but she wouldn't let go. "Could you check for me, she's not letting go."
Hermione nodded as she bent down to meet her level and began shifting through the various folds of MacNeal's robes. When she began lifting up her shirt, Harry grimaced. "You really don't think she could have hid them there could you?"
"In her bra, it's very possible if she shrunk them." Hermione unclasped the front closing bra and checked the cups. "Nothing there unfortunately which means the only other place the spell books could be is back at Malfoy Manor."
"I was hoping they would have been stupid enough to have the books on them rather than keep them at Malfoy Manor. You remember what happened last time. I'm really not looking forward to a similar situation." Harry sighed as Heather finally let go of her embrace. He turned his attention to her. "Are you going to be okay?"
Heather nodded her head. "There is no way I can go back to the convent now. Killing someone is definitely against the rules. I have no idea what I am going to do now." of her embrace. He turned his attention to her. "Are you going to be okay?"
Heather nodded her head. "There is no way I can go back to the convent now. Killing someone is definitely against the rules. I have no idea what I am going to do now."
"You don't have to." Harry offered her. "For now, just take your time and recover. You don't have to make any decisions until you're ready."
Heather nodded as she took her sword, wiped the blade clean, and placed it back inside the sheath. Harry and she then went back over to the body of Danielle and Heather said a prayer. "I hope you have found the peace you never found in life."
Harry spread his hand out over Danielle's body and summoned her body to float along behind them. Hermione met them over by the entrance with Ron and Draco's lifeless body. "Do you have a full body bind on him, Hermione?"
"Yes, Harry." Hermione replied, annoyed. "I always do."
"Ron, you're awake!" Harry noted as he quickly changed the topic. An annoyed Hermione was not what he needed at the moment.
Ron squinted as he let go of Hermione's hold on him. "I woke up at the worst time ever, though. What the hell did you guys do to them? Are they…" Ron trailed as he glanced over at Danielle's body.
"She is. Malfoy is just knocked out."
"Boy, do I know when to make an entrance." Ron shook his head. "You guys need any help?"
"Not until you've been checked over by Madame Pomfrey." Hermione interjected as she began ascending the ladder. Once they were out of the chamber, they followed the tunnels until they were back where the entrance was. They met Anthony at the bottom of the chute allowing them entrance.
"What happened?" Anthony questioned as approached them when he spotted them.
"Malfoy and MacNeal decided to make our lives a little more complicated." Ron admitted as he stepped out of the way and allowed him to see to the extent of force they had to use.
"Are they dead?"
"MacNeal is. Malfoy is just knocked out." Harry accounted for the second time. "We need to get them back top side so Madame Pomfrey can give everyone a look over."
"I take it you got the tooth back then?"
Hermione pulled the tooth out of her robe. "Here it is."
"That had to be some large snake."
"It was." Harry nodded once Anthony took control over Danielle's corpse. He began transfiguring rocks into a ladder for their exit.
*****
End of Chapter.
2 more chapters to go.