Harry set his spoon down as he finished his dessert and caught sight of Ginny's pale face. He wondered if it really was the best thing for her to face the Chamber. He had to admit his own nerves had started up with his exam out of the way.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Dumbledore stood up and smiled benevolently down the length of the table, "thank you all for coming today. This is a special occasion. We all have the honour of descending into Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. Our primary objective today is to recover the basilisk which Harry killed in self-defence when rescuing Miss Weasley. We have the help of our esteemed visitors from Gringotts led by Goblin Master Brimbold. Half of the revenue will be donated to a new trust for the maintenance of Hogwarts including purchase of new teaching equipment, books and supplies; it will be known as the Phoenix Trust and will be administered by the Potter steward. The rest of the revenue will be split in various amounts between all those affected by the basilisk and her master including: the family of Myrtle Bootle, Rubeus Hagrid, Argus Filch, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Penelope Clearwater, Hermione Granger, Ronald and Ginevra Weasley. Oh, and there will be a new perch for Fawkes in recognition of his bravery and assistance in defeating the basilisk along with a small donation to St Mungo's for the on-going care and treatment of Gilderoy Lockhart. On behalf of the school, I would like to thank Harry for his generosity."
There was a small round of applause which had Harry blushing. His discussion with Sirius about how to divide the basilisk revenue had been an interesting one. He had debated endlessly about Fawkes and Lockhart: the former because Harry placed a lot of emphasis on the role the phoenix had played in helping him, and the latter because as much as Lockhart was an obliviating fraud, Lockhart had only been down in the tunnel because Harry and Ron had forced him into it. In essence the trust to the school was recognition of the phoenix's major contribution since Harry couldn't exactly gift the money to Fawkes personally. He'd also debated about the Weasleys since they hadn't been harmed by the basilisk so much as its master; Ginny had been rather silly writing in the diary but then hadn't Harry done the same? And Ron...well, Harry firmly believed that Ron deserved something for braving his demons and going into the forest; for his want to rescue Ginny even if he'd ended up on the wrong side of the cave-in. Still the Weasleys' share was very small compared to those that had been petrified and Harry was content he'd made the right decision to give them something.
"Now, while I'm sure we're all excited about visiting the Chamber," Dumbledore continued, "I must remind everyone that although there is no longer a basilisk protecting it, there may be other dangers. Salazar Slytherin was a very cunning and powerful wizard and it is unlikely that the basilisk was the only protection. We may also come across artefacts from Slytherin and these may also be dangerous. Therefore, our underage students today must remain with an adult at all times, and I would encourage the adults to allow our specialist curse-breakers to lead the way."
Harry glanced at Sirius who gave him an encouraging wink. They had already discussed Harry remaining with Sirius and following the same rules as the expedition to get the ring.
"Well, if we're all done with lunch, may I suggest we make final preparations and gather in ten minutes for Harry to lead us to the Chamber." Dumbledore finished.
There was an immediate scramble for the loo. Before too long Harry found himself in another familiar bathroom.
"You came back!" Myrtle appeared with a splash from a toilet and Harry shot Sirius a 'don't you dare tease me in front of everybody' look.
"I did, Myrtle," Harry said, politely, "we're all going to see the Chamber, do you want to come with us?"
"Oh no!" Myrtle shook her head. "We ghosts can't go down there!"
"Fascinating." Dumbledore murmured behind him.
"A ghost ward of some kind?" Bertie offered as an explanation.
Harry crouched down and set his eyes on the small squiggle that represented a snake. "Open." He hissed.
The sink moved aside just as he remembered and the long steep slide revealed itself.
"Try asking for stairs." Bertie said quickly before Harry could move. "I doubt Slytherin would slide down; far below his dignity."
Harry nodded, closed his eyes to conjure up a picture of a snake in his head and whispered the word 'stairs' in parseltongue.
The whole tunnel shimmered for a second before the top of the pipe was raised and steps appeared, roughly hewn and very steep but there.
"Oh, well done, Harry!" Dumbledore said.
"Right then!" Bill wriggled his way to the front. "Caro and I will go ahead."
"Be careful, William!" Molly called out.
Bill rolled his eyes at Harry as Caro smirked at him. Harry grinned and moved away from the opening. The Treasure Team, Bertie, the Creature Specialist team and most of the Professors all headed down before he and Sirius followed, the lumos spells lighting their way, Remus behind them with Hermione and Molly with Ginny and Ron.
Walking down took a lot longer than sliding and Harry was slightly out of breath by the time they reached the cave-in where Lockhart had tried to obliviate them. Someone had created balls of light that lit up the area, relieving the dark. Most of the group was working to clear the tunnel and shore it up to make it safe.
Harry stayed back to let them work but shivered suddenly as his mind started to churn with the memories of terror and horror and…
Sirius moved closer, wrapping an arm around him. "You OK?" He whispered.
Harry nodded, unable to speak and his eyes sought out Ron and Ginny. They looked as pale and frightened as he felt. Ginny was clinging to her mother; Ron looked milk white under his freckles.
"If you want out at any time, Harry, just say and we'll leave." Remus said quietly.
"It doesn't matter if we have to come back so no worries, alright?" Sirius added, supportively.
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