PhoenixSong.net :: A Harry/Ginny Fanfic and Fanart Archive

Author: Arnel

Story: Summer Story

Part: 9: The First Excursion, Part I

Rating: Young Teens

Status: WIP

Reviews: 6

Words: 4,313

Updated: April 27, 2008, 9:15pm

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9: The First Excursion, Part I

Author's Note: The descriptions of the Chamber of Secrets and its contents were taken directly from portions of Chapters 16 and 17 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The anti-gravity mist was first described in Chapter 31 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

It was still dark when Harry knocked quietly at Ron and Hermione's portraits on Sunday morning. He had hardly slept, tossing and turning until the bedcovers were twisted about him. His mind simply refused to settle down enough for him to relax. As a result, he felt a weariness that he hadn't experienced in several weeks and an anxiety that had turned his insides to ice and his knees to jelly. The tiredness he could deal with; he'd had enough experience with that while he waited for Ginny to wake up in March. This anxiety was new, though, and he wondered if Ron and Hermione felt the same way.

A tremendous guilt gnawed at him, too, because he was leaving Ginny behind without talking to her after the meeting with Professor Dumbledore. She had not responded to his knocks on her portrait when he, Ron and Hermione returned to their suites at nearly midnight. Harry hoped her silence merely indicated she had gone to bed. Now they were leaving before dawn and probably wouldn't be back until very late.

He went back into his sitting room and sat at the desk to write Ginny a note. The wording had to be vague, he knew, but it still needed to give her a sense of where they were going. Finally, he put quill to parchment.

Dear Ginny,

Ron, Hermione and I will be gone exploring the castle all day. Our starting point is the second floor and hopefully, we should come back that way.

Please don't wait up for us if it gets too late. We have instructions to go directly to Professor Dumbledore's office when we get back. I'll come find you when we're done.

Harry

Sighing, Harry slipped the note under Ginny's portrait door just as Ron emerged from his suite, carrying a small pack and looking just as tired as Harry felt. Hermione tapped Harry on the shoulder a moment later, making him jump.

"Sorry, Harry. I'm a bit nervous," she said in a low voice. She hitched her bum bag a little higher on her hips and smiled tightly at him and Ron.

"I left a note for Ginny," Harry said, glancing at Ron.

"Thanks. I'm sure she'll be angry that we left her behind, but what can we do?" Ron asked.

Hermione laid a hand on Ron's arm. "She'll be all right with it, won't she, Harry?"

"Yeah, we've talked a little about what I have to do because of the Prophecy and I think she understands," he said, glancing past the statue of Beaumont Marjoribanks at Ginny's door. "Well, let's go, then."

The other two nodded and they began their trek to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor, Hermione quietly listing all the things she had in her bag, including several potions she'd managed to wheedle out of Madam Pomfrey just in case. Harry barely listened; he was concentrating on storing up confidence to face the unknown terrors they might encounter during their search.

The bathroom hadn't changed since the night of Ginny's rescue from the Chamber of Secrets; not the damp floor, or the guttering candles. The spotted mirror and the chipped sink reminded him vividly of the night he had first entered the chamber. The door to Myrtle's cubicle lay on the floor next to the wall where it seemed to have fallen, and the ghost herself sat in the cistern of the toilet. She perked up at the sight of the trio.

"Visitors! In the summer, too!" Moaning Myrtle chortled. Her face fell at the sight of their jeans, t-shirts, boots and packs. "Where... where do you think you're going?"

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione before answering. "Down into the Chamber of Secrets, Myrtle."

"Whatever for?" she asked.

"There's something down there that Professor Dumbledore needs," Hermione said, "and he's asked us to retrieve it for him."

"Oh," Myrtle said, sinking down into her U-bend. "I'll be glad to show you what fun it is to float through walls, should you die down there."

Harry shuddered, but didn't respond. Instead, he turned towards the last sink and commanded the tap to open in Parseltongue. As soon as the pipe was revealed, he looked at Ron and Hermione who were now standing quite close together. "Ready to get dirty?" he asked with more bravado than he felt. He stuck his leg into the pipe.

"Wait, Harry," Hermione said, stepping forward. She drew three burlap sacks from her bag. "Sit on this to cushion your landing."

Ron winked at Harry as Hermione placed a sack on the edge of the pipe. Harry thanked her, lowered himself onto the sack and shoved off. The slide was just as fast and twisting as he remembered it and he could hear Hermione's shrieks as he descended below the school. Happily, the sack did cushion his landing when he reached the bottom and landed in a slimy puddle. Harry quickly scrambled out of the way as Ron and Hermione came shooting out of the pipe together on the same sack.

The three left the sacks at the bottom of the pipe, and lighting their wands, began the trek down the tunnel. They passed the basilisk skin, Hermione stopping briefly to examine it. At the rock fall, they worked carefully to enlarge the hole Ron had made four years previously before they clambered through, the boys retelling the story of Lockhart's demise as they went.

They reached the solid wall concealing the entrance to the Chamber faster than Harry remembered doing last time. "Stand back," he said. "I need to concentrate."

Ron and Hermione did so and Harry concentrated on believing the two carved snakes with emerald eyes were real, live guardians of the cavern on the other side. The Parseltongue phrase came easily and the three held their illuminated wands high overhead as they crossed the threshold into the Chamber of Secrets, Harry in the lead.

Behind him, Ron and Hermione stopped and gaped in awe at the enormity of the room in front of them. "Blimey, it's huge!" Ron exclaimed, his voice echoing several times over. "You said it was large, Harry, but I never dreamt it was this big!"

Hermione walked up to Harry and held out something. "You might want to use this," she said, lighting a powerful Muggle torch. "I charmed it to work without batteries."

"Thanks, Hermione." Harry took it, somewhat distracted by the disturbing recollections that were churning up from the depths of his memory, and played the beam over the walls, highlighting the serpentine columns and finally bringing it down on to the floor. The last time he had been here, the stone had been smooth but dusty. With no Basilisk to keep debris at bay, four years of rubble and dirt littered the floor, including a half dozen shiny, round rocks.

Harry began walking towards the back of the room, Ron and Hermione following and conversing in whispers. He stopped about three-quarters of the way down the room and turned towards his friends.

"Yes, Harry?"

In answer, Harry played the torch along one of the side walls revealing a gruesome splattering of a dark substance that could only be blood. He lowered the beam and it fell on the massive head of the Basilisk skeleton lying on the floor between two columns in a pool of dried blood. More blood was spattered in a circular pattern around the body.

"Oi, Harry! You fought that in second year?" Ron's voice squeaked on the last two words. Hermione giggled nervously.

"Yeah. Though Fawkes helped me. I think the fang is still on the floor somewhere," Harry said, walking closer to the dead snake and peering over the body. "Here it is." He hesitated as his torch revealed a large dark stain on the floor where the ink had poured from Tom Riddle's diary. Not knowing why he didn't want Ron to see the stain he said, "Er... Ron, don't come over here. I'll just... get the fang myself."

There was curiosity mixed with confusion in Ron's voice as he asked, "Wha... Why do you want it?"

Harry shrugged. "Souvenir?" He pocketed the fang and turned towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin, which he could just barely discern in the gloom.

"Hold on, Harry," Hermione said. "Let's gather everything we can carry and leave it by the door."

"Huh? Why?"

Hermione pointed at the ink puddle. "Oh, don't be so dense, Ron. If Harry's fang could do that to the diary, might the other teeth be easy to take along on other searchesmaybe the other teeth would be good to take along while we're searching for the rest of the Horcruxes?" She walked over to the huge head and peered at it closely. "Madam Pomfrey wants the skin and ribs for potions ingredients."

Harry stared at Hermione, his eyes wide. "You told Madam Pomfrey where we were going?" he managed to squeak.

Hermione scowled at him as she said icily, "No, Harry, I didn't. Professor Dumbledore did. He wanted her to be ready for us if we needed her. That's why she gave me all those potions I showed you. I said I'd try to get some ingredients for her in exchange." She pulled her dragon hide gloves from her bag and put them on. Five minutes later they had a sizable pile of fangs waiting by the entrance along with several ribs and four large intact sections of Basilisk skin.

Harry consulted his watch. They had been under the school nearly an hour and still had yet to get to the statue. As he turned to lead the way, Ron held out his hand for the torch. "I'd like to go first," he said quietly. "I want to see where..." He stopped, unable to go on.

"... Where Riddle took Ginny," Harry finished for him. He gave Ron the torch and told him to lead the way.

"That was really nice, Harry," Hermione whispered as they followed Ron.

"He got cheated last time," Harry commented. He couldn't say more over the lump in his throat.

They stopped at the foot of the huge statue of Salazar Slytherin and Ron shone the light at its feet for a full minute before casting its beam upwards towards the ceiling.

"The mouth is still open," Hermione said, pointing to the gaping hole in the statue's face. "What luck!"

"How are we going to get way up there?" Ron asked.

Hermione harrumphed and reached into her pack again. She pulled out a miniature grappling hook, a coil of rope and a bottle marked "Enlarging Solution" and handed the rope and hook to Ron.

"Hold this," she commanded. She poured a drop of the solution onto the rope and one on the hook. There was a puff of smoke and a loud clang as Ron dropped the heavy hook onto the floor. Hermione smiled smugly at the two boys as she put the bottle back in her bag.

"Brilliant, Hermione," Ron exclaimed, carefully coiling the rope and setting it beside the hook. With his wand, he began levitating it upwards and into the statue's mouth. When it had settled with a distant clang inside the opening, he tugged on it to see if it would catch on anything. The hook came flying out. It hit the floor, gauging an inch-deep hole in the rock.

It took them three more tries before the hook finally caught on something securely enough to bear their weight.

"I'll go first," Hermione volunteered.

Harry shook his head. "No, I'll go first. Your levitation spells are better than mine. Ron and I know you can catch us if we fall." And before she could protest, Harry put on his own gloves and began the ascent.

It was hard going; Harry wished mightily for a Muggle climbing harness, but they hadn't thought to bring one. As it was, his arms began burning with the effort half way up the statue, but he dug down and found the energy to climb the last fifteen feet. He scrambled over the lip of the mouth; Hermione came up next with Ron bringing up the rear. He coiled the rope and placed it just inside the statue's lips. They rested for a few minutes, taking stock of their surroundings.

They were in a narrow tunnel that led far into the rock. It was tall enough to stand in, with roughly hewn walls and a smooth, but dusty floor. Where the walls met the floor lay a continuous pile of tiny skeletons and a few more of the curiously shiny, round rocks; the centre of the tunnel was free of debris.

Once his arms stopped shaking, Harry asked, "Shall we?"

Ron and Hermione nodded and the three of them got to their feet. Again, Harry took the lead. They followed the tunnel straight back for some fifty feet before they came to a faintly glowing golden mist. If Harry hadn't been shining the torch on the walls and ceiling, he would have never seen it.

"What's that?" Ron hissed from his place behind Hermione.

"I think it might be something I encountered during the Triwizard Tournament," Harry said, taking a step forward to peer at the mist.

"What does it do?" Hermione asked.

"It turns the world upside down," Harry answered with a shudder. He was not looking forward to going through the mist again.

"That doesn't sound too scary," Hermione said. "I'll go through first."

"No, I'll go," Ron said, stepping forward.

"Oh, stop trying to show how tough you are," she shot back at him.

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but Harry cut him off. "Look. I've been through this thing. It's no big deal. Just watch what I do." He gave Hermione the torch.

She scowled but said nothing. Ron crossed his arms saying, "Go on, then."

Ignoring his friends, Harry stepped forward into the golden mist. Immediately, the world turned upside down as it had in the maze; the smooth floor of the tunnel had become the ceiling, onto which his feet were glued. Just like last time, his glasses slipped off his nose and dangled by one ear piece and his hair stood on end. Panic threatened to overtake him as he wondered how big a knot he would have on his head if he banged it against the rough rock he was hanging over. He hoped Hermione had something in her bag to heal bumps and bruises. Cautiously, he extended his hand over his head. Touching the rough rock helped to bring things into perspective. He closed his eyes and taking a deep, calming breath, he wrenched his left foot away from the stone ceiling. The world righted itself and Harry sank to his knees for a moment to clear his head before walking a little further down the passage to give Ron and Hermione room.

"That was weird!" Ron exclaimed as he and Hermione joined Harry a few minutes later.

"I thought that, and more, fourth year," Harry commented as they moved further into the tunnel. He stopped suddenly, listening. "Do you hear that?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and shook their heads. "No. Let's just keep going."

Harry flicked the torchlight over the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Nothing. "I must be imagining things," he muttered.

They continued on down the tunnel, all three now alert to any danger that might be lurking ahead. Suddenly, Hermione sucked in her breath and pointed to the ceiling. Ron and Harry followed her finger and Harry heard the rush of air before he saw the eyes peering at him from overhead. Ron pointed to Harry's torch and they all drew their wands as he slowly passed the beam of light across the rock. The eyes disappeared and reappeared in another place just outside the circle of light. A creepy feeling came over Harry as he found not one but dozens of small, perfectly round holes bored in the ceiling. He shone the torch into one of them, but could not see a thing. Instead, he felt a rush of air.

"See anything?" Ron asked.

"Nothing. Must be an air shaft of some sort," Harry said. He took a step forward, but went no further as the air was rent by a shrill scream.

Out of one of the shafts swooped a snake-like winged creature with two legs and lots of needle-sharp teeth. It dove at Harry, snapping its jaws and causing him to duck. Hermione screamed as it flew at her face and Ron aimed a spell over her shoulder at it. The spell ricocheted off the tunnel wall, nearly hitting Harry.

"What is that thing?" he yelled as the creature's ten-foot long tail whipped past his head. "It's huge!" He cast a freezing charm that worked only long enough for Hermione to answer.

"I think it's an Occamy."

"They're not native to Britain, are they?" Harry called as the Occamy shook off the spell, circled and came at Ron from behind.

"No, India," Hermione answered for him. "How did you know that?"

"Defence, I think. Maybe Hagrid's class."

"What do they eat? Ears?" Ron yelled as the Occamy swooped at his head, leaving long, deep gashes near his ears with its clawed toes. He threw up his hands and managed to bat the serpent-like creature away, adding a few new gashes to the scars on his arms.

"No, rats. Look at the bones on the floor! Ron, stop that! It's coming at me again!" Hermione shrieked. She aimed her wand at the creature and fired a spell that went wide as the Occamy deftly flew past it.

Harry aimed his wand at the Occamy, but thought better of it as the creature wielded around and began chasing him. He whirled and aimed a Stunning spell at the place he thought the Occamy would be in a few seconds. The creature saw the spell coming and dodged it, hissing and spitting. Enraged, it dove at Harry, its jaws wide. He ducked and sent a stinging hex at it which struck its nose, but impeded its progress for only a second.

"Aim for its underbelly!" Harry yelled, now backing up and taking aim again as the Occamy herded them a little further up the tunnel. He bumped into Hermione and his next spell went wide, ricocheted off the jagged ceiling and came hurtling towards them. The Occamy let out a shrill scream and redoubled its efforts to get at them.

Hermione pushed Harry aside, knelt and fired several spells in rapid succession as Ron threw a Shield around them. The spells missed, but Ron's shield kept the creature from coming any closer. Hissing, the Occamy darted back the way it had come; it came at them again, flying low to the ground in a zigzag pattern this time.

"This thing's impossible to hit!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry asked the first thing that popped into his head. "Do you think it might be defending something? Like a nest?"

"Or a Horcrux?" Ron suggested.

"Who knows," Hermione said as magical ropes flew out of her wand and missed the dodging Occamy. "But I think it's herding us away from that air shaft. Look out, Harry!"

The Occamy was attacking again. Harry dove to the side to avoid it and felt his elbow connect with the wall of the tunnel. He dropped his torch. It went out, plunging the tunnel into darkness. As it clattered away, he landed on the piles of animal bones with a sickening crunch and skidded along the smooth floor on his backside.

He swore, then yelled at Hermione, "What are you trying to do?"

"Tie it up!" she answered, illuminating her wand.

Harry watched as the Occamy flew towards the ceiling, passing Ron and Hermione overhead and diving at them from behind, its angry scream rending the air. Harry aimed again and managed to break the Occamy's wing, spraying the floor of the tunnel with its blood. It flew erratically, pushing them towards the mouth of the tunnel again. Ron and Hermione jumped over Harry in their haste to find a way to trap the creature.

"Group Stunners!" Ron suggested as Harry scrambled to his feet. "On my count. One, two, three!"

This strategy worked only minimally; the Occamy froze in mid-air when the three spells hit its body. Then, hissing and spitting, it plummeted to the ground, landing on its spindly legs. It ran towards Harry, separating him from Ron and Hermione, snapping at his feet, its tail whipping wildly from side to side and preventing them from following too closely. Harry tried a repelling charm, but the Occamy pushed against it with its own magic, forcing him back towards the mist. He felt the tunnel wall curve and knew they didn't have very far to go.

"The mist! We're trapped," Harry called to his friends as Hermione directed another spell at the wounded Occamy.

Her aim was true. "Got it," she cried triumphantly as the Occamy finally tumbled over, its tail twitching. It did not get up. Her triumph was short lived, though, because the spell, which had hit the tunnel wall as well as the Occamy, bounced wildly back at them.

"Run!" she shouted, pointing back up the tunnel. All three raced back towards the golden mist, Harry leading the way, all the while hoping the curve of the walls would somehow prevent the spell from finding a target.

As he rounded the bend, Hermione suddenly cried out behind him. Harry tried to stop but was instantly jerked upside down; he'd run into the mist again. From where he hung, he watched in horror as Ron stopped, grabbed the torch from where it lay amongst the animal bones and sprinted back down the tunnel towards Hermione. Guilt-ridden, Harry listened to their conversation, helpless to do anything but deal with the mist's disorienting power.

Ron spoke first. "Hermione, Hermione! What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Foot slipped... tripped over something... something round and slick..." Hermione choked between sobs. "Tried to catch myself... I think my wrist is broken."

Harry's stomach clenched. Hermione was hurt and it was entirely his fault. He shouldn't have asked his friends to come with him! Now Hermione was hurt and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Angrily Harry wrenched his foot away from the floor as Ron said, "I'll try. But I've never done it before. Ginny always cast the spell for us." He paused and Harry fell forward onto all fours. He heard the fear in Ron's voice he asked, "Ready? Episkey!"

Harry stood up, his head still spinning, and jogged over to where Ron was sitting on the floor of the tunnel with Hermione who was leaning against the wall surrounded by scattered animal bones. The torch, Harry was happy to see, was still providing the needed light.

"It didn't work, Ron," Hermione wailed, cradling her left arm. She bit her lip as tears coursed silently down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron said, looking miserable. "I don't want to try again and end up hurting you more. I told you I wasn't Madam Pomfrey!" He raised his eyes to Harry as he knelt beside them. "Any suggestions?"

Terrified that anything he recommended would hurt Hermione further, Harry suggested, "Let's just splint it like Lupin did your leg that time in the Shrieking Shack, Ron." To Hermione he asked, "Do you have anything with you for pain?"

She squirmed a little and unhooked her bum bag, handing it to Harry. "Madam Pomfrey gave me some vials of pain potion. I think they're in the larger compartment," she said tearfully.

Harry rummaged through the bag and found one of the familiar vials. He popped the cork and handed it to Hermione who gulped it down. A minute later, the pained expression left her face.

"How are you feeling?" Ron asked, shoving aside a pile of bones and little round rocks and putting his arm comfortingly around Hermione.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Better, but it won't last. Harry, could you splint my arm for me?"

Touched by her confidence in him, he performed the spell. Seconds later, Hermione's wrist was neatly immobilized. "Thank you, Harry. It feels much better already."

He gazed at her as he asked, "What do we do now? Hermione, it's your call."

She wiped her eyes on the handkerchief Ron had given her. "I can go on," she said bravely. "I want to finish this."

Harry and Ron both nodded in silent agreement. "We'll go whenever you're ready, then," Harry told her and a few minutes later he and Ron helped her up and they headed further into the tunnel, Ron's arm still around Hermione.

A/N: Many thanks to my beta Aggiebell for taking the time out of her busy life to make sure I've dotted my I's and crossed my T's and put my commas where they should be.

I hope you've enjoyed this first part of the trio's excursion. Chapter ten is a continuation of their adventure, so it will be a "Harry" chapter instead of one from Ginny's point of view. I also hope you will take the time to review the chapter. I always write back, so you'll get feedback too.

Beta's Note: The delay in posting this chapter was entirely my fault (although I suppose I could also blame my computer, which appears to have eaten my original beta file for this chapter). Any pitchfork-waving mobs should come see me, not poor Arnel. :)

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