Chapter 1: What's in the Walls?

This is a work of fanfiction. I don't own anything you recognize. I got this off a prompt from Reddit.

I thank you in advance for any reviews.

There are a lot of f-bombs in this fic. You have been warned. The basilisk cusses like a sailor.

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It was Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts, and everything was going great. He was on the quidditch team, and they were having a good time practicing. Well, they could do without the extreme weather.

But Wood was just that type of captain. He was just so obsessed with the game and making this year his year. That and he wanted to get noticed by any scouts. He was determined to get picked by a professional team before he graduated in two years.

Harry had just got through talking to Nearly Headless Nick about his Death Day Party and was headed back to the dorms when he heard, "Merlin dammit," and a loud bang on the wall. The portraits shook and there was some more cussing and then the sound of scales on stone and then nothing.

"What?" he said to no one as he looked around the empty hall. "Who said that?" he asked the air. He was well and truly frightened. He kept looking over his shoulder as he made his way to the Gryffindor common room. "I just heard the weirdest thing," he told Ron as he sat next to him on one of the sofas.

"What?" the redhead asked as he put down the Chocolate Frog Card that he was examining. It wasn't one that he wanted anyway. He had loads of them, but he was missing only a few. This one was Dumbledore and he had three of him.

"There was something in the walls," Harry said, describing what he heard. "It was creepy, let me tell you," he added, keeping his voice down.

"Really?" Ron said, looking at Hermione who was paying attention. It wasn't often that something spooked Harry.

"You say no one was about?" she asked, putting down her book. She pulled out some parchment and a quill. "Did you hear anything else?" she inquired, ready to take notes.

"Just some slithering noises," Harry said, not sure what to make of that. It sounded huge, but snakes didn't get that big. Did they?

"Interesting," she said, jotting that down and then storing it away. "Let me know if it happens again," she demanded, in her bossy way.

"Sure," the dark-haired teen said, ready, willing, and able to let her do the research. He was not the studious type. He'd rather play quidditch. "So, Nearly Headless Nick has invited me to his Death Day Party, want to come with?" he asked, looking at them hopefully. He really didn't want to go it alone.

"Oh, that does sound interesting," Hermione said, immediately. "It'll be ever so exciting," she added, bouncing in her seat.

"Will there be food?" Ron asked, getting to the important question. He'd be missing the feast after all. He had his priorities.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I guess. It's a party," Harry said, shrugging his shoulder.

"Really, Ron, it'll be quite an experience," their bushy-haired friend said, giving them a look that said they would enjoy their time there or else. The two boys shared a look and shrugged. They weren't ones to argue.

Halloween came and the trio went to the cellar, where the party was being held and were dismayed that there was food, but it was all completely rotten and decayed. It was cold down there and the group of friends were not having a good time. The dead didn't want the living there, and the living were uncomfortable, so it was mutual.

They stuck it out for Nick's sake and left when it was polite enough to do so. On their way back to the Great Hall so Ron could eat, they ran into a crime scene. Mrs. Norris was hanging from a candle sconce. She had been petrified. At least they hoped she was. There was writing on the wall that said:

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

"What is the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked, stepping away from the water on the floor.

"I don't know," Hermione said, frustratingly. She hated not knowing something.

"We'd better leave," Ron said, turning to do just that. However, they could hear a large group of people coming in their direction. They had just turned to go back the way they had come when students and staff came pouring into the hall from the direction of the Great Hall.

Chaos ensued and somehow Harry was implicated in the whole thing. Damn Dumbledore for singling him and his friends out. The questioning took some time and, on their way, back to the common room, Harry heard the voice again.

"Mother fucking dammit," he heard along with a pounding noise as something ran into the walls. "That fucking hurts," the hissing stated as the walls rattled again.

"What?" Harry said, spinning around, making Ron and Hermione stare at him.

"No one said anything," Hermione said, looking around the hall.

"Shhh," Harry said, cocking his head to the side.

There was some thumping and the armored suits that lined the walls all looked at the walls like they were haunted. They all stepped from their pedestals and armed themselves.

"I don't need this shite," the hissing continued. "I'm so damned hungry," it said as it moved further away. "I could eat a fucking hippogriff right now," it said, its voice getting dimmer. "And I hate hippogriffs…" the voice trailed off.

"Hello," Harry said, running to the wall and banging on it, but he was too late, whatever it was, was gone.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron asked, looking at his friend queerly.

"There is something in the walls," the other boy said, looking at the wall like it would open up and let him in. "It's got a potty mouth," he added as an afterthought.

"I didn't hear anything," Hermione said, looking around for anything out of place. She did note the strange behavior of the armor. So, there must be something to what her friend was saying, but she hadn't heard anything.

"Maybe the clanking of the armor covered it up, but there was something speaking in the walls," Harry insisted, pressing his ear to the stone to see if he could hear more. Nothing. He hit the stones again, coming back with a red hand for his efforts.

"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore," Hermione suggested, making a mental note to jot all this down when she got to her room, and moving to go back the way they came. That was the last place they had seen the man.

"And tell him what? That Harry is hearing something that neither of us are?" Ron questioned. "I don't want him to implicate Harry any further. He already did that by holding us back like he did," he said, very miffed over that.

"Whatever," their bushy-haired friend said, folding her arms. "What do you think we should do?" she asked, turning, and starting back to the dorms. She was going to be researching this deeply.

"Leave it for now," he suggested, following her and Harry. "We'll just keep track of it, and make sure that it doesn't hurt Harry," he said, worried that it was after his friend.

The next morning, they found out that Mrs. Norris was fine. It seemed that whatever had petrified her wasn't that strong and it had worn off. The fear that had run through the school the night before was weakened. Everyone was now talking about how Harry was not all that bad. How it was just a prank and not something nefarious. Even the Weasley twins were ribbing him.

A few days later, Harry was walking to his Transfiguration class when he heard the voice again. The hall was full of students and none of them heard it.

"Shite. I can't see a fucking thing," it hissed, as a loud bang was heard, and the stones rattled once again. "It's darker than Salazar's magic in here," it hissed. "Goddamn bastard, leaving me here alone all these years," it said, bumping into the wall again. "I should have bitten his dick off," it whinged. A particularly loud smashing sound came from the walls as the creature slammed into them full force.

The portraits all started protesting and started running from their frames. That caused the students to stop and take in what was happening. They noted the painted people running scared and started doing the same. Some started screaming, though they didn't know what they were scared of.

Harry was standing there listening to it, and wondering what it was. his head was tilted to the side, and he was staring at the wall where he heard the voice.

Ron was staring at Harry confused as to what Harry was looking at.

"Dammit," the voice said, running into the wall again, making it vibrate with extreme force. "How do I get the bloody hell out of here?" it said, hitting the walls as if it was trying to turn around in a too small space. "That little girl is going to pay. I'm going to bite her fucking head off and piss in it," it hissed, finally starting to move again. This time the ceiling started buckling and bits of dust started raining down as if the thing had banged its head on the roof.

"Stop," Harry hissed, not realizing he was doing that. He ran to the wall again, but again he was too late. "Shite," he said, slamming his hand on the stone and then turned around and saw Ron looking at him funny. "What?" he asked, irritated that he hadn't stopped whatever was in the walls.

"You hissed," the redhead accused, pointing a finger at him.

"I what?" he asked, like the other boy was speaking a foreign language.

"You spoke parseltongue," Ron tried again.

"What's that when its at home?" Harry asked, searching Ron's face, and not liking what he was seeing.

"You can speak to snakes," Ron finally got to the point.

"Can't everyone?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. "I mean, I thought it was a wizarding thing," he said, wondering why his friend seemed so upset.

"No," the redhead said, vehemently. "Only dark wizards speak to snakes."

"Oi!" Harry protested, "I am not a dark wizard! I thought you knew me better than that."

"I thought I did too," the other boy said, rubbing the side of his nose. He looked conflicted.

"I like that," Harry said, folding his arms. Then he had an epiphany. "Do you reckon what's in the walls is a snake?" he asked, getting excited. "That would explain why no one else can hear it," he added, forgetting that he was mad at his friend. This was great news. That meant they had something they could take to Dumbledore.

"I reckon so," Ron said, still a bit mutinous. He was unsure if he wanted to be associated with a parselmouth.

"Let's go find Dumbledore," Harry said, running off to do just that. They went to the headmaster's office, they got stuck at the gargoyles, and started calling out every candy they could think of, only to stop when McGonagall came up to them.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her lips pursed. She was standing there looking at them imperiously.

"I need to speak to the headmaster," Harry said, urgency in his tone. "It's important."

"Whatever for?" she asked, this time there was doubt in her voice.

"There's something in the walls, and I know what it is," the preteen said, leaning from one foot to another in an agitated way.

"There is little that goes on in this school that the headmaster does not know about. Move along and tend to your business and let the headmaster tend to his," she said with a sniff. She shooed them away from the gargoyles, much to their protest.

Ron and Harry moved off and headed to their dorms. "Just like last year," Harry said, glaring back over his shoulder. "I can't believe she didn't listen to me," he groused, slumping as he walked. "Dumbledore didn't know about Quirrell did he?" he grumbled under his breath.

"Look, Harry," Ron said, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry I got tetchy about you being a parselmouth. It's just that… Well, I just… Anyway, don't tell anyone. Not even Hermione," he said, stopping Harry and dragging him to an alcove so they couldn't be seen or overheard.

"If everyone reacts the way you did, you bet I'm going to keep it a secret. But what do we do about the snake in the walls?" Harry asked, looking at the stone walls like a giant snake was going to pop out any moment.

"I figure you can try to talk to it. You know, in an out of the way place. See what it wants, or something," Ron suggested as he started walking again.

"I guess," Harry said as he followed. They walked in silence as Harry pondered how he'd do that.

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Time went on and Harry continued to hear the voice. It got funnier and funnier the more he listened to it. That was until Michael Corner got petrified. Harry came upon him right after it happened, and he chased down the snake. It was slithering right in front of him.

"Dammit, that bloody boy came out of nowhere," it hissed, bumping into a wall, and careening off to the side. "I was supposed to get a bloody muggleborn. But how am I supposed to know who the fuck is muggleborn and who the fuck isn't? They all fucking look alike to me." It hit its head on the ceiling as it took a corner and cussed some more.

"Stop," Harry said, but it kept on going. He was running as fast as he could, but even as blind as the snake seemed to be, it was faster. It slid into a bathroom, and he lost track of it from there. Now at least he had a starting point.

He went back to Michael and waited for someone to come. He would let them know he saw a giant snake and which direction it went, but nothing more.

"What happened here, Mr. Potter?" Professor Flitwick asked as he came running up, having been alerted by the ghosts.

"A giant snake got him," Harry said, pointing in the direction the snake went. "It went that way."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," the tiny professor said, lifting Corner with a spell and taking him to the Hospital Wing. An hour later, the teen was fine.

"Son of a bitch, my gaze sucks niffler shite," Harry heard in the walls. It sounded like the voice was whinging. He followed it without looking like he was. The halls were full of students. "I can't even fucking kill the little bastards anymore," it sniffled, moving slowly through whatever it was using to navigate through the school. Pipes maybe. "Why am I even still hanging around this great pile of stones?"

Finally, they got to a deserted area. "Why are you attacking the students in the first place?" was Harry's first question.

"Who the hell are you?" the snake asked, thumping into the wall, startled from being addressed in its own tongue. "How the bloody hell can you speak to me?"

"I don't know how I can talk to you, but I'm glad I can. You seemed depressed," he said, settling down by the wall and keeping his tone neutral.

"You'd be fucking depressed too if you were stuck in that fucking chamber for over a thousand years. Only to be let out by raging psychopaths that are hell bent on world domination," the snake said, fury in its tone. "They don't even fucking feed me any decent food. Do I look like I can be sustained on fucking rats and rabbits?" it asked, like Harry could see how big it was.

Harry did remember how big it was from when he chased it, and it was huge. "I'd give you a cow," he said, trying to appease it.

"I'd prefer an Acromantula," it said, a dreamy quality came to its voice.

"What's an Acromantula?" the preteen asked, not having heard of that creature.

"They are giant spiders. There's a colony of them in the Forbidden Forest. I can smell them. However, the last of the bastard world dominating mother fuckers that came to the chamber, collapsed the tunnel that leads to the forest," it said, slamming its body into the wall in frustration this time and making the whole room that Harry was sitting in shake.

"Do you remember his name?" Harry asked, wondering if it was Voldemort.

"That tiny-pricked bastard's name was Tom Riddle, but he fancied the name Lord Voldemort," the snake said, a sneer dominating its tone. "Stupid made-up name, for a stupid boy," it added, bitterness laced its tone.

"I knew it," the human said, banging his head against the wall. If only the adults would listen to him. "Look, is there anything I can do for you? I hate that you are unhappy," he asked, wanting to help as much as possible.

"Come to the Chamber of Secrets and dig out the fucking tunnel to the forest," it suggested. "I am so hungry. I would be more pleasant to be around if I wasn't starving to death."

"Will you kill me if I do?" he asked, wondering if it even could since it was whinging about that earlier.

"I don't think I bloody well can. My life is shite," it whinged, confirming the preteen's thoughts.

"Then I'll come now," Harry said, since he had time. It was Friday evening. There was no class tomorrow and curfew was late tonight. He got up and went to the bathroom where he knew the entrance was. "Where is the entrance?" he asked the wall, knowing the snake had followed him there.

A ghost came out and said, "Why are you hissing at the wall?"

She was a pudgy girl of a ghost, wearing old-fashioned Ravenclaw robes. She had horn-rimmed glasses and long hair done up in pigtails.

"I'm trying to find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets," he answered honestly.

Suddenly there was a banging on one of the sinks. It was one that was out of order.

The ghost let out a high-pitched wail and dived into a toilet.

Harry went to the sink and noted the picture of a snake.

"Say, 'open'," the snake hissed.

So, he did.

The many basined sink split apart and there was a tunnel in the middle. There was the sound of grinding stone as the tunnel was exposed. In that tunnel was a large snake. It came partially out and sat there looking at Harry. It was squinting. Its' yellow eyes were barely seen, it was squinting so hard.

"Show me where you need me," Harry said, trying to get a move on.

"Get on my back. It will be faster," it said, for once not cussing.

So, Harry climbed up and held on to the weird, feathered crown it had on the top of its head. They moved lightning fast, though they did seem to bump into many walls, and were soon at the collapsed tunnel.

"I only know the levitation charm, so this might take a while," Harry warned, taking his wand out and starting with the top rock and moving it to the side.

"As long as you make a space big enough for me to get out, I don't care," it said, curling up and watching him.

"Tell me some stories from a thousand years ago," Harry requested, not wanting to work in silence.

So, the snake told him about Salazar Slytherin and how he had hatched her from a chicken egg and a toad. How he raised her here in this chamber and told her to protect the school from the muggles. How he left the school after a fight with the other Founders. She went into hibernation, but his descendants found her and made her do evil things. They would come often at first, then rarer as time went on, until plumbing was installed. Then the chamber was all but forgotten, until Tom Riddle found it and made her do bad things again. Then this year he was possessing a girl, who came and ordered him around.

"What does this girl look like?" Harry asked, his hole was looking pretty large by now.

"Shorter than you. Red hair. She wears robes like yours," was the answer. "She holds a book when she comes down. I think that is what is possessing her," the snake added.

"I've been meaning to ask you, what type of snake are you? I've never seen one get as large as you," Harry said, moving the final rock out of the way. He could feel the cool air coming from the forest.

"I am a basilisk. I am the deadliest snake in the world," the very elderly snake said, puffing up proudly. "Or I was," it said, deflating. "My eyesight has gone, you see. I can't see more than a foot in front of me," it complained. "That's why no one is dead."

"I know the feeling well," Harry commiserated. "If I don't have my glasses on, I'm the same way."

"Glasses?" it asked, coming up very close to Harry and then pulling back at the last minute. "I see, those weird things around your eyes. Yes, Salazar had those too. I didn't know what they were for back then. He used his for reading," it said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure your venom is still deadly," Harry said, trying to cheer the basilisk up. "Not that I want you to try it on me," he added quickly, waving his hands in a 'please, don't' manner.

"Don't worry, little human, I like you," it said, still curled up in a coil.

"When did your eyesight go?" Harry wanted to know.

"Only in the last fifty years or so," she said, then added. "Well, it's been failing for years, but I killed my last victim fifty years ago."

"Oh," the preteen said, not sure what to say to that.

"I didn't mean too. she just popped out and then she was dead," the snake said, protesting the murder as premeditated.

"What's your name?" Harry asked, leaning against the wall, and crossing his ankles. "Mine is Harry," he offered with a nod of his head. He put the thought of the girl's death away for now. Though he did wonder if it was the ghost in the bathroom.

"Isobel," she said, nodding her head towards him.

"Good, now we know each other, right and proper," Harry said, then he looked at his watch. "I've got to get back. I'm going to try and get that book away from Ginny. That's who I think is coming down here. You, try not to petrify anyone else, okay?" he said as he hurried along the tunnel to the path to the bathroom.

"Climb on, I'll take you back," Isobel said, veering in front of him. She slammed into a wall and said, "Mother fucker."

"Are you alright?" he asked as he climbed up.

"Merlin, damn it, but that hurts. Yes, I'm bloody well okay. Look, I won't eat the girl, but I have to obey her to an extent," the snake said as they zipped along. She ran into a few more walls, luckily not hurting Harry.

"Why?"

"She's being possessed by the descendant of my master," she explained.

"Oh, okay. I'll work fast," Harry promised, and when they got to the top, he jumped off and booked it to the dorm. Ron and Hermione asked where he'd been and why he was so dirty. He declined to answer. He kept an eye on Ginny, who was indeed writing in a black diary.

The next morning, they saw that Hagrid looked sad at the morning meal. After breakfast was done, they went to his hut and asked what had him so upset.

"Aragog is dead," the giant man said, blubbering into his huge hankie.

"Who is Aragog?" Hermione asked, patting his humongous arm. Her tiny hand barely made any impression on the thick skin, but he appreciated the gesture.

"He was the leader of the Acromantula. I've had him since he was a baby. Now he and half the colony are gone. It's like something came and feasted on them. But I don't rightly know what could do a thing like that," Hagrid stated, blowing his nose in his tablecloth handkerchief. It was a boisterous noise, that shook the rafters.

"What's an Acromantula?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.

"It's a giant spider," Harry answered before she could, making Ron shudder and look at Hagrid with horror filled eyes.

"You have giant spiders in the forest?" the terrified boy asked, looking around the room like they were going to jump out at any moment.

"Not for long," the half-giant said sadly. "They're running off, they are. Something has scared them but good." The tears once again started flowing and the kids had a hard time getting anything else out of him. Soon they gave up and left him to wallow.

"I don't get why he's all bent out of shape over some spiders," Ron said, giving a full body shudder.

"How would you feel if it were Scabbers?" Harry asked, knowing that his friend would be butthurt.

"That's different," the redhead mumbled, but even he knew others would disparage him for mourning a rat.

"No, it isn't," Hermione said, primly.

Harry didn't know if he should feel guilty or not over Hagrid's pets. He didn't, but he didn't know if he should. He knew Isobel had to eat, and spiders were snake food, so… a giant snake ate giant spiders. It only made sense.

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"Gods, mother fucking dammit," Harry heard one morning as the walls of his dorm room rattled and shook. Everyone who was asleep woke up and started looking around.

Dean mumbled, "Earthquake?" as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

"Don't be silly, Dean, there are no earthquakes in this part of Scotland," Seamus said, shaking his head.

"Well, what was that then?" the other boy asked, grabbing his robe and toiletries, and heading to the bathroom.

"I don't know, but I'm telling McGonagall," Seamus said, taking his robes and soaps out, and following his friend to the showers.

"Like she'd bloody listen," Harry mumbled.

Ron and Neville were already showered and ready to head to breakfast. They were hanging by the door waiting for Harry.

"Harry Potter, where the bloody hell are you?" Isobel said, thumping into the walls again, like the space she was in was too small for her bulk. "Merlin, bless it, I think I'm stuck," she said, this time whinging.

"Shite," Harry said aloud, making everyone look in his direction. "Why don't you lot head down to breakfast and I'll catch you up," he suggested, swinging his legs off his bed, and grabbing his robes from the end of it.

"Alright, Harry," Ron said, grabbing Neville's elbow and steering the shy boy out of the room. "Catch up soon, yeah?" he said as he shut the door.

"Isobel, what are you doing here?" Harry hissed at the wall as he got dressed.

"That fucking girl is in the chambers, and she wants me to kill you," she hissed back, running into the wall again, shaking up the room enough to make things fall off shelves.

"Fine, I'm coming," the preteen said, not sure what he could do, but he was going to put a stop to it. He put on his shoes, and went to leave, but was stopped by a whinging.

"I'm stuck," Isobel said, piteously.

Harry came to where he thought she was and put his hands on the walls. He thought really hard and did a sort of prayer to Hogwarts. He envisioned the tunnel she was in to be larger. Big enough for her to back out. He didn't know if it worked, but she started to work her way out and they were on their way.

Harry went to the Chamber, and down the sink tunnel. He came to the snake doors and hissed them open and was in the chamber proper. Ginny was standing in the middle of the room with a book clutched to her chest.

"Ginny?" he said, making her turn to him. "You're not Ginny," he said upon seeing her face. It was twisted in a sneer that was nothing he'd ever seen Ginny wear.

"No, I'm not," the person agreed.

"You'd be Tom then?" Harry questioned, moving a bit closer. He kept his hand on his wand. Not that he thought he could do much with it, but it was comforting to have it close. He started moving around him.

"How do you know that name?" Tom asked, turning to keep him in line of sight.

"I know people," Harry explained, still circling the person possessing his friend's sister.

"I didn't know the basilisk was such a gossip. I will have to speak to it about spilling my secrets," the boy in a girl's body said, a smirk firmly planted on her face.

"I never said it was the snake," Harry denied, making one more circuit. He wanted to keep the boy talking. Maybe Isobel would come back and help him defeat this ghost? Spirit? Whatever it was.

"However you found out, that information will do you no good. You will die here," Tom said, turning and calling out to the statue. "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!" he yelled. The statue opened, but nothing came out.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Harry asked, peering into the depths of the statue opening and seeing nothing there.

"Where are you, you ruddy snake!?" Tom bellowed, into the hole. Still nothing happened.

"Maybe if you were a little nicer to her, she'd answer you," Harry suggested sweetly, leaning against a wall, and waiting for Isobel to find her way back to the Chamber. It appeared she was lost again.

"What do you know? She's just a dumb animal," the older teen said, from the younger girl's body. The book clinging tighter to her chest. It wreaked of evil, and Harry was itching to yank it from her arms, but he didn't know if he could take the boy in a fight.

Isobel finally came slithering into the room. She bumped into a pillar and said, "Ouch, dammit, who put that fucking thing in the middle of the room?" She moved further into the room and came closer to Tom.

"Don't worry about that, you stupid snake. Kill the boy," Tom ordered, pointing to Harry, who sidestepped and hid behind a pillar, knowing Isobel couldn't see worth shite.

"What boy?" she hissed, whipping her head back and forth, looking for any other human in the room. She hit her head on another pillar and cussed up a storm. "Son of a bitch, that fucking hurt."

"Stop, playing around and get the boy," the possess girl instructed, pointing to Harry. "He's hiding just there," he said, walking straight at the other boy's position.

"Oh. Hello, Harry," Isobel said, leaning down and winking at the boy she liked. Her gaze had no effect on him.

"Hello, Isobel," Harry replied, winking back.

"What do you mean, 'Hello, Harry'?" Tom yelled, coming closer to the duo. "Kill him," he ordered, all but jumping up and down in anger.

Quick as a wink, Harry snatched the diary from Ginny's arms and thrust it into Isobel's mouth. She bit it and crushed it with her powerful jaw. The venom corroded the diary instantly and a scream was heard coming from her mouth.

"Eww, that was fucking gross," Isobel stated, spitting ink from her mouth. "I've never eaten anything so fucking vile," she said, spitting and sticking her tongue out as if to wipe it on the floor. She when off to find water to wash out her mouth.

"Sorry," Harry hissed as he held a very confused Ginny up. "Are you alright, Ginny?" he asked as he led her away from the giant snake, who was still cursing something fierce. The sooner he got her away from Isobel the better.

"I don't know," Ginny said, shaking her head as if to clear it. "I can't seem to think," she answered honestly. She wasn't steady on her feet and seemed to sway to the side as she walked.

"I've got you," Harry said, quickly leading her to the entrance of the bathroom. He was going to take her to the Hospital Wing. What he was going to tell them, he didn't know. Probably that he found her wandering like this. If the adults wanted the truth out of him, they should have listened to him when he first came to them.

What Ginny told them, he didn't know, but they never questioned his story, so he never asked her.

The months went by, and Harry and Isobel had many conversations, and he would hear her banging in the walls. There were reports of some of the game missing from the forest, and the Acromantula were long gone, much to Hagrid's sorrow. When Dumbledore got around to asking Harry about the giant snake he saw, Harry said he'd only seen it the one time and left it at that.

And so ended Harry's second year. He made a new, albeit interesting, friend. Sure, she had a mouth like a sailor, but she was going to be a great help in the future, he was sure of it.