Power, Freedom and a French Flower

Exploring the Chamber

The recognizable parts belong to JKR

Chapter 13

January 31st, 1983

Almost three weeks had passed since Harry's adventure in the Chamber. So far, he had found no opportunity to go back there and fully explore the place. Tonight, that would hopefully change.

It had been a very interesting couple of weeks however. After Harry had dealt with Malfoy and Dobby and changed into some clean robes, Dumbledore had picked him up from McGonagall's office and together they made their way down into the Great Hall.

They had entered, just as the students were having dinner:

Flashback

Dumbledore pushed open the heavy doors to the Great Hall and strode in, followed by the Professors and lastly, Harry. The Great Hall instantly went silent. While Harry went to the Ravenclaw table under the fearful stares of his peers, Dumbledore strode to the front of the Great Hall and applied a Soronus on himself.

"You are probably all wondering what has been going on over the last couple of hours. Many of you have heard the rumor of young Ms. Weasley being taken down into the Chamber. Rest assured, Ms. Weasley is in good health and currently resting with her family."

The Gryffindors cheered, while the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws politely clapped. Barely any Slytherins showed a reaction to Dumbledore's declaration.

"The culprit and person responsible for opening the Chamber and attacking the residents of our beloved Castle has been found and dealt with!"

At this, almost every eye in the Great Hall turned to Harry and the boy inwardly grinned at what was about to follow.

"Your fellow students have been attacked by a Basilisk throughout the last couple of months. Luckily, none of them stared directly into its glare, which ensured their survival. Mr. Potter found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets with the help of his unique talent. He and I descended into the Chamber's depths just hours ago and managed to defeat the Basilisk and the sentient dark magical artifact that released it on the school."

"Make no mistake! It is thanks to Mr. Potter that the school does not have to close its doors but remains open as the threat has been eliminated. Even though house points seem trivial when lives are at risk, I award Mr. Potter 100 points for Ravenclaw and an award for Special Services to the School. This time it is truly earned!" He added with a chuckle and a wink at Harry.

The students in the Great Hall were confused. They were certain that Potter was the culprit responsible for the attacks and now Dumbledore has told them it had been some dark magical artifact that became sentient?

Things felt just like last year when Quirrell vanished and Potter received enormous amounts of House Points with barely any explanation from their Headmaster.

Some reluctantly agreed that the Headmaster's story made sense. If one did not directly look at the Basilisk like Finch-Fletcher did, getting petrified instead made some sense.

Potter was also a Parselmouth. Who else could find the entrance to Slytherin's Chamber and subdue a Basilisk, if not the most powerful Sorcerer of the century backed up by a Parselmouth?

Still, there was some resentment towards Potter. Too many things were left unexplained. The majority of Slytherins were unhappy since the attacks on Muggleborns had been stopped. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were confused since they thought Harry had attacked their own and were now being told that Potter wasn't behind it at all and actually supported their Headmaster in eliminating the threat.