Bloodlines || Hogwarts Era

CHAPTER 12 || THE BASILISK (YEAR ONE)

Tom Riddle began to laugh, so loud that the Chamber of Secrets rang with it, echoing maliciously off of the stone walls.

"This is what Dumbledore sends his defenders! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now, Sophia Labonair?"

Sophia said nothing, glaring openly back at Tom. It was true, she didn't see what good the bird or the Sorting Hat were going to do against Voldemort, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Tom Riddle smiled broadly.

"To business, Harry. Twice — in your past, in my future — we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything."

Harry didn't answer.

"The longer you talk," Tom added softly. "The longer you stay alive."

"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," Harry said from beside Sophia. "I don't even know. But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother. She stopped you killing me. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you're foul —"

"So," said Tom, forcing an awful smile. "Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful counter-charm. I can see now... there is nothing special about you after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us; even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike... but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

He turned next to Sophia.

"Do you see now, how foolish it would be to position yourself against me? This is your only warning. I can promise your safety only if you return now."

Even though she was still trembling, Sophia didn't leave Harry's side. She shook her head.

"Your choice," said Tom. He sounded utterly indifferent — almost bored. "In that case... I'm going to teach the both of you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him. We'll see if you change your mind."

He cast an amused eye over the bird and the Sorting Hat, then walked away, stopping between the high pillars where he looked up into the stone face of Salazar Slytherin. A long, low hiss came from Riddle's open mouth and Harry turned to Sophia with a mix of fear and panic on his face.

"Go back to the tunnel, Sophia," he urged, whispering. "Ron's there — trying to clear a path. You might be able to get through, tell him to warn someone before Ginny —"

But before he could finish speaking, a rumbling sound began echoing through the Chamber. Harry spun back around in horror, listening to the sound of something slithering from within the depths as the statue slowly began to open it's mouth, revealing a gaping black hole.

"Cover your eyes!" Harry said instead, and Sophia squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could. He grabbed hold of her hand, yanking her back just as something huge hit the stone floor. The entire Chamber seemed to shake from the force, Sophia's blood was like ice as she stood frozen, heart racing but not daring to open her eyes.

There was another hiss, and then Sophia was being pulled by the hand after Harry as he ran sideways. She screamed — Harry had tripped over something and she fell over him, hand slipping out of his and head slamming hard against the stone ground. She saw stars. Dazed, she reached up and found warm, sticky blood where she'd been hit as Tom's laughter echoed once again through the Chamber. Something hard and scaly scraped roughly past her leg, causing Sophia to scream again, and then there was a loud crash.