Wandless - A Harry Potter Fanfic 17 Chapter 16 - The Battle In The Chamber

"Ginny, please wake up!" Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side.

"She won't wake," said Tom watching from the sides. He was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching with slight amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes. The slightly covered up hole was behind him.

"Tom—Tom Riddle?" Harry asked warily.

Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face.

"What d'you mean, she won't wake?" Harry said desperately, "She's not—she's not—?"

"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."

Harry stared at him, unsure of what to make of the older boy.

"Are you a ghost?" Harry said uncertainly.

"A memory," said Riddle quietly, "preserved in a diary for fifty years."

He pointed toward Ginny, just under her robes, barely visible, was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"How did Ginny get like this?" Harry asked slowly, "and where's Vincent?"

"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly, twirling a wand that Harry recognized as Ginny's, "And quite a long story. Vincent is, preoccupied for the time being. As for her, Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?" said Harry.

"The diary," said Riddle, "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes—how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, how—" Riddle's eyes glinted, "—how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her..."
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All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.

"It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom. I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in. It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket..." Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. It made the hair stand up on the back of Harry's neck.

"If I say so myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted... I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her..."

"What d'you mean?" said Harry, started glaring at Tom now.

"Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter?" said Riddle softly, "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat."

"No," Harry whispered.

"Yes," said Riddle, calmly, "Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries... far more interesting, they became... Dear Tom," he recited, watching Harry's horrified face, "I think I'm losing my memory. Here are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. Vincent keeps worrying about me, I tell him I'm fine but in truth, I feel like c.r.a.p. There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad... I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"

Harry's fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into his palms.

"It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary," said Riddle, "But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the one I was most anxious to meet..."

"And why did you want to meet me?" said Harry. Anger was coursing through him, and it was an effort to keep his voice steady.

"Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry," said Riddle, "Your whole fascinating history."

His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, and his expression grew hungrier. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust —"

"Hagrid's my friend," said Harry, his voice now shaking, "and you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but Vince was right, wasn't he? It was all your doing wasn't it Tom?"

Riddle laughed his high laugh again.

"For a muggle, he really is quite bright, isn't he? However, the result was far better than I could have hoped. That old fool Professor Dippet believed that perfect Tom Riddle could never have opened the Chamber of Secret over the troublemaker Hagrid, who tries to raise werewolves cubs under his bed."

"Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as a gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed... Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did..."

"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," said Harry, his teeth gritted.

"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," said Riddle carelessly, "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's n.o.ble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it," said Harry triumphantly. "No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours, the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again —"

"Haven't I already told you," said Riddle quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? Not to mention, that your dear friend Vincent will soon change that fact?

Harry stared at him, "Where is he you sick—"

"You won't ever see him again, for that I am certain," Riddle smirked, "But, back to the point. For many months now, my new target has been — you."

"Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who'd been strangling roosters? So the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery — particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Pa.r.s.eltongue..."

"So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. That's when that Trespa.s.ser came and nearly ruined it all!" Riddle's eyes flashed in anger before calming down, "But it was a pointless struggle, I even written his own farewell myself. See this hole? I sent him down here for food, to where the Basilisk lies."

"In the end, I won, Ginny put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last. I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."

"Like what?" Harry spat, fists still clenched.

"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you — a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how I escaped?" said Harry slowly. "Voldemort was after your time..."

"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter. Even your muggle friend figured out much more than you."

He pulled Ginny's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three s.h.i.+mmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"You see?" he whispered, "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. Do you think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry — I fas.h.i.+oned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Harry's brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry's own parents, and so many others. At last, he forced himself to speak.

"You're not," he said, his quiet voice full of hatred.

"Not what?" snapped Riddle.

"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," said Harry, breathing fast. "Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days —"

The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.

"Your friend said the same thing," he whispered, "But he forgot, Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!"

"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wis.h.i.+ng rather than believing it to be true.

Riddle opened his mouth but froze.

Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber.

The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry's scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.

A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peac.o.c.k's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.

A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye. The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.

"That's a phoenix," said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.

"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently.

"And that —" said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat —"

So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Harry's feet. Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once.

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

Harry didn't answer. He might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but he was no longer alone, and he waited for Riddle to stop laughing with his courage mounting.

End Of Copy and Paste//

"Now, where were—?!" suddenly a loud bang sound followed by a loud angry hiss came from the below them.

Riddle's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the badly covered up hole behind him, "He can't be alive?! Why isn't he dead or petrified?!"

Harry noticed the hole and pointed his wand towards it.

"Reduc—?!" Harry saw a stone rock come his way. Out of instinct, he held out his left hand. Riddle narrowed his eyes at a black glove with a yellow gem embedded in the back. A transparent blue wall appeared in front of him, blocking the attack.

"Interesting item you have there Potter!" Riddle shouted before lifting Ginny's wand into the air, causing several fireb.a.l.l.s to appear around him and rubble to follow, "but it won't be enough!"

Harry gritted his teeth standing up.

"Thanks, Nyx for leading me here," he said, "now get Ginny to safety."

Nyx popped her head out of Harry's pocket and nodded before zooming off with the small girl. Despite how small Nyx was, pixie's are pretty strong. Not to mention Ginny's not too big.

Harry looked behind to make sure they were at a safe distance before redying his wand and the glove.

"Hold on Vincent," he shouted, "I'm coming to help!"

Harry batted aside a couple of projectiles before pointing his wand and shouting, "Expelliarmus!"

Riddle merely deflected the spell with scorn before seeing Harry charge at him with his s.h.i.+eld glove up. Riddle just blocked with his own s.h.i.+eld charm before blasting Harry in the side with a red lightning-like spell, causing him to fall fly to the side in pain.

"Give it up Harry, you can't win," Riddle said nonchalantly, "seriously though, what use is it even if you get past me? I doubt that Vincent can hold on much longer, and the fact is that there is no way you can help him with the Basilisk."

Harry growled before spotting the Sorting Hat, he noticed a small glint of gold at the end of it.

"Die!" Riddle sent an abundance of curses directly at Harry who deflected all of them with the s.h.i.+eld.

"Why is that s.h.i.+eld so powerful?" Riddle thought before spotting the yellow gem at the back of it, "Is that what powers it?"

Harry barely managed to get the Hat. Without thinking, he pulled whatever was in it out. It turned out to be a glittering silver sword. He replaced his wand with the sword and held it up to a smirking Riddle.

"What can a sword do to help you?" Riddle said.

Harry glanced at the hole behind Riddle. He didn't have a plan, he felt that if he could get that hole open, he wins.

"While I am not at my peak Harry," Riddle said creating dark shadows of energy which surrounded him, "I am still, Lord Volde—?!"

"Harry!" Harry stared blankly as a red blur tackled Riddle to the side.

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?!" Riddle yelled as Ron struggled to reach for Ginny's wand.

"Harry go!" Harry nodded before pulling his wand out.

"Reducto!" The chains covering the hole was blown open.

"Vince! The hole's ope—!" Harry saw Fawkes shoot down into the chamber with Nyx following not too far behind. He looked back to see Tom kick Ron away before having him at wand point.

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?" Riddle said, extremely ticked off.

"I'm Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother," Ron said, although still trembling.

"So you're a Weasley?" Riddle smirked, "Seems like after Ginny, the family will lose another child."

Riddle was about to utter a spell when Harry slashed him with the sword. Against all expectations, the sword seemed to merely smack him rather than slash him.

"You think, a mere sword can kill me? Lord Voldem—!"

Suddenly, the ground burst apart as a large Basilisk came into view.

...

"Some help would be nice," Vincent thought to himself as he lay in the water, "I can't look into its eyes nor can I look at its reflection. So basically, I have to fight with my eyes closed, that's a pain."

Vincent heard a small splash to his left and quickly did a backflip. He winced as he felt the Basilisk sc.r.a.pe his side as he landed in a kneeling position. It's been like this for the past half hour or so, with Vincent being on the defensive and dodging what he could.

"It's going for a swipe!" Vincent heard a giant splash coming from his right. He curled himself into a ball bracing for impact. His whole body turned a metallic silver just before he got smacked.

Vincent felt himself flying through the air before embedding himself on the wall. The metal-like features retracted before he started moving again. The Metalmorph potion. It can turn any part of the body into metal at will. However, Vincent cannot move when using it, making it viable for defense but not offense.

"This is probably my sixth one," Vincent thought, landing on the ground, drinking another metallic-like potion, "this is taking too long."

He heard an angry hiss from the Basilisk as it circled him. From its tone, it was clear that it too was annoyed by the prey that was clearly weaker, yet it couldn't kill him.

"I know, I know," Vincent muttered, "I want this to end as well. With me winning of course."

As if understanding him it hissed before slithering face on, aiming to bite him. Vincent moved out of the way before throwing a rod of his. It connected with the Basilisks head causing it to snap back at the shockwave. Vincent cursed before taking a risk, he opened his eyes.

He took in a quick glance of the situation, fortunate that the Basilisk was rearing its head, making Vincent unable to look at its eyes. He caught his rod before das.h.i.+ng towards the head. He sheathed it in before taking it out again along with his other rod while closing his eyes again.

The Basilisk reared it's head back as it looked at the puny human running at it. It hissed angrily before swiping its tail at Vincent who miraculously jumped onto it. He then threw both rods at where he remembered the head was before pulling out a sharp silver potions knife and stabbing into the Basilisk several times before finally succeeding in pus.h.i.+ng it in.

The two rods smashed against the head of the Basilisk causing it a small concussion for a short period before regaining its senses. Vincent barely managed to cut out a small hole and placed a small yellow vial in it while jumping off. He landed with a splash and held out his hands. The rods came flying back into his hands where he sheathed them.

The Basilisk was about to attack him again when it felt a large searing pain on its body. All of a sudden, there was an explosion that shook the cavern followed by a loud hiss of pain and anger. It started thras.h.i.+ng around violently, catching Vincent and throwing him during it. Vincent didn't activate metal skin in time up so he took the full brunt of the damage as he smashed against the cold wet floor. He groaned as he felt a large cut on his head.

"Hold on Vincent, I'm coming to help!" Vincent's eyes lit up when he heard Harry's voice.

"Looks like Nyx made it," Vincent thought as he got up unsteadily, "that means we still have a chance."

He stood up, silent, his eyes closed. The Basilisk was still thras.h.i.+ng around, making loud splashes that echoed around the cavern. He didn't know when it would attack, but he would be ready. Vincent tried to ignore the faint sounds of fighting from above as he tried to locate the Basilisk by sound. The sound of water splas.h.i.+ng, the sounds of fighting above, the sounds of a snake slithering.

Suddenly, there was an extremely loud and angry hiss. It sounded like the Basilisk recovered from that last attack as it slithered straight for Vincent, angry. Only when it was about to swallow him was it that he decided to act. The moment he felt and smelt the breath of the snake, Vincent threw a potion into its mouth before jumping away, barely dodging it.

"Three, two, one," he silently counted before hearing a small m.u.f.fled boom. He frowned as he landed, stumbling due to his injuries, "that wasn't as powerful as I thought, could it be that the Basilisks insides diluted the explosion?"

He heard the snake hiss in pain. Despite the explosion being weaker, it was incredibly uncomfortable to have an explosion in one's stomach. Just before either of them made another move, a blast was heard from above.

"Vincent, the hole's ope—!" Vincent heard before a strange melody overshadowed the voice.

Soon, all he could hear were the painful hisses of the Basilisk.

"What's going on?" he thought confused before feeling something prying his eyes open, "Get off me—Nyx?!"

Nyx stretched Vincent's eyes open and pointed to the Basilisk where he saw Fawkes taking out its eyes. Vincent stared blankly before walking slowly towards the snake.

"Is it blinded?" he thought.

The Basilisk thrashed around, wildly hoping one of its strikes will hit Fawkes.

As if sensing his arrival, it hissed with hatred while Fawkes flew away.

"Nyx, go," Nyx gave a salute as it flew away with Fawkes, "Now who's the one fighting without sight?" Vincent took another drink of his Leg Strengthening potion before smiling savagely.

For the first time in its life, without its sight, the Basilisk felt fear. Fear at the boy without magic, fear of the Trespa.s.ser.

//((AUTHORS NOTE))

//This chapter was originally longer, but I decided to split it up into two because it felt right.

Funny fact, I actually rewrote this whole chapter five to six times. I had to delete it all every now and then because I felt like some parts wouldn't really fit. So in total, if I kept the original, the original chapter would have been at least 12k long instead of a near 4k one. The copy and past part felt absolutely necessary as I didn't want to skip Harry learning of Voldemort's true name.