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Chapter Text

Harry slumped down in the chairs in front of the common room fire. He was the last one up as it was nearing one in the morning, but he couldn’t sleep. How could he when their one good lead as to what was attacking students was a dead end? Part of him still wasn’t sure if he believed Malfoy. That he didn’t even have a clue who was opening the Chamber of Secrets and petrifying students. Well, he had said something about the Chamber being opened before, but Harry wasn’t sure how that helped yet. They likely wouldn’t have wanted to include that in Hogwarts: A History.

Hermione might have some ideas, but she was still in hospital wing, being turned back to herself. Since he wasn’t sleeping anyway, Harry had half a mind to slip off to search for clues, but there weren’t many places left to search. Harry sat there for a while before sighing and heading up the stairs. He still didn’t think he’d get to sleep, but he’d try again. Maybe if he tried to just not think of anything at all, he’d eventually just drift off without realizing it.

Harry laid there in bed and closed his eyes. He heard one of the others, possibly Neville, shift in his sleep across the room. Seamus was snoring but not very loudly. Harry took several deep breaths to try and force himself to relax. There was tension in his shoulders, and maybe that was part of his problem. Relax. Don’t think of anything. He needed sleep.

Harry didn’t think he slept much, but eventually, morning rolled around. Not sleeping certainly didn’t help his mood the next day or his ability to really pay much attention. Perhaps he should visit Hermione and see if she had any new thoughts. The term would start again in a few days, and then all the students would return. The monster would have so many potential targets. Harry wanted to figure out what was happening before more people got attacked.

After dinner, Harry and Ron went to visit Hermione as they had been doing every day. Although Harry, feeling quite tired, left first. On his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he wasn’t expecting to see Crabbe and Goyle lumbering towards him. Though they weren’t with Malfoy, who usually caused their worst behavior to flare up, they certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go after Harry alone in the halls.

Harry glanced around and quickly took a staircase down. He heard a loud ‘Oi!’ from behind him and flung himself down the stairs even faster. He didn’t want to try his luck against the two Slytherins. Harry heard the loud thuds of feet behind him even as he jumped down the last five or so steps and nearly fell flat on his face. Harry scrambled to catch himself and ran down a side hallway. Harry wasn’t sure where he was, but he could figure that out later. When he wasn’t being chased by the two thuggish Slytherins.

Crabbe and Goyle were still following him. Harry could hear their heavy footsteps. There was another staircase, and Harry took it. This one spiraled, and Harry nearly fell but caught himself at the bottom on a large gargoyle statue with a snake-like neck. Harry heard his name being shouted and quickly looked for a safe place to dart next. Then the gargoyle’s hissed. Harry let go in surprise as the gargoyle shifted to the side to reveal yet another staircase.

Confused but not wanting to get caught by Crabbe and Goyle, Harry slipped behind the statue and went down yet again. There was a thick door with an ouroboros knocker. There was a shout that sounded like Goyle and Harry tried the door. It was locked, but a quick spell opened it up. Harry nearly fell over himself to get inside and slammed the door behind him.

Harry listened for any sign that he’d been followed or that his pursuers had heard the door close. He didn’t hear anything for several minutes, but that might be due to how thick the door was. Harry sighed and rested his forehead against the wood. That had been far too close for comfort. He should still probably give it a few minutes and then leave, though. Crabbe and Goyle would either give up or move on before too long. “Are you lost?”

Harry whipped around at the unfamiliar voice. The room he’d hidden in was apparently a study of some sort with a laboratory on one side, complete with a full counter of different glass forms and empty cauldrons. On the room’s left wall was an immense set of bookcases with a large empty glass cage set in the middle. Directly across from where Harry was standing was a fireplace, which had crackled to life when Harry entered, and above the mantle was the source of the voice.

A full-length portrait of a man with slicked-back shoulder-length hair, long black robes, and piercing green eyes. The same green he saw in the nightmares about his parent’s death. The man was tall, pale, and had a vaguely haughty expression where he was sitting in a high-backed chair beside the glass cage. Only in the painting the cage wasn’t empty. In it was a large black snake sleeping over a log. “Well? Lost?”

Harry swallowed hard and glanced around the room. There were several different snakes carved into walls and decorative corners. The mantle had rearing cobras holding up the shelf. Several of the glass vessels on the counter even had stoppers shaped like snakes. The gargoyle had hissed at him before moving to the side. Harry forced his eyes back up to those deadly green eyes painted far too well. “Who… who are you?”

“Salazar Slytherin,” the man said with a faint wave of his hand.

Harry felt his eyes widen. “The-the founder of the school!?” The snakes made sense, but it couldn’t possibly be!

The man’s eyebrow went up, but then he smiled. Harry was a little surprised by how charming it was and how it softened the haughtiness of his sharp bone structure. “How many other Salazar Slytherins are you aware of, exactly? Judging by that rather odd bit of fabric around your neck, I’m guessing you’re one of Godric’s little cubs?” Harry held his tie self-consciously and -not sure what else to do in this unusual situation- nodded. Salazar Slytherin, or rather his portrait, hummed. “I must say, I’m rather disappointed. I would have thought one of Helga’s would have come to try and make nice before now. They always would before... It’s been an exceedingly long time since I’ve had a visitor. I certainly didn’t expect a Gryffindor. But maybe I should have... you are so very brash, after all.”

“Er,” Harry glanced around. With the thick layer of dust on everything, he was sure it had been years since this room had been entered. “I’m not... sure anyone knows you’re down here... sir.” Harry had no idea what to do here. This was the ancestor of the man that killed his parents and countless others. A man who left a monster to kill anyone from muggle families. One of the most infamous wizards there was. And yet... he didn’t seem insane or even unpleasant. Was this portrait from before that? He did supposedly get along with the other founders at some point. How did magical portraits work anyway? Did they only know things up to a point, or were they perfect copies of their subject? Harry had no idea. He’d never really thought to ask.

Salazar Slytherin frowned. “Just what year is it?” he asked, leaning closer in his chair.

“Um... 1992?”

Slytherin was out of his chair in a flash. “What?” Harry pulled back against the door. The snake in the painting lifted its head and hissed. Slytherin visibly composed himself and hissed something that sounded like ‘go back to sleep, dear’ to the snake. Then, after a moment, Slytherin sat back down like a king on his throne. “Are you saying that I have been down here for a thousand years?”

“Um... just about?” Harry looked around. He’d found this place reasonably effortlessly, and there was no monster, but he just had to ask. “Is... Is this the Chamber of Secrets?”

Slytherin blinked in surprise and then burst into laughter. A surprisingly light and cheerful noise for a man that planned to kill those he considered unworthy of being taught magic. “The Chamber? Of course not! This was just my office. The Chamber is highly protected. No mere student would be able to just stumble his way into it.”

Harry was rather annoyed about that. “It’s not that protected. Someone’s opened it and sent your horrible monster out to attack students,” he said angrily. The snake lifted its head and hissed.

Slytherin’s smile very abruptly dropped. “That’s not possible.”

“It is! There’s already been multiple attacks, and people have been petrified!”

Harry was expecting another protest, but he didn’t get it. Instead, Slytherin rested his chin on the knuckles of his left hand. His right hand was fiddling with something off to the side. Some sort of necklace, it looked like. His green eyes were fixed on Harry with an unsettling intensity. There was a far too long pause where Harry felt like his skin was being peeled back, and every secret he ever had was on full display. “What is your name, little cub?”

Harry shifted his weight back and forth. “Harry Potter.” There was no reaction to that, which Harry supposed made sense. Salazar Slytherin had absolutely no reason to know who he was.

“Well, Mr. Potter, I believe it is time for you to tell me what exactly is going on in my school.”

Loki Odinson felt a strange tug at the back of his mind. One he hadn’t felt in ages. A century even. It took him a moment to place what the sensation was. Someone had disturbed some of his wards. They weren’t his best. He’d made them when he had only been practicing magic for a measly two decades. So it wasn’t really a surprise that someone had gotten past. What was more shocking to Loki was the fact that he’d almost entirely forgotten about their existence. His office. In Midgard. In the castle that he’d built with his mortal friends. What in Odin’s name was going on down there that someone would go into his old office? He hadn’t left anything important there, had he? Loki didn’t think so. Perhaps he should check…

Chapter Text

The Portrait of Salazar Slytherin was quiet as Harry explained what he knew about what was going on currently. About how the Chamber was first opened decades ago and how nobody knew where the Chamber was or what was in it. It was surprisingly easy to talk to a portrait. Harry had done it before, of course, but not at any real length. Or about anything particularly important. Harry even found himself telling the portrait how everyone now thought that Harry was Slytherin’s Heir because he could talk to snakes.

Slytherin scoffed when he heard that. “Just for talking to snakes? That proves nothing. I met no less than three people who could also do it, and not a one of us was related to each other. It’s hardly the golden chalice they seem to think it is,” he said.

Harry frowned. “Golden chalice?” he’d never heard that phrase. He was pretty sure he knew what Slytherin meant by context, but it was still weird.

“Ah, there are several unpleasant potions that can be slipped into food and drink. However, they react when they come into contact with gold. Makes it quite easy to identify them. It’s why Helga insisted on gold for all the dishes in the castle,” Slytherin said. He was still playing with the necklace that he was holding. “Gold dishes and pure silver for the utensils as silver also identifies some poisons.”

“Oh.” Harry hadn’t realized there was a reason behind the gold plates and cups in the Great Hall.

“Let us put aside the absolutely ridiculous idea of you being related to me in any way. What is somewhat more alarming to me is the idea that someone is using Jormungandr to attack the students of the school,” Slytherin said. The snake in the painting lifted its head and hissed. Slytherin reached into the glass case and stroked the serpent’s head. “There there. We will straighten this out,” he said.

“Your-man-gander?”

“Jormungandr,” Slytherin repeated. Harry could hear a bit of a difference but wasn’t sure he’d be able to make his tongue cooperate enough to get closer. “He’s the basilisk that I bred and raised. I left him here to protect the school.”

“I thought you left the monster to kill all the muggle-born,” Harry said.

Slytherin raised an eyebrow. “And why would you think that?”

“Be-because you hate them?” Everyone agreed that that was the whole point of the monster. To kill all the people Slytherin didn’t like.

“Little Cub, I hate everybody,” Slytherin said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “The muggle-born are hardly special enough for me to devote all the time and energy it takes to breed and raise a basilisk just to kill them.”

Harry was now entirely too confused. Everyone knew that Salazar Slytherin despised muggle-borns and wanted only pure-blooded witches and wizards going to Hogwarts. It was the whole reason he had argued with the other founders and left. “But you didn’t want them here in the school.”

“No, I didn’t. I didn’t particularly trust them or their families. I’ve seen far too many witches and wizards attacked by the non-magical just because they are different. Teaching those children would be dangerous for them and the other students,” Slytherin said. “I knew a boy who was from a non-magical family. He was bullied mercilessly for having magic. Even more for learning how to use it. After learning just enough spells to start getting competent but not nearly enough to be responsible, the bullies ended up cursed, and the boy was stoned. If he’d never learned magic it never would have happened.”

Harry frowned. That didn’t sound quite right to him. “What about accidental magic?” Surely that could have hurt the bullies too, and like the name implied wasn’t intentional.

Slytherin shook his head. “Very rarely will accidental magic react in a dangerous way. It will, with very few exceptions, react to save the witch or wizard in whatever way is easiest. Whisking them to safe places or helping them not get injured. If that boy had never learned how to set things on fire… there would have been a lot fewer deaths.” Harry thought more about every instance he’d heard of with accidental magic and had to admit he hadn’t heard of anyone actually getting hurt. The worst he’d ever done was accidentally let out that boa constrictor. “Children with magic at their fingertips can be very dangerous,” Slytherin said. “Those that leave us and return to villages that hate and fear them are even more so. Not to mention they might lead others who despise us back to the school, intentionally or otherwise. But, nobody wants to listen to me.”

“It’s not their fault.”

“Of course not. Whoever said anything about fault?” Slytherin asked. “But we gain nothing by lying to ourselves either. But to the matter at hand. Jormungandr will listen to me; however, I am, in fact, stuck here on this wall. In my bid to ensure I was never bothered while working here, I warded this office to keep everyone, including ghosts, out. The side effect I did not realize at the time was that it prevented this portrait from leaving. I can’t leave my frame, which is actually quite frustrating. Didn’t think it was that much of a problem until this.”

“So, what should I do?” Harry asked. “Just… take you off the wall?”

Slytherin shook his head. “No, no. I’ve made it very unlikely this portrait will ever be taken down. No, you’d be better off going to whoever is in charge right now and bringing him or her down here for me to speak with,” he said. “Leave the handling of large dangerous animals to the adults, Mr. Potter.”

“What if Professor Dumbledore doesn’t believe me?” Harry asked. It didn’t seem normal to go around finding hidden portraits of school founders.

Slytherin tilted his head to the side. “Do you have a habit of lying to him? Is there some reason for him not to believe you?”

“Well, no, but-”

“If he doesn’t believe you, then he’s a fool. And I’ll just have to walk you through the process of dismissing the wards myself. A bit more… dangerous to do, but, well, we must do what we must for the safety of the school,” Slytherin said.

Harry frowned but nodded. “Good. Off you go then. The door might disappear behind you. It seems that the spell hiding the office has degraded. You were able to find it after all, but I’m fairly certain it will still be there. If the door does appear to be gone when you return, don’t worry. It’s a simple enough spell to undo. I’m sure a Headmaster of Hogwarts should be able to manage it,” Slytherin said.

Harry nodded again and got up from where he’d sat down on the dusty rug. He brushed himself off and went to the door. “I’ll be back then…” he said.

“I will, of course, be here.”

Harry glanced back at the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and hurried out of the room. The door didn’t disappear, but the handle did. Harry frowned at it but then started up the stairs. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure if he should trust the portrait of Slytherin. What if he just wanted to sick his big nasty snake on more people? Maybe his portrait was put down there and locked away for a reason.

But, at the very least, he now knew what was in the Chamber of Secrets. He could tell Dumbledore that. Although, how to explain how he figured it out? Harry frowned as he walked. Maybe Dumbledore knew Salazar Slytherin’s portrait was down there and had a good reason to not go talking to it. Maybe Harry should ask Hermione what she knew about magic portraits before going to Dumbledore.

Loki stepped out of the branches of Yggdrasil and into a vaguely familiar forest. He closed his eyes and let his senses sprawl outwards. The magic here wasn’t as strong as he remembered it. But then, he’d been younger then. More impressionable. Loki let a guise of a nondescript human fall across him as he walked.

It had been so long since he set foot on Midgard. After that argument, he’d felt there was no longer a need to stay. But, Loki hadn’t forgotten that period of his youth. There had been years there where he’d felt accepted. He’d been a part of something big and grand and wonderful. But, as always, lies caught up and then arguments over silly things. Odin had demanded his return to Asgard and, with his friends all fighting him, Loki had not returned.

The human village had grown and changed much since the last time Loki had been on the planet. It was entirely unrecognizable. But Loki’s feet found the paths he was looking for. The village had grown up around the spot, but the giant yew tree was still there. The tree Loki recalled climbing in to watch birds as a child was now on the side of the road just beside a library. A big hole had opened up in the trunk, but it didn’t seem to be suffering from the breach.

Loki reached over and put his hand on the thick bark. In the distance, a dog barked, and the streetlights buzzed faintly. The night was well underway, and nobody was around to possibly notice Loki. He cast a spell to ensure eyes didn’t fall on him anyway. He didn’t want to be disturbed. Though there was no longer any indication of it, Loki knew that beneath this ancient tree were two bodies side by side. “I haven’t visited in a while,” he said, looking at the ground. “You understand, I hope.”

Loki crouched down and traced a rune in the dirt between the roots of the yew tree. “A thousand years is a long time, though. I wonder just how much else has changed,” he said as he glanced over his shoulder at what had once been nothing but trees but was now buildings. Loki wondered if he’d return to the castle he’d poured his blood, sweat, and tears into with his friends and find it too surrounded by mortal streets and flimsy houses.

“Once I find out what triggered my wards, I will come back here to visit again,” Loki said. “I promise.”

Loki stayed kneeling there another few moments before straightening. “Well, I suppose I should go and see what’s happened while I’ve been gone. I wonder if anyone even remembers me….” Probably not, he thought. It wasn't as if he'd hung around for very long.

Chapter Text

Loki was mildly impressed at how quickly technology seemed to have advanced in a thousand years. Midgard had been such a primitive place before, and now they had gotten nuclear power, although they weren't using it as widely as they were combustion. Still primitive, to be sure but leaps and bounds better than it had been. So maybe they'd actually be a realm worth interacting with on a more official level soon. That would be an interesting and exciting prospect.

Loki still had a far way to go to get to Hogwarts, but he wasn't in a hurry. There wasn't anything he'd left in his office that was terribly dangerous. He'd locked everything that could be remotely hazardous down in Jormungandr's chambers. Speaking of, he would definitely have to visit Jormungandr while he was on Midgard. Loki did miss the snake he'd bred and raised.

Loki had been quite upset when he realized he wouldn't be physically able to bring Jormungandr with him to Asgard. The Bifrost would have sliced his dear basilisk into pieces because he wouldn't have fit and Loki's sky walking was even less appropriate for travelling with large creatures. So, he'd left the others to keep Jormungandr company. He was glad he'd had the foresight to make enchantments that allowed such things. Besides, Jormungandr could always go swimming in the lake and play with Helga's squid. He did adore swimming.

Loki went to London first and wandered the streets. He liked how the fashions of the day had changed. He'd never been much for robes or capes, although he'd worn them without too much complaint. They were just so blasted and inconvenient most of the time. Plus, Thor wore a cape, and Loki made a point to not follow any of his brother's questionable fashion choices. Coats seemed much more common in Midgard now. Loki found it easy enough to manufacture something he saw in a shop window and relax his invisibility to see more in-depth how things had changed.

The food was better. Far more varied as well as just higher quality overall. Although he did taste more... chemical residue which he wasn't as fond of. He would have to remember that and always wash that aftertaste away. London had changed so much, and yet he could almost see bits and pieces scattered about that seemed halfway familiar. Ancient bits that somehow managed to survive. It truly made it clear just how much time had actually gone by, which was a sobering thought.

After wandering the nonmagical side of London, Loki transported himself to a familiar street. Although. There were a lot more shops than he remembered. He glanced at the shop he'd appeared in front of. The one he always appeared in front of for pure convenience. "Mm, Ollivanders seems to have done well for itself..."

The wand shop was larger than the last time Loki had visited. Loki hadn't had any real use for a wand shop, but it was always a handy landmark. "I wonder whatever happened to mine..." Loki murmured. He'd had no real use for it, so he had utterly forgotten to take it with him. He couldn't quite recall where he'd last had it... oh well. He was sure it was fine. He didn't technically need a wand, after all.

Now that they were away from the muggles, Loki noticed something. Wizards didn't seem to have changed from robes at all, and the segregation between them and muggles was even more pronounced. Loki found himself disappointed that those with magic hadn't advanced further but didn't bother to adjust his appearance. The pure black suit he had donned was much more comfortable than long, heavy robes. Loki spotted a shop full of books he'd never before seen and couldn't have kept himself out no matter what was going on. Flourish and Blotts, apparently, was a very popular store. There were quite a few customers milling about, and Loki quickly disappeared into the stacks. He adored a good bookstore.

Loki pulled whatever book off the shelf that had an interesting title and flipped through them to see if they maintained his attention. Some did, although most didn't. There was a truly horrible set of books by someone named Lockheart that had catchy titles, but one quick flip through had Loki rolling his eyes and dropping it to the side. He'd only needed to read one paragraph of rambling about the man's love of a particular brand of shoes to lose his patience with it. The book was supposed to be about a banshee, but the author apparently couldn't stay on topic for more than three sentences. The fact that Loki could gauge this with only a brief look inside didn't bode well for the state of literature on the whole.

Then Loki spotted an entire row of books with the title Hogwarts: A History, and he immediately grabbed one. Now that he couldn't help but be intrigued about. What did history remember about the place he and his friends built all those years ago? He began to read, but his interest and amusement quickly turned to puzzlement and then rapidly advanced to offense and outrage. What the actual-

When Harry and Ron went to visit Hermione the next day, she was almost looking back to her old self. The cat ears were gone, and though her pupils were still vertical slits, her eye color had returned to normal. She still had black fur growing where it shouldn't, but it had thinned out substantially. Madam Pomfrey seemed to think she'd be back to normal without any difficulty. Which, considering the Holidays were almost over, would hopefully also mean quickly.

Harry made sure that Madam Pomfrey seemed occupied with whatever she was doing in her office before bending a little closer. "Hermione, er, how exactly do magical portraits work?" he asked.

Hermione blinked. "Portraits?"

"What do you mean how do they work?" Ron asked. "They're enchanted. You know, it's still really weird that your pictures don't move. Kinda creepy, really... they would just stare at you all the time, wouldn't they?"

"It's not creepy. Muggle pictures don't have any intelligence. You don't expect the things you draw on your notebooks to come to life, do you?" Hermione asked. Ron seemed to think about that for a moment and then shrugged.

"What I mean is... when one gets painted, is it like a copy of the person? Do they know everything that person knows, or... is it more like an actor just pretending?" Harry asked, trying to verbalize the question and not entirely sure if he was doing a good job at it. "Is the person... in the painting like the real person?"

Hermione scratched at her arm, and a few black hairs fell out onto the comforter. "From what I've read, it's more like an impression of the person. Although it depends on who painted it and the subject a fair bit too. From what I understand, if the painter thinks you're a bit of a fool or mean, then after the portrait is enchanted, that will be reflected in how the painting acts."

"Why're you asking anyway?" Ron asked.

"I got chased by Crabbe and Goyle last night-"

"Is that where you were? I was wondering what took you so long to get back," Ron said.

Harry nodded. "Anyway, I got away by ducking into this room I hadn't seen before. And inside was a portrait that said he was Salazar Slytherin," Harry said, going softer near the end to be double sure Madam Pomfrey wouldn't hear.

"What?" Ron's eyes were huge.

"Yeah, he said something about accidentally stopping himself from leaving his frame," Harry said. He wasn't sure what Slytherin had meant by that. Or the 'wards' that he'd mentioned. He'd seen the phrase mentioned in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but apparently, that was a subject in NEWT-level classes. "But it's... it's Slytherin, right? So, I wasn't sure if I should go to Professor Dumbledore or not."

Hermione was frowning and looking at the blanket beneath her. "Well... It isn't as if a portrait can do any harm," she said. "I think you should tell Dumbledore."

Harry nodded. "... he did say that the monster was a basilisk. Although I'm not sure what that is, so I guess he could have been making that up."

Hermione looked up sharply. "He said it's a what?"

"A... basilisk. I think that's what he called it," Harry repeated. "Why, what's that?"

"Like a snake, innit?" Ron guessed thoughtfully. "I think Bill mentioned one of them before. Or... maybe it was just a carving. It was a while ago when he first went to Egypt."

"Yes, Ron, a basilisk is a snake," Hermione said. "Very dangerous and rare. It can kill you in an instant. But I read that they get absolutely enormous, so I don't know how it could be hiding in the school."

"Makes sense, though," Ron said. "Nasty old git keeping a giant snake in the school. He's the only one that'd be able to control it, seeing how he could talk to snakes."

"You should definitely go to Dumbledore about this," Hermione said. "Even if we can't trust this portrait of Slytherin or his intentions... Professor Dumbledore should know it's in the school if he doesn't already."

Ron nodded in agreement, and Harry felt immensely better about the situation. He had been awfully worried about going to Dumbledore with this, and it turning out to be a bad source of information. He didn't want to distract Dumbledore with nonsense when people were being attacked.

Harry and Ron spent only a few more minutes with Hermione before they went to go find Dumbledore. Of course, it wasn't entirely clear where Dumbledore might be, but Harry at least knew where his office was. That was probably the most likely place to check. Harry led the way to the third floor and to the gargoyle that Professor McGonagall had first escorted him to.

Harry and Ron stood in front of the gargoyle that Dumbledore's office was behind. "Do we just... ask?" Ron asked.

"I guess," Harry muttered. He was eyeing the gargoyle in front of him and couldn't help but notice several similarities to the one that had hissed at him the night before. Though this one didn't have a snake-like neck, both of the gargoyles and their front claws on a large stone sphere, open mouths, and widely spread wings. "Um. Is Professor Dumbledore in?" Harry asked. "We have something we need to talk to him about." There was no answer. Of course, there wasn't. "Um. Lemon Drop?" He was pretty sure that was the password Professor McGonagall had used.

The gargoyle let out a deep rumble of a growl, rather like a lion, before it moved to the side. Behind the gargoyle was the moving set of stairs. Harry and Ron exchanged a glance before stepping onto the dizzying magical steps. The gargoyle moved back over the entrance to the stairs as the wall closed up.

At the top of the steps were the doors with the griffin knocker, although this one they didn't even reach before they heard Professor Dumbledore calling for them to come in. Dumbledore's office was very much like it had been the last time Harry was here. Although, this time, Dumbledore was already sitting behind his desk with a pleasant expression on his face, and Fawkes the phoenix was larger with bright red feathers. Looking more like a large songbird than an ugly chicken and also much healthier. "Ah, Come in, come in. I hear you two wished to speak with me?"

Harry glanced at Ron, who gave him a nudge and a nod. "Yes, well... you see, Professor. Last night I might have... come across something."

"I see. Well, do have a seat, boys," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the armchairs across from his desk. Harry and Ron did as they were told. "Just start at the beginning. What is it you need to tell me?"

So, Harry explained everything about what had happened the night before. From stumbling across the room to the portrait to what it had said about there being a basilisk in the school. Dumbledore's expression grew more pensive as he heard the story and even nodded at a few places. "I see," he said after Harry was done. "I must say, I had wondered if the creature was a basilisk, given Slytherin's proclivity for snakes and the fact that it petrified most of its victims. Newt Scamander, I believe, was of a similar opinion, although he could never find any evidence of one in the school. But, could you show me where this hidden room was, Harry?"

"I think so," Harry said. "But, Slytherin -the portrait rather- he said the door might have disappeared."

Dumbledore smiled. "That shouldn't be a problem so long as we are in the right spot."

Chapter Text

“Godric, what have you brought us to this time?” he asked as he surveyed the landscape around him. “Also did we have to come out here while it’s actively raining buckets?”

“Don’t be so sour, Sal,” Godric said dismissively. “Look! This is the perfect place don’t you think?” Godric asked as he gestured around him.

“Perfect place for what?” Helga asked.

“Our school!”

Loki blinked several times, ignoring the water droplets that fell from his lashes. He had thought that drunken fancy had been long forgotten. Nobody had mentioned it in well over a year. Loki had considered it a fun idea but, when it was never mentioned again, had shelved it entirely. “Our school? I didn’t think you were serious about that.”

“Of course, I am!” Godric said. “It’s a good idea!”

“It is,” Rowena said evenly. “Between the four of us we cover a wide range of expertises and we have a duty to pass on our knowledge to the next generation.”

Loki and Helga exchanged a long look. “I… I suppose it would be nice,” Helga said. “And it would help build ties in the community. We’re too often divided by silly things. A school could really unite everyone.”

Loki hummed and let his eyes scan the wild landscape again. “It’s not cheap to build a school,” he warned. “We might all have to put in quite a bit of our own personal funds.” It didn’t matter much to Loki; he had plenty to access. And Rowena did, too. However, Helga didn’t have quite as much family wealth as the others, and most of the Gryffindor assets were in land holdings.

“Just because it’s costly doesn’t mean it’s not a worthy endeavor!” Godric said.

“I didn’t say that. I just wanted to warn you before we jumped into something like this,” Loki said. “If we’re going to make a school, we shouldn’t do it halfway. Considering how intensive magical lessons can be, we really will need to house and feed the students as well.”

“Not to mention we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Rowena said. “That little town just over the way won’t be enough for any substantial student population. They would be overrun if we tried to have them house that many children. Might even have to arrange an agreement with them depending on what we’re planning on doing. That might cost money too.”

There was silence for several minutes. Finally, Godric smiled widely. “I’m willing if all of you are,” he said brightly. The other three members agreed, and the site of their future school was chosen. Now, they just needed literally everything else. Loki was sure he’d have to find some contacts to smooth things along, but for now, the others seemed content to just debate the name of the place. Hopefully, they could agree on something dignified that befits a school for wizardry.

They couldn’t, as it turns out, but there was only so long that they could argue about it before something had to be picked. And they had been fair about it, much to Loki’s chagrin. He should have cheated on the choice. At least then, they wouldn’t have been saddled with Hogwarts. What kind of a name was that anyway? He couldn’t even remember who had offered that as a suggestion but Loki was quite peeved when it won.

Loki sat outside of a shop selling sweet, cold dairy-based treats and watched the witches and wizards going about their day. He had quickly finished reading that book and was not particularly happy about what he’d found. This was why he hated gossipmongers (himself excluded… sometimes). They always seemed to find what he did objectionable and blame him for everything, even when it wasn’t his fault. Honestly, it was like nobody wished to acknowledge the many cases of normal humans attacking those with magic. Just because a fully trained witch or wizard could escape execution and torture fairly easily in most cases didn’t mean that they always could or that the uneducated children could. And yet Loki was the one in the wrong for not wanting to throw all caution to the wind and just train anyone that managed to accidentally magic themselves out of an accident.

Loki sighed and leaned his head back to stare up at the sky. He supposed, given the state of things, they’d managed to avoid too many problems with the decision. Witches and Wizards were still numerous enough although the number of humans without magic had grown far faster. And it hadn’t escaped his notice that the two populations were very much not mingling together. So, really, though things weren’t as bad as he’d feared, it didn’t seem to Loki as if it had improved all that much.

Teaching those from muggle families was, at this point, a moot topic. They’d already been doing it for centuries, and society hadn’t collapsed. Loki still wasn’t thrilled about it; he’d been mocked, ridiculed, and teased -sometimes violently- for most of his childhood over his sorcery, so he knew the dangers well. But, he also knew a pointless argument when he saw one. Loki let his misgivings about it go. One couldn’t step backwards about such things. Hopefully, Muggles would be a little less stupid and violent on the whole now. They’d made quite a few scientific advancements, after all. In Loki’s experience, once more science started being looked at, the mystical and magical world tended to be dismissed and overlooked. Frustrating but sometimes good.

Loki stood up and adjusted his suit before teleporting himself from Diagon Alley to the little village outside of the school. Hogs… Hogs… well, Hog something or another. Loki didn’t remember, but it wasn’t all that important. Loki walked the streets, taking note of all that had changed and what few things hadn’t. The layout seemed largely the same, and a few of the buildings looked like they’d survived, but others were much different.

There was one building that exclusively sold sweets, and though there had been a building there before, Loki didn’t remember it looking like that or being a shop at all. In his memory, it had been a large barn. Inside the shop window, he saw two small children looking through all the shelves. They were in dark cloaks with scarves of black and gold wrapped around their necks.

Loki took a moment to consider how he was going to approach the situation. He wanted to know what was going on, but inserting himself might cause more headaches than he wanted. Especially if it wasn’t serious. Perhaps seeing what was going on first was the wiser option. But how would he do that? He could make himself invisible easily enough, but he remembered that such magic wasn’t always reliable when faced with others who knew magic. It worked a treat on Thor, but Godric hadn’t been as easily fooled by basic invisibility charms.

Well, hidden in plain sight had always worked well for him in the past. Loki stepped down an alley between a pub of some sort and its neighbor and shifted his shape. It was a skill he hadn’t told many witches and wizards about because he hadn’t been very good at it back then and had never been fond of showing off if he hadn’t mastered an ability. But now, after so many hundreds of years, he was exceptionally skilled at shape-shifting. Loki stepped out of the alley, looking as he did when he was just a child. He pushed his black hair back from his face and turned towards the castle in the distance. “Well, let’s see what’s going on up there,” he said to himself as he started walking. 

“This is it, Professor,” Harry said with a gesture to the now plain door at the bottom of the stairs behind the serpent gargoyle. Even the knocker had disappeared this time, so all that was there was a flat wooden surface.

Professor Dumbledore stepped forward. “Yes, I see.” Ron shifted uneasily as Dumbledore seemed to just stare at the door. Then, after a moment, he lifted his wand and tapped the tip against the wood. Golden sparks tumbled to the ground, and then the knocker and doorknob reappeared with a green shimmer. Dumbledore flicked his wand again. The lock clicked, and the heavy door opened with just a crack.

There was a heartbeat of silence. Dumbledore looked at his wand, although Harry had no idea what he was looking for. He was just holding it up. The tip wasn’t even alight. “Well, come in. It’s rude to just stand outside of a door,” Slytherin’s voice called from within the room.

Dumbledore put his wand away, pushed the door open fully, and strolled in. Harry and Ron exchanged a somewhat uneasy glance but followed him into the study. The portrait of Slytherin was sitting on his chair with the black snake wrapped around one arm. Its triangular head was resting on Slytherin’s chest and was being stroked with Slytherin’s other hand. “Welcome. I assume you would be the Headmaster currently in charge of my school?”

“I am,” Dumbledore said. “Albus Dumbledore.”

“Charmed, I suppose. I hope you can give me a clearer idea of what is going on in my school,” Slytherin said as he continued to stroke the black snake’s head. “Mr. Potter’s information seems quite fantastical.”

Dumbledore tucked his hand into the small of his back as he faced the portrait. “It seems as if someone is opening the Chamber of Secrets that you constructed,” he said. “For the second time in the school’s history.”

“Yes, that is my main confusion,” Slytherin said. “An explanation, if you please. There should be no way to access the chamber without going through this room.”

Dumbledore frowned slightly, but the frown disappeared quickly. He seemed to be thinking about how to respond to that. Harry and Ron exchanged an uneasy look. “There was a rumor that one of your descendants who was Headmaster some time ago moved the entrance. There was no evidence of it, but then until fifty years ago there was no evidence that there was a chamber at all.”

Slytherin narrowed venomous green eyes. “One impossible statement does not make another any more likely. I never had any children. Unless you count my lovely basilisk, of course. I did hand raise it, after all.”

“Perhaps it happened after this painting was constructed,” Dumbledore said mildly.

Slytherin laughed. “Highly unlikely. But ignoring that… why would anyone want to move the entrance to the chamber?”

“I could speculate, but the point remains that it was and now your basilisk is harming the students of this school, which is entirely unacceptable,” Dumbledore said firmly.

“Agreed,” Slytherin said easily. Harry was still a little surprised that Slytherin didn’t seem to be as homicidal as he’d always imagined. Wasn’t this evil wizard and his teachings the source of Voldemort? He was glad for it, of course, but it was still surprising. “But unless you can speak to snakes, I suggest finding a way to remove the wards from this room so that I can leave my frame and do it for you.”

Dumbledore withdrew his wand and stepped forward. “I had noticed the wards. They’re are unlike any I’ve seen before.”

“I designed them myself, yes,” Slytherin said, sounding somewhat distracted. He was eyeing the wand in Dumbledore’s hand curiously. “I’m quite the genius you know… is that what I think it is?”

“How did you make the wards last for as long as you have?” Dumbledore questioned without answering Slytherin's.

Slytherin narrowed his eyes. “A simple matter of casting them on the winter solstice while the heavens were in the best alignment,” the portrait answered. “Astronomy was one of my stronger subjects. I have a certain… personal history with such things.” Slytherin smiled as if he’d just said something vaguely funny that only he had any context for.

Dumbledore nodded, so Harry guessed that the explanation at least made sense. Ron edged closer to where Harry was standing as Dumbledore flicked his wand a few times. Thin ribbons of gold light fluttered from his wand and seemed to get drawn to the walls very quickly, where they stuck in strange patterns. The lines went from glowing gold to bright green before fading away.

Slytherin hummed and got up from his chair. “Well, let’s see how you did,” he said as he sauntered off the edge of the portrait. He reappeared just a moment later. “Hm, I didn’t bounce off the frame like I usually do but I didn’t end up anywhere either. I imagine having been warded for so long might have had some long lasting effects on the room itself.”

“That would make sense,” Dumbledore mused. He seemed to think for a moment before continuing, “If we reverse the circumstances you used to place the wards that might help remove any residual magic, but we would have to wait for Winter Solstice and that does pose a problem.”

“How so?”

Dumbledore began a long explanation that Harry only barely caught any of. Instead, he looked at Ron, glad that at least his friend looked equally bewildered. He knew that wards were advanced magic, but Harry would have felt silly if he had been the only one in the room who could not understand what was going on. “Do you think that snake in the painting is the one Slytherin was talking about?” Ron asked after several minutes of Professor Dumbledore and Slytherin debating the problem.

“I don’t know… kinda feels like it,” Harry said. “It did get all upset when I told Slytherin about the chamber being opened.”

“Maybe it just doesn’t like being locked in a room for all this time,” Ron said. “I hate being grounded.” Harry thought about that and shrugged. It did sound boring, he admitted.

“Before we get too in the weeds with this,” Slytherin was saying. “Perhaps the students could be escorted back to their rooms. This is all much more advanced than they’re prepared for.”

“Ah. Yes, of course,” Dumbledore said. He turned back to Harry and Ron with a smile. “Come along boys. Let’s get you both back to the tower. I will handle this from here,” he said before ushering Harry and Ron out of Slytherin’s Office. Harry was kind of curious as to what was going on but he was only a second year, he didn’t think he knew anything that would be of help.