Creatures Great and Small

Creatures Great and Small
by Andrea13 and Persephone
Chapter 3

"How'd yeh even FIND that?" Rubeus hissed. Even though he was trying to be quiet, his voice echoed in the empty loo.

Tom grinned at him and pointed at the tap, where a small snake was etched into the metal. "Just sharp eyes." He turned back to the tap and whispered, "Open." To Rubeus, it sounded like nothing more than snake's hissing.

There was a blaze of silver-white light -- Rubeus squinted -- and then the sink... well, sank. Into the floor. Behind it was a hole -- too big for any reasonable plumbing, big enough in fact that even Rubeus would be able to get into it. Barely.

"Wow...Looks like yeh were right, Tom." He was practically bouncing in excitement. "Let's go!"

"Wait a minute." Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a scarf. "Keep this handy. If you hear the basilisk, put it over your eyes. Or shut them. Both, preferably. Until I make sure it's clear." He looked down the hole. "Let's go."

Tom stepped into the hole first. It was logical, since he was, after all, the one who could talk to the creature. Even in the excitement, though, it was nice to have Rubeus with him. As long as he kept safe, of course.

The pipe was very slippery. Not slime, exactly -- at least, Tom tried not to think it was slime -- but it let them slide rapidly down until they emerged in a stone chamber. Tom fell onto his hands and knees, then hastily got out of the way in case Rubeus wasn't braking any better than he had.

Apparently he wasn't. Rubeus landed with a crash in the space Tom had just vacated. He didn't lose his grin the whole time. "That was great!"

Tom shook his head and laughed. "That's my little brother. Now stay behind me."

The main thing this would actually accomplish was to give them both a good view. Rubeus, nevertheless, chuckled a bit breathlessly and followed. "D'ya think this is really it?"

"It could be..." Tom looked all around. The Chamber was very dark, even with both their wands providing light. "Is this it?" he whispered in disappointment. Where was the basilisk? "It looks like there's more this way. Come on."

The boys walked through empty tunnels for long enough that Tom was starting to get anxious. He started to wonder if they'd come the wrong way...until they came across a large door carved with serpents. "Open," he hissed at it, grinning at Rubeus when it quietly slid open.
They emerged into a large chamber, ringed with a series of tall columns carved with even more serpents. At the opposite end was a large statue of a man. Salazar Slytherin himself?

"This has to be the Chamber," Tom said excitedly. This was more like it. But if this was the Chamber of Secrets, where was the basilisk? He switched to Parseltongue and called out, "Is anything out there?"

For a moment he thought he heard a soft noise that might have been the scrape of scales on stone... then nothing more. Except for Rubeus' footsteps moving quietly a bit off to the side. Tom turned sharply. "What're you doing?"

"Thought I saw -- here it is." Rubeus crouched and extended his wand over something; Tom came to look and saw that it was a shed skin.

A very large one.

It was a bright, poisonous green, easily twenty feet long. "I was right," Tom whispered in growing excitement. "It has to be a basilisk. But where IS it?"

He paced restlessly around the chamber, holding his wand up high to investigate the walls. No more carved snakes. In fact, the only carving in the entire place was the statue...that had to be it, didn't it? "Open," he hissed in Parseltongue.

It didn't move.

"What did yeh say to it, Tom?"

"'Open,'" Tom replied absently in English. "Obviously that wasn't it, though -- at least, nothing's happened that I could see."

"From all yeh and Aunt Mary say, wouldn' he have been embarrassed ter make it that simple, even for a Parselmouth?" Rubeus shifted a little uneasily under the stony gaze. "Maybe yeh should be more polite. I can' imagine any of the Hogwarts Four would take kindly to being ordered about, even as statues."

Tom grinned at him. "We'll turn you into a Slytherin yet, little brother. Should I just say please? Hmm...." He studied the statue some more, then shifted back to Parseltongue. "Please open? Excuse me, Mr. Slytherin, would you mind moving aside so I could meet your basilisk?"

Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

Rubeus snorted under his breath at the idea of being turned into a Slytherin, despite their location, and started slowly prowling the walls. Tom noticed after a moment's discontented staring at the statue that Rubeus had taken on that peculiar air that tended to attract dangerous beasts to investigate him, but not eat him. Teethe on him, occasionally. It was a sort of fond, inquisitive, utterly fearless respect remarkably similar to the attitude with which his mother approached deadly flora.

"Think yeh should speak ter the basilisk too? Respectful's all well and good, but it ought ter really be here...."

"I thought I heard something earlier, but it hasn't said anything yet." Tom tried a few more polite phrases to the statue, but it remained remarkably unmoved even by "pretty please". It couldn't hurt to try the basilisk again. He raised his voice again, trying to project behind the statue. "Basilisk? Are you back there? I'm a friend. I'd like to give you a chance to stretch your, er, coils."

Straining his ears, Tom thought he heard another soft noise. He glanced at Rubeus, who had perked up as well -- he'd heard it too! "Did you --"

"Yes." Rubeus looked thoughtful. "At least it's got a little room to move in there, sounds like...."

"I KNEW there'd be something here!" Tom was practically bouncing in glee, which would be very disturbing for anyone who knew him to see. "I'd really like to let you out," he called again to the basilisk, "but I'm not sure how to get through!"

There was another noise, one that smacked of restless motion. Rubeus had forgotten to be wary of a statue Salazar Slytherin had presumably built and might have booby-trapped; he was standing right at the statue's feet and listening hard. "P'rhaps yeh have ter say you're family, Tom," he speculated. "It'd make sense, wouldn' it? I mean, there's other Parselmouths, if not many of them."

"I'll try that if you'll move away from the statue. You're not family, so you don't know what it might do to you," Tom said testily. "You're supposed to be careful, remember?"

Rubeus shot him a slightly hurt look, though he did know perfectly well that step-brother probably didn't count for much in old Slytherin's eyes. "I was just listenin'," he muttered as he backed off to the other wall again.

"Thank you." He eyed the statue and tried to think of how best to present his case. "Great Slytherin, I am your Heir and I have come to claim your Chamber!" Nothing. Well, maybe that was a little pompous...

...He thought he heard serpentine laughter, very faintly.

Rubeus' eyebrows shot up. "Well, unless I'm hearing things, whatever yeh just said got some kind of answer..."

"It was laughing at me," Tom muttered, his ears turning red. "A little help here, Ancestor? Speak to me, Slytherin!"

Unless he was imagining things, now the statue looked amused. At least, that might be a smile -- had the stone lips parted slightly? "I think it opened a little!" he exclaimed, holding his wand up over his head and trying to see better.

"Well? What did yeh say?"

"I asked him for help...that doesn't seem like his style. I said..." Shifting to Parseltongue, he repeated, "Speak to me, Slytherin!"

Dust stirred on the statue this time. It was definitely working, but...not enough.

"I heard that," Rubeus muttered, "I was hopin' yeh'd translate. What does seem like his style?" He was drifting closer again, and halted with a sigh at an alarmed look from Tom.
"I said, 'Speak to me, Slytherin' and it seemed to get a response. I don't know...the stories just didn't make him seem like the kind of person who'd want you asking for help. He'd want you to figure it out on your own...But obviously you're supposed to say something to the statue!"

He sighed and hissed again, "Speak to me, Slytherin...and let your Heir pass!"

This time there was a definite answering hiss -- and it seemed to come from the statue, though it was the same as the laughter, but higher up.... "Ssstill not quite right."

"It's TALKING to me!" Tom exclaimed to Rubeus. Then back to Parseltongue for, "I'm trying my best, you know. I don't suppose you could tell me what it is, then?"

"You'll let me out, if I do?" Must be the basilisk, then, not the statue. It sounded hopeful.

"Of course! That's why I'm down here. I wanted to meet you, and give you a chance to get out of there for a while." Tom considered for a moment, then added, "Er, you might want to close your eyes, though. I won't do you much good if I'm dead."

"I know not to look ssstraight at humansss. Sssalazar told me when I wass ssstill an egg." The hiss was dismissive. "Isss the ssschool in danger?"

"Just checking." Tom quelled his surge of elation. He was talking to a basilisk! One that KNEW Salazar Slytherin!! "No, the school isn't in danger. I just thought you must be getting tired of being in there.... My brother and I just wanted to meet you. Will you tell me how to get past the statue?"

"Has it not been told you by your family?"

"Even the Chamber itself has become a legend. It's been a thousand years since Salazar Slytherin lived."

"Has it really? No wonder I wasss getting bored." There was a pause. "You do not passsss the ssstatue."

"What do I do, then?"

"Ssso that it will let me, sssay, 'Ssspeak to me, Ssslytherin, greatessst of the Hogwartsss Four."

Tom took a deep breath, looked at the statue, and said firmly, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"

There was a rumbling sound. Rubeus jumped up and shouted, "Yeh DID it, Tom!"

"The basilisk did," Tom corrected, grinning, watching as the statue rumbled open. "Remember, don't look at it in the eyes."

"I know that!" Rubeus was smiling too, though, and trying hard not to look straight at the statue's mouth as the serpent began to emerge, looking initially like a rather unhealthy tongue.

"Oh wow," Tom muttered under his breath, grinning. "I'm very pleased to meet you," he hissed to it.

"And I the sssame," it replied, moving gracefully across the floor -- eyes safely covered by the lids it conveniently possessed in defiance of the usual custom among serpents. It raised its head far enough to flick its tongue in his face, then turned and did the same in Rubeus' general direction. "Your brother, you sssay? He tassstes of giant."

"He's my step-brother," Tom explained. Rubeus was grinning ear-to-ear, as if there was nothing more exciting than being licked by a gigantic serpent. "His mother was a giantess. His father married my mother."

"What's it sayin', Tom?"

"It --" Tom glanced up at the head -- no crest -- and amended, "She asked about you. I was explaining about our family."

"She's not goin' ter decide ter eat me because I'm not Slytherin's Heir, is she?"

"I don't think so. Since when have you ever been worried about 'interesting creatures' eating you?"

"Well, most of them aren' under orders of a wizard from a thousand years back, are they? 'Specially not one who seems to have been pretty possessive. Thought I'd ask." Having discovered via sidelong glances that looking was perfectly safe, Rubeus was now gazing enraptured at the basilisk, never mind whether she might think he was a midnight snack or not.

"She seems pretty nice. As long as she doesn't think you're a danger to the school, I don't think she'll hurt you." He looked back to the serpent. "Is there anything I can get you? I know you've been stuck back there for a long time."

"I have had food and ressst... too much, perhapsss. It is nice to be out for a bit." Tom got the distinct feeling she had just smiled at him. "If you have the time, talk to me, pet my ssscales. I was used to humansss, before."

"I'd be honored to talk to you. I've never spoken to anyone who knew Salazar Slytherin before..." Tom crossed over somewhat trepidatiously and laid a hand on the cool scales. "She wants us to pet her, Rubeus."

The basilisk laughed again. "I sssshould think not, unlesss it was one of the ghostsss, and even they fade sssometimes. Go home, it's sssaid. But humansss do not live so long, and even I had to be charmed for it."

Rubeus grinned happily. "Well, that's friendly, isn' it?" He rubbed a hand along the side of her head; the basilisk leaned into it.

"Sso what are your Housess?"

"She wants to know what our Houses are," Tom translated to his brother, then returned to Parseltongue. "I'm in Slytherin, of course. My brother, to my eternal shame, followed his father into Gryffindor. I still put up with him, though."

"Ah, it'sss not ssso bad. Godric would ssscratch above my eyesss, too, once he got usssed to me. I liked him. But he ssshould have been lessss stubborn; Sssalazar would have ssstayed."

"Wait, you knew Godric Gryffindor? I thought that the Chamber was supposed to be a secret from the other Founders."

"It was. I wassn't."

"Oh." Tom blinked and tried to sort through all of this. He'd already thought up questions to ask...He shook himself enough to tell Rubeus, "She said Gryffindor used to scratch above her eyes. I think it's a hint."

"She knew him?" Rubeus asked, rather startled. He emulated his House's Founder quite willingly.

"That's what she said. The Chamber was a secret, but she wasn't." He shrugged and flipped through his questions in his head. "Why did Slytherin really leave, then? It's been so long, all we have are stories..."

"They argued." The hiss was sad. "Not the first time, but before, they never went so far."

"How far did they go? What happened?" Tom whispered, a thrill coursing through him. He was probably the first person to know the truth about this since...the Founders themselves!

"Far enough not to make up. I don't know it all; they didn't argue in front of me. But it was about what students to take, and what was safe and what was fair, and Salazar was very angry when he left. But he didn't want to go, I could tell."

"Why didn't he take you when he left?"

"And leave his studentss unprotected?" She sounded offended.

"Well, not to be rude, but how much help could you have been from behind a statue?"

"In an emergency, I would have been releassed. If an enemy penetrated Hogwarts itself, I would kill them."

"Well...I hope you wouldn't mind if Rubeus and I came down to talk to you every now and then. We won't keep you from anything you have to do, but Hogwarts is pretty safe nowadays."

"This is good. And I would be very glad to have you visit. You can tell me what is going on now, and I will tell you stories about your ancestor. I don't mind guarding the school, but I have missed humans."

"She said she'll tell us stories about Slytherin if we come visit her and tell her about life now," Tom reported to Rubeus, who was still diligently scratching above her eyes. "Anything you want me to ask her?"

"Why'd he keep her down here and if she likes it?" Rubeus suggested.

"Okay..." He switched back to Parseltongue. This was starting to get confusing. He was going to start hissing at Rubeus in a minute. "My brother wants to know why Salazar kept you down here instead of, you know, up in the castle."

"Becaussse here I don't have to keep my eyess closed all the time," the basilisk replied, the hissing sounding slightly amused. "And the Chamber isss sound-proof. Helga kept chickensss."

"She says," Tom translated, trying not to laugh, "that it was so she could open her eyes sometimes and couldn't hear Helga's chickens." He added to the basilisk, "There are chickens here now, but we were thinking if you wanted to come out we could put silencing charms on the roosters."

"That would be good. I would like the chance to ssstretch again." She stretched her head into the air, pressing into Rubeus' fingers. "And hunt. I am glad you came, Salazar's Heir."

Tom hesitated. "What is it you want to hunt, exactly? Because there are... pets you'd need to avoid." The Forbidden Forest, though, surely there were things she could eat there....

"Anything but ratssss," she hissed in distaste. "They are all that comes down here. Tell me what I cannot hunt. I am used to avoiding petssss."

"Mostly cats and toads... and owls, but I doubt those would be in your way as much." Tom paused. "And... anything with Rubeus' smell on it, or anything in the pens outside."

There was another hissing laugh. "I know to avoid livessstock as well. Rubeus -- your brother? He has unusual pets then?"

Tom gave Rubeus a fond smile. "Yeah. He loves animals. And they all seem to like him. Even the ones that don't like anyone. Erm, there's a Forest on the grounds. You can hunt just about anything in there."

"Except for the centaursss, yes." The basilisk flicked her tongue at Rubeus in what seemed to be an approving gesture. "I can see why they like him. He isn't skittish or rough."

"She approves of you," Tom informed his brother with a grin, then hissed, "Thank you, on his behalf. He was very excited about meeting you."

Rubeus beamed, then looked a bit worried. "Do yeh think yeh could ask her not ter scare Aragog any more than she can help?"

"She wasn't really trying to scare Aragog. He was scared just about her being around," Tom sighed, then turned back to the basilisk. "His current pet is a young acromantula, that was very worried when we said we thought there was a basilisk on the grounds. He wanted me to ask you not to hurt it."

"I wasn' blaming her, I'd just like if she could be nice...."

Rubeus trailed off as the basilisk arched her neck for a moment with a wordless hiss, followed by, "Acromantulae are dangerous, Salazar's Heir. Their venom is as deadly as mine, they are intelligent, and humans are prey to them."

"Rubeus has a way with animals. He's raised this one from an egg. It knows not to hurt humans. I've talked to it lots of times."

"Are you certain?"

"I'm certain I've talked to it, yes. And I trust Rubeus. Like you said, they ARE intelligent. He's told me he won't attack humans for Rubeus' sake, and I believe him." He paused, then added, "He was really nervous when he heard about you."

"As well he should be." The basilisk hissed to herself for a moment, but finally said, "I will not harm the acromantula unless he does harm first."

"Thank you." Tom relayed that information on to Rubeus, adding, "She really doesn't seem happy about it, but I told her Aragog won't hurt humans. You'd better make sure he remembers that. All the same...I don't think they should really be around each other much."

"Aragog wouldn' hurt anybody," Rubeus replied emphatically.

"That's what I told her. Oh, that reminds me..." Tom turned back to the basilisk and asked earnestly, "May I ask your name? It seems rude to just refer to you as 'her' and 'she' all the time."

"Sharessa." The basilisk nudged against his hand, reminding him to pet her. "What is yours, Salazar's Heir?"

Tom rubbed his hand across the top of her head. "My name is Tom Riddle. My brother is Rubeus Hagrid." He nudged Rubeus in the ribs. "Her name's Sharessa. Say hello."

"Hello, Sharessa," Rubeus said dutifully. "It's nice to meet you."

Sharessa gave a hiss under his hands that almost sounded like a purr. Tom laughed at the look on Rubeus' face. "She says it's nice to meet you too. I think she likes you, little brother. Honestly, can't you leave me just one 'interesting creature' that likes me best?" Scratching Sharessa's scales, the yawn took him by surprise.

"Of course she'll like yeh best, Tom. I can' talk to her, can I?" Rubeus yawned as well, thus prompted. "Well, not her language, or so as I can understand as well if she answers."

Sharessa flicked her tongue in the boys' direction again. "Tired, Salazar's Heir?"

Tom blushed a little. "Well, it IS the middle of the night. We had to sneak down."

"You should sssleep." She had gathered herself close to them, for easy reach, and now loops of coil snagged each boy in what seemed to be a sort of hug. "Sssalazar would not have wanted his sstudents too tired -- or asleep in classses. But come back, if you can."

"Was that a hug?" Rubeus whispered. "Basilisks aren't constrictors, are they?"

Tom smothered a laugh, and another yawn. "Yes, that was a hug." He reached forward to scritch just above Sharessa's eyes once more. "We'll definitely come back. Thank you for talking to us."

"Of course." Sharessa snugged against them again, more of a nudge this time. "You should go." That not-quite-staccato hiss that served as laughter. "Try not to get caught."

Tom looked offended. "Caught? Me? Please!" He took his brother's arm. "Come on, little brother. We'd better go."

"Um, Tom?" Rubeus asked hesitantly as they neared the pipe tunnel that had served as their entrance, Sharessa slithering beside them. "How're we going to get out? We slid down the pipe; I don' think we can slide back up..."

"Um...." Tom was eyeing the hole and hastily evaluating his skill at levitation spells when Sharessa nudged him again, under the elbow.

"Need a pusssh?"

"Oh. That would be great, thanks." He looked over to Rubeus and switched back to English. He really hoped he wasn't going to start switching into Parseltongue in the middle of class or something now. "Sharessa's going to give us a lift. Brace yourself."

Rubeus blinked. Then Sharessa prodded Tom into the mouth of the pipe and started shoving him up it with the top of her head, working her way up with no apparent concern for the limited traction. Tom climbed out the end of the pipe and watched a bit worriedly as the basilisk slid backwards down to the Chamber to send Rubeus up, but the other boy emerged quite safely after a slightly longer delay.

Rubeus was grinning broadly. "I want ter to that again!"

Tom laughed and moved over to scratch Sharessa once more. "Thanks. We'll be down again soon."

She nudged his hand affectionately, then slithered back down the pipe, leaving him to close the opening behind her. It turned out, fortunately, that a Parseltongue "Close" had the effect of pulling the sink soundlessly back up to conceal the entrance. "All right. We'd better be careful, here...."

"Right. Don' want ter run inta Pringle..." Rubeus poked his head out the door. "Looks like the coast is clear."

"All right. Let's go."

They crept through the hallways, Tom feeling eyes boring into his neck with every step. Of course, the portraits would never tell on him. He'd made sure to make friends with them during his first year. But everyone knew Pringle knew the castle like no other and could sneak up on unwary students. He was starting to relax when they finally reached the point where they'd separate to get to their own dormitories. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rubeus," he whispered. "Remember, don't tell anyone."

"I won', Tom."

"Oh, but I might," an amused voice interjected.

Dumbledore. Oh, Merlin, they'd been caught by the Head of Gryffindor! Tom turned slowly and looked up at the Transfiguration Professor, who had almost definitely not been visible thirty seconds ago. "Professor Dumbledore." He swallowed. "I'm sorry, sir -- I realize it's late, but... well, being in different Houses, Rubeus and I don't really get to see each other as much, and...." He chose this point to trail off.

"Ah, so it was merely fraternal affection which drove you to breaking the school rules," Dumbledore replied, nodding his head. "That, of course, negates all such rules. I should merely wish you a pleasant evening, then?"

"That would be nice..." Rubeus mumbled.

"Well, no, but we were hoping that in the spirit of inter-House cooperation and so on and since we aren't doing anything alarming, you'd be more lenient than if we'd been getting dragged inside from the grounds or some such."

He didn't have to mention that the last students dragged in from the grounds had been sneaking dungbombs into the manure piles for Herbology. The whole thing was more straightforward than he liked, but then, he was talking to a very perceptive Gryffindor, and they were caught red-handed, so being straightforward was probably best.

"Hogwarts has high standards for its prefects, Mr. Riddle. Or at least Gryffindor ones. Perhaps I should speak with the head of your House about such problems."

"If you see fit, sir." Not that he could give his own head-of-House a better explanation than he could offer Dumbledore. He sighed. Almost anyone would believe him if he said he'd been trying to get his brother in quietly after an illicit excursion in search of "interesting creatures," but Tom didn't quite like the idea -- for one thing it was too close to the truth, except that this had been HIS interesting creature, and for another... he didn't want to just put it off on Rubeus, even if it probably wouldn't really do him any harm considering how often he'd been reprimanded for similar things before! Anyway, Rubeus would be hurt, and probably wouldn't like trying to mislead Dumbledore any more elaborately than by omission....

"Don' blame Tom, sir," Rubeus spoke up. He looked at Tom uncomfortably. "It's jus', you know, with Tom studyin' fer his OWLs...." His voice trailed off. He couldn't quite manage to lie to Dumbledore, even if he could hardly tell him that they'd just come from talking to Slytherin's pet basilisk. "We're awfully sorry, sir."

"Sorry you broke the rules or sorry you got caught?" the professor asked whimsically. "Well, keeping you up won't un-break the rules. You'd best get back to your dormitories." Before the boys could relax too much, he added with a twinkle in his eyes, "I'll speak to you in the morning about your punishments."

"Yes, sir." Oh, as if they were going to get much sleep now.... Tom stifled a yawn as Dumbledore turned away. All right, maybe they were.

Nobody could look that amused unless they were at least going to embarrass you horribly.

*****