Chapter 67: The Good Weasley
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 67: The Good Weasley
The library was quiet, as it always was in the late afternoon.
Harry sat at a table near the back, a Charms textbook open in front of him. His eyes moved across the page, but his mind was elsewhere.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the figure approaching until a soft voice spoke from beside him.
"Harry?"
He looked up. Ginny Weasley stood at the end of the table, her red hair catching the light from the window. Her bright eyes were filled with concern, and she was clutching a book to her chest like a shield.
"Ginny," Harry said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
She tilted her head to one side. "You mean other than reading?. This is a library." A soft smile appeared on her face.
Harry could not help but smile too. "You know what I mean, here...talking with me, in public."
Ginny glanced around, checking that no one was watching. The library was nearly empty...a few students huddled in the far corners, and Madam Pince was dozing at her desk.
"It's fine now. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit," she said while keeping her voice low. "I've been worried about you, Harry. You've been... different lately."
"Different how?"
" I don't know...distant, or maybe sad. Did something bad happen?"
"Something bad?..." He wouldn't even know where to start.
Harry's heart tightened. He couldn't tell her the truth...could he? She was a Weasley. Her family was Dumbledore's most loyal servants.
But then he remembered her kindness on the train, how she stood up against her brothers. Her warning against Dumbledore in the library. The way she had looked at him...Ginny was nothing like the rest of her family.
She was a good person.
"Ginny," he said carefully, "I don't think it's safe for you to be seen talking to me."
"I don't care what's safe," Ginny said, her voice fierce. "I care about what's right. And something is very wrong with you, Harry. I can see it. I'm worried...I dont want something bad to happen to you."
Harry looked into her amber eyes...they were so bright, so full of determination. And he made a decision.
"Okay, sit down," he said quietly. "But keep your voice down."
Ginny slid into the chair across from him, her eyes fixed on his face. "What's going on? And don't tell me it's nothing. I've been watching you from afar. You're not the same person you were at the start of the year."
Harry took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm not."
He began to speak.
The minutes went by quickly, and before he realized, more than an hour had passed, and he had told her everything.
He told her about Dumbledore's manipulations, the poisoned lemon drops, the compulsion charms, the mind reading...
He told her about the Dursleys...Petunia, Vernon, Dudley, and how Dumbledore had murdered them. He told her about the Obliviate spell, the false memories implanted on his mind, the fake life he had been forced to live for the entire summer.
And he told her about the diary he had left behind with Draco and about how he recovered his true memories. About the rage and grief that burned inside him.
Ginny listened in silence, her face growing paler with each word. Her hands were clasped tightly on the table, her knuckles white.
When Harry finished, she was quiet for a long moment. Then she spoke, her voice barely a whisper.
"Harry, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you had gone through something like that. I knew Dumbledore was dangerous...my brothers talk about him like he's a god, but I've always known there was something wrong with him, with my family and with the people at the Ministry. But this..." She shook her head. "This is beyond anything I could have imagined."
Harry watched her, waiting for her to turn away, to retreat, to report him.
But she didn't.
"I believe you," she said. "I believe every word you said."
Harry felt a surge of relief. "You do?"
"Of course I do." Ginny leaned forward, her eyes blazing. "I've seen the way Dumbledore controls people. I've seen the way he manipulates my brothers. Ron thinks he's the greatest wizard who ever lived, but he's just being used like a puppet. They're all puppets to him...he is...evil."
"Yeah..." Harry nodded. "He is."
She reached across the table and placed her hand on his. "I want to help you, Harry. I know it's dangerous. I know my family would disown me if they found out. But I don't care. I'm not like them. I never have been."
Harry stared at her, his heart swelling with gratitude. "Ginny, I can't ask you to do that. If you get caught-"
"I won't get caught," she said firmly. "I've been listening to my older brothers for years. I know how to move around this castle without being seen. And I have access to their conversations with McGonagall. I can pass information to you. I'm sure I'll find something useful for you."
Harry hesitated. He didn't want to put her in danger. But he needed allies. And he desperately needed someone on the inside who could pass him important information.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Once you do this, there's no going back. If the Headmaster catches you...I dont know what he will do."
Ginny had a determined smile on her face. "I've never been more sure of anything."
Harry felt a warmth spread through his chest. He had found another ally.
Another friend.
"Thank you so much, Ginny," he said. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"Let's hope you never have to find out," she said. Then she stood up, glancing around once more. "I should go. If anyone sees us together, it will raise suspicion."
"Wait," Harry said. "How can I reach you? If I need to tell you something?"
"Mmm..." Ginny thought for a moment. "We can use the library. Same time, same place. I'll come every few days. If I don't show up, it means something's wrong."
Harry nodded. "I'll be here."
Ginny turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and Harry?"
"Yes?"
She smiled again, softer this time. "I'm glad you told me. I'm glad you trust in me. Thank you."
She slipped away between the shelves, disappearing into the shadows.
Harry sat alone, staring at the empty space where she had been. He felt lighter, freer. He had another ally. Another friend.
And now, he also had a new mission.
<><>
That night, Harry waited until the common room was quiet.
The fire had burned down to embers, and the other Ravenclaws had gone to bed.
Harry slipped out of his room, the Invisibility Cloak wrapped around his shoulders.
He had been thinking about the Sanctum of the Brave all day. Hermione had said it was a legend, a fairy tale. But Harry knew better. He had read enough stories to know that legends often had a grain of truth.
And he had a theory.
In the original story, the Chamber of Secrets had been hidden in the girls' bathroom on the second floor. Slytherin had created it, and it had been accessed through a sink marked with a serpent.
But in this world, everything was inverted. Salazar Slytherin was a healer, not a dark wizard. He wouldn't have created a Chamber of Secrets, which is why there were no legends about it.
But apparently, Godric Gryffindor did create one.
And if the founders' personalities were inverted, then Gryffindor's secret chamber might be hidden in the same place...beneath the girls' bathroom on the second floor.
Harry knew this was a long shot, and he was likely to come out disappointed, but he didn't lose anything for trying.
At the very least, it was better than doing nothing.
Thanks to the concealment of the cloak, he moved through the dark corridors with ease.
The cloak hid him from view, but he was still careful. Every shadow seemed to move, every flicker of torchlight made him pause.
He reached the second floor and slipped into the girls' bathroom.
The room was cold and damp, and the white tiles were slightly worn. But despite its age, it was well maintained, just like the rest of the castle.
Between the magic of the Four Founders and the work of the house elves, there was no spot left in disrepair.
Also, he never heard any rumors about a ghost of any kind haunting this particular bathroom.
'It makes sense, I guess. Myrtle had originally died because Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk escaped.' Harry recalled.
No chamber of secrets, no dead girl.
'But...' He paused. 'Would Godric Gryffindor have hidden a dangerous beast inside his secret chamber?' And if he did...what kind of beast could still be hidden in there?.
Harry quickly shook those useless thoughts away. There was no point in fearing a hypothetical beast guarding a place that may or may not exist.
He looked around the rows of sinks at the end, his eyes scanning each one very carefully, not wanting to miss any clue.
He was looking for something that stood out. Like a symbol, a marking, or anything that might indicate a hidden entrance.
And then...he saw something strange.
At the far end of the row, one of the sinks was different from the others. The metal appeared to be older and had a slightly different color. And on the side of the basin, carved into the porcelain, was a small, intricate symbol.
It looked like a lion, rampant, its mouth open in a silent roar. The symbol of Gryffindor House.
"It's here!... It's really here." He muttered.
His theory had proven to be true. In this inverted world, Godric Gryffindor had chosen the exact same spot as Salazar Slytherin originally did.
This meant that this spot must be somewhat significant. There should be a reason for both founders to choose the same place for their secret chamber, but that was not the most important part right now.
Harry's heart raced. He reached out and touched the carving.
He traced the outline of the lion with his fingertip, feeling the grooves in the porcelain. He tried to push the sink, to pull it, to turn it. Nothing happened.
He tapped the carving, whispered the keyword and password he could think of.
Still nothing.
'It's protected,' he realised. 'It won't open for just anyone. It needs something more.'
He thought back about the original story. Only the heir of Slytherin could open the Chamber of Secrets by using Parseltongue.
In this world, the heir of Gryffindor would need to open the Sanctum of the Brave by using some method reserved to a Gryffindor...but what could that be?.
'I'm not a Gryffindor,' he thought. 'I was sorted into Slytherin, and then moved to Ravenclaw, so I cannot possibly be the heir that the creator of this chamber had in mind.'
"But..." He muttered, thinking of a possible solution. "I need the help of a true Gryffindor.
He didn't know if that would help in any way, but there was only one Gryffindor he would dare to ask for help on something like this.
'Ginny...' He thought about the kind redhead girl. 'If anyone is going to help me open this thing...it has to be her.'
Harry pulled the cloak tighter around himself and slipped out of the bathroom, his mind already planning his next move.
He had found the entrance to the Sanctum of the Brave.
Now he just needed to open it.
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