Chapter 72: Broken Masks and Secret Chambers
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 72: Broken Masks and Secret Chambers
"Mmmm?..." Harry looked up from his charms textbook and looked at Hermione, who sat across from the small circular reading table at one corner of the Ravenclaw common room.
He was supposed to be studying for an upcoming test, but his eyes kept drifting to the same paragraph, reading it over and over without absorbing a word.
It was impossible to concentrate while waiting to explore that ancient secret chamber in just two days.
In front of him, Hermione was hunched over her own book, her quill moving across the parchment with mechanical precision. She had been very quiet all evening, even by her standards.
Harry glanced at her, noticing the tension in her shoulders, the way her jaw was clenched. Something was wrong.
"Hermione?" he asked gently. "Are you alright?"
She did not respond immediately. Her quill continued to move, but Harry noticed it was slower now, less certain.
Then she stopped.
She reached into her robes and pulled out the familiar photograph...the one of the old couple. Her parents. She stared at it for a long moment.
Harry set down his quill. "Hermione... what is it?"
She was silent for so long that he thought she wouldn't answer. Just as he had every other time, he asked about her personal matters.
But then she spoke, her voice barely a whisper.
"I remember them."
Harry blinked a few times to show his shock. "You...you remember your parents?"
It made sense, since she kept looking at that picture. But Harry knew that his was supposed to be impossible. Muggle-born orphans had their memories wiped clean after being taken from their homes at an early age and before being placed in Ministry Orphanages.
Hermione must have been taken when she was around five or six years old. That is the age when magic first starts to awaken and the time when the Ministry can start to detect its usage in unauthorized areas.
That's how they find Muggleborns.
But Harry had realized from the beginning that something was different about Hermione.
That whatever they did to her during all those years...it did not completely erase who she was supposed to be.
"I do..." She nodded, her eyes still fixed on the photograph. "They're just fragments...broken memories, but I remember her laugh...my mother. She had a warm laugh, like she was always happy. And my father... he used to read to me. Bedtime stories. I remember the sound of his voice."
"Did the Ministry give you that picture?. What did they tell you about your parents?"
Hermione nodded. "Most orphans were given some memento from their families. They told me...that my parents died in a car accident...that I didn't have any more family, so the Ministry gave me a home in the magical world, because I was a witch."
Harry felt a lump form in his throat. "How long has it been since you started remembering?"
"Not long. Just a few months."
'When I was moved here.' Harry thought.
It was a curious coincidence because that was also the time when he was trying to recall his blocked memories.
'Could my magic have influenced her somehow?' He didn't know if that was possible.
Accidental magic was completely unpredictable after all.
Hermione looked up, and for the first time, Harry saw her mask slip completely. Her eyes were wet with tears, her face pale and vulnerable.
"I wasn't supposed to remember," she whispered. "The Ministry took them from me. They wiped my memories. They told me they died in a car accident. But I always knew... I always felt something was missing."
"Hermione..." Harry muttered. Unsure of what to say.
She pressed the photograph to her chest, her hands trembling. "I've been pretending for so long, Harry. Pretending to be cold, pretending to be obedient, pretending that I don't care. But I do care. I care so much it hurts."
Harry looked around. It was a good thing the common room was almost empty, and the few students in here were too busy studying to pay any attention to them.
"Look...I know how you feel. I also lost my family because of..."
"I know," Hermione said.
"You do?" Harry glanced at her with wide eyes. He had never shared it with her. No one was supposed to know that he had recovered his memories, much less Hermione Granger, who reported everything to McGonagall.
"The...the Chief Inquisitor told me about what happened. And how I had to report back to her if you ever mentioned them." Hermione lifted her hand. "But I won't...I promise."
"Are you sure?. If they find out that you are no longer loyal to them..." Harry had no idea what they would do. But it couldn't be good for Hermione.
Muggle-borns are not typically allowed to attend Hogwarts. Only the most talented and loyal ones are given the privilege.
A privilege that could easily be taken away.
"It doesnt matter." Hermione shook her head. "I'm scared, Harry. I'm so scared. I don't know who I am anymore. I've been pretending for so long that I've lost myself." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Harry squeezed her other hand. "You haven't lost yourself. You're still in there. I've seen her. The girl hiding beneath all those icy layers."
Hermione's tears flowed freely now. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. They're watching me all the time. If they find out I remember-"
"They won't," Harry said firmly. "I won't let them."
Hermione looked at him, her expression shifting from fear to some desperate hope to believe his words, no matter how unlikely that was. "Harry... if there's ever anything I can do to help you... I will. I promise."
Harry nodded. "I'll hold you to that."
They sat in silence for a while, the photograph still clutched in Hermione's hands. Harry didn't push her to speak. He simply stayed with her, a quiet presence in the dim light of the room.
<><>
Saturday night arrived at last. It was time to visit the chamber.
Harry waited until the common room was quiet, the fire burned low, and the other Ravenclaws had gone to bed. Then he slipped out of his room, the Invisibility Cloak wrapped around his shoulders.
The corridors were dark and empty. Harry moved quickly, his footsteps silent on the stone floor. He reached the second floor and slipped into the girls' bathroom.
Ginny was already there, waiting near the row of sinks. She was wearing dark robes, her red hair pulled back, her eyes bright with excitement. "You made it."
Harry nodded. "I hope I didn't make you wait for too long. Some seniors refused to go to bed..."
"Not at all. I just got here a few minutes ago." She smiled.
"Did you try to..." Harry pointed at the sink.
"Of course not. I was waiting for you...ready?" She whispered.
Harry nodded, pulling back the cloak and storing it inside his robes. He then took his wand out. "Ready."
He approached the sink with the lion engraving, his heart pounding. He took a deep breath and spoke the words he had memorized.
"By fire and courage, I claim my birthright."
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Harry was already starting to think that they got it wrong and something else was needed, or that the chamber was not here to begin with.
But then...they heard a cracking noise and the sink began to move, sliding aside to reveal a dark opening.
A set of stone steps descended into the darkness, winding down into the unknown.
"Whoa!" Ginny exclaimed.
"It's truly here...the entrance..." Harry muttered while looking into the opening.
Harry and Ginny exchanged a glance, then descended into the depths.
The staircase wound down, down, down. The walls were rough stone, damp with moisture. The air grew cooler as they ventured deeper, and it carried a faint smell that could only be described as... "old stuff".
After a long set of stairs that seemed to go on forever, they arrived at the bottom and emerged into the real Sanctum.
Harry gasped.
The chamber was vast, far larger than he had imagined. The ceiling soared high above them, lost in shadow.
The walls were lined with torches that ignited as they entered, casting a warm golden light across the space.
The room was decorated in the style of Gryffindor, bold and proud, with red and gold banners hanging from the walls.
The stone was carved with images of lions, their manes flowing, their eyes fierce. Great braziers stood at intervals, their flames burning bright and steady.
In the centre of the chamber, there was a massive circular door embedded in the stone. It was carved with intricate designs of swords, shields, and flames. At its centre was the carving of a large lion head with its mouth open as if trying to swallow some prey.
It was all very scary.
"This is it," Harry breathed. "This is the entrance to the inner chamber." Behind that door, Godric Gryffindor's secrets had been hidden for over a thousand years.
Ginny stepped forward, her eyes wide with wonder. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
Harry approached the circular door, his hand reaching out to touch the carved lion. The stone was warm beneath his fingers, as if it had been waiting for him.
He turned to Ginny. "Say the words."
Ginny nodded and stepped forward. She raised her hand and placed it on the door, her voice clear and steady.
"By fire and courage, I claim my birthright."
They waited...and waited some more.
But the door did not move.
Ginny tried again, her voice stronger this time. "By fire and courage, I claim my birthright."
Still nothing.
"Why isn't it working?" Ginny asked him.
Harry stared at the door, his heart sinking. He had been so sure this was it. The password, the symbol, the entrance. But the door remained closed, stubborn and silent.
He turned to Ginny, frustration creeping into his voice. "Did I get it wrong? Was there another password in the book?"
Ginny shook her head slowly. "No. That was the only one. There was nothing else resembling a password or a code."
Harry pressed his palm against the stone, feeling the warmth beneath his fingers. The carved lion seemed to mock him, its open mouth waiting for something he couldn't give.
Then he noticed something. The torches around them had begun to flicker, their flames dancing in a pattern he hadn't seen before.
They pulsed in a rhythm...two short, one long. A signal.
Ginny noticed it too. "Harry... look."
They watched as the flames continued their pattern, the shadows shifting across the walls. And then Harry understood.
"The trial has already begun," he said slowly. "The door not opening is part of it."
Ginny's eyes widened. "We're being tested."
Harry nodded, his mind racing. "Gryffindor didn't just want someone who knew the password. He wanted his heir to open the chamber."
"Then...what do we do now?" Ginny asked.
"Now..." Harry's eyes moved across the room. "We need to figure it out."
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