𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘

ACT TWO, CHAPTER SEVEN
enemies of the heir beware.

"WE HAVE TO go."

Ron's words seemed to strike Penelope. The Slytherin blinked, turning to Ron with confusion written all over her features. For a very long amount of time — actually, she's not sure how long they had been sitting there, but it felt like a fucking eternity — they had just been sitting there, watching as more people came from the Hog's Head. Never had it occurred to Penelope that they would leave the room before Harry came up."

"What?" Penelope asked. "Go? Go where?"

"The Hufflepuff Cup," Ron told her quietly. "We have to destroy it, but we don't have the sword of Gryffindor anymore."

Penelope still wasn't following. "Okay?"

"P, the only reason the sword could destroy Horcruxes was because it has Basilisk venom in it from when Harry stabbed it back in second year. To destroy the others, we need something from the Basilisk."

"Okay, so where are we going?"

"The Chamber of Secrets," Ron answered.

Her eyebrows raised. "The Chamber of Secrets? Ron, what the fuck—"

"It's the only way, Penelope," Ron stated. "We have to destroy them."

Penelope glanced around the room. Venus was sitting close to Charlotte and Neville, talking quietly with them. Hermione and Elijah were also sitting quite close, their shoulders brushing up against one another's. Fred and George were conversing with Remus Lupin, who had arrived not too long ago. The more Penelope thought about it, the more she started to agree with Ron. If this was truly the only way . . .

"Let's do it," Penelope agreed, looking over at him. "But I'm just letting you know, we have to do a lot of sneaking around. There's always somebody patrolling the corridors at night. The entrance is in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, right? That means we have to go all the way to the second floor."

"Let's do it," Ron said.

Penelope walked up to Venus, Charlotte, Elijah, and Hermione. "Ron and I are leaving. We have to get to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom — everything will make sense later. See you soon."

Ron and Penelope then snuck over to the small cupboard that was the exit to the Room of Requirement, and Ron grabbed a broomstick that was resting against one of the walls. It opened up onto a steep staircase. Penelope held her hand out to Ron and looked up at him, Ron nodded once and took her hand, interlocking their fingers together.

They hurried up the staircase, which was long, lit by torches, and turned corners in unexpected places. At last, they reached what appeared to be a solid wall, but Penelope knew better. She placed her hand on it and it immediately melted away at her touch. Indeed, they were up on the fifth floor. Penelope immediately pulled Ron back into the shadows.

During her time at Hogwarts, especially in the past few months, Penelope had to do a lot of sneaking around. She always had to go wherever the Room landed her down to the dungeons. Therefore, she had managed to find certain paths and such that she could go unseen. However, this time was different. If she managed to get caught before — which she didn't — she was sure the Death Eaters would let her go because of her mother's high status. But now she had an actual wanted person with her, an accomplice of Harry Potter. If they got caught, it would for sure not end well.

Gripping tightly onto Ron's hand, Penelope started to lead him in the direction of the girl's bathroom on the second floor. By some kind of miracle, nobody seemed to notice their soft footsteps as they descended down stairs and walked down corridors. They only had to sink back into the shadows a couple of times due to Death Eaters circling.

Penelope's heart hammered against her chest. But before she knew it, they had made it. Penelope pulled him inside quickly and shut the door behind them. She let out a breath of relief and looked up. Like always, Myrtle was just floating around.

"Good evening, Myrtle," Penelope greeted. She then looked at her boyfriend. "Okay, what now?"

Ron walked up to one of the sinks in the bathroom. "We need to open it with Parseltongue."

Penelope blinked. "Oh, sure. Let me just pull out my practice of snake language."

"Don't worry, I got it."

Ron then made a strange hissing sound. Penelope waited for a moment, but nothing happened. Letting out a deep breath, Ron tried again. And again, and again, and Penelope started to think that they would never get there, but then something happened. The tap then started to glow with a brilliant white light and started to spin. Next second, the sink began to move and it sank right out of sight. The only thing left was a large pipe exposed, one large enough for them to slide into.

"Brings back great memories," Ron commented. He hoisted the broomstick a little higher on his shoulder. "I'll go first."

Ron then slid his legs into the pipe and slid out of sight.

Penelope shook her head. "The things I do for this boy."

And with that, she lowered herself into the pipe.

It was exactly like going down an endless, slimy, dark slide. There were more pipes branching off in all directions, but none as large as the one as Penelope was on right now. Hers twisted and turned and sloped downwards at a steep angle. She knew that she was going farther underneath the school than the dungeons.

The pipe then leveled out and Penelope shot out of the end. She landed on the damp floor with a thud and looked up. They were now in a dark and large stone tunnel. Ron was standing above Penelope, his hand extended out to her. She took it and allowed him to help her up.

"Lumos," Penelope recited, and the tip of her wand lit up. "Where to?"

"Come on," Ron replied.

Through stones, small animal bones, and a lot of decaying snake skin, Ron led them over to a solid wall. Carved on it were two entwined serpents, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds. Ron repeated his strange hissing sound, and on the first try, it worked. The serpents parted as the wall cracked open and the halves slid smoothly out of sight.

Ron and Penelope stayed close to each other as they entered the chamber. It was very long and dimly lit. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to a support a ceiling that was lost in the darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place. Their footsteps echoed as they walked farther until they reached the main part of the chamber — a large statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"I'm all for Slytherin pride, but this is just a little excessive," Penelope admitted. "Somebody should've deflated his ego."

Ron nodded his head. "Look."

Penelope followed to where he was gesturing. Laying there was the skeleton of a very large snake — the Basilisk — just sitting there and decaying. Its fangs were yellow and curved. Penelope walked up to the skeleton and started to pull as many fangs as she could. Ron did so as well, and soon enough, their arms were full of fangs.

Ron then reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the small, golden cup. Penelope watched as he placed it on the ground of the chamber.

"Destroy it," Ron said.

Penelope blinked. "What?"

"Destroy it," Ron repeated simply. "It was found in the Lestrange vault. You always said you wanted to disassociate yourself from that family, so—"

He was ultimately cut off by a high, cold, and clear voice echoing throughout the chamber. Penelope glanced up — there was no telling from where it came, and only seemed to issue from the walls themselves. She knew whose voice it was, but she wondered how it managed to get all the way down here. But then again, the Chamber of Secrets was still a part of the castle.

"I know that you are preparing to fight," Voldemort began. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

Penelope gritted her teeth. Oh, this was just bullshit.

"Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

Penelope handed all of her fangs to Ron except for one. She then knelt over the small cup on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the fang above her head and brought it down on the cup. The fang stabbed straight into the small cup, and the cup started to spin. A blood like substance started to spill from it as well. There was a distant scream of pain coming from the cup itself before it stopped. And there the cup lay, blackened and broken. Ron reached out and took the ruined remains, placing it in his pocket.

She then looked up at Ron. After Voldemort's orders to everyone, he looked quite anxious. Harry was his best friend, after all. They all knew the Prophecy. Either Harry would live and defeat Voldemort, or . . .

"He's not taking Harry," Penelope stated firmly. "You really think we're gonna go down without a fight?"

Ron nodded, although he still looked a little worried. "We should get back. Something tells me that things are starting."

Penelope and Ron then ran out of the Chamber of Secrets, their arms still full of the Basilisk fangs. They reached the pipe where they had come out of. The two of them each put as many Basilisk fangs in their pockets as they could before Ron mounted his room. Penelope, holding most of the fangs, got on behind him and held onto him tightly.

Ron then kicked off, and the two of them soared upwards through the pipe. Before Penelope knew it, they were back in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and as they stood up, the castle quaked. The couple shared a grave look before running out of the bathroom.

People were running around. Penelope and Ron stuck close together, careful not to lose each other as they ran through the corridors, flashing lights and breaking windows in their wake. They ignored the shaking of the castle and continued to run, one specific destination in mind. The two of them sprinted up the stairs back to the Room of Requirement, and as they turned the corner on the fifth floor, they ran straight into Harry.

"Where the hell have you been?" Harry demanded.

Penelope pointed to him with difficulty, trying to catch her breath. "Hey, do you remember in second year when everyone thought I was the heir of Slytherin?"

"Um, yeah."

"Well, we just went to the place where I was rumored to go." Penelope smiled triumphantly. "The Chamber of Secrets."

"Chamber — what?" Harry said, coming to an unsteady halt before them.

"Well, Ron told me we needed to go, and I was like, what the fuck do you mean we need to go, but then he told me we needed a way to get rid of the Horcruxes. And then he said you could only destroy Horcruxes with the sword because it had Basilisk venom in it, so he said we had to get some pieces of the Basilisk straight from the source."

Harry stared at the fangs and then looked at Ron. "But how did you get in there? You need to speak Parseltongue!"

Penelope looked up at her boyfriend with pride. "Well, Ron over here has been practicing his snake language. Show them, baby."

Ron then made the strange hissing noise that he had used to open the Chamber.

"It's what you did to open the locket," Ron told Harry apologetically. "I had to have a few goes to get it right, but—" he shrugged modestly "—we got there in the end."

"Fucking incredible," Penelope commented, reaching up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"So . . ." Harry trailed off, seemingly struggling to keep up. "So . . ."

"So we're another Horcrux down," Ron voiced, pulling out the mangled remains of the Hufflepuff's cup. "Penelope stabbed it. Thought she should. Just to, you know, separate herself from her family even more."

"Genius!" Harry shouted.

Ron looked delighted with himself. "It was nothing. So what's new with you?"

Just as he said that, there was an explosion from above them. All three of them looked up as dust fell from the ceiling and they heard a distant scream.

"I know what the diadem looks like, and I know where it is," Harry said, talking fast. "He hid it exactly where I hid my old Potions book, where everyone's been hiding stuff for centuries. He though the was the only one to find it. Come on."

The walls trembled again. Harry then led their little group back through the concealed entrance and down the staircase into the Room of Requirement. It was empty except for seven people — Venus, Hermione, Charlotte, Elijah, Ginny, Nymphadora, and an elderly witch wearing a moth-eaten hat, who was Neville's grandmother.

"Ah, Potter," Neville's grandmother began crisply, her hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "You can tell us what's going on."

Penelope let out a small laugh and ran up to her cousin, hugging her. "Dora, oh my God."

"Hi, Pen," Nymphadora replied, hugging her back.

"Is everyone okay?" Ginny and Nymphadora then chorused together.

"'S far as we know," Harry responded. "Are there still people in the passage to the Hog's Head?"

"I was the last to come through," Mrs. Longbottom revealed. "I sealed it, I think it unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my grandson?"

"He's fighting."

Charlotte smiled proudly. "Of course he is."

"Naturally," Mrs. Longbottom agreed. "Excuse me, I must go and assist him."

With surprising speed, she then trotted off toward the stone steps.

Penelope looked at Nymphadora worryingly. "Why are you here? I thought you were staying with Teddy at Aunt Andy's."

Nymphadora looked anguished. "I couldn't stand not knowing — she'll look after him — have you seen Remus?"

"He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the ground—" Harry started to say.

Nymphadora didn't let him say another word, and instead cupped Penelope's face in her hands. "You. Be careful, okay?"

Penelope threw her arms around her cousin tightly. "Same to you, Dora. I love you."

"I love you more."

Without another word, Nymphadora sped off. Penelope watched her in concern.

"Ginny, I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too," Harry explained. "Just for a bit. Then you can come back in." Ginny looked delighted and ran up the steps after Nymphadora. "And then you can come back in! You've got to come back in!"

"Wait," Elijah cut in. "Before we do anything else, we've forgotten someone."

Hermione's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Who?"

"The House-Elves. Wouldn't they still be down in the kitchen?" Venus then asked if he meant that they should get them fighting, but Elijah shook his head. "No, we have to tell them to leave. Ven told us what happened to Dobby, we can't have that happen again—"

Before any of them responded, Hermione immediately threw her arms around Elijah and kissed him full on the mouth. The blonde froze, his cheeks heating up. He then got over his shock and kissed Hermione back. In fact, Elijah responded with so much enthusiasm that Hermione was lifted up off her feet. Penelope smiled slightly to herself.

"Well, damn, it's about time," Charlotte commented.

"Is this the moment?" Harry questioned weakly, and when nothing happened except for Elijah and Hermione gripping each other more firmly and swaying on the spot, he raised his voice. "OI! There's a war going on here!"

Venus rolled her eyes and told him that he really just ruined a moment as Elijah and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each other.

Elijah let out a little laugh. "But it's now or never."

"Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?" Harry yelled. "D'you think you could just — just hold it in until we've got the diadem?"

"You're overreacting," Penelope replied, ignoring the way Harry glared at her. "But we probably should get going."

It was clear, as the seven of them stepped back into the corridor upstairs, that the castle had gotten worse in the short amount of time they had spent in the Room of Requirement. The walls and ceiling were shaking worse than ever, making dust fill the air. Penelope could see out the window that jets of red and green light were getting closer, telling her that the Death Eaters were getting close to entering. She swallowed nervously and pulled her wand out of her pocket.

Meanwhile, Grawp the giant was walking past. He was swinging what looked like a stone Gargoyle torn from the roof and was roaring in displeasure.

"Let's hope he steps on some of them!" Ron exclaimed as more screams echoed from close by.

"As long as it's not any of our lot!" a familiar voice responded.

Penelope turned. Standing at the nearest window, which was missing several panes, were Ginny and Nymphadora. They both had their wands drawn. Ginny then sent a well-aimed jinx into the crowd of fighters below.

"Good girl!" Aberforth praised, running through the dust towards them, leading a small group of students. "They look like they might be breaching the north battlements, they've brought Giants of their own!"

"Have you seen Remus?" Nymphadora called after him.

"He was dueling Dolohov, haven't seen him since!"

"I'm sure, he's all right, Dora—" Penelope began.

Nymphadora reached out and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Penny."

Then Nymphadora ran off into the dust after Aberforth. Penelope watched, a frown on her lips.

"They'll be all right," Harry reassured her, but Penelope knew that they were just empty words. "Ginny, we'll be back in a moment, just keep out of the way, keep safe — come on!"

Penelope, Ron, Harry, Venus, Hermione, Charlotte, and Elijah then ran back to the stretch of the wall they had to pace in front of to get to the Room of Requirement. They walked in front of it three times, Penelope repeating show me the place where harry wants to go. Finally, the door materialized.

They entered, and the sounds of battle immediately seized. Penelope looked around. It was the size of cathedral but looked like a city with its towering walls built of objects hidden by thousands of students.

"And he never realized anyone could get in?" Ron inquired, his voice echoing in the silence.

"He thought he was the only one," Harry answered. "Too bad for him I've had to hide stuff in my time . . . this way, I think it's down here . . ."

They passed the stuffed troll and the Vanishing Cabinet Draco had mended last year, which ended quite disastrously. Harry then hesitated, looking up and down aisles of junk.

"Accio Diadem!" Hermione cried, but nothing flew through the air towards them.

"Let's split up," Harry instructed. "Look for a stone bust of an old man wearing a wig and a tiara! It's standing on a cupboard and it's definitely somewhere near here . . ."

Penelope headed off down the nearest aisle, Ron right behind her. They looked for what Harry had said, but there was nothing. The two of them had just finished looking down one aisle when they heard voices. It certainly could've been Harry talking to Venus, but these voices were deeper. Penelope shared a look with Ron and she gripped her wand tighter. However, these voices were deeper, and more . . . familiar.

"Harry?" Ron stated, his voice echoing. "Are you talking to someone?"

Suddenly, the tower of old things started to totter. Penelope's eyes widened and she pulled Ron out of the way as things started to crash. Harry's voice then cried Finite! and the tower stabilized.

Penelope let out a breath. "Harry, are you all right?"

There was silence.

"Penelope?" a familiar voice began.

The girl immediately froze. She knew that voice from anywhere.

"Draco?" Penelope replied. "What are you—"

"No, Black!" another voice then yelled — Crabbe. "Crucio!"

"No!" Penelope screamed.

She ran around the wall and finally found Harry and Venus. Standing among them were Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, all with their wands drawn. Penelope watched as a small crown — the diadem — flew into the air and then soared out of sight.

"STOP!" Draco ordered to Crabbe. "The Dark Lord wants him alive—"

"Oh, boo hoo," Penelope interrupted, her voice bitter. "If you want Harry, you're going to have to get through us."

Just to prove her point, Hermione had run around the corner behind them and sent a Stunning Spell straight at Crabbe's head. Charlotte did so as well, Elijah trailing after them. They only missed because Draco pulled him out of the way.

"It's those Mudbloods!" Crabbe shouted. "Avada Kedavra!"

Penelope ducked and then looked back up with wide eyes. "What the fuck, Crabbe?"

Penelope then sent a Stunning Spell at Crabbe, who ducked, knocking Draco's wand out of his hand.

That's when the chaos started. Penelope, to be honest, had absolutely no fucking clue what was going on. In the midst of Stunning Spells and Killing Curses (that hit no one, thankfully.) She then found herself being chased by Crabbe, holding hands with Ron as Crabbe issued fire from his wand.

"Like it hot, scum?" Crabbe roared.

"You're fucking mental!" Penelope yelled.

Crabbe seemed to have no control over what he had done. Flames of abnormal size were chasing after them, growing higher on the towers of junk. Harry tried to stop it with water, but alas, nothing worked. He then instructed them to run.

Penelope didn't need to be told twice. Draco grabbed a Stunned Goyle and dragged him along. Crabbe outran all of them, now looking terrified. Penelope, Ron, Harry, Venus, Hermione, Charlotte, and Elijah all ran in their wake. The fire pursued them, but it wasn't normal. Crabbe had obviously used some kind of dangerous curse. As they turned a corner the flames chased them like they were alive and dead set on killing them. The fire was now mutating, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts.

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle vanished from view. The group of seven stopped dead. All of the fiery monsters were circling them, getting closer and closer.

"What can we do?" Hermione screamed. "What can we do?"

"Here!" Harry shouted.

He then seized some heavy-looking broomsticks from the nearest pile of junk. He threw one to Ron, who pulled Penelope onto it behind him. Elijah then got on one and pulled Hermione on. Harry then took Venus, and Charlotte had one by herself — but Charlotte had always been good at flying, despite not joining the Quidditch team.

They all soared up into the air, missing the horned beak of a flaming raptor that snapped its jaws at them by feet. The smoke and heat were becoming overwhelming. Below them, the cursed fire was consuming everything inside the Room. Penelope couldn't see a trace of Draco, Crabbe, or Goyle anywhere, which made her worried. As much as she despised Crabbe and Goyle and certainly didn't agree with anything Draco did, they still didn't deserve to die like this.

"Harry, let's get out, let's get out!" Ron bellowed, even though it was hard to see the door through the black smoke.

Then Penelope heard it. It was a thin, piteous human scream, but Penelope knew who it belonged to. Draco.

"I'm not leaving him behind!" Penelope refused.

Harry then wheeled around in the air. The rest had no choice but to follow. They all saw Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle, the pair of them perched on a fragile tower of charred desks. Harry then dived. Draco saw him coming and raised one arm. Ron then dived as well, knowing that Harry wouldn't be able to grab both Draco and Goyle.

"IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" Ron roared.

A great flaming Chimaera then bore down upon them. Penelope and Ron dragged Goyle onto their broom and rose into the air as Draco clambered up behind Venus and Harry. They all sped up on their brooms through the billowing black smoke, hardly able to breathe. All around them, the last few objects unburned by the devouring flames were flung into the air. Harry did a dive to get the diadem.

Ron then soared right through the door. He shot straight at it, and finally, they were outside. Penelope collapsed on the ground next to Ron, Hermione, Charlotte, Elijah, and a still unconscious Crabbe. She exhaled deeply and leaned her head against Ron's shoulder. Harry then came through with Venus and Draco. They all rolled off of their brooms.

"C-Crabbe," Draco choked out. "C-Crabbe . . ."

"He's dead," Ron snapped.

"Ron," Penelope scolded. "Draco, hey—"

Before the could finish, there was a number of huge bangs shaking the castle. A great cavalcade of transparent figures galloped past on horses. Penelope blinked and staggered to her feet. The battle was still going on, and there were a lot more screams.

"Ginny," Charlotte said. "Where is she? Wasn't she supposed to be going back into the Room?"

Ron got up as well, holding onto Penelope tightly. "Blimey, d'you reckon it'll still work after that fire? Shall we split up and look—?"

Venus immediately refused. Penelope agreed — that would be terrible. She then asked Harry about the diadem on his wrist.

"What?" Harry stated. "Oh yeah—"

He pulled the diadem from his wrist and held it up. It was still blackened with soot, and a bloodlike substance seemed to be leaking from it. The diadem then started to vibrate violently before it broke apart in his hands, letting out the most distant scream of pain, just like the cup.

"It must have been Fiendfyre!" Hermione whispered.

Elijah's eyes widened. "What?"

"Fiendfyre — cursed fire — it's one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes, but I would never, ever have dared use it, it's so dangerous — how did Crabbe know how to—?"

"The Carrows," Penelope interjected. "They're always down for destruction."

"Shame he wasn't concentrating when they mentioned how to stop it, really," Ron admitted. "If he hadn't tried to kill us all, I'd be quite sorry he was dead."

"Oh, all right."

"But don't you realize?" Hermione continued. "This means, if we can just get the snake—"

She then broke off as yells and shouts and the unmistakable noises of dueling filled the corridor. Penelope felt her breath hitch in her throat — the Death Eaters were now inside. Fred and Percy (when did he get here?) had just backed into view, both of them dueling masked and hooded people. Penelope gripped her wand tight and walked forwards. She immediately began to help, the others joining her.

Jets of light flew in every direction. The man dueling Percy backed off fast. His hood slipped and they saw a high forehead and streaked hair.

"Hello, Minister!" Percy exclaimed, sending a jinx straight at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and clawed at the front of his robes, apparently in awful discomfort. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"

"You're joking, Perce!" Fred shouted as the Death Eater he was battling collapsed under the weight of three separate Stunning Spells. Thicknesse had fallen to the ground with tiny spikes erupting all over him. Fred then looked at Percy with glee. "You actually are joking, Perce. . . . I don't think I've heard you joke since you were—"

The air exploded. They had been grouped together, Penelope, Ron, Harry, Venus, Hermione, Charlotte, Elijah, Fred, Percy, the two Death Eaters at their feet — and in that fragment of a moment, when danger seemed to leave, the world was torn apart.

Penelope felt herself flying through the air. She let out a scream and could only hold onto her wand. Penelope landed on the hard ground, letting out a grunt of pain. Her eyes fluttered open — the corridor that was in a terrible attack was wrecked. She felt cold air and knew that the side of the castle was blown away. Liquid ran down her cheek, and she knew she was bleeding a lot from her forehead, which was stinging.

And then she heard a terrible cry. She immediately snapped out of her dazed trance. The cry had so much agony that it pulled at her insides and made her want to sob right then and there. Penelope stood up, swaying in her state, but the sight of what was on the floor made her wand to pass out. Three redheaded men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart.

"No — no — no!" Percy screamed. "No! Fred! No!"

Penelope staggered forwards. Percy was shaking his brother while Ron knelt beside them. And Fred was laying there, staring up at the ceiling without life and the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

☆ 彡

hahahahahahahaha this hurts