The basilisk now turned to face Harry. It was poised to strike. In the background he could hear Tom's shouts of encouragement and mockery but ignored them. When the snake struck it would be…
The basilisk struck with only a milliseconds warning. Harry managed to grab one of the long fangs but his injured side kept him from grabbing the other one. The fang sank deep into Harry's shoulder causing the werewolf to howl in pain. The snake tried to draw back but Harry kept his grip on the fang. With a sudden wrench he tore the fang out.
The basilisk recoiled in shocked pain as Harry sank to the ground. With the fang gone from his shoulder, it was now bleeding freely. He could feel the poison starting to take effect. His right arm was going numb.
"Stop playing with him and kill him!" Tom was demanding.
Harry forced himself to his feet. With the fang in hand he stumbled over to where Luna lay at Tom's feet.
"Come here to die, creature?" Tom mocked. "The Boy-Who-Lived - nothing more than a common werewolf; a diseased creature! That will crush the sheep!"
Ignoring him, Harry forced himself to focus. There. He plunged the fang into the little black book.
"NO!" Tom screamed in shock and sudden agony. Harry slumped to the ground and watched as the shade seemed to waiver and then blinked out of existence.
Harry felt the basilisk suddenly slide up next to him.
"Intruder has defeated the true Master's Heir? Intruder has faced me in combat and wounded me like no other. That is to be respected. Why did you do this?"
Harry was in too much agony to speak. He reached over and pointed a claw at Luna.
"To defend a youngling? True Master placed Sasha here with the charge to defend his school and its younglings. Master's Heir said some of the younglings were a threat, yet you fight to defend another youngling. One thinks the true Master and his friends would approve. Go with my blessing."
The basilisk slithered away back towards the statue. Harry could do nothing as he felt the paralysis spreading throughout his body. It was only the werewolf's strength that kept him alive this long.
Harry exhaled a little yelp in his pain. Help? And then again.
There was a sudden flash of fire overhead and a bird appeared. It was brightly coloured and sang a song that brought joy to Harry's heart even as the weakness settled in further. Fawkes? He had seen the phoenix in the Headmaster's office on his one visit and heard the student gossip but never interacted with the magical bird.
The bird landed on Harry's furry chest and looked him right in the eye. The bird's expression seemed to say, "What took you so long?" Then it bent its head over his wound as Harry at last passed out.
....
Awareness started to return to Harry. There was some pain, but not as much as he'd expected (assuming he lived). He forced his eyes open only to see an upside-down Luna staring down at him.
"Are you feeling better, Furry Potter?" Harry tried to answer but settled on simply nodding instead. He also noticed he'd returned to human form.
"The phoenix was still healing you when I woke up. He seemed very sad. He cried all over you. You need to be careful. Nargles are attracted to phoenix tears."
"You okay?" Harry managed to get out.
Luna nodded vigorously sending her hair flying about. "It was jolly painful but I am fine now. I don't think Tom liked it in my head. I don't know why. I have a lovely time in here."
Harry started to laugh but it hurt too much. He was sure that inside Luna's head was… an interesting place. He forced himself to sit up. He realized now he'd been using Luna's lap as a pillow.
As he sat up his eyes fell on the remains of the diary lying nearby. He particularly noticed the black, tar-like substance that had oozed out of it. It was just like the stuff that had come out of his scar after he'd been bitten. Coincidence or could the magic of the diary be related to what happened to him?
A trill of sound pulled Harry's attention away from the diary. He saw Fawkes perched high up on the statue's prominent nose. The statue's mouth was closed again with no sign of the basilisk in sight. Fawkes let out another trill of song that seemed to be encouragement.
"I think he wants to leave," Luna commented absently as she looked curiously around the chamber. "I doubt a creature of Fire and Air likes being stuck in Earth." Fawkes's answering trill sounded like laughter. Luna helped Harry to his feet. Harry could feel his wounds healing. The poison seemed to be gone. Luna left Harry and went over to pick up his discarded robes. She handed them to Harry.
"Thank you for coming for me, Harry Potter." Harry tried to smile through his weakness; the fight and the poison had taken a lot out of him.
"I'm just glad I could help. Ron's sister came and told me you'd been taken. She was very worried for you." Harry frowned as another thought came to him. "Also, Hermione and Padma were petrified tonight. I don't like people attacking my friends."
.....
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