One Day They'll Know Your Name

Underground names

Salmissra led the teens into the area beyond the main entrance, and Draco stared around in shock as he registered everything. Hermione, of course, immediately ran towards the bookshelves.

"A library!" she gasped, already pulling down the first book, only to grunt in disappointment. "I can't read it, the lines keep moving around."

Harry headed over and plucked the book from her hands. "It's a potions journal!" he gasped. "Draco, come look at this!"

Draco was too excited at the sight of a potions lab a room away from the library. "Harry! There's a potions lab over here! Come look!" Harry immediately hurried over and the two Slytherins looked excitedly at everything, exclaiming every once in a while about this or that.

Meanwhile, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny were continuing to walk around before Neville stopped in shock at the sight of a brightly lit room with plants from the floor to the ceiling. Almost unconsciously, he stepped closer, stopping at the door to study the plants more closely, before taking a cautious step inside. As expected, a curious plant reached out with a vine and grabbed his ankle loosely. Neville slowly crouched down and spoke quietly.

"Hello, my name's Neville. I'm sure you miss Salazar and whoever was here last, but their magic is impressive to have kept you so well cared for for so long." The vine wound its way up Neville's leg, and Neville gasped. "You're a Silphium plant! The magical variety, of course, the muggle variant went extinct centuries ago, but everyone thought that the magical variety went extinct too! To find you here, it's amazing! I wonder what other plants Salazar managed to keep alive with his Herbology charms that lasted a thousand years?" With that, Neville was off, and Ron stifled a laugh in his sleeve before turning to Ginny and Luna before stopping halfway, gaping.

"Are those chicken eggs?"

Ginny looked over and nodded. "Looks like it."

Luna hummed. "And toads too. But those are dead. I guess Salazar's charms to keep things alive didn't extend as well to animals as it did to plants. Thankfully his air freshening charms are good."

Ron gagged and headed to where Harry and Draco were still gushing about the potions lab. "Harry, there's a bunch of dead toads and chicken eggs out here. What should we do about them?"

Harry gaped at Ron for a second before turning to Salmissra. Didn't you sssay that your firssst meal wasss a toad, or a frog? Do you remember anything about a birdsss egg?

The egg I hatched from wasss not like other sssnake eggsss, my Sssalazar told me onccce. He ssseemed very excccited that sssomething had 'worked exactly like it sssaid.'

Harry paled. Do you mind if we get rid of the dead toadsss, or do you want to eat them, or sssomething? If the magic keeping the air fresssh ssstopsss, I don't want them making thisss placcce sssmell.

They are too sssmall for me to eat. You can get rid of them.

Harry turned to Ron. "Vanish them. Either Salazar planned on making more basilisks, which would be fine as long as they could be told not to kill people on a whim, or he just had a bunch of chicken eggs and toads for no reason at all."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, no reason."

Harry cast a quick spell to see what time it was and paled again. "We have to get going! It's almost curfew!" Sssalmissssssra, isss there a way out clossser to the dormsss?

Yesss, I will ssshow you.

After they finally collected Neville, Salmissra led them to a group of four doors. My Sssalazar wanted the ssstudentsss to have a quick way to get to the chamber if anything happened, ssso thessse doorsss lead to ssspotsss clossse by the dormsss. Harry took a closer look at the doors and noticed carvings faintly etched into the wood of the doors, as if they'd been there for centuries and had worn away over time. He stepped up to the first one and saw that it had the Gryffindor crest engraved on it.

Hissing for it to open, he motioned towards Ron and Ginny. "This is your stop. See you tomorrow?"

Ron and Ginny nodded and stepped through, and Harry closed the door with another hissed command before going to the second door.

Draco and Harry barely made it to the common room in time for curfew, and they quickly headed to their room to prepare for bed.

"We're going to have to figure out someway to have a big fallout," Draco whispered while they were settling into their beds. "And it's going to have to really be big, it can't be halfhearted."

"I know," Harry whispered back. "I'm going to miss being able to be around you in public without being enemies."

Draco just nodded. "Me too. Hopefully it won't be for too long, though. I would hate to have to do it for forever."

Harry looked miserable before he visibly perked up. "That just means we have to get rid of Voldy sooner. And by we I of course mean the adults, even if I am the Boy-Who-Lived." The last phrase was nearly spat out and Draco hid his smile in his sheets.

"Well make sure you don't put yourself in unnecessary danger and it won't be a problem," he said before wishing his best friend a good night and rolling over before Harry could hiss back that he didn't put himself in unnecessary danger, unnecessary danger put itself in him!

Harry huffed and hid his own smile, wishing Draco a good night as well. Before long, he was fast asleep.