My Godfather

Chapter XIX: Night Terrors

With a sigh, Harry gave the room one last sweep with the broom and gave the place a look over. It was pretty clean now. He'd finished the other two rooms and this was the last one. He had dusted the cobwebs, swept the floor, organised the boxes and files in their right order and scrubbed the walls spotless. His hands were gritty; he was sweaty and exhausted. He gathered all of the cleaning equipment and went upstairs.

It was Sunday and he had spent the entire weekend cleaning the basement. He wondered how his friends were doing. He'd tried to convince his dad to let him do just one of the rooms but Sirius hadn't budged so he'd ended up cleaning them all.

"Did you finish with all the rooms?" His dad asked, not looking up from the book he was reading. "Yes dad." Sirius closed the book and nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, I don't think I need to tell you what happens if you try something like this again." Sirius said, looking pointedly at his son. Harry flushed slightly before nodding.

"Why don't you go and take a shower?" Sirius suggested, seeing Harry's dirty clothes and hands. "Yeah okay."

Feeling clean and fresh, Harry stepped out of the shower and got dressed. He still had Flitwick's essay to complete so he sat down to do it. This had most certainly been the worst weekend ever.

That evening Ron was back. Harry went to his dorm to see Ron and Hermione sitting there. "So, what did your mum say?" Asked Harry, worriedly. The miserable expression on his best mate's face made it clear that Ron's weekend had been as bad as his if not worse. "First she gave me a long talk after which sentenced me to every possible chore she could think of. It was horrible."

"What about the polyjuice potion?" Asked Hermione. Harry told them both what his father had told him. They both looked utterly disappointed. "We got into all that trouble for nothing!" Ron groaned, smashing his face into a pillow.

"Oh don't be so upset Ron. I'm going to the library. Any of you want to come?" Hermione asked. When the two of them shook their heads, she went off on her own.

*******

Harry walked down the long, gloomy corridor, feeling more on edge than ever. There was something not quite right with this place. He'd never been here before. The walls were a dark green, covered with moss and cobwebs, the floor was wet and there was a strange smell surrounding the entire place.

He didn't know why he was here but he kept walking until he saw the end of the corridor. Upon getting closer, he could make out two snakes carved into an old, large door like structure. The snakes were coiled around each other. Despite the worn out condition of the place, their eyes were the brightest shade of green, glowing in the dim corridor.

Whatever was behind that door, made Harry shiver. He didn't want to know what it was but he knew there was something behind it. He just did.

"Harry Potter. We meet again." Harry froze when he heard the voice. He could never forget the sound of this voice. He had heard it for the first time last year, when he'd gone to retrieve the Sorcerer's stone. It was the same voice that had tempted him with the hopes of being reunited with his deceased parents, the one that had ordered Quirrel to kill him. Voldemort.

He desperately looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice but he found none. "You cannot see me, Potter. This is my domain, I'm the master." Harry turned around and tried to run but it felt like his legs had suddenly turned to lead. He couldn't move. "There is no escape from me."

"What do you want?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He wasn't going to appear weak, not in front of Voldemort of all people. "Me? I merely wish to speak to you Harry." The voice was like an echo, coming from all directions.