CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SECOND CHANCES

            This was bad.

            This was very bad.

            In fact, he didn't know when things had been worse.

            Feeling rather sick, Draco sank to his knees on the cold stone floor.  The fail-proof plan had failed.  What would Voldemort do when Helga Hufflepuff appeared instead of Minerva McGonagall?  What would Dumbledore, Gryffindor, and the others do when they discovered Helga was missing?  And what would happen to Helga?  Draco had nothing against her; in fact, of the three Founders resurrected at Hogwarts, he liked her best.  Would Voldemort kill her?  Probably.  And what would happen to him?  Death?  Or worse?  Who could protect him now?  Who would?

            Just then, the door to Minerva's classroom opened, and she came out into the hall.  "Malfoy?" she said when she saw Draco.  "Was that you who yelled just then?"

            Draco didn't know what to do.  Should he lie to her, or should he tell the truth?  Which would have the worst consequences?

            "Answer me, Mr. Malfoy.  Was that you?"

            What else could he do?  He'd obviously failed Voldemort.  The Dark Lord would be coming after him next.  Perhaps he could still redeem himself.  "Yes."

            "What happened?"

            "Lady Hufflepuff's gone."

            "Gone?" Minerva repeated.  "What do you mean, gone?  Where did she go?"

            "Wherever You-Know-Who is."

            "What?"

            He took a deep breath, then told her the whole story.

            When Helga's world stopped spinning, she found herself lying on a cold, hard, wooden floor.  She didn't know where she was, but it was definitely not Hogwarts.  The letter had fallen out of her hand and was now on the floor a few feet away.  She rubbed her head and tried to make sense of the situation through the nausea produced by the sudden trip.  It had to be a Portkey.  There was no other explanation.  But why would a letter to Minerva be a Portkey?

            She didn't have time to think about that question.  "What happened?" came a cold, shrill voice.  "You're not McGonagall…"

            Helga turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw a man standing in front of a brick wall, but it was unlike any man she'd ever seen.  His face was oddly snakelike, with slits for nostrils and unnatural red eyes.  There was even a hissing sound to his voice as he spoke.  It occurred to her that this might be Voldemort, the dark wizard they had been resurrected to fight, but if this was Voldemort, where was Slytherin?

            "Who are you?" the man hissed.

            "Who are you?" Helga returned defiantly.

            "I am Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard in the world," he said haughtily, as though he wasn't used to people not knowing who he was.  "Who are you to question who I am?"

            So it was Voldemort.  "Then you should know who I am," she said.  "You resurrected one of my best friends a few weeks ago."

            Voldemort's red eyes narrowed.  "Let me guess.  Helga Hufflepuff."

            "In the flesh."

            Immediately after she was done speaking, her wand was in her hand, and she shot a jet of blue light at Voldemort.  He dodged her spell, and before she could attack again, he hit her with a Disarming Spell.  "Pathetic," Voldemort mumbled, then pulled his wand back in preparation to hit her with the Cruciatus Curse.

            Helga lifted her arm up and pointed her finger at Voldemort.  He let out a cry of surprise as he was lifted several feet into the air.  She spread her fingers apart, and he flew backwards into the brick wall.  She stood up, breathing hard.  She was born with the rare ability to perform magic without a wand, but it took a lot out of her.  "Where is Salazar?" she demanded.

            Voldemort glared at her for a brief moment, and then pointed his wand at her.  "Crucio!"

            It felt like she had been hit by a thousand flaming swords.  The pain was too great for her to remain standing, and she collapsed to the floor, unable to scream because she was unable to breathe, and unable to breathe because every time she tried to take in air, it felt like inhaling both fire and ice.  It was torture unlike any her mind had ever conceived.

            Just when she thought she was going to die from the pain, a door in the wall behind her opened, and a familiar voice from her past said, "What's going on?"

            "SALAZAR!" Helga cried with what remained of her air supply.  "Help!"

            Voldemort released her from the Cruciatus Curse, and she lied on the floor, gasping for air and coughing up blood.

            Slytherin couldn't believe his eyes.  "Helga?  What are you doing… alive?"

            "We were resurrected, just like you!"

            Slytherin looked at Voldemort.  "What have you done to her?"

            "Stay out of this, Slytherin," Voldemort growled.  "This doesn't concern you."

            "THIS DOESN'T CONCERN ME?!?" Slytherin cried.  "Oh no, Lord Voldemort, I think it does." 

He picked up his staff and pointed the end with the silver snake head at his descendant.  "We were trying to capture a Hogwarts teacher named Minerva McGonagall," he said.  "Instead, we ended up with Helga Hufflepuff, someone whom I was under the impression was dead.  However, it would seem that she is not dead, and one cannot help but wonder how she came to be sent here instead of McGonagall.  The only logical explanation is that she took the Portkey meant for McGonagall, who is at Hogwarts, which can only mean that Helga was at Hogwarts as well."  He narrowed his dark eyes.  "You knew, didn't you?  You knew they had been resurrected, and you didn't tell me."

"Of course I knew," Voldemort spat.  "And how could I have told you?  If you knew they were alive, you never would have agreed to follow along with my plans."

"How could you do this to me?" Slytherin asked.  "I trusted you.  I trusted you before I ever met you!  It was your duty to save both the wizard and Muggle worlds by separating them, not to murder, lie, and betray!"

"Your blood may flow in my veins, Slytherin, but I will never be you," said Voldemort.  "It's a different world now, one where your idealistic philosophies will never hold.  You can't win the battle if you don't fight."

"You're wrong.  I have been fighting.  However, it would seem that I have been fighting for the wrong side."  He pulled his staff back and drummed his fingers against the silver snake head.  "You used me."

"I resurrected you," said Voldemort.  "You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me.  You owe me your allegiance."

"He owes you nothing!" said Helga fiercely.  "Don't listen to him, Salazar!"

Voldemort pointed his wand at her, then pulled it back.  She was yanked into the air by invisible arms and thrust toward him.  He put her in a headlock with his right arm and conjured a dagger in his free hand, which he then held to her neck.  "Swear your unconditional loyalty to me, Slytherin, or I will kill her."

"Don't do it!" Helga said.  "My life's not worth it!  Go to Hogwarts!  They need you!"

Slytherin's staff was pointed at Voldemort again.  "Let her go," he said.  "This is between us."

"Ah, but if it had been the half-blood McGonagall, I don't think you would have been so keen to let her live, would you?" Voldemort asked.

"Seeing what you are has led me to rethink my beliefs," Slytherin replied.  "You lied to me.  You knew they were alive, that my brother is alive, and yet you told me nothing."

Voldemort pressed the dagger closer to Helga's neck, and the blade began to dig into her skin.  "Every second you delay is killing her, Slytherin."

"Get out while you have the chance, Salazar," Helga gasped.  "The letter… it's the Portkey…"

"Never.  I'm through abandoning my friends."

They made eye contact, and Helga heard his voice inside her head.  Fight him.

Just before Voldemort slit her throat, she lifted her hands and pushed him away from her.  The blade of the dagger cut deep into her palms, but that damage was trivial to what could have happened.  Voldemort hadn't expected her to be able to fight back, and he was so surprised he dropped the dagger.  "Accio dagger!" Slytherin cried, and the weapon flew into his hand.

Helga didn't get far before Voldemort grabbed her again.  She struggled to break free, but he was too strong.  "Let go of her," said Slytherin.  "Too cowardly to fight me yourself?"

"Then do it," said Voldemort.  "Take that dagger and thrust it into my heart."  He released Helga and took a few steps backward with his arms spread out to his sides.  "Come get me."

Get to the Portkey, Slytherin said to Helga telepathically.  Don't worry about me.  He won't kill me.  He could, but he won't.

He raised the dagger and walked toward Voldemort.

"You idiot," Voldemort hissed.  "You know what this will do."

Helga crept toward the Portkey, trying to be inconspicuous.

It didn't work.  Voldemort saw her.  "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Right as the words left his mouth, Slytherin tackled Voldemort, and the Killing Curse missed Helga.  Slytherin took the dagger and slashed Voldemort in the left arm, then turned around and ran at Helga.  "Let's go!" he cried.  "Now!"

Helga reached for the Portkey with one bloody hand and Slytherin with the other.  She could hear Voldemort shouting "Avada Kedavra!" again, but it was too late; they were long gone…

They reappeared just outside Minerva's classroom, where the Portkey had been placed, bloody, bruised, and breathless.  "Are you all right?" Slytherin asked, rising to his feet and then helping Helga stand.

She nodded.  "It's just my hands, but they'll heal," she said.

He took her hands and began examining her palms.  "These are deep," he said.

"It could have been worse."

He sighed.  "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"For taking so long to realize the truth," he answered.  "For coming so close to wasting my second chance.  For putting all of you through this."

"We've missed you."

Slytherin drew her into a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.  "I won't leave you again," he promised.  "Where is Godric?  I must speak with him."

"My guess would be he's in the Gryffindor common room, trying to learn how to play Go Fish," came a voice from behind.  "Again."

Helga and Slytherin turned around.  Standing behind them was Minerva McGonagall.  "It's good to see you alive, Helga," she said.  She looked at Slytherin.  "And you must be…"

"Salazar Slytherin," he said.

"Minerva McGonagall," she said, introducing herself.  "I wish I could say it's nice to meet you, but these are hardly the circumstances."
            "My thoughts exactly, Professor McGonagall," said Slytherin.  "I was under the impression that I would be meeting you when you were being held prisoner by Voldemort."

"Yes, I know; Draco Malfoy has told me everything," said Minerva.

"Let me guess: Voldemort threatened him with death, too."

"Well, yes, but he knew we could have protected him," she said.  "Now is not the time to worry about that, though.  We must get to the headmaster's office.  A decision on a course of action must be reached."  She sighed.  "We should find Potter.  He should be in on this, too… Helga, could you take Lord Slytherin to Dumbledore's office and tell them that I'm getting Potter and the others?"

Helga nodded.  "We'll see you there."

"But what about your hands?" Slytherin asked.

"No time for that," Helga said, linking her arm around his.  "Come on!"

Sure enough, Godric Gryffindor was in his house's common room, and sure enough, he was trying to learn how to play Go Fish again with Neville and Parvati.  "Minerva!" he exclaimed when Minerva came into the common room.  "What are you doing here?"

"We have a situation, Godric," she replied.  "We need to meet with Dumbledore immediately."

"What happened?" Gryffindor asked, standing up.

"Helga accidentally picked up a Portkey meant for me a few minutes ago, and it took her to Voldemort and Slytherin," she answered.  "She's back now, and so is Slytherin."

"Salazar?" he said in a tone of mixed awe and disbelief.  "Salazar is here?"

She nodded.  "Yes.  We'll need you, Potter, and Rowena in Dumbledore's office at once."

"Harry's at Quidditch practice, Professor McGonagall," said Parvati.

"Thank you, Miss Patil," Minerva said.  "I'll go get him."

"And I'll get Rowena," said Gryffindor, and started walking toward the fireplace.

"Wait a minute!" said Neville.  "That fireplace… where does it go?"

"The Ravenclaw common room," Gryffindor answered.  "Rowena and I built it just before the school opened so we could meet in secret.  The only way someone would know it was here is to find it.  It can't be detected with magic, nor can magic be used inside it."

"That explains a lot," Neville said, looking at Parvati.  She nodded.

"Godric!" Minerva said.

"Oh, right," said Gryffindor, and continued on his way.

Ten minutes later, nearly everyone involved was assembled in Dumbledore's office.  Even Draco Malfoy was there; Dumbledore had decided that his confession made him worthy of forgiveness and protection.  The only two missing were Gryffindor and Rowena, which came as something of a shock.

"Where are those two?" Minerva said, mostly to herself.  "They couldn't have gotten lost…"

As if on cue, the door to Dumbledore's office opened just then, and Gryffindor and Rowena came inside.  "I was over in the Charms department," Rowena explained.  "I apologize for any delays."

"It's quite all right; we're all here now," Dumbledore said.

Gryffindor and Slytherin made eye contact, and for a few seconds, neither one moved.  Then Slytherin closed the distance between them with two large steps and said, "We're on the same side now."  He held out his hand.  "Brother."

Gryffindor took Slytherin's hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled his brother toward him and hugged him tightly.  Slytherin winced when Gryffindor embraced him, and the others noticed.  "What is it?" Gryffindor asked, releasing him.

Slytherin removed his outer cloak, then tore the off the left sleeve of the tunic he was wearing underneath.  Blood poured out from a deep gash that ran from his shoulder to elbow.

Helga gasped.  "Salazar, what… how did that happen?"

"It happened when I stabbed Voldemort," Slytherin answered, "and because I stabbed him."

"Of course," Dumbledore realized.  "Acotta Leiondar… it binds the heir and the descendant.  Anything you do to him, or he does to you, will be felt by both of you."

"So that's what you meant when you told me he wouldn't kill you," said Helga.  "If he killed you, he'd kill himself, too."

"Crickey," said Harry.  "So, if I went over to Lord Gryffindor and chopped off his hand…"

"You'd lose your hand, too," Minerva finished.

"But then why am I alive and Nicolas is dead?" asked Helga.

"Because you didn't kill Nicolas," Dumbledore answered.  "He died of natural causes.  Apparently, though, Lord Slytherin stabbed Voldemort."

"He was going to kill Helga," said Slytherin.  "I had no other choice."

Harry looked at Helga, and his eyes grew wide.  "What happened to your hands?"

"Never mind," said Helga.  "That doesn't matter right now.  What does matter, though, is trying to come up with a way to counter Voldemort."

"Shouldn't that be easy?" Draco asked.  "I mean, the plan to get rid of Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall obviously failed, and he doesn't have you anymore, Lord Slytherin."

"That's exactly why we need to be extra careful," Slytherin said.  "He's lost the element of surprise, which means he's not going to hold anything back."