this is the final chap, mes amis. i hope y'all enjoyed, and i might wait a bit to publish the new book so i can write a few chapters at first

"So, you obviously already suspect somebody, the question is who?" Sengoku asks, they're currently in the kitchen of Sunny and drinking tea and coffee provided by the house elves.

Luffy and Nami exchange a glance, Sengoku sensed the reluctance and sighs, heavily. "Look, you hate me for what I did in the past, I understand, but if this alliance is to work there is supposed to be a certain level of trust between us."

Luffy sighs heavily and blurts out. "She's being manipulated by a fragment of Voldemort's soul."

Sengoku nods. "I see."

"We were planning on destroying the book with Brook's akuma no mi but he hasn't had enough training yet." Nami says finally, shooting Brook a glance.

"What kind of akuma no mi do you have?" Sengoku asks, vaguely recalling a skeleton on the crew.

"The yomi yomi no mi." Brook replies dutifully. "However, I fully cultivated its' powers long after I was dead yoho."

"Hey that reminds me." Chopper says, turning to the ex-skeleton. "Would you ever want to be a skeleton."

Brook frowns and scratches his head. "While I do miss being flesh and blood I admit that I would prefer to be a skeleton once more, preferably with an afro, Yohohoho!"

Sengoku internally sighed, they were all insane, very insane.

"What is her name?" Sengoku cuts in because how did they get to meat and swords from skeletons and afros.

"Hermione Granger." Usopp says, they agreed that they would only bring the map out if Sengoku still hadn't met her after the next attack.

Luffy didn't want the man anywhere near that treasure.

"Alright, do you at least have a plan to retrieve the book and defeat the basilisk?" Sengoku asks, tiredly rubbing his face.

At that Zoro nods sleepily. "Mm, Perona is trailing her… Perona!" He suddenly shouts jumping up.

"What?" Chopper asks.

"Well, what if she was petrified?" Zoro asks. "We haven't heard from her since last night and there's no way that Garp just happened to get petrified."

Sengoku stroked his beard. "What exactly is Perona? Is she like us?"

"Not really." Chopper explained. "Her body died but she was outside of it in an astral projection because of her akuma no mi, it's actually quite similar to Brook's, now that I think about it."

Sengoku rubbed his temples, they were getting nowhere. "So, you said that Perona has been following the girl since we arrived? Alright, get her to snag it if she's still alive and then we can worry about talking to her later. Tell me a bit about what's been going on."

"Well, it started way back at the start of the year." Chopper began.

"The first petrification was Felch's-"

"Filch! Filch's cat." Nami cut Luffy off, her cheeks tinted red, others of the crew look mildly uncomfortable.

"That's what I said!" Luffy said, annoyed at being cut off.

"Yohoho, as Luffy-san was saying, the first petrification was Filch's cat, Mrs Norris and a message about the chamber being opened once more."

"Hmph, so really we should be waiting for the next attack."

"Why don't we just go to where she's been hiding? There has to be a place where the basilisk is hiding and it's probably somewhere near those bathrooms." Zoro suggested.

"Yohoho, I agree with Zoro-san, we should just confront her now." Brook said.

"Yeah, but then we lose the element of surprise." Usopp argued.

"Let's just do it now." Luffy murmured. "The sooner we get it over and done with the better."

Sengoku sighed for the umpteenth time since they had begun battle preparations that morning. "I suggest that we follow her to wherever she goes and then we can destroy the book. If it's what I think it is… then the very basilisk that we seek can destroy it."

"What do you think it is?" Nami spoke up, unfolding her arms.

"I think it's a… horcrux." Sengoku said, calm façade melting away a little. "Horcruxes are a sort of insurance if the host is to die, one can create a horcrux through the act of killing someone, doing so splits their soul and if they have the right kind of ritual in mind then it is possible to shift that split into another inanimate or animate object.

"Think of it like Big Mom's devil fruit… except that when her body died, the pieces of her soul spread out among her 'Homies' perished similarly."

"You're quite knowledgeable." Usopp commented through narrowed eyes.

"It's my job to be." He said, frowning. "As an auror it is my duty to protect the wizarding world from threats, I may not agree with the decisions Cornelius Fudge makes, but through him I have a stable job, although, nobody has asked for my help in years. Since before the war."

"You didn't fight Voldemort in the war?" Chopper asked incredulously, if he had then the tables would definitely have turned.

"No, not I, I did hear that they sent out a group of rather… unusual animagi ex-students." He commented, glancing over at the straw-hat bearer. "They reminded me of some old pirates I used to know."

"Yeah? What's your point?" Zoro asked, lazily opening an eye while simultaneously reaching for shusui.

Sengoku shrugged. "The new is replacing the old, times are changing, as much as it pains me to say it, you are the future of this world, whether you change it for the better or worse I cannot say."

"How are we supposed to destroy the horcrux if Brook is unable?" Nami questions.

"I believe that basilisk venom works quite effectively, there are of course, numerous, however, they require people who are in that particular field within the ministry which shall take time we do not have." Sengoku replies.

"So, the very thing the horcrux can be killed by, is being controlled by it?" Usopp snorts, "That's kind of arrogant."

"I suppose so, but one would not usually expect people of our calibre." Sengoku comments.

Luffy shrugged. "Whatever pelican-ossan. Can we go already?"

"Just like your grandfather." He muttered under his breath but nonetheless stood.

"Yosh." Luffy shouted despite their close proximity. "Grab your gear and let's go!"

The crew smirked and as one they left the kitchen, clearly considering changing from their uniform into something more…

Comfortable.

"Let's go kick some ass!" Luffy cried from his vest, blue shorts and yellow sash, cracking his knuckles loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, quit your yapping." Zoro muttered, tying his swords into place.

"Oh, Sengoku." The furry one (illegal animagus, really?) said, tugging his cap on tighter. "Do you happen to know whether there are any known cures for basilisk venom?"

"The only known cure for basilisk venom are phoenix tears but those are extremely rare."

"Phoenix tears?" Luffy perked up, wasn't pineapple-head technically a phoenix?

"Unfortunately, I don't know whether we can risk the chance of the Phoenix's tears." Sengoku adds. "Seeing as the phoenix attained his power through an akuma no mi there is no way to tell whether his tears will work."

Luffy sulked. "Doesn't Dumbledore have a phoenix?"

"Mm," Chopper confirmed. "his name is Fawkes."

"Have you talked to him Chopper-san?"

"Mm, once, I saw him outside the headmaster's office and talked to him." Chopper nods. "He's a pretty bird, but I only saw him when he was growing old and then kaboom! He exploded and was reborn as a little chick."

"Really? Cool!" Luffy said, stars appearing in his eyes.

"Can we come back to the issue at hand?" Nami asked. "If one of us gets part of that poison on us then we don't have an antidote for it and it's most likely that one of us will die."

The silence turned grim before Brook said cheerfully. "Yoho, I suppose it is of little concern whether I die or not, just be sure that if I do, you remove my very flesh and try and grow me an afro, yohoho!"

Nami shrugged. "That's only if you die."

"Let's all agree to not try and die." Sengoku said in exasperation.

"I'll kick all of your asses if any of you die!" Chopper said, face contorting into fury.

"Do you reckon busoshoku would work as a strong barrier?" Zoro reluctantly asked the Golden budda.

Sengoku shrugged. "I've no reason to believe that it would be a suitable defence, it is against akuma no mi but those are a bit of a wildcard."

Luffy shrugged. "Meh, let's just go and get it done with."

The walk to the girls bathroom was awkward to say the least, it was night-time which thankfully meant that the only people – if they could be called that – to witness their escapade being the portraits that lined the hallways.

Nami almost slapped herself, why didn't she think of this earlier? Halting their walk, she turned to one of the portraits – a woman in a velvet dress being painted by a decidedly awful artist; the proportions were extremely off – and asked. "Excuse me."

The lady yawned widely and blinked wearily at her. "How can I assist you at this late hour?"

"Do you know of anyone that has actually witnessed a petrification?"

The man twisted around, moving his hat from his eyes. "Why do you ask this now?"

"I'm just curious, the person would have been caught if you had helped out." She said, gesturing to the entirety of the portraits.

"Yes well, it is quite dreadful, the portraits of the fifth floor were quite shaken, apparently they just have a gap in their memories around the time of the incident." The lady leaned in conspiratorially. "One might consider that whoever has done this terrible deed could be charming the portraits."

"Oh really." Nami smiled brightly. "Thanks for your information, you've been very helpful."

"Glad I could help, now off with you before Filch catches you all." With a final wave, they began to walk again.

"What was all that about?" Sengoku side-eyed her.

She shrugged, noticing the way that Zoro subtly moved by her side – as much as the idiot claimed to not care he really really did – "I just wanted to know just how much Voldemort has influenced Hermione.

"She's clearly stronger than usual if she can charm an entire hallway so that the paintings don't witness her attempted murders."

"Well done Nami-san, I agree wholeheartedly- ah! Not that I…" Brook dropped realising the weight of his words. "I have a heart…"

Wisely, Sengoku did not comment; he didn't want to know.

"It's okay Brook, when you're taller we'll just kill you and burn the flesh off your corpse." Luffy said comfortingly, squatting down, his words doing the opposite to half of the crew who cringed at the brutal description.

"Dammit, Robin's rubbing off on Luffy." Zoro muttered, "It might be too late for him."

"Should we be concerned?" Usopp murmured to Chopper who shook his head.

"Do you really mean it Luffy-san?" Brook looked up, tear tracks on his face.

"Yeah, now let's go kick some ass."

"Are we ready?" Sengoku asked impatiently.

"Yeah." Luffy affirmed, ignoring the slightly concerned expressions on his nakama's faces.

With nobody else to impede their movements they made it to the girl's bathroom in good time.

Well, they didn't lose Zoro on the way so Luffy counted that as good time.

Outside the bathroom, written on the wall in what they assumed was paint once more, "Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever"

Glancing at one another Luffy took another step forward and sniffed the wall. "Yeah, it's just paint."

"I thought we might have more time…" Sengoku murmured to himself.

"Well, Hermione is still alive, I can still feel her." Luffy said, and he could, her aura might not be as strong as it should be but it was still alive.

But as soon as they stepped over the threshold, "Wait, who is that?" Luffy suddenly asked, tilting his head curiously, there were two unfamiliar signatures within the castle, perking up, Zoro frowned.

Sengoku stiffened, "I believe the two at the Headmaster's office is Cornelius Fudge and one Lucius Malfoy."

"Sanji's not-Dad?"

"Mm."

"Shit."

"How alive is Hermione right now?" Chopper asked.

"She's still breathing but she feels like she's growing fainter." Usopp commented.

"As much as I want us all to kick some ass… I'm going after Lucifer." Luffy said, nakama was still extremely important but Sanji was vulnerable right now, and as such, he didn't want Sanji's not-Dad to be in the same room as him.

"I'll come with." Usopp agreed.

Zoro sighed, "I'm gonna cut up some Basilisk."

"I'll come as well." Nami said, holstering her sorcery clima-tact.

Groups decided, Luffy, Usopp and Nami left the other group consisting of Chopper, Brook, Zoro and Sengoku.

The faces of Group 2 set grimly, they walk inside the bathroom.

Unfortunately, nothing is ever easy and nobody was actually within the bathroom – except for a ghost who apparently was called Myrtle but had been dubbed 'Moaning Myrtle'.

Their group spread out, looking through the cubicles and the sink, the grates – everything.

"Anyway, how to get in…" They think, wandering around the toilet, looking for any abnormalities, just as he's about to give in and punch the damn thing Usopp asks him quietly.

"Everyone." Chopper's voice breaks the uneasy silence and they silently file over to where he's crouched next to one of the sinks.

"What did you find, Chopper-san?" Brook asks.

They all crouch down next to the reindeer. "Aha!"

It's Zoro who finally gestures at the engraved snake on the spout. "None of the other sinks have such an intricate engraving, it at least confirms your suspicions that the entrance is here."

"I think we've found the entrance, if you look here- here not over there Zoro – you can see the snake engraving, considering what we know about Salazar Slytherin and the very fact that we have a basilisk on our hands we can safely assume that this is the entrance." Sengoku mutters.

"The question then is, how do we get inside?" Zoro murmurs.

"I have an inkling of how we could open it." Sengoku admits. "If we consider that the only people to have ever opened the chamber were Salazar Slytherin and Voldemort – plus this 'Hermione' under the influence of Voldemort then it would only stand for reason that only another parseltongue could open this."

"Like a secret password." Brook muses, glancing at Chopper.

"Can you just, speak snake?" Zoro asks.

Chopper shakes his head. "I usually have to actually be speaking to an animal to communicate with them... I can understand animals but I don't feel like I'm doing anything different when I talk back."

"Well, that's useful." Usopp mutters.

Then the moaning gets louder and a girl soars across the room to their group, she huffs and crosses her arms sternly. "Boys aren't supposed to be in here."

"Sorry Moaning Myrtle-san, we're looking for a secret entrance." Brook says politely.

Brook doesn't understand what he did wrong when the cry starts off as a steady whine before it rises to a cacophony of shrieking.

"Shut up!" Zoro pretty much roars.

To his surprise it works and the girl floats down next to him. "You shut up!"

"I'm not the one crying like a baby!"

"Well I'm so-"

Whatever Myrtle was going to say is cut off by a loud screeching sound, they turn around to see a gaping hole where the peculiar sink was.

"Huh, how did you get it open?"

"I just pretended it was a snake and asked it to please open." Chopper says, as if isn't a big deal.

They all crowd around the dark hole and without warning Zoro jumps, he can hear Chopper's little shriek of surprise.

The tube is slimy, other pipes running off through the school, but none of them were as big as his pipe which twisted this way and that, Zoro doesn't care to where they lead, it's grimy and it smells.

He reckons that he was further below then the dungeons themselves.

Then the pipe levelled out and he landed on the ground with a loud thump.

He could vaguely hear Sengoku murmur that he was alright and then they all followed.

One by one - Chopper shrieking – they shoot down the tunnel. And when they had all shot out Sengoku raised his wand and without a word (well, for those proficient with haki they heard it resonate through his mind but the point was that it was non-verbal) an orb of light lifted to the ceiling, illuminating the entire tunnel.

"How useful." Brook murmured.

"Remember, as soon as you hear something suspicious, close your eyes if you want to live." Sengoku said gruffly.

Off they went, crunching their way through the sea of animal bones – mostly rats and other small rodents.

Wordlessly they approached the large hulking figure up ahead, Brook frowned, "It is not alive, well, if it is, it is soulless."

Zoro walked closer and poked it with Wado, when he wasn't killed by fangs, eyes or the body he deemed it safe to move closer.

"Oi, it's just a snake skin."

The group unconsciously relaxed. "I wonder how much this would sell for…" Brook wondered, crouching down next to it, breaking part of the skin off and shoving it in his pocket – they were extended. Nami had been explicit on what to do once they killed the serpent and he supposed that this counted.

Zoro was contemplating just how to kill it, no doubt he was strong enough to simply slice right through the basilisks' neck but the question was, what about crux of the problem? The fragment of Voldemort's soul that was controlling Hermione?

How were they going to break off a fang from the basilisk without getting venom all over themselves?

While he pondered over his decisions they finally came to a stop at the end of the tunnel, and by end of tunnel he means there was a door with two snakes wrapped around each other, eyes glinting with the emeralds they possessed.

"Those are real emeralds." Sengoku comments, eyeing the engraved gems with admiration gleaming in his eyes.

"I wouldn't steal those." Brook murmurs.

"Why not?"

"It could be a trap."

Sengoku just shrugged, "Yes, I suppose it is."

Chopper wondered just how he was going to repeat the word he had uttered up in the bathroom, it was hard okay?

Thinking about how long Hermione had been in the chamber his rage began to quietly boil. "Open."

The snakes untwined, slithering out of sight as the doors slid into the tunnel.

The inside of the chamber of secrets was very bright considering that Sengoku had yet to dim his wand, but even so, the entire room was cast in an eerie green light throughout the marble floor and the pillars that rose to incredible heights with snakes circling them.

There was no sight of Hermione but they all knew that she was close, what's more, they could definitely feel that disgusting presence that had been lurking by for most of the year.

Throwing caution to the wind, Zoro walked forward, ignoring the eyes of the snakes that seemed to follow their every move.

The back wall was illuminated, showing an enormous statue as high as the chamber itself, it was ancient, a wizard calmly facing forward, his beard trailing down to the floor itself.

And at the base lay Hermione, feeling their hearts skip a beat despite what he knew, he raced towards the figure and could hear the others do the same.

"Hermione, I need you to wake up so you can get out of here. Chopper!" When she didn't respond Chopper raced forward, dropping his medical supplies and feeling her forehead.

Chopper frowned, "I want you and Brook to protect her during the fight, okay?" Zoro requests already feeling the disgusting presence making itself known.

It wasn't really a question but they nod regardless.

"There's no use trying to protect her." Came a soft voice.

Whipping around to the handsome boy leaning up against the nearest pillar who wasn't all there, Zoro stood.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The boy laughed softly, "I am a memory, preserved in a diary for 50 years."

"So, you're Voldemort huh?" He said, listening to the tell-tale clink of Wado and Brook's sword and the steady breathing of the crew as they began to prepare for the inevitable fight.

"Roronoa Zoro. I would have preferred to meet that captain of yours, he seems to be quite the character-"

"I don't care."

The smug look vanished. "What was that?"

"I don't care about why you wanted to talk to my captain or why you became Voldemort or whatever, we're here to save our friend."

"Is little Hermione really your friend? She's been writing in my diary for months now, spilling all of her darkest secrets and desires, telling me all about her friends who turned out to be reincarnated pirates, and dangerous ones too, how she was pushed aside by everyone for being such a brainy little brat.

"But I, even though I am split from my masters soul, I cultivated her for the perfect sacrifice, as she grows colder, I become more real." He smiled. "And I know all about your captain Monkey D. Luffy, and not just from dear Hermione but there were pirates before you."

He feels Sengoku shift a little to his right and supresses a glare. "They were quite fearsome but they weren't used to their bodies – oh how they tried to play dirty with their devil fruits and raw strength. But after amassing many followers we annihilated their meagre defences. They weren't eager to spill their little secrets about 'haki' and devil fruits until I wormed my way into their very being, I suppose they're still in Mungos after what I did to them, maybe you'll be scared no-"

He was cut off by slash of compressed air not quite folding through his body. The consistency was not quite non-existent. Bringing Wado down Zoro repeated himself "I don't care."

(He did make himself a promise to properly include Hermione later on and check Mungos because if other pirates were taken down that easily by Voldemort he had to know.)

Enraged, his face contorted before smoothing out into an unpleasant smile, the not-quite-there Tom wiped blood off of his mouth, "Very well. Then I suppose I might just call the basilisk here and get things over and done with."

He began to hiss in the foreign language. "Speak to me, Slytherin, Greatest of the Four."

The stone on the back wall moved, scraping up against more stone Zoro shouted. "Eyes closed now!"

Because he could feel the basilisk awakening from its' slumber within the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"Kill them all."

He could hear Brook humming as the serpent hit the ground, it had been agreed that they would all initially aim for the eyes – those with swords more so.

He could vaguely see the not-quite-there Tom, he was fuzzy and like an old polaroid, fading with time.

Too late, he didn't realise that his true objective was the trio protecting Hermione, it was only when Chopper cried. "He's got my wand!" that things got out of hand.

As the enormous snake began its' slow crawl to their position Tom hurled all manner of spells at them, Zoro had yet to break a sweat from deflecting the death curses, Wado and shusui happily defending him.

Although, he can also hear the grinding of Chopper concocting a medicine and the humming of Brook as he also deflected the spells.

Sengoku is hissing but regardless holding his own against the curses.

Twisting his body as best he could to avoid the flashes he heard Sengoku grunt "I'll deal with Tom, you deal with the snake."

"Sure."

Both Zoro and Brook leapt from their place on the ground and lithely withdrew their swords.

A loud shriek that pierced his very being alerted him to the fact that both had been successfully in their endeavours and he opened his eyes to the sight of the basilisk writhing, four gashes where its eyes used to be.

"You can open your eyes!"

Immediately they all do, eyeing the slashed up basilisk. "Kill them! You can use your nose!" Tom insists, waving the wand simultaneously, an eruption of green flashing by them.

It's unnerving to watch Sengoku raise to his entire height and smash a golden, gleaming fist down on the corporeal body, deflecting the flashing green wordlessly.

"No!" The fist flattens him, but they all know it's still in this world because it stands, face contorted and disfigured but very much alive. "We need to destroy the book!"

Tom is waving Chopper's wand again and they watch as the sewer water around them rises, curling forth for its' master.

"Kill the basilisk and we'll have the very thing we need to destroy it!" Sengoku retorted, shrinking to his human form as the not-Tom douses him with sea-water.

The snake finally regained its bearings and turned its' head back towards Zoro and Brook, face set in grim determination his arms and swords blacken without a thought – he isn't sure quite how thick the skin is but hopefully he will be able to destroy it.

As it slithers its' way towards him he leaps into the air, Zoro sends another flying slash, it simply grazes the head of the beast and destroys the statue behind it.

Brook freezes the eyes and Zoro turns to the humming swordsman "Brook! Decapitate it!"

It screams, desperately trying to unfreeze its' bloody eyes, by this stage Voldemort isn't looking very cocky any more, in fact, he's as pale as a ghost.

"Basilisk venom will kill him right?" He shouts out to Sengoku over the screaming of the serpent.

"Zoro don't touch it!" Chopper screams right back at him but he grins and leaps forward into the very much open mouth of the basilisk.

"Have you ever heard the tale of Tonga?"

The Basilisk is worse on the inside of its' mouth but Zoro trusts Brook who must have already decapitated it for blood begins to rush into its' mouth, they begin to gather momentum and the awful screaming stops.

Turning his hands and arms black with armament he grips one of the fangs and rips it out.

"That was easy." He mutters, crawling out of the falling mouth and landing on his feet, Tom is still hurling spells but this time it's three incredibly notorious pirates against him + one ex-Fleet Admiral.

Zoro is cleaving the spells left, right and centre and Brook is carefully dancing around them, shouting out freezing attacks for the sea-water the thing tries to catch them off guard with, Chopper isn't as suited to fighting him as the others so he stays with Hermione, petting her hair, for there isn't much else he can do.

Still with his tight grip on the basilisk fang he looks toward the diary Chopper is guarding, feels the disgusting evil rolling off of it and leaps at it.

Thrusting the fang into the book despite how the horcrux screams "No!" and rapidly fires at them all.

A black ink begins to ooze out of the book as the basilisk venom brutally tears through its' composition.

The horcrux is beginning to lose its' corporeal form and they watch as it desperately tries firing with Chopper's wand. He looks down at his fading body and begins to silently scream, "You won't get away! He'll kill everyone you love, you arrogant fool!"

He just smiles devilishly as it fades out of existence, as soon as he is nothing more than a speck of insignificance, Hermione is gasping and awakening from her induced slumber, upon seeing who she was surrounded by, she shrunk inwards against herself.

Wincing a bit, he moves forward to try and talk to her but as he does, black spots begin to dance on the edges of his vision and moving becomes that much harder.

Well, apparently haki isn't good enough to protect oneself from the venom of a basilisk.

As he tips he can hear his nakama calling him, even Sengoku and Hermione.

He cannot die. It is simply unacceptable, there's still so much to do, so many more people to meet – well, re-meet.

Luffy is waiting for him.

And he opens his eyes.

The most majestic creature is perched on his arm, crying into his wound.

"Hmm, a phoenix, how handy." He mutters, but even that causes him to wince.

"Dumbass! Don't scare us like that." Despite Chopper's harsh words, there are tears gathering in his eyes as he checks the wound out and a cursory glance reveals that the rest of his crew are visibly shaken up.

"Hmph, sorry, I still have a promise to fulfil, I won't die that easily." He reassures.

They sigh in exasperation but the tears are gone, replaced with smiles.

"Is he dead?" Came the quiet question from Hermione, she was curled up into a little ball and looking everywhere except for them.

"Yes, Hermione-san, we are all quite sorry for not including you within our group as much as we should have and I believe I speak on behalf of the crew when I say, we are very sorry." Brook bows.

Hermione shrinks in again but doesn't utter a word, just nods.

"We'll be here when you need us Hermione." Chopper says earnestly, medicinal herbs pressed to his chest.

"Okay."

It's not fixed but they will be able to make her see, just how much they love her.

Zoro grunts as sitting up requires too much energy and too much pain.

That was quite anti-climactic, wasn't it?

But, whatever.

He lithely dodges a ghost that would have disappeared right through him if he had stood still and grimaced as Perona descended from the ceiling.

"Do you know how long I've been trying to find you?" She all but screeches.

Zoro winces again, "Well-"

"No wells!" She says, hands on hips, "I can't believe you! If you want to know where Herm-"

She cut off once she realised that Hermione was trailing after them, "Oh."

"If you'd have waited, we would have told you that we defeated both the basilisk and Voldemort." Zoro says grouchily.

"Well, I'm sorry that I had to leave as soon as I realised just where the basilisk was, I didn't want to become petrified."

She sighs and floats along with them.

Realising now that Cornelius has left the building, he wonders what became of the encounter between the trio and the governor.

Luffy whips out his wand, it hums displeasured in his hand, it probably didn't appreciate being thrown into the grand stand with him.

"Hey, can you figure out what they're saying?"

His wand smirks and scoffs like it takes offence that it couldn't hear a secret meeting floors away of all things, "Hmm, I should really name you something…"

Standing in contemplation is never a good thing with Luffy so in the end he sighs and says "Suteki! Because it's my favourite food ever."

The newly named Suteki just thrums with a little more power, Usopp and Nami exchange a grin, some things never change.

How Dumbledore managed to keep Lucifer (was that Sanji's not-really-Dad's name?) from finding out that the Draco Malfoy had been petrified would remain a mystery to the remainder of the straw hats.

"Where is he?" Lucifer demanded, accompanied by a hissing sound and a light pop from the floo network within Hogwarts.

"Cornelius, Lucius, what may I do on this fine evening, ah, sorry, it just turned one, morning for you?" Dumbledore, to his credit, says evenly, even warmly. "Would you care for a liquorice leg?"

"You know why we're here!" Lucius growls.

The trio are huddled around Suteki, listening in.

"I presume it's for my imminent departure." Dumbledore says.

"Yes, but more importantly, why did you try and keep the status of my son's health a secret?" Lucifer demands, cane hitting the desk with an audible snap.

Cornelius tries his best to diffuse the tension but apparently, despite his position of power, he clearly has no authority over the men.

"Enough! Dumbledore, take him to see his son and then you will be escorted to Azkaban, it was decided by the twelve governors!"

"I see."

Cornelius leaves, clearly trusting in the man. "Take me to him." Lucifer demands.

He wasn't a father, just the one that had provided genetic material for Sanji's new body.

"Why was I not informed of this?" Lucifer's cold voice echoed through the hallways, accompanied by the clicking of his cane and shoes.

"As I am so far aware, Mr Malfoy did not spend his summer with his family." Dumbledore replied.

"That does not excuse your impudence!" Lucifer all but roared.

The pair burst into the hospital wing, straw hats in stealthy pursuit, before the door could close, they slipped in, hiding around one of the beds.

Luffy slipped Suteki back into his pocket, trying to communicate that it had done a good job.

It got the message, if the warmth running through him was to be accredited to the almost sentient wand.

Lucifer looked at the placement of his 'son' next to the straw hat and Robin, lip curling in disgust. "Why is my son anywhere near this lunatic?"

Dumbledore smiled, the light not reaching his eyes, "I'm afraid they were found together, you will have to talk to our head of Medicine, who is not here at the moment."

Lucifer grasped Sanji's hand, "Stupid fool! Will you allow me some time alone with my son?"

It was a not a question but regardless, Dumbledore nodded, "Very well, I shall be waiting outside."

"Why would you taint yourself with them," He murmured angrily, "we could have been made to be his saviours."

Glancing at the straw hat, he snarled again and gripped it tightly within his grip, Luffy stiffened but did not move.

"Dobby!" with a crack Dobby appeared, mollified. Blood boiling, Luffy observed the bandages wrapped tightly around his fingers, and the burns present over his body. "Now, is this Harry Potter's hat?"

Trembling Dobby nodded silently, stepping out of the comfort of the hidden compartment, Luffy simply stood there, waiting for Lucifer to notice him.

Usopp and Nami followed silently, standing on either side of him.

"Excuse me." He finally uttered as Lucifer withdrew his wand, whipping around the man smoothed out his features but did not put the straw hat down.

"This is a private meeting, I assume you're after this? Hmm?" He twirled the straw hat around a finger. "Well, fetch!"

As boshi was thrown into the air, Luffy left it to either Nami or Usopp and applied pressure to the weak man in front of him.

Lucifer crumbled under the weight of his willpower, face crumpling like a marionette with cut strings, landing on the floor with a thud.

Nami shoves boshi onto his head and he allows a small smile.

Usopp goes and sits next to Dobby quietly, observing the orange-haired woman as she pats down Lucifer's pockets for items of use.

"Aha!" She procures a potion from one of the extended pockets, its' label of 'Mandrake Restorative Draught', "I was wondering why the Governor's didn't just send in litres of this stuff, it seems that he was probably blocking the supply."

Luffy glances at it, "So that will fix everyone who's petrified."

"Mhm."

He grins widely and drops boshi back next to the frozen straw hats, "You'll be fine soon."

"I'll go get Madam Pomfrey." Usopp says, leaving the house elf with them.

"Hey Dobby." He grins widely, squatting down beside the injured elf.

"Mister Luffy!" Dobby smiles hesitantly, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do anything."

Luffy frowns, "Whaddya mean?"

"I couldn't stop master from dropping the diary in Miss Hermione's cauldron!"

"That's not your fault." He says resolutely. "You warned us and that's all that matters, without you we probably wouldn't have made it this far."

Dobby looks up, tears streaming down his eyes and throws his arms around Luffy, "Thank you so much Luffy-san!"

He just laughs quietly, "Don't sweat it Dobby."

Truth is, the house elf reminds him of an old friend, but either way, Dobby is his friend, and he hates the fact that his friend is a slave to the family he despises.

"Oh dear." Madam Pomfrey huffs stepping over the unconscious body of the governor. "What trouble have you gotten yourselves into this time?" She asks, unimpressed.

They purposely avoid answering and the doctor sighs heavily, "Alright, thank you for kindly relieving Mr Malfoy of this potion, while it may be a few days before everybody else is relieved of this curse, a few will be awake."

"What about the rest of them?"

"Well, the correct brew is being imported as we speak, I suppose that Mr Malfoy was blocking the orders." She replies.

"Oh."

"They'll be right as rain in a day or two."

"Yay! I'll finally be able to eat Sanji's food!" He almost cries with relief, Sanji's food was the best.

"What should we do with him?" Nami asks, toeing the unconscious governor, nice and softly.

Nothing but the best for the asshole that made Sanji's life a living hell.

Madam Pomfrey sighed heavily, "I suppose we can dispose of the body before anybody notices… but then again, it would probably be best if no acts of murder were committed today…"

"Shishishi!"

"So, who are you going to relieve?" Nami questions, still nudging Malfoy none too gently.

"That is none of your business. I'll administer it in the presence of Pomona and Albus."

"Naw. Ne, Dobby, could you possibly take care of Lucifer?" He asks, gesturing to the slightly bruised form of Lucius Malfoy.

"Of course Luffy-san!" Dobby bows deeply, nose touching the ground, "I will not forget the kindness you have showed me!"

And with another snap of the fingers, the unconscious form of Lucius and Dobby disappear from Hogwarts.

"Now shoo!" And she does just that, forcing the trio out of the hospital wing.

He freezes once they are outside for Zoro's light is fading but even as it blinks out of existence it flares back with twice as much gusto.

"I have a feeling I'm going to need to beat Zoro when I get back…" Nami murmurs, eyes wide.

"You and me both…"

Meeting the Group 2 somewhere between the hospital wing and the Mystery Room, he is happy to see that Zoro is only leaning slightly against Chopper.

"Everyone!"

"Luffy!" They all smile and wave, and he notices Hermione at the back of the group.

"Hermione!" He leaps forward and suddenly she's being surrounded from all sides, and-

It isn't as unpleasant as she had expected.

Hermione melts under his touch and tentatively hugs him back. "I'm glad you're okay."

She just breathes into his back, "This calls for a party!" He says and all but throws Hermione over his shoulder, racing back to the mystery room.

He can hear his nakama laughing after him, but Nami calls, "Wait a moment, we need the basilisk."

Sighing they silently agree and Nami pulls Hermione into the Mystery Room and sends them all back down to the Clamp of whispers or whatever.

There wasn't much left – they had carried the dead carcass back into the Mystery Room and attempted to preserve it with various salts and a reduced temperature for Sanji to cook.

Man, he was gonna be pissed when he realised that he had missed out on such a big fight.

Nami had carefully explained that basilisk skin was extremely expensive and would pay well for.

Sengoku tells them that he will talk to Dumbledore along with Nami and Brook.

So, it is reported that the basilisk is dead, the student in charge of the attempted murders, controlled by a living part of Lord Voldemort's soul.

Hermione's parents are summoned and told the delicacy of the situation and she doesn't leave but she comes very close to it.

Her parents may be muggles and not understand the full ramifications of Voldemort possessing their child, but they understand just how close they were to losing their daughter.

But afterwards, they throw the biggest party within the Mystery Room and eventually, they spill out into the Forbidden Forest under the cover of night and have a bigger celebration with some of the creatures that reside within.

Sengoku was still cordial with them but that was fine, because they had kind of made amends.

He would never apologise, he was far too prideful too, but in some essence, he supposes that they might be tolerant of him.

Luffy just does it for Jiji.

Speaking of, the man is revived using the 'stolen' medicine.

And the first thing he does is put them through more training!

Not that he's truly complaining because it means that Jiji is just happy they survived.

Bouncing on his heels he peers around the corner excitedly, today was the day the potion had arrived which meant that Robin and Sanji were going to finally wake up!

Feeling their auras flicker back into the present time rather than the coldness they were prior to today, he whooped in joy.

It was always comforting to know where his nakama were.

Their auras were so pretty and strong, behind him, an amalgamation of the straw-hats + Hermione were a steadying presence.

After half an hour of check-ups and an explanation of why they suddenly had a huge gap in their memories, the two straw-hats are released.

"Sanji! Robin!" As soon as they're out of the door, they're gripped by a rubber projectile.

Grunting slightly they indulge him for the moment, and after a moment an arm pushes boshi over his eyes, "Shishi, thanks for keeping it safe for me!"

"No problem, Luffy." Robin says, smiling brightly, she produces more arms to encompass the trio and Sanji smiles indulgently at the straw hatted boy.

"Why don't I cook a feast for us all?" Sanji smiles again, Luffy unwinds and grins again.

"Hell yeah!"

And another party is thrown, this time with all of them present.

They shove chopsticks up their noses and shove little baskets about, Brook throws them an honest to god concert with amplifiers and ropes the rest of the crew into various parts with instruments.

They're all god awful but it's okay because they're all laughing, Hermione playing the tuber magnificently.

The following morning they stumble out of the Mystery Room into the Great Hall to give Sanji a bit of a break from the simply astounding workload he managed to produce.

It was a shame that they had been unable to discover just how Lockhart was a fraud, the man was wearing a hideous shade of pink today, and from the ceiling, pink love hearts and non-lethal pixies of every kind were floating about.

Today was Valentines Day and it was simply surreal to be doing normal things.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all — and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

And with that, the school erupted into discussion of 'Oh no what am I going to do?" "Who should I send one to?"

The mumblings increased with the arrival of the daily post,

Three unusual birds came and dropped three separate letters on top of Luffy's fourth serving of breakfast, fishing them out of the scrambled eggs he looked at the crests stamped and set aside his breakfast.

One of the birds had metallic wings and a helmet over its' small face, plumage a cyan blue. The other stamped with the same crest as one of the letters, feathers speckled white and brown.

And the last one looked more like a sea-gull than anything.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Robin asked, glancing over at the man who had set aside his breakfast, he usually finished at least six plates before declaring himself full.

Luffy fingered the straw hat wax seal before ripping it off and opening the contents,

Yo Super~ Mugiwara-bro!

So, Harry Potter? Wouldn't expect anything less of you. Me and Trafalguy are attending the school Drumstrang, I'm not entirely sure where it is but if you ask Nico-sis or Mikan-sis they'd probably be able to tell you (if they're there, that is).

Anyway, we'll be coming to your school in a couple of years to compete in one of our tournaments so I ask that you wait for me there.

If you want to reply, just attach some parchment to Mechabird and he'll return it,

Super~ Cyborg!

Grinning widely he said, "Franky and Torao are in Dumbstung, although, he talked in code."

"Naturally, if they were to be seized we don't just want everyone to know, do we?" Usopp muttered.

Luffy just shrugged, "One day." He pulled out some spare parchment and wrote out a quick reply in his black pen.

Hey Super~ Cyborg,

It's super~ to hear from you, almost the entire crew is here, we're just waiting on you and the Knight of the Sea.

Can you make it here earlier than that? We all want to see you again!

Say hi to Torao for me!

He wordlessly passed the letter off to Robin who read it out loud, "Oi, gimme!" Usopp said and snatched his own letter off him.

Shrugging he glances at the other crest, "Hmm, this is familiar…"

"I believe that crest to be of the Kuja pirates." Robin said, leaning over and tapping the sealed wax lightly.

"Hammock!"

My beloved,

I hope you fare well, my sisters and I are currently attending a school within France, I am afraid that I am unable to easily escape its' clutches so easily, but fear not for we will be reunited in two years time when the tournament takes place.

Love from your dearest

P.S. Will you marry me?

Bringing out some more parchment he scrawls out a hasty reply for the Kuja pirate.

Yo Hammock!

I'm glad you're still alive and with your sisters, it sucks that you can't come over here because it would be cool to spar with you!

P.S. I'm not marrying you.

Nodding at his words he reattached it to the bird who he had dubbed as 'Speckles'.

Zoro raised an eyebrow, "Who was that?" his nose had picked up a lot of perfume that probably acted as a love drug, but to his knowledge, Luffy had not been affected.

"Hancock." He said nonchalantly, opening the last letter.

"Hancock?" Sanji asked abruptly, "Like, Boa Hancock?"

"Mhm, she just wanted to say that she was alive." He murmured absentmindedly.

Sanji's eyes turned to love-hearts instantly, "Oh, how the gods have cursed me, for the only person in our crew to ignore the forthcomings of such a wonderful woman is the one she loves!"

Hermione glanced at him in amusement, "Do I want to know?"

"Oh, only the most beautiful woman alive is in love with our captain." Usopp says sullenly.

"Quit your whining." Zoro mutters.

"Ooh! It's from Jinbe! Fishman island is above ground, and he wants to come visit us!"

"Jinbe-san!" Brook cried in delight. "Oh how my heart soars at the thought of being reunited! Not that I…"

"Oh dear." Robin comments, glancing at Brook's prostrate form.

Luffy just laughs again.

sencho-kun,

I trust you're doing well, I am currently within Fishman island, above the ground like Queen Otihime wished.

I will make my way here the following year to make your acquaintance once more, Dumbledore is an old friend of the current King of Fishman Island.

I have much to tell you but it can wait until we meet again,

Your shichibukai, Knight of the Sea.

Nami grabbed his letter and scrawled something out on it to Jinbe,

Nodding she attached it to the seagull.

"Hopefully now we'll have the entire crew." Chopper said.

"Mm, I wish we were all reunited!" Brook cried happily.

Zoro, smiling wickedly, gestured to one of the 'cupids' and walked hurriedly out of the hall, not one to be outdone, Sanji followed, bringing his own dwarf with him.

What they wanted the dwarves for, was revealed during potions when two of the cupids approached, Professor Snape, looking like he'd just been subjected to some of Luffy's cooking, allowed the dwarves to deliver their messages.

"Ahem, a little poem for one 'stupid, curly-que'," it declared, Sanji was steadily turning red and Zoro was grinning maniacally next to Luffy, "His brows are like question marks to question his sanity,

His cooking tastes like crap and his infatuation with women is dumb,

I wish that that godamned ero-cook would get lost!"

Snape's eyebrow twitched, "Thank you for that scintillating poem."

The dwarf bowed deeply and waddled out of the room.

"That didn't even rhyme you stupid mossheaded fool!" Sanji roared and flew right out of his seat, leg blazing with fire, the absolute manifestation of his rage towards the swordsman.

Many students began to scream from the fire steadily licking its' way up Draco Malfoy's leg but the object of his anger was simply smirking.

"Enough!" Snape bellowed, his wand spraying the flying boy with water, it did nothing but cause the fire to hiss and create steam.

"What's the matter, curly brow? Lost your nerve?" Zoro snarled, inching towards his concealed swords.

Brook 'yohohoed' loudly and Hermione watched on in disapproval.

Luffy laughed as well, but they were both interrupted by the loud coughing of the second dwarf, within a second, Sanji was back in his own seat, flames extinguished, he smirked.

"I have a poem for Mr shitty lost mosshead,

His hair is as green as the moss on river beds,

He gets lost so often that I wonder whether he has moss in his head,

He is a brute and an idiot that has no concept of the finer things,

Stop burdening my damn presence and disappear which would be the blessings!"

The little dwarf also disappeared from the eerily silent dungeon, before the two could resume their fight, Snape picked them up by the scruffs of the neck and stepped into his fireplace.

The trio disappeared in a flare of emerald flames.

"Whoops?"

The term passes quite quickly, in blazes of sunshine, and eventually, Robin and Usopp reveal Lockhart to be a fraud, reputation ruined, he leaves in flourishes of fake confetti.

"You'll never take me alive!"

Good riddance…

But either way, they pass their exams with not quite flying colours except for the areas they were particularly proficient in.

"Oi, Luffy, you coming home with me?" Zoro asks, because it would only make sense that the boy comes.

He shakes his head, "Nah, I'm gonna go stay with Ace and Sabo for the summer."

They just smile indulgently, because they could never deny him time with his brothers.

"Why doesn't everybody else come with us?" Brook suggests, they have plenty of space and his mother would be delighted that they have so many friends.

"Yeah, there's a lot of spare rooms and besides, you live pretty close too, don't you?" Nami says, turning to Robin who smiles secretively.

"Yes, we live over the hill."

"Would you like to come too?" Nami asked, looking at Hermione and her trunk.

She smiles and nods silently, "Just let me owl my parents."

And so it happens that the Weasley household would be plus six occupants, "Oh wait," Sanji pulls off his tie and snaps his fingers, Dobby appears, looking quite happy to see them all. "Okay, so I'm technically still one of your master's, correct?"

Dobby nods, smiling at him. Sanji drops the tie over his head, "I'm giving you this to tell you, you're fired."

Dobby looks down at the Gryffindor tie in his hands with astonishment, turning it over like it was the most sacred thing in his life and promptly burst into tears, "Th-th-thank y-you m-mister Sanji!" He manages between sobs.

Sanji just grins, "You deserved it."

And that's that, Dobby, still sobbing his little heart out, disappear with a loud crack and a promise to be there should they ever call for him.

"Alright, so, would you mind if we came to visit?" He asked them with his doe eyes.

"Of course Luffy-san!" Brook declares.

They all pile into the train and when they arrive at the station many people are confused to see Harry Potter of all people, racing towards two older men who simply hug him tightly.

"Sabo-kun, it's a pleasure to meet you again." Robin smiles, guiding her father over.

"Robin! I'm glad you're okay." He says, grinning widely, "Come visit us at some stage."

"Actually, I'll be with the rest of the straw hats at Mrs Weasley's house, so I might suggest that you visit." She smiles.

"Hello sir, it's a pleasure to meet you." The eccentric man smiles and shakes Sabo's gloved hand, "I'm Xenophilius, Robin's father."

"Pleasure to meet you too, this is my brother Ace." He replies pleasantly.

Formalities over Luffy throws a goodbye over his shoulder and follows his brother out of the platform.

"How was school?" Ace asks, giving him a noogie to his hair under boshi.

"Eh, it was fun I guess. Oh! Guess what? Jiji's alive!"

Both men shudder visibly, thinking of the countless 'training' sessions spent with their self-proclaimed grandfather.

"Are you fine with using the Floo network?" Sabo asks, neither of them particularly liked apparition after an incident of Ace splinching.

Even though he had his devil fruit to heal him almost immediately, it was a terrifying experience which neither wish to undergo again.

"This summer's going to be awesome!" He declares, and, surrounded by warmth on both sides from both of his very much alive brothers, he can believe it.