"Actually it belongs to me!" Harry spoke loudly and Snape turned to face him so fast the man's greasy hair whipped around.
"Potter! Stop spouting nonsense! This creature has been living under Hogwarts for centuries, it belongs to the school!" Snape raised his voice.
"I 'Conquered' it! It belongs to me by Magical Rite!" Harry retorted and Snape looked like he'd been slapped.
"Stop lying, Potter!" Snape replied stiffly.
"I'm sure this can be cleared up quickly." Dumbledore stepped between the two. "I do happen to know the proper spell to determine Magical Ownership."
"Please do, Headmaster." Harry readily agreed. No way was he losing out on all of the materials that the Basilisk presented! A few waves of his wand, followed by a rather intricate series of loops and flicks, and the Basilisk and Harry both glowed with a green light for a moment before it faded away.
"It would seem that Mr. Potter is correct, Severus, the Basilisk is his by Rite of Conquest. To take even a single scale from the beast would be considered theft." Dumbledore informed the dour Potions Master. Snape made a face that was between a sneer and the look of someone that had just been slapped. It was an odd expression to say the least.
"I'll need to contact Sirius." Harry spoke up as he looked the massive serpent over. "Going to need to bring in professionals to move this and render it down."
"What will you do with it all, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore questioned. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"It'll become materials for my Enchanting." Harry informed the old man.
"What of the flesh? I don't believe that can be used for Enchanting." Dumbledore looked at the boy.
"Snake is edible, right?" Harry questioned as he looked up at the old man.
"Some species are, I believe." Dumbledore nodded. "You're planning to eat it? Why?"
"Spite mostly." Harry replied honestly, while glaring at the carcass. "It could have killed Penny." Dumbledore wasn't sure whether to be relieved that Harry cared about Miss Clearwater so much, or if he should be worried for the same reason.
Harry headed for the Hospital Wing as soon as he'd stopped being questioned by the Aurors. Dumbledore had taken Ginny to his office where her parents were waiting. Harry quickly reached the Wing and entered, he found Penny sitting up in bed and looking a little confused at how she'd gotten there. Madam Pomfrey appeared to be talking to the blonde Prefect, but Harry couldn't care less. The Second Year rushed to Penny's bedside and pulled the older girl into a hug.
"Harry?" Penny questioned as she was hugged.
"I'm glad you're alright, Penny, so glad." Harry murmured into the hug. Penny softly smiled as she returned his hug.
"Madam Pomfrey says I'll be fine." Penny assured him as they continued to hold each other.
"I was saying that," Pomfrey nodded before looking crossly at Harry. "Until a certain someone came barreling into the Wing and interrupted me."
"Sorry." Harry mumbled out as he refused to let go of Penny.
"So what happened after I was petrified?" Penny asked. "The last thing I remember was a pair of large, bright yellow eyes reflecting off the water on the floor of the second floor corridor."
"I fixed the problem, Penny." Harry finally pulled back. "The Basilisk in the Chamber is dead."
"It was a Basilisk?" Penny questioned before what Harry said caught up with her. "Wait, what do you mean 'You' fixed the problem?" Harry suddenly felt like he'd said too much. "Harry…please tell me you didn't go off half-cocked and charge into the Chamber of Secrets by yourself!"
"It wasn't half-cocked; I had a plan…sort of." Harry defended his actions.
"It sounds like you took revenge on my behalf." Penny raised an eyebrow at him.
"I…well…that's…that's about right, I guess." Harry admitted with an exhale of breath. "I was so angry when I saw you petrified, my Occlumency kept me from going off entirely, but I went and got some of my things and then headed for the Chamber. Your theory about where it was hidden was spot on, by the way. I thought that you'd been attacked because you'd gotten too close."
"Harry, you could have died!" Penny chastised even as she pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. "I was only petrified. It hasn't even been a full day and I've already been cured with Mandrake Draught. But if you had died then you would be gone! What would that have solved?"
"I know…I was just so angry…I barely thought…." Harry returned the hug and sighed at the familiar warmth of Penny.
"Don't risk your life on something like revenge, Harry." Penny mumbled into his hair. "I'd rather just have you here with me."
"Penny?" Harry pulled back and blinked at the Prefect. He was no expert, but that almost sounded like a confession.
"What you did was reckless and poorly thought out," Penny admonished before her expression softened and a warmth entered her eyes as she smiled. "But thank you for caring about me so much, Harry." With that the Prefect's lips met Harry's in a brief kiss before she pulled back. Harry felt…well…he didn't quite know. He was happy, elated even, but also confused and he kind of wanted to do that again.
"That was…um…wow." Harry stumbled over his words a bit.
"Glad you think so." Penny giggled before she tapped his nose with her index finger. "But I'm still telling Tonks what you did too!" She teased.
"Please don't…." Harry 'whined', already knowing that Tonks would blow the whole incident out of proportion. She tended to overreact when her friends and family were involved. He'd be lucky if she didn't practically smother him for a good week once she learned of his 'revenge' for Penny.
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