Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.
Music was coming from somewhere.
Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry's scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size.
Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.
A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.
A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.
The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.
'That's a phoenix.' said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.
'Fawkes?' Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently.
'And that —' said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, 'that's the old school Sorting Hat —'
So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Harry's feet.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
The Flames of the Phoenix.
Ginny Weasley was not alone.
Not that she particularly enjoyed her present company.
Ginny was standing in a large chamber. Dark grey mist filled the gigantic area – Ginny was unsure of the boundaries of the chamber – the walls seemed to be melded into the mist.
However, there were two doors. One showed a blinding white light pouring out. The other, pitch darkness. Ginny felt herself slowly float towards the dark door, and as she came closer, the door opened wider. Simultaniously, the bright, white door on the other end closed narrower.
Ginny knew that she couldn't allow herself to reach the black door.
It would be all over.
Ginny tried to claw her way back along the floor, but her fingertips went through the ground like it was a cloud.
Tom Riddle stood, silhouetted against the narrowing beam of light coming from behind the white door.
Tom laughed at Ginny's attempt as jumbled portions of her memories fell through the chamber and Tom sucked them into him.
Sneaking outside and stealing a ride on a broomstick…Running up to Bill Weasley and giving him a hug when he visited…Playing Princesses and Dragons with Charlie…Being Minister Percy's secretary…
The memories swirled around in the heavy air. They mixed and broke, then swirled into Tom's laughing form.
Tom Riddle was about to open his mouth, but he suddenly froze.
Music was filling Ginny's heart. Her hair tingled and her heart swelled up. Tom looked uneasy, unsure of himself.
The music continued to swell, and Ginny was filled with immense courage and spiritual strength.
She began to push back on Tom Riddle. Her memories started flooding back to her.
Tom's eyes widened in shock. He had been so close – one push would've done her, so he tried to push back, and neutralize Ginny's surprising counterattack.
But the music filled Tom with such an utter sense of hopeless dread.
Ginny was pushing him back at an amazing speed. Tom felt himself weakening at an alarming rate as Ginny grew stronger.
With the Phoenix song filling the chamber and Ginny continually blasting him backwards, Tom Riddle was filled with a terror he had never felt before.
Ginny had transformed from a frightened little girl into a ferocious lioness.
Tom tried to do something, anything, to help. He reached for his wand.
Only to find it wasn't there.
Tom's heart plummetted as he looked into Ginny's triumphant smirk and fearsome, blazing brown eyes.
Tom felt himself disintergrate and vanish. Ginny took the last couple of steps, and walked through the white doorway.
The flood of sensations was instantaneous.
Ginny felt herself lying on cold, damp and slimy ground. The unmistakable presence of Tom Riddle stood nearby. Despite driving him out of her mind, she could feel his aura of evil.
Did Tom know she had expelled him? If so, what would he do about it? It was one thing to beat Tom in a mental duel, but quite another to fight his spectral form. Especially when she didn't have her wand.
Tom didn't seem to be aware of her awareness. Infact, he was speaking, hissing in a language that Ginny did not understand, but knew unmistakably what it was.
Parseltongue.
Tom was calling forth the Basilisk. Ginny made herself freeze. Fighting Tom and Slytherin's monster at the same time would be utter folly. Ginny knew she needed to pick her fight wisely.
Riddle's hissing once again assaulted her eardrums. Ginny wondered if Tom was offering the Basilisk a spot of tea with a side of Ginny.
It was then she heard it.
"Help me, help me…someone…anyone-"
Ginny opened her eyes, and what she saw both filled her with terror and hope.
Harry was facing Slytherin's gigantic serpent, completely weaponless. The Basilisk flayed it's head around, and Ginny caught a glimpse of it's eyesockets before she could slam her eyes shut.
The sockets were empty, slashed and bleeding. The Basilisk had lost it's deadly stare.
'Thank goodness for small miracles.'
Closer to her, Tom Riddle stood, holding a wand, clearly loving the scene.
And clearly unaware of Ginny.
Ginny watched as Harry ducked the Basilisk's swinging tail and then as he pulled on the old, tattered school sorting hat. Harry ripped the hat off.
A gleaming silver sword, encrusted with brilliant red rubies appeared where the hat was. Harry grabbed the sword and stood, waiting. The Basilisk smashed against the chamber's pillars as it weaved back around to face Harry.
It lunged at Harry, and he dodged the Basilisk's deadly jaws filled with sabre-like teeth.
Now was the moment. Ginny leapt up from her position and ran to Tom Riddle's diary. Tom heard her footsteps, and spun around in utter shock, throwing a curse at Ginny that burnt the bottom of her robes.
But Tom couldn't stop her. His eyes widened in horror as she seized the small black book and threw it over his head.
Time seemed to slow as Ginny ran toward Tom's turning form, who was aiming a spell at the book to knock it off its course. The Basilisk was readying another attack at Harry.
Then, everything happened at once. Ginny reached Tom and smashed herself into him, reaching around and knocking Harry's wand down. The Basilisk's aim was true, it lunged at Harry.
But Ginny's aim was just as good.
The Diary spun past Harry's head and lodged itself in the Basilisk's mouth. Tom Riddle shook.
The Basilisk, feeling the Diary inside it, snapped it's mouth open and shut, pouring it's deadly venom into the pages. Tom twisted and writhed, and as he vanished, the Basilisk's head blew up with the force of the released Dark Magic.
A fang shot through the air and embedded itself in Harry's arm.
Harry started to fall, dizzy. Ginny seized his wand and raced towards him, heart pounding in chest, silently cursing.
"Not now!" She told herself. "Don't let him die now!" Ginny pleaded, though she was unsure of who she was begging.
Ginny felt a soft whoosh as the Phoenix's wing brushed her as it glided towards Harry.
The Phoenix reached him before she did. It laid its brilliant head on Harry's arm. Tears began to fall from it's eyes, and Ginny noticed with delighted shock that his wound was healing.
Ginny reached Harry. When the wound sealed over, the Phoenix raised its head and turned to Ginny.
"Thank you." Ginny said softly. The bright bird trilled in response.