THE PHOENIX, THE SWORD, AND THE TUNNEL

The Phoenix, The Sword, and the Tunnel

By: bigo4190

Disclaimer: I do not own this. All the differing events and other changes are mine, but the original ideas belong to J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis

Speaking: "Blah"
Thinking: 'Blah'
Original Book Scene Quoted: Blah

Prologue

There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Harry's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then –
 He had gone. Harry's wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.
Shaking all over, Harry pulled himself up. His head was spinning as though he'd just traveled miles by Floo powder. Slowly he gathered together his wand and the Sorting Hat, and with a huge tug, retrieved the glittering sword from the roof of the basilisk's mouth.
Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring. As Harry hurried toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes traveled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.
"Harry—oh, Harry—I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy—it was me, Harry—but I—I s-swear I d-didn't mean to—Riddle made me, he t-took me over—and—how did you kill that—that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary—"
"It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here—"

"Harry, what's that bird doing?" Ginny had by now calmed a little more, and had spotted Fawkes, the Headmaster phoenix, swooping around over a tunnel at the side of the Chamber. At hearing his name, Fawkes trilled a little bit of melody, making the two feel much more at ease and shook his tail in such a way as to seem as if he was beckoning them over. "It looks like he wants us to follow him down that tunnel, but why on earth would he want to do that."

"I have no idea why Ginny, but we should probably do it. He may to things a bit unexpected, but they seem to turn out for the best, if you take him showing up with the Sorting Hat is any indication." Harry felt there would be nothing better to do than just leave, but something deep inside told him that he should trust Fawkes.

Ginny felt the same as Harry, and was about to say so when she looked at the face of her crush, the boy who had just nearly died to save her life, as it settled into a mask of resolve, and then turned to look at Fawkes who, as if sensing her hesitation, trilled another note of song, and Ginny felt that same deep knowledge that the right course lay off in that tunnel, guided by Fawkes. "Lets us go then, Harry."

Ginny pushed herself up off the floor, and together, she and Harry walked to the tunnel marked out by Fawkes. The gleaming bird seemed to look at them with approval before setting off down the tunnel, the two children following behind. After what seemed quite a long time, though was perhaps only 5 minutes, walking down the tunnel, their only source of light being the glow that came from Fawkes' feathers, the children came upon a dead end, with the wall facing them having 4 deep slots upon its face and above each face a jewel, from right to left a Ruby, a yellow Topaz, a Sapphire, and an Emerald.

"Well now what are we supposed to do." Harry was quite surprised that Fawkes had led them on this seemingly pointless journey, when Ginny piped up with an idea.

"Perhaps it is a door, and that sword you have is a key, it looks like it would fit into one of those slots. Do try and put it in, Harry." Harry realized, even as she said this that she had struck upon the answer, and raised up the Sword of Gryffindor and pushed it deep into the slot under the Ruby. There was a click, but for one agonizing moment nothing happed, then suddenly, the door was no longer there, the sword back in Harry's hand, and light spilling into the tunnel from the chamber beyond. After their eyes had adjusted to this great brightness the two stepped forward, but as soon as they crossed into the room proper, the door reappeared, shutting them inside.