Title: Chamber of Secrets
Part: 24
Aurthor: Cynthia Taz
Rating: G
Summary: Harry, Buffy and co entered the second year of Hogwarts. Willow showed up and dark force followed. Who's responsible?
Disclaimer: All characters, sites and such from 'Buffy, The Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel' belong to Joss Whedon, UPN, WB, and et al. All characters, sites and such from 'Harry Potter' belong to JK Rowling. No copyright infringement intended. Anything new in it belongs to the author (Yah me!). This story is not sell or for any profit.
Note: Thank you Joahn for b-reading the story!!! :)
Harry, joining his friends in the hospital wing, gathered around at Hermione's bed and watched the petrified girl sadly. Xander moved himself towards the nightstand, and frowned when he saw the fresh flowers in the vase. "Did you change her flowers?" He asked Harry.
Harry shook his head and sat next to Hermione, his hand softly touching Hermione's tightened fist. Xander shrugged, and changed the flowers anyway.
"Wish you were here, Hermione." Harry whispered as Buffy joined him quietly. "We need you. Now more than ever..." Ron and Xander sighed.
Harry looked down at Hermione's petrified fist, and frowned when he saw something. He carefully un-did Hermione's fist, and found a crumpled piece of paper. "What's that?" Buffy asked, moving closer to Harry.
"Buffy..." Harry's eyes widened. "This is what Hermione was doing in the library the day she was attacked!" He jumped out from the bed. "C'mon!"
"What?" Buffy exchanged glance with Ron and Xander before running after the dark hair boy.
The gang walked down the corridor as Harry read out from the clutched paper. "'Of the many fearsome beasts that roam our land, none is more deadly than the Basilisk. Capable of living for hundreds of years, instant death awaits any who meet this giant serpent's eyes. Spiders flee before it...'" He turned towards Buffy. "This is it! The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk. That's why I can hear it speak! It's a snake!"
"But if it kills by looking people in the eye," Ron winked in confusion. "Why is it no one's dead?"
The others frowned. Buffy's eyes slowly dragged towards the window, watching her own reflection. "Because no one did look it in the eye..." She turned towards the others. "Not directly at least..." Her hand reached for her chin as she started pacing. "Colin saw it through his camera. Justin..."
Harry quickly caught up. "Justin must've seen the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick! Nick got the full blast of it, but he's a ghost, he couldn't die again. And Hermione... had the mirror! I bet you anything she was using it to look around corners in case it came along."
"And Mrs Norris?" Ron asked. "I'm pretty sure she didn't have a camera or a mirror, Harry."
Buffy pointed at the window. "Window reflection, Ron. She only saw it on the window..."
Harry quickly scanned the page again. "'Spiders flee before it'... It all fits!"
"But how's the Basilisk been getting around?" Xander raised another question. "A dirty great snake! Someone would have seen it unless it got itself an invisible cloak..." He turned towards Harry. "You didn't lend it your dad's cloak, did you?" Harry merely frowned at him.
"Hermione answered that too." Buffy pointed at the corner of the paper. Everyone looked down and saw Hermione's hand writing: 'pipes'.
"Pipes?" Xander blinked for a second and started looking around fearfully. "It's using the plumbing..."
"Remember what Aragog said? About that girl fifty years ago? She died in a bathroom?" Everyone turned and looked at Harry. "What if she never left?"
"Moaning Myrtle!"
Just then, Professor McGonagall's voice echoed in the corridor. "All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers to the second floor corridor immediately." No need for another word, the gang immediately ran towards the second floor corridor.
"Dear Lord." Professor Giles halted when he saw the message written on the wall.
"As you can see," Professor McGonagall said worriedly to the other professors, none of them saw Harry and co hiding just around the corner. "The Heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster into the chamber itself. Students must be sent home... I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts."
Professor Lockhart chose that exact moment to charge in. "So sorry." He said cheerfully. "Dozed off. What have I missed?"
"A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart." Professor Snape smirked. "Your moment has come at last."
"M-my moment?"
"Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?" Professor Lockhart stared hard at Professor Snape, but said nothing.
"That settles it." Professor McGonagall joined in with a similar smirk on her face. "We'll leave it to you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend."
"V-very well. I... I'll be in my office, g-getting ready." Professor Lockhart said before quickly turned away and left.
Professor McGonagall and Snape looked at the back of Lockhart, the smirk on their faces slowly disappeared and once again replaced by a worried expression. Giles shook his head at Lockhart before turning back towards the other professors. "Who is it the monster's taken, Minerva?"
"Ginny Weasley." Professor McGonagall answered, and the groups of teachers immediately walked down the corridor. Professor Snape looked at the group for a moment before walking to the opposite direction towards the Slytherin's Common Room.
Ron slowly walked out from the corner, his eyes starting at the message on the wall, his legs shaking. "'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'" He swallowed. "Ginny..."
Professor Snape marched into the Slytherin's Common Room where the students were gathered around. "Professor-"
"Where's Slytherin?" The professor asked, ignored Draco who was right in front of him.
The students looked around and shrugged. "She isn't back yet." Tracey, one of the students, answered.
"Malfoy, make sure no student leaves the common room!" He barked and left the common room immediately, leaving the students standing there, confused.
Harry and co dashed into the Dark Art classroom towards Professor Lockhart's office. "Lockhart may be useless, but if he does try to get into the chamber." Harry explained. "At least we can tell him what we know!"
"I resent that!" Buffy complained, even though she never once slowed down. She opened Lockhart's door and charged in. "Professor, we've got some information for you-" She halted, so were the others when they saw the professor throwing a pile of clothes into his trunk. The professor quickly closed the trunk when he heard Buffy, but the others already saw what he was doing.
Harry looked around, and saw the half packed books and clothes around the office. "Are you going somewhere?" He grounded his teeth and moved forward.
"Um, well, yes. Ah... urgent call, unavoidable. Got to go..."
"What about my sister?" Ron shouted.
"Well," the professor resumed his packing. "As to that... most unfortunate. No one regrets more than I..."
"But you're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! You can't go now!" Xander exclaimed.
"Well, I must say, when I took the job, there's nothing in the job description about-"
"You're running away?" Harry put himself right in front of the professor, blocking his way. "After all that stuff you did in your book?!"
"Books can be misleading!"
"You wrote them!" Buffy pointed out.
"My dear girl, do use your common sense! My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things!"
"You're a fraud!" Harry shouted angrily. "You've just been taking credit for what a load of other wizards have done!"
"Is there anything you can do?" Ron asked.
"Yes, now that you mention it." The professor sent a glance towards Xander before turning back towards Harry. "I'm rather gifted with Memory Charms. Otherwise, you see, all those wizards would've gone blabbing and I'd never have sold another book. In fact... I... um..." He slowly moved towards the wand on of his trunk. "... going to have to do the thing-" He turned, his wand in hand, but there were already four wands pointing back at him.
"Don't even think about it." Harry warned, waving his wand a little.
The professor had no choice but to let his wand drop onto the ground.
"I can't believe I have your poster hanging in my room." Buffy said in disgust.