Chapter: Aftershocks.
-----------
Harry and Company are out of the Chamber. But now, what do they do with
Tom Riddle, barely alive and infused with the life force of the basilisk?
It was a flurry of excitement when Fawkes landed them all at the main doors of Hogwarts. Ginny was whisked away into the arms of her parents and far away from the prone body of her former captor. Ron and Harry were led to Dumbledore's office for the explanation of the events. Lockhart was taken away by orderlies of St. Mungo's.
The unconscious body of Tom Riddle, limp and unmoving, except for the occasional rise and fall of the chest, was almost forgotten on the wet lawn. Only when the rest of the crowd had cleared did Filch and Madame Pomfrey strapped the slack body on a gurney and cart him away.
It was two days later that the repercussions of the Chamber. Harry, Ron, and the recently released Hermione and Ginny were discussing what had gone one in the past eventful week, when an unearthly shriek ripped down the hallway. Ron and Hermione covered their ears and tried to block the sound out, but for Harry, it sounded like someone screaming "No!" at the top of their lungs. And it came from the Hospital Wing.
"Did you hear that?" Harry looked back towards his friends. Ron looked at him as if he had lost his mind, and Hermione shook her head vehemently. But Ginny gave him a look that said she had heard the meaning in the scream.
She bit her lip and shifted her eyes down the hall to the door of the hospital wing. "It sounded like someone saying 'No'." But when she met their gaze again, Harry understood her nervousness. She knew that voice, and that meant only one thing. It was Tom Riddle.
Madame Pomfrey suddenly rushed out the door, obviously harried. She saw Harry and her face visibly relaxed. "Harry? Harry, thank goodness, maybe you can help. We seem to be having some problems with." She shifted her eyes, obviously unsure what to call her most recent patient.
Harry nodded knowingly and followed Pomfrey into the wing. Ron and Hermione followed, but a tad bit slower than their compatriot. No one noticed Ginny hesitate, then slip in and hide behind one of the folding screens. She watched, trying not to let anyone know that she could understand the hissing that came from the other side of the hall.
She almost left her spot when she got a glimpse of the Boy who had been a memory. He wasn't at all like the deceptive-looking prefect she had met in the diary. His calm demeanor was completely gone, as he fought against the large straps that held him down. His hair was in disarray, and the unkempt pants he wore now were nothing like the clean visage she had learned to fear. He looked like a caged wild animal. And, she amended, he was, from what she a gleaned from Harry. Both eyes were now yellowish green, the black slit pupils standing out against them. Occasionally one set of eyelids would blink, like a shark or a dragon's (as Charlie had taught her), mostly transparent, to moisten the eyes. They didn't seem to be dangerous like the basilisk's had been though, only instilling a momentary pause if they caught you, and that was more for shock than petrifaction. More scales had appeared since she had seen him last; now, they were grouped in large stripes. She could see one set start at his shoulders and cover the top of his arms down to the claw-like nails, and there also appeared to be one or two very large stripes that went from the back of his ears down his back, although she couldn't see.
But what was most startling to her was he change in tone. It seemed like he could only hiss, making for very odd indignant screams of protest. His tongue was not quite a snake's, but it looked too thin to be human as it darted in and out betwixt his lips. But the worst was despite her hearing the hissing, she could hear what he was saying. His imprint on her mind had left her able to understand snakes.
Tom, however, knew none of this. He had caught sight of Harry, and turned to him to stare with his odd snake eyes. "What did you do to me? Why won't anyone listen to me?! Answer me!"
The harsh hiss surprised the younger boy and he stepped back. Concentrating, he hissed back. "Uh, Tom, you do know you're hissing? They think." Harry paused, unsure how to tell the elder boy, his nemesis incarnate, the news. "The basilisk's blood soaked your diary. It took the life of basilisk and used it to make you real. But, well, the spell wasn't really meant."
".For anything besides human." Tom hissed spitefully. He looked at his hands as if noticing the scales and claws for the first time. "I created the spell, remember?" He grimaced at his own hiss, flashing teeth that were blunted versions of the basilisk's. "Why can't I stop hissing? ARGH!"
Harry scratched his head. "Well." he looked to the door, but failed to noticed Ginny duck further behind the screen. "Ginny understood your.outburst in the hallway. Maybe you left something in Ginny..what how fast the diary stopped draining her and taking in the basilisk."
Tom scowled again. Harry frowned back, all the anger from the Chamber coming again. "Look, you nearly killed her. Don't expect to get any sympathy around here. Who knows what they'll do with you now. They'll probably send you to Azkaban." And with that, Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione, and walked back out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Tom Riddle to ponder his own fate.
In the corner, Ginny watched, unsure what to do now. She wanted to follow Harry out, but she knew that any movement she made now, Tom would see. She would have to face him, and now, she would have to do it alone.
It was a flurry of excitement when Fawkes landed them all at the main doors of Hogwarts. Ginny was whisked away into the arms of her parents and far away from the prone body of her former captor. Ron and Harry were led to Dumbledore's office for the explanation of the events. Lockhart was taken away by orderlies of St. Mungo's.
The unconscious body of Tom Riddle, limp and unmoving, except for the occasional rise and fall of the chest, was almost forgotten on the wet lawn. Only when the rest of the crowd had cleared did Filch and Madame Pomfrey strapped the slack body on a gurney and cart him away.
It was two days later that the repercussions of the Chamber. Harry, Ron, and the recently released Hermione and Ginny were discussing what had gone one in the past eventful week, when an unearthly shriek ripped down the hallway. Ron and Hermione covered their ears and tried to block the sound out, but for Harry, it sounded like someone screaming "No!" at the top of their lungs. And it came from the Hospital Wing.
"Did you hear that?" Harry looked back towards his friends. Ron looked at him as if he had lost his mind, and Hermione shook her head vehemently. But Ginny gave him a look that said she had heard the meaning in the scream.
She bit her lip and shifted her eyes down the hall to the door of the hospital wing. "It sounded like someone saying 'No'." But when she met their gaze again, Harry understood her nervousness. She knew that voice, and that meant only one thing. It was Tom Riddle.
Madame Pomfrey suddenly rushed out the door, obviously harried. She saw Harry and her face visibly relaxed. "Harry? Harry, thank goodness, maybe you can help. We seem to be having some problems with." She shifted her eyes, obviously unsure what to call her most recent patient.
Harry nodded knowingly and followed Pomfrey into the wing. Ron and Hermione followed, but a tad bit slower than their compatriot. No one noticed Ginny hesitate, then slip in and hide behind one of the folding screens. She watched, trying not to let anyone know that she could understand the hissing that came from the other side of the hall.
She almost left her spot when she got a glimpse of the Boy who had been a memory. He wasn't at all like the deceptive-looking prefect she had met in the diary. His calm demeanor was completely gone, as he fought against the large straps that held him down. His hair was in disarray, and the unkempt pants he wore now were nothing like the clean visage she had learned to fear. He looked like a caged wild animal. And, she amended, he was, from what she a gleaned from Harry. Both eyes were now yellowish green, the black slit pupils standing out against them. Occasionally one set of eyelids would blink, like a shark or a dragon's (as Charlie had taught her), mostly transparent, to moisten the eyes. They didn't seem to be dangerous like the basilisk's had been though, only instilling a momentary pause if they caught you, and that was more for shock than petrifaction. More scales had appeared since she had seen him last; now, they were grouped in large stripes. She could see one set start at his shoulders and cover the top of his arms down to the claw-like nails, and there also appeared to be one or two very large stripes that went from the back of his ears down his back, although she couldn't see.
But what was most startling to her was he change in tone. It seemed like he could only hiss, making for very odd indignant screams of protest. His tongue was not quite a snake's, but it looked too thin to be human as it darted in and out betwixt his lips. But the worst was despite her hearing the hissing, she could hear what he was saying. His imprint on her mind had left her able to understand snakes.
Tom, however, knew none of this. He had caught sight of Harry, and turned to him to stare with his odd snake eyes. "What did you do to me? Why won't anyone listen to me?! Answer me!"
The harsh hiss surprised the younger boy and he stepped back. Concentrating, he hissed back. "Uh, Tom, you do know you're hissing? They think." Harry paused, unsure how to tell the elder boy, his nemesis incarnate, the news. "The basilisk's blood soaked your diary. It took the life of basilisk and used it to make you real. But, well, the spell wasn't really meant."
".For anything besides human." Tom hissed spitefully. He looked at his hands as if noticing the scales and claws for the first time. "I created the spell, remember?" He grimaced at his own hiss, flashing teeth that were blunted versions of the basilisk's. "Why can't I stop hissing? ARGH!"
Harry scratched his head. "Well." he looked to the door, but failed to noticed Ginny duck further behind the screen. "Ginny understood your.outburst in the hallway. Maybe you left something in Ginny..what how fast the diary stopped draining her and taking in the basilisk."
Tom scowled again. Harry frowned back, all the anger from the Chamber coming again. "Look, you nearly killed her. Don't expect to get any sympathy around here. Who knows what they'll do with you now. They'll probably send you to Azkaban." And with that, Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione, and walked back out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Tom Riddle to ponder his own fate.
In the corner, Ginny watched, unsure what to do now. She wanted to follow Harry out, but she knew that any movement she made now, Tom would see. She would have to face him, and now, she would have to do it alone.