Harry got through the Gryffindor crowd which had surrounded him to ask
questions, and made his way out the portrait hole. Hermione was with
Draco, and they were kissing passionatly. Harry cleared his throat.
They stopped, but neither let go of the other's hand. She kissed him
again on the cheek then hugged Harry.
"Be careful." she told them, then went back through the portrait hole.
"I don't care if I never see you three again." Harry mocked as he covered himself and Malfoy with the invisibilty cloak. Malfoy hit him hard in the arm.
"I dare you to mock me again, Potter." he sneered. Harry shrugged and started walking in the direction of the Girl's bathroom. He opened the door slowly and they crept in, making sure that no one was around to see the door open by itself. Once inside, Harry removed the cloak.
"May I ask why we're in the girl's bathroom?"
"Because this is the enterance into the Chamber of Secrets."
"Great, now where is it? Behind the tampon despenser maybe? Or what about one of the stalls and we'll just flush our way in."
"Shut up, Malfoy. I need to think."
"Who's there?" came a whiny voice from the windowsill. Harry and Malfoy looked up to see Moaning Myrtle watching them with curiousity.
"It's just me, Myrtle."
"Harry Potter! You never came to see me! You promised you would! You're just like all the others!"
"I'm sorry Myrtle, I've just been real busy."
"Who's the blonde one?" she asked with a smile and floated on over to them. Malfoy began to get nervous while she looked him over.
"Well aren't you going to introduce me?" she whined and pouted at Harry.
"This is Draco Malfoy. He's the Slytherin Prefect."
"Slytherin? What are you doing here? Two other Slytherins came by earlier, but they weren't like you. They were fat and ugly. They wanted to know how to get into the Chamber, so I told them just to talk to the snake."
"Did they find a way in, Myrtle?"
"Oh yes, the bigger uglier one then sounded completly different, not at all like the voice of a sixteen year old boy, but like a grown handsome man." she sighed.
"What happened?"
"Well he started speaking that funny language that you speak, and into the chamber they went. Was about an hour ago. They were mean though, they reminded me of the boys that used to tease me. Nasty Slytherins!" she yelled this last part at Malfoy then took off back up to the windowsill. Malfoy smirked.
"What's her problem?"
"She was killed by the Basilisk the first time around. She haunts the girl's bathroom. She's really not all that bad once you get past the whining and you can actually talk to her."
"I can hear you down there, Harry Potter! If you're not going to be nice to me, then just leave!"
"Sorry, Myrtle. I was just explaining to him the incident which caused your death. We'll be going."
"Into the Chamber?"
"Yes."
"My offer still stands, Harry. If you should die." she smiled sweetly at him. Harry half-smiled back, then turned his attention to the sinks. He looked around at the taps looking for the snake. But it was gone.
"Myrtle, I have one more question."
"What is it?" she asked, already bored with their presence.
"Is the spout still broken? The one that leads into the Chamber."
"Oh yes, it'll never work, there are no pipes to it."
"Thanks." he began turning on all the taps until he found the one that didn't work. He then tried to think of something to say in Parseltongue. He summoned for it to open, and from the look on Malfoy's face, he could tell that it wasn't in English. The tap began to glow, and soon the sinks were seperating to reveal the dark tunnel that led down into the Chamber.
"How is it you can speak Parseltongue anyway? You're not a Slytherin, and who's ever heard of a Gryffindor speaking the language of snakes?"
"The night my parent's died, Voldemort gave me some of his power. That's why we're bound to one another."
"So say Longbottom had been picked and not you would that mean he'd still get piss poor grades but still be able to talk to snakes?"
"If he'd picked Longbottom, Voldemort would've been in power." Harry paused for a moment, not quite sure whether or not to tell Malfoy any more than he already had.
"The night we got sorted, our first year, the sorting hat told me I would do well in Slytherin. I begged it not to, so that I wouldn't have to deal with the likes of you. Not that it mattered much, I'm still stuck dragging you around."
"First thing, I told you that night that you should've stuck with me. You were meant to be a Slytherin. Secondly, you're not dragging me any where, I'll go where I like."
"Then why don't you just go back to your common room." Harry replied, irritably. Malfoy sneered at him then looked down the pipe leading to the chamber.
"So how do we get down there?"
"We jump in."
"I'm not jumping down there."
Harry, getting fed up with him pushed him in. Malfoy screamed until Harry heard a noise, telling him that Malfoy had reached the bottom.
"When you get down here, Potter, you're going to pay for that!" Malfoy's voice echoed up the pipe. Harry slid down in after him, and fell on top of him as he was starting to stand up. Malfoy pushed him off, then stood up. Harry brushed himself off. He bairly had time to adjust to the darkness when a flash of light came at him and knocked him back down to the ground. Malfoy stood there with his wand point directly him, with a smirk on his face.
"Try that again and I might be tempted to use the Cruciatus Curse."
"Well, I'll have a hard time explaining to Dumbledore why only one of us came back from the Chamber." Harry threatened back. Malfoy scoffed and helped Harry off the ground.
"Now where are we going?" he asked.
"Lumos!" Harry's wand lit up the path leading into the dark tunnels of the chamber.
"They're going to see you coming, put that out." Malfoy snapped, grabbing for Harry's wand. Harry threw the invisbility cloak over him and Malfoy, then headed deeper into the chamber. Malfoy remained close by jumping as he stepped on rat skeletons and old snake skin.
"That thing is dead for sure, right?" he asked, nervously.
"Yes, trust me." Harry replied, leading them into the heart of the Chamber. His stomach turned as he saw the familiar statue of Salazar Slytherin. He turned cold remembering what Ginny had looked like, lying on the floor so close to death. He threw the invisibilty cloak off of them. There was no sign of Crabbe or Goyle.
"Woah." was all Malfoy was able to manage as he touch the cold stone of one of the carved pillars. He smiled wickedly up at the statue of the man who'd created his house. Salazar Slytherin was a God to him. Harry looked over noticing the stench of rotting flesh filling his nose. The Basilisk lay rotting right where Harry had fought it, four years ago. All that really remained was the skeletal structure of the long snake.
"What happened down here?" Malfoy questioned, still looking up at the statue.
"Nothing. Nothing that concerns you. Come on we've got to find Crabbe and Goyle." he pulled at Malfoy's robes and they started searching through the numerous tunnels. They turned up nothing. Then all of a sudden an idea started to swim into Harry's head. He'd remembered that the Basilisk had come from inside the statue of Slytherin, but from where he didn't know. There had to be something it guarded while it wasn't lurking through the pipes.
"The statue." he stated and ran back out into the center of the chamber. He tried to think of what Riddle had said that caused it to open. He racked his brain hard. Malfoy was beginning to get impatient.
"What about the statue?"
"It leads somewhere, through the mouth. I can't remember how to command it to open." Harry replied, then it hit him.
"Speak to me, Slytherin. Greatest of the Hogwarts Four." he yelled up at the statue. Nothing happened. Malfoy smirked.
"Great good that's done us now. Besides why would it listen to you, you're a Gryffindor."
"Then you try it. You're Slytherin."
"Fine. Speak to me, Slytherin. Greatest of the Hogwarts Four." He repeated, sounding more bored than meaningful. But soon the statue began to move and the mouth opened. Malfoy jumped back. He'd not been expecting anything to happen. Harry went over and started climbing the statue.
"Are you coming?" he asked looking down at Malfoy. He got to the top and hopped up into the mouth. Malfoy was struggling on getting a firm grasp on the slippery stone. He was bigger than Harry, so he weighed slightly more and was having trouble pulling himself up. Harry offered him a hand, which he grudgingly accepted. As they stepped back into what looked like another tunnel, the mouth began to close behind them. They were left in the dark.
"Lumos!" Harry commanded his wand again. Malfoy did the same. They walked down the steps which led down through the insides of the statue into a room. The walls were lined with viles of potions and other miscellanous objects of magic. They were not alone. Crabbe and Goyle laid on the floor, not moving. Malfoy rushed over to Crabbe and felt his pulse.
"He's dead." he informed Harry. They both went over to to Goyle.
"He's still alive, but just. We have to get him back to Dumbledore." Harry told him, and they started to lift Goyle up.
"You're not taking him anywhere." a feminine voice announced from behind them. They both turned around quickly.
"Be careful." she told them, then went back through the portrait hole.
"I don't care if I never see you three again." Harry mocked as he covered himself and Malfoy with the invisibilty cloak. Malfoy hit him hard in the arm.
"I dare you to mock me again, Potter." he sneered. Harry shrugged and started walking in the direction of the Girl's bathroom. He opened the door slowly and they crept in, making sure that no one was around to see the door open by itself. Once inside, Harry removed the cloak.
"May I ask why we're in the girl's bathroom?"
"Because this is the enterance into the Chamber of Secrets."
"Great, now where is it? Behind the tampon despenser maybe? Or what about one of the stalls and we'll just flush our way in."
"Shut up, Malfoy. I need to think."
"Who's there?" came a whiny voice from the windowsill. Harry and Malfoy looked up to see Moaning Myrtle watching them with curiousity.
"It's just me, Myrtle."
"Harry Potter! You never came to see me! You promised you would! You're just like all the others!"
"I'm sorry Myrtle, I've just been real busy."
"Who's the blonde one?" she asked with a smile and floated on over to them. Malfoy began to get nervous while she looked him over.
"Well aren't you going to introduce me?" she whined and pouted at Harry.
"This is Draco Malfoy. He's the Slytherin Prefect."
"Slytherin? What are you doing here? Two other Slytherins came by earlier, but they weren't like you. They were fat and ugly. They wanted to know how to get into the Chamber, so I told them just to talk to the snake."
"Did they find a way in, Myrtle?"
"Oh yes, the bigger uglier one then sounded completly different, not at all like the voice of a sixteen year old boy, but like a grown handsome man." she sighed.
"What happened?"
"Well he started speaking that funny language that you speak, and into the chamber they went. Was about an hour ago. They were mean though, they reminded me of the boys that used to tease me. Nasty Slytherins!" she yelled this last part at Malfoy then took off back up to the windowsill. Malfoy smirked.
"What's her problem?"
"She was killed by the Basilisk the first time around. She haunts the girl's bathroom. She's really not all that bad once you get past the whining and you can actually talk to her."
"I can hear you down there, Harry Potter! If you're not going to be nice to me, then just leave!"
"Sorry, Myrtle. I was just explaining to him the incident which caused your death. We'll be going."
"Into the Chamber?"
"Yes."
"My offer still stands, Harry. If you should die." she smiled sweetly at him. Harry half-smiled back, then turned his attention to the sinks. He looked around at the taps looking for the snake. But it was gone.
"Myrtle, I have one more question."
"What is it?" she asked, already bored with their presence.
"Is the spout still broken? The one that leads into the Chamber."
"Oh yes, it'll never work, there are no pipes to it."
"Thanks." he began turning on all the taps until he found the one that didn't work. He then tried to think of something to say in Parseltongue. He summoned for it to open, and from the look on Malfoy's face, he could tell that it wasn't in English. The tap began to glow, and soon the sinks were seperating to reveal the dark tunnel that led down into the Chamber.
"How is it you can speak Parseltongue anyway? You're not a Slytherin, and who's ever heard of a Gryffindor speaking the language of snakes?"
"The night my parent's died, Voldemort gave me some of his power. That's why we're bound to one another."
"So say Longbottom had been picked and not you would that mean he'd still get piss poor grades but still be able to talk to snakes?"
"If he'd picked Longbottom, Voldemort would've been in power." Harry paused for a moment, not quite sure whether or not to tell Malfoy any more than he already had.
"The night we got sorted, our first year, the sorting hat told me I would do well in Slytherin. I begged it not to, so that I wouldn't have to deal with the likes of you. Not that it mattered much, I'm still stuck dragging you around."
"First thing, I told you that night that you should've stuck with me. You were meant to be a Slytherin. Secondly, you're not dragging me any where, I'll go where I like."
"Then why don't you just go back to your common room." Harry replied, irritably. Malfoy sneered at him then looked down the pipe leading to the chamber.
"So how do we get down there?"
"We jump in."
"I'm not jumping down there."
Harry, getting fed up with him pushed him in. Malfoy screamed until Harry heard a noise, telling him that Malfoy had reached the bottom.
"When you get down here, Potter, you're going to pay for that!" Malfoy's voice echoed up the pipe. Harry slid down in after him, and fell on top of him as he was starting to stand up. Malfoy pushed him off, then stood up. Harry brushed himself off. He bairly had time to adjust to the darkness when a flash of light came at him and knocked him back down to the ground. Malfoy stood there with his wand point directly him, with a smirk on his face.
"Try that again and I might be tempted to use the Cruciatus Curse."
"Well, I'll have a hard time explaining to Dumbledore why only one of us came back from the Chamber." Harry threatened back. Malfoy scoffed and helped Harry off the ground.
"Now where are we going?" he asked.
"Lumos!" Harry's wand lit up the path leading into the dark tunnels of the chamber.
"They're going to see you coming, put that out." Malfoy snapped, grabbing for Harry's wand. Harry threw the invisbility cloak over him and Malfoy, then headed deeper into the chamber. Malfoy remained close by jumping as he stepped on rat skeletons and old snake skin.
"That thing is dead for sure, right?" he asked, nervously.
"Yes, trust me." Harry replied, leading them into the heart of the Chamber. His stomach turned as he saw the familiar statue of Salazar Slytherin. He turned cold remembering what Ginny had looked like, lying on the floor so close to death. He threw the invisibilty cloak off of them. There was no sign of Crabbe or Goyle.
"Woah." was all Malfoy was able to manage as he touch the cold stone of one of the carved pillars. He smiled wickedly up at the statue of the man who'd created his house. Salazar Slytherin was a God to him. Harry looked over noticing the stench of rotting flesh filling his nose. The Basilisk lay rotting right where Harry had fought it, four years ago. All that really remained was the skeletal structure of the long snake.
"What happened down here?" Malfoy questioned, still looking up at the statue.
"Nothing. Nothing that concerns you. Come on we've got to find Crabbe and Goyle." he pulled at Malfoy's robes and they started searching through the numerous tunnels. They turned up nothing. Then all of a sudden an idea started to swim into Harry's head. He'd remembered that the Basilisk had come from inside the statue of Slytherin, but from where he didn't know. There had to be something it guarded while it wasn't lurking through the pipes.
"The statue." he stated and ran back out into the center of the chamber. He tried to think of what Riddle had said that caused it to open. He racked his brain hard. Malfoy was beginning to get impatient.
"What about the statue?"
"It leads somewhere, through the mouth. I can't remember how to command it to open." Harry replied, then it hit him.
"Speak to me, Slytherin. Greatest of the Hogwarts Four." he yelled up at the statue. Nothing happened. Malfoy smirked.
"Great good that's done us now. Besides why would it listen to you, you're a Gryffindor."
"Then you try it. You're Slytherin."
"Fine. Speak to me, Slytherin. Greatest of the Hogwarts Four." He repeated, sounding more bored than meaningful. But soon the statue began to move and the mouth opened. Malfoy jumped back. He'd not been expecting anything to happen. Harry went over and started climbing the statue.
"Are you coming?" he asked looking down at Malfoy. He got to the top and hopped up into the mouth. Malfoy was struggling on getting a firm grasp on the slippery stone. He was bigger than Harry, so he weighed slightly more and was having trouble pulling himself up. Harry offered him a hand, which he grudgingly accepted. As they stepped back into what looked like another tunnel, the mouth began to close behind them. They were left in the dark.
"Lumos!" Harry commanded his wand again. Malfoy did the same. They walked down the steps which led down through the insides of the statue into a room. The walls were lined with viles of potions and other miscellanous objects of magic. They were not alone. Crabbe and Goyle laid on the floor, not moving. Malfoy rushed over to Crabbe and felt his pulse.
"He's dead." he informed Harry. They both went over to to Goyle.
"He's still alive, but just. We have to get him back to Dumbledore." Harry told him, and they started to lift Goyle up.
"You're not taking him anywhere." a feminine voice announced from behind them. They both turned around quickly.