Amelda: Wow...another chapter so soon?

Lina: Kitty started working on it while waiting for the server to work again...I'll assume it's a good part.

Kitty: (crying)

Atem: I'll guess that your guess is wrong.

Kitty: WAHHHH! NOOOO!

Yugi: (runs over to her) Neko-chan! (hugs her tightly) Neko-chan, what's wrong?

Kitty: (sniff) Here's where the bad things end...but this is the absolute worst of it.

Yugi and Atem: (exchange a worried look)

Lina: Oh, dear.

Amelda: R&R!

Chapter Eighteen:
The Unthinkable

"There's no way we'll be able to go see Moaning Myrtle now," Diana said dejectedly at breakfast the next morning, "The teachers are supposed to accompany us to every lesson and we can't be out later than 5:00…"

"We'd have to go during a break, and who knows how long it'd take," Harry agreed, "Imagine: if we only had learned about this before Dumbledore left, then it would've been easy. But now the teachers aren't taking any chances…"

"I heard they're restricting visitors to the Hospital Wing, too," added Ron, "They're probably scared that the Heir of Slytherin will come around and finish them off…"

Diana sighed, and rested her head on the table glumly. "I just wish everything was normal again."

Right then, as if beckoned by Diana's statement, Professor McGonagall stood up from the staff table as if ready to make an announcement.

"I have good news," was all she able to say before voices started shouting out comments.

"Dumbledore's coming back!" a group of Hufflepuffs yelled together.

"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" shouted a Ravenclaw girl.

"Quidditch matches are back on!" roared Wood.

When the uproar had subsided, McGonagall spoke again.

"Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight we will be able to revive the people who have been Petrified, and I need hardly remind you that one of them may be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them, which could help us catch the culprit."

All the student tables burst into cheering except for the Slytherin table. Diana was not surprised to see that neither Malfoy nor his cronies looked less than enthusiastic about this news.

It was then that Marik came over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Harry.

"Hey, Marik," greeted Ron, "What's up?"

The Tomb Keeper didn't say anything; his face was very pale and he seemed to be very tense. He shot a look up and down the table nervously.

"I…I need to tell you something," he whispered, looking straight at Diana. In his eyes, she saw fear she'd never seen before.

"What is it?" the Heir of Artemis asked, looking concerned.

It was here that Harry realized whom Marik was acting like: Dobby acted similarly when he was on the edge of telling forbidden information. Marik opened his mouth, but it seemed like he was having trouble talking.

"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets?" Atem took Harry's place, "Have you seen something?"

Marik's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the Pharaoh, and without another word or gesture, he ran out of the Great Hall.

"What did I say?" Atem asked the other two.

"Dunno," Ron replied, "Something is definitely wrong with him, though…"

Diana frowned. "Maybe we better go after him…he looked really scared about something."

"No," Atem shook his head, "He probably needs some time alone, that's all…he'll talk to us when he's ready."

Diana, Harry and Ron were very lucky to be able to visit their friends in the Hospital Wing around midmorning. Diana supposed that Dumbledore had spoken with Madame Pomfrey about them and the Yamis, and Madame Pomfrey, like all the other teachers, wished to respect what Dumbledore would've wanted while he was away.

Diana put a new bouquet of flowers in the vase next to Ryou's bed. She could feel Bakura looking through her eyes, and could feel his hidden sadness through the mind-link.

"They'll be back to normal soon," Diana whispered, mostly to Bakura.

"It feels like an eternity since we've been able to speak with them," Harry replied to Diana's assurance softly, "It doesn't matter that we weren't able to see Moaning Myrtle…at least one of them will have seen something."

Ron sat next to Hermione's bedside, his hand rested on top of hers, while Seth appeared next to his temporary host, and looked in the opposite direction to look down at Seto.

The High Priest's silver-blue eyes widened. "Uh…Ron-kun?"

Ron turned. "What's up, Seth?"

Seth was pointing his transparent finger at Seto's clenched hand resting on the bed sheets. "There's something in his fist."

"Try to get it out, Ron," Diana prodded him.

It was no easy task, as Seto's hand was holding it so tight you'd think he was trying to strangle it, but after about a minute of tugging and twisting, Ron succeeded in opening the CEO's fist.

"It's a letter from Kitty," Ron said as he smoothed out the paper.

"What does it say?" asked Atem as he and the Tomb Robber appeared next to their hosts.

Dear Kaiba-kun,

The ring of the telephone on my desk is now a symbol of how much Mokuba misses you; he keeps calling me to ask how many days it will be until you come home. I will not hide that it was a surprise to look out my window and find Kisara with a letter from you. Even though you and I have never been the best of friends (like you yourself pointed out), I am glad you wrote to me. After receiving your letter, I looked up some stuff in my books to see if I could help your investigation; I thought it'd be best to wait and tell the others after I actually have the answers. Sadly, from Acromantula and Basilisk to Werewolf and Zombie in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, I haven't found a thing, but I will keep looking, for Ryou's and Yugi's sake. I hope to have Yugi back in my arms soon, as every time I look down at the ring on my finger, I think of how much I need him. Say hi to Harry, Dare et all for me.

Lots of Luv,
Kitty

"That's a strange letter," Harry commented, "I don't know…something about it just seems weird."

"And here at the bottom," Diana pointed at a single word scribbled at the bottom of the letter, "'Briefcase.'"

"That's Seto-chan's handwriting!" Seth realized.

Harry looked around the bed, before spotting Seto's briefcase propped up in the corner. He grabbed it and unsnapped the buckles to open it; all that was in it was a blue-covered book.

"It's a book on magical creatures," Harry said, flipping through the pages.

"It'll take forever to look up everything in that stupid book!" Diana moaned, "Thanks a lot, Seto!"

Ron said nothing, only reading the letter through again. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Guys…this letter…it's a secret message!"

"What?"

"Ryou showed me these Muggle books over the summer," Ron explained, "Called A Series of Unfortunate Events. He said that they're his and Kitty's favorite book series, and in the author's autobiography, there was a code just like this. Read between the two 'rings' in the letter, and write down all the words that are underlined, and you've got the message. Seto even underlined the rings for us as to make it easier."

"So the message is…" Diana's forehead scrunched up in thought, "'Look…up…Basilisk.'"

Harry flipped through the pages, finally stopping at a page with the word "Basilisk" written in large, fancy letters at the top.

Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.

At first there was silence. Then Harry's face broke into a huge grin.

"This is it," he breathed, "This is the answer. The monster inside of the Chamber of Secrets is a basilisk…a giant snake! That's why I can hear it speak and no one else can: because I can speak Parseltongue!"

Diana's eyes narrowed. "But if the basilisk kills by looking people in the eye…how come no one's dead?"

There was a very pregnant pause.

"Because none of them looked it in the eye," Bakura said at last, "Not directly, anyway. Our Hikaris were switching with us when the basilisk came around; I bet we were able to shield them from the basilisk's gaze, so they were Petrified and we were thrown back into the Millennium Items."

"We sensed danger before the basilisk attacked," Atem agreed, "We must've decided to take over in just enough time to save our Hikaris' lives."

"But what about Mione and Mrs. Norris?" asked Ron, "They don't have Yamis."

"Hmm…" Seth bit his lip, thinking hard, before snapping his fingers, "I think I've got it: I remember that there was a mirror hanging on the wall of the corridor that Mione-kun and Seto-chan were walking down…Mione-kun must've looked in the mirror when the basilisk came around the corner…"

"And there was water on the floor the day Mrs. Norris was attacked," Harry remembered, "They only saw the basilisk's reflection."

Diana's eyes brightened as if they were lamps that had finally been turned on after an entire life's worth of darkness. She took the book from Harry and scanned the page.

"'Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy,'" Diana read, "'And the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.'"

"Aragog said the monster in the Chamber was feared by all spiders," Harry nodded, "And Hagrid told me some of his roosters had been killed before Ryou was attacked. It all fits!"

"But how has the basilisk been getting around?" Ron inquired, "A big, ugly snake, someone would've seen it…"

Diana shook her head, pointing at another word written in Seto's handwriting at the foot of the page.

"'Pipes,'" she replied quietly, "It's been using the plumbing! That's why Harry's been hearing it inside the walls. And the most convenient place for the Chamber to be is somewhere where all those pipes come together…like a bathroom…like…"

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Harry and Ron said together.

It was almost too much for Harry, Ron and Diana to sit there in the Hospital Wing with so much excitement and not do anything.

"We've got to tell McGonagall," Diana jumped up out of her chair, "C'mon…break's in a couple minutes, let's head over to the staff room and wait for her there."

The three Brits headed downstairs for the staff room, and went inside as to wait for Gryffindor's Head of House.

But when the bell was supposed to sound to signal break, McGonagall's voice, magically magnified as if she were talking through a Muggle PA system, echoed through the corridors.

"All students are to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers report to the staff room immediately."

Ron looked at Diana in horror. "Not another attack…not now…"

"What should we do?" Harry asked, "Go back to Gryffindor Tower?"

"No," Diana shook her head, "Let's hear what it's about."

So she and the two boys went over to an ugly wardrobe in the corner and hid inside, listening as the door opened and the teachers started filing in, different types of shoes stepping in unique ways on the floor and their voices softly overlapping.

Diana peaked through the keyhole as the voices ceased and McGonagall spoke.

"It has happened," she told the silent staff room, "Two students have been taken by the monster…into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick squeaked in fear; Professor Sprout clapped a hand to her mouth; Snape gripped the back of his chair very hard.

"How can you be sure?" asked the Potions master.

"The Heir of Slytherin left another message," McGonagall replied, her face very white, "Right underneath the first…'Their skeletons will lie in the Chamber forever.'"

Professor Flitwick looked about to cry.

"Which…which students were taken, Minerva?" Madame Hooch asked, her voice shaking.

"Ginny Weasley," McGonagall whispered, taking something out of her robes and putting it on the table, "And Marik Ishtar."

Diana's eyes widened in horror, not wanting to believe it; Ron slid silently down onto the floor of the wardrobe.

Snape stood up jerkily. "Ishtar…?"

McGonagall nodded. "We have to send the students home…even the Heir of Slytherin's own house isn't safe. I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts."

Right then, the door to the staff room burst open; to Diana's disgust, it was only Lockhart, grinning broadly.

"So sorry, dozed off…what have I missed?"

Lockhart didn't seem to noticed that the other teachers were looking at him with something quite similar to hatred, as his grin didn't falter.

Then Snape stepped forward, with a wicked sort of smile. "Just the man. The very man. Two students has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart, and taken into the chamber…your moment has come at last."

Lockhart went white. "Huh? I-I'm afraid I-"

"That's right, Gilderoy," Sprout chipped in, "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is and what was inside it?"

Lockhart seemed speechless.

"We'll leave up to you then, Gilderoy," McGonagall nodded curtly, "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it; we'll make sure everyone is out of your way."

"Very well," Lockhart said quickly, forcing a grin on his face, "I'll…I'll just be in my office getting…getting ready."

"Right," McGonagall snorted after Lockhart had left the room, "That got him out from under our feet. Now…the Heads of Houses should go inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow…and make sure that there aren't any students left outside their dormitories."

With that said, the teachers left the staff room. Diana opened the wardrobe, letting herself, Harry and Ron out.

"Ginny…" Ron could barely speak.

"I can't believe it," Harry croaked, "We're…we're all that's left now."

Diana didn't speak; instead she went over to the staff table and picked up the thing that McGonagall had put down when telling the teachers about Marik and the youngest Weasley being attacked.

It was a handsome gold watch, with a picture of Marik, Kara and the Ishtar twins behind the watch hands.

Diana felt her eyes fill up with tears, remembering when she'd seen the watch before.

"As if I need more gold to wear," Marik joked, but he fondly put the watch around his wrist anyway.

Now as Diana looked down at the smiling faces of the four Ishtars, it almost seemed as if Marik was slowly vanishing into the background of the picture.

(silence)

Kara: MARIK-CHAN...NO! (breaks down crying)

Marik: (hugs Kara tightly)

Kitty: (crying too) I shall OFFICIALLY kill the plot bunny for this.

Lina: (types on Kitty's computer) Less reviews than usual...then again, we're posted this pretty quickly, and people are on vacation.

Yugi: (hugs Kitty tighter) Who's first?

Lina: ANAYAS-CREATOR.

Kitty: (smiles sadly) I reviewed Code Red: I really like it! And The Demon Witch, as always, is awesomeness.

Diana: (grins evilly) Certainly! (looks at Atem) Hey, can I borrow Isis again?

Atem: (grips Isis close to his chest) NO! She's my darling. Find your own.

Diana: (glares) Fine. (takes one of Bakura's flamethrowers and burns Lucius Malfoy) MWAHAHAHAHA

Everyone: (backs away slowly)

Bakura: (grins evilly) Heh...a girl after my own heart!

Lina: (glares venomously)

Bakura: (sweatdrop) Uh...heh heh.

Diana: Next is Claire!

Kitty: You do not suck at writing! You are great: better than me because you don't have a plot bunny hurting all the reviewer-loved bishies.

Lina: Summer school sucks: Kitty basically has to take the whole damn class all over again.

Kitty: During the summer and on regular level instead of the GT class I was and deserve to be in. (scowls)

Ron: (hides behind Hermione at the mention of the spiders)

Hermione: I dunno, I kinda like the spiders... (tries not to grin at the sight of Ron clinging onto her)

Seth: (grins evilly, and then glomps Seto)

Seto: NOT YET, BAKA! (whacks Seth on the head)

Kitty: I had a feeling Dartz was yet another of Yu-Gi-Oh's classic bad-guys-actually-good-guys-controlled-by-dark-magic from the very beginning, but I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him. (glomps Yugi) Beauty and the Beast? LUCKY! My bud back home, Cynthia, saw The Lion King on Broadway, and I responded the same way. (pouts) I want to see a Disney show on stage!

Yugi: One day I'll take you to see one.

Kitty: (kisses Yugi's cheek) You rock, Yugi-chan.

Harry: Kitty is counting down with much excitement.

Kitty: But if J.K. kills Remus-chan along with Sirius-chan, I will be soooooooooooooooooo mad at her!

Lina: (nods in fervid agreement) I shall kill Bellatrix for that. Mark my words.

Kara: (glomping Marik possesively) Onward to Setoglomper's review.

Kitty: I agree: typos suck. And we all could use a little help, Kaiba-kun.

Seto: Some of us more than others...

Yugi: (eyes turn to flames)

Seto: (sweatdrop) Uh...never mind.

Kitty: I reviewed your fic, and left a few critiques. Please don't take them badly, I only want to help. (smirks at the comment about Sirius) It's funny you ask that...

Lina: (raises an eyebrow) Why?

Kitty: (grins like the Cheshire Cat) I'm not telling.

Lina: (pouts) Last is Dumb Arse.

Kitty: Good to know you like it: I'll try to update again real soon.

Yugi: (looks at Kitty's calender, and then grins) Neko-chan, guess what?

Kitty: What, Yugi-chan?

Yugi: In about a month, you'll be in California!

Kitty: YAY! (dances around the room) And I'll see Engie!

Atem: Kewl. We'll actually be somewhere warm for a change.

Lina: (nods in agreement) R&R!