INTO THE CHAMBER

Alex, Ron and Harry headed towards the hospital wing. Hermione and the others were still petrified, but they wanted to be next to her. Madam Pomfrey was standing at the door when they arrived.

- There's no point in talking to a petrified person. She won't hear a word you're saying.

- We know that, Madam Pomfrey. It's just, well, you see, we thought, maybe…- Ron wasn't able to articulate what he wanted to say.

- Maybe we could be with her for a bit. She's our friend, you see, and…even if she can't hear us…I mean, it can't hurt, can it? – Alex tried to soften Madam Pomfrey heart, and it seemed to work, since she let them through.

- Very well then. But be quick about it.

Madam Pomfrey exited and the three kids entered the room, and headed towards Hermione's bed. Ron picked up the circular mirror that lied on the nightstand.

- She wanted me to help her out that day. I think she had found out something but…by the time I found her it was too late. If I had being faster…

- It's not your fault, Alex… - Ron caressed Alex's arm.

- Wish you were here, Hermione. We need you. Now more than ever… – Harry grabbed Hermione's hand, and suddenly, he grabbed something else. A paper. They all looked at each other and the paper.

- What's that? – Ron asked.

- This is why Hermione wanted to meet you at the library the day she was attacked, Alex. C'mon. – Harry left the hospital wing, and Ron and Alex followed. Harry started reading. – Listen. "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 eye. Spiders flee before it.". 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 it kills by looking people in the eye. Why is it no one's dead? – Ron asked. They all thought about it. And that's when Alex found out.

- Because no one did look it in the eye. Not directly at least. Colin saw it through his camera. Justin…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 round corners, in case it came along.

- And Missus Norris? I'm pretty sure she didn't have a camera or a mirror, Alex. – Harry asked.

- The water…there was water on the floor that night. She only saw the Basilisk's reflection…Let me read that. – Alex grabbed the paper and read again. - Spiders flee before it! It all fits!

- But how's the Basilisk been getting around? A dirty great snake. Someone would have seen… – Ron said.

- Hermione answered that too. - Harry pointed at the paper. Scribbled, in Hermione's hand, is: "Pipes."

- Pipes…? It's using the plumbing. – Ron looked around him, terrified.

- Remember what Aragog said? About that girl fifty years ago?

- We were way too worried about the spiders around us to focus on that conversation. – said Alex.

- She died in a bathroom. What if she never left?

- Moaning Myrtle! – Ron and Alex said at the same time. Suddenly, Professor McGonagall voice echoed throughout the castle.

- All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers to the second-floor corridor. Immediately.

The three of them looked at each other and ran towards the second-floor corridor. When they arrived, McGonagall was standing before the desecrated wall, surrounded by the rest of the staff. The three of them creeped up the stairwell.

- As you can see, 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. I'm afraid we shall have to send the students home. I'm afraid…this is the end of Hogwarts.

- So sorry. Dozed off. What have I missed? – Gilderoy Lockhart showed up with a grin on his face.

- Just the man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Your moment has come at last. – Snape said to him.

- My m-moment?

- Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?

- D-did I? I don't recall…

- That settles it. We'll leave it to you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend. – McGonagall looked at him with a serious demeanour.

- V-very well. I'll…I'll be in my office, getting…getting ready.

- The rest of us should go and inform the students about what has happened.

- Who is it the monster's taken, Minerva? – Professor Sprout asked.

- Ginny Weasley. - Ron's knees gave way. As Harry caught him, the staff scattered, revealing what was written on the wall.

- "Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever." – Alex read. They ran along the corridors, towards Lockhart's office.

- He may be a brainless git, but he's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him what we know… – Harry said as they entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Entering Lockhart's office, Harry continued. - Professor, we've got some information for you…

- Are you going somewhere? – Alex asked as she saw Lockhart was packing up all of his things.

- Um, well, yes. Urgent call. Unavoidable. Got to go…

- What about my sister?

- Well, as to that…most unfortunate. No one regrets more than I…

- You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher! You can't go now! – Alex grabbed a lot of his clothes from one of the trunks and throw it to the floor.

- I must say, when I took the job, nothing in the job description…

- You're running away? After all that stuff you did in your books? – Harry asked.

- Books can be misleading.

- You wrote them! – the three kids shouted at once.

- 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. No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian -warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all…

- You're a fraud! You've just been taking credit for what a load of other wizards have done! – Alex was infuriated.

- Alexa, Alexa, Alexa…There was work involved. I had to track these people down and ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. No, it's not all book signings and publicity photos. You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long, hard slog.

- Is there anything you can do? – Ron asked.

- Yes, now that you mention it. 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. I'm afraid I'll have to do the same to you, lest you do the same. – Lockhart tried to lift his wand, but the students were faster. Lockhart turned around to faced three wands pointing directly at him.

- Don't you even think about it. – Alex threatened.

Lockhart was walking ahead of Alex, Ron and Harry. They were heading towards the girl's bathrooms, where Myrtle had died. When they arrived, Myrtle was floating above the cistern.

- Who's there? Oh…Hello, Harry. What do you want?

- To ask you how you died.

- Oooooh, it was dreadful. It happened right here. In this very cubicle. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in.

- Who was it, Myrtle? – Alex asked.

- I don't know! I was distraught! But they said something funny. A kind of made-up language. And I realized it was a boy speaking. So, I unlocked the door, to tell him to go away, and…I died.

- Just like that? How? – asked Harry.

- No idea. I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes. Over there… - Myrtle pointed to the bank of sinks. They hurried over, examining the pipes below, the tile above…

- Here! There's a snake here… - Harry pointed at the sink in front of him. - This is it. This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

- Say something, Harry. Say something in Parseltongue. – Ron and Alex awaited. Suddenly Harry spoke in parseltongue. The circular group of sinks opened and a large, open pipe was exposed.

- Excellent, Harry. Good work. Well then. I'll just be going. There's no need for me… – Gilderoy Lockhart tried to get away, but Alex kicked him on his parts and pushed him against the pipe, where he managed to barely hold to the walls to not fall.

- You first, professor. – Alex smiled devilish at him. Harry and Ron had a grin on their faces. What a joy was to have Alex by their side, as a friend.

- What if something happens?

- Better happen to you! – said Ron, pointing at Lockhart with his wand.

- Yeah, obviously. – he turned around slowly. – Are you sure you don't want to go first? – Alex finally pushed him.

- He talks way too much… - they waited until they heard him speak again.

- It's really quite filthy down here.

- All right. Let's go.

- Oh, Harry…if you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet. – Myrtle told him.

- Thanks, Myrtle. - Harry turned and jumped. Seconds later, Ron followed. Finally, Alex did the same. They all screamed on their way down. They landed on a pile of bones. The smell was awful.

- Remember. Any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away. – they all nodded. Harry led the way down the tunnel. All around them, the ground was littered with tiny skeletons. They saw something huge and curved lying ahead.

- Look at this! – said Harry.

- It looks like a…snake. – Added Lockhart.

- It's a snake skin… - Alex touched it.

- Bloody hell. Whatever shed this must be twenty feet long. Or more. – suddenly, Lockhart passed out. – Heart of a lion, this one. – Before they noticed, Lockhart grabbed Ron's wand and pointed at the three of them.

- The adventure ends here, kids! But don't fret. The world will know our story. How I was too late to save the girl. How you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. Say goodbye to your memories.

- Go ahead. Do it. If you have the guts. – Alex looked at him with defiance. He smiled and spoke the words, pointing at her first.

- Obliviate! – Ron's wand exploded like a small bomb, blasting Lockhart off his feet and spitting great jets of fire into the rock above. As rubble rained, Ron and Alex leaped one way, and Harry the other. Alex and Ron sat up, squinted through the settling dust. A solid wall of broken rock sealed the tunnel between them and Harry.

- Ron! Alex! Are you okay? – they could hear Harry through the wall.

- Yeah, we're fine! – said Alex.

- For now! – added Ron. Lockhart sat up on the ground, looked at Ron and Alex and with a smile, said.

- Hello! Who are you? – they looked at each other. – And…who am I?

- Lockhart has self-dememorized! – said Ron. – He doesn't know who he is!

- What a very strange place…Do you live here?

- No… - Ron asked. Suddenly, Alex grabbed a rock and hit Lockhart with it, leaving him unconscious again. Ron looked surprised, but he looked back at Harry's direction. – What do we do know?

- You try and shift some of these rocks. So we can get back through. I'll go find Ginny. – with that, Harry disappeared.

- Okay, let's get down to business. – said Alex, walking towards the rocks. Ron followed.

- You have a lot of anger in you, you know that, right?

- What do you mean?

- You need to stop hitting people. – he said, looking at Lockhart. She looked at him as well.

- He's not people. He's an ass. He deserved it. – she shrugged, and proceeded to move away some rocks.

- You won't happen to know a spell to make these rocks lighter, do you?

- Now that you mention…I do. – Alex got her wand out and pointed at the rocks. – Pluma lux. – a white light left her wand. It seemed like nothing had happened.

- Did it work?

- Let's see. – Alex grabbed one of the rocks. She almost fell back, since she used more strength to it than necessary. Ron held her. – I think it worked. Let's move.

Both Alex and Ron started moving rocks aside, making a tunnel for Harry and Ginny to come back. They were still moving rocks, even though a tunnel had been made, when they saw Harry and Ginny approaching. Ron went to hug his sister.

- You're alive! I can't believe it!

After Harry, a phoenix flew. It landed in front of Alex.

- A phoenix! It's beautiful! – Alex caressed his feathers. He seemed to like it.

- How are we getting out of here, Harry? – when Ron asked that, the phoenix looked up and made a sound. Alex followed his gaze. There was a hole up there.

- Maybe he can take us out of here. Phoenixes are pretty damn strong. – Alex smiled at the bird.

She was right. The five of them, holding each other hands, were able to get out thanks to the phoenix, which name was Fawkes and belonged to Dumbledore, according to Harry. Alex, Harry and Ron ended up in Dumbledore's office, covered in muck and dirt. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, examining the diary.

- You three realize, of course, that in the last few hours, you have broken perhaps a dozen school rules?

- Yes, sir.

- And that there is sufficient evidence to expel you?

- Yes, sir.

- Therefore, it seems only fitting…that you receive Special Awards for Services to the School. – he smiled at them. - Two hundred points apiece, which, I believe, should be more than enough to secure Gryffindor and Slytherin competition for the House Cup.

- Thank you, sir. – the three of them smiled.

- Now, Mister Weasley, you may go to the hospital wing to be next to your sister. And, Miss Black, if you would, have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban. We need our gamekeeper back.

Both Alex and Ron left the office. Ron ran towards the hospital wing, while Alex ran towards the owlery. At one of the corridors, she bumped into someone. When she looked up, she saw Lucius, standing there.

- What are you doing here? – she asked.

- None of your business… - he looked at her, up and down. – You may need a shower or I'll end up mistaking you for our house elf. Let's go, Dobby.

He kept on walking, with Dobby behind. He smiled at her, and she did the same. She liked Dobby. He was nice. Way too nice. And she felt sorry for him. Having Lucius as a tutor was awful, but having him as a master…She couldn't imagine. Alex recomposed herself, and headed to the owlery, where she sent the papers Dumbledore had given her.

Some days after that, thing went back to normal. The petrified had been cured, and most of them were already sitting at the great hall, with the rest of students. The feast was about to begin, when Hermione walked through the door. The moment Alex saw her, she got up from the Slytherin table and went running towards her. The hugged tightly, as Harry and Ron came in closer.

- I'm sorry I was late to the library.

- It's okay. You figured it out. The three of you did. – she said, looking at Harry and Ron as well.

- Thanks to you, Hermione. – Harry hugged her as well.

- Welcome back, Hermione. – Ron nodded at her and smiled, and she did the same. They went to sit at the Gryffindor table, and Alex headed to the Slytherin one.

- I'm glad you and your friends are okay…Even if I don't like them. – Draco said to her and she smiled. Dumbledore stood in front of the crowd and everyone went silent.

- Before we begin our feast, let's give a round of applause to Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey, whose Mandrake Juice has been successfully administered to all those who had been petrified. - Everyone applauded and cheered. - Also, in the wake of recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled. - Everyone cheered, except for Hermione.

- Oh, no! – Alex looked at her friend laughing. At the rear of the Hall, the great doors opened. Hagrid showed up. The whole room went silent. All eyes upon him.

- Sorry I'm late. The owl delivering my release papers got all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird named Errol. – Ron looked at Alex, and she shrugged.

- I own a cat. It was the first owl I saw…Sorry. – Hagrid walked to the group formed by the three Gryffindors and the Slytherin.

- I just want to say…that if it wasn't for you, Harry…You, Ron, Alex and Hermione…Well I just want to say…Thanks.

- There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid. – said Harry, and they all smiled at the giant. Dumbledore started clapping, and everyone around the hall followed. As the students surrounded Hagrid, he blinked and wiped his eyes.

The end of the year arrived, once again. This time, Alex kept her promise, and Slytherin won the House cup. For only a few points, but they won. And since everyone knew that she had gathered more than 200 points for the house, she became some kind of hero for the Slytherins, who were convinced that this year, Gryffindor would win again thanks to Dumbledore.

Alex had her trunk ready. She was sitting on top of it, looking at the castle in the distance. She looked at her Gryffindor friends. At George, talking with some friends. At Fred, who looked at her too, and widely smiled. She looked at Draco, trying to get his trunk on the train. And she smiled to herself. She had found a new home and a new family. And it was way better than the one she had waiting at Malfoy's manor. She wished Remus could take her back. Even though she knew it was impossible, at least at the moment. She'll have to put up with the letters and her friends. That would be enough.