Samantha could feel the floor rattle when the snake hit the ground, and she could hear the feathers rustling as Fawkes flew away from Harry. She could also hear a hiss come from Riddle, and although she didn't understand what he said, she knew it couldn't be anything good.

The heavy body of the snake was coming closer to the siblings, and Harry grabbed hold of Samantha's hand and the pair started running, neither daring to open their eyes in fear of the Basilisk. Samantha could hear Tom laughing, and hoped that Lauren was safe.

When Harry tripped, Samantha stumbled over too, but caught herself with her hands and stood back up. She felt for Harry, wanting him to get up because the basilisk was closer to them than she felt comfortable with.

And then there was a loud spitting noise, and Samantha's hand was torn away from her brother as she was pushed back hard and thrown into the wall. There was more hissing, and something was hitting the pillars of the Chamber.

Samantha opened her eyes just enough to see out and was faced with the enormous green snake weaving through the pillars. Carefully, Samantha inched her hand out to grab onto Harry's again, and when their hands made contact, Harry whispered, "Fawkes."

When she glanced back over at the snake, Samantha saw what Harry meant. Fawkes was flying around to distract the Basilisk, which was chasing after the phoenix, trying to catch it. And then, Fawkes dived, and there was suddenly blood on the floor. The basilisk's tail flailed around, nearly hitting Samantha and Harry.

And then it turned around and faced Harry and Samantha directly.

Samantha shut her eyes before she could see its face, but could feel the pit of dread growing inside of her that Harry would drop dead any second. But that didn't happen.

Instead, Riddle screamed, "NO! LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THEY'RE BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN SMELL THEM! KILL THEM!"

Samantha opened her eyes and saw that the Basilisk's eyes had been replaced with streams of blood, and the sight made her feel sick.

The serpent didn't seem to know what to do, as it didn't move much from its original spot except for swaying a bit. Coming from Fawkes was an eerie tune as he circled above the Basilisk, watching it.

"Help me. Help up," Harry muttered, watching Fawkes. "Someone- anyone-"

At that moment, the serpent's great tail swiped across the Chamber floor. Samantha pressed herself harder into the wall, feeling the Basilisk's tail hit her side, and saw a brown bundle, hit by the snake, fly into Harry's face.

Samantha didn't know what made Harry do it, but he threw the hat on his head and then laid on the ground to avoid being hit by the snake. Samantha slid to the floor, remembering Lauren was still there and she needed to make sure her sister was alright.

She crawled along the floor, her side pressed against the wall as she made the journey of a few feet to her sister's body. Lauren's red hair had been blown off of her face, but that was all that seemed to have happened to her sister.

Meanwhile, Samantha heard Riddle yell, "KILL THE CHILDREN! LEAVE THE BIRD! THEY ARE BEHIND YOU! SNIFF- SMELL THEM!"

Samantha glanced back over at Harry, who was standing up and who held a gleaming sword in his hand. She moved her gaze to the basilisk, who was twisting itself to face the kids blindly. It stretched its mouth open, it's empty eye sockets like vast holes surrounded in darkness, and Samantha could see the rows of sharp fangs inside of the mouth of the basilisk.

It lunged at them. Harry was able to dodge out of its way, but Samantha wasn't so lucky and was hit back into the wall. Her head felt as if it had split open and she knew her ankle was not supposed to be twisted that way. She turned her body so she was just leaning her back against the wall and watched as the basilisk lunged again at Harry, who had the sword raised in both hands.

The sword made contact with the roof of the basilisk's mouth and stabbed into it, causing a waterfall of blood to fall out of the cut. Samantha almost felt excited until she realized that cutting into Harry's arm was a long white fang of the basilisk.

"Oh no," she whispered to herself. She glazed back at Lauren and then pulled herself into a crawling position, ignoring the ache in her head and the stabbing pain in her ankle, and she pulled herself along the floor to Harry.

"Sam," Harry whispered, dropping the basilisk fang on the ground. "Make sure Laur is okay."

"You're not going to die, Harry. You won't," Samantha whispered, although she didn't see how he could survive. The life was draining at a steady pace out of his eyes, and Samantha knew she didn't know any way she could help him.

Suddenly, Fawkes flew over and landed on the ground next to her. The bird nudged Samantha away and laid its head on Harry's arm.

"Your brother is as good as dead," Tom said. Samantha hadn't noticed him approach. "Soon you will be too. All three of you."

"No," Samantha whispered fiercely. "You won't do that to us. You can't," she told him.

"Nothing can save dear Harry now. Even the bird knows it. He's crying." Tom pointed to Fawkes, whose head was leaning against Harry's shoulder and who was, in fact, shedding tears.

Samantha's eyes widened. Something could save Harry. Something was saving Harry. The tears of a phoenix have healing powers, Samantha remembered. Harry would be alright.

"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Potter. So will your dear sister, before I kill her as well," Tom said.

Samantha watched harry intently, waiting for him to get better. He had to.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter," Tom was saying. "Down in the Chamber of Secrets, his sisters about to be ended, the Potters defeated by the Dark Lord they so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your Mudblood mother soon, children… she brought you just over a decade of borrowed time… but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must…."

Samantha looked at Harry's wound and could see it closing up. The life was returning to Harry's eyes. He shook his head a little, and Samantha let out a breath of relief.

Riddle had noticed as well. "Get away, bird," he said suddenly, swatting at the phoenix. "Get away from him- I said, get away-"

Samantha saw Harry pull his head up, and she saw that Tom was standing, pointing Harry's wand at Fawkes. A loud bang sounded, and Fawkes flew away, nothing but a blur of gold and scarlet.

"Phoenix tears…" Tom murmured, looking at Harry's arm. "Of course… healing powers… I forgot…"

Samantha took a deep breath and forced herself into a standing position, leaning all of her weight on her right leg as it hurt less. She gripped her wand tightly, holding it to her side.

"It makes no difference," Tom said. He was focused on Harry, not looking in Samantha's direction. "In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter. Your sisters will be no match… it's just you and me…"

Tom raised the wand, pointing it at Harry.

Before Samantha could even react, there was a rush of wings and Samantha saw the diary fall into Harry's lap. She dropped to the floor, now sitting next to Harry.

"Destroy it," Samantha breathed as all three of them looked at the diary.

Harry grabbed the basilisk fang that had stabbed him and stuck it into the diary.

"You're a fool, Tom," Samantha told him, meeting his dark eyes one final time.

There was a scream. Ink began pouring out of the diary, getting all over Harry and Samantha. Tom was screaming as he writhed and twisted his body around, seeming to disappear more and more by the second until he was gone.

The only sound now was the clatter of Harry's wand as it hit the ground and the steady dripping of ink from the diary, which now had a hole burned right in the middle of it.

"Harry," Samantha suddenly said. "Lauren."

The pair rushed over to their sister, who they could see was stirring. Lauren blinked a few times before her eyes came into focus and she could see her older siblings hovering over her.

"Lauren, are you alright?" Samantha asked anxiously.

"Harry, Sam…" Lauren muttered, pushing herself up. Her eyes looked over the scene in the Chamber, and suddenly her lip began trembling.

"It's alright," Samantha said, taking Lauren into her arms. "Everything is alright now."

Lauren cried into Samantha's shoulder for a moment, grasping onto her sister for dear life. Samantha looked almost helplessly at Hary, feeling even worse for not paying sufficient attention to Lauren that year.

Taking a shuddering breath, Lauren pulled herself off of Samantha and began wiping away her tears with her sleeve only for new ones to appear. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I- I was so scared to tell you… I was going to this morning, and then-"

"It's okay, Lauren," Samantha reassured her.

"Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk," Harry said, holding up the diary. "We should get out of here."

Samantha nodded in agreement. "Come on. You feel alright, right?" she asked her sister.

Lauren shrugged and then pulled herself up. Samantha did the same, wincing at the pain in her ankle as she put weight on it.

"Are you okay, Sam?" Lauren asked, looking worriedly at her older sister.

"I'll be fine. Nothing Madam Pomfrey can't fix," Samantha said, managing a forced smile. "Let's focus on getting out of here first."

"I'll be expelled, won't I?" Lauren asked as they began to walk back through the Chamber. "I looked forward to Hogwarts since I found out, and now I've messed it all up."

"Lauren, I will make sure no one expels you. Dumbledore will never do such a thing once he knows the truth, I promise," Samantha said, brushing hair out of Lauren's eyes for her.

Fawkes was at the entrance of the Chamber. Lauren gasped when she saw him, looking at the beautiful bird for the first time. Together they walked back through the Chamber, Samantha leaning on Harry a bit for support. After a few minutes, the shifting of rock could be heard farther up the tunnel.

"Ron! Max!" Harry yelled as he began to walk faster. "We're okay! The basilisk is dead, and we've got Lauren!"

They heard the rocks move a bit more, and when they turned the corner they could see Ron through the hole he had managed to create in the rock wall. He was grinning, and Samantha had to grin back.

"You're all alive! I can't believe it! How'd you do it?" Ron asked, moving aside so the siblings could crawl through the gab in the rocks. "Where'd the bird come from?"

"He's Dumbledore's," Harry explained.

Samantha rushed over to Max, who was sitting in the corner. His face was pale, and his leg was bent at an angle that was slightly off from normal.

"You're okay," Max said, sounding relieved. "I was so scared you wouldn't be."

"It takes more than a diary boy and a snake to get rid of me," Samantha replied.

Max looked curiously at her. "Diary boy?" he asked.

"I'll explain it later," Samantha answered.

"You better."

"Can you stand up?" asked Samantha.

Max sighed, not looking happy at the thought. "I can try," he replied.

Samantha stood up, trying her best to not show signs of pain. She offered her hand to Max, and he grabbed onto it, grasping it tightly. His face contorted in pain as he hoisted himself to his feet, and he gasped when he touched his right leg to the ground.

"Put your arm around me," Samantha offered, moving Max's arm so it rested around her neck. She took a step forward and winced, once again remembering the pain in her ankle.

"You're hurt too," Max noted, removing his arm from Samantha and leaning instead into the wall.

"Not as bad as you," Samantha replied. "I can deal with it. Come on, I've got you. We need to get out of here."

Reluctantly, Max put his arm around Samantha again, and the pair followed Harry, Ron, and Lauren back to the pipe slide they had originally entered through. Lockhart was sitting there, humming something.

"His memory is gone," Ron stated. "The Memory Charm Backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, of who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."

Lockhart looked up at them. "Hello," he said brightly. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"

"No," Ron answered.

"Have you thought about how we're going to get back up this?" Harry asked, looking at the pipe.

No one answered, but Fawkes flew in front of Harry and hovered there, as if waiting for him to grab on.

"He looks like he wants you to grab on," Ron said. "But you're much too heave for a bird to pull up there…"

"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird," Harry replied. He turned to look at the rest of them. "We've got to grab onto each other. Lauren, take my hand, and Lockhart's. Then Ron, you take his and Sam's. Sam, you've got Max, right?"

"Right," Samantha replied.

They all got in the formation Harry had ordered them in, and then Harry grabbed hold of Fawkes. Samantha felt strangely light at that moment, and the next thing she knew, Fawkes was pulling them up through the tunnel.

"Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart was saying.

Just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. All six of them were on the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and Samantha turned just in time to see the sink move back in place.

Myrtle looked shocked to see them. "You're alive," she said.

"There's no need to sound disappointed," replied Harry, wiping stuff off of his glasses. Samantha was looking forward to putting hers on again, as she had left them in the common room and was hoping they might help the headache and dizziness she felt.

"Oh, well… I'd just been thinking… if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," Myrtle offered to Harry.

Samantha rolled her eyes at Max and then used the sink to pull herself up. She wasn't looking forward to walking the rest of the way to the hospital wing, or wherever they were headed.

"Urgh!" Ron exclaimed as they left the bathroom. Samantha was still supporting Max. "Harry! I think Myrtle's grown fond of you!"

Samantha noticed that Lauren was still crying, and gave her sister a rather awkward side hug, as she was still supporting Max. "Everything will be alright," she whispered.

"Where now?" Ron asked, looking at the group.

Harry pointed forward at Fawkes, who began leading the way, his feathers glowing against the corridor walls. A few moments later, they were outside of Professor McGonagall's office.

"Go on," Samantha urged. Harr knocked on the door and, without waiting for an answer, pushed it open.

There was a moment of silence as the adults inside the room took in the sight of the kids and Lockhart standing there, all covered in various mixtures of blood, dirt, slime, and ink.

"Merlin, you're alive!" Mrs. Weasley cried, rushing over to the group and hugging Ron.

"Mrs. Weasley, what are you doing here?" Samantha asked curiously, looking at the woman who was now hugging Harry.

"Oh, Percy owled me. Said he thought you could use someone right now," Mrs. Weasley said, now hugging Lauren.

Samantha smiled, grateful for Percy for once. She hugged Mrs. Weasley as well, and then got a look at the rest of the adults in the room. Dumbledore was standing by the mantel, a wide smile on his face. McGonagall was standing next to him, looking in shock at the children.

"What happened down there?" McGonagall asked.

No one spoke for a moment, and then Harry walked over to the desk and laid down the Sorting Hat, the sword, and the remains of Tom's diary.

"Let's sit," Samantha whispered to Max, and the pair hesitantly walked to a couch that had been placed in the room. Lauren sat next to them, and Ron in a chair next to his mother.

The room remained silent for another few moments as everyone looked between themselves. And then they started the story, from the beginning. The disembodied voice, the spiders, investigating the bathroom, and figuring where the entrance was.

"Very well," McGonagall started, "so you found where the entrance was- breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add- but how on earth did you all get out of there alive?"

"It was all Harry," Samantha said, smiling at her brother.

And so she and Harry started talking about Fawkes, and the Sorting Hat dropping the sword to them. They both grew silent, however, because so far neither had brought up Lauren and her involvement. Samantha glanced at Dumbledore, looking for reassurance that Lauren would not be expelled.

"What interests me most," said Dumbledore gently, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Lauren, when all my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania."

Samantha could see the surprise on Mrs. Weasley's face. "What? You-Know-Who? What does he have to do with Lauren?"

"It was the diary," Harry explained, taking the diary off of the desk. "Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen…"

"Diary boy," Max whispered in Samantha's ear, causing her to grin.

"Brilliant," Dumbledore muttered, looking over the diary. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen… Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school… traveled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

"But what does Lauren have to do with him?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking perplexed.

Lauren's head was leaning on Samantha's arm, and Samantha could tell without looking that Lauren was still crying. Silently, Samantha moved her hand to Lauren's and squeezed it three times, wordlessly letting her sister know she was loved.

"The- the diary," Lauren suddenly said. "I wrote in it, and he- he wrote back. I thought… I thought maybe diaries just did that here."

Mrs. Weasley let out a worried breath. "Oh, darling, show Arthur or I if you ever find something like that again, okay?"

Samantha felt Lauren nod against her arm. "Am I- am I going to be expelled?" Lauren asked quietly.

"No, Lauren. No one is mad at you," Dumbledore said.

"But all of the trouble I caused…" said Lauren sadly.

"Lauren, you are not going to be expelled," Dumbledore repeated, almost sounding stern.

Samantha glanced at Max and could tell he was in a lot of pain from his leg that was presumably broken. They should probably get up to the hospital wing soon, so that Madam Pomfrey could fix it.

"Professor," Samantha cut in, "can we go to the hospital wing? Max and I both got hurt, and it's best we all get checked out, right?"

Dumbledore's blue gaze turned to Samantha and looked her and Max over. "Yes, Miss Potter, I think that is a fine idea," he said. "Madam Pomfrey will still be awake, administering the Mandrake juice to our patients. They should be waking up any minute."

"So Hermione's okay!" Ron said brightly.

"There has been no lasting harm, Lauren," said Dumbledore, sensing that Lauren still felt guilty. "Now, Samantha, i would appreciate if you come back as soon as you can after the hospital wing."

Samantha looked from Lauren, tears still streaming down her face, to Max, who was squeezing the couch cushion in pain, to Harry, covered in ink, blood, and whatever else had been down there.

"I can stay now," she said softly.

"Are you sure?" Dumbledore asked.

Samantha nodded. "I'm not hurt too badly. I can wait," she said. "I'll see you both in the hospital wing soon," Samantha then said, turning to Max and Lauren. Lauren didn't seem happy to leave Samantha, but she nodded silently and went to leave.

Max stood up as well, but fell back in pain the second he stepped on his hurt leg.

"Take these, Mr. Langbert," Dumbledore said, conjuring a pair of crutches out of thin air and passing them to Max, who took them gratefully.

"See you soon, Sam," Max said, and then he and Lauren left to the hospital wing with Mrs. Weasley.

"You know, Minerva," Dumbledore said once they were gone, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?"

"Right," McGonagall said crisply, moving towards the door. "I'll leave you to deal with the Potters and Weasley, shall I?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said, and McGonagall left. "Now," Dumbledore began, "I seem to remember telling the two of you, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules."

Samantha knew that Dumbledore surely wouldn't expel the boys for saving Lauren, but she was still a bit frightened of what might happen to them. She could see Ron was frightened too when his mouth dropped open in horror.

"Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words," continued Dumbledore with a smile. "All three of you, Mr. Langbert included, will receive Special Awards for Services to the School and- let me see- yes, I think one hundred points a piece for Gryffindor. Miss Potter, I trust you will inform Mr. Langbert of this when you see him next."

Ron turned pink and Samantha broke into a bright smile. "Of course, Professor," she said, ecstatic at the fact that they had just earned Gryffindor four hundred points and they would certainly win the house cup now.

"But one of us seems to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure," Dumbledore added. "Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

Samantha whipped her head around, having forgotten that Lockhart was with them at all. He was standing in the shadows of the room, lurking there with a spacey smile.

"Professor Dumbledore," said Ron quickly, "there was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart-"

"Am I a professor?" Lockhart asked, sounding mildly surprised. "Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?"

"That's one way of putting it," Samantha mumbled.

"What was that?" Lockhart questioned.

"Nothing. You were wonderful," replied Samantha sweetly.

"He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired," Ron explained quietly.

"Dear me," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Impaled upon our own sword, Gilderoy?"

"Sword?" Lockhard said with mild curiosity. "Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though." Lockhart pointed at Harry. "He'll lend you one."

"Would you mind taking Professor Lockhart up to the infirmary too?" Dumbledore asked Ron and Samantha. "I'd like a few more words with Harry."

Samantha and Ron looked at each other before standing up. "Yes, Professor," Samantha said softly. She walked over to the door while Ron gathered Lockhart, her ankle in searing pain the whole time.

Samantha and Ron walked in relative silence to the hospital wing with only Lockhart's occasional questions to disrupt that. Every other student was in their dormitory as had been ordered earlier, and Hogwarts still felt as eerie as it had earlier when they had first walked to Lockhart's classroom.

When they got there, Madam Pomfrey made an immediate fuss over them all, especially Samantha, who was told she had a sprained ankle and a concussion.

After Madam Pomfrey finished healing Samantha's injuries, she was given permission to take a shower, after which she was finally able to relax. She headed back to the common room with Max and Lauren, who had waited for her, also both freshly showered, where Samantha and Max explained everything to Leslie until they were called down to the Great Hall for the celebration feast.

It was one of Samantha's favorite nights of her life. The feast lasted all night, with some of the best food Hogwarts had ever provided. Everyone was in pajamas, and people were walking back and forth from the house tables, talking to friends who happened to be in other houses.

Samantha didn't know when, but at some point Hermione came running in, screaming "You solved it! You solved it!", and then Ellie came over from the Ravenclaw table to see Samantha, Max, and Leslie for the first time since she had been Petrified, and to make plans for them all to spend the next day together, their group finally reunited.

Lauren had been hanging around Ginny and Sarah in the common room, and their conversation then had looked serious, but in the Great Hall, it looked as if they were all having fun, laughing and talking.

Hagrid showed up at another point in the night, happily greeting them after his brief stay in Azkaban. After that, the House Cup was presented once more to Gryffindor because of the four hundred points Max, Ron, Harry, and Samantha had earned, and the excitement radiated off of the table as a whole.

"As a school treat," Professor McGonagall began, "all end of year exams for students not taking N.E.W.T.s or O.W.L.s have been canceled!"

More cheers erupted after that announcement, everyone looking forward to having their final week at Hogwarts free of stress.

"On a more sad note, Professor Lockhart will be unable to continue with the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Dumbledore then announced. Cheering broke out again, even coming from some of the teachers.

"I feel bad," Leslie screamed to Samantha over the clapping and yells, "but I'm also so relieved to be rid of him."

"Let's hope next year, we have better luck with our Defense professor," Samantha said, and Leslie and Max nodded in agreement.

"I'm done with the incompetent ones," said Max.

"We all are," Samantha responded with a grin.

I promise the next chapter will not take as long as the last two have. I've had a lot going on so updates have been slow but that's not going to last. There's only one more chapter until the Chamber of Secrets is over, and then it's Prisoner of Azkaban! That's personally my favorite book so I'm excited for it. As always, I love getting reviews, so feel free to post them! Have a good day :)