"Obliviate!"
There was a flash of bright, white light, and Barty was thrown backward into the bookcase on the other side of Lockhart's office. The portraits on the walls cheered. Something heavy and pointed hit his face; when he looked, Lockhart's stupid, face, was smiling at him from the front cover of one of his books. Barty pushed himself to his feet, rubbing his face.
I… remember? My name is Barty Crouch. I'm here to find the Dark Lord; that man- He looked over at Lockhart, who had crumpled against the far wall. –is Lockhart, and he told me the Chamber's entrance is in the Slytherin common room. That's everything important, isn't it?
He walked over to Lockhart, kicked the mangled wand out of his hand, and turned him over with a foot. Lockhart stirred, and then blinked up at him.
"Who are you?" he asked, sounding dazed. He looked around the office, with its toppled bookshelf, and at the papers and books which had been blown off the desk by his spell. "My goodness, this place is a mess!" He blinked again, and then frowned. "I- I don't suppose you know where this place is, do you? I'm afraid I've quite forgotten."
Would you stop? Tom snapped. She sniffed and the sound echoed off the Chamber's slimy stone walls. Tom had given her her arm back, and she used it to wipe her face.
No, Ginny said.
Tom's huff was almost annoyed, and it gave Ginny a grim sort of satisfaction, even as she swiped at her eyes again. No one is coming for you. No one knows where the Chamber is, and in all the fuss of getting everyone ready by midday, no one will have even noticed you're missing.
My brothers will, Ginny said, though it was a far-fetched hope. And they'll come to help me. At this stage, anything to put him off was worth it, even if she was so tired that she could only muster weak threats.
Will they? She could hear the sneer in Tom's voice, and knew exactly what his face would look like.
Yes, Ginny said, forcing confidence into her voice.
Just like they've helped you this year? Ginny had no answer to that, and Tom knew it. Because they've really taken such good care of you… Or perhaps they'll help you like Percy did?
Just go away, Tom, she said. The Chamber was empty except for her and Slytherin's big, stupid statue, so it was that she directed her glare at. Slytherin looked down at her, uncaring.
This will be much easier for both of us if you'd just lie down and die, Tom said, sounding exasperated.
No, she said. But Tom was right (and she listened around in her head, but he didn't seem to have heard that); no one was coming for her. And if they did, Tom would just have her attack them, or set the monster on them. Ginny's stomach contorted with misery, and she had to wipe her face again.
It would be so easy for her to lie down and give up. And death wouldn't be so bad; she'd be free of Tom, at least. And once she was out of the picture, Tom would have to find someone else to be his puppet, or he'd get a body. And then Harry and Dumbledore and the Ministry would be able to find Tom then, and stop him.
Ginny wrapped her arms around her knees. She could wriggle her toes again, now; it almost felt like Tom had given her her legs back as well. She stretched one to test it, and it moved. And, when she looked, Tom wasn't in her head as much as she'd thought; he was fading, it seemed.
She leapt to her feet, swayed dizzily for a few moments – and then stumbled back the way they'd come. She reached a tunnel, and couldn't remember if she'd come in from the left or right, but time was key here. Tom was obviously distracted by something, and she needed to take advantage of that. She started down the left tunnel. She was tired, and scared, and her heart was absolutely pounding, because what if she made it out? She could tell the teachers everything. She could fix this.
Then, a hand descended on her shoulder, and Ginny kicked and hit behind her. Her hands and feet connected, and she heard someone grunt. She stopped at once, and spun, thinking a teacher or Auror would be much less likely to want to help her if she'd attacked them. It wasn't a teacher or Auror, though.
Tom Riddle stood there in his school robes – the same way he looked when she'd used to visit the diary – looking almost see-through. But she could feel his hand, cool, heavy, and like a vice on her shoulder, and his other hand was rubbing his side, where she'd hit him.
As Ginny's heart sank through her feet, something seemed to tug at her, tiring her. Her arms and legs suddenly felt like lead, and her eyes wanted nothing more than to close. Tom's outline seemed to grow a little more solid.
"Where did she go from here?" Harry asked Myrtle, but she only scowled at him.
"I might have been able to tell you," she said angrily, "except I was too busy being sent away!"
"Do you know where to find the Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked her.
"Ooh, you think she's been taken?" Myrtle asked, brightening at once. "How awful! Still, if anyone deserves it, it'd be her-"
"Myrtle, please!" Harry said, as Ron's ears reddened. "She could be- she is in trouble!"
"And why should I care?" Myrtle asked. "As far as I'm concerned, she's gone now, and I can finally have my bathroom to myself again." Harry wished he knew the spell that Ginny – or Riddle – had been using to make her go away.
Perhaps if I pretend…
"Myrtle," he said, but Ron spoke over the top of him.
"You do realise that if she dies-" Ron's voice caught on the word. "-down there, that she'll be back to haunt this place, right? And then you'll have to share your bathroom with her." Myrtle opened her mouth and then shut it again.
"Fine," she said primly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "What do you want to know?"
"Where the Chamber is," Harry said.
"I don't know," Myrtle replied.
"But you were killed by the monster?" Harry asked. "Where?"
"Here," Myrtle said, gesturing to one of the cubicles. "I'd been crying, and then a boy came in-" She glowered at Harry and Ron, obviously thinking that they were just as unwelcome as the boy – probably Riddle. "-and when I came out to tell him to go away, I died."
"You said it was the monster," Harry said. 'If you just-" He swallowed the words 'dropped dead'. "-died, then how-?"
"I saw its eyes," Myrtle said, seeming pleased by the question. "Big, yellow eyes – by that sink."
Harry glanced at Ron, and headed toward the sink. Ron started pulling on it, and looking at the mirror above it, while Harry tried the tap. It didn't work.
"It's never worked." Harry jumped, having not realised Myrtle was watching over his shoulder. Ron looked over, as Harry bent to get a closer look at the tap.
"Ron," he breathed. "I think this is it." His trembling fingers traced the small, engraved snake on the tap.
"Can you open it?" Ron asked, squinting at it.
"Me? Why- would I-?"
"Slytherin's monster is a snake," Ron said. "Parseltongue might be a good start, Harry."
"Right," Harry said, turning back to the sink. "Erm… Open?"
"English," Ron told him.
"I'm trying- I just- don't know how not to speak English," Harry told him. He ran a hand through his hair, and tried to picture a snake. Oddly, it was Regulus' old, golden snake puzzle that popped into his head. "Open," he said. Ron shook his head. Harry took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and tried to focus. "Open?" He knew, even before he'd opened his eyes that it had worked; there was a loud, grinding sound, and he could smell a damp, drainy sort of smell.
Harry opened his eyes at once, and found himself staring down a large hole, where the sink had been just before.
"We should let someone know," Harry said, looking at Ron. He reached into his pocket, but only his wand was there; he'd put his mirror in his rucksack, and left it on his bed when they went to the hospital wing. He swore. "I don't have my mirror. We'll have to go in person-"
"There's not time," Ron said, and Harry thought he was right; Ginny'd already been gone for an hour, if Myrtle was to be believed, and Harry didn't know what Tom wanted with her, but he didn't think it could be anything good. "Not for us both, anyway." Ron swallowed, and glanced at the opening. "I'll go and find help, and you- you do what you can for Ginny."
"Me?" Harry asked.
"We can't do this alone," Ron said. "But you're better at spells and- well, at dealing with this sort of thing than I am; you'll be able to hold him off longer." Ron's attempt at a smile looked more like a grimace. Harry couldn't argue with him, however; Riddle was interested enough in Harry that Harry might be able to distract him for long enough that he could work out how to help Ginny. If Ron showed up, Riddle would just want him out of the way. Harry nodded. "And leave the sink open. That way I can get down to help you, with whoever I find."
"All right," Harry said. "Go-"
"Hello, Potter." Harry and Ron both spun to face the bathroom doorway, to see a man peering in. He had light hair, an ugly bruise on the side of his face, and a rather disturbing smile. Ron took a step back toward Harry, as did Myrtle (though she drifted rather than stepped). "Don't suppose you're off to find the Dark Lord, are you?" His wand appeared in his hand, and his eyes lingered on the tunnel behind them, bright with curiosity.
He said Dark Lord…
"Ron," he muttered, "jump." Ron looked at him, eyes wide. "Ron," Harry said again, and Ron jerked his head. The man had lifted his arm, obviously realising they weren't going to stick around to talk, and Harry turned and leapt into the tunnel. Myrtle shrieked as the man shouted something, but Harry didn't know if it was an outburst of anger, or a spell, or perhaps something addressed at Myrtle. He pictured Regulus' snake puzzle and shouted "Close!" as he slid down the damp sides, and hoped Ron was in – and that the man wasn't.
Hogwarts didn't look all that different to the last time she'd seen it, Marlene thought. It certainly didn't look like it was being menaced by a monster and Voldemort's younger self. But it was a nice enough day, and no one was out by the lake, or down at the Quidditch pitch, and she couldn't see students moving about in the windows.
"It's quiet," Brown said grimly. Yaxley murmured something affirmative, and Robards' expression tightened.
"Reckon it's true?" Marlene murmured to Sirius, as they entered the castle. Rumours had been flying at the Ministry earlier that morning, saying that one of the Malfoy boys had been attacked. Lucius Malfoy was standing off to one side, with Minister Fudge and a woman Marlene thought must have been from the Board, looking – with his arms folded, and an odd, uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Must be," Sirius said. "Otherwise he'd still look all smug from getting rid of Dumbledore yesterday." He frowned. "I wonder why Harry didn't say anything."
"Perhaps it was Hydrus," Marlene said. "Or perhaps he did, but you missed it while we were being briefed by Scrimgeour-"
"Ah, excellent," Fudge said, approaching them. "Not the situation, of course; terrible business, isn't it?" Marlene wasn't the only one to respond to that with a flat look, though Wright made a sympathetic noise. "Yes, well," Fudge said, spinning his hat between his fingers, "the students ought to be down shortly."
"We're not needed for that?" Sirius asked Fudge, who just blinked at him. "Who's bringing them down?"
"Severus has the Slytherins," McGonagall said tiredly, coming up behind them. "Pomona has the Hufflepuffs, and I've arranged for Gilderoy and Silvanus to fetch the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws respectively, though I've yet to hear back from Gilderoy." Her lips thinned.
"With any luck, he's off catching the Heir," Fudge said, grinning. "Did anyone else see his article the other day; very inspiring, I thought."
"Inspiring's certainly one word for it," McGonagall said curtly. "However, I hope he's not off catching Heirs and monsters when he ought to be ensuring my students are safe."
"I'll go, if you'd like," Brown said. "Just to be sure someone's there for them." Marlene fully expected McGonagall to wave away the offer, and assure Brown that it was under control, but she didn't; she inclined her head.
"As long as you ensure all of the students are seen to, and not just your sister, then yes, Brown, that would be helpful." It occurred to Marlene that McGonagall must have as low an opinion of Lockhart as the rest of them.
"Yes, Professor," Brown said. He drew his wand, and started up the main staircase.
"Should someone go with him?" Sirius asked. "Gryffindor's a long way away, and there are a lot of students for one person to manage-"
McGonagall, like Marlene, saw right through him.
"Mr Potter will be along shortly, Black," McGonagall said, almost gently, and left to speak with one of the Board members. Marlene rubbed Sirius' arm, and he sighed, and positioned himself to better watch the staircase that the Gryffindors would arrive down.
The chute began to level out, and Harry's quick descent slowed. Then, the chute disappeared beneath him, and he dropped onto a pointy, rattling floor. A moment after, Ron skidded to a stop beside him.
"Lumos," Ron said, and the little chamber they'd ended up in brightened. Harry scrambled to his feet; the floor was covered in the bones of all sorts of animals. Some looked to have been here for a long time, but others were fresh – he could tell from the smell of them. He hoped the basilisk hadn't been feeding on peoples' pets, but an ill feeling in his stomach told him that was exactly the sort of thing that would entertain Riddle.
"Harry," Ron gasped, picking himself up off the ground. Harry glanced at him. Ron made a funny face, and then said, stiffly, "Never mind."
There was a doorway at the far end, and Harry headed for it; he knew, from the sound of bones breaking under Ron's shoes, that Ron had followed. The doorway led into a long tunnel, going to the left and to the right, but Harry could smell Ginny in the left tunnel, so he headed that way, and Ron followed without asking. Harry was relieved not to have to explain that.
"Who do you think that man was?" Harry asked Ron as they walked; he asked quietly, and listened carefully for the sound of any movement that wasn't theirs. Ron just grunted and kept walking. "Ron," Harry said, and Ron glanced at him. "We'll get there in time. She'll be okay." Ron nodded, and Harry didn't bring the man up again, but he did wonder about him in silence.
Harry'd never seen him before, he was sure of that much, but he'd said Dark Lord, and he'd known where to find them. And how long had he been in the school for? It was likely that he was looking for Riddle, but he'd said Dark Lord, so how much did he really know? Did Riddle know about him?
"Look." Ron's voice made Harry look up. Ahead of them, there was a scaly mound, about as tall as Harry's waist. It wasn't moving, nor could Harry hear its breathing. Ron lifted his wand, casting the light onto it.
"It's just skin," Harry said. The pair of them moved closer, and, while Harry was relieved to have not stumbled upon the basilisk, he was dismayed by the size of the skin it had left behind. He ran his hand over the hard, smooth, bright green scales, and tried to think what he could do to stop the real thing if it attacked them; looking at the skin, he was almost certain any spells he cast would bounce right off.
"Here," Ron said, lifting his wand again. He was a few yards ahead of Harry, looking up at a carving of two entwined snakes. Large emeralds served as their eyes, and seemed to glare down at him and Ron. Harry swallowed and looked at Ron, but Ron wasn't paying him any attention; he was staring, open mouthed, at the carvings, which were disconcertingly lifelike.
"Open," Harry said, and, with a grating sound, the walls began to slide apart. Before them, lay a long chamber, lined with pillars that supported a ceiling Harry couldn't see through the gloom. Stone snakes adorned everything; they were coiled around the pillars and arching up out of the still water that lined the Chamber's sides, and carved into the slimy stone floor, and around the entrances to tunnels that led off, presumably to other areas.
"Can you see him?" Ron asked, squinting around. Harry tried to make sense of that, and then decided Ron must be talking about the basilisk. He shook his head, and stepped into the Chamber, ears straining for anything. He could smell Ginny all around this place.
"Keep an eye out," Harry muttered, and started forward. Each step he took echoed, and he winced every time. Behind him, Ron didn't seem to be taking any care to be quiet at all, or perhaps everything just seemed overly loud. Harry was very much on edge, too, half expecting Riddle to appear in his head again.
As they made their way further and further down the chamber, a large figure came into focus. It was a statue, tall - but not as tall as the ceiling – and stern. From the old-styled robes carved onto the state, and the face - which Harry thought he'd seen in a book or on a chocolate frog cards at some point – it could only be Slytherin. His beard was the longest Harry had ever seen, even longer than Dumbledore's; the tip almost brushed the tops of his feet-
And sitting on one of those feet, was a small, black-robed figure with bright red hair.
"Ginny," Harry said, hurrying forward. He hauled himself up onto the statue, crouched beside her. "Ginny," he said urgently, giving her a shake. She was very pale, and cold through her robes, but she stirred, and managed to open her eyes.
"H-Harry?" she asked, in a tiny voice. She smelled disbelieving, but something in her eyes seemed to sharpen a second later, and her voice, though weak, was urgent. "Harry, Tom will be back, he-"
"We know about Tom," Harry said.
"I- I'm sorry-" Ginny tried to sit up a bit more, but her face drained of colour and she swayed. Harry caught her awkwardly, barely managing to keep her head from hitting the statue behind her.
"Ginny?" Her eyes fluttered open, but her breathing was shallow. "Let's get you out of here. Can you walk?" She didn't seem able to speak this time, or even shake her head, and that was answer enough. "Ron, give me a hand with-" But Ron wasn't behind Harry, as Harry had thought. Harry turned around, confused. "Ron, I've got her, but she needs-" Harry's heart leaped into his throat, sealing it.
"Hello again, Harry," Riddle said. Harry wasn't sure where he'd come from, but he was standing at the base of Slytherin's statue, looking up at them. And, kneeling at his feet, was Ron.