Under Pressure

Harry stood still for a second, trying to will his heartbeat not to echo around the Chamber of Secrets. He thought whatever was down here was dangerous enough to warrant wearing his invisibility cloak. He wasn't sure if the material would successfully block the gaze of the Basilisk. He would like to hope so. Harry clutched the cloak tighter and looked father into the chamber. Harry saw a number of pillars; some reached to the ceiling of the chamber but some did not. All were decorated with snakes that wound around them. It was eerie; the silence was deafening.

Holding out his wand, Harry moved forward between the rows of serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. He kept his eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following him.

More than once, with jolts to his stomach, he thought he saw one stir.

Then, as he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall. Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face; it was a giant statue depicting Salazar Slytherin. The giant statue seemed to be carved out of white marble. It had a four foot wide moat circling the base. Just outside that pool, facedown laid a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair. Next to her was the familiar form of Hermione. Harry pulled off his cloak and ran forward.

"Hermione!" Harry muttered, sprinting to them and dropping to his knees. "Ginny — don't be dead — please" He dropped his wand, grabbed Ginny's shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be alive. He saw her chest rise in a shallow breath. Harry turned to look at Hermione but she was in the same condition as his other bond mate. Cold and unresponsive.

"Ginny, Hermione please wake up," Harry muttered desperately, shaking both girls as he could reach them.

"They won't wake," said a soft voice.

Harry jumped and spun around on one knee. A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry were looking at him through foggy glasses.

But Harry had seen him before. In another place, at another time.

"Tom Riddle?"

Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face.

"What do you mean, they won't wake?" Harry said desperately. "They're not — ?"

"The two of them are still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."

Harry stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, he was not a day older than Harry remembered him.

"You're not a ghost?" Harry said.

"Not a ghost; something much better. A memory simply stuck in a diary for five decades that is coming to life again."

He pointed toward the floor next to the Ginny. Lying open there was the little black diary that Harry knew Ginny had been carrying around and trading with some first year girls. For a second, Harry wondered how it had got here and then it didn't matter. Harry moved Ginny over and laid her next to Hermione. He reached for his wand so he could levitate the girls up and move them out of the chamber. But his wand had gone.

Harry looked up. Riddle was still watching him and holding his wand.

"Thanks," said Harry, stretching out his hand for it. A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.

"We've all got to get out of here before the Basilisk shows up."

"It won't come until it is called."

"Basilisks are almost impervious to magic Tom. My wand won't help you much against it."

Riddle's smile broadened. "I'm not going to use your wand against my basilisk" he smirked.

"What? Your basilisk?"

"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "For the chance to see and speak to you."

"But we talked when you showed me that memory in the diary."

"We're going to talk again now," said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry's wand. Harry didn't like his arrogance already. "How did they get like this?" he asked slowly.

"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "But not much of a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger are losing their lives tonight is because of that fool Lockhart."

"I don't understand" said Harry.

"The book," said Riddle. "My diary. When Ginny got hit by those badly aimed spells many months ago I had already been woken up by the foolish writing of a bunch of first years and her. I took the opportunity when she was hit by those rogue spells to invade her mind."

Riddle laughed cruelly at his own brilliance. "It was pathetic how easy it was. She never put up any fight at all; little Ginny Weasley just retreated into a corner of her mind and tried hiding her memories of you and the Granger girl. It was ridiculously ease to batter down that barrier and find her schoolgirl crush and her fantasies about being engaged to you. Fantasies that she had evidently told her foolish muggle-loving family. I let her have her little world while I grew stronger and planned my retribution on the muggle born who falsely think that they belong in this school."

Harry listened in horror as an explanation of Ginny's sudden change was revealed by the image of Tom Riddle. But he didn't understand that part about Ginny's fantasies. How were her memories so screwed up? Why was Riddle so wrong about Ginny's memories? "So it's been you that's been causing all the trouble?"

"Haven't you guessed yet, Harry" said Riddle softly. "Ginny Weasley was the one that opened the Chamber of Secrets. I used her to strangle the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on the students, and the Squib's cat."

"No," Harry shook his head. "It was you making her do those things or you doing them yourself.

"It took a long time for the other girls to stop trusting the book," said Riddle. "But it was too late then, I had already been using their energy to build up my power."

"And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet…"

"And why did you want to meet me?" said Harry. Harry wanted Riddle to keep talking and explain the whole year.

"Well, you see, Ginny and her friends wrote and told me all about you, Harry," said Riddle. "Your whole incredible history."

His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, and Tom's expression instantly went dark. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, and meet you if I could. I've been watching and studying you all year through little Ginny's Weasley's star-struck eyes. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust."

"Hagrid's my friend," said Harry, his voice now shaking in rage. "And you framed him, didn't you? Whatever that creature was that Hagrid let go, it wasn't big enough to kill a girl."

Riddle laughed his high laugh. "It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to Headmaster Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle - school prefect, model student versus the big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls… but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the Heir of Slytherin."

"It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance… as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power! Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed… Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did…"

"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," said Harry.

"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," said Riddle carelessly. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it," said Harry triumphantly. "No one's died this time, not even the cat. The mandrake draught is going to be used to restore everyone.

"Haven't I already told you," said Riddle quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been you."

Harry stared at him. "So you're the one to set that bludger on me?"

"What an opportunity. Killing the savior of the wizarding world at a simple public game! But somehow you managed to survive."

"Did you hex Professor Lockhart after the match?"

"That buffoon? No but I did see however that it was your precious Head of House, McGonagall that reacted to another insult from that idiot and lost her temper. She's quite good in her own way; she even Obliviated him to make him forget about her. For some reason she likes you a lot; she really wanted him to suffer just like you did."

"You retrieved the diary after I wrote in it didn't you?"

"Of course, it could only be in one of two places - your room or that mudblood Granger's room. I needed the diary to grab more power and substance from Ginny. She's a powerful pureblood witch; exactly what I needed to come back to life. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery — particularly if your girlfriend was attacked. And Ginny had told me you could speak Parseltongue."

"So I made Ginny trick her friend by talking to her and stunning her. I made Ginny write their farewell on the wall and drag your precious girlfriend down her. But there isn't much life left in them… she and the others put too much into the diary, into me. I've been draining Ginny and now your Hermione of their life force. Enough to let me leave its pages at last… I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."

"Don't you know enough about me already Tom ?"

"No, not your secrets" said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you — a skinny little boy with no extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

There was an odd red gleam in Tom Riddle's hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how I escaped?" said Harry slowly. "Voldemort was after you."

"Voldemort," said Riddle, "is me - past, present, and forever in the future."

He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry — I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Harry's mind was numb. This 'boy' had grown up to murder his parents and many others. At last Harry forced himself to speak. "You're not even a pureblood yourself; you've convinced yourself Salazar Slytherin would approve of you – a half-blood yourself" he said, his quiet voice full of anger. "And besides you're not!"

"Not what?" snapped Riddle.

"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," said Harry, breathing fast. "Sorry to disappoint you but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days —"

The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look. "I do not hide!"

Harry had reached for his second wand while Riddle had been gloating. He quickly raised it and cast his spell "Expelliermus!" Harry's original wand was wrenched out of Riddle's hand and Harry caught it with his free hand. He faced the memory of Tom Riddle with a wand in both hands.

"How dare you defy me? That fool Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.

Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore will always be a part of Hogwarts."

Riddle took a menacing step toward Harry and Harry raised his wands in response. Riddle wasn't quite a ghost but Harry wasn't going to turn tail and run before he tried blasting him back into his diary. He just wasn't sure that he wouldn't hurt the girls if he hurt Riddle. Maybe a shot at the diary…

A wonderful melody came from somewhere close. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. Fawkes appeared out of nothing and nowhere. It made a circle around the two wizards to glide down to Harry's shoulder and land.

"That's a phoenix." said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.

"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently. "This is Dumbledore's friend. That means he can't be too far away."

Riddle began to laugh again. He also moved away from the book and the girls. Harry saw Hermione's hand twitch once but then remain still. "This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird? Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"

Harry didn't answer. He might not see what help Fawkes would be, but he was no longer alone, and the birds' song made his fear fade. That in itself was a great help.

"To business, Harry," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "How you survive when my future self tried to kill you? Tell me everything. The longer you talk,the longer you stay alive."

Harry was thinking fast, weighing his chances. Harry had Fawkes and two wands which might or might not have any effect on Tom. It looked bad, all right… but the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny and Hermione… and in the meantime, Harry noticed suddenly, Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid… Harry had to get to Riddle soon.

"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," said Harry abruptly. "I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my parents died trying to save me. My common muggle-born mother," he added, shaking with suppressed rage. "She stopped you from killing me. And I've seen the real you, I mean what's left of you, last year. You don't have a body now Tom. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you don't really live."

Riddle's face contorted in rage. Then he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful countercharm. I can see now… there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike… but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know from you."

Harry stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to move or attack him. Anything. But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again.

"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter and a flashy but worthless magical bird." Fawkes trilled and Riddle paused as he heard it. Riddle then walked away. Harry sidled up carefully to where he could see the diary. Riddle stopped between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed — but Harry understood what he was saying…

{"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." }

Harry wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder. Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Horrorstruck, Harry saw the mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. Harry struck out at Riddle. "Incarcerous!" Ropes appeared and snapped together but they fell at the feet of the not quite solid memory.

And something moved inside the statue's mouth. Harry saw something green flash in the near darkness. He backed away until he hit the one of the pillars in the Chamber, and as he shut his eyes tight he felt Fawkes' wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. Harry hoped he was leaving to go fetch Dumbledore.

Harry felt the floor shudder. He knew what was happening, he could sense it, could feel the giant serpent uncoiling itself from the space within Slytherin's mouth.

Then he heard Riddle's hissing voice: {"Kill him."}

Harry spoke back at the huge snake. {"Stop! You don't want to do this. Don't follow his commands. Think for yourself."}

The basilisk was moving toward Harry; he could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty and wet floor. Harry turned and began to run away from the snake. Voldemort was laughing at him. Harry wanted to stop that hideous noise especially.

Harry tripped. He fell hard onto one of the pillars and tasted his own blood. The serpent was barely feet from him, he could hear it coming. There was a loud, explosive hissing sound right above him, and then Harry rolled sideways so that he up against one of the other pillars. Harry clamored to his feet with the pillar between him and the huge reptile.

Harry couldn't help it but he opened his eyes wide enough to squint at where he heard the serpent. He looked low to see the body and hoped the head was not on the ground. The enormous serpent, the same bright green as his boots, was standing up on its body with its pointed head weaving rapidly from side to side. As Harry made ready to flee again, he saw some shadows that gave him a little hope.

Harry saw the shadow of Fawkes making dives at the basilisk head. The serpent was painfully slow compared to the speed of the phoenix, snapping its jaws at the bird long after it had passed by him. Fawkes eventually hit something vital with his beak or razor sharp claws and the serpent reeled in pain. His shadow paused slightly and Harry saw and heard a stream of dark blood spattered the floor. Harry turned slightly to keep any of that blood from landing on him.

The giant snake suddenly convulsed again in pain and its tail suddenly swept through the pillar he was hiding behind. Harry was knocked over in a shower of stone, dust and a flashing green tail! Getting slowly to his feet the snake's head appeared in front of him. The head turned before Harry could react and he flinched. But the basilisk had been blinded! Its great, bulbous yellow eyes had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor from each eye, and the snake was convulsing in agony.

"NO!" Harry heard Riddle screaming. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU. YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM. KILL HIM!"

The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes wheeled away from the serpent a loud cry rending the air and helping calm Harry's panic.

The snake's tail whipped across the floor again. Harry jumped up and the tail passed under his feet. Harry retreated sideways until he had his back against the wall of the chamber.

"KILL THE BOY! HE IS BEHIND YOU. SNIFF — SMELL HIM."

Harry was on his feet, ready. He had reached into his pocket and came out with a handful of small objects. As the basilisk's head descended toward him again, Harry squeezed the objects, activating them and threw them at the basilisk's head.

The Pepper Popups that Fred and George had made for him a long time ago still worked. They exploded about the basilisk's head and surrounded it with a cloud of cayenne pepper. The snake jerked in pain as the irritant landed on its raw and bleeding eyes. The snake shook its head but, as Harry hoped, he had loss his sense of smell with the exposure to the pepper. It sneezed twice, a very delicate sound from so fierce a creature. Harry continued to move and ran right back to where Tom Riddle was standing. The Basilisk started following the sound of Harry's running feet. Harry stopped suddenly making a little splash - right in front of Tom Riddle. He watched as Riddle's face grew a little fearful as the basilisk approached them. Harry waited as long as he dared and then jumped suddenly to the side.

Riddle was knocked over by the monster's passing and Harry stood and watched the solid appearing wizard pick himself off the floor. Harry knew he had been lucky so far but he had to do something a little more permanent. The snake had slithered through the pool of water along the way and the pepper had been mostly rinsed off. When the Basilisk turned his head toward him suddenly, Harry knew the snake was back to tracking him down.

Harry hurried and hid behind another of the intact pillars. He thought about what Godric and Ravena had told him about the monster. He then remembered what Godric's story had been and fled to another hiding point as he thought about a way to really damage the beast. He just hoped those few lessons he had with Neville and the other were good enough.

'I hope you weren't lying to me Grandfather.' Harry held out his hand and concentrated on the one thing that Godric had said also belonged to him. The long shiny sword appeared in his hand and Harry tested its weight and swing a little cautiously. He peered around the side of the pylon he was hiding behind and saw the tail of the serpent pass by. Harry leaped out of his hiding place swinging his sword. One slash and Harry had to move quickly to avoid the spray of blood that arose when he cut off the last three feet of the Basilisk's tail.

The basilisk rolled and convulsed in pain and turned quickly to find the source of its shocking injury. Riddle was screaming directions from the side and Harry ran by him to find another spot to attack the beast. When Riddle some sort of feeble attempt to grab Harry as he ran by, Harry punched him in the stomach with the pommel of the sword. The snake was too close to really engage Riddle for longer than that swing though. Harry ran on, trying to think of a way to keep Hermione and Ginny from getting weaker.

Harry stopped when he heard Tom moving toward the girls again. He was reaching down to get something from Ginny when Harry cast a stunning spell that hit Tom Riddle in the hand. Harry suspected he was after Ginny's wand but the spell moved him back away from both the girls.

Harry didn't want anything to happen to either of them so he slipped away from the pillar he was currently hiding behind and tried reaching them. The Basilisk heard his movement and turned to chase him again. Harry waited until the serpent raised itself to strike him and then darted out of the way. He slipped onto one knee though and the head turned as it heard the noise.

The basilisk's head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face him. He could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow him whole, lined with fangs long as his sword, thin and venomous.

It lunged blindly while Harry dodged once again and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue touched the blade in Harry's hand. The tongue retreated, sliced and bleeding. Harry saw an opening in the blind basilisk's armor. The basilisk reared and lunged again, and this time its aim was true but Harry threw his whole weight behind the sword and drove it to the hilt into the roof of the serpent's mouth and through it into its brain. Blood and brain matter flew down the blade and over Harry's upraised arms.

But even as he struck the killing blow, Harry felt a searing pain halfway between his elbow and shoulder. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into his arm and it splintered off as the basilisk keeled over sideways and fell to the floor. The king of snakes jerked twice and then stopped moving altogether.

Harry slid to the floor. He gripped the fang that was spreading poison through his body and wrenched it out of his arm. But he knew it was too late. White-hot pain was spreading slowly and steadily from the wound. Even as he dropped the fang and watched his own blood soaking his robes, his vision went foggy. The Chamber was dissolving in a whirl of dull color.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter," said Riddle's distant voice. "Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry… She bought you twelve years of borrowed time… but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must…"

'Maybe Dumbledore could get the girls out of here. MY death would still mean something…'

A patch of scarlet swam past Harry's wavering vision and Harry heard a soft clatter of claws beside him. "Fawkes," said Harry thickly. "You were fantastic Fawkes…"

He felt the bird laid its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent's fang had pierced him. He could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of him.

"You're dead, Harry Potter," said Riddle's voice above him. "Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."

Harry blinked but smiled to himself. Harry knew something Riddle didn't. Fawke's head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers.

"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I'm in no hurry. You first and then those witches."

Harry felt a little sleepy. The dizziness and the pain made him sway as his vision fought to remain clear. But then Harry shook his head and struggled to his knees. He took a deeper breath and the pain faded a tad. Instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus. Harry gave his head another little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on Harry's arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound. But the wound was disappearing. Healing!

"Get away, bird," said Riddle's voice suddenly. "Get away from him — I said, get away —"

Harry raised his head. Riddle had tried to make the bird fly away from Harry but he received a bite for his efforts. Tom brought back a hand that was bleeding openly as Fawkes flew away. "Good fellow Fawkes!"

"Phoenix tears…" said Riddle quietly, staring at Harry's arm. "Of course… healing powers… I forgot…"

"A powerful, mad wizard shouldn't forget anything Tom" Harry said grimacing. "Maybe you're not as smart as you think you are."

Riddle looked into Harry's face. "But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter… you and me… You'll die besides those two witches you value so much. All three of you will die … together."

He reached for one of Harry's wands but received a solid kick from Harryfor his effort. Harry smiled even as he felt the burn of the basilisk poison rush through his body again. The phoenix tears had healed him but not cleansed him of all the poison.

Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes had soared back overhead and something fell into Harry's lap — the diary. For a split second, both Harry and Riddle stared at it. Then Harry seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book. There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Riddle's voice was filled with pain. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Harry's hands, flooding the floor. Harry stabbed it twice more.

Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and then made a last effort to reach out to get Harry. But then Riddle was gone. Gone so he couldn't hurt Ginny and Hermione anymore; gone as the monster guarding the Chamber of Secrets had gone.

The basilisk fang fell to the floor with a small clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk fang had gone through the cover and the venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it. Harry's hand felt burnt but it was worth it.

Shaking all over, Harry pulled himself up. His head was spinning as though he'd just fell off his broom. Slowly, he gathered together his wand and, with a huge tug, retrieved the glittering sword from the roof of the basilisk's mouth. Then a faint moan came from the nearest girl. Ginny was stirring. As Harry hurried toward her, she sat up. Her sleepy eyes travelled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.

"I'm so sorry Harry. He just overwhelmed me and I had to try keeping him from getting to you… I wasn't strong enough… I hurt everybody… I… didn't want to hurt Hermione… I only stunned her… Harry he made me…"

Harry quickly gathered Ginny into a hug. A rather weak hug considering the terrible condition each was in, but a good hug nevertheless. It had been something that had been missing from both their lives for a long, long time. Harry felt a bit of her presence once again through their magic.

"It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's gone. And I managed to get rid of the monster. C'mon, Ginny, let's get Hermione and leave this place."

Harry was about to cast a Rennervate on Hermione but as he raised his wand the basilisk poison started burning again. The pain and the throbbing centered on his scar this time. Harry screamed as he stumbled to one knee and Ginny backed away as she got scared by Harry's sudden cry of pain.

Reaching up furtively for his scar, Harry fell over sideways as his scar burst wide open in a small fountain of blood and grey-black mist. Ginny watched in horror as the mist gathered together and then flew downward to fall on Hermione's unconscious body! Hermione jerked and thrashed as the mist entered her.

Screaming for help, Ginny ran to Harry and brought him up to lie in her lap. She reached for his wand and gripping it with him, she pointed at Harry's forehead and let their magic flow out of his wand to hit him with a healing spell. Harry's eyes popped open and he looked at Ginny with a question. She cleared his forehead of blood as best she could with the hem of her robe.

"Harry your scar burst open and something came out of it that invaded Hermione. I can hear screaming in my head, even if she's still out. Harry, she needs us but I'm too weak still. Please go help her. Please?"

Harry felt Hermione through his connection with Ginny. She was fighting something off. 'What came out of me?' he thought as his head cleared.

Ginny practically dragged Harry over to where Hermione was laying on the ground. Her limbs were flailing around at this point and Harry latched on to her hand when it went flying past. Harry felt her distress immediately and took a deep breath before he followed her magic back into Hermione's mind.

Harry's body slowly collapsed over Hermione and Ginny kept a watchful eye on the both of them as she gathered her own strength to go join her bondmates.