Chapter Nineteen
They waited hours in the common room, the clocks ticking loudly. People came and went in sullen silence, no one willing to really talk. Tracy came down towards ten and tried to brag about how brilliant it was a blood-traitor had been taken. She didn't get any support apart from Millicent who joked along and Crabbe and Goyle who sat behind them nodding along, eyes glazed over.
They didn't get much response so Tracy stomped upstairs again loudly saying she needed time to finish packing her third trunk.
"I can't keep just sitting here." Harry said staring at the clock.
"We should go tell Lockhart." Pansy said, "I don't like the man but if he's going to try and save Ginny we have to at least tell him where we think she is and what's down there. It might make all the difference."
Draco, Pansy and Harry stood up and quietly left the dormitory, no one stopped them. Everyone was to wrapped up in there own heads for them to even notice the three students leaving the common room.
The last few times they'd been out it had been busier than they'd ever seen it; now it was empty. Even the paintings were empty of life.
"It's so quiet." Pansy said, trying to brake the silence threatening to deafen them.
It didn't take them long to get to Professor Lockhart's office with not even a ghost to run into. Harry knocked on the door and waited. They could hear bangs and crashing inside, it sounded very much like someone was trying to rearrange the office.
"Go away… I'm busy!" Lockhart called from inside the office.
Harry, Draco and Pansy looked at one another, Pansy stepped forward and knocked again more loudly.
Lockhart poked his nose out the door looking flustered, "Really not a great time chaps." He gave them half a smile.
"We need to talk to you." Pansy said trying to push the door open. Lockhart had it firmly in his grasp though.
"Really it's not the best time." he gave a small laugh.
"It's about the Chamber of Secrets." Harry insisted.
Lockhart looked over their three desperate faces and sighed, "Well...I… I suppose...you'd best come in then."
Harry, Draco and Pansy walked into the office and looked around, mouths open. The walls had been stripped bare, the pictures stuffed into a box on Lockhart's empty desk. Two large trunks were open on the desk, one filled with books the other with a rainbow of different coloured robes.
"Are you going somewhere?" Draco demanded crossing his arms over his chest.
Lockhart looked at the cases and gave a nervous laugh, "Yes well… very unfortunate but I've got an urgent case...call… an urgent call about an urgent case...haha… unfortunately I must go."
"What about Ginny!?" Harry snapped, "You're just going to leave?"
"Not by choice my boy, not by choice!" Lockhart protested, "As I said have to go. Completely unavoidable you understand. Give my deepest sympathies to her family."
"You're a coward!" Pansy spat, "I can't believe that you'd just leave! Your books?!"
"Stupid girl!" Lockhart shouted at her, making them all jump, "My books wouldn't sell half, a quarter as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things! No one wants to think about an ugly old American Warlock, even though he did save the entire village from that werewolf! He had no dress sense at all, he'd look horrific on the cover. And the witch who got rid of the Bandon Banshee had a hairy chin! She was horrible to look at!" he rolled his eyes and went back to packing.
"So you did nothing?" Harry said shaking his head, "Everything you wrote was a lie? You know what, it doesn't matter. You tricked people, good for you, but you are still the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, you should still be trying to save her not running away! You have a responsibility!"
Lockhart ignored him and folded some deep purple coloured robes, slamming the case shut.
"Lets just go Harry." Draco smirked, "Coward can't do anything. He's useless."
Lockhart slammed the second case shut and paused, "Well actually there was one thing I am very good at." he spun round, his wand pointed at Draco, who was in the middle of the three students, "Memory charms, can't have the people who actually did these things blabbing. It also means I'm going to have to deal with you three. Can't have you going around telling everyone...I'd never sell another book."
"Expelliarmus!" the three of them shouted at once, Lockhart flew over the desk, crashing into his chair on the other side; his wand shattering from the impact of the three spells at once. Lockhart looked up shocked.
"Really shouldn't have let Dad show us that one." Harry said, not lowering his wand, "We're quick learners."
Lockhart looked at the three wands pointing at him and sighed loudly, "Well what do you want me to do? I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is." he whined, looking like he was about to cry.
"Stand up. You're coming with us." Draco said harshly.
Lockhart stood and moved round the desk.
"We'll go to Myrtle and ask her if she knows anything." Pansy whispered as they marched Lockhart down the hall.
It was empty and quiet in the hallway, so Draco knocked on the bathroom door, trying to keep on Myrtle's good side. There was no answer but Draco pushed the door open anyway and they forced Lockhart inside.
"I was hoping we'd meet a teacher in the corridor." He chuckled looking back at the door.
"No." Pansy smiled sweetly, "They were leaving the corridors empty remember, so you could do your wonderful work without interference."
Lockhart turned even paler than he was before and gulped.
"What do you want?" Myrtle snapped coming out of her toilet, "Oh hello Harry."
Harry had never seen a ghost blush before and he didn't really want to see it again after Myrtle's cheeks turned a dull silver.
"We...we were wondering, hoping actually, that you could tell us about how you died." Harry smiled, ready for her to explode in anger at him.
Instead Myrtle swelled with pride like it was the first complaint she'd ever gotten,
"Oh! Well it was awful! It happened right here!" she beamed, sitting on the top of one of the toilet doors, "I had been in here crying because stupid Olive Hornby had been teasing me again, about my glasses. I heard someone come in and they said something funny. It must have been in another language I think because I didn't understand it, anyway that wasn't what confused me. It was a boy's voice!" Myrtle exclaimed.
Harry, Pansy and Draco nodded along enthusiastically and looked shocked at the idea of a boy in the girls bathroom.
"That's terrible!" Harry said, realising the irony of him being there but thought it best not to mention that.
"Yes it is!" Myrtle beamed, "Anyway I went out to tell them to go away and then that was it! I was dead. I remember feeling all light and funny. Then, when I realised what had happened, I was just happy because I could haunt Olive and get back at her for being so mean."
"Do you remember anything else?" Pansy asked, "Any little thing might help us."
"Just a pair of ugly yellow eyes. Over their by that sink." She pointed to a sink opposite her toilet.
Pansy smiled in thanks and left Harry chatting to Myrtle trying to get more information. Pansy looked over the tap, examining it for any small detail that was 'off' and saw a small snake engraved on the side. She traced it with her finger before trying to turn on the tap.
"That's never worked." Myrtle said floating over, "Even while I was in school all the older girls said it never worked."
"This is it then." Harry said looking at the snake, "It has to be."
"Well. Very well done!" Lockhart gave an awkward smile, "You'll all get top marks from me. I'll just..."
"Try it!" Draco snapped, "Now sit down and shut up!"
"Master Malfoy." Pansy smirked, pretending to be shocked, "Just wait till your father hears about this! Such language!"
Harry was concentrating on the snake shape, "I think we all know how to get in there from here. Trouble is I've only ever spoken Parseltongue when speaking to a real snake." he squinted his eyes, "Open up."
"English, sorry." Draco shrugged, keeping an eye on Lockhart who was trying to edge, slowly towards the door.
Harry opened his mouth again and a set of low hisses came out. They stepped back as the sink began to move and slid away soundlessly until it was completely removed from view, leaving a large pipe visible in it's place.
"Well it's never done that before." Myrtle remarked looking down, "You could fit a person down there."
Pansy, Draco and Harry looked solemnly between each other.
"I think that's the idea." Harry sighed, "Thank you for your help Myrtle."
"Right then. I think I'd best go. Don't need me know." Lockhart smiled.
They turned to point their wands at him again.
"You can go first." Harry said signalling for him to move forward, "That way even if you die when you reach the bottom we'll have something soft and squidgy to land on."
Lockhart turned paler than Harry thought was physically possible. Gilderoy Lockhart moved forward and tottered on the edge of the pipe.
"Well then...umm...I...umm."
Pansy sighed loudly before giving him a shove. He gave a yelp as he flew down the hole but there was no crash at the end.
"Well then. This is it." Harry said moving forward.
"No us first." Draco said, "You're the only one who can get any further if there is something nasty down there."
Harry opened his mouth to complain but shut it again and nodded. Draco carefully lowered himself into the pipe and slid down. Pansy followed a few moments later leaving Harry alone in the bathroom. His heart beat inside his chest as he sat down shaking.
He remembered how upset Ron was. What if it had been Danica down there, he'd want Ron to go down. He couldn't imagine living in a world were Danica was hurt, let alone killed and no one did anything to help.
With one final deep breath he let go of the pipe rim and pushed off.
