Harry Potter's Twin Book Two

I Petrified A Cute Cat

My head ached bad.

I was lying in water that was an inch high, soaking my back and my hair. Everything was silent at first as I processed what was happening to me. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in a place Tom had called the Chamber. Now, I was here, in an abandoned, flooded corridor with no recollection of how I had gotten here.

Tom seemed to think that it was best if I forgot some things, but not all of them.

Voldemort, I corrected angrily, swiping the tears from my eyes. Not Tom.

How could I have been so foolish? Trusting a diary just because it gave me a few compliments. I might as well be a first year again, smiling happily at anyone who walked by.

I struggled to sit up, pain shooting up my back. The water rippled under me, making my clothes heavy. It was then that I heard it.

“So hungry... for so long... kill... time to kill...” the voice came from above me, but there was nothing there. My mind flashed back to the Chamber, to the thing called the basilisk. I had ordered it to kill our caretaker – no, I didn't order it; Tom did, using my mouth to speak his words.

I was on my feet now, cold and shaking. The entire corridor was flooded. I trudged through the water, down the corridor and taking a turn. I blinked in surprise.

Ginny was running away, her red hair unmistakable, her hands covered in blood.

I didn't want to face her. She would ask questions, and I would be forced to lie to her. I had dragged her into this, and now I had to get us out. I just had to figure out a way to gain control of myself again.

“Look!”

It was Hermione, but she wasn't speaking to me. I turned and saw her, Harry, Ron, and Bonnie standing in the corridor I had woken up in, staring at the wall I couldn't see.

I crept over to them. The wall they were gawking at was covered in blood, and at first I wanted to scream, but then I realized that the blood spelled something: The Chamber of Secrets Have Been Opened, Enemies of the Heir Beware.

"What's that thing - hanging underneath" Ron said, a slight quiver in his voice.

Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring.

I wanted to puke, and I clapped a hang over my mouth to muffle a moan. This was a nightmare – a nightmare I needed to wake up from.

“We need to get out of here,” Bonnie said.

"Shouldn't we try and help -" Harry began awkwardly.

"Trust me," Ron interrupted. "We don't want to be found here."