| HIDDEN IN SECRETS |

chapter twenty-two

THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN

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"That's what I've been seeing," Verena muttered.

"The creature's a Basilisk," said Potter. "You're saying you've seen it before?"

"I'm telling you," said Ron. "Heir of Slytherin."

"I'm not in Slytherin, you idiot," Verena snarled. "But I've seen something moving in a hole, which I now realize are pipes."

"What else did you see?" Potter asked, walking up to her. "If you're making things happen, accidentally or not, we need to know so we can stop it."

"I see a lot of things, Potter, but I can't explain all of them," Verena said, aware of the accusatory stares.

"Wait, how long have you been seeing these things?" Potter asked.

"Since the start of term," Verena replied sheepishly.

"So you're saying that this all could have been prevented had you told Professor Dumbledore," Potter said, crossing his arms.

Verena was about to say something, but a loud thud echoed through the pipes from behind them. They turned to look, seeing Professor Lockhart on the ground.

"Heart of a lion, this one," Weasley commented, and he began poking at Professor Lockhart with his wand. "Get up."

Professor Lockhart got to his feet, and then he dived at Weasley, knocking him to the ground. Potter jumped forward, but Professor Lockhart was already standing, Weasley's wand pointed at the two of them.

"The adventure ends here!" he said. "I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you two tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body."

"What?" Verena said first, looking at him with disbelief.

"He's a fraud, Verena," Potter explained. "Did you really think he did all that cool stuff in his books? He stole them."

"No!" Verena said in a sarcastic tone. "I should have known since he was a horrible teacher."

"Enough!" Professor Lockhart yelled. "Say goodbye to your memories. Obliviate!"

Light shot out of the wand, but it was aimed backward instead of at Verena and Potter. There was a force similar to that of a small explosion, sweeping Professor Lockhart backward. The ground shook violently. Verena looked up, seeing the ceiling start to crack. She grabbed the sleeve of Potter's robes, pulling him out of the way as great chunks of the ceiling plummeted to the floor. The next moment, the two were standing alone, gazing at a solid wall of broken rock.

"Ron!" Potter shouted desperately. "Are you okay? Ron!"

"I'm fine!" Weasley shouted back, and then after a moment, he said, "Lockhart's Memory Charm backfired. He hasn't got a clue who he is!"

There was a thud and a loud "ow!" It seemed like Weasley had hit Professor Lockhart somewhere.

"What now?" Weasley asked. "We can't get through – it'll take ages!"

"Wait there!" Potter told him. "Wait with Lockhart! I'll – we'll go on... If we're not back in an hour... "

"I'll try and shift some of this rock," Weasley said. "So you can – can get back through."

"See you in a bit," Potter assured his friend, and then he scowled at Verena before walking off. "Well, come on then."

"Apologize," Verena told him, not moving an inch.