The Mudblood

Chapter 11 : Year 1

"Wait here," Harry called from the other side of the rock pile. "I'll go on and get Ginny. If I'm not back in an hour..."

"We're not leaving you, Harry," I insisted as I began to throw the large stones out of the way.

"We'll try to shift these rocks," Ron said as he walked up next to me and grabbed a piece of the rubble. "So you can—can get back through." He paused as he threw a rock onto the ground behind him. "And, Harry..."

"See you in a bit," Harry called quickly, the shakiness in his voice evident even from this distance.

Ron and I looked at each other before we both hauled another massive stone.

"Do—Do you think he'll be all right?" Ron asked hesitantly, jumpiness in his tone.

"Um—yeah, he'll do great," I assured him, but I was really trying to assure myself. Who knew what dwelled even deeper in this Chamber, and if Ginny was in the same mood that she'd been in when I'd tried to save her, she may not come back so easily.

"Wha—Where am I?" Lockhart asked groggily from the floor.

"In the Chamber of Secrets you dumbass," I snapped back at him as Ron and I continued to move the rocks.

Ron snorted, shaking his head. "Wonder if he'll ever be sane again. Serves him right for stealing my wand."

"Did you know the spell was going to backfire? Or did you just not want to save me?"

I glanced over at Ron with a crooked smirk on my lips, and his cheeks went red.

"Uh—well—I—I knew it wouldn't work... I wouldn't have let him erase your memory, ya know..."

I let out a laugh as I shoved him playfully. "You're a bad liar, Ron. But thanks for the effort to spare my feelings—"

"Do—Do we live down here?" Lockhart inquired as he began to sit up. "This is a ghastly place to live, you know."

"You can live down here, if you'd like," Ron snapped before throwing another rock. "We have no problem leaving you here—"

"Is that a snake?" Lockhart questioned as he stared wide eyed at the long snake's skin.

"Nope, just the skin," I droned, chucking another stone. Ron and I had made a sufficient dent in the pile, giving more than enough space for Harry and Ginny to travel back through. Which they would. Part of me feared that we'd just seen the last of Harry Potter, but then another part of me felt totally calm, like everything would just work out somehow.

"You think that's all right?" Ron asked, glancing at the pathway we'd made. I nodded and then we both took a seat on the floor near Lockhart. He was still gawking around in amazement, trying to take in the entire situation.

"And—er—who am I?" he asked hesitantly.

"You're Git Lockhart," I told him dully. "I'm surprised you don't remember; you've written so many bloody books about yourself."

Ron smirked over at me. "Maybe this isn't so bad. Maybe he'll stop lying and taking credit for what other wizards have done now."

I raised my eyebrows with intrigue. "He's really been doing that, huh? I always knew he was a dirty rat."

"Who are we talking about?" Lockhart piped in.

Ron shook his head impatiently before glancing over at me. "How'd you get down here anyway? Took us a while to find the entrance, and even then Harry had to speak Parseltongue to open the sinks."