Headstrong

Chapter 18

Harry and Ron had figured it out - the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a Basilisk, as Hermione had obviously realised long before them. They were in the Staff Room waiting to tell the teachers their discovery when there was an announcement.

"All students to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please."

Harry wheeled around to stare at Ron.

"Not another attack? Not now?"

"What'll we do?" said Ron, aghast. "Go back to the dormitory?"

"No," said Harry, glancing around. There was an ugly sort of wardrobe to his left, full of the teachers' cloaks. "In here. Let's hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them what we've found out."

They hid themselves inside it, listening to the rumbling of hundreds of people moving overhead, and the staff-room door banging open.

"What's that Mr Weasley? Mm-hmmm. I am sorry to say, we already know. The teachers have gathered to discuss the matter. We will figure out a course of action. We will need to speak to you and your family afterwards."

Minerva ushered the rest of the teachers into the room, then began to speak.

"It has happened." She told the silent staff room. "Two students have been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard and said, "How can you be so sure?"

"The heir of Slytherin," said Professor McGonagall, who was very white, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. Their skeletons will lie in the Chamber forever."

Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

"Who is it?", said Madam Hooch, who had sunk, weak-kneed into a chair. "Which students?"

"Ginny Weasley and Amanda Potter." Professor McGonagall said, with incredible sorrow.

The two boys slid down to the floor of the wardrobe in shock.

"We shall have to send all of the students home tomorrow. We will double the search for the Chamber, in hopes of finding them. This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said..."

The staff-room door banged open again. Lockhart strolled in, beaming.

"So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?"

He didn't seem to notice that the other teachers were looking at him with something remarkably like hatred. Snape stepped forward.

"Just the man," he said, "The very man. Two girls have been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

...

Amanda was dumped onto the ground. She saw Ginny lying in the ground and gasped. She rushed over to her and shook her, trying to wake her up.

She wouldn't wake.

She heard footsteps and turned around quickly. She didn't see who it was, but she was blasted off her feet, hitting a wall.

She looked down fuzzily and saw her own wand pointed at her. Through the haze her eyes were producing, she saw a fuzzy outline of a young man. She didn't recognise him, but he pointed the wand at her again. She groaned and slowly lost consciousness.

Nobody saw her body moved to the mouth of a statue. Her body seemed swallowed by the darkness, but the Basilisk followed after her, climbing in and surrounding her, seemingly protecting her. Her wand was chucked in next to her.

Amanda never saw what happened for the next few hours.

...

It seemed to be the worst day of Harry's life. His sister and Ginny were in the Chamber.

Harry, Ron, Fred and George sat together in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable to say anything to each other. Percy wasn't there. He had gone to send an owl to Mr and Mrs Weasley, then shut himself up in his dormitory. Lee, Angelina and Alicia sat together in another corner, pondering on how to make the four feel better. But they were miserable themselves.

No afternoon ever lasted as long as that one, nor had Gryffindor Tower ever been so crowded, yet so quiet. Near sunset, Fred and George went up to bed, unable to sit there any longer.

After talking quietly for a little bit, but barely much, Harry and Ron decided to visit Professor Lockhart to give him the information they had collected.

Darkness was falling as they walked down to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside it. They could hear scraping, thumps and hurried footsteps.

Harry knocked and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and they saw one of Lockhart's eyes peering through it.

He spoke few words, then not wanting to, let them inside.

"Professor, we've got some information for you." said Harry.

...

Amanda woke up with a moan, clutching her head as she looked around, feeling dizzy and cold.

The snake was gone.

Looking around the small room she was in, she noticed a gap in the wall She heard a commotion outside and crawled out. She saw Riddle - she didn't know how she knew it was Riddle, but it was - he was advancing on Harry, but he stabbed a Basilisk fang into a little black book. Amanda knew that that was the book Harry had been holding up to Ron and Hermione, ages ago.

She slowly crawled to Harry and Ginny, but found she was weakened. She tried to get closer, but as she looked down, she saw that she was tied to the open mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

The little black book was leaking black ink, and as the image of Riddle faded, he picked up the fang and advanced to her, stabbing her in the foot before his hand disintegrated.

Crying out in pain, Amanda clutched her foot, as Harry looked over to her in fear. Just as Riddle faded completely, Ginny woke up. She began to panic, and Harry calmed her, before the two younger children made their way quickly over to Amanda. 

Amanda gasped as the pain started to spread. She couldn't hear what Ginny was saying to Harry, and her hearing slowly started going fuzzy. 

"Amanda...hear...me?" Harry's face popped into her vision. 

"Leave...the fang...in my foot," She gasped between words, "I think...it will...prevent...it from...becoming...infected."

She was slowly dying and she knew it. Fawkes was flying towards her, and he landed on her ankle. But Fawkes' tears wouldn't work.

Fawkes' claws wrapped around one of Amanda's arms. Fawkes started to fly, with the two younger children running behind, even though they were both weakened.

When Fawkes made it to Ron, all of the people grabbed onto Amanda, and Fawkes then lifted them out of the tunnel, as Amanda fluttered in and out of consciousness.