In The Shadows² ★ Draco Malfoy

*Dad

When Briar's eyes opened, she didn't know what to expect. Was Tom here? Was Ginny alive? Was the basilisk here? Would it kill them? Was she already dead?

But when she felt the familiar cold surface of the chamber stone beneath her head she knew she was alive. So she shakily pushed herself up into a sitting position, and saw Ginny next to her doing the same thing

What shocked them both was the large, very dead basilisk corpse behind them, and the very injured Harry Potter next to them. Discarded behind him lay a fang, a sword, and Tom's diary, which now had a large hole in the middle and sink seeped out of it

"Harry" Ginny whispered in shock "Oh, Harry — I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front ofPercy — it was me, Harry — but I — I s-swear I d-didn't mean to — R-Riddle made me," Her eyes settled on the wound on his arm "Harry, you're hurt"

"Don't worry," he said "You need to get yourselves out. Follow the Chamber, and you'll find Ron." There was a loud caw from above them, and both Ginny and Briar were surprised when Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, flew down to rest beside Harry "You were brilliant, Fawkes. I just wasn't quick enough" Fawkes cast his eyes down to Harry's wound and let a tear drip onto it and the three kids watched in amazement as the wound began to close itself up and heal, until it was completely gone "Of course. Phoenix tears have healing powers. Thanks"

"What happened?" Briar asked "Thelast thing is us blacking out" 

"It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing them the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. C'mon, let's get out of here —" 

"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. "I'velooked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have toleave and — what'll Mum and Dad say?"

"It'll be okay, Ginny," Briar assured her "Come on, let's go"

Harry walked with them out of the Chamber. After a few minutes' progress up the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rockreached their ears. "Ron!" Harry yelled, speeding up. "Ginny's okay! I've got her!" They heard Ron give a strangled cheer, and they turned the next bend to see his eagerface staring through the sizeable gap he had managed to make in the rock fall. 

"Ginny!" Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. "You'realive! I don't believe it! What happened? How — what — where did that bird comefrom?" Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny and Briar. 

"He's Dumbledore's," said Harry, squeezing through too

"How come you've got a sword?" said Ron, looking at the glittering weapon in Harry'shand. 

"I'll explain when we get out of here," said Harry with a sideways glance at Ginny, whowas crying harder than ever. "Where's Lockhart?" 

"Back there," said Ron, jerking his head up the tunnel towardthe pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see." Led by Fawkes, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe, where Gilderoy Lockhart was, humming to himself. "His memory's gone. The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us.Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and waithere. He's a danger to himself." 

"Hello," Lockhart grinned "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?" 

"No," said Ron

"Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" Briar asked, pointing to the long slide going up to the bathroom but both boys shook their heads

Fawkes swooped past them and was nowfluttering in front of them. He was waving his longgolden tail feathers. 

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold..." Ron said in confusion "But you're too heavy for a bird to pull up there —"