Hope, Harry, and Ron were visiting their friend and Hope's brother in the hospital wing. Harry had brought in new flowers, to replace the dead ones by Hermione's bedside table.
They had been in here far too long for anyone liking. And it wasn't like it was just easy to stroll on over to the hospital wing. You needed to have a teacher come and escort you to it. And that had proven itself to be difficult over the period of time they had been stuck here, petrified. Because so many other students need to be somewhere as well.
Hope looked over to where her brother Harry was. He was always here when he could be for Niall, not wanting him to be alone at all during this time. He was taking it the hardest, not liking the empty bed next to his own.
His body was currently slumped over in his chair as his head rested on Niall's bed, the only time he got some peaceful sleep. Purely out of the fact he was exhausted.
Hope picked up a blanket as she walked over to him. Placing it around his shoulders to make sure he stayed warm.
"Wish you were here, Hermione. We need you. Now more than ever," Harry held Hermione's left hand, the one that was not permanently stuck up in the air. Harry was puzzled, however, as he left something in the palm of his friend's hand. Looking down, he noticed a piece of crumpled up paper no one had noticed before.
"What's that?" Ron sat up as he watches Harry unfold it. Hope walked over to see what was going on.
"This is why Hermione was in the library the day she was attacked," Harry read over what was on the paper. "Come on!"
The three of them said their goodbyes before leaving the Hospital wing. Harry looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Not wanting to get in trouble with a teacher for not following the school's new rules.
"'Of the many fearsome beasts that roam our land, none is more deadly than the basilisk. Capable of living for hundreds of years, instant death awaits any who meet this giant serpent's eyes. Spiders flee before it,'" Harry read off of the paper that was in Hermione's hand. "Guys, this is it. The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk. Thats why I can hear it speak. It's a snake."
"Oh great," Hope groaned. "First a giant spider, now a giant snake. Can no one have a normal pet now and days?"
Ron nodded his head in agreement, but then he thought about it, and something seemed off. "But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is it no one's dead?
Hope thought about it for a second, before it hit her. Clapping her hands together, she did a little jump. "Because they aren't looking at it! They're looking at its reflection. Think about it, Colin had his camera. Justin had Nearly headless Nick. A-and Hermione and Niall were probably looking through that handheld mirror McGonagall showed us. They probably figured it out, and were trying to stay safe. That must be why they are being petrified, and not dying."
"And Mrs. Norris?" Ron found one flaw in her theory. "I'm pretty sure she didn't have a camera or a mirror."
"The water," Harry gasped. "There was water on the floor that night. She only saw the basilisk's reflection. 'Spiders flee before it.' It all fits."
"But how's the basilisk been getting around?" Ron felt like he was the only one confused by all this. "A dirty great snake, someone would have seen it."
"Hermione's answered that too," Harry showed them the paper, pointing to the bottom of it. A single word written and underlined.
"Pipes?" Ron read it out loud. "It's using the plumbing."
"Remember what Aragog said about that girl 50 years ago? She died in a bathroom?" Harry tried to jog their memories. "What if she never left?"
"Moaning Myrtle," Hope's eyes widened as she saw where he was going.
An announcement came over the intercom. "All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers to the second floor corridor immediately."
The three shared a look before taking off down the hall. McGonagall should have known that her announcement would not have sent these three Gryffindors back to their common room for an early night's sleep. Rather, they ran towards where the teachers would be meeting up.
The three of them looked around the corner of the second floor corridor, trying to stay hidden as the teachers arrived from the other side.
"As you can see, the Heir of Slytherin has left another message," McGonagall showed them the message she had found earlier. The three friends not being able to see it due to the angle they were at. "Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster into the Chamber itself. The students must be sent home. I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts."
"So sorry, dozed off. What have I missed?" Lockhart casually strolled up, not getting any context clues that this was a very serious meeting of the Hogwarts staff.
"A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart," Snape informed the arrogant man. "Your moment has come at last."
"My... moment?" Lockhart went into complete shock, not realizing what he might have signed up for.
"Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?" Snape cocked an eyebrow.
"Thats settled. We'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy," McGonagall was going to do no such thing. But if the man had been lying this long, might as well put him in another trap. "Your skills, after all, are legend."
"Very well," Lockhart put on his signature smile, the one that had won him all those awards. "Uh, I'll just be in my office getting... getting ready."
"Who is it that the monster's taken, Minerva?" Pomfrey asked, realizing that she had not informed them on that just yet.
"Ginny Weasley," McGonagall spoke just above a whisper, but the three friends heard it.
Ron's body locked up at the name of his sister. And it didn't make it any easier when the teachers moved out of the corridor. Allowing for the three to be able to see what was written on the wall in blood.
"'Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever,'" Ron's mouth went dry as he spoke each word in the sentence. "Ginny..."
"We'll get her back," Hope didn't know if she should make that promise, but it felt like the right thing to do. It was like what Calum told her, in these situations, you have to lie in order to make the person feel better.
"Come on, I've got an idea," Harry told his friends before they took off down the hall again. The three of them running towards the Defence classroom, Harry pushing the door open. "Lockhart may be useless, but he's going to try and get into the Chamber. At least we can tell him what we know!"
The three of them ran up the small staircase to the office in the classroom. Bargaining into it without even knocking first.
"Professor, we have some information for you," Harry stopped as he looked around, seeing everything in his office being packed up. "Are you going somewhere?"
Lockhart threw someone into one of his trunks before slamming it closed. "Uh, well, yes. Um... urgent call. Unavoidable, uh... got to go."
"What about my sister?!" Ron reminded him of the promise the teacher had just made to find her.
"Well... um..." Lockhart continued to try and get out of doing any of that. Oh no, that wasn't for him at all. "As to that, most unfortunate. No one regrets more than I."
"You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. You can't go now!" Ron was two seconds away from throwing something at the man.
"Well, I must say, when I took the job, there was nothing in the job description about-"
"Actually knowing the job!" Hope yelled at the man trying to flee his own office.
But Harry stepped in front of him, blocking him from leaving. "You're running away? After all that stuff you did your books?"
"Books can be misleading."
"You wrote them!"
"My dear boy, do use your common sense!" Lockhart tossed the pile of wigs he was holding onto the desk. "My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things!"
"I know it!" Hope jabbed her figure in his chest. "Your a dirty rotten fraud. Your hair isn't even real!"
"Is there anything you can do?" Ron questioned him like he was a five year old.
"Yes, now that you mention it. I'm rather gifted with memory charms. Otherwise, you see, all those wizards would have gone blabbing, and I'd never have sold another book," Lockhart tried to reach for his wand. "In fact, uh... I'm going to have to do the same to you."
"Exelliarmus!" The wand came flying out of Locharts hand and into Hope's as Harry and Ron pointed their wands at his neck.
"Don't even think about it," Harry lowered his voice as he narrowed his eyes at the man. "Now you're coming with us, professor."
Hope walked in front as she led the group, Ron and Harry having their wands pressed against Lockharts back the whole time. They entered into Myrtle's bathroom, hearing her usual moaning and crying as she flew around the open space.
But it stopped when she heard them enter, her head snapping to look down upon the group. "Oh, who's there? Oh! Hello, Harry. What do you want?"
"To ask you how you died," Harry tried to ask the question as sensitive as he could, not wanting the ghost to freak out at them.
"Oh, it was dreadful," Myrtle moped as she floated above her favorite toilet. "It happened right here in this very cubicle. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. I was crying... and then I heard somebody come in."
"Who was it, Myrtle?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. I was distraught!" Myrtle sobbed out as she floated down to their level. "But they did say something funny, a kind of made up language, and I realized it was a boy speaking, so I unlocked the door to tell him to go away! And... I died."
"Just like that? How?" Harry knew there must be more that she was withholding.
"I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes... over there by that sink," Myrtle pointed to one of the sinks in particular.
Harry went over to it as Hope pushed her wand against Lockharts back in return. He tried to figure out what made this sink so special, even turning the faucet on. But the thing was, no water had come out of it when he did turn it on. His figures ran up against the side of the faucet, feeling a snake carved into it.
"This is it. I think this is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets," Harry took a step back trying to figure out how to open it.
"Shit, we've been so close to it all year," Hope said.
"Say something," Ron looked at Harry. "Harry, say something in Parseltongue."
Harry didn't know what to say. It wasn't as if he had ever practiced this before. It just happened in the moment, never knowing he was actually doing something. So, he locked his eyes back into the carving of the snake, pretending to have a conversation with it. And his voice switched to another one, one he could hear now the difference in.
There was a loud rumbling sound as they each took a step back again. The circular sink fixture started to move, the top floating up as each individual sink came forward a bit. All but the one with the snake carving, to which that one moved downwards and under the grate.
They all peaked over to see a large hole in the middle of the ground, with no light what so ever to tell them how deep it went.
"Excellent Harry. Ah, good work. Well, then. I'll just be... There's no need for me to stay," Lockhart attempted to make another break for it, but was unsuccessful this time around as well.
"Oh, yes there is," Harry gave him a shove as he almost fell backwards into the bottomless pit. "You first."
"Now, children what good will it do?" Lockhart had his arms spread out, holding onto the sinks on either side of him, so he would not fall down.
"Better you than us," Ron told him.
"Um yes, well, obviously," Lockhart mumbled as he turned around, switching his hands so he could still keep hold of himself as he looked down. "Maybe we-"
"Oh for fooks sake," Hope rolled her eyes as she raised her right foot, pushing it into his back and causing the man to fly forward into the pit.
They heard his yelling for a couple of seconds before he hit the bottom. "It's really quite filthy down here."
"Alright, let's go," Harry told his friends after they made sure it was safe.
"Oh, Harry," Myrtle stopped them before they could jump in. "If you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet."
"Uh... Thanks, Myrtle," Harry tried to be polite and then he jumped down the pit.
Hope followed right after him, with Ron behind her. Her body hit the side of the tunnel before she felt a curve. It was almost like a massive slide all the way down to the bottom before they hit something crunchie.
Hope pushed herself up as something dug into the palms of her hand. Yelping when she stood up in a rush at what she saw. All around them were hundreds of different animal bones.
"Now, remember, any sign of movement close your eyes straight away," Harry instructed them. He looked around before he spotted another tunnel, heading towards that.
"Go on," Ron and Hope pointed their wands at Lochart, having him go ahead of them.
They made their way into a large cave, the top of it almost touching their own heads. Ron's foot caught onto something as he stopped to look down at it.
"What's this?" Ron kicked it a bit.
"It looks like a... snake," Lockhart's eyes traveled further as he took in the size of the thing.
"It's his shedding," Hope wanted to puke with the shiver that ran up her spine. It was huge.
"Bloody hell. Whatever shed this must be 60 feet long!" Ron took a rough estimate. "Or more."
Lockart fainted onto the hard rocks next to Ron and Hope. The two children looking down, not fazed at all that he could not handle this. They did just bring him along as a test so that they would not die.
"Heart of a lion, this one," Ron sarcastically called out of Harry who was a distance ahead of them.
But Lockhart seemed to have some brain in him, just a pinch though. As he sprung back up, quickly taking hold of Ron's wand before he pointed it at the children.
"The adventure ends here, children, but don't fret. The world will know our story. How I was too late to save the girl, how you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body," Lochart was already coming up with the book cover for his next book in his mind. "So.. you first, Mister Potter. Say goodbye to your memories. Obliviate!"
The thing was, he wasn't smart enough to remember that Ron's wand was broken. And when he cast that memory charm, it came right back at him with ten times the force. He went flying into the stone wall behind him, causing the roof above them to crumble before it came down hard and fast. The cave filling with dust as Hope covered her eyes. Ron had to pull her out of the way so that she didn't get hit with anything as a blockade formed between them and Harry.
"Harry!" Ron called out to his friend. "Harry!"
"Ron! Hope!" Harry ran up the stones as he tried to see if his friends were alright. "Are you guys okay?!"
"We're fine!" Hope coughed into her arm to try and get some of the dust out of her lungs.
Lochart groaned as he sat up, looking around perplexed at his surroundings, before he looked to the two children. "Hello. Who are you?"
"Um... Ron Weasley," He informed the man.
"Really?" Lockhart asked. "And uh, wh-who am I?"
"Lockhart's memory charm backfired!" Ron yelled over to Harry. "He hasn't got a clue who he is!"
"It's an odd sort of place, this, isn't it?" Lockhart picked up a rock. "Do you live here?"
"Yes, it's our summer home," Hope rolled her eyes as Ron picked the rock up out of his hands. Bashing it into the side of his head to knock the man out cold.
"What do we do now?" Ron looked over to Harry, who had managed to make a small opening to see his friends.
"You wait here and try and shift some of this rock so we can get back through. I'll go on and find Ginny," Harry made up a plan on the spot.
The two set off into doing just that, trying to move as many rocks as they could out of the way. Hope struggling as she did so as they were quite heavy indeed. But they needed to get through to Harry, she had a bad feeling about all of this.
They just needed to get Ginny out of there and then leave as fast as they could, fearing what else might come if they stayed in this place for any longer.