Both Amisty and Ron nodded the second his words left his mouth.
There wasn't any way they would let him go alone.
"Me too," Ron declared steadily, his blue eyes blazing.
"We're coming with you," Amisty supported. There was a brief moment of silence in the bathroom.
"Well, you hardly seem to need me. I'll just -- " Lockhart spoke up for the first time in a while, his hand just above the door knob.
All three of them withdrew their wands, and a feral sort of growl erupted from Amisty's throat.
Lockhart was the only one who seemed to be the slightest bit scared of the noise.
"You can go first," Ron snarled, his eyes barely more than slits as he glared at their former Professor.
"But... But what good will it do?" He asked meekly, obediently walking towards the opening.
Harry gave him a harsh shove in his back and he immediately slid his legs into the pipe.
"I really don't think -- " He started, but his words were cut off as Ron, still furious, pushed him down.
Harry followed, then Ron, then Amisty.
She slid down the slimy pipe easily, occasionally hitting the turns with a muffled bump.
It was slimy, dark, and far from welcoming. As her eyes adjusted, she caught glimpses of other pipes stretching off from the one she was on. The farther down she went, the damper the air, and the more threatening the darkness became.
The second she started thinking that the pipe would never end it leveled out and she went shooting out the end and into a dark tunnel.
Unfortunately, that also meant she went crashing right into Harry.
Wordlessly he helped her to her feet, his eyes like green shards of glass.
She took in the surroundings. The tunnel they were standing in was covered in slime, the ceiling just barely brushing against their heads.
"We must be miles under the school," Harry commented, his voice echoing eerily in the tunnel.
"Under the lake, probably," Ron replied, his gaze wandering around the damp and slimy walls.
"Lumos," Harry whispered, his wand lighting up at the tip and throwing ghostly shadows over the walls. "C'mon."
They continued through, footsteps far too loud to Amisty's liking as they walked on.
The light of Harry's wand did little to combat the suffocating darkness that pressed in on them at all sides.
"Remember, any sign of movement, close your eyes right away..." Harry warned.
His words seemed to be meaningless, though, as they continued on without any noise. That is, until Ron's foot crushed a rat's skull with a sickening crunching noise.
Harry dipped down, his wand illuminating a wide array of rodent skeletons scattered around.
It wasn't a welcoming sight.
They hurried on.
"Harry -- there's something up there -- " Ron whispered suddenly, his voice quivering with fear.
Amisty peered into the darkness, her heart seeming to stop and then coming back full force at the sight before her.
It was hard to see in the darkness, but it seemed to be the outline of a long curving body.
It didn't move.
"Maybe it's asleep," Harry whispered, his voice barely audible even with the echo in the tunnels.
Her legs seeming to move against her will, Amisty inched closer.
Harry held his wand up high, spilling the light over the thing.
Though it wasn't a huge relief, Amisty felt her heart slow slightly as she realized it was only the shedded skin of a snake.
It wasn't very reassuring, however, as it was a sickly shade of green.
Far too bright to be deemed safe.
"Blimey," Ron whimpered, his voice no doubt shaking now. His words were followed by a faint thump as Lockhart fell to the ground.
Ron just turned toward him, pointing his wand, "Get up."
He did, and then jumped at Ron.
They both went tumbling to the ground just as Amisty leaped forward, her eyes blazing like green fire.
It was too late, though, and Lockhart straightened up with Ron's wand tight in his grasp.
"The adventure ends here! 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 three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body -- say goodbye to your memories!" There was a maniacal glint in his blue eyes as he lifted Ron's wand. "Obliviate!"
Amisty had forgotten Ron's wand was dysfunctional.
She barely dived out of the way in time, watching with wide eyes as the ceiling collapsed.
Bits of stone crashed down, their thunderous noise echoing deafeningly loud in the narrow tunnels.
She just dodged a stray boulder by a hair, her usual instincts shattered into shards of what they were before.
That wasn't what scared her, though. It was how Harry was on the other side of the wall.
"Ron! Amisty! Are you okay?" Harry shouted, his muffled voice barely making it through.
"I... I'm fine," Amisty forced out, her voice shaking just as much as her as she got to her feet and walked over to where Ron was.
Lockhart was lying on the ground, a blank look on his face.
"I'm here! I'm okay -- this git's not, though -- he got blasted by the wand -- " Ron replied, giving a well-aimed kick to Lockhart's shins ('ow!'). "What now? We can't get through -- it'll take ages..."
Amisty stalked over to where Lockhart was sitting and whacked him hard on the head.
He let out another 'ow!' before falling to the ground, out cold.
Ron looked over at her, a faint hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Wait there. Wait with Lockhart. I'll go on... If I'm not back in an hour..." Harry replied shakily, his voice veering off.
Amisty felt her heart sink slightly.
He had to come back. He had to.
She and Ron traded concerned looks.
"I'll try and shift some of this rock. So you can -- can get back through. And, Harry -- " Ron replied slowly, already pulling on one of the looser chunks of rock.
"See you in a bit," Harry cut him off, his words followed by muffled footsteps as he walked away.
Together, Amisty and Ron pulled and tugged and dragged away the rocks from where they had fallen.
It was enough to distract her from the noises her ears had unintentionally caught.
The sound of yelling, of music, of laughter.
Cold, psychotic laughter that froze her to her core.
And the faint slithering of a massive snake, and then a loud thump.
There was another yell, this one furious, and Amisty stopped in her work. They had made a big enough hole in the wall for her to squeeze through.
But only in her wolf form.
"Amisty, what's up?" Ron asked, noticing her frozen movement.
There was another scream and she twitched slightly.
"Ron, cast the transformation spell," She replied simply, tearing away at the hole in the wall.
He caught on with what she was trying to say, face pale.
"I can't do that... you can't just go and -- " He started, shaking his head frantically at her.
"Trust me, Ron. Just do it, please," She pleaded, turning away from the wall and meeting his gaze evenly.
She handed him her wand. He took it hesitantly, not at all wanting to use it.
"Bring them both back, Amisty," He raised his chin slightly, before lifting up her wand. "Lupus Estaria."
The second she felt her paws touch the ground, she raced toward the hole in the wall.
Then she skidded to a stop and looked behind her. Ron looked panicked. She padded toward him, placing one of her paws on the toe of his shoe reassuringly, and then bounded away.
Her pawsteps were quiet in the tunnel, and as she rounded the second corner she was met with a set of doors.
They were open wide, like the mouth of a monster. As she neared closer, an unfamiliar voice came clear to her.
"So ends the famous Harry Potter. Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry... She bought you twelve years of borrowed time... but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you now he must..." The voice was young, but threatening all the same.
Amisty felt her heart stop as she neared closer. Harry was lying on the ground of the next room, drenched in crimson blood.
A bird... no, a phoenix was beside him, crying pearl white tears onto his arm.
She racked her brain, remembering the tiny bit of information she knew of phoenix's from Madame Pomfrey.
Their tears had healing properties no witch or wizard could mimic. The basilisk lay dead beside him, a gleaming silver sword covered in blood lodged in the roof of its mouth.
The Sorting Hat lay at Harry's feet, motionless.
She swallowed her whimper at the sight of the boy with him. He was no doubt the source of the voice.
He could be no older than sixteen, with short black hair and dark eyes. But it was almost as if he wasn't there, the edges of his body fading into the air around him.
"Get away, bird. Get away from him -- I said, get away -- " The boy snarled, brandishing Harry's wand at the phoenix.
There was a loud bang and the phoenix took off, flying away.
Amisty tore her gaze away, spotting the motionless form of Ginny lying just in front of a massive statue. She hurried toward her, pressing her nose to the girl's neck at feeling the slightest hint of a pulse.
It was weak, but it was definitely there.
Gently, she pushed away the tangles of fiery red hair from her pale face, relieved to feel Ginny's breath brush her cheek.
"Phoenix tears... Of course... healing powers... I forgot... " The boy was staring at Harry, having yet to notice her presence. "But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter... you and me..."
Amisty watched with wide, horrified eyes as he raised the wand high above his head.
The phoenix soared above them, dropping a familiar black diary into Harry's lap.
Riddle's diary.
Amisty looked from it to the boy and it clicked. The boy was T.M. Riddle. Harry, with only a second of hesitation, picked up a fang from the ground and stabbed the diary.
Riddle let out a bloodcurdling scream and he writhed and squirmed as ink poured from the diary... and then he was gone.
Harry was shivering as he got to his feet, grabbing his wand and the Sorting Hat from the floor, and then ripping the sword from the basilisk mouth.
Amisty forced herself to bark out a greeting. His gaze shot toward her, and then lingered on Ginny, who had started to stir.
He raced over just as Ginny started to sit up, her big brown eyes scanning the scene before her.
"Lupus Estaria," Harry whispered as soon as he reached them, and Amisty was back to being human.
Ginny looked up at them, tears streaking down her face almost instantly.
"Oh... oh -- " She whimpered. Amisty, feeling a sudden wave of protection, wrapped her arms around the shaking girl gently. Ginny immediately leaned into the gesture. "I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy -- it was me -- but I -- I s-swear I d-din't mean to -- R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over -- and -- how did you kill that -- that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary -- "
"It's all right. Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here -- " Harry replied gently, holding up the ruined diary.
Amisty carefully unwrapped her arms from around her, and brought her to her feet.
"I'm going to be expelled! I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts even since B-Bill came and n=now I'll have to leave and -- w-what'll Mum and Dad say?" Ginny rambled, and once again Amisty wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
They walked through the Chamber, the phoenix following after them, around the dead basilisk and through the tunnel.
The doors slid shut behind them. Soon they came closer to the corridor where the rocks had fallen.
"Ron! Ginny's okay! I've got her!" Harry shouted down the corridor, a few steps ahead of Amisty and Ginny.
His words were replied with a loud, strangled cheer from Ron. When they rounded the next corner, they came face to face with the rock wall.
Well, what was left of it. Ron had managed to get rid of most of it.
"Ginny! You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? How -- what -- where did that bird come from?" Ron rambled, pulling her through the hole and then giving the phoenix a confused look as he soared in.
Harry, after a stare down with Amisty that she won, followed after the bird.
"He's Dumbledore's," Harry replied, moving quickly through the hole so Amisty could get through after.
The second she reached the other side she went to Ginny's side. She had started to cry again.
"How come you've got a sword?" Ron asked, his eyes fixated on the sword in Harry's hand.
"I'll explain when we get out of here," Harry glanced over at Ginny, who had buried her head into Amisty's shoulder.
"But -- " Ron started.
"Later. Where's Lockhart?" His voice was firm and final as he changed the subject quickly.
"Back there. He's in a bad way. Come and see," Ron replied, jerking his head back down the tunnel.
So that's what they did, led by the soft golden glow coming from the phoenix. Lockhart was sitting at the mouth of the pipe they had used to get there in the first place, humming with a vacant look in his eyes.
"Hello. Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?" He asked, sounding very much like a young child.
"No," Ron replied simply, shooting them slightly amused looks. Harry looked up the pipe and turned back to them.
"Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" He asked Ron, who had been there the longest.
Ron shook his head no, but the phoenix soared in front of them, waving his tail feathers.
"He looks like he wants you to grab hold... But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there -- " Ron started.
"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird," Harry replied, cutting him off.
Ah, so that was what the phoenix's name was.
"We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Amisty take Ginny's other. Professor Lockhart -- "
"He means you," Ron explained to the clueless man.
"You hold Amisty's -- " Harry continued.
Amisty, rather grudgingly, took hold of Lockhart's hand and Ginny's as Harry held onto Fawkes's tail feathers.
Almost instantly Amisty felt weightless, and they soared up into the tunnel.
"Amazing! Amasing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart cheered from behind them, laughing brightly.
The wind rustled through Amisty's hair, tangling it more than it was usually, roaring in her ears, and soon enough she was on the damp floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.