𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐝 {𝐇. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫}

32

To Johnny and Ron, it felt like Harry had been in the Chamber forever. Once they moved the rocks and created a pathway, they could hear every shriek, every crash and every yell. Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix even flew past at one point.

"Ron! Johnny!" Harry yelled, causing both boys to perk up. "Ginny's okay! I've got her!"

Ron and Johnny cheered and hug each other, staring eagerly through the sizable gap they 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're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? How - what - where did that bird come from?"

Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny.

"He's Dumbledore's," said Harry, squeezing through with help from Johnny.

"How come you've got a sword?" said Johnny, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harry's hand.

"I'll explain when we get out of here," said Harry with a sideways glance at Ginny, who was crying harder than ever.

"But--"

"Later," Harry said shortly. "Where's Lockhart?"

"Back there," said Johnny, still looking puzzled but jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see."

Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.

"His memory's gone," said Ron. "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 wait here. He's a danger to himself."

Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all.

"Hello," he said. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"

"No," said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry and Johnny.

Johnny bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.

"Any idea how we're going to get back up this?" he said to Ron and Johnny.

Ron and Harry shook their heads, but Fawkes the phoenix had swooped past Johnny and was now fluttering in front of him, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Johnny looked uncertainly at him.

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold..." said Ron, looking perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there--"

"Fawkes," said Johnny, "isn't an ordinary bird." He turned quickly to the others. "We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand, Ron grab Harry's. Professor Lockhart--"

"He means you," said Ron sharply to Lockhart.

"You hold Ginny's other hand--"

Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt, took hold of the back of Ron's, and Johnny reached out and took hold of Fawkes's strangely hot tail feathers.

An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through his whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, they were flying upward through the pipe. Johnny could hear Lockhart dangling below him, saying, "Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!" The chill air was whipping through Johnny's hair, and before he'd stopped enjoying the ride, it was over - all five of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place.

Myrtle goggled at them.

"You're alive," she said blankly to Harry.

"There's no need to sound so disappointed,"Johnny said grimly, wiping flecks of slime off his shirt.