Neville Longbottom, the boy who lived year 2

Chapter 16

They were sitting in the hospital wing while Harry put new flowers in the vase for Hermione.

"Wish you were here Hermione. We need you now, more than ever." Neville said.

While he was rubbing her hand he felt something in her hand.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Guys, this Where Hermione was the day she was in the library the day she was attacked!" Neville said. "Come on!"

While they left the room Neville read what it said.

"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."

"Ron, Harry, this is it. The monster of the chamber is a basilisk. That's why I can hear it speak, it's a snake!" he said.

"Colin saw it through his camera. The basilisk burned up all the film inside it, but Colin just got Petrified. Justin . . . Justin must've seen the basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick! Nick got the full blast of it, but he couldn't die again . . . and Hermione had the mirror. I bet you anything she had Incase the snake came along!"

"And Mrs. Norris?" he whispered eagerly.

Neville thought hard, picturing the scene on the night of Halloween.

"The water . . ." he said slowly.

"The flood from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I bet you Mrs. Norris only saw the reflection. . . ."

He scanned the page in his hand eagerly. The more he looked at it, the more it made sense.

"'The spiders flees before it' It all fits!"

"But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is it no one's dead?" Ron asked.

"Hermione found that to." Neville said.

"Pipes? It's using the plumbing?" Harry asked.

"Remember what Aragog said, about that girl fifty years ago, she died in a bathroom? What if she never left?"

Tracey and Ron realized who it was.

"Moaning Myrtle!" they said together.

"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staffroom. Immediately." McGonagall said.

Neville, Ron and Tracey walked over to where the teachers were going and listened.

"As you can see, the Heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster into the chamber itself. Students must be sent home. I'm afraid it is the end of Hogwarts." McGonagall said.

A few seconds later Lockhart appeared.

"So sorry dosed off. What have I missed?"

"A girl has been snatched by a monster Gilderoy your moment has come at last." Snape said.

"My mo-moment?" he said.

"Didn't you say just last night you had known all along where the Chamber of Secrets was?" Snape asked.

He stood there silently for a second.

"That's settled. "We'll leave the monster to you, Gilderoy," said Professor McGonagall. "Your skills after all are legend."

"Very well, I'll just be in my office getting um, getting ready." he said.

"Who is it the monster's taken Miniver?" Madam Pumfrey asked.

"Ginny Weasley." she said.

Then everyone started to leave. When they were gone Harry, Neville and Ron were walking over to it.

"Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever. Ginny." Ron said.

Then the three of them hurried to Lockhart's room.

"Lockhart may be useless but he's going to try and get in the Chamber. At least we can tell him what we know." Neville said.

"Professor we have some information for you!" Neville said.

Then they saw him hurry to close a bag.

"Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked.

"Uh, well yes. Urgent call unavailable gotta go." he said.

"What about my sister?" Ron asked.

"Well as to that most unfortunate no one regrets more than I."

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, you can't go now! You can't go now!" Harry said.

"Well I must say, when I took the job there was nothing in the job prescription-"

"You're running away? After all that stuff you did in your books?" Neville said interrupting him.

"Books can be misleading," said Lockhart delicately.

"You wrote them!" Neville shouted.

"My dear boy do use your common sense? My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things." said Lockhart.

"You're a fraud, you've just been taking credit for what a load of other people have done!" Harry said.

"Is there anything you can do?" Ron asked.

"Yes, now that you mention it. I'm rather good with memory charms. Or else those wizards would've gone blabbing and never sold another book." Then he turned around and grabbed his wand. "In fact I'm uh, going to have to do the same to you."

"Don't even think about it." Neville said with his, Ron and Harry in their hand.

After that they headed to Myrtle for answers.