Ellie Collins and the True Heir of Slytherin

Chapter Ten: the Chamber of Secrets

Ellie knew Hagrid didn't mean anything regarding the Chamber of Secrets, neither did she believe he wanted to open the Chamber itself. That would mean Hagrid was the heir of Slytherin, which was practically impossible.
-
That day Ellie skipped lunch to roam around and think about the diary. Frankly she had no close friends to hang out with in the first place, they had been petrified.
But the bell to signal lunch had been over never came.
Instead, echoing through the corridors came Professor McGonagall's voice, magically magnified."All students are to return to their dormitories, and all teachers to the staff room, Immediately."
"Not another attack..." Ellie mumbled to herself. "Not now."
The professor whipped around to see Ellie coming around from the opposite corner of where students had been exiting the Great Hall after lunch.
"Well, Miss Collins. I'm afraid it's odd that in the event of another attack, you come stumbling out from your hiding spot." The Professor turned herself all the way around.
Ellie stuttered. "Professor I-"
"Yes, it has happened again, but this time I'm afraid we have to put a stop to this once and for all." The professor was white in the face, as a crowd of other professors joined them.
"How are you so sure this isn't something that a student has done?" Ellie was in panic, her voice was being swallowed by her fear of the school being closed.
"The Heir of Slytherin," The professor gripped her parchment tighter. "left another message. Right underneath the first one. 'Your bodies will lie in the chamber forever'."
Professor Flitwick burst into tears.
"We shall send all students home tomorrow," Professor McGonagall choked. "This very well maybe the end of Hogwarts..."
"So sorry-dozed off- what have I missed?" Lockhart had pushed threw the crowd of professors, and he was beaming.
Snape stepped forward. "Just the man," he said. "The very man. The monster strikes once again. Your moment has come at last."
Lockhart blanched.
"That's right, Gilderoy," Professor Sprout chipped. "You were saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the chamber of secrets is."
"I-well, I-" sputtered Lockhart.
"We will leave it to you then, Gilderoy," Professor McGonagall lifted her head higher. "Tonight."
Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to the rescue. His lip was trembling, and in the absence of his usually toothy grin, he looked feeble.
"V-very well," he stuttered. "I'll be in my o-office, getting ready..."
And he left the hall.
-
Without question, that night Ellie left through the portrait hole of her common room.
Darkness grew heavier as they walked down to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be a lot of rustling inside.
The door opened the tiniest crack, revealing one of Lockhart's eyes peering through it.
Ellie shoved him angrily inside and looked around his office desperately. His office has been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor, stuffed with books, robes, and other items and belongings.
Ellie snapped her head around. "Going somewhere?"
"Er, well, yes," Lockhart mumbled. "Urgent call- unavoidable- got to go I'm afraid."
"What about the Chamber of secrets?" Ellie jerked. "You mean you're running away? You fake, I always knew-"
"Books can be misleading." Lockhart scurried delicately.
Ellie ripped out her wand from her robe pocket and pointed it directly at Lockhart, her gaze looked down on him viciously. "And you call yourself a wizard."
"What do you expect me to do?" Lockhart held his hands above his head. " I don't have the experience to come out of there alive!"
"Then tell me where it is."
-
It looked like an ordinary sink. Ellie examined every inch of it, inside and out, including the pipes below. And then Ellie saw it: scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.
"The taps n-never worked." Lockhart stuttered. "At least that it what Myrtle had told me."
"You mean Myrtle told you all of this? What had been your desire to come in here?" Ellie said, disgusted.
Lockhart scratched the back of his head, and looked down at the ground blushing terribly. Ellie only stepped awkwardly away from him.
Ellie looked back at the snake, willing herself to believe it was alive.
"Open up," she said.
Except that the words weren't what she heard; a strange hissing had escaped her, and at once the tap glowed a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the tap began to sink into the ground leaving a gaping hole, wide enough for a man to slide into.
"Well, you hardly seem to need me," Lockhart jumped. "Ill just-"
Ellie gripped the sleeve of his emerald colored robe and threw him in front of her.
"Ellie, What good will it do?" Ellie sat silent looking at Lockhart who had been shaking. "I really don't think-" he started to say, but Ellie gave him a push, and he slid out of sight. Ellie followed behind him, not loosing sight of Lockhart.

When the pipe had leveled out, she shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel large enough to stand in. Lockhart was getting to his feet a little ways away.
Ellie was about to step forward, but it was too late.
"Your adventure ends here, Collins!" He reached to grab his wand, before Ellie grabbed her wand, raising it at him, similar to a wizard duel. "I shall return back to the school, and tell them I was too late to save you - say goodbye to your mem-"
"Obliviate." Ellie was one step ahead of him. She flicked her wrist before he could finish his sentence, causing him to be thrown back, and loosing his memory in the process.
She stuffed her wand back into her pocket, and straightened her robe.

Ellie had no choice but to set off alone past the tunnel.
Soon the distant noise of falling rubble was gone. The tunnel turned and turned again. Every nerve in Ellie's body was tingling unpleasantly. She wanted the tunnel to end, yet dreaded what she would find when it did. And then, at last, as she crept around another bend, she saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.
"Open." Ellie said in a low, faint hiss.
The serpents parted as the wall cracked open,the halves slid smoothly your of sight, and Ellie, shaking terribly, walked inside.