Born From Madness (Harry Potter Fanfic)

65

They hurried down the corridors with Lockhart in the front of the three of them while they headed into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet, weeping to herself. 

"Oh it's you," she said when she spotted them, "What do you want?" 

"We wanted to ask how you died?" Hermione told her. Myrtle looked at them like they had lost their minds. 

"It was dreadful. It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it too well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked and I was crying but then I heard someone come in. Said something funny like a different language... but what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door to tell him to go and use his own toilet and then... I died." Myrtle claimed to them. 

"How?" Harry asked. 

"No idea. I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes... right over there." Myrtle said, pointing over at the taps. Hermione and Harry hurried over to the sink where they found one of the copper taps had a tiny snake on it. 

"One of you say something," Ron said, "Something in Parseltongue." 

Hermione glance at Harry as he took a deep breath. 

"Open up?" he said before glancing back at Ron, who shook his head that he was speaking in English. Hermione took a deep breath this time, closing her eyes before saying: 

"Open up," she mumbled, but except for words, she heard a strange hissing coming from her mouth. The tap sudden glowed and began to spin as the other sinks around it shifted and moved before it exposed a large pipe. 

"Well-- you hardly seem to need me anymore," Lockhart claimed, "I'll just be on my way."

Before he got far, Hermione grabbed the back of his robes with the help of Ron and Harry and pulled Lockhart at the entrance of the Chamber. 

"You first," Hermione ordered. 

"Now, children what good will it do?" he asked. 

"Better you than us." Ron snarled. Lockhart carefully turned around as he peered into the pipe. Just as Lockhart was about to make another run at escape the three of them pushed Lockhart into the pipe. They waited till they heard Lockhart's echoing 'ow'. Hermione took a deep breath as she climbed down and carefully pushed herself into the pipe. It seemed to go on forever till they hit the damp ground of a tunnel. Lockhart was getting to his feet just as Harry and Ron made their way onto the floor. Hermione held up her wand, pointed it at Lockhart. 

"Remember, any sign of movement, close your eyes right away... except for you Hermione." Harry stated as they all nodded in agreement. They hurried down the tunnel where the sounds of rat skulls crushed underneath their feet, till their eyes landed on the outline of something huge and curved ahead of them. 

"Don't worry, it's snake skin." Hermione assured them when she saw the see-through appearance of it. Their attention shifted when movement came behind them. Lockhart had faint-- until he suddenly got to his feet and grabbed Ron's wand and pointed at them. 

"The adventure ends here, children!" He said, "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 good-bye to your memories!" 

Before Hermione could warn him about Ron's broken wand, Lockhart yelled 'Obliviate!. The wand exploded like a small bomb, sending Lockhart's body against the walls. The next thing they knew, chunks fo the ceiling came falling to the ground. Hermione and Harry rushed to one side. It didn't take long before they took noticed they were trapped by a rock wall.