𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 (OC x OC)

[002] Chapter 31

Harry

Okay, maybe Makayla didn't open the Chamber of Secrets, but that doesn't make her any more innocent! She has been suspicious all year! And then I learn that she has something to do with Voldemort? 'The girl who was first tested on.' For what? What was Makayla tested for? And how did she kill an entire fleet of deatheaters? There's no way that she isn't a spec of evil, but at the current moment, I am given the choice to either trust her or die. I don't know about you, but the first option seems a little better than the second one.

I limp to Ginny and Makayla, holding the sword that appeared before me in the hat that Fawkes dropped off for me and the Basilisk tooth that stabbed me in the arm. Ginny is nearly ice cold—nearly dead. I make my way around the Basilisk's corpse and try to make it to Ginny before I fall to the floor. I crawl the rest of the way.

"Remarkable, isn't it?" Tom asks. "How quickly the venom of the Basilisk penetrates the body? If you have any final words, Potter, you'd best speak them now. My guess is that you have a little over a minute to live."

I look down to my forearm, which is turning a troubling gray. He's right. The venom is harming me. Makayla knows it, too, because she's looking at me with a sorrowful look, as if she's sorry. She better be sorry. If she had anything to do with this, I might just kill her before I die.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter. On his knees in the Chamber of Secrets. Defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear mudblood mother soon, Harry." I want to rip his tongue out and make him eat it.

When I look to Ginny, I notice a small book under her gray hand. Not just any book, Tom Riddle's Diary! I examine it without touching it and Tom can't seem to stop talking.

"Funny, isn't it? The damage a silly little book can do?" Tom says. Makayla rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Especially in the hands of a little girl." I gently grab Ginny's hand, slipping the diary free. "What are you doing? No. Stop..." His face creases in fear. He lunges forward as I raise my hand high, plunging the Basilisk fang into the diary. When the fang digs into the cover of the diary, black ink drowns the pages, exploding like if you popped the heart. "NO!" Tom shrieks, writhing in pain. His body instantly starts to wither, glowing blurry and see-through like he was at the start of this endeavor. As the ink runs off my fingers to the floor, Tom disappears in the blink of an eye.

I sink back, Makayla flopping on her back on the floor, out of breath. She must've been holding hers for a long time. Then I hear a faint moan. I turn to see Ginny, who has finally awoken. She stirs, color blooming on her cheeks. When her eyes meet mine, she sobs.

"Harry... It was me! But I swear, I didn't mean to..." Ginny starts rambling in fear and sadness. "Riddle made me! He wrote to me... took me over... I didn't even know whose diary it was! I found it inside my cauldron. The day we all went to Diagon Alley, and," her eyes land on my arm, "Harry... You're hurt!"

"Ginny..." I say. "You need to get yourself out. Go with Makayla through the Chamber... You'll find Ron—"

There is a rush of wings and Fawkes circles down, laying his head onto my arm.

"You were brilliant, Fawkes," I say. "I just wasn't quick enough." A tear falls from Fawkes' eye onto my wound and the wound disappears. "Of course. Dumbledore told me. Phoenix tears have healing powers," I look up at Ginny. "It's all right, Ginny. It's over. It's just a memory..."

Makayla groans, "Okay, can we go now?"

With Fawkes gliding gracefully ahead of us, Makaya, Ginny, and I make our way back. Up ahead, shifting rock can be heard and a jagged fissure of light glimmers. Ron's face appears.

"Ginny!" Ron wriggles through and rushes forward, hugging Ginny. "You're alive, I can't believe it!"

"I'm going to be expelled, I just know it!"

Ron looks at me, "Remind you of someone?"

"Where's Lockhart?" I ask. My eyes land on Professor Lockhart who is sitting off to himself, humming a random tune.

"His memory charm backfired," Louis says. "Hasn't got a clue who he is. We keep having to stop him from wandering off, he's a danger to himself."

"Odd sort of place, isn't it?" Lockhart asks. "Do you live here?"

Louis looks around in disgust, "In Merlin's dreams."