Chapter 12: The Chamber of Secrets

4 1 0
                                    

It was a slimy ride down, which probably ended far under the school. I landed on a slightly wet floor, and covered in slime. Ew.
"Lumos!" Harry said, lighting his wand. I did the same.
"Remember," Harry said silently. "Any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away."
We walked, and it was more silent than my heart, which was beating very fast again. The only sound we heard, was Ron stepping on a rat's skull.
"There's something up there," Ron whispered. We looked up, and it seemed like something big and long. Maybe it was asleep. Harry held up his wand, and I sighed in relief, seeing that it was the skin of a huge snake.
"Blimey," Ron said.
Then there was a loud sound behind us, and holding out my wand I turned around. I sighed and lowered my wand. Lockhart had fallen down.
Ron went towards him, and pointing his broken wand at him, he said: "Get up."
Lockhart stood up again, but then he suddenly dived at Ron and got hold of his wand.
He stood up and smiled at us.
"The adventure ends here. I'll take a bit of this skin back, and tell everyone how you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of Ginny's mangled body, beca I was too late to save her. Say goodbye to your memories."
I was about to panic, but then I realized that Ron's wand backfired.
"Obliviate!" Lockhart shouted.

The wand exploded, and the ceiling came down. I ran with my hands over my head away from the fallen stones and rolled over the floor. When it was silent, I looked up, at my scratched hands from sliding over the floor. The way back was blocked. Harry and I were alone.
"Ron!" Harry shouted, running to the wall of stones. "Are you alright?" Lockhart and Ron were on the other side.
"I'm alright!" Ron coughed. "This git's not, though. He got the full blast."
So Lockhart's memories were now gone. Maybe that was for the better.
"What now?" Ron said. "We can't go through. It'll take ages."
I thought. Harry and I could go alone.
"Try to shift some stone," Harry said to Ron. "Wait there with Lockhart. If we're not back in an hour..."
I started to feel very nervous now. Ginny could already be dead. Maybe we would die by the Basilisk.
"Good luck," Ron said.
"See you later," I said.

Harry and I exchanged a nervous look, and without any more words, we set off further into the tunnels, wand in hand. After a long, dead silence, we came to a wall, on which two intertwined serpents were. I looked to Harry.
He then said something in Parseltongue, and the the two snakes slid away from each other, opening the door.
Covered in slime, and a few scratches, we went into the lion's den. Or rather, the serpent's den.
The only sounds that were there, were our echoing footsteps. There were pillars with stone snakes, that almost seemed to be moving.

After the last pair of pillars, there was a gigantic statue, that reached the ceiling of the Chamber of Secrets. It looked like a sort of wizard with a long beard, that reached to his feet. Between his feet lay someone with red hair. Ginny. We instantly ran towards her.
"Ginny," I said.
"Be be alive," Harry said, rolling her over. "Wake up."
She was very pale. I touched her hand.
"She is freezing cold! Come on, we've got to get her out of here."
"She won't wake," a voice suddenly said. I stood up and stared into the eyes of the boy from my vision. He looked like a regular sixteen year old, with dark hair and normal clothes. But there was something different about him. He came walking towards us. I hit Harry.
"That's him," I muttered under my breath. "The boy from my vision."
"That's- that's Tom Riddle," Harry said, interested.
My heart started beating faster. This was not good. I didn't trust him a bit.
"Harry, we have to go," I said.
"What, no," Harry said confused. "We can't leave Ginny here."
"I know, that's why we have to hurry." Then I turned to Riddle.
"Wait, you're the sixteen year old boy from that diary? But that was fifty years ago."
"I am a memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years."
He came closer, and I saw that he was not real. He was sort of shine-through.

"You've got to help us," Harry said. "There's a Basilisk out here. Please, help us."
Riddle just stood there and did nothing. Harry bent down to reach for his wand, but it wasn't there. It was in Riddle's hands. He was twirling with it between his fingers, and had a strange smirk on his face, when Harry wanted to take it back.
"Look, we've got to go!" Harry said. "If the Basilisk comes..."
"It won't come until it's called."
His voice made me shiver. Something was not right about him.
"What do you mean?" Harry said. "And give me back my wand, I might need it."
"You won't need it," Riddle said, with a big smile on his face. Then I realized something. Tom Riddle was the heir of Slytherin. He was going to call it to set it on us.
"Harry," I said. "Something is not right. We need to take Ginny and go."
"Are you in a hurry?" Riddle asked with a smile.
"Actually, yes, I am," I said. "There is some gigantic serpent here, and our friend and my brother are waiting for us to get back. Alive."
"Well, you're going to have to wait a while longer. I've waited a long time to speak to Harry Potter. To finally meet him. You're not needed right now."
He casted a spell on me with Harry's wand, that I couldn't dodge, and I shot backwards and fell with my head against the ground. Everything went dark instantly.

Spells and Visions; A Harry Potter storyWhere stories live. Discover now