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The Chamber of Secrets and the True Heir
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Chapter twelve
Third vision view
The two found themselves standing at the end of a very long, poorly lit chamber. Tall stone columns intertwined with raised snakes supported a roof that was lost in darkness, casting long black shadows in the strange, greenish light that illuminated the place.
With their hearts beating very quickly, the two listened to the hostile silence. Could the basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a column? And where was Ginny?
"Stay tuned, Harry. If you hear anything, close your eyes immediately." muttered Isaac as he pulled out his wand and advanced between the serpentine columns.
Each cautious step echoed loudly off the shadowed walls. He kept his eyes half-closed, ready to close them quickly at the slightest sign of movement. The hollow orbs of the stone snakes seemed to follow him.
Then, as the two reached the last pair of columns, a statue as tall as the Chamber itself appeared against the back wall. Isaac had to crane his neck to see the gigantic face above.
He was ancient and apelike, with a long, wispy beard that fell almost to the hem of a stone wizard's flowing robes, where two enormous gray feet rested on the smooth floor of the Chamber. And between the feet, face down, lay a small figure with fiery hair dressed in black.
"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed. The two ran over to the red-haired girl and knelt down beside her.
"Ginny... don't be dead... please don't be dead..." Isaac set his wand aside, grabbed Ginny by the shoulders and turned her around. Her face was white and cold as marble, but her eyes were closed, so she was not petrified. So it should be...
"Ginny, please wake up," Harry murmured desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head shook helplessly from side to side.
"She won't wake up" said an indulgent voice, making Isaac's ears perk up.
They both started and turned around, still on their knees. A tall, black-haired boy watched him leaning against the nearest column. Its outlines were strangely blurred, as if Isaac were seeing it through a fogged window. But there was no mistaking it...
"Tom... Tom Riddle?" Harry muttered.
What? Is this Riddle?
Riddle nodded, without taking his eyes off Harry's face.
"What do you mean by "she won't wake up"?" he asked desperately. "She's not... isn't she...?"
"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But by a thread."
