Trouble Fox

Into the Chamber

"I'm going down there."
Harry told them. Brittany nodded as Ron said,
"Me too."
There was an awkward silence as they waited for what to happen next.
"Well, you don't seem to need me...."
Lockhart smiled a bit and walked to the door. Harry and Ron pointed there wands at him before he could continue.
"You first."
Ron snarled. Lockhart walked to the opening and squeaked,
"Now what good would that do?"
Harry shoved him in a little and he slid down into the pipe. Brittany looked at Harry as they waited for a sign that he was still alive. What happy thoughts. Nothing came, so Brittany closed her eyes and whispered.
"I'm brave, I'm a Gryffindor, I'm brave, I'm a Gryffindor, I'm-"
Ron looked over at Harry like Brittany was mental. She jumped down the pipe.
"Brittany!"
Harry yelled behind her.
"She is mental."
Ron said after.
"And so are we."
Brittany could faintly hear the boys behind her as the wind rushed by her ears. She tried to not think of the slimy walls, the prospect of death at the bottom, the darkness, and the corpse of her friend. Well, that wasn't working, maybe unicorns would help. After all, she DID call Voldemort at unicorn. She barley noticed when she landed with a crunch.
"Ewww...."
She said as she stood up. The walls were wet and slimy, and there was a faint layer of bones beneath their feet. Lockhart was standing a little ways away, whiter than a ghost. Harry ad Ron landed on the ground soon after.
"We must be miles underneath the school."
Harry remarked
"Under the lake, by the looks of it."
Ron commented. Harry raised his wand and lit up the passage way, and off the four of them went.
************************************
A few minutes later, after encountering a massive snake skin, Brittany was getting worried about just what they might find. She had walked up towards the head of the snake, and left Harry and Ron with Lockhart, when she heard Lockhart shout,
"Obliviate!"
Brittany screamed no, but it was too late. The spell was cast, but it didn't hit Harry or Ron. Instead, it rebounded off of Ron's broken wand and back to Lockhart, but caused a massive block in the way of the path. Brittany got over to Harry as fast as she could.
"Are you okay?"
She asked.
"Yes, but Ron and Lockhart are trapped on the other side."
Harry answered. Ron shouted through the wall,
"Lockhart's spell backfired!"
Brittany nodded, but realized that Ron couldn't see her, and yelled through,
"What now?"
Ron shouted back,
"Just asked that!"
Harry spoke up.
"Wait there. If we're not back within and hour... take Lockhart and leave."
Harry looked over at Brittany.
"You should stay here too. Shift some rock with Ron."
Brittany shook her head violently.
"Oh, no, Harry, I'm coming with you."
Harry tried to protest, but Brittany was already walking in the direction of the nearest open pipe. He sighed and walked after her.

************************************
The tunnel ended shortly after. There was a weird wall with serpents, which Harry had stopped at. He was currently speaking to it in Parseltongue.
"How do you do that?"
Brittany asked.
"Do what?"
"Speak like that. We're twins, how come you can do it but I can't?"
Harry shrugged, trying to look like he just didn't know the answer to what was for breakfast, but the fact that he was shaking didn't help. Neither did the fact that Brittany's scar was much more visible on her face, as she was quite pale with fear, and Harry had to look at that.
"Maybe it's because you were born later?"
Harry answered. They walked in silence for a few paces, before Brittany said,
"I never understood that. That I was born a full month later than you. Twins don't work that way, they're born at the same time."
Harry nodded.
"Aunt Petunia always said it was because I caused our mother trouble during her pregnancy and had to be surgically removed. I think it may have been something magical, now."
Brittany blinked in surprise. She had never heard, and believed she would never hear again, a twelve year old boy say something like that so calmly. Brittany was about to say something else, but they walked into a dimly lit chamber.
"I think this might be the place we're looking for."
Brittany tried to laugh and say something funny, but she ended up sounding scared and sarcastic. Yay. There was a tall statue of a man, who was most certainly Slytherin, and near the bottom on the floor was,
"Ginny!"
Harry sprinted to her. Brittany followed after, quickly jogging to catch up to her.
"Please don't be dead, please don't be dead..."
Harry muttered. Brittany caught up to him and quickly tried to check for a pulse.
"Tom- Tom Riddle?"
Brittany looked over at Harry quickly as he said these words.
"What? Who's there?"
She looked around and saw no one.
"Are you a ghost?"
Brittany looked at Harry, as he was speaking to thin air.
"Harry, who are you talking to?"
Brittany asked, her voice quavering.
"Can't you see him? He's right there!"
Harry pointed to an empty area.
"Oh."
He said suddenly.
"You can't because you never wrote in the diary. He's just a memory, and if you had written in the diary, you'd see him."
Harry explained. Brittany looked incredulously back at the area where Harry had just pointed to.
"If you say so."
She didn't trust this "Tom Riddle", as he could just be Harry's mind going insane.
"Well, tell him he's no help if there's a monster and he's a dead memory."
Brittany said, but Harry shushed her. He was talking to air again. Brittany rolled her eyes and felt for Ginny's pulse. It was there! She smiled and grabber her wand as Harry continued his conversation with the memory. Brittany didn't know much about medicine, magic medicine, or magic for that matter. But she did know that a pulse meant Ginny was alive, and if she was alive there was hope. She was just going to tell Harry when he started shouting at thin air. She gasped as Fawkes flew in from the top of the chamber, his eerie melody crying out in the darkness. Brittany stood up and walked to the bird as Harry still argued with air. He was singing in an unearthly manner, his cry far worse and yet far better than any sound she had ever heard. She looked back over at Ginny and Harry, and then to Fawkes, and she almost thought she saw the bird incline it's head in their direction, indicating she should return to them. Brittany ran back over to Ginny and franticly checked for a pulse again. She had gotten whiter and whiter, and was barley breathing. Brittany stopped as soon as she heard the hissing.
"Harry?"
She asked, but had taken a step back and was staring at the mouth of the statue in fright.
"Brittany, run!"
He yelled, but Brittany looked back at the statue. Before she realized what was happening, she a flash of yellow and wanted to scream, but her mouth wouldn't move. In fact, nothing would move. She heard an angry hissing before the world turned black.