Rory Potter, the Girl Who Lived

Fawkes the Phoenix

Fawkes squeezes my shoulder gently with a golden foot as Riddle stares. Finally, his eyes flick to the bundle at Harry's feet. My twin picks it up, and the patched cloth unravels. It's the Sorting hat.
"A songbird and the old school Sorting hat," Riddle says with a smirk. "That's what the greatest sorcerer Albus Dumbledore sends his two brave defenders?"
Riddle begins to laugh. It's so loud it echoes around the vaulted ceilings and makes it sounds like there's about ten of him, laughing hysterically. Harry and I just kind of stand there, looking at each other and wondering how in the hell Fawkes and the Sorting Hat are going to help us. Harry eventually shrugs and puts the hat on. Meanwhile, Riddle is still laughing so hard he's doubled over.
"Okay, are you done, Riddle? There's more pressing matters than your humour at Fawkes and the Sorting Hat right now. Don't underestimate their powers," I say loudly and confidently, even though I also have no clue how these two things will help us.
Riddle finally straightens up, his humour disappearing just as fast as it appeared. His expression becomes one of hunger and want.
"Twice in your past - in my future - we have met. And twice I have failed to kill you. How did you stay alive? Tell me. The longer you talk - " Riddle flashes us a nasty grin, eyes narrowing " - the longer you stay alive."
"Well, Mr Riddle," Harry says, "no one knows why you lost all your powers when you tried to kill Rory and I. But I do know why you couldn't kill us. Our mother died to save the two of us. My common, Muggle-born mother stopped you from killing us."
"And the both of us have seen the real you, we defeated you last year. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you," I say. "You're in hiding. You're a wreck, you're foul, you're cowardly. And we defeated you for the second time. I'd be prepared to do it over and over again just to save Hogwarts and my friends."
"Pitiful girl, you don't know what you've gotten yourself wrapped up in. Let us match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Potter twins, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give them . . . "
Riddle casts an amused eye at Fawkes sitting on my shoulder and the Sorting hat on Harry's head, then walks off.
"Damn it, Rory, why do you always have to make the most terrifying people angry?!" Harry demands.
"I don't know. From what Moony tells me, I get it from Dad," I say.
"Silence!" Riddle snaps as he stops in front of the immense face of Salazar Slytherin. He opens his mouth and hisses, "Come, speak with me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four."
My eyes widen and I back away fast, Harry by my side. A slithering, sliding noise echoes from Slytherin's open mouth. Harry and I turn around and full out sprint away as fast as we can.
"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin," I whisper as I hear the great thing hit the floor. "I hate snakes, Harry."
"After them!" Riddle hisses, and I hear the basilisk slide across the floor towards us. I close my eyes and run faster.
And then it hits me. Not the snake, but an idea. I stumble and face plant directly into a puddle. Fawkes flares his scarlet wings and alights on the floor next to me. Harry drags me quickly upright through half-closed eyes, and I screech, "Go Fawkes! Go get it! Go for its eyes!"
The phoenix takes off, and I watch through half-lidded eyes as the basilisk weaves its head among the pillars, attempting to snap at Fawkes. The bird soars straight up into the air, then drops down on the basilisk's face. Two sickening, wet squelching sounds and an agonized wail from the snake tells me Fawkes succeeded.
Riddle is furious, screaming, "Your bird may have taken its eyesight, but it can still hear you! Kill them!!"
I feel Harry latch onto my arm as we sprint into a tunnel leading off the Chamber, eyes fully open now. I'm breathing really fast and hard, pale with terror. We sprint further and further into the tunnels, splashing even more water over our already soaked and slimy selves. And then we come to a dead end.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" I moan, tugging at the bars.
Harry suddenly hits me really hard on the arm and covers my mouth with his hand. I turn around and nearly scream. The giant emerald snake's head is mere feet from us. There's bloody shreds where it's eyes used to be, and it reeks of death. Its tongue flicks out as Harry and I stand there motionless.
Very aware that my heart feels like its trying to pound its way put of my ribs, I use my necklace to contact Harry. It lights the tunnel with a faint rose-coloured glow I know the basilisk can't see as I scream in my twin's mind, 'OH MY GODRIC HARRY MAKE IT GO AWAY I'M GONNA BLOODY FAINT!!!'
'What the bloody hell do you think I'm trying to do!?'
'I have no bloody clue!!!'
'Okay, just stay calm and shut up.'
Slowly, my brother lowers his way to the floor. And then, inch by inch, he stretches out his hand to grab a rock. He slowly straightens up again, and pulls me behind him. Silently, his arm raises. I can feel the hot, horrid breath of the basilisk on my face. Then Harry throws the rock as far as he can down the tunnel.
The basilisk quickly swivels its head towards the noise. Harry and I stay frozen, holding our breaths. And then the giant snake turns around and slithers out of sight. Once the echoing sound of rocks shifting in its wake is gone, Harry and I sprint out of the tunnels and into the Chamber once more.
This time its me who sprints over to drop next to Ginny and Harry who stands guard over me. I pull her into me, desperately feeling over her limp body for any sign of life, whether it be warmth, a heartbeat, or breath. She's still alive, but barely.
"RORY! DUCK!" Harry suddenly bellows.
I obey without question, flinging myself flat on the floor and covering my head. The tail of the basilisk barely misses my head. I feel the breeze of the air rustle my soaked and slimy hair.
Then I roll over onto my back and scuttle away as fast as I can on my butt, ducking to avoid the desperate attempt by the basilisk to hut me with its tail. Until I hit solid rock. I can't go back any further. I can't go anywhere, for that matter. I'm pressed against the giant face of Salazar Slytherin.
"Kill her!" Riddle hisses. "Watch your sister die, Harry Potter!"
​​​​​​~Harry's Point of View~
Rory is on the ground, and the basilisk looms over her. Its head darts forward and smashes into the wall not two feet from her. She screams and dives to the side. She's as pale as Ginny's stony face, and I'm terrified that I might lose the both of them.
"HEY!" I yell in a stupid but brave attempt to get the basilisk to notice me. "HEY! OVER HERE, YOU GREAT UGLY BRUTE!"
The basilisk turns its head to face me. Then I take a running leap up onto the face of Salazar Slytherin, and climb as fast as I can to stand on top of his head.
Help me, I beg the Sorting hat. Help me, please!
The hat doesn't respond, but instead contracts around my temples. Then, a huge weight drops onto my head, almost knocking me out. Stars flash before my eyes as I yank off the hat to reveal the pomel of a gleaming silver sword with a ruby the size of an egg set in the handle. I toss the now useless hat aside and brandish the sword.
"Forget Rory! Come for me, you stupid snake!" I yell.
The basilisk lunges forward and slams its head into the carving just feet away from where I was just standing. It does the same thing again, breaking the marble. I slash the sword at the basilisk, gouging its face.
It let's out a horrible scream. Then it draws back, opening its great jaws so that it can strike. Rows of poison as fangs line its gums, and it could probably swallow me whole. There's no getting out of this one.
The basilisk rushes forward to bite me - I throw my entre weight behind the sword just as the creature hits me - something pierces the skin on my arm - the sword goes through the top of the basilisk's head. All of us, me and Rory and the basilisk, are screaming bloody murder.
I rip the sword from the creature's jaw and stumble forwards a few steps. The basilisk screams so loudly the walls shake. It flails through the air, crashing into pillars. My vision goes blurry on the edges as I stumble forward a step further. And the last thing I hear before the ringing fills my ears and I fall forwards off the carving is Rory's voice, rising above the basilisk's wails.
"HARRY!!! NO!!!" she screams.
~Rory's Point of View~
Harry stumbles forwards a few steps, clutching his bloody, mangled arm. Next to me, gripping my arm like a vice, Riddle screams in anger as the basilisk cries and flails.
"HARRY!!! NO!!!" I scream.
And he falls. The adrenaline gives me the strength to tear free from Riddle's iron grip and lunge forward. I channel energy into my necklace and scream the first spell that pops into my head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Harry's fall slows. And then he floats in midair. Unfortunately, he dropped the sword, and my spell didn't manage to catch it, so it falls beside me, cutting a gash in my shoulder as it does so.
"Harry!" I shriek, lowering him to the floor.
He pulls the snake's fang from his arm and let's it clatter to the floor beside him. The basilisk crashes to the floor with a boom that shakes the Chamber. Riddle laughs.
"Ahh, you may have defeated the basilisk, by the venom from yits fang will kill you, Harry. As for your sister, I'll deal with her . . . " Riddle grins.
"FAWKES!" I shriek.
"What are you doing, girl? That poor songbird won't be able to help you. After all, its just an animal," Riddle sneers. "You're hopeless."
"FAWKES!" I shriek again, ignoring Riddle's comment.
The phoenix finally appears. It alights on the ground next to Harry and I, looking at us through sad golden eyes, then bends over Harry and places it's head on his injured arm.
"Work your magic, Fawkes," I whisper so only Harry and I can hear.
And the bird begins to cry. Pearly gold tears slide from its eyes, dripping onto Harry's arm. Seconds later, there's nothing left of the mangled mess it was before, without even scars. And Fawkes moves on to me, but Riddle shoos him off before he can heal my shoulder. But no matter.
"What are you doing!? Get away from them, stupid bird!" Riddle yells, realizing why I called him back.
"Outsmarted again, Tom. Bested by second year Gryffindors. How does that feel, 'Greatest Sorcerer in the World?'" I demand, my voice dripping in sarcasm.
"No matter," Riddle snarls. "I'll finish this off, and then return to full power! And no one will ever be able to stop me again!"
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," I say.
And then, in one single movement, I dive over Harry, snatching up the basilisk fang on the way, and rolling to a stop next to Ginny. I wrench the diary from her grasp and let it fall open on the floor in front of me, then raise the fang above my head.
"What are you doing!?" Riddle's voice has suddenly gone very high and immensely panicked.
"Stopping you for the third time," I grin.
Riddle lunges forwards with a yell, but I plunge the fang into the heart of the diary. A wave of ink spurts out like it's bleeding. Riddle stops dead as a gaping hole appears in his chest, glowing at the edges. He let's out a strangled cry.
"NOOO!!"
I stab the diary again, and another glowing hole appears in him. He throws back his head and screams bloody murder. A strange wind whistles through the Chamber, blasting my wet hair until its dry once more. A bright light illuminates my face and then I'm screaming, too. I slam the diary shut and then stab right into the cover.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Riddle yells.
​​​​​​ A glowing hole appears in his face - the light flashes even brighter - the wind blasts my hair back harder and I scream louder. But just as quickly as it came, the wind and light disappears, as does Riddle, inside a bright flash of white light.
And so I'm left sitting on the floor, holding a basilisk fang, breathing hard, and covered from head to toe in dirt, blood, water, slime, and ink. The silence it terrifying, yet beautiful. I slowly turn my head to lock eyes with my brother.
"Oh my Godric," I manage.
And I throw myself at Harry, who wraps his arms around me tight. We're both shaking, pale, and covered in filth, blood, and my case, ink.
"H-Harry? R-R-Rory?" asks a shaky voice.
"Ginny!" I gasp.
So that's how we end up having a group hug on our knees in the Chamber of Secrets. Ginny is crying, I'm shaking, and Harry is gasping for breath.
"I t-tried to tell you guys at b-b-breakfast, but Percy came along. I couldn't say anything in fr-front of him. It was m-m-me. The d-diary, it controlled me! T-Tom Riddle, he made me d-d-do it."
"Everything's fine, Ginny," I say, holding up the diary, which is still dripping ink. "Harry killed the basilisk and I destroyed the diary. Riddle's gone."
I stand up to shake the blood and ink from the diary, but Harry remains sitting on the floor with Ginny, who buries her face in his robes crying. Harry wraps his arms around her, whispering, "Shh, shh, its okay. Everything's going to be okay. I promise. Shh, shh."
I give my twin a knowing smile and a sly wink, which makes him blush as red as Ginny's hair. I give the two of them a moment, then say, "We should get back to Ron. We'll have to tell McGonagall and get Hagrid and Dumbledore back."
The two of the nod, and I help Ginny to her feet. She proves to be weak due to the energy Riddle drained from her, so after she nearly falls five times before we even leave the Chamber, Harry just scoops her up and carries her.
This time, I give Ginny a knowing smile and a wink, and this time she blushes so her face matches her hair. Five minutes later, the echoes of Ron shifting rocks reaches my ears and we break into a run.
"RON! RON!" I screech. "RON WE'RE OKAY! GINNY'S OKAY!"
"RORY! GINNY! HARRY!" Ron bellows.
Seconds later, we reach the rock pile, where Ron's concerned face pokes through a Ron-sized hole in the stones.
"Ginny!" Ron gasps, reaching through the hole in the stones and taking her from Harry's arms. "You're okay! Oh, my Merlin, I was so worried! Wait, where did you get the bird, Rory?"
Fawkes the phoenix alights on my shoulder, nuzzling his soft warm feathers into my skin. I smile softly and stroke the firey bird.
"He's a phoenix. Fawkes here was sent to us by Dumbledore. He helped us kill the basilisk," I say as Harry clambers through the hole.
I crawl through, and then Fawkes follows and lands on my shoulder again.
"Why have you got a sword, Harry? And why are you covered in ink, Rory?"
"We'll explain when we get out of here," Harry says.
"But - "
"Later," I say shortly. "Where's that idiot Lockhart?"
"Back there," Ron says, hooking his thumb in the direction of the entrance to the underground caverns.
"How are we going to get out the pipes?" Ginny asks quietly from next to Ron.
I glance at Fawkes and smile softly.
"Fawkes can fly us," I say simply.
"How? He's just a bird!" Ron says.
"He's not just any bird. He's a phoenix. They can immensely heavy loads. I have no doubt that he'll be able to carry all of us," I say.
Fawkes hooks his talons into Lockhart's robes, Ron grabs his feet, and wraps an arm around my waist. Then Harry grabs my foot and wraps an arm around Ginny's waist. Fawkes flies us out of the chamber and into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom once more.
Myrtle goggles at us: the memory-wiped Lockhart, dusty Ron, shaking Ginny, blood-covered Harry, and ink-covered me.
"You're alive, Harry," she says in astonishment.
"There's no need to sound so disappointed," Harry says, wiping his glasses.
We run from the bathroom, dragging Lockhart with us.
"I think Myrtle fancies you, Harry. It looks like you've got competition, Ginny!" Ron laughs. But Ginny ignores him, crying silently.
We stop outside McGonagall's office, and, at a nod from Harry, I raise my hand and knock on the door, the push it open.