adored by him | *under editing*

second year × 31

"Kill him!" The serpent shot forward so Harry jetted away as fast as his legs could carry him. "Parseltongue won't save you now, Potter! It only obeys me!" Tom called viciously, clearly amused by the scene ahead of him.

The Basilisk nipped at Harry's heels as he continued splashing along the damp stone path. Panicking too much, his toes caught on a loose pebble and he went crashing to the floor. On the wall beside him, he watched as the Basilisk's shadow rose, preparing to strike, when Fawkes circled the beast's head and horrible screeches ensued. The phoenix dropped like a knife, his golden talons slashing and clawing at its eyes. "No!" Tom yelled. "Your bird may have blinded the Basilisk but it can still hear you."

Harry got up and began running again whilst the Basilisk thrashed around behind him, smashing statues and breaking bricks. That was until he hit a puddle and its head immediately snapped to him.

It thundered forward as Harry dodged and ducked its whipping tail as it struck blindly, narrowly missing his aching legs. He raced headlong into the shadows, occasionally looking back. At the far end, the Basilisk's head appeared, eclipsing the light at the end of the tunnel and slithering quickly inside. 

Harry hit a dead end, turning quickly to the serpent's snout inches from the tip of his nose. Eyes darting about nervously, he spotted a rock. Maintaining as much silence as possible, he cautiously slid down and picked it up, tossing it up the tunnel. Seemingly falling for the trick, the Basilisk slinked from the tunnel allowing Harry to dash back to the Chamber.

He collapsed by Ginny's frighteningly pale body and Tom stepped forward, his becoming very solid, very fast. "Yes, Potter, the process is nearly complete. In a few minutes, Ginny Weasley will be dead and I will cease to be a memory." He grinned maliciously. "Lord Voldemort will return, very much alive."

"Ginny," Harry begged quietly when, all of a sudden, the Basilisk roared from under the water. Harry glanced around, emerald eyes falling on the discarded Sorting Hat, within which something glittered.

Pulling out the beautiful silver sword, encrusted with blood-red rubies, he dashed for the statue of Salazar Slytherin, climbing it immediately. The Basilisk followed his every move, striking and narrowly missing the determined boy. Once atop the statue, Harry flailed the sword about, desperately trying to fend off the slashing serpent. However, with one whip of its tail, he was knocked over, the sword flying from his hand.

The sword slipped dangerously close to the edge so Harry leapt for it and, in a mad adrenaline rush, drove it through the rood of the Basilisk's mouth. Feeling a sharp prick, he looked to his arm where a bloody fang had lodged itself into his arm. He pulled it out rapidly, squeezing his wound. The Basilisk squealed in pain, thrashing its body back and forth before crumpling to the ground, dead.

Tom watched, his stance faltering, as Harry crawled back to Ginny, blood soaking through his robes.  "Remarkable, isn't it? How quickly the venom of the Basilisk penetrates the body. I'd say you only have little more than a minute to live." Harry blinked, his head becoming heavy as the site of the wound turned a worrying grey colour. "So ends the famous Harry Potter, on his knees in the Chamber of Secrets. Finally defeated by the Dark Lord, who he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear mudblood mother soon, Harry."

As Tom spoke, Harry's eyes wandered over Ginny's near lifeless body. The only evidence of her heart still beating was the slight trembling of her finger. Harry studied it, as well as what lay beneath; Tom Riddle's diary. "Funny, isn't it? The damage a silly little book can do in the hands of a silly little girl." Tom sneered but Harry had an idea.