Out of The Shadows (Golden Trio Era) {1}

The Crumpled Page

Harry and Ron were sat in the hospital wing, Harry swapped the flowers in the vase beside the girls beds. While Ron sat beside Hermione with a glum look on his face. Harry sat on the edge of Mikayla's bed. "Wish you were here girls, we need you. Now more than ever." Harry looked over and notice a piece of paper in between the girls hands. He moves into the space between the two girls beds and takes the paper out of their midsts. "What's that?" Ron asked curiously, whilst Harry skims the page, "This why the girls were in the library the day they were attacked. Come on!" Harry jumps up and rushes out of the hospital wing, Ron was close behind. They made it into the first corridor. The paper read;

Of the many fearsome creatures and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly as the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, that may reach gigantic size, and live hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, and hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are more wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of a rooster, which is fatal to it.

"Ron, this is it! The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk, that's why I can here it speak. It's a snake." Harry explained, "But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is it no one's dead?" Ron asked, Harry showed Ron a scribble in Mikayla's handwriting, 'Reflection=Petrified'. "No one did look it in the eye, not directly at least." Harry spoke, the two advance more through the corridor, "Colin saw it through his camera, Justin... Justin must've seen the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick, Nick got the full blast of it but he's a ghost, he couldn't die again. And the girls... had the mirror, I bet you anything they were using it to look around corners, incase it came along!" Harry concluded as Ron what about Mrs. Norris, "I'm pretty sure she didn't have a camera or a mirror." Ron argued. Harry stopped to think for a minute, "The water...." he spoke cooly, "There was water on the floor that night, she only saw the Basilisk's reflection." Harry looked back at the page he held in his hands, he repeats the line about spiders fleeing before the Basilisk. When Ron asked how a giant snake could travel through the castle without anyone noticing. Harry showed him the paper where Hermione wrote 'pipes' "Pipes! It's using the plumbing." He searched the corridor worryingly. "Remember what Aragog said, about that girl fifty years ago, died in a bathroom. Mikayla had the same idea, she wrote 'Moaning Myrtle' to leads us to where to go next!" Harry told Ron, Professor McGonagall's voice filled the empty halls. "All students are to return to their house dormitories at once, all teachers to the second floor corridor immediately." Harry and Ron shared a nervous look before rushing to the corridor McGonagall told the teachers to get to.

"....A student has been taken by the monster into the chamber itself. Students must be sent home, I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts." McGonagall spoke with sadness ravelled around her tone. Lockhart arrived late informing them he had dozed off, "A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart, your moment has come at last." Snape cool voice caused Lockhart to tremble slightly. He then revealed to the group that Lockhart told them yesterday, he knew exactly where the Chamber is. Lockhart's face dropped, "That's settled, we'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills after all are legend." McGonagall states, Lockhart picked up his fallen composure and smiles. "Very well. I'll be in my office, getting um.. getting ready." Lockhart turned and rushed back down the corridor. "Who is it that the monster has taken, Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey asked, "Ginny Weasley." The boys faces fell at the mention of Ron's sisters name, all the teachers walked back down the corridor. "Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever...." Ron whisper reads, Harry turns to his friend before looking back at the wall, "Ginny." Ron voice trembled.

Harry and Ron decided to go to Lockhart's office and give him all the information they know about the Chamber and the monster. They open the office to a frantic Lockhart throwing stuff into a trunk, "Professor! We have some information for you." Lockhart shut the trunk, turning to face the boys. "Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked, Ron sent daggers at Lockhart who told them that he was going because he got an urgent call that is unavoidable. "What about my sister?!" Ron yelled at Lockhart, who stuttered and continued to pack, he tells them it's unfortunate and no one regrets more than him, "You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher! You can't go now!" Ron shot back, Lockhart told them that when he took the job "there was nothing in the job description about this-" he goes to leave, Harry and Ron prevented him from leaving and soon found out that Lockhart was a fraud and all he could do was a memory altering charms. He grabbed his wand but Harry and Ron were too quick and were already pointing their wands at him. Harry and Ron looked at him disgusted, "Don't even think about it." Harry spat, Lockhart dropped his wand. "You're coming with us, we're going to save my sister." Ron told Lockhart poking him with his sellotaped wand, Lockhart involuntarily agreed and walked in front of the boys as the three of them make their way down to the second floor corridor and straight into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Myrtle was Moaning sadly, she turned and face the people in front of her. A smile appeared on Myrtle's face, she sighed contently, "Hello Harry." Her eyes glistened with past tears.