𝐀 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒 | h. potter

17 | Bad Blood

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: BAD BLOOD

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"How did you die?"

Moaning Myrtle's whole aspect changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked a more flattering question.

Maya, Harry and Ron had sneaked into the girls bathroom after visiting Hermione in the Hospital Wing, where she had been supposedly attacked. They had all decided that they weren't going to sit around on their arses any longer, not after their best friend had gone down. They knew to go to Myrtle's bathroom because Maya had spotted a torn page stuffed into Hermione's clenched fist, which had information on Basilisks and the word 'pipes' scribbled in Hermione's handwriting. It was a quick decision between the three, and as soon as the coast was clear they stole away under the protection of Harry's invisibility cloak and past the professors on patrol.

"Ooooh, it was dreadful," said Myrtle with relish, snapping Maya out of her thoughts. "It happened right here. I died in this very cubicle. The door was locked, and I was crying, but then I heard someone come in. I heard a voice - it was a boy. He was saying something funny, in a another language, but I wasn't really bothered about it because I wanted to cry in peace. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then -" Myrtle swelled importantly, face shining with glee. "I died."

"How?" said Ron, looking paler by the second.

"No idea," answered Myrtle in hushed tones. "I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up and then I was floating away..."

The three Gryffindors exchanged a wary glance. It was definitely the Basilisk. "Where exactly did you see the eyes?" pressed Maya.

"Somewhere there," said Myrtle, pointing vaguely towards the sink in front of her toilet. The three hurried over to it, and Harry must have noticed something because he suddenly gasped and started turning the handle of one of the taps. "That tap's never worked," said Myrtle brightly, as if they couldn't see that for themselves.

Maya looked closely and shivered at what she saw; a tiny snake was etched onto the tap, winding around the copper in a way that reminded her of the black thing that had hooked itself around her organs.

"Say something," said Ron, hastily. "Either of you - say something in Parseltongue."

Harry spoke before Maya could think. "Open up." Ron looked vaguely startled at hearing the strange hissing that Maya knew to be the tongue of the snake, and once she saw the tap glow a brilliant white light she knew he had said the right words. The sink began to move, and sank right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed which seemed to be wide enough to allow a man through.

Maya thought for a second. "Help me descend." Suddenly the pipe had transfigured itself into a set of stairs that reached down into the cavernous darkness below, and Harry shot her an impressed glance.

"Cool," whispered Ron, swallowing deeply. "That's fun."

The three stayed frozen for a while, staring intently at the gaping hole before them. "Ready?" whispered Maya.

Harry and Ron nodded, and Harry moved first. Ron gestured for Maya to go after him and he soon followed their steep descent into the darkness, with nothing but their wet footsteps and shallow breaths accompanying them. At some point Harry had cast a lumos charm which, while it helped them watch their steps, made the shadows starker and the slate grey walls seemed to press in on them. After what felt like hours the steps seemed to level out and they landed with a wet crunch on what Maya later realised was a pile of animal bones on wet stone.