Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 27: The Chamber of Secrets

Shaye's feet crunched with every step she took, the brittle bones of small animal skeletons crumbling beneath her weight. At least, from what she could see, there were no human skeletons in the mix—that was the silver lining she was choosing to focus on. 

Pulling out her wand, Shaye pointed it at Lockhart to keep him from trying anything funny. Harry and Ron followed her lead.

"Now, remember, any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away," Harry instructed. 

With that, the group ventured into one of the many tunnels that made up what Shaye assumed to be some sort of giant underground sewer system. When she first heard that the basilisk had been using the pipes to get around the school she was a little skeptical, but based on just how large the pipes she was walking through now were, she had no problem believing it anymore.

Stepping out of the cement tunnel, Harry was first to drop down into a cave. It was dark and musty and the ceiling was so low it made Shaye feel trapped; an eerie feeling of claustrophobia began to seep into her bones.  In the middle of the cave, there sat a pile of something thin, brown, and rather gross looking. 

"What's this?" Shaye took a cautious step closer to the mystery object.

"It looks like a snake." Lockhart inspected the discovery. 

Harry nodded, proving that somehow, Lockhart was right. "It's a snakeskin," he said.

"Bloody hell," Ron commented. "Whatever shed this must have been sixty feet long. Or more."

The snakeskin was so long and large that Shaye couldn't even begin to imagine the size of the snake it had once belonged to. She didn't try too hard, however, because the thought only terrified her more.

Then, out of nowhere, a crash echoed through the tunnel. Turning around, Shaye was disappointed but not surprised to see Lockhart lying on the cave floor, his pastel robes now covered in dust and dirt.

"Heart of a lion, this one." Ron scoffed. 

Not even a full ten seconds later, Lockhart jumped back up and snatched Ron's wand out of his hand. Shaye shrugged nonchalantly. Sure, the plan wasn't completely dimwitted, but it was Ron's wand that he had stolen—and in true Ron fashion, he hadn't bothered to get a new wand all year long.

"The adventure ends here." Lockhart pointed Ron's broken wand at the three children, a look of triumph on his face. "But don't fret. The world will know our story. How I was too late to save the girl. How you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. So, you first, Mr. Potter. Say goodbye to your memories. Obliviate!"

As expected, the spell backfired with Ron's wand and a burst of green light shot back at Lockhart, sending him smacking into the hard cave wall and falling back to the ground. 

"You reckon he's really down for the count this time?" Shaye questioned, but before anyone could answer or even smirk at her quip, the cave began to shake. 

Dust began to fall from the ceiling, the blast from the spell and Lockhart smacking into the rocks clearly having knocked something loose. The cave continued to rumble until a rockslide of boulders landed between the three students, leaving Shaye and Harry on one side and Ron and Lockhart on the other.

When the shaking finally stopped and the cave had settled once more, Shaye was glad to see that both she and Harry were still fine.

"Harry!" Ron shouted from the other side of the rock wall. "Shaye!"

"Ron!" Harry responded. "Ron, are you okay?"

"I'm okay!" Ron answered. Shaye and Harry could hear Lockhart muttering something. "Lockhart's memory charm backfired. He hasn't got a clue who he is."