"Time to find out who it is that has been attacking everyone," Hermione said.
He was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.
"Sounds like such a love place," Luna said.
His heart beating very fast, Harry stood listening to the chill silence. Could the Basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? And where was Ginny?
"Probably at the end of the chamber," Hermione said. "It would make sense to have brought her as far from the exit as possible, so that she can't leave."
He pulled out his wand and moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. He kept his eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following him. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, he thought he saw one stir.
"It's probably just you're imagination," Luna said.
"Yeah," Harry said. "There's probably only one real snake there."
"Perhaps what you actually saw was whoever it is that was doing the attacks," Hermione said.
"I don't think that's a good thing, because that means that they're watching me," Harry said, shivering lightly.
Then, as he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.
Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: it was ancient and monkey-like,
"Did he really look like that?" Hermione said.
"Possibly," Cedric said. "I've never seen any pictures of him, though, so I don't know."
with a long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous grey feet stood on the smooth chamber floor. And between the feet, face down, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming red hair.
"Well, you've found Ginny," Cedric said, but he could help worrying. Where was the heir?
"Ginny!" Harry muttered, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. "Ginny! Don't be dead! Please don't be dead!"
"It would kill Ron to know that she was dead," Harry said. "It would kill all of her family."
He flung his wand aside,
"No, don't throw away you're wand. It's the only think that can protect you, especially down there," Cedric said.
grabbed Ginny's shoulders and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified.
"Is she breathing?" Hermione asked.
But then she must be ...
"Ginny, please wake up," Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side.
"I don't think that'll help, especially with the way that she's looking right now," Cedric said.
"She won't wake," said a soft voice.
Harry jumped and spun around on his knees.
A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry was looking at him through a misted window. But there was no mistaking him.
"You know who it is, then," Hermione said.
"He definitely sounds familiar," Harry said, frowning. Considering who it sounded like, he was trying to figure out how he could be there.
"Tom – Tom Riddle?"
"Well, looks like we weren't wrong about it being him," Hermione said. "We were just wrong in who he was using to attack everyone."
"I think we were thrown off my Ginny's abduction to realize that we weren't wrong about everything," Cedric said. "It really did seem like she had something to do with it since she was seemed to know about the diary."
"Maybe she did, but because she still knew the person doing the attacks, even though it seems that she was about to break and tell on them in the end," Luna said.
"And they decided to make sure that didn't happen," Harry murmured.
"There's just one question left then: Were is the other person working with Riddle?" Hermione said.
"Actually, there's that, and how is Riddle standing before Harry?" Cedric said.
"Right," Hermione said, shaking her head. "How did I forget that question."
Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face.
"I don't think I like the sound of that," Luna said.
"What d'you mean, she won't wake?" Harry said desperately. "She's not – she's not –?"
"This is where checking to see if she's breathing and has a pulse is a good idea," Hermione said.
"She's still alive," said Riddle.
"How would he know, especially since he's not near her," Hermione said.
"But only just."
"That's not good," Cedric said. "She's fading."
Harry stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen.
"He hasn't aged. How?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know," Cedric said, though he was looking suspicious. He didn't know of any magic that could keep a person from ageing, and had the feeling that it was most likely dark in nature. At least, what Riddle used - someone who could set a basilisk on people, especially children, wouldn't be all that concerned about whether something was moral or not.
"Are you a ghost?" Harry said uncertainly.
"He'd be more transparent and not as colorful if he was a ghost," Cedric said.
"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."
"That has to be some serious magic if it's able to do that," Hermione said.
"I think it might also be dark magic," Cedric said. "I don't know why, but something like this doesn't seem possible without something else allowing it, and, well, with the way Ginny is and the fact that Riddle is described as slightly blurry..."
"You think whatever it is that is allowing Riddle is responsible for Ginny's state," Harry said.
"Well, considering how she looks, and if she's still breathing, yet Riddle's not quite there yet, it's the only idea I can think of for why that is," Cedric said.
He pointed towards the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. For a second, Harry wondered how it had got there –
"My guess is it's there because it was brought down there," Hermione said.
but there were more pressing matters to deal with.
"Yes, I can imagine what those pressing matter are," Cedric said, thinking about the heir and basilisk.
"You've got to help me, Tom," Harry said, raising Ginny's head again.
"He not only doesn't have to help you, but he won't," Hermione said.
"We've got to get her out of here. There's a Basilisk ... I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment. Please, help me ..."
"I don't begging him will do anything," Cedric said.
Riddle didn't move. Harry, sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor, and bent to pick up his wand again.
"It won't be there," Luna said. "Riddle would have to be a fool to not grab it when he has a chance to, and he doesn't quite strike me as a fool."
But his wand had gone.
"Did you see –?"
He looked up. Riddle was still watching him – twirling Harry's wand between his long fingers.
"Thanks," said Harry, stretching out his hand for it.
"He's not just going to hand it over to you," Hermione said, shaking her head.
A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.
"How is it that my creepy meter isn't going off right now?" Harry asked rhetorically.
"I think you're too concerned about Ginny to realize it," Cedric said.
"Listen," said Harry urgently, his knees sagging with Ginny's dead weight,
"She must be heavy," Harry said.
"I would suggest you never say that to her face," Hermione said, though there was a bit of a smile on her face.
"I wonder what Ginny would do if he did," Luna said.
Harry really didn't understand what Hermione and Luna were alluding to, and decided not to ask, figuring that it was very likely he wouldn't understand the answer anyway. He had a feeling that it was girl thing.
"we've got to go! If the Basilisk comes ..."
"I get the feeling that it won't come until it's called," Cedric said.
"It won't come until it is called," said Riddle calmly.
"Riddle's the one who has the power to call it, and, at the moment, he's not doing so, yet," Cedric said.
"Yeah, it seems like he wants to talk to you for some reason," Hermione said. "He hasn't attacked you, after all."
"Yet," Harry said.
"Yet," Hermione repeated.
Harry lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer.
"What d'you mean?" he said. "Look, give me my wand, I might need it."
Riddle's smile broadened.
"You won't be needing it," he said.
"Isn't he so brave, facing an unarmed boy," Hermione said. "Coward."
Harry stared at him.
"What d'you mean, I won't be –?"
"He's making sure that you can't defend yourself," Hermione said. "That's why he's saying that you don't need it."
"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you."
"And why would he want to do that?" Harry said. "Is it because we talked for a small bit that one time?"
"I don't know. I'd think it's that, or whoever else wrote in the diary talked about you a lot," Hermione said.
"Well, it doesn't look like there's anyone but Harry, Ginny, and Riddle there, so it's a good chance that Ginny was the one who told Riddle about you," Cedric said. "I would imagine that, if someone else was down there, then they would have shown themselves already."
"Look," said Harry, losing patience,
"He is being very irritating," Harry said. "Especially since I'm completely confused at the moment."
"I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later."
"I actually think that you're not getting it," Hermione said.
"Yeah, I'm so worried about Ginny – and Ron, even if he's not in the room with us – and I want to get us out of there as quickly as possible that. Plus, I must still be wary about the Basilisk," Harry said.
"We're going to talk now," said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry's wand.
"I think that this is where I'll finally start questioning what's going on, and realize that there's something weird going on," Harry said.
Harry stared at him. There was something very funny going on here.
"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."
"That definitely says that she wrote in the diary, and knew quite a bit about it. Though, I do wonder what writing in the diary has to do with the state that she's in," Hermione said.
"I get the feeling that he'll explain it in more detail," Cedric said.
"What are you talking about?" said Harry.
"The diary," said Riddle. "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes: how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second-hand robes and books,"
"So she, like Ron, is self-conscious about the fact that their family is poor," Hermione said, a soft frown on her face.
"how –" Riddle's eyes glinted "– how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her ..."
"Well, that's kind of interesting to know," Harry said. "I mean, she thinks that she'll be great as my wife, so it's surprising to know that she fears that she might not believe that I would like her. At least she's not presumptuous."
All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.
"It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl," he went on.
"I get the feeling that he didn't say that, though, meaning that he wanted her to continue writing to him for some reason," Cedric said.
"But I was patient. I wrote back, I was sympathetic, I was kind."
"Ginny really should've known to be more careful," Cedric said. "She's grown up in a wizarding home, and knows the dangers of things like this. I mean, think about how Ron was when the diary was first discovered. One would think that Ginny would've known to be more cautious about the diary when it started talking back to her."
"Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom ... I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in ... It's like having a friend I can carry round in my pocket ..."
"That's just sick, mocking her that way," Luna said.
Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry's neck.
"It would make mine do the same thing," Cedric said.
"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed."
Hermione frowned at that. She didn't like the implications of that.
"So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted. I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her ..."
"What d'you mean?" said Harry, whose mouth had gone very dry.
"Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter?" said Riddle softly. "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat."
"So we were right?" Hermione said. "Then why did Ginny write that message and go down there? Unless we were also right in our musings that she's gone a bit crazy and things that Harry is like how he is in those fantasy books about him."
"Actually, I think Tom might have more to do with it than Ginny," Cedric said.
"No," Harry whispered.
"Yes," said Riddle, calmly. "Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first."
"How can she not know what she was doing?" Harry asked.
"Well, it sounds like possession," Hermione said. "Where it's her body, but not her mind. Riddle could have taken over her body and made her do all those things without her knowing."
"Well, considering how it says that she didn't know what she was doing at first, I'd say she figured it out at some point," Cedric said.
"It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries ... Far more interesting, they became ... Dear Tom," he recited, watching Harry's horrified face,
"It's probably a horrible think to learn, at least, for me," Harry said. "And the fact that she not only didn't know what she was doing, but that he's mocking her...it's enough to horrify anyone."
"I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me ... There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad ... I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"
Harry's fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into his palms.
"It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary," said Riddle.
"Which why she tried to dispose of it," Cedric said. "Which is where you came in." He motioned towards Harry. "If she wrote a lot in the diary, it's a good chance that she mentioned you a lot, as well as you history."
"What history, though," Harry said. "I mean, from the sounds of it, people do know that I went to live with my aunt and uncle, but they don't seem to know the truth about anything else. Plus, with all of those books – and, no offense to either of you two, but it seems that most of the people in the wizarding world are kind of easily duped into believing something is true, even if it isn't. I mean, people believed that what Lockhart said he did was true, even though he didn't do anything but write books. So, for all we know, Ginny could believe that all those fiction books about me are true, and told him about them as well."
"So, what you're saying is that she would not only tell of your history with Voldemort, but also what the books say your history is," Hermione said. "I'll admit that it's possible, but surely Ron has mentioned that isn't how your life is."
"I don't think Ginny would actually believe that, though," Luna said. "I mean, she can be quite stubborn when it come to something she believes, and if she wasn't taught that what she's read isn't true, then her changing her mind will be pretty impossible, though she is still pretty good at pretending that she's changed her mind, if need be."
"But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet ..."
"And why did you want to meet me?" said Harry.
"I guess that it didn't occur to me that Ginny would have talked extensively about me," Harry said.
Anger was coursing through him and it was an effort to keep his voice steady.
"Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry," said Riddle. "Your whole fascinating history."
"That does make it sound as she told him about your 'adventures' in the books," Hermione said.
His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, and his expression grew hungrier. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust."
"He's an idiot if he thought that would gain my trust," Harry said.
"Yeah, you weren't really trusting of him after learning about that," Hermione said. "In fact, from what I can tell, you never bothered talking to him again."
"Yeah," Harry said.
"Then why did you believe that he would give you back your wand and help you get Ginny out of there," Luna said.
"I guess I just expected that would be the actions that someone would do," Harry said, sounding rather naïve.
"Hagrid's my friend," said Harry, his voice now shaking. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but –"
"But the evidence, and you're own experiences with his habits, speak out against him," Cedric said.
Riddle laughed his high laugh again.
"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school Prefect, model student; on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls."
"So, basically, Dippet wouldn't believe that someone like Hagrid wouldn't harm someone because of that track record, even though he's one of the gentlest souls you'd ever meet," Hermione said.
"Basically," Cedric said.
"But I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realise that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance ... as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power!"
"Oh, you spoke a word," Luna said. "Yeah, I can see the power in that."
"Actually, he just spoke a word in a unlearnable language – at least, I suspect that it's unlearnable, because I can't see anyone being afraid of it so much if they could learn it – but yeah, not much power in that. Anyone can say something in another language – he just has an advantage of being able to use an unlearnable language," Harry said.
"Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed. Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did ..."
"I think Dumbledore probably saw right through him, then," Hermione said. "That, or he knew that there was no way Hagrid could've done it."
"Maybe he knows that Riddle could talk to snakes," Cedric said. "I mean, it's usually the deputy head's job to inform Muggleborns and such, and since Riddle lived in a Muggle orphanage, they probably think that he's one of them – especially since Riddle isn't a pureblood name – and Dumbledore went there to give him his letter."
"But how would that mean that he knew that Riddle could talk to snakes?" Harry asked.
"From the way that Riddle is bragging, he might've bragged about that ability as well," Cedric said. "Or it could've slipped out. I just can't really thing of any other reason why Dumbledore wouldn't been able to see through him and not like him."
"Yeah, I guess that I can see what you're getting at," Hermione said. "Unless Dumbledore can recognize Riddle's behavior for being a front to how he really is, which wouldn't make a whole lot of sense because he doesn't strike me as being someone who can recognize criminal behaviour, then I can see what you mean. The reactions of the students are showing quite clearly that someone able to talk to snakes is to be regarded with suspicion."
"But Dumbledore didn't seem very suspicious of Harry," Luna said.
"No, but it's clear that he knew who the heir was beforehand, and he didn't tell anyone about it," Hermione said. "Plus, he didn't even attempt to stop people from accusing Harry of being the heir, either."
"That is a good point," Harry said. "He definitely knew who it was, his words in the hospital wing say that much. But he did nothing, and let the other students believe that it was me, which only stopped because of Hermione's petrification."
"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," said Harry, his teeth gritted.
"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," said Riddle carelessly. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it."
"Of course not," Hermione said. "After all, not being able to brag about what you've done was probably hurting you enough already. Letting it go to waste would probably kill you."
"I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."
"It's not noble work," Cedric said.
"Well, you haven't finished it," said Harry triumphantly. "No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again."
"Somehow, I don't think his reasons have stayed the same," Hermione said. "Why else would he want to meet you if they had?"
"Well, when he puts it the way that, it does seem as if he still had the same goals as before," Harry said.
"Haven't I already told you," said Riddle quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me any more?"
"Nope," Harry said. "That's the first time you've mentioned it."
"For many months now, my new target has been – you."
Harry stared at him.
"Yeah, that kind of confuses me, especially since I don't even know him, and he doesn't really know me," Harry said.
"Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you."
"Wait, she throws it away because she's suspicious, but the minute she gets it back, she immediately writes in it," Hermione said. "It's like she's just asking for him to use her."
"Yeah, that's true," Cedric said. "And it doesn't seem like there's a compulsion charm on the diary meant to compel a person to write; otherwise, Harry wouldn't figured out the secret of the diary a whole lot sooner if it did."
"She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who'd been strangling roosters?"
"I would probably not believe him if he had said that it was her," Harry said. "With Hagrid, it is a bit easier to believe it because his track records against him, and, as we've already realized, he just doesn't have his priorities straight when it come to dangerous creatures."
"So the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery"
"Well, from what we've already read, that does seem true," Hermione said.
"– particularly if one of your best friends was attacked."
"So, from the sounds of it, it could have been either Ron or Hermione who was attacked," Harry said.
"Then, chances are that Hermione was attacked to keep with the whole 'blood status' thing," Cedric said.
"True," Hermione said.
"And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue ..."
"So he knew that I'd be able to get down there if I figured out where it was," Harry said.
"I think he might have been spying on you," Hermione said. "That's the only way it's guaranteed that you'd be able to get down there. Either that, or he knew that I'd figured it out and hoped you would find the paper that I had in my hand, if he saw that, anyway."
"Well, if he was spying on you, then chances are that the times when Ginny sat next to you, it was actually him," Luna said.
"So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her: she put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last. I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come."
"I just wish I knew how he knew," Harry said.
"I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."
"Like what?" Harry spat, fists still clenched.
"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time?"
"Do you know what he's talking about, because you haven't defeated Dumbledore yet," Luna said.
"I think he's talking about Voldemort, especially since it was mentioned as when he was a baby," Hermione said. "And Dumbledore as the greatest wizard?" she added, looking at Luna with her eyebrow raised.
"I think, personal thoughts aside, that Dumbledore is considered to be the greatest wizard of this age," Luna said. "Even if there is someone better than him, I do believe that it's Dumbledore who the Harry in the book would also believe to be the greatest wizard of all time."
"Well, book me might believe it, and, while his decisions suck, I myself do believe that he's a pretty good wizard, but I wouldn't go to call him the greatest," Harry said. "I haven't really seen anything to support that. However, I wouldn't call Voldemort the greatest wizard either. I'd just call him a worthless murderer."
"How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
"Why is he so interested in Voldemort?" Harry said. "It was after his time."
"Actually, not true," Hermione said. "He could have known Voldemort. I mean, just because Voldemort didn't start up his little attacks until after Riddle was at school doesn't mean that Riddle wasn't a part of the group. In fact, now that I think about it, I find it odd that Riddle and Voldemort share one of the same talents that's supposedly rare."
"You mean the Parseltongue ability?" Cedric asked. Hermione nodded.
"Yeah, that one. I might say that Riddle and Voldemort are the same, but that wouldn't really make sense because Voldemort was most likely a pure-blood while Riddle isn't. Plus, I can't see Voldemort being a model student, under any circumstances," Hermione said. "Someone who could attempt to murder a small baby... there's no way he could hide how evil he is."
"Well, actually, you never know. He could have been one, especially since he was apparently able to get people onto his side pretty well, and, if what you sat was true, then people wouldn't go to his side at all," Cedric said.
"Actually, some of them still might, since he appears to be a blood bigot," Luna said. "But I get the feeling that he wouldn't have as many followers as he does if they could sense how evil he is, which means that he can hide himself pretty well."
"So, you're saying that it's entirely possible that Voldemort could be a pure-blood version of Riddle," Hermione said. Luna nodded.
"It's obvious that no one could see Riddle for what he really is, and I wouldn't be surprised if Voldemort was more like that until he didn't need to be like that," Luna said.
There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.
"A red gleam?" Harry said, eyes wide as he remembered what it had said about Voldemort in the last book, about him having red eyes. No, it's not possible. They might have one of the same talents, and some of the same beliefs, but that doesn't mean that they're the same person he thought.
"Why do you care how I escaped?" said Harry slowly. "Voldemort was after your time."
"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present and future, Harry Potter ..."
"What does he mean by that?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. Perhaps he means that he's a part of Voldemort's group," Hermione said, though she wasn't sure.
He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
"Marvolo?" Harry said, shaking his head. "I get the feeling that that is definitely a wizarding name."
Cedric and Luna nodded. "I would imagine so, if you've never heard of it," Cedric said.
"I haven't," Harry said,
"Neither have I," Hermione added.
"What I want to know is why are you commenting on this now, especially since we already knew that was his middle name, the name of his grandfather, most likely on his mother's side," Luna said.
"I guess I wasn't paying attention when it was mentioned before," Harry said, looking at Cedric. Cedric flipped back to the chapter where Riddle's memory is seen and reads out, " 'They told me at the orphanage she lived just long enough to name me: Tom after my father, Marvolo after my grandfather. ' "
"I guess I probably should have paid attention to that a bit more," Harry said.
"I don't think you can be blamed for not doing so," Hermione said. "I didn't even catch it."
Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:
"An Anagram," Hermione said. "Interesting."
"A what?" Cedric asked.
"An Anagram is when you make a word or phrase by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase," Hermione said. "It's also a game that I've played with my parents."
"Oh," Cedric said, looking back to the book and finding where he left off. His eyes widened as she read the next sentence, and he spoke with evident surprise in his voice.
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"What?" the others cried out, also surprised.
"Did it just say that Riddle is Voldemort?" Harry asked. Cedric nodded.
"But-but-but he's a half-blood," Hermione said.
"I know," Cedric said.
"Then why is he such bigot?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Cedric said. "I am just as surprised as you guys are, you know."
"Sorry, it's just a shock to learn this," Hermione said.
"Well, that would explain why I got such a bad feeling when it mentioned his eyes having a red gleam to them," Harry said. "It's a bit of a forshadowing for what he will eventually look like."
"And it seems that he can fool people of his evil nature," Luna said.
"I wonder if his followers know this fact?" Hermione said. "And I wonder why he seems to hate Muggleborns so much."
"I doubt it, because he wouldn't have some of the ones he does have if they did," Cedric said. "As for why he hates Muggleborns, I don't know. I don't know what goes on in his head, after all."
"Right, sorry," Hermione said, shaking her head. She really needed to stop expecting Cedric to know everything about Riddle/Voldemort. He might be the eldest, and therefore know more about the Magical world and Hogwarts than Luna would, but that didn't mean he would know every answer to her questions.
"Do you think that Hagrid knows that Riddle is Voldemort?" Luna asked.
"Probably not, though I get the feeling that Dumbledore might," Hermione said, eyes narrowing at that thought. If he did, then it was strike...well, she really ought to count them, but she'd found more strikes against Dumbledore when rereading the first book than she expected, so, it wasn't her fault that she hadn't done so. She got the feeling that, by the time they'd finished these books, she'd find plenty of reasons why Dumbledore wasn't to be trusted, and most likely didn't earn the trust that he seemed to foster around him. And now, she also had another list to make – what was it about Voldemort that allowed him to have gathered followers so easily, and had people so easily duped when he was still in school.
"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course."
"I doubt that's true. It's most likely that these 'friends' are actually his first followers," Hermione said. "I don't think he actually has any friends."
"You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name for ever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch?"
"So his father abandoned him," Hermione said. "Well, that would explain his dislike for Muggles, but not Muggleborns."
"Well, since he's surrounds himself with people like Malfoy, it's could be that he began to believe that they are filth like they do," Cedric said. "I have heard, to many, that Muggleborns are still just Muggles, so it could be that that's why he targets them as well as Muggles."
"But that's not all he targets, is it," Hermione said.
"No, as shown, he targets half-bloods and pure-bloods just as well," Cedric said, motion towards Harry. "His father was a pure-blood, and he's a half-blood, and there have been others who refused to join him that have died. Hagrid even mentioned some of them in the first book."
"And his followers don't notice that he's not only killing the impure, but pure as well?" Hermione said, shaking her head. "What, are they blind to the fact that he's just killing everyone who doesn't agree with him? What would happen if one of them dared to disagree with him, even if it's over something so small that it's not worth being mentioned? Or when it's just him and his followers left?"
"I don't know, but I would imagine that it wouldn't be pretty," Cedric said.
"No, Harry. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak,"
"Okay, we've got to get people more used to speaking it," Hermione said.
"Yeah, because they're playing into his hands when it comes to that," Harry said. "This will probably make sure that I, at the very least, never say anything but his name when it comes to him, even if it would make others feel better."
"when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"
"He's extremely arrogant, isn't he," Hermione said. "They don't fear to speak his name because he's great, it's because he's scares them, nothing else."
Harry's brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry's own parents, and so many others ...
"It's probably a lot to take in, isn't it," Hermione said. Harry nodded.
At last he forced himself to speak.
"You're not," he said, his quiet voice full of hatred.
"Not what?" snapped Riddle.
"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," said Harry, breathing fast.
"He never will be, either," Harry said.
"Sorry to disappoint you, and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days."
"That's going to upset him, especially considering how true it is," Hermione said.
The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.
"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.
"Sheer arrogance," Hermione said. "He had nothing to do with Dumbledore leaving, nothing what so ever. The only reason why Dumbledore isn't there is because of Malfoy's father, and Dumbledore most likely would be there otherwise."
"Well, since Malfoy's father is one of his servants, then he probably takes credit for anything they do," Cedric said. "Never mind technicalities."
"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true.
"That's almost like what Dumbledore had said when he was first told he was to leave," Hermione said, remembering when it was first known that the 'governors' had suspended him.
Again, Cedric flipped back through the book to find the passage that Hermione was talking about.
" 'However," said Dumbledore, speaking very slowly and clearly, so that none of them could miss a word, "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.' "
Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.
Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry's scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.
A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.
"A phoenix," Luna said.
"I think it's Fawkes," Cedric said. "He's the only phoenix anywhere nearby, after all."
"It probably is," Hermione said.
"I wonder what it sounds like to Riddle," Luna said. "Phoenixes are known to lift the courage of the pure of heart while striking fear in the impure, but, with Riddle not quite being real, it might not effect him that way."
"Really?" Hermione asked. Luna nodded.
"Yeah. At least, that's what it says in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Luna said.
A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and beady black eyes.
The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.
"That's a phoenix ..." said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.
"A force of light," Luna said.
"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently.
"And that –" said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat."
So it was. Patched, frayed and dirty, the Hat lay motionless at Harry's feet.
"Okay," Harry said, a look complete bewilderment on his face. "What am I supposed to do with the hat, sort him into a house?"
"Yeah, I can't see what good the hat would do," Hermione said.
Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once.
"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat!"
"While that hat might be useful, I get the feeling that Fawkes will end up being very useful," Cedric said.
"Yeah, I agree with that," Luna said. "Riddle shouldn't underestimate Fawkes in any way shape or form."
"Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"
"Not particularly," Harry said. "But I won't tell him that, especially since I'm no longer alone."
Harry didn't answer. He might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but he was no longer alone, and he waited with mounting courage for Riddle to stop laughing.
"To business, Harry," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice – in your past, in my future – we have met."
"I take it that Ginny knows about the events of the previous book," Hermione said.
"Ron must've told her," Luna said.
"That's probably not going to help with her hero infatuation," Cedric said.
"And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he added softly, "the longer you stay alive."
"Somehow, I get the feeling that the longer you talk, the more Riddle can drain Ginny, and the chances of her dying increase," Hermione said.
Harry was thinking fast, weighing his chances. Riddle had the wand. He, Harry, had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which would be much good in a duel. It looked bad, all right. But the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny ... and in the meantime, Harry noticed suddenly, Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid. If it had to be a fight between him and Riddle, better sooner than later.
"Smart choice," Hermione said.
"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," said Harry abruptly. "I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother," he added, shaking with suppressed rage.
"Probably the ultimate insult towards him," Cedric said, grinning lightly. While it had probably been insulting to know that a baby was able to defeat him, something he considers lower than dirt and no where near his power being able to defeat him probably stings even more."
"She stopped you killing me. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you're foul!"
"Harry, I don't think it's a good idea to mock him," Hermione said.
Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile.
"So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful counter-charm. I can see now – there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. Because there are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike ..."
"Okay, lets go through this in order. Harry is only half-blood because people won't consider the fact that, as his mother was a witch, he should be considered full blood because they're bigots about it; you're a half-blood because you're father is full Muggle. Harry's orphaned because you killed his parents; you're orphaned because you father left you and was probably still alive while you were in school. Harry was raised by Muggles because of some seriously poor judgement on Dumbledore's part; you were raised by Muggles because they're doesn't seem to be a magical orphanage, despite the fact that it does seem there are those who are orphaned because of bigots who don't like their parents. I doubt you're the only two Parselmouths who went to Hogwarts, so don't attempt to flatter yourself. And, as I said before, there are probably many people who can look like Harry, so it's not lie it really matters if you do or not," Hermione said, finally stopping to take a breath.
"But after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."
"That's good, because it means that you won't have to worry about not being able to save Ginny in time," Hermione said. Since these books were about Harry, and the fact that there were five more after this one, it was reasonable to believe that Harry would be the clear winner of this battle.
"Actually, I prefer to think about ridding the world of Riddle," Harry said. Like Hermione, he figured that, since there were more books, he would survive this battle, and, well, he wasn't exactly sure just how far Ginny's involvement in everything was, but a part of him couldn't help but think that, perhaps, Ginny had written in the diary after stealing it back in order to, hopefully in Ginny's case, put Hermione out of commission. He didn't exactly know why he was thinking that, as there was no proof what so ever about it, but it was thought that had snuck into him mind, and wasn't willing to leave.
Harry stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to raise his wand. But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again.
"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."
"He's going to call the basilisk," Luna said. "Remember, don't look it in the eye."
He cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Harry, fear spreading up his numb legs, watched Riddle stop between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed – but Harry understood what he was saying.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."
"Now, somehow, I think that's something Riddle did," Hermione said. "I doubt Slytherin was so conceited as to actually say that."
Harry wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder.
Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Horror-struck, Harry saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole.
And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.
"Close you're eyes and don't look," Luna said.
Harry backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and as he shut his eyes tight he felt Fawkes's wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. Harry wanted to shout, "Don't leave me!" but what chance did a phoenix have against the king of serpents?
"Quite good, since the Phoenix is immortal and the basilisk isn't," Luna said.
Something huge hit the stone floor of the chamber, Harry felt it shudder. He knew what was happening, he could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then he heard Riddle's hissing voice: "Kill him."
The Basilisk was moving towards Harry, he could hear its heavy body slithering ponderously across the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Harry began to run blindly sideways, his hands outstretched, feeling his way. Riddle was laughing …
"I really, really, really don't like him," Hermione said, glaring at the ground, as if imagining it to be him.
Harry tripped. He fell hard onto the stone and tasted blood. The serpent was barely feet from him, he could hear it coming.
There was a loud, explosive spitting sound right above him and then something heavy hit Harry so hard that he was smashed against the wall.
"I think that you must've been hit by the tail," Cedric said.
Waiting for fangs to sink through his body he heard more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars.
"I think Fawkes has gotten into the fight," Luna said.
He couldn't help it. He opened his eyes wide enough to squint at what was going on.
"Harry!" Hermione and Luna said, both disapproving of the action. He winced.
"You shouldn't do that," Cedric said. "Though, I can't really blame you, because I'd probably do it myself."
The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. As Harry trembled, ready to close his eyes if it turned, he saw what had distracted the snake.
Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the Basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabres.
Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor.
"Oh, thank god," Luna said. "It's safe for you to look."
"What makes you say that?" Harry said.
"While Fawkes might be able to kill it on it's own, I would also imagine that he would do something to make sure you're safe even more, which would mean taking out it's eyes," Luna said.
The snake's tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry, and before Harry could shut his eyes, it turned. Harry looked straight into its face, and saw that its eyes, both its great bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor and the snake was spitting in agony.
"No!" Harry heard Riddle screaming.
"It must suck to be Riddle right now since he was proven wrong on the fact that Fawkes was able to injure the basilisk, especially after saying that he wouldn't be much help to Harry," Hermione said. "Then again, with his arrogance, it's obvious that anything that can knock that arrogance down is needed."
"Leave the bird! Leave the bird! The boy is behind you! You can still smell him! Kill him!"
The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at the Basilisk's scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes.
"Talk about teasing," Harry said, smiling a bit at Fawkes actions. Fawkes was sure to keep the basilisk busy while Harry tried to come up with something of a plan to get him and Ginny out of there alive.
"Help me, help me," Harry muttered wildly, "someone, anyone!"
"Well, that's not going to help me out all that much," Harry said, shaking his head.
"You might be surprised," Cedric said.
The snake's tail whipped across the floor again. Harry ducked. Something soft hit his face.
"The Sorting Hat," Hermione said.
The Basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry's arms. Harry seized it. It was all he had left, his only chance. He rammed it onto his head and threw himself flat onto the floor as the Basilisk's tail swung over him again.
"Help me ... help me ..." Harry thought, his eyes screwed tight under the Hat. "Please help me!"
There was no answering voice. Instead, the Hat contracted, as though an invisible hand was squeezing it very tightly.
Something very hard and heavy thudded onto the top of Harry's head, almost knocking him out.
"Ow," Harry said, rubbing his head. That would really hurt to feel.
"I wonder what it is that almost knocked you out," Hermione said.
Stars winking in front of his eyes, he grabbed the top of the Hat to pull it off and felt something long and hard beneath it.
A gleaming silver sword had appeared inside the Hat, its handle glittering with rubies the size of eggs.
"Whoa," Harry said, mouth falling open. A glance around the room showed that it wasn't just his mouth that had dropped open.
"Well, now we know why Fawkes brought the hat," Hermione said. "If I'd known that was hiding in there to begin with, then I would've brought it with me too."
"Kill the boy! Leave the bird! The boy is behind you! Sniff – smell him!"
"Sounds like he's talking to a dog there," Hermione said.
"I think the basilisk is going to listen and ignore Fawkes now," Cedric said.
"Well, I'm armed now, so I at least have a chance to survive," Harry said.
"Considering that there are five more books, I'd say you'd have more than a chance," Luna said.
Harry was on his feet, ready. The Basilisk's head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face him. He could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow him whole, lined with fangs long as his sword, thin, glittering, venomous …
Harry shivered a bit at the thought. He hoped he didn't get bitten, especially since they were venomous.
It lunged blindly. Harry dodged and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue lashed Harry's side. He raised the sword in both his hands.
The Basilisk lunged again, and this time its aim was true. Harry threw his whole weight behind the sword and drove it to the hilt into the roof of the serpent's mouth.
"Yes," Everyone said.
"And without a single injury, thankfully," Luna said. Cedric, who had looked up at Harry to give him a smile after finding out that he was able to kill the beast, looked down, his smile fading as he read the next sentence in his mind. Seems that Luna is celebrating a bit too early he thought.
But as warm blood drenched Harry's arms, he felt a searing pain just above his elbow. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into his arm and it splintered as the Basilisk keeled over sideways and fell, twitching, to the floor.
"No," Luna said, eyes wide.
"Don't worry, Luna," Harry said. "There are five more books to read, so I obviously don't croak it here."
That cheered her up a bit, but she was still worried.
Harry slid down the wall. He gripped the fang that was spreading poison through his body and wrenched it out of his arm.
"I don't think that's going to help," Hermione said.
But he knew it was too late. White-hot pain was spreading slowly and steadily from the wound. Even as he dropped the fang and watched his own blood soaking his robes, his vision went foggy. The Chamber was dissolving in a whirl of dull colour.
"That would feel weird," Harry said.
A patch of scarlet swam past and Harry heard a soft clatter of claws beside him.
"Fawkes," Luna said, suddenly even more hopeful. As a phoenix, he'd be able to heal Harry...
"Fawkes," said Harry thickly. "You were brilliant, Fawkes ..." He felt the bird lay its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent's fang had pierced him.
"Yay," Luna said, knowing that Fawkes was going to do. Harry and Hermione looked at her, confused, but, before they could ask anything, Cedric continued with the book.
He could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of him.
"You're dead, Harry Potter," said Riddle's voice above him.
"Not quite. So long as Harry can hear you, he's not dead yet," Hermione said.
"Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."
"Idiot," Cedric said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Remember what Dumbledore said about phoenixes. They can carry heavy loads, make highly faithful pets, and their tears have healing powers," Cedric said, emphasising the last part. Harry's eyes widened in understanding.
"Fawkes is healing me," he said. He turned to Luna. "That's why you were happy when it said that Fawkes laid his head on the spot where the fang had pierced my arm. Because you knew that he was going to try and heal me."
"Yup," Luna said.
Harry blinked. Fawkes's head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers.
"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I'm in no hurry."
"He's going to be waiting a long time, though," Hermione said. "Since he's not going to die."
Harry felt drowsy. Everything around him seemed to be spinning.
"Must be a effect of the poison mixing with the tears," Harry said.
"So ends the famous Harry Potter," said Riddle's distant voice. "Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged."
"He didn't challenge you, you challenged him," Hermione said.
"You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry ..."
"I can't wait to hear about how I'll be beating him this time around," Harry growled. He didn't like hearing his mother being called that word.
"She bought you twelve years of borrowed time ... but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must."
"The only thing we know is that Harry's going to win against you, this time," Hermione said.
If this is dying, thought Harry, it's not so bad. Even the pain was leaving him …
"You're pretty much fully healed," Luna said.
But was this dying? Instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus. Harry gave his head a little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on Harry's arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound – except that there was no wound.
"Get away, bird," said Riddle's voice suddenly.
"Don't call Fawkes a 'bird'," Luna growled. "Show him some respect."
It was obvious that Luna was forgetting who she was talking to at the moment.
"Get away from him. I said, get away!"
"Oh, did you just realize what was going on now," Hermione said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
Harry raised his head. Riddle was pointing Harry's wand at Fawkes; there was a bang like a gun and Fawkes took flight again in a whirl of gold and scarlet.
"Phoenix tears ..." said Riddle quietly, staring at Harry's arm. "Of course ... healing powers ... I forgot ..."
"More like you didn't take it into you're mind because you didn't think it was worth anything," Hermione said. "Since a Phoenix is probably a sign of good, and you most likely don't see good being very powerful, then it's obvious that you underestimated Fawkes because of that."
He looked into Harry's face. "But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter ... you and me ..."
He raised the wand.
"Geez, I wonder what his followers would do if they saw just how cowardly their master is," Hermione said.
"Probably nothing, since the majority of them are the same way," Cedric said.
"And yet people have trouble beating them," Hermione said. "Did anyone really even try to get rid of them, or did they expect someone else to do it because they're cowards."
Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes soared back overhead and something fell into Harry's lap – the diary.
"Destroy it," Hermione said. "That's why Fawkes is giving it to you, to destroy it."
"That does make sense, since the diary is probably what is linking Riddle to Ginny and allowing him to drain her," Harry said.
For a split second, both Harry and Riddle, wand still raised, stared at it. Then, without thinking, without considering, as though he had meant to do it all along, Harry seized the Basilisk fang on the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book.
There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Harry's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then ...
He had gone.
"Yay," Luna said.
"Now, if we could just figure out what it was, because I get the feeling that what was going on wasn't a normal thing, even in the wizarding world," Hermione said.
"You're right, it isn't normal," Cedric said.
Harry's wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The Basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.
Shaking all over, Harry pulled himself up. His head was spinning as though he'd just travelled miles by Floo powder. Slowly, he gathered together his wand and the Sorting Hat, and, with a huge tug, retrieved the glittering sword from the roof of the Basilisk's mouth.
"Yeah, don't want to forget the sword," Hermione said. "Especially if you have to tell the story, because I don't think anyone will really believe it otherwise."
Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring. As Harry hurried towards her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes travelled from the huge form of the dead Basilisk, over Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand.
"It must be a lot to take in," Luna said. "Though, I still wish I knew what was going through her head when she stole the diary back."
She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.
"Harry – oh, Harry – I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy. It was me, Harry – but I – I s-swear I d-didn't mean to – R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over – and – how did you kill that – that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary –"
"That's got to be weird, waking up after seeing that. And I thought she didn't have any memory of what Riddle did while possessing her. Or was that a lie," Harry said.
"I think it's actually common sense," Hermione said. "Plus, it does sound as if she was awake when she first got there – he probably told her everything he did while in her body, which, now that I think about it, makes me feel a little sorry for her. I mean, she was possessed."
"Well, I'm having trouble on that end because she not only didn't try to tell a teacher, like she should have, but actually wrote in the diary after stealing it back," Harry said. "It's hard to feel sorry for her when her actions caused you to be petrified."
"Well, somehow, I don't think your book self has a problem forgiving her," Luna said.
"Well my book self just beat a basilisk, had to be healed after being poisoned, and isn't thinking straight," Harry said.
"So, basically, you're book self is acting a lot like mine was," Hermione said.
"Yup. That, and, since I'm not actually living this, I'm able to take in more of what's going on, and understand it a bit better," Harry said. "I don't think it actually occurred to my book self on how stupid it was for Ginny to write in the diary after stealing it back."
"Plus, I don't think you want to go accusing her after not only hearing Riddle making fun of her earlier, but it's obvious she's upset right now as well," Cedric said.
"It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the Basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here –"
"Yes, lets," Harry said. "Hopefully, we don't ever have to go there again."
"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept, as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet.
"I doubt that'll happen," Cedric said. "Dumbledore's most likely back by now, and he won't let her take the fall for it, especially since it wasn't completely her fault." Like Harry, Cedric thought that it was stupid of Ginny to write the the diary, especially if she was suspicious of it.
"I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and – w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"
"I'd hate to know what her mother would say," Cedric said, wincing. He had the feeling that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be the most gracious person if it came to Ginny being expelled. Though, Mrs. Weasley's worry about Ginny might overshadow her pride...
Fawkes was waiting for them, hovering in the Chamber entrance. Harry urged Ginny forward; they stepped over the motionless coils of the dead Basilisk, through the echoing gloom and back into the tunnel. Harry heard the stone doors close behind them with a soft hiss.
After a few minutes' progress up the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rock reached Harry's ears.
"Where almost to where we left Ron," Harry said. "He's going to be so happy to see Ginny."
"Ron!" Harry yelled, speeding up. "Ginny's OK! I've got her!"
He heard Ron give a strangled cheer and they turned the next bend to see his eager face staring through the sizeable gap he had managed to make in the rock fall.
"Good, you don't have to wait to get out," Hermione said.
"Ginny!" Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened?"
"He didn't think she'd be alive," Hermione said. "How nice to hear."
"Well, you can't blame him," Luna said.
"True," Hermione said. "I just would have thought that he wouldn't have said that he didn't believe that she would be alive out of his words. It makes him sound a little insensitive."
He tried to hug her but Ginny held him off, sobbing.
"I wouldn't thought she would want comfort from her brother," Harry said.
"My guess is she wants your arms around her," Luna said.
"She should let her brother hug her. Considering what he went through, thinking she was dead, he needs the comfort just as much as she does," Harry said.
"But you're okay, Ginny," said Ron, beaming at her. "It's over now, it's – where did that bird come from?"
"Oh, you know, he was already down there and then took a liking to me," Harry said.
Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny.
"He's Dumbledore's," said Harry, squeezing through himself.
"And how come you've got a sword?" said Ron, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harry's hand.
"Yeah, that would be weird, going to the chamber with nothing only to come back with a bird, sword, and the Sorting Hat with you," Cedric said.
"I'll explain when we get out of here," said Harry, with a sideways glance at Ginny.
"I must not want to upset her even more," Harry said. "I can probably that she's a bit fragile right now."
"I do hope that she'll get help once you guys get out of there," Hermione said. "She's going to need it after what she went through."
"But –"
"Later," Harry said quickly. He didn't think it was a good idea to tell Ron yet who'd been opening the Chamber, not in front of Ginny, anyway. "Where's Lockhart?"
"Yeah, what did Ron do with him. Did he keep knock him unconscious?" Cedric asked.
"I know I would," Harry said.
"Back there," said Ron, grinning and jerking his head up the tunnel towards the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see."
"Well, if Ron's grinning about it, I'd say that he's not really harmed," Cedric said.
"My guess is, like with the slugs, it hit him over you guys, and, because the wand was malfunctioning, the spell was messed up in some way," Hermione said.
Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.
"His memory's gone," said Ron.
"Yep, it definitely malfunctioned," Cedric said. "Unless he was planning on erasing every little bit of your memory."
"The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."
"Yeah, I can see how that is," Hermione said. "Plus, I get the feeling that Ron was probably tempted to harm him himself if he hadn't ordered Lockhart away."
Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all.
"Hello," he said. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"
"You should say that he lives there," Hermione said.
"No," said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry.
Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.
"How are you going to get back?" Hermione asked.
"Fawkes will probably be able to help," Luna said.
"Oh, right," Hermione said, thinking about one of the other things about phoenixes that was known and could be useful in this case.
"Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" he said to Ron.
Ron shook his head, but Fawkes the phoenix had swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Harry looked uncertainly at him.
"He looks like he wants you to grab hold ..." said Ron, looking perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there."
"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird," Harry said.
"Fawkes," said Harry, "isn't an ordinary bird."
"No need to repeat yourself Harry," Hermione said.
He turned quickly to the others. "We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart –"
"I don't think you really have to call him professor now," Hermione said.
"He means you," said Ron sharply to Lockhart.
"You hold Ginny's other hand."
"What, don't want her holding onto you?" Luna said.
"No," Harry said point blank.
Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt, Ron took hold of the back of Harry's robes, and Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkes's strangely hot tail feathers.
An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through his whole body, and next second, with a whoosh, they were flying upwards through the pipe. Harry could hear Lockhart dangling below him, saying, "Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!"
There was a lot of laughter at that.
"Well, you are in a school of magic," Harry said, a smile on his face.
The chill air was whipping through Harry's hair, and before he'd stopped enjoying the ride, it was over – all four of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat,
"So, even losing his memory can't make him stop being so vain about his appearance," Hermione said.
the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place.
Myrtle goggled at them.
"You're alive," she said blankly to Harry.
"No need for her to sound so disappointed," Luna said.
"There's no need to sound so disappointed," he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses.
"No need for it to be repeated," Hermione said. Cedric, who again, read on a bit to himself, had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the next sentence.
"Oh, well ... I'd just been thinking. If you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," said Myrtle, blushing silver.
"Oh, god," Harry said, while the others bursted out laughing. "I'm never going into the bathroom ever again."
"Ah, why not Harry," Hermione said.
"You know, it's kind of weird that a ghost has a crush on you, especially since she most likely doesn't really know much about you," Cedric said.
"Perhaps she has a crush on him because he asked her how she died," Hermione said.
"That would make sense, since it kind of shows that he cares about her," Luna said. "Or, at leasts, that's how she rationalizes it."
"Can we continue with the chapter," Harry said, cheeks a extreme red color. Cedric nodded, still smile, as he went back to the book.
"Urgh!" said Ron, as they left the bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. "Harry! I think Myrtle's got fond of you! You've got competition, Ginny!"
"That almost sounds as if Ron believes that Ginny's supposed to be with me," Harry said.
"Well, he probably was exposed to that belief from a young age as well," Luna said. "And, I would imagine that, Ron would rather her with you than someone else, mostly because he at least knows that you're a nice guy, though I don't think he'll force her on you, either."
"Well, I can't see me with her," Harry said. "And why would Mrs. Weasley believe that I would want Ginny, anyway?"
"People are always saying that it was your mother's red hair that attracted your father, and, therefore, Potters are obviously attracted to red haired women," Cedric said. "Don't think that's completely true, though, because, from the pictures of the Potters that I've seen, your mother is the only red head of the bunch."
"Really?" Harry said. Cedric nodded.
"I'm sure that we could somehow show you those pictures," Cedric said.
"I think I'd like that," Harry said.
But tears were still flooding silently down Ginny's face.
"Where now?" said Ron, with an anxious look at Ginny. Harry pointed.
"I think Fawkes will probably show us where we need to go," Harry said.
Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. They strode after him, and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagall's office.
Harry knocked and pushed the door open.
"That's the end of that chapter," said Cedric, handing the book over to Luna.