Chapter 18: - The Heir of Slytherin
Harry Potter and Yugi Muto stood at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber.
Harry pulled out his wand, holding it ready and Yugi followed suit. "Ready?" Harry asked Yugi as he glared into the gloom.
"I'm ready; come on Ginny is waiting for us." Yugi replied. Harry still couldn't believe his luck; he had friends who were ready to follow him into the lair of a monster without a second thought. But he didn't have time to think of that, like Yugi had said, Ginny was waiting for them.
They tried to move quietly but every footstep echoed loudly.
Soon the Chamber came into view, and between the feet of a giant statue was a shock of red hair.
"Ginny" The boys shouted, Harry in his haste dropped his wand.
"Ginny! Don't be dead! Please don't be dead!" Harry turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be…
Harry glanced at Yugi but Yugi wasn't watching him or Ginny.
"Why won't she wake up?" He asked Yugi.
"Riddle…" Yugi muttered, gesturing towards a ghostly figure and backing away from it.
Harry stared, "Tom – Tom Riddle?" and the figure nodded.
"She won't wake." Riddle said in a soft voice.
"What have you done Riddle?" Yugi asked, jumping to his own conclusions rather rapidly.
"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."
Harry was still rather confused. "Are you a ghost?" He asked uncertainly.
"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years." He pointed towards the small book that looked liked it had simply been discarded beside the statue.
"You've got to help us, Tom," Harry said, attempting to lift Ginny. "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 us…"
Riddle didn't move, and Yugi hissed, "Harry!" He still had his wand out and pointed at Riddle. Harry somehow managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor and bent to pick up his discarded wand.
It was gone.
"Did you see-?" Harry began, but then looked up to see Riddle twirling Harry's wand between his fingers.
"Thanks" said Harry, holding his hand out for it.
Riddle smiled slowly, he continued to stare at the two boys.
"Harry…" Yugi whispered urgently, wishing the younger boy would get a clue.
"Listen," said Harry as he struggled with Ginny's dead weight, "we've got to go! Come on Yugi. If the Basilisk comes…"
"It won't come until it is called," Riddle informed them calmly.
"Harry… don't you see? Riddle's the heir." Yugi whispered, hoping that Riddle wouldn't hear the actual words.
"What d'you mean?" he said. "Look, Tom, give me my wand, I might need it."
"You won't be needing it" he said.
"Expelliarmus!" Both Yugi and Riddle shouted at the same time, but Riddle was quicker with the wand motion and Yugi's wand was neatly caught as Yugi was flung backwards, tripping over Ginny and hitting his head on the statue where he crumpled.
"Yugi!" Harry cried out.
"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "for a chance to see you. To speak with you… alone."
"Look," said Harry, the truth slowing dawning on him, but he resisted "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later."
"We're going to talk now," said Riddle, smiling broadly as he pocketed both wands. "You know I was very disappointed when Ginny stole my diary back, I thought I had gained yours and Muto's trust by showing you my famous capture of that oaf Hagrid."
"Hagrid's my friend," Said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, "And you framed him, didn't you?"
"It was my word against Hagrid's." Riddle began but Harry nodded.
"And you couldn't resist being the hero."
Riddle snorted, "I'm surprised they accepted that Hagrid as the culprit. After all it took me years to work out the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Only Dumbledore seemed to doubt me, he believed Hagrid was innocent."
"Tom, this is silly, we don't have to be enemies, why are you acting this way? Help me get Yugi and Ginny out of here. You could redeem yourself." Harry told him; maybe he had listened to too many of Yami's stories about villains that became friendly.
Riddle put on his innocent face, "Oh, but Harry Potter, I just had to meet; face to face the boy who defeated the greatest wizard of all time. So tell me Harry Potter how did you do it? How did a mere child of no great talent manage to escape with only a scar?"
"Why do you care how I escaped? Lord Voldemort was after your time." Said Harry slowly, he was still puzzled.
Riddle pulled Harry's wand from his pocket, and traced through the air three shimmering words:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
Then waved the wand once more so the letters rearranged themselves:
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"Can you imagine Ginny's shock if she had known her dear friend Tom was actually Lord Voldemort? She poured her life and soul into my diary, confiding in me, and I oh course wrote back, being ever so comforting. Then when she had poured enough of herself into me I began to pour myself into her."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked slowly, a thought was jumping up and down in his mind, demanding to be heard, Harry suspected it was shouting Run but he didn't dare, he couldn't leave Yugi and Ginny behind… maybe if he kept Riddle, talking then Yugi would come to his senses and it'll be two against one, then again they were wandless and Riddle had all the wands…
"Dear Tom," he recited, and Harry felt ill, "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 Hallowe'en, 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 clenched, the nails digging deep, he risked a small glance over to Ginny and Yugi. Was Ginny getting weaker? Yugi stirred slightly, but Harry decided he couldn't wait much longer. Ginny was getting weaker… and Riddle stronger.
"Ginny took ages to stop trusting me, but before she threw me away she told me plenty about you and your friends, but especially you Harry Potter. So tell me, how did you, a mere child defeat the greatest wizard of all time?"
"You're not," Harry said, his voice filled with hatred, thinking something along the lines of Get him angry, too angry to think. Get him to point that he's just reacting and no longer thinking. And keep him away from Yugi and Ginny. He made sure to move his body so he was standing between Riddle and his friends.
"Not what?" Riddle snapped.
"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," Harry said, thinking fast, "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 then and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days!"
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's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorted, more to scare Riddle and buy time then anything else. Riddle opened his mouth to speak but froze.
Music coming from somewhere. Riddle wheeled 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 head. Harry saw Yugi's eyes open, but he signalled carefully for the small boy to stay down, luckily for them, at that exact moment a crimson bird the size of a swan appeared, piping it's weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacocks, and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle, distracting Riddle.
It flew at Harry, dropping the ragged thing at his feet, and then landed over by Yugi. "That's a Phoenix." Riddle said, staring at it, Harry breathed slightly easier when he saw Yugi was pretending to still be out cold. "And that," Said Riddle, who was now looking at the ragged thing at Harry's feet, "Is the old sorting hat." Riddle laughed, the echoes making it sound like there was ten Riddles laughing at once. "This! This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"
Harry didn't answer, he was too busy weighing up his options, Riddle had both Harry and Yugi's wands, while on Harry's side was Yugi, the Millennium Puzzle, Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, and while Yugi's brand of magic was powerful it was also potentially dangerous and couldn't be relied upon. They had to think of something quickly though, Ginny was fading fast and if he was correct Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid, if it had to be a fight between them and Riddle they had to do it sooner rather then later.
"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a lesson. Let's see the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."
He turned away from Harry and Yugi; towards to the giant, stone face of Slytherin, Yugi got to his feet, Harry watched, fear spreading through him quickly. Yugi didn't understand what Riddle said, but Harry did…
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." Harry and Yugi watched as the mouth on the statue opened and something slithered out, Harry and Yugi both closed their eyes tightly, knowing exactly what was emerging. Then they heard Riddle hissing, Harry knew what he said, "Kill the black haired boy." Harry gulped; he could hear the Basilisk slithering towards them. Harry ran one way, Yugi ran the other. Harry tripped and hit the floor hard; the serpent was barely feet from him.
"Hey! Greeny! Over here!" Yugi shouted, Harry couldn't help it; he opened his eyes in surprise. The Basilisk was heading for Yugi, and Harry could see the Puzzle glow and shadows surround the Basilisk, binding it to the spot, Fawkes attacked, his golden beak vanishing from sight, and dark blood splattered the floor.
Yugi opened his eyes, he'd been using his shadow magic to sense where the Basilisk was, but Fawkes's fiery magical signature had told him the bird had dived in at where he sensed the Basilisk was. Yugi saw Fawkes had punctured the Basilisk's eyes, they could look again, "Hey, you! Over here!" Yugi shouted, buying Harry time.
Harry rushed over to the Sorting Hat, shoving it on his head quickly, Help us! Somebody please!
All right, you don't have to shout… Something hard hit Harry on the head; Harry pulled the hat off and pulled out the item. A gleaming silver sword had appeared; its handle glittered with rubies.
"Not that boy!" Riddle hissed, "The other one, you can still smell the difference." Yugi had to dive out of the way as Riddle fired a spell off at him and the shadow magic paralysing the Basilisk vanished. The Basilisk wheeled around and went for Harry, who plunged the sword into the roof of the serpent's mouth.
"Yes!" Yugi shouted as the Basilisk fell over, then he watched in horror as Harry slid down the wall he'd ended up backed against, "Harry!" He shouted as he rushed over, "What's wrong?" He asked, but he could see the answer, the Basilisk had gotten one of it's fangs into Harry. He pulled it out, not knowing what else to do.
"It doesn't matter that you killed the Basilisk, Harry Potter, both you and Muto will die here tonight!" He pointed Yugi's wand at its owner's chest.
"Yugi…" Harry said thickly, "The diary!"
Yugi nodded and drove the fang into the diary, "NO!" Riddle yelled, as ink spurted out of the book. Riddle vanished and Ginny awoke. She rushed over to the two as Yugi tried to see if there was anything he could do. Fawkes landed next to them.
"Fawkes, you were brilliant! Yugi, thanks…" Harry trailed off, thick pearly tears were trickling down Fawkes's feathers and onto the spot where the fang had pierced Harry's arm.
Yugi watched in shock as the wound vanished, healing in front of him, "Of course…" He murmured, remembering something his Grandpa had told him, "Phoenix tears, they have healing powers!" He helped Harry to his feet, and Ginny started to cry.
"Harry, Yugi, I'm sorry… It was me, but I… I s…swear I d…didn't mean to… R…Riddle made me, he t…took me over!" Yugi understood what she meant, "and… how did you kill that…that thing? W…where's Riddle? The last I think I r…remember is him coming out of the diary…"
"It's all right," Yugi said, holding up the diary, Ginny gasped when she saw the hole in the centre of the book, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the Basilisk. Come on let's get out of…"
"Yugi!" Joey yelled, as he, Ron, and Ombre rushed into the chamber. He spotted his friends and rushed over. "Harry! Are you both alright?"
"We're fine, thanks to Fawkes." Harry said, though he felt like he'd been hit by a truck.
"Ginny!" Ron gasped, hugging his sister, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Ombre looked at Harry oddly, "Where'd you get the sword?"
"Ombre…" Yugi said, watching her, "What did you do to Lockheart?"
"Sent him to the Shadow Realm." Ombre said solemnly, Yugi stared at her, shocked.
"You didn't…"
"I wish…No he's lost his memories, we told him to wait for us at the rock fall." Ombre smirked.
"I never know when she's serious when she's in this mood." Joey sighed. Yugi and Harry laughed as they walked out of the Chamber, Yugi realised he was still holding the diary, Dumbledore'll wanna see this. He thought.
Lockheart was sat on a pile of rocks, "Hello," He said to Yugi and Harry, "This is an odd sort of place, do you two live here?"
"PLEASE!" Ombre begged Yugi, "Please, please, please." Yugi shook his head firmly and Ombre pouted.
"Ombre," Harry said as they reached the pipe, "Is there any chance you could lift us up there?" Ombre stopped pleading with Yugi long enough to consider it.
"Sorry, the Orb's powerful, but not that powerful." She said, and then turned back to pleading with Yugi.
Fawkes swooped past them, and was now fluttering in front of Harry, waving his golden tail feathers. "It looks like he wants us to grab on." Ron said, "But surely Fawkes can't carry one person, let alone all six of us."
"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird." Harry said, grabbing hold. Once everyone was holding onto to either Fawkes or someone who was holding on, Fawkes shot up the pipe and within minutes they were back in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Myrtle goggled at them, "You're alive." She said blankly to Harry.
"No need to sound so disappointed." He said grimly as he flicked blood and slime off his glasses.
"Oh, well… I'd been thinking. If you'd died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet."
"Urgh!" Joey said, talking to Yugi in Japanese as they walked out of the bathroom and into the deserted corridor, "You know, I think Myrtle's got a crush on Harry." Joey laughed, "Hey Ginny, I think you've got competition."
Tears were still flowing down the girl's face and Yugi kicked his friend in the shin.
"Where now?" Ron asked as Joey yelped.
Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold in the corridor. They followed and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagall's office. Harry knocked and pushed the door open.
Harry pulled out his wand, holding it ready and Yugi followed suit. "Ready?" Harry asked Yugi as he glared into the gloom.
"I'm ready; come on Ginny is waiting for us." Yugi replied. Harry still couldn't believe his luck; he had friends who were ready to follow him into the lair of a monster without a second thought. But he didn't have time to think of that, like Yugi had said, Ginny was waiting for them.
They tried to move quietly but every footstep echoed loudly.
Soon the Chamber came into view, and between the feet of a giant statue was a shock of red hair.
"Ginny" The boys shouted, Harry in his haste dropped his wand.
"Ginny! Don't be dead! Please don't be dead!" Harry turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be…
Harry glanced at Yugi but Yugi wasn't watching him or Ginny.
"Why won't she wake up?" He asked Yugi.
"Riddle…" Yugi muttered, gesturing towards a ghostly figure and backing away from it.
Harry stared, "Tom – Tom Riddle?" and the figure nodded.
"She won't wake." Riddle said in a soft voice.
"What have you done Riddle?" Yugi asked, jumping to his own conclusions rather rapidly.
"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."
Harry was still rather confused. "Are you a ghost?" He asked uncertainly.
"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years." He pointed towards the small book that looked liked it had simply been discarded beside the statue.
"You've got to help us, Tom," Harry said, attempting to lift Ginny. "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 us…"
Riddle didn't move, and Yugi hissed, "Harry!" He still had his wand out and pointed at Riddle. Harry somehow managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor and bent to pick up his discarded wand.
It was gone.
"Did you see-?" Harry began, but then looked up to see Riddle twirling Harry's wand between his fingers.
"Thanks" said Harry, holding his hand out for it.
Riddle smiled slowly, he continued to stare at the two boys.
"Harry…" Yugi whispered urgently, wishing the younger boy would get a clue.
"Listen," said Harry as he struggled with Ginny's dead weight, "we've got to go! Come on Yugi. If the Basilisk comes…"
"It won't come until it is called," Riddle informed them calmly.
"Harry… don't you see? Riddle's the heir." Yugi whispered, hoping that Riddle wouldn't hear the actual words.
"What d'you mean?" he said. "Look, Tom, give me my wand, I might need it."
"You won't be needing it" he said.
"Expelliarmus!" Both Yugi and Riddle shouted at the same time, but Riddle was quicker with the wand motion and Yugi's wand was neatly caught as Yugi was flung backwards, tripping over Ginny and hitting his head on the statue where he crumpled.
"Yugi!" Harry cried out.
"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "for a chance to see you. To speak with you… alone."
"Look," said Harry, the truth slowing dawning on him, but he resisted "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later."
"We're going to talk now," said Riddle, smiling broadly as he pocketed both wands. "You know I was very disappointed when Ginny stole my diary back, I thought I had gained yours and Muto's trust by showing you my famous capture of that oaf Hagrid."
"Hagrid's my friend," Said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, "And you framed him, didn't you?"
"It was my word against Hagrid's." Riddle began but Harry nodded.
"And you couldn't resist being the hero."
Riddle snorted, "I'm surprised they accepted that Hagrid as the culprit. After all it took me years to work out the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Only Dumbledore seemed to doubt me, he believed Hagrid was innocent."
"Tom, this is silly, we don't have to be enemies, why are you acting this way? Help me get Yugi and Ginny out of here. You could redeem yourself." Harry told him; maybe he had listened to too many of Yami's stories about villains that became friendly.
Riddle put on his innocent face, "Oh, but Harry Potter, I just had to meet; face to face the boy who defeated the greatest wizard of all time. So tell me Harry Potter how did you do it? How did a mere child of no great talent manage to escape with only a scar?"
"Why do you care how I escaped? Lord Voldemort was after your time." Said Harry slowly, he was still puzzled.
Riddle pulled Harry's wand from his pocket, and traced through the air three shimmering words:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
Then waved the wand once more so the letters rearranged themselves:
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"Can you imagine Ginny's shock if she had known her dear friend Tom was actually Lord Voldemort? She poured her life and soul into my diary, confiding in me, and I oh course wrote back, being ever so comforting. Then when she had poured enough of herself into me I began to pour myself into her."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked slowly, a thought was jumping up and down in his mind, demanding to be heard, Harry suspected it was shouting Run but he didn't dare, he couldn't leave Yugi and Ginny behind… maybe if he kept Riddle, talking then Yugi would come to his senses and it'll be two against one, then again they were wandless and Riddle had all the wands…
"Dear Tom," he recited, and Harry felt ill, "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 Hallowe'en, 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 clenched, the nails digging deep, he risked a small glance over to Ginny and Yugi. Was Ginny getting weaker? Yugi stirred slightly, but Harry decided he couldn't wait much longer. Ginny was getting weaker… and Riddle stronger.
"Ginny took ages to stop trusting me, but before she threw me away she told me plenty about you and your friends, but especially you Harry Potter. So tell me, how did you, a mere child defeat the greatest wizard of all time?"
"You're not," Harry said, his voice filled with hatred, thinking something along the lines of Get him angry, too angry to think. Get him to point that he's just reacting and no longer thinking. And keep him away from Yugi and Ginny. He made sure to move his body so he was standing between Riddle and his friends.
"Not what?" Riddle snapped.
"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," Harry said, thinking fast, "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 then and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days!"
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's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorted, more to scare Riddle and buy time then anything else. Riddle opened his mouth to speak but froze.
Music coming from somewhere. Riddle wheeled 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 head. Harry saw Yugi's eyes open, but he signalled carefully for the small boy to stay down, luckily for them, at that exact moment a crimson bird the size of a swan appeared, piping it's weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacocks, and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle, distracting Riddle.
It flew at Harry, dropping the ragged thing at his feet, and then landed over by Yugi. "That's a Phoenix." Riddle said, staring at it, Harry breathed slightly easier when he saw Yugi was pretending to still be out cold. "And that," Said Riddle, who was now looking at the ragged thing at Harry's feet, "Is the old sorting hat." Riddle laughed, the echoes making it sound like there was ten Riddles laughing at once. "This! This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"
Harry didn't answer, he was too busy weighing up his options, Riddle had both Harry and Yugi's wands, while on Harry's side was Yugi, the Millennium Puzzle, Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, and while Yugi's brand of magic was powerful it was also potentially dangerous and couldn't be relied upon. They had to think of something quickly though, Ginny was fading fast and if he was correct Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid, if it had to be a fight between them and Riddle they had to do it sooner rather then later.
"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a lesson. Let's see the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."
He turned away from Harry and Yugi; towards to the giant, stone face of Slytherin, Yugi got to his feet, Harry watched, fear spreading through him quickly. Yugi didn't understand what Riddle said, but Harry did…
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." Harry and Yugi watched as the mouth on the statue opened and something slithered out, Harry and Yugi both closed their eyes tightly, knowing exactly what was emerging. Then they heard Riddle hissing, Harry knew what he said, "Kill the black haired boy." Harry gulped; he could hear the Basilisk slithering towards them. Harry ran one way, Yugi ran the other. Harry tripped and hit the floor hard; the serpent was barely feet from him.
"Hey! Greeny! Over here!" Yugi shouted, Harry couldn't help it; he opened his eyes in surprise. The Basilisk was heading for Yugi, and Harry could see the Puzzle glow and shadows surround the Basilisk, binding it to the spot, Fawkes attacked, his golden beak vanishing from sight, and dark blood splattered the floor.
Yugi opened his eyes, he'd been using his shadow magic to sense where the Basilisk was, but Fawkes's fiery magical signature had told him the bird had dived in at where he sensed the Basilisk was. Yugi saw Fawkes had punctured the Basilisk's eyes, they could look again, "Hey, you! Over here!" Yugi shouted, buying Harry time.
Harry rushed over to the Sorting Hat, shoving it on his head quickly, Help us! Somebody please!
All right, you don't have to shout… Something hard hit Harry on the head; Harry pulled the hat off and pulled out the item. A gleaming silver sword had appeared; its handle glittered with rubies.
"Not that boy!" Riddle hissed, "The other one, you can still smell the difference." Yugi had to dive out of the way as Riddle fired a spell off at him and the shadow magic paralysing the Basilisk vanished. The Basilisk wheeled around and went for Harry, who plunged the sword into the roof of the serpent's mouth.
"Yes!" Yugi shouted as the Basilisk fell over, then he watched in horror as Harry slid down the wall he'd ended up backed against, "Harry!" He shouted as he rushed over, "What's wrong?" He asked, but he could see the answer, the Basilisk had gotten one of it's fangs into Harry. He pulled it out, not knowing what else to do.
"It doesn't matter that you killed the Basilisk, Harry Potter, both you and Muto will die here tonight!" He pointed Yugi's wand at its owner's chest.
"Yugi…" Harry said thickly, "The diary!"
Yugi nodded and drove the fang into the diary, "NO!" Riddle yelled, as ink spurted out of the book. Riddle vanished and Ginny awoke. She rushed over to the two as Yugi tried to see if there was anything he could do. Fawkes landed next to them.
"Fawkes, you were brilliant! Yugi, thanks…" Harry trailed off, thick pearly tears were trickling down Fawkes's feathers and onto the spot where the fang had pierced Harry's arm.
Yugi watched in shock as the wound vanished, healing in front of him, "Of course…" He murmured, remembering something his Grandpa had told him, "Phoenix tears, they have healing powers!" He helped Harry to his feet, and Ginny started to cry.
"Harry, Yugi, I'm sorry… It was me, but I… I s…swear I d…didn't mean to… R…Riddle made me, he t…took me over!" Yugi understood what she meant, "and… how did you kill that…that thing? W…where's Riddle? The last I think I r…remember is him coming out of the diary…"
"It's all right," Yugi said, holding up the diary, Ginny gasped when she saw the hole in the centre of the book, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the Basilisk. Come on let's get out of…"
"Yugi!" Joey yelled, as he, Ron, and Ombre rushed into the chamber. He spotted his friends and rushed over. "Harry! Are you both alright?"
"We're fine, thanks to Fawkes." Harry said, though he felt like he'd been hit by a truck.
"Ginny!" Ron gasped, hugging his sister, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Ombre looked at Harry oddly, "Where'd you get the sword?"
"Ombre…" Yugi said, watching her, "What did you do to Lockheart?"
"Sent him to the Shadow Realm." Ombre said solemnly, Yugi stared at her, shocked.
"You didn't…"
"I wish…No he's lost his memories, we told him to wait for us at the rock fall." Ombre smirked.
"I never know when she's serious when she's in this mood." Joey sighed. Yugi and Harry laughed as they walked out of the Chamber, Yugi realised he was still holding the diary, Dumbledore'll wanna see this. He thought.
Lockheart was sat on a pile of rocks, "Hello," He said to Yugi and Harry, "This is an odd sort of place, do you two live here?"
"PLEASE!" Ombre begged Yugi, "Please, please, please." Yugi shook his head firmly and Ombre pouted.
"Ombre," Harry said as they reached the pipe, "Is there any chance you could lift us up there?" Ombre stopped pleading with Yugi long enough to consider it.
"Sorry, the Orb's powerful, but not that powerful." She said, and then turned back to pleading with Yugi.
Fawkes swooped past them, and was now fluttering in front of Harry, waving his golden tail feathers. "It looks like he wants us to grab on." Ron said, "But surely Fawkes can't carry one person, let alone all six of us."
"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird." Harry said, grabbing hold. Once everyone was holding onto to either Fawkes or someone who was holding on, Fawkes shot up the pipe and within minutes they were back in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Myrtle goggled at them, "You're alive." She said blankly to Harry.
"No need to sound so disappointed." He said grimly as he flicked blood and slime off his glasses.
"Oh, well… I'd been thinking. If you'd died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet."
"Urgh!" Joey said, talking to Yugi in Japanese as they walked out of the bathroom and into the deserted corridor, "You know, I think Myrtle's got a crush on Harry." Joey laughed, "Hey Ginny, I think you've got competition."
Tears were still flowing down the girl's face and Yugi kicked his friend in the shin.
"Where now?" Ron asked as Joey yelped.
Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold in the corridor. They followed and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagall's office. Harry knocked and pushed the door open.