Chapter 117  

The basilisk suddenly stopped being rash and slithered in a certain direction and entered one of the tunnels which were, in actuality, pipes.

A young, handsome boy appeared out of nowhere and looked at the two before smiling.

"Ah, Harry Potter and hmm? Oh yes, Percy.", Tom said as he tilted his head.

Percy ignored him and looked at Harry, "You know this guy?"

"Yes. He's Tom Riddle. I saw him when I was using the diary and his name was also written on the first page so he must be the owner."

"So, he's the heir.", Percy said and looked at Tom before adding, "Let my sister go. That will be your best outcome."

"Hah? Haha hahaha hahahahaha- Oh, for the sake of Merlin's beard! You sure are funny, aren't you?"

Percy said nothing and simply stared at him silently for a few seconds before speaking, "What did you do to my sister?"

"Oh her?", Tom asked, pointing at Ginny who was on the wet floor.

Without giving them any time to reply, he continued, "In short, she poured her soul into me and I gladly accepted it all. I slowly grew strong and somehow convinced her to share me with Ron. 

He poured out his soul into me too, complaining about how he was poor and how he would never be able to make his parents proud.

He was always worried that he would never be able to walk out of the shadows of his brothers. Being the quidditch captain would make him the second Charlie. Head boy, the second Bill. Prefect, the second Percy.

He was one miserable and underconfident idiot. Jealous of his best friend's wealth and fame, he always told me how much he wished to be the great Harry Potter.

I grew strong very fast as the both of them fed me a part of themselves and yet, for some reason I was unable to get Harry to depend on me. 

You always asked me the stupidest of things and never told me about anything except when your whole team was bashed by someone called Alex. 

You seemed really sad that someone you called your friend would do something so hurtful and yet, it wasn't enough. I wanted you to give me more of yourself but then I realized that there was no need. 

I was strong enough to leave the diary and come in contact with other physical things. That was enough for me. Now, it's tim-"

Tom froze when an unknown music permeated the air and grew louder.

'Is the phoenix here already?', thought Alex as he turned to stare at the direction from where the sound was coming and waited.

A few seconds later, he saw the bird but it was not carrying the sorting hat.

**********

Fred waited for his brothers and Harry to leave before rushing to the Gryffindor common room and sending Lee Jordan to do his job for him. After the preparations were done, he left the area and walked over to the bathroom.

It was when he entered the bathroom that he stopped and ran back out hurriedly. 

McGonagall was walking towards the headmaster's office when he spotted her and ran toward her.

"proifessor Mcgonagall, Listern to me. I found Professor Lockhart passed out in Myrtle's bathroom. My brothers and Harry found out the location of the chamber of secrets so they are inside right now."

McGonagall said nothing and simply nodded before walking briskly towards the office and said, "Lemon drop". 

They walked in and knocked on the door to which they heard Dumbledore say, "Come in."

The two of them walked inside and saw Dumbledore close a thick book and place it on the side before looking at them.

"Minerva and one of the twins?", Dumbledore said, frowning. "Don't the two of you do things together all the time?"

Before Fred could say anything, McGonagall spoke, "Harry, Ron, and his brother apparently found the entrance to the chamber. It was in Myrtle's bathroom as we guessed but they somehow managed to open it and are currently inside."

"Yes professor.", Fred said before adding, "We also know the cause of Ron's accident. It was a Basilisk and the heir of Salazar Slytherin most probably has control over it."

Dumbledore looked serious but his eyes sparkled like always, "Oh! So, you found out about that too. Impressive indeed."

"It was Harry who came up with all of this Professor.", Feed said, not wanting to take the praises for someone else's hard work. Especially someone who was trying to save his sister.

"That boy, he never fails to amaze me.", Dumbledore said, smiling. His expression changed like someone flipped a switch as he looked at Fawkes seriously.

"Let's go, Fawkes. Minerva, gather all the manpower you can and tell them to secure the school perimeter in case this heir tries to escape."

"As you wish.", she replied with her usual stern face and walked out with Fred while Dumbledore flew through the corridors with his Pheonix's assistance.

He flew into the bathroom and ignored Lockhart, wasting no time. He looked at the open entrance and flew in directly as Fawkes's fire lit the surroundings. 

After a few seconds of flying, he saw George and Ron. He checked them and after making sure that they weren't in any form of immediate danger, he took off again.

It took him a minute to reach the second entrance but when he did, he felt everyone's gazes on him.

His eyes scanned the chamber and when he saw Tom, his eyes flickered. He could see Tom's eyes go wide as both of their eyes met. Time seemed to have decided to go slowly as Tom gave out a loud, angry hiss.

Harry hurriedly looked up at Dumbledore and shouted, "Professor, the snake will come after you!"

Dumbledore smiled and gave him a curt nod while the chamber shook. After about three seconds of intense earthquake-like tremors, the basilisk shot out of one of the pipes and lunged at Dumbledore, who, with a simple swipe of his wand, tossed the snake at a nearby wall.

"This thing is so much weaker than those dragons I faced last year."