Chapter 116

Alex walked over to his dormitory and looked around. After making sure that there was no one inside, he called out for Toffy who appeared beside him.

"Take me to an empty male bathroom. But before that, let me get a few things that will be of help.", he said as he opened his trunk and pocketed his spare wand.

'The rest are in my ring…'

He held Toffy's hand and a second later, he was in one of the cubicles. He cast a few stealth charms on himself and walked out while Toffy apparated away. He stopped a few meters away from the entrance of the bathroom as he waited for the Gryffindors to do their thing.

While he was waiting, Lockhart emerged from the other end of the corridor with his suitcase. He looked like he was in a hurry as he huffed and puffed while he walked fast.

He stopped in front of the bathroom as there were still sounds coming from the inside. Droplets of sweat trickled down his handsome face as he leaned against the wall, his ear pressing hard.

'Does this guy want to get involved or something? Not like it matters though.', thought Alex as he looked at him. 

When the sounds inside quietened down, Lockhart placed his suitcase outside and walked in while Alex followed behind him.

The entrance was still open and the sound of saliva being swallowed was heard as Lockhart stared into the unknown path. Alex wore the green gloves and placed a candle on the hand of glory as he waited for Lockhart who seemed to have made a decision to simply stand at the entrance. 

'Hmm… I guess I'll call this one the Glove of Darkness since it goes pretty well with the Hand of Glory. As for this guy here… Stupefy.'

A jet of sparks hit Lockhart which got him to stumble backwards like a drunk man. Alex walked inside while Lockhart stumbled and fell, unable to distinguish directions. 

**********

Harry and the Weasleys were walking silently when the light produced by their wands suddenly disappeared.

"Huh? Lumos! It's… not working… Lumos! Lumos! Guys?!", Harry screamed out at the end, fear enveloping his heart.

"We're here.", Percy's voice sounded, "Come here and hold hands so we do not get lost."

Harry did as he was told and walked towards the sound. While he did so, he suddenly heard the sound of someone's body being banged into the wall and hurried towards the place where he heard Percy.

He felt Percy's hand reach out to him but there was no one else.

He was about to call out for Ron and his brother but stopped and listened when he heard a distorted yet creepy sounding whisper.

"Ha… this guy stunned himself. Looks like that wand is quite useless. After all, broken things must not be used just like how broken humans must not be used. Hehe, now where are the other two."

Harry felt himself being pulled by Percy and he let it happen since he had no idea what to do in that situation. 

A few seconds passed and a little bit of light seemed to reflect upon the walls which somehow made him want to try using Lumos again but Percy beat him to it.

George looked like a standing statue while Ron was sprawled on the wet floor. Harry moved towards them, wanting to take them back and leave the forsaken place but he felt Percy's hand on his shoulder.

"George was hit by the petrificus totalus so he will be fine after a few minutes and Ron seemed to have been stunned so even he will be fine after a while. Right now, Ginny is more important since we do not know how what condition she is in right now."

Harry nodded, his heart beating loudly. He could hear it clearly like it was beating inside his head. He took one good look at the two and turned around before following Percy.

After a nerve-wracking period of time, they stopped in front of a large entrance. Percy turned to look at Harry who, in turn nodded as he turned back to look at the entrance seriously.

"Open.", he hissed and the serpents separated, revealing the space beyond.

They saw a room which was quite spacious but the moment they walked in, they stopped, unmoving from their place like a petrified statue. Harry didn't dare to look up but he could see the body of the huge snake which was unexpectedly fast for its size.

Alex stood in a corner as he observed. Percy was the first to act as he cast a stunner at the Snake's head which missed by a whole meter. Those few seconds were enough for Harry to conquer his fear.

He looked around but still made sure to not look up. It took him two to three seconds but he found Ginny lying on the ground, her skin pale and emaciated. He was about to run towards her but Percy's shout stopped him from doing so.

"Harry! Help me take this snake down!", he said, casting another stunner which did hit this time but had no effect on the large snake.

Harry fumbled with his wand for a second and pointed it at the Basilisk before casting the strongest offensive spell in his arsenal.

"Diffindo!", he shouted and a small curved slash shot at the Basilisk, doing nothing. Harry stood in place as hopelessness and fear enveloped his heart but the behavior of the snake seemed weird as it crashed against the walls.

Harry looked up to see Percy smiling, which prompted him to ask, "What did you do?"

"Oh. I used the conjuctivitis curse. It hit it right on its eyes."

Harry exhaled when he heard his words as relief washed over him. He glanced at Ginny before looking bac up at the snake with rage.

Alex on the other hand, was frowning as he observed the large trashing snake.

'Snakes don't really depend on their eyes to hunt so why is this thing acting so weird?'