Cassia's POV

We made our way through another pipe, much bigger than the one we entered through. Looking up ahead, I could see what looked like the Basilisk, but when I got closer, I realized it was just the skin.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"It looks like a...snake," Lockhart said.

"It's a snake skin," I corrected him, rolling my eyes at my teacher's stupidity.

"Bloody hell! Whatever shed this must be sixty feet long...or more," Ron noted, "or more."

We heard a THUMP behind us and turned to see Lockhart, passed out on the ground.

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

"Tell me about it," I muttered, crossing my arms.

Lockhart shot up, grabbing Ron's wand. "The adventure ends here, boys. But don't fret; the world will know our story. How I was too late to save the girl. How you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. So...you first, Miss Potter. Say goodbye...to your memories," he sneered.

Harry moved in front of me, protecting me.

"Obliviate!" Lockhart yelled. The spell blasted him into the ceiling and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Suddenly we heard some rocks falling, and Harry and I ducked for cover as the rocks fell.

"Harry! Harry, Cassia!" Ron shouted, once it stopped.

Harry scrambled over to the rock wall blocking us from Ron. "Ron! Ron, are you okay?" he yelled through an opening.

"I'm fine!" Ron answered.

I heard Lockhart groan. "Hello. Who are you?" he asked.

"Ron Weasley," Ron answered.

"Really? And, uh...who am I?" Lockhart questioned.

"Lockhart's Memory Charm backfired! He hasn't got a clue who he is!" Ron told us.

"That's because he used your wand, Ron!" I pointed out.

"Thanks for the obvious," Ron called back.

"It's an odd sort of place, isn't it? Do you live here?" Lockhart asked, tossing a rock in his hands.

"No," Ron replied, taking the rock from him.

"Really?" Lockhart said, just before he was clocked in the head with the rock.

"What'll I do now?" Ron asked.

"You wait here and try and shift some of this rock so we can get back through. We'll go on and find Ginny!" Harry told him. He turned to me and I nodded.

<><><><><>

We eventually came to a round door with snakes carved into it. Harry spoke Parseltongue again, and the door opened. Literally, it was the shape of a pipe. We jumped out, onto the ground. There were snake-head statues lining the chamber, with a statue of a wizard's head at the far end. And near a pool of water at the base of the statue, was an unconscious Ginny.

"Ginny!" I exclaimed. Harry and I ran to her as fast as we could

"No...no, no, no, no, no. You cannot die on us," I pleaded, shaking her.

"Please don't be dead. Wake up. Wake up! Please wake up," Harry added, also shaking her.

"She won't wake," said a soft voice.

I turned around to see Riddle coming our way.

"Tom? Tom Riddle? What do you mean, she won't wake?" Harry asked, "She's not --"

"She's still alive, but only just," Riddle cut him off.

"Are you a ghost?" Harry asked.

Riddle shook his head. "A memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years," he corrected.

I felt her hand. "She's cold as ice," I reported, before continuing to shake her. "Ginny, please don't be dead. Please. Wake up." I lifted her slightly, putting her head in my lap and both of my hands on her shoulders.

"We've got to go, Tom. It's the Basilisk," Harry said.

"It won't come until it's called," Tom told us. I looked up at him to see he was now holding Harry's wand.

"Give me my wand, Tom," Harry demanded.

"You won't be needing it," Riddle refused.

"Listen, we've got to go. We've got to save her!" I begged.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Cassia. You see, as poor Ginny grows weaker, I grow stronger," Riddle said.

My eyes widened in realization. "No..." I muttered, refusing to believe it.

"Yes, Cassia. It was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets," Tom confirmed my fears.

"No...she couldn't. She wouldn't," I protested.

"It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods and Filch's cat, Ginny who wrote the frightening messages on the walls," Tom continued.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because I told her to. You'll find I can be very...persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing. She was, shall we say, in a sort of trance," Tom replied, "Still, the power of the diary began to scare her, and she tried to dispose of it in the girl's bathroom, and then...who should find it, but you. The very two people I was most anxious to meet."

"Why would you want to meet us?" I asked.

"I knew I had to talk to you. Meet you, if I could. So I decided to show you my capture of that brainless oaf Hagrid, to gain your trust," Riddle answered, starting to circle us.

"Hagrid's our friend! And you framed him, didn't you?" I pressed.

"It was my word against Hagrid's. Only Dumbledore seemed to think he was innocent," Tom retorted.

"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," Harry countered, smirking.

"He certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me afterward," Tom replied, continuing to walk around us. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the chamber again while I was still at school, so I decided to leave behind the diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that, one day, I would be able to lead another, to finish Salazaar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it yet. Just wait. In a few hours, the Mandrake Draught will be ready, and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again," Harry informed him.

"Haven't I told you? Killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For many months, now, my new target...has been you two," Tom told us. "How is it that two babies, with no extraordinary magical talent, were able to defeat the darkest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar-" he moved Harry's bangs back with his own wand and then pointing the wand at my forehead, "-while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how we escaped? Voldemort was after your time," Harry snapped.

"Voldemort is my past, present, and future," Riddle corrected us.

He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand once and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

I gasped.

"You're the heir of Slytherin. You're Voldemort," Harry breathed.

Riddle glared at us. "Surely you didn't think I was going to keep my filthy Muggle father's name? No. I fashioned myself a new name, a name that wizards would, one day, fear to speak, when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world," he said.

"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world!" I snapped.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me," Riddle shot back.

"He'll never be gone, not as long as those who remain are loyal to him," Harry retorted.

Tom was about to respond, but a loud screech interrupted him. We all turned towards the entrance of the room, where the sound had come from.

"Fawkes?" I breathed.

Fawkes was flying towards us, a brown bundle clutched in his talons. He dropped it into Harry's arms and flew upward.

"So this is what Dumbledore sends his great defenders, a songbird and an old hat," said Tom. He turned towards the statue of Slytherin and thrust a hand out, hissing something in Parseltongue. Then he turned back to both of us. I could see Slytherin's mouth opening.
"Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry and Cassia Potter," Tom said.

A loud hissing emitted from inside the statue and I saw the Basilisk start to poke its head out. Luckily, I couldn't see its eyes yet. They must've been closed.

"Run!" I shouted at Harry, throwing myself over Ginny to shield my eyes.

Harry turned around and sped off as fast as he possibly could.

Riddle hissed an order to the Basilisk. "Parseltongue won't save your brother now, Cassia. It only obeys me," he said to me.

The monster chased after Harry, looming over him when he slipped on the wet ground.
Fawkes screeched and I looked up to see him clawing at the Basilisk's eyes. The Basilisk let out cries of pain. Blood dripped from its now-empty eye sockets.

"No! Your bird may have blinded the Basilisk, but it can still hear you," Riddle warned.

Harry got up as the Basilisk shook Fawkes off. He stepped back, but then the Basilisk faced him. Harry ran again, disappearing from sight. Dear Merlin, Harry, please be okay...

I turned my attention to Ginny. Her pulse was weakening. All because of that diary. I turned to Riddle, my grip on my wand tightening.

"How does it feel, Cassia? Knowing you're too late to save your friend's sister, knowing that you're just grasping at straws trying to defeat me?" he taunted me.

Rage seemed to consume me, also clouding my judgement. "You monster!" I charged at him. He pushed me back, but as I fell, I somehow managed to create a wall of fire in between us. I gasped. Wow. That's new.

Riddle walked right through the fire, unharmed. "Interesting, Cassia. You've finally discovered your true powers," he noted, gazing me up and down. He turned to the flames behind him and used Harry's wand to make them disappear. Then he faced me again. "That same fire shines in your eyes. You certainly are destined for greatness. Just like your brother," he continued, venom dripping with every word he said, "Such a shame you won't live to see what else you are capable of."

In response, I threw a fireball at him. But he dodged it easily. That didn't stop me. I -- literally -- opened fire on him, trying to hold him off as long as I could, but every time I made a move, he was able to block it. My body was already aching after, what, 10 fire blasts? I was getting tired, and I knew it. There was no way I was going to win this fight. All I could do now was hope against hope that Harry was alright.

Riddle raised his wand at me, ready to either stun me or kill me, but the sound of running footsteps was enough to distract him. I looked around to see where it was coming from, and my heart leapt when I saw Harry running towards us. Thank goodness! Harry reached us in a matter of seconds, and the two of us checked Ginny's vital signs. They were there, but they were very faint.

"Yes, Potters. The process is nearly complete. In a few minutes, Ginny Weasley will be dead, and I will cease to be a memory. Lord Voldemort will return...very...much...alive," Riddle boasted.

"Ginny, please," I begged, trying once again to shake her awake.

The Basilisk shot out of the water, creating a massive splash in its wake. Just when I thought all was lost, I heard a glimmering sound coming from the Sorting Hat, and I saw the handle of a sword poking out.

"Harry, look!" I called out, pointing to the hat.

Harry followed my gaze to see the sword's handle. He grabbed the weapon and wielded it at the beast. He swung, but missed. I followed him as he climbed up the statue of Slytherin, the Basilisk trying (and failing) to ram us with its nose. Bits and pieces broke off, covering our robes with dust. To try and defend us, I shot fireballs at it with my hand, burning its skin in more than a few places.

We got up to the top of the statue and Harry attempted to swing at the monster again. On the third try, he lost his footing, dropping the sword in the process. It started to slide, but we both grabbed it just in time, because the Basilisk lunged at us. As it did, we stabbed the monster through the roof of its mouth. It emitted a loud screech of pain and pulled back.

I looked over at Harry and saw a fang in his arm. With my help, he pulled it out, leaving a large wound.

The Basilisk thrust its head from side to side, shrieking again as it sank closer to the ground. It hissed at us one last time and fell to the ground, dead.

I helped Harry get down from the statue of Slytherin, letting him hold onto me for support. When we got back to where Ginny lay, Harry dropped to his knees, the sword clattering to the ground beside us.

"Harry...Harry, stay with me. You're gonna be okay, I promise. I'll-" I tried to reassure him.

"Remarkable, isn't it, how quickly the venom of the Basilisk penetrates the body? I guess your brother has a little over a minute to live. He'll be with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Cassia," Riddle said, without a hint of emotion in his voice.

I checked Ginny. Her pulse was almost gone.

"Funny...the damage a silly little book can do, especially in the hands of a silly little girl," said Riddle. Harry took the diary and opened it up, raising the arm holding the fang above his head.

"What are you doing?" Riddle asked.

Harry glared at him.

"Stop! No!" Riddle shouted.

Harry stabbed the diary with the fang. Riddle's chest started to glow, in the spot where his heart should be, and he yelled in pain.

I grabbed Harry's hand as he stabbed the book again, and Riddle glowed more. It looked like the light was eating away at him. Harry closed the book and I helped him stab it with the fang one last time. The light continued to hurt Riddle until he just exploded in a shower of gold.

Ginny snapped awake and slowly sat up, panting.

"Ginny," Harry said, wincing at the pain in his arm.

"Harry, Cassia, it was me. I swear, I didn't mean to. Riddle made me. And..." Ginny started. Her eyes widened at the sight of Harry's wound. "Harry...you're hurt," she gasped.

"Don't worry about me. Ginny, you and Cassia need to get yourselves out. Follow the chamber, and you'll both find Ron," Harry said to us.

We heard screeching coming from above us, and I saw Fawkes coming our way. He landed right beside Harry.

"You were brilliant, Fawkes. I just wasn't quick enough," said Harry.

Fawkes started to cry on Harry's arm, and the tears went straight into the wound, healing it. The gash was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Of course! Phoenix tears have healing powers!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks," Harry thanked Fawkes, who nuzzled both of us in return. He turned to Ginny. "Don't worry, Ginny. It's over. It's just a memory," he assured her.

We made our way back to Lockhart and Ron. Harry had the idea to ride Fawkes out of the chamber. Fawkes sat on Lockhart's shoulders, Ron held onto him, Harry held onto Ron, I held onto Harry, and Ginny held onto me.

"Amazing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart exclaimed as Fawkes flew us out of that God-awful chamber.