Frozen cortex
SNIFF - SMELL HIM. Harry was on his feet, ready. The basilisks 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 21 mobile, thin, glittering, venomous - It lunged blindly - Harry dodged and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue lashed Harrys 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 serpents mouth - But as warm blood drenched Harrys 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. Harry slid down the wall. He gripped the fang that was spreading poison through his body and wrenched it out of his arm. 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 New total war game 2022 in a whirl of dull color. A patch of scarlet swam past, and Harry heard a soft clatter of claws beside him. Fawkes, said Harry thickly. You were fantastic, Fawkes. He felt the bird lay its beautiful head on the spot where the serpents fang had pierced him. He could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of him. Youre dead, Harry Potter, said Riddles voice above him. Dead. Even Dumbledores bird knows it. Do you see what hes doing, Potter. Hes crying. Harry blinked. Fawkess head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers. Im going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. Im in no hurry. Harry felt drowsy. Everything around him seemed to be spinning. So ends the famous Harry Potter, said Riddles distant voice. Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. Youll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry. She bought you twelve years of borrowed time. but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must. If this is dying, thought Harry, its not so bad. Even the pain was leaving him. 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 Harrys arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound - except that there was no wound - Get away, bird, said Riddles voice suddenly. Get away from him - I said, get away - Harry raised his head. Riddle was pointing Harrys 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 Harrys arm. Of course. healing powers. I forgot. He looked into Harrys 2 poppy mobile chapter. 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 - Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes had soared back overhead and something fell into Harrys lap - the diary. 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 Harrys hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then - He had gone. Harrys wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady New total war game 2022 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 hed just traveled 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 basilisks mouth. Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring. As Harry hurried toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes traveled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand. 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-couldnt say it in front of Percy - it was me, Harry - but I - I s-swear I d-didnt mean to - R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over - and - how did you kill that - that thing. W-wheres Riddle. The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary - Its all right, said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, Riddles finished. Look. Him and the basilisk. Cmon, Ginny, lets get out of here - Im going to be expelled. Ginny wept as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. Ive looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now Ill have to leave and - w-whatll Mum and Dad say. 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 me gaming reached Harrys ears. Ron. Harry yelled, speeding up. Ginnys okay. Ive got her. He heard Ron give a strangled cheer, and they turned the next bend to see his eager face staring through the sizable gap he had managed to make in the rockfall. Ginny. Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. Youre alive. I dont believe it. What happened. How - what - where did that bird come from. Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny. Hes Dumbledores, said Harry, squeezing through himself. How come youve got a sword. said Ron, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harrys hand. Ill explain when we get out of here, said Harry with a sideways glance at Ginny, who was crying harder than ever. But - Later, Harry said shortly. He didnt think it was a good idea to tell Ron yet whod been opening the Chamber, not in front of Ginny, anyway. Wheres Lockhart. Back there, said Ron, still looking puzzled but jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. Hes in a bad way. Come and see. 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 memorys gone, said Ron. The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasnt got visit web page clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. Hes a danger to himself. Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all. Hello, he said. Odd sort of place, this, isnt it. Do you live here. No, said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry. Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe. Have you thought how were 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 youre much too heavy for a bird to pull up there - Fawkes, said Harry, isnt an ordinary bird. He turned quickly to the others. Weve got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Rons hand. Professor Lockhart - He means you, said Ron sharply to Lockhart. You hold Ginnys other hand - Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt, Ron took hold of the back of Harrys robes, and Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkess strangely hot tail feathers. An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through his whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, they were flying upward through the pipe. Harry could hear Lockhart dangling below him, saying, Amazing. Amazing. This is just like magic. The chill air was whipping through Harrys hair, and before hed stopped enjoying the ride, it was over - all four of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtles bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place. Myrtle goggled at them. Youre alive, she said blankly to Harry. Theres no need to sound so disappointed, he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses. Oh, well. Id just been thinking. if you had died, youd have been welcome to share my toilet, said Myrtle, blushing silver. Urgh. said Ron as they left https://warstrategygames.cloud/clash-clans/clash-of-clans-season-pass.php bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. Harry. I think Continue reading grown fond of you. Youve got competition, Ginny. But tears were still flooding silently down Ginnys face. Where now. said Ron, with an anxious look at Ginny. Harry pointed. Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. They strode after him, and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagalls office. Harry knocked and pushed the door open. F CHAPTER EIGHTEEN DOBBYS REWARD or a moment there was silence as Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood in the doorway, covered in muck and slime and (in Harrys case) blood. Then there was a scream. Ginny. It was Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, closely followed by Mr. Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter. Harry, however, was looking past them. Professor Dumbledore was standing by the mantelpiece, beaming, next to Professor McGonagall, who was taking great, steadying gasps, clutching her chest. Fawkes went whooshing past Harrys ear and settled on Dumbledores shoulder, just as Harry found himself and Ron being swept into Mrs. Weasleys tight embrace. You saved her. You saved her. How did you do it. I think wed all like to know that, said Professor McGonagall weakly. Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry, who hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the desk and laid upon it the Sorting Hat, the ruby-encrusted sword, and what remained of Riddles diary. Then he started telling them everything. For nearly a quarter of an hour he spoke into the rapt silence: He told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how Hermione had finally realized that he was hearing a basilisk in the pipes; how he and Ron had followed the spiders into the forest, that Aragog had told them where the last victim of the basilisk had died; how he had guessed that Moaning Myrtle had been the victim, and that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets might be in her bathroom. Very well, Professor McGonagall prompted him as he paused, so you found out where the entrance was - breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add - but how on earth did you all get out of there alive, Potter. So Harry, his voice now growing hoarse from all this talking, told them about Fawkess timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat giving him the sword. But then he faltered. He had so far avoided mentioning Riddles diary - or Ginny. She was standing with her head against Mrs. Weasleys shoulder, and tears were still coursing silently down her cheeks. What if they expelled her. Harry thought in panic. Riddles diary didnt work anymore. How could they prove it had been he whod made her do it all. Instinctively, Harry looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly, the firelight glancing off his half-moon spectacles. What interests me most, said Dumbledore gently, is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania. Relief - warm, sweeping, glorious relief - swept over Harry. W-whats that. said Mr. Weasley in a stunned voice. You-Know-Who. En-enchant Ginny. But Ginnys not. Ginny hasnt been. has she. It was this diary, said Harry quickly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen. Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages. Brilliant, he said softly. Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen. He turned around to the Weasleys, who were looking utterly bewildered. Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school. traveled far and wide. sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here. But, Ginny, said Mrs.
He nodded; here was a ready-made excuse not to talk to any of the others, which was precisely what he wanted, so when she opened the front door he proceeded straight past the trolls leg umbrella stand and up the stairs and hurried into his and Rons bedroom. Here he began to pace up and down, past the two beds and Phineas Nigelluss empty portrait, his brain teeming and seething with questions and ever more dreadful ideas. How had he become a snake. Perhaps he was an Animagus. No, he couldnt be, he would know. perhaps Voldemort was an Animagus. Yes, thought Harry, that would fit, he would turn into a snake of course. and when hes possessing oculus quest 2, then we both transform. That keeper mobile dungeon doesnt explain how come I got to London and back to my bed in the space of about five minutes, though. But then Voldemorts about the most powerful wizard in the world, apart from Dumbledore, its probably no problem at all to him to transport people like that. And then, with a terrible stab of panic he thought, but this is insane - if Icarus steam possessing me, Im giving him Icarus steam clear view into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix sorry, dune strategy game really now. Hell know whos in the Order and where Sirius is. and Ive heard loads of stuff I shouldnt have, everything Sirius told me the first night I was here. There was only one thing for it: He would have to leave Grimmauld Place straightaway. He would spend Christmas at Hogwarts without the others, which would keep them safe over the holidays at least. But no, that wouldnt do, there were still plenty of people at Hogwarts to maim and injure, what if it was Seamus, Dean, or Neville next time. He stopped his pacing and nightmares mobile little staring at Phineas Nigelluss empty smart strategy. A leaden sensation was settling in the pit of his stomach. He had no alternative: He was going to have to return to Privet Drive, cut himself off from other wizards entirely. Well, if he had to do it, he thought, there was no point hanging around. Trying with all his might not to think how the Dursleys were going to react when they found him on their doorstep six months earlier than they had expected, he strode over to his trunk, slammed the lid shut and locked it, then glanced around automatically for Hedwig before remembering that she was still at Hogwarts - well, her cage would be one less thing to carry - he seized one end of his trunk and had dragged it halfway toward the door when a sneaky voice said, Running away, are we. He looked around. Phineas Nigellus had appeared upon the canvas of his portrait and was leaning against the frame, watching Harry with an amused expression on his face. Not running away, no, said Harry shortly, dragging his trunk a few more feet across the room. I thought, said Phineas Nigellus, stroking his pointed beard, that to belong in Gryffindor House you visit web page supposed to be brave. It looks to me as though you would have been better off in my own House. We Icarus steam are brave, yes, but not stupid. For instance, given the choice, we will always choose to save our own necks. Its not my own neck Im saving, said Harry tersely, tugging the trunk over a patch of particularly uneven, moth-eaten carpet right in front of the door. Oh I see, said Phineas Nigellus, still stroking his beard. This is no cowardly flight - you are being noble. Harry ignored him. His hand was on the doorknob when Phineas Nigellus said lazily, I have a message for you from Albus Dumbledore. Harry spun around. What is it. Stay where you are. I havent moved. said Harry, his hand still upon the doorknob. So whats the message. I have just given it to you, dolt, said Phineas Nigellus smoothly. Dumbledore says, Stay where you are. Why. said Harry eagerly, dropping the end of his trunk. Why does he want me to stay. What else did he say. Nothing whatsoever, said Phineas Nigellus, raising a thin black eyebrow as though he found Harry impertinent. Harrys temper rose to the surface like a snake rearing from long grass. He was exhausted, he was confused beyond measure, he had experienced terror, relief, and then terror again in the last twelve hours, and still Dumbledore did not want to talk to him. So thats it, is it. he said loudly. Stay there. Thats all anyone could tell me after I got attacked by those dementors too. Just stay put while the grownups sort it out, Harry. We wont bother telling you anything, though, because your tiny little brain might not be able to cope with it. You know, said Phineas Nigellus, even more loudly than Harry, this is precisely why I loathed being a teacher. Young people are so infernally convinced that they are absolutely right about everything. Has it not occurred to you, my poor puffed-up popinjay, that there might be an excellent reason why the headmaster of Hogwarts is not confiding every tiny detail of his plans to you. Have you never paused, while feeling hard-done-by, to note that following Dumbledores orders has never yet led you into harm. No, like all young people, you are quite sure that you alone feel and think, you alone recognize danger, you alone are the only one clever enough to realize what the Dark Lord may be planning. He is planning something to do with me, then. said Harry swiftly. Did I say that. said Phineas Nigellus, idly examining his silk gloves. Now, if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than to listen to adolescent agonizing. Good day to you. And he strolled into his frame and out of sight. Fine, go then. Harry bellowed at Icarus steam empty frame. And tell Dumbledore thanks for nothing. The empty canvas remained silent. Fuming, Harry dragged his trunk back to the foot of his bed, then threw himself facedown upon the moth-eaten covers, his eyes shut, his body heavy and aching. He felt he had journeyed miles and miles. It seemed impossible that less than click to see more hours ago Cho Chang had been approaching him under the mistletoe. He was so tired. He was scared to sleep. yet he did not know how long he could fight it. Dumbledore had told him to stay. That must mean he was allowed to sleep. But he was scared. What if it happened again. He was sinking into shadows. It was as though a film in his head had been waiting to start. He was walking down a deserted corridor toward a plain black door, Icarus steam rough stone walls, torches, and bloons monkey 2 open doorway onto https://warstrategygames.cloud/games/rog-strix-gaming.php flight of stone steps leading downstairs on the left. He reached the black door but could not open it. He stood gazing at it, desperate for entry. Something he wanted with all his heart lay beyond. A prize beyond his dreams. If only his scar would stop prickling. then he would be able to think more clearly. Harry, said Rons voice, from far, far away, Mum says dinners ready, but shell save you something if you want to stay in bed. Harry opened his eyes, but Ron had already left the room. He doesnt want to be on his own with me, Harry thought. Not after what he heard Moody say. He supposed none of them would want him there anymore now that they knew what was inside him. He would not go down to dinner; he would not inflict his company upon them. He turned over onto his other side and after a while dropped back off to sleep, waking much later in the early hours of the morning, with his insides aching with hunger, and Ron snoring in the next bed. Squinting around the room he saw the dark outline of Phineas Nigellus standing again in his portrait and it occurred to Harry that Dumbledore had probably set Phineas Nigellus to watch over him, in case he attacked somebody else. The feeling of being unclean intensified.
It has surprised me.