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Chapter 61: Ron's Adventure
Chapter 61: Ron's Adventure
On the other side, Ron, Hermione, and Justin were each searching for a professor. After seven o'clock, the young wizards, led by their prefects, returned to their respective common rooms, leaving the castle empty and quiet.
A few minutes later, Ron was the first to encounter a professor. He ran over with surprise, only to immediately show a look of despair—it was Lockhart.
Lockhart was also patrolling today.
"Ha! Look what I've caught! A young wizard out after hours, defying the rules! What's your name again?" Lockhart exclaimed with delight, stepping forward and grabbing Ron's arm. "Come along, boy. You're a Gryffindor, right? Professor Mcgonagall won't be pleased... In any case, let's head to my office."
"No! Let go of me, Harry is in danger, we encountered a Basilisk!" Ron struggled to break free from his grip.
"A Basilisk?"
"The monster in the Chamber!" Ron shouted, furious.
"Chamber... Basilisk..." Lockhart grew nervous, pulling a pink handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "What are you talking about? Don't think you can fool me with lies..."
"I'm not lying!" Ron was nearly driven mad with frustration. He pushed hard and, in the process, pulled a wand from Lockhart's pocket.
"Hey!" Lockhart fell to the ground. "My wand!"
The sound of their argument quickly drew the attention of another free-roaming presence in the castle—Peeves. He phased through a wall and saw Ron and Lockhart struggling.
"A student fighting with a professor! A student fighting with a professor!" Peeves shouted gleefully.
"Clunk, clunk." The footsteps of Filch echoed from a distance.
Without looking back, Ron ran off. In his panic, he found himself in a familiar corridor.
Moaning Myrtle's girls' bathroom—where they had once brewed Polyjuice Potion, though they had since moved their operations to an abandoned classroom in the dungeons.
Ron swallowed hard and carefully turned the doorknob of the bathroom.
Remembering his last encounter with Moaning Myrtle, he was afraid to open the door and see a pair of large, yellow eyes staring back at him.
Ron pushed the door open with his eyes closed. "Is anyone here? Harry?"
"He's not here. Oh, that poor boy!" a peculiar voice said. Ron recognized it as Moaning Myrtle's. He opened his eyes.
A silver, translucent ghost floated in mid-air.
"Harry was here. Where is he?" Ron wanted to ask more, but the sight before him made his eyes widen. The central sink in the bathroom had vanished, replaced by a deep, dark hole.
He approached it, looking disdainfully at the bottomless, dirty pipe. "Moaning Myrtle, did Harry jump in?"
"Yes, it was sudden. I was just about to talk to him..." Moaning Myrtle said with a mournful tone. "His things are still here!"
Only then did Ron notice Harry's backpack lying lopsided on the floor beneath one of the sinks.
"Oh, Merlin!" Ron prayed silently as he opened the backpack. Inside, a magical automaton with icy blue hair lay quietly.
Ron let out a cry of distress.
"What's wrong?" Moaning Myrtle floated over and peered into the backpack. She pointed at the automaton with interest. "What is this? A new doll popular in the castle?"
"Harry is in danger..." Ron muttered softly.
"What?"
"I said, Harry is in danger!" Ron took a deep breath, grabbed the automaton, and walked quickly to the entrance of the Chamber.
A few seconds later, he turned to Moaning Myrtle, looking pitiful. "Can you give me a push?"
Without waiting for her response, Ron jumped in with a death-defying leap.
"Aaaah!" came his exaggerated scream from inside the pipe.
Meanwhile, Justin found Professor Snape, and almost simultaneously, Hermione found Professor Hup.
When Felix and Hermione arrived at the girls' bathroom, they saw Peeves chasing the sobbing Moaning Myrtle with a box of rotten bread.
What was going on?
"Hit the tummy, ten points! Hit the head, fifty points! Excellent, ha ha, ha!"
The small bathroom was filled with Peeves's laughter and Moaning Myrtle's sobs.
"Oh, heavens, poor Moaning Myrtle, Peeves, stop it", Hermione said sadly, looking at the scene.
Felix waved his wand, freezing the flying bread in mid-air.
Peeves then noticed the two who had just entered. "Professor, good day to you", he said, adjusting the hat on his head.
"Peeves, leave now", Felix said calmly.
"As you wish." Peeves vanished.
"Professor, look!" Hermione pointed to the entrance of the Chamber.
"I see it", Felix turned and asked the other presence in the room, "Moaning Myrtle, did Harry jump down?"
Moaning Myrtle's face was streaked with silver tears, but she managed to answer, "Yes, and a red-haired boy with a lot of freckles."
"It's Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.
"That's him. The three of you weren't supposed to be here—"
"Shut up, Moaning Myrtle!" Hermione quickly silenced her, not wanting Professor Hup to discover their secret about brewing the Polyjuice Potion. She then glanced cautiously at Felix.
Moaning Myrtle let out a sob and quickly flew into the farthest stall, not coming out again.
The young witch felt a pang of guilt and silently apologized to the poor ghost.
Just then, a clear chirp echoed, and Felix looked up to see Dumbledore appear suddenly. He was wearing a gray, speckled-patterned nightgown, his long beard disheveled—usually, he kept it neatly tied.
Was it Apparition, or...? Felix's gaze fell on the Phoenix perched on Dumbledore's shoulder.
It was a rather strange sight: a silver, translucent Phoenix, like a Patronus.
No, it was a Patronus!
But inside the silver, translucent Patronus, a tiny, palm-sized bird was nestled.
This was the real Phoenix...
"Fawkes just Rebirthed, and its strength is too weak. I had to use a Patronus to protect it", Dumbledore explained.
So, it was a young Phoenix wrapped in a Phoenix Patronus?
Felix nodded. "Headmaster Dumbledore, Potter, Weasley, and Granger found the Basilisk attacking in the corridor. They saved Justin, and then Potter volunteered to guard the Chamber entrance while the others sought help from a professor."
"However, for some reason, Potter and Weasley went down one after the other."
"Currently, it's unclear if they have encountered any danger."
"Very well, Felix." Dumbledore fell into thought, but only for a few seconds. He then looked up at Fawkes on his shoulder. "Fawkes, thank you for your hard work."
The little Phoenix, wrapped in its silver coat, chirped softly.
"Remember, the Basilisk's greatest threat is its eyes."
(End of Chapter)
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