Lucy Potter: Harry's little sister

Chapter 23: The basilisk's lair

Harry's POV:

"Hi Myrtle," I started, since Ron appeared to be too uncomfortable around the ghost to speak to her. "How are you doing?"

"Well I am dead aren't I?" She answered dramatically. Not the best way to start this. "Came to laugh at me for it?!"

"No, absolutely not!" I immediately said. "We just wanted to know some stuff. Like how you died..."

"Oh, it was very awful," she said, now getting enthusiastic upon being asked such a sad thing. "It was right here actually. I had locked myself in this very cubicle because this girl had bullied me for my glasses."

Ron and I shared a look. We were right. "And then?"

"Well, someone came in," she continued. "And I heard them talk in a funny way, but I heard it wasn't a girl. So I went out, to tell him to get out!"

"What happened then?" Ron asked her.

"Then I died, suddenly..."

"The basilisk!" I exclaimed, turning to Ron. "So we were right! Where did you hear the guy?"

Myrtle pointed to the sink. "Right there."

Ron and I walked over to it and started looking. "Funny how so many people are suddenly so interested in me..."

I turned around to face her again. "Wait, who else came to you?"

"This little girl, red hair, also a Gryffindor..."

"That must be Ginny!" Ron said. "How else would she know too much?"

"She was here a few minutes ago and then she disappeared, suddenly."

"Did you see who was with her?" Ron asked, forgetting this was Myrtle for a second because of his worries for Ginny's safety.

But I knew I was missing something. Something wasn't right.

"We should go get Lockart," I said. "He was gonna go look for the monster right?"

"Yeah," Ron answered. "We should lead him here and tell him what we know!"

And so we did.

--

In Lockart's office it was a total mess. Suit- cases, paintings and many other objects were flying around the room and Lockart was seemingly in a hurry.

"Professor, we know where the Chamber of Secrets is!" Ron yelled, storming in. Lockart turned to us, looking... caught? Guilty?

"What are you doing?" I asked him, while looking at all the already packed suitcases. "You're not leaving are you?"

"Well-"

"What?!" Ron exclaimed shocked. "B-but what about my sister? You were going to save her!"

"Well, that's all very unfortunate what happened," Lockart stammered, looking very awkward around. "But I'm afraid I can't do much for her."

"But what about your books? You're the Defense against the Dark Arts professor!" I retorted angrily.

"Well, I wrote them," he answered. "Books can be deceiving. And when I took this job, it didn't mention I'd actually have to do..."

"So you didn't do all those things?!" Ron concluded, looking disgusted with the adult.

"Well, no one would've read the books if the person on the cover were ugly!" Lockart sputtered.

"You used other people's stories!" I was actually perplexed by this. If I would later look back on this, I would always ridicule myself for believing a man as dumb as Lockart was the hero he said he was.