Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 2: A blood-encrusted sock

Author's note: 

10-31-2021 [podfic] now available for Chapter 2

Anchor
https://anchor.fm/hegemone-milo/episodes/podfic-Chapter-2-A-blood-encrusted-sock-of-Basilisk-Eyes-by-Hegemone-edited-e19ioba
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/772Dos1CJUIYJ1RjaKfXIz

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They stood silently in the doorway for a moment, then Harry jumped as he heard a loud scream and squeezed Ginny's shoulder in alarm.

"Ginny!" someone shouted and Ginny was pulled away from Harry.

He stumbled forward, knocking into Ron and Ginny and he didn't know who else. He was suddenly being pressed on all sides by bodies. He realized that it must be Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but with all the voices and arms and legs, it seemed like more. He was pulled into a tight embrace... with Ron and Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, he guessed. He wasn't sure.

"You saved her! How did you do it?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked in his ear.

It wasn't quite the warm, comfortable hug he imagined as he was slipping toward death in the chamber below, but it was still good.

"I think we'd all like to know," said Professor McGonagall from across the room.

Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry. He stood still for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. He reached out, trying to find Ginny and Ron. They grabbed his hands.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"It's nothing. I'll be okay," Harry said, flapping his hand as if to wave her question away.

"Ron, you still have the sword? Ginny, the diary, and the sorting hat?" He waited and then realized they must have nodded.

"Um, oh, yes, Harry. We have them."

He felt Ginny tugging at her robes to extract the diary. Ron and Ginny moved away from Harry and he heard the sword clunk against wood, guessing that they were setting the items down on a table. They returned to Harry and Ginny slipped her hand in his and squeezed.

He stared down at the floor and started telling them everything in an even voice. He could feel the tension in the air as his story unfolded. He told them about the voices in the pipes, how Hermione figured out that he was hearing a basilisk, the spiders in the forest (he felt Ron shudder next to him) and learning about the victim in the bathroom and figuring out that it was Moaning Myrtle, and then finding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets...

"Very well," Professor McGonagall sputtered when he paused, "so you found out where the entrance was—breaking a hundred school rules in the process!—but how on earth did you all get out of there alive?"

So, Harry, his voice growing hoarse, told them about Fawkes swooping in with the sorting hat and how it dropped the sword on his head.

He rubbed his head, remembering the blow and faltered here. He could feel Ginny's shuddering breaths and hear her gentle sniffles.

How can I talk about Riddle's diary without getting Ginny expelled?

Dumbledore's voice broke the silence and Harry started. He didn't know he was here, too. He wondered who else was in the room.

"What interests me most," said Dumbledore, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when all my sources tell me he's currently hiding in the forests of Albania."

Harry felt his knees weaken as relief washed over him. Ginny's hand in his felt more steady, less tremulous.

She won't be blamed. Dumbledore knows.