Together [HP]

They escorted Lockhart out of his office, down the nearest staircase, through a dim corridor with the words flashing on the wall, to the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.They sent Lockhart in the lead.Harry was happy to see him trembling all over.

"And then," Harry asked softly, "and then what?"

"Look at him." Jacqueline pointed to Lockhart, and walked towards the pool in front of her. "Myrtle," Jacqueline asked, "you are here to see those eyes."

"Those eyes?" Myrtle looked at her in a daze. "What eyes?"

"The same yellow eyes you saw before you died."

Myrtle nodded, and Harry and Ron hurried over.Lockhart stepped aside in a hurry, with a terrified expression on his face.The pool looked ordinary.They checked it inside and out, up and down, and they didn't let go of the water pipes below.Then Harry saw it: a tiny snake carved into the side of a brass dragon's head.

"This faucet never comes out," Myrtle said happily when Harry tried to unscrew the faucet.

"Harry," said Jacqueline, "say something in Parseltongue."

"But," Harry said after thinking desperately, "open."

"No, what you're talking about is human." Jacqueline said, frowning.

Harry turned his head to look at the snake again, forcing himself to believe it was alive.If he shook his head a few times, Harry thought, the flickering candlelight would make the snake look as if it was moving.

"Open it," he said.

Instead of these words, however, what came out of his mouth was a strange hissing sound.Immediately, the dragon hair emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly.Then, the pool moved.They watched the pool slowly disappear from view, revealing a pipe so thick that a person could slip through it.

"Great." Jacqueline stepped forward and looked at the passage, "This is it."

A moment of silence.

"I'm going down," said Harry.

"Me too," said Ron.

"Well, it looks like you don't need me anymore," Lockhart said, with a hint of his usual smile on his face again, "I'll just..."

He reached for the doorknob, but both Ron and Harry pointed their wands at him.

"You can go down first," Ron growled.

Lockhart, who had lost his wand, turned pale and walked slowly towards the entrance of the cave.

"Boys," he said, in a pitiful voice, "boys, what's the use of it?"

"It's really useless." Jacqueline turned around at this moment and nodded to the two boys, "Harry, you go down first, and then we let Lockhart go down, so that if he wants to play some tricks of sneak attack ’” Jacqueline sneered, “Excuse me, Professor. As I said, I’m a Slytherin.”

Harry nodded, and slowly slid into the tube, then let go and let himself slide down.

"I really don't think it's..." Lockhart wanted to go on, but Ron gave him a push and he slid down out of sight.

"You're the last one." Jacqueline stopped Ron who was about to go down, "If Lockhart uses any means," she glanced at Ron's broken wand, "that won't help much."

Ron nodded, and Jacqueline slipped into the tunnel, let go, and let herself slide down.It felt like rushing down a dark, sticky, endless chute.She could see that there were many other pipes branching out in all directions, but none were as thick as this one.This pipe twists and turns, and the slope is very steep all the way down.Jacqueline guessed that she had slipped deep, deep under the school floor, even deeper than those underground classrooms.She could hear Ron following her, making a slight thud around the bend.

Then suddenly she fell to the ground.The pipe became horizontal, and she emerged from the spout, plopping to the wet ground.It was a dark stone tunnel, big enough for a man to stand in.Close to her, Lockhart was rising from the ground, slimy and pale as a ghost.Harry stood aside, pointing his wand at Lockhart.Ron also came out of the tube with a whoosh.

"I wish he would make a surprise attack," Jacqueline said softly, "that would give me a reason to cast a spell on him."

"We must be miles below the school," Harry said, his voice echoing in the dark tunnel.

"Probably down to the bottom of the lake," said Ron.He narrowed his eyes and surveyed the dark, sticky walls around him.

Then, all four of them turned their eyes to the dark front.

"Lumos!" Jacqueline whispered to her wand, which glowed again.

"Let's go," she said to the other three. "Professor, please go ahead."

The four people's feet clattered on the wet ground, making a loud sound.

It was so dark in the tunnel that they could only see a small area in front of them.The wand's light cast their shadows on the wet wall like monsters.

"Close your eyes at the first sign of movement," Jacqueline said in a low voice as they walked forward cautiously. "The Basilisk's eyes are enough to kill."

But the tunnel was as silent as a grave, and all they heard was an unexpected sound, click, and it turned out that Ron had stepped on a mouse skull.They turned a dark bend in the tunnel.

"Harry, there's something over there..." Ron said hoarsely, grabbing Harry by the shoulder.

The four stood still for a moment, watching.They saw the coiled silhouette of a monstrous creature lying motionless on the other side of the tunnel.

"Maybe it's asleep," gasped Harry.Lockhart pressed his hands to his eyes.Jacqueline shook her head, squinting her eyes as small as she could while still being able to see.She moved slowly forward sideways, wand held high in her hand.

The light shone on a pair of huge snake skin, which was green and very bright. At first glance, it looked like the skin of a poisonous snake, coiled and lying on the ground of the tunnel, and the inside was empty.Apparently the animal that had just shed its skin was at least twenty feet long.

"My God." Ron sighed weakly.

There was a sudden movement behind them.It was Gilderoy Lockhart whose knees gave way and he collapsed.

"Get up," said Ron sternly, pointing his wand at Lockhart.

Lockhart stood up, and he threw himself on Ron, knocking him to the ground.

Harry tried to rush forward, but Jacqueline stopped him immediately.Lockhart stood up panting, holding Ron's wand in his hand, and his characteristic smile was on his face again, showing his bright teeth.

"That's my friend!" Harry squinted his eyes hoarsely.

"Do you remember the last time Ron cast a curse on Malfoy?" Jacqueline asked in a low voice.

"But, you can't guarantee every time..."

"Your adventures are over, boys!" said Lockhart. "I'm going to take this belt to school and tell them I was too late to save that girl, and as soon as you see her The bloody corpse is painfully insane.

"Say goodbye to your memories!"