I now stand in a dimly lit, long chamber. Similar to the one I came out from. But this one is more open. This has to be where Harry, Bonnie and Ginny are.

On the sides of the chamber, there are stone serpents towering to the ceiling lost in the darkness, casting shadows on the tinted green floor.

Heart beating fast, I walk forward, holding my wand in front on me.

I see a figure not to far up the chamber. I point my wand at the figure, but then, as I go closer, I realise it's Harry.

We're at the end of the chamber, and there is a light looming upon a statue as tall as the ceiling.

The statue is a man, ancient and monkey-like, with a long beard that almost touching the floor which reminds me of Dumbledore's beard. Beneath the stone robes on the wizard and it's feet, are two bodies, clothed in black.

Bonnie and Ginny.

Harry has the same thought and runs over to them, I follow, almost slipping on the water on the floor.

"Bonnie!" I whisper, kneeling at her side. "Bonnie, I'm so sorry. If I paid more attention I could have stopped this. It's all my fault, I'm sorry. I can't save you." I start to sob, clinging to her body.

I've lost all care for the world. I don't care anymore. I don't care that I'm Petrified. I don't care that Ginny is right beside me. I don't care that I'm in the Chamber of Secrets. I just hold onto Bonnie's body and cry.

I'm awoken from my sadness by a voice I've never heard before.

"They won't wake." Says the unknown person.

I jump up, not bothering to wipe away my tears.

Standing in front of me is a boy. Tall, with black hair, leaning against the nearest pillar watching us. Well, except he can't see me.

Harry looks at the boy as if he knows him.

"Tom-Tom Riddle?" Harry says.

I stare at Harry. This is Tom Riddle?

I look back to the boy who nods his head. He takes his eyes off Harry to glance at me.

He can see me? What? I'm so confused.

"What do you mean, they won't wake?" Harry asks. "They're not-they're not-"

"They're both still alive." Tom Riddle says.

I let out a breath of relief. Bonnie is still alive. So is Ginny. But, what's wrong with them?

"But only just." Riddle adds.

I stare at him. How are they only just alive? What's killing them?

"Are you a ghost?" Harry suddenly asks.

"A memory." Riddle says. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

He points to a place, just next to Bonnie's head. There lies the diary.

Harry stares at the diary. He doesn't know. He doesn't know why Bonnie, Ginny and the diary would be down here.

"You've got to help me Tom," Harry says. "We have to get them out of here, there's a Basilisk and it could come any moment-"

Riddle doesn't do anything.

Harry looks around. He bends down, but then awkwardly gets back up.

"Have you seen-" he starts, as he stares a Riddle.

In Riddle's hands is Harry's wand.

"Hey, give that back!" I say to him. Maybe he might hear me since he looked at me before.

Riddle glances at me shakes his head. I glare at him.

He stares back at Harry.

"Thanks." Harry says, holding his hand out to Riddle.

Riddle smiles a bit, and just continues staring, twirling the wand.

Look, Tom." Harry says. "We have to go! If the Basilisk comes-"

"It won't come until it is called." Riddle says calmly.

Huh? Until it is called? Is he saying...is he the heir of Slytherin?

"What do you mean?" Harry asks. "Look, give me my wand, I might need it."

Riddles smile widens. "You won't be needing it." He says.

Just give him his wand, you prat. It's Harry's wand, get your own.

"What do you mean I won't be-?"

"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter." Riddle says. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you. You and your sister, who I might add is here."

Harry stares at Riddle with confusion. "Sarah is not here, she's in the Hospital Wing-"

"Have you not realised what happens to the ones petrified by the Basilisk?" Riddle says.

I stare at Riddle. So does Harry.

"They become a kind of...ghost, you could say." Riddle says. "Your sister is standing right beside you."

Riddle looks at me.

Harry also looks my way, but looks past me.

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" Harry asks.

"Why would I lie to you?" Riddle says.

Harry sighs. "Look, we're in the Chamber of Secrets, can we just get out of here and talk?"

"No. I want to talk now. Here." Riddle says, still smiling as he pockets Harry's wand.

"Bloody hell, Riddle, just give Harry his wand back!" I yell.

Riddle just smiles even wider, shaking his head. I glare at him with hatred. I hate this guy.

"How-how did Ginny and Bonnie get like this?" Harry asks.

"What an interesting question." Riddle says pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason that Ginny and Bonnie are like this because they opened their hearts and spilled all their secrets to an invisible stranger."

Come on, make some sense, Riddle.

"What are you talking about?" Harry says.

"The diary." Riddle answers. "My diary. Young Ginny and Bonnie have been writing in this diary for months and months now. First it was little Ginny telling me all about her summer. About you and and your sister. She also was telling me about all her pitiful worries and woes: how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second-hand robes and books, how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her..."

I almost laugh. Ginny has a crush in Harry. When she wakes up I'm going to talk to her about that...

"And then young Bonnie started writing to me. She was not too different from little Ginny. She wrote to me telling all about how she was degraded from the best friend slash sister of Sarah to the unwanted friend-"

I look down at Bonnie. Oh Bonnie.

"-how she was always left out with her friends, how they would talk about her...they were pitiful. it was very boring. Listening to the silly troubles of little eleven and twelve year old girls." Riddle says." But I was patient with them. I wrote back, I was sympathetic. I was kind. They both loved me. Telling me how no one understood them except me."

Riddle laughs. A high, cold laugh that doesn't suit him. It sends a shiver up my spine.

"If I do say so myself, Harry, I can be very charming when I want to be. When I want to charm the people I need. So Ginny and Bonnie poured their souls to me, and their souls are exactly what I needed. I grew stronger on a diet of their deepest fears, their darkest secrets. I grew powerful, more powerful than them. Powerful enough to start feeding them some of my secrets, to start poring a little of my soul back into them."

"You're a horrible person." I say to him. He just ignores me.

"What do you mean?" Harry asks.

Haven't you figured it out yet Harry? Jeez, it's not that hard to figure out what that meant, how Riddle must have had them under a spell.

"Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter?" Riddle says. "Ginny and Bonnie opened the Chamber of Secrets. Ginny strangled the school roosters, Bonnie daubed the threatening messages on the walls. They both set the serpent on four Mudbloods, the squibs cat and one half-blood.

Me.

"No." Harry whispers.

"Yes." Riddle says. "Of course they didn't know what they were doing at first. It was very amusing. You should have seen the later entries. Dear Tom, I think I'm loosing my memory, there are feathers all over my robes. Tom, I can't remember the night of Halloween, a cat has been petrified and there is paint all down my front. Dear Tom, what am I going to do? There was another attack today and I think it was me. Tom!"

I clench my fists in anger, nails digging into my skin.

"It took a while for Bonnie to stop trusting the diary. She stopped before little Ginny. When Ginny stopped, she tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found the diary and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all people who could've picked it up, it was you. The very person I was most anxious to meet."

"And why did you want to meet me?" Harry asks angrily.

"Well, I wanted to meet both you and your sister, but that didn't happen until now. But Ginny talked about you a lot. About your fascinating history." Riddle looks at Harry's scar. "I knew I had to find out more about you both, talk to at least one of you, maybe meet both of you."

"Looks like you got your wish, huh?" I say, glaring at him.

"Yes I did. I decided to show you, Harry, my capture of the great oaf Hagrid to gain your trust."

"Well, he didn't trust you, but continue." I say.

"Hagrid is my friend." Harry says, his voice shaky. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake but-"

Riddle laughs again. His high-pitched, not usual, cold laugh.

"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can only imagine how it looked to old Headmaster Dippet. On one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student; on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bead, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest every night to wrestle trolls. But even I was surprised at how well my plan worked. I thought at least someone would figure out that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the heir of Slytherin. It had taken five years for me to figure out all I knew about the Chamber of Secrets and discover it's secret entrance...as though Hagrid had the brains or anything to figure that much out. Or the power.

Only Dumbledore, the Transfiguration teacher, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to let Hagrid stay and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore may have guessed. He never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did..."

"I bet he saw right through you." Harry says through gritted teeth.

"Well, he did keep an annoyingly close watch in me after that." Riddle says. "I knew it wasn't safe to open the Chamber again while I was at school. So I decided to leave a diary, preserving my sixteen-year old self in it's pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherins work!"

"So you decided to choose Bonnie and Ginny. Why, Riddle?" I ask angrily.

"Because. They were the ones that found my diary, Sarah." Riddle says.

Harry looks around all confused. I wish he could see me. Or at least hear me.

"Well," Harry says, shaking out of thought. "You haven't finished it yet. No ones died this time, not even the cat. And in a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was petrified will be alright again."

"Haven't I told you?" Riddle says quietly. "That killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now my new targets, have been you and your sister."

I gasp. Who is this person? Is he some follower of Voldemort?

"Imagine how angry I was," Riddle says, his voice growing louder. "When the next time my diary opened, it was Ginny writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary and panicked, you see. What if you found out how to work it and I shared all of her and Bonnie's secrets? What if, even worse, I had told you who had been setting a snake on the students? So the foolish brat got Bonnie to steal it out of your dormitory when you were gone. But I knew what I must do. It was clear that you were then on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From what Ginny and Bonnie had told me, you would stop at nothing to figure the mystery out-particularly since one of your best friends and your sister were attacked. Your sister wasn't meant to be attacked, she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was really the Mudblood they were after. And Ginny had told me that the whole school was buzzing about you being able to speak Parsletongue-"

"I can too." I add.

Riddle just ignores me and continues. "So I made Ginny write their own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. They both struggled and cried, holding each other, and it because very boring. But there isn't much life left in them. They put too much of their souls into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave it's pages at last. I have been waiting for you two to appear since we arrived here. I knew you would come, I have many questions for you and your sister."

"Riddle, at least be nice and stop referring to me as 'your sister'." I say, annoyed.

Riddle just ignores me again. Git.

"And what do you want to ask me?" Harry spits, his fists clenched.

"Well," Riddle says , smiling pleasantly. "How is it, that two babies with no extraordinary magical talent managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but scars, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

"Well, first off, Voldemort isn't the greatest wizard of all time, that title goes to Professor Dumbledore. But that is probably because together Harry and I are more powerful than Voldemort. We are stronger than him." I say strongly.

"Ha, Dumbledore? The greatest wizard of all time? Has he ever defeated any wizard?" Riddle laughs.

"Uh, just because you've killed or defeated someone doesn't make you the greatest wizard." I protest.

"Sarah? What are you saying?" Harry asks, blindly.

"Oh nothing, Harry." Riddle says, smirking.

Git.

"Well then, why do you want to know why we escaped? Voldemort was after your time." Harry says.

"Voldemort." Riddle says. "Is my past, present and future."

He pulls out Harry's wand from his pocket and begins to trace through the air, writing three shimmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then, he waves once again and the letters start to re-arrange themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"You see?" Riddle whispers. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, only to my most intimate friends, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself through my mothers side? I, keep the name of a common, foul muggle who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry. I fashioned myself a new name. A name that I knew one day people would fear to speak, when I had become the greatest wizard of all time!"

Riddle is young Voldemort? What is this? The man who killed our parents.

"You're not." Harry says, his voice full of hatred. "Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of all time. Not you. Sorry to disappoint you. Everyone says he is. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over Hogwarts because Dumbledore was there. Dumbledore saw right through you when you were at school and he frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days."

Riddle's smile fades, and is replaced by an ugly scowl. You know, I have to admit, without the scowl, he was pretty good looking.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" Riddle hisses.

"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorts. "Dumbledore won't be gone unless there are those who aren't loyal to him!"

I start clapping. Even though Harry can't hear me, Riddle can. He just scowls at me, as I clap my hands, grinning. I stop clapping when I hear faint music coming from somewhere.

The music is growing louder. It's eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly. My heart pounding, I listen as the music grows louder and louder. Then, as it reaches a very high pitch, flames erupt on top of the nearest pillar.

I jump back in surprise when I see a crimson coloured bird appear from the smoke, piping it's unusual music to the vaulted ceiling. It's the size of a small swan, with a glittering, golden tail and gleaming golden talons, which are gripping a black bundle.

It's a Phoenix.

I've read about them. They can carry immensely heavy loads and their tears have healing powers. They are truly magnificent creatures, I never thought I would ever see one.

I watch as the Phoenix starts to fly toward Harry. It drops the bundle from it's feet and it lands on his shoulder.

The bird stops singing. It just sits on Harry's shoulder silently.

"That's a Phoenix..." Riddle says obviously.

Thanks for stating the obvious, Riddle.

"Fawkes?" Harry breathes.

The Phoenix has a name? And how does Harry know it? Meh.

"And that." Riddle points at the faded black bundle on the ground. "Is the old school Sorting Hat."

At so it is. The faded black, frayed and dirty hat. The one that sorted me last year, lies at Harry feet, motionless.

Riddle begins laughs again, laughing so hard the room starts to echo. It's very chilling.

"So this is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"

Ugh, can I just punch Riddle?

Harry just stays quiet, looking between the Phoenix and the hat. Poor Harry. I wonder if I can cast a spell at Riddle...

"To business, Harry." Riddle says, still smiling. "Twice-in your past, in my future-we have met. And twice I failed to kill you and you sister. How did you both survive? Tell me everything. The longer we talk, the longer you stay alive."

Jeez, how are we meant to know. Like seriously, we only found out about our past last year, so how do you expect us to know that? Dumbass.

"Look, no one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked us." Harry says. "I don't know myself, and neither does Sarah. But I do know why you couldn't kill us."

Ah, Dumbledore must told him last year too why Voldemort couldn't kill us...

"Because our mother died to save us. Our common Muggle-born mother, I might add." Harry adds. "She stopped you from killing us both that night. And we've seen the real you, we saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all the power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, and you're foul!"

Riddle's face contorts, but then he hides it with an awful smile.

"So, your mother died to save you two. Yes, thats a powerful counter-charm. I can see now-there is nothing special about either of you, after all."

Ha, he doesn't know the reason why he couldn't kill me.

"I wondered, you see." Riddle continues. "Because there are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter, less than your sister. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably us three are the only Parselmouths to travel through Hogwarts since Salazar himself. We even look something alike."

I gasp. They do have a lot of likenesses. And they do look something alike. The hair, the height-the look like brothers. Except they're definitely not.

"Now Harry." Riddle says, with a wide smile. "I'm going to teach you a lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him-a songbird and an old hat."

Riddle strides over to the statue of the man, who must be Salazar Slytherin. Riddle then opens his mouth, and hisses in Parseltongue;

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."

I stare at the statue, waiting for something to happen. Then, the fave starts to move. I step back in horror, as the mouth opens wider and wider to form a black hole of nothing.

Then something starts to stir. Something slithering up from it's depths. The Basilisk.

I see Harry stumble back and hit the Chamber wall. He shouts "don't leave me." As the Phoenix flies off from his shoulder. Poor Harry, he is defenceless against this Basilisk.

I pull out my wand and wait for the gigantic snake to come once again. Maybe I can't do anything to it, but it's worth a try.

The Basilisk slithers out and hits the stone floor, hissing. Riddle then hisses once more;

"Kill him."

Harry starts to run sideways, very weirdly. He must have closed his eyes-smart thinking Harry.

Riddle starts to laugh, as Harry runs blindly down the wall. Harry then trips, smacking his face into the stone floor. I want to help him, the Basilisk is only feet away from him.

Then the Phoenix flies in and starts to scratch at the Basilisk. The Basilisk tries to fight it off, falling on Harry in the process.

"Harry!" I scream, even though he cannot hear me. "Move!"

The snake thrashes around, trying to get rid of the Phoenix. Then suddenly, the Basilisk looks directly at Harry. I scream, but nothing happens. Harry just lies there, staring at it. Why isn't he dead? He just looked the Basilisk directly in the eye.

I look at the Basilisk, and notice that it's bulbous yellow eyes have been punctured. It must have been the Phoenix. Go Phoenix!

Blood is streaming down from the Basilisk's eyes, and the snake is spitting in agony.

"No!" Riddle screams in Parseltongue. "Leave the bird! Leave the bird! The boy is behind you! You can still smell him! Kill him!"

Blindly, the serpent sways, confused, but still deadly with it's fangs. The Phoenix is now circling the snake's head, piping it's eerie song, jabbing randomly at the Basilisk's face.

"Help me!" I hear Harry mutter. "Someone, anyone! Sarah?"

I turn to the Basilisk. "Incendio!" I shout, aiming my wand at the Basilisk. Nothing happens, only a wisp of smoke from my wand. I feel a tear fall down my face, as I look over to Harry helplessly.

"I'm sorry Harry." I say." I can't help you."

He Basilisk whips his tail across the floor, and swipes the Sorting Hat into Harry's hands.

Harry puts the hat onto his head and slams himself onto the floor, as the Basilisk swipes his tail again.

Poor Harry, he has nothing to help him.

Suddenly, he let's out a grunt, and takes the hat of his head. He pulls a sword out of the hat. It's long and sharp, the handle glinting with red rubies. It's the sword of Gryffindor! I've read about it. How could it have appeared now?

"Kill the boy! Leave the bird! The boy is behind you! Sniff-smell him!"

Harry jumps to his feet, ready to fight the Basilisk with the sword. Has he ever used a sword before? I've seen them in Muggle movies, but has Harry? Probably.

The Basilisk is swinging around blindly, trying to find Harry, hitting pillars and it twists to face him.

I watch, as Harry stares at the Basilisk. The Basilisk lunges forward at Harry, missing him by inches. It's lunges again, it's forked tongue lashing at Harry sides.

It lunges again, and Harry aims the sword. Harry throws himself to the Basilisk and drives the sword to the hilt into the roof of the serpents mouth.

Harry let's out a yell, as he sinks to the floor clutching his arm, whole the Basilisk slides to the floor dead.

I run over to Harry to see what is wrong. I look at his arm. It's drenched with blood and it has a fang sticking into it. I let out a cry, and Harry pulls it out.

The Phoenix lands beside Harry.

"Fawkes." He says thickly.

Oh, so Fawkes is the name of the Phoenix.

"You were brilliant, Fawkes..." Harry says. Fawkes lays his head to where the fang had pieced Harry's arm. I start to cry. Harry can't die. Not him and Bonnie. They just can't.

"You're dead, Harry Potter." Comes Riddle's pice from behind me. "Dead. even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Look, he's crying."

I look to Fawkes and he is crying. Do birds cry?

Wait, Fawkes is a Phoenix. Phoenix tears have healing powers! Harry isn't going to die! Riddle mustn't know that though.

"I'm just going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time in no hurry." Riddle says. "Oh Sarah, how do you feel? First your sister, now your brother? It must be horrible, right?"

I glare at Riddle. He doesn't realise that Harry isn't going to die. And he will save Bonnie and Ginny. I know it.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter." Riddle says. "Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, his sister petrified, his friends on the verge of death too, his other friends forsaken, defeated by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll 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 he knew he must."

I look to Harry's arm! The wound is gone. The tears worked!

"Get away bird!" Riddle says suddenly. "Get away from him! I said, get away!"

Riddle raises Harry's wand and points it at Fawkes. There is a bang like a gunshot and Fawkes flies away.

Riddle notices Harry's arm with no wound.

"Phoenix tears..." He says quietly. "Of course...I forgot....Phoenix tears have healing powers."

Then, in a rush of wings, Fakes flies over Harry and drops another thing black into his lap. The diary.

We all stare at it.

Then, suddenly, Harry grabs the Basilisk fang, and plunges it into the diary.

There is a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurts out of the diary, streaming over Harry's hands and flooding the floor. I watch as Riddle writhes and twists, screaming. Then, he disappears.

Harry's wand falls to the floor with a clatter.

Then suddenly, I feel a pull on my body. I am pulled out of the Chamber. Pulled through the Chambers leading to the exit, pulled up the pipe and into Myrtle's bathroom. I try to go back, but I can't, I am pulled all the way to the Hospital Wing, and to my body. I am forced on top of my body, and I sink in.

Then, everything goes black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

I know it was an abrupt end of the chapter, but it links (obviously) to the next chapter.

So, this is probably going to be the last update for the year, but this should be finished by hopefully the 20th of January, then I will start the third book.

Now, in the last 'chapter' I told you all the info on the contest, and I'd really like people to do it. So far I've only had once entry, and I'd really love more. The closing date will be the 29th of december, at 12:00 am, AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time). If need be, I can push the date forward so I can have more entries, I'd really love it you guys would do it.

I probably won't get much time to write over Christmas and New Year, so I hope you all have a Merry Christmas(if you celebrate it) and a Happy New Year.

Hugs and Butterfly Kisses,

~Elise