"Knock Knock"

Harry and Ron stood in front of Lockhart's office door, glancing at each other, before Harry reached out and knocked on the office door.

Soon, there was a "Please come in" from inside.

The two turned the doorknob and opened the door.

In his office, Lockhart was sitting leisurely behind his desk, flipping through a thick book. Harry subconsciously glanced at it, it was Lockhart's autobiography - "I Can Magic".

"Oh...... Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," he said, looking at Harry and Ron, "is there anything important about coming to me so late?" ”

"Yes, Professor. We have something to tell you," said Harry, "and we think it will help you." ”

"Of course! Of course...... Come on, sit down and talk slowly. Lockhart stood up and pulled Harry and Ron into the seats next to him, waiting until they were both seated before continuing, "Say, I'll listen! ”

"Here's the thing......"

Harry recounted the information he and Ron had gotten from the note and the corresponding speculations, and Ron added a few words from time to time. Although the narrative process is a bit messy, at least one of the key points is not missing.

When they were done, Lockhart nodded.

"That's really good reasoning, who would have thought that the secret room would be hidden in a girl's bathroom that has been in disrepair for a long time!" Lockhart smiled as usual, but the smile looked a little stiff.

"Yes! It was unbelievable, but I was more concerned about my sister! Ron said impulsively.

"Ah, indeed! That thing — it was so unfortunate. "I think saving people is the most important thing, and you just brought good news!" ”

"Do you want to go now?" Ron looked a little excited.

"Yes, of course! Go now! Lockhart nodded decisively.

"I'll go too!" Ron immediately answered.

It can be said that when it comes to something related to his sister, everyone in the Weasley family is this desperate look. To be honest, there is a big difference between Ron now and his usual cringe.

But Lockhart shook his head.

"No, I guess I can't take students at risk, it's my job." He was righteous.

Harry on the side looked at Lockhart again and again, and always felt that he was not the same as before.

"Professor Lockhart," Harry said suddenly, "I think we have to go, Ginny has been captured, and neither Ron nor I can settle down and wait here." ”

"Oh—" Lockhart looked embarrassed, hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

"You can go, but you have to be careful," he said, "and remember, close your eyes at any movement, and I'll take care of the basilisk." ”

With that, Lockhart took Harry and Ron and hurried to Myrtle's bathroom.

They descended the nearest staircase, through the dimly lit hallway where the words flashed on the wall, to the door of the weeping Myrtle's bathroom.

Lockhart was at the front and didn't hesitate to push open the bathroom door.

The crying myrtle is sitting in the tank of one of the innermost toilets.

"Oh, it's you," she said with a sob, seeing Harry behind Lockhart, "what do you want this time?" ”

"I want to ask you how you died." Harry said.

Myrtle's whole demeanor changed all at once. It seemed that no one had ever asked her such a question that honored her.

"Ouch, it's horrible," she said with relish, "and that's where it happens." I died in this toilet. I remember it very clearly. At the time, Olive Hombe laughed at me for wearing glasses like a four-eyed dog, so I hid here. I locked the door and was crying inside, when I suddenly heard someone coming in...... They speak ridiculously, I think it must be another language! ”

"But what annoyed me the most was that I heard a boy's voice talking about life! So I opened the door, yelled at him to go out of the way, went to his boys' bathroom, and—"

Myrtle, thinking herself remarkable, puffed out her chest and her face radiant, "I'm dead." ”

"How did you die?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Myrtle said mysteriously in a low voice, "I just remember seeing a pair of frighteningly large yellow eyes." It was as if my whole body was caught, and then I floated away......"

She looked at Harry in a trance.

"Then I came back. You know, I'm hell-bent on settling accounts with Olive Humbe. Oh - she regretted it so much that she laughed at me for wearing glasses. ”

"Where the hell did you see those yellow eyes?" Harry asked.

"Pretty much right there." Myrtle said, vaguely gesturing to the sink in front of her. Harry and Ron hurried over.

Lockhart followed suit, taking a closer look.

The sink looked normal. They checked it inside and out, up and down, and didn't let go of the water pipes underneath.

Then Harry saw a small snake carved into the side of a bronze dragon's head.

"This faucet never comes out of the water." Myrtle said happily when she saw that Harry wanted to unscrew the faucet.

"Harry," Lockhart said suddenly, "you try talking to it, in a parseltongue. ”

"yes, Harry, give it a try!" Ron followed.

"But—" Harry desperately thought back to his past, but that wasn't something that could be done by memories.

In the past, he could only speak Parseltongue when facing a real snake.

Harry stared at the carved snake, trying to imagine it as a real snake.

"Open." He said.

He looked up at Ron and Lockhart, but Ron shook his head.

"No, you're talking about people." He said.

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

"Open." He couldn't help but shake his head and said.

However, it wasn't the words that Ron and Lockhart heard – a strange hissing sound came from his mouth.

Lockhart kept staring at Harry's mouth, not knowing what he was thinking.

Suddenly, the dragon's head emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly. Then, the sink was moved.

They watched as the pool slowly faded from view, revealing a very thick pipe underneath, more than enough for one person to get into.

Harry heard Ron gasp.

"I think," Lockhart said softly, looking at the entrance to the pipe, "it does look dangerous, and you'd better not go in." ”

Harry pursed his lips and looked up sharply, having already made up his mind what to do.

"I'm going down." He said firmly.

He couldn't help but go, now that they had found the entrance to the chamber, and since there was a small, faint, slim glimmer of hope that Ginny might still be alive.

"I'm going too." Ron said.

There was a moment of silence in the small bathroom.

"Okay, okay...... At the very least, I'll go down and have a look, and when I say, 'It's all right,' it's not too late for you to come down." ”

Lockhart said this, and with a decisive leap, he slid down the pipe.

After a while, Harry and Ron heard a very small shout from below, and if they hadn't been listening carefully, they might not have heard it.

Harry and Ron nodded to each other, and then jumped in one after the other.

It's not a pleasant ride, at least not because of the playground facilities that usually bring laughter to the kids.

Inside, it feels like a dark, slimy, endless slide. They could see that there were many other pipes that were branching out in all directions, but none of them were as thick as this one.

Their pipe twists and turns, and the slope is steep all the way down.

Harry knew he had slipped deep into the school's floor, even deeper than the underground classrooms. He could hear Ron following him, making a slight crash around the corner.

Then, just as Harry began to worry about what was going to happen, the slope of the water pipe gradually smoothed out. In a few moments, he came out of the mouth of the pipe and fell to the damp ground with a thud.

It was a dark stone tunnel, big enough for a person to stand in.

Very close to Harry, Lockhart was standing there with his wand in hand, but he wasn't covered in mud like he was.

Harry stepped aside, and after a while, Ron also "whirred" out of the pipe.

"Clean it up."

When Ron was on his feet, Lockhart gave them both a descaling charm. Suddenly, the stains on Harry and Ron were gone.

"Oh, thank you, Professor." The two couldn't help but thank.

"We must have been miles below the school." Harry then looked left and right, his voice echoing through the dark tunnel.

"Probably at the bottom of the lake." Ron said. He narrowed his eyes and surveyed the black, slimy walls around him.

Then, all three of them turned their eyes to the darkness ahead.

"Fluorescent flicker!"

Lockhart raised his wand and whispered, and the wand glowed again.

"Let's go." He said to Harry and Ron.

The shoes of the three men clattered on the wet ground and made a loud noise.

It was so dark in the tunnel that even though Lockhart's wand glowing spell was quite bright, it could only illuminate a portion of the way. Their shadows were reflected in the wet stone wall, which kept changing and twisting with the uneven surface of the stone wall, and it looked rather eerie.

"Remember?" Lockhart lowered his voice and said, "It's a bit wordy, but I have to say it again...... As soon as you hear movement, close your eyes! ”

Harry and Ron responded, saying they heard it.