ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅʀᴀᴛᴛᴇᴅ ʟɪʟᴀ ʜᴏʟᴍᴇꜱ || ᴅʀᴀᴄᴏ ᴍᴀʟꜰᴏʏ x ᴏᴄ || ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ 1-3

into the chamber

———— lila pov ————

"How long has it been?" I asked breathlessly as I ran down the hall, trying to ignore the pain in my spine.

"Months," Malfoy said, much to my shock. I nearly tripped. "Exams were supposed to start this week."

"You're joking!" I exclaimed. "We must have already picked our electives by now! How's Dean? Is he alright? Hermione? What happened to me?"

We turned the corner. I'd started to break into a sprint, Malfoy speeding up to match.

"You were asleep and nobody could wake you up," Malfoy replied. "I was hoping you had died."

"Ha ha, very funny, Malfoy," I rolled my eyes. "Is Dean okay?"

"Yes, your boyfriend is fine," he spat out the word 'boyfriend' as though it were unpleasant on his tongue. "Won't shut up about how much he misses you."

"I missed him too," I said, though mostly to myself. "Hermione, is she okay?"

At Malfoy's silence, I looked over my shoulder. He was looking grimly at the floor, even as we both ran at full speed. I frowned.

"Malfoy?"

"Granger was attacked," Malfoy said shortly, sounding almost spiteful. "She was one of the last to be Petrified. She knew too much, I think."

I almost stopped in shock, but this new information reignited my anger and if anything I ran faster. Even so, I recognized the disappointment in Malfoy's voice. I'd have thought he'd be happy to see Hermione get attacked, but instead he too seemed angry. What had happened while I was gone?

"And you?" Malfoy finally asked, diverting the subject. "Can you explain how you flew into our common room from the wall when the last time I checked you were still in a magically-induced coma in the hospital wing?"

"Well, that's a long story." I sighed. "Basically I went looking for the Chamber, got knocked out and shanked by a possessed Ginny Weasley, and then I got trapped in Voldemort's diary by some kind of weird blood magic." I found the name came easier to me after the experience, even though Malfoy flinched like I used to months ago.

"He talked to me — well, the sixteen year old version of him — and now I know his plan. The beast is a basilisk — It's a giant snake, see, so that's why I could hear it's voice when it was about to attack—"

"I figured that part out," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Didn't take much after Granger let slip that Potter was hearing voices too. Unbelievable, truly, that both of you would be able to talk to snakes."

"Well, now you can tell your father some more fun facts about his two least favorite people," I suggested. We finally reached Myrtle's bathroom. I ran to the sinks, feeling the small snake engraved there. I hummed, trying to picture it moving.

"Open up," I whispered, and the sink moved aside to reveal the entrance. I had a strange sense of déjà vu as I stared down at the bottomless tunnel. I looked back at Malfoy, who looked proficiently stunned.

"All this time," he breathed. Then he glared at me. "Why didn't you just say that in your stupid note? Why tell us to talk to Myrtle? She was useless anyway!"

"Hey! I heard that!" She protested from inside her stall. Malfoy ignored her.

"I knew you'd follow me," I replied. How did he even know about the note? "And I urge you not to do it now."