Moments before Percy reached the Chamber of Secrets.
Percy Weasley locked himself in his prefect's room, tormented by helplessness. He tossed his prefect badge aside and lay on the bed, eyes vacant.
When Professor McGonagall told him Ginny had been taken to the Chamber, Percy prayed it was a lie. But her words offered no comfort.
"Ginny… she'll be saved, right, Professor? The Chamber must be somewhere in Hogwarts!"
"We're searching for it now," McGonagall replied.
Her answer crushed him. The Chamber's location was still unknown, meaning…
(Ginny might already be…)
Percy had every reason to despair. The Weasleys, pure-blood but rejecting pure-blood supremacy, were scorned by some Slytherins as "blood traitors." A malicious Heir of Slytherin would never spare Ginny.
As the eldest Weasley at Hogwarts, Percy had endured relentless harassment from Slytherins. Protests were ignored. His brother Bill explained it stemmed from their uncles, Gideon and Fabian, Aurors who likely arrested Slytherin parents during the Dark Times.
An unyielding wall separated Percy from his peers. When Ron befriended Harry Potter, Percy hoped Harry's questionable reputation wouldn't taint him. But last term, Harry dragged Ron and Hermione into a dangerous quest for the Philosopher's Stone—against a dark wizard.
To Percy, it was no joke. Ron, an ordinary kid, could die following Harry, just like their uncles. Percy watched Ron's friendship with dread.
(I have to protect them…)
Percy believed he alone could shield his siblings. His twelve OWLs proved his prowess; he was the best wizard in his year. Yet now, that confidence lay shattered.
He wrote to his parents about Ginny's abduction. Their aging owl, carrying his anguished letter, flew off unsteadily.
(Why didn't I stay with Ginny instead of worrying about Ron? Why her? Why not someone else? Why didn't I separate Ron and Potter sooner?)
As despair consumed him, the room's faucet gurgled.
"Found you, four-eyes!" a bespectacled ghost girl appeared.
Percy lacked the energy to react.
"What's a Hogwarts prefect doing moping? Think lying there will bring your sister back?" Myrtle taunted.
Normally, Percy would've blasted a ghost for such insolence. But now, he barely registered her.
Myrtle, undeterred, used her ghostly powers to rouse him. "Your youngest brother and Harry Potter went to the Chamber to save Ginny! Get up and help, or I'll douse you with toilet water!"
"What!? Ron and Potter? Is Ginny alive!?"
"You're the only one who can find out! Get to the third-floor girls' bathroom!"
Spurred by Myrtle's words, Percy sprang up—not from fear of water, but duty. Guided by Moaning Myrtle, he reached the Chamber's entrance in record time, using an acceleration charm to enhance his speed, leaving Myrtle behind.
(Be safe… Ginny! Ron!)
"Flipendo Maxima!" (Blast away!)
"Locomotor! Levicorpus!" (Move! Suspend!)
Percy freed Ron from the rubble with shock and levitation spells, then reached the Chamber's heart, Ron trailing behind. What awaited was hell.
Harry Potter wielded unmistakably dark magic.
Beyond him lay a Basilisk's charred corpse, massive enough to swallow a man, as if bombed.
Percy couldn't believe Harry did this—likely with dark magic.
(Monster…)
In an instant, Percy's disgust targeted Harry, the Basilisk, or the mysterious Slytherin boy ahead—maybe all three.
When Harry noticed Percy, he inexplicably dropped his dark spell. Basilisk fangs, manipulated by magic, flew at him.
Percy instinctively cast a wordless Protego to shield Harry, partly because Ron trusted him, but mainly because the Slytherin boy held Ginny's wand—her prized possession, never to be touched by another. Percy's rage as a brother surged.
(He stole Ginny's wand!?)
The scene suggested Harry, the Heir, was killing with dark magic. But Percy's sharp mind saw through it: Harry fought the Basilisk to survive, not as the Heir.
Yet reality was cruel. Even Percy's brilliance and honed magic couldn't stop everything.
His Protego became armor for Harry, strong and wide-ranging, capable of blocking spells like Accio or Levicorpus. But the Slytherin's Locomotor moved the fangs at an unforeseen speed, piercing Percy's shield. The venomous fangs closed in on Harry.
Harry dodged mid-air, but the Slytherin outmaneuvered him, striking from a blind spot. A fang grazed Harry's left hand.
Harry crumpled, falling unnaturally, as if drained.
Basilisk venom—a mere touch was lethal.
Fury consumed Percy. A decent man, he couldn't stay calm watching a twelve-year-old be targeted.
"Why!? Why do this!?"
The Slytherin's handsome face twisted into a grotesque smile. He introduced himself as Tom Marvolo Riddle, a memory of Voldemort, the century's worst dark wizard—a monster in human form.
"Get it, Weasley? I planned to kill Harry Potter, the half-blood who defies the Dark Lord and taints Slytherin. Thanks to you, it was easier than expected."
"Don't mock me, murderer!" Percy roared.
His wordless stunning spell bounced off Riddle's Protego. Ron, trembling with rage, couldn't fight like Percy, too slow to join the rapid spell exchange.
"Voldemort? So what!?" Percy shouted, transfiguring a boulder to trap Riddle's fangs, turning them into a shell that exploded—a spell he'd devised for the Ministry to destroy cursed objects.
Percy, with twelve OWLs, was a once-in-a-generation talent, surpassing Lockhart, Potter, Malfoy, or Galfgarion.
"Impressive, Weasley," Riddle mocked, unfazed.
To shield Ron, Percy stood between him and Riddle, transfiguring a flock of birds imbued with stunning spells to attack. The golden swarm was majestic, overwhelming—achieved with a single wand wave.
Percy's skill was unmatched at Hogwarts. So, Riddle decided to "play."
"Let's see how long you last against despair!"
Despite Percy's rune-enhanced magic, Riddle matched his spell without runes, intercepting the birds with sinister bees. The tide turned in Riddle's favor.
Riddle wasn't even at full strength. Using Ginny's yew-and-unicorn-hair wand, ill-suited for dark magic against her kin, limited him. That allowed Percy a fleeting chance to compete.
"Surrender, Weasley! You helped me kill Potter. The Dark Lord would welcome you—maybe even teach you dark magic."
"Never!" Percy spat, choosing pride over submission, true to his Weasley blood.
"Dying for pride? Fine. Weasleys breed like roaches anyway."
As Riddle raised Ginny's wand, a voice rang out.
"Locomotor!"
Riddle collapsed in agony. Ron gasped.
A bloodied arm had struck Riddle's head, scorching it like hellfire. Percy seized the moment, redirecting his birds to regain ground.
Ron ran to the culprit—Harry, barely conscious, face pale. He'd severed his poisoned left arm and hurled it at Riddle.
Harry's act wasn't madness or malice—just a desperate bid to save his friends. Cradled by Ron, he gasped, "Ron… Ginny's diary… it's suspicious. Destroy it…"
"Protego Diabolica!" (Protect my friends!)
Pouring all his strength into his friends, Harry collapsed.
"Harry!!"
Harry's dark flames enveloped Ron, who gently laid him down and raced for the diary beside Ginny.
"You won't!" Riddle roared, revealing his true nature. He fired stunning spells at Harry and Ron, each flash lethal. But Ron didn't falter.
The dark flames and blood-bond protection from Ginny's wand blocked Voldemort's spell—a mistake born of using a unicorn-hair wand with malicious intent against her kin.
Percy sent his birds to shield Harry, but Riddle's curse obliterated them, aiming for the immobile boy. Something intervened, but the curse pierced it.
Riddle smirked, certain of Harry's death.
Then, impossibly, Harry vanished.
"What!?"
"Dobby protects Harry Potter! Dobby fulfills Young Master's orders! Dobby is good, Dobby is good…!"
A ragged house-elf teleported Harry to safety, dodging the curse.
"Expelliarmus!"
A girl's voice disarmed Riddle, his grip on Ginny's wand slipping due to weakened protections. Luna, shedding an Invisibility Cloak, wore the Sorting Hat and wielded a sword coated with Basilisk venom.
"Locomotor! Ron, use this!"
"What!? Why're you here!?"
"Forest fairies helped!"
"Got it!"
"Think you brats can stop me without a wand!?" Riddle snarled, attempting wandless magic to seize the sword.
Percy countered, "Protego Maxima!" (Protect from all!)
His fully chanted barrier glowed divinely, shielding the Gryffindor sword. It landed in Ron's hands.
"Stop!!" Riddle screamed.
Ron's full weight drove the venom-laced sword through the diary, dark flames consuming it as it split.
Harry awoke, head-butting a blonde girl peering at him.
"Ow! Harry, that hurt!" Luna yelped.
"Sorry, Luna… Why're you here? I'm not in pain? Why am I alive?"
Harry thought the Basilisk's venom had killed him. Yet, despite his missing arm and expected agony, he felt none. Stranger still, Luna and Dobby were here, and his foe bled and faded. He hadn't been out long.
"Thanks to Fawkes and Dobby," Luna said. "Say thank you!"
Harry thanked Luna, the Weasleys, and Fawkes, then faced Dobby, leaning on Luna. "You protected everyone, Dobby. Thank you."
His words hit the mark. Luna and Dobby had met Fawkes at the Chamber's entrance, following Percy. Dobby's silencing and deodorizing spells kept them undetected.
"Everyone's MVP," Luna grinned, flashing a peace sign.
"Yes, Harry Potter! But Dobby failed to fully protect—"
Before Dobby finished, Harry knelt, offering his right hand. "I misjudged you, Dobby. Thank you."
He added, "Promise to help like this in the future, okay?"
"Of course!" Dobby beamed.
As they spoke, Riddle writhed, cursing everything, especially Ginny, who sobbed.
"I gave that girl power! She wanted to stand beside you, Harry, by eliminating Colin and Granger! I granted her wish!" Riddle spat.
"Incendio Maxima!" (Burn it all!)
Percy's incineration spell further consumed the diary. Riddle's form grew translucent, ghost-like.
"No, I didn't!" Ginny cried.
Ron hugged her tightly. "Don't listen, Ginny…"
"I gave you everything! Top grades, a life above your peers! In return, give me your life!" Riddle demanded.
Harry recalled Professor Flitwick's words: "Be someone who gives."
(Did Riddle want that too? What does giving mean?)
Harry felt a pang of sadness, wondering how he differed from Riddle. He used dark magic too—perhaps he was a dark wizard.
As Riddle's hand reached for Ginny's illusion, Ron and Percy's spells couldn't stop him.
A ghostly girl intervened—Moaning Myrtle.
"Who are you!?" Riddle snarled.
"Myrtle Warren's shade," she said sadly. "Even my killer doesn't remember me."
"Out of my way! I'm the Dark Lord, destined to rule and bring pure-blood dawn!"
Myrtle glared, a look Harry had never seen. (Of course…)
Not the real Myrtle, but as a victim, she had the right to face Tom. She'd come for this.
"You're no Heir or Dark Lord," Myrtle said. "You're less than a ghost—a loser, a criminal. Once popular, now forgotten."
She paralyzed Riddle with a mocking laugh. "Pathetic, right? Killers deserve this."
Percy watched, conflicted, but no one could stop her. Myrtle continued, though it was unclear if Riddle heard.
"You could've been anything, but you threw it away. A dropout. Didn't your parents teach you not to kill?"
Her final words struck Riddle's core.
"You privileged fools mock me, a have-not!?" he raged. "What's wrong with shedding the name Riddle, Tom!? What's wrong with avenging myself against you privileged inferiors!?"
Harry's heart clenched. (Riddle had no one…)
No one to challenge his wrongs, no superior friends, no respected mentors, no spirited underclassmen… no parents.
Harry, who had everything, felt it presumptuous to empathize. They were too different.
"You're not a have-not," Myrtle said. "You're a taker."
Her vengeful spirit bound Riddle, leaving him powerless, stripped of dignity—a mere man.
"No… I don't want to die…" Riddle whimpered.
"When you kill, this is the consequence," Myrtle said. "Live honorably."
"I swear on my wand, Miss Myrtle," Harry vowed.
Myrtle glanced between Harry and Tom, silent.
Riddle wept. Luna moved toward him, but Percy held her back.
"What are you doing!?"
"He's pitiful… Even a bad guy doesn't deserve that."
"Don't be fooled," Percy said. "True villains feed on kindness and pity."
Luna, instead of approaching, sang. Harry didn't recognize the song, nor did Riddle. Fawkes screeched in harmony as Riddle's body turned to ash and vanished.
"What… was that song?" Percy muttered.
Riddle's final emotion wasn't anger or fear. Percy and Ron seemed to recognize the song; Percy lowered his eyes.
Tom Marvolo Riddle faded, never understanding what he'd been given. Ron whispered, "It's… so sad."
Harry was grateful Ron was there.
The Lion of Gryffindor, Born.
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