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muttered Ron fearfully. "Go back to the dormitory?"

"No," said Harry in response, looking around the room cautiously. He gestured towards a wooden wardrobe opposite them. "In here. Let's hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them what we've found out."

"I don't like this Harry," muttered Saffron apprehsnviely. She would have rathered just wait in the staff room to tell the teacher what they knew. But upon hearing a flurry of footsteps coming in their direction, she succumbed to Harry's request and jammed herself into the wardrobe.

Saffron kept her hand over her mouth as teachers made it into the room. When Professor McGonagall arrived, they got the answer to precisely what happened.

"It has happened, a student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

"How can you be sure?" asked Professor Snape as the staff let out varying horrified reactions.

"The Heir of Slytherin," Professor McGonagall informed him and the other teachers." left another message. Right underneath the first one. Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever."

"Who is it?" said Madam Hooch, as Professor Flitwick burst into tears. "Which student?"

"Ginny Weasley," said Professor McGonagall.

Saffron's eyes widened in horror as she could hear Ron sliding down to the floor of the wardrobe from beside Harry. Harry had been right. Ginny must have known something. But now they were too late to act on it, as Ginny was gone for good. Saffron didn't even have time to process her mourning as Professor McGonagall was still speaking sorrowfully.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said."This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said..."

Saffron was glad she had her hand over her mouth as the door burst open loudly. For a moment, Saffron's hear fluttered hopefully, that perhaps someone was going to say they had rescued Ginny. But, of course, she should have known that the only reason she hadn't heard Professor Lockhart's voice was that he was absent.

"So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?"

"Just the man," uttered Snape slowly. "The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

"That's right, Gilderoy," added Professor Sprout. "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"I - well, I -"

"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" squeaked Professor Flitwick.

"D-did I? I don't recall--"

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," said Snape. "Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?"

"I - I really never - you may have misunderstood--"

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy," said Professor McGonagall. "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last."

"V-very well," he stammered. "I'll - I'll be in my office, getting - getting ready."

Saffron heard him leave the room.

"Right," said Professor McGonagall with a note of finality "that's got him out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories."

With that, all of the teachers left the room and Saffron too slid down the wardrobe, struggling to comprehend what she had just heard and witnessed. She looked over at Ron and that was when she started to cry. She felt what he was feeling, albeit to a starkly contrasting degree. Complete and utter heartbreak.

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Saffron told Harry that they needed to give Ron some time alone to mourn and grieve with his family alone. She did so when Harry tried to stay with Ron, Fred and George, but Saffron thought that he was out of place amongst them. He needed to let Ron be with the people who knew Ginny and who could get comfort out of that fact as a result, not someone who he had only known for two years.

But t that period of mourning didn't last long, as Fred and George went up to their dormitory an hour after the second-year Gryffindors returned from the staff room. Once they did so, Ron wandered over to them, speaking for the first time to them since he had heard about Ginny.

"She knew something," was what he had to say. "That's why she was taken. It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was -" Ron hastily rubbed his eyes and Saffron placed a hand on his knee consolingly. "I mean, she was a pure-blood. There can't be any other reason."

"You----" stated Ron but then he paused."D'you think there's any chance at all she's not - you know--"

Saffron gulped. Her honest answer was that there was no chance that Ginny was still alive, but she didn't have the heart, to tell the truth, False hope was better than no hope, after all. And Saffron found herself having to go along with the false hope in order to appease Ron.

"D'you know what?" said Ron. "I think we should go and see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him where we think it is, and tell him it's a basilisk in there."

Saffron glanced over at Harry, not expressing any emotions on her face so as to not upset Ron, as she didn't want to go. It was a terrible idea. That basilisk or the heir had dragged Ginny into the chamber. Who was to say they wouldn't do the exact same thing to them?

But Harry readily agreed and soon enough Saffron found herself hurrying down a corridor towards Lockhart's office, which the door tightly shut to. But was very loud inside and Saffron furrowed her eyebrows waiting for Lockhart to open the door once Lockhart opened the door.

"Oh - Mr. Potter - Miss Mitchell - Mr. Weasley -" said Lockhart said upon opening the door. "I'm rather busy at the moment --"

"No, please Professor," said Saffron pushing the door back in order to not let him close it. "We can help you please,"

"Er - well - it's not terribly -" stuttered Lockhart awkwardly. "I mean - well - all right--"

Saffron let out a faint gasp when she entered the room. Everything was out of place and a giant trunk was wide open in front of Lockhart.

"Professor, what is this?" said Saffron, realisation creeping onto her face.

"Are you going somewhere?" said Harry.

"Er, well, yes," said Lockhart, rolling a poster of himself up fervently. "Urgent call - unavoidable - got to go--"

"What about my sister?" demanded Ron aggressively.

"Well, as to that - most unfortunate -" spluttered Lockhart, spilling more of his possessions into the trunk. "No one regrets more than I--"

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" said Harry loudly. "You can't go now! Not with all the Dark stuff going on here!"

"Well - I must say - when I took the job -" said Lockhart, almost trying to convince himself of what he was saying. "nothing in the job description - didn't expect--"

"You mean you're running away?" yelled Harry in shock. Saffron glared at Lockhart accusingly. But she couldn't be surprised, she knew, like Harry and Ron did, how incompetent Lockhart was, and knew that he surely wouldn't be able to handle such a task. But they weren't sure of their options, especially considering Saffron felt they should leave it to the adults as there was no saving Ginny. She was dead."After all that stuff you did in your books--"

"Books can be misleading," said Lockhart curtly.

"You wrote them!" Harry roared.

"My dear boy," frowned Lockhart "Do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all. And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a harelip. I mean, come on--"

"You fraud!" exclaimed Saffron, "It figures, not being able to handle a couple of pixies, taking credit for what other wizards have done! You're disgusting,"

"I'm not disgusting, that's the point, Miss Mitchell," said Lockhart smoothly. "To be honest, I wish the rest of what you are saying was the truth. It's far from that simple. Using a memory charm is quite the tricky little spell, not to mention the effort it takes to find these people. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, children. You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long hard slog."

He finally had finished packing his trunk and as it turned out, he had finished with them too.

"Let's see, I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left."

Saffron screeched when Lockhart pulled out his wand and pointed it right at her since she was standing between the two boys.

"Awfully sorry, children, but I'll have to put a Memory Charm on you now. Can't have you blabbing my secrets all over the place. I'd never sell another book--"

Luckily, Harry had remained composed, unlike Saffron, and pulled out his wand too, bellowing "Expelliarmus!" sending Lockhart flying over his trunk. His wand shot up in the air and Ron caught it, wasting no time before sending it out the open window.

"Shouldn't have let Professor Snape teach us that one," said Harry matter-of-factly, continuing to point his wand at him. Saffron took her wand out and pointed it at Lockhart too, feeling as feeble and useless as Lockhart looked since she hadn't reacted like Harry.

"What d'you want me to do?" asked Lockhart meekly. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do."

"You're in luck," said Harry somewhat brightly. "We think we know where it is. And what's inside it. Let's go."