Spark [J._K._Rowling]_Harry_Potter_and_the_Chamber_of_Se | Page 258

CHAPTER THIRTEEN see him, standing stock-still by the door, watching the passage out- side. It felt to Harry that they were there for at least an hour. All he could see was the figure of Riddle at the door, staring through the crack, waiting like a statue. And just when Harry had stopped feel- ing expectant and tense and started wishing he could return to the present, he heard something move beyond the door. Someone was creeping along the passage. He heard whoever it was pass the dungeon where he and Riddle were hidden. Riddle, quiet as a shadow, edged through the door and followed, Harry tip- toeing behind him, forgetting that he couldn’t be heard. For perhaps five minutes they followed the footsteps, until Rid- dle stopped suddenly, his head inclined in the direction of new noises. Harry heard a door creak open, and then someone speaking in a hoarse whisper. “C’mon . . . gotta get yeh outta here. . . . C’mon now . . . in the box . . .” There was something familiar about that voice. . . . Riddle suddenly jumped around the corner. Harry stepped out behind him. He could see the dark outline of a huge boy who was crouching in front of an open door, a very large box next to it. “ ’Evening, Rubeus,” said Riddle sharply. The boy slammed the door shut and stood up. “What yer doin’ down here, Tom?” Riddle stepped closer. “It’s all over,” he said. “I’m going to have to turn you in, Rubeus. They’re talking about closing Hogwarts if the attacks don’t stop.” ‘ 246 ‘