Gandolus
Chapter Two-An Inside Scoop
"I'm sure of it," Hermione whispered to Gail, Harry and Ron. "I've seen pictures of acid burns from Dad's Muggle medical binder. That's certainly acid burns."
"But what would bring on acid rain?" Ron asked curiously. "Nothing like that has ever happened here before."
Hermione frowned.
"Well," she said slowly. "The only thing that might evidently cause acid rain is chemicals strewn into the air from any kind of chemical factory or something like that. But not a rainstorm that just mysteriously came up on bright and sunny day."
One of the Slytherins helped his fellow classmate out of the class and they headed toward the hospital wing. Several of the students were now looking outside.
"Professor Binns," A Gryffindor said nervously. "The rain is nearly destroying the greenhouse glass!"
At that, everyone pushed back their chairs and scurried to look out the window. Sure enough, the rain that pounded on the roof of the greenhouses had begun melting away the glass and metal foundation.
"Good Lord," Professor Binns whispered wide eyed. "I've never seen anything like this before."
Everyone was so interested in the rain that they had completely forgotten about class.
The rain had also began eating away at the windows. Several students leapt back from them completely scared and terrified.
"Okay everyone stay in their seats," Professor Binns instructed. "Slytherins will merge with the Gryffindors for now until this horrible rain storm is over."
Needless to say, at this point, neither house minded as they wanted to get as far away from that rain as possible. They all watched in horror as several of the windows had holes burnt into the glass and the frames.
Then, to their surprise and shock, as quickly as it started, the dark clouds vanished and the bright sunlight now broke through as though nothing had happened. Everyone looked at each other completely baffled and stunned.
"Well," Professor Binns said slowly. "It seems as though it was a summer shower type."
Slowly the Slytherins made their way back to their seats and the lesson resumed.
Once the bell rang ending class, Gail, Hermione, Harry and Ron left the class.
"That was undeniably the strangest thing I've ever seen," Hermione said bluntly. "Not even Dark magic can produce something like that!"
"Whatever caused it I hope it never happens again," Harry said. "And on the other hand I never want to sit with the Slytherins that close again."
They all chuckled.
"Definitely creepy," Ron agreed nodding.
They then headed back to the common room for the rest of the evening before dinner. Harry and Ron decided to play a game of Wizarding chess. Hermione was sitting with Gail on the couch. Gail reached into her bag and pulled out the diary. She fingered the spine slowly, tracing the outline. Hermione looked up from the book she was reading.
"Gail? Where'd you get that?" she inquired curiously looking at her.
Harry looked up at that.
"Oh that is the mysterious diary Gail found in the library," he said dryly. "Hence the minute she removed it, strange things have happened…including that acid rain."
"Oh please Harry," Hermione scoffed rolling her eyes. "There's a logical explanation for that rain. Diary's don't' make it rain, and especially acid rain."
"Thank you," Gail said shaking her head. "I've been trying to tell him that diary's aren't evil it's the people who write in them that do the mean and crazy things. The Dark Lord is a prime example…well he's more of a mental patient but still."
Ron's lip twitched at that statement.
"Still," Harry persisted. "There's something about that diary that I don't like."
"You're just off because of what happened in our second year," Hermione said. "It's just a stupid book nothing to be afraid of."
Harry just looked at her warily and would not come anywhere near them. Hermione leaned into Gail.
"What's it say?" Hermione inquired.
Gail finally opened the diary and felt the same icy cold gust of wind. She glanced at Hermione.
"I felt it too," she said.
Harry shook his head, not wanting to hear them. He'd warned them that something wasn't right with that diary again and he wanted nothing to with it.
Gail carefully opened the first page and immediately came across writing. From the look of it, it looked as though it was done by a first year. Gail narrowed her eyes and tried to read it aloud:
"August 2nd, 1956
Dear Diary,
Today was my first day arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm so excited to be here. I know it's going to be really fun! I'm gonna make lots of friends and do well in my classes. Mum and Dad want me to write home to them asap to let them know how my first day was! Well, it's late and I'm gonna head to bed.
Dana S."
Gail raised her eyes to Hermione's.
"So whoever this girl is she was a first year back in 1956," Gail said slowly. "That's almost fifty years ago right?"
Hermione nodded.
"See if there's more," she said.
Gail nodded and skimmed over a few pages. It basically went on about her first few weeks here at Hogwarts and how classes were. But then the tone of the writings got a bit more frosty and Gail cleared her throat.
"Listen to this:
September 11th, 1956
Dear Diary,
Well I hope Mum and Dad are happy. I've made some friends…right I'm being sarcastic. They're in Slytherin. They don't like Gryffindors for some reason and they pick on me constantly. They corner me during class and make me do embarrassing things. Like today they caught me and one of the Slytherin boys made me pull down my skirt so he could make sure I was wearing clean underwear. I ended up having to go back to class like that too because they told me if they find out I pulled them up after Potions, they were going to beat me up. I hate them and I want to go home. I hate it here and I wish I could do something about those boys. The teachers give them detention though, but it doesn't seem to do the trick. They keep it up! Talk to you later,Dana S."
Gail finished reading that entry and looked at Hermione.
"Christ," she breathed. "And we think the Slytherins today are mean. Just imagine what they were like back then…and picking on a first year Gryffindor? That's typical of them though."
"So this Dana girl was in our house," Hermione mused thoughtfully. "Why didn't she tell the Head of house?"
"I think she did cause she says that the Professors give those boys detention but it doesn't seem to work, they keep tormenting her," Gail said sadly, aching to see what happened next.
"Read one more entry and I think that's it for tonight," Hermione said.
Gail nodded and flipped a few pages. She cleared her throat:
"September 24th, 1956
Dear Diary,
Tonight at dinner, I was sitting with my own house, minding my own business. Jenna was going on about the cute boys in Ravenclaw, and how smart they were and how she wishes she was in that house. I just ignored her and began eating my dinner. After a few minutes, Lucy got annoyed at Jenna and told her that if she wants that house so bad why don't she go to it and make the Sorting Hat change her house. That shut Jenna up really fast. I had to chuckle to myself though. It was kinda funny…
Anyway, those Slytherin boys came up to our table and using their wands, changed my food into dog food and told me that this is the right food for me to be eating, not human food like baked potatoes and roast beef. One of them told me that he was able to get the dog food easily and he could have it prepared for me each night. But then he said I'd need to be walked afterwards because it could give me diarrhea It was just as I was about to take a bit of my food too. My food on the fork was now dog food. They left, walking up the aisle laughing and chortling. I really, really, hate them now and wish they would go away. I can't take their cruelness anymore. Someone has to do SOMETHING about them…
Dana S."
Gail finally finished reading the entry and closed the diary.
"God," Hermione said wide eyed. "Those sound like vile and cruel people, even more than normal for Slytherins."
"Nope," Harry chimed in. "That sounds about right. Given Malfoy."
All of them fell silent and nodded in sync.
"Oh right," Ron said. "But seriously mate, do you think Malfoy would do something like that to a first year? I mean blimey he loves tormenting us, but we're in the same year as him."
"I wouldn't put it past him no," Harry said frowning. "But anyway I'm exhausted. Let's head to bed."
Gail nodded and they all went their separate ways. Gail took the diary into the dorm with her and slipped it under the pillow. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over her. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep.
Around midnight, she felt like someone was slowly crawling up the bed under the covers, which was moving. Still groggy with sleep, Gail just turned over and tried to get comfortable again, but the sensation continued. She sleepily opened her eye and peered down at the foot of the bed. There was a large bulk that looked like a little girls' outline. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest and her breathing sped up. She reached with a shaky hand and quickly pulled off the covers. A girl was on her hands and knees smirking at Gail…but she didn't look right. Her skin was a charcoal grey and her eyes were a milky white color. Gail immediately got the stench of decay and death. The girl coughed and a brownish, red liquid spewed from the corner of her mouth dripping onto the sheets.
She screamed.
Immediately, Hermione was ripped from her sleep. She quickly groped for the light and finally had it turned on. Gail was sitting upright in bed, screaming her head off and the sheets were pulled back. Hermione rushed to her.
"Gail!" Hermione cried putting her arms around Gail's shoulders. "What happened did you have a nightmare?"
"The girl!" Gail shrieked. "Look!"
Gail pointed to the end of the bed. Hermione turned to look.
There was nothing there.