Chapter Nine: Deeper and Deeper

Three Months Later

Harry had decided that the right word was annoying. He couldn't imagine those days when he saw her as anything else but annoying. It was her constant hand shooting into the air whenever a teacher asked a question. It was the way she was always right. Over the last three months, the words Hermione and annoying became interchangeable.

"No, no," Hermione told Ron, gesturing to the way Ron moved his wand. "It's like this." She performed the charm correctly, with an overconfident smirk on her face.

Harry felt like screaming. He was so quick to anger those days, but he managed to control it.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little off?"

"I'm fine," Harry mumbled, quietly wondering how many times she would ask him this. The total had climbed into the hundreds just this past week. He had always given her the same answer, so why didn't she just stop asking?

Hermione and Ron exchanged worried glances.

"What?" Harry asked, getting rather loud. "If you have something to say, just say it!"

The both of them were startled by Harry's response. Although he had been increasingly dark and depressed lately, Harry had never snapped at them that way before.

"It's just that Ron and I are starting to worry about you," said Hermione, sincerely. "You haven't been yourself."

Harry turned his attention to Ron, daring him to agree with her.

"She's right, mate," Ron said, "Last night, I saw that you were up studying!"

"We're at school, remember?" Harry stated, "And we only have one week until exams."

"When have you ever cared about studying?" Hermione asked, a little too quickly.

"You think you're the only one who can get good grades?" Harry felt himself start to lose it.

"No," said Hermione, turning red, "it's just…" She never finished the sentence, and it's a good thing she didn't. If she had, Harry might have ended up cursing her.

"It's not just the studying," Ron butt in, "We hardly see except during class, and bedtime. Merlin, Harry, you don't even wear glasses anymore!"

"I told you that I don't need them anymore," Harry explained, harshly. This was only about the millionth time he had to say it.

"That's not the point," Hermione spoke up again, "Something happened that night in the Chamber, and you haven't been the same since. I don't buy the story you and Riddle have been dishing out for one second."

This was what Harry was afraid of. These were dangerous thoughts his friends had. Why did they question it? Didn't they appreciate his sacrifice? His suffering was for their sake. Harry lied to them for their sake. If they knew the truth, Riddle would kill them, or worse.

"You're calling me a liar." Harry stated, coldly. He gave a glance to Ron, examining to see if he felt the same way.

"It does seem weird," Ron said, "I mean, Neville never so much as managed to cast a regular spell correctly let alone any powerful dark magic."

"I didn't lie," said Harry. "Now knowing who the culprit was, it's no wonder all the attempts to kill Mudbloods failed."

Hermione turned paled, and Ron looked at Harry as if he had said something awful. Then Harry realized his mistake. All that time spent hearing Riddle talk had finally gotten to him.

"I meant Muggleborns!"

His friends didn't lift their questioning gaze.

"Fine, don't believe me about the Chamber," Harry said, angrily. "But why would I lie and say one of my friends did it when they didn't? Why would I do that to Neville, unless you think that I'm the Heir of Slytherin?"

This wasn't an uncommon theory at all. Many believed that Harry had framed Neville, and somehow tricked Riddle. However, Harry thought his own friends knew him better than that.

"We don't think that for a second," Hermione assured.

"Lair!" Harry's voice was raised loud enough so if got the whole class's attention. Harry turned back to Ron. "I don't have to put up with this."

With this, Harry walked straight out of Charms. Professor Flitwick yelled for him to come back, but Harry ignored them.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew Hermione and Ron didn't really think it was him who was trying to kill everyone. He knew that they were smart enough to figure out what was really going on, and it was too dangerous for them to say it aloud. Harry didn't know what Riddle would do.

He spent the rest of his day sitting in the library, doing nothing of real importance. It was likely that he'd get into trouble with Riddle and the school for skipping out on classes, but he didn't care. After three months of studying, working, and lying, Harry felt he needed a day off.

Of course the lying wasn't the hardest part. At first, when Harry woke up in the hospital wing for the second time, he worried his story wouldn't match up with what Riddle had told them about the Chamber. However, whenever Harry was asked a question, it was as if Harry had been brainwashed. He answered them with all accuracy to what Riddle had said without the two of them even talking about the questioning.

Neville, on the other hand, had awoken without the slightest bit of knowledge of what happened that night. He was immediately taken to an Azkaban holding cell until he stood trial for a crime he had no memory of. Frank and Alice Longbottom had refused to believe their son was trying to kill Muggleborns; of course, the parent's testimony was almost immediately tossed aside.

Eventually, after a month of deliberation, Neville was found guilty. However, by that time, his parents had miraculously rescued their son, and fled the country. They were last seen in Spain.

Harry never stopped feeling guilty about the whole thing. It was entirely his fault. He messed up once by letting Riddle perform the awful mind probing spell on him, and then that led to torturing Neville, which led to many other things as Riddle had begun to use Harry's torture of Neville against him as well. The rest of Harry's days seemed hopeless, as he was constantly digging himself in deeper and deeper.

Author's Note: Ok, this didn't explain a lot of what happened, but the next chapter will. I took a pretty big jump, just because I couldn't think of any other ways to write it. Next chapter will be entirely Riddle, a Riddle and Dumbledore scene included. Like I said, it will explain what happened outside of the Chamber during the incident, and what happened directly afterwards.

Thanks to my reviewers!

Also I have five to six more chapters of this to write/revise. It seems this story went fast. My mind is already plotting a sequel. What does everyone think of that? Sequel or no sequel?