Chapter 11 Finding Answers

Professor McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the castle, magically magnified. It made harry and Ron look up suddenly, trying to see where it was coming from.

All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers to the second floor corridor. Immediately." Her crisp accent ended. Harry looked to Ron, and the two of them pulled out Harry's cloak. Hidden underneath it, they headed in the opposite direction to their dormitories, but to the second floor.

...

McGonagall stood before the desecrated wall, surrounded by the rest of the staff of Hogwarts. Harry and Ron crept up the stairwell, as silent as they could. The wall was blocking their view, but it gave the opportunity to overhear the teacher's conversation.

"As you can see, the Heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster. Into the Chamber itself." The teachers began to talk at once, and they suddenly silenced, leading Harry to assume that she had held up her hand. "I'm afraid we shall have to send the students home. I'm afraid... this is the end of Hogwarts." They could hear footsteps coming from the other side of the corridor. Lockhart burst in cheerily.

"So sorry. Dozed off. What have I missed?"

"Just the man we need." Snape's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Your moment has come at last." Lockhart gasped and stammered in reply;

"My m-moment?"

"Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?" Severus Snape was going to tear the man apart, and Harry felt sorry for Professor.

"D-did I? I don't recall..." he stammered some more, as McGonagall clapped once.

That settles it. We'll leave it to you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend." If she too was sarcastic, she hid it better than Snape.

"V-very well." He was beginning to sound like Quirrel, a fact that made Harry nervous. "I'll - I'll be in my office, getting – getting ready."

"The rest of us should go and inform the students what has happened."

"Who is it the monster's taken, Minerva?" Professor Sprout spoke up, asking the question on both boys' minds

"Ginny Weasley." Ron's knees gave way. As Harry caught him, the staff scattered, revealing what was written on the wall:

Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.

Harry and a very upset Ron walked with desperate purpose to the wall.

"She knew something, Harry." Ron was saying desperately as he tried to process the news of his little sister. "She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets, like Jess. That's why she was taken. I mean, she was -is - a pure-blood. There can't be any other reason." Harry put a hand on his shoulder, and gently pulled him away from the wall.

"C'mon. Let's go see Lockhart. He may be a brainless git, but he's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him what we know..."

"Harry. D'you think there's any chance at all she's not, you know –"Harry glanced over, and studied Ron's tortured eyes.

"We'll find her, Ron. Ginny's going to be fine."

...

Jess was wake.

This wasn't something she was happy about. She had no problem with being petrified; she knew Madam Pomfrey would make her better as soon as the Mandagoras were ready. But she wanted to be asleep. So she wouldn't have to have seen Harry's tortured face. So she wouldn't have felt the twins hold her hands, felt Oliver kiss her lips gently in a way that she so wanted to respond to. And now she was over hearing a conversation she couldn't understand.

"You've still not told me why she is petrified." It was Snape. Must have been. She would recognise his greasy voice anywhere. It had a very sort of that guy from Sweeney Todd feel to it.

Ah, the things you think about when you can't move.

"She's pure." Snape was saying.

Pure? Pure what?

"Yes. I belive Miss Darling simply knew too much." Dumbledore.

Nothing bloody simple about it.

"Do you belive that is why the Weasley girl was taken?"

Taken! Taken where! God Damn it say something!

"No. I belive that she is being used to lure Harry."

Shit.

"And Darling? Will you ever tell her?" Snape's voice asked. Jess saw Dumbledore lean forward, so she was looking into his blue eyes.

"When she asks." And with that both men left, leaving Jess to watch the spiders crawl across the roof.

A/N Short again, I know. Sorry!