(A/N: Happy Holidays! Thank you for reading! Please enjoy the chapter! Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.)
Trying to sneak away to talk to Moaning Myrtle turned out to be downright impossible. The professors escorted hoards of students everywhere, even to and from the Great Hall for meals. The three of them had tried to sneak out to see her under the invisibility cloak one night, but they didn't get very far before the realized that the halls were too patrolled to risk it. Marigold kept trying to find ways to break away from the ranks, thinking maybe if she went alone it would be easier. Unfortunately, after the last attack, where Marigold was the only one to walk away, all the professors were keeping an extra close eye on her.
Classes were harder than ever, and nobody seemed to be able to focus. With Dumbledore gone, the whole school was even more scared than ever before. Without the ability to roam about the castle, or even go to the library unaccompanied by a professor, the Gryffindor common room was packed at all times. Marigold, Neville, and Harry rarely had any time to talk privately.
Only the Slytherins seemed to be calm about the whole situation, which wasn't escaping the other houses. Worst of all of them was Malfoy, who seemed to think that he himself had something to do with Dumbledore being forced out. He had been strutting around the school for days acting as though he owned the place. It wasn't until about two weeks after Hagrid had been arrested and Dumbledore had left that Marigold overheard why he was more pompous than usual.
It was near the end of double potions and Marigold was just minding her own business working on copying down Snape's notes on the chalkboard when she overheard Malfoy bragging to Crabbe and Goyle.
"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore," he said, not bothering to keep his voice down. "I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent one now. Someone who won't want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall wont last long, she's only filling in…"
Marigold felt a white hot flush of rage wash over her. But she kept her mouth shut. Snape swept by, making no comment of Hermione's empty seat in front of Marigold or looking at Marigold at all.
"Sir," Malfoy said loudly. "Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?"
"Now, now, Malfoy," Snape said, though he couldn't suppress a thin lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."
"Yeah, right," Malfoy said, smirking. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, if you wanted to apply for the job—I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir—"
Snape smirked as he swept off around the classroom, fortunately not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.
"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now," Malfoy went on. Marigold didn't engage, though, with the hair on her neck standing up, she could tell he was looking right at her. "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger, but I'll settle for Rosenberg—"
The bell rang in that moment, which was lucky because at Malfoy's last comment, both Ron and Neville had leapt off their stools, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, their attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.
Marigold had grabbed Neville by the arm very quickly and shook her head. Neville tried to protest but she didn't let go. Ron was red faced and furious.
"Let me at him," Ron growled as Dean and Seamus hung onto his arms. "I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands!"
"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology!" Snape barked over the class's heads.
Snape made quick eye contact with Marigold. Something in his eyes told Marigold that he had heard what Malfoy had said, but she couldn't quite place what it was. It was brief, and then they were off.
Something happened the next day that drove Malfoy's stupid comment and even the Chamber of Secrets out of Marigold's mind for the first time in weeks. Ten minutes into Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall told the class that their exams would start on the first of June, only one week away.
"Exams?" Seamus Finnigan howled. "We're still getting exams?"
"The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to continue to receive your education," she said sternly. "The exams will therefore take place as usual, I trust you are all studying hard."
Marigold's stomach churned. Ever since Hermione and Penelope were petrified, and Harry and Neville had told her about Aragog, as well as the three of them trying to talk to Moaning Myrtle, Marigold had completely forgotten about exams! She was studying just enough to get through the next class!
Murmurs echoed around the room, which made Professor McGonagall scowl even more darkly.
"Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible," she said. "And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year."
Marigold frantically grabbed for her planner and began scribbling a study schedule for herself, Harry and Neville.
With the castle on lockdown and nothing else to do other than sit and stare at nothing, Harry and Neville couldn't go very far to try and avoid Marigold and her insane study schedule. She had them working late into the night, and without Quidditch, Harry didn't have his usual dose of escapism, something he was desperately missing.
Three days before their first exam, Professor McGonagall made an announcement over breakfast.
"I have good news," she said, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted.
"Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully.
"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" squealed a girl at the Ravenclaw table.
"Quidditch matches are back on!" Wood roared excitedly.
When the hubbub had subsided, Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."
There was an explosion of cheering. Ginny took that moment to come and sit by Marigold. She looked horrible. She was rocking backward and forward slightly.
"What's wrong?" Marigold asked, gently touching Ginny's shoulder to get her attention.
Ginny let out a yelp and Marigold removed her hand at once.
"Marigold, I've got to tell you something," she mumbled, not looking at Marigold.
Marigold was aware that Harry and Neville were closely listening in.
"What is it?" Marigold asked calmly.
Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She kept trying and looked like a goldfish trying to breathe on land.
"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets?" Marigold whispered.
Ginny drew a deep breath, and at that moment Percy plopped down next to Ginny giving her a fright. Her eyes grew wide and she scampered away.
Marigold could have yelled at Percy until she was red in the face, but it didn't matter; Ginny was gone, taking with her whatever information she had wanted so desperately to talk about.
Marigold could think of little else for the rest of the day. She was still wishing she could go and talk to Moaning Myrtle. Gilderoy Lockhart was escorting her and the rest of the other students back to Gryffindor Tower later that morning after their class.
Lockhart, who had so often assured them that all danger had passed, only to be proved wrong as soon as the words were out of his mouth, was now wholeheartedly convinced that it was hardly worth the trouble to see them safely down the corridors. His hair wasn't as sleek as usual, he had bags under his eyes, and his skin looked grey; it seemed he had been up most of the night on patrol.
"Mark my words," he said, ushering them around a corner. "The first words out of those poor petrified people's mouths will be 'It was Hagrid.' Frankly, I'm astounded Professor McGonagall thinks all these security measures are necessary."
"I agree, sir," Harry piped up, causing Neville to stumble a bit in surprise.
"Thank you, Harry," Lockhart said graciously while they waited for a long line of Hufflepuffs to pass. "I mean, we teachers have quite enough to be getting on with, without walking students everywhere and standing guard all night…"
"With so much on your plate, why don't you leave us here, sir," Marigold said, catching on. "After all, we only have another corridor to go."
"You know, Rosenberg, I think I will," Lockhart said. "I really should go and prepare my next class."
And he hurried off.
Marigold, Harry, and Neville let the rest of the Gryffindors draw ahead of them, then darted down a side passage and hurried off toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"Bloody brilliant thinking, Harry," Neville said.
"We can finally get some answers now!" Marigold exclaimed.
As they ran, Marigold got more and more excited that they might get answers now! But even more so, she was excited that Harry would finally be able to stop looking into things. Surely if they got answers and were able to tell the teachers, Harry would no longer need to endanger himself trying to solve the mystery. They whirled around a corridor and only had one more to go when an announcement made them screech to a halt.
Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the corridors, magically magnified.
"All students return to their House dormitories at once. Teachers, second floor. Immediately please."
"Another attack? Now?" Harry gasped.
"Quick, over here." Marigold grabbed the two of them and led them to a broom cupboard, keeping it a crack open.
From the small opening, they couldn't see anything, but they could hear footsteps approaching.
Gasps and cries echoed from the corridor ahead of them. Marigold felt one of the boys grab her arm.
"As you can see, it has finally happened." Professor McGonagall's voice reached them. "A student has been taken by the monster, right into the Chamber itself."
"Who is it?" Professor Sprout whimpered. "Which student."
"Ginny Weasley," Professor McGonagall said.
Marigold's knees gave out and she fell to the ground in a heap. She could hear several teachers crying.
"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said from further away than the next corridor over. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said—"
Marigold heard footsteps running down the corridor, and watched as a crazy haired Lockhart rushed passed where the three of them were hiding and disappeared into the next corridor.
"So sorry, dozed off, what have I missed?"
"Just the man." Marigold could hear Snape's scowl in his voice. "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," chipped in 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—" Lockhart sputtered.
"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" Professor Flitwick piped up.
"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," Snape said. "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 you to it, then Gilderoy," Professor McGonagall said. "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 reign at last."
"V-very well," he sputtered. "I'll—I'll be in my office, getting—getting ready."
Marigold heard him scamper away and watched as he passed by the crack in the broom closet.
"Right," Professor McGonagall's voice rang out after Lockhart's footsteps had disappeared. "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."
Eventually the footsteps disappeared.
"Come on, Marigold, we have to get back to the dormitory," Neville said, trying to help her up off the floor.
"Neville's right, Marigold, we can't be missing," Harry said.
Marigold allowed them to half carry, half drag her back to the Gryffindor common room.
Marigold, Harry and Neville sat down by the fireplace. Ron came and sat down next to her, not saying a word. Fred and George arrived soon after. Marigold didn't know what to say, but she gave Fred and George a hug, and they held on a little too tight and for a little too long. Percy wasn't there, he had gone to send an owl to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, then shut himself up in his dormitory.
Marigold didn't like the selfish thought that crept up on her. She knew she should be worrying about Ginny and coming up with a plan, coming up with something to at least make the others feel better… but she thought about herself. With Hogwarts being closed down, what would happen to her scholarship? Would she go back to live with her parents?
Marigold tried again and again to focus on Ginny and some sort of plan, and she succeeded most times, but the thought of going back couldn't be kept down.
Near sunset, Fred, George, and Ron went up to bed, unable to sit there any longer. The rest of the common room cleared out not long after that.
"She knew something," Marigold said, speaking for the first time since hearing the news. "She'd somehow found out something about the Chamber of Secrets or the Heir. That must be why—there's no other reason—she's a pureblood, why else could she have been taken?"
Neither of them said anything. The sun was sinking, blood red, below the skyline. It was then that Marigold had a thought and stood up. Harry and Neville looked alarmed at her sudden movement. Marigold knew she would be going against Dumbledore's order, but the order be damned! She was going to do something, and if Harry followed, he followed.
"I'm going to talk to Lockhart," she said. "I'll tell him what we know. He's going to try and get into the Chamber, apparently. I can at least tell him what we know."
Marigold didn't wait for a response before turning around and marching out of the portrait hole. She heard Harry and Neville scrambling behind her.
Darkness was falling as they walked down to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside of it. They could hear scraping, thumps, and hurried footsteps.
Marigold knocked on the door and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and they saw one of Lockhart's eyes peeping through it.
"Oh, Miss Rosenberg—Mr. Potter—Mr. Longbottom—" he said opening the door a bit wider. "I'm rather busy at the moment—if you would be quick—"
"Professor, we've got some information for you," Harry said.
"We think it will help you," Marigold added.
"Er—well—it's not terribly—" the side of Lockhart's face that they could see looked very uncomfortable. "I mean—well—all right."
He opened the door and they entered.
His office had been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor. Robes - jade-green, lilac, and midnight blue - had been hastily folded into one of them; books were jumbled untidily into the other. The photographs that had covered the walls were now crammed into boxes on the desk.
"Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Er, well, yes," Lockhart said, ripping a life-sized poster of himself from the back of the door as he spoke and starting to roll it up. "Urgent call—unavoidable—got to go."
"What about my sister?" Marigold asked, eyes flashing with rage.
"Well, as to that—most unfortunate—" Lockhart said, avoiding their eyes as he wrenched open a drawer and started emptying the contents into a bag. "No one regrets more than I—"
"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" Neville said. "You can't go now! Not with all the Dark stuff going on here!"
"Well—I must say—when I took the job—" Lockhart muttered, now piling socks on top of his robes. "Nothing in the job description—didn't expect—"
"You mean you're running away?" Harry said disbelievingly. "After all that stuff you did in your books—"
"Books can be misleading…"
"You wrote them!" Harry shouted.
"My dear children," Lockhart said, straightening up and frowning at them. "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." His demeanor had changed. "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 fashion sense at all. And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a hairlip. I mean, come on—"
"So you've been taking credit for what a load of other people have done?" Harry said incredulously.
"Harry, Harry," Lockhart said, shaking his head impatiently, he was no longer the smiling handsome teacher he had been all year… he wasn't even the scurrying mess he had been moments before, he was… different. "It's not nearly as simple as that. There was work involved. I had to track those people down. Ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn't remember doing it." Marigold slowly began reaching for her wand. "If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms. No, it's been a lot of work, children. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame, you have to be prepared to get dirty."
Marigold held her wand at her side, still and furious. Lockhart banged the lids of his trunks shut and locked them.
"Let's see," he said. "I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left."
He pulled out his wand and turned on them. But before he could say anything else, Marigold raised her wand. Expelliarmus.
Scarlet light burst from her wand and Lockhart's wand flew from his hand and clattered to the floor. Moving quickly, Marigold then sent his wand floating out the open window and to the grounds below.
Lockhart stared at her in disbelief. His expression changed to fury and then do defeat when he realized she fully intended to use her wand again if she needed to.
Harry and Neville were staring at her in disbelief.
"How—"
"Take my memory?" Marigold hissed, marching over to Lockhart and sticking her wand in his face. "Take their memories?"
"You little bitch!" he snapped before cowering behind her wand again.
"Oh fight me," Marigold spat, "oh, right, you can't your wand is gone."
"What d'you want me to do?" Lockhart said weakly, back to his useless, pathetic self, so much so that Marigold was surprised he had ever been intimidating. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do."
"You're in luck," Harry said, finding his words. "We think we know where it is. And what's inside it."
"Let's go, and if you make a noise or try to run away, I'll break your knees." Marigold said.
Marigold marched Lockhart out of his office and down the nearest stairs, along the dark corridor where the messages covered the wall. Marigold paused when she saw the newest words:
HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER
Marigold turned back to Lockhart, even more furious than ever and marched him through the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet.
"Oh, it's you," she said when she saw them. "What do you want this time?"
"To ask you how you died," Marigold said.
Myrtle's whole aspect changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question.
"Ooooh, it was dreadful," she said with relish. "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then—" Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining. "I died."
"How?" Neville asked.
"No idea," said Myrtle in a hushed tone. "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away…" She looked dreamily at Harry. "And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."
"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" Neville asked.
"Somewhere there," Myrtle said, pointing vaguely toward the sink in front of her toilet.
Harry and Neville hurried over to it. Marigold kept her wand trained on Lockhart who was standing well back, a look of utter terror on his face.
"There's a small snake etched on this one!" Harry called over to Marigold.
"That tap's never worked, " Myrtle said brightly as Harry tried to turn it.
"Harry, say something in Parseltongue," Marigold said.
"But— Open up."
"Still English," Neville whispered.
Harry looked back at the sink, and spoke again. Except this time a strange hissing came out. And at once, the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move; the sink, in fact, sank right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed. The pipe was large enough for a man to slide into, or a giant snake slither out of.
"I'm going down there," Harry said, determined.
"Me too," Marigold said.
"Me as well," Neville said, trying to sound as determined as Marigold and Harry.
There was a pause.
"Well, you hardly seem to need me," Lockhart said, with a shadow of his old smile. "I'll just—"
"Move another inch," Marigold warned.
"You can go first," Harry growled.
White faced and wandless, Lockhart approached the opening, Marigold's wand jabbed in his back.
"What good would it do?" he asked, his voice feeble.
Marigold just rolled her eyes and pushed him in. Once he slid out of sight, she followed.
It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide. Marigold could see more pipes branching off in all directions, but not as large as theirs, which twisted and turned, sloping steeply downward. Marigold knew she was falling deeper below the school than even the dungeons. She could hear Harry and Neville sliding behind her.
Very suddenly, the pipe leveled out and she shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel large enough to stand in. Lockhart was getting to his feet a little ways away, white as a ghost and covered in slime. Marigold got up and trained her wand on him again.
Harry and Neville flew out of the end of the pipe moments later, also covered in slime.
"We must be miles under the school," Harry said, his voice echoing in the black tunnel.
"Under the lake, probably," Marigold agreed.
Harry and Neville lit their wands and led the way. Marigold followed, pushing Lockhart ahead of her.
The tunnel was so dark that they could only see a little distance ahead. Their shadows on the wet walls looked monstrous in the wandlight.
"Remember," Harry said quietly as they walked cautiously forward, "any sign of movement, close your eyes right away…"
But the tunnel was quiet as the grave; the first unexpected sound they heard was a loud crunch as Neville stepped on what turned out to be a rat's skull. Harry lowered his wand to look at the floor and they saw that it was littered with small animal bones.
"Harry, there's something up there," Neville said, grabbing Harry by the shoulder.
Everyone froze, watching. Marigold could just make out the outline of something huge and curved, lying right ahead of them. It wasn't moving.
"Maybe it's asleep," Harry breathed.
Very slowly, Harry edged forward, his wand held high. The light slid over a gigantic snake skin of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The creature that had shed it must have been forty feet long, at least.
"Blimey," Neville said weakly.
Lockhart's knees gave way and he fell to the floor in front of Neville.
"Get up," Neville said, moving his foot away from the groveling Lockhart.
Lockhart got to his feet, and before Marigold could react, he dove at Neville and grabbed for his wand. There were a few quick spells thrown around, a loud BOOM, and Lockhart was sent crashing into one wall, and Marigold into another.
Blinking, Marigold jumped up and saw that Neville had grabbed his wand back from a stunned Lockhart. Coughing, Marigold looked around for Harry but found a solid wall of broken rock.
"Harry!" Marigold exclaimed, rushing over to the rocks. "Harry, are you okay?"
"I'm here!" Harry's muffled voice answered. "I'm okay!"
"We can't get through!" Marigold called, searching the rock desperately.
"Wait here," Harry called. "Wait with Lockhart and Neville. I'll go on… If I'm not back in an hour…"
"I'll try and shift some of this rock," Marigold said, trying to keep her voice even. "When you come back, and you will come back, it will be clear."
"See you in a bit!" Harry said, his voice shaking but seemingly confidant.
Marigold wasn't panicking. She wasn't. It wasn't like she had marched off, half cocked, and failed her duty to Dumbledore. It wasn't like she had kidnapped a teacher and led Harry into the most dangerous situation ever. This was fine.
Marigold turned back to Neville and an unconscious Professor Lockhart. Neville was covered in dirt and looking very close to panicking. Marigold took a deep breath then spoke.
"You watch him first, I'm going to get this rock moved the best I can. Then we can switch."
Neville nodded and Marigold set to work on moving the rock. More and more time was ticking by and she was no closer to the other side. Marigold was desperate, her arms were screaming. She kept going, and going, and going.
A gentle hand rested on her shoulder and her eyes met Neville's.
"Let me try," he said quietly.
Marigold only nodded. Standing next to Lockhart, Marigold watched as Neville tried, more successfully than she had, to move the rocks. She should have been paying more attention, because if she had, she would have noticed Lockhart reaching for her wand.
(A/N: If you feel up to it, leave a review or like and follow if you haven't already! I love you all, thank you for reading!)