Ch. 21 Departures and Revelations
"Who's 'ere?" Hagrid's booming voice made Harry's ears hurt.
"Just me, Hagrid," Harry replied. "Please open up. I have to ask you a question."
The door flew open, exposing a scowling Hagrid and a very alarmed Fang. "What're you doin' 'ere now, Harry? I jus' heard 'bout the attack at the Castle. You should be up in yer common room," Hagrid scolded.
Harry pushed past him into the hut and motioned for the door to close. When both he and Hagrid were seated Harry looked the larger man dead in the eye. "Hagrid, I'm sorry for what I have to ask, but I have to ask it. What happened fifty years ago with the Chamber of Secrets?"
Hagrid sat up, ramrod straight and sputtered a little bit. "'Ere now, what're you doin' lookin' after that mess. I didn't have nothin' to do with it. Nothin' I say, and that's all I'm sayin'. Ain't fittin' fer yer ears, Harry."
"Please, Hagrid. Hermione's been attacked. Right now she's up in one of those beds, Petrified, and I need to know from someone who was there what happened. Who did it? Were they caught? I need to know, if we're going to solve this," Harry pleaded. Twenty more minutes of gentle cajoling did nothing to ease the Gamekeeper's mind. Finally, Harry had enough.
"What the hell are you hiding, Hagrid?" Harry shouted. The abrupt change in demeanor startled both Hagrid and Fang.
"Nothin'! Nothin' I tell yeh. It jus' ain't fittin' fer yer ears."
"Hagrid, my ears have heard an awful lot. You know more than you're telling and I need to know what it is. Who did it? Were they ever caught? What are you afraid of?" All traces of Harry's previous pleasant demeanor were gone. If Hagrid didn't know better, he would have sworn that Harry was twenty feet tall and about to spank him like an untruthful child.
"I'm... They're goin' teh think it was me again. They expelled me last time, I didn't do nothin'. I don' know what they'll do this time," Hagrid nearly broke down in tears.
"Hagrid, why would they think it was you? You are many things, but stupid and malicious aren't among them. I know someone died. I don't think you could have had anything to do with something like that. Me, maybe, but not you. Tell me what happened, please."
Hagrid lifted his big head and wiped a grubby hand at red eyes, barely holding back the tears. "I foun' him as a little 'un. Wouldn' hurt nobody, still never did. They don' never attack me when I go teh see 'em. Then that bloke prefect, Tom was his name, foun' out about 'im an' turned me in. Said 'I was the one' that 'I'd have teh face the consequences'. I didn' hurt nobody, an' neither did he,"
"Hagrid, we're friends, right?" Harry stared intently at Hagrid, gauging every movement for a clue that the man was lying.
"O' course," Hagrid sniffled
"And friends don' lie to each other do they?"
"No, not if they're good ones,"
"And you're one of the best, Hagrid," Harry said sincerely. "I know this is hard, but I need to know... Did you ever open the Chamber of Secrets?"
"NO! I told yeh' that 'Arry. I found the little tyke with some travelin' bloke one summer an' I brought him with me. I raised him in a cupboard. He didn't go near that bathroom, I swear," Hagrid bellowed. Harry winced in pain at the loud sound. Hagrid's denial was forceful, but as sure as Harry could be, the man was telling the truth.
"Wait, who was it that you raised, Hagrid?"
"Oh, yeh wouldn't know 'im, but he's..." Hagrid was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. The day wasn't quite whittled away yet. "Hide!" Hagrid whispered none too softly, and a second after Hagrid had turned his back Harry was gone out the window of the hut, four legs leaping and tail flying. It was amazing how much faster he could make the change when scared, it was almost without thought. The next few minutes were tense and unpleasant.
One Cornelius Fudge, no doubt one of the Ministries many drones, had come to take Hagrid to Azkaban. Willpower he didn't know he had was all that stopped Harry from rending the little man limb from limb. Then a really unpleasant creature came in, the senior Malfoy. The man was senior in every way Harry could think of, senior in slime, senior in corruption, and senior in erectile dysfunction if his only child was anything to go by. Harry was always proud of Arthur for having as many decent kids as he did. One would think that with only one, the junior Malfoy would have turned out to be more than he was, but seeing the father up close gave Harry a new perspective, and sitting on the windowsill certainly gave Harry a clear view.
The evil blond man bore tidings more ominous than even a temporary removal of Hagrid; Dumbledore was being sacked as Headmaster. He was to be removed from the school. Harry was itching to see the old man pull his wand and begin hexing folks. Even if they didn't always agree, Harry could still feel the power radiating off the old Kneazle-molester. Instead Dumbledore stood calmly aside, like a sheep, and let policy be dictated by Malfoy. The sight made Harry sick. Dumbledore then rattled something off about being truly gone when none are still loyal... Harry didn't understand it at all, the old man was leaving. That seemed like a truly gone statement to him. Hagrid's comment of 'follow the spiders' was a little easier to grasp.
When the circus was over, Hagrid's hut stood dark and empty. Only Fang was left, still whining on the floor of his master's home. Harry felt a familiar burning sensation rise in his chest, anger. He really wanted to hurt the sons-of-bitches that took Hagrid, and while Harry had much less of a connection with the old Headmaster, even Harry recognised he was the best bet for keeping the school safe. Follow the spiders. That had been Hagrid's advice and Harry would, but not tonight. Too much had changed. Harry really needed Hermione's sharp mind, but as she was currently laid up in hospital, stiff as a board, Ginny would have to fill in. Sharp as she was, and biased as Harry was, even he had to admit that Hermione might have an edge in cleverness, though just a small one.
Holding his war council in the quiet common room was a little unnerving. The news that Dumbledore was gone had broken twenty minutes ago and with it brought the sudden end to all commotion. Exploding Snap was no longer exploding, several of the flightier fifth years were no longer snogging and it seemed that a dark blanket of gloom had settled over everyone.
"There will be an attack a day with Dumbledore gone," Ron concluded morosely.
"There's only one thing we can do then," Harry began. "We've got to follow the spiders, unless... oh shite. Surely Hagrid wouldn't have done that," Harry trailed off into incoherent mumblings.
"Would you please tell me what you're going on about, Paws?" Ginny fumed. She was more upset than anyone. The year had finally gotten to going right and now this. She'd be damned if she was going to give up Hogwarts without a fight.
"Aragog," was all Harry said.
"What, pray tell, is an Aragog?" Ron asked timidly. He had the nagging suspicion that spiders were involved.
"Aragog is the father of the nest of Acromantula in the forest. We don't need to follow any spider trail, I know where those boys are," Harry smiled.
"How do you know that?" Ron asked again, "And don't you dare tell me 'Trade Secrets'."
"Ron, I know that forest like the back of my paw. No one goes near the nest, those things eat anything. We'll go as soon as we can get away, agreed?"
Ginny nodded enthusiastically, but Ron blanched. "Wait, why do we need to go again, and exactly how big are these spiders again?"
"Firstly, I think that Aragog might know more than Hagrid about this whole business, and we have to find out. We need to go because, as good as I am, it would help to have another wand or two along. Those buggers are nasty. As for the second, that really depends, could be small as a dinner plate or big as a horse, maybe a little larger," Harry replied offhandedly. Ron looked ready to be sick.
"Harry, I'd do anything for you, mate. You know that, but I can't do this. Please don't ask."
Harry stared intently at his friend, and then relented. "You'll be alright. Ginny and I will go." Ron nodded sadly and stood abruptly.
"I'm sorry, mate."
"You're okay, Ron. We still killed a troll didn't we?" Ron smiled weakly before replying.
"We sure did. I'm off to bed then. Let me know when you'll be gone, I'll try and cover with Percy for you."
"I always knew you were a stand up chap, Ron. See you tomorrow," Harry replied and waved his friend off to bed. "Now, Sparkplug, let's figure out how we're going to do this."
oOo
As it turned out it was nearly two weeks later that they finally found an opening. The teachers had taken to escorting them from class to class and herding them about like sheep. For an independent Kneazle this was the ultimate insult. Harry could take care of himself and no Slytherin Monster was going to get the drop on him, but travelling about in a pack blinded his senses and made for juicier prey. That morning's Herbology class was subdued; now they had two missing from their number and finally even Ernie MacMillan seemed forced to admit that the likelihood of Harry's evil intentions were slim to none.
Finally, Harry found an opening. It hardly surprised him that Lockhart was the one to give it. Harry still couldn't understand how the man had managed to defeat so many dark creatures, he had no hunting instincts and his situational awareness was that of a drunken rabbit. Harry slipped behind a suit of armour and transformed, padding quickly towards the greenhouses where Ginny had Herbology that day.
She had lagged behind a little and with her shorter legs she fell behind even further. Harry, on two legs now, prepared to pounce. Staying low to the ground Harry sprung in the instant Professor Sprout had turned her back to reprimand two Ravenclaws for scuffling. He hit her hard and low around the waist, the forward momentum propelling them both into the nearby bushes. He clamped his hand hard over her mouth to muffle any scream that might alert someone to her temporary abduction. "Sparkplug, hush, it's me!" Harry hissed.
"Merlin, Harry! You scared the magic out of me. What are we doing in the shrubbery?" Ginny's mind was suddenly filled with romantic scenarios of Harry loudly professing his love and immediate marriage, where they would enter into a long and passionate engagement.
"I'm kidnapping you; we're going to see Aragog now." Much less romantic than she'd hoped, but he'd also seen fit to include her so that had to mean something.
"Wait, why now?"
"I want in and out of that forest before dark. Your eyes aren't accustomed to it and we've never gone as deep as we will today."
"I've gone in before though! Don't you patronize me, Harry," Ginny warned angrily.
"Ginevra," Harry began and Ginny stood stock straight at the use of her full name, "I'm not doing anything of the sort. However, anytime you've gone in the forest before has been with a full guard of our Kneazles, and even they won't go near where we're going now. I need you to follow me and be ready. Do you remember the spell we learned?"
"Reducto, sure. Do you think we're going to run into problems?" Ginny asked wide eyed.
"Count on it."
They both stood, and checked quickly about for authority, and seeing none they hurried off into the looming shadows of the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't a minute before they were joined by numerous other presences. "Ginny, stay here. We're being followed and I need to know why," Harry calmly stated. Stepping out of her clear line of sight, Harry assumed his true form and lamented his inability to always travel like this.
'What are you doing, Igglebum?' Harry began, but was quickly cut off from further questions by a loud mewling as six other Kneazles surrounded him in a half-circle.
'We're here to help. The question is where are you going?'
'To see the Acromantula.' A collective gasp was let out at the news.
'Why are you taking our kitten?' Igglebum asked harshly.
'She's a witch as much as your kitten and right now we need answers. There is a danger in the castle. We have to find out what it is.'
'Then you go, leave her with us. Mum won't lose a kitten so early,'
'I'll never convince her to stay, you know how stubborn she is,' Harry said wearily.
'Then we're coming,'
'No, please. How could I face your Mum if one of you were killed?'
'And how could we face her if we let her newest kitten wander around the forest without us? We're coming if she is,' Igglebum retorted.
'Your concern for me is touching, you know that right?'
'Go chase your tail; we know you can take care of yourself.'
Ginny heard some soft meows in the distance and after a few minutes Harry reappeared as though by, well, magic. "Ginny, I suppose I didn't really think this one through. Could I convince you to head back to the castle? It's going to be awfully dangerous and I don't want to face your mum if you get hurt," Harry concluded lamely.
"Harry, you dragged me out here because you might need an extra wand and that is exactly what you're going to get," she replied fiercely. Ginny hated it when people tried to baby her. It wasn't going to be as bad as he'd said anyway. They'd gone into the forest plenty of times before. Harry sighed and let his shoulders slump, seemingly defeated. As they began to walk deeper into the shadows, Ginny too became aware of numerous smaller shapes following them.
"Harry, why are the Kneazles following us? Didn't you say it was dangerous?"
"Of course I did. That's why they're coming, they have to watch out for their kitten don't they?" and he gave her a lopsided grin. She felt both reassured and infinitely more scared at the same time.
An eternity later they stopped and Harry softly whispered, "We're almost there." A minute later Ginny's world had been turned upside down, and she was silently praying they could get out alive. Surrounding them were arachnids that would have Ron wetting his pants. She nearly was and she wasn't even afraid of spiders. Looking at Harry though, he seemed more angry than anything. "Aragog!" Harry shouted. "We're friends of Hagrid's. He's in trouble." The clicking from the surrounding spiders increased. Finally the largest appeared in more than voice.
"If he's in trouble, then why has he sent you?" Aragog asked.
"They think Hagrid's been setting something loose up in the school. We need to know what it is," came Harry's steely reply.
Another round of furious clicking. "That was years ago, Hagrid raised me yes, but never did I feast upon the flesh of human at Hagrid's insistence," the spider said mournfully. Whether it was at the idea of Hagrid in trouble or the lost chance of human meat, Ginny couldn't tell.
"You never killed anyone?" Harry asked.
"Never! The girl who died met her fate in a bathroom, I never left the confines of the cupboard that Hagrid raised me in. They found me, yes, that was why they made Hagrid leave. They believed I was the one who was set loose from the Chamber."
Ginny finally found her voice. "You wouldn't happen to know what does lie there would you?"
"We do not speak of it! It is an ancient enemy of spiders, and we do not say its name. I have never told even Hagrid, though he asked me many times."
"Do you believe him?" Ginny asked quietly.
"I do. It is the same thing Hagrid told me and he wasn't lying. It all makes sense I suppose, except for why the attacks stopped after Hagrid was kicked out," Harry whispered back.
"Maybe he was just a decoy. I used to do that to Ron sometimes. I'd play a prank on Percy and make it look like Ron or the twins did it." Harry smiled, he'd been there for most of those, and her logic made a disturbing amount of sense. What didn't make any sense, though, was staying surrounded by a large number of very hungry looking arachnids that seemed rather intent on eating them. A silent hand gesture made the Kneazles move into a protective sphere around Ginny, ready to escort her out of the danger zone at a moment's notice.
"Well then, Mr. Aragog, I suppose we'll just be leaving," Harry finally said breezily.
"No, I think not," the giant spider replied.
"Get ready to run," Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Then he said forcefully to the mass of encroaching eight-legged freaks, "You will if your brood wants to survive." The clicking and rustling halted for a moment.
"What do you speak of?" Aragog sounded hardly impressed.
"We're both accomplished wizards, if any of your brood wants to walk out of here alive tonight you will let us go. If not... I am happy to play the exterminator. I suppose the unicorns wouldn't mind either."
The clicking began again. They seemed hardly impressed. "Kill them, no wizarding spells will harm us all."
Ginny began to panic, the spiders were all around, there was nowhere to run. An all encompassing sphere of exoskeleton death was slowly constricting them. "Reducto!" Harry yelled and a red beam of light shot out of his wand.
"Harry! They're living beings. Hermione told me that curse only works on inanimate objects," Ginny screeched, but was suddenly silenced when the top of one Acromantula exploded with righteous force and caused the spider to beat a hasty retreat.
"It works on exoskeletons just fine," Harry yelled and continued blasting curses. The Kneazles for their part were doing their best to ward off some of the smaller spiders trying to make a tasty meal out of their red-furred kitten. Ginny's optimism at seeing her Reductor Curse causing similar damage to Harry's was short lived, there were just too many. She could almost feel the deadly pincers piercing her skin. 'Please, someone help us!' she thought over and over. The walls were beginning to close in. A loud mewling that grew steadily and alarmingly fainter grabbed her attention. One of her Kneazles had been grabbed. She could see his ever weakening struggles as he was rapidly cocooned in silk and disappeared into the darkness of the arachnid's den.
"HOBART! ISIS NO! HOBART!" Harry's cries rent the night as he too watched the Kneazle dragged away into a fate worse than death. "Isis, help! I'm going to get them all killed," Harry sobbed. His spell casting had sapped his energy and Ginny could tell his spirit was on the breaking point.
'No, I'm not going to let this happen,' she thought fiercely. 'They are my Kneazles, and Harry is my friend. If he can't get us out of it I will! I am a lion, a Gryffindor. I'll tear these wiggling bastards apart with my bare hands if I have to.' She crouched low, acting on instinct. The night seemed clearer, the Acromantula not so big. She could punch a hole and get them out... she had to.
"Harry!" Ginny roared. His surprised expression went unnoticed as she was charging a clump of the giant creatures. Charging them, she had to be crazy, but the rational part of her brain was quickly silenced. A cold and feral instinct had taken over and she would save her Pride. Running had never felt so effortless and again she called for all of them to follow her. A Gryffindor always leads the way. Her body slammed through the surprised mass of spiders, scattering them just enough to allow all six Kneazles to follow her. She kept running.
Moments later she realised something was wrong, six Kneazles... no humans. OH Gods! Harry, she'd left Harry. She had to go back and get him! She looked down and all her smaller furry brethren were gratefully wrapping around her large paws... paws? Oh shite...
With that last thought she blacked out.
oOo
Harry was more amazed with his human now than he had been when she nicked a Shrinking Solution from Fred to put on Dad Weasley's pants and framed Percy for it. She had saved his life. Not that it was worth saving, he thought morosely. He'd led her and six of his cousins on a harebrained scheme to talk to Acromantula as though they would have a cup of tea with him. Hobart had paid the price. Harry prayed to Isis that they'd finish him off quickly. A good Kneazle deserves a quick death.
Then she not only held her head, she transformed! She transformed into the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen, a great lioness with a dark red fur. It matched the colour of her hair perfectly; he couldn't believe she hadn't told him that she could do that! Maybe she didn't know? No, she was crafty, that was one of the trademarks of his wonderful, surprising and fantastic Human.
'She's something isn't she?' Igglebum asked.
'I'm sorry,' was all Harry could say.
'For what?' another questioned.
'Hobart… I'm sorry,'
'We'll grieve in our own time. Death is a part of this place, you know that. If not now then it would have been later. Be happy that five survived. Many times we don't.'
'I suppose living with the humans has distorted my view a little bit,' Harry replied slowly.
'Maybe, but it is nice to know you still care, cousin,' Igglebum teased gently.
'Only about him, you're still a pain,' Harry pushed back. A bright burst of magic halted any further Kneazle conversation as they all watched in wonder as the great red lioness slowly transformed back into the human kitten they'd sworn to protect.
'Well you don't see that every day,' was all anyone could think to say.
"HARRY!" the distinctive shouts of Ron came echoing off the trees. In all the excitement, Harry hadn't realised how close to the edge of the forest they'd gotten. Harry changed back and hobbled out of the forest, his body aching from exhaustion. "Bloody hell, mate, where have you been? You've been gone for nearly four hours," Ron exclaimed.
"Had to talk to some sexing big spiders, Ron. Your sister saved my tail."
"Ginny! Where is she? Oh Merlin's holy pants, Mum's going to nail my hide to a barn door if she's not."
"Ron, please cease your hand wringing, both literal and proverbial, she's okay... mostly," Harry said sternly.
"MOSTLY! Harry, being mostly okay is like being mostly alive or mostly a virgin. Kind of needs to be one way or the other," Ron exploded.
"She's just unconscious. Can you help me get her back to the castle?"
Finally Ron grinned. "That I can do, I hope you don't mind I brought your dad's cloak. Why didn't you have it in the first place? Would have made getting away and coming back much simpler."
Harry grinned sheepishly, "Didn't think about it I guess. I'm so used to getting around on my own, I didn't think about having you or Ginny too,"
"Blimey, she's heavy," Ron groaned as the two boys hoisted their female companion up. "And you're awfully thick, you know that right?"
Harry grinned again. "I suppose so. I suppose so."
Both students made their way stealthily into the castle, narrowly avoiding Filch. However, they failed to notice their Head of House. "Ahem!" Both boys' heads turned slowly to face the teacher who discovered them. 'Please not Snape'.
"May I ask what precisely you are doing?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Well… erm… Taking Ginny to the hospital?" Ron asked.
"I see, and why would you need to do that when there are very specific instructions for all students to stay in classes or dormitories unless accompanied by a staff member?" McGonagall's voice was stern.
"Oh, you know, Professor, the usual reasons: meetings with dark creatures running amok, trips into the Forbidden Forest, illegal Animagus transformations, all the normal culprits," Harry replied brightly.
McGonagall's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Mr. Potter, in light of your past escapades I am sure you think you have a very good reason for doing this. However, I am also equally inclined to dock your house points if I had any inclination it would do any good," she muttered darkly.
"Well, then, Professor, you're learning! They do say the definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. Glad to know you're sane like the rest of us. If you're not going to pack us all off right now, though, would you give Ron and me a hand? This girl is heavier than she looks."
Conjuring a stretcher the angry Transfiguration Professor levitated the young girl onto it and guided her to the tender ministrations of Madam Pomfrey. As both boys were about to leave their Professor once again she motioned for Harry. "One moment, if you will, Mr. Potter. I'm afraid you'll have to wait, Mr. Weasley. Despite this evening's festivities I still need to escort you back to the common room."
"Yeah, okay. I'll just say hello to Hermione, then," Ron said nervously and walked over to the Petrified form of his friend.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall began. "Madam Pomfrey tells me that Miss Weasley is suffering from acute magical exhaustion. Now I need to know what happened that could cause such a serious ailment."
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies, Professor," Harry responded with a cheeky wink.
"Cousin, I need you to tell me NOW," everything in her tone and posture said she would not be dissuaded, but Harry wasn't even entirely sure himself. He knew what he hoped had happened, but he couldn't be sure.
"Very well, cousin. I'll tell you in the confidence of family. If this goes beyond us…" Harry left any threat up to his elder Cousin's imagination. "We went to see Aragog,"
"Who is Aragog?" McGonagall asked sharply.
"The father of the Acromantula nest. Hagrid raised him when he was a student here. That is why he was expelled, of course that ponce, Tom, got him expelled. Anyway, the nest was rather reluctant to let us leave and Ginny and I did some fast spell work, but it wasn't enough. In the end she transformed into a magnificent lion. A true Gryffindor." McGonagall noted the pride in her student's voice. "She punched a hole for us out of there." Harry stopped abruptly. "She was so brave Professor, she really was. It wasn't enough though." Harry's body shook slightly for a moment as he wiped a grubby hand on his eyes. "It wasn't enough, we didn't all come back. We were supposed to; no one should have gotten hurt. My fault."
Minerva was worried; she didn't even have to admit it to herself. Typically, once students entered Hogwarts the training they received allowed them to control bursts of accidental magic. While it was still known to happen, they were usually smaller in scale. To force a fully fledged Animagus Transformation was unheard of. Harry Potter seemed to be rubbing off on all sorts of people. She hoped that his natural predilection for Transfiguration would transfer to the Weasley girl too, her marks were atrocious. The fact that Harry was certain he'd lost someone in the forest would be of greater concern, but none of the other professors had reported any of their students missing.
"Harry," McGonagall said softly. It drew his attention; she never used his first name. "Who else did you lose?"
"Hobart. He was a grey and brown Kneazle, had big tiger stripes and a white chin. He didn't come out of the forest much, didn't trust visitors, but he loved her. He always watched over the kittens and she was the newest. The Acromantula ate him." In a sudden burst of fierce determination, student met teacher's eyes. "He needs to be honoured, Professor. A statue, a plaque, something. I'll see it done, I swear."
"Very well, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, resuming her 'formal' speech once again. "We'll see what we can do, but in the meantime I believe you and Mr. Weasley need to be returning to the Gryffindor Tower."
Harry nodded solemnly and shouted, "Ron, you git, get a move on." A moment later both Ron and Harry were following a hyper-alert Professor on their way to the common room.
oOo
The next morning at breakfast Harry and Ron were both puzzling over the scrap of parchment Ron had pried from Hermione's hand. The paper seemed to have been ripped from a book on magical creatures. It contained valuable information about Basilisks. "Ron, this all fits. It's why I've been hearing it and no one else can. I'm a Parselmouth. Her note about pipes makes sense too! It's been getting around in the pipes," Harry quickly went on, "Unfortunately, none of this helps us one bit does it?"
"Harry, why on earth would you say that? We know what the monster is and we know how it's been getting around. There's too much evidence for them to ignore us," Ron replied.
"Except, you know how these humans work. Evidence must be corroborated,"
"Bloody good word mate," Ron cut in.
"You like that? Me too, I found it in one of Hermione's books. She was writing something about potions I think. Anyway, evidence must be corroborated and then the culprit has to be found. Without that it's just wild speculation from a couple of daft kids."
"Damn, and I thought we had something here. We have to wait for Ginny to get out of hospital. Without Hermione she's the next closest thing we've to a brain amongst any of us."
"Hey! I resent that," Ron retorted.
"You resemble that you mean," Neville replied, not taking his eyes off the copy of The Daily Prophet he was reading.
"Oi!"
"Ron, I'm not saying that you're not bloody useful sometimes, but the girls are just better at seeing hidden things sometimes," Harry shrugged.
"I suppose. Doesn't mean I have to like it though,"
"Hell no, I wouldn't either," Harry replied. "That doesn't make it less true."
Unfortunately the looming prospect of exams, 'We're still having them?' was the startled comment from Seamus Finnegan, rushed the puzzle from nearly everyone's brain. Harry, while not preoccupied with exams, was still waiting for Ginny to be strong enough to leave the hospital.
"Just one more day Mr. Potter, to be safe. You do want her to be fully recovered?" Came the admonishment from Madam Pomfrey. Harry grumbled his assent. It wouldn't be so bad if they would at least let him in! He'd gotten so desperate he'd taken to four legs and sleeping on the end of her bed, just to make sure she was alright. The sleeping draughts made sure she never woke, even with his considerable presence.
"Finally!" Harry exclaimed, bouncing a little bit on his toes. Ginny was due out today! He could hardly contain his excitement. When she appeared he immediately engulfed her in a hug worthy of a lioness.
"Errk! Can't... Breath... Harry... AIR"
"Sorry, how're you feeling?" Harry finally said as he put her down.
"Fine now. I've never felt so tired before. Have you found anything out while I was out?" Ron quickly explained the piece of parchment that they had found in Hermione's hand, and Harry rehashed his conversations with Hagrid.
"The only thing we can't figure out is where the entrance to the Chamber is," Ron fumed. "I feel like it's been right here all along."
Ginny stopped, and stared into the distance for a moment. "Harry, Hagrid said the girl was killed in a bathroom?"
"Sure he did," Harry said, confused.
"So did Aragog. Now, what if she never left?"
"What are you... no..." Ron was gobsmacked. "Moaning Myrtle? You think Moaning Myrtle could have been the one?"
"It's entirely possible. Think about it. All the attacks happened on the second floor. If she really was killed in the bathroom that means..."
"That the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in somewhere in that bathroom!" Harry finished.
"We have to tell Professor McGonagall."
"Mate, you went on not two days ago about corroborating evidence."
"That's an awfully big word for you, Ron," Ginny snorted.
"Shut it shrimp. My point still stands, why would she believe us anyway?"
"Then why don't we take it to someone who will believe us?" Ginny replied.
"Like who?"
"Lockhart. He may be a git, but he still is some kind of dark wizard catcher. He'll help us for the promise of another book if nothing else," Harry pointed out. Neither Weasley could argue, and they silently agreed to search out the blond professor right after lunch, when the magically amplified voice of Professor McGonagall resonated throughout the castle.
"ALL STUDENTS RETURN TO YOUR DORMITORIES, ALL TEACHERS TO THE STAFF ROOM. IMMEDIATELY PLEASE."
All three of the wayward students looked at each other. "Oh Shite," they said in unison.
AN: A huge thank you to each and every one who left a review and another to all of you who have stuck with this story despite the slowdown in posting rates. I hope this chapter makes up for it. As you can see we're sprinting towards the finish line which is galvanizing me to continue writing on Book 3. As always reviews, suggestions and comments are always welcome. One thing I do ask for all the anonymous reviewers out there: give me a way to contact you if you'd like a response to your review. I've had a few where the reader seemed to misunderstand the story and I'd like to clear that up. Finally, if anyone can please explain to me the seemingly virulent hatred of Ron… please do. I really can't understand why so many people seem to despise the boy and make him out to be a dumb troll in so many stories. (End Rant) Thanks for reading and Keep an eye out for the next one!