Harriet Potter Year 2: The Dreams of Yesterday
"The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
~Albert Einstein
Harriet Potter and Ron Weasley, The Forbidden Forest- February 17, 1993
Harriet was always told that when you were about to die, your life flashed before your eyes. As a young girl who had been in an impressive amount of life-or-death situations, Harriet could firmly say that this was not true.
In fact, really the only thing that went through your mind when you were about to die was something along the lines of:
Merlin's beard, I'm going to die. Merlin'sbeardI'mgoingtodieMerlin'sbeardI'mgoingtodie...
-which was precisely what was going through her mind right now as a giant spider lunged for her.
Harriet closed her eyes (she really rather not watch a giant spider rip her guts out, thank you very much), but instead of feeling the giant pincers of the spider around her neck, she heard a muffled thump, followed by a pained yelp.
Harriet risked opening one eye. Then she had no choice but to open the other, mainly because she couldn't really believe what she was seeing.
Remus had found them!
Or, rather, Moony had found them. He had apparently tackled the spider, stopping it from killing Harriet, and was no growling menacingly at it.
The spiders, although desperate for a meal, we clearly not stupid enough to attack an angry werewolf at the height of the full moon, because they all began to scuttle away, and Moony let out a howl of triumph.
Harriet turned to beam at Ron, amazed at their luck, but Ron looked as though he were ready to pass out. That's when Harriet realized that yes, the spiders were gone, but they still had to deal with a werewolf.
If Moony had forgotten his Wolfsbane, then they were dead since he would probably kill them.
If Moony had not forgotten his Wolfsbane, they would probably have detention for the rest of their lives.
"Uncle Remus?" Harriet asked tentatively.
("Uncle Remus?" Ron muttered behind her.)
Moony, who had his back turned to her, turned to face her fully. Harriet held her breath, waiting for some sign that he hadn't taken his Wolfsbane, in which case she and Ron were going to have to run for their lives again. Instead, though, the werewolf adopted a look that gave Harriet the remarkable impression that, in his human form, he would have been scolding her for another one of her hair-brained ideas.
"We need to get back to Hogwarts now, don't we?" Harriet asked. Remus nodded. Then he scratched his ear with his back-leg.
"And we're in a lot of trouble, aren't we?" Harriet also asked. Again, Remus nodded.
"And you're going to be following us on our way back to the school to make sure we don't get into even more trouble, aren't you?"
Remus nodded and Harriet made a face. She took Ron's hand (he was incredibly pale, now, and incredibly confused) and together they began to walk back to Hogwarts. Moony had blended back into the shrubs, but Harriet had no doubt he was following closely behind them.
"That was your Uncle Remus?" Ron asked.
Harriet couldn't really read the tone of his voice, so she just said, "Yeah."
"Oh," he muttered. "Alright, then."
"Is it?" Harriet asked. "Alright, I mean."
"I guess," Ron said, but he didn't sound alright with it. Not really. "He's not going to-? You know..."
"No," Harriet said tersely. "I don't know."
"Kill us?" Ron finished softly.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"I mean, no, of course not," Harriet said. "He's taken his Wolfsbane potion. He's perfectly sane."
"That's good, I guess," Ron muttered.
"Hang on," Harriet said, stopping short, and tugging Ron to look at her. "They mentioned it- that Remus was a werewolf- at my trial."
"They did?" Ron asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "Blimey, mate, I guess I didn't hear. Me and Hermione weren't really paying attention. At least, I wasn't. I was worried about it, you know?"
"Right," Harriet said. It wasn't until they made it inside Hogwarts again that Ron spoke.
"It really is alright," Ron said. Harriet looked at him confusedly.
"I don't care that he's a werewolf," Ron said uncomfortably. "I don't think Hermione'd care either."
"I wish Hermione were here now," Harriet said morosely. "She'd know what Aragog was talking about."
"Follow the spiders," Ron grumbled. "Why couldn't it have been 'follow the butterflies?' If I never go into the Forbidden Forest again, it'll be too soon."
Harriet nodded. "We didn't even learn anything important. I mean, we learned that Hagrid was innocent, but we knew that already. It was no reason for us to trick Lockhart into leaving us alone."
"Is that so, Miss Potter?" McGonagall's voice came from behind her.
Harriet couldn't help but groan as she turned around. "Do we really have to keep making a habit of this, Professor?"
"Stop breaking the rules, Potter," the professor said wryly, "And we won't have to."
James and Lily Potter, Potter Manor- February 17, 1993
"I cannot believe she lied to my face," James sighed, lying on the couch, his head in his wife's lap. Lily had received an owl early that morning from Remus, explaining to them what had happened the night before with Harriet and Ron. Sirius was still at the Ministry, but James had rushed him when his wife had contacted him.
"Maybe she didn't," Lily soothed, stroking his hair. She had received the shock of her life at Remus's letter, but then again, wouldn't any mother be horrified to learn that their child had almost been killed at the hands of an Acromantula.
James turned his head to look at her incredulously.
"She just so happens to ask Hagrid about a book, which is unbelievable enough as it is, where two characters meet some spiders, and then she goes off into the woods to meet some spiders and it all turns out to be a coincidence?"
Lily didn't have answer for this.
James couldn't help but be a bit put out. "You don't seem overly concerned that our daughter seems to be making a habit of lying to us and then going off and doing stupidly dangerous things."
"Of course I'm concerned," Lily protested, "But she's twelve! I know for a fact that you lied to your parents and got into trouble at that age, as well."
"I was a model child," James sniffed imperiously, failing to keep a straight face when Lily snorted. "And when I did it, it was to do normal, childish, things, like pranking and skipping class. When Harriet does it, she usually ends up in the Hospital Wing and I don't understand why she just doesn't trust us like children are supposed to trust their parents and how are you so calm about this?"
By the end of his rant, James was talking rather loudly and quite fast, too. Lily shushed him. "She does trust us, but the Dursleys-"
"Oh, not them again," James muttered half-heartedly.
"Severus was always wary of adults when we were at Hogwarts," Lily said instead. "Why do you think he never reported you and your friends for all your ridiculous stunts?"
"Pride," James admitted after a moment.
Looking back, he knew that he and Sirius and Remus and Peter had done some nasty things to Snape and while Snape had hardly sat down and taken it, James knew that Snape may have turned out a completely different man if it hadn't been for the things he and his friends had done.
Of course, Snape had been strange long before James and his friends had done anything, and as he got older, James began to suspect that not everything had been alright with Snape's home-life, but he still felt very strange hearing Lily essentially confirm it.
He sat up slowly and looked at her. "Is that why you wanted him to be a part of Harriet's life?"
Lily frowned. "I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't part of it. I just thought, when she gets older, she might appreciate having somebody to talk to."
"Sirius's home life was hardly perfect," James said after a moment. "She could talk to him."
"She could," Lily agreed. "But two ears are better than one, aren't they?"
"Technically, it'd be four ears-" James began, and Lily cut him off, laughing. He laughed, too. "What? It's true! You're the one who got it wrong!"
They quieted for another moment. Then James snorted to himself.
"What's so funny?" Lily asked, smiling.
"They never covered this in those parenting books."
Lily hit him over the head with her pillow.
Harriet Potter and Ron Weasley, History of Magic Classroom - February 17, 1993
This was the second time Harriet and Ron found themselves in Remus's room after dinner for detention. This time it was for breaking curfew and going into the Forbidden Forest. They sat doing lines (again) with Remus grading papers from his desk, glancing up at them occasionally. He looked exhausted and there was a deep scratch on his cheek, which thankfully looked like it was healing nicely.
Harriet still felt very guilty. She raised her hand to get Remus's attention. He looked up at her over his glasses.
"Yes, Harriet?"
"Is your face okay?" Harriet asked bluntly. Ron looked up from his parchment, feeling guilty, too.
"It's perfectly fine," Remus assured them both.
"We're sorry you got hurt," Ron muttered, looking down sheepishly. He had apparently gotten over his shock at Remus's lycanthropy, much to Harriet's relief.
"I'd do it again," Remus said simply, "If it meant keeping you two safe."
Harriet and Ron beamed at him.
He continued by saying, "Merlin help any man who had to tell your mothers that you had gotten hurt. They'd hex me into an early grave."
"That's my wife you're talking about, Professor," tutted a voice from the door. Harriet turned to see her father walking towards them, looking extremely exhausted, but otherwise amused. Harriet was confused. Why was he here?
"She spent your first six years at Hogwarts cursing you, Prongs," Remus drawled. "You can hardly deny that I'm right."
"I'm not denying anything," Harriet's father shrugged. "I'm just pointing out the obvious."
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Remus asked, going back to grading his papers.
"I had a few questions for Harriet and Ron," her father said, "As a Ministry official and as a father."
"Questions?" Ron asked, wide-eyed. "About what?"
"About the giant spiders you encountered in the woods last night, for one thing," Harriet's dad answered, pulling up a chair from one of the desks and sitting down. Harriet and Ron couldn't help but shoot accusing looks at Remus, annoyed that he had told on them.
"I'm sorry," Remus chuckled, no doubt guessing what they were thinking. "I was just doing my job."
"You should consider yourselves lucky that a detention is all you'll be getting," James reprimanded. Harriet looked down guiltily. "You could've gotten yourselves killed! I mean, what were you thinking, going off into the woods like that? Especially after you told me that you were going back to your dorms."
"I'm sorry," Harriet muttered.
"You should be," her father retorted. Harriet flinched and then her dad sighed, running his hands over his face. "Just- tell me. Why did you go into the Forbidden Forest?"
Harriet opened and closed her mouth, not really sure when to start, when Ron answered for her. "We wanted to know about the Chamber of Secrets and we figured out that Hagrid would've had to have been here the last time it was opened, so we went to ask him about it."
Harriet nodded. "That's when you showed up and he told us to go follow the spiders."
"I knew he wasn't talking about a book," James said drily. Harriet shrugged.
"We didn't know it would be that dangerous, honest," Harriet said eagerly. "Hagrid never would've told us to do it if he thought Aragog and his family would hurt us."
"Aragog?" her father said incredulously. "What? You're on a first name basis with some of those spiders now?"
"He was sort of nice," Harriet muttered.
"Yeah, he was," Ron agreed. "Aside from the fact that he wanted to eat us."
"I'm sure," Remus piped up drily.
His friend smiled a bit and then turned back to his daughter. "Did Aragog or his family say anything useful about the Chamber?"
"No," Harriet said immediately, eager to tell her father the truth. It had been eating her up inside, keeping things from him and mum, like it always did. "I mean- not really. He spoke in a lot of riddles."
"He said something about how they never spoke the monster's name," Ron said, trying to remember, "And that it was really old."
"He said something else, too," Harriet frowned, "But I can't remember what it was..."
"That's alright," her father assured them. "Thank-you."
He stood up. "I should be going. Sirius is waiting for me. We have a long night ahead of us."
He made for the door, but Harriet followed after him. "Wait!"
He turned. "Yes?"
"I am sorry, dad," she muttered, meeting his eyes, and then looking down, finding her shoes very interesting all of a sudden.
Her father walked over to her and knelt down so he could be closer to her level. He nudged her chin to get her to look at him. He smiled gently. "I know you are, Prongslette."
James kissed his daughter's forehead, then stood up. He winked at her as he left, this time, making her smile slightly.
After he left, though, Harriet couldn't shake the glum feeling that had taken hold of her. Before, she would've talked through it with Hermione, but Hermione wasn't here and, as much as she loved Ron, he wasn't really a "feelings" sort of person.
"Uncle Remus?" Harriet asked, sitting back down.
Remus looked up at her. "Yes?"
"Do you think after- I mean, once detention is over- before you take me and Ron-"
"'Ron and I,'" Remus corrected idly.
"Right. Before you take Ron and I back to our dorms, do you think you could take us down to the hospital wing?"
"What for?" Her uncle asked, sitting up straighter, looking her over critically.
Worriedly.
"Are you hurt?"
"No," Harriet denied. Ron was giving her a look that explained that he clearly had no idea what she was doing either. "I just- I just wanted to see Hermione."
Ron's face brightened at this proclamation and he nodded eagerly. Clearly he had wanted to go see Hermione, too. Harriet couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. She had almost forgotten that Ron was Hermione's friend, too. She had been too busy feeling sorry for herself and the argument she and Hermione had had that she had neglected to realize that Ron was as worried about Hermione as she was.
They had explored Hogwarts looking for the monster and talked about who could be the Heir and why her family was acting so strangely, but never had they talked about Hermione and what had happened to her. Harriet knew that Ron was rarely one to discuss his feelings and neither was she. They generally relied on Hermione to force them to talk things out and with her gone, Harriet hadn't bothered to try doing it, even though she knew Ron would never be the one to bring up the topic.
Harriet made a note to talk to Ron later.
"Oh," Remus said, frowning contemplatively. He looked sympathetic as she said, "I'm not sure-"
"C'mon, Professor," Ron wheedled, before hastily adding, "Please."
Remus never appreciated whinging.
Harriet added, "We just want to talk to her."
"She won't be able to here you," Remus said, hesitantly, but Harriet could see that he was wavering. Remus knew the loneliness of the hospital wing. He had spent a fair share of nights there after the full moon, under Madam Pomfrey's watchful care. Harriet knew that her father and Sirius and Peter used to sneak into visit him all the time, though, and what those visits meant to him.
"I just don't want her to feel like she was alone," Harriet explained, "When she wakes up, I mean."
Ron looked at Remus hopefully as he sighed and rubbed his face. Finally, he cracked a smile and chuckled a bit.
Harriet and Ron exchanged glances, not sure if this was a promising development or a worrisome one.
"What?" They demanded.
Harriet's Uncle Moony said, "I suppose I should be grateful that you're asking me permission and not sneaking off on your own."
"Does this mean you'll take us?" Harriet asked hopefully.
Remus nods. "I will. As soon as you finish your lines."
Harriet and Ron began scribbling furiously, as though a fire had been lit under them, and Remus couldn't help but myself to himself.
He had a good feeling that no matter what happened, those three- Harriet, Ron, and Hermione- would be alright.
Harriet Potter and Ron Weasley, Hospital Wing - February 17, 1993
When the reached the Hospital Wing, Remus had left Harriet and Ron alone with Hermione. He told them to tell Madam Pomfrey when they were done, so she could send for him, for another teacher. Then he had closed the curtains around the bed and left them with their friend.
"Er, hello, Hermione," Ron said awkwardly, not really sure where to start. Harriet was quiet for a minute.
Finally, she said, "We miss you."
"We do," Ron agreed. "We miss you a whole lot."
It wasn't anything like what Hermione usually pushed him to say when he was upset, but hearing Ron admit that he missed Hermione, too, made Harriet feel oddly better about the whole situation.
Suddenly, she didn't feel so alone.
Not in this.
There was something else Harriet had to say, though.
"I'm sorry about our argument," she said. "Looking back, it's a bit silly, isn't it? I mean, you're right, you are smarter than me. I guess I just- I don't know."
Ron didn't say anything, but when she met his eyes, he nodded encouragingly. He clearly wanted Harriet and Hermione to be friends again and apologize (even if one of them was petrified during the apology.)
Harriet couldn't bear to finish, though, not while Hermione was still hurt. It felt too much like saying goodbye and she shouldn't be saying goodbye, not when Madam Pomfrey had assured them both that Hermione would be awake soon and everybody would be all right.
"Forget it," Harriet said suddenly. Ron frowned.
"Harriet-"
"No," Harriet said firmly. She turned to Hermione and said firmly, "You're going to get better soon and when you're awake and up to it, we'll talk. Alright? But I'm not going to sit here and talk to you like you're one moment away from dying. We both have apologizing to do, not just me, and when the time comes, we'll do it. You hear?"
When Harriet finished, she almost expected Hermione to respond.
"Alright, Harriet," she'd say. "We'll talk."
Then she'd get out of bed and tut disapprovingly. "Honestly, though, did you have to choose now to do it? I was having a very pleasant dream where I had just been named a Gryffindor prefect."
But of course, none of that happened.
Hermione didn't wake up. She didn't get annoyed with Harriet's (often awful) timing. She didn't say anything about dreaming about being a prefect.
She was just there.
For a moment, neither Ron or Harriet said anything. Instead, they just stood by the bed, looking at Hermione. She hadn't moved since the last time they saw her: her face still had the same expression, one of her hands lay on the bed next to her.
The other reached out in front of her face, her fingers clenched as though she were still clutching the mirror she had held when she was attacked.
When McGonagall had asked her why Hermione had been wandering through the halls with a mirror, Harriet had answered that she honestly had no idea.
She still didn't.
Harriet reached for the mirror (anything to distract herself from the horrible sight of Hermione in the hospital bed), which had been placed on the bedside table, and picked it up, turning it over in her hands. She looked over at Ron, who was staring Hermione, almost as still as she was. "Why do you think she had the mirror?"
Ron finally looked up, startled, and took a moment to think over Harriet's question.
Finally, he shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, you're a girl, aren't you?"
"Either that or I've been wearing the wrong kind underwear for the past twelve years," Harriet said drily.
"Well," Ron said, blushing at the mention of Harriet's underwear, "Don't girls like mirrors? To check their makeup and hair and- or something?"
"Maybe, but this is Hermione," Harriet insisted. "She'd never do something so ridiculous- I mean, look!"
Harriet positioned the mirror as it would have looked when Hermione had been holding it. Ron shook his head, clearly still not understanding.
"She was holding the mirror like this when she was attacked!" Harriet explained, feeling as though she was onto something. "She was looking into it as she walked. Why would anybody do that?"
Ron looked more baffled than ever. "I have no idea."
After a moment he added, "The other girl they found- the one with Hermione- she was doing it, too, wasn't she?"
Harriet nodded, looking in direction of the aforementioned girl's cot, even though she couldn't see anything through the thick curtain surrounding them. After a second, she looked back at Hermione.
"I wish Hermione would wake up so she could tell us what happened."
Ron nodded in agreement. "Do you think she ever saw her attacker?"
"I hope so," Harriet muttered.
"If she didn't," Ron noted, "Nobody will know what happened. They might have to close the school down because we'd be right back where we started."
"Not right back," Harriet corrected, arranging Hermione's sheets a bit. "I mean, we heard some things from Aragog, didn't we?"
"Sure," Ron said dismissively. "We know that the monster is old and that spiders are afraid of it and that a girl died when the Chamber was opened fifty years ago-"
"That's what I forgot to tell my dad!" Harriet said suddenly.
"It's not like it helps, mate," Ron said, baffled, but Harriet wasn't listening.
Aragog hadn't only said that the girl had died fifty years ago, but that she had died in the bathroom. What if Moaning Myrtle-? Harriet knew that it was a long-shot. Really, she knew. But she also knew that it had been a long-shot thinking that her parents were going to come back from the dead and rescue her and that had happened.
She explained her theory to Ron: that girl in the bathroom had been killed by the monster and-
"What if she never left?" Harriet finished, looking at Ron excitedly. Ron's eyes widened as he caught on.
"You think it's Myrtle?"
"Maybe," Harriet said hesitantly. "I mean, it fits."
"But," Ron protested, his face screwing up, "It's Myrtle. Do you honestly think that somebody so- I mean, she's hardly-"
"But what if it's true?" Harriet demanded. "She might've seen the monster!"
"That'd be great," Ron said enthusiastically, "Except you're forgetting one small, unimportant detail."
"What's that, then?" Harriet asked, trying to remember what it was that she had apparently forgotten.
"How're we going to find out about Myrtle if nobody is allowed around Hogwarts unsupervised. Let alone by the girl's bathroom near where the first attack happened. They've got that place under twenty-four hour watch."
But Harriet had stopped listening again, instead she had focused in on Hermione's other hand, wondering how she hadn't noticed before. Ron, noticing her gaze, followed it, and instantly saw what she saw. He, however, had the courage to gently pry Hermione's fingers from the paper. Harriet moved closer to read over his shoulder.
It was a page torn from a book, all about basilisks.
Ron raised an eyebrow. "It's not like Hermione to destroy a perfectly nice book."
"No, Ron, read it!" She shoved the paper into his hands, explaining as he looked it over: "The monster is a basilisk! It explains everything! The spiders, the roosters...everything."
Ron frowned. "But it says that people die when they look into the eyes of the basilisk. Nobody's died, Harri."
Harriet had to think for a moment. Finally, she said triumphantly, "That's because nobody has looked at it directly! Mrs. Norris saw it through the water, Justin saw it through Nick. Nick got the full blast, but he's-"
"Already dead," Ron finished for her. "And Hermione figured out it was a basilisk, which is why she had mirror! She must've warned the other girl to carry one, too."
"How's it getting around, though?" Harriet muttered. "I mean, a giant basilisk, you'd think somebody noticed."
Ron pointed at Hermione's neat writing at the top of the page.
PIPES.
"It's using the pipes!" Harriet said excitedly. "That explains why I've been hearing voices in the walls! A basilisk is a giant snake!"
"And the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "What if it's in the bathroom? Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!"
Harriet and Ron didn't say anything, simply bristling with excitement.
Finally, Ron asked, "But who's the Heir of Slytherin?"
"I don't know," Harriet said hotly, annoyed that he had gone ahead and rained on her parade.
More silence.
"So what do we do now?"
"We do what we should've been doing all along," Harriet said firmly, after a minute. "We tell Remus, and he can sort it out with Dumbledore and McGonagall and my dad and whoever else he's been working with."
"Alright," Ron said slowly. "We can have Madam Pomfrey get him, I suppose."
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps outside. Somebody was running towards the hospital wing. The footsteps were followed by the sound of the door to the hospital wing slamming open.
"Mr. Lupin," Madam Pomfrey hissed quietly, as though scolding a young child and not a professor at the school. "What do you think you're-"
Neither Harriet or Ron could hear what Remus said to her since he was whispering, but whatever it was, it must have been important, since Madam Pomfrey instantly quieted.
Harriet and Ron managed to catch snippets of the conversation.
"Come quickly..."
"...happened?"
"The Chamber...corridor..."
"...you know... opened?"
"...message...blood..."
This odd exchange was followed by the sound of more pounding footsteps as Remus and (presumably) Madam Pomfrey left. Ron stuck his head out from between the curtains, looking incredibly indignant.
"They just left us here!" he scowled. "After all the trouble we've caused, all of the lectures we've gotten on not going anywhere alone, they just left us here! On our own! We could be monster food by now!"
"Stop complaining, Ron," Harriet said. "Just- wait! Where are you going?"
"I'm following them," Ron said, as if it should've been obvious.
"Remus told us to stay here..." Harriet muttered, but she began to follow him out the Hospital Wing, being careful to stay out of sight.
"Since when are you the voice of reason?" Ron asked. Then, seeing his friend's doubt, he added, "Look, the way I reckon, it's safer with them anyway, right? They told us not to go anywhere unsupervised, after all."
"I guess so," Harriet said, but then quieted, her and Ron ducking behind a tapestry to avoid being seen. Remus and Madam Pomfrey continued to walk swiftly ahead of them.
"They're heading towards the staffroom," Harriet muttered. Ron started to tug her in another direction.
"I know a short-cut," Ron whispered. He rolled his eyes affectionately. "Hermione showed it to me."
Ron lead Harriet through a winding series of corridors. She tried to keep track of where she was going, but she finally gave up and trusted Ron. It was clear that he had done this before and knew his way around. She asked him about it.
"Like I said, Hermione brought me this way a bunch of time so she could ask teachers about grades and stuff," Ron explained. Sure enough, they reached the staffroom ahead of Remus and Madam Pomfrey.
Ron opened the door and peered inside. It was empty. The other professors must still be on their way. Harriet, spotting an old wardrobe, pulled Ron towards it and inside. They were met with a closet-full of robes, no doubt the professors'. They closed the door behind themselves just in time.
Remus and Madam Pomfrey entered the room, followed by Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, and Professor Snape.
"As I'm sure you are all aware, it's finally happened. A student has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets."
"How did you find out?" Snape asked, as cool as ever. The only sign that he was tense at all was the white-knuckled grip he had on the chair.
"The Heir of Slytherin," McGonagall said, the disdain obvious in her voice, "left another message. 'His skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'"
Professor Flitwick, who was barely holding himself together, asked, "Who is it?"
"Neville Longbottom," Professor McGonagall said.
Harriet felt her knees go weak. It was only Ron's hands supporting her that kept her from falling over.
"Neville," she whispered. Ron had grown white.
McGonagall had just started talking about sending the students home when the door to the staffroom burst open. Lockhart sauntered inside, looking no worse for wear.
He grinned at everybody. "So sorry I'm late! What've I missed?"
If Harriet had been Lockhart in that moment, she would've turned to stone from the glares the other staff members were giving off.
Snape, though.
Snape just smirked.
"Just the man," he said. "Just the very man we were looking for. A boy has been snatched by the monster and taken into the Chamber of Secrets. Your moment has come at last."
"That's right," McGonagall said (and suddenly Harriet was all the more proud to be a Gryffindor). "You've been saying this entire time how the affair has been completely bungled up and that you've known where the entrance to the Chamber is all along, haven't you? And that you were hoping to get a crack at the monster?"
"I- well, I-" Lockhart sputtered.
"We'll leave you to it, then, Gilderoy," Professor McGonagall said, her tone booking no argument. "You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. Don't worry. We'll keep everybody out of your way."
Not seeing a way out, Lockhart stuttered (sounding oddly like Professor Quirrel), "V- very well. I'll be- I'll be in my office. Getting ready."
He left then. The moment he did, the energy in the room changed. McGongall looked more determined.
"That'll keep him out of our hair," Remus noted to Harriet's Head of House. She nodded.
"The other Heads of Houses should go inform our students what happened and make a quick head count. Report to the others immediately if anybody is missing. Tomorrow, the Hogwarts Express will take them back home. Hogwarts is no longer safe."
The teachers rose and left, one by one.
Harriet and Ron stumbled out of the cupboard, too shocked to speak. All Harriet could think about was that Neville -sweet, bumbling, brave, Neville- was gone into the Chamber. Ron looked as shocked as she did.
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked. "Go find Remus like we planned?"
Harriet shrugged. "I don't know."
Ron said, "I think we need to go find Lockhart. It'll help him if he knows what we know. We can tell him we think there's a basilisk in the Chamber and that the entrance may be in the girl's bathroom."
"Sounds like a good idea as any," Harriet said, slowly becoming herself again.
Experts now at sneaking about the castle, they made it to Lockhart's office in no time at all. It was dark, but Harriet could see a sliver of light underneath the door of the office. There was a lot of noise coming from inside, but once Harriet knocked, there was a sudden silence.
Lockhart opened the door a bit and peaked his eye through the crack. He didn't look particularly happy to see them.
"Ah, yes. Hello. Sorry, I'm very busy right now. You'll have to-"
"We have some information that we think will help you," said Harriet.
"I think you've- It's not terribly- Oh, alright." Lockhart looked uncomfortable, but he opened the door for them.
Harriet's jaw dropped at what she saw.
The office had been completely stripped of its belongings, two large trunks open on the floor. They were filled with books and robes and photos and hats, all which looked as though they had been simply tossed inside in a hurry.
"Are you going somewhere?" Ron asked testily.
"Yes," Lockhart said, trying to sound apologetically. "An urgent call. Unavoidable."
"What about Neville?" Harriet demanded.
"That's- Well, yes, that's most unfortunate. Nobody regrets it more than I," he said, packing up one of his posters.
"But you're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! You can't leave! Not with all the Dark stuff going on here!"
Ron nodded in agreement. "And what about all the things you did in your books?"
"Books can be misleading," Lockhart said delicately.
"You wrote them!" Harriet said furiously.
"Oh, honestly," Lockhart sighed, sounding as though she and Ron were the ones who were the fools. "Use your common sense: my books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think that I had done those things."
"So you lied," Ron accused.
"You make it sound so simple, Robert," Lockhart said, "When it's really not."
"My name is Ron," Ron said.
"Yes. Regardless, it takes a fair bit of work. I mean, I have to track those people down, ask them how they did what they did, and then I have to put a Memory Charm on them so they don't remember what they did. If there's one thing I'm good at-"
"There isn't," Harriet scowled.
"-it's Memory Charms. Speaking of-"
Lockhart pulled out his wand. "I really am sorry about this, you two, but you must understand, right? Why, if I have you two blabbing all my secrets, I'll never sell another book! I promise, though, this won't hurt a bit-"
Harriet reached for her wand just in time. "Expelliarmus!"
Lockhart was blasted backwards, falling over. Ron managed to catch his wand and flung it out the window. Harriet kept her wand pointed at Lockhart as he stood up. Ron took out his (held together by some tape), even though it was no longer working (Lockhart didn't know that, though).
"Don't even think about it," Harriet warned, as Lockhart's eyes darted around. "You're coming with us."
"Going where?" Lockhart begged.
"It just so happens that we think we know where the Chamber of Secrets is," Harriet said seriously, "And what's inside."
Ron chose this moment to groan. Harriet let her eyes dart from Lockhart to him for a moment, and then back. "What's wrong?"
"Does this mean we have to go see Myrtle?" Ron whined.
Harriet looked at him curiously. "Yeah. Why?"
"Well," Ron said awkwardly, "I don't know if you've noticed, or anything, but she has a bit of a- a crush on me."
Harriet laughed for the first time in a long time. "Believe me, mate, I've noticed."
After that, they wasted no time in marching Lockhart to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Lockhart went inside first. Harriet and Ron followed him. When they got inside, they saw Moaning Myrtle sitting on the edge of one of the stalls.
She had been looking at Lockhart curiously. Lockhart, it seemed, had never met Myrtle before, but she was apparently very pleased with what she saw.
Moaning Myrtle seemed to have forgotten that Ron was even there, much to his relief.
"Who's this?" she asked, giggling.
"This is Professor Lockhart," Harriet said quickly. Moaning Myrtle grinned shyly and waved a bit.
Harriet asked, "Myrtle, I need to ask you how you died."
She had expected Myrtle to be offended, but instead Myrtle looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question in her life.
"Oh, it was dreadful. It happened in here, you know. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing my about my glasses and the door was locked and I was crying. Then I heard somebody come in- a boy. I could tell because they started to speak in this funny language. So I opened the stall door to tell him off and then-" Myrtle looked quite pleased at this part- "I just died. It was very strange."
"That's it?" Harriet prodded.
Myrtle nodded. "Oh! I do remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes."
"That fits what Hermione found out," Ron noted, jabbing Lockhart with his wand when he thought Lockhart was going to make a break for the door.
"Where did you see the eyes?" Harriet asked.
Myrtle pointed vaguely over to one of the sinks, but didn't say anything, instead making a noncommittal noise.
Harriet and Ron hurried over to it, looking it over, but they couldn't find anything.
"That tap has never worked," Myrtle noted.
And then Harriet saw it: scratched on the side of one of the taps was a copper snake. Ron noticed it to.
He nudged her and said, "Try saying something in Parseltongue, Harri."
Harriet frowned, not really sure how to speak in Parseltongue on purpose. She never really tried to do it. It just sort of happened, even when she was talking to Isaura.
She focused really hard and tried to imagine that the engraving of the snake was real.
"Open up," she said.
She turned to Ron, who shook his head.
"English," he informed her.
Harriet looked at the snake again, squinting to try and convince herself that it was real. She imagined she was talking to Isaura.
"Open up," she said.
Only, she didn't hear those words. She heard a strange hissing and, judging by Ron's expression, he had, too. Almost immediately, the tap glowed and began to spin. The sink began to move, sinking right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed, just large enough for a man (or a few children) to slide into.
Harriet and Ron were so shocked by what they saw that they failed to notice Lockhart darting forward. Ron gave a yell as the rubbish professor grabbed his wand and knocked Harriet's out of her hand.
He held Ron's wand up triumphantly, Harriet's rolling over to the floor by one of the toilets.
"I'm really sorry," Lockhart said, sounding anything but. "But our lovely little adventure ends here. It will be tragic really. I found the Chamber of Secrets, oh yes, and you two followed me down there. Sadly, I was too late to save any of you. So sad."
"Obliviate!" he yelled, but Ron's wand failed miserably. Lockhart was once again sent flying backwards, unconscious, and somehow managed to land inside one of the toilets, clearly stuck.
Harriet and Ron watched as he woke up and struggled for a moment, and then he blinked up at them. He smiled- but a real smile. Not a fake one like the ones he usually gave.
"Hello!" he said, sounding as though he hadn't a care in the world. "Who are you two? Who am I?"
"What do we do now?" Ron asked, watching as Lockhart began to play with the toilet paper, rolling himself up inside it like a little kid.
"We-" Harriet swallowed and retrieved her wand from the floor. "I need to go into the Chamber."
"'We,"" Ron emphasized, managing to pry his wand away from Lockhart. "Neville is my friend, too. But I meant what do we do about him? We can't just leave him here. He might follow us down."
"Oh, I'll look after him," Myrtle said excitedly, moving closer to Lockhart, where she started to stroke his hair gently (or she tried to, at any rate, since her hand went right through him).
Lockhart didn't seem to mind.
Instead, he looked up at Myrtle and smiled. "And who are you?"
"I'm your girlfriend," Myrtle said gleefully.
"Oh, alright," Lockhart said after a moment.
Harriet and Ron exchanged glances.
Ron said, "I think he'll be just fine."
"He's in good hands, " Harriet agreed, lowering herself into the pipe. She let go and couldn't help but let out a small scream. It was pitch black inside the pipe and incredibly wet. She raced down the slimy tube at an alarming rate, finally landing with a thump on the other side. Ron came right behind her, falling on top of her and sending them both to the floor.
He got off her and gave her a hand. They looked around to find themselves in a very small room. Harriet lit up her wand. Ron looked at his, considering it, before finally shaking his head. It wasn't worth the risk.
"Just stay close to me," Harriet suggested, taking a step forward. She grimaced at the crunch and looked down. She just noticed that she and Ron were standing on a pile of bones.
Harriet tried to give Ron a reassuring grin. "They aren't human bones. Don't worry."
That was a lie, of course, since Harriet had no idea what human bones looked like, but considering that Myrtle was the only casualty at Hogwarts from the monster, she thought it was a good assumption to make.
Clearly Ron didn't agree, since he muttered, "Sure. That makes me feel better."
Harriet rolled her eyes and carefully slid down the pile, almost loosing her footing as she made her way to the real floor. Ron slid into place next to her.
She turned to warn him, "Any sign of movement and close your eyes, alright?"
"Alright," Ron said.
They began to walk outside the tiny room-type thing until they entered into a larger, darker tunnel. "We must be miles under the school."
"Under the lake," Ron suggested, his voice echoing despite the fact that he was whispering. "Wait- there's something up there."
Harriet could barely make it out. The tunnel was so dark that it was difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of them. Ron was right, though. There was a giant shape up ahead, but it wasn't moving.
As Harriet and Ron moved even closer, they realized why. It was just the snake's skin: a giant, pale, pile of dead skin that must've been over twenty feet long.
"Blimey," Ron said weakly.
"We should probably keep moving," Harriet muttered, gently pulling Ron away from the giant skin. They were wasting too much time. Neville had been in here for ages. Ron held Harriet back, though.
"Stop. Do you hear that?"
Harriet paused and, sure enough, she did hear something. A slight skittering sound. Not wasting a second, Harriet grabbed Ron and pulled him backwards to hide behind the massive folds of skin. Ron looked as disgusted as she was, but they pushed those feelings away as the skittering got closer.
Harriet held her breath as it got closer-
Oh, Merlin, what if it was the basilisk?
Did basilisks skitter?
Harriet was just imagining the worst when a rat of all things ran past them. Not just any rat, though.
"Scabbers!" Ron whispered. Harriet covered his mouth with her hand instantly, but it didn't seem as though it had worked. The rat (Scabbers) stopped and seemed to look around. However, he didn't seem them and continued on his merry way.
Once he was gone, Harriet and Ron moved out from behind the snakeskin, flabbergasted.
Harriet said, "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
"What's he doing here?" Ron demanded. "Has he been here the entire time?"
"I have no idea," Harriet answered, "But he's going in the same direction we are, so I suppose we'll find out soon enough."
They set off past the snakeskin. Soon, the snakeskin was far behind them as the tunnel continued to stretch out before them. Harriet felt as though every nerve in her body was tingling and, next to her, Ron was shaking from head to foot.
Neither knew what they would find at the end of the tunnel. At one point, they heard a loud grating sound, followed by a moment of silence, and then more noise. They stayed stone dead until the noise once again stopped and, this time, failed to return.
They were even more on edge now, but they did eventually reach the end of the tunnel. Harriet and Ron crept around another turn and, instead of more tunnel, they saw a solid wall on which the heads of two entwined serpents were carved. Their eyes were set with shining emeralds the size of pigeon eggs.
Harriet's throat was dry as she tried to speak in Parseltongue again. She cleared her throat and the emerald eyes seemed to flicker.
"Open," she managed to hiss. The two halves of the wall cracked open and slid smoothly away, making a deep grating noise, which Harriet and Ron immediately recognized.
Swallowing their fear as best they could, they walked inside.
Harriet couldn't help but contain her amazement as she entered the room. The ceilings were massive and domed, the long hall lined with beautifully carved pillars. Around the pillars wound stone serpents of all shapes and sizes and, at the end, stood a massive bust of who must have been Salazar Slytherin himself.
Her attention, though, was immediately stolen by a black lump on the ground. It took Harriet a moment to realize that it was Neville in his robes. She and Ron ran to him.
Gently, she rolled him over, face up. He was still breathing, much to Harriet's relief, but was pale as a ghost. Next to him sat a ratty old diary that Harriet immediately recognized as Tom Riddle's.
Did Neville take it from Remus's office? She wondered vaguely, trying to shake Neville awake.
Next to her, Ron called, "Wake up, Neville! C'mon! We need to get out of here!"
"Oh, I don't think you'll be doing that anytime soon," came a voice from deeper within the Chamber.
Harriet and Ron both looked up as Tom Marvolo Riddle stepped out from behind one of the pillars. Harriet was aware that she looked a bit like a fish at the moment.
"Tom?" Harriet asked, in shock. "Tom Riddle?"
He smiled slightly at her. "Hello, Harriet."
"That's impossible," Harriet said finally, settling on the first coherent thought she could find. "You can't be- you can't be alive."
"Oh, I'm not," Riddle said easily. "I'm just a memory. But soon! Soon, I'll be alive."
"I don't understand," Harriet muttered.
"I didn't expect you to," Tom said snidely. Harriet felt a prickle of unease wind through her. She didn't like the way Tom was looking at her. She shook Neville harder. They needed to get out of the Chamber as soon as possible.
"He won't wake up you know," Tom said, still not moving from his spot several feet in front of them.
Harriet stood up slowly, Ron behind her. She demanded, "What've you done to him?"
"Nothing too horrible," Tom said. "But as I mentioned, I'm not really alive yet, Harriet. Longbottom is just giving me a bit of a hand. Don't worry, though. He won't feel a thing. I promise."
"You're doing this to him?" Harriet demanded. Riddle smirked proudly. "You're killing him?"
"Your point?" Riddle drawled, twiddling his wand.
"You can't do that," Harriet protested. "I mean- stealing somebody's life? Is that what you're doing? You can't."
"Why not?" Riddle demanded. "All I am right now is a memory, Harriet Potter, when I used to be so much more. Why should somebody as pathetic as Longbottom be alive while I've been trapped in a diary for fifty years? He's a disgrace to Purebloods everywhere."
Harriet had no answer. She was too confused. Riddle had been trapped inside the diary? But what about all of those dreams or memories or whatever they were? And if he had been trapped, why was he coming to life now? Harriet itched to reach for her wand, but Riddle was watching her too closely and she had a feeling that any attempts to try to fight him would not end well at the moment.
"You're confused," Riddle commented softly.
Ron said, "Of course we're confused! Bloody hell..."
Harriet asked, "Why now? And- How?"
"It's so difficult being a diary," Riddle sighed. "I honestly thought I'd be stuck there for god knows how long. Then, finally, I was discovered. And I found my chance, thanks to a-" Riddle sneered, "-loyal servant."
"Who would be loyal to someone like you?" Harriet asked fiercely.
That's when Harriet heard it: more skittering. Turning from Riddle (albeit hesitantly), she saw Scabbers of all things run from behind another pillar.
"Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed. "Come here, Scabbers! Come to-"
Ron's voice died in his throat as he watched, transfixed, Scabbers grow larger and more human in shape. Slowly, but surely, Scabbers no longer stood before them all, but Peter Pettigrew.
One part of Harriet was shocked beyond all belief. Another felt quite ashamed that she hadn't noticed it before. She remembered commenting on Scabbers's missing finger at one point, which Pettigrew was also missing.
She couldn't help the rage that built up inside her in that moment. This was the man who had betrayed her family, gotten her godfather locked up in prison, her parents in the hospital, and her grandparents killed, forcing her to live with the Dursley's for many miserable years.
Harriet didn't think twice as she launched herself at Pettigrew with a cry of rage. She managed to land one (very hard) punch to his nose when, suddenly, she couldn't move. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ron had gone completely still, too. She recognized the effects as that of the body-binder curse.
Riddle tutted. "That wasn't very kind, Harriet."
Harriet couldn't say anything, so she settled for glaring at him quite harshly. Riddle looked at her curiously.
"This isn't going to work if you can't talk," he noted. So, with a quick wave of his wand, he undid the body bind. Before Harriet could react, though, he easily conjured up some ropes and bound her with them. Harriet struggled in vain, but failed to release them. She had a sudden flashback to her time with Quirrel.
"I suppose you're wondering why Pettigrew would choose to follow me," Riddle noted. Harriet didn't say anything, although it was a decent point. "You still haven't figured out who I really am, then, have you?"
"I know who you are now," Harriet said fiercely. "You're a murderer and a liar!"
"That's all a bit harsh," Riddle said with a chuckle. "But no. That's not quite I meant. Honestly, Harriet. After everything I heard from Pettigrew, I expected a bit more from you."
"What do you mean?" Harriet asked, continuing to struggle against her bindings, the ropes cutting into her wrists.
Riddle noted, "I must say I'm impressed. I've been keeping track on your progress in figuring out who opened the Chamber. You really should be more careful about what you say on those mirrors of yours."
Harriet felt the blood drain from her face. It was true that she and Hermione and Ron had discussed the Chamber over the mirrors a few times. She recalled seeing flickers at the edge of the mirror once or twice. She had simply assumed that they were acting up, but apparently she was wrong. Pettigrew hadn't lost his mirror. He'd been listening in this whole time.
"And I've heard quite a bit about you from Lucius, of course," Riddle noted. "I was quite interested in your little escapade with Quirrel. It's not often that one escapes the greatest wizard of all time."
Harriet couldn't quite manage to hide her confusion. "Quirrel was hardly the greatest wizard of all time."
"Not him!" Riddle snapped. "The Dark Lord."
He spoke with such relish in his voice that Harriet was actually nauseated. It was absolutely disgusting. Next to Riddle, Pettigrew was pale and shaking, looking every inch the coward that he was.
"What do you care about Voldemort?" Harriet demanded, eyes wide. She craned her neck and noticed Ron somehow looking quite panicked despite the fact that he couldn't move. "He was after your time."
"You still don't get it, do you?" Riddle sneered, pulling out his wand. "Voldemort is my past, my present, and my future."
With that, Riddle waved his wand and carefully scribbled out his name in large, fiery letters, suspended in the air:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.
He waved his wand again and the letters began to rearrange themselves:
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
"You're Voldemort," Harriet breathed.
"Did you really expect me to keep my stupid, Muggle, father's name?"
"But I still don't understand. You died-?"
"All thanks to you," Riddle sneered. "But I wasn't a complete fool, Potter. Before I left Hogwarts, I took some precautions. I left behind a diary, preserving my sixteen year old self in its pages, until such a time that I needed to return. Lucius found me one day and informed me of all that had happened to my future self. It was time. There was still the problem of getting into Hogwarts, but that was solved easily enough. Malfoy slipped me into your friend's cauldron at the bookstore,"
"That's why Ron couldn't find his potions book!" Harriet said in realization.
"Very good," Riddle noted. "Yes, Lucius replaced that book with my diary. Once inside the school, it was incredibly easy for Pettigrew to steal the journal back. I began to teach him how to open the Chamber. It was he who set the monster on the students and who left the messages on the wall."
Harriet couldn't help but feel a bit proud as she said, "But we were on to you! Ron, Hermione, and I found the diary in Myrtle's bathroom!"
Riddle scowled and glared at Pettigrew, who squeaked in fear. "Yes, that was unfortunate. That simpering ghost caught Wormtail off guard during one of the few times where he dared risk his human form in the castle- he needed to carry the diary down into the Chamber, you see, and couldn't do it in his rat form. He's much too weak. But it's alright now. He's been properly punished."
Ignoring the look on Pettigrew's face, Harriet said, "Well, none of the work you did matters. Madam Pomfrey said the mandrake solution will be ready soon and all the petrified students will be saved."
Riddle snorted. "I'll admit, ridding the school of mudbloods was my original goal, but as Pettigrew told me more and more about you, Harriet, you're the one I really wanted to meet."
"Me?" Harriet asked.
"Yes," Riddle said. "You see, Pettigrew isn't a complete imbecile. Originally, my plan was to take Pettigrew's life for my own." Pettigrew squeaked again. Clearly he hadn't known about this part of the plan. "However, I soon realized that this plan would deprive me of one of the few followers who currently know I'm alive- as moronic as he is. I would naturally be much better off in the hands of one of my other Death Eaters... Snape, for instance. However, beggars can't be choosers."
"Snape was a Death Eater?" Harriet asked, horrified.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Riddle asked gleefully. "Yes, he was one of my most loyal followers. He was quite a patron of the Dark Arts, even in school." Riddle snorted. "He even had this own little secret identity. He called himself the Half-Blood Prince."
Harriet couldn't breathe.
No, not Uncle Severus. Not him. He would never-
"Snape was the one who told me about the prophecy, you know."
Harriet decided that she really didn't want to know about the prophecy. No. She didn't want to know, but before she could stop herself:
"What prophecy?" she rasped.
Riddle raised an eyebrow. "Your parents really have been keeping secrets from you, haven't they? Well, I suppose it's not my place to say. But haven't you ever wondered why I came to your house that night?"
"You- you-" Harriet couldn't find her voice. Not knowing what else to say, she repeated the lie she had been told. "You were looking for my parents."
Riddle scoffed. "I was looking for you, Harriet. But no matter. Soon, you will be dead and I will be alive, and your little sidekick over there-" he jerked his head to indicate the still-frozen Ron- "Will get to watch it all unfold, to spread the message that I, Lord Voldemort, the greatest sorcerer in the world, is alive!"
"You're wrong!" Harriet said fiercely. "Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world!"
"Dumbledore has been driven out of the castle by the mere memory of me!"
"He'll never be gone!" Harriet shouted, her incredible anger overriding her fear. "Not as long as those who remain are loyal to him!"
"And there will be one less of those in the world," Riddle said contemplatively. He raised his wand. "Good-bye, Harriet Potter."
Harriet couldn't move. This was it.
"AVADA KEDAVRA."
There was a bright flash of green light. Harriet flinched and turned her head, but there was no use. An invisible force slammed into her chest with all the power of one of Dudley's kicks-
Burning- Burning-
Please-
Oh.
...
AN: I am almost positive that this is the longest chapter I have ever written for Harriet Potter. That being said, I really hope you enjoy the update and that the wait was worth it!
Please read and review!
tinyrose65