Chapter 36:

AN: Italics are from the actual book. Anyone else notice Ron is pretty prophetic.

They'd taken Neville to McGonagall after they finished and left the tunnel. She shooed them all out to talk to him. On the way back they'd passed Moaning Myrtle's bathroom which was flooding. Going in they'd found her crying and complaining about having a book thrown her. Harry had leaned forward when Ron had stopped him.

"Are you mad?" said Ron. "It could be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Harry laughed. "Come off it, how could it be dangerous."

"I've never heard of a dangerous book," Hermione said. "The information inside but never the actual book."

"You'd be surprised," said Ron. "Some of the books the ministry's confisticated – Dad's told me – there was one that burned your eyes out."

Ron had continued to list books as Harry looked down at the soggy book at the floor before he told him he'd gotten the point. He felt the magic buzzing as he picked it up and told Ron they wouldn't know unless they looked at it ducking under Ron's arms. Harry opened it up and looked at the name T. M. Riddle feeling something in the back of his brain. Then Ron had said he'd known the name and Harry turned hoping Ron might know it the same way he did.

"T.M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago."

"How do you know that?" Hermione demanded.

"Because Filch made me polish his shield about fifty times in detention," Ron explained that he'd kept barfing slugs over it. Harry opened it up and declared it was blank and Hermione asked who would want to flush it away and why. Harry turned the book over noting T.M Riddle must have been muggle born ignoring Hermione smacking Ron as he made a comment about throwing it through Myrtle's head for fifty points.

Harry put the book in his pocket and ignored the glances Hermione and Ron were giving him. He could feel the magic in this book. It was important. It was calling him.

"Maybe it has hidden powers?" Hermione said as they walked upstairs. Harry thought he agreed. It certainly felt that way.

"I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts, either."

"Could've been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty O's or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle, that would've done everyone a favor…"

"What's the date on the diary?" asked Hermione.

Harry told her.

"Fifty years ago. That's when Dobby told you that it would have been opened," Hermione noted. "What if Riddle got the award for catching the heir of Slytherin?"

The diary kept emanating magic, Harry could feel it excite at Hermione's comment. He pulled it out as they walked through the portrait hole and Ron told her that was a flaw in the plan. There was nothing written there. For the rest of the night they tried to figure out the secret of the diary but found nothing. Neville was already asleep in bed when they walked in later having learned nothing from the diary.

The next day at break as Hermione and Ron told Neville about the diary and Harry snuck away not even waiting to hear that McGonagall had written to Neville's grandmother. He kept thinking about the diary for an entire month until Valentine's day when trying to get away from a singing dwarf that Lockhart had hired and ink spilled over the diary.

A few hours later he was sitting with Ron, Neville and Hermione. Neville was looking at Harry and the diary with wide eyes. "So Hagrid opened the chamber of secrets?"

"I don't think so," Harry said. "I mean Hagrid likes Monsters and doesn't really understand when they're dangerous. But I don't think he'd ever make them attack kids. Hagrid wouldn't hurt anyone."

"So why would Riddle said he did it then?"

"I don't know," Harry said looking at the diary. But he could sympathize with Riddle. If he didn't stay at Hogwarts over the last summer he wasn't sure how his life would go. Maybe Riddle had been scared, a lot like him. But Harry didn't think he could do what Riddle did, maybe it had been a mistake but Harry wasn't so sure. Still he felt the urge to learn more from the diary.

"So who did it then? Do you think Hagrid knows?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry said. "Or he would've told. We shouldn't ask him either. He doesn't like to talk about being expelled. "

They were left wondering and unsure of what to do for the next month. It was already mid February. A month later though they had done nothing. The only thing the four of them had accomplished was getting better at dueling. Neville had been given permission to go to Ollivander's with his Gran one Sunday and came back with a new wand. He was accomplishing the spells just as well as any of them now when his friend were there to cheer him on.

They hadn't confronted Hagrid and Harry hadn't opened the diary again either. He hadn't said a thing about it to Sirius or Remus in his letters either. Somehow he just couldn't. The good thing was it was several months since the first petrification and people were no longer thinking he was the heir of Slytherin. The mandrakes were coming along but so was the year. The second years were expected to choose their classes for the year now.

Though Harry hadn't talked to them about the chamber of secrets he'd gotten two large letters with advice from both of them. Sirius had told him that he'd want Divination, prophecies and the future might seem silly but they were important, he'd also want Care of Magical creatures if he expected to face or work with any. Knowing how his life had gone so far Harry had agreed. Ron had signed up for both as well thinking they were the easiest.

Both had agreed with Harry he didn't need muggle studies after growing up in the muggle world. He thought about a third class like ancient runes or arithmancy but neither really interested though Remus had told him the perks of both and how they could help him. Hermione had signed up for all the classes but Harry was happy with what he had chosen. Neville would be in both those classes too though he was thinking about some others.

So at the end of March Harry was feeling good and forgetting his issues. There hadn't been an attack in a while either and the end of quidditch season was approaching. He'd hidden Riddle's diary in the bottom of his trunk where it's magic wasn't pulling at him as much. And everything was great. He'd just finished qudditch practice when he got upstairs.

Neville was standing on the stairs to the dorms. He looked upset and tried to tell Harry something pushing open the door. The contents of Harry's trunk were everywhere. Neville bit his lip. "I wasn't here and I'm not sure what they were looking for or what's gone."

Ron came in then with the other boys who asked what happened. Ron deduced someone was looking for something and what was missing. Harry picked up all his things taking inventory in his mind. When he was sure Seamus and Dean weren't paying attention he told Neville and Ron. "Riddle's diary is gone."

They ran out of the dormitory and to the Gryffindor common rooms where they found Hermione reading a book on ancient Runes and told her. She looked around the common room frantically. "Only a Gryffindor could have stolen – nobody else knows our password-"

Harry was just happy that meant it couldn't be Hagrid but Neville was looking around wearily. "So who is it then? Who's the heir of Slytherin?"

"I don't know," Harry said.

"We should try narrowing it down. If someone had a relative here fifty years ago then they could have opened it then. Someone who was once in slytherin. Maybe we could ask people who were at Hogwarts then," Hermione suggested.

"We'll start after the game tomorrow then," Harry agreed. "I know someone who could tell us."

"Who?" Ron said. "I thought you didn't want to ask Dumbledore."

"Not him," Harry shook his head. "One of the house ghosts. Nick doesn't know. But maybe the others do. We can ask the Grey Lady. She'll have an answer."

The next morning Harry was dressed for quidditch and eating with his team as Wood crowed about the amazing conditions forcing them to eat. He finished his breakfast still wearily looking around the table before going to get his quidditch gloves and robes with Ron, Hermione and Neville when he heard it again.

'Kill this time… let me rip… tear…"

Harry jumped. "It's there."

"What?" Hermione asked urgently.

"The voice. I just heard it again. It wants to kill this time. Didn't you hear it?"

"I didn't hear anything," Neville said.

"I've got it!" Hermione said. "I've just understood something. I'm going to the library."

She ran off. Harry looked at the other two boys. "We should go to the Gray Lady now."

"What about the game?" Ron asked.

"It wants to kill this time," Harry said. "This will take a few minutes, at most I think."

Together he, Neville and Ron ran around the castle looking for the Grey Lady asking portraits and students walking down to the game. Finally they found her wandering around the fifth floor.

"Wait!" Harry yelled as she was about to glide through the wall.

"Mr. Potter," she said surprised. "Isn't there a quidditch game right now?"

"Yes," Harry said. "But this is more important. We have a question."

She looked at all three boys quizzically. "I'll answer what I can."

"We need to know about the Chamber of Secrets," Ron said.

"And about Tom Riddle," Neville added. "He told the school Hagrid was the heir. That can't be though. We were wondering if you knew anything about it?"

"You were here when Hogwarts was built," Harry said. "Maybe you know where the chamber was or what's in it."

"I'm afraid they've already asked me that," said the ghost. "But I don't know the answer. I do know Tom Riddle, he was the headboy, a handsome prefect. I do believe you about Hagrid as well but they had no choice after Myrtle."

"Myrtle?" Ron asked. "Moaning Myrtle? She's the one who died the first time the chamber was opened?"

Harry was suddenly reminded of the first time he met Myrtle but was disrupted by McGonagall running by downstairs. The Grey Lady glided away as McGonagall came to a confused stop. "SHouldn't you three be at a qudditch game?"

"We had something more important to handle first," Harry told her.

"It's probably a good thing," McGonagall said. She turned to one of the portraits. "Send one of the other proffessors down to the game while I take these three up to the hospital wing."

"What?" Neville asked. "Why? What's wrong?"

"There has been another attack… another double attack," McGonagall said leading them into the hospital wing. She opened the door and they all saw a head of bushy hair.

"Hermione!"

Soon all three boys were huddled around her bedside staring into her open eyes. Ron tried to shake her before MgGonagall pulled him off saying she was found near the library. She's holding a mirror. She asks if they know what that's about.

They all shook their heads. McGonagall said she'd take them back to Gryffindor tower where she needed to talk to the other students anyway. When they were there everyone was talking as Harry was thinking hard. He turned to Neville and Ron. "We need to see Hagrid."

"What?"

"We should just ask him about Myrtle."

"We're supposed to stay in the tower if there's no class though," Neville reminded them.

"That's what the cloaks for, isn't it?" Harry asked. The next evening after their last class they grabbed Harry's cloak and wrapped if around the three of them running down the Halls and to Hagrid's hut avoiding all the patrolling teachers, staff, prefects and ghosts. Harry rapped on the door to Hagrid's door only to have the door opened and a crossbow pointed at their faces.