CHAPTER 35: THE END BEGINS
"Moaning Myrtle? Seriously?"
The morning after the whole Acromantula incident, America had rushed over to Canada and dragged him to the side of the hall to tell him about Harry's brainwave the previous night. "Yeah, dude, seriously. It totally makes sense, though, right?"
Canada nodded. "I suppose… Now that I think about it, a bathroom would be an odd place for a ghost to haunt by choice… I just feel silly for never asking her about this before, eh."
America grinned. "Yeah, yeah, but the important thing is we can ask her about this now. If we can sneak off and talk to her, we could totally crack this case! Man, saying that makes me feel like a super cool detective."
Canada smirked. "Yup, you're becoming a regular Sherlock Holmes, eh."
"I know, right? I just need to find a pipe and one of those weird hats and the school will be saved!"
Joking aside, it was quite the discovery. After months without making any real progress, they were getting so close to solving the mystery Canada could almost taste it. It tasted like pancakes. Wait, maybe that was just the aftertaste of his breakfast. Pancakes aside, it seemed they had a new goal; sneak off and question Moaning Myrtle. That would be much easier said than done. The teachers were watching them all so closely Canada doubted even someone as ignored as himself could get away. Why did things always have to be so difficult?!
Something happened at the end of his first class of the day to take the Chamber of Secrets completely off of Canada's mind. Just as everyone was packing up their things to go to their next class, Professor Flitwick announced that their exams would start on the first of June. One week away.
"Are you serious?!" demanded Zacharias Smith. "We're still getting exams?!"
"We can't ignore your education just because a monster is on the loose," squeaked Flitwick. "I'm sure you've all been revising hard. Now, let's be off!"
Revising hard?! Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Canada felt on the verge of a panic attack. Maple leaf! I've been so focused on the Chamber of Secrets, I completely forgot about exams! I need to start studying! As they walked to History of Magic he pulled a random textbook out of his bag and began flipping through it. Okay, Transfiguration… What's this diagram? I can't remember it… What's the formula for that spell? Oh, no, I'm going to fail, aren't I?
Looking up, he realized he was hardly alone in his panic. Hannah seemed to be paralyzed, eyes wide open and mouth opening and closing. Ernie was having to literally drag her along. Susan Bones and Wayne Hopkins were talking anxiously, desperately trying to remember anything they'd learned all year that might come up in the exams. With the school in the state it's in right now, I don't think a lot of people are going to get good grades.
*time skip*
Four days later Canada was so exhausted he was in serious danger of falling asleep at breakfast and drowning in his porridge. He'd spent the nights since the announcement of their exams cramming every scrap of knowledge he could find into his head. I have History of Magic first thing today, right? Maybe I'll just take a nap then. I'll ask Ernie for his notes. Canada was so out of it that he almost didn't register Professor McGonagall standing up and announcing, "I have good news."
The Great Hall erupted. "Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully.
"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" squealed a girl on the Ravenclaw table.
"Quidditch matches are back on!" roared Oliver Wood excitedly.
"GEORGE LUCAS IS MAKING MORE STAR WARS MOVIES!" America bellowed hopefully. That earned him quite a few stares from the less Muggle-savvy students.
When the hubbub had subsided, Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."
There was an explosion of cheering. Canada, tired as he was, joined in with much enthusiasm. Finally! I guess it doesn't matter that I completely forgot to ask Myrtle about what killed her. Hermione will probably be able to figure it all out. Oh, but she's going to be pissed when she finds out we've got exams in three days…
Once the cheering settled down, Canada glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw something a bit odd. Ginny Weasley was sitting next to Ron, and even from another table it was clear as daylight that she was acting oddly. Eyes darting around, rocking back and forth slightly, hands probably twisting in her lap… Almost everything about her behaviour set off alarm bells in Canada's head. She knows something, and she's trying to tell them. But what does she know? Is it about the Chamber of Secrets? If so, why wouldn't she have said anything before? At this point, any information she could give would be a bit redundant, wouldn't it? Then Percy showed up and scared her off. Canada had to fight down the urge to throw the nearest sharp object at his head.
Still, even with a possible informant being scared off, Canada couldn't help but smile as he went to History of Magic. For the first time in what felt like years, the atmosphere in Hogwarts was downright cheerful. His classmates were eagerly discussing how great it would be to have Justin back, and Canada was so caught up in it he forgot to ask America about what had happened with Ginny.
Once they all arrived at class, Professor Binns began lecturing and Canada was asleep even before his head hit the desk. Seriously, if someone recorded his lecturing and sold it as a sleeping aid, that person would be a millionaire overnight.
His nap didn't last long, sadly. After weeks of silence in the hallways during classes, Canada's ears must have become much more sensitive to noises outside the classroom. When he first woke up, he couldn't figure out why he wasn't still asleep. Then he pricked his ears and heard soft, almost silent footsteps in the hall. Who could that be? What are they doing outside of class? He was still half-asleep, so finding out who it was seemed to be of vital importance. Counting on Professor Binns' complete disregard for his students and the atrophied state of his fellow students' brains, he snuck out of class without incident. As he stuck his head out into the hallway he saw a flash of long red hair swish around the corner. Closing the door behind him, he began to follow.
His heart leapt into his throat when he realized it was Ginny. After a few minutes of following Canada realized that she was acting oddly. Not oddly like during breakfast, all nervous and anxious. It was difficult to describe, really, what exactly was off about her. Eventually Canada decided that it was the complete lack of any sort of inconsistency or tic – no looking to the side, no tucking hair behind the ear, no fiddling with the sleeves of her robes… nothing. No unnecessary movement. When technology advanced enough to create androids, they'd probably move like Ginny was right now.
Canada was just starting to think that he really should go talk to a teacher about this when they arrived at the corridor where it all began. The Enemies of the Heir, Beware message was still shining on the wall. Ginny stopped in front of the wall, and for the first time Canada noticed that she was carrying a jar full of something red. How did I not notice that before?! He was so busy staring that he didn't notice he was heading into a wall until it was too late.
"Sorry," he said automatically as he crashed into it. Ginny whirled around, and Canada froze. Part of it was his reaction to being caught, the other part was his reaction to Ginny's face. It was completely blank, devoid of emotion. "Eh, um, h-hello, Ginny," Canada stammered, fighting down his instinct to flee. Ginny responded with a strange, rasping, hissing noise that seemed oddly familiar. Canada took a step towards her, if only to prove to himself that his legs hadn't turned to lead when he wasn't looking. "Ginny, what are you doing? What's wrong?" There was not even the most minute change in her expression. "Can you even hear me right now?"
Then something emerged from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Canada only remembered a pair of great, big yellow eyes before he slipped into nothingness.
A/N: And so we end on a cliffhanger. HUGS \(^-^)/ Also, THE 2011 CHRISTMAS EVENT IS FINALLY BEING CONTINUED YAY! We shall finally find out who the hell was in that rabbit costume! It's late and I'm tired, though, so let's just get through this quickly. Q&A! To RussianMochi: I can totally imagine Kumajiro doing that. And no Nyotalia in this fic, though I do find them very interesting. I have to say my favourite would be Nyo!Prussia, if only because I like imagining how her interactions with Nyo!Hungary went. To namenumbers: Not planning any major romance. There might be a little bit in Goblet of Fire if my current plans come to fruition, but it wouldn't last very long. I don't really like writing romance. To Serebiiet: It might change, but right now I'm imagining Erin as being very cheerful and friendly most of the time, but rather cold and harsh towards England. And when drunk she becomes a rampaging force of destruction. Also, yes, England was in Slytherin. Thanks for all your great comments! To SoulxMakaLover37: Eat it, of course! And I don't know, I don't actually eat chocolate all that often... I've never heard of it giving you weird dreams before. Maybe I'll look it up in the morning. Anyways, thank you all for being so great and supportive with your reviews! We're nearing the end, so I'm starting the page countdown again. Pages Left: 38. NEXT CHAPTER: Even while Petrified, Hermione provides vital information. See you all next time!