Chapter 3: Another Halloween
Draco Malfoy was having a better year than the last. Part of it was his new outlook on things. Professor Snape had convinced him that the only way to prove his superiority over Granger would be to beat her in a subject. To that end, Draco had redoubled his study of potions, in the hopes that he could catch up to her. Draco of course recognized that Hermione would still be ahead of him in every other class. It irked him, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it. She was just that smart.
Before that might have sent him into a violent rage, but now he could handle it. He had his heritage, and that counted for a lot more than any study grade. Or at least it would in the real world. He had a duty to uphold the reputation of his family and his people. He couldn't fall to baser impulses on an angry whim.
Just now Draco was making his way downstairs, several books in his hands. He needed to keep at his studies. According to Snape, Granger had read up over the summer as well. He'd called it an 'arms race,' whatever that meant.
He wasn't really looking around, so he completely missed it when Harriet Potter ran right into him, knocking his books to the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" said Harriet, her voice betraying the insincerity underneath it. But she did lean down to help pick up his books.
Draco didn't say anything. He could still get in a great deal of trouble for talking to any of Hermione's friends.
"Do you have a house elf named Dobby?" asked Harriet quietly as he knelt down next to her to pick up the books.
"W-what?" he stammered out, his voice revealing his surprise.
"Does your family have a house elf named Dobby?" asked Harriet again.
"Uh, yes, we do," he answered, "Uh, why are you asking?"
"No reason," said Harriet, standing up with two of his books. She handed them to him after he'd had a chance to stand up.
"What is going on here?" said the very unwelcome voice of Minerva McGonagall.
Draco tried to find a suitable excuse, but Harriet was already there.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and I bumped into Draco. I made him drop all of his books. I was just helping him pick them up," said Harriet innocently.
"Well, then you should be more careful to look where you are going!" said McGonagall, giving Draco one last suspicious glare before both she and Harriet moved on.
Okay, that the hell had that been about?
XXXXX
Harriet sprinted up towards Gryffindor Tower. She knew Sirius had thought the name of the Malfoy house elf was Dobby, but it was nice to have confirmation. Also, Draco's reaction had been so mystified that he was almost certainly not in on this. Also good to know.
"Hey, Harry!" said a young voice.
Harriet turned into the flash of a camera. Colin Creevey, one of the Gryffindor first years, had just taken a picture of her. Colin seemed to hero worship her, which wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that Colin was a muggleborn. He'd picked up on Harriet Potter worship fast.
"Give me some warning, okay Colin," Harriet forced herself to say gently. Colin was a nice enough boy, he was just overly enthusiastic. Also he had the common sense of… well of a wizard. He would fit right in when he grew up, Harriet suspected.
"Sorry, Harry," said Colin with a rueful grin, "I'll stop."
Harriet just laughed. He had said that to her six times now.
XXXXX
Ginny Weasley was enjoying her first week at Hogwarts. It helped that she had the inside scoop on where everything was. Tom had been very helpful. Ginny honestly didn't know where the strange diary had come from, it seemed to have appeared after Harriet's birthday at the Quidditch match. She wasn't sure how it had made it into her things. She'd considered asking Harriet about it, but had for some reason decided against it. She couldn't exactly remember why.
One class Ginny had been excited for was Defense against the Dark Arts. Luna had had it first, and she'd said the first lesson had been most interesting. Professor Solaire had read her magical capacity. Apparently Luna was a 56, which was a bit above average. The lesson itself hadn't disappointed. Still, Ginny had to wonder what the use of magical capacity was. It didn't seem to make it easier to cast spells, or really enable you to cast more quickly. It might make it possible to cast really powerful magic more often, but at a certain point magic ran you into sheer physical exhaustion. Ginny suspected you'd run out of stamina before your capacity came into play.
Still, when Professor Solaire asked for volunteers, Ginny was the first to raise her hand. Professor Solaire smiled at her.
"We'll try you Miss Weasley," she said kindly. Professor Solaire seemed to have a soft spot for Harriet and her friends, Ginny had noticed. She guessed it extended to her as well. Well Ginny wasn't going to complain about that.
Professor Solaire waved her wand in front of Ginny, and suddenly her eyes went wide. "My!" she said, "That's… unusual. You have, well, a seventy."
"That sounds high," said Ginny.
"It is very high," said Professor Solaire, "If you could see me after class, we should discuss this. It's really extraordinary."
The rest of the class buzzed in excitement. Ginny wasn't sure what had just happened.
After class, Morgan took her aside as promised.
"Is a seventy very rare?" asked Ginny.
"If there are ten other individuals with a seventy or higher in the world, I'll eat my hat," said Professor Solaire, "It is very rare. It can also be a bit… disorienting at times. I have a 67, but there's something about people with a 70 or higher… sometimes all their magic rushing back at once can be a bit overwhelming. Just be warned that you may get dizzy or sick the first few times it happens."
"Have you ever known any wizards with this level of capacity?" asked Ginny.
"Yes I have," said Professor Solaire, "Arthur had a 73."
"My father?" asked Ginny, confused.
Professor Solaire blinked. "No, I was referring to Arthur Pendragon. I had moved on to tell you a famous person who also had this level of power."
Something felt wrong about that. As Ginny walked back to Gryffindor tower she considered what Professor Solaire had said. It was almost like she had known King Arthur. It was confusing.
Ginny initially thought to ask Tom, but that was not likely to work. Professor Solaire had only been here a year. No, the person to ask was Harriet.
When she found Harriet, she was sitting across from Ron in the common room, playing chess.
"Why do you still play him?" asked Ginny, "He always beats you."
"Getting beaten is a learning experience," said Harriet.
"Harriet is a lot better than she used to be," admitted Ron, "She's just not quite as good at it as I am. Yet."
Harriet gave a mirthless laugh. "I appreciate the vote of confidence Ron."
"Hey, I have a question," said Ginny, "Morgan just said something weird."
"That's pretty common," said Ron.
"We were discussing the fact that I have a magical capacity of 70…" started Ginny.
"70! Blimey!" shouted Ron, "That's more powerful than anyone I've ever heard of."
Everyone in the common room was staring at them. Ron blushed a bit at that, which caused a general laugh before everyone else got back to their business.
"Congratulations on the high score," said Harriet, "What did Morgan tell you about it?"
"Well, she warned me that this level of capacity might cause me some discomfort if it all comes back at once," started Ginny, "But then I asked her If she ever knew someone with a capacity this high. She said, 'Yes I have, Arthur had a 73.' At first I thought she was talking about my father, but she claimed that she was talking about Arthur Pendragon, and that it was a non-sequitur. But that doesn't ring true."
Harriet and Ron each gave the other significant looks.
"You didn't tell her?" asked Ron.
"She's your sister," said Harriet defensively.
"She's your friend," replied Ron.
"Tell me what?" demanded Ginny.
"Keep it down," said Harriet quietly, "This is a secret, so don't spread it around."
Harriet looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Morgan Solaire is actually the reincarnation of Morgana Pendragon. She's come back, supposedly to undo all the damage Morgana did in life."
Ginny laughed. "Okay, that's a nice one Harriet. If you don't know anything…"
"Ginny, it isn't a joke," said Ron quietly, "Hermione and Harriet did a ton of research. It's totally possible. Dumbledore confirmed it. Your Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is Morgana le Fay.
"She replied the way she did because she did know Arthur. He was her brother," Harriet replied.
"This is crazy," said Ginny stubbornly.
"Ask Hermione," said Ron, "She'll tell you the truth."
"She's in our dormitory," said Harriet.
So Ginny climbed all the way to the top of Gryffindor tower on the girls side. She knocked on the second year room, only to be ushered in by Hermione. The girl was alone in the room.
"Harry and Ron just told me that Professor Solaire is Morgana Pendragon," said Ginny, "There is no way…"
"It's true," said Hermione, "Don't spread it around though. It's a secret."
Ginny nearly collapsed, catching herself on Harriet's bed. "It's… true? Bloody hell! That's… insane!"
"Yeah," said Hermione, "It is."
Ginny shook her head. She couldn't wait to tell this to Tom.
XXXXX
Draco sat down for his lessons with Snape. Most of the teachers had agreed to tutor him this year. Even McGonagall, which was a bit of a surprise. Still, it was Snape who always had the most interesting lessons. Especially the lessons where they didn't discuss potions.
"So I had a run in with Harriet Potter earlier today," said Draco.
"You should be careful about that," said Snape.
"When I say I had a run in, I mean she literally ran into me," said Draco, "The thing is, she did it on purpose. She wanted to ask me a question."
"Oh, really?" said Snape, his eyes suddenly curious.
"She asked me if I had a house elf named Dobby," said Draco, "And I told her I did. It was very strange."
Snape sat back, his face thoughtful. "Do you know why Harriet was not on the train?"
"I heard something stopped her from getting to Platform 9 and 3/4 ," said Draco.
"A house elf stopped her from getting to Platform 9 and 3/4," corrected Snape, "A house elf she believes to be yours. But she knew the name specifically? Why would she ask that unless…"
Snape shook his head in disbelief. "I think Miss Potter has had more contact with this elf than we might have first suspected. She was trying to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is your family's elf."
"But why would Dobby do something like that?" asked Draco.
"I do not know," admitted Snape, "I assume you know the house elf better than I do."
Draco considered. Dobby was by all accounts a model elf, always trying to be helpful and caring for his family. But Draco had to admit, his father was hard on Dobby. Even small mistakes were often punished very harshly. Draco was well aware that it wouldn't look good if the full extent of his father's treatment of Dobby were known. Even Draco himself felt it went a bit too far.
"Surely Dobby wasn't trying to betray us," said Draco.
But Draco wondered. Dobby had never said anything bad about Harriet Potter. And that wasn't that much of a shock. Draco had overheard other house elves at other wizards' homes, and most of them idolized Potter. They thought she was personally responsible for a golden age in elf rights and treatment. Draco's stomach sank.
"Dobby was trying to keep Harriet from returning to Hogwarts," said Draco, his voice struggling to stay calm, "He was trying to protect her. My father is involved in another plot against her or one of her friends." Draco was surprised at how disappointed his voice sounded. Still, this really was a disaster of an idea.
"Very good reasoning Draco," said Snape, "That is what I think as well."
"I should tell my father about this," said Draco, but then he stopped. If he told his father Dobby would be severely punished. And Draco sort of sympathized with the elf on this. His father had already run into so much trouble taking on Harriet Potter. Why did he need more? And whatever punishment Dobby received would be horrifyingly painful. Did the elf really deserve that?
"But I won't. Not unless my father lets me in on what he has planned," said Draco with finality, "If he wants my help keeping his plots from falling apart, he needs to tell me enough to help him."
Snape grinned. "Now that's a maneuver worthy of a Slytherin," he said.
Draco grinned with pride.
XXXXX
"How do I deal with her then?" asked Ginny.
"Just act normally," said Harriet, "She's just another person after all."
The two of them were sitting outside, overlooking the lake. It was the same place that Harriet and Hermione had come to commiserate after Harriet's first Quidditch match.
Harriet shrugged. "To me she's the person who rescued me from Roger Runcorn. And she sent me to meet Hermione. I owe her a lot."
"How can you trust her?" asked Ginny.
"She hasn't lied to me yet, at least as far as I can tell," said Harriet, "I can only take her actions at face value Ginny. If she's secretly evil she hasn't let on yet. Still, she seems to match the historical descriptions. Morgana was in fact a very significant force for good before she left Avalon."
"Why did she leave Avalon?" asked Ginny.
Harriet shrugged. "I don't know. There are a lot of painful things in her past though, and she doesn't deny that she did some terrible things. That's the main reason I do trust her, she hasn't really tried to make excuses for herself."
Ginny sighed. "Tom thinks I shouldn't trust her."
"Tom?" asked Harriet.
Ginny smiled and hung her head. "My diary. It used to belong to a boy named Tom Riddle. He put a part of his personality in the diary and it writes back to me."
"Hmmm, that's pretty odd magic," said Harriet, "Are you sure it's safe?"
"I mean he just talks to me," said Ginny, "He was only 16 or so when he created the diary, so how dangerous can it be?"
Harriet shrugged. "I mean if you think it's fine, it probably is, I just have never heard of magic like that."
"Don't tell my brothers," said Ginny, "or anyone else for that matter, but definitely not my brothers. Fred and George would probably try to steal it."
"Can they?" asked Harriet, "I mean if you keep it in the tower…"
"I just want to keep a few secrets from them," said Ginny.
"All right," said Harriet, "I won't tell anyone. But you make sure to tell me if anything strange happens with that Diary."
"I will!" said Ginny happily.
The two of them began to head back towards the school. When they got back into the school Harriet saw Nearly-Headless Nick coming up. Straight towards her.
"Harriet! I was hoping to have a word with you!" said Nick
"Of course," said Harriet politely.
"The anniversary of my demise is coming up, and I was having a little get together," began Nick.
Harriet groaned. Nick wanted her to come to his Deathday party. He'd invited the Marauders back in the day, but Sirius warned Harriet that he'd probably forgotten it. From Sirius's description, it sounded absolutely dreadful.
"Wait," said Harriet as Nick mentioned the date, "It's on Halloween?"
"Yes!" said Nick defensively, "Now I know the school has a feast on that day…"
"That doesn't matter," said Harriet dismissively, "I hate the Halloween feast. But I'm sorry Nick, I can't come to your Deathday party. I… well Halloween is the day my parents died, and well, I do feel I should spend it amongst the living."
"Of course you should!" said Nick, "I didn't know that your parents died that day, or is it that I have forgotten it? It's hard to tell as a ghost. But obviously you should have the comfort of your friends instead of a cold dungeon on such a grim anniversary. Forgive me for suggesting it."
"You don't have to go that far," said Harriet, "I just really would like to spend the evening with my friends. I am flattered that you wanted to invite me."
Nick seemed mollified at that, and after a few more profuse apologies, he wandered off.
"Would his party have been that bad?" asked Ginny.
"Sirius went to one years ago," said Harriet, "Apparently, ghosts can't smell anything, but in order to try and get a smell they can sense, they leave around rotting meat."
"Oh gross," said Ginny.
"The worst part is, it never works," said Harriet.
"Why do they keep trying then?" asked Ginny.
"Because ghosts can't form new memories," said Harriet, "Every few years they forget what they did just years before, so it's all the same thing happening again, every time."
"That's sad," said Ginny.
Harriet nodded. It was sad. Everything about ghosts was sad. Harriet didn't even want to think about the young girl who haunted the girls loo on the second floor. Harriet didn't know why some people became ghosts and some didn't.
Maybe it was better not to know.
XXXXX
As Halloween approached, Harriet had to admit that her schedule was getting quite full again. Quidditch did take up a not insignificant amount of her time. But in addition to that she was trying to keep up with Hermione's insane study regimen. Well, she had been. Harriet had quickly realized that Hermione's study schedule was just too much for someone who was trying to be involved in Quidditch.
There was one thing of note that happened before Halloween though. Something had attacked Hagrid's roosters. And by attacked, Harriet meant killed. All of them had been killed. Hagrid had seemed to think something had come out of the Forbidden Forest to hurt them. But Harriet wasn't sure. None of them had been eaten.
Morgan had been very disturbed by this. Harriet had asked her why, and she had said something about animals killing and not eating being a bad omen. But that was clearly not everything. She was disturbed by something specific. Harriet was suspicious, but she also knew that as a teacher, Morgan wasn't required to open her deepest fears to Harriet to analyze. Harriet hoped Morgan was sharing her fears with Dumbledore at least.
But when Halloween finally came, that wasn't what was on Harriet's mind. She had briefly considered asking permission to go visit her parents' graves for Halloween. She had never asked Hermione to go with her, and she thought the other girl might like seeing Godric's Hollow. But in the end Harriet decided that it would have been too much of a project.
And that was why she had to endure the Halloween Feast. Oh, it wasn't all bad. She liked the food. And didn't mind spending time with her friends. But the raucous atmosphere didn't seem right.
One thing that bothered Harriet was that Ginny wasn't there. But a quick check with Ginny's yearmate Demelza revealed that Ginny hadn't been feeling well earlier. Harriet hoped she'd headed to the hospital wing, though it would be just like the younger girl to try and tough through things.
Still the atmosphere in the Great Hall was a bit much for Harriet today. She knew she had to look miserable to everyone who saw her. Professor McGonagall gave her a sympathetic smile when she looked up at the high table, and even Snape seemed to be a bit worried about her.
Harriet had to admit, it was hitting her harder this year than it ever had before. For two parents that she didn't even remember, she was getting awfully upset. But maybe that was the point. Maybe what upset her was that she didn't have anything to hold on to. No memories, no pain, no half-forgotten stories. Everything she knew about her parents came second hand.
And in this moment, Harriet realized that Hermione had been right. The Grail's healing had not changed anything essential about Harriet. It may have eased her pain for a moment, but it was her own therapy and work that had produced the results. The Grail had just made it easier to see what had happened, to pierce the haze of emotions. But that had a downside too. It meant that Harriet was no longer suppressing what she felt about her parents' deaths.
Harriet laid her head on the table. She had her ear pressed up against it. Sometimes when she sat like this she felt that she could almost hear the thrum of the magic at Hogwarts. Almost.
Tonight though she felt a strange vibration through the wood, almost like some far off reverberation. Yet it seemed to almost resolve itself into a word.
"KILL," said the almost voice.
Harriet snapped her head up. She looked around. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Strange.
Morgan walked up to Harriet. "Are you all right?" she asked, "You look as if you've seen a ghost?"
"I… I thought I heard something when my head was against the table," said Harriet, "I thought someone said 'Kill.' I must've imagined it. It was odd though. It wasn't like any voice I'd ever heard before."
Morgan frowned. "I'm not so sure I'd just dismiss something like that Harriet. Still, I guess you're most likely right."
Harriet nodded. Parvati and Lavender had just finished eating, Hermione had finished some time ago. Ron was still going, but even he was really just picking over the leftovers.
"I'm headed back to the common room," said Harriet, "I just want to go to bed."
"Let's go then!" said Parvati. Harriet smiled. Parvati had clearly spent a great deal of time planning how to deal with this evening with Hermione. They'd both been great friends tonight, and Harriet was really grateful to both of them. They'd both kept any well-wishers away from Harriet, and they'd both also kept the conversation light. No one suggested that Harriet needed to remember what tonight stood for. As if she would forget!
Harriet noticed that a large group from Ravenclaw had just gotten up and left. Probably best to go through the side stairs instead of taking the Grand Staircase. And so the Gryffindor second years headed towards the nearby stairs. But when they got to the side stairs, there was water pouring down them.
"Someone must have flooded the second floor bathroom!" said Harriet. Everyone nodded. It wasn't uncommon for Peeves the Poltergeist to do just that, or for the resident ghost, Moaning Myrtle to do so either. However, when they got to the second floor, they were unprepared for what they found.
There was water all over the floor, and Harriet saw Mrs. Norris, the cat of Caretaker Argus Filch, laying on the floor. But it wasn't moving. And above it, written in what appeared to be blood were the words, "Enemies of the Heir beware. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened."
"Get Professor Dumbledore," said Harriet immediately. There was no need though. Half the school seemed to have followed them up the stairs, and people were already calling for the teachers.
Unfortunately, Filch got there first. "What have you done to my cat!" he screamed at Harriet.
"Nothing! I just got here!" said Harriet.
Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape arrived moments later. McGonagall gasped.
"What have they done to Mrs. Norris?" cried out Filch.
Dumbledore quickly examined the cat. After a moment, he nodded. "Do not fear Argus, she is not dead. She is only petrified. This can be remedied with a Mandrake Draught. Our greenhouses are even now growing the ingredients to make this."
"But who did this?" demanded Filch.
"Who indeed?" wondered Dumbledore.
"A few minutes ago, I heard a voice!" said Harriet, "When I had my head on the table in the Great Hall! It was saying 'Kill!'"
"Very odd," said Dumbledore.
Morgan suddenly walked up, and the moment she saw the wall and Mrs. Norris she went white.
"Headmaster!" she said, her voice sounding almost sick, "we need to talk about this immediately."
Dumbledore nodded and he quickly began dismissing people.
"There are some things I need to tell you as well!" said Harriet when he seemed to move to dismiss her. Dumbledore nodded, and allowed her to stay, though he made all her friends head back to Gryffindor tower.
"Now, who wants to start?" began Dumbledore.
"I do," said Morgan, "The creature from the Chamber of Secrets is a basilisk."
Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall all seemed visibly shocked at this proclamation. Even Harriet was surprised.
"How can you tell?" demanded Snape, "After all, a basilisk kills those who look at it's eyes, it doesn't petrify them."
"Only if you look in the eyes directly," said Morgan, "If the light from their eyes reflects into your eyes, you only get petrified. And there was water all over the floor. But there is more. A rooster's cry is fatal to a basilisk, and someone just killed all of Hagrid's roosters. And…"
Morgan gave Snape and McGonagall a sad look. Harriet suddenly realized that they didn't know her true identity! Which meant…
"I helped Salazar breed it, back when I was at Hogwarts," said Morgan.
"What? You didn't attend Hogwarts, much less attend Hogwarts when Salazar Slytherin was here!" said McGonagall.
"Actually, she did," said Harriet.
"Morgan Solaire is the reincarnation of Morgana Pendragon," said Dumbledore.
"What!?" shouted Snape and McGonagall simultaneously.
"We can talk about this later," said Dumbledore, "Suffice to say, she has given me good reason to believe that she is here to help us."
"You helped Slytherin breed a basilisk?" demanded McGonagall, "He intended to use it to drive out the muggleborns at this school!"
"He did not want it to hunt the students, that much I do know!" shot back Morgan, "Salazar would never have harmed a student, even a muggleborn! His interest in basilisks was part of his innate connection to serpents in general!"
"Everyone knows that Slytherin tried to drive out the muggleborns with the creature in his Chamber," insisted McGonagall.
"Actually, there is no evidence of that," said Snape.
"Why Slytherin created the monster is not important," said Dumbledore, "What is important is how we deal with this revelation. We need to find out how this creature was released, and what we are going to do about it."
"Dobby!" shouted Harriet, "The house elf Dobby came to our dormitory in Gryffindor tower the first night back at school. He said something terrible was going to happen at school, and that he prevented me from boarding the Express to protect me!"
Everyone turned to look at Harriet.
"How did a house elf get to Hogwarts?" demanded Snape.
"He apparated," said Harriet.
"You cannot apparate on or off of Hogwarts grounds," scoffed Snape.
"You're right, you or I can't, but elf magic works completely differently," said Harriet, "Hermione and I have been studying up on elves. None of the usual restrictions used by Wizards to control the use of magic in an area seems to affect elf magic in the least."
"But that isn't important right now! That voice I heard, I had my head on the table, but I couldn't have heard it if it was up here. The basilisk must have been under the Great Hall at the time for me to hear it," said Harriet.
"You heard it say 'Kill,'" said McGonagall, her face growing grim.
"Yes," said Harriet.
"Harriet," said Morgan softly, "this means you're a Parselmouth."
Harriet gasped. She couldn't believe it. "But… how? I thought that was an inherited trait? Neither of my parents…"
"That scar on your head gave you more than the protection of your mother," said Dumbledore, "It gave you some of the abilities of the man who attacked you. You are a Parselmouth, because Voldemort is a Parselmouth."
"What!?" demanded a very shocked Harriet, "Wait, so part of Voldemort is in my head? Can I get rid of it?"
Morgan gave Dumbledore an absolutely murderous glare. "Possibly," she said, "But I hope you understand that now is not the time to discuss this."
"How could the voice come from below the Great Hall?" wondered Snape, "The dungeons do not extend in that direction."
"The sewers do," said Morgan, "the old sewer drain for the castle used to be directly below where the Great Hall stands now. I don't know how it is arranged now, but the old pipes are almost certainly still there."
"So the Chamber of Secrets is right below the Great Hall?" asked Harriet.
"They must have entered the school through the pipes somewhere," said McGonagall.
"The second floor bathroom!" said Harriet, "We thought it was Myrtle again!"
Dumbledore suddenly looked as if he had been struck. "Myrtle," he whispered.
"Wait, wasn't Myrtle the name of the girl who was killed the last time the Chamber was opened?" asked McGonagall.
"It was," said Dumbledore sadly, "The entrance to the Chamber must be in that bathroom."
"Why wasn't it found before?" asked McGonagall.
"We looked," said Dumbledore, "We found nothing."
"Maybe you need an outside set of eyes," said Morgan.
Dumbledore nodded. "I will contact the Ministry."
"I will escort Miss Potter back to her dormitory," said McGonagall.
"Just one moment Minerva,' said Dumbledore, "Harriet, if any outsiders breach the school grounds again, I'd appreciate it if you would let us know."
"Of course, sir," said Harriet before managing to look down, a bit shamefully, "Sorry, sir."
Dumbledore nodded, and McGonagall led Harriet towards Gryffindor Tower.
After a few moments, McGonagall turned to Harriet. "You knew about Professor Solaire," said McGonagall. It wasn't a question.
"Yes," said Harriet, "She told me when it became clear that Voldemort was looking for the Grail last year."
"And you told Professor Dumbledore…?" asked McGonagall.
"Once I found the Grail," admitted Harriet, "And I'm not sorry. I needed her help to find the Path of the Founders. But Dumbledore didn't want me to find the path. His heart was in the right place, but he was wrong. And if I'd not found the path first Voldemort would have returned."
McGonagall was silent for a while. Finally, she said, "Did you ever think that it might not be your place to make that decision?"
Harriet considered that for a moment. "All four founders, including Slytherin, as well as Percival; they all begged me to get the Grail. Because they thought that Voldemort would get it. And that thought scared the hell out of them."
"But they didn't know that Morgana was going to be helping you," said McGonagall, "I think that would also 'scare the hell' out of them, wouldn't you think?"
Harriet pursed her lips. Finally she just nodded and said, "Yes, it would."
McGonagall sighed. "I don't mean to be so hard on you Harriet. By all accounts I think that Morgan Solaire is a wonderful person. And I think she is an enemy of the dark arts. But this sort of magic is dangerous! Please, be sure to inform the headmaster if anything else like this comes up."
Harriet nodded in agreement. It wasn't so much to ask, wasn't it?
Author's Note: As I said, the Chamber of Secrets plot wouldn't go on as in canon for very long. Morgan completely short-circuits it. There is still stuff involving the Chamber going forward, but you'll see where that goes very soon.
Ginny's magical capacity is definitely something that is designed for a long term payoff. So don't be too surprised when it doesn't really get mentioned for a very long time.