I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC.

Hello guys, Badger here. I actually finished this chapter sooner then I was expecting. I was planning on publishing it tomorrow morning, but thought I'll just publish it now, seeing as it is done and I can relax my brain, so I am ready for my College Work tomorrow.

Anyway, I am glad to see the previous chapter was very well recieved. A few people even raised a few points. One point was about the fact that Dumbledore could have gotten the cure from ST Mungos or something, which is a point but, what do we know? The other point was why no one asked Moaning Myrtle died a lot sooner then they did in Canon. I don't really have an answer for that. I guess they just didn't connect the dots until they found out about the Basilisk and speaking to Aragog. But, who knows.

There have even been questions about who James is and if he is possibly related to Harry in some shape or form. I have news for you...you will find out, sometime soon. I can't tell when exactly, but it will be sooner then you think. His secrets will be revealed and there may be a few more surprises along the way, so look out for them. Until then, please enjoy this current chapter.

Chapter 23

A blast from the past

It was about a week after the attack and the students were slowly, but surely, getting used to the new rules and restrictions. Students weren't allowed to go anywhere alone, they had to have at least one person with them and, once curfew started, they were not allowed to leave their Common Room, until the next morning, for there would be extreme punishment if they are caught outside during curfew. All over the castle, there were patrols of Aurors, who were taking orders from Amelia Bones, looking out for what may be behind the attacks and standing guard outside Common Rooms during the evenings to make sure no one tried to leave. Augusta Longbottom and Ignatius Greengrass were also in the Castle, offering whatever help they could give with the investigations. Everyone seemed to be happy that something was being done, feeling safer now that they have patrols roaming the corridors. The only person who wasn't happy with what was happening, was Dumbledore, but that was to be expected. Harry was currently sat in between James and Luna's beds, talking to them. He wasn't sure if the two of them could hear, but he thought he could at least try. Even though Harry didn't know Luna as well as James seemed to, he still spoke to her about anything that came to mind. Her father had also been informed of the attack. The kind, yet crazy, man was really distraught with what happened.

Harry had spent most of his free time in the Medical Wing. Sometimes he would just talk to them, other times he would read books on Magical Creatures, hoping to find something. No matter how many books they researched, their investigations came up negative, making Harry wonder where they haven't checked, or if there was something they had missed. Sometimes he refused to eat or sleep, just so he could find any information that could be helpful, the dark rings under his eyes told them how much sleep he was getting. It made the others worry. Harry's behaviour had also changed slightly, since the attack. He had become short tempered and more snappy, which they assumed was because of the attack and his lack of sleep. Most of the students chose to keep out of his way, due to this behaviour, though some did give their apologies. Something that surprised Harry, however, was Hermione. He expected the girl to be gloating, now that her 'competition' was currently out of the picture. Harry was interrupted when the doors opened, where he saw Susan walk in.

"Hey Susan" Harry said weakly

"Hey Harry" Susan replied, looking at him in concern "Are you okay?"

"I…I don't know Susan" Harry answered, looking down "James has helped me in many ways, some little, some large…and now, when he needs my help, I am unable to do anything…I just…I just feel helpless!"

Susan wrapped Harry into a hug, where she felt him shaking. Though he was crying, he was getting close to doing so. The two stayed that way, for a few more moments, until Harry began to calm down and his shaking lessened.

"You aren't helpless Harry" Susan said comfortingly "you are doing everything you can to find what did this…that's more then what Dumbledore has done…however, whilst I am sure he would appreciate your help, he wouldn't appreciate you starving yourself, so come on…dinner started a few minutes ago, lets get you something to eat"

"I ate not too long ago" Harry replied, dismissively

"Really?" Susan asked, doubtfully "Tell me…when was the last time you ate a proper meal and not just a snack to go"

Harry didn't reply, he just sat in silence, looking down at the floor.

"That's what I thought" Susan continued "Come on…James and Luna will be fine"

Harry sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. He allowed Susan to pull him up to his feet, where they walked in silence to the Great Hall. As soon as they arrived, all eyes turned their way, which made Harry roll his eyes. He chose to ignore them, when Fred and George approached them.

"Hey Harry" Fred said

"How are you holding up?" George added

"I've been better, but I should be fine" Harry sighed "What about you…is Ginny doing any better?"

Ginny hadn't been doing well since Mrs Norris was attacked and she seemed to look worse after news about James and Luna were attacked. Now she was rarely seen, choosing to spend most of her time, hiding in her dorm room. Whenever she did make an appearance, she looked worse then Harry did. She looked tired and weak, her hair a mess, dark rings around her eyes and her complexion more pale than usual.

"We don't know" George sighed

"She definitely hasn't been herself" Fred added "We have tried talking to her, but she has snapped and yelled at us"

"That just isn't her" George continued "We want to get her checked, and have informed Mrs Bones, as well as our father"

"However, because of the investigations, they are currently unavailable to help" Fred explained

"Hopefully she will get help soon" Susan spoke up "Do you have any idea why she might be the way she is?"

"We suspect she is upset about Luna" Fred replied

"The two of them were close friends when they were younger" George added

"We assume that Luna being petrified has affected her" Fred finished

"Well, if you need any help, let us know" Susan replied

"We will keep that in mind" The Twins nodded in unison "See you guys around"

The Twins headed back to the Gryffindor table, with Harry and Susan heading to the Slytherin table. When Susan first sat at the Slytherin table, students like Malfoy kicked up a fuss. Harry isn't sure what Susan did, but now the blonde ponce has given her a wide berth since then. The two of them sat next to Daphne and Astoria, who looked up upon noticing their approach.

"So, you were able to get him to eat?" Daphne asked, in a mix of amusement and concern

"I had to force him to, but yeah" Susan nodded

Harry said nothing, he just grumbled, as he piled some food on his plate.

"I know that you want to help James and Luna Harry" Daphne said softly "I do, as well, but you shouldn't neglect yourself…before curfew starts, we will help you look through the books"

Harry sent a small smile of appreciation to Daphne, before he continued to eat, not wanting to talk to anyone for the time being.

…

Students Attacked In Hogwarts!

That was the headline, that Lucius Malfoy read in the Daily Prophet. A smirk made his way onto his face, until he read who was attacked. He knew that, if James was given the cure and the boy knew that he was responsible, the blood feud would be put into fruition and Lucius knew it would be the end of the Malfoy line. They wouldn't stand a chance, even though James is the only living Badger. Lucius would have to figure something out. In the meantime, it was time to start phase two of the plan. He will wait a few days, before doing so, but it should avert any suspicions away from him.

…

Gilderoy Lockhart was feeling quite miffed. There were dozens of Aurors around the castle and none of them listened to anything he told them. He had several ideas on ways to catch whatever is responsible but none of them had agreed with what he said. He even told Amelia Bones about his ideas, but she turned him away almost immediatley. How disrespectful. He was the 'legendary' Lockhart. They should be bowing and doing as he instructs. Lockhart was sure he could turn some things in his favour, but he would have to wait. Maybe, should the Chamber be found, he could take credit for it. Then they will listen to him. All in good time.

…

That evening, Harry, Daphne and Susan were making their way back to their Common Rooms, before curfew started. They had found a few more Magical Creatures that could be responsible for the attacks, but more research will have to be done, before they can take any kind of action. As they were walking, however, they found the corridor to be incredibly damp with water, that was coming from the girls bathroom. They decided to investigate, where they found all the sink taps were left running, which was overflowing and running water all across the bathroom. Their attention was switched, when they heard Moaning Myrtle crying slightly, who noticed their presence.

"So, you have come to throw something else at me?" She asked

"W-Why would we throw something at you?" Harry responded, raising an eyebrow

"Don't ask me!" Myrtle snapped slightly "But I was here, minding my own business, where someone decided to throw a book at me…just because I am a ghost, don't assume that things like that, don't hurt my feelings"

"Can you tell us what happened?" Daphne asked

"I was just in the U-Bend, thinking about death" Myrtle shrugged "When the book came flying through the pipe…I immediately set off the taps and threw the book back at whoever threw it at me, to scare them off…I didn't see who it was, but the book is there, if you want to look at it"

Myrtle pointed towards a plain, black book, lying near the sinks, before she disappeared back into the toilet stalls. Harry approached the book and picked it up, drying it off as best as he could, with his sleeve.

"What is so special about this book, that someone would throw it into a toilet stall?" Susan asked

"I don't know" Harry replied, his scar prickling slightly as he looked at it, though he ignored it for the time being "I will look into it later, but we should get going, curfew is about to start…I'll let you know if I find anything"

Daphne and Susan nodded, as they made their way back out, Harry pocketing the book. Harry wasn't sure what it was about the book, but it made him feel slightly repulsed by it.

…

When Harry entered his dorm room, he immediatley put the book on the small desk by his bed. He sat down and checked the book over, where he found a name written in golden letters: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. Not recognising the name, he opened the book, which he now guessed to be a diary of some kind, to find the pages were completely blank. This made him more confused, as to why it was thrown away in the first place. Harry grabbed a quill and some ink, where he allowed a drop to splatter onto the page, to see if anything would happen. To his surprise, the ink completely disappeared, leaving a blank page behind once more. He checked the other pages, to see nothing had bled through. He twirled his quill slightly, before he wrote:

Hello

Harry did feel kind of stupid about doing it, but he had a feeling it might be a two way diary. It may have been crazy, but…well…he was friends with James Badger, who Harry suspected wasn't entirely sane. He watched as the ink disappeared, where it was replaced by something else. It read:

Hello, who are you?

Harry couldn't believe his theory was correct. Quickly putting more ink on his quill, he responded.

My name is Harry Potter, who are you?

It is nice to meet you Harry Potter, I am Tom Riddle

Harry was buzzing. While he did want to ask about how the diary was made and how it works, he could always find out later, he had to concentrate on matters at hand. Hastily writing in the diary, he asked his next question.

Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets

Yes

Can you tell me?

No

Harry looked at the answer, before he threw his quill into the ink pot, frustrated. He hoped he could use the diary to find the answers he needs. He was about to shut the diary closed, when more words appeared on the page.

But, I can show you

Harry quickly picked up his quill and wrote a response.

How, can you do that?

Let me take you back fifty years ago

Before Harry could respond, the diary violently flipped through the pages, causing Harry to jump back. After a few seconds, the diary stopped flipping the pages, where the date, 13th June appeared in the top right corner. The next thing Harry knew, the diary let off a bright light, causing him to cover his eyes. When the light cleared, he removed his arm from his eyes, to see he was standing in one of the many Hogwarts corridors. What was most shocking though, was that he was in colour, whereas everything around him was in black and white, like the old classical movies he had seen the Dursleys watching on the tv. He wasn't sure what happened, so made his way down the corridor, where he came across a staircase, where he saw an older boy waiting at the top.

"Hello, could you possibly tell me what is going on around here?" Harry asked

The boy didn't respond, he just continued to look up the other staircase. As Harry continued to approach, a small moment of realisation hit him.

"Are you Tom Riddle?" He asked, the boy still not responding "What is it you wanted to show me? Can you hear me?"

No matter what Harry said, the boy wouldn't answer. Harry looked to where the boy was looking, where he saw a group of people making their way down the stairs, four of them carrying a stretcher. As they got closer, Harry saw that the person laying on it was covered in a linen sheet, where their arm was limply hanging out the side. A small chill went up Harry's spine as they passed. Tom Riddle stared as they passed, where their attention was taken away by a familiar voice.

"Riddle!"

Harry and the boy, who was now confirmed to be Tom, turned to see Dumbledore, at the top of the stairs, gesturing for Tom to come up.

"Professor Dumbledore" Tom said respectfully, as he made his way up, Harry following curiously behind

"It isn't wise to be roaming around at this hour Tom" Dumbledore said firmly

"Yes Professor…" Tom replied, timidly "I suppose, I…I just wanted to see for myself if the rumours were true"

"I am afraid to say that they are Tom" Dumbledore sighed "They are true!"

"And what has been said about the school?" Tom asked "I do not have a home to go to…they wouldn't really close the school, would they sir?"

"I can understand your concern Tom" Dumbledore nodded gently "but, I am afraid that Headmaster Dippet may have no choice…"

"Sir" Tom interrupted "If it was all stopped, if the person responsible was caught…would it stop the school from closing?"

Dumbledore tilted his head slightly, as he looked at Tom, a small look of suspicion of his face. He hesitated for a moment, before he spoke.

"Is…Is there something, you wish to tell me?" He asked

"No sir, nothing" Tom replied

Dumbledore looked at Tom, the look still on his face. Silence reigned amongst the two for a few moments, with Harry watching nervously, wondering what was about to happen. After another moment passed, the suspicious look on Dumbledore's vanished and he nodded.

"Very well then" He said "Off you go"

"Goodnight sir" Tom replied, politely, before he walked off

Harry immediately followed after Tom, wondering if there was anything else he needed to see. He was wondering where Tom was going, as he made his way down corridors that were nowhere near the Slytherin Common Room. Eventually, they were down on one of the lower floors of the castle, where Tom approached a door, taking out his wand, as he did so. Tom put his hand on the handle, taking a moment to make sure no one was watching, before he forcefully opened the door.

"Evening Hagrid" He said

Harry looked on in shock, as he saw a much younger version of Hagrid, quickly shut some kind of box, with a slam and turn to Tom. Harry wasn't completely sure what was going on, but he felt like he wasn't going to like it.

"I'm going to have to turn you in Hagrid" Tom said, his wand pointed at Hagrid "Don't get me wrong, I don't believe you meant for it to kill anyone, but…"

"You can't!" Hagrid interrupted, whilst Harry watched in shock "You don't understand!"

"The dead girls parents will be here tomorrow" Tom continued, as if he wasn't interrupted "The least that Hogwarts can do, is make sure that what killed their daughter is slaughtered!"

"It wasn't him" Hagrid pleaded "Aragog wouldn't kill anyone…ever!"

Harry watch the exchange, in shock. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Was Hagrid really responsible?

"Monsters do not make good pets Hagrid" Tom replied, sternly "now, stand aside!"

"No!" Hagrid said, defiantly

"I said stand aside, Hagrid!"

"NO!" Hagrid exclaimed

"Cistem Aperio!" Tom yelled, a jet of light hitting the box, causing the lid to go flying off

After a short moment, a spider, the size of a car tire, crawled out, causing Harry to jump out the way, in both shock and slight fear, as it passed. Tom then aimed his wand at the spider.

"Arania Exumai!"

Another jet of light was fired at the spider, which missed, leaving a scorch mark on the floor, as the spider escaped. Hagrid looked like he was about to intervene, when Tom pointed his wand back at him.

"I can't you go" Tom said "They will have to snap your wand for this Hagrid…you'll be expelled!"

Harry wanted to do something, but before he could do anything, he was hit with another bright light, which caused him to cover his eyes again. When it cleared, he looked to see he was back in his dorm room, standing by the bedroom door, the diary in his hand. He stared at the diary, as he thought about everything he just witnessed. He couldn't quite believe it either. Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets? He was responsible for everything that happened? He couldn't be. Then again, Harry hadn't seen him around much since Mrs Norris was attacked and hasn't even seen him at all, since James and Luna was attacked. He didn't want to believe that Hagrid was responsible, but after seeing what was shown to him, he didn't know what to think.

…

There we are guys, new chapter, I'm sure you know how it goes by this point. Feel free to leave a review if you wish.

We had a small moment between Harry and Susan at the start. A lot of people are rooting for the characters to get together. Remember the moment between James and Luna with the Thestrals, this is one of those scenarios. The description of his behaviour change, is setting up the kind of character I want him to become: a ferocious leader, who gives no second chances, with James acting as his right hand man and brother in arms [possibly something more, depending on the pairings]. This will take affect in future years, with fourth and fifth year in particular.

The diary has also been found. I'm not going to lie, the section with Harry writing in the diary was my least favourite to write, because it just felt weird for some reason. Why? I don't know. The whole flashback scene was kept practically the same because, there are some things that shouldn't and can't be changed to much. Anyway, I will admit, moments like Harry interacting with Tom, who is Voldemort as Harry Potter fans know, makes me look forward to their future interactions, as Harry is a Slytherin and not a Gryffindor.

Anyway, the next few chapters are in their draft stages. A few changes will be made, though nothing major, though there will be a massive secret reveal about one of the characters: I won't say who, but a certain character has family ties and is related to a certain family, if you have any ideas, please leave a review with your guesses.

One final thing, I checked the poll once more. It still doesn't look good for one of the elves.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will see you in the next one.

Badger out.