CHAPTER NINE
BACK TO THE CHAMBER
"What?"
"That's why I'm late," Harry explained quickly. "I followed Professors McGonagall and Snape into the headmaster's office. He looks..."
Harry stopped, not sure of himself.
Hermione sighed. "Tell us everything!"
"Okay... First... I went to the Chamber of Secrets...."
"Harry..." Ron said, "we know that! Just skip to the part where you went in a passageway or something."
"Well..." Harry continued, "I found a secret passageway at the base of the statue."
Ron's eyes narrowed as he frowned. "What statue?"
Hermione said, "One of Salazar Slytherin... right?"
Harry nodded. "A large one of him.... The one the basilisk came out of."
"Oh, okay. Continue...." Ron said.
Harry sighed. "Well, there was a staircase when the passageway opened. It led up to the mouth of the statue. Then, I found a table with a glass case plus a velvet pillow—"
"—And the gem was in it!" Hermione said enthusiastically.
Harry and Ron both gave her a questioning look.
"Oops. Sorry...." Hermione mumbled, embarrassed.
"Okay.... I'll go on...." Harry said.
Hermione and Ron both nodded.
"Well...no. The gem wasn't in it. Then...I met this snake...."
Harry explained what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets for about fifteen minutes.
"The light turned into a huge viewing glass or something.... I saw us running... including the rest of the school.... Hogwarts,"—pause—"demolished."
Harry left out seeing Hermione...not so alive.... He didn't want to worry her.
"And then?" Ron asked. Both he and Hermione had sustained themselves after their interruptions and it was the first time he had spoken since.
Harry breathed out as he recalled the rest of the night. "Well...I ran...."
Ron nodded. Harry stole a glance at his other friend. Hermione was listening intently to his story. Probably hoping to catch something that he had missed.
Harry looked back at Ron, then down at the floor, remembering vividly. "There was this singing..." he said, almost a whisper. The voice seemed to ring in his ears as he thought back about it. It seemed as if he were there again....
"Harry. Harry!" Ron said.
"What?" Harry rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, sorry."—Pause—"It was a really strange song...and it didn't have words. It was like a vocalization of a song that should have words...although I didn't hear any." He stopped. "That didn't make any sense at all, right?"
Hermione shrugged. Ron shook his head and said, "But, go on."
Harry's eyes found the floor again and the memories flooded back to him quickly...almost as if he were there again as he retold it to his two friends.
"There was a flash," he said, "and right then...I exited the tunnel. It told it in parseltounge to close...but before it did...I saw her: the person who was singing...."
A flash filled the tunnel. Her hands held a single white flower that extended up toward her eyes.... Her eyes.... Their crystal clear stare bore into his....
The heavy thud of the closing walls shut off the light.
Harry shook his head and slowly looked up at his two friends. "I think that it was my mum...."
And his voice trailed off into the silence that followed.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, unsure of what to say. What could they say...? They weren't there...and had no idea what Harry meant by "his mum".
Finally, Hermione let out a breath in a deep sigh and bit her bottom lip. She looked up at Harry with uncertain eyes. "Harry," she said. "Your mum is—is gone," she finished.
Harry nodded.
Hermione looked miserable for voicing that fact but she went on. "So, how did you see her then? As a ghost?"
Harry shrugged. "No, I don't think she was a ghost...but she wasn't all that real either. It seemed that she was a...soul? I'm not sure."
"Aren't souls and ghosts the same thing?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged. Ron sighed. "So, why would her soul come back here?"
"I dunno," Harry said. "It seemed that she wanted me to understand that the messages were somewhat true."
An uncomfortable silence once again settled over them. For a few minutes Harry sat brooding about the night's events; Hermione pondered her nightmare that she wished to forget; it related too much to Harry's visions; and Ron wondered why his two friends had never told him about their plans and if these so-called visions/dreams were true.
Ron was the first to speak. "Er—what happened after that?"
Harry started again. "I found a crawlspace and it led to a weird opening...walls that slanted up the cell toward the very top of Hogwarts, reaching out to the night...."
And his memories continued again. Hermione had a small shock when Harry related to them that the trapdoor opened into the room next to Snape's. When he got to the strange vision he had, he skipped it, not sure why. Then, he told them about the elixir Snape conjured up, and about Dumbledore.
"Ron?" Harry asked, in the middle of his "story".
"Yeah?"
"Did you see anything strange when you were out with the headmaster? Anything...darkish at all?"
"Well... if you mean literally—yes I did. It was nighttime...." Ron stopped, seeing Hermione's and Harry's faces. "I was joking!" Ron quickly explained. Then, "No, nothing. He just told me I could go when he finished talking and I left. He stayed out though...."
Harry nodded. "Anyway, I came back."
Hermione was tapping her fingers on her knee, thinking. "So..." she said softly, "you tripped on a weird stone that was sticking out of the ground and ignored it?"
"I was trying to get—"
"Hold on, let me finish." She made sure Harry and Ron had nodded before she continued. "Then...you find a passageway out of the Chamber of Secrets that leads to a cell with towering walls and two holes at the top?"—Harry nodded—"You keep going, and get to a trapdoor that leads out to a dungeon...one by Snape's classroom. You find the door to Snape's classroom and enter right when Snape and McGonagall come in. You follow them.... Is that about right?"
Harry nodded again.
Hermione's eyebrows drew closer as she frowned. "Let me see the Marauder's map."
Harry hesitated. "I didn't bring it...." he said.
Hermione shrugged. "Well, then...go get it!"
Harry looked at Ron in bewilderment as he got up. His friend was as baffled as he was.
Harry was gone: he went up the stairs. Ron turned to Hermione. "What are you getting at?" he asked.
Hermione attempted a smile. She couldn't manage it. "You'll see," she whispered.
Harry came back holding the map, which was rolled up. "Okay," he said. "What's wrong?"
Hermione took the map in her hands. "This has all the secret passageway's in the school, right?" They nodded and she continued. "Did you ever see the passageways that you found today, Harry? Did you ever see them on the map?"
Harry knew what she was getting at. "Let me see the map," he said.
She opened it up and peered at it. Then, she laid it on the table.
The passageways were not on it.
Ron breathed out. "So, what does this mean?"
"Do the secret passageways have some kind of magical force that keeps it out of the map?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said.
Then, suddenly, ink rose up from within the map where the tunnels were supposed to be, forming them. It looked as if they were always there.
"Am I hallucinating?" Hermione asked.
"No. They definitely were not there before...."
Hermione shook her head, unnerved. She closed her eyes to think clearly, but the images from her nightmare surfaced again. She blinked and looked at her two friends who were absorbed in the map; they hadn't spotted her odd behavior.
"Oh, wow...." Harry said. "I don't know what to think.... How could this happen?"
Hermione shrugged. "Don't ask me...."
They all pondered the question referring to the map for awhile. Then, Hermione spoke up again.
"Okay, back to the thing about the chamber. I just brought up the thing with the map because I found it weird...but we can figure it out later."
Ron nodded. "So, you heard some weird whispering in the Secret Tunnel?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, 'Come and go, as you may, but the Cavern of Souls shall always stay....'"
His two friends looked nervously around.
"Was it a snake?" Hermione asked.
"No, it was surely English. But it was spoken really soft...like a secret or something."
"But then... it got louder, after speaking something else? Try to remember what it said."
Harry frowned, trying to remember straight. "She.... It was a girl's voice...someone around our age I think."
"So, it wasn't your mum?" Hermione wondered.
"No, couldn't have been."
Ron said, "So, what were the words?"
"Um... 'The future is cold like ice and'...something about sacrifice and love.... Before that it had said something like, 'What lies in front of you eyes is true'...something, something, something.... Then it also told me some 'sacrifice of the past' and 'one cannot go on until one learns to forget'," Harry finished.
Ron was clearly confused while Hermione was thinking hard.
I've never heard about a Cavern of Souls...." she said.
"Neither have I," Ron and Harry said at the same time. They grinned at each other.
Hermione was twisting her hair. "You saw Hogwarts crumble, right?" she asked.
"Yes," Harry replied.
Hermione felt cold. She shivered. Should I tell them about my dream—nightmare?
"Hermione? Are you alright?"
She nodded her head. "Fine.... I'm fine. Just a bit tired...."
"I think we all are," Ron admitted, submitting to a yawn. "Let's all go to bed."
"Yeah...." Hermione tried to give a sleepy smile to them. "I guess we should."
Harry nodded, getting to his feet slowly.
But then, Hermione asked, "Harry? Did the disembodied voice say anything about the truth?"
Harry thought then said, "Yeah, I guess. Something like: 'what lies in front of you is true'—I said that already but, hold on. I think the rest is like—'but can be changed by none other than you'. That's it! I'm pretty sure...." He shrugged. "Perhaps you will understand it better than me."
Hermione nodded. Harry took the Marauder's map in his hands as Ron got up. Hermione smiled and said goodnight to her two friends, then went to her dormitory.
While lying in bed, Hermione thought about what Harry had said and her nightmare. The resemblance in them was uncanny.
Is it true? Can it be true? Hogwarts crumbling, us running.... Why'd I have that nightmare...and what's more.... Can I change it?
Hermione pushed those thoughts out of her mind, trying to get a good night's rest although she knew that would be impossible for her to accomplish.
The last thought stayed with her no matter what she did to forget it all.
Can I change it? Can I?
And while she drifted in between the realms of sleep and awake...she thought someone whispered to her....
* * *
All three of them slept in late the next day. They didn't have to wake up and definitely chose not to. When they finally did open their eyes and drag themselves out of bed...it was lunchtime.
Yawning and groaning, Ron and Harry absentmindedly put on their clothes and got ready for lunch. They met Hermione, who looked just as tired as them, and went down together.
Everyone was already there, jabbering loudly about Halloween.
"Oh, my gosh!" Hermione yelled. "I forgot that Halloween is in two days!"
"It is?" Ron asked, half-awake.
"Must be," Harry answered, yawning.
The trio made their way to Gryffindor table and sat down. They ate their lunches quietly, dumbly staring at everyone around them.
After lunch, they all felt more energetic. At least...they only yawned once in awhile...not constantly.
"Let's go by the lake to talk," Hermione said.
The boys stared at her.
Hermione rolled her eyes. She stiffly whispered, "We don't want anyone hearing about the Secret Tunnel do we? Or that Dumbledore's—"
"Yeah," Ron interrupted. "Okay. Lead the way, Hermione."
They walked out of Hogwarts and down to the lake. It was a clear, nice day. The sun shone brightly on them as they exited the castle and no cloud was in sight. A light breeze made the temperature cooler while leaves rusted on the trees around them.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron found a place to sit under the shade of a tree nearby the lake. Once comfortable, they began to discuss the topic they talked about before.
"Hmm.... Maybe we could look up books about the Cavern of Souls and things related to unwakable sleep," Hermione suggested.
"Do you think the library might have something on that?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure. I wouldn't know where to look...and it hasn't said anything in the books I've read...."
"Are there any books that you haven't read, Hermione?" Ron joked.
"Of course there are," she said dryly. Turning back to Harry, she said, "We can always check."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. Then, he added, "Why don't we go back and check the site again. Maybe we'll find something."
Harry stared at Ron and stiffly shook his head. "No."
"Well...maybe you missed something. You were in a hurry and everything...." Ron said.
"No!" Harry replied once again.
"Well, why not?" Hermione asked, a thoughtful look on her face.
Harry grimaced, wondering why he didn't want to check up on the scene again. "Er...well...why would we even want to go back, and when? Those are two very important variables—"
"We can think up on those later," Hermione stopped him. "There isn't a real big reason why we shouldn't go...is there?" she asked softly.
Harry glared at her. "We'd be crazy to go back—"
"You, Harry. Remember...Hermione and I haven't even set foot in the chamber," Ron interrupted. "And we'd be going for a reason. We wouldn't be crazy...."
"But—"
"Then, I think that we should all investigate," Hermione said sternly.
Harry groaned. "I still don't see why...."
He thought back about the night before. Many strange things had happened...and he wasn't sure if he wanted to face them again. Also...the incident in the Secret Tunnel was fresh in his mind....
"Fine!" He agreed finally, not even sure why he agreed. "When shall we go?"
Hermione thought.
"You see?" Harry said. "Now, the things that I mentioned before come in and everything...."
"Be quiet, Harry," Hermione snapped. "How about Tuesday? Halloween?"
Ron put on a skeptical look. "Why Halloween? There's a feast."
"Exactly. Think about it. Everyone's going to be there at night and I doubt they'll suspect anything if we left. There's so many students...I don't think they'd even see."
"That can backfire on us, Hermione," Harry said. "What if someone does see us? Won't they suspect something weird is going on?"
Hermione shrugged. "I guess we have to risk that. On all the other nights...our schoolmates will be in the Gryffindor Common Room. We would have a harder time to sneak out then.... Plus, everyone will think we went to sleep when they get back...if we aren't back yet."
Ron frowned. "Hermione...are you sure?"
"Pretty sure. No one will know—"
Suddenly, from behind them, a soft voice cut Hermione off: "Know what?"
The three friends jumped and looked behind themselves. A small blond girl with unnaturally white skin looked at them through pale, green/blue eyes.
"Hi, Andeline.... What're you doing here?" Hermione asked. Her voice trailed off as she looked in the girl's eyes.
"I saw you leave...and came out to see what you were doing," she said simply...but just as soft.
"Have you been spying on us?" Ron asked angrily.
"I only heard 'no one will know' something."
"Perhaps you should keep your nose out of other people's businesses!" Ron yelled.
Andeline's calm stare at them made Ron uncomfortable...so he scowled. She cast her eyes down. Then, the corners of her lips curved a little into a small smile; her eyes raised again solemnly, not matching the action of her lips as her piercing stare sent chills up Harry's back.
"I guess I'll go now...." she whispered, looking at the ground again; smile gone.
A breeze brushed her hair back like flowing silk when she turned and walked slowly back toward the school.
A period of silence fell upon the trio as they watched Andeline go with a questioning glance.
Finally, Hermione said, "She creeps me out."
Harry and Ron turned around, facing the lake once more.
"Why?" Harry questioned.
"'Cause she stares at everyone...strangely. I can't describe it. Don't you get chills when she looks at you?"
Harry nodded. "Very odd eyes...."
Ron shrugged. "She needs to learn to mind her own business though...." he said dryly, temper back.
"Ron," Hermione replied, exasperated, "she's only eleven."
"First year.... Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. Plus...she doesn't have any friends," Hermione said, obviously still arguing with Ron.
Harry looked back again. He didn't really think that she'd still be out of the school...but she was standing by the entrance. Andeline had a sorrowful look upon her face, light hair blowing around her pale face. For a second, Harry mistook her for a ghost.
Shivering, Harry turned back to his two arguing friends. He had a squirming feeling in his stomach...like there was something wrong: something going on that he didn't know about....
He was dimly aware of Hermione saying, "Actually, no one talks to her. It's frightening. They don't even look at her: notice that she exists. She always acts solemn. She always watches me in the halls...." Hermione rubbed her forehead uncomfortably.
"So," Ron said, "she's in Gryffindor?"
Hermione nodded.
"That's strange. I don't remember her getting sorted."
Hermione scoffed. "That's because you don't pay attention—wait. I don't remember either...."
Ron put on a 'I told you so' look; Hermione giggled.
Harry sighed. "So...we stay with this plan that we have for going back?"
His two friends nodded.
* * *
Excitement built up as Halloween neared. Hagrid had grown extremely large pumpkins as usual, and they were carved into jackallanterns for the feast. More decorations were also put up in the Great Hall.
Nothing else was different in the two days that followed except that Harry received a letter from Sirius. With Hermione and Ron, Harry wrote about what was going on in Hogwarts...everything that they had found out and Hedwig was sent out again, carrying the reply.
Harry watched his snowy owl fly into the sky where the sun was setting. Hermione pulled him aside. "I think that we should go to the feast and then sneak away so that they see us first," she said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"So they see us and won't think we're sick or something...."
"Okay. Alright," Harry said.
Tuesday went by quickly because Harry didn't have any classes with Snape. He had Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Charms.
In Herbology, they had been repotting Ickleshires: small, green plants that made you itch if you touched them. Nonetheless...they were used in medicine and considered very valuable.
Hagrid had been very joyful because the hippogriffs were due in a few days. So, the students spent their class preparing proper food and shelter for the newborns.
In Charms they had started to learn the charm to disorient giants. Harry highly suspected this to be training in case of an attack. Havoc reigned in the classroom when those who succeeded in performing the spell shot the jet of aqua light far too near their classmates on accident. Many spent their class time dodging spells.
Before the feast...the students went up to the dormitory to "tidy up". Harry slipped the invisibility cloak in his pocket once again—for their "visit" to the chamber.
Then, Ron, Hermione, and Harry made their way down to the Great Hall.
It was an amazing sight. The bats—which were live—fluttered around excitedly while spider webs hung endlessly around. The carved pumpkins shone with an eerie orange glow, illuminating the walls and casting strange shadows as ghosts and skeletons entertained the arriving students.
"Wow!" Some first years were apparently marveling at the scene.
Harry grinned. The first time that he had been to a Halloween feast, Professor Quirrel had let in a mountain troll.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat down at Gryffindor table, waiting for Hermione to make up her mind about when to leave.
Harry turned and saw Vetil at the end of the table. He looked happy enough, and Harry was glad the feisty first year was not coming to bother them. But then, he spotted trouble as some Slytherins made their way toward him.
Harry tapped Hermione's shoulder. "Looks like Pansy's going to distress Vetil over there."
"Huh? Why?"
Ron, who had heard, looked over. "Uh-oh."
"Come on. Let's go see what the trouble is...." Hermione said, looking suspiciously at the Slytherins who had scowls on their faces.
They got up and walked over.
"Vetil, come on," Harry urged.
But the Slytherins had arrived.
Pansy crossed her arms and glared at the Gryffindors. "Where's that little blond girl who was in the Slytherin Dormitory today?" she asked poisonously.
They all stared at Vetil. "I saw you socializing with her today. How'd she get in? And why was she saying all that weird stuff?" Pansy questioned again.
"Andeline?" Harry voiced his thoughts on accident.
"It doesn't concern you, Potter," she spat. "I don't care who she is...I just need to know what she meant."
"What'd she say?" Ron asked.
"She was saying a lot of crazy things about death and everything!" Pansy snapped. She turned on Ron. "And she mentioned you!"
"Me?" Ron chuckled. "I think you're touched in the head...."
Harry was looking at the other Slytherins. They obviously didn't know what Pansy meant.
"Filthy Gryffindors," Pansy sneered. "Just stay on your side of this school...." she said viciously.
"You can't tell us what to—" Ron started.
"Ron." Hermione pulled him aside. "Leave it. They're going."
The group of Slytherins smirked and left, walking back toward their own table.
Ron rolled his eyes.
Harry, bewildered, turned back to tell his friends that the Slytherins had no idea what Pansy was saying when something cold brushed against his arm. He turned just in time to see Andeline fade into the crowd.
* * *
"You warned her?" Vetil asked Andeline softly outside of the Great Hall.
"What's wrong with that?"
"I don't think that's right...."
"It doesn't matter. She didn't listen."
Vetil sighed. "You knew that it could not be changed...yet you told her...when she could see you?"
Andeline nodded. "Maybe it could've. I don't know. I don't work the future...or any time."
"Andeline...you know that the times cannot be changed by us. Only the chosen can...and unfortunately...we do not know who they are."
Andeline nodded. She and Vetil entered the Great Hall (although she didn't plan to stay any longer) again and to the girl...it seemed that the night would be full of misery.
* * *
Hermione, Ron, and Harry left after the incident with the Slytherins. As they exited the Great Hall, Harry pulled out the invisibility cloak and fanned it over all three of them...checking that their shoes were covered. Then, slowly and silently, they made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"What if Myrtle's there?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Er...we can talk to her really fast?" Harry suggested stupidly.
Ron shook his head. "If we just insult her...she'll leave."
"But, Ron! That's cruel! And we'll make her cry! She'll flood the bathroom again!" Hermione squealed.
Ron shrugged. "Then...we can tell her we're in a hurry."
All three of them agreed to that and the subject once again fell on the strange white stone outside of the Secret Tunnel.
"So...are you sure it doesn't look evil?"
"Yes! It looked more angelic than evil!"
"Okay...because if it's bad...we should go and get a teacher or something," Hermione added.
"I'm sure it's not a Dark stone, even if I'm not sure what it is."
Silence fell upon them as they made their way down a first floor corridor. The door to the girls' bathroom came in sight and they quietly slipped in.
* * *
Andeline watched the three of then go down the hallway as they put on an invisibility cloak. She sighed.
They know not of the danger they're in....
Andeline looked around the dimly lit corridor. She would follow them. They could not get into harms way.
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall came out of the Great Hall. She ran past Andeline without a look towards the dungeons.
Andeline stared at the professor's leaving figure. Then, the whispering gathered around her, closing in.
Stop! She thought. I'm doing the best I can! I will not let our future have perished in vain! Trust me!
The whispering abruptly stopped. The girl looked behind her, then around the dark halls. Andeline turned and walked down the hallway' a strange light around her, her blond hair fluttering ghostly behind her.
* * *
"Myrtle?" Harry asked nervously.
A ghost of a plump girl with glasses floated out.
"What?" she asked coldly.
Ron sighed. He muttered in Harry's ear: "Why'd she have to be here?"
"Hi, Myrtle," Hermione said sheepishly. "We came to see you...."
"You're lying," the ghost said.
"Yeah! We are! We're in a hurry so don't bother us! Go back to haunting your toilet or something!" Ron said sharply.
Harry and Hermione looked angrily at Ron who shrugged.
Abruptly, Myrtle's eyes started to fill.
"No! No! Myrtle!" Hermione tried vainly to make the ghost feel better but Myrtle bawled and disappeared through a wall into her haunted stall.
Hermione turned to glare at Ron. "You lost your temper!" she whispered shrilly.
Ron mouthed "sorry", raising his shoulders in a shrug.
Harry motioned them toward the sink. There was nothing to do about Myrtle now. Perhaps they could apologize later.
As they went toward it, Harry eyes the tap on which the snake was carved. He hissed, "Open...." when they had gotten to it.
Ron looked bored (he had seen this happen before) while Hermione watched open mouthed in amazement.
The pipe was revealed and all Hermione did was stare at it.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
She blinked. "Oh! Yeah! What now?"
Ron stepped toward the opening. "We go in."
"Don't worry. You slide down somewhere under the school; there aren't any Devil's Snares down there," Harry reassured her.
Hermione nodded.
"Okay. I'll go first," Harry added.
He got in and slid into the darkness. Ron followed closely. Hermione hesitated a moment, then she also entered.
"Lumos," they all whispered at the bottom. The ends of their wands flickered on.
They walked forward holding the wands above their heads to see more in front of them. After a period of silence...they came across the wall of rocks.
"Here...go through the hole...."
The trio quickly squeezed through the opening. They stared at the ongoing tunnel. Nodding to each other...they ventured on.
"Are we almost there?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded just as the wall of the Chamber came into view. The entrance to the chamber stood before them.
Harry walked forward. He saw the jewel-eyed snakes and stared intently at them. They looked real enough.
"Open...." Harry hissed in parseltounge.
There was a familiar rumbling as the wall parted, revealing the Chamber of Secrets. Only Harry had been this far before.
Ron and Hermione both stepped forward cautiously. They gaped at the chamber; both looking equally surprised with awe.
Harry almost smiled, but in the light of what was happening...he simply stepped in. Ron and Hermione followed.
"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said dryly.
A/N: Sorry it took so long. It'll make sense in the end...hopefully. If this is a bit confusing—moving too fast—tell me. I try to slow it down some...but it's kind of hard. I'll try to do better...I promise! Please review.