[A/N. I realised a mistake I've made. Earlier in the story I had Gilderoy
calling people by their first names when he was referring to them in the
text (not speaking to them), and then I had him referring to them by their
last names. I have decided that when Lockhart refers to them, he would be
more likely to call them by their last names, almost as if to assert to
himself that he was superior to them.]
Chapter nine: My happiness as I think the culprit has been found.
Over the next few days I kept as close an eye on both Snape and Harry as I could, but neither seemed to be acting particularly strange. "You know," I told Flitwick as we made our way to the Christmas meal. "I think perhaps the Chamber is completely closed. I think the guilty party heard I was on the case and got scared."
"I'd like to think that was the case Gilderoy." Flitwick said in his squeaky voice. "But I've got a strange feeling it's simply the calm before the storm."
"The storm?" I repeated looking up at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. "I didn't know a storm was coming."
Flitwick didn't comment, and we took our places. There weren't a lot of students sticking around for Christmas, something which I couldn't say I blamed them for. Even though I was pretty sure my very presence at Hogwarts was the reason behind the chamber's closing, the students weren't to know this, and it could be possible they thought the chamber was still open. I noticed that both Harry and his friend Ron were there, and I glanced over at the Slytherin table to see Malfoy and his friends making fun of Harry. I smiled slightly. Whilst cruel Malfoy's impersonation was pretty funny.
"So Gilderoy," McGonagall said to me as we began our meal. "I noticed there haven't been any more advertisements for the duelling club up around school."
"Well Minerva, I decided it was prudent to give it a rest for a bit..after the shock of the last one and all." I explained.
"Ye-es." McGonagall said slowly, looking thoughtful. "It probably was."
I frowned angrily to myself as I noticed that there was a slight smile playing around her lips. I decided to wipe the smile off. "Minerva, I must say I think that perhaps the chamber has been closed." I told her.
A grim look came over her face. "Why do you say that Gilderoy?" She asked.
"Well there have been no further attacks have there Minerva?" I replied cheerily. "No, I think you'll find the person, or persons, responsible was too scared to keep opening the chamber with me here. I suppose they've read all my books and know what I can do to them if I had caught them."
"Ah, but you didn't catch them, did you Gilderoy?" Snape asked silkily, leaning over.
"As good as!" I protested. "Mark my words people- the chamber is sealed."
*****
Nothing really happened until after Christmas. The Christmas period itself went fairly quietly. With only a few students left in the school there wasn't really very much for us teachers to do, so I used the time to catch up on my fanmail, which had been very much in the rears. I made my way around the school humming or singing happily. I was pretty sure that Dumbledore would not be able to refuse the raise I was planning on asking for, for the next year, what with me closing the chamber and all.
I was on my way to the Quidditch pitch for the match with Gryffindor playing Hufflepuff when I was nearly bowled over my McGonagall as she raced towards the pitch.
"Watch out Minerva." I said, hiding my anger and managing to make it sound like I was joking. "I could have fallen into that puddle and ruined these lovely robes. Sunshine Orange they're called."
"I don't give a damn about your robes Gilderoy." McGonagall spat. "Another person has been petrified."
"My Merlin!" I said shocked. "I thought I'd stopped all that nonsense."
"Clearly not." McGonagall said, her face drawn and pale. "Needless to say Gilderoy if the culprit is not caught we are going to have to close down the school. We can't put our students in such danger. Now excuse me, I've got to go down and cancel the game." And she hurried off.
"Minerva?" I called after her.
"Yes?" she asked impatiently.
"Who was the victim?" I asked.
"Hermione Granger." McGonagall replied, and she hurried down to the pitch.
For my part I went straight to my office and sat down. I didn't think Harry would petrify his own friend, but then people do strange things when they're corrupted. Although it did occur to me that it was more likely to be Snape than Harry. I sighed and decided I had better continue my vigil even more rigorously than before. Later that night I was sitting in the staffroom with most of the teachers (at least those who weren't on patrol in the corridors) when Dumbledore came in. His usually twinkling eyes weren't so merry.
"I've got a few announcements to make, and I decided to make them in person." Dumbledore said to us.
I put aside my copy of "Heroes of the Dark Force" (my name is mentioned on page 348 for those who are interested), and looked at him. He had big news no doubt.
"Firstly, Hagrid is going away for a little while. We'll have a replacement gamekeeper to keep on top of things whilst he is away. The thing is the ministry believe that perhaps he could be responsible for the chamber's being opened again..I however do not believe this for a second. Hagrid has my full confidence, and as you all know him pretty well I am sure none of you will believe these rumors either. The culprit is still out there and I expect you to act like this." Dumbledore explained. "And secondly I am afraid I also must be leaving."
"ALBUS!" McGonagall burst out. "How can you think of leaving at a time like this when we need you the most?"
Dumbledore put up his hand to stop her speaking. "Minerva, this is not my idea. It seems the school governors feel I've well..lost my touch." Dumbledore explained. "They have called for my resignation, and I have had to give it. But rest assured help is no further than an owl away should you require it. In the meantime I urge you all to be extremely vigilant."
I glanced at Snape out of the corner of my eye. If he were the one opening the Chamber this news would be very welcome to him. To my surprise he looked shocked, upset and worried. I frowned in confusion. This was beginning to get to me. If it wasn't Snape and it weren't Harry, then who was the one opening the Chamber of Secrets? Maybe the ministry had the right idea after all- maybe it was Hagrid? After all they wouldn't take him away unless they were pretty certain he was behind the attacks, would they?
"Goodday, and goodnight." Dumbledore said, and he bowed very low to us, and then turned and left the room. There was silence for a moment and then an uproar. Clearly most of the room believed that Dumbledore's opinion of Hagrid was the correct one, and that the chamber was not closed at all.
"Who's going to stop this if not Dumbledore?" asked elderly Smallville, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher who was thinking of retiring soon.
"The most important thing here is the students." McGonagall said. "They've got to feel comfortable here, and therefore things should carry on as usual." I tuned out. After all if Hagrid was the one responsible, and he was no longer here then there was nothing to worry about.
*****
McGonagall's words echoed in my ears as I entered my classroom a few mornings later. I had noticed that the other teachers seemed to have taken Dumbledore's words to heart- that the culprit was still at large. I however, was sure that the mystery was solved. After Hagrid left there had been no more attacks, and I had full confidence that the ministry wouldn't take someone away unless they were very sure they had been the one to blame.
I surveyed the class with a sigh. "Come now! Why all these long faces?" I demanded.
They all gave me annoyed looks, and I felt my temper begin to rise. I took a deep breath to stop it. "Don't you people realise that the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away."
"Says who?" Demanded Dean Thomas.
"My dear young man," I said slowly, hoping I didn't sound as annoyed as I felt. "The Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty."
"Oh, yes he would." Argued Ron.
I felt like slapping him, but I managed to keep a big smile on my face. "I flatter myself I know a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr. Weasley." I said.
Ron looked like he was going to argue the point, but Harry muttered something to him which made him stop.
"Right. On with today's lesson, we're talking about my experiences in "Gadding with Ghouls" today." I said cheerily. I wasn't going to bother about being worried about anything like the other teachers: in my opinion Hagrid was the perfect culprit, and it would have only been a little while before I came to that conclusion, and shifted my suspicions from Snape and Harry to the gamekeeper.
Chapter nine: My happiness as I think the culprit has been found.
Over the next few days I kept as close an eye on both Snape and Harry as I could, but neither seemed to be acting particularly strange. "You know," I told Flitwick as we made our way to the Christmas meal. "I think perhaps the Chamber is completely closed. I think the guilty party heard I was on the case and got scared."
"I'd like to think that was the case Gilderoy." Flitwick said in his squeaky voice. "But I've got a strange feeling it's simply the calm before the storm."
"The storm?" I repeated looking up at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. "I didn't know a storm was coming."
Flitwick didn't comment, and we took our places. There weren't a lot of students sticking around for Christmas, something which I couldn't say I blamed them for. Even though I was pretty sure my very presence at Hogwarts was the reason behind the chamber's closing, the students weren't to know this, and it could be possible they thought the chamber was still open. I noticed that both Harry and his friend Ron were there, and I glanced over at the Slytherin table to see Malfoy and his friends making fun of Harry. I smiled slightly. Whilst cruel Malfoy's impersonation was pretty funny.
"So Gilderoy," McGonagall said to me as we began our meal. "I noticed there haven't been any more advertisements for the duelling club up around school."
"Well Minerva, I decided it was prudent to give it a rest for a bit..after the shock of the last one and all." I explained.
"Ye-es." McGonagall said slowly, looking thoughtful. "It probably was."
I frowned angrily to myself as I noticed that there was a slight smile playing around her lips. I decided to wipe the smile off. "Minerva, I must say I think that perhaps the chamber has been closed." I told her.
A grim look came over her face. "Why do you say that Gilderoy?" She asked.
"Well there have been no further attacks have there Minerva?" I replied cheerily. "No, I think you'll find the person, or persons, responsible was too scared to keep opening the chamber with me here. I suppose they've read all my books and know what I can do to them if I had caught them."
"Ah, but you didn't catch them, did you Gilderoy?" Snape asked silkily, leaning over.
"As good as!" I protested. "Mark my words people- the chamber is sealed."
*****
Nothing really happened until after Christmas. The Christmas period itself went fairly quietly. With only a few students left in the school there wasn't really very much for us teachers to do, so I used the time to catch up on my fanmail, which had been very much in the rears. I made my way around the school humming or singing happily. I was pretty sure that Dumbledore would not be able to refuse the raise I was planning on asking for, for the next year, what with me closing the chamber and all.
I was on my way to the Quidditch pitch for the match with Gryffindor playing Hufflepuff when I was nearly bowled over my McGonagall as she raced towards the pitch.
"Watch out Minerva." I said, hiding my anger and managing to make it sound like I was joking. "I could have fallen into that puddle and ruined these lovely robes. Sunshine Orange they're called."
"I don't give a damn about your robes Gilderoy." McGonagall spat. "Another person has been petrified."
"My Merlin!" I said shocked. "I thought I'd stopped all that nonsense."
"Clearly not." McGonagall said, her face drawn and pale. "Needless to say Gilderoy if the culprit is not caught we are going to have to close down the school. We can't put our students in such danger. Now excuse me, I've got to go down and cancel the game." And she hurried off.
"Minerva?" I called after her.
"Yes?" she asked impatiently.
"Who was the victim?" I asked.
"Hermione Granger." McGonagall replied, and she hurried down to the pitch.
For my part I went straight to my office and sat down. I didn't think Harry would petrify his own friend, but then people do strange things when they're corrupted. Although it did occur to me that it was more likely to be Snape than Harry. I sighed and decided I had better continue my vigil even more rigorously than before. Later that night I was sitting in the staffroom with most of the teachers (at least those who weren't on patrol in the corridors) when Dumbledore came in. His usually twinkling eyes weren't so merry.
"I've got a few announcements to make, and I decided to make them in person." Dumbledore said to us.
I put aside my copy of "Heroes of the Dark Force" (my name is mentioned on page 348 for those who are interested), and looked at him. He had big news no doubt.
"Firstly, Hagrid is going away for a little while. We'll have a replacement gamekeeper to keep on top of things whilst he is away. The thing is the ministry believe that perhaps he could be responsible for the chamber's being opened again..I however do not believe this for a second. Hagrid has my full confidence, and as you all know him pretty well I am sure none of you will believe these rumors either. The culprit is still out there and I expect you to act like this." Dumbledore explained. "And secondly I am afraid I also must be leaving."
"ALBUS!" McGonagall burst out. "How can you think of leaving at a time like this when we need you the most?"
Dumbledore put up his hand to stop her speaking. "Minerva, this is not my idea. It seems the school governors feel I've well..lost my touch." Dumbledore explained. "They have called for my resignation, and I have had to give it. But rest assured help is no further than an owl away should you require it. In the meantime I urge you all to be extremely vigilant."
I glanced at Snape out of the corner of my eye. If he were the one opening the Chamber this news would be very welcome to him. To my surprise he looked shocked, upset and worried. I frowned in confusion. This was beginning to get to me. If it wasn't Snape and it weren't Harry, then who was the one opening the Chamber of Secrets? Maybe the ministry had the right idea after all- maybe it was Hagrid? After all they wouldn't take him away unless they were pretty certain he was behind the attacks, would they?
"Goodday, and goodnight." Dumbledore said, and he bowed very low to us, and then turned and left the room. There was silence for a moment and then an uproar. Clearly most of the room believed that Dumbledore's opinion of Hagrid was the correct one, and that the chamber was not closed at all.
"Who's going to stop this if not Dumbledore?" asked elderly Smallville, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher who was thinking of retiring soon.
"The most important thing here is the students." McGonagall said. "They've got to feel comfortable here, and therefore things should carry on as usual." I tuned out. After all if Hagrid was the one responsible, and he was no longer here then there was nothing to worry about.
*****
McGonagall's words echoed in my ears as I entered my classroom a few mornings later. I had noticed that the other teachers seemed to have taken Dumbledore's words to heart- that the culprit was still at large. I however, was sure that the mystery was solved. After Hagrid left there had been no more attacks, and I had full confidence that the ministry wouldn't take someone away unless they were very sure they had been the one to blame.
I surveyed the class with a sigh. "Come now! Why all these long faces?" I demanded.
They all gave me annoyed looks, and I felt my temper begin to rise. I took a deep breath to stop it. "Don't you people realise that the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away."
"Says who?" Demanded Dean Thomas.
"My dear young man," I said slowly, hoping I didn't sound as annoyed as I felt. "The Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty."
"Oh, yes he would." Argued Ron.
I felt like slapping him, but I managed to keep a big smile on my face. "I flatter myself I know a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr. Weasley." I said.
Ron looked like he was going to argue the point, but Harry muttered something to him which made him stop.
"Right. On with today's lesson, we're talking about my experiences in "Gadding with Ghouls" today." I said cheerily. I wasn't going to bother about being worried about anything like the other teachers: in my opinion Hagrid was the perfect culprit, and it would have only been a little while before I came to that conclusion, and shifted my suspicions from Snape and Harry to the gamekeeper.