Chapter Eight: Truths Revealed



"Oh Tom, you really are amazing! Who was it? How did you capture them?" Ginny wrote quickly, anxious to know more of the story.

"It was really quite by accident. It was right after the killing of the young girl." Tom wrote back to her just as quickly, as if he were just as anxious to tell her. "She was a Muggle-born student in my own year, my own house, and it affected me greatly.

"I had just finished a conversation with the Transfiguration teacher, Professor Dumbledore. He had told me that they were going to close the school. As I went back to my dorm, I noticed another student walking about in the halls. As a school Prefect, naturally I followed him to make sure that he made it back to his dorm all right. But he did not go back to his dorm, instead he made his way to the dungeons. He was keeping the monster down there.

"When I confronted him, he swore it was only a pet, but I knew better. I turned him in to the headmaster, and he was immediately expelled. There were no more attacks after that."

Ginny could hardly stand it anymore. She had to know. "Who was it Tom? I must know!"

"His name is Rubeus Hagrid."

Ginny's eyes widened in disbelief, putting two and two together in her mind. After all, it made sense, with the stories that Ron had told her about Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that he had raised in his home from an egg, as well as Fluffy, the enormous three-headed dog that guarded the Philosopher's Stone. It didn't really surprise her much that Hagrid had quite a fondness for large and dangerous creatures. But she could never have imagined that he would want to intentionally hurt anyone with them. He was such a good, sweet man. And Ron, Hermione, and Harry thought so highly of him.

"But Tom, Hagrid is still here at Hogwarts. He's the gamekeeper! How could they let him stay here?" she asked.

"Like I said Ginny, Hagrid was expelled, his wand broken, and he was never allowed to do magic again. But he too was an orphan, and far too young to go to Azkaban Prison, but he did not have anywhere else to go. They kept him at Hogwarts to be trained as gamekeeper, I suspect so that they could keep an eye on him."

"But now with all the new attacks, why haven't they taken him to Azkaban yet?"

"I cannot answer that, but you should be careful, especially if you believe that you have been a witness to the attacks," Tom warned her.

A frightening thought struck Ginny's mind.
"Tom, I just found out from him this morning that his roosters are being killed. I must have been strangling them in my sleep. We have loads of chickens at home and I often go out to the coop and pet them. I must have been dreaming of petting them while I was sleepwalking. But I don't' understand how I could have killed any of them? Oh no! Tom, what if he finds out that I am the one killing his roosters? Or worse, that I know about him and the attacks?"

"That is why I fear for your safety more than ever. You must stay away from him until he has been caught Ginny. Hagrid is a very dangerous man."


* * *


Ginny, lived in fear for the next week, as did most of the other students, waiting for another attack. The week passed, as did another, and another, and nothing happened. Before long it was December and she was counting the days until the end of term when she could go back to the Burrow, and be safe at home with her family.

She had found out from Hermione that Ron had decided to stay with her and Harry at Hogwarts for the holidays. Ginny guessed that with no real home to go to, Harry would be staying alone otherwise and Ron simply wanted to keep him company, and hopefully, out of danger.

A week before the end of term, Ginny came downstairs from her room to find a great buzz around the common room. Apparently, there was to be the start of a Dueling Club that night in the Great Hall after dinner.

She had debated whether or not to go herself, but in the end she decided that it would probably come in handy sooner or later, with everything going on at school. "Preferably later," she thought.

So just after eight o'clock, Ginny came into the Great Hall to find the bulk of the school crowding around a large golden stage. She worked her way through the crowd, trying to get as close to the stage as possible. She ended up near Fred and George, who lately had become quite an irritation.

In an effort to cheer her up, Fred and George would cover themselves with boils or sores and try to jump out and scare her from behind corners, doors and furniture. Of course, she never found it very funny and had been staying clear of them whenever possible.

"Hey Gin," George said, making room in the crowd for her. "Good to see you come out of your cave once in a while."
"Yeah, where ya been? We thought you already went home for Christmas," said Fred, laughing at his own joke.

Ginny gave them a tiresome look. "I should have already, with you two bugging me the way you have been lately."
"It's all in good fun, Gin," Fred said, nudging her. "Geez, you're so wound up lately. What gives?"

Ginny simply ignored them, looking up at the golden stage, where none other than Gilderoy Lockhart was waving his hand for attention. A few steps behind him was Professor Snape, looking as though he would rather be having his teeth pulled than be there with Lockhart.

Lockhart told them that he would be demonstrating the basic combative position with Snape and they would cast some disarming spells. But by the way Snape's lips were curling into a smile, Ginny wasn't too sure about his own intentions for Lockhart.

And she was right; by the time Lockhart had counted to three, he was thrown against the wall by a bright flash of red light coming from Snape's wand.

"Heh, Lockhart's down for the count, it looks like," Fred said, more than amused.

"No, wait!" George said. "He's getting back up, the dumb bloke. I bet Snape can't wait to hit him again."

Some of the girls gasped, including Hermione, who Ginny noticed was near the other side of the platform with Ron and Harry, who themselves looked amused by Lockhart's fall.

Lockhart swayed a bit as he climbed back on the stage, but shook it off quickly. Noting Snape's evil-looking grin, he told everyone that he would now be pairing up people for practice dueling.

Ginny moved back behind Fred and George, fearing to be picked herself. She watched as Ron was broken away from Harry and Hermione, paired with Seamus Finnagan. Hermione was paired with some ugly Slytherin girl Ginny didn't know, and Harry was unfortunately partnered with Draco Malfoy.

Fred and George piped up again.

"He paired Harry with Malfoy?"

"Good, maybe he'll get some payback for the Bludger."

"Shhhhhh! I want to see this!" Ginny said, watching the pair with interest.

Lockhart instructed them to face each other and bow like before. Each pair did, but Ginny couldn't keep her eyes off Harry and Malfoy, who barely nodded their own heads as they stared the other down.

Lockhart began to count to three, but on two, Malfoy struck at Harry with a spell, knocking him hard in the head.
"Hey, that wasn't fair! Get him Harry!" she cheered to herself.

Harry fell back a moment, but when he gained his feet, he struck back with what appeared to be a tickling charm, causing Malfoy to fall to the stage, laughing hysterically. As soon as Malfoy caught his breath, he aimed his wand back at Harry, this time causing Harry's legs to dance around uncontrollably.

At this point, Snape decided to take charge, yelling "Finite Incantatem," which stopped all the spells. As the green haze cleared from the stage, Ginny began to laugh to herself as she saw Ron pulling up a very charred-looking Seamus, and the ugly Slytherin girl holding a struggling Hermione in a headlock.

Lockhart decided it was a better idea at that point to show them how to block spells. Snape suggested Harry and Malfoy, since it looked as though they were the only ones left unharmed. Lockhart pulled Harry to the side, showing him how to hold his wand, and dropping his own as he did so. Snape also pulled Malfoy aside, whispering suggestions that made an evil grin creep onto Malfoy's fair mug.

On the count of three, Malfoy immediately shouted out a spell that made a large, black snake shoot from the tip of his wand. Some of the girls backed away, screaming, but Harry simply stood there, eyeing the snake.

"Harry, what are you doing?" she wondered.

Lockhart tried to remove the snake, but ended up throwing the snake up into the air, making it even more agitated as it landed back on the platform. Hissing wildly, the snake began to slither toward Justin Finch-Fetchley, a second year in Hufflepuff House.

Ginny focused solely on Harry as he slowly walked toward the snake without hesitation, shouting "Leave him alone!" The snake stopped and backed away from Justin, who stood there horrified.

A wave of gasps flew through the crowd, and students began to whisper, "Did you hear that?"

Confused, Ginny tugged on George's robes. "What did Harry say again?"

"Are you mad, Gin?" George said, looking stunned himself. "Didn't you hear him hissing? He's a Parcelmouth!"

"A Parcelmouth?" Ginny shuddered at the thought. "But how can that be? I understood him! I heard him clear as day in English tell that snake to "leave him alone"! If he's a Parcelmouth, how is it that I could understand him?"
In horror, Ginny looked back at Harry, who seemed just as perplexed at the crowd's reaction. And was now being screamed at by Justin Finch-Fetchley for setting the snake on him. Ron and Hermione quickly ran over to Harry, and dragged him off the stage, and out of the Great Hall.

As Justin stormed past her, she could hear him saying to his friends, "See, I told you all along that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin! Did you see him try and set that snake on me?"

Outraged at Justin's obvious ignorance of the situation, Ginny snapped back at him without even thinking, "He was just trying to help you! He told the snake–"

But she stopped herself, realizing that she could also fall under suspicion if she let on that she had understood what Harry had said.

Fred and George looked at her, as did Justin who turned around at the outburst.

"What did you say?"

Luckily, Percy strode up at that moment, to interfere as usual.

"Is there a problem here?" he said in his most authoritative Prefect voice.

Justin and his Hufflepuff friends looked at Ginny, who was straining to keep her anger to herself.

"No Percy. Everything's just dandy," Ginny said harshly, giving Justin a sneer as she turned around and stormed out of the Great Hall.