The Chamber of Gryffindor
Part 2
Harry paced around the room, feeling curious and more than a little impatient. He had been home with the Dursleys for less than a week before a letter from Dumbledore arrived, asking him to return to Hogwarts. Apparently Ron had received the same letter, because he and Mr. Weasley had come by the next day to bring Harry to Hogwarts. However, Dumbledore had been away when they arrived, and none of the other teachers would explain the mysterious summons.
Ron slouched in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room, where he and Harry had settled into their usual dormitory when they arrived the night before. He remained perfectly still, but his eyes followed Harry back and forth across the spacious room. He felt just as impatient, but showed it through his sullen silence rather than pacing.
Finally, Harry spoke. "Professor McGonagall told us Dumbledore would return after breakfast. It's almost noon! What could be taking so long?"
Ron shrugged. Harry threw himself into another armchair. Telling himself that anger wasn't going to help the situation, he tried another topic. "The common room is never this quiet during the school year. It's kind of spooky without any other people in here, isn't it?"
This time, Ron nodded. "I guess so. And the fire isn't lit, because it's summer. The house elves are probably partying in the kitchen, there's so little work to do with no students around." Ron paused, and began to grin. "Speaking of kitchens, I'm hungry. Do you think they'll mind if we wander around?"
Before Harry could answer, the portrait hole opened. Hermione climbed through, lugging a duffle bag. Harry and Ron were surprised, but delighted to see her. She smiled at them and said, "It's great to see you two again. I thought we'd have to wait all summer. Oh, and Professor Dumbledore is ready to talk with us as soon as I put my stuff away. He'll be waiting in his office, Professor McGonagall said."
Eager to be going, Harry and Ron helped her unpack in the girls' dorm room. Then they left the tower and walked quickly through the halls, ducking into a classroom once as Peeves floated past. When they reached Dumledore's office, Professor McGonagall was waiting for them outside.
They stopped and waited for her to open the door. Instead, she told them, "Professor Dumbledore has decided that, since you three will most likely be coming in here frequently, that you should know the password to get in. Until the school year begins, the word is 'snickerdoodle.'" The wall began to open, revealing the hidden staircase to the office. She stepped onto it, Harry, Hermione, and Ron behind her, and continued, "Please do not abuse this privilege. Unless you have an important reason, do not intrude on the headmaster. He is a busy man and should not be disturbed if any of the other teachers, like myself, can address the problem."
McGonagall walked into the office and announced the three students. Ron and Hermione stared around the room, amazed at its contents. Harry, who had been in Dumbledore's office several times before, looked at the headmaster himself. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, which was cleared of everything except an old book and a large cardboard box.
"Thank you for bringing them, Minerva. You may go back to your own business now. We have some talking to do."
When Dumbledore was alone with the three students, he motioned to three chairs beside his desk and told them, "We may be here a while. Make yourselves comfortable."
Clearing his throat, he began to explain. "I suppose you are wondering why I have summoned you back, so soon after you left. The truth is, the other professors and I were about to go home for the summer, when we encountered a rather difficult situation that we were unprepared for. It seems another creature has moved into the chamber of secrets."
Harry was stunned. They couldn't expect him to go into the chamber again, could they? Was that why he was here? He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Maybe he wouldn't be asked to go in. After all, none of the teachers spoke Parseltongue. They might just want him to open the chamber so some of the teachers could enter.
He glanced at his friends. Ron had a look of absolute horror on his face, remembering how close his sister had come to dying in the chamber. Hermione, who had been Petrified before they found the entrance, was only worried.
"What does this have to do with us?" she asked. "The diary has been destroyed, and Harry's the only Parselmouth at the school, so why can't it just stay locked up in there?"
"If only it were that easy," Dumbledore said sadly, and opened the box on his desk. Harry leaned forward to see what was inside. One very large, dead spider fell out. Its body was nearly six inches across, and its legs made it look three times as big. Ron took one look and pushed his chair back as far as it would go.
"Professor Snape found this in his potions classroom. Others have been spotted all over the school. Filch killed one yesterday that was trying to attack his cat. They seem to grow quickly, have vicious tempers, and are extremely carnivorous."
"What makes you think they come from the chamber?" Harry asked. "I mean, I know there are a lot of giant spiders in the forest, but how did they get into the school?"
"As soon as we began finding these spiders, I remembered your story of meeting Aragog in the forest. Only he could be siring such large spiders. You had mentioned that he had been raised in the school, so it occurred to me that he may have wanted to find a way back in. But surely someone would have seen a giant spider enter the building." Harry nodded. Aragog would be hard to overlook. "However, there was one day when there was not even a single person in the castle. During the third trial of the Triwizard Tournament, everyone was at the Quidditch stadium. Aragog must have entered then, when the castle was completely empty."
"But that was weeks ago!" Hermione said. "Wouldn't someone have noticed these spiders before?"
"The school was filled with hundreds of students. Any empty classroom or disused corridor that held a giant spider would have been discovered in days. This leads me to believe that Aragog is in the chamber of secrets. Only there could he have remained hidden for so long."
For a moment there was silence. Harry didn't know what to do next. He could open the chamber, but he remembered that Aragog was as dangerous as the basilisk had been, and there would be other spiders with him. Harry could never win against them all.
Just as he began to despair, Dumbledore began to speak again. "The reason I have asked the three of you to help is because you are some of the bravest, and certainly the most resourceful, of all the Gryffindors. Harry is, of course, needed to open the chamber, but first the three of you have another mystery to solve. Judging by your performance over the last four years, I doubt you will have any trouble with it. This book is the diary of Godric Gryffindor; in it he mentions the chamber of secrets. Bring it back to your common room and read it. Take your time. You have the rest of the summer to work at this." Dumbledore handed the book to Hermione and scooped the spider back into the box. Harry stood up to leave, and his friends followed him out.