Chapter 25
Hope and Fear
On Thursday morning, Harry woke up with a groan. Thursday was his least favorite day of the week, probably because he had to start off the day with Snape in Potions. Harry glanced over at Ron's bed and noticed that he was already gone. Ron had been especially grumpy all week. He was secluding himself in his room a lot and barely saying anything at meals. Hermione mentioned a couple of times that Harry should talk to him, but Harry knew Ron too well. He just needed time to blow off some steam and besides if he talked to him then he would have to mention Percy which he knew Ron didn't want to hear.
Dobby had been by the previous morning to give Harry a report on Dumbledore. It seemed that there was little change. Dobby did say that his color and temperature were good, but that he was not making any movements such as blinking. And he had not screamed at all in Dobby's presence. Harry didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He thought to himself that he should go down and check on him soon.
"Mornin Harry." Neville said as he stretched out his arms and threw his feet on to the floor.
"Good Morning." Harry replied.
"Hey, I thought you had an early class?" Neville added looking curiously at Harry.
Harry grabbed his watch and realized that he had to be in Potions in ten minutes. Neville must not have had a class first hour.
Harry threw on his clothes and took off in a sprint for the Dungeons. He threw the portal hole open and ran to the staircases while hearing the fat lady scream about his rudeness as he went. Eight minutes he thought as he looked at his watch again. He was flying down the staircase and looked like he might make it until one of the staircases changed. When he finally made it to the dungeon he was two minutes late which wouldn't have been so bad if it were another teacher, but he knew Snape would never let it pass.
"So Mr. Potter, you finally decided to join us." Snape said as soon as Harry opened the door. Harry was certain that Snape was starring at the door waiting for him to come through it. "Let's see. That will be ten points from Gryffindor and I shall speak to you after class about arranging a detention." Harry just nodded and took a seat next to Hermione. He didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction of knowing that he was angry and he definitely didn't want any more points to be taken from Gryffindor.
The lesson was actually very useful and may have even been enjoyable if there had been another professor teaching it. They were learning how to brew a blood-clotting potion.
"If your potion is brewed successfully, it should be white in color and fairly thick. When applied to an open wound, this potion will stop the flow of blood out of the body." Snape said. "Now get to work."
Thankfully, Harry had Hermione as his partner on this potion as it was a very difficult one to brew.
"Now, stir clockwise forty-two times." Hermione said reading the instructions off her parchment while adding a pinch of Graphorn eyelashes. In the end, their potion looked very good and Harry and Hermione were confident that they would get full marks.
"All right times up." Snape said shrilly. "Everyone bottle up your potion and bring it to my desk and then you may leave. Except for you Potter. Come to my office." Snape walked to the back of the room and held the door of his office open for Harry to come through and then motioned for him to sit.
"I don't know why you continue to think that you have the right to come and go as you please, but I for one am not going to stand for it." Snape yelled. Harry knew that Snape was trying to get a rise out of him but years of experience had taught him that losing his temper would do no good.
"WELL, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" He yelled again. Harry just continued to stare at Snape without blinking.
"I'm sorry sir," Harry finally replied a bit sarcastically. "It won't happen again." Snape just glared strongly. It was clear that he was unsure about what to do or say.
"Detention, here tomorrow night at seven." He finally squawked. "Now get out of my sight." Harry didn't need to be told twice. He would rather be in the presence of anyone else in the world than Snape. Sometimes he felt like he'd even rather deal with Voldemort.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much time in between his first two classes and so now as a result of his encounter with Snape he was late to his second class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Fortunately, the teacher was Professor Lupin so Harry figured he wouldn't get any further reprimand.
"Sorry I'm late professor." Harry said as he entered the room and quickly took a vacant seat next to Ron. "I got held..."
"No need to explain." Lupin interrupted holding up his right hand. "Hermione's already told me."
"Thanks."
"Now then class." Lupin started. "Today we are going to learn a very useful spell in dueling. It is not all that powerful, but it can often give you the quick edge you need. It severely restricts the breathing of your opponent for about five seconds. Now I know that doesn't sound like much, but sometimes five seconds is all you need. So are there any volunteers?" Nobody in the class particularly felt like having this spell performed on them. No one raised their hands and most people were avoiding the professor's eyes.
Harry figured that he had been through much worse in his life so he decided to help his old friend out and threw up his hand.
"You are all going to be practicing it on one another so someone might as well volunteer." Lupin continued. "Ah yes Harry thank you. Come up." Harry walked gingerly to the front of the room.
"Now, the incantation is Asphyxio, and it requires one quick sidearm flick of your wand." Lupin stated as he practiced the wand movement for the class. "Now Harry brace yourself. ASPHYXIO!" A jet of blue light shot out of his wand and hit Harry in the chest. The impact was not painful, but Harry quickly felt his chest tighten up and he grabbed his throat unable to process any air. But just as quickly, the curse wore off and he was able to take in a big breathe of air.
"Now pair up and practice on one another." Lupin said as he helped Harry to his feet. "Don't tense up when you get hit with the curse, remember it will only last a few seconds." Harry paired up with Neville, while Ron and Hermione paired with each other. It really was a simple spell. Almost everyone was able to get it there first or second time including Neville.
"Very good everyone." Lupin shouted. "Well that's all for today. The DA meeting this week is canceled so I'll see you all in class tomorrow."
"Hey mate." Harry said to Ron as they were all exiting the classroom. "So are we having Quidditch practice this week?" Harry was trying to snap Ron out of the current funk that he was in and so he mentioned Quidditch because it usually put him in a better mood.
"Nah." Ron replied. "Our next match isn't until February. I'm going to let the team have a couple of weeks off."
"Oh, okay." Harry replied. He wasn't really overly concerned with Ron's behavior before, but now he started to think that maybe Hermione was right and he should talk to him privately. It wasn't like Ron to ever want to take a break from Quidditch.
After lunch they all made their way to Care of Magical Creatures. It was Ron and Harry's last class of the day. Harry was thinking the whole time about a way to snap Ron out of his current funk so he was barely listening when Professor Grubbly-Plank (who was substituting for Hagrid) started teaching them about Jobbernoll's. Harry noticed that it was a rather ugly looking bird and he thought he heard the Professor say something about them being good help in potion making. Of course Hermione was busy taking notes so Harry didn't worry as much about it.
When they got back to the common room, Ron headed straight for the boys dormitory, but Harry stopped him before he could get there.
"Ron," Harry said softly as he approached his friend. "Would you mind coming down to the Chamber with me to check on Dumbledore. I don't really like going down there alone." Harry could tell that Ron would rather not go, but he knew that he would say yes anyways.
In truth, Harry actually didn't mind going down into the Chamber alone. He didn't think that there was much to be afraid of now especially after the basilisk was killed. However, this would be a good opportunity for him to talk to Ron alone. So after grabbing the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak, Harry and Ron made their way to the familiar setting of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Thankfully, the corridor appeared to be empty so Ron and Harry didn't have to squeeze under the invisibility cloak together before entering. In the past Ron, Harry and Hermione were all able to fit under the cloak easily but now after a couple of years of growth it would have been pretty uncomfortable for the two sixteen year old boys to fit.
"So what's going on with you?" Harry asked as they entered the abandoned bathroom. He didn't want to give Ron a reason to turn back so he avoided asking him anything until they were alone.
"Nothing." Ron shrugged.
"Oh come on Ron." Harry started. "No Quidditch practice?" Ron paused for a minute starring intently into Harry's questioning green eyes and then as if conceding that he wasn't going to be able to get out of there without giving Harry an answer he began to open up.
"It's that lousy git Percy Harry." Ron replied. "He's an embarrassment to our family. And worse than that, if you can't trust your own blood than who can you trust. I keep thinking about how much danger I could have put you and Hermione in by having a brother that's a Death Eater." Ron took a piece of rock that looked to be a piece of the floor that had eroded away from all the water damage and threw it at the already splintered mirror on the wall shattering it.
"Ron, how many times have you and Hermione told me that all this is not my fault." Harry began. "I felt responsible for Cedric, I felt responsible for Sirius. But you two made me realize that those things were Voldemort's doing not mine. Now I'll say it to you. This is Percy's doing, not yours. We don't have the luxury of time to feel sorry for ourselves Ron. We're in a war now, and I need you there with me." Harry saw Ron's chest rise with pride and extended a hand out to his best friend, which was returned with a quick but firm embrace. Ron didn't have to say anything to confirm that he understood what Harry had said.
"I'm sorry Harry." Ron added. But Harry just waved him off.
"There's nothing to be sorry for Ron we just...." But Harry was interrupted by a large high-pitched scream coming from the Chamber. Harry opened the passageway quickly and instinctively both boys jumped down into the Chamber. However, when they got there what they saw was quite unexpected. Dobby was standing on the bed with a look of terror on his face, but the headmaster was gone.
"Dobby what happened?" Harry shouted.
"Dobby is coming to check on the headmaster just as Harry Potter is asking him." Dobby shrieked. "But when Dobby is getting here sir the headmaster is gone." Harry was starring at Dobby and the bed in shock. He didn't know what to do. Should they search the Chamber? He was frozen until Ron finally snapped him out.
"Harry we need to get out of here." Ron said tugging on Harry's robes. Harry quickly came to his senses and realized that Ron was right. Harry realized that he might have severely underestimated the danger of Salazar Slytherin's Chamber.
"You're right." Harry answered. "We need to get to Aberforth straight away." The two boys ran back over to the entrance and were about to grab hold of the automatic rope that would send them flying back up when Dobby reached out and grabbed both of there robes. With a crack, the world around him faded to black before rematerializing outside the headmaster's office.
"Ton-Tongue Toffee." Harry bellowed and together with Ron and Dobby got on the spiraling staircase that took them up to Dumbledore's office.
"Aberforth!" Harry shouted as he saw him come into view behind his desk. "It's Dubledore, he's gone." All the pictures of the old headmasters woke up and started chattering loudly.
"Calm down Harry." He said softly. "What happened?"
"We went down to the Chamber to check on him and his body was gone." Harry said so quickly that Aberforth could probably barely understand him.
"Curious." Aberforth said starring over at the vacant perch that Fawkes usually sat on.
"What is?" Ron asked.
"Late last night I was sitting at my desk, when all of a sudden Fawkes just POOF, disappeared." Aberforth stated. "Loyal pets phoenix's are. I just assumed that someone friendly to Albus needed her help so she went. It never occurred to me that she would be going to help Albus himself."
"So you think Dumbledore's awake?" Harry asked nervously. "You think he's in trouble?"
"I don't know." Aberforth answered. "But we shall find out soon enough. If someone has captured Albus, then it won't be long until the school comes under attack. However, it is entirely possible that he has simply woken up and gone straight to attending to business that he had. If this is the case, then I'm sure he'll be in contact with us soon. Either way, we will find out soon. Until then, I don't want any of you going near the Chamber. I am putting the teachers on full alert and I'm going to ask Professor Lupin to assemble a student defense team that will aid the teachers if there is an attack."
"But Dumbledore wouldn't just wake up and then leave without telling us." Harry replied. Aberforth starred off into space for a minute and Harry thought for a moment that he saw a brief smile break across his face.
"I'd of thought that you knew how unpredictable Albus could be." Aberforth stated. "If he did leave of his own accord, I'm sure he has his reasons." Harry couldn't imagine Dumbledore waking up and not contacting him, but he hoped that was the case. The alternative was too grave to think about. If someone had broken into the Chamber and found Dumbledore's lifeless body, then they would know that Aberforth was an imposter and Hogwarts would truly be in danger.
"Now you two get back to your common room. No stops."
"Yes sir." Harry and Ron said in unison.
"And Ron." Aberforth continued. "Alert the school prefects that the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday will be canceled." Ron agreed and together the two boys made their way swiftly to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry and Ron gravitated quickly towards Ginny and Hermione who were sitting on the couch doing revisions. The girls could tell right away that there was something going on by the looks on Harry and Ron's faces.
"What is it?" Ginny asked. Harry raised his finger to his mouth to symbolize that he couldn't talk about it out loud when the common room was still fairly occupied. So Harry sat down and grabbed Hermione's quill and parchment and started writing down everything. Hermione and Ginny read it side by side and then Hermione set the page on fire with a quick tap of her wand and threw it into the fire.
"What about Fred and George?" Ginny asked. "We're supposed to meet them in Hogsmeade."
"We're still going." Harry replied adamantly. "I'll send them an owl to tell them we will meet them Saturday night. It will be too easy for us to be seen during the day." Not even Hermione could argue that they would need to sneak out to see Fred and George. Especially now in light of the new circumstances.
After another half hour of planning, Harry and Ron headed to bed while Hermione went to inform the head boy and head girl about the cancellation of Hogsmeade.
Harry concentrated on his Occlumency lessons before he fell asleep and was able to have a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Harry went and sent that owl to Fred and George before his first class, Transfiguration. Before class, McGonagall stated that they were enforcing curfew at 9:00pm every night. She said that teachers would be monitoring the halls round the clock and that anyone caught out of bounds would pay a severe price. Ron and Hermione were upset to find out that prefects would have to help monitor the halls more often then usual now. Previously, they only had to do one shift a week, but now they were scheduled for three a week and they were distressed when McGonagall informed them that they'd be patrolling Saturday night.
"Just bloody great." Ron said after he caught up with Harry in the Great Hall for lunch. He had apparently been pleading to McGonagall to switch days but it was no use. "Now what are we going to do?"
"Don't worry about it." Harry answered. "I can go alone. It might actually make it easier. I can hide under the invisibility cloak and make it there without being seen with ease."
"I don't know Harry." Hermione spoke up in a concerned tone. "I don't like the idea of you going alone. You never know what could happen."
"He's not going alone." Ginny said as she joined them at the table and sat down next to Harry. "Don't tell me you're trying to break our date Potter." Ginny menacingly pointed her wand at Harry before a smile broke largely across her. It was the first time that Harry had seen her smile since hearing the news about Percy. He couldn't argue with the logic. It would be smart to have someone else along with him.
"It's settled then." Hermione started. "Ron and I will make sure that the third floor corridor is clear so that you two can escape through the secret passageway." Everyone agreed and it was set. Harry hoped that Fred and George would be able to give him some answers.
After lunch, Harry headed to Potions were Snape was more than happy to remind him that he had to serve detention that night. In his last class of the day, Lupin announced the formation of the student defense team. He said that they would be having a meeting on Monday and that any student fifth year and above that would be willing to help the teachers if there was ever an attack on the school.
When they got back to the common room after Defense Against the Dark Arts, everyone was talking about the student defense team.
"I heard that You Know Who has been spotted at Hogsmeade." Harry heard a younger Gryffindor boy say.
"Let's hope that's not true." Ron added.
"He wouldn't show his face here." Ginny said loudly so that everyone could hear her. "Not with Dumbledore around." Harry could see that Ginny eased the fears of a lot of the younger students with that statement. But her face fell a little as she approached Harry and sat down next to him. Of course she knew the truth. They didn't know where Dumbledore was. Harry gazed out the window and starred out over the horizon. And pleaded in his own head for Dumbledore to contact him soon.
Author's note: I was writing this chapter and it just kept going and going. Right now it is over 7,000 words so I decided to split it into two so that I could post before the weekend. I hope you like this chapter. It's not terribly exciting, but it is important. Keep reviewing; it always makes me write more. Thanks
On Thursday morning, Harry woke up with a groan. Thursday was his least favorite day of the week, probably because he had to start off the day with Snape in Potions. Harry glanced over at Ron's bed and noticed that he was already gone. Ron had been especially grumpy all week. He was secluding himself in his room a lot and barely saying anything at meals. Hermione mentioned a couple of times that Harry should talk to him, but Harry knew Ron too well. He just needed time to blow off some steam and besides if he talked to him then he would have to mention Percy which he knew Ron didn't want to hear.
Dobby had been by the previous morning to give Harry a report on Dumbledore. It seemed that there was little change. Dobby did say that his color and temperature were good, but that he was not making any movements such as blinking. And he had not screamed at all in Dobby's presence. Harry didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He thought to himself that he should go down and check on him soon.
"Mornin Harry." Neville said as he stretched out his arms and threw his feet on to the floor.
"Good Morning." Harry replied.
"Hey, I thought you had an early class?" Neville added looking curiously at Harry.
Harry grabbed his watch and realized that he had to be in Potions in ten minutes. Neville must not have had a class first hour.
Harry threw on his clothes and took off in a sprint for the Dungeons. He threw the portal hole open and ran to the staircases while hearing the fat lady scream about his rudeness as he went. Eight minutes he thought as he looked at his watch again. He was flying down the staircase and looked like he might make it until one of the staircases changed. When he finally made it to the dungeon he was two minutes late which wouldn't have been so bad if it were another teacher, but he knew Snape would never let it pass.
"So Mr. Potter, you finally decided to join us." Snape said as soon as Harry opened the door. Harry was certain that Snape was starring at the door waiting for him to come through it. "Let's see. That will be ten points from Gryffindor and I shall speak to you after class about arranging a detention." Harry just nodded and took a seat next to Hermione. He didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction of knowing that he was angry and he definitely didn't want any more points to be taken from Gryffindor.
The lesson was actually very useful and may have even been enjoyable if there had been another professor teaching it. They were learning how to brew a blood-clotting potion.
"If your potion is brewed successfully, it should be white in color and fairly thick. When applied to an open wound, this potion will stop the flow of blood out of the body." Snape said. "Now get to work."
Thankfully, Harry had Hermione as his partner on this potion as it was a very difficult one to brew.
"Now, stir clockwise forty-two times." Hermione said reading the instructions off her parchment while adding a pinch of Graphorn eyelashes. In the end, their potion looked very good and Harry and Hermione were confident that they would get full marks.
"All right times up." Snape said shrilly. "Everyone bottle up your potion and bring it to my desk and then you may leave. Except for you Potter. Come to my office." Snape walked to the back of the room and held the door of his office open for Harry to come through and then motioned for him to sit.
"I don't know why you continue to think that you have the right to come and go as you please, but I for one am not going to stand for it." Snape yelled. Harry knew that Snape was trying to get a rise out of him but years of experience had taught him that losing his temper would do no good.
"WELL, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" He yelled again. Harry just continued to stare at Snape without blinking.
"I'm sorry sir," Harry finally replied a bit sarcastically. "It won't happen again." Snape just glared strongly. It was clear that he was unsure about what to do or say.
"Detention, here tomorrow night at seven." He finally squawked. "Now get out of my sight." Harry didn't need to be told twice. He would rather be in the presence of anyone else in the world than Snape. Sometimes he felt like he'd even rather deal with Voldemort.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much time in between his first two classes and so now as a result of his encounter with Snape he was late to his second class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Fortunately, the teacher was Professor Lupin so Harry figured he wouldn't get any further reprimand.
"Sorry I'm late professor." Harry said as he entered the room and quickly took a vacant seat next to Ron. "I got held..."
"No need to explain." Lupin interrupted holding up his right hand. "Hermione's already told me."
"Thanks."
"Now then class." Lupin started. "Today we are going to learn a very useful spell in dueling. It is not all that powerful, but it can often give you the quick edge you need. It severely restricts the breathing of your opponent for about five seconds. Now I know that doesn't sound like much, but sometimes five seconds is all you need. So are there any volunteers?" Nobody in the class particularly felt like having this spell performed on them. No one raised their hands and most people were avoiding the professor's eyes.
Harry figured that he had been through much worse in his life so he decided to help his old friend out and threw up his hand.
"You are all going to be practicing it on one another so someone might as well volunteer." Lupin continued. "Ah yes Harry thank you. Come up." Harry walked gingerly to the front of the room.
"Now, the incantation is Asphyxio, and it requires one quick sidearm flick of your wand." Lupin stated as he practiced the wand movement for the class. "Now Harry brace yourself. ASPHYXIO!" A jet of blue light shot out of his wand and hit Harry in the chest. The impact was not painful, but Harry quickly felt his chest tighten up and he grabbed his throat unable to process any air. But just as quickly, the curse wore off and he was able to take in a big breathe of air.
"Now pair up and practice on one another." Lupin said as he helped Harry to his feet. "Don't tense up when you get hit with the curse, remember it will only last a few seconds." Harry paired up with Neville, while Ron and Hermione paired with each other. It really was a simple spell. Almost everyone was able to get it there first or second time including Neville.
"Very good everyone." Lupin shouted. "Well that's all for today. The DA meeting this week is canceled so I'll see you all in class tomorrow."
"Hey mate." Harry said to Ron as they were all exiting the classroom. "So are we having Quidditch practice this week?" Harry was trying to snap Ron out of the current funk that he was in and so he mentioned Quidditch because it usually put him in a better mood.
"Nah." Ron replied. "Our next match isn't until February. I'm going to let the team have a couple of weeks off."
"Oh, okay." Harry replied. He wasn't really overly concerned with Ron's behavior before, but now he started to think that maybe Hermione was right and he should talk to him privately. It wasn't like Ron to ever want to take a break from Quidditch.
After lunch they all made their way to Care of Magical Creatures. It was Ron and Harry's last class of the day. Harry was thinking the whole time about a way to snap Ron out of his current funk so he was barely listening when Professor Grubbly-Plank (who was substituting for Hagrid) started teaching them about Jobbernoll's. Harry noticed that it was a rather ugly looking bird and he thought he heard the Professor say something about them being good help in potion making. Of course Hermione was busy taking notes so Harry didn't worry as much about it.
When they got back to the common room, Ron headed straight for the boys dormitory, but Harry stopped him before he could get there.
"Ron," Harry said softly as he approached his friend. "Would you mind coming down to the Chamber with me to check on Dumbledore. I don't really like going down there alone." Harry could tell that Ron would rather not go, but he knew that he would say yes anyways.
In truth, Harry actually didn't mind going down into the Chamber alone. He didn't think that there was much to be afraid of now especially after the basilisk was killed. However, this would be a good opportunity for him to talk to Ron alone. So after grabbing the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak, Harry and Ron made their way to the familiar setting of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Thankfully, the corridor appeared to be empty so Ron and Harry didn't have to squeeze under the invisibility cloak together before entering. In the past Ron, Harry and Hermione were all able to fit under the cloak easily but now after a couple of years of growth it would have been pretty uncomfortable for the two sixteen year old boys to fit.
"So what's going on with you?" Harry asked as they entered the abandoned bathroom. He didn't want to give Ron a reason to turn back so he avoided asking him anything until they were alone.
"Nothing." Ron shrugged.
"Oh come on Ron." Harry started. "No Quidditch practice?" Ron paused for a minute starring intently into Harry's questioning green eyes and then as if conceding that he wasn't going to be able to get out of there without giving Harry an answer he began to open up.
"It's that lousy git Percy Harry." Ron replied. "He's an embarrassment to our family. And worse than that, if you can't trust your own blood than who can you trust. I keep thinking about how much danger I could have put you and Hermione in by having a brother that's a Death Eater." Ron took a piece of rock that looked to be a piece of the floor that had eroded away from all the water damage and threw it at the already splintered mirror on the wall shattering it.
"Ron, how many times have you and Hermione told me that all this is not my fault." Harry began. "I felt responsible for Cedric, I felt responsible for Sirius. But you two made me realize that those things were Voldemort's doing not mine. Now I'll say it to you. This is Percy's doing, not yours. We don't have the luxury of time to feel sorry for ourselves Ron. We're in a war now, and I need you there with me." Harry saw Ron's chest rise with pride and extended a hand out to his best friend, which was returned with a quick but firm embrace. Ron didn't have to say anything to confirm that he understood what Harry had said.
"I'm sorry Harry." Ron added. But Harry just waved him off.
"There's nothing to be sorry for Ron we just...." But Harry was interrupted by a large high-pitched scream coming from the Chamber. Harry opened the passageway quickly and instinctively both boys jumped down into the Chamber. However, when they got there what they saw was quite unexpected. Dobby was standing on the bed with a look of terror on his face, but the headmaster was gone.
"Dobby what happened?" Harry shouted.
"Dobby is coming to check on the headmaster just as Harry Potter is asking him." Dobby shrieked. "But when Dobby is getting here sir the headmaster is gone." Harry was starring at Dobby and the bed in shock. He didn't know what to do. Should they search the Chamber? He was frozen until Ron finally snapped him out.
"Harry we need to get out of here." Ron said tugging on Harry's robes. Harry quickly came to his senses and realized that Ron was right. Harry realized that he might have severely underestimated the danger of Salazar Slytherin's Chamber.
"You're right." Harry answered. "We need to get to Aberforth straight away." The two boys ran back over to the entrance and were about to grab hold of the automatic rope that would send them flying back up when Dobby reached out and grabbed both of there robes. With a crack, the world around him faded to black before rematerializing outside the headmaster's office.
"Ton-Tongue Toffee." Harry bellowed and together with Ron and Dobby got on the spiraling staircase that took them up to Dumbledore's office.
"Aberforth!" Harry shouted as he saw him come into view behind his desk. "It's Dubledore, he's gone." All the pictures of the old headmasters woke up and started chattering loudly.
"Calm down Harry." He said softly. "What happened?"
"We went down to the Chamber to check on him and his body was gone." Harry said so quickly that Aberforth could probably barely understand him.
"Curious." Aberforth said starring over at the vacant perch that Fawkes usually sat on.
"What is?" Ron asked.
"Late last night I was sitting at my desk, when all of a sudden Fawkes just POOF, disappeared." Aberforth stated. "Loyal pets phoenix's are. I just assumed that someone friendly to Albus needed her help so she went. It never occurred to me that she would be going to help Albus himself."
"So you think Dumbledore's awake?" Harry asked nervously. "You think he's in trouble?"
"I don't know." Aberforth answered. "But we shall find out soon enough. If someone has captured Albus, then it won't be long until the school comes under attack. However, it is entirely possible that he has simply woken up and gone straight to attending to business that he had. If this is the case, then I'm sure he'll be in contact with us soon. Either way, we will find out soon. Until then, I don't want any of you going near the Chamber. I am putting the teachers on full alert and I'm going to ask Professor Lupin to assemble a student defense team that will aid the teachers if there is an attack."
"But Dumbledore wouldn't just wake up and then leave without telling us." Harry replied. Aberforth starred off into space for a minute and Harry thought for a moment that he saw a brief smile break across his face.
"I'd of thought that you knew how unpredictable Albus could be." Aberforth stated. "If he did leave of his own accord, I'm sure he has his reasons." Harry couldn't imagine Dumbledore waking up and not contacting him, but he hoped that was the case. The alternative was too grave to think about. If someone had broken into the Chamber and found Dumbledore's lifeless body, then they would know that Aberforth was an imposter and Hogwarts would truly be in danger.
"Now you two get back to your common room. No stops."
"Yes sir." Harry and Ron said in unison.
"And Ron." Aberforth continued. "Alert the school prefects that the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday will be canceled." Ron agreed and together the two boys made their way swiftly to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry and Ron gravitated quickly towards Ginny and Hermione who were sitting on the couch doing revisions. The girls could tell right away that there was something going on by the looks on Harry and Ron's faces.
"What is it?" Ginny asked. Harry raised his finger to his mouth to symbolize that he couldn't talk about it out loud when the common room was still fairly occupied. So Harry sat down and grabbed Hermione's quill and parchment and started writing down everything. Hermione and Ginny read it side by side and then Hermione set the page on fire with a quick tap of her wand and threw it into the fire.
"What about Fred and George?" Ginny asked. "We're supposed to meet them in Hogsmeade."
"We're still going." Harry replied adamantly. "I'll send them an owl to tell them we will meet them Saturday night. It will be too easy for us to be seen during the day." Not even Hermione could argue that they would need to sneak out to see Fred and George. Especially now in light of the new circumstances.
After another half hour of planning, Harry and Ron headed to bed while Hermione went to inform the head boy and head girl about the cancellation of Hogsmeade.
Harry concentrated on his Occlumency lessons before he fell asleep and was able to have a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Harry went and sent that owl to Fred and George before his first class, Transfiguration. Before class, McGonagall stated that they were enforcing curfew at 9:00pm every night. She said that teachers would be monitoring the halls round the clock and that anyone caught out of bounds would pay a severe price. Ron and Hermione were upset to find out that prefects would have to help monitor the halls more often then usual now. Previously, they only had to do one shift a week, but now they were scheduled for three a week and they were distressed when McGonagall informed them that they'd be patrolling Saturday night.
"Just bloody great." Ron said after he caught up with Harry in the Great Hall for lunch. He had apparently been pleading to McGonagall to switch days but it was no use. "Now what are we going to do?"
"Don't worry about it." Harry answered. "I can go alone. It might actually make it easier. I can hide under the invisibility cloak and make it there without being seen with ease."
"I don't know Harry." Hermione spoke up in a concerned tone. "I don't like the idea of you going alone. You never know what could happen."
"He's not going alone." Ginny said as she joined them at the table and sat down next to Harry. "Don't tell me you're trying to break our date Potter." Ginny menacingly pointed her wand at Harry before a smile broke largely across her. It was the first time that Harry had seen her smile since hearing the news about Percy. He couldn't argue with the logic. It would be smart to have someone else along with him.
"It's settled then." Hermione started. "Ron and I will make sure that the third floor corridor is clear so that you two can escape through the secret passageway." Everyone agreed and it was set. Harry hoped that Fred and George would be able to give him some answers.
After lunch, Harry headed to Potions were Snape was more than happy to remind him that he had to serve detention that night. In his last class of the day, Lupin announced the formation of the student defense team. He said that they would be having a meeting on Monday and that any student fifth year and above that would be willing to help the teachers if there was ever an attack on the school.
When they got back to the common room after Defense Against the Dark Arts, everyone was talking about the student defense team.
"I heard that You Know Who has been spotted at Hogsmeade." Harry heard a younger Gryffindor boy say.
"Let's hope that's not true." Ron added.
"He wouldn't show his face here." Ginny said loudly so that everyone could hear her. "Not with Dumbledore around." Harry could see that Ginny eased the fears of a lot of the younger students with that statement. But her face fell a little as she approached Harry and sat down next to him. Of course she knew the truth. They didn't know where Dumbledore was. Harry gazed out the window and starred out over the horizon. And pleaded in his own head for Dumbledore to contact him soon.
Author's note: I was writing this chapter and it just kept going and going. Right now it is over 7,000 words so I decided to split it into two so that I could post before the weekend. I hope you like this chapter. It's not terribly exciting, but it is important. Keep reviewing; it always makes me write more. Thanks