The news broke throughout the school fairly quickly. The treatment I got from everyone outside of Slytherin house after was astounding, and almost appalling in some cases. A few people gave me pity, quite a few didn't really care either way, but the worst was the people who thought I was just trying to get an easy break in my classes. Most of these people were Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, for completely different reasons. The Hufflepuffs believed me on account of Cedric being my boyfriend, and he wouldn't lie about something like this for me. In fact, I had full confidence that he would break up with me if he discovered I was lying about dying.
My resolve to enjoy what time I had left was hard to face at first. Adrian and Graham were insistent upon searching for some sort of cure, and after two weeks of them pestering me I had to give in. I wasn't going to take part in the search myself. It wasn't something I could bring myself to do when there was so much I kept myself away from by obsessing over it already. They didn't understand the acceptance I'd given to my condition, and I couldn't find it in me to be upset that they wanted to keep me from such an early end.
While they started searching through the few books they could find, I deigned to spend more time with the people around me. I even went to the quidditch matches for Slytherin, where I discovered Draco Malfoy was the seeker. It showed just how little I paid attention to the sport, but I cheered him on regardless. He was a brat, but he was a Slytherin brat. Despite my caution of the topic, I humored Harry and his friends about the chamber more often. They had so many strange theories, most of which I suspected came from Nott, but none they could prove.
Eventually they wore me down enough to get me to ask my father about it. He didn't have much to say other than nothing could be done unless the entrance was found. Even I found it frustrating that it wasn't discovered already. How could anyone hide the entrance to something big enough to house a basilisk that well? And how could Slytherin make sure no one else could ever open the chamber unless they were his heir? It made no sense to me. There had to be a piece of the puzzle I was just barely missing. I tried not to let it turn into a replacement for all that I dug my head into before.
That worked, for a while. I made it through the rest of March and all of April without burying myself into a new obsession. I had never been closer to any of my friends, and it felt good. But then, after so long without another petrification, the whole school was rattled when two students were found petrified in the same place. Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater were found together in the library. The Ministry stepped in at the news, removing Dumbledore from his position as headmaster and, shockingly, arresting Hagrid.
Everyone was concerned at the news. When McGonagall was asked she looked sorrowful, telling us that if the chamber couldn't be sealed before the school year was out, Hogwarts would likely be closed. For most of us it wasn't the worst news in the world. Most students would transfer to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, and the really adventurous ones might go to Ilvermorny. But Harry was distraught at the idea. He'd never get to transfer, since his aunt and uncle would never pay for the travel to get there. The thought of him being forced to suffer at the hands of his muggle family was enough to make me join him and Nott in their self-proclaimed quest.
Unfortunately, with the headmaster gone, there was no way of knowing what happened to the book – which admittedly was a long shot at best. The dark magic that surrounded it was off the scale, but it was a book with not a word written in it. Harry and Nott, however, insisted we follow that train of thought. The problem was, their arguments kept going in circles. Find the book, find the entrance to the chamber, fix everything. It was extremely simple when put that way, but also completely unrealistic. I was starting to grow tired of it, until they finally mentioned a detail I hadn't heard before.
Nott had been growing frustrated, disturbing Graham's reading beside me as he exclaimed "Well it's not like we can just ask T.M. Riddle what he did to the thing!"
My head perked up alongside Graham's "Who now?"
Nott sighed "The book had an inscription on the inside of the cover, T.M. Riddle. That's all."
Graham and I looked at each other, and I blinked "You don't think?"
He shrugged "How many of them can there possibly be?" At the younger boys' expectant looks he addressed them "There was a Tom Riddle in Slytherin house however many years ago. Only reason we know his name is cause he was Head Boy his seventh year and he won some award for service to the school."
I rolled my eyes "That was the worst kick that Warrington ever got on." The thought of it bored me to death all over again "Every so often one of the boys in our year would start spitting out random facts about past Slytherins who 'exemplified the good of our house'. Tom Riddle made his list."
Harry's eyes seemed to light up in curiosity "When was this?"
Graham huffed "Our second year, Vanessa would never have remembered if it was our first year." I nudged him playfully, not really annoyed by the jab. He just closed his book to give us his full attention "There's really not much else to it though. Tom Riddle was a great student, top of his class probably, but he can't have been an exemplary wizard. No one talks about him, ever. He's just another average lost in history."
"Then how did he exemplify the good of our house?"
Neither of us knew the answer to that, so we just shrugged. But then Nott brought up a good point "But if he was just an average wizard, then what did he do to the book? Where would he have even learned that kind of dark magic? Riddle isn't a wizarding name."
Graham looked at me, asking that I answer this one "Have you two ever looked through the book shelves in the common room?" They shook their heads, making me frown "Despite what the headmaster might think, it's really easy to sneak books about dark magic into the school. Most magic isn't inherently dark either – if it was then there wouldn't be charms that could be used for dark purposes or curses that could be used for light purposes. In our common room, however, you can find at least half a bookshelf full of books that discuss so-called 'dark spells'."
"What's any of this got to do with the book?"
I waved him off, continuing despite the impatience "The point is, Riddle could have done any number of things to that book with just what we have in the common room. Actually, there were probably way more books about dark magic in his time, the definition is much more broad these days. He had the resources, and if he was a top student he would have been able to pull it off."
Nott groaned "Back to a dead end then."
"Well what if we contacted him and ask?"
Graham gave out a heavy sigh, and I had to join him "Harry, it's not worth revisiting this anymore. The book is gone, and even if Riddle's alive, he probably doesn't care enough about the thing to humor a bunch of students."
He begrudgingly agreed to leaving it alone. That conversation took place the Wednesday after Granger and Clearwater were found. Two days later, I'd been on my way to the library to see if I could find a book that could help me write my latest essay in Arithmancy. Just as I was turning the corner a small red-headed girl came bumping into me. It hardly phased me, given I was at least three years older than her, but she went tumbling back, her things scattering in front of her as she lost her grip on them.
I knelt to help her pick them up, eyeing her slightly "Sorry about that, I should've been more careful. You alright?"
She nodded her head frantically "Yes, I'm fine."
I decided to stay silent from there, calmly helping her put everything together. The sight of a familiar black book just leaking dark magic gave me pause, however. Luckily, I was given the perfect opportunity to get it away from her when the Weasley twins rounded the corner, calling out to her "Ginny! Dearest little sister, we've-"
"Been looking for you."
My eyes rolled, but as she turned to look at her brothers I took the chance and grabbed the book, shoving it into my bag and trying not to cringe when it burned. The moment I had it I stood up "Well, you two being here makes that my cue to leave."
They both frowned at me, pausing slightly as their sister stood "Snapette." I couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped me, making them smile slightly "Not bullying our sister, we hope."
The other twin jumped in as quickly as the other was finished talking "We would hate to have to duel you in the halls."
My head shook, giving all three of them a reassuring smile "Not at all, it was just an accident." I turned my eyes to her "Maybe slow down a bit next time though, alright?"
There wasn't enough time in the world for me, with how quickly I wanted to just sprint back to the common room. But I had been seen heading towards the library, and I really did need that book for my essay. I made my stop as quick as I could. The book I needed was one the library had at least ten copies of, and Madame Pince was kind enough to not question the apparent jumpiness I was suddenly exhibiting. The second I was out of the library I hurried my pace to the common room. This was something I needed Adrian and Graham for.
When I found them they were playing a game of wizard's chess, and it looked like Adrian was winning this time. I tried to sit as calmly as I could, giving them a strained smile. Graham was suspicious of me in a heartbeat "What's got you so wound up?"
Adrian looked at me, sighing in resignation "Please don't tell us you've actually gone and started obsessing like your little brother."
I grimaced "Not so much obsessing as becoming thoroughly concerned. I was on my way to the library when the Weasley girl bumped into me."
"Knight to B4." I watched as the knight made its place, smashing Adrian's rook in the process "What about the Weasley girl has you concerned?"
I opened my bag, thankful I'd taken it with me, and moved it so they could both look inside "She was carrying this around. It's lucky I had the chance to nab it, the girl looked frantic. I'd bet anything this book has been affecting her since she got her hands on it."
Both of my friends recoiled at the sight of it. Graham hadn't been there in person to see it, but we'd all been in each other's heads so often that neither Adrian nor I minded showing it to him in our memories. He leaned back over my bag, wrinkling his nose at it "I can feel the dark magic from here. How did you get a hold of it without her noticing?"
I ducked my head, knowing they would approve "The twins showed up when I was helping her sort out her things. It was enough of a distraction for me to grab it from right under their noses."
"You touched the thing?"
I winced at his tone, nodding sheepishly "I couldn't exactly just whip out my wand, and I had to do something. I can't, in good conscience, just leave a dark artifact in a first year's hands. That's ridiculous."
Adrian stiffened slightly, his face paling as he spoke "Didn't your father turn that in to the headmaster though?"
Graham and I froze at the implication, looking over at each other "Okay, that's scary. Even if he wanted me dead, there's no way he would put an entire school in danger for any reason, right?"
"Maybe she knicked it somehow?"
I gave him an incredulous look "And how do you think a first year could have pulled that off?"
"Well I don't know, I'm trying to give the old man something." Graham sighed, looking dejected "Whatever the thing is, it's dangerous. And since the headmaster can't even keep it away from students, I suppose it's time for us to try and destroy it."
A groan of annoyance was the only response the boys got from me, but they knew that meant I accepted that we would. I held onto it in my bag, not willing to risk anyone seeing us even move the thing somewhere else. Plenty of Slytherins from darker families started giving me a wider birth for the rest of the day. It was always easier to sense dark magic when you've been acclimated to it in some way. I was just grateful I didn't have to do anything with my father after I got my hands on it, he would have searched me in a heartbeat.
We met in the Room of Requirement after curfew, a whole shelf of books on how to destroy dark artefacts sitting in the corner and an open space for us to set the book being all it gave us. It was better than we'd expected, and so we quickly got to work sifting through the books. Some of them said to burn an artefact, some said to unravel the dark spells placed on it. Others used very specific spells, all of which were beyond any of our capabilities. And then there was one that said particularly dark artefacts were the hardest to destroy, because they required something deadly from a magical creature.
It took hours to get through the books we were given, and very little of it helped us. Adrian and Graham tried the spells they knew, but both were adamant that I don't cast one of the Dragonian spells. It left me feeling useless and frustrated when nothing would even wilt the book's pages.
Eventually they both grew tired, and despite my frustration, it was nearing dawn. We had to get some sleep at least "I think we might need to call it a night on this one."
They both shook their heads "No, we need to do this. We can't just walk around with it for another day."
I couldn't help snapping at them "Well unless you two have got some basilisk venom or a manticore stinger on hand at the moment, I'm not sure there's anything we can do right now. We're tired, we need sleep, and neither of you will let me try any of my spells so we're at a dead end."
Adrian perked up for a second "Wait, something deadly from a magical creature?" I nodded, furrowing my brow as he looked at me "Dragons are magical creatures."
My eyes widened "My teeth can produce venom."
Both boys' eyes lit up at the new idea "So if you bite the thing we can go."
I shook my head "No chance. I'm not gonna bite the thing, half those books said destroying a dark artefact can be explosive! I'm not having it in my face like that!"
They both turned sheepish, agreeing that it was a bad idea. I liked the next one only marginally better "What if we pull one of the fangs out? Adrian or I could just launch it into the book from a distance."
I frowned "And if my tooth doesn't grow back?"
Graham chuckled "My father had me flying when I was five. I've lost so many teeth over the years that the spell to grow new ones is easy enough."
"If I can't transform that tooth anymore?"
He shrugged "You should still be able to, but if not you've still got all your other teeth that produce the venom."
I sighed, knowing he was right. One tooth wasn't worth more than whatever this book did. So I allowed my teeth to sharpen, tasting the venom as it dripped from them. Adrian used his wand to pull it, allowing Graham to cast the spell to grow a new tooth straight away. The feeling was uncomfortable, but not awful. Once we were all set we stood together, and against their protests I made sure my wand was ready. If this went wrong I wanted to have a fighting chance.
Adrian brought the tooth to hover a few feet above the book, watching as some of the venom dripped from it. I almost laughed when they both shuddered at the sight, but stifled it enough to let Adrian focus. In one quick motion he brought his wand down, the tooth following the movement and plunging into the book. We each wrinkled our noses at the sight of what looked like ink oozing out of it. It stayed like that for a few minutes, nothing but a dark liquid coming from the point of my tooth sitting in the cover. Graham almost moved to pick it up, but I grabbed his arm and held him back just in time to feel a wave of dark magic come flying at us.
Adrian and Graham both casted the shield charm, trying to hold strong against it on their own. Whatever it was, it almost felt sentient. After half a minute I joined in with my own shaky charm, gritting my teeth as I felt the spell resist. Thankfully, it was enough to hold out until it died down. Our breathing was heavy, but none of us could resist laughing in exhilaration. The wave the book released was more than we expected, and if it had gone wrong we would have been completely screwed.
Graham slumped against the wall, a giddy grin on his face "We could have just died, why are we laughing?"
I shrugged, leaning against Adrian "We've been up all night, who knows what we're thinking anymore?" My eyes fell on the book. My tooth was gone, probably destroyed from the magic that came from it, but a small hole was left in the cover. It looked like it'd been dropped in an ink pot. I picked it up off the floor, flipping through the pages "It's clean. Not a shred of magic left in the thing."
"Wonder why Riddle chose that book for whatever he did to it."
My eyes rolled as I tossed the book at my bag, grinning when it slid into the wide open pouch "It doesn't matter anymore. Bet you the Weasley girl doesn't even notice it's missing now."
Adrian frowned "I want to know how she got it in the first place. Your father never would have given it to anyone but the headmaster."
I nodded in agreement, a little upset that it was able to get back out into the school's population "I really want to believe that Dumbledore wouldn't intentionally let the thing fall into a student's hands, but after everything we know he's done it's hard to."
"But how can we prove anything like that?"
The scowl on my face was enough to end their line of questions "We can't. Let's just hope nothing like it happens again. Come on, I don't know what time it is but I at least want to get something to eat. We can all take a nap by the Black Lake." That's exactly what we did after breakfast, it was well worth getting splashed by the giant squid.
