I hope you all have been well, maybe even vaccinated. I'm sorry if things are going at a snail's pace, but I have a life and life happens. Ideas are already swarming in my head for the Forbidden Forest scene. I've been trying to decide which ones I should go with.

Enjoy!

Chapter 20

Clues

"And what exactly is a catgirl?" Ron asked the twins as the boys walked towards the Hospital Wing to visit Hermione and deliver her homework. For several days after the new term started, they visited Hermione before going down for dinner and giving her her homework. Yukio even managed to make copies of his own notes to give to her.

"Pretty much what Hermione looks like now without the whiskers and furry face," Rin explained.

"She'd be pretty popular in Tokyo if the ears and tail stayed," Yukio added offhandedly.

"There are cafes where cats are the theme."

"But we've never visited."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Seems like Tokyo is full of surprises. Wish I could visit."

The twins looked at Harry.

"Could you?" Rin said with hope in his eyes.

"Will your relatives let you?" asked Yukio, hope also sparkling in his eyes.

Harry shook his head forlornly. "I doubt it. They want me as far away from magic as humanly possible."

"Maybe if you tell them you're visiting a monastery, they'd change their minds," Yukio suggested. "They'd probably think the priests there could exorcise the magic out of you."

Harry snorted. "I still doubt it, but it's a nice thought."

Ron let out a laugh. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you crack a joke, Yukio."

Yukio blinked. "I've told an occasional joke before."

"Making jokes about me doesn't count," said Rin.

The boys shared another laugh before entering the Hospital Wing. Curtains surrounded several beds where the Petrified victims laid. The twins followed Harry and Ron towards the farthest corner of the room.

"Hermione, it's us. We have today's homework," Harry announced before pulling the curtains back.

Hermione's appearance had improved a bit since the Polyjuice Potion. The fur on her face was gone and her eyes were slowly turning back to brown.

"Thanks. I don't suppose you have any leads?" Hermione asked in a low voice so Madam Pomfrey wouldn't hear.

"Nothing," Harry answered gloomily.

"I was so sure it was Malfoy," Ron said for the hundredth time.

Something golden sticking out from under Hermione's pillow caught Rin's eye. "What's that?" he asked curiously.

"Just a Get Well card," Hermione answered hastily, trying to poke it out of sight. Rin was too fast and snatched it out of her reach. He opened it and immediately frowned.

"To Miss Granger, wishing you a speedy recovery, from your concerned teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class - Are you kidding me, Hermione?!" he asked exasperatedly. A tick mark was visible on his forehead.

Yukio took the card and read it before a similar frown appeared on his face. "He seems more interested in writing his titles than wishing you well," he noted before passing it to Ron. Harry read over his shoulder. Both boys gave Hermione looks of disgust.

"Seriously, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"You sleep with this under your pillow?" asked Ron.

Hermione snatched it out of his hand before Madam Pomfrey came and shooed the boys out so Hermione could take her evening medicine.

~0~0~0~

"Is Lockhart the smarmiest bloke you've ever met or what?" Ron asked the group on their way to Ravenclaw Tower to part ways with Yukio.

"He could have gone without writing all those titles in Hermone's Get Well card," Yukio muttered.

"I wish I could have asked Hermione how many rat tails are needed in a Hair-Raising Potion," Ron muttered.

Rin gave his red haired friend a deadpanned look. "What am I chopped liver? You need…"

An angry outburst from the floor above interrupted Rin. The four boys looked at each other before following the noise. It sounded familiar…

"It's Filch," Harry muttered as they hurried up the stairs and hid so they could listen.

"You don't think someone else was attacked?" Ron asked tensely.

"Let's hope not," said Yukio.

"Even more work for me!" Filch yelled hysterically. "Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw! I'm going to Dumbledore -" His footsteps faded until the boys heard a door slam.

"The sooner Mrs. Norris is restored, the better," Harry mumbled. His friends could only nod in agreement. They poked their heads out around the corner and found themselves in a familiar location: the spot where Mrs. Norris was attacked. The Heir of Slytherin's message was still painted on the walls.

"Back to the scene of the original crime," Yukio quipped.

SPLASH!

Yukio, Harry and Ron turned towards Rin who was shaking water from his shoes.

"I think I know what Filch was bitching over," he said.

"Rin…" Yukio scolded with an eye roll. Rin only responded with an eye roll of his own.

The water had flooded half the corridor. It seemed that it was coming from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Now that Filch was gone, the boys could hear Myrtle's wailing more clearly.

"Now what's wrong with her?" Ron asked exasperatedly.

"Let's go and see," said Harry.

The four of them ducked under the "Out of Order" sign and entered the bathroom. It was worse inside than it was outside. It was dark inside because the rushing water had extinguished the candles and soaked the walls and floor.

Whatever upset Myrtle had her wailing louder and harder than ever. She was a squat ghost of a girl with pimples on her face complete with thick glasses. The boys found her in her usual stall.

"What's up, Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"Who's there?" Myrtle sobbed miserably. "Come to throw something else at me?"

Harry waded into the stall. "Why would I throw something at you?"

"Don't ask me!" Myrtle shouted, emerging with a wave of water following her from the toilet. "Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me…"

"One of Lockhart's books?" Ron asked.

"I hope so," Yukio muttered.

"It shouldn't hurt you, right?" Rin asked reasonably. "It'd just go right through you."

Rin's friends all facepalmed at his statement. It was clearly the wrong thing to say. Myrtle puffed up and got into Rin's face. "Then let's all throw books at Myrtle because she can't feel it! Ten points if you get it through her stomach! Fifty points if it goes through her head! Well, ha, ha, ha! What a lovely game, I don't think!"

Rin started sweating nervously. "I… don't know how to respond to that," he said. He didn't think a simple apology was enough to calm her down.

"Who threw it at you anyway?" Harry asked to take her attention away from Rin.

Myrtle glared at Harry. "I don't know. I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it fell right through the top of my head. It's over there, washed out."

The boys turned to where she was pointing. A small, thin book sat in a puddle. It's shabby black cover was completely wet, like the rest of the bathroom. Harry stepped forward to pick it up but Ron suddenly blocked him with an outstretched arm.

"What?"

"Are you crazy? It could be dangerous," said Ron.

"Dangerous?" Harry laughed. "How could it be dangerous?"

"You'd be surprised," Ron reasoned, looking apprehensively at the book. "Some of the books the Ministry's confiscated Dad's told me…"

Yukio kneeled down over the book. It looked familiar, like he could have sworn he'd seen this book before. He started poking it with his wand but nothing happened.

"What do you think, Yukio?" Rin asked his brother. "Do you think a demon could possess a book?"

"I don't think so," Yukio responded. "I've never heard of a demon that can control books."

"Well, we won't know unless we look at it," Harry said as he ducked behind Ron and Yukio to pick up the little book. He immediately knew it was a diary, and judging by the year on the cover, it had to be at least fifty years old. He opened it eagerly. On the first page, he could make out the name "T.M. Riddle" in smudged ink.

"Hang on," Ron said, who looked over Harry's shoulder. "I know that name… T.M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago."

Harry, Rin, and Yukio stared at the redhead in amazement.

"How the hell do you know that?" Rin asked Ron.

"Because Filch made me polish his shield about fifty times in detention," Ron answered resentfully. "That's the one I burped slugs all over. If you'd wipe slime off a name for an hour, you'd remember it too."

"I wonder if he wrote anything about the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened," Yukio thought out loud.

"The timeline would match up," Harry agreed as he peeled the pages apart. They were completely blank. "He never wrote in it."

"So much for clues," Rin muttered.

~0~0~0~

When February arrived, Hermione was finally freed from the Hospital Wing, not a cat hair in sight. When the boys showed her the diary, she tried every trick she could think of to get it to reveal its secrets but nothing worked. It was as if Riddle never wrote in it at all. Why Harry refused to get rid of the diary, nobody knew.

Things got weird on Valentine's Day when the group entered the Great Hall for breakfast. Large pink flowers covered the walls. Heart shaped confetti fell from the ceiling.

"Holy… shit…" Rin said in a deadpanned tone.

"The Great Hall… it's so pink," Harry said disgusted.

Yukio sat with his Ravenclaw friends who seemed just as disgusted as his Gryffindor friends.

"What the hell is going on?" Yukio asked Anthony Goldstein who looked both embarrassed and disgusted.

"Take a good guess," he said, pointing towards the teachers' table.

~0~0~0~

Shura's right eye twitched rapidly at the sight of the Valentine that sat on her plate. Lockhart's face that was carved into the giant chocolate heart winked at her. She was so tempted to shove the thing down Lockhart's throat to show how much it meant to her. The rest of the teachers were giving him similar looks.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. He was wearing bright pink robes that matched the decorations. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all - and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched about a dozen grumpy looking dwarves. All of them wore robes and golden wings and were carrying harps. One glanced at Shura with a look that said "please kill me."

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" Lockhart beamed. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your Valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion? And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape looked like he'd force-feed poison to the first person who asked him how to make a Love Potion.

Lockhart sat down next to Shura and gave her his best smile. "Perhaps the two of us can set up a little date this evening?"

Shura gave him her meanest scowl. "I'd rather French kiss a troll before going out with you!" she exclaimed. She shot out of her seat and stormed off, her chocolate heart forgotten.

~0~0~0~

As Shiemi left Potions class later that day, one of the dwarves approached her.

"Oi! You Shiemi Moriyama?" he called out.

Shiemi looked around, as if there was someone else with her name. "Um… yes?" she said hesitantly.

The grouchy-looking dwarf gave her a card. "From an anonymous sender," he growled.

"Thank you very much," Shiemi said with a bow. The dwarf nodded and stomped away.

Shiemi looked at the card and left the dungeon to go to an empty classroom. After making sure it was empty, she opened the card to see what it said. Blue flames flashed on the card, leaving a heart-shaped scorch mark behind along with a message:

You warm my heart.

Shiemi felt her cheeks warm up. She was a little confused about this reaction. No one had ever given her a Valentine before. What was this warm feeling in her chest? She wished she knew who gave her this Valentine so she could thank him properly. Until then, she'd hang on to it.

Hope you liked the end of this chapter. Looks like Dumbledore's lessons are finally paying off! ;) Like I said, I'm a RinXShiemi shipper.

Keep reviewing, folks! Reviews equals confidence and confidence equals motivation!