"I'm telling you! It was Hagrid who opened the chamber fifty years ago!"
Harry was vehemently explaining for what felt like the millionth time what he had seen in Riddle's diary.
"Maybe it wasn't Hagrid?" Bella said cautiously. "Maybe Riddle got the wrong person."
"I seen it with my own two eyes. Hagrid had a monster in the castle and Riddle found him with it." Harry replied.
"Who even asked Riddle to grass on Hagrid anyway? He sounds like another Percy." Ron grumbled.
"We always knew Hagrid was expelled though, and with his avid fascination with dangerous animals, I have to admit it doesn't surprise me." Hermione added.
"I can't believe Hagrid would allow a creature to kill a student, it just isn't like him at all." Bella replied.
"Maybe it was accidental? Maybe he didn't mean for it to kill anyone." Emily added.
"I can't see him meaning to harm anyone. He would never even hurt a fly." Freya agreed.
"Yeah, you're maybe right." Harry replied.
It had now been four months since the last attack and the inhabitants of Hogwarts were all hoping that they had finally come to an end. The mandrakes were coming along a pace that had Professor Sprout extremely pleased. The time had now come for the second years to chose the subjects they would pick up in their third year and they were all choosing their subjects in different ways. Seamus had been directed by his mother on his subject choices. Neville had been advised by the witches of his family and was now panicking trying to pick the easiest subjects. Harry was as lost as anyone, having no real guidance from anyone on how to pick his subjects. Dean, being in the same boat as Harry, was picking subjects wildly, having no real thought as to what he was picking. Freya and Emily had decided to take all of the same subjects and had chosen a wide variety. Hermione, on the other hand, had gone completely insane and had signed up for every single class being offered. Bella and Ron had been accosted by Percy on many occasions since the option choices had begun.
"Merlin, Percy! Would you just bugger off!" Bella cried after Percy had tried to talk to them about their classes for the sixth time.
"There's no need to be rude. I'm only trying to help." Percy replied, his head in the air as usual.
"Some help." Ron whispered to Bella.
Percy huffed and strode off with his usual arrogance as the twins rolled their eyes behind his back. They decided to choose the same subjects so they would be together and Harry joined them, feeling better that he had the twins with him.
With Gryffindor's next Quidditch match drawing closer, Bella felt as though she barely ever seen Harry. Between his practises and the mountain of homework they had, she spent most of her time in the library. She had been in the middle of writing a rather lengthy essay for Professor Binns when Harry dropped onto the seat across the table from her, small water droplets dripping slowly from his robes onto the floor.
"Riddle's diary is gone." He spoke before Bella had a chance.
"What do you mean it's gone?" She asked.
"Someone broke into my dorm and stole it." Harry replied.
"Are you serious?" Bella gasped.
"Yeah. Everything was everywhere, that's the only thing that missing though." Harry replied.
"They obviously knew what they were looking for."
"It seems that way."
"I don't understand why anyone would want to steal anything from you."
"Me either."
"Who could it be? Only a Gryffindor would know the password."
"Exactly."
Bella was shocked that anyone in their house would want to steal anything from their own. And to steal a diary? Whoever stole it must know of its abilities, or they wouldn't bother going to all the trouble of stealing it.
