Chapter Twenty-Three: The Truth Too Late

"Gone?! But if it was taken from your dorm…" Daphne said.

"Then the one who took it was a Gryffindor, yes," Harry said.

"What should we do? Go to Dumbledore anyway?" Ron asked.

"And tell him what? He already knows someone in the school is attacking people, but without the diary all we have is the name of a student who went here fifty years ago," Daphne said. "I doubt even Dumbledore would be able to do much with that."

"Look, it's getting late, now," Harry said. "We probably can't catch whoever took the diary tonight. If it's a Gryffindor, they'll eventually be in the common room anyway. I think we'd better lie low for tonight, and tomorrow we can discuss everything with Hermione. Maybe she'll have any ideas."

Reluctantly, Daphne agreed, and she went back to the Slytherin common room. Later, she lay in her bed, staring up at the canopy. It didn't feel right to have the diary stolen and not take immediate action, but she had no idea what else she could do.

Harry and Ron shared a dorm only with Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnigan. None of those three seemed likely culprits, but who else could have gotten into their dorm? The Slytherin dorms hexed anyone who entered a room that wasn't theirs, so if someone from another dorm had taken the diary, that person would probably be in a world of pain by now.

Unless, of course, the Gryffindor dorms worked differently. Then anyone from any year could've…No…Surely, that couldn't…

"Ginny…" she whispered.

She sat up in her bed and wanted to step out, but…what could she do? She couldn't get into the Gryffindor common room, and roaming the school while…someone…could set a monster on her would probably only lead her to be Petrified with impeccable dramatic timing. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to talk to Ginny the next day and somehow get the diary back from her.

Daphne was up extremely early the next day and headed into the Great Hall before anyone else was there. She anxiously sat down, waiting for the others to join her.

To her great surprise, the first one to do so was Hermione, tail-less and whisker-free.

"You're back! Are you completely yourself again?" Daphne asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yep, good as new."

Daphne smiled at her, and then grew serious again. "Listen, we've got a big problem. We'll fill you in later, but for now…see if you can spot Ginny somewhere," she said.

Hermione frowned. "Ginny?" she asked.

Daphne hesitated for a moment. "I– I think she's the one attacking people," she said. 'I'll explain when Harry and Ron get here…"

She felt her gut clenching at the memory of her telling Ginny that she didn't think Ginny was behind the attacks.

Not much later, while the Hall was still fairly empty, Harry and Ron arrived. After happily greeting Hermione, Harry filled her in on the diary and their talk with Hagrid.

"So someone took the diary back?" Hermione asked. Then she looked at Daphne with wide eyes. "You don't mean–?" she asked.

Daphne nodded grimly.

"Are you going to include us as well, at any point?" Ron asked, a bit annoyed at the incomprehensible exchange.

Daphne looked at him and felt guilt flare up inside her. She'd talked to Ginny, kept a secret she never should have kept, and now she had to tell Ron…

"Ginny took the diary," she said softly.

Ron blinked stupidly. "Ginny?"

"Are you saying Ginny is the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, then?" Harry asked.

"I– Yes. I think so. But I don't think she's doing it on purpose," Daphne said.

She looked at Ron. "You said that books could be dangerous, right? This diary could clearly think for itself, somehow. What if it can cast spells, too? Like…the Imperius Curse and Memory Charms?"

Ron paled and immediately got up. "We have to find her," he said.

Without wasting another moment, they stepped outside the Great Hall and went up the marble staircase, heading for Gryffindor tower.

Suddenly, Harry stopped and gave the others an alarmed look. "I just heard the voice again!" he said. "Didn't you?"

Ron and Daphne shook their heads, but Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Harry — I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library! You keep looking for Ginny, and I'll catch up later!" She sprinted away.

"What does she understand?" Harry asked, still looking around to see if he could pinpoint the voice.

"Loads more than I do," Ron said with a shake of his head.

"But's she got to go to the library?"

"Because that's what Hermione does," Ron said. "When in doubt, go to the library. Now come on, we have to find Ginny."

They ran up to the Gryffindor common room, and while Harry and Ron were inside, Daphne waited in the hall, internally berating herself for not realizing it sooner. Ginny had even told her she thought it was her. Why hadn't she simply believed her? Told her to talk to McGonagall or Dumbledore? How could she have been so stupid?! She clenched and unclenched her fists, wishing she could punch something, anything.

A few minutes later, Harry and Ron came back outside. "Ginny's not here. We asked another girl from her dorm," Harry said.

"She wasn't in the Great Hall either…where could she have gone…?" Daphne muttered.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall came striding up to them. "Ah, you're all together. Good. I need to address the students in the common room for a moment, but I'll be back outside shortly. Wait here," she said, and then went into the Gryffindor common room.

"What do you think happened?" Daphne asked. She felt pinpricks all over her body. Something big was happening, and she didn't like it one bit.

"I don't know. But we'll be able to tell McGonagall what we know, now," Harry said thoughtfully.

A short while later, McGonagall came back out of the common room. "Follow me, you three…" she said.

"Professor, we need to tell you something important," Harry said while they followed her.

"Oh?"

"Ginny Weasley is the one who opened the Chamber," Daphne said flatly, not wanting to extend the mental torture any longer.

"Ginny Weasley?" McGonagall replied incredulously. "Where on earth did you–"

"It's true," Ron interrupted glumly. "We found a diary that belonged to T.M. Riddle. He studied here fifty years ago," he went on. "The diary claimed that Hagrid was to blame, but we didn't believe that, so we went to talk to him, leaving the diary at the dorm."

"After that, we wanted to take the diary to Professor Dumbledore, but when we got back, it had been stolen," Harry said.

"And I realized, a few hours later, that Ginny had to have taken it. She…she told me she was afraid it might have been her, that she had gaps in her memory, but that she didn't want me to tell anyone. I…I told her that I didn't think it was her, and that I'd look up why she was feeling the way she was…but it must have been the diary somehow. She saw me give it back to Harry, so she knew where it would be," Daphne said.

While she'd been talking, tears had begun to run down her face. She felt guilty, ashamed, and like the worst friend ever. How could she have let it get this far?

Professor McGonagall had listened to the story with increasing horror. "Merlin's beard…" she muttered. "I will have to take this directly to the Headmaster, but for now, you should wait at the infirmary."

Her expression turned dark. "There has been another attack, and the victim this time is…"

They reached the door of the infirmary, and McGonagall directed them in. "Madam Pomfrey, I need to go and see the Headmaster at once. Could you please show these kids to…?" McGonagall said.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and took the three of them to a pair of beds in the back of the room. In one was a girl they didn't know, but Daphne thought she was a Ravenclaw Prefect…and in the other bed lay Hermione, utterly still and with her eyes open and glassy. It was like a spike of ice in Daphne's heart. If she'd just connected the pieces a bit faster…

"They were found not too long ago," Madam Pomfrey said. "Just outside the library. They had this small mirror with them, but nothing else."

"I wonder what she discovered," Harry mused as he looked at Hermione's Petrified form.

"Probably the vital clue to solve all of this," Daphne said bitterly.

McGonagall came back into the infirmary. "I have informed the Headmaster of your findings," she said. "We have every member of staff looking for Ginny Weasley at this moment." She gave them all a piercing look. "Please do not go looking for her yourselves, no matter how much you may want to. You have done the right thing in bringing this information to us, but you've done your part. You each get fifty points for making the right decision," she said. "Now, come on. I will escort you to your classes. It's not safe for the students to roam the school alone anymore."

The rest of the day was an exercise in frustration for Daphne. Teachers accompanied her everywhere, and it was getting on her already frayed nerves. How could the whole staff be looking for Ginny if they were all busy escorting students?! All the usual platitudes, no action whatsoever. Hogwarts was no different from the Noble House politics, it seemed.

Lunch was the one moment she had to talk to Harry and Ron, and she took it with both hands. "We have to look for her ourselves," she said. "We'll sneak out if we have to."

Harry and Ron nodded. "We'll use the Invisibility Cloak. We'll wait for you near your common room at eight," Harry said.

The notion that she'd be able to do something useful that evening was the only thing that kept her going that day as she struggled her way through the classes. None of the teachers seemed to blame her for her lack of attentiveness; neither the students nor the teachers had their minds on the material.

Because of the monster that was loose in the school, there was a good chance Hogwarts would have to close. That made sense, but it was the absolute last thing that Daphne wanted. She'd already failed in so many ways that having this happen as well would be too much for her. She was pretty sure they'd have to lock her up in St. Mungo's for the rest of her life in that situation.

At eight o' clock, she snuck to the exit of the common room.

"Going out, then?" Gemma said from behind her.

Daphne froze. "You can dock me as many points as you want," she said. "I have to do this."

"I'm not going to stop you," Gemma said. "But I am giving you a warning: you'd better come back. This initiative of yours is the best thing that's happened in Slytherin since I came to Hogwarts. I don't want to see it falter because the person who started it got herself Petrified or killed or whatever."

Daphne turned around a gave Gemma a half-smile. "You don't need me to keep it going. Everyone's doing a great job, and most of you are better at it than I am," she said.

"Yes, but you…well, you're weird," Gemma said. "You act like a Gryffindor most of the time. Your best friends are Gryffindors. By all rights, everyone in this House should hate you — and let's not beat around the bush, many do. But by being so weird, you've also shown a couple of people that, even in Slytherin, there's another way than being a jerk to everyone. It's not much yet now, but it can grow…but if you get yourself killed, that won't happen. Look, I won't waste the rest of your night with a sappy speech, here. Go do your weird Gryffindor things. Just stay alive."

Daphne nodded slowly. She hadn't expected that kind of support, but with the way she was feeling now, she was extremely grateful for it.

She exited the common room, and Harry and Ron appeared out of nowhere a few feet away from her. She quickly joined them under the Cloak, and they set off through the castle hallways.

"What do we do if we find her?" Ron asked.

"Talk to her, I think," Harry said. "I don't think she wants to attack us, and I'm not sure Riddle would, either. I mean, two of us are purebloods. One of us is even a Slytherin."

He smiled at Daphne.

She faintly smiled back.

They swept through the castle, but they couldn't find a trace of Ginny. Back in the entrance hall, as they were debating where else they could look, footsteps came down the stairs. Despite being invisible, Daphne, Harry, and Ron crouched in a corner to see who was coming.

To Daphne's great surprise, Lucius Malfoy was descending the stairs.

"Let's follow him," she whispered immediately.

Harry and Ron instantly agreed, and they snuck after Malfoy out of the castle. He headed straight for Hagrid's cabin, and Daphne got a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Malfoy knocked on Hagrid's door, but instead of Hagrid answering, it was Dumbledore, who looked as grim as Daphne had ever seen him. Malfoy stepped past Dumbledore into the hut, and Daphne and the others moved forward. She saw Dumbledore's eyes flick to the movement of a small knot of grass they bumped into, and rather than closing the door entirely, Dumbledore kept it open just a crack.

Daphne, Harry, and Ron positioned themselves right next to it and listened to what was being said inside.

"And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" they heard Dumbledore say.

"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore, but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension — you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this morning, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggleborns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that be to the school," Malfoy said.

Just for his smug tone, Daphne wanted to curse him with everything she knew, but she kept quiet. She could feel Harry and Ron also quivering with rage next to her.

"Oh, now, see here, Lucius," a voice Daphne recognized as Cornelius Fudge's said. "Dumbledore suspended…no, no, last thing we want just now."

"The appointment — or suspension — of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge," Malfoy said smoothly. "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks…"

"See here, Malfoy, if Dumbledore can't stop them…I mean to say, who can?" Fudge asked in a slightly panicked tone.

"That remains to be seen," Malfoy said. Daphne could almost hear his smug expression. "But as all twelve of us have voted–"

"An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid roared.

Daphne winced. She'd never heard Hagrid losing his temper before, and she decided that she never wanted to again, either.

"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid. I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all," Malfoy said.

Azkaban? They really intend to send Hagrid there on nothing but suspicion? Handing an innocent person over to the Dementors because they have no idea what they're doing…is everyone at the Ministry completely stupid?! Daphne thought to herself.

"Yeh can' take Dumbledore!" Hagrid yelled. "Take him away an' the Muggleborns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid," Dumbledore said sharply. "If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside…"

"But–" Fudge stammered.

"No!" Hagrid growled.

"However," Dumbledore went on, speaking very slowly and clearly so that none of them could miss a word. "You will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me… Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

"Admirable sentiments," Malfoy said. "We shall all miss your, er, highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope your successor will manage to prevent any, ah, 'killins'."

One by one, the people in Hagrid's hut began to file out, and Daphne, Harry, and Ron, hung back to not get in anyone's way.

"We're in trouble now," Ron said hoarsely. "No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone."