Chapter 14: The Consequences of Complacency
I couldn't breathe. The world around me swirled, the sound of chatter and shouting swimming in my ears. The red writing on the wall was the only clear thing in sight.
This can't be happening! I thought, The diary! It's still in my room!
"What's going on here?!" A body shouldered past me, knocking me backwards into a gaggle of gaping Ravenclaws. They shifted past me and I lost my balance, landing harshly on the ground. Cedric leaned down in front of me, taking my hand and helping lift me to my feet again.
"You alright, McIntosh?" he asked, concerned. I shook in front of him, not taking my eyes off the still-dripping warning.
"I-I…" I gulped, finally turning my eyes to his, "D-Does this happen a lot here?" I didn't wait for an answer, looking back over at the wall again. Mr. Filch had begun yelling at Harry, accusing him of his cat's terrible fate.
"..murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll─"
"Argus!" The crowd opposite me dispersed, revealing Dumbledore as he strode into the hall. He made his way past the other students, a number of other teachers following behind him. I shifted back away from the front, moving backwards towards where I had left the twins. Fred caught me as I bumped into them, pulling me between the two of them and wrapping their arms around my shoulders.
"What's happened?"
"What'd you see?" They spoke together in hushed whispers, but I only shook my head, gripping Fred's free arm tightly.
"There's...blood…" I whispered back, not having to pretend to be horrified, "on the wall…" From the corner of my eyes, I saw the twins exchange looks over my pink curls, before looking back at the crowd again. Dumbledore and some of the teachers began making their way out of the corridor again, with the Golden Trio in tow; the remaining professors began directing and escorting the other students back to their house dormitories.
"C'mon, Rose," George whispered, "Let's get you out of here."
I paced the floor of my dorm relentlessly; I had been to frozen to do much of anything before except let the twins drag me back down to the Hufflepuff common room entrance, where Max and Tammy had been waiting, but now I had too much energy to keep still any longer. Willow still hadn't returned, likely having chosen to stay the night in the hospital wing.
"McIntosh, quit it!" Max finally shouted, throwing a mustard-colored pillow in my direction. I felt the impact but ignored it, continuing to pace and mutter quietly to myself. Tammy looked over at me, frowning.
"She's right, Rosie, there's no point in getting worked up about it." I groaned, flopping inelegantly onto my bed. Frodo maintained carefully perched on his basket, eyes narrowed at nothing in particular.
"Have you guys read anything about this 'chamber'?" I asked, tilting my head backwards to look over at my roommates.
I can't have them knowing that I know, I thought, but maybe they know something that might be useful…
"Nope," Tammy shook her head. Max shrugged, leaning up to grab the curtains of her bed.
"It's just some stupid prank," Max whined, "Now go to sleep!" She shut the curtains, leaving Tammy and me alone. Tammy looked back over at me.
"I'm sure it's not anything to worry about, Rosie," she whispered, climbing under her own covers, "Besides, Professor Dumbledore is here. If there's anything happening at Hogwarts, he can handle it." I stayed put, turning my gaze back to the canopy above my head. Tammy sighed behind me, muttering a small "Good night," before shutting the curtains and heading to sleep. As soon as I was sure it was safe, I looked over at their beds. Both Max and Tammy's beds were hidden by the curtains, leaving only Willow's empty bed open to the room.
"Finally," I whispered, shooting up and moving quietly to Frodo's basket. He glared up at me, tired but vigilant. I shifted him into my lap, and took a shuddering breath.
It's still there, I thought, shaking, It hasn't moved. Just reach under the blanket and grab it… Grasping onto Frodo carefully, I reached an unsteady hand into the basket, grabbing onto the object hidden beneath the blanket. I closed my eyes, pulling it out and holding it in front of me for a moment before taking a peek.
It was Riddle's diary. I stared at the leather-bound book in my hands, shocked.
It...It's still here? I thought, looking it over in my hands carefully, It really didn't get taken or moved? It's really still here? I blinked, turning the book over and over in my grasp; the gold letters on the back hadn't changed, the book didn't look new or different in any way. Even the pages were still blank and yellowed, as they had been before.
"But…" I wondered, careful even now not to make much sound, "...if it's still here…"
Then who wrote the warning on the wall? Shaking my head, I put the book back under Frodo's blankets in the basket, placing him back on top of the pile before climbing into bed myself. I pulled the curtains almost closed, allowing myself to listen in on the echoing sounds of some of the other Hufflepuffs in the common room. I laid on my side facing away from the door, looking at the one, slightly open curtain in front of me and thought.
I need to be more careful, otherwise people will start being petrified, instead of just Mrs. Norris… I closed my eyes and settled in, I'll leave the diary there until I have a lead. Tomorrow's Sunday ─ I'll have all day to think about who could've done it… I just need t─
Ch-ck. The door to the room clicked as someone turned the handle, opening the door carefully to keep it from squeaking. I shut my eyes, pretending desperately to be asleep.
Who's sneaking in here at this hour?! I wondered. Near-silent footsteps moved through the room, passing Willow's bed beside me before stopping beside my bed, right where Frodo sat in his basket. The cat hissed.
"Hush!" said a voice, urgent. I heard a rustling sound, then an aggravated meow. "Ouch!" I stiffened, barely managing to hold back my gasp.
I know that voice! I stayed stiff in my bed, hardly breathing as I heard Willow either released or escaped from the hospital wing ─ sneaking back into our dorm and trying to take the diary from Frodo's protective clutches. I was shocked, listening closely as she pulled the leather book from the cat basket, Frodo hissing and spitting at her, and apparently shuffled into her bed and shut the curtains, blocking all other sounds. I immediately sat up, pushing the curtain aside gently to see Frodo pacing and growling outside her bed curtains.
"Oh my god…." I whispered, feeling the weight of my actions collapsing onto my shoulders.
Willow had opened the Chamber of Secrets…. And it was all because of me…
I couldn't get any sleep that night. I sat in my bed, note journal in hand, and started making lists of everything that was supposed to happen in the books, as well as everything that I had changed so far, and by daylight I had filled out at least two pages with nothing but "It's all my fault" scribbled everywhere.
"Rise and shine, McIntosh!" Max called out, yanking my curtains away from my bed. I shrieked, hastily shoving the notebook and pen under the blankets as I glared up at the redhead. She didn't look in my direction ─ a godsend, really, as she didn't seem to notice my notebook ─ walking back over to Tammy's bed to wake her in a similar manner. "We've got practice today! Gotta be ready!" I groaned.
"That's not 'til after lunch!" I said, falling back onto my pillow. I forgot about practice… I thought to myself, my exhaustion finally catching up to me as I yawned, Geez, I'm not gonna be able to block anything feeling like this!
"During lunch, actually," Max said, "We need to get a full breakfast today, because we're miss at least half of lunch hour for a team meeting." This time Tammy moaned, burying her head back under the pillow. Another groan filled the room, striking the three of us quiet as Willow's bed curtains pulled back and she stepped out into the room, her bed-head about three times its normal size, and dark circles haunting her eyes. A quick glance at her bed showed me the diary was still with her, stuffed under her pillow just enough that you could barely see it.
"Oh, morning, Willow," Max said apprehensively, looking shocked. Willow didn't acknowledge her, moving sluggishly past her into the bathroom. We stared after her, not speaking until the door clicked shut.
"When did she get back in?" Tammy whispered. Max shrugged.
"Maybe Madame Pomfrey thought she'd be safer here, given what happened last night..." Max suggested, glancing carefully at me; she hadn't forgotten my initial reaction, clearly. I ignored her, listening as the faucet turned on in the bathroom, and thought up a plan.
"Couldn't possibly," Tammy whispered back, watching the door, "If anything, the entire ordeal would've set the old witch on lock-down 一 no students in or out." The faucet turned off, and I sat up quickly.
"Hey, why don't you two go on ahead?" I said, standing up and reaching for a (hopefully) warm outfit from my wardrobe, "I'll meet you up there in a bit, just wanna wake myself up a bit first." The two looked at me, puzzled, and begin to argue, only to fall silent once more as Willow re-entered the room. I watched them closely as their eyes followed Willow from the bathroom door back to her bed.
"Guys," I said again, drawing their attention, "Really, I'll be right out." Max stared at me a moment, brows furrowed, but didn't respond; Tammy looked at me, then to Willow, then back to me again, her eyes showing hesitation and concern. Then she nodded.
"Alright, Rosie," she said, taking Max's elbow and leading her to the exit, "We'll save you a seat, okay?" She turned to Willow, who remained silent as she changed into clean clothes for the day. "You too, Willow… if you want…" She didn't respond, pulling a yellow sweater on over her head with a vacant expression. Tammy just sighed, and pulled Max from the room, shutting the door behind them. I looked over at Willow as I pulled out the last of my outfit, laying them out over my bed.
She probably doesn't even know what's going on, I thought, I have to try and talk to her.
"Hey, Willow?" I said, hesitant. She paused for a moment, but simply continued on in silence. "Are you… mad at me?" She stopped, as if frozen for a moment, then barely turned her head over her shoulder 一 not quite facing me, but enough to speak in my direction.
"What gave you that idea?" she asked; her voice was quiet and scratchy, as if she'd been up late crying. I felt a lump in my throat, and choked it down as best I could. My fault.
"It's just that…" I hesitated, taking a small step closer to her; I knew that the diary was what was causing her current mood change, but I still wasn't sure why or how she got the diary in the first place. I still needed answers as to what lead her to the diary to begin with, "You haven't really talked to me 一 or anyone else, really 一 since the quidditch tryouts. Did I really upset you that much? I know you weren't exactly happy about me wanting to play..." I saw her back stiffen, her head turning back to face away from me.
"... I'm not mad at you, Rosie…" Willow whispered. She turned around and sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at her feet.
"Then why have you been avoiding me?" I moved to sit across from her on my own bunk, right where I could see the diary peeking out under her pillow. She began to fidget, playing with a string hanging from her sleeve.
"...Willow?" She stood up suddenly, turning to quickly begin filling a bag with a few books and some parchment, blocking my view of the diary entirely. She pulled the bag over her shoulder and made for the door, pausing again as she grabbed the handle, not looking in my direction.
"It's…" she stammered, and looked over at me. Her face had thinned more than I had noticed before, and her eyes, normally with a spark of life twinkling in them, were blank and devoid of any light. Her lip quivered, and I could tell that she wanted to tell me, to explain everything that had happened.
But she didn't.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, turning away again, "I just can't talk about it yet. I'm so sorry." With that, she pulled the door open and rushed out of sight, the door slamming shut behind her. I sighed again, and moved back over between mine and Willow's beds. I looked over at her things, the unmade bed and rumpled pjs she left behind, and grabbed the pillow. I lifted in up to look underneath, though I knew I would find nothing.
The diary was gone.
I sat alone at breakfast, telling the girls I needed a moment to think. I had claimed the end of the Ravenclaw table, a half-empty plate in front of me as I leaned over a bit, looking over my copy of Hogwarts: A History in silence.
"Salazar Slytherin disagreed with the other Hogwarts founders about the importance of Blood Purity and the acceptance of Muggle-borns at Hogwarts. As the other Founders were against him in this matter, Slytherin left the school. According to legend, before he left, Slytherin created a secret chamber deep underground in Hogwarts Castle — known as the Chamber of Secrets.
"That Chamber was also allegedly the home of a monstrous beast, one who was supposed to purge the school of all Muggle-borns. Unfortunately, neither the beast nor even the existence of such a chamber has yet to be found. Over the centuries after Slytherin's departure from the school, many Headmasters conducted searches of the castle to find the Chamber. None, however, were successful, and the Chamber was dismissed as a mere legend by many."
I stabbed a fork at my eggs.
"Of all the books at this school, the only one with any halfway-decent information on this chamber only has two paragraphs, neither of which contain any useful knowledge. Great." I grumbled to myself, shutting the book before shoveling food into my mouth in restrained frustration. I looked up at the door, watching as students began filing out to enjoy their free day. Of the students I saw, a mass of dark, wild curls began hurrying to the door. I sat up, swallowing.
"Hermione!" The curls stopped, and she turned to look over at me as I started to waved her over. She stopped in front of me, and I passed her my book.
"What's this?" she asked. I shrugged.
"You didn't bring yours, right?" I said, "Something about too many other books to bring this year?" She frowned a bit, taking the book from me.
"Yes…" she hesitated, "How did you know?" Shit. I took another bite of food, stalling as I quickly thought up a cover. I need to quit doing this, I can't possibly be this stupid, can I?
"I'm pretty sure one of you three mentioned it at some point," I waved it off, "Or someone else did; I barely had room for it myself. Anyway, it's about the only book around that mentions anything about this mysterious chamber, and the entire library stock is checked out for the next few weeks 一 figured if anyone could figure something out from this, it's you." She frowned at me, but took the book anyway.
"Thanks," she said, tucking the book under her arm, "So I take it this kind of thing doesn't normally happen at Ilvermorny, does it?" I shrugged.
"Not while I've been there, at least." Not technically a lie. I stood up from my seat, watching my plate clear and disappear from the table. "Hogwarts is definitely more exciting than back home, that's for sure. Well, I've got some work to do before practice, so I'll see you later, okay?" With a wave, I turned and headed out the door.
I decided to head towards the hospital wing, hoping to ask Madame Pomfrey about how Willow had been under her care.
Now that I know Willow's been acting strange because of the diary, I need to find a way to keep an eye on her until I can get the diary back again. I hurried up the staircase, turning down the halls 一 corridors 一 until I reached the doors. Opening one, I glanced inside.
A few students, though not many, were laying on cots 一 likely getting over the flu that had spread through the castle over the past month. Behind a curtained area, I could just barely see the outline of a smaller bed, where I guessed the petrified Mrs. Norris was being tended to. On the other side of the room was the door to what was probably the supply closet; the nurse-witch herself walked out of there holding a few rounded vials, glancing over at me as I finally stepped into the room.
"Not taking any visitors at the moment," she asked, not even stopping as she handed the vials to the students on the cots, "What do you need? A Pepperup potion, too, no doubt."
"Oh, no, ma'am," I said, walking up to her, "I was just wondering if you could tell me how my friend has been doing. She said she's been in here a lot."
"Who is this friend, dear?"
"Um, Willow," I said, "I don't know her last name. But she's in Hufflepuff, third year." Madame Pomfrey never stopped doing her work, giving her patients their potions and words of caution even as she thought of my question.
"She came in a few times for a potion, for her cold, but she never stayed too long," the matron said finally.
"So, she's never stayed here overnight? For anything?" I was confused. If she hasn't been here, then has she been sneaking off with the diary this whole time?
"No, though I had said she should many times now," Madame Pomfrey responded with an expression that, had I seen it on anyone else, would have been considered a pout, "If she's not feeling well next you see her, you send her right back here, you understand?" I nodded to her, then turned to head out of the room.
"I'll be sure to let her know," I said, giving a small wave over my shoulder, "Thanks for letting me know." With that, I quickly retreated before she could ask me any of her own questions regarding my inquiries.
So she's been sneaking the diary from my stuff, I listed, angering and getting scratched by my cat in the process. Then she's been getting potions from Pomfrey to seem more normal, and then sneaking off at night to… open the chamber?
"But why?" I whispered, stopping in the empty hall; for all I knew of the story, I still didn't have an answer for why she took the diary in the first place, "How'd she even find it?"
I need to get to the bottom of this… But where do I start? So many options, so many different ways to fail; one idea 一 the image of myself, writing on the blank pages 一blared in my mind, a horrible idea, no doubt, but possibly the best option I had. I shoved it quickly to the back of my mind, it would be too dangerous to risk any version of Voldemort finding out what I knew.
I just need to get the diary back, and then I can focus on why she took it. Once she's safe, once Hogwarts is safe, then everything will be alright again.
A/N: Happy New Year! Sorry this took so long, but I finally had the chance - between school and being sick - to finish this chapter! I will try and work on the next chapter as soon as I can, but I start school back on the 8th, so it might take a while. Thank you so much for being patient for this long! Let's make this new year a great one!
