Chapter Fifteen: Time to Act
Hermione was lying in an infinitely spacious dark room with a gilded box at the center, multiplying random triple digit numbers in her head. At first, she thought she might try adding numbers one through fifty thousand consecutively, but after determining it was one billion, two hundred fifty million, twenty-five thousand after only thirty seconds of mind work, she decided ex-ing triple digit numbers would spend more time.
Not that the tinkling, screeching, rattling, shaking, and high-pitched whining box from hell helped any. It felt like weeks had passed since she had fallen into the now incessant "dream." But unlike her other dreams involving gilded clear-gold boxes with sinister music symphonies for accompaniment, she felt fully conscious, completely awake.
She had almost finished solving three hundred sixty-two times five hundred eighty-six when she lost her place. The box had given off a sudden sound of twisting metal, which had distracted her.
"Will you shut up?" She glared at the box in annoyance. The box responded with a metallic wail.
She sniffed pompously. "Fine. I'm leaving. Have a nice…whatever." She stalked off. After a minute of smiling she thought, finally, some quiet.
"!" The box screeched. Hermione spun around.
"What?" It looked as though she hadn't even moved anywhere. Keeping her eyes on the box, she walked backwards away from it. It became smaller and smaller, until a tiny shiny yellow dot was visible.
"Ha!" She said victoriously as she continued to back away. The box disappeared from view. "Well, I guess that's that." She spun around to walk further when she tripped over something as high as her knees.
She searched for the thing that tripped her. It was a gold gilded box. Hermione screamed in frustration.
"GO AWAY!"
The box tinkled.
"Oh, that's great. It's laughing at me! Wait…did I just say…oh, no…now I'm going insane! I'm talking to an extra-large hat box, and now it's answering back! That's just great!"
The box continued to tinkle.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She shrieked.
The box wailed. Suddenly, a silver strand broke free from the crack and sped its way toward her. Completely shocked, she had no chance to react as it hit its target, colliding with her temple and slowly disappearing beneath her flesh.
Hermione shrieked with pain as images flooded her vision. The dark room swirled rapidly and became replaced by a baby's nursery. The nursery had two cribs. A beautiful woman with waist length red hair was bending over one of the cribs, cooing at its inhabitant.
"Lianna? Lianna…where's Lianna? There she is!"
The baby giggled and sang, "Liddy…Liddy…Liddy."
The woman nodded happily. "That's right, precious. I am Aunt Lily." She stood up, turning to a woman who was sitting in a rocking chair. Hermione studied her. She, too, had once been beautiful. She had thick auburn hair and deep gray eyes. Strange tiny markings encircled her eyes like a half mask; the overall effect wasn't unattractive, but it gave her a rather exotic look. Her almost-human looking ears curved normally but squared somewhat in the top and back of the cartilage. The ears reminded Hermione of those humanoid creatures that she had seen on a muggle space show her muggle father, Dan Granger, watched called Star Trek. The woman stared forward with a vacant expression.
"Aunt Lily" approached her. "Selina, why don't you play with her? She's a beautiful baby."
Selina glared at her reproachfully. "I can't. Every time I see her-"
"Selina, that's not her fault-"
"I KNOW IT ISN'T! But I can't help it. She doesn't deserve a failure like me, anyways," she choked, looking away.
Lily placed her hand on Selina's shoulder. "You were my best friend at school. You were so smart and so encouraging. That wasn't your fault, Selina. You've got to stop blaming yourself…and Lianna. She's innocent, too."
Selina's face was livid with raw emotion. Covering her mouth with her hand, she left the room in tears.
Sighing heavily, Lily walked over to the crib and stroked the baby's cheek. "You're not going to grow up to be like your father, are you sweetie? You're going to be a good girl, and you'll be best friends with Harry. Who knows, maybe you'll even help him defeat You-Know-Who. Looking at you, it's really hard to believe. How can a precious thing like you come from that-"she stopped herself, shaking her head in bitterness. She smiled again. "Would you like that? Harry Potter and Lady Lianna Subaru, best friends, just like their mommies."
Hermione jolted. Harry Potter? What's going on? Hermione walked over to the other crib. Baby Harry Potter looked about eight months old. At the moment, he was laying flat on his back, trying to catch an enchanted ball that was gently floating above his head.
Then, the room swirled together and the colors faded. Hermione found herself once more in a dark room with a gold gilded box. She stared at the box in confusion.
"Was that…a memory? Whose memory was that?" The box moaned sadly. Hermione approached it cautiously. She tentatively laid her hand on its cool surface. "Who are you?" She asked.
The box wailed metallically.
"All that ruddy time we spent in the bathroom, "Ron said, stabbing his breakfast eggs bitterly, "and we never even asked her-"
"Don't worry," Gohan said earnestly."We can now, can't we?"
But try as they might, they could never escape the ever watchful eyes of their teachers. Even worse, Piccolo pulled the three from one class to have a chat.
"Don't ever let me catch you in that hollow, again! You two," he said at Harry and Ron, "could have been killed. That was very reckless. As for you, Gohan, I am very disappointed in you. Do you think so little of your friends that you would risk their lives just to find this…Heir?"
"Gosh, Piccolo, I didn't think-"
"No, you didn't."
"But Piccolo, they weren't in any real danger! I could save them. I-"
"Have you thrown everything away that I taught you? Never assume anything about an enemy! I thought you, especially after Cell, would have learned that you don't get cocky during times of peril, especially when accompanied by those you cherish-"
Gohan bit his lip and looked away, his insides burning with the guilt and shame of his father's death.
Piccolo sighed. "I'm sorry, Gohan. I know you want to get to the bottom of this. But don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. Please, try and be more careful?"
Gohan nodded emotionally.
Then, Professor McGonagall completely drove the Chamber of Secrets completely from their minds when she announced that if the school remained open, exams would continue as scheduled. Ron whimpered fearfully as he lifted his broken whistling wand.
...
Three days before exams, Professor McGonagall made another announcement. "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting. We'll be able to revive everyone that was petrified tonight. Perhaps they will be able to tell us who or what attacked them. Hopefully, this nightmare will, at last, come to an end."
Three quarters of the Hall cheered loudly. Not surprisingly, most of the Slytherin table hadn't joined. Ron was particularly giddy. "It doesn't matter that we never asked Myrtle. Hermione will probably have all the answers. Of course, she'll probably lose her sanity when she finds out exams are in three days. Maybe it would be nicer to let her be until afterwards."
Abruptly, Ginny sat down near Ron, panting. Wringing her hands, she glanced at Harry and Gohan anxiously.
"What is it, Ginny?" Gohan asked softly. She remained silent, her eyes darting up and down the Gryffindor table fearfully.
Ron became irritated. "Spit it out." Trembling, she rocked back and forth, biting her lip.
She darted her eyes toward Gohan, avoiding Harry's gaze. "I've got to tell you something," she choked.
"What is it?" Harry asked concernedly. Ginny looked like she was stumbling for words.
"What?" Ron said sharply.
Ginny opened her mouth, but nothing escaped her lips. Harry leaned forward and spoke softly.
"Is this about the Chamber of Secrets? Do you know something?"
Ginny inhaled sharply. Suddenly, Percy came from nowhere, looking tired. "If you're finished eating, Ginny, I'll take that seat. I'm famished!"
Ginny started, gave Percy a horrified look, and ran from the table.
"PERCY!" Ron shouted angrily. "She was about to tell us something important!"
Percy choked. "Oh, that's nothing important…nothing to do with the Chamber anyways."
Ron raised his eyebrows. "How would you know?"
"Oh, Ginny walked in on me and…and she caught-"Percy blushed and cleared his throat, "And well, I asked her not to say anything." Ron probed for more information, but Percy asked Harry to pass the rolls.
Lockhart was leading the second years to their History of Magic class. Harry nudged Gohan and Ron, and he fell back a little. Noticing Harry trying to catch his eye, the professor grinned.
"Honestly," Lockhart grinned. "Tonight, when they revive those students, they are going to hear, "It was Hagrid." I don't believe these extra precautionary measures are necessary."
Gohan glared, but Harry said enthusiastically, "I agree, sir."
Ron dropped his books, and Gohan started from surprise, saying, "What?" Harry elbowed Gohan.
"Thank you, Harry. We teachers have enough on our plates without having to escort students to their classes and standing guard every night-" Harry winked at Ron and Gohan.
Ron grinned. "That's right. Listen, why don't you go on ahead, sir? We've only got one more corridor."
"I believe I will," Lockhart said. "I should prepare for my next class." He turned and hurried away.
"Yeah right," Ron said sarcastically. "He's probably gone to curl his hair." Grinning, the two grabbed Gohan's collar and tugged it, motioning him to follow. Gohan had recognized that they were going toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, when-
"And just where do you think you're going?" McGonagall asked crisply.
"Oh…we were…we-"Ron stammered.
"Hermione," Harry said quickly. Ron and Gohan stared at him. Harry nudged Gohan and tread on Ron's foot. "We haven't seen her in forever, Professor. We were going to sneak in there and tell her the mandrakes were ready and…"
Professor McGonagall nodded shakily. "I understand," she choked. "You have my permission. I'll inform Professor Binns where you've gone."
Ron grinned. "That was the best story that you ever came up with."
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, but now we have to go there." When they got there, they told Madam Pomfrey. She raised her brows.
"How ridiculous! What's the point in telling her that? She won't hear you." They approached her bed as the nurse strode away, sniffing pompously.
As Ron was saying something, Gohan stared at her rigid body. For some reason, unlike the other victims, her energy would spark occasionally. It was really strange. It felt as if Hermione was conscious within the barrier.
Gohan glanced at Harry, who was removing something from her hand. It was a crumpled sheet of paper. Harry's eye widened as he read it. He stood suddenly, handing it out to Ron and Gohan to read.
"You were right, Gohan," he said quietly. "It was a giant snake."
"Basilisk?" Gohan remembered when Professor McGonagall nearly blurted it out.
Harry was already walking. Ron and Gohan fell in behind. "Look," he said pointing at something scrawled underneath. Pipes. "That must be how it's been getting around. And it explains why only me and Gohan can hear it. It speaks Parseltongue."
Ron shifted. "If the thing's gaze can kill, then how come no one is dead?"
Harry nodded. "Remember the mirror in the hallway? Hermione and Penelope must have used it to keep from looking at it directly. Justin must have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick. Nick saw it directly, but he can't die twice. Colin saw it through the camera."
"What about Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked softly in excitement.
Harry frowned thoughtfully. "The puddle. There was a puddle of water on the floor that night." They stopped in the hall. Harry scanned the page.
"Rooster's cry is fatal…that must be why Hagrid's roosters were killed-"
"Huh?" Gohan said. He hadn't heard anything about dead roosters.
"-spiders flee before it! See? It all fits!"
Gohan frowned. He had the strange feeling that he was forgetting something. Ron and Harry were discussing pipes.
"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets-"Ron was saying as he grabbed Harry's arm.
What are we missing? Gohan thought.
"-what if it's in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?"
The bathroom. That's where we found the diary.
"That means that someone besides us can speak parseltongue. The Heir of Slytherin's one, too-"
Ginny looked terrified when she saw Harry with the diary. That means she knew of it before-
"-that's how he controls the basilisk. We need to go to the staffroom-"
I knocked Ginny over in the hallway, and…and- Gohan's eyes widened fearfully as he remembered the short girl who had spoken parseltongue.
"GINNY!" Gohan shouted, making Harry and Ron jump. "OH NOOO!"
"What?" Harry said anxiously.
"It's Ginny! She's the one! She's the one being used!"
Ron glared. "If you're accusing my sister-"but Gohan waved him off.
"That's why Ginny's been so tired and drained of energy…that's why she ransacked Harry's room for the diary. She's in trouble…we have to help her!"
Harry stared. "What-stole-what?"
Gohan's look of horror quickly became serious. "No time to talk. We have to save her!"
Harry nodded. "Staff room."
Gohan looked confused. "Huh?"
"Come on!"
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall's voice filled the corridor. "Attention! All students are to return to their houses immediately. All teachers report to the staff room. No exceptions!"
Harry spun to face Ron. "Another attack? Now?"
Gohan frowned suspiciously. He gasped. "I can't feel Ginny's energy!" Panicky, they entered a wardrobe in the teacher's lounge, grabbing Gohan and closing the door.
"Harry, I-"
"Shh!"
They heard footsteps. Moments later, they heard another set of footsteps, and then they heard Professor McGonagall's voice. "It's happened. Another attack. A student has been taken by the monster, into the Chamber itself."
They heard a cry, some sobbing, and the voice of Snape. "How can you be certain?"
"The Heir of Slytherin left another message under the first: 'Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever.'"
More sobs. Madam Hooch's voice filled the room. "Who was it, Minerva? Who was taken?"
"Ginny Weasley."
Ron slid down the wardrobe wall, and Gohan balled his fists anxiously, gritting his teeth.
"This is the end of Hogwarts," McGonagall's voice said hollowly. "We have to send the students home. Dumbledore always said-"
The staffroom door opened forcefully. Ron stood; Harry and Gohan snapped their eyes toward the door, thinking it might be Dumbledore.
"Sorry…must have dozed…what'd I miss?" Lockhart's voice said. The three boys sighed, half in exasperation and half disappointment.
They heard Snape's voice. "Perfect," he said in a chillingly sardonic voice. "Just the man…a girl has been taken by a monster, Lockhart, into the Chamber. Your time has come at last."
A short silence followed.
"That's right, Gilderoy," Professor Sprout added. "Didn't you say you've known all along where the Chamber of Secrets is?"
"Yes! You even said you knew what was inside!" Professor Flitwick said.
"Well, I…I-"Lockhart stammered.
"I certainly recall that you said you regretted not having a shot at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," Snape continued mercilessly. "Didn't you say that the whole incident was botched, that you should have been give free reign from the beginning?"
"But…but…must have misunderstood-"
"Then, it's settled," McGonagall finished. "We'll leave to you, and we'll make sure to stay out of your way."
Another silence ensued. Finally, Lockhart's broken voice spoke. "V-very well. I shall be in my office…getting ready." A door opened and closed.
"Right. That's got rid of him. The Heads of Houses should go inform their houses that the train leaves tomorrow morning. The rest of you please make sure no one else is in the halls. I'll go retrieve Mr. Son."
Gohan made to reach the door handle, but Harry stopped him, shaking his head. Slowly, the teachers filed from the lounge.
"Come on," Harry said, as he touched Ron's trembling shoulder. "We'll be in big trouble if we're not in the common room by the time McGonagall gets there."
"Who cares?" Gohan growled loudly. Harry and Ron winced. Gohan grabbed the handle.
"Where are you going?" Harry demanded.
"I'm going to get Ginny back. He'll pay for this!"
"Wait, Gohan!"
Gohan stared. "You're not going to stop me," he said firmly.
"I know. But maybe we should get Professor Lockhart. He did say he knew where the entrance to the Chamber was."
Gohan blanched. "You…can't..come…It's dangerous!"
"She's my sister!" Ron spat. "If you're going, I'm going!"
Harry nodded. "Ron's my friend! So I'm going…you're my friend, too, Gohan."
Gohan stared at his friends. Then, he nodded. "We don't have a lot of time. Put your arms around my shoulders. We're flying!"