Author's Notes: Well, here it is...the third and final installment of my three straight weeks of updated chapters. I hope you enjoyed the extra week of story updates, because from here on out it goes back to the regularly two week posting schedule.
Ron is getting closer and closer to his eventual descent into the Chamber of Secrets (look for it to happen next chapter), and while that is a major plot point, there's still a whole bunch of story left to tell. This particular story is set to continue until the end of the schoolyear, and seeing as it's only November in this current chapter, that means there's still quite a few chapters left to come. So, if you think the story is wearing out its welcome, or it needs to hurry up and jump to the end because you're getting bored with it...well...you can either sit back and stick with it, or you can jump ship...cuz I'm not ending it until the story's over.
Thanks: I'd like to thank my beta, CutewithAcapital-Q for continuing to go over these chapters for me prior to posting. Her brutally honest opinion is why I asked her to be my beta in the first place. I'd also like to thank my reviewers. 483 reviews so far as I type this, and for the most part all of them positive (with one or two exceptions). What most of you are telling me is that you're enjoying yourselves and the story I'm weaving for you...so thanks!
Disclaimer: You know the drill...this isn't mine, it's JKR's...blah, blah, blah...
MIRROR, MIRROR
Chapter 21
"Reflections of Things to Come"
Ron was in the midst of a rather pleasant dream in which Hermione felt the need to wish him luck and kiss his cheek each and every time she saw him. This led to some rather odd occasions for her to wish him luck – "Good luck eating breakfast, Ronald", "Good luck going to bed, Ronald" – but Ron wasn't complaining.
However, the dream took an unexpected turn when Hermione stopped kissing his cheek in the dream and began wetly and sloppily licking him all over his face. She also stopped wishing him good luck and began barking loudly instead.
Ron's subconscious must have had too difficult a time reconciling such disparate images of Hermione, and he started waking up. The first thing he realized upon waking up fully was that was still being licked and barked at.
"Bloody Hell, Fang…knock it off!" Ron exclaimed when he became fully aware of what was going on. He tried pushing the massive boarhound away, but the dog was having none of it.
"Ge' off him, yeh dozy dog!" the booming voice of Hagrid snapped, echoing off the walls of the cramped hut and the dog eventually obeyed, lumbering off to lie at the foot of Hagrid's bed, "I don' know what yer doin' down here, 'specially at this time o' night in the middle of a snowstorm…but my house is off-limits ter students."
Ron was about to ask Hagrid when his hut had become off-limits, but he caught sight of Hagrid's face in the firelight and a different question came shooting out of his mouth.
"Bloody Hell, Hagrid, what happened to you?!"
Hagrid's hair was matted with congealed blood and his left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit amid a mass of purple-and-black bruises. There were many cuts on his face and hands – some of them still bleeding – and he was moving about gingerly, causing Ron to think he might broken some ribs. He limped over to the fire and placed a copper kettle over it.
As Ron looked around, he saw that Hagrid's thick black traveling cloak and monstrous rucksack were sitting together by the door. Had the half-giant not looked as though he'd been attacked by a dozen mountain trolls, Ron would have thought he'd merely been away on holiday.
"Don' yeh worry none abou' what happened ter me," Hagrid said impatiently, his beetle-black eyes glaring at Ron, "How abou' yeh tell me what yer doin' breakin' in ter my home?"
Ron shook his head, unable to believe someone he was used to being so genial could be so different here. Apparently having Harry Potter in his life as a friend would have made a huge difference in the big man's life.
"I'm waitin' fer an explanation, Mr. Weasley," Hagrid said sternly, interrupting Ron's thoughts.
"Oh…err…I was out on the grounds having a walk when it started to snow," Ron explained quickly, leaving out a few unimportant details, "I just wanted to get outta the cold, and I reckon I fell asleep. Sorry."
"Yeh bes' be gettin' back ter the castle; it's dark now and students aren' allowed outside after dark," the half-giant grumbled, stiffly turning his back on Ron and going about the preparations for a cup of tea.
"Yeah, right…I'll just be going then," Ron said, making for the door, "But before I go…do you need me to get Madam Pomfrey for you?"
"No need for all tha'; I'll be fine," Hagrid gruffly waved Ron off, "Just yeh be gettin' back ter the castle…and be quick abou' it. Yeh never know what migh' be lurkin' in the dark these days."
Ron gave Hagrid an arch look, wondering just exactly what sort of lurking thing did that to the half-giant. Whatever it was, he certainly hoped he didn't run into it on his way back to the castle. He had just opened the door and was about to leave the warmth of Hagrid's hut for the snowy Hogwarts grounds when the big man spoke again.
"Oh, and Mr. Weasley? Because I was fond of your brother, Charlie, I won' deduct any house points from yeh fer breaking in ter my house. Just don' let it happen again."
Ron's mouth gaped open, unable to believe the words coming out of Hagrid's mouth. Deduct house points?! He'd never once seen Hagrid deduct points from anybody for anything. Hagrid looked at him expectantly, and Ron closed his mouth and nodded curtly before leaving the hut.
"Yes…sir."
Of all the teachers and staff Ron had encountered, this world's Hagrid was the most unlike the one he'd known on the other world. That Hagrid was happy-go-lucky and friendly almost to a fault. This one, however, was surly and bitter and wasn't in the habit of befriending students. Ron briefly recalled his dead counterpart's memories of the Sorting Ceremony in First Year and Hagrid's heartbroken expression when Harry was sorted into Slytherin. That, no doubt, was the birth of this new unfriendly Hagrid.
Getting past the unfamiliar attitude of this Hagrid, Ron began thinking about the state the half-giant was in. Something had given him quite a working-over, and considering Hagrid's size, it must have been a big something.
"I just hope he didn't bring the bloody thing home with him in the hopes of making it a pet," Ron said to himself as he thought about Fluffy and Norbert and Buckbeak and the blast-ended skrewts, "Merlin help us if he did."
The trek back to the castle was made to seem twice as long thanks to the snow on the ground. He must have been asleep in Hagrid's cabin for quite some time for so much snow to have accumulated since noon.
Thoughts of Hagrid's cabin and the gruff man within faded as Ron got closer to the castle, only to be replaced with memories of the disastrous Quidditch match he played earlier. His legs, already tired from trudging through the snow, began to feel like lead as he imagined the sort of greeting he might receive upon his return.
Weasley is our King!
That stupid Slytherin song flashed in his head as he entered the castle, leaving wet, snowy footprints in his wake. He knew he shouldn't let Draco Malfoy and his stupid goons get the better of him, but knowing what he should do and actually doing it were two different things.
When he reached the entrance to Gryffindor tower, the portrait of the Fat Lady decided to give him a hard time, since he had to wake her up in order to give her the password. He had to argue with the painting for nearly five minutes before the Fat Lady finally relented and allowed him to enter the common room.
He was hoping everyone would have gone to bed already, since it was after midnight already. As usual, however, Ron did not get what he wanted. Neville and Ginny were sharing one of the good armchairs by the fire, and Hermione was in the other one with Crookshanks nestled in her lap.
Neville and Ginny had been talking quietly amongst themselves, looking exceptionally cozy, but when Ron entered the common room, they had the good grace to separate, with Neville getting up out of the chair, blushing brightly.
Hermione had her nose buried in a book and was stroking Crookshanks with her free hand. The moment Ron entered the common room, she, too, was up out of her seat…much to Crookshanks' displeasure.
"Where've you been?!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing over to Ron, "We've been worried sick!" Ron gave her a curious look and Hermione began blushing deeply and looking down at her feet. "I mean…Neville and Ginny have been worried…I was mildly curious. After all, if something happened to you, I'd need to find a new partner for patrols every week."
A derisive snort drew everyone's attention to Ginny where she sat, smirking at Hermione. "Don't you believe her, Ron…she's been talking about organizing a search party to go and look for you for the last few hours."
"Well, anything could have happened!" Hermione said in defense of herself, "And don't pretend you weren't worried, too, Ginny! You've been biting your nails and checking the clock every ten minutes since the sun went down!"
"I think what the girls are trying to say is that we missed you, mate," Neville said, interrupting the bickering, "You look frozen…where've you been?"
"Been out walking," Ron said, leaving out the nice long nap he'd had in the warmth of Hagrid's cabin, "Needed to clear my head after that match."
An awkward silence enveloped the room as Ron brought up the morning's Quidditch match and the horrible loss suffered by Gryffindor.
"I'm quitting the team," Ron said finally as he stood warming himself by the fire. He moved over and dropped down onto one of the weathered old couches, sighing deeply, "I reckon McLaggen was right; it was my fault we lost."
"No, it wasn't," Ginny said, getting up out of her chair and joining Ron on the couch, "That stupid song the Slytherins were singing would've rattled anybody."
"And because they know it'll get to me, they'll keep singing it at every match," Ron complained, "No thanks!"
"If you quit, you'll be letting your team down," Hermione said, taking a seat on the other side of Ron, "And after they stood by you today, that would be a pretty selfish thing to do."
"What're you talking about?" Ron asked, screwing up his face in confusion.
"After the match," Hermione began, "McLaggen called for a team meeting in the changing tent, where he called into question, among other things, your Keeping skills, the twins' Beater abilities, and Angelina's captaincy. He laid the blame for losing at everyone's feet but his own."
"What a tosser," Ron grumbled, "What happened next?"
"Mind you, this story was related to us by Fred and George," Ginny explained as she picked up the story where Hermione left off, "So the part where Angelina kicked him off the team, he called her a petty dictator, and she punched him in the face may or may not be true."
"However, he did show up to dinner with a black eye," Neville said with a smile as he sat on the coffee table in front of Ron and the girls.
"Brilliant!" Ron laughed, wishing he'd been there for that.
"That's not the best part of what you missed," Neville continued, shooting a meaningful look at Hermione.
"Neville, don't…" Hermione pleaded, eyes wide, "It's not something that should be bragged about!"
"What? What happened?" Ron asked, thoroughly curious now.
Neville grinned cheekily. "Let's just say one of the girls in this room will be serving detention all week for hexing Pansy Parkinson in the middle of the Great Hall today at lunch…"
"Ginny, you didn't!" Ron laughed, looking over at his sister. Ginny, however, was shaking her head.
"Don't look at me," Ginny grinned, pointing an accusatory finger in Hermione's direction, "Hermione had already transfigured Pansy into a little pug-faced dog before I could even get my wand out."
"You did that?" Ron looked at Hermione and smiled admiringly at her, causing the bushy-haired brunette to blush.
"It's her own fault," Hermione said, trying to sound stern, but still looking embarrassed, "She kept leading the Slytherins in singing that stupid song. I told her to stop, but instead she tried to get the rest of the houses singing it as well. Somebody had to stop her…I was just the first one with my wand out."
"Bloody Hell," Ron gasped wide-eyed in complete and utter awe. He was immediately reminded of the fake Mad-Eye Moody turning Draco Malfoy into a ferret last year. Not only was it advanced magic – easy business for Hermione to handle, being the brilliant witch she was – but it was also advanced rule-breaking, right out for everyone to see – something no one expected from the prim and proper prefect.
"I suppose I might have overreacted a bit," Hermione said, her cheeks a bright crimson, Ron smiled affectionately at her, prompting Hermione to smile back. More than ever before being here with Hermione felt like home to Ron.
"It was the greatest thing I ever saw!" Ginny laughed, drawing Ron and Hermione's gaze away from each other, "One second Pansy's standing on the bench singing loud and off-key, and the next she's this ugly little dog yapping and howling like she was still trying to sing."
"And then the teachers started arguing," Neville added, smiling broadly, "Snape wanted to be the one to give Hermione detention, since it was a Slytherin who was hexed. Umbridge insisted it was a safety issue since one student attacked another, and therefore she should have the right to handle it since she's the Ministry's safety inspector."
"In the end, though," Neville continued, taking a breath, "It wound up falling to McGonagall. She argued that since it was one of her prefects who broke the rules, and Transfiguration was used, it was her duty to oversee the detention. She even got Dumbledore to back her up. I think she knew Hermione wouldn't get a fair shake if one of the other two gave her detention."
"Perhaps," Hermione said sadly, "I just wish I hadn't disappointed Professor McGonagall."
"Disappointed, Hell!" Ginny exclaimed, "I saw the look on her face, Hermione…she was proud! You stood up for your house and used NEWT-level Transfiguration magic! Old McGonagall was practically beaming!"
"But I broke at least five different school rules!" Hermione countered, looking stricken.
"And you broke them with style," Ron said with a broad grin on his face and unmistakable pride in his voice, "Hermione Granger doesn't break rules often, but when she does, she does it in a big way!"
Hermione smiled shyly at him and it looked as though Ron had made her feel a bit better about breaking the rules and getting detention. With Hermione's distress over her upcoming punishment alleviated, the four of them settled into relaxed and easy conversation until the wee hours of the morning.
When Hermione's detention with McGonagall started, it became clear right from the start that the punishment was more symbolic than anything else. Hermione had to spend three hours a night helping Professor McGonagall grade papers…but she did so while sitting in a comfortable chair, drinking tea and eating biscuits.
Ron couldn't believe Hermione's detention had been meted out by the same teacher who had once ordered him to clean all the trophies in the trophy room, without magic, using nothing but a Muggle toothbrush.
Hermione tried to deny that maybe she was being treated with a bit of favoritism by Professor McGonagall, but the blush on her cheeks when she did so revealed that she probably wasn't even convincing herself.
Ron felt a tad bit responsible for Hermione having to serve detention – even a cupcake of a detention like the one she had to serve – since she had been standing up for him when she got herself in trouble. As a result, Ron made a point of waiting for Hermione in the common room each night she had detention, so he could do his homework alongside her, so she wouldn't be alone.
Of course, doing so also provided Ron the added benefit of Hermione being right there if he stumbled upon a problem with his homework. He knew better than to ask her to let him copy her work or to actually do it for him, but she didn't seem above proofreading his work and offering suggestions on how to make it better. It was friendly and familiar and Ron enjoyed it, even if it meant doing homework on the night it was assigned instead of procrastinating until the last minute.
That was how Ron found himself doing homework on a Friday night at almost midnight, instead of sleeping soundly in his bed like his dorm mates were. He had struggled through an essay on the uses of bat wings in potion-making and was just about to ask Hermione to look it over when there was a sudden tapping at the window.
A large brown owl sat on the ledge outside of Gryffindor tower, very impatiently trying to get inside.
"Who would send an owl at this time of night?" Hermione asked as she got up from the table where she and Ron were working in order to let the owl in. She peered closely out the window at the owl. "Isn't that one of the school owls?"
"No idea," Ron said, tapping his quill on his chin as Hermione opened the window.
The large brown owl flew into the room and landed on the table in front of Ron, a large parcel clutched in its talons.
"I guess it's for you," Hermione said, looking on with interest.
"Yeah, but I never get mail," Ron said as he took the parcel and the owl flew back out the way it had come, "Who'd be sending me something with one of the school owls?"
Ron wasn't being completely honest. He had received exactly one piece of post since arriving in this world; it had been a note from Dumbledore. Ron's spine tingled with anxiety and anticipation; this was no doubt from Dumbledore as well. Ron could only imagine that this was the old wizard's way of helping him get around the basilisk.
"There's only one way to figure out who sent it," Hermione said, breaking Ron out of his thoughts as she returned to the table and sat down, "Open it."
It was a reasonable enough suggestion, but Ron wasn't sure he should open it in front of Hermione. There was no telling what Dumbledore had sent him, and Hermione was already suspicious enough as it was.
"Maybe I should wait," Ron said, concerned as to what her reaction might be, "There's no telling what's in here. It could be a prank from the twins."
"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione said, looking intrigued, "It looks like a book. Why would you want to wait to open a book?"
Ron smiled at Hermione's enthusiasm and the way her eyes lit up when she said the word "book". She was right, too; the parcel did look particularly book-shaped, and that got Ron wondering what sort of book Dumbledore might send him. Against his better judgment, Ron opened the parcel.
As soon as Ron began ripping the brown paper off the parcel, Hermione leaned in close, obviously wanting to get a good look at the book. Her bushy mane of brown hair inadvertently brushed against Ron's cheek and he stiffened slightly. She was close enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath and smell her perfume; it was something spicy and foreign and he decided immediately that he didn't like it.
"Come on…what are you waiting for?" she urged, nudging him. He snapped out of his reverie and went back to opening the parcel.
It was, indeed, a book. In fact, it was a book Ron recognized immediately. The book was old and dusty and the cover was cracked and faded to the point where the title was completely unreadable; its pages were yellow and brittle…it was the book wherein Ron had found Magnum's Stunner. Was this how Dumbledore planned to help him with the basilisk?
"It's so old," Hermione said softly, drawing Ron out of his thoughts once more. She ran her hand gently and reverently over the cracked leather cover, "You can't even see the title, it's so faded. What sort of book do you suppose it is?"
Ron could see that Hermione was desperate to open the mysterious old book and find out for herself what secrets it held, but she was too polite to just shove him out of the way and have at it – though he was sure that she wanted to do exactly that.
"It's a book of old, obscure spells," Ron said knowingly. He picked the book up and carefully opened it; a slip of paper fell out when he did, and at first Ron thought the book was finally falling apart. Upon closer examination, however, he saw the slip of paper was a note with Dumbledore's familiar handwriting on it. Setting the book back down, Ron quickly snatched up the note and read it before Hermione could.
Your answer lies within…see for yourself.
"Cryptic as usual," Ron thought. Dumbledore seemed either unable or unwilling to simply give him a straightforward answer. Ron turned his attention back to the book to see if he could find the "answer" the note spoke of, but Hermione was already carefully flipping through the pages of the book.
"Who would send you such an old – oh!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, cutting herself off, "Look, a page has been marked. 'Sight of the Unseeing'…that's an odd name for a spell."
"What's it do?" Ron asked, trying to read over her shoulder. If Dumbledore had marked a page in this book for him, it had to be for a reason.
"It says here that by use of this spell, a wizard would be able to close his eyes and still see as if he had both eyes wide open," Hermione said as she read the spell's description, "Well, that has very limited usefulness, doesn't it? No wonder it's in a book so old that no one remembers it."
"Err…yeah…I reckon," Ron agreed, though he could already see how its 'limited usefulness' could come in handy with a basilisk lurking about.
"Why would someone want you to know about this spell?" Hermione asked, looking from Ron to the book and back again, "Why would you need to see with your eyes closed?"
"Erm…" Ron had no idea what to tell her. He couldn't tell her the truth, even though he really wanted to. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, as though she were trying to figure something out.
Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked back down at the book and then pointed at him accusingly as she jumped to her feet. "You've seen this book before!"
"What? No, I --…"
"You knew it was a book of ancient spells before we even opened it," she said, cutting him off, "What's going on here, Ron?"
"Nothing!" Ron lied.
"You're being secretive again, Ronald," Hermione said, crossing her arms and fixing him with a stern look.
"And you're being bloody pushy!" he snapped, crossing his own arms just as she had done, "Now back off."
"That was a school owl that delivered the book," Hermione continued, ignoring Ron as she started to pace back-and-forth in front of the fire, "And that book is hundreds of years old…it's exactly the sort of book one might find in the restricted section."
"Hermione…" Ron began warningly.
"This must have been what you were looking for weeks ago when you went sneaking into the library after curfew!" Hermione sounded excited, as though she had just solved a great mystery; but then her face fell as though a new mystery had popped up to take its place, "But if you found what you were looking for the first time you saw this book, why would someone send it to you with that particular spell marked?"
"Hermione…just let it go."
"It all comes back to that spell," she said, moving over to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips, "Why do you need to be able to see with your eyes closed? Why would having your eyes open be a bad thing?"
Ron refused to look at her or acknowledge her. He quickly began stuffing his homework and textbooks into his schoolbag, intent on taking the ancient spellbook and retiring to his dorm where he wouldn't be subject to Hermione's questions.
"Are you doing something dangerous that you need to be able to see without opening your eyes?" she asked, looking pensive as she tried to figure out what was going on, "Or is it for some stupid prank you plan to pull…to get back at Malfoy, perhaps?"
Ron continued to ignore her as he continued to hastily pack his schoolbag and Hermione continued talking.
"You're planning to use this spell to break the rules, aren't you?" she asked in her haughtiest, bossiest voice, "You really should know better by now."
"Will you just give it up?!" he shouted, slamming his schoolbag down on the table in frustration, "I can't tell you what it's for! But yes, it's dangerous, okay?! And that bloody spell might just be the thing that keeps me alive! Alright, Hermione? Alright?!"
"Al-alright, Ron," Hermione squeaked, cowed and frightened by his outburst. She backed away from him as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.
Ron had never gone spare with Hermione like that before, and he could tell that he had scared her. He felt bad about it…horrible, really…but she just wouldn't let it drop. He just hoped that now she would leave it alone, especially since he knew for a fact that he had definitely told her too much this time.
Before Ron could say another word, Hermione turned on her heel and bolted for the girls' staircase and disappeared up into her dormitory. Ron sighed and dropped down onto the couch.
"Well, I really made a pig's ear of that," he said, closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the couch. He was pretty sure he had just ruined all the progress he had made in his developing friendship with Hermione. He was fairly certain she would go back to not talking to him…or worse, avoiding him altogether.
Ron wasn't wrong. For the next week, every time he joined his usual little group at the end of the Gryffindor table for meals, Hermione was conspicuously absent.
"She's in the library," Neville said when Ron asked him about Hermione's whereabouts, "Said she had a very important project she needed to work on. I reckon it must be for Ancient Runes or Arithmancy, since I don't recall any project being assigned in the classes we have with her.
Ron wondered if there really was a school project for her to work on, or if it was just a convenient excuse for her to keep away from him. Either way, it was effective; Ron only saw Hermione in class the entire week.
Hermione may have been avoiding him, but Ron was kept too busy to dwell on it. On the mission side of things, the spell he needed to learn had a very intricate and complex wand movement, and he wanted to have it down pat by the time he entered the Chamber of Secrets. His time was also taken up with the everyday life of being Ron Weasley.
Angelina called a special emergency tryout on Friday. The fallout of the incident with Cormac McLaggen left a gaping hole in the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The team needed a Seeker and fast, leading Angelina to hold the tryout as soon as possible…and she expected the whole team to be there as a show of solidarity.
A large number of Gryffindors – ranging from first to seventh years – turned out for a shot at becoming the team's Seeker, but one of the fourth years stood out above the rest. Despite her older hand-me-down broom, Ginny performed better than any of the other potential players, and she was quickly chosen as the team's new Seeker. Angelina was ecstatic to have four Weasleys on her team, and Ron was relieved to have a Seeker on the team that he knew he could count on. Even he found himself looking forward to the team's next outing.
On Saturday, after sequestering himself away in his dorm room, Ron finally managed to get the spell's wand motion down enough that he could cast the Sight of the Unseeing charm over and over without fail.
Once he'd mastered the spell, Ron began walking around the room, eyes closed, getting a feel for what it was like to move around under the effects of the spell. It was an unusual sensation, being able to see with your eyes closed; it brought with it an odd sense of vertigo, and Ron found himself nearly falling over several times from the dizziness.
The very first time he nearly fell, Ron noticed a flaw in the usage of the spell. The moment he became unsure of his footing, his eyes instinctively flew open as he tried to steady himself. Making such a mistake while practicing in his dorm was harmless, if a bit annoying; doing so down in the Chamber of Secrets with a basilisk on the loose was potentially fatal.
"I'll have to make some sort of blindfold," he said as he went over his plan in his head, looking down at his bed and the items he'd gathered together for his sojourn down into the Chamber:
The Marauders' Map would allow him to keep tabs on Harry and make sure the Slytherin was in class like he was supposed to be. He didn't need Harry showing up unexpectedly. Ron didn't know how Harry would react to him being down in the Chamber, but he didn't think the bespectacled boy would be too happy about it.
The invisibility cloak would keep him relatively hidden and somewhat safe. Of course, he remembered the other Harry saying something about the basilisk still chasing him after it had been blinded…something about it still being able to hear him or smell him or something; so the cloak wasn't absolute protection.
His broom would be needed to get back out of the Chamber. Fawkes the Phoenix had flown them out back in Second Year, but Ron wasn't counting on that sort of help this time around. He didn't even know how the phoenix had gotten there last time…it just seemed to appear just when it was needed. It was a lucky coincidence that Ron knew he couldn't rely on happening again.
The old spellbook was on his bed as well, and while he wouldn't be taking the ancient text with him, he had the two spells marked that he was reasonably sure he was going to need. Sight of the Unseeing would keep him safe from the basilisk's deadly gaze…or, at least, that was the plan…and Magnum's Stunner was used on large-scale monsters like dragons, giants, and trolls; the basilisk, at fifty feet long, certainly counted as large-scale, so hopefully the advanced Stunning spell would work on it.
He'd need to add a blindfold to his gear as soon as possible. Ron's plan was to enter the Chamber Monday morning after everyone…especially Harry…had gone to class. He'd miss out on History of Magic and Potions, but he didn't much care for those classes anyway. He'd have until lunch…when Harry typically took a trip down into the Chamber instead of eating in the Great Hall…to enter the Chamber of Secrets, find Tom Riddle's diary, and then get back out.
Once he had the diary in his possession, Ron planned to destroy it in a more secure and controlled environment…preferably Dumbledore's office. But that was getting ahead of himself. Step One was entering the Chamber, Step Two was finding the diary…he had to get those two steps taken care of before he could worry about Step Three, destroying the diary, freeing Harry Potter from You-Know-Who's control, and saving the entire world in the process.
"Ron!"
The sound of Neville's voice calling to him from the doorway startled Ron out of his thoughts. He turned quickly to face Neville, moving his body to block the other boy's view of the items on his bed.
"What is it, Nev?"
"Uh…Hermione's down in the common room and she's a bit put-out," Neville explained, looking a tad bit nervous as he glanced over his shoulder, back down the steps, "Seems it's your night to patrol, and you're supposed to leave in about five minutes."
"Bloody Hell, Nev…I forgot," Ron said, shaking his head at himself for losing track of time, "Tell her I'll be down in a minute."
Once Neville left the room, Ron very quickly stashed everything that he'd had laid out on his bed inside his trunk, locking it before leaving the dorm room to start his patrol with Hermione. She was waiting for him outside the portrait hole when he got downstairs, and he thought for sure she was going to be angry with him once he joined her.
He was stunned…but pleasantly so…to find that she wasn't angry with him at all.
"I was worried you were going to be late," Hermione said once he'd joined her, "But you made it with two minutes to spare."
"Sorry about that, I had some stuff to take care of up in my dorm," Ron said, wondering if she was waiting for him to let his guard down before she started yelling at him.
"All day, by yourself? Whatever were you doing up there, Ronald?" she asked with a cheeky smile on her face.
Ron blushed at what he thought she might be implying. "Err…"
"Forget it," she laughed, shaking her head, "Let's just start our patrol."
Ron followed her as Hermione headed for the main staircase. Prefect patrol consisted of two sets of prefects, one from either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and one from either Hufflepuff or Slytherin. The Gryffindors or Ravenclaws patrolled from the fourth floor up to the towers, while the Hufflepuffs or Slytherins patrolled from the dungeons up to the third floor. It had always been that way, and Ron had expected it to go that way tonight.
Needless to say when Hermione passed the fourth floor landing and continued on down the stairs, Ron was a bit confused.
"Hermione, where are you going?" Ron asked, "We're supposed to start on the fourth floor…you know that better than anybody!"
"Oh, Ron, there's no rule that says we can't patrol an extra floor or two," Hermione replied, continuing determinedly down the steps.
"Remember that next time Malfoy and Pansy decide to stroll up to the seventh floor and snoop around on their patrol night. Of course, if he did, it would give me a reason to hex the little ferret," he grumbled, not sure what had gotten into the brunette, but definitely getting a bad feeling about it.
"I told you before, Ron," she said scathingly over her shoulder, "As a prefect, you must set an example, and that means not attacking another student, especially another prefect…no matter how much he might deserve it."
"Says the prefect who turned fellow prefect Pansy Parkinson into a beagle in front of the whole school," he joked.
Hermione stopped to glare at him so quickly that she nearly lost her footing and stumbled down the steps. "I turned her into a pug, not a beagle, and I received a week's detention for that – as I should have – or don't you remember?"
"The easiest week's worth of detention in the history of Hogwarts," Ron said with a smirk, "Look it up…I bet it's in Hogwarts, A History as we speak!"
Hermione didn't dignify his comment with a response, instead turning her nose up in the air and resuming her journey down the steps with Ron following behind her, grinning cheekily as he teased her.
"Come on, 'Mione…you know you want to hex Malfoy as much as I do…or maybe you'd just like to punch him in the nose again, like Third Year."
"Draco Malfoy is an intolerant bigot who will no doubt get what's coming to him one day," Hermione replied stiffly, obviously not amused by Ron's teasing.
"I'll do my be--…" Ron's words were cut off as they exited the main staircase onto the second floor landing and heading for a hallway that was all too familiar to Ron. "What are we doing here?" he asked with a sense of foreboding as they made their way down the hall towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Hermione didn't answer Ron's question, however, and continued down the hall until she was only a few yards away from the lavatory door, standing in front of an alcove that housed an old suit of armor. Ron came to stand behind her, too busy keeping an eye on the door to Myrtle's bathroom to notice that Hermione seemed entranced by the armor.
"Does she know what I'm going to do? Is that why she brought me here?"
"This is where it happened, isn't it?"
The sound of Hermione's voice caused Ron to jump, startled. Her voice was only the barest whisper, but in the deserted hallway, as tense as Ron was, it might as well have been the loudest, most boisterous shout imaginable.
"Wh-what?" he stammered, turning his attention to her.
"You had detention and were cleaning this suit of armor," she said, running her hand over the metal breastplate, "You must have seen the eyes reflected in the metal, which is why you didn't die."
The other Ron's memories quickly flashed across his mind. This was, indeed, where that Ron had been petrified by the basilisk. "Err…yeah…I reckon. Why are we here, Hermione?"
"The basilisk petrified you," Hermione continued, "And everyone thought Harry Potter had killed it. But you don't, do you? You think it's alive, and you're going looking for it."
"Wh-what?" Ron couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. He had screwed up. Hermione was not only onto him, she was very close to the truth.
When Hermione turned around to face him with tears in her eyes, Ron was struck dumb; not even a squeak could escape the lump in his throat. "Be honest with me, Ronald…you're hunting the basilisk, aren't you?"
Author's End Notes: Well, there you have it: Chapter 21. What did you think? Hopefully, you enjoyed it.
The next chapter will be up in two weeks. Hope you don't mind the wait!