A/N: If, by some strange chance, you have not yet read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, go and do so now. Otherwise, this chapter spoils essentially every plot point in the book. Bill needed to learn What Happened To Ginny, and the only way to do so was to have Ron tell him. This is a bit redundant for you, my lovely readers, but I have done my best not to bore you :)

Chapter 5

Bill studied the chessboard. His bishop was demanding to move next, but he hesitated, playing out his options in his head. By sheer luck, Percy had been the last man un- singed, but Bill was determined not to be beaten twice. Satisfied he wasn't falling into a trap, he gave his bishop a nod and sat back to let Percy make his next move. Ron had won his and Charlie's game and was waiting to play the winner, but to Bill's surprise, Ron wasn't following the game. Instead, he kept darting glances from his watch to the fireplace.

"Do you want to Floo her?" Bill said.

"Floo who?" Fred and George looked up from their pile of sweets.

"Whom," Percy said absently.

"Nah, she'll just bite my head off."

That was probably true. Ginny hated to be babied, even when she needed it.

"Who will?"

"Gin- Gin."

Charlie looked up over the Quidditch section of the Cairo Oracle. "Why would you want to Floo- call Ginny? You just saw her yesterday."

And just like that, the room filled with tension. Charlie looked from face to face, perplexed. "Somebody want to tell me what's going on?"

The four younger boys exchanged glances, then Percy spoke. "Ginny has been having nightmares about— you know, last year— and sometimes she sneaks in to sleep with Ron."

"How did you know?" Ron said.

Percy and the twins looked uncomfortable.

"She can scream pretty loud," Percy said finally. "And our rooms at home are right above hers."

"We just didn't say anything because— "

"We didn't want to make her feel bad," Fred finished.

"We don't know about last year," Bill said, indicating himself and Charlie. "All Dad will say is that Ginny was writing in a cursed diary."

The four boys exchanged glances again.

"Dammit, somebody tell me what the hell happened!"

This time, Percy, Fred, and George all looked to Ron. Bill leveled a hard look at his youngest brother and Ron caved.

"It all started when we ran into the Malfoys at Flourish and Blotts last summer."

"When Dad had that fight with Lucius Malfoy?" Charlie said. So, he had got a gossip- filled letter from the twins too.

"Yeah. We didn't know it at the time— even Ginny didn't know where it came from, but Malfoy slipped a diary in with her school books. Ginny started writing in it, and it wrote back to her."

"It wrote back?" Bill said sharply.

Ron nodded.

"Tell him about the Heir of Slytherin," Fred prompted.

"Harry and I had our detentions for flying the car, and he came back talking about hearing voices in the walls." Harry Potter was Ron's best friend. "No one else could hear them, but he had me and Hermione running over half the castle on Halloween. Then we get to the second- floor corridor, and Mrs. Norris is hanging by her tail from a torch bracket, and someone's written on the wall in blood."

" 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware,' " George quoted.

"The Chamber of Secrets? But that's just a myth, a legend," Bill said. It couldn't be. . . .

"No, it's not. But you're jumping ahead."

Bill made a placating gesture and Ron continued. "Malfoy was ecstatic, threatening the Muggle- borns—"

"Although that's not the word he used," Fred said darkly.

"Lucius's son," Percy said, and Bill and Charlie nodded.

"So, we thought he had something to do with it. Dumbledore said Mrs. Norris wasn't dead—"

"Too bad. I hated that cat," Charlie said. Which said a lot about Mrs. Norris, coming from a magical zoologist.

"She was just Petrified. Hermione got Professor Binns to tell us about the Chamber and the monster and all that stupid pureblood stuff that Salazar Slytherin believed, and—" Ron glanced at Percy.

"Do go on, Ron. I'm as curious as everyone else how you and Harry figured this out."

"Well, we decided we needed a way to sneak into the Slytherin common room to find out what Malfoy was up to, and Hermione came up with the idea of brewing Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"Wait a minute— three second- years brewed Polyjuice Potion in secret? You successfully turned yourselves into someone else?" Bill said.

Ron grinned. "Told you she was brilliant."

"Who's Moaning Myrtle?" Charlie said.

"She's a ghost who haunts the girls' bathroom on the second floor."

"That's why you were coming out of the girls' loo! For a minute, I thought—" Percy broke off.

Fred and George sniggered.

"Not yet, at least," Fred said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Percy said hastily, readjusting his glasses. "It doesn't mean anything. What happened with the Polyjuice Potion?"

"It takes weeks and weeks to brew, and in the meantime, there was the dueling club, and we found out Harry is a Parselmouth."

"Harry can talk to snakes?"

"Ron, that was Salazar Slytherin's trademark—" Bill began.

"Harry's not a dark wizard," Ron said hotly. "He hates dark magic, and he hates You- Know- Who! He killed Harry's parents, and he's tried to kill Harry three times now."

Bill studied Ron closely. He was angry; angry enough that he wasn't backing down, which meant he believed what he said without reservation. "All right, Ron. But I'm guessing the rest of the school wasn't so easily convinced."

"Took to calling him the Heir of Slytherin, they did," Fred said. "Whispered behind his back and ran away from him in the corridors."

"Well, it didn't help that he kept turning up every time," Percy said.

"He did not. Harry was in the Hospital Wing when Colin was Petrified, and on the Quidditch pitch when— when—"

"When Hermione and Penelope were Petrified," George said with surprising gentleness.

"Yeah." Ron looked miserable.

"Penelope? Your Penelope?" Bill asked Percy.

He nodded. "After the mandrake potion, she told me that she had run into Hermione on her way back from the library, and Hermione told her the monster was—"

"A basilisk."

Everyone turned to Charlie.

"What? A monster that petrifies its victims and can only be heard by a Parselmouth? It's obvious. I bet Hagrid had roosters missing too."

"Yeah, he did." Ron sounded awed at Charlie's expertise.

"I don't understand," Bill said. "What does Ginny and the diary have to do with all of this?"

"Well, we didn't know about Ginny and the diary until the very end, so it didn't make sense to us, either. We took the Polyjuice on Christmas night. It ended up being just me and Harry," Ron's lips twitched but he continued, "and we found out it wasn't Malfoy, and Malfoy had no idea who it was. Then Harry found a diary in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom— she said someone had thrown it down the toilet at her— but it was blank. Then on Valentine's Day—" Ron couldn't control his laughter this time, and to Bill's surprise, the twins joined in. Even Percy was smiling.

"What's so funny?"

"Ginny sent Harry a singing Valentine," Percy said.

Ron doubled over. "A d- d- dw- dwarf," he gasped. "A valentine sung by a dw- dwarf!"

Charlie and Bill started to laugh too.

"And I don't know who was more embarrassed, Harry or Ginny," Percy said.

"Anyway—" Ron wiped his streaming eyes— "Harry's bag spilled when the dwarf tackled him, and— and—" He took a deep breath— "Ink got all over everything, but there was none in the diary. Harry figured out how to work it, and Tom Riddle— that's whose diary it was— showed him how he discovered Hagrid with the monster that opened the Chamber the last time."

"The last time?"

Ron nodded.

"No way," Charlie said. "Hagrid wouldn't hurt a fly."

"He wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, but he does have a liking for monsters. Remember Norbert? Harry didn't think it was Hagrid, either, but he had been expelled, and then nothing happened for ages until the Hufflepuff match was cancelled. Oh, I forgot— Ginny stole the diary back from Harry, but we didn't know it was her. The night Hermione and Penelope were Petrified, Hagrid was taken to Azkaban—"

"They took Hagrid to Azkaban?" Charlie said indignantly.

″You need to read more than the Quidditch section,″ Bill said.

"Yeah. Fudge came for him himself, said he didn't have a choice. And the last thing Hagrid said— we were there, under Harry's Invisibility Cloak—"

"Harry has an Invisibility Cloak?" Bill said, skipping over the absurdity of the Minister of Magic arresting Hogwarts's gamekeeper.

Ron grinned again. "It was his dad's. Dumbledore gave it back to him Christmas of first year. Cool, huh?"

"Very cool," Bill agreed. "So, you were in Hagrid's cabin. . . ."

"And Hagrid said if someone wanted to know what was going on, they should follow the spiders."

"Follow the spiders?" Charlie repeated. "But spiders flee from a basilisk. Why—"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Because Hagrid has a pet Acromantula named Aragog. That's the monster Harry saw with Hagrid in the diary. Since we didn't have any better ideas, and Hermione was in the Hospital Wing, we went to talk to Aragog."

"You went looking for a giant spider?" Fred said. "You hate spiders!"

"Dumbledore had been sacked, and we had to do something. Hermione was Petrified."

Percy caught Bill's eye. So, Ron had faced his biggest fear— literally— because of this Hermione girl, huh?

"Damn, Ron," Charlie said. "That takes guts, even if you're not afraid of spiders."

"Well, I wouldn't do it again." He shuddered, looking pale.

Over Ron's head, Percy mouthed "Hermione," and he and Bill smirked.

"Aragog said he wasn't the monster that opened the Chamber of Secrets, but he refused to tell us what it was. He said Hagrid was expelled after a girl was killed in a bathroom, and Harry put that together—"

"Don't tell me it was Moaning Myrtle," Percy said.

"Uh- huh. We gave Lockhart the slip and went to visit her, but McGonagall found us—"

"Uh- oh," Fred and George said together. They had been following Ron's story with rapt interest. Apparently, he hadn't told anyone the whole thing before tonight.

Ron shook his head. "Harry was brilliant. He's really a very good liar."

Ron said this as if lying were a valued trait in one's best friend. Although, if you were going to run round the school in an Invisibility Cloak and sneak out of bounds to visit monsters in the Forbidden Forest, perhaps it was.

"Harry said we were on our way to visit Hermione since we hadn't been allowed to see her with all the security measures. Then we had to go see her, instead of Myrtle, but it worked out okay because Harry found a piece of paper wadded in Hermione's hand that told about the basilisk. We ran down to the staff room to tell McGonagall, but then—" Ron swallowed and tried again. "That's when—"

"Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets."

Bill and Charlie gaped at Percy.

"Ginny?"

"Into the Chamber?"

"But she's pureblood!"

"But why?" Bill felt months of frustration coming to the surface. "This is all fascinating, Ron, but what the hell does any of it have to do with—"

"It was her. Ginny. She opened the Chamber."

Bill's mind went blank. Absolutely empty, and Ron's voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Like when Bill and Charlie used to eavesdrop on conversations through the Burrow's vents.

"The diary was more than a diary, and Tom Riddle isn't just some old Hogwarts student. He's You- Know- Who, Bill. Ginny was possessed by You- Know- Who, and he used her to open the Chamber and let the Basilisk out and attack all those people. Then he got strong enough to come out of the diary, and he took Ginny into the Chamber."

He came out of the diary? That wasn't just a curse, that sounded like a— a—

Bill stood abruptly. The chessboard went flying, pieces screaming. Ron, sitting on the floor beside the twins, flinched and ducked, but Bill paid no attention.

"And none of you thought to tell me? I'm the curse breaker, I'm the one who makes a living destroying cursed objects, I'm the one who works with dark magic damn near every day! I'm the one who can actually help her, and everyone has been stonewalling me for TWO BLOODY MONTHS!" When no one responded, Bill picked up the fallen chessboard and slammed it on the table, making a loud crack. The boys jumped. "Ginny had four brothers at Hogwarts— four effing brothers!— but none of you noticed our baby sister was possessed? I know I've been gone for a while, but I thought I had at least taught you to take care of Gin- Gin!"

Ringing silence.

Ron had drawn his knees up to his chest and was bent forward with his arms wrapped around them. Percy was staring at the floor between his feet. Even Fred and George looked shame- faced.

"It was my fault." Percy's voice was difficult to hear because he was talking into his lap. "I was the oldest. She was my responsibility."

Percy's words washed over him, and Bill stopped his pacing. How many times had he heard those words growing up? You're the oldest, Bill. They are your responsibility. Well he remembered the helplessness when circumstances spun events out of his control and the overwhelming sense of guilt and failure when someone got hurt as a result.

"Percy took her to Madam Pomfrey," George said. "He tried to look out for her."

"Shit, Percy, I. . . ." Bill ran a hand through his hair, pulling long strands out of the ponytail. Percy's posture radiated defeat, and Ron, who wouldn't meet his gaze, looked petrified.

Oh, bloody hell. Bill closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. His kid brother wasn't Petrified, but several others had been, including one of Ron's best friends and Percy's girlfriend. And it was all because of his baby sister?

No. Bill remembered the first thing Ron had said. It's all because of Malfoy, that slimy, slithering—

"Come to think of it," Bill said in as normal a voice as possible, "why did none of you write me that Ron was best friends with a Parselmouth?"

"Because we knew Harry wasn't the Heir of Slytherin," Fred said. "You've never met him, you wouldn't know, but the idea is—"

"Preposterous," George said.

Bill clenched his jaw. No, he had never met Harry Potter. Perhaps he should change that.

"We owe him," Ron said simply. "He saved Ginny's life."

Bill frowned and sat back down. "What do you mean?"

"After Ginny was taken, Professor McGonagall had all the students return to their common rooms. We waited for a while, and then I decided we should go tell Lockhart— the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher— about the Basilisk and where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was. But he was packing—"

"Gilderoy Lockhart?" Bill said incredulously. "The author?"

Fred snorted. "The fraud."

"You four are seriously lacking in letter- writing skills."

"What do you mean, he was packing?" Charlie said.

"He was leaving Hogwarts. He was supposed to be going after Ginny, but he was running." Ron's hands were clenched into fists. "Then he started to do a Memory Charm on me and Harry, but Harry disarmed him—"

"Harry disarmed a fully qualified wizard?"

"He's really good at it. And we made Lockhart come into the Chamber with us, but he got the drop on me, and— well, you've seen my wand. The spell backfired, and part of the ceiling collapsed, and Harry and I were separated by a rock wall. So, Harry went into the Chamber of Secrets by himself and fought You- Know- Who and the Basilisk with Gryffindor's sword."

"Gryffindor's sword? Where did he get Gryffindor's sword?" Percy asked.

"He pulled it out of the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore's phoenix brought him the Sorting Hat."

"Fawkes?" Charlie said in wonder. "Harry must have said something really good about Dumbledore to have called Fawkes to him."

"He said Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world."

"Harry pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat? Why didn't you just say so?" Bill said.

Ron wrinkled his forehead.

"There is no way the Heir of Slytherin could have pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the hat, Ron."

"Told you," Fred said.