When Hermione finally left the hospital wing, term had restarted. The boys soon filled her in on everything she had missed, there were the lessons- mostly dull but important, the gossip- all interesting but unimportant, and the diary that someone had thrown at Myrtle – interesting and possibly important.

'Look Hermione, it's 50 years old, the chamber was opened 50 years ago.'

'It could be dangerous.'

'We'll never know unless we find out how to read it- it could be important.'

'Why?'

'Well, Hermione,' Ron began, '50 years ago Tom Marvolo Riddle got a special awards for services to the school. 50 years ago the chamber was opened. What if he was the one to catch the heir? It'll probably be full of information about how to get into the chamber, what's in there, who's opening it...'

'Alright. Give it here then.' Hermione stuck out her hand and Harry obediently stuck the book into it.

'Aparecium'

'Already tried that.' Said Draco. Nothing had happened. Hermione was unperturbed by this and went searching about in her bag for a thick, red rubber.

'It's a revealer.' She explained as she rubbed it over the date on the page, 'it's supposed to show up hidden magic. I got it in Diagon Alley last August.'

'Doesn't work though, does it?' Scoffed Ron.

The weeks wore on and there had been no more attacks. No more progress had been made on getting the diary to show its contents either, although studious research had revealed the former owner had been a prefect, head boy, got top marks in every class and had been in Slytherin. Unfortunately, one thing that progress had been made on was Lockhart's surprise for the school. It came on February the fourteenth. As Draco went down to breakfast, he noticed that the whole school had pink, heart-shaped balloons floating about it. That was bad enough. When he arrived in the great hall though, he found that he'd lost his appetite even for his favourite meal. Lockhart had swirled in, wearing violent pink robes and declared that he was running a Valentine's day service, to be delivered by harp-carrying dwarfs in golden wings. Unsurprisingly, the dwarfs were pretty grumpy about this. Harry got an embarrassing one, which Draco happened to know was from Ginny Weasley- she'd spent most of the last week composing it in the Gryffindor common room, desperately although successfully, trying to keep it a secret from Harry. In order to deliver it though, the dwarf had had to rugby-tackle Harry to the ground, which broke one of his bottles of ink, all over his things. Draco also got one, from whom he didn't know, although he suspected it might have been Pansy Parkinson- her mother was a first-class gold-digger and it was a widely held view that her daughter would turn out the same way. It arrived just as they were leaving charms. Having seen what the dwarfs were prepared to do what with having seen Harry get tackled to the ground earlier, Draco stood there while the dwarf did his piece.

The blond man of my dreams

Shall come and go as he pleases

Though my life comes apart at the seams

Whenever me he teases

'Oh dear Lord above,' Draco muttered under his breath, wincing at the sender's desperate attempt to ensure a rhyme. Behind him, Hermione seemed slightly upset but Draco had no idea why.

Hermione still didn't seem to be in a good mood when they got back to the common room that evening. She sat in an armchair, deeply engrossed in a book, whilst Draco played a game of wizard's chess with Ron. As usual Ron was winning, although unusually not by much. Harry was up in the dormitory and had been since dinner.

'Queen to Bishop 4. Checkmate' finished Ron.

'Bother. Didn't spot that one. Well done.'

'Fancy another game?'

'Nah, it's getting late – we ought to head up. See you tomorrow Hermione.'

'Night Hermione.'

When they reached the dorm, they found Harry, sitting bolt upright on his bed, looking very pale and gently shaking.

'It was Hagrid.'

'What was Hagrid?' asked Ron, completely nonplussed.

'He opened the chamber.'

'How d'you know that?'

'I got the diary to work.'

The next day they decided to visit Hagrid, to ask him about the whole thing. After all, if he had opened it before, he'd be the person to go to, to find out more about it. In the end though, they decided that they wouldn't ask him- after all, that conversation probably wouldn't go too well –unless there was another attack. They soon forgot about that though, when the second years were asked to choose their subjects for next year.

Draco already knew what he wanted to study, the core subjects he would carry on, after all, they weren't allowed to drop them, but for the others, he'd take up Arithmancy and Ancient Runes- two nice hard subjects. His uncle had warned him that whilst the "soft" options looked good now, they wouldn't when he had to put them on his CV, if he hadn't gotten that warning, he might have done Care of Magical Creatures instead.

Harry and Ron decided they were both going to take up divination and care of magical creatures, whereas Hermione ambitiously decided that she would take up everything. All the Gryffindors handed their forms into Professor McGonagall -who skimmed through them briefly, not reacting at all until she came to Hermione's, when she slightly raised her left eyebrow. This was nothing though, to her reaction when Neville came running to see them.

'Harry- you'd better come quick. Someone's ransacked your stuff in the dorm!'

'What?'

'Just come on.' Neville urgently waved them on. They ran back upstairs as fast as they could. When they got to the Dorm, everyone was out of breath. It took them a while to get their breath back, but when they did, Hermione spoke first.

'It must've been a Gryffindor- no-one else knows our password!'

'Yeah, or it wasn't a student.' Said Draco, darkly, 'Anything missing?'

'Nothing obvious.'

'Errm, I've got to go and do my form for McGonagall.' Said Neville, remembering what he had been about to do when he discovered the mess.

'Now Neville's gone.' begun Harry, 'Riddle's Diary is missing.'

'What just that? Nothing else?'

'Nothing else.' Confirmed Harry

'Who could have known?'

'Well, anyone really, I haven't exactly been hiding it, have I?'

'S'pose not.' Draco's face elongated as a dreadful thought crossed his mind. 'You don't think it was the heir do you? You know, trying to stop the diary telling you what it knew.'

'Nah. Course not!' laughed Ron, 'I mean- how would they even know it had anything to do with the Chamber- not even Hagrid would have seen it before.'

The sun peeked its head above the horizon early the next morning, so it was already a bright, sunny day by the time that Draco got down to breakfast. Harry had already gone down, to have a bit of extra time to get ready for the quidditch match, so when Draco and Hermione walked into the hall for breakfast, they made to join him. Suddenly, just as Ron joined them, Harry shouted something out about a voice.

'It says it's going to kill this time!'

This left Draco confused- he hadn't heard a voice- was Harry going mad or something? Hermione however seemed to have had a revelation. She leapt up and ran off to the library, holding a bit of toast in one hand and a half-eaten sausage on a fork in the other.

Draco didn't see Hermione again before it was time to head off for quidditch.

'Hey, Ron. Seen Hermione about recently?'

'Not since breakfast- she's probably still in the library.'

'Do you think we ought to get her- it's nearly time for the match.'

'Nah- you know what Hermione's like- doesn't like quidditch that much, loves the library-anyway, if she'd wanted to come she'd be here.'

So they set off down to the quidditch ground. They arrived slightly late, and as they were walking onto the ground, Harry had just kicked off into the air. As usual Lee Jordan was doing the commentary, but Professor McGonagall was nowhere to be seen. Odd.

'No. Look there! There's McGonagall.' Ron pointed out, 'What's she doing down there?'

This soon became evident. McGonagall had come to cancel the match. Draco leapt over the rope limply hanging by the edge of the pitch and ran over to Harry, who had touched down next to McGonagall.

'What! You can't cancel Quidditch, Professor! What about the Cup?' Wood was saying.

'Oh shut up Wood! Some things are more important than bally Quidditch!' McGonagall spat, with just a hint of frustration entering her voice.

'Get back to your common rooms. Now! Potter, you'd best come with me. Weasley, Malfoy, you two too. There's something you'll want to see. I'm afraid it may come as a bit of a shock.' She led them back into the castle and into the hospital wing. They walked through the great oak doors and saw what they least wanted to see.

'Hermione!' Draco exclaimed, his voice drenched in sorrow. It was his fault- if they'd gone to get Hermione before the match. If he'd insisted... Draco stood there, not saying anything. His bottom lip trembled and his eyes glistened over with tears but only someone who had been watching very closely and knew him well could tell that Draco was in any way upset. You didn't show emotion. It was a weakness.

That night, they went to visit Hagrid. Hidden beneath Harry's old invisibility cloak, they crept out of the castle, over across the lawn onto which the dew was just beginning to settle and down to Hagrid's hut. After checking that no-one was about to see a mysterious disembodied arm, Harry stuck his left arm out of the cloak and knocked smartly on Hagrid's door. Rat-a-tat-tat. The door opened slowly and they found a crossbow pointing at them.

'Who's there?'

Of course- they were still invisible. Draco quickly dropped the cloak from them and Hagrid's face lit up in a smile of relief.

'Oh. It's you three. I've bin expectin'... I've bin expectin'... Never min'. Come in.'

Hagrid seemed very nervous, or distracted, Draco thought, he forgot to put tea bags in the mugs he gave them, and he seemed to have forgotten the knife for the fruitcake he put out.

'Did you hear about Hermione?' asked Harry.

'Yeah, I heard alrigh'.'

At that moment came a loud knock on the door. Hagrid gestured for them to put the cloak back on, and when that was done he opened the door.

'Good evening, Hagrid.' It was Professor Dumbledore and behind him was

'Uncle Cornelius!' Draco whispered under his breath. Ron seemed shocked, Harry clueless.

'Hagrid, Hagrid, Hagrid. Rum business. Very rum indeed. Got to act, four attacks. I've got to take you.'

'Take me? Take me where? Surely not. Not Azkaban prison?'

Before the man in the pinstriped robes could answer, there was another loud knock at the door. Before Hagrid even had a chance to answer it, however, Lucius Malfoy walked straight in.

'Ahh, Minister, you're here. Good.'

'Get outta my House.' Roared Hagrid. Malfoy senior replied with words that his son would always be ashamed of.

'House, so- you call this a house. Well, be assured my good man that I take absolutely no pleasure being in your... Yes, quite. I merely called at the school and was informed that the headmaster was here.' He turned to Dumbledore.

'I'm afraid, Albus,' he said with a barely concealed smile, 'that the other governors and I rather feel that you have been,how to put it, losing your touch. Here' he produced a large scroll, 'is an order for your suspension. You'll find all the signatures on it.'

'Suspending Dumbledore?' yelled Hagrid, 'with him gone the muggle-borns won't stand a chance.'

Draco thought this was probably his father's plan.

'Well, any final words?' Fudge asked, as he motioned towards the door.

'Help.' Dumbledore took the opportunity to say, 'will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.' This was somewhat mystical, but Hagrid's final comments were far clearer.

'If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff. All they'd 'ave ter do is foller the spiders. That'd see 'em right. Oh!' he added as an afterthought, as he was walking out of the door, 'someone'll have to feed Fang when I'm away.'

Fudge seemed rather confused at this. Finally, the door slammed to and the boys were once more alone.

'Uncle Cornelius!' Ron suddenly burst out, when the grown-ups were out of earshot, still apparently in shock, 'the Minister for Magic's your uncle?'

'Well, no, not really.' Began Draco, 'He's just one of those people who you're brought up to call uncle that's all- you know the type, friend of the family, comes round for dinner most weeks, that sort of thing.'

Ron just shook his head in silent astonishment. Harry filled the silence.

'Never mind the Minister- your old man's a real piece of work, Draco, getting rid of Dumbledore, doesn't he realise that the muggle-borns will be killed because of it?'

'Unfortunately,' Draco said, rather archly, 'he's probably counting on it.'

Before the full horror of this statement could really sink in, Harry found himself distracted by a whimpering sound in the corner.

'What is it Ron?'

'Spiders. Don't like spiders.' He pointed at a column of spiders, marching across the floor and out of one of the cracks in the window, scurrying quickly like an army in a semi-organised rout.

'Spiders!' Harry burst out, 'Hagrid said to follow the spiders. You coming, Ron?'

'Don't like spiders.'

'Oh, stop being such a big girl's blouse.'

In a desperate attempt to prove he wasn't afraid, Ron joined Draco and Harry as they went deep into the forest. They weren't two hundred yards in when they heard a strange coughing noise. It got louder. And closer. Draco had no idea what the noise was, neither did Harry, Ron on the other hand...

'Harry, you won't believe this! It's our car!'

'What, the one you flew here in?'

'Yeah that's the ARRGHH!' Ron never finished his sentence, as he was surprised from behind by a spider the size of a carthorse. Very soon all three of them were being dragged off into the undergrowth, each by a massive spider. Before long, they were in a giant coliseum of webs. From one corner there suddenly emerged a giant spider.

'Who is it?'

'Erm,we're friends of Hagrid.' Harry started. Ron was busy looking fearfully about them and as for Draco, he was wondering how to get away from the terrible spiders.

'Hagrid has never sent men to us before.'

'He's in trouble. Up at the school, there have been attacks. They think Hagrid was responsible.'

The huge spider seemed to laugh.

'Hagrid. No it was not he. They caught him feeding a monster in the castle, but it was not the monster of the chamber.'

'Which is..?'

'We spiders do not speak its name. I have not even told Hagrid of it. It is an ancient evil, one which we fear above all others. It was not I. Hagrid brought me up in a broom cupboard, the body of the dead girl was found in a bathroom.'

'Right. Thank-you for your time. We'll just go then.'

'Go? I think not. My sons and daughters do not hurt Hagrid on my command, but I will not deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our lair. Goodbye Friends of Hagrid.'

Draco was scared, he hadn't thought of any spells that would work against so many spiders, nor had Harry. Ron on the other hand, was so frightened he could barely think at all. The spiders advanced menacingly, clicking their giant pincers. Then came a noise and a great flood of light. The car had followed them. It charged down the slope and the spiders went scurrying out of its way. The three boys had scarcely bundled themselves inside, however, when the spiders returned, angrier than before.

Suddenly, and all of its own accord, the car started to reverse. Soon it was accelerating away, over the root-filled floor of the forest and back towards the castle, back towards safety. They had lost the spiders. When the car reached the edge of the forest it stopped abruptly.

'I think that's our cue to leave.' The boys got out and headed back to the castle.

'Great. What'd we learn there?' complained Ron.

'That Hagrid didn't do it. Hagrid was innocent.'

The boys didn't sleep that well. Neville's soft snores didn't keep them awake- they never did, but thoughts of huge, vengeful spiders certainly did. They each lay there, thinking about that evening's events.

'Draco?'

'Yeah, Harry?'

'I've been thinking. You know that girl who died? Aragog said she died in a bathroom. What if she's never left?'

'What! Surely not. Not- Moaning Myrtle?'