"Ok, I'll admit it," Hermione said begrudgingly after they were a couple of weeks into the new term. "Lockhart's about as daft as they come."

"Finally," Ron said, patting her on the back, "It took you long enough to come around to that conclusion," he said, clearly excited that the brightest witch of their age finally came to the right conclusion on their loony professor.

"What made you finally realize that he's a total git?" Harry asked her once they finally continued on down the corridor on their way to History of Magic.

Ron and Harry grinned widely as Hermione launched into her story about how everything he had been saying recently, although the terminology was correct, the way he went about trying to describe how to beat the animals was completely and utterly wrong.

"I mean, come on, even my parents who are muggles would have understood that what he was saying was completely and totally illogical," Hermione said as they slipped into Professor Binns classroom.

Ron turned around to her once they had taken their seats, a grin still plastered across his face. "Well whatever it was that finally turned your logic around, we're glad you finally did," he said, which made the bushy haired girl blush a little as she laughed.

"Hey Harry, did you end up talking to your parents over break?" Ron asked once class had begun.

"Yeah, they found a list that Hermione and I had been working on when she came over one night. They said if we found anything or thought anything didn't seem right that we need to tell them or Professor Dumbledore," Harry said quietly to avoid another glare from their Professor.

"Did you tell them about being," Ron started to ask, only continuing after he checked around them to make sure that no one else was listening in, "that you're a parselmouth?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And what did they say?" Ron asked, clearly intrigued.

"They told me that we weren't descended from Slytherin and that they didn't know why I could do it exactly but that they would try to figure it out. Then dad mentioned something about embracing it or something," Harry said, chuckling a little at the memory of his mum's face when his dad had said that. "Mum said that we weren't getting a pet snake though."

Ron laughed at this, but was quickly silenced when the Professor floated towards them.

"Mr. Weasley, would you like to teach the rest of this class?" Professor Binns asked, much to the amusement of the rest of the class. "Or maybe Mr. Potter would like to, since he seems to have a lot to say," Binns suggested which shut Harry up.

"No Sir," they both said simultaneously.

"Very well then. Now if we could go back to the Ogre Wars…"

"Ginny!" Harry called out from down the corridor.

The little redheaded girl turned up ahead and went wide-eyed when she saw Harry before she tried to bolt off.

"Ginny! Ginny wait!" Harry called as he ran after her.

"Mr. Potter, there will be no running in the corridors!" Professor McGonagall called out from her classroom.

"Yes Professor," Harry yelled back but continued to chase after Ginny who had run into one of the girls' lavatories.

When Harry finally caught up to the door it had slammed in his face. He sat there for a moment, struggling with the thought of going inside but then remembered what Hermione had said months earlier when they had passed by and heard someone moaning—nobody ever went in there.

"Ginny? Ginny! I'm coming in," Harry said a little hesitantly at first, but his voice came out more even once he had already pushed open the door and taken a step inside. "What the-" he asked himself noticing how wet the floor was, the water already seeping through his shoes.

Harry stepped around the wall but was taken aback when he saw Ginny on the floor huddled and hugging her knees to her chest as she wept.

"Ginny, are you ok?" he asked, crouching down beside her.

Ginny muttered something incoherent multiple times over.

Harry wanted to ask her what she was saying but stopped before he even started when he saw something odd in the corner of his eye. He stood up and walked over towards where a black leather book lay soaking wet in the water that covered the lavatory floor. Hesitantly, Harry picked up the book and held it out from him at arm's length as water droplets continued to drip from its edges. When he turned around he noticed a sudden change of demeanor. The girl in front of him started shaking and rocking back and forth on her heels, gripping her hands over her ears as she repeatedly told him to get rid of it, get rid of it, get rid of it, but before he could question her he saw a ghost appear out of one of the toilets off to his side.

"Er, hello?" he said a little awkwardly.

"What are you still doing here!?" the ghost screamed at them, although Harry noticed that her eyes rested on Ginny's small shaking form. "Are you going to through another book at me? Right through my heart this time perhaps?" she continued to scream, making Ginny even more anxious than before. When the ghost finally relented Harry stepped closer to her.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Harry asked hesitantly, not wanting to set the ghost off.

"You want to know who I am?" the ghost asked, perking up a bit.

"Er, yes."

"I'm Myrtle," she said, happily at first, but once she heard Ginny weep again, her happiness descended quickly into anger, "Miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle!" she screamed at them both, not that Ginny was paying any attention though.

"Nice to meet you, Myrtle," Harry said awkwardly.

The ghost stalked off, and Harry looked once again to the book he held in his hand, hoping that something in it would help him to understand why Ginny seemed so frightened by it. The pages on the inside, though wet, were blank. He closed it and flipped it over and turned it around, running his fingers over the name that was found on the back.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," he said to himself as he traced the letters. "Ginny?" Harry asked, turning around to find Ginny ready to run out the door but she stopped when he called her again.

"Get rid of it," she said, her fear coming through her voice.

Harry looked at the book in his hand for a moment before he stuffed it in his robe pocket and walked across the wet floor to where Ginny remained.

"Come on, Ginny," he said, guiding her out of the bathroom towards the hospital wing where he dropped Ginny off with Madame Pomfrey to receive a dreamless sleep potion in the hopes of her finally getting a good night's sleep.

Harry walked into the common room after slowly wandering through the halls once he had dropped Ginny off with Madame Pomfrey. The common room was still quite full despite the late hour, with some of the older students taking up residence in front of the fire. His eyes scanned the room for the two people he was desperate to talk to and found them sitting at one of the few tables against the opposite wall. He quickly wound his way through his fellow Gryffindors and sat down next to Ron, placing the black book on the table in front of him.

Neither Ron nor Hermione took notice of the book at first.

"Harry!" Hermione said, once she looked up from her work. "Where did you get to after dinner?"

"I er, saw Ginny in one of the corridors acting a little strange so I followed her to the girls lavatory—you know the one you told us no one ever goes into," Harry explained, "And when I went in the floor was soaked and she was sitting there crying."

"That's just Ginny, she's ben acting weird since summer," Ron tried to dismiss, not the least bit swayed by this piece of news.

Harry shrugged, thinking that maybe Ron was right when Hermione looked at them both incredulously and slammed her book quite loudly on the table.

"Are you both that dimwitted?" she exclaimed, earning her a few stares from the others still in the room. "There is obviously something wrong," she said before her eyes flashed to the odd book in front of Harry, "What is that and why is it dripping?" she asked, pointing to the book.

"I found it on the floor in the bathroom when I found Ginny, I think it's hers," Harry said, looking at the book that was now between the three of them in the middle of the table.

"Yeah that's hers alright," Ron confirmed, "she wouldn't let it out of her sight all break. Mum was ready to burn it, she put up such a fit when mum told her to leave it in her room."

"Who is," Hermione said, sliding it closer to her and looking at the name inscribed intently, "Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

"Not a clue," Harry said whilst Ron shrugged, obviously unsure as well. "Ginny just told me to get rid of it—she seemed frightened of it."

"Why would she be scared of a book?" Ron asked, laughing a little but Hermione silenced him with a stare.

"Let's go," Hermione said firmly, grabbing the black book off the table and stashing it in her bag with the rest of her texts.

Harry and Ron looked at one another before they scrambled to their feet and followed Hermione as she exited the common room and started leading them through the halls.

"Where are we going exactly?" Ron asked her as he jogged behind her—her pace incredibly fast at this moment.

"To see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said haughtily.

The trio walked rapidly towards the Professor's office, careful to try to avoid any of the teachers or prefects patrolling the halls at this late hour. Harry was quick to pull Hermione and Ron into an alcove when he turned a corner and saw Snape up ahead. The three held their breaths careful not to give away their positions.

"That was close," Ron breathed once Snape had cleared away.

"Quickly," Hermione ordered, stepping out first from their hiding place, "We're almost there."

Harry and Ron stepped out of the alcove and fell into step behind her as they raced down the corridors.

"It's a bit late for students to be wandering the corridors, is it not Mr. Potter, Miss. Granger and Mr. Weasley?" the knowing voice of Professor Dumbledore said to the three when they neared his office.

"Sir, we have something to tell you!" Harry said, once he regained his breath from being taken off guard so suddenly.

"I thought as much," Dumbledore said, giving the three a slight smile as he move in front of them. "Let us go up to my office then and talk, then you can explain to me why you thought wandering around the corridors at night, especially given the circumstances, was a good idea," he said, staring the three of them down before he gave the password and hoped onto the first step.

Harry stepped on next, once Ron and Hermione had both gotten over shock and excitement of the hidden staircase that led to the Headmaster's study.

"Wow," Ron gawked once Dumbledore led them through to his office, which was filled with portraits of past headmasters and magical artifacts, books lining the walls and windows with the most magnificent views of the Hogwarts grounds. What amazed them most of all was Dumbledore's Phoenix that sat perched on it's stand to the side of his desk.

Dumbledore chuckled at Ron Weasley's expression as he sat down at his desk. "Yes, I quite like the place myself," he said, looking around his office wistfully. "But a tour of my office is not why you came, now is it?" he said a few moments later, gesturing for the trio to sit down in the chairs across from him.

"Sir, I found Ginny Weasley in one of the girl's lavatories earlier, crying and muttering about this, I think," Harry said, placing the still wet book down on the headmaster's desk. "The ghost, Myrtle, was yelling at her about throwing this at her. But I'm not sure why she would…all the pages are blank…"

The Professor picked up the book and flipped it over. Like Harry had, hours earlier, he ran his fingers along the gold lettering on the back.

Hermione noticed this. "Professor?" she asked. Dumbledore looked up at her, "Do you know whom Tom Marvolo Riddle is?"

Dumbledore looked over his half-moon spectacles at the three young students sitting in front of him, all of them on the edge of their seats as they awaited his answer to a question that had been burning in all their minds since they had first set sight on the gold lettering themselves.

"I do indeed," he said, as he stood, the book still in his hands. "It's a rather long tale, I must warn you, but I feel as though it is one you deserve to know, in particular you, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said as he paced behind his desk, stopping to look at Harry. "Tom Riddle as he used to go by then, was a student here 50 years ago. Bright young fellow, very close with a couple staff members, he was a good student and very well liked by many. He was a member of Slytherin house at the time," Dumbledore continued, "As I'm sure you know by this point, the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened a student died. And as I am sure you also know, the Chamber was last opened 50 years ago as well…"

"The same time that Tom Riddle was here," Hermione said, finishing his thought for him.

"Indeed he was," Dumbledore said, smiling slightly. "Tom Riddle was awarded for Special Services to the school at the time because he ousted the person we believed to be responsible for unleashing the monster that was wreaking havoc on the school, who was responsible for the death of the student."

"Who was responsible, Professor?"

"I can't be completely sure," Dumbledore said, but he held the book up. "I will have to do some more investigating but I believe it was Tom Riddle."

"I thought you said that he was the one who found out who was behind it?" Harry asked for the three of them, for all of them were confused.

"I apologize, I must not seem clear but this," he said, shaking the book, "has changed a lot of things I believed to be true up until now. I should restart this all by telling you that Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort."

"But, how?" Harry asked, the events of the past year coming to the forefront of his mind.

Dumbledore sighed. "It is very late for such a long story, for it spans over half a century now, but as I said before, I feel as though you deserve to know," he said thoughtfully, before sitting down and telling Harry, Ron, and Hermione how he found Tom Riddle all those years ago in the orphanage and how he was always a very interesting boy. He told them what he was like all through Hogwarts and how he fell right in with the Slytherin's and their pureblood ideals, despite him being a half-blood himself and he told them a condensed version of his rise to power. He explained how Voldemort would have been able to open the Chamber of Secrets and admitted that he had some apologies to say once they were done in his office.

"But sir," Harry asked once he had finished, "how can he be the one opening the Chamber now, if he's not here?"

"I believe you handed me his source of life when you first entered my office this evening," Dumbledore said, motioning to this book. "This," he said, holding it up for them again, "is Voldemort's diary. You mentioned that Miss. Weasley had been acting weird and was quite distressed at the sight of this book, is that correct?"

Harry and Hermione nodded.

Ron piped up. "Ginny had been acting weird all summer, especially after hearing everything that had happened last year with Harry," Ron said, Harry blushed, which made Ron stop and laugh for a few moments before continuing. "But when she came to Hogwarts she started acting a lot stranger. She was always jumpy and she just wasn't herself. Up until tonight I just blamed it on the fact that it was a new place and that Harry was in closer proximity," he added, laughing again.

"Ginny has been rather jumpy," Hermione confirmed, "She hasn't taken much of a liking to the other girls in her year in Gryffindor, but whenever I did see her in the dorms she always had that book with her—I thought it was hers. Are you saying that-?"

"I believe that the answer to your question, Harry, is that Voldemort has been using this diary as a way to use Miss. Weasley to do his bidding for him," Dumbledore said.

"How is that possible?" Hermione inquired.

"I can't be entirely sure," Dumbledore said, turning the diary over in his hands, "But I'm certain it involves some very dark branches of magic. Magic that is far beyond what we teach here at Hogwarts," he said, sounding as though he was speaking solely to himself.

The three students sat there for a while, absorbing all the information they had received from the headmaster that evening.

"Is there a way to stop him?" Ron asked after a while. "I don't want Ginny to be a part of his scheme anymore."

"Nor do I," Dumbledore said, "But I assure you that I will do my best to keep her away from this diary. I believe that it is time for all of you to return to your dormitories, it is quite late."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione nodded, yawning as they hopped out of their chairs and walked out of the office. They turned to bid the headmaster goodnight, but he announced that he would be escorting them back.

"Despite the new information presented this evening, there is still a monster wandering around this school," he said as they strode down the corridor away from his office, "I would appreciate it if you all would be a bit more careful with your wandering around the castle in the future."

"Yes Professor," they all responded immediately.

"Sir?" Harry asked after they had walked in silence for a while.

"Yes, Harry?"

"You know now that Tom Riddle was the one who set the monster on the school who ended up killing that student, right?"

"That is correct."

"So what will happen to the person who was accused of it?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Once I leave you at Gryffindor tower I will be on my way to inform that person that their name has been cleared," the headmaster said happily.

"Who was accused, Professor?" Ron asked.

"Alas that is not for me to say," he said, still smiling, "But I do feel it is safe to say that you three will find out soon enough. Especially since you helped with clearing his name," he said, knowing full well that that would spark something within the three young students.

"Sir?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore chuckled as the constant questioning amused him. "Yes, Miss. Granger?"

"Who was the student who died the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened?"

"I believe Mr. Potter talked to her earlier this evening," he said, looking over his half-moon spectacles at the raven-haired boy who had suddenly turned to look back at him.

"Moaning Myrtle?" Harry and Hermione said simultaneously.

Dumbledore nodded. "Here we are. My Dear Lady," Dumbledore spoke kindly to the fat lady who guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor's common room, "I have three students who seek access to their dormitories."

"Oh well certainly," the lady said, continuing to bat her eyes at Dumbledore who merely smiled in response.

Ron and Hermione quickly said goodnight and thanked him for his help before they entered the common room, but Harry remained outside the portrait hole with the headmaster.

"Professor, when you were explaining Voldemort's life earlier, and his ideals for a perfect wizarding society, I didn't quite understand something," Harry asked hesitantly.

"What is that my dear boy?"

"Why is it that Voldemort targeted me and my parents?" Harry asked, looking the Headmaster in the eyes.

Dumbledore looked back at him, his eyes soft. "Tonight is not the time for that particular tale, Harry," Dumbledore said. "I do not believe that you are quite ready to hear that story for it is quite complicated and it involves magic that is complex beyond your years. When the time comes, I will tell you all you want to know, but for now you must head to your dormitory and get a good night's rest." The headmaster nodded to the Fat Lady who immediately revealed the entrance at his command.

Harry, who was not quite ok with the answer he had just received, bid the headmaster goodnight and ran into the common room and up to his bed.

"Completely crazy all of it, isn't it?" Ron immediately asked Harry when he came into their room.

Harry nodded. "Completely insane."

Harry was about to fall asleep when Ron spoke to him again. "Thanks Harry," he said quietly, speaking for himself and his brothers "For helping Ginny, you know, when we weren't."

"That's what best-mates are for," Harry said, before they both succumbed to sleep.

AN: All recognizable J.K Rolwing content is fully hers and I take no credit for it. Sorry about this one being shorter but I figured there was a lot to it despite the smaller word count. Please review if you have time! Thanks for everything!