The next morning, we awoke to news that Hagrid had been arrested on suspicion of opening the Chamber of Secrets, and Dumbledore had been removed as Headmaster. Harry and Ron told Demelza, Amy and I at breakfast that they had witnessed this under Harry's invisibility cloak.
"You've got an invisibility cloak?" I said "How come you never told us?"
"Oh I don't know" said Ron sarcastically "Maybe he doesn't want word spreading around that he's got it"
"Well he told you! And you trust us just as much as you do Ron, right Harry?" said Demelza
Harry bit his lip
"Uh... yes, yes of course guys. I should have told you" he said eventually, while Ron scowled. "Anyway, Hagrid said something very interesting before they left, in that if anyone wanted answers they should just follow the spiders. We'll do that eventually."
There was now such a big sense of fear around the school that even visits to the hospital wing had been stopped, so we were unable to go and see Hermione at any point.
"We're taking no more chances. The culprit could easily come back to finish these people off, I know it's hard, but the hospital wing is off limits" Pomfrey told us through the locked door.
Avery, Mulciber and Yaxley, along with Draco Malfoy, were loving life. They were strutting around with such confidence. I think they knew Hagrid was innocent and that the Ministry had only taken him away to make it look like some progress was being made. That in addition to, of course, every Muggle Born being afraid for their life.
Gilderoy Lockhart though, was perhaps acting the worst of all. He began a class 2 weeks later by confidently declaring that Hagrid's arrest had ended the trouble, and that we should no longer be worried.
"Hagrid is innocent!" I yelled, from right in front of him. I looked directly into his eyes when I said this, and the class went deadly silent. Lockhart walked slowly down to me, and he no longer had his cheery nature about him.
"And what," he said, kneeling down in front of my desk so that his face was level with mine "gives you the right, not only to say that, but to raise your voice to me?"
I was not intimidated however. Continuing to stare directly into his eyes, I said "You're a fraud. You did none of the things you said in your books. You've been a pathetic excuse for a professor. I saw through you from the moment I first set my eyes on you in Flourish and Blotts. It took everyone else a while to realise, but we all know now. You're useless. Hagrid's arrest was nothing more than a false show of progress from the Ministry. You know it as well as we do, and if you don't, you're even more of an idiot than we thought".
There was a long pause, then, slowly, Demelza started clapping, and eventually the whole room joined in. After a minute or so, it died down. Lockhart straightened up.
"Detention" he said. "For all of you. I have never been so disrespected in my life. Miss Weasley here has told some disgusting lies, and you all applauded rather than condemed"
"That's because we know it's true!" called Amy
"That'll be double detention for you then Miss Bagman!" he said, and now he was angry. "No more talking, we shall resume this class in silence!"
Nobody cared though. Once the class was finished, I received a number of congratulations and fist bumps from people who had wanted to see Lockhart humbled all year.
Detention consisted of us returning to Lockhart's classroom and writing down numerous things that supposedly "proved" he really had committed all these heroic acts. It was very frustrating to have to do, but I had no choice, and hopefully, Dumbledore or someone else would get around to exposing him publicly sooner rather than later.
The next day, we were shocked to find out that despite the state that the school was in, we were still going to receive exams!
"How can you possibly expect us to study with everything that's happening?" called out Andrew in our Herbology class.
"Professor McGonagall, as interim headmistress, wants the school to keep running as normally as possible while it is still open!" said Sprout, "and I completely agree! It would be exactly what the culprit wanted if we were to appear weak and afraid!"
I couldn't think of anything I could possibly use in an exam, not with all the efforts I'd made dealing with my stress around the attacks.
Three days before our first exam, Professor McGonagall made another announcement at breakfast.
"I have good news," she said, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted.
"Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully.
"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" squealed a girl at the Ravenclaw table.
"Quidditch matches are back on!" roared Wood excitedly.
When the hubbub had subsided, Professor McGonagall said,
"Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."
There was an explosion of cheering, though I wasn't among it, as I'd just realised that surely the first thing everyone would say was that I was controlling the basilisk that attacked them. So I thought, I better make another attempt at trying to tell someone what was really going on. I therefore walked over to Ron and Harry, fully intent on spilling the beans about Tom.
"What's up?" said Ron, helping himself to more porridge. I didn't say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table, trying to see if anyone was paying attention, but no one seemed to be.
"Spit it out," said Ron, watching me.
I bit my lip and started rocking back and forth nervously. I was desperately trying to think of how to word this in a way which wouldn't make Tom tie up my tongue.
"I've got to tell you something," I mumbled
"What is it?" said Harry.
"What?" said Ron.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Harry leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ron and I could hear him.
"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?"
I drew a deep breath and, at that precise moment, Percy appeared, looking tired.
"If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty."
I jumped up and ran away, there was no way I was telling anything to Percy!
Joanne claims here that Percy thought I was about to tell them about me walking in on him snogging Penelope. This didn't happen at this time though, because Penelope hadn't been revived yet. It did happen at a later point before the end of the school year.
A few hours passed, and when it was time for lunch, I headed downstairs with Demelza, Amy and Daniela. I never made it to the Great Hall though, because this was where Tom had decided it was time for my punishment for my little rebellious action with the paper. As we were walking past the first floor corridor, Daniela and I turned off into it, completely out of our control. The doors slammed shut and sealed behind us . I then found myself writing "Their skeletons will lie in the chamber forever" on the wall, in the same blood as I had done previously. We then walked to the bathroom door. As we entered, we fell forwards, and everything went dark.
