Chapter 10

The door to the Hospital Wing swung open and admitted Professor Minerva McGonagall. She knew that the Headmaster must have locked down the wing and taken Poppy with him.

"Professor! Thank goodness you're here! Professor Dumbledore took Professor Lupin, Madam Pomfrey, and Sirius Black and went to the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione.

"The Chamber of Secrets? Why would he go there?"

George answered, "We think that's where Harry's gone."

"Why would he go there? If he gets hurt, nobody could help him," asked the Transfiguration Mistress.

Hermione asked, "Did Professor Dumbledore give you a letter earlier?"

"Yes, why?" she replied.

"I think you should read it first," Hermione said.

Dear Professor McGonagall,

When I first came to Hogwarts, you told us that your house would be your family. You didn't tell us just how screwed up that family could be. They're almost as bad as the Dursleys! In my first year, they turned against me for losing points. In my second year, they turned against me because they thought I was the Heir of Slytherin just because I could talk to snakes.

As my Head of House, I thought you would step in when the bullying got to be too much, but you didn't. The night you found us out of bounds we tried to tell you why, but you wouldn't listen to us. Then you docked Malfoy twenty points and us fifty points each. How is that fair? We were doing the school a favor and helping a friend. You could have confirmed our story with Hagrid. Then on top of the points, you sent us to detention in the FORBIDDEN FOREST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! What sane person would do that to four first years and a man (although he's a big man) who doesn't even have a wand to help if things went pear-shaped? When we came to you about the stone, you waved us off like we had no idea what we were talking about.

Then in second year, you didn't stop people from jinxing me, tripping me, or otherwise abusing me after they discovered I could speak to snakes.

This year you couldn't be bothered to tell me who Sirius Black was – my godfather. I found that out the hard way. When you confiscated my Firebolt, you didn't do the obvious thing and sent it back to the Firebolt Company and have them confirm it was safe. You had people untrained in broom construction and enchanting "strip it down". Maybe I should tell Ron he should have it checked by a qualified person.

As Deputy Headmistress you have the power to discipline your teachers yet you don't. You let Snape get away with whatever he wants without ever saying anything or passing it off on Dumbledore. You have teachers like Professor Trelawney predicting students' deaths regularly while drunk on sherry and let it go. You have teachers like Binns and Lockhart who can't teach. How do you expect the students to learn anything? You're a great Transfiguration teacher, but a lousy Head of House and Deputy Headmistress. It's time to pick what you can do and find someone else for the other job(s).

However, just like I told Professor Dumbledore, I will never ever forgive you for leaving a fifteen-month-old baby on the doorstep of people who you yourself said "were the worst sort of Muggles" in the middle of the night. You sat and watched them and knew what type of people they were, yet you never tried to talk Dumbledore out of it. Whatever he says is gospel. You can't think for yourself anymore. They were worse than you imagined. I was beaten, starved, and abused verbally as well as physically. I didn't even know my name was Harry until I started Muggle school. The evidence was right in front of you but you couldn't see it.

You need to get your priorities straight because you can't wear three hats and do them effectively.

Your (ex) student,

Harry Potter

"Oh, my word. Why didn't he say anything? I would have helped him if he'd just asked," she said.

One of the twins spoke, "I don't think he trusts any of the adults to help him. We told mum and dad about the bars on his window and the cat flap in the door when we rescued him before his second year. We told them about his trunk being locked up where he couldn't get to it. They just thought it was something Muggles did differently from wizards."

The other one added, "If you reach out towards him, he flinches. He won't shower in the locker room with the rest of the team. He waits until he gets back to the dorms."

Ron wasn't comfortable saying it, but he did anyway, "The first year when we came to you about the stone and you told us not to worry, Harry said never trust adults to do anything. Always do it yourself because you're the only one you can trust."

Hermione added, "You didn't see him after Sirius asked him to live with him. I've never seen Harry smile like that. I'm sure that's what helped power his Patronus and drive away the dementors. To have all of that taken away from you because nobody will listen to a child was probably too much for Harry."

The Deputy Headmistress took all of this in and the conclusion she came to was not a pleasant one. She was determined to do better.

"Professor," Hermione said, "Professor Dumbledore told me to tell you that you were in charge until he gets back with Harry. I'm sure the other teachers will come back here to report."

"Yes. The others should be reporting back soon. Wait! Did you say Sirius Black is here? What's he doing here?"

The four students began to tell the story of what had happened (the twins listening in amazement) that day while the various professors returned and made their reports. They decided to keep the students in their dormitories and have the house elves serve breakfast there. Classes would be canceled until things settled down. Professor Snape was all for keeping things on schedule and not "kowtowing to the whims of an attention-seeking brat" but was quickly shut down by Professor McGonagall with a promise of dire consequences if he breathed a word of Harry's disappearance.

And they waited.